Art of a Letter

Incoming Mail

2012-02-23T13:03:00.002-08:00

Well, I think I have survived the illness that kept me down for almost a month! I am now back to the business of writing letters and getting caught up on blog posts. So here are some of the things I have received and not posted.


This card with a special cancellation was sent to me by Kimi in California


Post cards and note cards from Ellie VG in the UK, Kimi in Ca., Tom in Mo., and Eunice in Wales


Limner in Texas has been very creative and generous to me with mail. She made sure there was mail in my POB waiting for me upon my return from Costa Rica. Thanks Limner!


Wanda in British Columbia sent me this letter packed with good news and stories!

Monique in Ontario sent me snowy mail to brighten my day.

Pen Thief in Ohio sent a nice, newsy letter and a splash of color.


Linda in Virginia sent me a great letter and some wonderful ephemera. I adore S&H Green Stamps!


Super Hero sent me an invitation to participate in a couple of different mail projects and a really cool post card!

While I was in Costa Rica I received mail from two new pen friends, James in the Philippines and Impeccable=M in California

Ahmet in Turkey sent me one of his lovely and unique Puzzle Letters.


Ahmet also sent me several sheets of my artistamps that he reproduced for his mail art project Puzzleposta. Thank you so much Ahmet they are awesome!! What a generous gift and such a surprise!

Then last but certainly not least, Ahmet sent me this wonderful 2012 calendar featuring one of his many beautiful puzzle letters.

It never ceases to amaze me how blessed I am to have such generous, interesting and talented pen friends. My life is much richer for all of you! Thanks so much!

Still Sick...

2012-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I thought there for a moment that I was getting better, but unfortunately I am down for the count again. I spent what time I was awake this week writing letters to those who's letters have been languishing in a stack next to the bed. I promise that all precautions were observed... hands washed, lemon essential oil applied, and no coughing on the paper... but I can't guarantee that you won't receive a letter full of the ramblings of a fevered mind. If you receive a somewhat odd or uncharacteristic letter, please forgive me... it is the effort that counts... Right? :)

I hope that this note finds you well and that you are enjoying your weekend! See you in the mail! Elle

Please Forgive the Delay

2012-02-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that there has been no posting of letters or blog pages... I have been really sick. I am still feeling terrible, but I there might be hope in a day or two of some improvement. I keep looking at my stack of letters to be answered and feel so sad that I don't have the strength or brainpower to write... If you are expecting a letter from me, I haven't forgotten, I will hopefully start feeling like myself again soon and then it is on the top of my list to get my letters written and then to write a post for my blog. I am sending well wishes to you all and hope that this finds you healthy and enjoying good mail days! And now I'm going back to bed....

Post Crossings

2012-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Wow!! This is pretty awesome! I just read that Postcrossings has just registered its 10,000,000th post card. What an accomplishment! What a happy thought... 10,000,000 post cards hand addressed, stamped, and mailed all over the world; bringing to each recipient a smile and a memory to cherish. Congratulations Postcrossings!

Life Keeps Happening....

2012-01-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting to write an entry until I had my act together at home... Well, "life" keeps happening so I don't think I am going to get my act together. Most recently my husband and I had the pleasure of ripping the floor out of the main bathroom. The gasket under the toilet had been secretly leaking and the sub floor abruptly began to sag. Sigh...

The yucky part of the task is now behind us, a new sub-floor is in place and we will set the porcelain throne once we acquire the hardware to bolt it to the floor. My husband and I are no strangers to construction projects. We built our house back after Hurricane Hugo threw the majority of the house into the woods. Since those days we have had the opportunity to do many other construction projects under our roof...

New tile next to tub

This one was particularly repugnant due to the fact we had to tear up a perfectly good tile floor to make the repair. One good thing to come out of it is that I now am going to fulfill a long time desire to have a black and white mosaic floor in the bathroom. I have always wanted to have that kind of tile in there because we have this wonderful 1920's porcelain over cast iron corner tub in that bath and I think the tile will really set it off. So looking on the bright side, Yipee! I am going to get my mosaic floor!
For the present I am going to have to live with the plywood sub-floor. Construction projects have a tendency to get what my computer programer sons would call "scope creep". The john leaks so we have to rip out the floor, then h-m-m... this would be a good time to take out the 20 year old sink cabinet and replace it with one of those really nice shallow profile sink bases with the porcelain , round fronted sink top. So while we are at it we should open the wall behind the sink and re-plumb the sink plumbing, since it is old and could leak and ruin our new tile floor... and gee.. a pressed tin ceiling would really give this room an authentic period look, (another detail I have always wanted but could not afford when we were rebuilding the house). Of course we will want to give the walls and wainscoting a new coat of paint before we lay down the floor. So, once again my house will be a construction zone and God only knows how long this will take, since my husband will be very busy supporting electronic poll book implementation in preparation for the May primary... it is after all a presidential election year. At least I won't be trying to do construction with little kids under foot, like we did when we were building the house back after Hugo. At that time we had a 7 year old and a six moth old to keep up with as well as put our house back together. Actually, the thought of not having them around to "help" is kind of depressing... Enough of that. My goal for 2012 is to get over my "empty-nest" syndrome and enjoy the new life stage I am in. This is a lofty goal since I was drowning in "emptiness" before we went to Costa Rica.
I am sorry. I am babbling. I am still working on the transition to Stateside life, I feel fragmented and scattered, but it is time for me to pull it all together. The seeds just arrived for my spring garden, so I need to get them in flats and under lights. The plans need to be laid out for a bathroom renovation and I have still got a pile of letters to answer and delinquent blog entries to write. So... I think I will grab a stack of letters, make a Cafe con Leche with smooth Costa Rican coffee, and give some of my pen friends something in their mailboxes! See you in the mail!

Getting back to Life American-Style

2012-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all!
I know that it has been awhile since I posted... Wow... life comes at you fast here in the States! I am struggling to reset my inner clock from "Tico Time" to "Rat Race", my head is spinning. It almost seems like I am going in slow motion and the rest of the world is a whirling blur around me. I know in time that the sensation will subside and that I will recalibrate, but it seems such a shame to lose the beautiful calm that came over me while we were gone.

One real consolation is that now I am able to send and receive letters again! When I returned to the states and checked my P.O. Box, (not the very first thing I did, but it was one of the top 3), I found that it was stuffed full of mail goodness from my pen family...Sigh! It feels so good to be thought about... it made tears well up in my eyes. I have missed you guys! I am afraid that I have not had a chance yet to sit down and write any letters. I have been working on a set of postcards to mail out to everyone, so soon I will have something out to all the people on my mailing list. Then I will begin to work my way through the stack of lovely mail I have received. I want each of you to know how much you mean to me and how appreciative I am of your friendship. You are the best! Very soon I will see you in the mail!

We are Home!

2012-01-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! After six lovely weeks of travel, hiking, & visiting, we are finally home. We were delivered safely to our door by our son a few minutes ago and now I am going to go to bed...I am beat. I will post again soon with some final stories from Costa Rica and then I will be trying to get mail out to my pen friends in a day or two. It is good to be home! See you in the mail very soon!!

2012-01-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

I will be posting about our time at Casitas Tenorio when we return home... We have done some video and have to wait until we can get to our video editing software before I can post. I will say though, that we had a great time. Pip and Donald the owners and hosts of Casitas Tenorio, are delightful people. They made our time in the area very special and I can happily say we have made some new friends. I also am going to wait to post about our return trip to Rio Celeste until we get back to the States so I can include some video. I will say that my knee was well enough to go down the stone stairs this time... unfortunately for me the rains washed away a large section of the path down to the waterfall so... I got to go down a different way... but I'll tell all about that when I post my pics and video. See you soon!

Spending New Years at Casitas Tenorio

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

A Mot-Mot came for an early morning visit.

As I post this I am sitting on the front porch of our cabina at Centro Turistic outside of Tilaran Costa Rica. The wind is blowing so hard it is forming white caps on my coffee... I love the wind! Today is beautiful with the sun shining, birds singing and a Mot-Mot coming to visit me in front of the cabina... Perfect!
We are leaving this morning for Casitas Tenorio, which is in the rain forest on the side of Volcan Tenorio. I am really looking forward to our time there. Of course as usual, something happens to make you think you aren't going to get to go... this morning it was the door on the van falling off... my husband was packing our things for the trip and went to open the sliding door on the side of the van when it fell off the hinges...Yikes! Fortunately our friend Rachin, a mechanic extrordinare and owner of the van we are renting, was able to help my husband get the van road worthy again. So we are off as soon as I pack up the computer and take one last spin around the grounds here at Centro Turistico...it is so beautiful here.
In case you want to learn more about Casitas Tenorio I will leave you a link you can follow and of course in a day or two there will be a post about what we have been doing while perching on the side of a volcano! http://www.casitastenorio.com/blog/ Until next time... Pura Vida!!

A Few Days at the Beach

2011-12-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

As much as I love the rain in Costa Rica, after seven days it was still raining and I was beginning to hear my vacation clock ticking. We have had an inordinate amount of rain for this time of year. The kind of rain that even a stalwart rain lover like myself would blanch at the thought of going out in. It looked like it was here for the duration, so my husband and I decided to get off the mountain and go to the beach on the Pacific side for a few days.
We packed up the 1983 VW van that we have rented from friends with a cooler full of groceries and my camera equipment and down the mountain we went! We broke through the thick layer of clouds that was drenching the mountaintop, about half way down the mountain. It was kind of like descending below the clouds in an airplane. In the blink of an eye we went from pouring rain and howling wind, to sunshine and dry roads...amazing! We pulled onto the Pan American Highway and pointed the van west.
It is possible to get your feet wet in the Pacific Ocean a little less than 2 hours after leaving Tilaran, if you go to Playa Hermosa or Playa Panama, but on this trip we are going to some of the more remote beaches south of there to Parque National Marino de Baulas, 3 or so hours from Tilaran. We had reservations at Sol Y Luna Cabinas in Playa Grande, and planned to use it as our base of operations. We would do day trips to some of the other beaches along the reserve.
The area around Playa Grande is a known nesting ground for the Leather Back Turtle, so development has been limited to reduce ecological impact on the turtle's nesting area. The few hotels in this area are set back from the beach behind a screen of trees, and there is very little outside lighting, so the turtles won't be discouraged from coming ashore to lay their eggs.

We chose to stay in a cabina, rather than a hotel room, so that we could cook our own meals and have greater interaction with our surroundings. The cabina was clean and cozy, with doors that open to a varnished wooden deck equipped with two hammocks.There is a lovely pool tucked amongst the cabinas,with a swim up bar where they will serve you tasty tropical concoctions. The beach is a few minute walk through the jungle from the cabina, but you can still hear the ocean. The path through the jungle offers an opportunity to see some beautiful butterflies and wild water fowl as they go about their business. It was a perfect place to escape from the rains for a few days!

The cabina living area with a view of the hammock deck

The pool with swim up bar

We arrived about four p.m. and rushed to get unpacked so that we could watch the sunset. The sun sets quickly this close to the equator, so if you dawdle you will miss it! We arrived just in time to catch the sun floating momentarily on the sea, before dropping like a rock, leaving us with just the slightest hint that the sun ever existed on the western horizon. Sigh! I would have to get my sunset shots another day!
The 10 minute walk back through the jungle to the cabina seemed to take forever in the dark. We had a flashlight but the thick dark of the jungle swallowed most of the light and all we could see was the ground right at our feet. It was nice to finally see the jungle open up and the light from the cabinas show us the rest of the way home.
At first light we took a nice long walk down the beach and then set off to find Playa Negra, a beach where you can find black sand. It was slow going since the roads are dirt and full of rocks and potholes, but eventually we made it. Playa Negre, is a surfer beach, the waves are good but the shore is treacherous in places.The name of the beach comes from the fact that the majority of the beach is large expanse of black lava rock. I wouldn't want to wipe out on a surf board and end up taking a tumble over the sharp lava rock bed just beneath the surface of the water, but it didn't seem to deter the surfers... they have had one too many whacks to the back of the head with a surf board if you ask me...

