Letter Writer

I don't ignore reader mail!

2012-01-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

I'm still plugging a long with writing my letters and no new ones have showed up at my door today.
Thank goodness.
I have just four my to write and it's time to play the waiting game. A letter that I'm currently working on is to a Mr. Donavan. He writes that he is fascinated by my choice of major. Of course I've tossed around other ideas for majors and even considered becoming a chef (and has become Plan B), but history is my true passion. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I could time travel to 18th century England and meet all of the authors I read last semester. And there is not a year I do not yearn to dress up in a ridiculous costume, head to the Renaissance Faire, and immerse myself in the fantasy. Letter writing aids in this fantasy. Just by writing letters makes me feel apart of history and knowing what I write will be cherished by the receivers, and, perhaps, it too will become a part of history. All of our letters will become apart of history. When archeologist excavate our homes centuries from now, they'll find little memories of the past. A little part of us.

Playing Catch Up

2012-01-05T21:56:00.000-05:00

So, I waited until Winter Break to play catch up with my mail. My pile quickly morphed into a pile containing about 20 items. My goal is to be done by the time I go back to school, but it might now happen. Once I do get caught up, I'm definitely going to respond as I get them.
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays, and thank you to all of the readers that wrote to me. I'm hoping to be posting a little bit more often....Hopefully...

Backed Up

2011-10-01T22:50:00.000-04:00

Currently, my mail gets even more backed up, day after day. I have 13 letters waiting to replied to. I have a letter from late August to reply to yet. I thought I had replied to it, but I'm not sure. So here's my goal. A letter written every other day just to try and keep things flowing. No mass mail outs because it gets overwhelming when everything comes back at once!
Things are going well. Better than I expected. One thing that I'm oddly having trouble in is my English writing class. Three essays have received a C or C- and one B+. He's a tough prof but I'll get through it. You all of you that correspond with me, you know that my spelling and grammar are atrocious! I'm meeting fantastic people and making some good friends, two of which I've made in strange ways. The drive down there every other day kills me, though, but I have a college that I want to transfer to lined up.
And who would think that the bookstore would have some nice stationary?

Catching Up

2011-09-06T19:09:00.000-04:00

I'm making myself have a little down time to reply to letters and such. Since school started my days have been filled with driving, a lot of driving, homework, classwork, and essential chores that I must do around the house. Hey, I need to have clothes to wear too! But so I can get as many letter written as I can, I've began typing up a few because it's faster to type than hand write for me. I'm pretty caught up now and am sighing. Today I received two more letters that are replies to the batch that I sent out a while ago. Will I ever be actually caught up? I guess that's part of the fun!

Going Back to School

2011-08-21T09:13:00.000-04:00

After two years out of high school and being nearly bored to death despite working part time, I've decided to pursue my dream of a history major. Starting Wednesday I will be going to school full-time, but I am only taking 12 credits to start out. I will also still be working part time with hours that I already have (Monday & Friday 4-8 and Thursday & Saturday 4-8).Now here's the kicker. I got suckered into helping a local girl scout troop go camping and go on trips. I must be crazy or just really tired of doing nothing most of the day. No worries though to those who correspond with me! I'll absolutely will still be writing letters but on a much slower pace that what I've previously been doing (it was pretty much you send me a letter and the next day I had a reply in the mail). At first I was disappointed that I may not be able to keep up with my current pace but then again...the lengthy time will make for more interesting and longer letters. See, everyone wins!

Old Ways

2011-08-07T09:45:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of swap bot and recently I've partaken in a self mailing letter swap in which you do not use an envelope but fold the letter up.
Here's the problem. Even if it's an introduction letter I still like to write at least two pages. I could use two sheets and fold them together but it would be bulky and unattractive. Instead, I did a little research and found that some people use to write on top of their writing because the recipient paid for the weight of the mail. Here's my attempt.

Hopefully, the recipient will be able to read it.

Sometimes You Just Need a Little Dolly in Your Life

2011-07-30T18:43:00.001-04:00

Okay, I have to admit that I'm no big fan of country music, but Dolly Parton has a special place in my heart. Every year, I make it a point to watch A Smoky Mountain Christmas during the holiday seasons and is a classic to me! So imagine my envy when one of my friends run off to Dollywood without me! But she was nice enough to send me this awesome postcard.

