Sharing Doubles the Joy

[caption id="attachment_2613" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Home Sweet Home[/caption]

Here I sit, in my kitchen at my laptop, wondering what we should talk about today.

I have a smoothie at my side.  It's a delicious and nutritious Summer drink.  My smoothie today consists of  yogurt, bananas, grape juice, strawberries and blueberries.  A quick spin in the blender and I have an easy and healthful breakfast.  Do you enjoy smoothies too?  They say berries are so very good for us as is all fruit.  I hope you're enjoying a nice drink too as we spend time together today.

[caption id="attachment_2621" align="aligncenter" width="225"] A room with a view[/caption]

It's another beautiful day in Hudson.  I've opened my kitchen doors so I can enjoy the fresh air and the beauty of nature as we visit.  I make a point of using all the different rooms of my house.  Do you?

[caption id="attachment_2623" align="aligncenter" width="225"] A room with "another" view[/caption]

 If I look straight ahead I have the pleasure of viewing a wall of green trees.  They stand beyond our grounds past the dining room and porch.  Nature is so tranquil and refreshing.

[caption id="attachment_2626" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My heroe[/caption]

 The music I'm listening to is also tranquil and refreshing.  It's a cd of Glen Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations.   In this, my  romantic old world setting, it's easy to get lost in all sorts of  lovely romantic ideas and artful activities and as you might guess The Art of Letter Writing is  my favorite artful activity.

So speaking of The Art of Letter Writing let me share something that popped up in a recent letter I received from a new correspondent who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She started her letter to me with these words, "Where shall I begin?  Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first?"

 With a beginning like that I wondered how interesting the letter would be, (Important nothings?) but her letter really was quite interesting, and one of the interesting things I learned from her was that those opening words were first written by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra.  My pen friend read and liked Jane's words so she now uses them in her own letters.  I bet Jane is flattered up there in heaven that people aren't only reading and enjoying her books, but they're also reading, enjoying and sharing her letters.  My pen friend's idea to borrow Jane's words really charmed me.

[caption id="attachment_2618" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A letter from Gwen[/caption]

Here's another thing that charmed me.  It was a beautiful letter from my pen friend Gwen.  Gwen lives in Ohio not too far from me, but we've never met in person ... not yet anyway.  How would you like to receive such a pretty letter in your mail box?  I bet you would.

[caption id="attachment_2617" align="aligncenter" width="225"] So sweet[/caption]

I could just imagine Gwen's creative mind working overtime when she discovered this pretty paper napkin with all its lovely cut work.  Gwen likes fairies too.  She told me she has created a fairy garden in her yard.  (Gardeners know fairy gardens are quite the thing these days.)  So Gwen took one look at the shape of this pretty napkin and decided she had to use it for a letter.  She  fit letter paper within its square center using a fairy sticker to create a cute little letter package.  So sweet!

[caption id="attachment_2616" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Such a pretty letter[/caption]More fairies adorn each page of Gwen's letter, and her neat handwriting and cheerful, positive thoughts combined to create a most beautiful and uplifting  present (the gift of a letter)  which added immeasurably to the delight of my day.

[caption id="attachment_2615" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My letter to Gwen[/caption]

Today I finally had the pleasure of responding to Gwen's letter.  I do wish I could answer all the letters I receive more promptly, but I keep thinking of what Robert Louis Stevenson said long ago, the  words that I recently shared with you.  Remember?  Robert said. "If I wrote all the letters I ought to write, and at the proper time, I should be very good and very happy; but I doubt if I should do anything else."  I guess through all of time men have never had enough time for those things they love the most."

And so speaking of the crunch time places on us, I must run along and attend to some music planning for the children's choir I direct.  But I'll be back with you for another visit before you know it because sharing doubles my joy and I hope my sharing adds to your joy too.

Sharing in Letters

As I sat on my porch this morning getting ready to write my letter of the day, I gazed out the window and it sure looked like rain was on the way.   It wasn't but a few minutes later that the rain did come - and a welcome visitor it was.  Hudson has been very dry lately and all the trees and plants have been mighty thirsty.

Any hour, any day, any situation,  is a good time to write a letter, but sitting peacefully while watching and listening  to the music of raindrops is an especially delightful  accompaniment to letter writing.

