Sunday, January 31, 2010

My Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law are leaving town and I'm so excited!

Okay...and by that I mean...

My brother-in-law, Tanner, and his wife, Anjuli (what a beautiful name), are leaving town (yes, I've said this already and I am clearly excited), to teach English in South Korea, for a year, or maybe two (aaaahhh) . Am I excited about the idea of them not being around to play board games with (stock ticker excluded), watch hockey games, celebrate birthdays, share meals, and hang out - NO! But I am excited that they are off on a super cool adventure of a lifetime and of course, that now I get to send them mail :) So be watching my letter count for International mail to South Korea starting late February!

Definitely going to miss you both!  Aren't they the cutest couple!

. This photo was snapped at our recent family ski weekend together at an outdoor skating rink.

Look out world mail is heading your way: provincial (Osoyoos), International (Norway).
24/1000

P.S. A big thank you to M.Y. for sending me the coolest Olympic stamps to get some mail out there!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Artists on the loose!

This past weekend I went away with my husband's family for a little ski
getaway and in between skiing and skating and tubing I commissioned three artists (my nieces - 5, 7, and 8) to work on some envelopes for me. This is a great way to make your envelopes stand out and if you have your own children give them licence to colour the mail. Or let your own creative juices spill out onto the page and doodle away - how fun for the postal workers! You could even give them a little shout out, "Hello, mailperson - you are doing an awesome job! Thank you for helping this letter get from A to B." A great way to make someone's day :) 

Just a short one to say - get the crayons out!



I think my sister-in-law, Jenna (a.k.a. Mom of above artists), did this one. Love it!







On a side note: Every Christmas I put a Christmas card in my mailbox, addressed "mailcarrier" that thanks them for delivering all of my mail and I slip in a $5. Starbucks card :) It's the little things.

Two local thank you notes (Delta, Surrey)
22/1000

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Envelopes are exciting too!

I don't think envelopes get the credit they deserve. And quite frankly, letters without envelopes are just words in the wind or maybe, notes passed in class. Do kids still do this? Pass notes in class? I remember this fondly. But now it happens very rarely since the introduction of texting - notes are so passe and slow. Funny though I met with some friends from high school last month and one of the girls mentioned she has all of her notes from back then. The excitement it created was great - the other girls wanted to see them - nostalgia is such a temptress.

But really, think about all those old movies, or movies set in old times, (specifically war movies) - there is always someone who has a stack of tattered and worn envelopes wrapped in twine or occasionally ribbon that they have saved. The letters were simply too meaningful to part with.

So envelopes - they hold dearly our important words. They are also the first sign that something special has arrived! I went to the mailbox yesterday and found the most glorious green envelope. There were three other envelopes in there (two white, one brown) and it shined in stark contrast to their drabness. I bought a Valentine's Day card for my husband from a great little shop on Etsy called Lavish from Seattle, Washington. The seller sent it in the lovliest green envelope -what a treat! The card I bought is super cool too (Ryan don't look). She has some other really cool Valentine's Day cards in her shop (check it out). I have to compliment her on her writing on the envelope as well - so beautiful.

Of course I am already thinking about Valentine's Day (the holiday of love and cards, or is it love of cards?). The Lavish one is probably one of a couple cards I will give my husband - I can never quite pick out just one. There is a robot one coming soon :) But back to envelopes - they can say a lot. I love sending coloured ones - you can pick up bundles at your local chain card stores for a few dollars. I think after season they clear out what they have - I've picked up some great yellow, orange, pink, and red ones in the last year (usually bundles of 25). They really do make your mail POP!

A few other ideas to try: rubber stamps or even potato stamps, doodling, old school airmail envelopes (love these), fun postage stamps, custom address labels, and stickers.

If you have checked out my Etsy store, Paper Route, you know that I make envelopes too. I love to work with maps, sheet music, and used children's books. But anything that is bound for the recycling bin - magazine pages, dictionary pages, old posters, wrapping paper, and so on. It's easy to make a template - I'll write about this soon.

Mail is enroute to Kelowna (1), Ontario (1) and Norway (1).
20/1000

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Change of plans

I was going to write about envelopes today but instead I am going to write about...oh whoa, wait...did you think that I was giving up on my one thousand letters.  That change of plans meant giving up my challenge? Nope, definitely not.

As I was saying, I was going to write about the joy of the envelope today but that will have to wait until next time because today I HAVE to write about being thankful. For the last ten years I have been a high school English teacher and in the last four I have also taught Creative Writing (my favourite). During that time in the classroom I talked a lot about writing and encouraged the writing of many a thank you note. In my Creative Writing class I aimed for at least one a month (count 30 kids - that is a lot of great mail going out to the world). 


But before I was a teacher I worked in customer service (a hotel, retail store, major U.S. mouse-eared theme park, insurance call centre) and I really enjoyed it (helping people). I was lucky to have worked for companies that had great training and I prided myself on good service.  Which is why I think I totally appreciate it when I have great service from someone. I know we have all experienced bad service and we've probably even complained about it too. But how often have we complimented good service? Or gone a step further and written a letter to the company to celebrate an employee - a letter that will no doubt go into their file and be passed on to them by a manager or whomever they answer to (not just the comment card tucked in with the restaurant receipt or in the spa change room). A thank you letter for great service is a beautiful thing.