Save the B. Free Franklin Post Office!

2011-07-27T18:02:00.001-04:00

I urge everyone that cares about historical sites and mail to write to the Postal Regulatory Commission and see if can remain opened!
For more information, here's the link to the article online.
To make a comment click here.

Typewriter...Font!

2011-07-24T15:12:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm one of those women that have been woed by those heavy metal machines that go clicky clack. No, not trains. Typewriters of course! Personally, I've only have ever used one and it was electric and never had the romantic feel that typewriters from the 60s have. Since I do not own out and do not see myself buying one in the next few months, I've settled with fonts in that style from MS Word. And the affect is very nice! The best part is that you do not need to worry about making a mistake!
Here's the link so some. http://simplythebest.net/fonts/typewriter_fonts.html My favorite is Last Words. Now I can have stylist typed letters! (Although I like handwriting best!)

Inmate Penpals

2011-07-24T11:20:00.000-04:00

I read and article in the Sandbook magazine and instantly became interested. For some time now I've been dancing around wanted to have an inmate penpal but the article helped me a lot with choosing the right one.
I wanted some close to my age but searching http://www.prisonpenpals.com/ provided nearly impossible. So I just found a few women that would be possible penpals and narrowed it down to one. I may take on a couple more after I see how this one goes.
A few things went into consideration before I decided.
1) Where does the person live? Since I no longer have a PO box this was very important for me
2) What as their crime? The one I considered was imprison for 2nd degree murder. Maybe sometime I will venture into it but theft is all I will deal with at the moment.
3) How long is their sentence? For right now, the longer the better.
The lady I choose is in for life for a robbery. I have not intention on mentioning it to her or asking anything about it. Why should she have to relive her mistake? If she feels like she wants to, well it's totally up to her.
I'm glad that I read the list of things that I can and cannot send.
Items you CAN send:

• Postal Stamps (Limit of 40 Stamps)
• Photos (there is a limit of 20 pictures, no polaroids)
• Greeting cards (No larger than 8x10)
• Letters
• Magazines and paperback books- must be shipped directly from the vendor
• Money Orders -(made out to the inmate, with ALL inmate info included.)
• Anything on the “Approved” vendor list, on each vendor’s website
• JPay Transfer

Items you CANNOT send:

• Pens/Pencils
• Binder Paper
• Envelopes
• Frontal Nudity Photos or Polaroids
• Phone Calling Cards
• Stickers, Tape, or Glue
• Glitter
• Anything Wire, Metal, or Plastic “Spiral” Notebooks
• Cash
• Photos larger than 8x10

Has anyone else considered an inmate penpal or already has one?

Out Going Mail

2011-07-10T20:32:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've done one of these.

Postcrossing card traveling to Georgia. A lovely picture of a local mill.

Swap-Bot postcard for the elephant postcard swap.

The back of a little to the Missive Maven. I just had to share. It's a self-mailer that features funny picture of cats.

The Philadelphia Itnerary

2011-07-10T08:16:00.000-04:00

This is the first trip I ever have planned so I'm hoping that everything will go well!

Board train 9:20
Arrive @ Market East Station 10:40
Eat lunch @ Reading Terminal Market
Independence Visitor’s Center
Franklin Court-Underground Museum, US Postal Service Museum & Post Office 316 Market St
Betsy Rose House
Independence Hall
Carpenter’s Hall
Christ Church Burial Ground
Board train home @ 4:45
Arrive @ station 5:58
The attractions are listed from how bad I want to visit them. Franklin Court, postal museum being a must! Don't worry, I will most defiantly take pictures!

Off to Philadelphia!

2011-07-08T21:13:00.000-04:00

I had plans to visit Boston this summer but it was too costly so no one could afford to go with me. So I've resulted in staying local and just doing a few day trips. In a few weeks I'll be off to Philadelphia which is equally as cool as Boston but way closer, about 45 minutes by car.
The plan is to drive down to the nearest train station and take the train down. There is no way in heck that I'm driving on I-95. No way in heck! We'll get off at the Market St train station. The rest has yet to be planned but I'm going to make sure we go to the B. Free Franklin post office and get postcard postmarked there. So, if you would like a postcard from Philadelphia with this awesome postmark e-mail me your address! I'm e-mail is elfscuz at yahoo.com. I'll tell you more details later when I get everything planned!

