New study and writing desk setup

We moved five months ago, and it has taken me this long (remember how grad school ate my life?) to get my writing desk and workspace set up in my new study. Oberon and Stella were gracious enough (or curious enough) to help me with this little photo shoot, and above you can see Oberon sniffing around near that one empty shelf cubby on my paper and stationery shelves. (How long will it stay empty? Hmmm...)



Here's a closer look at the writing desk itself. Yes, that is a towering stack of boxed postcards on the desk, and on the bulletin board above the desk, some of my favorite received mail and mail art.

For the first time in many years, I have a room of my own, and I won't go so far as to say I've finished the entire study -- sections of the room are carefully omitted from these photos, because they're still a mess -- but I'm thrilled to have my letter-writing materials all set up and organized.

In the future, maybe I'll need to do a blog post about how intensely I've organized my stamps and stickers now, in a way they've never been organized before; this deep organization project is something I've long been itching to do. It's really exciting and it took me many hours to achieve, with stamps and stickers spread out all over the floor, but I finally know exactly where to find everything. Not only is it efficient, but after years of having things all jumbled together, it's also very satisfying.



I'm thrilled to have natural light nearby. My writing desk in DC was shoved into a dark corner, and not an entirely lovely place to write... but it wasn't an entirely lovely apartment, either. Here, I have my own room, and nice big window right next to the desk. And that's Stella on the floor, walking towards me as I take the photo.

Best of all, this setup makes me really want to write letters! Today is my last day of winter break (back to school tomorrow), so I'd better carpe diem while I still have the time.

Missive Maven round-up: 2014 in review

Happy 2015, readers and letter writers! A lot of momentous stuff happened in Missive-Maven-land in 2014. I just had fun perusing through some old blog posts, and thought I'd share some of the year's highlights here. (The photo above shows some of the mail I wrote for the Letter Writers Alliance virtual social on December 13, which was an absolute blast!)



One of the most exciting events of 2014 was personal in our family, but I blogged about it a fair bit: the January 2014 publication of "Revolutionary," my best beloved Alex Myers' first novel. It is "a fascinating retelling of the story of America’s first female soldier, Deborah Samson Gannett, who ran away from home in 1782, successfully disguised herself as a man, and fought valiantly in the Revolutionary War." The novel does have a significant epistolary element, so it does fit into the letter-writing theme of my blog! After the release of the novel, Alex did quite a bit of speaking and book touring, and in a later blog post, I gave an update on some excellent press and thanked you all for your support. On another note, "Revolutionary" will be released in paperback later this month, on January 20, 2015.



There was much heartbreak in the summer of 2014, when we lost our deeply beloved 17-year-old cats, Soda and Magic, within roughly two weeks of each other.

In Memory of Soda: April 1997 - July 7, 2014

In Memory of Magic: March 1997 - July 25, 2014

The move from Rhode Island to DC was a very difficult one for them, but they lived good lives of joy and mostly good health, and I'm so thankful for all the years we shared.



We could not live without cats, and later that summer we adopted two kittens who we named Oberon and Stella. They brought us much joy in our grief, and it has been sweet beyond words to watch them grow up. The photo above was taken on New Year's Eve 2014, where Stella and Oberon and I spent a lot of time hanging out on the couch together. (Truthfully, Stella and Oberon spend a lot of time hanging out on the couch together in general, with or without me.) They are now 9 months old, but still very much acting like kittens!



And now back to more blog-appropriate news. I completed a project I'd been meaning to do for a long time: adding a page to my blog called Stationery Sources. I'm often asked where I buy my stationery, and this page lists links to all my favorite vendors, and each link has a little blurb about why I like their wares.



Another wonderful mail milestone in 2014: I finally went to a mail social! I wrote a huge blog post about The October Mail Social Club at the National Postal Museum, which took place on World Post Day! These Mail Social Club events are coordinated by Melissa of Craftgasm (pictured above, showing us how to make handmade envelopes), and she does a really fine job with these events. I hope to attend at least one more in 2015! If you are able to attend one of them, held monthly at the National Postal Museum, I highly recommend it.



Also in the department of "blog posts I meant to write for ages," I shared a post called Habits: How I keep my letter log, about my system for recording incoming and outgoing mail. That's one of my more popular posts, and I'm glad letter-writers have enjoyed reading it.



