I’m going to try to catch up on posting your fabulous letters during the month of May, starting this evening of the last night in April—where does time fly away to so quickly?  

Tonight’s letter comes from Oregon.

It’s a handwritten treat that arrived in my box in February complete with a fantastic wax seal.

The note was in cursive and so beautifully portrayed the movement of the hand.  

February 20, 2013

My Dear Handwritten Note,

I hope this letter finds you in both excellent health & in excellent spirits.  Valentine’s Day is by no means my most beloved of holidays.  Mr. A is romantic when the mood strikes.  This suits me quite well.

Do enjoy your handwritten note done on linen laid paper, written with walnut ink & a quill for a pen.  This is how you might receive a letter in 1813.

Your servant in the wilds of Oregon Country,

Mrs. R. Azevedo

Oregon Regency Society

I loved the nostalgic taste of this letter—a fantastic tribute to the history of the handwritten note.  Thanks, Mrs. A!  I hope your spring is off to a fantastic start.

The Question of the Month for March was:

What are your hopes for the spring?  What would you like to see blossom in your life or in the world?  Where will you find your spring magic? (If it’s transitioning to a different season where you live in the world—tell me about that!)

And it is possibly my most favorite Question of the Month ever.  I’m getting antsy for spring, growing ever impatient with the cold.  Your responses to the question make it feel like the sun can break through this year’s slow blooming season.

Janet from Utah’s response came in a simple brown envelope with purposeful penmanship.

And it only got more exciting as I opened it.

The paper was painted, stained, and glittered in all the right places with a welcoming green title declaring, “Spring Will Come.”

Janet responded:

March 10, 2013

Spring Will Come

I hope it’s a long spring.  Last summer was unreasonably hot.  For now, the mountains are still covered with snow and we are in a 50 degree heat wave (seems so after single digit days this winter).

Things to look forward to are; the SUN!, leaves on trees (none yet), flowers and trips to plant nurseries, going outside without a coat, farmers’ markets, art festivals, plein air painting, dog walks, bare feet, just to name a few!

The first day of spring is March 20.

I love handwritten notes!

Take care,

Janet

It’s the simple things that Janet mentions, like going outside without a coat, that make my heart happy for the change from winter to spring.

Thanks so much, Janet, for the thoughtful response—and enjoy your spring! :)

Ok, so I got this package in the mail…

Which, I mean, look at it…it looks like a bundle of loving excitement! But, then I opened it to find this…

Which was even more exciting.  But, then, I opened that to find all of this…

And I was in postal heaven.  Louise in England, you are amazing!  Thanks so much!

The package also included a lovely response to a past Question of the Week: If you could have a few more hours in the day, what would you use them for?

• My craft room needs tidying up because there’s things all over the floor!
• Bleach the bathroom from ceiling to floor!
• Read some books on pregnancy — I’m 30 weeks pregnant!
• Clean & tidy the whole house ready for our little girl arriving in December =)
• Make some baby crafts
• Rest a little?!?!

Hehee xx

• Make some envelopes.  I’ve run out!

First of all, Louise, congratulations on your baby girl!!  I hope everything is going beautifully for you and your family.  Secondly, expect a little something in the mail soon, and more later!  Your package was truly lovely and put a big smile on my face.

Also, Louise has a fantastic blog, so definitely check it out!

Each letter that arrives comes adorned in its own details of its journey. Different postal stickers, scribbles of writing, postmarks, stamps, and barcodes.

And, yes, those are hamster stamps!

And then you open up these journey-soaked envelopes and find an equally diverse array of beautiful handwritten love.

Pavla from the Czech Republic recently responded to the following Question of the Week: What is your idea for helping save the post office?  It can be silly, bizarre, serious, quantitative, qualitative, or all of the above! 

Here is what she said:

Anyway, you’ve asked about our ideas on how to save the post office.  Well, I don’t have any (not sensible ones), but perhaps offering kids or people some kind of a reward might do the trick.  Like, for each letter you send you’ll get a special sticker and when you have 50 or 100 of them, you’ll be rewarded with something.  Silly.  :)

I’m glad that everything’s fine again with your P.O. Box, and I’m looking forward to your next question.  :)

Take care,

Pavla

P.S. I’m sorry for those hamster stamps.

Pavla, the hamster stamps were fantastic.  And thanks a bunch for sharing your idea!

This project is about promoting handwritten letters (which, in turn, promotes all sorts of other goodness, like kindness, connection, and cheer).  So, no matter how you choose to be involved—whether you’re responding to the questions of the week, requesting a handwritten note from me, or just sending a little “hello” yourself—you’re doing just what you need to do.

This little hello to the project came from Qatar.

Hello from afar,

Came across your blog via a retweet from another fan of letters.  I’m glad you take the time to do this for folks (and keep the USPS chugging along).  I travel a lot so am very happy to write a postcard though at times it’s difficult to determine who would want such an item!  Whenever I visit a city I seek out a post office and request 10 stamps to make it easy on the clerk, especially if we don’t speak the same language.  Acquiring these Qatari stamps the 1st time around was easy but accents were so strong I didn’t try to make conversation.  The stamps were of old world cup (soccer) posters — quite bland for a foreign country stamp.  Upon return to make mailings I purchased more and got these unique “creatures” of Qatar.  Much better, though I need to decide who will get a postcard with a stamp of an earwig.  Haha.  

Take care and hope this reaches you warmly…

This was such a fun and unique note to receive.  I can imagine this writer traveling the world at the same time that his or her handwritten notes also travel to and fro.  It makes me happy to think about the many ways the many places of this big world are brought together.

Sometimes my favorite things to receive in the mail are quick one-liners.  It can even be a postcard simply reading, “Hello!  Love, Me.”

