Snail Mail

I've ordered some Save the Post Office Cinderella stamps from The Perforated Post!  Aren't they cool!  Perforated and gummed like real stamps.  :) Can't wait for them to arrive.  

I love both versions,

and I will, of course, continue to buy real stamps

and to send letters and postcards--

adding the faux postage from The Perforated Post.

Incoming Mail

What a delightful postcard from Zoe!

Made my day!

 delightful

and from Carol

Outgoing Mail

postcards to the grands

to Bryce Eleanor

 to Mila

More play with water colors and cartoon-y characters.

to Max

I was looking at images of art deco/art nouveau stained glass

and drew some less than perfect lines, then added some stamps.  

I think I'll try this again.

My friend Penne shared this: Put a Woman In Charge; Keb' Mo" with Roseanne Cash

Dedicated to his mother. "My mother just recently passed at the age of 91. She was smart. She was strong. She was a leader. This video is dedicated to her and amazing women everywhere that are getting the job done." -Keb' Mo'

March Is Women's History Month

 Celebrate!

"There are several ways to celebrate Women’s History Month. For instance, you can buy a book of stamps that commemorates notable women and perhaps use them to write to an old friend. You can also donate some money to your public library and instruct them to buy a book on women’s history, or even donate a book on women’s history yourself. You can also give your son or daughter the biography of a famous historical woman such as Gertrude Stein, Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton or Ella Baker."  (source:  Women's History Month)

18 Inventions by Women Who Changed the World

9 Books about Badass Women You Didn't Learn in History Class 

They made sure the mail was delivered
An army unit known as the “Six Triple Eight” had a specific mission in World War II: to sort and clear a two-year backlog of mail for Americans stationed in Europe. Between the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Red Cross and uniformed civilian specialists, that amounted to seven million people waiting for mail. 

"Somewhere in England, Maj. Charity E. Adams,...and Capt. Abbie N. Campbell,...inspect the first contingent of Negro members of the Women's Army Corps assigned to overseas service.", 2/15/1945

The National Archives

------------

 I'm still working on how best to use this cart.  Mostly mail art and commonplace book/journal supplies are jostling for the most efficient arrangement.

Incoming Mail

love the stamps, Anna!

 :) from the Queen of the Highland Krewe

 what an awesome collage from Riddle Me Mail

outgoing (last week to the grands)

 and to Ireland

:)

Of course, the subjunctive "were" would make the quote better.

This and That

Several months ago, I was complaining about using the Kcups for coffee because I drink two cups each morning and the cups just end up in the landfill.  Teresa said she and Ricky use the attachment cup and ground coffee, avoiding the plastic trash.  I'd forgotten about that attachment cup that came with the Keurig, but didn't like it because 1) I had to take the holder out to put the attachment cup in, and 2) the grounds ended up in my morning coffee.  Even with the filters I bought, I was still not really pleased.

So...a little purple cup caught my eye in the grocery store, and it turned out to be the perfect solution.  It fits right into the holder without having to remove anything, and with the filters, I get a delicious cup of coffee each time.  :)  It may be a small effort, but 2 fewer Kcups a day beginning in November counts as something.

Incoming Mail

Outgoing

These went out last week.

I've been trying to write better letters to the grands.  It is sometimes always hard to find things to say to a fifteen-year-old and two twelve-year-olds.  Different generations, experiences, and interests make me spend more time trying to find something to write about than actually putting pen to page.

My latest attempt are showing some change.  I'm trying to write the letters in the form of a common place book--a kind of illustrated letter with lists, quotes, cartoons, a kind of catch-all of what I'm reading and thinking about, if there is a way to connect it to the kids.

In a letter to Max, I thought his interest in comics/graphic novels would make him appreciate The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, but then realized he would probably be ahead of me on that.  So I paused, how could I expand; maybe he would be interested in The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay because Chabon's book was based in part on the lives of the early writers of comics in the 1930-40's.  It was a way in.  I could talk about what I liked about the Netflix series (Five!, and Klaus and Hazel) and about  Chabon's book.  Better communication.  

Comic books to me are fairy tales for grown-ups. – Stan Lee

No more how is school, how's the tennis, how are Leo and Teddy.  Not just a few comments about what's going on here (never much that would interest him).  

Mila's interests in robotics and coding will require a little more research, but there are always questions about AI and ethics that I have and can find more on, and her interest in the environment is something I'm concerns me as well, and I do plenty of  reading about and can include articles or quotes about.  

Benefits of Robotics  and other links that I'll be looking into.

Bryce Eleanor's love of animals and especially cats means that I'm always looking for cat quotes, and as I included a quote by Nan Porter ("If cats could talk, they wouldn't"), I wondered if Edgrr could talk what he'd say.  And Bryce Eleanor's cats Lily Pad and Prim Paws would certainly have the dogs to complain about.  Then I thought of James Herriot's A Creatures Great and Small and knew she would love it.  The Herriot books remain some of my all-time favorites.

