Happy New Year, in a Russian winter postcard

What better way to say "Happy New Year" than with a postcard?

This lovely Russian postcard, Postcard RU-3269709, (the text reads "Happy New Year" in Russian) came to me via Postcrossing. It's a vintage reprint complete with a lovely ornate design on the back, and something about the snow-covered cottage by a lake really speaks to me. I feel the cozy, inward-turning of wintertime, but the yellow sunrise in the sky lights the promise of a new year. Hmm... am I feeling a little extra poetic-romantic today? Perhaps, but I wish all my blog readers a very Happy New Year as we move into 2015. An added bonus was the very sweet message on this card: it was the sender's first Postcrossing card, and she was quite excited about it. I am honored to be the recipient of her first card! She is sure to be an enthusiastic Postcrosser, and of course enthusiasm brings the most fun.



I've had some great Postcrossing adventures lately, with some wonderful cards received; above is one of my favorites, DE-3782357 from Germany, with a vintage illustration from 1890 of cats on a train. I don't know why this one delights me so much, but it does. Maybe because I like cats and trains both, and the cats on this train look so very civilized and serious, while also looking utterly ridiculous. (The cat illustrations from the late 1800s often share these traits.)

I also get a kick out of the fact that both these postcards I'm featuring today are vintage reproductions. Those seem to be very popular these days - and I certainly enjoy them myself!

Best Hanukkah card EVER

The fabulous PostMuse made my day, and made my Hanukkah, with this: the best Hanukkah card ever. I can't find a direct link to the card, but it is from Alternate Histories. You may have read my On holiday cards page, so you may know I'm not big into holiday foo-fa-la, and I get especially grinch-like at the misconception that Hanukkah is as big a deal for Jews as Christmas is for Christians. It's actually a very minor holiday. But lighting candles is fun (I love candles), and PostMuse got it spot-on with this wonderful card!



We're enjoying "kittens' first Hanukkah" in our household. Oberon has a healthy fear of candles, but Stella exhibits a morbid (and slightly masochistic) fascination with the flames. On the first night, she ended up extinguishing the candle by pawing it. After we wiped her paw down with a cool cloth, she was right back at the Menorah for more action. Fortunately, last night she slept through the candle lighting. Wish us luck with Stella and fire safety throughout the rest of Hanukkah and the future.

Happy Hanukkah, everyone! Chag sameach to all who celebrate the holiday.

Letter Writers Alliance Live Video Social on Dec. 13

I just found out about this wonderful virtual Letter-Writing Social TOMORROW - Saturday, December 13 - via the Letter Writers Alliance.



Watch the handy video above, read about it on the LWA blog, and participate on Twitter with the hashtag #LWASocial all day long tomorrow, Saturday, December 13.

I am a HUGE fan of the Letter Writers Alliance, and a super-huge fan of their virtual letter-writing socials, where anyone in the world can participate via Twitter. It is inspiring to see others sharing community, writing letters (and occasionally tweeting fun photos of mail), and this will have a cool added live video component where Donovan and Kathy, LWA founders and powerhouses, will be answering live Twitter questions and writing mail. And they'll be doing it from their super-cool mail-marvelous LWA studio space with a portable fireplace! (I'm really into that. I long for a letter-writing studio of my own... especially with a fireplace.) For those of you who are into that sort of thing (and I realize this is the vast majority of my readership, just minus me), they'll be writing their holiday cards during the event - and I suspect this is a prime time for a lot of others to be sharing in similar epistolary enjoyment.

I'll be participating via Twitter - I'll take some breaks for yoga and kitten time, but otherwise this is a GREAT excuse to make tomorrow a dedicated mail day. I hope to see you there tomorrow, and share in the mail love!

Russian Rainbow Circus Stamp

I recently received this spectacular stamp on a Postcrossing postcard from Russia. The postcard was less memorable, but that stamp is a keeper. I know lots of folks are creeped out by clowns, and this one hardly looks harmless, but somehow the combination of excessive rainbows makes it an absolute winner. And the bear on the bike? Priceless!

One of my favorite things about Postcrossing is receiving these fascinating postage stamps from all over the world; in many cases, the stamps are a lot more interesting than the postcards!

'Tis the season

Oh my goodness, I have been a bad blogger and have not posted in far too long! Now it's time to post my seasonal reminder, for new blog readers who may not have been exposed to my little "bah humbug" quirks.

While I would not, in general, try to dissuade anyone from sending me good wishes in postal form, I do not celebrate Christmas and I do not send holiday cards. It is just not my thing, for a wide variety of reasons.

Want to know more? Read a more in-depth explanation: A word on holiday cards, or, why I don't do Christmas