It's A Thing

It's a thing.

A couple of weeks ago, a potato with only one stamp showed up at work postage due.
On the front was an address and on the back was "Test For Wedding".
And the recipient paid the postage due.

It got me thinking.

I sent an Idaho baker to the 15 year old nephew for his birthday.
He texted me that he received it.

I immediately texted him back, "Did you find the money inside?"

If you aren't already laughing, then I was dying in the aisle.

The nephew was left wondering, "Is there money inside?"

So I'm telling this story to various peoples and fully 50% also wonder how I got the money inside. And proceed to tell me how they would do it.

The other 50% get the joke.

Fast forward a week or so to summer camps and moms sending small packages to their kidlets.
Many camps autocratically declare, "Do not send candy."

I show the photo and say, "Why not send a potato?"

It's officially, now a thing.


Most bakers weigh 12 -13 oz, so it will cost you $4.35 to send one. I put four Int'l stamps on (space available) for $4.60.

Postcards and Fabric

This has to be my favorite piece of Happy Mail.

Look at that striped bunny wingwalking on the Stearman Biplane.
I sewed that bunny but he now wears aviator goggles.

 Someone knows me well. Fabric with an airplane endicia on it.

Pencil Girl was able to attend SewExpo this year. My 14 year old dog was near death (and since recovered) and my dad needed some medical help so I stayed home.
She texted me photos randomly during the day to make it feel like I was there.
Then she sent me the SewExpo Swag box of goodies.

Advertisements from Pacific Fabrics (one of our favorite booths), an airplane item (Stencil book), fabric, patterns. Japanese style fabric - dragonflies! This box and her photos felt like I was there.

I have to go next year.

Ideas For Happy Mail

I like this idea. As long as the postal clerk can put their postage labels on it, it can go. This one is a bit small. It would  take $2.54 in postage stamps to send(2016).   It needs to be in a bigger container - clear if possible.

 Envelope art.  Google it.  Seriously.

 I found this road atlas for a buck at the estate sale this morning. For a buck, I can make about 50 envelopes. Well - twenty - cuz I'll get tired of cutting maps out.

 Have you ever made your own envelopes? It's pretty easy to find templates all over the web. Or, if you're fond of a particular size envelope, sacrifice it to be your pattern. I cut my templates out of cardstock-weight paper - usually the ends of a calendar. Then I just trace and cut them out. A little glue stick on the ends to hold things in.

Did you know glue sticks go bad? The glue stick in the kitchen was all dried up and the one in my sewing room looked 'moldy!'. I used Elmers school glue instead.

At garage sales,  I look for large books/calendars that have wonderful images on them. Coffee table books. Nice paper.

 The other two envelopes are from a German calendar. Which is actually awesome as, at most, there are only twelve images, which is doable as a project with a clear end in sight. This US states road atlas looks like a massive black hole of time project.

I'm thinking I will offer up some handmade envelopes as a prize. What do you think? Do you want particular states? I sized my templates for a long business envelope and a smaller, more personal size - is that an A4?

 I also found our local photographer who made these Canby Ferry postcards. This is our car ferry that traverses the Willamette River just north of us.

 One of my favorite ways to send Happy Mail is cute socks for the nephews & nieces in clear freezer ziploc bags. Everyone smiles along the way as these socks make it to their destination. These fun socks are going to DD.  Its fun to send boxes of movie candy - like Sour Patch Kids, in ziploc bags too.

Make sure you use the freezer style as this plastic is thicker.

 Some of the items I have on my counter to pack up and send in the next few days.
Easter is March 27th so this is a reminder to send out those easter packages.

I am sending out all of my plastic easter eggs. They are already filled with candy, ready to post. You can send just one easter egg with stamps on it but my peoples are getting more then ten each. Really! Do plastic eggs re-populate in the dark storage cupboard? When did I get so many? It's been many years since an easter egg hunt was held here.
 

 Adult coloring books anyone?
Awesome happy mail to get colored pencils in a upcycled clear water bottle.

This larger envelope with multiple smaller envelopes.
Please, pretty please, will someone make it for me?

How about printing out a Marauders map and sending it to your niece or nephew who loves Harry Potter?

I've sent coconuts from Hawaii before. A little bit expensive as the coconut has to be USDA approved (no bugs) and they are heavy.  What's the most interesting item you have sent through the mail? Have you tried?

Happy Mail

Happy mail indeed.
I received this valentine from a newish japanese friend who recently held a valentine party in her town. She mailed it on the 19th of February and I received it on the 26th. It's seems to be about 6-10 days in transit. ( It was only four days from Oahu!).

Awaji Bridge and Gotochi

The Awaji Island bridge was built only ten years ago. It's the largest suspension bridge in the world.

Huge ocean-going shipping channel

The palm trees lining the road lend this island a resort feel.
The humongous crumbling buddha.

This is how they deliver mail here in Japan. Motorbike in red.

Manhole cover commemorating the bridge.

