Stampses Travels

Stamps Is Keeping Busy

2011-10-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Its been a while now since I posted to Stamps Blog. But he has not retired he has been very busy making Little Hats for the Innocent Irish Big knit. My colleagues from work and the ladies of the Ravelry Group have also been very busy and between us we have made over a 1,000 hats. Which is amazing and will go a way to reaching the overall goal of 80,000. You can find out more about this at Innocent's Website.
http://www.innocentdrinks.ie/thebigknit/

Here are a few pictures taken when Stamps got involved. These are just a few of his favourite hats made by my colleague Brenda. Aren't they amazing. I was delighted to receive these in the post a few weeks ago.

A little Woman

And a little man

This one is my special favourite. The work and detail is amazing and its beautiful too.

The whole bunch together but they are only a very small sample of the hats we received we got hundreds. Thanks to all my colleagues at work for all their hard knitting.

Stamps got excited when he saw all the lovely hats and wanted to make a few himself. Ah bless, he gave it his best try. Thanks Stamps.

He also gave me a lot of help sorting the hats and filling out the forms for Innocent. He was amazed when he saw how many there were.

He had to take a little break half way though the task. He was caught trying to make a 'Snow Fairy' in the middle of this bunch made my Kevina. Really Stamps get focused no playing now.

All the hats have been sorted and bagged up and ready to go to the Fruit Towers in Baggot Street.

Stamps jumped into the bag just to do one last count. Yes Stamps it was an amazing 590 hats all made with love by members of the AIB Staff.
Stamps fell in love with Helen when he arrived at Fruit Towers in Baggot St. Here he is giving her our letter and our hats.
Its an important task Stamps, which you carried out with grace and style, as usual.

One last picture of Stamps at Fruit Towers but he's still knitting away, getting as many hats made before the deadline 14th October which is only 4 days away. How many more can you make Stamps?

Look out for what happened when Stamps attended the Big Knit in at St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre last week.

Details to follow very soon.

Love

Gerryberry

Stamp's Diary of his visit to Ware

2010-12-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

The Diary of my Visit to WARE.

I was very cold when I arrived so I sat on radiator to warm up after being in the postmans cold bag.

Hello Pickle, I really love Cats.

Here I am helping Trish's hubby to get the ticket in Asda carpark in Harlow,Essex.

Sitting in the shopping trolley.....yummie fresh rolls for lunch.

I am standing on the lock gates......too cold to wait for a boat to go through.

Here I am on the bridge, with the waterfall in the background, Trish's hubby is holding me as i didn't want to fall in the very cold water.

Here we are at the signpost into Ware.

Stamps in Somerset

2010-11-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

Stamps was in clevedon on his hols. Somerset in england the cider country. He didn't partake in the cider consumption but loved the seaside! He got a Clevedon Pier pin for his coat.

He is now with Trish in Hertfordshire. Watch this space. Pictures soon.

More from Scotland.

2010-10-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

And there is more from Scotland.

Stamps enjoying the Scottish sunshine before heading off to the Underground

Stamps on the Glasgow Underground. This was part of the Special PicKnit . . . and Underground Sit-in (complete with knitting)

Stamps with Casey, Jess, Antje (The Yarn Cake owner) and Johanna ( she organises the PicKnits)

Stamps sunbathing

Ysolda was at the picknit too

It was a busy meet that day . . . lot's of knitters in the park

Stamps makes some new friends before heading back home.

Stamps Visits Amanda in Scotland

2010-10-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

A little while ago Stamps went to see Amanda in Scotland and she gave him a great time. He even to meet a good few knitting celebs. Here's a brief summary of his trip below:-

Stamps arriving in Scotland.

Stamps in the Botanic Gardens, Glasgow (there for the fortnightly PicKnit)

Stamps looks around the Botanics and enjoys Kibble Palace

He also likes the other big greenhouse in the gardens

He looks around the flower beds

He knits some little smoothie hats for the Big Knit Campaign (knitting and cake . . . the reason for visiting the Botanics on a lovely Sunday afternoon)

Amanda and Stamps arrive at the KnitCamp event in Stirling

He's all ready to browse yarns in the market place

Stamps meets the amazing Wooly Wormhead on her stall at KnitCamp

Stamps dives into a box of yummy yarn at the Yarn Yard stall.

Places beginning with C

2010-07-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Can you tell where Stamps is standing? No it's not a prison, or a jewelry store or a wishing well...

It's one of our many many castles in Wales. This one is on the hill above our town and is called,(strangely, considering it's condition) Newcastle. That's because it replaced the old Roman fort that was originally on this site.

