It's the Little Things

So today I was out taking some pictures of the flowers that were enjoying the sunshine...

When I noticed something green crawling up one of the flowers...

And I was so excited that I literally took pictures until my camera's battery died.

Sometimes...it is just the little things...

USPS Everywhere Locator

So, going out on a limb I would say that a lot of the people who read this blog are in the USA and send mail on a regular or semi-regular basis. Now you may know where the nearest post office is located, but say you were on vacation. What then? With our nice little blue boxes seemingly disappearing it is always handy to be able to find the nearest mailing location (cause sometimes you can mail things from drug stores these days).

Well, the USPS has a map that will tell you just that! The USPS Everywhere Locator map asks you to punch in a city or zip code...then it will show you a map of all the nearby locations based on the information you have given. So for instance...

Now..I live just off to the right side of that map...but you can see that Streetsboro's PO is just closer to me. The blue pin (as you can see below) represents an actual US Post Office, whereas the red pins represent places where there are other postal services available.

So once you click on a pin..you can see all the available services. So for instance, the Streetsboro Post Office allows you to buy stamps and supplies as well as mail letters and packages or get a post office box. This PO does not however, allow you to submit passports, buy cards/stationery, nor does it have a self service postal machine. Pretty neat huh?

I apologize for the small size of the photos. For better clarity I suggest you try it for yourself by clicking the link above. And for those followers or casual readers in other countries...do you postal services have similar maps?

**Canada Post has a map as well.

YAY! Mail for Canada!

As many of you may know already Canada's mail service is back up and running. Which means the United States issued a statement saying they will start accepting mail headed to Canada again! This means that all our lovely penpals in Canada can feel the joy we get from sending/receiving mail!

So if you know someone in Canada..even if not find someone and send them some happy mail!!

Perhaps one of these envies are destined for Canada...we shall see. =)

Outgoing Mail

So I typically don't post pictures of the outgoing mail. For a few reasons...the biggest of which is that I am lazy. The other is mainly that a lot of the people I send mail to...follow the blog. So...I know from experience I always enjoy a good surprise! (And I just cannot seem to get in the habit of snapping the pics before I put the addresses on!)

But alas here are some photos:

Front:

And backside of a postcard (that I thoroughly expect to get ripped to shreds in the postal machines).

Then an add + pass:

Placed in this envelope...

And now..I shall go see if I cannot write some more mail to send out. =)

Quick Friday Post

I like to send fun mail when I can. So..Carter and I sent off this Frisbee to someone who was nice enough to send him something. =)

And how about a funny non-mail related photo?



Now I am off to write some letters! Have a great weekend!

Random Update Post

Carter has gotten some really neat things in the mail. Which means more thank you's to be mailed out soon. =) Here is the picture of a note in a bottle he received.



There were some neat sparkly stars, a dinosaur, a note (of course) and a helicopter toy of sorts! Needless to say....HE LOVED IT!

Then there was some mail for me from Superhero. A flingshot monkey mailed in a clear envelope!





And finally...how about a little duck going for a ride?



That little duck started its journey yesterday. Hopefully it will reach its destination soon. =)

Post Office Visit!

I finally made it to the post office this morning before work. As I mentioned yesterday I had quite a bit of things to mail off.

First was an odd request to mail a gigantic rubber duck.



I've not tried mailing odd objects there yet, so I decided to try it out on the rubber duck. Then I had a ton of postcards that were already stamped but needed to be mailed so I dropped them off instead of making my mail lady carry them with her. Then I had the packages for the giveaway. It would have looked like this (minus the duck) if I had stuffed it all into the box.



BUT..those aren't my picture because I actually forgot my cell phone at home. I was totally bummed and debated about waiting until tomorrow to mail..but I wanted it all to go out today. SO...if the recipient of the duck reads this...and finds it in their heart to snap a picture and email it..that would be awesome!

I thought the mail clerk would think that I was nuts, but he said that the oddest thing he's ever been asked to mail was a coconut. That would be an odd one wouldn't it?

SO..all told..after paying postage on the duck, the giveaway packages and buying much needed stamps...I spent just shy of $50. CRAZY! I do believe that is the most at one time on postage. =)

It's Official

The United States Post Office will no longer accept outgoing mail that is destined to Canada. That goes into effect tomorrow. SO to all my lovely penpals/postcard pals up North...hopefully the strike ends soon!! I am definitely feeling for you, I know how sad I get on no mail days..