None of the letters are in typical letter format.  They have that loose and unrestricted feel of a common place book.  They were fun to write because they almost like little thought clouds rather than any kind of straight forward narrative, with little drawings and doodled boxes.
----
March is on the way!  I need to quit procrastinating about the garden.

Dearest Joan Project, Letters

I first saw something about the Dearest Joan Project on Letter Writers Alliance and because the internment of the Japanese during WWII is a topic we need to remember, I was interested in two ways:  letters and internment.  

Joan Gillis was cleaning out the attic and came upon a box of letters from 70 years ago.  

"The earliest letters date back to the spring of 1942, when an estimated 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed from the B.C. coast by government order. Some were sent to work camps in the Interior; others were sent to work on farms in the Prairies. 

Gillis was only 13 years old at the time. Most of her correspondents were that age or several years older, all of them Japanese-Canadian. They ranged from close friends to passing acquaintances, most of them pupils at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey, B.C."

The letters from young Japanese-Canadian teens to Joan Gillis are an important part of a history that both Canadians and Americans have mostly forgotten.  Take a look at the Dearest Joan Project and read excerpts from some of the letters.  Like any normal teens, they were interested in the goings on at their school and the songs on the Hit Parade, but of course their situations were not normal.   

Letters fascinate me.  Letters from friends and family, from authors and historical personages, and from these teens who had one friend with whom they were able to keep in contact during the most difficult time of their young lives.  The letters are now in the University of British Columbia's Rare Books and Special Collections. 

-------------


Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Watkatsuki Houston is a good book for young people to get an idea of an Japanese-American internment camp.  Jeanne was seven when her family was sent to Manzanar.  

The sites were inland and isolated and included:  Tule Lake, CA; Minidoka, ID; Manzanar, CA; Topaz, UT; Jerome, ARK; Heart Mountain, WY; Poston, AZ; Granada, CO; and Rohwer, ARK.

More information can be found at Japanese Relocation During World War II.  The article from the National Archives includes both fiction and nonfiction about the period.  

Sunday Thoughts

In the midst of one of the hottest summers on record, most folks have retreated to whatever cool sanctuaries they can find.  I try to stay out of the heat as much as possible, but spend a lot of time dreaming about cool, crisp weather.  Which we may get by November....  

Mail

Incoming  

Outgoing Mail

Reading

As a lover of both poetry and letters, I found this article fascinating:  The Nun Who Wrote Letters to the Greatest Poets of Her Generation.

In addition to her correspondence with Stevens, Sister Bernetta exchanged letters with Denise Levertov, William Carlos Williams, Robert Penn Warren, James Wright, Seamus Heaney, and others. She read their work with skilled attention, and they responded to her with sincerity and gratitude.

Sister Bernetta wrote to some of my favorite poets, and I would love to see some of this correspondence in full.  What a lovely legacy to leave behind from both nun and poets.

I have three books in progress right now:  Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose, Kate Atkinson's Transcription, and Val McDermid's Broken Ground.  

--------

What are you doing to beat the heat?

small talk and mail art

Sometimes we disregard the importance of small talk, look down on it as trivial.  But is it?  I just read a post by Felice Cohen, who gives a great example of small talk lightening the mood.  People who are good at small talk are a blessing for introverts (like me) who often stand rigid and uncomfortable in a crowded room.  A really good small-talker can take the tension out of a situation, leading the way to the discovery of common interests.  It doesn't have to earth-shaking to make a conversation fun and interesting.

Letters are mostly small talk; written conversations that don't go into depth about philosophical, controversial, or specialized topics.  They can cover everything from daily chores, to books you've read or films you've seen, to funny incidents in the line at the grocery store, to what's happening in the garden (the tomatoes are ripe or the milkweed is blooming, look out for Monarchs!).  

If nothing else, there is always the weather, which is always good or bad, expected or unexpected.

Conversations don't have to be profound and neither do letters. Letters don't need to be essays about art, culture, customs, science, or politics, etc.  That doesn't mean that important or intriguing topics don't come up in one way or another; they may be touched on without being dissected.  

Sometimes a comment in a letter will create a great deal of "post-thought" for me, and I love it when someone writes something that makes me curious, makes me think, causes me to consider a different perspective, gives me a subject to research and ponder.

Postcards are the epitome of small talk.  Small talk made even smaller, more concise, a few lines only--crisp little "thinking of you" messages.  

Outgoing Postcards

and letters

 

Happy Easter!

Hope you gather some gorgeous

eggs in your baskets!

Letters to Frankenstein, Day Trip, etc.

I found these letters from kids to Frankenstein on a post on The Letter Writers Alliance blog, then followed the link, but found no information about the how and why these letters were written.  Evidently a school project, but the kids all received letters from Victor Frankenstein, usually explaining that he was Frankenstein's creator and not the monster.