I pulled out my stationary and pen, sipped my morning coffee, and enjoyed the raindrops bouncing against the flagstone as I pondered just what to say in my letter to favorite pen friend Joy.  I was answering a sweet little package she recently sent me... yes,  I mean package.  Joy is always surprising me with the creative-looking letters she sends my way.

This time Joy put pages of blue-lined letter paper into a little white bag, the bag was decorated with delightful pictures.  This bag then went into her envelope.  It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways Joy will package her letters to me.  Such visual fun she offers all her lucky correspondents.  So what could I now send  Joy that might delight her half as much?

Because we both enjoy cooking and baking I decided a pretty recipe card with an interesting recipe might be something Joy would like.  Yesterday I was reading a favorite blog, Poppy's Patisserie, and I came upon a three-ingredient brownie recipe.  Many people commented on her blog saying they loved this recipe so I took it down. Besides the fact that these brownies are supposed to be delicious, they also seem very simple to make. (And we all know simplicity is truly appreciated by most people these days.)  The recipe calls for only 3 ingredients and one bowl to dirty, Yes! I thought Joy might really like this recipe. I can't wait to try it myself  and you might like to try it too. If you do try it and like it don't thank me, thank Poppy.  Here it is:

Nutella Brownies

Ingredients  - 1/2 cup Nutella spread, 1 large egg, 5 T. plain flour, 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Process  -  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or line 6 muffin tins with paper cups.  Wisk egg and Nutella together.  Add flour and wisk some more.  Put mixture in tins and sprinkle with nuts.  Bake 13-14 minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream

Pretty simple, huh?

I hope the recipe will please all of us, especially Joy, but I also wanted to send her another thing, a Friendship Book.  Have you ever heard of Friendship books?  Most people in the States haven't, but my pen friends over seas seem to know all about them.  They send me Friendship books in most of their letters.

[caption id="attachment_2600" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Some Friendship Books[/caption]

Friendship books come in all shapes and sizes with various looks.  They're usually quite small, 4 x 6 inches or smaller, so they can easily be tucked into a letter envelope.  Inside the little Friendship book people put their names , addresses, a list of their favorite things, and they either say "Hello, just passing through", or they say, "Please write me".

The book is signed and then is sent off  in a letter to another  friend who signs the book and passes it on again.  The last page of the book will say "When full please return to".... and the name and address of the creator will appear.  It's really fun to see how these little books get around, and all along their travels  they give letter writers the opportunity to connect.  I have found many delightful correspondents  with the help of these little jewels.

Some people design darling little Friendship books.  Here's one created by my pen friend Tamra.  She lives in Portland, Orgeon.

Take a look inside.  People fill the little books in as they please.  There are no rules.  You can create your own Friendship books any way you like.  If you  get in the habit of inserting one in each of your letters you can feel proud that you're helping  to spread love and friendship around the world.  It's fun, especially when, like a boomerang, your Friendship books start returning to you filled with new perspective letter friends.

I like to create my Friendship Books using ribbon and polka dots.  If you're one of my correspondents it's just a matter of time before a Friendship book will arrive in a letter from me to you.

There are so many things to enjoy in life and many of them can be shared in letters.  Tasty recipes and Friendship Books are two things I especially enjoy sharing in my letters. I wonder what you like to share in your letters.  Maybe you'll write and tell me.  I'm always open to new ideas.

So write a comment on this post.  Write a letter to me. Write a letter to someone else.

Just Write!

Nature, Travel, Tea and Letters

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a perfect day for letter writing, but then every day is a perfect day for letter writing.  The sun is shining.  The birds are chirping.  There's no humidity.  It's a lovely temperature, about 75 degrees, and all is calm and right in my world.  I hope that's the case for you too. Today I decided to write my morning letter to Janet.  Janet is a real nature lover as I am, maybe as you are too.  I wanted to tell her all about the alpaca farm I discovered when meeting the owners at Hudson's farm market last week.  I also wanted to send her this bookmark picturing one of the very cute alpacas. I knew she would be interested because Janet loves animals.  Are you an animal lover too?

