Last weekend I ordered stamps from the post office's online store. It's sometimes difficult getting to the post office before it closes so what better thing than to have them delivered. And I could mix and match to make my postcards and letters more colorful without annoying the person in line behind me by 'browsing' too long. The process went very smoothly, despite having to come up with a mega long and difficult password (that I have had to write down to remember), and by the end of the week a mailer with my stamps carefully packaged arrived and have been adhered to my latest batch of stamps.
Inside the mailer came this announcement of their forthcoming new stamps and as I am in love with the Cherry Blossom Centennial stamp I had to share. Isn't it gorgeous? I want to buy some just to keep for myself. I will have to ask someone to kindly send me a letter with one of these just so I have one for my own collection.
And here is my own cherry blossom card from my personal postcard collection, which I bought in Washington DC years ago. I've not been fortunate enough to have traveled there in the spring for the actual festival, but perhaps someday I'll be able to do so as I have heard the trees are breathtaking.
Detail, Washington Monument, by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957). Japan. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 36.2 x 23.9 cm. Gift of the Kruglak family in memory of Amy and Ted Kurglak. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Insitution, Washington DC.
You can check out the National Park Service's website about the Cherry Blossom Festival here.