Found this nifty gotochi of the Awaji Bridge at one post office and the gal gave us a mini-gotochi as a bonus.

We stopped at another post office and they had an array of gotochi. I wasn't tempted- I have enough to make a small collection.

While Janine was deciding, I wandered down the counter. 

Each station has different msde for sale. From Hello Kitty to Snoopy to pretty stationary.

And then I spotted something....

I walked back to my friend to show her my treasure and the gal behind the counter saw it and she whipped out the flat version of the jetliner.

For me, for free.
Everyone was tickled with my reaction.

February Mail Chicken Giveaway

The Winner of my chicken hot pad is Teresa  who won by saying she really hoped the chicken would come to her house to play.

I received over 2 inches of mail. From Australia, Sweden, Japan, and quite a few states. I even discovered a fellow Postcrossing Queen just 20 minutes north of me who has sent and received over 4000 postcards.

One of my friends replied in kind with an offer of tea.

I have not discovered a way to rotate photos with this blog app. Maybe some young thing will know how.

Was my rural mail carrier count a success?
ABSOLUTELY.
She was working on average 10- 11 hr days. In spite of all of mgmt's counting tricks, Mgmt will need to shave off two hours from her route similar to the other routes that were also counted. She will go back to working the 9 hrs she gets  paid for as soon as route adjustments can be figured out.

We are seriously overworked at the post office. Training new people is an exercise in one day futility and new people are too overwhelmed at everything there is to accomplish in a day -so they quit almost before they start.

I think I received over 40 cards and postcards in February plus several packages.

Thank you all for playing my game.
It was much appreciated.

I sent out over fifty cards myself.

I loved getting the mail because everyday there was something special inside the box.
Muchos Gracias!

Notes on the this Blogaway  app: inability to rotate photos. No hyperlink capability. Didn't want to publish heavy photo post - saved to draft eventually.

Fabric Postcard

Inspired by my lovely friend in Japan (three weeks!!!) and another bloggy friend in the UK,
I made a fabric postcard. One more week of Rural Mail Count so this will make my carrier smile when she picks it up. One guess as to where it's headed?

For the address portion, I dithered about fabric markers, sharpies, or a piece of vellum. In the end, I sewed a scrap piece of vellum on and when fray-checking the corners, added a dab along the vellum seam lines. Hopefully it won't tear off from the perforations.

All other fabrics were fussy-cut from my vast collection and raw-edge sewn to a piece of peltex and batting.
Edging to secure is just a close-spaced zig-zag stitch that wraps around the edges.

The Chicken Pot Holder giveaway is still open through the end of the month {{last week}. All you have to do is send me a postcard or a letter. My address is on the original post. I've already received some really cute postcards, including an embroidered airplane. I posted some of them here.
I have had so much fun with this giveaway. Some of you don't even want the chickie - which cracks me up. I look forward to getting my mail everyday and it baffles me that some folks don't even check their mail but once every week or so (or longer). I usually have something interesting in the box even if it's only mail order vitamins.

I think I wrote almost 40 letters, postcards and parcels more than normal this month and it's true, to receive letters, you have to send letters.



Okay - I'm changing my red thread to something else now. . .

Mail Count Half Over

Flying airplane with chickie pilot - Love it. Looks like our old Cessna 170A.

Fukuoka:  Special postcrossing postcard for different regions in Japan. Vintage castle postcard.

Scandanavian Crocheted Heart - you can find how-to directions on the sidebar of Teresa's Blog:

A fellow Postcrosser: Over 4000 cards sent and she lives 20 minutes from me!!!

Benta sent a fabric postcard for my mail carrier too!

Fumikou - Japanese letter sachets. I can make my own now.

Sweet pile of February fun.

Today's outgoing mail

Taking photos today of some of the postcards I've received. So far.

My carrier is super happy with how much mail volume she has received. Normally, during count, mail volume vanishes. ** As in, everyone suspects the PO of holding back the mail, somehow. Not this time. Lots of packages, lots of hours, lots of first class. Three routes are being counted out of six rural routes for my city of Canbyland. We have five city routes which get figured differently (I know!). So complicated - it's the government at its best. I love being a federal employee (sarcasm!).





I came up with a giveaway for everyone who reads this blog - you can tell your friends too.
To win this chicken pot holder, all you have to do is send me a postcard (or a letter). It must be postmarked between Feb 7 - 24, 2015). My address is in the original giveaway post.

This helps out my amazing mail carrier with more mail volume. I will draw randomly - seriously- the best postcard photo, the best joke, the best drawing, it will be my favorite card.

International peoples are welcome, I will post this chicken hot pad to the winner at the end of February.
Rural mail count goes from February 7 - 28, but I chose to end this giveaway on the 24th so I can receive your entry during mail count.

***You might get extra points if you state on your postcard or in your letter how many other stamped pieces of mail you sent out during this time.
***Or maybe you know some good chicken jokes.
***Or, you can sketch flying airplanes, with chickie pilots.