 I've mentioned Janet to you before.  She lives in a  beautiful country setting in the state of Virginia.  Her house is right next door to her sister and brother-in-law's farm.  Janet is always taking me on excursions through that farm via her letters.  It's so fun! Thanks to Janet I can share in her early morning walks without even leaving my comfy sofa.  Ah, the magic of letter writing!  Are you in the mood for a little creative visualization?  Well, I'll share a bit of one of Janet's letters with you.  I'm sure she wouldn't mind because Janet is wonderful about sharing her joy.

She writes,

"Just returned from my early morning walk to the fish pond, strolling by the sheep and lambs in the pasture...

the donkeys keep watch...

a few birds too".

Janet continues, "When I reached the pond a dozen geese were on the water honking.  I like to watch them as they glide along and every now and then they'll flap their wings, take off, fly to the shore or another spot on the pond, splashing when they land, and then glide along once more."

Can't you just picture those geese as Janet describes them?  I sure can, and I have to smile with delight as I share their joy.

 Janet is always sending me pictures in her letters.  I love them.  Like I always say - one picture is worth a thousand words.  Janet makes post cards too like this one of Mr. Rooster.  She cleverly snapped his picture and added what she knew he was thinking.  If you hang around animals enough you do get to know what they're thinking.  On the back of the postcard Janet wrote,

"Every morning roosters crow somewhere in our community.  My sister now has three roosters and this is one of the newest.  He's very strong and feisty, but a smaller one we call 'Roger' has been there the longest and none of the new roosters mess with him.  He'll squawk and chase the other two.  Roger let's the others know he's the King rooster..."

Don't you know people like Roger?  I sure do.

I enjoy travel, but I also enjoy my creative visualization with the help of letter friends.  Having pen friends from all over the world gives us an "up close and personal" look at places and things near and far.  As you can see from the postmark above I have a pen friend in The Netherlands.  She's a veterinarian.  I bet she would love Janet's letters about nature and animals as I do.

Vronica takes me along to places she visits like Stadtkyll and she adds her  personal commentary. Because I have wonderful  pen friends like Vronica and Janet I see more of this beautiful world than I would see otherwise.  And I care about, and become interested in, places I would never even know existed if not for letters.  After all, you can't love what you don't know.  Do you see how letters can expand our world?  If a person can't get out and about for any reason, but even if they can,  they really ought to take up letter writing.

How 'bout a little sightseeing in England?  No problem, just find yourself an English correspondent like my pen friend Tracy.  Tracy lives in Jacob's Well, Guildford Surrey.

I'm getting to know Guildford pretty well because  of all the literature Tracy sends me on the place.  I love it!

We tour neighborhood houses together via her local newspaper

and we also visit historic properties in and around Guildford like this museum, The City Museum.  Its galleries tell the story of the city from its origin as a prehistoric trading center and Roman regional capital, through to modern times with reconstructed 19th and 20th century shops.

But Tracy also sends me gifts, large and small.  She is a very giving  and  generous person who loves to share.  My kind of girl.  Tracy knows how sharing doubles the joy.  She sent me these neat London coasters

and this pretty tablecloth for my tea parties.  Tracy, being English, thoroughly approves of all my tea parties.

She also sends me recipes for tea bakery.  Of course she included a conversion table so I could understand the recipe measurements.

What can I say?  We have our private world, our world of family and local friends, our loved ones who move far away, but then there's this entirely different world, our world of

Letter Friends

Can you see how they expand one's life experience?

I sure hope you have a few dozen of your own letter friends, but until you get them, I'll be happy to continue sharing mine with you.  Why?  You know.

Sharing Doubles the Joy!

I got mail.

As I was about to begin writing to you today I noticed my mail lady rounding the curve in my driveway.  I jumped right out of my chair to meet her.

It's always a thrill to see her cute little white truck in my yard because so often, like Santa, she arrives with gifts for me in her mail bag.  Today was no exception.  I GOT MAIL! - and not just any mail.  I got A  Personal Letter.  YES!