New Address

2011-06-29T09:39:00.000-04:00

If you look over to the left column. You'll notice that my address has changed. I chose to close my P.O. Box because of the hassle it was becoming and that you can never see cars coming when they are cars parked along the side of the road. So, if you have sent out a letter to me already, I'll receive it. So don't worry. All of my correspondents will receive a postcard or note about my address change.
In other news, I finished and sent one of the letter that turned up a few weeks ago so hopefully it'll be well received.

Tucking Things Away

2011-05-30T10:28:00.000-04:00

I've noticed that I have this very bad habit of tucking things away when I can't finish them. Recently I've found two unfinished letters. One is for a Denise which I had already written an envelope for and a Vicki which I have not address for but an almost finished letter.
If you are either of these people, I'm so sorry for the delayed response! And Vicki, please contact me so I can get your address!

Ugh...

2011-04-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

I haven't been doing that much letter writing lately and I don't know why! I just can't seems to sit down an concentrate. Letter are flowing in my mailbox as much as they were as a result I'm cancelling my mailbox in June. I'll send all of my correspondents my home address. This is also because my conviant post office isn't very easy to get in and out of.

In other news, I'll be heading to Peace Valley Park for a nice bike ride soon and am hoping that the nature center gift shop has some postcards!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2011-03-23T11:23:00.002-04:00

Here's my first outgoing mail in a long while.

To Becky the Snail Mailer. It has a recipe which I hope she either tries or pass along. She's a fellow flexitarian although she leans more towards vegetarianism. The recipe is for Chicken Pitas with Yogurt Dill sauce. It's super yummy. If anyone wants it I'll send one via snail mail to you. Just contact me at elfscuz @ yahoo.com with your name and address.

Sammie over at Box 332. The bird stamp I got on clearance at Joann's for $2. Well, worth it!

A letter to my high school buddy that lives in Montana written on super cute stationary that I found at a thrift shop (to be featured in upcoming post).

Postcard to Ilona the Missive Maven who recently lost her cat, Memo. Just sending my sentiments to her and her remaining cat,Soda.

A letter in the works for Rita who sent me a postcard a month ago. It didn't seem like that long ago!

Back in Business

2011-03-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

I sort of took February off from blogging because my hours increased from part time to full time hours. Thankfully, I think, my hours are back to normal and I have A LOT more time on my hands! I've received dozens of things and even a postcard or two which I will share later when I get my camera back in order. I need to format the memory card. Ugh...

Letter to Austria

2011-02-22T22:38:00.000-05:00

I love it when I receive letters and want to immediately reply. I received such a letter today. If I could I would fly to Vienna now. It sounds so lovely! The more I learn about European countries that more I want to visit them. I had my reply to Eva in the matter of a few hours, including interruptions, and decorated the plain white envelope with some cool fabric tape that I found for $1.25 for four decent sized rolls.

Mailings

2011-02-10T23:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posts and posts with pictures lately. My camera decided to go on strike until i formate my memory card and for some reason I'm having a bit of trouble writing letters probably due to the fact that I still haven't cleaned up my work space. I'm still trying to adjust to work 40 hours a week instead of about 24. I must learn to manage my time a little better. Tomorrow I'm bringing my letter writing supplies to work and work some some letters.

Disorganized

2011-02-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Help! I'm under a pile of clutter!
How did I let it get so disorganized? My desk space and my whole room is just a mess. Pretty pieces of notepaper swaps, postcards, and other random stuff is all over my room. This is most likely the cause of my bad moods lately and a few late swaps. Hopefully in the next few posts I can show you how I organize my stuff but before then I need something better in place. Until then, how do you organize your writing supplies?

About Penmanship

2011-02-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

Check out this video about penmanship. Enjoy!
Click Here

Send Me A Million Postcards

2011-02-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't mind it but I was referring to the postcard project. Well a mysterious postcard collector is collecting one million postcards. All you need to do is send a postcard with a message to
Send Me A Million Postcards
P.O. Box 21007
Denver, CO 80221
He'll take a photo of the back of your postcard and post onto his website. Here's the one I sent. I think the first one I sent got lost in the mail.

Yes, sometimes I'm in a hurry and botch my spelling.
So, show him some mail love and send him one today!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2011-01-28T08:52:00.001-05:00

This week I've mailed a variety of things; letters, postcards, swaps, and even a book.