Original Source:  Something Awful has more of the letters

Anniversary

Yesterday was our anniversary, and we took a day trip to Jefferson, TX which was such a pleasure!  Its brick streets and old buildings maintain all the atmosphere of the settlement which was first mentioned in 1840.  

We visited the museum, then began touring various antique shops--for hours!  By that afternoon, we were exhausted and had not been to all of the shops.   

It has been years since we've visited Jefferson, TX, but when our kids were little, we saw Marcia Thomas' one woman show of The Belle of Amherst in Jefferson which was remarkable!  You can see Julie Harris' version on Youtube, and it is worth the time.  I've always been an Emily Dickinson fan.

Highlight:  Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich and Pie Bar.  A cornbread sandwich did not sound that appetizing, but we decided to give it a try--and hush my mouth and let's get on with the eatin'!  Wonderful!   As a Southern gal, I have had lots and lots of cornbread over the years, but never any this good, and as for the sandwich...an experience I will never forget and will be back for more.  I swan, it should be on your bucket list to try one of Kitt's kornbread sandwiches.  Now I'm a little hung up on Southern colloquialisms, but hey, if leather were brains, I wouldn't have enough to saddle a June bug.

Projects

Still working on leaves and have some soaking in a glycerin solution to see how that works.

Source:  Casey Trees

The pear trees, which are usually breathtaking in the fall are all still green, but when they turn, I'll be there to pick them up.  The leaves that are falling around here are nothing special, but I'm having fun with them anyway.

The photo above shows what the pear trees should look like by now.

I also have plans for a new project which will be getting some attention as soon as I have time.

Mail

I have several letters to answer and will be busy writing responses next week.  :)  Love snail mail, and I especially love getting mail from Bryce Eleanor who sent me a Halloween card.  

Reading

I'm reading Melanie Wallace's The Girl in the Garden, and honestly, I was not expecting the kind of book that I will never forget.  I have not finished, but already know it will be one of my all-time favorites.  Will review on the book blog closer to publication, but I may have to buy a print copy when it is published.

Hope you all have been having a lovely weekend!

from Letters of Note

One of my favorite sites is  Letters of Note where Shaun Usher shares letters and postcards from both famous and ordinary people.  Recently, he posted a letter from Luz Long, a German athlete who became good friends with Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympics hosted by Adolf Hitler.  At that time, in that place--an amazing bond developed.  

The two kept in touch by mail after the Olympics.  Long's last sad and touching letter was written during WWII from North Africa where was later killed in action, and he had an important request of Jesse. 

To read the transcript click here.  

What an incredible friendship.  

Writing Letters...Here and There

I love the idea of the pubs that host letter writing nights.  Beer and letters.  Not sure how that would work for me, but an interesting concept.  :)  They even provide the stamps!

On the other end of the spectrum--

Workshops for children to make mail on Viva Snail Mail!

A great way to start a generation of letter writers.

Melissa's post about a young man who started Love for the Elderly (an anonymous letter writing  project to send mail to senior citizens) is a favorite.   More about Jacob here and a FB page for the project here.

************

Who can kids write?

Grandparents, cousins, friends, teachers, authors...

Author James Preller receives wonderful fan mail,

and even better, writes some personal letters back.

I've continued experimenting with tea bags.  I used some of my photographs (altered) on some, drawn on some, stamped on some, and sewn on some.  

Free motion machine drawing experiment.

Uh, will need more practice;

haven't done any free motion stitching in a while.

Altered my hibiscus photos,
then printed on tea bag.
Adhered to a water colored teabag.
(lines are because printer is almost out of ink)

This one has already been pasted on an envelope.

And this tea bag adhered to a postcard.
 detail

On a visit to Marna Lunt's blog, I found a statement about embroidery being a treatment for shell shocked soldiers during WWI.  After a little research, I found this article in Craftism.    

I'd never heard of Louise Pesel before, but I'm full of admiration for her work.  Many of us find embroidery meditative, and I love seeing how it benefits others.

Born in Bradford, Louisa Frances Pesel (1870-1947) was a teacher of embroidery. She studied design under the Arts & Crafts practitioner Lewis Foreman Day, who recommended her for the post of Designer at the Royal Hellenic School of Needlework and Laces in Athens, where she soon became its Director. After returning to England, Pesel worked with shell-shocked soldiers in Bradford, and was involved in establishing embroidery kits for POWs (Prisoners of War) during the Second World War. 

and

The Bradford Khaki Club was formed in the First World War to help the many shell shocked and injured soldiers brought home for hospital treatment. It had a restaurant, games room, library and held concert parties, members were also taught to embroider by Louisa Pesel (first President of the “Embroiderers Guild of Needlework”), some of whom helped embroider what is known as the “Khaki Cloth”, a cross-stitch frontlet made in 1918 and used at services in the “Abram Peel Hospital” in Leeds Road a Military establishment staffed by the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service.  (from Craftism article)

 Embroidery and quilting have been used as therapy in prisons, too.  

Have a great weekend!