The mystery of Miss Millie [now solved, sort of]

Someone signing herself "Miss Millie" sent me a postcard in April. She was one of the good ones who put a return address on her postcard, so I did send her a postcard back in July.

But it was returned to me.

I thought I copied her address exactly, but her handwriting was not the most... direct.

So, if you are Miss Millie in the vicinity of Puyallup, WA (or were in that vicinity in April), do let me know the proper address and I'll try again. Miss Millie was a bit of a mystery even then, because she wrote to me with some sort of familiarity, but I had no idea who she was. Did we exchange on swap-bot? Postcrossing? Sendsomething.net? Another method? Because I really do get a lot of mail, and if we don't write regularly, I am likely to forget. C'est la vie.

I am amused by the "nixie" in the top left corner of the postal label. Is that an official designation for "give up and send back?" Too bad for the nixies...

UPDATE: thanks to a kind and observant reader (thanks, Pen Thief!), I've got an address (though not from Miss Millie herself). I misplaced one letter, which has me somewhat baffled, as I was under the impression - from postal workers - that it gets routed by the zip code, which was correct. Hmm. Anomalies happen. I'll pop it in an envelope and send it off again. I am still not sure where our correspondence began, but that could be due to my own rusty memory and slow response time!

I'm going to harp on the importance of a return address once again

I just sorted the postcards in my "needs response" pile into two separate piles.

The ones on the right have a return address, the ones on the left don't.

Guess which ones receive a faster response?

...For those that don't have a return address: in most cases I know the sender in some way, and can look up their address online or in my address book. But I don't write down everyone's address in my address book, so it's a real guessing game sometimes. At times I don't mind looking up an address online, and at other times, mail-time is strictly computer-free... hence the two separate piles. Now when I say "it's time to respond to a postcard," I can go directly to the A+ folks who do take the extra-credit care to write (or stamp, or sticker-stick) their return address on the postcard.

And now I'll get off my soapbox.

Everyone has their own mail habits, and if you're one of those carefree types that doesn't include a return addrress, rock on. Just know that if there is a mailing error, it may never reach the recipient OR come back to you, and it may take me twice as long to feel like looking up your address.

Grumble, grumble. I realize I'm ridiculously anal about this. I put a return address on everything, always. (Or did you figure that out already?)

My new(ish) return address stamp

In my recent post about my new mail organizer, I foreshadowed this post by noting I had another new year's gift to myself to blog about. So here we go: my new return address stamp!



I got it online from Paperwink, and they were just delightful in the whole process. This particular design is called antique. I've oft admired their handiwork, sometimes on the envelopes of pen pals, and I'm really glad I pulled the trigger and got this one.

In the photo above, you can see how nice and thick the spongy backing/mounting is. It's really springy, and I love the feel of it when I use it. The handle fits both the stamp and my hand nicely, and it seems to be very well-made.



For reasons I can't quite explain, I've always been superstitious about getting a return address stamp -- thinking I'll just move as soon as I get one -- and it's a little ironic, because right after this arrived, we went through a 2-month period thinking we were in fact likely to move to another state. But we're not. We're staying here for a while, so I'm glad I got it. I purposely didn't put my name on it, just my address. These photos aren't the best, and it CAN give a better impression than this - the envelope here is textured - but I sort of like it when it fades out, too.



I got one of the smaller designs so it could be stamped even on large postcards. I use this puppy almost daily, and it almost always gives a lovely impression.

Half a postcard

Here is one of my most recent and unique mail anomalies - an international postcard that arrived ripped in half. What a cute little kitty! What does the rest of this illustration show, I wonder?



I got the half with my address, but not the stamps. Thank goodness her signature is legible, and if she wouldn't have said "greetings from Helsinki," I would have had no idea from whence this came. So, Anu L. in Helsinki, Finland, your postcard did arrive, although it was mangled. (Sometimes, if the US postal service mangles something, it will arrive in a plastic bag apologizing for the damage. This didn't happen - it was just half a postcard in my mailbox.) I can't write you back because I don't have your address. Maybe it was on the top half of the postcard!

I've actually gotten quite a few postcards with no return addresses lately, incidentally... Sometimes I write people's addresses down in a little book, and sometimes I don't. If you want to guarantee a response, give me a return address, even in tiny writing on a postcard. (I put a return address on EVERYTHING.) If you don't use a return address, please do not expect to hear back from me.

Why not use a return address?

I've had enough letters misdirected and returned to me, for reasons valid and ridiculous (twice returned from someone whose name and address were correct, and still lived at that very address - very strange), that I always put a return address on everything. Everything. Yes, even postcards. Even Postcrossing postcards. So it totally mystifies me when people don't write return addresses on their envelopes.

I got a letter today from a blog reader who wrote once before, and I wrote him back. And he wrote me again, and this second letter is what arrived today. His original letter is buried in a box somewhere, if I kept it - and he didn't put a return address on this new letter. It's a nice letter in a beautiful handmade envelope, and I'd really like to be able to respond properly. [Edit 8/25: thanks, he emailed me his address! All good.]

And yes, in case you're wondering - I DO use an address book, but no one goes into the address book until our exchange is well-established. Sooooooooooooo many people only write 1-5 letters and then go away forever that if I put them all in my beloved Edward Gorey address book, it would be full three times over. So you gotta get over that hurdle for a while before you make it in there. And even then, if you write your return address all nicely on the corner on the envelope, or inside, then I don't even need to open my address book.

And thus concludes the rant for the evening. Thanks for hearing (reading?) me out.

If you don't use a return address, and you DO want a letter back -- whyever not? Please do comment, I am genuinely curious.