There it is in full view. It's only a little castle, but it's our very own.

As a treat for being such a good climber and getting to the top of Newcastle hill, we took him to the cinema. Looks like he hasn't stopped climbing yet. This huge stuffed dog was in the lobby advertising the new movie "Marmaduke" Can't wait to see it.

Bridgend - town of many bridges.

2010-07-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is another of our sweet little towns - Pen-y-bont or Bridgend as we all call it. Outside the main council offices Stamps finds three large signs.
One is the Bridgend crest and the other two are the towns that we are twinned with. Langenau in Germany and Villenave D'ornon in France. We sometimes exchange students from schools and colleges; it is great fun. But as Stamps says, "that's two towns you are twinned with; surely that should be two towns you are tripletted with" LOL Stamps; you are a funny one.

Bridgend is also known as "little Venice." The river runs right through the center and in one mile of river there are 11 brdges of different kinds crossing it including one that runs the entire length of the river. Those little weirs don't stop the local canoe club from using it. The water level is usually much higher but we have been having lots of sunshine these last few weeks - lucky us hee hee.

Stamps in Wales

2010-07-05T03:44:00.001-07:00

Hello Stamps and welcome to Wales. My word, you are the little traveller; look at all those badges you've earned so far! I've given you a little Welsh red dragon for your collection since he is the star of our country's flag.

Isn't Wales known as the "green, green grass of home?" Well, yes it is. And with good reason too. I live in the Llynfi Valley where the fields stretch out in all directions. Back when I was younger, many of these hills were black from the coal mining - St John's colliery was the last to close in 1985. But now we have lots of pretty countryside to walk in.

We are proud of our little Victorian town. This is the Town Hall "Neuadd y dref" in Welsh.
In other places the Town Hall is where the Mayor lives and works, but in Wales it is a much more important place. It was built by the coal miners and is the center of town life. The basement is a working market place and the upstairs is a huge concert hall. Many groups and clubs meet here and our local dramatic society put on plays, we even have touring groups to visit - Stereophonics even played here once.

Not one to be all upset about no coal mining anymore; many of our old buildings have been recycled. This is the Ironworks. This is the whole reason that our town was built here. No iron is smelted anymore but this huge venue is our Sports Centre.

20th May 2010

2010-06-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last night Milo came home from school all in a tizzy..... he said that tomorrow his teachers friend was coming into school to sing some songs for them and he was in a band. It bugged him for a while because he couldn't remember the bands name and then it hit ,,,,,, his teachers friend was in a band called The Futureheads !!!!

I had a little chat with said teacher and she very kindly took a couple of pics of Milo and Stamps with Barry the lead singer .

The Futureheads do come from Sunderland and are possibly the second biggest thing to hail from here -- the first being Pyrex glassware ..

A big thank you to Miss A and to Barry .

17th May 2010

2010-06-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Continuing on from my last post I thought we'd keep with the theme of Sunderlands history - well a bit of it anyway , for the next couple of posts.

Sunderland has been building ships since at least 1346 and was once proclaimed to be “the greatest shipbuilding port in the world” . By 1840 there were 76 yards. During 1846-54 Wearside produced almost one-third of all ships built in the UK. The last wooden ship was built in 1880, and the last sailing ship in 1893. In the 1880s, steel replaced iron and cargo ships and tankers were the main type of vessel built in Sunderland. Many of these cargo ships and tankers were produced for overseas customers and during 1888-1913 around 22% of the ships built on the Wear each year were made for export.

The 20th century saw many changes to shipbuilding on the Wear. During the two World Wars, Sunderland’s main work was in the production of cargo ships to keep supply lines open and replace those ships lost at sea, although it also undertook a great deal of naval construction and repair work. Demand was so great that women were employed in the yards for the first time. In 1914-18 there were just 16 shipyards on the Wear: a result of the change to iron and then steel construction. In 1939 there were only 8 yards.

After the war, Sunderland continued to lead the way in shipbuilding however production increased worldwide and it became more difficult for British yards to compete. Throughout the 1950s and 60s more yards closed or merged. In 1977, the shipbuilding industry was nationalised and substantial job losses followed. In 1978, 7535 people worked in the yards: by 1984 this was reduced to 4337. The two remaining shipyard groups merged in 1980 but, despite strong opposition, Sunderland’s last remaining yards were closed on 7 December 1988.

Today the river is quiet in comparison but there are several statues and monuments which commemorate our shibuilding history.

Giant nuts and bolts are scattered along the St Peters walkway.

The metamorphosis of a shipyard crane into a steel tree stands on the base of a former crane with its giant shadow captured in the paving stretching towards the mouth of the River Wear.