Playa Negra

The beach is more lava rock than sand at Playa Negra

Anyway, the beach was beautiful, as many treacherous thing are. We enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch at the Hotel Playa Negra, collected some black sand for my sand collection and began our long bumpy journey home. We arrived just in time for me to get some photos of the sunset!
The next day we spent hanging around Playa Grande, playing in the water, exploring the many tidal pools, and taking photos. The sun is quite strong at this latitude, so we retreated to the cover of the jungle when we started getting toasty. We found a local haunt for Storks, Herons, Egrets and Spoonbills, while walking around under the tree cover. It was a real treat to get to watch them feed and preen, apparently unaware that we were nearby. There was too much cover for me to get many good photos of them while they were feeding, but I guess there are some things are better experienced without the camera...

We found the Storks secret hangout

A large rock outcropping on the beach at Playa Grande

Our final sunset on the Pacific Coast was seen at a beach named Bahia de la Piratas, or Bay of Pirates. Probably so named for the tall "islands" that sit just off the shore, making a perfect place for pirates to lay in wait for passing ships. On this day though it is a perfect place to sit in the arms of my love and watch the sun plummet into the sea....

Sunset at Bahia de la Piratas

More Photos

2011-12-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some more photos from our recent trips... I have posted so much scenery, I thought you might enjoy seeing some wildlife.

A Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird at rest

A pizote... also known as a White-nosed Coati

A Pair of Red-lored Parrots

Another pair of Red-lored Parrots... the tree was full of them!

A Roseate Spoonbill in flight

Costa Rican Varigated Squirrel

A dozing lizard I found on a midnight stroll. He was about a foot long nose to tail tip.

I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying a good post-holiday mail day!! Shalom, Elle

Some Views from Costa Rica

2011-12-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Sabbath. A day of rest and reflection, full of peace and restoration. It is the one day that I can spend any way I want, no requirements on my time, no chores, no to do lists. It was pouring rain when I woke up, the winds were high and the rain was blowing in circles, so I stayed in bed for awhile. After a while the sun came out and the rains turned to a mist... the perfect weather for rainbows.
My husband and I decided to go for a walk. The winds were high so it was really one step forward and two steps back, but I adore the Tilawa winds. There is something very exhilarating about the wind in your hair and the mist coating your clothes and exposed skin with a fine layer of water. The temps are in the 70's so it can be a bit chilly with the combination of mist and wind, but it is addictive. I will make the most of it while I can and I will dream about the sensation of the cool mist in my face long after we have returned to our homestead in North Carolina.
We have about two weeks left to our trip, and there are still many things we are going to do before we head for home. We will be heading up to Tenorio National Park for a few days. Tenorio is a dormant volcano, covered in trees all the way to the cone. We will be staying on the side of the volcano, in a cabina surrounded by rainforest. There will be lots of flora and fauna to enjoy and several hiking trips to be done. I am really looking forward to it.
For today I am going to share some photos from our recent wanderings. I hope that you are not getting tired of hearing about our trip...


Catarata San Luis, Monteverde, Costa Rica


Mountaintop view from Monteverde.

Wind turbines for generating electricity. Tierres Morenas Costa Rica

Playa Grande on the Pacific side of Costa Rica

Tide coming in. Playa Grande, Costa Rica

Sunset at Playa Grande, Costa Rica

I am looking forward to having the ability to post mail again, but in the meantime I have been writing "letters" to you all on my blog. I know it isn't the same as a letter in your mailbox, but I think about each of you as I am writing. I hope that this all finds you well and enjoying the holidays. I pray for blessings and peace to be with you all! Until next time! Elle

Rio Celeste

2011-12-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

Near the town of Bijagua de Upala, in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, there is a river called Rio Celeste. The literal translation for the name in English is Sky River. It comes by its name honestly. The confluence of two rivers, one which contains calcium carbonate, the other which carries sulfur down river from local volcanos, create a chemical reaction in the place where the two rivers meet. The water turns a light turquise blue, right before your eyes. Amazing...

We took our visiting group of friends, (known as the Carolina Berg Wanderers), to the Rio Celeste confluence to watch nature's perpetual chemistry lesson in action. Actually, we took them to the opening in the jungle, they took themselves down the many stairs to the river. For several days before there had been copious quantities of rain, so the trail to the river was a slippery, muddy mess, but it is worth the ordeal to get down there!

The confluence

There is a place in the river not far from the confluence that actually bubbles up boiling hot water that smells strongly of sulfur... the temperature of the water is 240 degrees. It is not recommended that you swim in the area where the water bubbles up, but there is nothing to keep you from it. Unlike the USA where everything is regulated, controlled or limited, Costa Rica leaves most things up to the public to decide for themselves. If you want to swim in 240 degree water, who are they to stop you... That has its good points and bad points... but generally I prefer being left to use my own good judgment. There is a lot of freedom here that we just don't experience in the United States. It seems odd that the US is called "The Land of the Free"... but I digress...

The confluence of the river is just a hint of the feast that is to come... Back up the pathway that wends through the rainforest there is a split in the path which leads to a real treat... a waterfall. I know, I know, another waterfall? But really, this is one waterfall that shouldn't be missed. At the point of the waterfall the two river have already mixed so the water coming over the falls and the deep pool beneath it are both sky blue! The verdant green vegetation that fringes the pool and covers the rock walls on either side of the falls is a wonderful foil for the bright blue water. A friend from the group we took down there said, " I will see that blue waterfall in my dreams for some time to come!". I am afraid I will have to see it in my dreams for awhile since I couldn't make it down the deep cut steps to the falls with my bad knee, but there have been lots of pictures taken that I have enjoyed. I will be making another trip to Rio Celeste around New Years just to go to the falls, by then I should be fit to make it down the stairs (Lord willing...) and see it for myself! So, I have my own pictures from the river to share with you, but in this post the waterfall pictures will be credited to my husband, who was kind enough to take them for me.

I hope that this post finds you all well, enjoying life and having good mail days! Until next time, Pura Vida!

La Fortuna

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

One thing I have found about the mountainous region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica is that no matter what local feature you are looking at, it almost always ends in a waterfall. The area where we are staying gets 200 inches of rain a year, (that translates to about 17 feet of rain a year). The number goes up as you travel around Lake Arenal toward Mount Arenal, one of the ten most active volcanoes on Earth...(more about that another day). The volcano and the rain forest both create their own weather, so the daily weather report is virtually useless. One thing is certain, when it comes to the weather here in the area around the lake... it will rain sometime today. Maybe all day, maybe while the sun is shining (rainbow time!!), maybe in fits and spurts, or after the sun goes down, but it will rain. That brings me back to the real point I am trying to make, there are a lot of waterfalls in this part of Guanacaste. All that water has to go somewhere. So it runs from the canopy to the ground, the ground soaks in as much as it can but the majority runs down hill to the nearest river, which then cuts its way through craggy rocks and over land falls to become some pretty awesome waterfalls. The waterfall de jour is the La Fortuna Waterfall.

A view of Lake Arenal from the road

My husband and I and our 11 guests made our way from Tilaran to La Fortuna by bus early in the morning. The winds were up but the skies were clear. The view of the lake was lovely with the sun shining on the water. You could see the water being whipped up into white caps by the strong Tilawa winds. The wind mills on the ridge of the mountains around the lake are whirring away, generating electricity that will supply the locals with power. This is a familiar view for my husband and I, since we lived on a mountain top right across the valley from a row of wind turbines, but for the group visiting us it was a first. Unfortunately, there is no good place on this twisty turny road to pull a bus off for a photo op, so we continue on around the lake. We pass by the quaint pueblo of Rio Piedras, (Rock River), and Aguacate, (Avacado), and then on to Nuevo Arenal, which is a slightly larger community with a delightful German Bakery and some tourist traps that sell souveniers. From this point on to La Fortuna it is mostly just unimpeded views of the lake and rolling mountains on one side and jungle on the other. It is only 52 kilometers fromTilaran to La Fortuna, (about 33 miles) but takes more than 1 1/2 hours to get there due to the curvy roads and poor road conditions in some areas. Except for those who had to deal with motion sickness no one seemed to mind the time it took to get around the lake.

La Fortuna's most famous attraction is Arenal Volcano which looms large on the scene, jutting 3000 feet above the surrounding lanscape. But today we are not able to see the volcano as it is wreathed in a thick layer of clouds and will remain so all day. Fortunately, today we are here to see the waterfall and for some of the more intrepid souls on our trip, a hike (scramble, climb, crawl, grapple) up to the smaller, dormant volcano Cerro Chato... Later in the week we will return to La Fortuna to view the volcano and go to the hot springs. Hopefully Arenal will oblige us by showing itself when we return.

Stairs down to the rocky beach

The descent to the La Fortuna water fall is steep, but there are very solid steps and a rail most of the way down so it is possible for most people to make it down to the falls. I am still gimping on an injured knee so it is slow going for me and I definitely will not be trying Cerro Chato with the rest of the group. I enjoyed all the foliage and the birds that called back and forth and flit through the scene as I make my way to the bottom. I would love to just park myself on the stairs and take it all in for awhile, but there is a time table to be met today, so I continue on.
At the base of the stairs there is a mirada, (a look out platform), where you can get a really nice view of the falls and the pool below.


La Fortuna waterfall

Around the bend and down a little further there is a little rock beach and a safe place to wade out into the river below the falls. I spent the majority of my time in this area, watching the birds and marveling at the great heights of the rain forest above me. I hung my backpack on one of the several hooks that were screwed into a railing at the base of a giant tree and waded out in the water to get a better view of the dense foliage clad mountains that loomed above. The water was brisk in speed and temperature and felt great running past my tired feet and sore knee.

The water rushes over these rocks and then quiets down to become a pool safe for wading in.

By the time I was ready to make my way back to the top, our hikers had returned from making a run at Cerro Chato. It is a difficult hike, even for experienced hikers. So they were grateful for a less demanding trail and the cooling water of the falls. Once they were down I began my slow climb to the top... step with the left foot, bring up the right, being careful not to anger my knee by putting any strain on it. I am glad that I am alone so there is no one to witness my ascent.
We made our way back around the lake just in time to witness the sunset over the lake. The sky splashed its lovely pinks and oranges onto the face of the lake where they dissolved and faded into the depths. The sun sets quickly in this part of the world but puts on a lovely, if brief show for those fortunate enough to be there for it.
There are no words to describe how my heart swells with love for this place. There is so much life, so many wonders that the dense forest keeps secret, only to share with those who are willing to brave its depths. The strong Tilawa winds sing songs of the power of volcanos and the goodness of the lush misty rain forest that is home to hundreds of species of living things. As the wind blows my hair into tangles and moves on down towards the lake it carries my heart's song along with it, a song sung to God for creating such a place.

Cataratas Viento Fresco

2011-12-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

Leaves wet with mist

The mist from the rainforest collects on the leaves of the enormous trees above my head. The weight of the rills of water bends the leaves down so that the water runs from leaf to leaf down the canopy to the forest floor. Everything is saturated...including me. As I hike down the seemingly unending trail of moss covered steps to the valley below, I marvel at the beauty of the forest around me. Giant tree ferns sway in the breeze, while the thousands of bromiliads that clothe the trees add splashes of pink and red to the myriad shades of green. Rays of golden sunlight filter down through the canopy to illuminate the tiny water drops that hang from the tips of every leaf and branch. They shimmer and sparkle as the sunbeams touch them. It is so quiet I can hear the beat of my heart in my ears. The only other sound I hear is the distant pounding sound of the waterfalls somewhere below. I feel very small.

This place is known as Cataratas Viento Fresco, which translates to English as the Fresh Wind Waterfalls. It is located a 21 kilometers from Tilaran, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is not just one waterfall, but a succession of five waterfalls, ranging in size from 66 feet to 283 feet. Years after purchasing a large acreage, the land owner stumbled across the series of falls by accident while out exploring his property by horse. Over time the land has been developed so that the falls can be enjoyed. This entailed cutting a swath through the rainforest and carrying countless bags of cement down handhewn steps to provide a safe walkway for guests to enjoy the awesome sights below. Due to its remote location and lack of good road access for large tour buses, it remains a quiet, local attraction. I am sorry for the lack of income for one who has done so much to make this place accessible to the public, but not having large crowds of people thundering down the valley, disrupting the peace and possibly damaging the delicate balance of nature there, may be a blessing in disguise.


Rio Serana first of five waterfalls

Much like the leaves in the forest collect water and drop it from one layer of the forest to the next, each waterfall adds its contents to the next via network of fast running rivers. The waterfalls vary in size and grandeur as they descend down the valley. The Rio Serena waterfall is the first one in line.Water from the river tips over the edge of the landfall through a small gap in the rocks. It falls 102 feet to the pool below before wending its way to the next fall some distance downstream. Next is Hidden Falls. Water runs over the rocks and then descends 66 feet to a pool below, bouncing and tumbling between and over the rocks before being swallowed by the river and carried on to the next fall. There are caves on either side of the falls that would allow for a great view of the back side of the waterfall if there were a safe way to get to them. But since it isn't recommended to try to reach them due to the danger of being forced to the bottom by the power of the water coming over the falls, the view from the caves must be left to the imagination.