I live in a townhouse and just had my one year evaluation/walk through for areas that needed repair. I was lucky enough to have Rick come in and help me out - what a lovely gentleman. He remembered my name and used it in conversation, he gave me tips on things in my house that I didn't ask about, he did an excellent job on every repair, and even had time to chat up my 9 1/2 month old daughter. He was very personable and had a very kind nature. He had to come back a second day (today actually) and he called before he came, remembered my daughter's name and was just an all round great guy. I HAD to write about being thankful today because I will be sending a letter to his boss to express my thanks.

I realize that I haven't done this in awhile and this has reminded me to pay attention to the good service (it's far too easy to miss it and focus on our bad experiences). I'm challenging the rest of you to be on the look out and then get that pen out (or keyboard) and celebrate good service.

One thank you letter going local (Richmond).
17/1000

Sunday, January 10, 2010

A pleasantly precise pile of lovingly labeled letters.



There is something very satisfying about the stackability of a pile of handwritten letters/envelopes. The weight of them in your hands and how they line up on two edges and feel so orderly. This particular group of letters will have to wait to go out till Monday because I made it to the post office at 5:03pm and they closed at 5:00pm (Boo - for me not getting my act together).

This time my letters are heading local (Surrey x 2 and Delta), out of the Lower Mainland (Osoyoos and Kelowna), out of province (Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario x 2), and down below (Iowa). That's 10 letters out into the world. If you are counting that is 16 so far, only 984 left to go!

Fly my beauties, fly!
(well, when the post office opens tomorrow).

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Oh Happy Day!


I hear footsteps on my stairs, the doorbell rings and then, I think, someone running down the stairs or jumping? Nicky, Nicky Nine Doors? (or is it Knicky, Knicky Nine doors?) Either way, I peer through my peephole and no one is around, not even a single niece hiding in the very corners of my front porch with a shoe or scooter giving her up...hmmmm.



Ever so cautiously I crack the door to solve this mystery and lo and behold I see something tucked under the corner of my snowflake welcome mat (note to self - time to put away Christmas welcome mat). I swing the door back and scoop it up in delight - a package! a package! a package! Now, had I been a little bit more together, I would have taken a photo of said package under door mat for this post but alas, I was caught up in the glory of a brown paper wrapped parcel that was hand addressed to me, that had traveled all the way from the breathtakingly amazing Norway ~ and I knew this even before I saw the stamps or the return address because I recognized the handwriting (so cool). I ripped it open :)


Nothing cooler than crazy awesome chocolate bars from other countries.


In fact, these ones taste like those bugle snacks - does anyone remember those savoury delights? Maybe they are still around but they remind me of parties from my youth and by that I mean, house parties my parents had when I was little. Yummy! So while there were other equally amazing gifts wrapped up in that box I thought I would share these sweet joys with you.  And hey, if you are thinking of sending a package to someone across the world, consider sending candy/chocolate that is only made in your country and not available anywhere else - it is such a wonderful but simple gift to share.

Thanks Bente - you are a rockstar!

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Post Office

I love the post office! This is where the magic happens - there is something amazing about writing a letter, adding a stamp, putting it in the slot and letting it go out into the world, knowing that shortly someone will have a little piece of me, of conversation, of love. But it's not just the service but all of those beautiful stamps and the stories they tell. What character they add to a postcard or an envelope! They are one of my favourite things about getting mail from other countries too.


So you have may have guessed that I have been a fairly regular customer of the post office my whole life but since I gave birth to my sweet little girl, Piper, 9 months and 10 days ago (hmmm...who's a new mom?) I've been  to the post office so much - getting out for a walk, sending birth announcements, photos, Christmas cards & packages - that I am, actually, on a first name basis with the post office lady. She's lovely and sweet and she always talks to Piper. It really makes it even more of a joy to go.

(My Aunt took this awesome photo of Piper)


So today I'm starting off with a bang - 6 pieces of mail (4 postcards, 2 letters with some pre-Christmas photos),  heading local (Delta, Surrey), out of province (Edmonton, Calgary), stateside (Iowa), and international (Norway). Thought I'd get a range out there.



Letters mingle souls - John Donne


Saturday, January 2, 2010

I love mail!

There is nothing quite like opening the mailbox and finding, amidst the flyers and bills, an envelope that stands apart from everything else - a handwritten address, a lopsided stamp, and the sense that this is something personal, something special, and something that will make my day.

Do you know this feeling?

I love this feeling and I want to spread this feeling...My husband told me that 80% of post office mail is business-related and that made me a little sad. Email has definitely become a powerful force in the correspondence world. Don't get me wrong - email is awesome and I use it all the time but there is something quite lovely about sitting down, taking some time and writing a letter/a note/an invitation/a thank you/a compliment. (I'm quite happy if this involves tea drinking as well.)

So I've decided that I'm going to send out one thousand paper letters. The kind of mail that makes you do a double-take at the mailbox as you sort through the flyers and bills. The kind of mail that makes you realize that email is great but letters are amazing. The kind of mail that makes you smile. Heartfelt, thoughtful, day brightening mail to mailboxes near and far. I'm not sure how long it will take but I'm excited to see where this journey will take me and maybe where it will take you, as you follow along for the ride.



Let the journey begin...