Canada Post black cat Choose Adoption stamp

This lovely cat stamp came to me recently on a Postcrossing postcard from Canada. I can't recall what the postcard image was, and I neglected to photograph it at the time, but I was utterly charmed by this sweet kitty stamp. (US Postal Service, can we please get more stamps with cats on them??) It is from the 2013 Choose adoption / adopt a pet series, which shows photos of the animals surrounded by a line-drawing illustration of an imagined home life, once they are adopted. And look at the little kitty looking longingly at the cat furniture with a ball of string and a mouse toy! That is a great illustration of how I've loved and spoiled my own shelter-adopted kitties.

Of course this is a subject very close to my own heart: my beloved kitties Stella, Oberon, and Soda (of blessed memory) all came from adoption via animal shelters.



The postcard also came with these bright and cheery monarch butterfly stamps, too. I've said it many times before, but I'll say it again: the joy from Postcrossing isn't just the postcards (or the lovely connections with mail-loving people), it's also the postage stamp treats, too!

Writing desk candid + washi tape storage

Well, I haven't done such a good job of blogging again this month, have I? The good news is that I've been spending a ton of time writing postcards and longer letters, which has been a pleasure. I took a photo in the middle of writing one of those longer letters recently, just to share the mood of my writing desk. I didn't really tidy it for this, so you can see the current semi-mess in action, complete with messy piles.

I didn't set out to talk about this, but as I look at the photo, I'd like to mention my new storage system for washi tape. I mention this in part because I've been really, really into washi tape especially lately, and my collection has grown... thereby increasing my need for a decent storage system. I like to use the tape outside of a dispenser and place it by hand, and I also need to be able to see all my tapes at once. You can see some of them hanging from my bulletin board on a system I've rigged with hanging them on a ribbon between two pushpins; this is nice for visibility, but a bit of a pain for retrieving the tape unless they're the ones on the end. So, the ones I use less frequently gravitate to the middle.

The new system about which I'm most excited is a little less apparent here, but you can see it under and to the left of the hanging tape rolls, next to the mug of fountain pens. They are Mark's Round Pen Cases which I got from the beloved JetPens. Yes, they are technically pen cases, but when I saw these recently added to the JetPens website, the description mentioned storage for decorative tapes, and I thought.... hmmmm.... First I bought the black case, and then I loved it so much I bought another one in white. The round shape perfectly holds the washi tape, and the clear window lets you see what's inside, and it's easy to retrieve the tapes in the middle. Now my favorite, most-used tapes live in the Mark's Round Pen Cases for fast and easy access. As you can see in the photo, they stand up nicely on their own (though they could be hung quite easily using the zipper ring), and if I need to expand, I'll get them in different colors to differentiate. They also feel very sturdy, and would stand up well to travel, I think.

You can see some of my washi tape use on the letter on the desk. I have more ideas for blog posts than I'm sure I will ever execute, but this makes me think I should review some of the utterly adorable tapes I've found recently; the designs available have exploded exponentially in the past few years, and it's pretty amazing what you can find on a tape now.

If you have any nice writing desk photos, or washi tape storage ideas, or any other thoughts, please share in the comments!

Snow day = mail day

Today we have yet another snow day here in Washington, DC. It's predicted to be a lot of snow, even by DC's very low standards (I will refrain from going on about how this city cannot handle snow), and I am enjoying yet another snow day at home. It's going to be kittens and mail, all day long!



And of course, snow-watching.

Spacecat: The Case of the Empty Envelope

I recently received this phenomenal handmade envelope from Allison Anne, a mail enthusiast with whom I connected via Twitter. We'd exchanged a couple of postcards, and she sent me a letter... but alas, I only received the envelope! It appears the letter fell out en route somehow.

The envelope is so spectacular that I had to share it with you. She tells the full story on her blog, and we both blame the tape used to seal the edges. It wasn't too sticky, and on one edge the tape had come unstuck, giving the letter an escape route as it was squeezed through the mail sorting machines... or so we surmise. (I had to secure it with transparent tape for this photo.)