Hidden Falls

I am afraid that on this particular trip my journey must end at the second of the five falls. The way becomes steeper from here and due to a spill the day before, my knee will not tolerate any more of an incline. I will have to enjoy the last three falls vicariously by the photos and stories from hiking group we are hosting. I don't really mind though since my slower pace down the stairs meant I was left alone to make my descent. This allowed me the opportunity to enjoy the solitude of the forest and absorb the essence of the place. It was priceless.
Rainbow falls, Slide falls and Rock Falls are hidden from my view as I turn to climb back up the multitude of stairs between Hidden Falls and the mirada (overlook) at the top near the parking lot. From the mirada I can see in the distance, Slide Falls (312 ft). It looks like a long white ribbon caught among the trees at the base of the valley. Quite a view even from so far away.


Slide Fall as viewed from the lookout

Today was our first full day on the tour with our guests. I believe that Cataratas Viento Fresco was a great way for the group to be introduce to Costa Rica... Rain forest mist, five waterfalls, plenty of oxygen intake while descending and climbing the hundreds of steps to the bottom and back up, a picnic lunch and a nice nap in the late afternoon. In the evening we will venture out to have dinner in one of our favorite Tilaran restaurants, Las Brisas.

I hope that this post find you all well, enjoying life and getting great mail! I will write again as soon as I get a moment... being a tour guide means there are a lot of demands on my time, but I am loving every minute of it!
From Costa Rica, Pura Vida!! Elle

*This event actually occurred on 5 December, but time being in short supply and limited internet access meant I had to wait until today to post.

Visitors and Monkeying Around

2011-12-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Poinsettias growing by the roadside

I hope that this finds you well and having a good weekend. We are well and looking forward to the coming days with much anticipation. Our first week in Costa Rica was spent making arrangements and taking care of business. It took a few days to get settled in and then we needed to start preparing for the next stage of our visit.
We are hosting eleven people from my husband's hiking group for a week of hiking and sight seeing. We will be staying at a place just outside of Tilaran that has some quaint little cabinas, a huge pool, (by Tico standards), and beautifully landscaped grounds all for $12 a night per person! As we speak my husband and a driver are making the several hour trip to San Jose, in a 28 passenger bus, to meet them at the airport. So-o, as of tonight we will be playing host and tour guide for the next 8 days. It will be very nice to be able to share this place with people who have heard our stories about living in Costa Rica. They will hopefully come to love this place as much as we do.
I am not going on the ride to San Jose and back. I am taking some quiet time before all the activity starts later on this evening. Dawn broke this morning with skies congested with thick grey clouds. The winds were high all night, and the rain beat hard on the tin roof of the house in fits and spurts, but by morning all that was left was the cloud cover. It has continued to be gray most of the morning, but the temperature is comfortable, even with the wind. So I will sit on the veranda and watch the birds and enjoy the breeze before I have to put myself in "host mode" to greet our guests.

Patriarch Howler on our farm in 2009

Off in the distance I can hear the howl of the patriarch male Howler monkey. He is just letting anyone close by, (within 3 miles, since that is how far his voice will carry), know that his family is claiming the area as their present feeding ground. Howler monkeys travel a circuit that takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. This is done so that they don't exhaust their feeding areas. They spend a day or two in a nice grove of Cecropia trees, (their favorite food source), and then move on. This allows the trees to put on new leaves before they return to feed again a few weeks from now. From the sound of it, these monkeys are still out a ways from the house so we won't actually see them in the trees for a couple more days. Howlers don't come down out of the trees unless there is a problem, like a baby falls from a limb that was too thin to hold it, or gets unseated by the high wind gusts of "windy season". If this kind of thing happens the male will howl loudly, while a female or two goes down to retrieve to baby. They will not be on the ground very long since they have many predators on the ground and their best defense is the fact that most of their predators can't reach them in the canopy.

Mother and babies watching us work

When we lived on the farm in Sabalito, we had two Howler families that would come and visit. During the course of the year I got to see the family grow and in a way we were accepted by them as part of their environment. Howlers are very shy of people. If they are disturbed or feel threatened the male will make a ruckus while the rest of the family discourages closer inspection by throwing poop at those who venture too close. The monkeys never threw poop at us.We would quietly observe them and keep our distance, over time they began to venture closer. Before long we were practically on a first name basis. They would hang out in the trees near our vegetable garden and watch us work.The young males would entertain us with acrobatic feats of daring until their mom or grandma would call them back closer to the clan. I always felt so blessed and full of awe at their acceptance of our family. The electrician that came to work on our well was not so fortunate... while he worked on the electric box for our well pump the Howlers pelted his truck with poop. He was not amused, but I think the monkeys were quite pleased with themselves.
For the next week I will not have consistent internet access. We will not have WIFI at the cabinas and many days we will be gone from dawn to dark, so I won't be able to go into town to an internet cafe as often as I would like. I will continue to write my blog entries and then post them when I can get to town. There may be times when I am posting more than one entry, so make sure that you check out below the top entry for the possibility that I posted multiple days worth of entries. I am very excited about what the next week will hold. There will be many activities going on and lots of opportunities for photos and stories for me to pass on to you. I know that this is supposed to be a blog about letter writing and mail art, but in a way each of my posts from Costa Rica is a letter to you all. I hope that you are interested in hearing about our time here, please let me know what you think. If you wouldn't mind, from time to time leave me a note in the comments to let me know how things are going with you... it is hard to be out of contact with you for 6 weeks. I miss getting your letters and hearing about life in your world. For now I will sign off and send this out into the ether. Until we next meet, Pura Vida! Elle

Laundry with a View...

2011-11-30T20:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

This is our fourth day in Costa Rica and things have been very busy. We have been buying groceries, getting our transportation arranged, and making preparations for the arrival on Saturday, of a hiking group we are hosting for a week. There really hasn't been much time to absorb where we are, but this morning I had a real "Costa Rica" moment. I was hanging out some laundry to dry. A fine mist was being blown up from the trees below the house by a strong wind. The sun was shining, but the temperature was slightly chilly if you weren't standing in the sun. The mist wet my face and arms as I hung out the clothes. I was muttering to myself that the clothes would probably never dry if the forest insisted on breathing out mist all day. I looked up from the line and saw a sight that reminded me of why I love this place so much... there in front of me, stretching from horizon to horizon was a rainbow.

This is "rainbow season". The heavy downpours of the rainy reason are past, the sun is out and the thick mist expired by the rain forest hangs in the air against a blue sky dotted with clouds, it is the perfect recipe for a rainbow! I dropped the clothes pins I was holding and ran for my camera. It is a good thing I did since seconds after I took this photo the winds blew the mist away towards the lake taking the rainbow with it.
After breakfast, we went with friends to Liberia, a small city 1 1/2 hours from where we are staying. We needed supplies that we can't get in locally so we all piled into the car and made our way down the mountain. The road from Tilaran to Canas, (a town at the foot of the mountain), is steep and serpentine. It affords a lovely view of Volcan Tenorio and Volcan Miravalles off to the west. Huge boulders of volcanic rock lay nestled in the deep grass on the mountain side that faces Tenorio... a stark contrast of black rock against the verdant green grass is a reminder that the now sleeping volcano, was not always so quiet.
Once down the mountain we made our way through the busy, narrow streets of Canas and pulled onto the Pan American Highway, which stretches from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, (according to Guinness Book of World records the Pan American Highway is the worlds longest motorable highway). The temperatures are hot and the air is dry on the flat lands due to the aggressive deforestation of this part of Costa Rica in the past. Now laws have been passed in Costa Rica to prevent further damage to the rainforests, but here the landscape has been forever altered. Even in it's altered state the landscape is a sight to see. Pasture lands stretch from the highway to the base of the mountains to the north. Mango groves and commercial teak wood forests lay to the south. Horses and Brahma cattle graze unfettered along the highway, bicycles and pedestrians appear at intervals along the way, indicating a small pueblo resides behind a curtain of tropical foliage along the road. It is a straight shot from Canas to Liberia and the time and miles click by quickly.

The veranda at sunset.

We stopped at Pippo's Italian Restaurant Supply near the Liberia International Airport to purchase good imported cheddar cheese, polenta, wine and amaretti cookies. The locally made "Tico cheese", (uncultured milk curds pressed into cakes and then cut into slices), is inedible in my opinion. I must pack lunches for 13 people that can sit in the vehicle at ambient temperatures for hours while we are out hiking to volcanos and waterfalls, so I swallow deep and pay $35 for a kilo of cheddar cheese...Yikes! After a few other stops for supplies we went to an open air restaurant for lunch and a cafe con leche made with rich mellow Costa Rican coffee, then we headed for home. The sun was low in the sky when we returned home, but I got back in time get a photo or two of the sunset to share with you. Day is done, the deep dark of the rainforest has overtaken the veranda, the wind whistles across the top of my wine glass as I bring this missive to a close. I miss you all and hope that this finds you well. Until next we meet, Pura Vida

Apartel Christina

2011-11-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!
We are staying at the Apartel Cristina, a hotel that is owned by the family of one of our friends down here. It is located right up the street from Parque Sabana, ( San Jose's Central Park). We don't usually stay in the city. Normally we hit the ground and make a bee line for the mountains, but since our friend is expecting to deliver her baby any day now, she is staying in the city near the hospital. We wanted to see her before the baby came so we made an overnight to have a visit.

It is a lovely hotel, full of angles and nooks, contemporary, but not chrome and glass. Tropical plants soften the edges of the stucco walls and the crisp blue sky makes a perfect backdrop for Cristina's profile. We had breakfast out near the pool and enjoyed the early morning's cool breezes. It was a nice way to start our day.
Later, one of our Tico friends, Rachin, will come to pick us up and take us toTilaran. He will be accompanied by his wife Vanessa, his three daughters, (ages 7,5, and 4) and his 2 year old son. The ride back to Tilaran will be like riding with a bus load of gregarious Howler Monkeys for 4 hours.We love this family and will try to remember that while we careen up and down the mountainous curvy roads with all the little angels chattering away at top speed in Spanish.... it will be a fun but lo-ong trip home...

It is time to repack the totes and talk to the cell phone company about renting a cell for for our stay. It costs about $1.20 a day plus 6 cents a minute to rent the phone. Which I think is pretty reasonable! It is important to be able to stay in contact with home base, (friends in Tilaran), while traveling, in case car trouble or other issues arise. We will be in some pretty remote locations, but 3G phones work everywhere in Costa Rica, so even when we are deep in the rain forest we can stay in contact. Until next time I will leave you with a few quick shots of Apartel Christina, and a promise of many more photos and stories as we go along!

Tropical plants are nestled in every available niche.

A view from the walkway to our room.

We´re Here!

2011-11-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Hi, Just a quck note to tell you that we made it to Costa Rica safely. We are staying in a hotel in San Jose so that we can visit a friend who is having a baby any time now. Tomorrow we will head to Tilaran in the mountains region of Guanacaste. The Tilaran area is our home away from home and will be our base of operations. It is nice to be in the fresh moist air again... I have really missed it! I hope this finds you all well and having a good mail day. Until tomorrow, Pura Vida!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

I hope that this finds you all well and for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it was a day filled with the joy of family, friends and feasting! We kept it very simple this year...our youngest son met us at the Hibachi Grille for lunch, then we all went on to see The Muppets at the theater. No muss no fuss! Well the muss and the fuss were actually waiting for us when we returned home... we spent the evening packing for our trip to Costa Rica. I think most everything is packed; we will just need to add a few things the morning we are leaving. Tomorrow is another busy day, there are so many things still to do and Sunday is right around the corner. I will post at least once more before we leave on Sunday, but for now I bid you a good night. Sweet dreams!

I am Having a Problem...

2011-11-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

As I have checked my blog reader feed today I have been bombarded with spam in the reader feed. I check it and there are 10 different entries for things for sale, fashion jewelry, tennis shoes, etc. when I start searching where they are coming from and return to the feed to try and eliminate them they are not there anymore. The blog they originate from isn't even on my blog list, so I can't unfollow. I have checked Help for a solution, but Blogger "help" really isn't very helpful. Is anyone else having this problem?