GIVEAWAY NEWS:

To those who sent out an entry into the giveaway. I had 6 entries and the winner was randomly selected by my good buddy Carter. So the winner is....



So I will be mailing out packets to everyone who entered tomorrow. =) Congrats!

Instead of writing...

I made a little bit of art...



Hope everyone had a great day!!

Addiction..

Yup...a pen addiction. Limner told me that sometimes you can make an easy post out of some pictures (I may be paraphrasing a bit..). So that is what I am doing with you now. Showing you part of the collection of pens I currently have in ONE drawer in my desk. (I know there are others...I just didn't feel like hunting them down.)



The pens above are probably the ones I write with most frequently. I like each for various reasons..and some of them I only use on certain things. For instance the white and light blue pen on the left...well...I came across that one at a resort in Mexico. And thus I brought it home..and have only used it a few times since. Why? I have no clue.



Then you have the "fatter" bodied pens. I have a small chubby hand. So slight pens do not always sit in my hand nicely. So whenever I happen across a thicker bodied pen...they may just come home with me. (Not always on purpose).



And finally you have the thinner pens. Personally my favorite of this bunch is the one on the left. It is a steel body, which is nice for having in my purse. I dont have to worry about the plastic breaking and getting ink everywhere. (I had one bag ruined that way). I also have a smaller version of that pen (made by Zebra) that fits nicely in my pocket when out and about. I love it...but I cannot buy them around here anymore. =( The stores just dont carry them, so I suppose I will use the internet to replace them once they are all gone.

**For those who enjoy fountain pens, Zebra even has a steel bodied one called the V-301.**

Jimmy Stewart Gets a Post Office...Sorta

A Post Office in Indiana will now bear Jimmy Stewart's name to honor him. (He was from Indiana.)

But did I mention that Indiana...is a town in Pennsylvania? Cool, huh? Anyway, I have plans for today, but thought I would share a short post about this. I always think its neat when Post Offices are renamed for people. (I know...dorky). And thus...here are two of my favorite James Stewart stamps.



and this one:




**The first person to guess my favorite Jimmy Stewart movie and leave a comment will win...something. I am not sure yet. Perhaps something I find on todays adventures. =) **

Thank Yous From Carter

Carter wrote out some thank you notes today to the people who have sent him mail. Then he decorated the envelopes with stickers and stuck them in the mailbox.

On another note I am almost caught up on my mail! Yay! Keep your eyes on the mailbox.

Script and Scribble

So I told you a few times to expect a book review. Well...as you can see from the cover (or maybe not) I read a book on handwriting. I was a little leery of this book only because I thought it would be pretty boring. I mean...its basically the history of handwriting. BUT I was pleasantly surprised.

I never knew that there was such a history to handwriting. My generation was taught cursive in school...but by the time I was in late elementary early middle school...we were typing everything up. So I didn't have an actual penmanship class. (A fact that makes me a bit sad.)

And thus if Handwriting interests you, I highly recommend this book. And for those who haven't seen it..here is my handwriting.



As you can see..my lack of a handwriting course shows in my cursive. Which is why I usually write in "print".

Anyway, time to write some letters! Hope everyone is staying cool!

The Library is so Quiet

Like the title says..the library is insanely quiet. So I decided to write my blog entry. Well...the computer and or internet decided to melt down and thus I am posting from my smartphone. (Blogger lost my post)

Anyway, I will retype it tonight. Just wanted to share my frustrations.

More Mail For Carter...

And even some inspirational mail for me. =)

Today was a mail day filled with junk and letters from a fellow blogger. Limner (Bobbie) Cade is such a wonderful woman!! Yesterday the mail included a note and book for Carter. She sent him a book called "Stink"...how appropriate. We haven't started reading it yet, though we will in a few days when I have some time off. (He loves being read to). ** If you haven't checked out her blog...you definitely should!!**

Then today I opened the mailbox and pulled bills, junk and 4..thats right 4 things sent from Ms. Limner. Two were for Mr. Carter (or Carter the Great as she called him on the front of one note) and two were for me. We spent some time reading his letters. One of the letters asked if he wanted to be an honorary cowboy!! How exciting is that?? We shall be working on a letter for her on Thursday (as Wednesdays are my REALLY busy days).