I'm always so excited to find a letter addressed just to me, and as you can see, Tracy was excited  for me too.  She's such a nice lady and exactly what a postal worker should be.  Traci is friendly, very sweet,  and  excited about good mail.  She appreciates and understands the value of a personal letter.  In fact, Tracy  told me she has distinct and fond memories of her grandmother sitting and writing letters.  Tracy also said if more people would write letters today, as they did in the past, the postal service would be on solid ground again. You wonder why The United States Postal Service doesn't start a campaign to publicize the pleasures of letter writing.  I offered my services.  Maybe some day they'll take me up on my offer.

And  here it is - the enevelope I got in today's mail!

Now, some people can find a personal letter addressed just to them and remarkably they're able to set it aside and read it later.  Not I.  All else stops when I receive a letter.  I might be able to hold off long enough to pour myself a nice drink so I can sit back, get comfortable, and sip while I read, but that's about the limit to my patience.  The letters keep calling me till I devour every last word contained in their pages

 Today's personal letter

As you have  seen I received only one letter today, but hey, every day can't be a great letter day .  But in that letter from Andria, a new pen friend, there was another gift - a cute bookmark and it looks hand made.  Neat!  How many letters with gifts inside did you receive today?

Andria and I seem to have more than a few appreciations in common and that always makes for a fun correspondence.  In today's letter she was telling me about her love for afternoon tea gatherings.  I love such gathering too.  How 'bout you?  Andria was writing  about the 'Tea and Craft' events that she enjoyed at her church.  These once a month events brought people together for yet another very nice way to share joy.

I look forward to writing Andria about my home,  a house built in 1853.  In time I'll also tell her about my last house which was older yet.  It was built in 1829.   I think It's easier to live a charmed life in a charming old house.  At least it's easier for me.  Andria seems to appreciate historical architecture and old world ways as I do, and obviously that includes an appreciation for The Art of Letter Writing.  You'd think more people who love things of the past would also enjoy letters and I do think they would if only "awakened" to the pleasure of a letter.

Andria writes, "As far as letter writing, it does have that charm and sense of nostalgia that I cannot get enough of.  I wish I could hop into a time machine and visit the past, as the present holds very little charm for me."

I must introduce Andria to another of my letter friends - Evelyna.  Coincidentally they live very near each other.

Meet Evelyna

Evelyna works at living "The Charmed Life" as I do.  Her letters reflect that charm.  Whenever  Evelyna has the time she creates the most beautiful art for her letters.  Talk about art play... Evelyna's play is quite sensational.  Take a look at a few of her creations.

In this card Evelyna  added cotton for snow and natural dried plant material to capture a Wintry feeling.  It is nice to capitalize on the beauty of the Season when sending off our letters, isn't it?

One of the many things Evelyna and I share is a love of nature.  And if we love nature why not share that love and appreciation every way we can.  As you see in this card  Evelyna does just that by adding pressed violets picked from her yard.  Violet-colored script adds a nice touch.

And in this card Evelyna is celebrating her Love for Lavender and not just the color lavender.  Evelyna was celebrating lavender flowers and Springtime.  In this letter she shared her delight in presenting  a program on this subject  to some lucky organizations.  Not only does Evelyna have  lots of talents and appreciations, but she makes a point of sharing them, and sharing is so very important as you well know.  It doubles the joy!

Of course, it's not only the lovely art in Evelyna's letters, it's also  her tiny meticulous script and printing - so neat and  easy to read.  And of course, I love the way she thinks.  Reading her letters gives me energy  as all good things tend to do.  I hope you have an Evelyna or two writing you.  I am blessed to know her, but I take credit for that.  You see, I met Evelyna at an antique and craft show and I knew when I saw her lovely baked goods which she was selling (she's a master baker along with everything else) that she was someone I needed in my life.  I suggested we keep in touch.  I wrote her the first letter and then she reciprocated and the rest is history.  I hope you too hang on to interesting people you meet.  Letter writing will help you do just that,  for as I always say -

Letter Writing shrinks the whole world into a friendly neighborhood.

And who doesn't want to live in a friendly neighborhood filled with the kind of people who write great letters and send those letters off to you?

Want good mail?

Write letters!

Making time for favorite things

Have you ever heard of Arsene Haussaye?  He was a French novelist, poet and man of letters born in the late 1800's.  I don't know Arsene very well yet, but, since I am a lady of letters myself and fond of literature, as well as the 19th century and things romantic,  this French writer is someone I should get to know.  Why, in time he might even become one of my very delightful "dead friends".