2011-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog in the spring of 2010, I did so to connect with others who like me, love letters and mail art. I was in Costa Rica, living on a farm with the rain forest at my back door. I spent the majority of daylight hours working on the farm or preparing meals for my hard working family. But the evening hours were very quiet...the darkness of the rain forest was as palpable as it's vibrancy was during the day. It seemed to absorb light and sound. In the thick dark it is easy to feel a little isolated and lonely.
I would have written letters and participated in mail art calls and other postal activities to alleviate the feelings of isolation, but I was living in a place where the postal system was practically non-existent. My physical address was: 600 meters north of the Plaza, Sabalito Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The Plaza as it is called there, is the soccer field... Actually our house was 600 meters from the soccer field, up a dirt road that wended it's way to the top of the mountain, the road terminated at the gate to our farm, but how on earth anyone would know it was 600 meters north from the plaza up the mountain, I'll never know. It seems to me that the mountain top farm near the rain forest in Sabalito, might have been a better description... But it really didn't matter anyway since we had no mailbox, or mail delivery for that matter.
But I digress... I used the Internet to connect with other like minded people and created digital postcards and posted them to this blog.

I made this digital postcard shortly after I started the blog.
The toucan in the photo is a resident on the farm where we lived.
The postage is of course an artistamp but on digital/virtual
mail it is legal to use artistamps as postage!

I wrote about letter writing and mused about other letter writers of the past, I wrote letters and posted them to my blog for anyone who came to visit to read. It helped me to stay connected and eased the pain of our sudden need to return to the states. I am really glad that I had this blog and my blog friends to keep me company.
The 27th of November my husband and I will be leaving for a 6 week stay in Costa Rica. We will be staying with friends part of time. My husband's hiking group is traveling down to do a week of hiking and sight seeing and then we will spend the remaining time resting and traveling around Cost Rica. I will attempt to send some mail to the states while we are down there, but for the most part I think I will be writing virtual letters and making digital postcards. I will not have connectivity all the time but there are Internet cafes and I do have friends with Internet so I should be able to send "letters" fairly regularly. I will miss hearing from all my pen friends and blog friends while we are gone and would love it if you would post a comment on the blog occasionally or send me an e-mail to let me know how things are going. My e-mail is: elle.mental@yahoo.com I will be checking my blog and e-mail often so that I can have virtual "good mail days"!

Pretty Paper Source stationery and specialty papers.
I love the plum blossoms!

But for today I will show you some goodies I found at a stationery store in Charlotte. Due to my postal budget and my desire to mail out to as many people as I can, I usually chose to spend my postal allowance on postage rather than on "boxed" stationery. Not that I don't adore all the beautiful stationery I see in the stores, but I try and squeeze as much mileage as I can from my allotted funds, so I usually pass on store bought stationery and make my own. I made an exception the other day since we are leaving shortly and I want to post as many letters as I can before we go. The stationery store I went to had a large selection of solid colored note cards and envelopes, as well as an amazing array of handmade and specialty papers. The specialty papers were hanging on dowels to display them and were sold in 24x36 inch sheets. I was in love... I spent hours trying to decide what papers I wanted. It was better than dessert! I decided on some teal envelopes and note cards and also some pink ones, then I chose some specialty papers that could be used with both envelope colors. The cash register total made my head spin, but I rationalized that I was going to be spending less on postage in the near future, clutched my new purchases greedily and left the store. I assuaged my guilty conscience and reasserted my postal spending controls by going to Goodwill and finding some album covers that I will turn into post cards... I can get 14 post cards from the 3 album covers I found for 49cents each. That comes to a little more than 10 cents per post card! There! Now I feel better... I am not sure that there is any logic in buying more stuff to feel better about spending more than I should have to start with... but it somehow it sounded good in my head so I'm happy! I am babbling aren't I.... sorry.
I will leave you with a glimpse of my outgoing mail pile and get back to work using up my recent purchases and getting letters off in the mail to all my dear pen friends!

An album cover postcard and a couple of envies decorated
with my hand carved rubber cuts. The walking stick figures
are actually drawn by a different artist... my youngest son, when
he was 4 years old. I transferred it to the rubber carving material
and carved it to add some cheer to my mail art and to remind me
to keep things simple!


I used my new purchases to make some of these letters.

A promise too long overdue. I said I would
send out a post card with sand from one of my trips, to those who
wanted one and left me a comment. It took me a long time to figure out
how I wanted to send the sand. The sand on the back of this
postcard comes from a beach in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

I ended up putting the sand in a Dayquil capsule pack. I hope
it still contains sand when it reaches its destination... We shall see!

See you in the mail!

Staring at an Empty Page

2011-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well the chaos at my house is beginning to settle down as my husband and son finish up the post election clean-up. It was a pretty wild ride for a couple of months for both my husband and son since they have been totally consumed with getting their customers ready for the November general elections. It has meant many long days away from home and hearth for them and many long days of being alone for me... You would think that I would be glad for the time alone to play at my art table, but I found myself feeling empty and a little lost. I have always been the creative/artistic sort, but I have discovered that my creativity is catalyzed by the joy I find in the company of those I love. I am able to take the energy that I feel from the company of my family and translate that into art, letters, landscaping, cooking, whatever I turn my hand to. But when the house is empty and everyone is busy with their own lives, I am left to run on my own energy. In solitude I find that I have very little spark and much less fuel for generating creativity. I used to joke that I run on solar power since I love being outside, and rainy days used to make me feel thick and sluggish, (that is until I lived in Costa Rica where we received 200 inches of rain a year. I overcame my issues with rain in self defense!), but now I see that I am really family powered....

Since early in my marriage I have been a stay at home mom. I separated from the Air Force right before our first child was born in 1982 and I have been at home ever since. I very much enjoyed my time with the kids when they were small. I "ran" on the constant inspiration that I received from seeing the world through their eyes. Later, when our first born was school age, I took on the role of homeschool mom.

The boys rebuild an engine
as part of science class.

We delved into the sciences and history, math, reading and language with joy and anticipation of what would be discovered in our quest for knowledge. I was inspired by exposing young minds to their potential and found many creative ways to open doors of understanding for them. In return my creative well was filled by seeing the lights come on in my children's minds.

My youngest son was interested in animal husbandry so as part of his high school exit project he managed a herd of Alpine and Nubian dairy goats. He designed and built the milking stand. We built the barn as a family project.

A fountain and shade garden one of
my sons made as a school project

Of course much of my personal creative time was consumed with raising and educating my kids and providing a home environment that nurtured our whole family. But my creative mind was alive and well and I found ways to vent my creative energy that didn't take time or attention away from my family. Sometimes though, I would long for time of my own. Occasionally while folding laundry or processing produce from the garden, I would entertain myself with thoughts of what I would do with my time when more of it belonged to me. Be careful what you wish for...

Aside from the craziness of "Election Season", I am now facing life as an "Empty-nester". My youngest son recently moved out on his own which left a void in my daily life and routine. For the the first time since 1982 I don't have the company of one of my kids at home. I have no reason to rise at any particular time, no lunches to pack, no big meal to fix to fill the stomachs of my growing boys (and often their friends as well...). I have little demand on my time or attention during the day, (except for an occasional nudge from the dog for some private time outside or a tummy rub). I anticipated that this would be a golden time of life for me, a time to grow creatively and take advantage of all the freedom I have. Much to my surprise the reverse has been true. I must say I really didn't see this coming. But right now I feel a might bewildered, I am trying to figure where to go from here. I guess I am experiencing a " creative block" of sorts, I am staring at the empty page of my new life and I don't know what to do with it. Coming to grips with the fact that life as I have known it is now over, is probably a good first step. I know that time will erode my sense of being cut adrift, and that I will come to accept and embrace this new juncture in my life. I will find new purpose and a new muse will emerge, it will just take time.

I don't mean to complain or to sound ungrateful. There are a many things I find comfort in and that I am very grateful for : I have a great husband who loves me. He is very patient with me and my sometimes maddening neurosis. I have two sons who have grown to become men I can be very proud of, who love me and still take time to let me be "mom", and I have a whole family of people who I correspond with, who share their lives and stories with me and make me feel like I belong to a larger world. The letters, cards and art I receive from my penfriends have done much to lift my heart. The care and concern these people have shown me has helped me to realize that the life ahead will be much like the life behind, full of the inspiration and joy that flows from loving and being loved.

What are your muses? What do you use to spark your creativity? Drop me a line or post a comment, I would love to hear about the things that inspire you...

Now on to some of my most recent incoming mail....

Hester sent me these wonderful windows into Boston in the fall! What a lovely surprise to find this in my mailbox. She has packaged the fall leaves in security envelopes with a window, only the whole business is turned inside out. What an original and nifty idea! Thanks Hester!

One more thought before I close for today. I am leaving at the end of the month for 6 weeks in Costa Rica. I will be writing letters while I am down there, but the postal system is slow and undependable so I can't be sure what I mail will even reach people... Also I won't be home to check my mail so if a letter comes to my POB after I have gone, it will be sitting for six weeks "on hold" at the post office waiting for me to return home. As much as I hate to say it, probably the best thing to do at this point is to wait to write me until I return to the States on January 9, 2012. I will be trying to answer any mail I receive between now and the 27th of November when we leave for C.R., but if a letter comes after I leave it will be January before I can answer it. If your letter misses me and is stuck in the post office for a month, I apologize. I will be sure to get a letter back to you as soon as I get home!

I will continue writing on my blog while I am in Costa Rica. I will not always have connectivity, but I can compose my blog entries on my computer and then when we are able to get to an internet cafe or otherwise have access to the internet, I can post what I have written. I am hoping that during my time outside the USA, those who write to me regularly will for a short time, contact me by an occasional comment at Art of a Letter or by e-mailing me to let me know how things are going. I will be glad to hear from you all!

Until next time, I'll see you in the mail!

Merlyn

2011-10-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

I found a stack of letters at the back of my lingerie drawer the other day. How they got there I have no idea... These particular letters are dear to my heart and I haven't been able to find them for years, much like the person who sent them.
There are people who come into your life and then when the season is over they drift out. You may have fond memories of the time you spent together, but there was no lasting bond. Then there are those who slip quietly into your life and no matter how brief a connection, they are indelibly written on your heart. For me Merlyn is one of those people.
The year was 1982, my husband and I were stationed at Clark Air Base, in the Philippines. We had recently moved on base in preparation for our first born child's arrival, after taking a Maternity Discharge from the Air Force to become a full time mom. It was common for Americans to hire local domestic help, since it was very affordable and housework was much more "involved" without many of the modern conveniences Americans are accustomed to. When living off base, we had hired a housekeeper to clean and to stay at the house while we were at work, to make it less attractive for theft. This arrangement worked well when both my husband and I were working all day, but when I separated from the military and was home all day, I found it a little invasive to have someone in the house with me all the time. Since moving on base eliminated our security concerns, we found our housekeeper other employment and had our new place to ourselves. But the birth of our first child was traumatic and I was left very weak, so when the demands of a new baby and housekeeping started putting stress on my health, we started looking for someone to help out. A neighbor had a housekeeper named Cely, who I knew to be hard working and responsible, so I asked her if she knew anyone who she thought would do a good job. She smiled shyly and said, "yes Mam", and went back to her work. "Yes Mam" could mean yes or no, since often embarrassment about not understanding what was asked led to that kind of polite, but not very helpful answer. So I really didn't know whether I had gotten my question across or not.
Early the next morning, I found Cely standing at my back door with another young woman. Cely introduced the young woman as her sister Merlyn and said she would, "do good cleaning for me". She turned and left, leaving Merlyn with me on the back porch. Feeling a little awkward since I hadn't really agreed to hire her, I invited her inside and offered her something to eat. She looked uncomfortable and asked, "I clean?", so I showed her where everything was and she went to work. When my husband returned home at the end of the workday, the house was spotless, the was laundry done, (by hand no less), she had picked flowers and arranged them on the table to compliment the delicious banana dessert she had made for a snack for "Sir" when he came home. She was hired.
I still struggled with having another person in the house all the time since the housekeeper lived with you during the week and went home on weekends. But Merlyn was quiet and unassuming so I eventually adjusted. There were some rules... it was my kitchen... I did the cooking unless otherwise discussed and I took care of the baby, period. I had seen other Americans relegate the care of their children to the maid to the extent that they discovered sometime after they returned home to the States, that their youngest child didn't speak English... no kidding. So we went on, her keeping house and me keeping the baby. I of course allowed her to hold him and play with him but I never left him in her care. Then one day when he was 6 months old, I was trying to trim the baby's nails. He was having fits over the process, so Merlyn asked if she might try. I said Ok and went downstairs to answer the door. When I returned, I found my son on the floor sound asleep. His bottom in the air and his arms stretched out in front of him . Merlyn had set up a little manicure station in front of him on the floor, towels, bowl of water, cotton swabs and made a game of it. He had been distracted from his tantrum and lulled to sleep, then she quickly and gently clipped his nails... no tears no fuss. From that day forward I knew that he trusted her and felt safe with her, so I started letting her help me with him.
We worked in the house together, sometime I would teach her to cook American favorites, or she would teach me to cook my Philipino favorites. We took the baby on walks, I would talk about first aid for small children, what to do if this happens, what not to do if that happens, how to aid if the baby was choking, over and over until I knew she was sick of it, but in time she was a walking encyclopedia of child care info. She was bright as a new copper penny and learned quickly. She was kind and patient and did exactly what I told her where the baby was concerned. So eventually, I felt safe to leave her with the baby. The one thing I had to make sure of was that she was aware and cautious of strangers near the baby. Kidnapping and selling of American babies wasn't uncommon, sometimes even on base. So one day I asked her, what would she do if someone tried to take the baby. She looked at me with flashing eyes and stated "I would die before I would let anything happen to our baby!"