Sammy poses for a photo shoot with the mail.

The book I sent, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I admit that I did not like Jane Austen and thought that this fun interpretation but it made it even worse. I put it up on Paperbackswap.com and it was taken in minutes.

A reply to Angela from A Year of Letters. Her blog is very enjoyable as well.

I thought Troy would get a kick out of the Gumby stationery since he enjoys my pretty papers.

A reply to Kendra, my penpal in California.

Another covered bridge postcard going out to Lauren my postcard pal from sendsomething.net.

A recipe card swap where the recipe card was the postcard. Recipe cards make excellent postcards!

A Valentine's Day swap.

That's it for this week! I'm trying to come up with some letter/postcard themed topics that I can write some posts about. I'm defiantly going to do one about making your own stationery but are there any other ideas?

Daily Mail: Outgoing-Things that I mailed yesterday

2011-01-26T08:46:00.000-05:00

A letter to my penpal in Massachusetts. Send her a postcard as well. Check out my new stamps! I love them!

A letter to Ilona, the Missive Maven. The letter is appropriately cat themed as was one of the topics we were discussing.

A letter to my sister. I was being silly when I addressed her letter very formally.

My second letter to my penpal in Australia, stuffed with postcards. I made it well worth 98 cents!

Forgive me, but I forget who this postcard is going to. I want to say a reply to a postcard that I received last week but I forget.

Daily Mail: Incoming Hold onto your pants Batman!

2011-01-24T14:45:00.000-05:00

I started checking my mailbox twice a week so it doesn't get too stuffed, hasn't yet but you never know. I was surprised to see four letters! Yes four! Usually they come one at a time and I reply to them that way but four. I glanced at the pile and wondered "What on earth did I get myself into?" but I know that it'll take me no time at all to reply to them.
Which brings me to another question. What do I do if there's really nothing to say? They didn't ask me any questions and have stuck to the same topics as the previous letters. It seems mundane to keep talking about the same topics. I'm not really much of a leader but a followers so I guess I need to take the reigns and stear them to other interesting topics. But I don't want to keep doing that all the time.
Now the even bigger problem. Who do I write to first?

Daily Mail: Incoming

2011-01-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

A letter from Ilona the Missive Maven.

A letter from my sister.

A letter from my penpal Kate from Massachusetts.

A surprise postcard from Danielle from Austrailia.

Another surprise postcard from Erika.

A postcard from 100 Days of Snail Mail.

A Swap-Bot swap postcard.

Also received two package swaps; car air freshener swap and a stationery swap; and two books from paperbackswap.com.

Mailbox surprises!

2011-01-20T18:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received three unexpected postcards! Thanks for showing me some postal love!
Oh...
P.S. I did an undocumented mailing yesterday, opps!

Gumby Fold and Mails!

2011-01-17T10:03:00.000-05:00

I snagged this on ebay for just $5. My sister loved getting one in the mail. All I need now is a Wallace and Grommet fold and mail, currently on back order at Borders.

Daily Mail: Incoming

2011-01-16T10:02:00.000-05:00

A postcard from Russia through postcrossing.

A letter from Becky at Leaving a Paper Trail. She's obsessed with stationery and has claimed January as unofficial fold and mail month.

I tend not to post incoming swaps but I'm going to start doing so because it's mail too! This was a swap where you had to read at least three books in 3 months then write about them. This one proved that I really need to read Good Omens.

Another swap where you had to make envelopes out of you old calendar. I really loves these Spongebob ones!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2011-01-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

Front

Back

A letter to my sister. She is going to flip when she sees this in her mailbox! One of her favorite characters in Gumby and it was also the name of her first car.

Heads up Troy! Another letter coming your way!

I'm still in love with these envelopes! First letter to Ilona from the Missive Maven blog, also about letter writing.

Sending out another one of these for a swap-bot swap.

First letter to my new penpal Lori! She's about my mom's age but the advantage in having an older penpal is that they're helpful and very insightful about life.

Another postcrossing postcard. My postcard supplier always has gorgeous postcards!

Another repeat send part of a swap from swap-bot.

And Sammy is also helpful with writing my letter.

Postcard Book!