Then after he had read his mail, he needed to do some yard work (not really...but this boy cannot wait to have a job...boy wont he eat those words someday). So while he was doing his work I read my mail. I must say, it was just what I needed to get out of the blogging rut I have been in. She commented on the blog and told me that she enjoys reading, and that she hopes I stick to it. Well what can I say..it made me want to sit down right then and blog about it. =)

The truth is I love blogging! If I could...I would have TONS of blogs all about various topics. Maybe post to each one every few days. Though, blogging is time consuming. Sometimes very time consuming. I started off extremely ambitious...posting to the blog every day. But..that can get a little tiresome. It also gets a bit harder to find things to blog about. Everyone who reads this blog knows that I rarely ever share my daily rundown. So, if there isnt anything particularly interesting going on in the writing/stamp/penpal world..I am usually at a loss as to what to write.

And I am still trying to find the balance between blogging and writing letters...as well as blogging and reading...or blogging and all the other various projects I would like to accomplish. What I can say is that I shall try my best to post a few times a week. And ALWAYS let you know if I will be taking a break from posting. Also, if you are one of the many people who choose to write me, I promise I will respond...though it may take a little while for me to do so.

So I ask your patience and understanding. And as always, thank you for the taking the time to read my rambles.

**Any of you interested in Penmanship or Handwriting? If so, keep a look for tomorrows post...a book review. =) **

Post 100!!

Woohoo!! I actually made it to 100 posts. I am going to be completely honest with you...I never thought I would make it this far. But I am oh so glad I have. Blogging is extremely rewarding when I can balance it with life. =)

Today I gave some mail to Mr. Carter. When he opened up the envelope...this is what he pulled out.



He loved this skateboard!! I read him the tag and then took it off so he could play with it. He was towing the skateboard with a toy helicopter. Tomorrow I plan on having him make Kelly P. a nice piece of mail to thank her for the skateboard. I am sure he will make something neat. =)

And because I have nothing better to post about..I am going to tell you about my fingernails. They SERIOUSLY need to be trimmed..but I keep putting it off. I really should just go have them done. haha. Here is a pic to show you how long they are...and to prove that they are getting in my way a bit.



Long huh?

And finally the National Blog Post for today was "What is your favorite band/singer?". Honestly, I dont really have one. I listen to just about anything with exception to techno. So if anyone wants to suggest some interesting bands to listen to..please do.

Also I think its time to host a giveaway. So..to enter I am requiring that you send a postcard/piece of mail with a number. ( I am stealing this method from Becky the Snailmailer.) Lets say entries must be postmarked by the 10th. Once I am certain that all entries have been received I will use a random number generator to select the winner..and they will receive some random stationery/cards/other goodies.

A Post Of Randomness...

I have been dreadfully bad at keeping track of incoming and outgoing mail this past week...so I decided that today being June 1st I would start once again recording it in my little notebook. So far, so good. Carter got a bit of mail today from Kelly P. (He hasnt opened it yet, but something tells me he will love it. In a postcard addressed to me she said that it is a skateboard!!) And the second bit of mail was from Superhero. He sent me some of his French Homework mail art. Very cool stuff. (hopefully pictures soon).

Next order of business is to tell you about the create your own stationery site that the National Postal Museum has up. Basically you can create custom stationery based on a few different sets of icons they have available. Then print it off yourself. Pretty cool. A quick shoutout to 365 Letters Blog cause that is where I found this information. If you haven't checked out that blog already, I highly recommend it.

If you arent a member of the International Union of Mail Artists, you should click that link and join! It is super simple. It is also a great way to find out about mail calls. There is literally something for everyone. I like to describe it as a facebook for Mail Artists. =)

And something completely unrelated to mail/writing letters, June is National Blog Posting Month. Each day in the month of June there will be a topic given and all bloggers have to do is answer the questions. And thus, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try to do it.

**Are you a fan of a sports team? When did you become a fan?**

Um, I would say that I am a fan. I tend to follow sports for various reasons. I love watching Rugby. Probably because my brother and a few friends play the sport. I also like to watch hockey. That second one surprised me because I didn't realize this until just 2 years ago. So as for teams, I root for Old Gold Rugby, out of Boston, MA for which my brother plays, and the NHL team the Pittsburgh Penguins. =)