One cool cat clanging cymbals.

Thank you Masami for the two etegami, the first celebrating Girl's Day (Hinamatsuri) which fell on March 3 this year. Charming little altars are  set up in the homes where there are girls and the dolls representing the Emperor and Empress take pride of place over the other figures around them.
This card is so colourful and done in a true etegami style.

The second card is very cute, a cat playing in a band. Masami is famous for his cat band cards, at one time he called for submissions for the band from fellow etegamists. It was fun to contribute.
This fellow looks so determined that you can almost feel yourself bracing for the clash!

Dostoyevski and more.

Thank you Alison, she who is waiting impatiently for spring after a long cold winter in the USA!
 I am sure she can identify with the author of these words who must surely have seen his fill of long cold winters!

Doggone!

I love it when an etegami one has made prompts someone to respond in a fun way so I was delighted to receive this priceless card from our sensei Debbie in response to one I had made! a shared sense of humour is such a gift, life would be pretty bland without someone to tickle in the ribs!
Debbie"s card

 Which was prompted by my card...

Thanks Debbie.
PS Debbie has written and illustrated a fantastic book introducing English speakers to the Japanese art of etegami, a must buy  either in paperback or e-book format for anyone who enjoys sending or receiving mail art. See the link for all of her books on Blurb. http://www.blurb.com/user/dosankodebbi

Food for thought...

A new pal Lisa from California has sent me a whole swag of food oriented etegami, from the warming teacup to the cookies done on a coffee machine filter to the cherimoya complete with pithy comment! I guess the cherimoya is pithy too, I think it is the same fruit we call here in Oz the Custard Apple and they are indeed delightful as Lisa says, despite their somewhat reptilian appearance! I also liked the stamps on the envelope, the Marsden Hartley is a real gem it is always good to see artists featured on stamps.
Thanks Lisa, now I need to get back to work making etegami to send to you!

Carol-no-"E"

My doppelganger in California (give or take a few years and IQ points, mine that is)  is getting mighty excited about the teeny tiny baby figs growing on her tree, hence the card.
I must confess that I was nonplussed for a moment as I saw the card at an angle and it had the distinct look of an alien creature, but then I reasoned given that approximately 99% of folk from the USA claim to have seen aliens (never mind the PROBES!!!) Carol (no-e) too had had a visitation.
Relax folks, it all came right when the card was oriented correctly. Carol (no-e) is fortunate to have a partner named Felix who manages all things culinary in her house  (overseen by a mighty inquisitive bird) who will turn those little suckers into jam when the time is ripe. He's one cool cat that Felix, does he do house calls?
Carol (no-e) has heard via the  internet-vine that I like reading the Samurai detective stories, yes Carol(no-e) I am a fan, it is not a mischief spread by that other bibliophile Rachel!
I love this Fig creature! The figs on my small potted specimen are a little farther along than these but just as wanted, sadly not enough for jam

He did suffer a little damage in the post but I suppose we should be thankful that there IS still a postal service, rumours of the demise of the letter delivery are circulating.
Thank you Carol!

Thank you Tatuaki.

A delightful card from Tatuaki, again, celebrating Hina Matsuri I love the placement of the image and writing on the card, also I appreciate that he has written in English!

The second card celebrates the coming of spring with a picture of what I think is Butterburr, one of the wild herbs traditionally gathered to eat after the winter without fresh vegetables. Pretty and useful! The message according to Tatuaki, written on the back is "From the heart".. none better!

Thank you Tatuaki san.

Thank you Fumiko.

I received  few welcome cards while I was in hospital these last two weeks and now I am home again,  home again jiggedy, jig... I can acknowledge them!
The first is from my faithful correspondent Fumiko who hails from the island of Kyushu. It is a commercial card and I think it is of the volcanic island off the tip of Kyushu near Kagoshima? I love the kind of naive style of it and the technique.

The second is a print of one of her cards celebrating girls day.

And, best of all an original card by Fumiko of her and her darling Tororo braving the winter weather for a walk, though Tororo seems keen to head back home!

Thank you Fumiko, these cards cheered me up while I was in hospital!