2011-01-09T10:01:00.001-05:00

I found this really neat postcard book for holidays on Barnes and Nobles. I missed sending out the New Years card but I'll be sending out the Valentine's Day ones!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2011-01-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

Swap bot swaps. A lot going out!

Saw-whet owl postcard going to The Orphan Postcard Project.

Valentine cards are already in production. This was actually part of a swap sent out today. Not to shabby.

Daily Mail: Incoming

2011-01-07T22:15:00.001-05:00

A letter from Kaz! It takes a little while for her to reply but I throughly enjoyed it. A reply will be in the mail soon.

A postcard from a swap from Swap-Bot

A letter from Troy!

A letter from Lori!

Postcrossing postcard from Latvia. Check out that stamp!

A postcard from Reanna.

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2011-01-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

For once I'm sharing some of my outgoing mail.

A postcard to a friend in Montana. I wrote her a letter a few months ago and haven't heard back.

Swap-bot postcard to Germany. I wrote on the wrong card. The swap was suppose to be a water swap so I fudged it a little by telling her that it represented the major bodies of water in Pennsylvania.

A Postcrossing postcard to Germany, Usually I write in German on cards to Germany but I honestly didn't feel like it.

A batch of swaps to go out.

A letter to Kendra, my penpal in California.

Lettersets from Joann Fabrics and Crafts

2011-01-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

Look at what I found!

I'll be in stationery for awhile. They were $1 each and the paper is pretty thick.

A Place For Mail

2011-01-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

So most people have a resting place for their mail. This is where I keep mine.

On the left is mail mailing to be replied to and my letter opener. On the right is all outgoing mail. Do you have a place where you put incoming and outgoing mail?

Daily Mail: Incoming

2010-12-31T21:44:00.000-05:00

A letter from my penpal Kendra from California.

A postcrossing card from China
Note: This is yesterday's mail. Somehow, my post didn't post.
I was half hoping for mail in either my post office box or my home box, but nothing. If might have something to do with the fact that i checked it at 8 am before I went to work as the postmistress was putting mail in the boxes.

Thrift Store Stationery Finds

2010-12-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

To the left is a nice pansy print. The paper is thin so using a fountain pen is out of the question. Total of 24 sheets and 12 envelopes. Bought for $1.25. On the right, are printed handmade envelopes. The gold color is metallic. The only down side is there are no flaps, they open at the side. Total of 10 envelopes. Bought for $2 from A Thousand Villages on clearance.
I do not collect stationery so I'll use them. I'm thinking of making some kraft paper stationery to go with the envelopes decorated with metallic sliver marker or gold.

Daily Mail: Incoming

2010-12-29T17:08:00.000-05:00

A Postcrossing card from Thailand and a sneak peak at my first fountain pen, top left.

Check out the stamps. I love the first one.

Another Sent Postcard

2010-12-28T21:11:00.000-05:00

This is another postcard that I've sent recently through Prostcrossing.com.

It pretty much sums up Pennsylvania.

Daily Mail: Incoming

2010-12-28T19:29:00.000-05:00

A Postcrossing card from Colorado.

This sunny view of a Colorado valley farm of course came on a damp, overcast, snowy, cold day yesterday. This gem came from Troy of Penpal from Northeastern Colorado. Thanks for brightening my day!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

2010-12-28T19:22:00.001-05:00

A postcard going to a friend whom I've worked with. I decided to show her some mail love since she got me started in this whole thing.

An outgoing postcrossing card, one of my favorites featuring covered bridges in my area.

A letter to Troy of Penpal from Northeastern Colorado in response to a postcard he sent me. Thanks!

A Good Idea

2010-12-28T16:57:00.001-05:00

I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to have a P.O. Box. That I'd stroll into the post office gather my great mail goodies and be the envy of the other post office goers. I'm really not one that thinks it's all the dangerous to have your mailing address publicly known, besides, I can go through the phone book and pick out addresses at random and find out where they were located. My decision of getting a post office box was based on a few things. One, my mail man I think gets overwhelmed with the size of some packages that I receive. Two, who doesn't like picking mail up at the post office? And three, I always wanted one. Here's my new address:
Rachel Bouc
P.O. Box 393
Revere, PA 18953
If you all ready have sent me something to my old address, don't worry, I will get it.

P.S. I just realized that I wont be able to get to my box until Monday due to the strange hours I work. By the time I drive past the post office it's closed. Hopefully I'll have some goodies waiting for me on Monday.