I'm sure it was a spectacular letter - how could it not be, transported by such a space cat? - and I'm so sorry to miss it, but nevertheless, I am delighted by this excellent envelope.

Mike says I don't write often enough

Yesterday I received another great Postcrossing postcard, and laughed out loud at what Mike wrote. Turns out he was already a regular reader of my blog when he was assigned to send me a Postcrossing postcard, and he tells me I don't write blog posts often enough. I think he's right.

I'm trying! I have a goal of at least 5 posts per month. I failed in January, but I'll manage (and maybe exceed?) that for February.

On my Postcrossing profile, I invite senders to share a beloved pet story. I really enjoyed Mike's story about how their cat Tiger came into their lives.

Cat with cherry blossoms postcard

Here is another delgihtful Postcrossing surprise: a fantastic cat among cherry blossoms postcard from Japan. It is hard to appreciate the loveliness of this card in a photo, because the postcard has textures; some of the cherry blossoms are raised in a textured, hard-tissue-paper-like fashion, as is the chop seal near the bottom by the kitty, and some of the blossoms are gold foil. That doesn't show up so well in this photo, but you can get a better sense of it on the JP-640891 Postcrossing postcard page, where the sender uploaded the photo of the postcard before she sent it.



I don't usually post the backs of postcards, but this one was so adorable I had to share.

Behold:

• a Hello Kitty airmail stamp
• a drawing of her fluffy dog Moko
• cat, bird, and mushroom stickers
• cat washi tape

Yay Postcrossing surprises!

LWA Virtual Mail Social all day today: Sunday, February 8!

Today's the day! Today's the day! All day today - Sunday, February 8, whatever the 24 hours of Sunday are for you, wherever you are - the Letter Writers Alliance is having a Virtual Mail Social.

In celebration, I'll be writing mail much of the day today!

You can play along by using the hashtag #LWAsocial on Twitter and Instagram. The main event is a Live video social and chat at 4pm EST / 3pm Central time. This is their second such event - the first was in December, and I was utterly tickled by how delightful it was: great, great fun. I really enjoy the camaraderie of seeing all the tweets and photos from other letter lovers writing mail at the same time, and it inspires me to write, too. So I'm participating already, and encourage anyone else who is interested to join the fun.

Love this #postcard from the National Postal Museum #npm

A photo posted by Missive Maven (@missivemaven) on Feb 7, 2015 at 10:06am PST

Also built into the video social will be a chat window, and the instagram feed for #LWAsocial. I had been toying with the idea of joining instagram for a while now, and this was the final push I needed. So yesterday I joined up, and now you can find me on instagram as missivemaven. There's sure to be much mail and many cats in my instagram feed. And I'll be posting lots of photos of my #LWAsocial mail there.

Happy #LWAsocial day! Join the fun! Write more letters! And maybe I'll see you at the LWA Virtual Social at 4pm EST today.

Another virtual Letter Writers Alliance social tomorrow: Sunday, February 8

I haven't been blogging or tooling around on the letter-writing internet world lately, so I'm a little late to the party on this news, but nevertheless I'm SUPER excited to share that there will be another Letter Writers Alliance Virtual Social tomorrow - Sunday, February 8, 2015. The social will happen all day, and the live video with chat will be at 4pm EST (3pm US Central time), a time the LWA founder/goddesses have settled upon as a window when the majority of their global members will be awake. I'm thrilled with the time - not only am I awake then, but I tend to be in the letter mood in the late afternoon hours as well. I shall endeavor to participate throughout the day - lately Sunday is my best letter-writing day in any case! - and join in for the video and chat if I can.

They held their first live video social in December, and you can watch the archived video from that event; my blog post for that was filled with eager anticipation, and I assure you, it did not disappoint. It was even more fun than I imagined, if that is possible.

Looks like they have moved from sharing photos on Twitter to sharing them on Instagram, so I guess maybe this is the push I finally need to join Instagram. Sigh. More social media.

But! Social media is a wonderful platform for bringing together epistolary enthusiasts. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend of good mail.