Happy New Year!

The nice thing about going away is coming home to a nice pile of mail!

The stack included nice Christmas cards from Noreen, Barbara, Limner and Patty...


Post-crossing cards from France, South Padre Island, Singapore and China....

A letter from a new friend from Bellingham, WA

a letter from my sponsored child, Anjali, in India.

...and two great letters from Barbara in Germany and Mariska in The Netherlands.

There were also not one but TWO letters to Kimi which were returned for a bad address, though they were sent to the return address on her envelopes!

With all this great mail to read, a suitcase to unpack, a new puppy to get settled in...and a new smart phone to learn, I didn't write to anybody myself!

Christmas Vacation

Mail is piling up at home, I'm 400 miles away. Time to put this blog on hold until I get home again!

(Would be burglars attack at your peril...there will be 6 dogs and a dog-sitter at our house!)

Day #238

Actually wrote quite a lot this morning... a Christmas card to a friend in Australia, a postcrossing card and replies to 3 pen pal letters. And then I baked more cookies!

Good mail too...The postcrossing card is unusual because it came from a GROUP, so no message but a whole bunch of signatures. There was also a great letter from The Pen Thief (who writes wonderful letters), a LWA pan pal and a letter from Fred in the Philippines.

Day #237

I didn't write much today...

Because I was busy doing this...

Day #236

Before going out for the last of my Christmas shopping, I wrote these two overdue letters

This was also our biggest day for Christmas cards this year, so far.

Then came two postcrossing cards and a letter from my sponsored girl in India...it has been so long since I've had a Compassion letter!

Day #??

I got a little bit behind in posting here, so this is from the last couple of days. I can't remember what went out to whom and when I got the incoming. I'll just have to enjoy the pictures. I know this was another day when 2 identical postcrossing cards went out, along with another. I think Santa went to a pen pal. The letter was to one of the postal clerks at the post office. I sent it anonymously.


This is the first year I have given the mail carrier a gift, but I figure she has carried so much of my outgoing mail for me that she deserved it. I gave her a Jamba Juice gift card and a KitKat.

Now this is where I get confused. I am not sure when any of these came in. The Hawaii card is from Kimi, who is there right now. The HoHoHo card came from Jamie, who wrote because she reads this blog (Hi, Jamie! I will answer soon!). The gorgeous card on the right side is made by Karen C, who is much more clever than I am!The bottom two postcards are from post-crossing people.


And then there was this great surprise package from Limner. Unfortunately, I didn't see the "do not open until Christmas note until I'd opened it (that's my story and I'm sticking with it). But I'm not going to show what was in it in case others are more obedient than I am. I will say, however, that what was inside was exactly what I was needing on the day it arrived, so it was probably good that I opened it early. I think there were a couple of other letters which arrived too...one from Denise, I think. But I can' remember. I hope the dog didn't tear them up!

It's hell to get old and forgetful!!

Day #234

I don't usually send the same postcard to 2 Post-crossing people in the same day, but I did today...both wanted to know about the city in which I lived, so this seemed the thing to do. Also sent a pen-pal letter.

There were 2 incoming Postcrossing cards, and two Christmas letters, one without a letter (from my old grammar school teacher), and one with a letter from a penpal.

Day #233

Still lovin' these old fashioned Santa cards, both of which went to pen pals today. The letter was also a reply to a pen pal.

Had a reply to my letter to someone who wrote to the address on this web page. She's in Australia and sent such a delightful reply to my reply. I loved the Matryoshka doll lining of her envelope.

Day #232

Hard at work this morning. Two post-crossing cards and some other cards, and one pen pal letter. One of the post-crossing cards went to someone who was so snide and so demanding in her requests for postcards (including sending in an envelope) that I just chose a card I didn't like much and stuck it in an envelope with a one-sentence message. If you are going to ask someone in the world to send you a postcard (which is not something that is cheap), at least be polite about the kinds of things you would be happier to receive! It could be the nationality of the postcrossing member, but I found I was offended.


Incoming were 2 post-crossing cards and 2 pen-pal Christmas cards.

Day #231

It was a busy Sunday, so no incoming mail and I only wrote two short postcrossing postcards.

Day #230

One letter sent off to a penpal and a post card sent for a grammar school project. If you want to find more and help you, check The Gingerbread Postcard Run. It's fun. The card I sent was from China.


There was such neat stuff in the afternoon. A nice Christmas card from Kimi and two great Oz-related things from Limner, which will be featured in my daily journal entries starting January 1.