The After Christmas Thank You Note

2010-12-25T20:20:00.001-05:00

If you haven't already considered writing out thank you notes to all of those that made your day merry and bright, I urge you to do so. Not only because it's nice getting things in the mail but because it's a nice to show our appreciation of one's thoughtfulness. Not only can you write thank you notes to people who gave you physical gifts but to those who attended your Christmas dinner.
Start your thank you note with the date written out fully: December 24, 2010
The a greeting: Dear Aunt May,
Express your gratitude: Thank you for the pink fuzzy slippers.
Discuss the use: It gets very chilly in the winter here, a these nice slippers will surely be used. They're so cozy I wish I could wear them everywhere.
If you do not like the item don't lie. Find something that's nice about them and leave it at that.
If it's money allude to how you're going to spend it but don't itemize: It will be a great help when I purchase my new toaster.
Mention the past and allude to the future: It was great to see you at Christmas! I'll be looking forward to seeing you at New Year's!
Thank them again: Thanks again for the slippers.
Regards: Love,
Signature: Rachel
Your note should look like this:

December 25, 2010

Dear Aunt May,

Thank you so much for the pair of pink fuzzy slippers. They'll be perfect for the when they house gets cold. They'll surely keep my piggies toasty! It was great seeing you at Christmas and I'll be looking forward to seeing you in the new year! Thanks again for the slippers.

Lots of love,

Rachel

For more help click here.

What type of letter writer are you?

2010-12-22T17:40:00.000-05:00

I'd have to say, I'm a very prompt letter writer. It might be just because I get very excited when I get a letter in the mail, but people who write to me will most likely receive a reply within a few days. I do try to read and reread the letter as not to make a too hasty reply. But I'm happily saying that I have three people that I'm in the process of writing to; Mother Earth News magazine because I simply just love it, Reanna; currently she's at home for the holidays and will actually get to see he tomorrow; and Ilona from the Missive Maven blog. How do you curb your excitement when receiving a letter?

Daily Mail: Postcard from the UK

2010-12-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

I actually got some good mail today! Besides the book that I got from paperbackswap.com and the recipe card postcard, I got this very lovely postcard from the UK. I just love this type of architecture.

New Craft: Paper Engraving

2010-12-20T14:18:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to do this for a while now and finally found a nice kit to do it with.

You might not be able to see it very clearly, but this is an engraved butterfly design. The kit I bought was from Michael's Martha Stewart collection and is originally $20 but they always have good coupons so I bought it for $10!
It comes with two stencils; one with border designs and small figures, and one with bigger designs; a double sided stylus, 5 notecards with envelopes, and 2 sheets on wax paper. This is a great quick and easy way to personalize stationery. I just need to track down some medium weight paper sheets so I can make my own letter sets.

Daily Mail

2010-12-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

The sole piece of mail today from a swap-bot swap.

January 2011 Stamps

2010-12-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

Next month's stamps are...
The king and queen of hearts! My postal clerk thought it was funny that I didn't want evergreen or liberty bell stamps. My correspondents deserve good looking stamps!

Postcard from Holland

2010-12-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

This beautiful postcard is from Holland. Holland, if you didn't know already, is known for their flowers mainly tulips.

Letter from Reanna

2010-12-17T22:18:00.000-05:00

The penpal that I correspond with most is my co-worker, Reanna. When you work the 4-8 cashier shift you need to talk to someone. Her and I quickly became friends. Back in October, when I started to write letters again, I asked her for her mailing address at college.
Although her letters are short and sweet, they give me a nice break in the day to think "Not everyone writes long letters like you do". Most of the time her letters are one page of plain computer paper, and sort of cold feeling. Needless to say, her Christmas present will be assorted sheets of stationery.
For a few weeks she's home on break and working with me again which will be welcomed but I sort of will miss looking forward to receiving a letter.

This letter was in my mailbox today from Reanna.