I bring Arsene up today because of something he wrote that made me think of you -  yes -  All of YOU who are reading this post!  Arsene wrote, "My chief philosophy has always been to do only what I deem pleasant. This is why I write to you."

Well, it's not as though I can get away with doing only those things which I find pleasant as Arsene does.  Some uninvited dreary tasks do slip into my days, but I conscientiously work at making time for pleasure,  and writing you here is one of those pleasurable activities.

 Arsene and I both love to write letters.  Maybe you do too. You must at least enjoy the subject of letters (receiving them or reading historical letters of famous people) or you wouldn't be here with me right now.

Writing letters, receiving letters ... the papers, a favorite writing instrument, a desk filled with sealing wax, postage stamps, bottles of ink in assorted colors, a stack of letters waiting for an answer --- these are a few of my favorite things.  Oscar Hammerstein II said, "We simply remember our favorite things and then we don't feel so bad", but going one step farther and doing, embracing and experiencing our favorite things makes us feel even better.  What are some of your favorite things?  Are you seeing that those things make it into your daily life?

I love people, but I also love my solitude, and those two favorite things together have something to do with why I love letters so.  Lord Byron said, "Only in letter writing do we have solitude and society simultaneously."

Because I'm a letter writer I can enjoy my friends every day without getting worn out coming and going. I might write letters in a coffee shop (for I love coffee  and I love coffee shops) but my favorite letter writing time happens in early morning at my home.  The house and everyone in it is still asleep and quiet.  I make my coffee, and in cold weather stumble into my library.  Maybe I'll light a fire in the fireplace.

In warm weather I have a different favorite letter writing location.

I come out  to the porch.  Here I sit quietly in solitude.  I gaze out my windows at the trees, the birds, and the sky.   I enjoy this alone time reflecting, and then I share some of my reflections with a letter friend. I find this ritual to be sheer bliss and a great way to start the day.    But any location and any hour of the day becomes golden when we're enjoying our favorite things.

Though letter writing is not my only favorite thing - there's music, cooking, gardening, knitting,  hosting teas, ectaetera, etcaeterorum ... the extra special aspect of letter writing  is the ease of it.  It's relaxing. I can put my feet up and write while lounging in my pink pajamas and comfy slippers.    Letter writing isn't only a  mix of solitude and society.  It's also a mix of physical relaxation and intellectual stimulation.

Then there's the 'Magic of creation' to consider.  Even if we're not  as brilliant or popular as some artists might be, we truly become artists whenever we're involved in creation.  It doesn't matter what our creation is - a poem, a song, a chocolate chiffon pie,  a letter -  all creation is  very satisfying.   As we create we team up with The Supreme Creator.  We make  something out of nothing.   And when we share our creations we then experience even greater satisfaction.

I consider myself to be a spiritual person.   I think we're put on this earth to try to know God, to teem up with Him accomplishing  good, to be of service to others and to do our work with joy.  And we can be of great service to others simply by connecting with them, by sharing with them.  No man should be an island.

But besides being spiritual, there is a real material girl inside of me too, she's the one that loves the materials used in letter writing.  I wonder if you feel the same attraction to these materials. Perhaps you do.  Perhaps you love paper stores and have  cabinets full of paper and pens as I do.

Perhaps you're already an avid letter writer or just thinking about getting started.   Maybe you're even one of my regular letter friends wondering why it's taking me so long to answer your letter.  Well, I am writing to you right here, and a more personal letter will be coming soon.  This reminds me of something  Robert Louis Stevenson said,

"If I wrote all the letters I ought to write, and at the proper time, I should be very good and very happy; but I doubt if I should do anything else."

So true, Robert!

 I do try to keep up with all my letter friends, but like a missionary, I also feel the need to spread the word about letters, and I'm so delighted when I see people from  places like India, Japan, Norway, France, Canada, The United Kingdom and other far off countries sharing thoughts and words on this subject of letters with me.  I hope you're all having as grand a time as I am writing and receiving  letters and I'm hoping to hear from you, yes, write me a letter too!

But now I'll be signing off for today

So till  we meet again

I wish you love,

Truly,

Carol Ann