Thank You For These Lovelies

Here are some of the goodies I received in the mail yesterday:

This pretty sunflower postcard from Lynette in California:

A pretty envelope from my friend Laurie in Florida:

which contained this very cool acrylic card:

A fabulous bookmark from Lauralyn Sciretta, made out of a paint sample strip:

A NYC postcard from Terrie who was visiting there from Connecticut:

Plus a letter from my friend Mark in Australia, with these awesome stamps attached:

Tomorrow I'll share photos of the postal bounty sent to me by my new penpal Beth!

My Mailbox Is Full!

Over the first 10 postal delivery days since National Letter Writing Month began, I received a total of 13 pieces of mail from my fellow group members.  On two of those 10 days, I didn't receive anything (boo hoo).  On 3 of those days, I received one piece of mail (yay!).  On the rest of the 5 days, I received two things (double yay!).  Notwithstanding the fact that some of the ladies have posted on our Facebook group that they have received over 50 pieces of mail already (one of them being Lindsay Ostrom, the organizer, who darned well deserves to get at least one item from each of the 100 plus group members (I've lost track of the exact number), in my humble opinion!), I was pretty excited to have received what felt like a whole lot of mail already this month.

Until today.  When my mailbox looked like this:

Not one, not two, but ten - count 'em, ten! - different letters and postcards!

Even more exciting, one of those letters was from a friend in Australia from whom I hadn't heard in several months. He was just writing to say hello and just happened to mail his letter last week.  The fact that it arrived together with all this other special mail today just made it even more of a treat.

The most exciting thing of all? Five of today's mail pieces are from my extra-special assigned penpal Beth.  Isn't she the greatest? I would be feeling really guilty about that as I haven't sent her nearly as many cards and letters except that - shh! don't tell her! - yesterday I mailed a pretty cool package to her which I think she will enjoy receiving, so hopefully that makes us even (although I'll be getting busy writing a few more letter to her just in case).

Gosh, this is so much fun! Stay tuned to tomorrow's blog and I'll tell you all about what I got.  For now, here's a sneak peak.

A Different Kind of Bombing

The explosions at the Boston marathon today weigh heavy on my thoughts tonight.  It's hard for me to understand why someone would deliberately set out to harm another human being like that.  It just doesn't compute in my brain to compute, especially when I am lucky enough to be involved with a group that is focused on a different kind of bombing.

We've been calling it letter bombing but lately, it's been christened "random acts of mail."  The idea is that anyone in the group can nominate (or "bombinate") someone they think needs some cheering up.  We pick a name or two each week, share their name and address and everyone who wishes to do so sends them a piece of mail.  Sometimes we know their story, sometimes we don't.  They might be dealing with an illness or going through a particularly stressful time at work.  It doesn't really matter why they need a mailbox full of goodness and as far as privacy goes, it's really none of our business.  The fact is, who doesn't need a whole lotta love in the mail?

I sent a postcard of Brighton, England to our
first recipient.

The idea for the group came about through the letter writing group I've been involved with this month, organized by Lindsay Ostrom, who wrote this post about one of our first recipients.  Lindsay suggested the idea, most of us enthusiastically jumped on board.  The letter writing project is only intended to last for the month of April (in celebration of National Letter Writing Month in the U.S.) but we're going to continue with the random acts of mail for the foreseeable future.

If I could write a letter to the people of Boston today, it would be this: "We feel your pain.  We send you our prayers and our support, our wish that you didn't have to experience this shock, this horror, this abomination, our hope that the goodness that lives in so many hearts will forever outweigh the evil that lurks within those few who would perpetrate such a crime."

My heart goes out especially to those people of Newtown who were present at the Boston marathon today.  I didn't know before tonight that the last mile of the race had been dedicated to the victims of the Newtown tragedy. What a horrible shock for those who attended to find themselves in the midst of yet another frightening event with such tragic consequences.  They didn't deserve that, not then and not today.  No one did.

People of Earth:  Let your heart explode with love, not hate, with joy, not fear, with compassion, with understanding, with forgiveness, not jealousy or greed or resentment.  Please.

P.S. If you'd like to participate, let me know and I'll get you added to the group on Facebook where we share the name and addresses of the recipients.

Busy Writing Letters

April is half over as of tomorrow and I'm looking forward to another week of mail delivery.

Taking part in the National Letter Writing Month  group organized by Lindsay Ostrom has been so interesting and so much fun.  On Friday, I received a letter from Alice, who teaches the visually impaired, that contained my name written in braille - how cool is that?

What I didn't realize when I signed up for this project was that it would be so time consuming and addictive. I have spent most of this weekend happily making and writing postcards and cards to send to people.  Because you know what they say:  to get a letter, you've got to write a letter!

Photo courtesy of whatawaygook.wordpress.com

A New Game

Matisse has a new game. It's her version of hide and seek. She lies on the kitchen floor and opens the cupboard door from underneath.  Then she climbs inside and explores. She seems to enjoy chewing on the paper that is wrapped around the china platters tucked into the back of the cupboard.

I'm not sure she realizes that she's making it very easy for me to find her.  She leaves the cupboard door open when she's in there - it's a dead giveaway.

Missing: One Umbrella

Last seen by owner:  left to dry on the front porch after walking home in the rain.

Last seen by eyewitness: dancing merrily down the middle of the street, oblivious to oncoming traffic.

More Mailed Goodies Received

I was sick again today and didn't go to work, which meant I missed any messiness on the roads as a result of the snow and freezing rain that Mother Nature delivered today.  Spring, where are you? Hurry back!

I did get myself dressed in the late afternoon and popped downstairs to get the mail, which was totally worth changing out of my pyjamas to do.  There was this pretty postcard from Dawn - I love both the illustration and the lettering!

There was also this decorated envelope from Davielle:

which contained this handmade bookmark (not too sure about the subject matter of the advertised book, "Love letters between a Nobleman and his Sister" - say what??!! - but the bookmark is cool).  There's a note from her written on the back.

Yesterday's treasures included this envelope made out of a wallpaper sample.  Inside was a note from a woman named Joy written on the back of a card with a fabric sample to match the wallpaper.  A very clever and creative idea.

I also received a note from Debbie, who lives right here in Ontario, together with this beautiful hand drawn bookmark:

It's so much fun going to the mailbox these days!