Valentine's Day

You should read The True Hero of Valentines Day by Ben Bishop.

Since I sent out several Valentine cards this year, I would have included one for Charlie Brown, if I'd known his mailing address.  Do you want me to write a letter to you?  Do I have your address?  Email it to me at emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com.  For now, here's my valentine to you:

Can you find joy in this valentine?  How about hug?  And love?  I found a dozen words (two go together).  And one more thing:

Charlie Brown, wherever you are, this one's for you!

Year of the Dragon stamps

I wanted special stamps for sending out my Month of Letters during February.  Having heard the Post Office had Year of the Dragon stamps, I bought two pages (twelve to a page) of these ornate dragons, rather than use stamps I already had.  Then Jan's card-letter arrived — the first I have received — and, lo and behold, it has the dragon stamp on it!

How do you like the finesse with which I took this photo?  It shows Jan's first name (but not her last name or address or town), my last name (without address), and the point of the photo — the dragon stamp in the corner.

This is a close-up of the dragon stamp.  Except for the colors, it is strikingly similar to the dragon I posted on the first day of the Chinese New Year, found here.  From the back of the sheet of stamps:

Millions of people around the world will celebrate the Year of the Dragon beginning January 23, 2012.  The dragon, a respected creature traditionally considered magical or divine, is the fifth of twelve animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar.  People born in the Year of the Dragon are said to be flamboyant and powerful innovators.  The Year of the Dragon ends on February 9, 2013.

I was born in the Year of the Dragon, in 1940.  And now, some inspiration for all of us who are writing letters this month.


This 1921 handwritten letter was from Virginia Woolf to Katherine Mansfield.  She said, “It seems to me very important that women should learn to write.”

Sunday Salon ~ what does the moon smell like?

Raegan:  "The moon smells good."
Her mom:  "What does it smell like?"
Raegan:  "Ladybugs."

Her mom (my granddaughter) wrote:  "I love the random way Raegan thinks!"  Two-year-old Raegan has quite a lively and imaginative mind, that's for sure!

For the writers among us

ABCs of how an agent works by Marie, the blogger-wife of a writer who just signed a contract.

Write It Right

I can see it now, a headline that says:  COMMA SAVES GRANDPA'S LIFE

Books

The House on Olive Street ~ by Robyn Carr, 1999, fiction

The loss of their close friend draws four women together.  And a summer spent sorting through personal effects offers the perfect challenge — and the perfect escape.

Sable — her bestselling novels have made her a star, but the woman who has everything, in fact, has nothing but a past she is desperate to hide.
Elly — the intellectual who has hidden herself within the walls of academia, afraid to admit she is tired of being alone.
Barbara Ann — the talent behind twenty-six romance novels wakes up one day to discover she's lost control of her career, her sanity and her family.
Beth — her popular mysteries have become the only way she can fight against the secret tyranny of an abusive husband.

In the house on Olive Street, away from their troubles, the four women discover something marvelous:  themselves.  And along the way they realize a dream.  For, in telling the story of a remarkable woman, their own lives begin to change.

I came back from housesitting with another borrowed book — this one.  Have you read it?

Then Saturday, my friend Donna and I went out to eat, but first we stopped by Books-A-Million to pick up a couple of books she ordered.  Of course, I picked up a book from the sale table, adding to my overflowing TBR stacks.

Lady Macbeth ~ by Susan Frasier King, 2008, fiction (Scotland)

Married, pregnant, then quickly widowed, Gruadh, the last female descendent of Scotland's most royal line, is forced to wed her husband's murderer, the warlord Macbeth.  Determined to protect her interests and those of her infant son, she vows to preserve her family's legacy at any cost.

The novel starts with two things I love -- a map and a genealogy.  It's a map of Celtic Scotland, and the Genealogy of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.  I had never heard of this one, but it looks interesting and will represent Scotland in my Book Around the World challenge.

Letter writing challenge

I know you are anxious to hear from me, but remember:  "There's no mail delivery on Sunday."  If you haven't already sent me your address, email me and I'll add you to my mailing list:  emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com.  For the record, yesterday I received my first letter from a participant in the February Month of Letters — from Jan @ Yearning for God.  Thanks, Jan!



More TSS posts can be found on Facebook.

A letter a day

Once again, I'm housesitting and feeding Babe, the cat.  To get ready for this February Month of Letters, I stopped last night — on my way back here from a birthday dinner for a friend — and stocked up on colorful Hallmark stationery, a package of designer paper, and a package of note cards.  I also got a note pad to list names and addresses of recipients and a green pen, which should be perfect for St. Patrick's Day as well.  My mailing list so far includes:

Jan ~ in Texas
Madge ~ in California
Helen ~ in California
Maggie ~ in Ohio
Paula ~ in Tennessee
Jenn ~ in Arizona
Martha ~ in Virginia
Ginny ~ in Florida

Why isn't your name on the list?  If you want a letter from me, send your postal address to emerging(DOT)paradigm(AT)yahoo(DOT)com and I'll add you to the list.  Hey, I'll even send it internationally.

I'll leave you with the two squirrels on the deck where I'm housesitting — click to enlarge the photos and look carefully — there's one at each end of the feeder on the railing. The birds were using that round (squirrel-proof?) feeder hanging down from the eaves.

A month of letters

Reading Jan's blog last week, I found a challenge to write real letters, as in snail mail.  A month's worth of letters, that is, not counting Sundays and holidays, when the Post Office is closed:

Last September, I took a month off from the internet.  During my vacation, I told people that they could correspond with me by paper letter.  Some people did.  Some people still are.  Every letter delights me.

When I write back, I find that I slow down and write differently than I do with an email.  Email is all about the now.  Letters are different, because whatever I write needs to be something that will be relevant a week later to the person to whom I am writing.  In some ways it forces me to think about time more because postal mail is slower.  “By the time you get this…”  It is relaxing.  It is intimate.  It is both lasting and ephemeral.

How so?  I find that I will often read the letters that I receive twice.  Once when I get them and again as I write back.  So, that makes it more lasting.  It is more ephemeral because I don’t have copies of the letters that I write and I am the only one who has copies of the letters that my correspondents write.  So, more ephemeral.

When was the last time you got a letter in the mail?  December sees a lot of mail, and you remember that sense of delight when the first card arrives.  You can have that more often.

I have a simple challenge for you.

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs.  Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.

2, Write back to everyone who writes to you.  This can count as one of your mailed items.

All you are committing to is to mail 24 items.  Why 24?  There are four Sundays and one US holiday.  In fact, you might send more than 24 items.  You might develop a correspondence that extends beyond the month.  You might enjoy going to the mail box again.

Feeling intimidated?  It’s fewer words than NaNoWriMo, and I know how many of you do that.  Join me in The Month of Letters Challenge.

Sincerely yours,
Mary Robinette Kowal

If I do this, what will I write?  Who will I send it to?  I put together this much of a post, then stopped.  For four days, I forgot about the challenge altogether.  Then today on Facebook, my friend Madge, who found this through another blogger, said she was going to do it.  Having never met face to face, though we've been book buddies since 1996, Madge and I exchanged addresses and I'm committed.

If you want a letter from me, send your snail mail address to me at emerging(DOT)paradigm(AT)yahoo(DOT)com.  I'll try to write to the first 24 on my list.  I guess I should start with Jan, who wrote the post which alerted me to the challenge, then Madge, who convinced me to do it.  Who else?