Back from the Cape

    I'm back for a few refreshing and cold days on Cape Cod. If you're not from the area, Cape Cod is beautiful in the summer but very crowded. In the winter it is... closed? desolate? depressing? All 3 I think. The good thing is that my parents have a time share there and we can stay there for free. So, even though there is not much there to entertain us, unless we try, we have a great time just being with each other. There is a pool and they have kids activities so we are always kept busy. I always bring a puzzle, a book (or 2) and letters so I'm always busy. (I read Rooftops of Tehran on this trip. I really liked it.) 
    This trip we:
-Went swimming
- Went out to eat with Matt's brother Jon and his 2 sons
- Did our normal Christmas Tree Shop runs (and I found some acrylic paint deals at Ocean State Job Lot)
- Were visited by my sister, her boyfriend and my niece
- Went out to a taco buffet. Matt loved it. I think I can still taste everything 2 days later. Too much junky food this trip
- Did almost all of the kids' activities- painted rocks, played bingo, made fleece pillows, did hidden object pages, etc.
- Did a puzzle together
- RESTED

I:
-Wrote 8 letters
-Read 1.5 books
- Slept more than I have in a really long time
- Enjoyed spending time with everybody and really liked noticing more differences/similarities with the boys. Tim is like me when he can just keep going all day if he's having a good time. That boys spent 5 hours straight in the pool on Tuesday. He gets along with all different types of people and can make friends with anyone. Unfortunately, he also shares can be judgmental like me. David is like me when he just wants to sit and cuddle, read or rest. He knows when he is tired and when he should probably go to bed. He is content to just sit with me and do something in the same room. He is silly and lovable.

    I also had some mail when I got home. Yeah!!! I have been expecting a package from Finland for a very long time but I'm starting to wonder if it's lost. After my initial disappointment that that still isn't here, I checked the mailbox. (Side story- We have 4 mailboxes across the street from our house. Mine is one of the 2 in the middle. Apparently, my neighbor's got taken out with a snow plow yesterday. Sad for him but glad it wasn't mine. His is the other one on the inside) Here is what I got:

 4 letters! Yes. Finally. The one in Amharic is from a little girl I sponsor through Compassion International. She is from Ethiopia. Her name is Tseganesh. The one with the beautiful handwriting is from Donna in Canada. The bluebird one is a Lettermo reply from Neil in England. Check out his stationary :) I don't know if you can order from the US but I like it all.  Then the cool envelope on the end is from Jen in CA. She is another person I have connected with through Lettermo.

 The card on the left is from a private Postcrossing exchange. It's from GA. The card on the right is another Lettermo reply! Yeah for Lettermo! I will have to continue to get at least 1 letter a day out to continue to stay ahead. 
     Anyone else taking part in Lettermo- how's it going for you?


The 366 Project: 
Sent: 85
Received: 28

Oh hey... did I mention that it's snowing again? We got another 17" when we were down the Cape Today it is snowing off and on. There is a snowbank on the corner of our driveway that is now quite a bit over my head. I'm 5'10" 

 
 

366 again?

    For the past 2 years I have tried to send and receive 366 pieces of mail in one year. The first year I just cared about quantity and sent out as many letters as possible, yet felt guilty that I was getting behind in catching up with my mail. I decided that I would rather have quality correspondences with people and that maybe I could help my project by including my postcards and cards that I receive. Last year I attempted it again. I sent better quality mail but struggled with organization and logging everything. So, I got discouraged and gave up again. With a new year comes a new attempt. I think this is my year. I hope it is.

Outgoing mail today:

 Headed to Donna in Canada. Sorry about my finger. I still haven't figured out how to blur my address.

 Art card headed to Elena in Russia. You may notice that I have many art cards that I send. One day at school, a colleague approached me with a HUGE pile of postcards and asked me if I knew anybody who could use these postcards. Oh, the irony. She explained that her sister works at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and that they were going to throw the cards out.  Her sister rescued them, but now they had a ton of postcards. Now I have a ton of postcards!

   I made this card from some of my favorite washi tapes. It is headed to Katrin in Germany. I hope she likes it. I enjoyed making it.

Incoming- We didn't have mail delivery today so I don't have any mail from the new year yet. If you'd like to send me mail during the year, please do. I would love being surprised by people I don't normally correspond with through postal mail. Who doesn't like a nice surprise in their mailbox every once in a while? I look forward to catching up with my penpals. I would also love to create some new friendships this year. If you'd like to send me a card, letter, postcard, package- whatever and need my address, let me know.

366 Project:
Sent: 3
Received: 0

Lip Balm Tag and Letter Out

Outgoing...

    I have sent out 3 things since I last wrote. The first a letter to my dear friend Donna. I was excited that the envelope I made did not come out lopsided.. lol. I'm still chipping away at my "reply" pile. I have not forgotten about anyone who hasn't gotten a letter yet.. still working at it! Thanks for your patience.

I also sent out 2 tags for lip balm. Both of these went to Finland, to different people. I hope they like them. I didn't take a picture of the envelopes because I just sent them in a regular, boring envelope. (Sorry, I wanted to get them out while I had a few minutes!)

Incoming...

     I was super excited to find this UNESCO card in my mailbox today. This is the brief description of the Archeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne taken from the UNESCO site:
The three main prehistoric sites of the Brú na Bóinne Complex, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, are situated on the north bank of the River Boyne 50 km north of Dublin. This is Europe's largest and most important concentration of prehistoric megalithic art. The monuments there had social, economic, religious and funerary functions.
    I was also excited that this is an Irish card since I don't have many. Here is the stamp and the card:

   Thanks, Brian!