Merlyn started out as household help, but before long she was a member of the family. She was like my little sister. We really weren't that far apart in age, she was 18, I was in my twenties. We never once had a cross word, as a matter of fact most of our time was spent smiling and laughing. We loved her and she loved us back.

Merlyn and I giving the baby a bath. circa 1982

We became part of her family as well. We visited her home, a one room Nipa hut in a village not far from the base, where her mother, father, and other siblings lived. We sat with her at feasts with her family. At one point she told us that her grandparents had invited us to come and visit them in the "province", (wa-a-ay out in the middle of nowhere). We accepted the invitation and traveled for several hours on hardtop, an hour on a dirt road, at least and hour on a cart path and then her grandfather and some other men came and cut a path through the banana trees so that we could park next to their home, so the car would be safe. As it turns out, we were the first "white" people to visit their village since WWII. They treated us with such openness and hospitality, we were fed like kings, which humbled us greatly, knowing how how limited their resources were. The baby developed an ear infection and screamed all night long. The mothers in the village took turns walking with him. The whole village worried over him. There was no doctor to ask for help from so we accepted their local natural remedy, (herb infused warm oil, dropped in his ears), in the morning he was feeling better! We bonded with the whole village and left feeling that we were part of a much larger family.

A portrait of our "family" in Merlyn's Granparent's village. Merlyn and Nathan are in the front, my husband is at the back right and I of course, am behind the camera. Circa 1982

Our time in the Philippines was drawing to a close and Merlyn was being pressured by her mother to marry a Philipino soldier who could provide well for her. She did not want to marry. She wanted to experience more of life first, but she also told me that she feared his temper. So she applied for a special work visa to go work in Brunei for a Chinese family, who needed a nannie. She was accepted into the work program and we said our tearful good-byes...
That is when we started writing letters. She had a work contract with a Chinese family, who treated her like a slave. They were cruel to her and she was very unhappy. Many of her letters would begin like this, "Dear Sir, Mam and Nathan, I hope you are well. I miss you.Please don't forget me, especially Nathan " In the upper right hand corner was a notation "11pm in my bed". She would write about her day, her missing us and wanting to be there to see Nathan grow up. She didn't complain, but I knew that she was miserable. She finished her contract and found a different situation in Brunei, with another family. Her sister joined her and life was better.
Our letters went on from 1983 to late 1989. During part of that time she was back in the Philippines where we tried for almost a year to get her paperwork approved for her to come to live with us in the States while she attended school. We thought that we could help her to have a better life, one where she wouldn't have to work for foreigners as a servant. But the US government denied our request to sponsor her, saying that since she was from a poor family, she must be trying to immigrate and they were denying her immigration. We were all very disappointed. Devastated really... She was very grateful for the efforts but didn't want us to keep trying. She said she had heard about good work to be had in Kuwait. She said that she had some friends that worked there and that she was going to have them find her a job. I advised against it, saying that I feared for her safety. We offered to pay her way through school in the Philippines, but as before she knew she would be pressed into marriage if she stayed there, so she began the process for a job in Kuwait. She was gone to Kuwait before our next letter arrived. We got a return letter from her sister Cely, in the summer of 1990, saying that Merlyn had gone to Kuwait and would write us when she was settled. We never heard from her again. We tried to contact her family, but were only able to find out that the family no longer lived where we were sending our letters.

*In August of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Many people died in the early days of the attacks, in that number were domestic workers in the homes of the affluent Kuwaiti's. Shortly after the invasion, stories started coming out about the rape and murder of Philipino maids by Iraqi soldiers. Many of those who survived the attacks fled to refugee camps. Here there were people from all over the world, who were living in Kuwait during the attack, and couldn't get out. Of those in the camps many died of sickness or injury, others survived and somehow made it home, still others had no way to get home and remained in Kuwait to continue working in hopes of finding a way home. The Philippine Embassy in 1991 and 1992 was filled with Philipino maids who had fled from their employers due to harsh treatment, physical and mental abuse and rape. The laws of the land do not protect servants employed by their citizens, so little was done to aid them. The Philippine Embassy was not equipped to house and feed these refugees and could only give them a little food and a place to stay. If they were lucky, the women might be deported and get sent back to the Philippines, otherwise they would eventually have to figure out how to save themselves.*

When I found the stack of letters in my dresser, and opened the thin and now fragile airmail envelopes, waves of memories came flooding back in. Thoughts of our happy little family, of being young and on an adventure. How we had bonded with this sweet young woman, and knit her forever to our hearts. She opened a window onto another world for us. My heart aches for her struggles in the years after we left, for the rough, unfair treatment she received at the hands of her employers. When I think about her going to Kuwait, and they fact that we never heard from her again, I feel sick to think of what may have become of her....

Whatever her fate, her letters have left me a reminder of her spirit, her kindness and her courage. And if by some miracle she survived, I hope she is safe and snug, living the happy fulfilling life that she worked and sacrificed to obtain.

Decorated or not, a Letter is a Treasure

2011-10-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

I receive many letters that are from people whose interest is solely in letter writing. I usually don't photograph them since I blur out the addresses to respect their privacy and that doesn't leave much to show in a photograph. But I want to say that receiving their letters is every bit as much a delight to me and is cherished as much as the artsy ones I receive.

I am fortunate to receive letters from so many interesting and talented people, who each express themselves through the sending of letters. Some use artistic embellishment as an extension of their letter writing, for others it is calligraphy or beautiful penmanship, there are those who can turn a beautiful phrase or paint a vivid picture with words, many write to share a smile and a kind word to brighten my day, still others who write me are story tellers who beguile me with a yarn well spun. I receive letters from all kinds of people: artists, history buffs, teachers, students, nurses, thinkers and readers, poets, musicians, atheletes, moms and dads and more. I correspond with people of all ages, from those who are a good deal younger than myself to others that are older. Some people write from places far away, in lands very different from my own. These people write to me in English, when it is not thier native tongue. This is a constant source of joy and amazement to me, since I know how hard it is to speak a second language, much less write in it!! Even with all the diversity in the people who write me, I have found that all of my pen friends have certain things in common; without exception, each is generous and kind, thoughtful and insightful. I am richer for knowing each person who writes me and I feel privileged, humbled and blessed to have them in my life!

Incoming and Outgoing Mail October 2011

2011-10-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is some of my outgoing mail for October. I am posting the photos of my First Day of Issue for my new artistamp, now that I am pretty sure everyone has gotten theirs. I hope that you have all received yours!

This is the postcard I made to celebrate my new artistamp.

This is the stack of postcards ready to go in the mail.

Outgoing handmade envies and a watercolor butterfly postcard.

There was much more mail that went out, but I was so far behind that I just mailed them when I did them instead of waiting until I could get them photographed. I hopefully won't get so far behind in the future...

Incoming Mail

Lots of postal fun from: Janine in Switzerland, Cathy in Ohio, and Chris and Marion both in Pennsylvania.

A festive "doodled" envie and nice letter from Misty in Ohio

Mail from my Canadian pen friends Wanda and Monique

Butterfly lovliness from Kimi in California and Courtney in Australia

Rusty in Oklahoma, sent me this beautiful hand drawn card wishing me blessings on the first of our fall feasts, Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) also known as Rosh Hashanna. This was quite a nice surprise Rusty... it was as sweet to my heart as apples and honey are to the taste!

This journal came from the talented hands of Limner, who resides in the Texas. It was a very nice treat to find in my mailbox and one that was put to use almost immediately as my new postal journal!

Next was a mysterious cylinder with my name on it... also from Limner. I played the "guess what it is" game for a couple hours before I allowed myself to open it. I couldn't have possibly guessed how beautiful and unique the contents would be, but below you will see the surprise contents of the package.

Inside were several pages of hand crafted mail related goodies that Limner designed, as well as some vintage images on sheets of paper for clipping out and using in future mail creations. I would have posted them as well, but the time they spent in the tube made them uncooperative for having their photos taken. They kept rolling away! Anyway, I feel very blessed to have received so many beautiful things from the generous and thoughtful Limner!

Sirpa in Finland, sent me this beautiful watercolor festooned envie with a letter that was also decorated with her lovely artwork. Sirpa has such a gift with watercolors, pen and ink. I am always amazed by her mail art! Included in the envelope was a Marjolein Bastin note card to add to the collection I have received from Sirpa in the past.

In both the envelope and the letter, the watercolor is done as a continuation of a photograph. She extends the detail of the photo out past the edges of her photos with paints. What a clever idea, you never cease to amaze me Sirpa! Thank you so much!

I have also received letters from Troy in Colorado, Donavan in Maryland, Angelia in Illinois and Tom in Missouri.Thanks to everyone who takes the time from their busy lives to share some of themselves with me!

Columbus Day... No Postal Service

2011-10-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I told everyone that I was doing my mail art mail out on Monday, but I took my stack of goodies into the post office to mail them and was greeted by a locked door. I forgot that Columbus Day was a federal holiday ...sigh! So I wasn't able to mail the post cards yesterday. I won't be out again until tomorrow, so I will mail them on Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a good mail day. See you in the mail!

***They are now in the mail!*** Finally! (As of Today Wednesday, October 12, 2011)

September Turns Into October Mailout

2011-10-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

I apologize... Due to health issues I did not get the September Mail art Mail Out done in time for September. I now have everything ready to go, so I will be mailing out on October 10. I guess it is better late than never, but I would be happier if my end of summer mail out had actually been in the mail at the end of summer. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it! Here is a sneak peak, but I hope,not enough of a peak to be a spoiler... See you in the mail!

Recent Mailart Call

2011-09-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Summer Fun Mail Art Call is over and the contributions are archived on a static page on the right side bar if you want to look at them. I really appreciate the participation and enjoyed all of the Summer Fun mail I received! Thanks to all!
Now it is time for me to do my part! I will be sending out my own Summer Fun post card as a thank you. I would also like permission from those who participated to include your mailing info in the documentation to the other participants. Let me explain why I include documentation... In the mail art community it is standard proceedure to send out some form of documentation at the completion of a mail art call. It usually includes the names (or moniker) and addresses of those who contributed, and possibly a photo/scan of each contribution. The reason for this is that mail art's roots are not in the internet, so the way broaden your mailing possibilities and meet new like-minded people was to participate in a mail art call and then use the documentation to find new friends to mail to. But since many people in this particular day and age are more reluctant to share their info, I will ask for permission before sending out documentation. If you mailed something for "Summer Fun", please leave me a comment or e-mail me at elle.mental@yahoo.com and let me know if you are OK with me sending out your info. If I don't hear from you, I won't include anything but you name on the documentation.
For those of you who are waiting for my September Mail Art Mail Out, I am assembling them today and will be mailing them out very soon. I hope that this finds everyone well and having a good mail day!

Under the Weather...

