April Showers....

It's been kind of a dreary day today.  This morning was begun by taking my mom to the dentist.  She was nervous, as she has a dreadful fear of the dentist.  Any normal regular procedure, even routine cleaning, involves being put under general anesthesia to prevent panic attacks from taking over and making it impossible.  As I sat in the waiting room, with echoes of that horrifying dental drill and miscellaneous chatter in the operating room, I replied to a letter from a relatively new pen-friend from Jacksonville, FL.

The last few days have been incredibly warm, and downright enjoyable.  Except for the pollen, which has been a nightmare.  Today's pollen count alone is over 8000.  Keep in mind, anything over 150 is viewed as "Extremely High" on the scale.  It's a wonder I was even able to breathe.  The parking lot at the dentist's office was covered in a sheen of greenish yellow, tires and footprints being left behind.

And then, just as the weatherman predicted, rain came.  We are possibly going to get some thunderstorms tonight, but that's ok with me.  Just after the first band of rain came through, I snapped the above photo from the front porch.

That, my friends, is my latest adventure into living more healthy.  I have been fairly successful in my quest to cook more meals than I eat out, and growing some of my own vegetable is the next step.  That is 5 beautifully healthy tomato plants, eagerly waiting to be put into their home in the ground.  Naturally, I would pick a horrible time to plant them - it's supposed to get cold again this weekend.  But, never fear.  I will have them planted and growing in no time.  I hope.

With April showers come May flowers... and June allergies... and July allergies... and August allergies....

Happy Spring, friends!

Spring Fling

The last two weeks have been very busy for me.  It seems as if all my spare time was spent either cleaning up after someone or cooking food.  I don't mind playing the host, but I do sometimes miss the quiet down time.

My mail activity hasn't been very active recently.  I can blame it on myself, I have been very slow to respond because of my lack in time.  But ever so slowly, I am still sending out mail one piece at a time.

Have you seen the new International Forever stamps?  They're round and have a really nice piece of art depicting the Earth.  I liked them so much I bought 2 panels of them.  (Insert picture here, but my camera is currently broken.... so much to do such little time!)

Do any of you have any experience in hand dying paper?  One of my pen friends sent some aged paper done with coffee or tea.  I was wondering what other effects I could achieve using other materials - I had thought to try Kool-Aid or something similar, but I haven't had the chance to yet.

A request!

My next door neighbor, Beckah, put a request on Facebook.  Her friend Gladys is celebrating her 95th birthday on the 15th of March, and they would like her to receive as many cards and well wishes as possible.  I thought I would post the information here, if you'd like to send her a little something, her address is below!

GLADYS BOLDT (GMA) CARE OF TJ HOLM
P.O. BOX 62
MARBLE HILL, GA 30148

2013! Are we all still here?

2013 has begun!  I am quite behind in maintaining this blog, but the letters keep rolling in and rolling out.  One of my "resolutions" this year is to keep the mail current, to respond timely, and to write more meaningful letters.  This will be a challenge, but I am ready for it!

This month has been incredibly stressful.  The talking heads in the corporate world have been telling us to shape up, and it's really put a dampener on my day to day work.  The last two days in particular have been very very stressful, with lots of shouting and even tears at one point by my superiors.  We are all fighting right now, some to keep our jobs, and some to keep the peace, so it's a bit much right now.

Outside of work, I have been so exhausted when I get home that I have done very little aside from some writing.  I have wanted to give myself a little gift, a very nice journal (with fountain pen friendly ink), very soon.  I haven't found one that I like just yet.  I need a place to vent without rambling too much to my pen pals and friends. Do any of you have any suggestions?

The only other thing I have to report is that we are looking for some winter weather to come through tomorrow.  With the chance that I might have a day off of work, I very well could be all caught up with my mail!  When the weather outside is frightful, I say stay in and correspond!

One year!

On December 28, I will hit the one year anniversary of opening my blog, and the one year anniversary of beginning my journey into letter writing.  This blog has also recently hit 11,000 page views, which is completely insane!  I would have never guessed it would happen this quickly!

So, what has the last year taught me?   To be more patient with myself.  To allow my creative juices to flow when they're ready.  To love stamps.  To not worry if a letter goes more than three days without a reply.  To be more organized.  To be fearless.  To be appreciative.  To be forgiving.

It has been an incredible year, and I can't wait for the next one!  Thank you all for becoming friends with me!

Sandy Hook Elementary School

My thoughts and prayers go out to those effected by the disgusting and heinous crime this morning.  I cannot imagine what those families are going through.

A giveaway!

Most of you probably know of this already, but Derrick over at i Still write is hosting a giveaway on his blog!  It's a chance to win some very beautiful stationery.  All it takes is to mail something, so why not try for this awesome prize?