The Letter Opener

2010-12-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

Call me ridiculous. Call me strange. Call me whatever you like this is my letter opener. I wouldn't trade it for any other letter opener in the world. It's so beautiful and ornate. There are a few blemishes and sticky stuff from trying to pry open well taped packages.
It goes through tops of envelopes like no tomorrow.
It was the only thing that I had requested from a yard sale that I helped put together. For years it sat in the bottom of one of my junk drawers waiting to me used. Over the years I didn't really get any personal mail except for the occasional greeting card for Christmas or my birthday, but it laid unused for years. It was forgotten until I started complaining about how I should get a letter opener and it dawned on my that I already had one! Immediatly, I dug it out and put it to good use.
Now, it sits proudly on my desk just waiting; waiting to slay another envelope.
This beauty deserves a named. Any ideas?

Postcard from Germany

2010-12-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

I received this postcard from Germany sometime last month. It's one of my favorites. However, it somehow ended up not in my mailbox but on the ground outside crinkled by dew.

Postcrossing

2010-12-15T10:12:00.002-05:00

I send therefore I receive.

Besides swap-bot, which I will detail in a later post, Postcrossing is my favorite place to send and receive mail with. You simply sign up making sure you have your mailing address right don't forget to double check just in case. You wouldn't want your postcards going to the neighbor's house!
Once you've signed up, click send a postcard on the left sidebar. This will give you an address to the next person in line to receive some mail. If you're more into letter writing they encourage writing letters as well. Personally I do prefer letters but I love seeing all of the pictures on the postcards.
When I first started to do Postcrossing I would send a postcard with a little greeting and my address in case the recipient would want to write me back. Now, I just about the postcard and why I chose it. What's really nice is that sometimes I'll get postcards written in German, my second language and sometimes I'll write my postcards in German to a German speaker. It helps me gain confidence to the language.
If you want to join, click on the hightlighted links or go to my right side bar and click on "Postcrossing".
Happy Postcrossing everyone!

Back Logged

2010-12-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

It's not that I've been getting a large amount of mail lately. Actually, it's just been one or two letters. Yesterday I received a letter from my penpal Kate who lives in Massachusetts and is really my only regular penpal besides a co-worker who is currently in college and writes short disorganized letters. Recently, I haven't gotten anything from Postcrossing because there are a few postcards that I've sent that haven't been marked received, one which I sent inside the US. I love sending postcards almost as much as letters. As they say. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'll have to take pictures of some of my favorites!
For right now I'll leave you with the image of this beautiful postcard from Iceland and on the back the message is written in German.

Mail Me Letters!

2010-11-30T22:32:00.000-05:00

If you like letters as much as I do, please send me a postcard or letter, anything really! A link to my address is to the left sidebar. I'll try to respond to any letters written.

Where to Get Letter Sets?

2010-11-29T10:01:00.000-05:00

You don't notice them until you start looking. Trust me. You'll find them in the most unlikely of places. Here's a few places to look.
Walmart-in the section with the cards
Borders-you can find really nice Paperchase brand letter sets. They're normally located at the back of the store
Barnes and Noble- they have a nice set with 100 sheets and 50 envelopes for $15. I'm not sure about the quality
Hallmark Stores-they carry two different folios only with 40 sheets and 20 envelopes for about $10. Only one of these I found nice enough to purchase
Dollar Tree- these sets, if you can find them, are nice but with thin paper
Target- I found one very pink set for around $7. The only down side is that it only has 20 sheets and 20 envelopes
Anyone else know of any other brick and mortar store that has letter sets and are a national chain?

Neglect?

2010-11-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

So I had taken the plunge to start my own mail themed blog and what do I do? I neglect it of course! I've been busy writing letters and sending postcards. And I'm certain my mail man hates me, well, at least I keep him employed.
My recent letters have gone out to Sammie from Box 332 blog who is certain that I might think she is a stalker and creep, which is quiet the opposite. Another went to Angela in Spain. A postcard was also sent to Russia yesterday from Postcrossing. Her name was so long as well as her address that I actually had to print out her address! I'm someone the prefers to write everything out.
So, hopefully more from me soon and maybe a blog facelift.

Why Letters? Why Now?

2010-10-13T16:42:00.000-04:00

Letter writing is being considered as a lost art overlooked because of e-mail, instant messaging, and text messages. I, and a few others that I've found out, have rediscovered the magic of writing and receiving handwritten letters. It's magic that only costs 45 cents.
Recently I started writing letters again. Since the beginning of the month I've sent:
9 letters
8 postcards
I've received:
2 letters
1 postcard

This seems to be a pretty outcome.
I hope this blog inspires you to starting writing letters!