2011-09-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
The end of summer has come and with it...Ragweed. Our air index has been in the red for most of the past several weeks. UGH! I don't suffer much with Spring allergies (much...), but Fall with ragweed and molds, is a different story. The weather is delightful, sunny with crisp mornings and warm afternoons and I am stuck inside hiding from from airborne allergens and hugging a tissue box. I don't feel like doing ANYTHING, which is just not like me. I wish it would rain so that I could have a days reprieve and be able to enjoy the outdoors and feel like being creative.
I am trying to get envies made so I can mail this big pile of letters I've written, but if I don't start feeling better soon I am just going to put them in regular envelopes and mail them so the recipients won't think I've forgotten them. If I owe you a letter... it will come.
Anyone else suffer from Fall allergies? If so chime in and we can be miserable together. Y'all take care and hopefully soon I will see you in the mail!

A Heartfelt Thank You

2011-09-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to write this post to thank you all for the wonderful letters and cards that I have received. It has been such a blessing to receive mail from so many amazing, generous and talented people! I have been so encouraged and uplifted by your stories, the thoughts and glimpses of your lives, have been a joy to me.
Thank you so much!
I have written many letters that are waiting for me to get to my art table to decorate envelopes, and have many more to write. I hope to get some time this week to finish up and get all this grateful correspondence off in the mail. Until my letters reach you I will hope that you are enjoying the cooler weather and having good mail days! See you in the mail...soon!

August Outgoing and Most Recent Incoming Mail

2011-09-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Outgoing Mail

This is my most recent mailing to Sirpa. If you want to see what was inside, check out her blog: www.sfimail.blogspot.com she has done a blog post on my package to her...Thanks Sirpa!

I made a border for Kimi's letter by stamping with various objects on my art table... a wine cork, and a cone shaped piece of carving medium left over after a recent carving project. The address label is from a new set of stationery items I am designing.

Limner likes bees so I used Marjolein Bastin tissue paper to add some lovely fat bees to her envie and made a fun little air mail sticker to help get it on its way.

Here are a few of the postcards I made and sent out recently. I sent out a bunch of others but they were in a stack of letters and postcards that I mailed without photographing them first. I am bad about doing that.

Incoming Mail

Mailart and letters from penfriends Misty, Kimi, Sharon and Bev.

I received postcards from Douglas, Misty, Chandlerguera, and Kimi.

A letter from Linda and one from my new penfriend Courtney in Australia.

Another beautiful puzzle letter from Ahmet in Turkey. He also sent me the wonderful gift posted below.

Ahmet received my Summer First Day of Issue Stamp and asked if he could reproduce them, (on occasion he showcases other mail artist's stamps on his envies and puzzle letters, crediting them for their work of course). He sent me some of the reproduced stamps when he sent me the latest puzzle letter. They even have real perforations! Thanks so much Ahmet! What a generous and cool gift!

I also have received a whole stack of letters from penfriends Angelia, Super Hero, Troy, James, Patty, Marion and Limner.

Last but not least, I have a Summer Fun Mailart contribution from Bev Sykes. I will also be posting this on the side bar showcase for the Summer Fun Mail Art Call. The deadline for contributions is September 5, so there is still time if you want to send something in! I will be sending out my thank yous, return summer fun post card, and documentation after the end of the mail art call on the 5th. Note to contributors... normally documentation is sent out with a list of names and addresses of those who participated, if you do not want your name and address to be sent in the documentation, please let me know!

Oh nertz... I posted a couple of letters that I had already posted in another blog post... since I am all but done with this post I think I will just leave things as they are and admit to the mess up! So, I think I am caught up on posting incoming and outgoing mail, now I need to get busy and reply to all this lovely mail! Until next time, I'll see you in the mail!

September Mail Art Mail Out

2011-08-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well, this was supposed to be an August Mail Art Mail Out, but due to many factors I had to postpone my mail out. But now I think I have things under control, (Ha Ha), so I am putting out an invitation for anyone who would like to be put on my mail out list. If you would like to receive my September Mail Art mail out then leave your address in the comments or e-mail it to me at elle.mental@yahoo.com and I will add you to my list. If I already correspond with you then you are on my mail out list and will be receiving your mail shortly. I hope this finds you all well. Take care and I'll see you in the mail! Elle

Hurricane Irene has Passed

2011-08-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, Hurricane Irene has moved up the coast. Here in Waxhaw we had nothing but hot night time temps and some wind. Unfortunately, in other places in NC they were not so lucky... several people died, one was an 11 year old boy who was killed when a tree ripped through his bedroom. It is so sad...
I know that Virginia had severe weather at the beaches and the New York was flooding in the lower lying areas. Our prayers go out to anyone in Irene's path, may God bless and keep you all! Please let us know how you are...we will be anxious to hear that everyone is OK.

Earthquake!!

2011-08-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I was just looking up some info about the Elenin "comet" and its affect on the earth's electromagnetic/tectonic field when I felt the floor shift and saw the walls shake and the ceiling fan sway... We felt the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Richmond Virginia just before 2 p.m. today... did anyone else feel it? Mim I hope you're OK and Patty I know your live around there too is everything ok? Troy in Colorado, I know that there was a pretty big one in Colorado yesterday, did you feel it in Holyoke?Please let us know that you're all ok!
Oh, yeah... we are also looking at a Cat 4 hurricane to hit NC by the weekend, we're probably OK here in Waxhaw, just high winds and rain (I hope... after Hurricane Hugo, circa 1989, hurricane is a bad word in this house...) but the coastline is in for a real blow...
For now, we are making sure we have extra water and food, checking battery and candle stocks and hoping the whole mess goes out to sea!
Battoning down the hatches in North Carolina and hoping to see you in the mail!

Summer Fun Mail Art Call

2011-08-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today when I visited my P.O. Box I found the first three contributions to the Summer Fun Mail Art Call!

Stonezebra shares her summer fun with this post card. It even has some mini letters to me!

Kimi was hangin' with the sea lions

Cathy Thompson's idea of summer fun has to do with sand and surf.

Please share your summer fun with us. Here is how:

Mail Art Call

"What I did this Summer".

Any size post card or envie

Deadline: September 5, 2011

Design a piece (or pieces) of mail art illustrating your summer fun and send it to me at:

Elle Mental

POB 535

Waxhaw, N.C.

28173

All mail art for this call should be marked with "Summer Fun" somewhere on the piece so I will know it is for the mail art call. All contributions will be scanned and posted to the blog with credit to the mail artist and then archived on a static page collection on the sidebar. I will send a summer fun mail art piece of my making to each contributor. There will also be documentation sent to all contributors at the end of the call so please, put your mailing address on the mail art piece so I can put it in the documentation.

All rights remain with the artist, but submitting something titled "Summer Fun", will automatically permit me to post images of your artwork to my blog and any other promotions I may do for the mail art call . Each piece will be credited to the artist who sent it so make sure your put your name or moniker on your contribution.

I am looking forward to seeing your contributions and sharing in your summer fun!

Please feel free to post this mail art call in its entirety to your blog or mention it on your blog linking to http://www.artofaletter.blogspot.com/

See you in the mail!

Incoming Mail

2011-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have received some wonderful mail so far in the month of August. I am constantly amazed by the talent and generosity of my pen friends. Thank you all for lifting my heart and blessing me with joy in my mailbox!

A beautiful puzzle letter from Ahmet in Turkey. Ahmet has done many of these incredible puzzle letters and I am happy to say I possess several of them!

A letter stuffed with goodies, including another kind of puzzle, from Bev in California

Monique in Canada sent me this wonderful postal themed artwork by the artist Will Van Veen. I just love it, thank you so much!
What a novel idea and so cleverly done! I can see why you really like his work Monique!

A colorful and intricate post card from Chandlerguera in Arizona.

Wanda in British Columbia, sent me a charming letter, post card, a panoramic view some of her countryside, and some Bleeding Heart seeds. I adore Bleeding Hearts, I will start the seeds and set the seedlings out in my little frog pond garden. It is nice and shady and moist there.

Super Hero sent me an invitation to a Zombie mailart call, along with some of his Zombie artworks, as well as a mail art call for "The Internet" What kind of role does the internet play in your life. Anyone interested in participating in his Mail Art Calls? If so, e-mail me and I'll give you info.

Misty in Ohio sent me this envie with a letter and some lovely oriental post cards

Valentine in France sent me this fun take on royalty.

Letters from Angelia in Illinois and James in South Carolina

A Mutant Banana postcard from Cara in New Jersey. Cara is a member of IUOMA
(Internation Union of Mail Artists). If you have never been to the IUOMA site, you have a treat in store! There are many, many mail artists from all over the world, who post there and are willing to send mail to other postal enthusiasts. Check them out at: iuoma-network.ning.com/

Wanda sent me a note with and envie full of butterflies to cheer my day.

Limner in Texas, sent me this beautiful photo note card of one of her original photographs. It is so delicate and colorful, it really brightens my day just to look at it!

A a cheerful and newsy letter from Kimi in California. Below is a virtual gallery of lovely postcards from her summer adventures.

Well, I believe that I am now caught up on my backlog of Incoming mail photos! I hope that you enjoyed them, I know I sure have! Until next time, I'll see you in the mail! Oh... and By the way... Don't forget about the Summer fun Mail Art Call! If you have questions please comment me and I will get right back with you.

Letters from 1876 and a Mail Art Call

2011-08-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I have been busy with many garden and household projects, but I have also been busy with some fun and interesting mail art projects. One of them is a "Ghost Correspondence" project that my friend Country Dirt proposed on his blog www.penpalling-dad.blogspot.com/. The Ghost Correspondence has nothing to do with the paranormal, it is about being the voice for real or fictitional people from a day long past, through writing letters.
Troy and I are writing letters assuming the role of brother and sister in 1876. The brother is in Colorado, pulling freight from the Arkansas River up to Denver. The Colorado Territory had just been granted statehood and the railway was branching off of the transcontinental railway to make new inroads to fledgling settlements throughout the west.
The sister lives in post-Civil War North Carolina. The "reconstruction" is continuing, and southerners are adjusting to the changes. The United States was celebrating it's first centennial in 1876. As the country recovered from the ravages of war both economically and physically, many new social issues were surfacing. Minority people groups, like the Native Americans, African Americans and women were struggling to have their plights understood and to gain recognition as citizens with the same rights and priviledges as the the white man. On a larger scale the year ushered in many new life changing inventions and innovations. The world at large was becoming a smaller place due to major advances in travel and communication.
Within the 1876 historical framework, Troy and I will write letters in the style and vernacular of the day. We will share perspectives and do research to give the letters authenticity. I have just completed my response to his first letter and really enjoyed doing the research and composing the letter. Since he hasn't received it yet, I will not give the details, but once I know he has received it, I will post my letter to this blog.
This project can be done in many variations, the sky is the limit on story lines and many characters can participate. I think once the garden demands slow down and I am caught up on my correspondence backlog I will put begin a larger project (theme yet to be determined...) and invite you all to play! For now, I will wish you all a good mail day and look forward to seeing you in the mail... circa 2011!

Oh... I almost forgot! The Mail Art call...

Since The end of summer is in sight and back to school is at hand, I thought it would be fun to have a mail art call. So here we go:

Mail Art Call

"What I did this Summer".

Any size post card or envie

Deadline: September 5, 2011

Design a piece (or pieces) of mail art illustrating your summer fun and send it to me at:

Elle Mental

POB 535

Waxhaw, N.C.

28173

I am looking forward to seeing your contributions and sharing in your summer fun!

Please feel free to post this mail art call in its entirety to your blog or mention it on your blog linking to www.artofaletter.blogspot.com

See you in the mail!

A Lovely Morning and the Outgoing Mail

2011-08-11T08:26:00.000-07:00


Tagg taking advantage of the open door.

This morning I am enjoying a respite from the relentless heat of the past few weeks. Nothing has phased the smothering heat/humidity combination, not even the uncharacteristic daily rain that we have received. The rain just succeeded in adding to the swelter. I was out this morning taking Tagg on his morning constitution when I felt a difference in the air, it was fresh and tangy, easy to take into the lungs. The "cut it with a knife", cloying humidity and oppressive heat heat had taken a morning off! So, in celebration of the moment, I took my coffee to the family room, flung the back door wide and enjoyed the light breeze and fresh air while I prepared the photos for this blog entry.

The vegetable garden as viewed from the deck.

The gardens have had no complaints about the weather,
normally our summers are very hot and dry, no rain from June to August, except for an occasional downpour during a thunderstorm. So our gardens have to be watered. Our French Intensive raised beds have a deep mulch and 20+ years of compost to aid in water retention, but once the really hot dry weather is underway watering is inevitable. Not so this summer! I haven't had to drag the hose around the yard once. It has rained like clockwork every evening for an hour or two, that combined with the heat make for very happy plants, (and grass....), so I am taking my que from the gardens and trying to consider this weather a blessing.

