A Month of Letters
The idea is that for every day of February, you mail at least one item through the post every day. It could be a postcard, a letter, a photo, a newspaper cutting or even just a fabric swatch.
The whole idea is to bring back the joy created by sending people something tangible to remind them of you, not just an ephemeral email which can be deleted. It's not too late to join and it's free. I know Claire is doing it, too - are any of you interested?
Click here to sign up.
My passion for writing letters
I am such a Luddite - I posted about it here. I adore writing letters and cards and much prefer them to fleeting emails, tweets or Facebook messages.
Letters can be read, re-read and re-read again. They can be cherished, carried around to allow you to feel close to the sender and even passed down through the generations. They may be tear-stained, coffee-stained or SWALK ('sealed with a loving kiss').
Not only are they fascinating recordings of the minutiae of daily life, I think the author's handwriting allows you to peek into their soul and understand more of their essence.
Handwriting delights me
Handwriting *enchants* me. I love it in all its varied forms, although the prettier the better, I must admit!
But when I was introduced to fountain pens when attending school in West Germany as a Rotary Exchange Student in 1989, my handwriting altered slightly. The sublime ink flowed so magically over the page, allowing my writing to develop more flourishes.
I'd be interested in your comments. Is it how you'd imagined my writing would look like? Or not at all?
I used to chide myself, thinking it looked too infantile and neat. Now I've finally accepted that it truly represents who I am.
Do any of you share my passion for handwritten letters? When I posted about the love letters Mr PB exchanged with me whilst he was abroad for a year in the mid-1990s, a number of you lamented that you had nothing similar to look at as so much of your communication occurred via email, texts and tweets.
I guess that's partly behind why a lot of us blog - to record moments in our life, our moods, events and discoveries we've made that would otherwise go unrecorded.
However, I am mindful that I really want to ensure my blog doesn't disappear into the ether by accident. Wouldn't that be just horrid? I think I'll investigate the whole blog-to-book idea. What a treat it would be to hold in my hand and leaf through! I've heard good things about Blurb - have any of you tried it? Or do you have any other recommendations? Do share - imagine the thrill of opening that parcel!