And finally, a round-up of some of my favorite posts of 2014:

Fabulous mail to kick off 2014

Legal tender sender

Postcard signed by Inge Löök

3D Dinosaur Stamp from South Africa

Essay by Alex Myers on Salon.com this week

Postcrossing stamp from Belarus

Meeting a pen pal + mobile Letterpress

Mozart stamp from the Czech Republic

October 11 is National Coming Out Day

Who's excited for Halloween?!?

Russian Rainbow Circus Stamp

Best Hanukkah Card EVER

Happy New Year, in a Russian winter postcard

One of my resolutions for 2015: more blog posts! My blogging was a bit more sparse than I'd like in 2014, and I hope to be more regular in 2015. Thanks to all my readers for your continued readership and comments, and Happy New Year!

Silver lining: kittens Oberon and Stella

In July I lost my two amazing and wonderful cats, Soda and Magic. Both were 17 years old and I had them since they were kittens. They were about a month apart in age, I got them both when they were somewhere between 6-10 weeks old, and they died two weeks apart.

July was a devastating month.

We thought we would want to wait before bringing new cats into our lives, but in fact Alex and I were both inconsolable without cats. An empty apartment, devoid of felines, was more grim than I could ever have imagined. I hope it is a tribute to the memory of the love we shared with Magic and Soda that we have brought two 4-month-old kittens into our family and our hearts.



Oberon is a deep and total glossy black...



...and Stella is a "Torbie," a tortoiseshell/tabby mix.

Both are about 4 months old. They are not littermates, Oberon is about one week older than Stella, but they were fostered together and are a deeply bonded pair. They adore each other, groom each other, and even eat and drink out of the same bowls (at the same time!).

It's too soon to say whether or not they'll be mail cats, but I suspect one if not both will be future members of the Feline Postal Brigade. You can count on me for updates on that front!

I haven't been doing much mail lately, in part because of grief over Magic and Soda, and in part because these two adorable kittens have kept my hands full. (Kittens! I'd forgotten how wonderful and time-consuming they are.)

Thanks to everyone for all the cards and words of comfort over the losses of dear Soda and Magic... I can't even express the grief so I will stop trying, but I appreciate the kind expression from animal lovers and caring souls from all corners of the world. I apologize if this sounds maudlin, but it's been a very intense time... and I am so grateful to the new kitten love that Oberon and Stella have brought into our lives.

Bats and cats... and hands

I received this odd little gem via Postcrossing recently. The sender noted I liked both bats and cats - and oh, I do! I do! - and that I might be especially fond of them in combination. Indeed! This was RU-2324265 from Russia. Granted, they're not real cats or real bats, but I like the fanciful intersection of photography, craft, and illustration. And what's with the hands? I don't know, but I think they're kind of creepy cool.

This is why I keep on Postcrossing year after year (I've been Postcrossing for more than 7 years now) - all these fantastic little surprises in my mailbox.

Inkognito cat postcard exchange

I am a huge fan of Inkognito postcards and cards. The artwork is always interesting. So I'm especially tickled when I get one in the mail! I got this fine example, called "Comics Lesson," from Stephanie in Arizona...



...and she added such fantastic artwork! She drew two of my favorite themes: cats and mailboxes.



To keep the theme going, I sent her an Inkognito cat postcard in return. This one is called "Katz & Maus."



I don't have her drawing skills, but I did include a glitter cat sticker on my response. (I think I recall correctly that the glitter did indeed arrive intact.)

A welcome visit from the Feline Postal Brigade

Here's a photo of Soda, Feline Postal Brigade charter member, "helping" with a letter. She has learned how to get up on my letter-writing desk, and now it's a free-for-all in kitty correspondence.



I took these photos back in January, when Memo was still with us. I can't help but think that now, as I post them. We are taking so much comfort in our two remaining kitties, Soda and Magic, and I find myself wondering - are they really grieving for Memo as much as they seem to be (they are unquestionably confused by his absence), or are they just tuned into our grief, and staying close by to give and receive comfort?