I've probably battered your heads now with that history lesson so hope you can bear with me for just a tiny bit more.

This is a picture of the bridge from the 1930;s. The smaller bridge behind is the original railway bridge.

This is the view looking from the bridge to the river mouth and shows the path we walked on the left hand side going past part of the University and the Port of Sunderland and the Fish Quay on the right .

I hope you enjoyed that . I think, in fact I know that because of Stamps visit I've learned more things about my city - it really is amazing what happens/happened on your own doorstep.

14th May 2010

2010-06-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

It was near enough a year ago exactly that I heard about a little knitted hedgehog setting off on his travels around the world ,so of course I had to put our names down on the list in the hopes that he would come visit us in Sunderland.
He's already been to several places in America including Wisconsin, New York and Oregon. He has most recently been to Yorkshire and still has Scotland, Wales, France , Finland and Australia to visit - phew.
So I'd like you all to meet Stamps ... isn't he cute?

He hardly had any time to rest before he was whipped off for a day at school with Milo and his pals , unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos of the actual lessons but he was well quizzed by Milo's teacher and the school are now thinking of doing something similar by sending a little someone between other schools. Guess who's been asked to make the little traveller !!

Anyway , after a little rest we started Stamps tour of Sunderland with one of the oldest most historic sites in the world..... yep , I said world.

St Peters Church was built in A.D 674 and is one of the UK's first stone built churches. Parts of the original buildings survive today , the tower and west wall are original Saxon features and the church also has on display fragments of the oldest stained glass in the country, made by 7th Century European craftsmen. Unfortunately we were unable to get inside as it only opens at certain times and we were too early .

Stamps tried knocking and climbing in a window but we think the Vicar was still having his cup of morning tea.

Originally there were quite a few headstones in the grounds but only a few remain, most of the writing has faded with age but on this one we managed to make out the year 1799.

St Peters is the UK’s nomination for World Heritage Site status in 2011. Other World Heritage Sites regionally, nationally and internationally include Durham Castle and Cathedral, Stonehenge, the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Sydney Opera House. If it achieves World Heritage Site status, this incredible site and its inspirational story will receive the world-wide recognition, and protection for the future, that it richly deserves.

Fingers crossed x.

Stamps visit to North Yorkshire

2010-04-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Stamps arrived safely in Little Barugh, North Yorkshire after leaving Susan in New Jersey, USA. He was feeling a bit tired and jet-lagged. On his first Sunday with us we took him to Westow village to watch us play Petanque, he decided to get in on the action but couldn't throw the boule, I warned him not to kick it, but too late:

So on Monday morning he had to share my Physio appointment with me, Sally massaged his leg for him. Afterwards we all went to the Hidden Monkey Cafe in Malton for a nice cup of tea and toasted teacakes, Stamps met one of the many resident monkeys there and had a nice chat with him.

On Tuesday we decided to take a train trip from Pickering to Whitby, but before our train left we called in at the Station Cafe for coffee and Stamps met Alan Reynolds.

                                   Leaving Pickering Station

Passing through Goathland (Heartbeat Aidensfield) with station cat watching, 'Heartbeat' is the TV series about a village policeman that was filmed in and around Goathland and Whitby, the steam train featured in it and Goathland station was the Aidensfield in the series.

Passing under Whitby Viaduct

Whitby Marina

Stamps decided it was easier to slide down the rail than to climb the 199 steps to Whitby Abbey, we both had to think of our legs!

Jim and Stamps relax on a bench on the harbour at Dock End, looking towards the East side of Whitby, across the River Esk. It was in the graveyard of St. Mary's church up on the cliff, near Whitby Abbey, that Dracula was supposed to have made his first appearance in the form of a dog after the ship his coffin was on sank after hitting rocks.

Stamps with Mike Mitchell our steam engine driver, on engine number 76079, just before we boarded the train to return to Pickering.

Watching the scenery on the way back to Pickering.

Stamps looking at our photo's on the Station Collage Poster - in our Santa and Mistress Holly Claus costumes

Stamps rested for a few days and enjoyed the views from our garden, and the sitting among the colourful primula flowers in the sunshine.

He climbed our Poplar tree, with a little help, to watch the sheep with their newborn lambs in the field over the fence from our garden.

and he also enjoyed sitting with our two boy cats in the hidden garden. On the left he is sitting with Rappy, and on the right with Rappy and Jet.

Today, Saturday, we went to Malton Market and Stamps met up with the Market Manager Dave, and with two of the regulars there, Keith who has the Tea Wagon and Eleanor who has the yarn and jewellry stand.