Since so many of us are in and out of each others blogs, like good friends are in and out of each others houses, I have been waiting to post the photos of outgoing mail until the recipients have had a chance to receive it. That way it is still a surprise when my pen friends find my mail to them in the mailbox. So from now on I will be doing a monthly outgoing mail post, but I will try to post the incoming mail as soon as it comes in. Here is some of the outgoing mail from July, (I did a no brainer and mailed the rest without taking pics first, again. Sorry).

I will be posting the incoming mail tomorrow as well as the Mail Art call that I mentioned in my last post. For today, I am going to turn my attention to the lovely day and try to make the most of it. I hope that you are all getting a break from the heat and find snail mail happiness in your mailbox! Until tomorrow, I'll see you in the mail!

Busy Busy!

2011-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

It is headed for 99 degrees today, so I was outside at the crack of dawn picking things from the garden. Today is preparation day for the Sabbath. I will clean the house from top to bottom, cook for the four meals we will eat between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday and somehow fit into the mix, processing all of this wonderful bounty before the sun goes down. Why then you ask, am I sitting at my computer instead of making progress on the tasks at hand?

Well, I needed to cool down some, (I got a headache from the heat while in the garden...) and I wanted to show you all why I might not be as timely as I usually am getting return letters written! I have been working pretty hard to get caught up on outgoing mail and by the end of tomorrow I should be up to date. But I have had to put a lot of time in the garden and the kitchen recently, so I am later getting things out than I like to be.

I have received some wonderful mail goodness in the last couple of days, but I am going to have to wait to post them until after I finish the tasks at hand. I also have a couple of fun projects to talk about... One is a project I am working on with my pen friend Country Dirt at www.penpalling-dad.blogspot.com. We are writing letters back and forth taking on the role of a fictional brother and sister in the year 1876. I will be writing a blog entry on this project in the near future. The other project is going to be a "Summer Fun" mailart call, the details will be posted in the next few days, but for now it is back to the kitchen to process all this produce... anyone want to lend a hand...?

Until next time, I'll see you in the mail!

I Have a Confession to Make...

2011-07-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is a confession I hate to make... I am dyslexic... really... sometimes I can't read even the clearest of handwriting and trust that I am interpreting important specifics like an address. Don't get me wrong, I love getting hand written letters. I enjoy the ink and the different styles of handwriting, it is part of the fun, and for the most part I do fine when reading the body of a letter, it is just making sure that the address is correct that worries me...
At this moment I have a letter ready to mail out to Hanna in Sweden, but I can't make out some of the important parts of the address... I am so sorry, but Hannah, if you are reading this blog post would you please e-mail me at elle.mental@yahoo.com and give me your return address? I loved your letter and want to make sure that my return letter actually reaches you, I don't trust my ability to interpret the address.
Well, while I am at it, I guess I will just make this a request from anyone who writes me a letter for the first time... Due to my challenges with reading and deciphering handwriting, if you would please print, type or use a address label for your return address I would really appreciate it. I want to make sure that you receive my responses to the lovely mail you all send me. Thanks so much for your understanding! See you in the mail!!

The Rest of the Photos I Promised to Post...

2011-07-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

A very cute note card from StoneZebra


A lovely handmade envie and letter from Hester	.


My outgoing mail. I was going to post them individually but decided to wait until the letters reached their destination before posting close ups. That way I don't spoil the surprise for the recipient!


My most recent rubber cut.

Today I received some absolutely awesome mail! I won't get the photos up for a day or two, since I am really trying to get my return letters written. I'll see you in a day or two with posts of my most recent incoming mail and a some really lovely gifts from my dear pen friends. Until then I'll see you in the mail!

One Very Happy Mailbox_ Incoming Mail

2011-07-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have had some wonderful mail days recently! I have gotten mail from many of my regular pen friends and have had some new pen friends write as well. What a blessing! I have been working my way through the pile of letters to writing returns, and as usual, I mailed a bunch out without photographing them. Sigh... But I did get some photos of the last round of letters I wrote. I will post them after I post the incoming mail. So here we go!

Post cards from Susanna, Pamela, Super Hero, Bev, Sharon, Patty, Post Muse, Mim

The front of a very intricate and fun card that Limner sent me.

The back of Limner's card. There was a teabag attached as well, but I used it! Thanks Limner! I love tea!

A really cool envie made from a nautical map (nautical map made of Tyvek, what a wonderful idea...waterproof and virtually indestructable!). Linda is a new penfriend and finding her letter in my mailbox was a very pleasant surprise. She also enclosed a packet of goodies to use on my mailart!

A post card from Genevieve, a letter from Angelia, the letter from Kimi has vintage postage on it.

I recieved a letter and this postcard from Pen Thief. The post card was quilted by her mother... it was very nice of her to share her mother's talents with me... Thanks to both of you!

Wanda sent a lovely letter and some of her photographs. Isn't the hummingbird photo awesome!

A nice note from Bev and a vintage seal and send from my new pen friend Eunice.

A card from my new pen friend Chris. The photgraph is by Chris, isn't it beautiful?

This letter full of mailart goodness is from my pen friend in Finland. She and I are both fans of Marjolien Bastin, she sent me two great MB cards to add to my collection. I adore the pink gingham check on the inside of the envie!

Sirpa's letter was charming as usual, but this one was especially so since she decorated it with watercolor paintings of her new kitten Sissi. She is very talented!

Sirpa also shared her garedn with me through a really fun garden journal.

There were many pages of colorful photos and descriptions of her gardens... It sounds so beautiful! I wish I could see it in person!

Wow, I am just amazed by all the wonderful mail I've gotten! I was going to post it all in this post but I think I will post the rest in my next blog entry since this one is getting kind of long.

It is really great to be connected with so many lovely and generous people. I am constantly amazed by the interesting and creative people I have come to know through the mail. Thanks to all for making my mail box a happy place to visit! Until next time I'll see you in the mail! Elle

More Unpacked Boxes

2011-07-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

We have been living back in the USA more than a year now, and finally I have my art supplies out of boxes! I found some things I thought got lost in our return trip from Costa Rica: my beloved paint brushes, which have seen better days, but I love them anyway...they aren't worn out, they're well broken in...! I also found the set of Berol Prismacolor pencils that I have torn the house apart looking for several times and just recently replaced. Sigh. Isn't that the way of things, as soon as you give up on finding something and replace it, you will find the lost item.

I have been putting off opening my "art stuff" boxes, since we have been reworking some of the rooms in the cottage, I had no place to set up my space until recently. For most of my adult life, I had to use the dining room table for art projects. This was difficult at best, since I hardly ever got finished with a project in one sitting and the table would need to be freed up for meals. So I drag my stuff out of the closet, set it up and rush like crazy to get to a stopping point where I could clean it all up before dinner needed to be served.

Then a few years ago, I stumbled across the answer to my problem. I drove by a "weekend sale", different from a yard sale since it was open Friday,Saturday, and Sunday. I hardly ever get to go to yard sales; we are Torah Observant and keep a Saturday Sabbath, (a day of rest with no commerce of any kind). Since most yard sales are on Saturday, I usually miss all the good bargains, so I was very excited to see the sign for a Friday through Sunday sale! I drove past the sign and then abruptly u-turned, forsaking my intended destination for greener pastures. I thought I heard something calling my name... ever so softly, "Elle, come find me... I'm waiting to be yours..." When I got out of the car and started walking up to the sale, I saw on the driveway a piece of furniture with a big sign on it that said "Please take me home". There were two ladies standing there looking at it, one remarked to the other that it was an interesting piece of furniture, but she had no idea what it would be good for. I knew exactly what it would be good for and as soon as they were a polite distance away I grabbed the sign and went to the woman sitting behind a T.V. tray with a cash box on it. I asked how much it was and she said "oh... we had been asking $85 dollars for it, but if your can take it with you when you leave, you can have it for $75." Normally I wouldn't think of spending that kind of money on the spur of the moment, but I didn't think twice, I wrote a check and danced all the way back to the car. I couldn't believe that it was actually mine!!

It's mine all mine!! This vintage drafting table began its life in a university architecture classroom in the 1940's. It is now a permanent fixture in our family room and will one day belong to our youngest son, who like his mom, is artistically inclined. Most people would need to sit on a tall stool for it to be the right working height, but I always work standing up, so it is the perfect for me! The table top tilts and the cabinets can be arranged within the frame in several configurations, to suit the needs of the user.

I am afraid that the tilt top will never get used, since I always have wa-ay too much stuff sitting on it!

In the boxes that held my fabric and art supplies, I also found some other things that have been packed away since we left for Costa Rica in 2009. At one point in the past I was very involved with "altered arts", like altered books, art dolls, atcs and the like. I eventually found that even though I really enjoyed the challenge of a "round robin" altered book or an "add and pass" art doll, I really didn't have the time or money to commit to these kind of projects. I decided to stick to my love of letters as a my personal outlet and to expend my creative energies on my mail... But I still have a few of the projects I worked on during that season of my life, and I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of them. So over the next couple of posts I will include a short show and tell of some of my finished (or almost finished...) projects.

I made a cloth book in commemeration of a Mad Hatter's tea party that I had at Heart's Ease Cottage one year. It was a lovely day for a garden party. Each of the friends that attended brought a hat of some sort to decorate. I provided the supplies to decorate the hats with and as it turned out all of my generous guests brought things as well, so we had a virtual treasure trove of goodies to decorate with! We munched on hazelnut flavored, dark chocolate dipped strawberries, (berries compliments of our strawberry patch), as hot glue and glitter, silk birds and strings of faux pearls and other goodies became part of our party chapeaus.

Later, brunch was served in the shade of our huge Shingle Oak trees in the front yard. We brunched on homemade chocolate chip or blueberry waffles, quiche, fresh blueberries and strawberries picked from the garden that morning. There were several choices of iced tea, and frozen fruit ice cubes to keep the tea cold without diluting it with melting ice. As a finisher there was a checkerboard, citrus flavored, Mad Hatter's cake with candles that burned with green, orange and pink flames. We all ate and laughed and talked until we could unbirthday party no more...

The art dolls on the front cover represent me,(the blonde,)and my dear friend Ketzy,(the brunette), who helped me prepare everything for the party.

The silk flowers that are embroidered and embellished to the left page are from the table decor. The background on the right page is made from one of the table napkins I chose for the buffet table.

The right page has a photo of the cottage all dressed up for the party.

The Mad Hatter's Cake

Decorating hats

Finally, a group shot of the mad hatters. I never finished the last page, so it is on my "to-do" list. Then ...how to bind the book? Right now I am holding it together with string threaded through the grommets, but I want something else for the final binding. Anyone have any suggestions?

Well, my next post will be about all the lovely mail that has been pouring into my POB. I just need to get it all logged in and photographed. Thanks to everyone who wrote me and brought some very happy mail days! Until next time, see you in the mail! Elle

Happy Forth of July!

2011-07-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a good holiday. We went to our small town parade this morning...I love all the cub scout troops, vets from foreign wars, horses and vintage cars...it is the one thing about life in our little community that hasn't changed....
Tonight there will be fireworks in a large clearing across from the post office and everyone will set out camp chairs and coolers, kids will run around like wild indians, catching lightening bugs and waving sparklers until the fireworks start. Then every eye will be on the sky, oo's and ah's will abound. I love to forth of July! Since there is no hope of a good mail day today, since the PO is closed I thought I would send you all a little note saying "Happy Fourth of July"! Now I'm off to get a cheese burger. See you in the mail!

Sad Mail Days...

2011-07-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Going to the mailbox is one of the highlights of my day... I walk with bated breath to the PO box, turn the key and quickly pull open the door with an anticipatory smile on my face. When I find mail in the box, I do the "Snoopy dance", sometimes literally sometimes only in spirit... clutch my treasures to my heart and I make my way back to the car. The letters will ride with me, sitting on the seat next to mine where I can see them as I complete my other errands.
I always try to make reading my letters an event, make a pot of tea, curl up in my favorite reading spot and relish my goodies. But in the last three weeks I have only had mail in my mail box once... I was so glad to see something in the mailbox that I didn't even wait until I got to the car to read it, I just used a key to open the top and read it right there in the post office! I have gone from checking it every day to checking every couple of days and then still finding the box empty and forlorn. I wondered if maybe the post office has been holding my mail for some reason and was just about to go ask them about it when I opened my mailbox and saw the red envelope of a Netflix... so the post office seems to still be delivering my mail... hm-m... Thoughts rattle around in my head, did I say something wrong? Did none of my outgoing mail reach its recipient? No... I don't think that is the problem, I think most likely that it is summer, people are out having fun. They are having a life and enjoying the nice weather and some day (hopefully soon...) they will write and tell me about it! So for now, while my sad little po box sits collecting dust, I am going to make envelopes and create mail art so that when I have mail to respond to I will be ahead of the game! See you in the mail!!