Day #229

Sent off a post-crossing card to Finland and a pen pal letter. I am going to have to go looking for dog calendars on sale after the first of the year...the one I got last year makes the BEST envelopes!

In the afternoon came a post-crossing card and both a Christmas card and a letter from the lovely Melanie and a letter from the lovely SaraLea.

Day #228

I got a book of these old fashioned Santa cards, and I'm enjoying sending them out. This was one post-crossing card and one to a penpal....and then a letter to a penpal. I love the envelope!

I have such clever friends. I loved the "inspired" card from Kimi and the great "heritage songster" envelope that Marian made. Also a postcrossing card from the Netherlands and one from Jenny.

Day #227

Letters to 2 Saras today, plus a Christmas postcard to a penpal and one to my granddaughter.

Incoming was a Christmas card, a beautiful card from a penpal in the Netherlands, a post-crossing card from Australia, and a reply to a letter I sent to someone on SendSomthing.

Day #226

Two outgoing pen pal letters today

A nice letter from one of my penpals in the UK and a Christmas card from a guy from Malaysia who lived with us for 3 years, while he went to high school (now lives in the US with his American wife and their two children).

Day #225

I had a review and an article for the paper to write today, so I only got 3 post-crossing cards sent.

But the afternoon brought two letters from my sponsored girl in India, along with a photo. There was also a post-crossing card, a lovely Christmas card with postcards embedded with flower seeds from SnailMailFan of "100 Days of Snail Mail," and a nice pen pal letter from Kristina.

Day #224

Today I wrote my last letter to Soldier Amanda, who is coming home soon, and answered a Swap Bot letter. This was a getting to know you letter to someone on Swap-Bot. We could not possibly be more different, so it will be interesting to see where (if anywhere) this goes.

I also sent Amanda a Christmas card.

And I wrote countless Christmas cards to soldiers through the Holiday Mail for Heroes through the Red Cross, who will pass them out to hospitalized soldiers who need a bit of cheering up. I'll send them all in a flat rate envelope on Monday.

I received a nice letter from Esther in Indonesia, a post-crossing card, and a letter from a penpal in North Carolina, who sent a couple of postcards from her state.

Day #223

I had to go to the blood bank, and then meet friends for coffee, so only time for one letter this morning, to a pen pal in Texas.

What a great afternoon, that brought mail from some of my favorite pen pals!

Day #222

Again, I only sent out a post-crossing card.

But I received a lovely letter from my Correspondence child in Indonesia, a post-crossing card from China, and a card from the lovely Miss Hannah. Also our second Christmas card


I e-mailed more than 100 links to our annual Christmas letter.

Day #221

Another slow day, with only one letter written. But I got my December journal look designed!

Incoming was one post-crossing card, 2 penpal letters and our very first Christmas card.

The Christmas card is from my first boy friend, whom I dated from age 13-16. He is now a Jesuit, but we still exchange cards at Christmas time. His is always the first card I receive and it drives me crazy because he always beats me. But this time I got him. I posted our annual Christmas letter on line and he received it a whole three days before his card arrived. (This may be due to the scary news in his card that he is battling what he calls "the old man's cancer"--I don't know if this is the cancer his father died of or prostate cancer, which I assume can be considered an old man's cancer)

Day #220

It was a light day, mail-wise.


I only wrote one letter, to a woman I found on SendSomething. I decided to write to her originally because she has the same name as a little girl I used to babysit for back in the 1950s. But then I found out she is 10 years older than I am, so I don't think it's the same person!

There was no incoming mail today, except junk mail, which is disappointing, but yesterday was such a good day, I can't complain.

Day #219

I wrote two letters today, and am now wondering if one of them is going to be returned because, according to this photo, I forgot to put a stamp on it. I hope that somehow I remembered before putting it in the mailbox. It was a U.S. letter; the other international (if it gets delivered and the recipient has to pay for the stamp, I apologize!!)

Mondays are nice--lots of mail, at least this one. Three letters today, one from Anjali, my sponsored child in India, a response to a letter I wrote to someone in India with those great Mother Theresa stamps, and a letter from a Canadian pen pal.

There were also all these postcards, all of which are post-crossing, except the one from Australia.

The Australia card is strange because it is identified as "capital cities in Australia," and on the back they are identified--but they have it wrong. The capital to the left of the map of Australia is identified as Canberra, but it's actually Perth (the only city I would be able to recognize!)