While walking through the market a little spaniel pup became very excited on seeing Stamps and wanted to make friends, Jim patted her on the head and scratched under her chin but unfortunately her owner got rather annoyed with the pup and dragged her away shouting at the poor little dog.

Jim and Stamps in the market place.

We have enjoyed having Stamps stay with us, and apart from his mishap trying to use the steel boule as a football, I think he has enjoyed his stay with us too.

2010-03-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

On Stamps' last day in New Jersey, he came to work with me for a weight check. Last little detail before he gets ready for his next stop. He's off to stay with Jackie in England now. Bon voyage Stamps, we'll miss you!

Stamps Visits Delaware

2010-03-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

On our last outing we took Stamps to our vacation home near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He enjoyed his stay near the beach even though there was still snow on the ground. We visited Allison at Kitschy Stitch. Stamps really loved all the yarn there.

We went to see the Delaware Bay where the Cape May Ferry lands. Stamps found a few souvenirs at the gift shop. His collection is really growing!

And Stamps got to ride on a ferry just his size. I think he really enjoyed that a lot.

Stamps will be on his way to England this week to visit with Jackie. I hope she has as much fun with him as we did!

Stamps Goes to Manhattan

2010-03-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

On February 13, we took Stamps to Manhattan for the day. We took the train to Penn Station and our first stop was the Main Post Office. Stamps is a postman after all.

It was a cold day but Stamps is very hardy so we walked up 8th Avenue to Lincoln Center. We did stop for a coffee on the way.

We had tickets for South Pacific, a beautiful show. Stamps got to pose with the cast.

After the show, we had dinner at Becco. Stamps really enjoyed the pasta! On the train ride back Stamps was very tired and just sat and read his PlayBill. But I thought I heard him humming "Some Enchanted Evening."

Stamps Has Arrived

2010-02-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Stamps had an eventful journey on his way to New Jersey but he finally got here in one piece and seemed very happy to get out of his box.

One of the first people to greet Stamps was my grandson Evan who had a lot of questions. He was very impressed with Stamps' trip around the world.

Stamps accompanied me to my Saturday morning knitting group and was very smitten with Hillary or maybe he just liked her socks.

The next day, Stamps was invited to a birthday party. He got right in the spirit wearing a birthday hat and enjoying the Elmo cupcakes.

He also made a new friend who taught him the chicken dance.

Katie, Reese, and Olivia were quite smitten with Stamps.

The next week, all our plans were put on hold. We were caught in Snowmageddon! But Stamps was a real trooper, he borrowed a pair of boots and really helped us shovel our way out. I have to say he's one of the best house guests ever!

News

2010-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Stamps is now on his way to Susan in New Jersey. He got a bit lost but hopefully he should make it to her safe and sound.

Susan when you get him can you let me have your e-mail address via Ravelry and I'll organise for you to have access this this blog. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Love
Geraldine

2009-11-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

Stamps and my friend Maggie checking out a Beverly Hills Fire Dept. vehicle. I think Stamps secretly wanted a ride but the firemen were across the way having lunch.

Visiting Cartier and wishing we could actually afford something there!

Dress shopping at Versace?

Maggie and Stamps. Breakfast at Tiffany's maybe?

Or maybe a lovely new mail bag from Louis Vuitton?

Stamps and the (un)official Beverly Hills greeter.

Stamps visiting his colleagues at the Beverly Hills Post Office.

And then the Beverly Hills Police Dept.

Before heading home from Beverly Hills we made a quick stop at the famous original L.A. Farmer's Market. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Farmers_Market

2009-10-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween and Stamps decided to join in the fun. He dressed himself up as a scary mummy!

2009-10-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

2009-10-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

In this picture the Disney clock tower and Mickey's face in flowers which greet you as you enter the Magic Kingdom. All decked out for Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

In front of the entrance to Disneyland

2009-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

In front of Disney's California Adventure

2009-10-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Taking a rest and doing some people watching

2009-10-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Some "Iconic" road signs

2009-10-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Trying on "The Ears"! Such a handsome fellow!

2009-10-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

2009-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Admiring some Disney villains

2009-10-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Stamps at the entrance to Downtown Disney located between Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.

2009-10-31T12:32:00.001-07:00

Stamps is quite the ladies man ... the ladies just loved him!

2009-10-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

2009-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

2009-10-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

2009-10-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Checking out a plate of tamales, rice and beans. Delish!

2009-10-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

First thing we did was take Stamps for a nice Mexican dinner. He couldn't recall ever having Mexican food. Pancho's is a well known restaurant in Long Beach CA

2009-10-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Stamps and new friend Harley relaxing on the front porch bench.

