Mavens of the Mailbox

pewter-ific

2009-06-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Molly says:

I ordered this pewter stamp dispenser a while back from usps.com after falling in love with it at first sight:

It was back-ordered so I had to wait and wait and wait for it to arrive in my mailbox. Totally worth the wait. I filled it with a coil of Flags of Our Nation stamps (set 2!).

And I also got a sheet of these beauties:

The Love: King and Queen of Hearts stamps. Not pictured here is the king, but a sheet of these is pretty enough to frame! My fellow mavens oughta be seeing those show up in their mailboxes at any time.

I've become quite the stamp geek as a result of this mail project.

Bonjour! Aren't you jealous of me?

2009-05-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

From Rebecca (in France) to Siri:

"a quick jaunt to France... coffee, pan au chocolate, wine, and sunshine".

Jesus, a Lamb, and some Kick Ass Stamps

2009-05-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Siri

Hokey Poe-ky

2009-05-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

From Nicole to Rebecca.

If you can't find stamps in London...

2009-05-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

Take a holiday in France!

From Rebecca to Nicole

stampaholic

2009-05-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Molly needs to step away from usps.com:

Derriere de poulet!

2009-05-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

From Rebecca to Molly.
Rebecca shunned England and its lack of pretty stamps and went all the way to France to score these beauties:

The French may know how to embellish an envelope (come on G.B., what's your problem?!) but somehow I have a hard time picturing the average Frenchperson using the snort-worthy exchange, "What's up?" "Chicken butt." But if they did, it would look like this:

Ravens love pickup truck beds, this we've learned the hard way.

2009-05-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

From Nicole to Molly.

Flesh Eating Cranes...

2009-05-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Nicole

Sunflowers, Owls, and Alaskan Nudists

2009-05-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Siri

Quoth the Raven: Wear your hat - it's cold out.

2009-05-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

From Nicole to Kelly: a fabulous copy of the poem The Raven, which, coincidentally, I had to memorize back in ... college? And it's been an absolute favorite ever since! LOVE IT!

From Molly to Kelly:

A paper hat cleverly depicting all of the layers of clothes one must wear in Portland in the fall. Must, people.

Arrrrrr. I be a pirate. Really!

2009-05-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

From Rebecca to Kelly:

The most AWESOME pirate tats ever. Ever. Those bus pirates will never know what hit 'em.

Tree Tale, Continued

2009-05-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Kelly:

Mammoth Sunflowers

2009-05-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Nicole

A Maveny Welcome

2009-05-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

From Rebecca to Siri

Too Much To Swallow?

2009-05-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Nicole

Why Mavens are marvelous

2009-05-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

I don't have the words to express how wonderful it was to get this in the mail.

Molly, you totally rule. Totally rule.

Stamp envy.

2009-05-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

I've been getting some seriously good stamp action here in London. Every piece of maven post that comes through my door has a different attractive stamp on it.

I thought it was about time I shared:

And now I have a confession. I went to see the lady in the post office today, in a quest to have some impressive stamps of my own to glorify envelopes. But oh no, it wasn't to be. Apparently the Royal Mail only tends to do that sort of thing at Christmas. So, my fellow mavens, unless I manage to somehow can my hands on the few rare decorative stamps that are floating around, you're stuck with the Queen's head. I'll try and manage some pretty colours at least, but that's the best I can do for about seven months.

A plethora of post

2009-05-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a veritable plethora of post...I got artwork, fabric, a postcard from a very dear friend which did indeed make me smile and my first ever lucky postcard from Portland!

Not bad for a Wednesday, eh!

Sunshine in the mail

2009-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Rebecca.

Gosh, I'm a lucky girl. So spoilt by Molly, and how did she know I'm working on a yellow quilt at the moment? Scarily psychic that girl.

2009-05-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

From Kelly to Molly.
Truer words were never spoken about our friendship:

And inside, my favorite Scrubs quote:
“God bless Molly Ringwald. And God bless this Molly too. Aw, to hell with it, God bless Mollys everywhere!”

Overdue

2009-04-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd call this post "overdue" for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because this beautiful card arrived from Angie far too long ago, and I kept failing to take pictures of it because I had it sitting on the shelf so I could admire it.Also, because I know that the Mavens in Alaska must feel like spring is long overdue in their parts, and so it's good to know that it's finally on the way.
Oh, and check out those great stamps. Want. Why is it that all I can get here are boring red ones?Note to self: must try harder on the next batch and see if I can sweet-talk our post office staff into finding something a bit more impressive.

hhhmmmm

2009-04-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Received by Molly from Rebecca.

Hhhhrrrmmmm. I'm not sure if one should use the words 'lust' and 'butt' in the presence of the queen.

