Blizzard mail

Blizzard!!!!

    Hello from snowy Massachusetts. We're supposed to get 16-24" of snow tonight, which is nothing compared to what some of my friends get for snow, but a lot for here. Here are some pictures of the storm right now:

 Timmy in action

 Matt, David and Timmy sledding in our side yard. (Well, Matt is pushing rather than sledding!)

 David.. who really flies with a good push.

 The side yard/driveway. We live next to a shop, hence the classy dumpster. Past the dumpster, next to the snowy truck, is a huge pile of lobster traps. A fisherman from Gloucester stores them here. (Just some random info. for you :) )

 Looking down toward the highway.

 Across the street.

 Timmy.

Timmy probably secretly hoping to run David over.

     I'll take more pictures for "after" shots.

Incoming....

    Only got 1 letter today. It was from Linda, a penpal from AL. I loved a little sticker she had on there.  It made my day.

  The other day I was super excited because Matt texted me that I got a package from Italy. I wasn't expecting a package from Italy so I was a bit surprised. In fact, I don't even have a penpal from Italy. I got home from work and rushed to my mail. I pulled open the package and found a postcard and a box. The postcard from Postcrosser Lamberto in Italy. (Impressive- he's the number 1 postcrosser in Italy for postcards sent and distance sent!) In addition to being a super postcrosser, he seems really nice. In addition to the postcard, there were 2 pairs of Timberland sunglasses in there. What a cool random act of mail kindness :)

Outgoing....

    What blizzard? Good thing John was working at the post office and waiting for me to come by. lol. (The post office is closed tomorrow here. No mail delivery I'm sure. Maybe this will make Monday and awesome mail day!) 
    Today I sent 3 Postcrossing postcards and care packages to soldiers 2 and 3. May I just say I hate customs forms for the military packages? Thanks. Here's the loot:

 I ran out of shipping tape so duct tape had to work for my top package. (That's a Month of Letter sticker on there too!)

Other...

    We tried the miso soup and Chinese noodles sent in the food swap. They were tasty. It's a good thing we have Ramen noodles because here were the directions:

 In Japanese, I believe it says: "Dear Jen, it's instant soup and noodles. Are you really trying to read the directions? Let me draw you a picture... dummy."  The pictures worked..lol.

      This was tasty. The noodles tasted different than the noodles that are in our similar noodles. I was also surprised that the miso soup flavoring was a liquid. Many times with instant foods in the US, the seasonings are dehydrated. My penpal Akiko said that the curry and the pasta sauce that was sent in the swap should be put in boiling water, heated in the package and then used on the food. Hmm... I'll try them all soon. Timmy wanted to try the soup and he really liked it too. (Tim says: "That soup was awesome- a little spicy but very yummy")

     In other notes, I just got a postable. If you'd like, please update your address for my online (secure) contact book.  A lot of people from A Month of Letters are using it. It will certainly make things easier if I'm trying to send a letter from school or something.
    
    Have I rambled enough yet? Maybe I'll go finish Ashley's letter (seriously) and write a few letters. 

Food Swap and Chocolate

INCOMING...

     Today I'm just going to focus on incoming mail. I have been unbelievably busy this week so my outgoing mail has not been as prolific.  Here are some yummy things to hit my mailbox this week:

Chocolate Bar RR- Received from Postcrosser melis dogan in Turkey. This chocolate is delicious!!! I also had another bar, that I loved even more than this dark chocolate, but Matt threw away the wrapper before I got to photograph it. (Rather, I gobbled up the chocolate so fast that it didn't exist long enough to be photographed.) This was delicious and I'm sad because I don't know the name of the candy bar now. (It ranked right up there with my Dumle bar from Finland)

Her envelope had some cool Olympic Stamps too!

Food Swap- Received this package from Postcrosser Cockie in Japan.  Very exciting. I can't wait to try everything.

 Curry.

 In the US, I haven't really bought anything liquid that is packaged in an envelope. The curry is liquidy too.

 I think this is a fruit drink? Maybe a tea- ginger and small citrus fruit flavored

 Pasta sauce with cheese topping.

 Clam chowder. It will be interesting to compare and contrast with New England Clam Chowder

 Looks very yummy-  Miso flavored noodles

A poster that was in the envelope. She made her envelope out of a calendar :) Nice.

     Thanks ladies, I really like them both! I can't wait to try all the food from Japan.

Outoing mystery envelope and food swap and postcards

Incoming...

     It is not often that I open my mailbox and am greeted by a naked woman. I'm glad Timmy didn't get the mail with me! This is a painting that that is in the Hermitage. It is by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) It is called The Union of Earth and Water and it was painted around 1618. The people in the bottom of the painting freak me out a bit. 
RU-1434551

Outgoing...

    Have I ever mentioned that I like giving things more than receiving sometimes? Well, I really do like getting mail but I like picking out things that I hope people will like too. Here's my outgoing mail from the past few days:

Mystery Envelope 22-
     I took the postcards, lip gloss and the 5 Spice soup mix. I replaced those with stickers, Oreos (you people are missing out if your country does not sell Oreos... eat with milk.), and Lip Smackers lip balm.

Food Swap Round 5-
     There is a slight chance that this person may check here so I'm not going to say where the swap is going to. I hope the person likes it.

For those of you not from the US- Brach's candy hearts are little, chalky hearts that have words printed on them. They are only sold near Valentine's Day. Teddy Grahams are graham crackers shaped like little teddy bears. My children really like them, though we don't have them often. Graham crackers are kind of like a mix between a cookie and a cracker. Goldfish are small, cheese flavored, salty crackers. Again, my children love them. Spanish Rice mix- flavored with spices that is similar to Cajun cooking.Corn bread mix. I'm not a big fan of cornbread but when I do have it, I like to eat it warm with butter. Hidden Valley Dip can be used for salads, potato chips, vegetable platters, etc. I really like that. Lastly, Oreo cookies, mentioned above. I also threw in some tea and a few pieces of candy including York Peppermint Patty and Reeses's Peanut Butter cups. I can't wait to see where my food is from!

US-2035968

   What do you think the name of this woman should be? Love the skull necklace.  Headed to Russia.
US- 2036926

Headed to Germany. It's a day of odd postcards.

Headed to Monique in The Netherlands. Like my new deco tape?  Cute.

The 366 Project:

Sent: 12
Received:5

     Still on track and looking forward to finishing up with my respond pile :) 

Other...

     We tried the Malaysian 5 spice mix last night. Here's what it looked like:

My plastic, green bowl does not make this look appetizing at all.
Reviews:

Timmy says "It's okay. It's creamy."

David, Mr. "I don't want to eat dinner", said that he really liked it. Then he ate 3 bites and was done..

     I thought it was pretty good. My husband thought that the soup needed more vegetables so he added almost double the vegetables. I thought that made the soup taste too corn-like. I would've preferred to just have it made the way it was supposed to be. He cooked it while I was at a dr's appointment. Matt thought it had some "earthy, Indian tasting spices."  It smelled a little like Ramen noodles.

     Tonight Matt and I are going to a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire and then taking a cooking class tomorrow. Should be fun! I'll update when I'm home.