Welcome to Southern California!

2009-10-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

Stamps arrives in Southern CA!

Virginia City NV

2009-10-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we awoke to Typhoon Melor! Yes, a typhoon in Nevada. It hasn't rain here in 6 months! What a soggy day, but we pressed on!

We saw all sorts of sites despite the rain. We visited the Territorial Enterprise where Mark Twain was a reporter, the Bucket of Blood Saloon (and had a pint and a little gaming :) ) , The Silver Queen Saloon where I was married many years ago, the Christmas Shoppe where I must buy an ornament every year and the Delta Queen Casino to see the Suicide Table. By the end of the day we were ready to dry out by the fire. Sorry to see you go Stamps, Bon Voyage!

For more info about Virginia City http://www.virginiacity-nv.org/

Stamps has arrived in Reno

2009-10-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Just chillin' in Halloween town before our outing to historic Virginia City NV

Stamps on the move again

2009-10-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Stamps is now in the post office on the way to Deanna.

He had a pretty quiet time with me, as I was ending up a 2 month stay up in the mountains and therefore wasn't running around much. He did watch with amusement as I cleaned up like a fiend to leave, and was happy to pose with some of the "stuff" I had up there with me.

Unfortunately, I has misplaced the Bear Valley postcard in the photo, but as soon as I find it, I'll mail it on so it can stay with Stamp's box.

Maryjo had an uneventful return "home" to Sacramento/the Central Valley until it became the weekend, and then the temperatures dropped in the mountains. She had to make a mad dash up there (and back) to take care of "winterizing" the pipes with antifreeze. Stamps did not go up there with her as he said he didn't have boots or a parka and didn't I know that his feet would get soggy, being wool and all.

But all was well, and now he is enroute to his next destination, where hopefully it might be a little warmer!

Stamps is having a Quiet Week

2009-09-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Maryjo has been at Bear Valley for all of August and September, so she is winding down her stay with a last few days of knitting and staying put. By the end of the week, she and Stamps will be down in Sacramento, and then I think next week he'll be be ready for a little more action in Reno!

But Stamps is really enjoying the scenery we have up here. This is Stamps on the deck this morning

He then went with Maryjo to get the mail; the posmaster has a real golden lab dog that he brings up with him, but he always puts out "Jefferson" to let people know that he has a dog with him.

Stamps then wanted to look at the entrance to the Lodge, the local lodge/hotel. How about that

Laverne and Shirley font? Fabulous!

Stamps had a great day today

2009-09-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

He drove with Maryjo down to Murphys, and stopped for the requisite tourist photo in front of the historic Murphy's hotel.

After posing, he, Maryjo and her friend Carolyn went to the nearby Murphy's community park so they could visit and sit and knit for a while.

While they knitted, Stamps took advantage of the "down time" from all his travels and "chilled out" on a beach towel, but basked in the wonderful comments he got from passerbyers!! Carolyn made a wonderful lunch, but they all eventually left when it got too hot.

Stamps arrived yesterday to Bear Valley, CA

2009-09-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Stamps arrived yesterday from Oregon, so he is now enjoying some time in the high altitude of parts of the California Sierra. He's staying at Maryjo's in Bear Valley, which is a tiny but beautiful place at 7250 feet/2,209 meters.

In the photo here, he is standing below a canvas/photo of nearby Mosquito Lakes, a place where Maryjo's husband actually spent time as a child. The cabin is privately owned, but the Forest Service still stocks the small lake with fish for summer fishermen/families to enjoy.

Tomorrow, Stamps will drive "down" to Murphys with Maryjo to meet someone and to sit outside and knit for part of the day. Murphys is one of the small historic hill towns of the Sierra Nevada, and still can boast about having one of the oldest still operating hotels in the state!

Stamps has been busy!!

2009-09-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun showing Stamps around our town! We live on the Central Oregon Coast and love taking trips to the beach and to the bay front. Stamps was so exited to visit the sea lions on the bay front. We held him very tight, because he was a little nervous that he might have to swim with these lazy giants.

Next we had to take his picture in front of the historic Yaquina Bay Bridge. And of course in front of all of the fishing boats!

Of course my girls held onto him very securely. But as I was taking these pictures of him I felt nervous that he would fall!! Talk about a nightmare.... can you imagine?! I kept saying to the girls, "Hold him tight, really tight... are you holding him tight?"

