a weblog of whereabouts & interests, since 2010
There was a little rain today, and it definitely felt like fall, with a high of only 56°F (13°C).
There was mail from Maryland in my mailbox today.
The cancellation says that ‘As in past elections, the USPS is ready. If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early.’
(Early voting has started in some states, and here in Washington State we will get our mail-in ballots by Friday, or by early next week).
Let’s check out the stamps.
1984 Horace Moses
Issued Aug. 6, 1984
Perf. 11 |Engraved printing (combination press) |Wmk. None
No 1845| 20c| Orange & dark brown | Junior Achievement founder, Horace Moses
[Sources: stampworld.com, mysticstamp.com]
There was mail from an Ebay seller in Tasmania, Australia, in my mailbox today— with a single pair of South African stamps inside.
Issued Jun. 26, 2023
Perf. 13¾ x 14½ |Design: Jason Watts Engraving/RA Printing | No watermark
No. 4205 AUS$ 3.90 |Multi-colored |Bilby (Macrotis lagotis)
Notes:
The bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a desert-dwelling marsupial about the size of a rabbit. It was once widely distributed through arid and semi-arid Australia, but wild populations are now restricted to spinifex grassland in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and to a small region of southwestern Queensland.
[Sources:stampworld.com, Australia Post Stamp Bulletin No 384]
Issued Sep. 1, 1938
Perf. 15×14 |Photogravure |Wmk. Multiple Springbok heads
Se-tenant pair of Afrikaans & English inscribed stamps
SACC 43c 2d |Blue and violet |Union Buildings, Pretoria
[Source: The South Africa Stamp Colour Catalogue, 1988]
Here’s a Cybertruck clad in white wrap, that we had spotted in Columbia City today.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a classic ice white look for one’s wheels— but how about a whitish wrap with a little pizzazz, such as the Satin Flip Ghost Pearl (from the website buywrap.com)?
Here’s a northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) on 20th Avenue in Seattle’s Central District, foraging for ants.
These woodpeckers migrate south to warmer climes for winter, so they will not be seen around much longer this season.
I still dunk a batch of used stamps from my large stash into warm water now and again— to separate them from the paper they were pasted on.
The stamps are put on paper towels to dry out until they are damp, and then I press them between sheets of paper under a stack of heavy books for 24 hours.
* These watermarks were probably made with a so-called dandy roll. During the wet-paper phase of the paper-making process, a light roller is pressed onto the paper. The repeating pattern is embossed into the paper, compressing and thinning the fibers in that area. The thinner areas allow more light to pass through, making the watermark visible.
Happy Friday.
Sunset was at 6.27 pm today here in Seattle.
It was a beautiful fall day here in Seattle (63° F / 17°C), with a blue sky and sun this afternoon.
Landfall was to the south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, sparing those areas a large storm surge out of Tampa Bay.
That is not to say there is not a lot of water there. Some areas around St. Petersburg received more than 16″ of rain in the last 24 hours. 😱
Tensions are running high in Florida. Emergencies have been declared, with evacuation orders, in dozens of Florida counties.
There are reports of clogged highways and interstates, and many gas stations running out of gas, as drivers make their way out of the storm’s path.
Jason Samenow of the Washington Post explains below why it matters exactly where near Tampa, the hurricane makes landfall (projected to be very late on Wednesday night, or early Thursday morning).
Milton was a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday Eastern time.
Right now the models predict that it will make landfall near Saint Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday night.
The leaves are turning, and the days are getting shorter.
The new elevated Waterfront Park here in the city opened yesterday.
The park is on the central waterfront by downtown Seattle and connects Pike Place Market and downtown neighborhoods with the waterfront.
A few public art installations and a concessions area are still to be added, by early 2025.
Happy Friday.
Thirty-two days to go.
It was a spectacular fall day here in the city (a high of 65°F /18°C).
I made a quick stop at the dentist’s office on Olive Way, and then walked along Fifth Avenue to the Seattle Public Library.
The No 12 bus no longer runs along its old route up to Capitol Hill, and I hopped on the new RapidRide G Line stop by the library to get me to 17th Avenue and Madison.
These stamps from the USA landed in my mailbox (on an envelope from an Ebay seller that I had bought stamps from).
Issued Aug. 28, 1987
Perf. 10 hor. on 1 or 2 sides Photogravure
Booklet with 4 panes of 5 stamps printed in cylinders of 120
2355 A1720 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution
2355 A1721 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution
2355 A1722 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution
2355 A1723 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution
[Source: 2003 Scott Stamp Catalogue Vol. 1]
Issued Oct. 23, 1993
Perf. 11 Litho. & Engr.
Booklet with 4 panes of 5 stamps printed in cylinders of 120
2787 A2126 29c |Multi-colored |The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*
2785 A2124 29c |Multi-colored |Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm**
[Source: 2003 Scott Stamp Catalogue Vol. 1]
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. [From Wikipedia]
**Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children’s novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. {From Wikipedia]
I have a lot to learn when it comes to using my phone’s camera.
There is a plenitude of settings and defaults to choose from, and once the picture is taken, all kinds of adjustments can be made to the image that was captured.
My new iPhone landed today, and it was a lot easier (than three years ago) to transfer everything over from my old phone to the new phone.
R.I.P. Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024).
Well, I woke up Sunday mornin’
With no way to hold my head it didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad
So I had one more for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day
I’d smoked my brain the night before
On cigarettes and songs that I’d been picking
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Cussin’ at a can that he was kicking
Then I crossed the empty street
Caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin’ chicken
And it took me back to something that I’d lost
Somehow, somewhere along the way
Refrain
On the Sunday morning sidewalk
Wishin’, Lord, that I were stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
Makes a body feel alone
And there’s nothing short of dying
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleeping city sidewalk
Sunday mornin’ comin’ down
In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughing little girl that he was swinging
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the songs that they were singing
Then I headed back for home
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing
And it echoed through the canyons
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday
Refrain
On the Sunday mornin’ sidewalk
Wishin’, Lord, that I were stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
Makes a body feel alone
And there’s nothing short of dying
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleeping city sidewalk
Sunday mornin’ comin’ down
– Lyrics from “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (1970)
“Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” was written by Kris Kristofferson, and first recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens before becoming a No. 1 hit on the Billboard US Country chart for Johnny Cash.
Kristofferson himself recorded and released the song on his album ”Kristofferson” in 1970.
The fiftieth season of the American sketch comedy late night television program Saturday Night Live premiered tonight.