Poe-try

2009-04-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ravens of the Mailbox

All sorts of goodies

2009-04-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

First was Molly's fantastic interpretation of my dad's old saying: "You're a pretty bird, but you fly funny."

Next, an ode to my giant soil-bag slugs as written by Edgar Allan Poe - PLUS super cool stickers spelling out my name...

And lastly what I believe is my first ever postcard from England, drawn with an incredibly clever zombie cartoon. Nice one Rebecca, thanks!

Got Milk(shake)?

2009-04-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

Oh Molly, how dare you tempt me with the mention of raspberry milkshakes?

And, yes, I think it probably did fly here itself with all that lovely postage on it!

I'd Like To See That

2009-04-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'd love to see a plane that big with skis, I'd also like to be able to climb a mountain that big. I guess I'll just have to look at Rebecca's lovely drawing and dream.

The card is also resplendent with haiku and this fantastic airmail sticker.

Dwight

2009-04-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Seriously? It's really too awesome to even think about. Do you think that as a child he dreamed of the day that he’d be Postmaster? I’m guessing he did.

Whoo?

2009-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Rebecca, that's who!

My horoscope today,,,

2009-04-20T10:32:00.001-07:00

...was very much Mavens-blog related!

"When's the last time you used a pen and paper, dear Cancer? In this day and age of computers, the keyboard has all but replaced these wonderful tools. In the same way that walking provides much more than fresh air, the kinesthetic value of the rhythmic motion in writing with a pen is far more soothing and even more healing than most realize. Moving your hand across the page can feel good, and unlock places within you that aren't always accessed by typing. Try it today."

Try it today. Maybe I will, MSN, maybe I will.

Break-Up

2009-04-18T19:24:00.001-07:00

from Angie to Nicole

Until I moved to Alaska break-up was something that involved red swollen eyes, a big box of Kleenex, and an evening with The Bridges of Madison County and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Now, it is something to celebrate with funny boots and big parties. Don't believe me? Check out Molly's blog. (I wonder if this is the party Angie mentioned in her card?) They are both living in that part of Alaska that is already celebrating break-up. Not yet, not here in Fairbanks. Hopefully, next weekend...

In the meantime, Angie sent me a lovely break-up card in the same shade of brown as those boots I mentioned. But wouldn't break-up be even more fun if you had a pair of these?

So, here's to living in Alaska where break-up is cause to celebrate.

Bosoms

2009-04-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Angie

A word that still makes me giggle.

Easter Eggyness

2009-04-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

From Molly to Angie

Look at this Eggy Goodness (That's said Agg with a hard A because I can't get rid of that midwestern accent).

On it's way...

2009-04-15T02:56:00.000-07:00

...but who's getting what?!

James Michener and funny mail ladies

2009-04-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Posted by Molly:

Here's an excellent James Michener stamp that I received from my homeowner's association, announcing their next meeting and all sorts of other bureaucratic stuff.

And I have to tell you about the funny mail lady that I ran into this weekend. I stepped up to the counter with a card to Rebecca in London, and I'd positively plastered the envelope with stamps because according to my (apparently incorrect) calculations on the usps.com website, international postage to England would cost me something in the neighborhood of $2.50 in stamps. Considering how many pretty and interesting stamps I have in my arsenal of postage, I was more than happy to stamp away.

"Does this have enough postage on it?" I asked her.

She laughed and said, "Girllllll, it has enough postage on it to fly itself to London."

And then she thanked me for my generous contribution.

From Angie, Molly and Uncle Alan

2009-04-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Goodies in the mail! Oh so much better than bills and Comcast flyers. Here's the latest from the very talented Molly and Angie...

And Easter goodies from my Uncle Alan in Pittsburgh, whose been sending me Sweet Heart Candies blessings since I was a little girl. The peanut butter cups are the best in the whole world, but this giant egg is a close second - go ahead and drool.

Look what sprung in my mailbox: from Angie to Rebecca

2009-04-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Spring may not have sprung in Alaska yet, but they've got planes that land on skis. Skis, people! I don't think I'd ever get tired of watching that.

from Kelly to Molly

2009-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

TWO envelopes from Kelly in my mailbox today!

I don't think I'll be inviting her to MY birthday party anytime soon.

Did you get any photos of your big bangs? For the record, mine were 1990 bangs, not quite circa 1980's. What a dork:

Posted by Molly

from Angie to Molly

2009-04-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Edna was a letter-writer herself and she recalled her mother's support in an entry included in Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay: "I cannot remember once in the life when you were not interested in what I was working on, or even suggested that I should put it aside for something else."

I think that's beautiful.

Posted by Molly