Stamp's visit just happened to coincide with a trip to visit my mom in Montana. So of course we brought Stamps along to show him more of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Woohoo!! We stopped along the Colombia River Gorge in Oregon to show Stamps Multnomah Falls. It was gorgeous. Stamps looked from the car though because I had nightmares of him falling off of the bridge near the top of the falls.... But we took lots of pictures for him. :)

Washington was hectic and I almost pulled all of my hair out because our precious dachshund had been whining in the car for 10 hours... she hates riding in the car. So we don't have Washington pictures. But we were refreshed the next day as we crossed the border into Idaho. There we showed Stamps the oldest building in Idaho. The Cataldo Mission. It was amazing!
We couldn't get over the beauty of this place.

What are you doing in the confessional Stamps?! He's so sneaky. And I don't think he's an ordained priest... just sayin'

Montana was great fun. We enjoyed gorgeous mountains and beautiful Flathead lake.

Stamps was exited to visit a real log cabin at the Indian Museum and Trading Post!

Now we're back and Stamps is full of new memories, and of course ready to get to his next destination. We'll miss you Stamps!! x

Stamps arrives on the Oregon Coast!

2009-08-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

We were so very exited when Stamps arrived in our Post Office box this week! He was so happy to get out of that box and received lots of cuddles. He is so cute! Geraldine you are such a talented knitter! The first thing he wanted to do was inspect my quilting. He gave me the a-ok on my work in progress, and then got to meet a couple little friends that live in my sewing room.

Oh dear, our little dachshund has such terrible manners. She's always jumping up on people. And licking him in the face too!! So sorry Stamps.

What's that in your jacket pocket Stamps?

It's a little chickie! I think Stamps likes her.

And we like you Stamps. Now it's time to show you some wonderful Oregon Coast sights!

We'll be back soon with an update and then swiftly send our new friend off to his next destination. See you all soon!! x

Stams Arrvies with Sarah

2009-08-28T11:04:00.001-07:00

It looks like Stamps has been having a wonderful trip so far!! We were so exited to welcome him into our home today. What a happy surprise at the post office! We'll be sharing lot's of pictures soon. xo, Sarah in Oregon.

Stamps the Traveling Hedgehog visiting with Cora and Friends

2009-08-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here are the Pictures:

Stamps and Friends

Stamps and I in front of Edmonton City Hall
There is a beautiful fountain in the summer and in the winter it becomes an ice rink.

At the Cenotaph in front of City Hall

Lunch Break
This is a really neat sculpture just outside of Churchill Square, across the street from City Hall.

Stamps Arrives Safley in Canada

2009-07-22T03:53:00.000-07:00

Stamps has arrived safley in Canada. He's having a great time with Cora who has big plans for him. There will be photoes and commentary soon.

More Changes to the Itinerany

2009-06-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

Sadly leeann in Wollongong can't host Stamps, so I have made the following changes to his itinerary.

NorthernDyes to Cora (Edmonton)
Cora to Sarah in Oregon Sarah to MaryjoO (Sacramento)
MaryjoO to Izzybellarina (Reno)
Izzybellarina to dollycheeks (Bellflower Ca)
Dollycheeks to Knittingalone (New Jersey)
Knittingalone to jacsel (Yorkshire)
jacsel to Periwinkle (Sunderland)
periwinkle to charminglochie (Outer Hebrides, Scotland)
charminglochie to eddyg. (Bridgend, Wales)
eddyg to freddycat (France)
freddycat to Sinjeto (Finland)
Sinjeto to Gemma (Burwood, New South Wales, Aus)
Gemma to kittenkong67 (Preston, Victoria, Aus)
kittenkong67 to Joeyn (Hazelwood, Sth Vic Aus)
Joeyn to Nimloth ( Camberra, Aus)
Nimloth to Stinkymum (New York)
Stinkymum to Gerryberry (me) in Dublin

2009 Austin Healy Redezvous - Ashland, WI

2009-06-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

The "Chamber Ladies" welcome Stamps to the 2009 Austin Healy Rendezvous!

There were so many beautiful cars here today. They cam from all over the Upper Midwest and Canada. We could do this every Saturday!

So many different makes and models to gawk at.

This wonderful couple from Minneapolis let Stamps drive their Jaguar Sedan. The picture turned out terrible, but come on, he's driving a Jag, how can I not post it? Anyone know the make or year? I forgot paper to write these things down :(

According to the sign this baby's is an original, right down to the paint. (Man, my car doesn't look that good and it's no where near 60 years old....) This is an Original MGTD Midget Mark II competition model for road rallies. They did an autocross down at the airport after the show. I really wish we'd been able to go to that, but I needed to eventually go back to work....shoot.

