Memorial Day

Memorial Day Giveaway

So...as you can probably tell by the title its time for another giveaway. I spent the last few days attempting to organize my supplies in an effort to make answering mail easier. In doing so I found a few stamp pins I had been saving for a rainy day. So here's the deal. Leave a comment between now and midnight EST on the blog about your favorite memorial day memory or what you plan on doing this memorial day. Also be sure to leave a number so I have some way of selecting a winner. There will be TWO winners this time. Each will win a lovely USPS Stamp pin that looks like this:

You know you want to enter! Oh and be sure to tell your friends...there just might be a bigger giveaway happening when this blog hits 150 followers. =)  (think...lots of stuff the Pen-thief doesn't really need anymore.)

Postal Plea!

Ok folks. Many of you must have realized by now that keeping up with the blog and my mail is becoming such a chore. I suspect that I am just slightly burnt out, but also the weather is soooo much nicer than normal for this time of year. I mean...I have been wearing shorts and tank tops for what seems like months already!

At any rate, I am making a postal plea. For the time being..how about we just correspond by postcard instead of letter? Or for those who rather send a letter, please know that if I respond by postcard, its not me trying to snub you but rather me trying to send timely responses and not fall as far behind. Ok?

Also, I think I have an interesting post or two in store for the near future. I may post one of these beauties on Wednesday. I have been saving it all winter because photographing it will require open space..and where better than the outdoors? Until then, please know I haven't forgotten any of yor..and mail is still slowly trickling out to you.

Thanks for your patience and for reading my little corner of the internet. =)

Mailbox Improvement Week 2012

Yesterday started National Dog Bite Prevention Week and also Mailbox Improvement Week. Each year the third full week in May is a week designated to making mailboxes (especially those on rural or city driven routes) look nicer, but also help our letter carriers access and use them easier.

If you live in an area like me, you are prone to getting snow..which means plows come and obliterate the mailbox once a season. Luckily, this years snows weren't too bad and the mailbox made by step 2 held up nicely. In my area I see lots of rusty mailboxes and wonder why people do not take more pride in them. Well, perhaps they aren't as loving of the mail as I am..but it still makes me sad. If I were a mail carrier I would rather have a nicer neater box to deliver to as opposed to a rusty hard to open (or shut) mailbox. And I am thinking that was the motivation behind this national week of improvement.

So, I urge you to clean up your mailbox or replace it if it need be. Think of all the hard work the USPS does for us..the least we can do is make their job a little easier. Here are the five points the USPS is hoping to accomplish:

Mailboxes should be:

1. Approved by the postmaster general.

2. Designed to protect the mail from weather.

3. Safe to use.

4. Conveniently located.

5. Neat in appearance.

Does your mailbox meet those standards? If not, are you going to try and make it better?

National Dog Bite Prevention Week 2012

Did you know that there is a national week to honor dog bite prevention? Well, as the title of this post suggests, there is! So, I thought I would attempt to find some statistics on dog bites for you.

In 2009 it was reported that 2,863 postal employees were victims to dog attacks. And while that doesn't seem like too many...that equals almost 9 a day for each day of mail delivery. A number that I think is far too high. What's worse is that the number has increased to over 5,600 in the last year!

Now I am sure that some of the incidents that occur are with stray dogs, however, that still can't account for all of the incidents. So why are so many people leaving their pets where they can harass our delivery folks? (I say delivery, because lets face it..the USPS is only one of the entities that deliver to our homes. What about UPS and FedEX drivers? They probably have the same problem.

So on this first day of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, remember to keep your pets safe and away from areas where delivery drivers will be stopping. This will make everything work much smoother. =)

Armed Forces Day

Tomorrow is Armed Forces Day. I would have waited to post this until then, however there are so many things for May 19th this year..that I decided to space them out. Armed Forces Day is always the third Saturday in May each year. It is a day to recognize the sacrifice the men and women of ALL our armed forces have made. Prior to 1949 there were separate holidays for each branch of the military service. In August of '49 Harry S Truman combined those separate days into one holiday called Armed Forces Day. We have been celebrating it every since.

So tomorrow remember to show your appreciation for the members of the Armed Forces. Proudly fly your American Flag and your POW Flag if you own one. Personally I will be thanking those men and women I know who bravely served our country in peacetime and while at war.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely mothers who take the time to stop by this blog. I know from personal experience that I do not always show my appreciation to my mom throughout the year. That is something I would very much like to change. My mother and I are like the best of friends and I can truly tell her anything. Without her, I wouldn't be the amazingly talented (ok ok...and humble too) Pen-Thief that I am today.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish each and every one of you a wonderful day. I hope you get pampered and treated like queens! I also apologize for not sending out Mother's Day cards to more of you! Shame on me. How could I miss an opportunity like this? Oh well, I will remember next year!

No Olympic Stamp?

The Summer Olympic games will be held in London this year. Anyone who goes...you MUST send me a postcard! Ok..you really don't have to, but it would be nice. *wink* Anyway, the games arent set to start until mid-summer however, it is becoming noticable that there will not be a USPS olympic stamp release this year.

Some say it is because of a licensing issue. Linn Stamp News reported that the USPS showed reporters some stamp mock ups last year, with the five-ring logo curiously missing. But they also reported that there will be no stamp issued for the Olympics this year by the United States. This will be the first Olympic Games since the 1980 summer games in Moscow that the USPS doesn't have a stamp. (Before anyone bites my head off..there were stamps released for the Moscow games, but once the US decided to boycott the games the stamps were reportedly pulled from circulation and destroyed. I couldn't find any real info about that other than the Scott Stamp Catalogue doesn't have them marked very highly in value..which means there must be a ton in circulation.)

Either way this has me bummed. I personally love the Olympic Games! And being this is the first games since I really got into collected stamps and mailing letters, I was disappointed to learn there would be no stamps to commemorate the event. Such a shame.

What do you think about this? Do you care? What's your take on the issue?

Melvin the Mini Machine

So I was putzing around on CNN last night and I found this really neat article. Little did I know it would actually have something relevant to this blog in it! Check out the video that was part of the article..and then if you wish..read the article here.

Neat huh? Ever thought of making a machine like that?

Owl Post

Two of my coworkers just came back from Universal Studios in Florida and they made a stop at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Guess what they sent me???

A postcard!! The best part is actually on the backside.

A Hogsmead Owl Postmark. =)  It may have made my day. I still would like to visit the park someday, but this may be enough to tide me over for a while.

Friendly Reminder

You did know that it is technically against the law to reuse an uncanceled stamp right? Well, if you didn't you do now. Plus why not just support the USPS and buy a fresh stamp?

Maurice Sendak

I am sure you have all already heard this, but today Maurice Sendak passed away. The author of Where The Wild Things Are had a stroke just 4 days ago and today we received the news. It is such a shame. Sure he was a notably cranky guy, but come on...his works are classics that are sure to be enjoyed for generations.

One of the things I didn't realize about him was the lengths he would go to answer fan mail. Yes! That is what I said..he answered his fan mail. Ok, so not all of it, but look at the length he went to make this reply personalized:

Sorta makes you want to write to famous illustrators of children's books doesn't it?