How can something so quick leave such a big smile?

Thanks, Michelle. :)

Emilie in Massachusetts recently responded to the following Question of the Week: Which day of the week do you think is the best day to receive a letter?  Why?

I loved how she decorated her envelope!  She found such a creative use for the material left over after you use up your stickers.  It’s so colorful and happy!  

Here is what she wrote:

May 24, 2012

Dear Lovely Handwritten Notes,

I really like your blog and the Question of the Week idea.

I think the best day of the week to receive mail is Monday. We’ve already suffered through Sunday when there’s not even a chance of getting mail.  It’s just too cruel to not get any on Monday too.  :)  Besides, most people go back to work or school on Monday and there’s nothing better to start off your week than a lovely letter!

My mail blog is: www.winniesgirl.blogspot.com.  I hope you have a lovely mail week!

From Emilie

You really can’t go wrong with a Monday letter.  She’s right.

I also encourage everyone to check out her mail blog!  It’s great!

Thanks for your response, Emilie!

My last Question of the Week (Yes, yes, I know you are all waiting for a new one.  I shall deliver soon!) asked, “Tell me about where you live or where you are from.  How does it look, feel, smell?  What are the people like?  What do you love about it?  Is there something you would change about it?”

Ryli in Wisconsin read this question, and then took her heart, put it on paper, and folded it safely into this soul-soaked enveloped.

In with the letter was a brown feather.  It’s like a little token that declares, “I am.”

What I loved the most about Ryli’s response to this question was that it was gritty and honest.  I was in a bit of a gritty, honest mood myself when I received it, so we made a nice pair.  I love when people can speak without fear.  Here is what Ryli wrote about where she is from:

June 18th, 2012 (Monday)

— 10 more days —

Hello,

I live in southern Wisconsin.  It’s a place most people know around here for trouble.  Sluts.  Sex.  Drugs.  Alcohol. Feels like a stuffy, overcrowded, but abandoned town in the summer, and the winter, everyone is family.  Smells like shit on the outskirts and fish by the river.  Just a normal town. The people.  Well, I’m 17 and going into my senior year.  It’s summer too. So, “my” people are bitches.  Only want you when you have something they need, either money, sex, and/or a car.  The nights are what most live for here.  On weekends, we get to cruise the strip.  A big racing spot in the middle of town, the biggest main road we have.  Usually we live for the trucks, from the new ones or the rusted.  The girls ride for the hicks and the guys ride to race and for the chicks.  It gets old, but it’s fun as hell. Janesville is a place of boredom.  Us high schoolers go to Walmart, the strip mall, or a park for fun in the damn hell hole.  

What I love most about it is that it’s a place for living with no regrets and living for the moment.  Don’t hesitate, just do it.  Once I grow up, I’ll move away and always have stories to tell about good ol’ Janesville.  And if there was anything I could change about it, is where it’s located on a map.  I sure as hell wish it was closer to Rochester, NY. My love and I met a year ago online, I’m finally meeting him in 10 days.  Flying there and staying at his house for 10 days. The day I fly, I will not be able to function.  We have a checklist to do:

• Niagara Falls
• Concert
• Star gazing
• Amusement park
• Hiking
• Park/picnic
• iPod switching
• Cuddle
• Etc.

Just to name a few!

But yeah, that’s my home.  Shitty, but it’s what I live for and now.

— R

Ryli, thank you for your honest response.  I hope you have a lovely and safe trip to New York!  I’ll be writing you soon.  :)

Maria in Sweden recently responded to the following Question of the Week: Which day of the week do you think is the best day to receive a letter?  Why?

I instantly fell in love with her handcrafted envelope — so fun and bright!

Here’s what Maria had to say in response to the question:

May 26, 2012

Hello,

I love getting mail any day of the week.  But if I should choose one day of the week when I prefer receiving a letter, it’s Friday.

In Sweden we don’t get mail on Saturdays and of course not Sundays.  So Friday is the last chance of the week to get something fun in the mailbox.

By the way, thank you for a great blog! :)

Sunny summer greetings,

Maria

Maria, thank you so much for your response, and I’m glad you like the blog! :)

I think Friday sounds like a wonderful favorite day for mail — the last day to get little smiles in the post to carry you through the weekend.

P.S. Sorry for not posting on a daily basis lately, everyone.  I have been a bit preoccupied, but plan to catch up when I take some vacation days from work next week!  Keep the letters coming — your responses are inspiring!

Morgan is from Australia, and she recently wrote into the project in response to the following Question of the Week: If you could receive a handwritten letter from anyone throughout history, who would it be? Why, and what do you think they would tell you?  What would their letter be like?

Her letter was complete with cheerful pirates.  These pirates had glitter on their clothes and on their canons.  I am a member of the party that believes that a little glitter makes the world a much happier place.

Here’s her stupendous response:

Friday 18th May 2012

Dear Lovely Handwritten Notes,

In response to this week’s question, I would choose to receive a letter from Michelangelo.  In my mind, this letter would be on yellow parchment with paint and ink stains all over it.  His writing style would be extremely cursive, but rushed as I expect he was a busy man.  I chose Michelangelo because he is an extremely influential art historian.  He was a known sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.  He created the magnificent works of “David,” “The Creation of Man,” and he painted the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.  All incredible achievements.

I believe he would talk about how busy his life is and all the demands and commissions he receives.  He saw himself as a sculptor, but his paintings were just as incredible.  If we were corresponding, I would ask him about what he believed were his favourite works.  I think I would also ask him if he regretted not marrying or having kids, but spent his whole life centered around his work. Anyway, that would be my historical figure I would love to hear from.

— Morgan

An art lover myself, I agree with Morgan that this would be a wonderful letter to receive.

Thanks for writing in! :)