"Mom, you gotta see this!!!" Wendy can not get over the fact that this car has no doors. This is a British Mini Moke and I'll admit, it *is* pretty dang cool. The owners came over and asked if she wanted to sit in it. She's probably the only one there that got to sit in a car without guessing the number of cylinders first. Wendy is absolutely giddy about being in a car with no sides or doors! Apparently when you are four that is just not a concept you can grasp. Poor Stamps is gasping for breath!

I asked Wendy to find the prettiest car at the show, and this was it. According to Wendy, "I love white stripes! It has white stripes!" Yeah, Wendy, but it also has doors... what a fickle thing she is!

Pie ON Politics

The Alliance for Sustainability held a fundraiser where you could vote to have a politician get a pie in the face. No one made their goal so instead they did everybody!

Top Left to Bottom Right: Bayfield Mayor Larry MacDonald, Washburn Mayor Ralph Brzezinski, Ashland Mayor Ed Monroe (the one that greeted Stamps to the US) and Wisconsin Senator Bob Jauch. For a play by play of everyone getting pied start here on flickr.

All in all another great day!

To Market! To Market!

2009-06-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

This morning we head over to the Ashland Farmer's Market. It's the first market of the season, and Stamps is lucky enough to be here for it! At first people give us funny looks (we don't have hedgehogs in Wisconsin) but soon everyone insists on getting to meet our foreign visitor. If there is one thing about Northern Wisconsin that visitors are always taking away, it's that we're pretty friendly folk! We figure the lake makes us patient.

Stamps helps the girls check out the cookies at Chili Joe's Cookies & Confections. He says nothing is better than to follow up a big bowl of steaming chili with a nice melt-in-your-mouth cookie. His cookies are nice and big! Oh, and in the chocolate chip, the first ingredient by weight is CHOCOLATE! Yes!

First he tries out a little "bling" that JW has for sale at the Dyeworks' booth. Then he visits Wallner's Sugar Bush, Lucy's handspun, and takes a moment to inspect some green onions across the aisle. He is keeping an eye on those "HOT!!" pepper plants behind him!

Weaver Crafts is there with some of their amazing pottery and a special treat that they must show Stamps. Hand-carved pipes, they look like they are right out of a fairytale!

No trip to market is complete without popping by The Garlic Man's booth! Sadly, there wasn't any garlic left this morning, but we did still have fun saying "Arugula" and asking for potted "chocolate." Good Times!

Great Oak Farm is one of our favorite stops. Honey, syrup, veggies, herbs, strawberries (the best ever!) chickens, pork, lamb, and eggs. They are their own little supermarket with the added bonus that it's all grown only a few miles out of town! We can't eat anyone else's honey anymore, we're too spoiled. One of these jars came home with us!

Nothing is better after a long morning of shopping than a ten minute chair massage! It must feel good, look at the smile on his face!

Mock Duck, anyone? Handmade tortillas, focaccia, and faux meats. These entrepreneurial vegans were grilling up kebabs right there at market, YUM!

City Heights Gardens' booth is a wall of blooms this time of year. She specializes in flats of annuals along with a few planters. Excellent cut flowers and more perennials are two booths down at Whittlesey Creek. You can always count on picking up some fresh cut flowers at market!

This started out as a handshake, but now they're best friends. Those are jugs of Maple Syrup behind them. 100% Pure, and yes it comes in quarts and gallons! Now it's time to say goodbye to the weed management guys, grab a loaf of Swedish Limpa Rye for the road, and strike a final pose in front of a tie-dye silk banner at Northwoods Dyeworks' booth. We're expected down at the Austin Healy car show, so we'd better get moving!

Day 2 Getting to know the Lay of the Land

2009-06-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Stamps keeps himself busy by exploring the shop a bit! He checks out
the batt bins over in the needlefelting section and then get distracted
by a spinning wheel with toes! (It's a Merlin Tree
HitchHiker.)

While Stamps is checking about, Gordy walks in! Gordy Johnson is
currently a bit of a celebrity in these parts. One of the locals did a
mini-documentary about him for a short film contest and the paper posted
it on YouTube.

You can
see it here (The little girl in it is Bea, and the lady sewing his
sleeve is Libby.)

Later in the day Libby comes up front and can't find Stamps! Oh no!
Where could he be?!?

Stamps Arrives in Ashland, WI - USA

2009-06-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

Stamps arrives in the US on the most beautiful, sunny day we've seen in Ashland, WI, all summer!

His hosts are eager to meet him! We can't wait and have to pause on the Post Office lawn to let him out.

On our way back to the shop we stop by City Hall, where a surprise is awaiting Stamps!

Sitting on the planter in front of city hall.

