On-line zine related to snail mail. Check it out.
Two things have kept me from making this post, but only one of them is probably acceptable.
I have not felt well and the last thing I’ve wanted to do was blog. In the midst of that, too many things have been going on at once. But the biggest block to updating with my May Foodie pen pal was that I couldn’t find the memory card for my camera! I took it out in order to get the pictures off and then I laid it down on top of my book case (why I put it there, I’ll never know) and because it’s higher than I am, couldn’t see it to easily find it! This required me to utilize my memory for recall – which is why it took me so long to find it.
Anyway, I remembered last weekend, just in time to take my camera to a friend’s wedding and I’m finally posting the items I got from my May Foodie Pen Pal, Angie .
Foodie Pen Pal Swap – May 2012
I love everything she sent me. She sent a lot of items from her home state, North Dakota and I especially loved the sunflower seeds! One package were chocolate covered and the other were crunchy candy-coated. The honey sticks were a favorite of the boy! I haven’t had the coffee yet but plan to give it a try this weekend. She also included a plant in a can! Such a cute idea. You pop the top off, water it and up comes a basil plant. I love basil and the boy and I are looking forward to watching this little plant come alive! She also sent 2 Lara bars. Yum.
To see what other people got in the swap packages, head over to Lindsay’s Blog to check it out.
Last month, I signed up for a Foodie Swap over at Lindsay’s blog. It was my first time and I think I’ll keep participating as long as she keeps organizing it.
My partner was Sarah (who doesn’t have a blog) and she sent me a package which included a sampling of things from New England.
New England Sampler
I baked up the Whoopie Do! cakes last night. They look a bit sad, but I was given the thumbs up sign so looks apparently didn’t affect their taste. I’m going to use the coffee to make coffee toddy this morning. I love iced coffee during warm/hot weather. I have yet to open any of the other items but will definitely be sharing the necco wafers with friends because I do NOT need a whole bag of them for myself. 
Whoopie Do! cakes
I was partnered to Mary. Her request was for dairy-free, healthy things, so I put together a package for her family with that in mind. Initially, I wanted to put together a themed box for her family (breakfast), but somewhere along the way, I got a bit sidetracked.
For Mary
It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the process of both putting a package together and the anticipation of receiving one in return. If you want to sign up to participate, click on the graphic below.
~elaynne
Swap-bot
Image source
I used to be a pretty active member of a site called Swap-bot but the last few swaps ended badly … for me. I got flaked on for a couple of significant swaps and was so annoyed that I stopped, in a very full-stop sort of way. Today I realized that the last swap I participated in was over FOUR years ago. Wow. I knew time was flying by but it really struck me today.
After looking around a bit, I’ve seen they’ve changed a few things since I last participated. I like that they’ve started categorizing swap types and it appears that most swap requirements are pretty strict.
Since I love postal mail, I’m going to give it another go. I signed up for a Valentine’s swap. It’ll be nice getting a couple Valentine cards in my mailbox Stay tuned for updates with regards to my foray back into the world of anonymous swapping.
I’m pretty sure that all international post goes via Air Mail these days and that Air Mail stickers might be unnecessary at best and redundant at worst BUT, I still like affixing them to my cards and envelopes.
I have a bunch that I got from the Post Office (probably 9 YEARS) ago and have been steadily using them ever since. They look like this:
Label 19-B January 2002
But I was bored and decided to make some that look like this:
Air Mail Arrow
I think they’re so much more interesting, don’t you?
If you’d like your very own, be sure to have an Adobe reader installed, insert an Avery 5195 label sheet into your printer and clicky the following: ArrowAirMailLabelpblcom
Effective January 22, 2012, the price of a “first class” stamp will increase by 1¢ to 45¢. US postcard rates will increase by 3¢ to 32¢ and International mail/postcards will increase by 7¢ to $1.05. Letters/postcards to Canada and Mexico will increase by 5¢ to 85¢.
USPS Rates
So, if you want to save yourself a little money, buy your Forever Stamps NOW, as they never expire and when the rates increase, you won’t have to buy penny stamps to add to your future mail.
Joyeux Noel!
Merry Christmas from my post box to yours!
Love this.
Click picture for source
If not for The Boy, I probably would never have become a Lego fan. Funny how life works.
In any event, I saw this and fell immediately into Want Mode.
