Category Archives: Snail Mail

foodie.penpal.swap:rice

This was my second month doing the foodie penpal swap. Jessica in Minnesota and I were paired and it was an interesting few weeks of flying packages. I sent along a fun bunch of weird and funky (yet super tasty) odds and ends from our local Asian market. I love this place. I may not know what all the packages are saying, but I interpret them to mean “delicious” and they often are. This appeals to my cheap sensibilities (as many of the packets run .80 – .90 cents each), as well as my adventurous wanna-be foodie side, and you get a lot for your $15 buck.

In return, I received a pound of Minnesota cultivated, cracked, wild rice! It also came with a recipe for wild rice soup. It looks nice and rich calling for among other things, 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of flour and 1 cup half and half. I haven’t had a chance to give it a whirl yet, but should you want to have at it first let me know and I’ll send the complete recipe along (makes approximately 6 cups). You can also grab your own bags of Gourmet House Minnesota Cultivated Cracked Wild Rice on Amazon:  4 16 oz bags for only $18. What a deal (or 6 for $22)!

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I am unsure of whether I will sign up for the swap again this coming month or perhaps instead treat myself to lots of little bags of goodies from the market….I suppose time will tell!

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Filed under Snail Mail, yummy eats

pigeon.post.update:return.from.the.desert

Henrietta had such a good time in the Arizona desert that she extended her stay to take in the rays and enjoy my friend Minerva’s company (and her awesome dog Bailey who likes to dress up like a lobster). She even hitched a ride back in a box full of goodies instead of flying on her own. But since I got awesome presents (yay!) I’ll forgive her laziness. So now that she is so well rested, she is on her way out the door again to fly another mission. Where do you think she will go?

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Distance flown so far: 11,920 miles

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world.post.day

Happy World Post Day! Hooray! World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Berne. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. So basically, it’s the official day of making mail awesome around the world! Celebrate by dropping a letter or two out to friends, or make some new ones!

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I sent a letter to Canada. Where did yours go?

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foodie.penpals

It started as a comment on my facebook page about craving a specific food from worldly travels, and ended in a google search and discovery of a foodie penpal swap. I chose to participate despite being out of the country the day boxes were to be mailed (whoops). But I think I made up for it with a box full of yummy things from Iceland and in turn got a box of my own from Cookie in Maryland. It had a ganache cookie mix as well as a lemon poppyseed scone mix and an edamame/goji berry package. Yum! I’m a coffee addict so the coffee flavored candy hits the spot, and peanut butter granola bars? Yes, please. The sour cherry drops are also spot on as I love the sweet & sour combination (I have been known to remove all taste buds from eating too many Sour Patch Kids in one sitting).

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I signed up to give it a go again next month! You should do an exchange too! It’s cheap and easy, and you get cool stuff. So, go. Do it.

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letters.and.mail

I had a rare full day off today (I forcibly kept myself out of the studio) and had a great time sending birthday thank you notes and a few letters.

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One lucky lady is also getting a brand new wax seal (my husband rocks and supplied me with both Hogwarts and Gryffindor seals for my old lady birthday!) on her envelope. I’m always so terrified I’m going to set the envelope on fire as I’m dropping wax….but it seems the only goof on this seal is that it’s upside down. Whoops. Accio flip?

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icelandic.photo.dump

Upon returning home from our trip abroad I find I have a ton of things to do. I would say that might be a gross exaggeration, but it’s not too far off the mark. So what did I do today? I edited photos from our trip and uploaded them to the internet. I am continuing along the theme of “unnecessary at the moment” by posting this right now. Most of the photos from the camera are from our drive around the perimeter of the country and there are a lot (a lot) of sheep pictures….but the sheep made me really, really happy.

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I think this looks like a George and Rhonda. What do you think?

 

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I was very concerned how these rural folks got their mail as I couldn’t seem to find any mailboxes, or figure out if they would have rural delivery? A PO box? How far did they have to drive? You know I’m a mail nerd, so these things are kind of a big deal if I’m going to move into one of the amazing picturesque farms right at the base of a fabou waterfall…..This was the only rural mailbox we saw.

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You can find some more of the photos offloaded from the camera in the Flickr set here.

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Filed under getting out, Snail Mail

pigeon.post.update.az

Henrietta has been flapping her little plastic wings once again and has flown from her previous destination (NJ), back to Alaska, and then made the journey south to visit my friend Minerva in Mesa, Arizona.  She tacked on an additional 2,553 miles and the girl is looking good! I hear rumors she may be off to visit a rabbit soon…

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Total mileage flown to date: 9363

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pigeon.post.update.nj

Remember when I talked about sending Henrietta the awesome plastic carrier pigeon out into the world? Well, she arrived safely in Forked River, New Jersey after a harrowing 3403 miles and only 4 days (well, I have no idea how eventful the trip was and Henrietta isn’t saying much)! My friend Amanda was the lucky recipient and I succeeded in scaring her into thinking there was a dead bird in her mailbox. Ha!

The old girl is looking good and will be winging her way back to me soon to start another adventure!

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Total mileage flown to date: 3403

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pigeon.post

I’m super excited to get my pigeon, Henrietta, ready for her maiden mail voyage. You can get your own from the Letter Writers Alliance and drop it in a mailbox near you. I’m hoping to surprise a lot of my stateside pals with Henrietta’s visit (sorry international folks – the bird isn’t big enough for a customs form) and am excited to report back on her travels! But who will get her first??

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