Someone special is waiting for Stamps inside City Hall

It's Ashland's own Mayor Ed Monroe, "Welcome to Wisconsin, Stamps! We hope you enjoy your stay in Ashland, it's a great weekend to be visiting!"

Ok, it's time to head to work! But as we are leaving City Hall Bea notices something exciting on the shore. She points it out to Stamps and her sister.

The coalboat is here! In Ashland we get our power from hydroelectric and fuel burning plants. Although our bayfront plant has been upgraded to burn wood and tire waste, we still use the traditional coal as well. A couple times a year you can see this smaller oreboat come in with our delivery. Currently it is the biggest boat that regularly visits our harbor. I'm pretty sure she is the "American Mariner." Here are her specs from The Duluth Shipping News

She was built in 1980 by Bay Shipbuilding Company at Sturgeon Bay and is 730 feet long and 78 feet wide. Above the deck she has 24 hatches that open into 7 cargo holds. The American Mariner is powered by two diesel engines that produce a total of 7,000 hp and give her a top speed of about 16 mph.

We learned recently that transport in these big ore boats is 8x cheaper than road transport!

Along the final leg of Main Street Bea & Stamps stop to check out the movie listings and to chat with some friends in the J.C. Penny's display window.

Finally we get to our destination! Stamps' hosts are the owners of Northwoods Dyeworks, an LYS and manufacturer of yarns & wheels. Libby has a lot of work to do today that involves dyes and fire (wood burning) so all hedgehogs must keep out of the workshop today! Stamps finds some friends to keep him company!

Changes to Stamps Itinerary

2009-06-09T04:07:00.000-07:00

As more people have join in I have made the following changes to Stamp's Itinerary.

As you know Stamps is a postman and a few of us have been thinking it would be great if he could collect a postcard from each place he visits, as a memento of his journey.

Changes to itinerary to follow:-

NorthernDyes to Cora (Edmonton)
Cora to Sarah in Oregon Sarah to MaryjoO (Sacramento)
MaryjoO to Izzybellarina (Reno)
Izzybellarina to dollycheeks (Bellflower Ca)
Dollycheeks to Knittingalone (New Jersey)
Knittingalone to jacsel (Yorkshire)
jacsel to Periwinkle (Sunderland)
periwinkle to charminglochie (Outer Hebrides, Scotland)
charminglochie to eddyg. (Bridgend, Wales)
eddyg to freddycat (France)
freddycat to Sinjeto (Finland)
Sinjeto to leeanne1976 (Wollongong, Aus)
leeanne1976 to Gemma (Burwood, New South Wales, Aus)
Gemma to kittenkong67 (Preston, Victoria, Aus)
kittenkong67 to Joeyn (Hazelwood, Sth Vic Aus)
Joeyn to Nimloth ( Camberra, Aus)
Nimloth to Stinkymum (New York)
Stinkymum to Gerryberry (me) in Dublin

Stamp's Itinerary

2009-06-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

To give everyone an idea of where Stamps is traveling to please see his itinerary below. This is just provisional and is open to changes as people join in the fun etc.

NorthernDyes to Cora (Edmonton)
Cora to Sarah in Oregon
Sarah to MaryjoO (Sacramento)
MaryjoO to Izzybellarina (Reno)
Izzybellarina to dollycheeks (Bellflower Ca)
Dollycheeks to Knittingalone (New Jersey)
Knittingalone to jacsel (Yorkshire)
jacsel to Periwinkle (Sunderland)
periwinkle to leeanne1976 (Australia)
leeanne1976 to freddycat (France)
freddycat to stinkymum (New York USA)
stinkymum back to me Gerryberry (Dublin Ireland)

Farewell Lunch

2009-06-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

I took Stamps out for a farewell lunch. Patsyann pictured here came too. We are really going to miss you Stamps.

He spy's a miniature Palm Tree and knowing he is going to visit California he has to jump up for a closer view.

We had a great day and are looking forward to hearing all about your travels Stamps.

Stamps gets himself ready to go

2009-06-02T10:54:00.002-07:00

Stamps looks out at the big wide world and wonders just what is out there. He is excited about all the new things he will soon see and experience.

He examines his travelling box very carefully. "I'm got sure that I'll fit in there", he thinks.

Hey its a perfect fit and really comfortable, just the thing I need for my journey.

Stamps gets himself ready to go

2009-06-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

Stamps is ready to go

2009-06-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the hero of our little blog. Stamps. Stamps is an Irish Hedgehog as well as a postman hence the nickname stamps. He's real name is Finbarr Mac An Phoist.

There is a long tradation of postmen and of travelling in his family and he will soon begin is own special journey around the world.

He's going to start in the good old USA. Stay tuned for further updates.