In any case, Magic and Soda and I have been thick as thieves the past few days, and I am so grateful for their presence and feline love. Soda has been sitting all over my letters on my writing desk (yes, I have been writing a few), and she is more than welcome. She is purring on the arm of the chair I'm sitting in, as I type this, and nuzzling my hand.

Gorey galore-y

Here's some blog reader mail art from someone who shares my love of Edward Gorey! You can see the envelope below the card, which had some beautiful flower stamps on it.



And here's her hand-stamped card, featuring a moonlit extravaganza of frolicking Gorey characters - complete with bats! Yay. I love the Gorey bat. I have that stamp, too, but I probably don't use it often enough.



I broke out some Gorey stamps of my own for the envelope I sent back to her.

Blastoff

This is one of my favorite envelopes I've made. Not sure why, I think I just love the old-school space-style illustration. Here we have two of the other recent Zazzle photo stamps I've ordered: Soda guarding a Curb your Dog postcard, and Magic yawning on a porch. Had to throw in a Skylab space stamp to complete the theme.



Mmm... starry.

Cat butt stamps

Here's an outgoing letter that features two of my recent self-made photo stamps from Zazzle. We see Magic delving into a food bag (does this make my butt look fat?) on the left, and Memo's girth arrayed on a table, from the MOST flattering angle, on the right. I must say that the WIDE LOAD stamp has been a tremendous hit with family and friends who actually know Memo in the flesh (or shall I say, in the flab). I added the International Women's Day stamp to tally up to the international letter rate.

Should you be so inclined, the original photos used to make the stamps can be found on Flickr:
A prize in every bag (Magic)
Wide Load (Memo)

Oh! I almost forgot - the stationery used is Wonder Woman fold & mail by Chronicle Books.

Cat tussle

In a delightfully ironic twist, one of my swap partners for the Cat Postcard Swap #2: USA only swap that I hosted was one of my own pen pals. So I was already familiar with stories and a couple of photos of his two fine kitties, Jasper and Bootsie. He sent me this excellent photo postcard (great action shot, oui?) of his two kitties in a tussle.

My letter helpers

Soda is my bestest letter helper. Here she is sitting on top of a letter to keep it warm. (Letters don't like to be cold.)



Here's a view of my two kitty girls - Magic is the tabby curled up on the left corner of the couch, and Soda is sitting on my lap desk.

This couch view is a typical one in the winter - it's where I sit when I write by the fire. The loud paisley throw is ostensibly to keep the cat fur off the couch, but we only remove it for special guests, so generally I just sit right on top of it. The black case holds my fountain pens.

Just a winter letter-writing view of life in my living room...

Novelles images cat foldover postcard

I'd been hanging on to this wonderful Nouvelles images cat foldover postcard for years, and finally felt in the mood to send it to someone.



Here's the inside, with the writing area yet to be folded and sealed. (A note on the ink: it's Diamine teal, a new favorite of mine, and the pen is a Chelpark Moti, an Indian piston-filler.)



Now all neatly sealed, and looking like a postcard size (though it requires first-class letter rate postage).



Of course it features cats. I love all the expressions on their kitty faces.



My favorite touch: the cat going after the goldfish bowl on the inside flap.

Cats want parrot

Being in Kansas City means being able to frequent the Victorian Papers outlet store. Here's a view of a vacation stationery purchase, which I might not have made had it not been on quite the clearance. But I like the kitties. The paper is on the left, and front and back views of the envelope are on the right.

Jezebel: Maxwell, Viola, and their coterie

I know I'm Jezebel-heavy these days, but her cards are just so damn gorgeous and wonderful. It's like a treat to myself to write a letter on one.

The stamp in the corner is a photo-stamp from Zazzle, featuring my sassy kitty Magic enjoying a sunny, lavender-laden windowsill.

Kitty stickers from Moo.com

This is sooooo cool - a booklet of 90 teensy tiny stickers, printed from your own photos, via Moo. Of course I had to have 45 photos, with 2 copies of each sticker. (I wanted to try for 90, but just didn't have the patience.)

I'm gonna have WAAAAAAAY too much fun with this. They are fabulous little accents for letters or envelopes.

(Sorry it's a wee bit blurry - I've got me a BRAND NEW CAMERA and I'm still getting used to its macro options.)