I Never Wrote a Love Letter to My One True Love...

2011-07-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Newlyweds 1978

I and know it sounds odd to say it but...I have never written a love letter to my one true love. It is odd...but then our romance began oddly. We never dated either. Nope, not even once. My husband and I met through a mutual friend. I went to visit my friend, who lived down the hill from me. Curtis wasn't home and Da, who was his roommate, answered the door. He was beautiful, tanned from working outside, a head full of unruly sun-bleached hair, a smile that to this day reminds me of Peter Pan, boyish and full of zeal. His eyes so blue they took my words and I just stood there staring...
I had been dating someone for years. I wasn't looking to find my life's love. I was just trying to visit my friend Curtis...who wasn't at home. Uh-h... so once I collected my wits and discovered that my friend wasn't home, I left a message with the fair haired boy and made my way home.
Over the course of the summer I got to know Da better, as we, (my boyfriend and I), came to hang out with our friend Curtis. At the end of the summer, I was moving to a new place and Da's lease was up. I needed a roommate and he needed a place to live, so he rented a room from me in the place I had just purchased. It was the late 70's, male and female roomies were fairly common. I had a steady boyfriend and Da was dating, the arrangement was platonic. It worked out well. I had someone around to help with upkeep and he was good company.
Over the winter we experienced what we have jokingly called "The Four Horses of the Apocalypse". We had the worst winter weather in years.The winds howled their angst through the jalousie windows, depositing a thick layer of snow on the sill inside of the windows. The furnace blew up, the pipes broke, flooding the yard and freezing the van to the driveway until spring thaw. My pet birds and hermit crab froze to death one bitter night. I hurt myself in a fall on the ice that left me unable to work for weeks while an elbow injury healed, so money was short. When the pipes broke the inside of my trailer flooded so everything was wet... it just went on and on. Da and I face each new blow with the optimism of the young ... In times of weakness when I would start to worry or despair about the state of things, his constancy and light-hearted attitude helped me through. He helped me care for the details of life, he cared for me... he was my best friend.
Then spring came. The ice thawed and the van was freed from its wintery prison. Da and I were able to make repairs to the house and life was beginning to sort itself out. I was still dating my boyfriend of 3 years, but he was no closer to seeing our relationship as permanent than in any of the previous years. I decided to take a job that would move me to another city and Da was going to join the military. I dissolved my relationship with my boyfriend and began making my plans for a new life in Richmond. One night while Da and I were in the kitchen making dinner, the conversation turned to what life would be like when we no longer lived under the same roof. We hadn't really thought about that part of the changes that were coming... gee... the more we talked about all we had been through together and how well our life together worked, the more we realized that while we were busy dealing with and surviving the "apocalypse", we had forged a relationship that might actually last. So we decided that night over cooking stew in the kitchen, that we would begin our life together. There were no dates, no proposal, no engagement ring, no big wedding plans. It was not romantic in the conventional sense, it was just the two of us in agreement that we could make a good life together. The wedding took place shortly afterwards and we began our next adventure...
We both joined the military, saw the world, and started a family. We created a fruitful homestead out of North Carolina red clay, homeschooled and raised two boys and lived in the rainforest of Costa Rica. Our life has been full of stories, some wonderful, some tragic, with lots of just everday stuff, but there is a single thread that has been woven through it all, we are good together. I haven't written the love of my life any love letters because words don't suffice. Instead, together we have expressed our love through our actions, through faithfulness and faith, by having grand adventures and considering the impossible possible, by being content and feeling blessed by the simple things in life. We have held each other through a sea of heartaches, trusting that God will carry us on to solid ground again when we were unable to get there on our own. We have seen His hand on our lives and we have rejoiced. Our love letters have been written on our hearts, with the permanent ink of a decision we made long ago... that we would remain together until death parts us.
Today, 33 years ago, we started our life as one. I still lose my words when I look into his bright blue eyes...

A First Day of Issue for June

2011-06-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

One thing led to another and before I could stop myself I had designed an artistamp to go out on my June mail art mail out. So now I will be doing two mailings, one for those who asked for my coneflower stationery and one to celebrate the first day of issue of a new artistamp. The stamp was really fun to make and I think it will be just the thing to finish off the stationery mail out!

I Did it Again...

2011-06-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

I mailed a stack of letters and mail art without photographing them... I am beginning to make a habit of that...sigh. Well, since I don't have my outgoing mail photos to post, I will post a photo of a vase flowers I cut from the garden instead. I hope that everyone is enjoying a good mail day!

June Mailart Mailout

2011-06-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Handmade envies and stationery inspired
by flowers from my butterfly garden.

While working in the garden the other day I was pondering what I might do as a June mail art mail out. I try, (not always successfully...), to design something new for a general mail out each month. Since my trip to Costa Rica is still fresh in my mind, I thought I might do something tropical or Costa Rica themed, but then my garden muses changed my mind. As I worked pulling weeds out of my butterfly garden, I was struck by how pretty the purple coneflowers were and decided to do something with them instead.

The Coneflowers are early this year. They usually start to bloom about the same time the blueberries start to ripen, the first or second week of July. But these have been blooming since mid June; the blueberries are early as well.

So this months mail out will be stationery and envelopes from my drawing of the coneflowers. If you would like to be on my June mailout list, leave me a comment with your mailing addy or e-mail me at elle.mental@yahoo.com See you in the mail!

Incoming and Outgoing April and May 2011

2011-06-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of my incoming and outgoing mail for the months of April and May. I was gone for a couple of weeks on a trip and the garden has been a demanding task master so I don't have much going out, but I did get some really great mail from my pen friends. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Outgoing Mail

A beautiful mail art tryptic from
Ahmet Demir in Turkey

An interactive collage from Janine in Switzerland.
This card has doors that open to reveal mini collages inside.

A humorous sewn postcard from
Lindsay in Canada

The back of Lindsay's post card.
As far as I can tell this postcard made
it all the way from Canada with no postage at all!

Much of the mail I receive is from people who I correspond with,
not so much on the mail art side of things.
I don't want to leave them out of my postings
since their letters are a joy to me,
but I think I'll keep their letters to myself...
Many of the letters generously include little gifts of postal
cheerfulness, like Troy's gift of ink cartridges
and a wonderful selection of vintage stamps from
Tom M. in Missouri and Angelia from Illinois.
Thanks so much for all the interesting letters from my pen friends
and for the cool stamps, too!

Until next time... I'll see you in the mail!

Home Away From Home

2011-06-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

A female Howler Monkey eating the leaves of her
favorite food source, the Cecropia tree.

Early morning bird song filled the air. The Howler monkeys took it upon themselves to play alarm clock...their howl could wake the dead! With all the sound effects, this was no leisurely stay in bed kind of vacation. But the veranda on the back of our friends house outside of Tilaran, Costa Rica, was beckoning to me by first light anyway, so who really wants to sleep in? As soon as it was light enough to see, I would go sit on the veranda and let a rich cup of Costa Rican coffee bring me to life. The tile floor was cool under my bare feet and there was a fresh moist breeze coming up from the river at the bottom of the slope behind the house. What a great way to start the day!

There was nest of little royal blue swallows in the eaves where the veranda roof meets the house. They were taking their flying lessons under the cover of the roof, just inches above my head. Swooping and diving their mother would take them through the paces one by one. As the week progressed, we saw less and less of mom and then she was gone altogether. The babies flew back to the nest repeatedly looking for mom and breakfast to no avail. It was kind of sad watching the three of them sitting there outside their nest all bunched up together, looking so forlorn... but eventually they took off to find their own breakfast.

I love many things about Costa Rica, but I think one of my favorite things is the pace of life. It seems unthinkable to be in a hurry... there is always plenty of time to get things done. No need to dash here or there, where would you go in a hurry anyway? The roads are terrible, even in the dry season, there are sharp switch backs and hair pin curves, and pot holes that would swallow a car, so you definitely won't be speeding.... Getting out of third gear was often something that we commented on while driving, "Wow, I just hit forth...uh, never mind... had to downshift for the curve". But more than that there is just nothing to get in a hurry about. There is no movie theater to worry about missing a showtime, very few restaurants, no work to go to, ("gringos" can't work in Costa Rica, so if you are there you must have another way to support yourself), so there is no reason to worry about where you have to be, or what is on your "to-do" list. If you don't get it all done today, there is always tomorrow. It is really very liberating not to have too many choices about what a day will hold. It really allows you to experience what you are doing rather than working through things in rapid succession trying to get done.

Plants grow on everthing that will hold still,
even on the clothesline!

Laundry is an all day affair. Wash and then hang to dry, (which may never happen, it is after all the rain forest...). There is no sense in starting another load until you are very sure that the one you are putting on the line is actually going to get dry. So, with the wind blowing the clothes and your hair into tangles as you try to hang them out, you find yourself physically slowing. You hear the birds, feel the warmth of the sun on your neck. With a contented sigh you sit down to read while you watch for the moment in time when the clothes are dry and you can take them off the line and start another load.

Mangoes are in season and
growing everywhere.

Shopping takes forever as well, since you have to visit every shop in town to get what you need. There isn't a one stop shopping mentality in Costa Rica... Veggies at the open air market, meat at the carniceria, dried beans and butter at the "Super", hairspray at the beauty supply shop, Tylenol by the individual pill at the pharmacia, the ferreteria will have your dog food and seeds for the garden and knee high rubber boots. Of course at each of these places you are going to chat with the counter help or the proprieter and probably run into at least one other person at each location that you will stop and share news with. So shopping is going to take up another day... and so goes all of life, no way to hurry, so you just have relax and allow "Tico time" to have its way.

With no place to go and nothing to do by stateside standards, one might ask, "What is the attraction?". For some people probably very little, unless you are at the beach or in San Jose where it is pretty much like living in the states. But for others, myself included, it is the sweet fresh newly made oxygen from the rainforest, the lush green of everything, dotted with vibrant colored flowers and birds, the rolling hills, and constantly changing weather, sunny and 75 degrees one minute, a deluge the next. I am happy to be able to enjoy the simple tasks of daily living while taking in the wonderment of a place that is literally teeming with life. I like the idea that I am just one of many living things that share this place, and that in the scope of things people play only a small part in the overall scene.

Since we lived in the area we were staying in, we basically just moved in and started living. Our dear friends the Hemmingway's made us feel right at home and we so much enjoyed being in their company again! We spent time in Tilaran, (the nearest town), and in Sabalito, (the pueblo where we used to live). We visited friends and spent long periods of time laughing and talking. Sometimes things seemed so "normal" that I had to remind myself that as comfortable and content as I felt, I wasn't at home. I was going to have to leave and go back to the states. Sigh...

We visited Volcan Arenal with friends, endulged ourselves at our favorite restaurant on that side of the lake, and took leisurely drive through the backcountry, but for most the first week and a half we just hung out and enjoyed the simple life.

A few days before I had to come home, I hugged everyone good-bye, wiped the tears from my eyes and my husband and I climbed on the 7 a.m. bus to San Jose. In all the time I lived in Costa Rica, I never spent more than an hour in San Jose. Just long enough to get off the plane and catch the bus to Tilaran.So we decided to spend my last few days seeing some things in that area. We stayed in Hotel Cristina in downtown San Jose, near Parque Sabana (the Costa Rican version of Central Park). The hotel is very nice, and as we found out during our stay, is frequented by Americans who travel down to Costa Rica for elective surgery and dental work. The private sector medical practice in Costa Rica has very good doctors and dental specialists from all over the world who practice medicine there and cater to Americans who are looking for affordable elective surgery. Interesting...

A careta that was on display in the showroom
at the cartea factory in Sarchi.

We took a day trip one day, got a taxi to the bus terminal, took a bus to Grecia, took another bus to Sarchi, where we strolled through town taking pictures and touring the careta factory. A careta is a colorful wooden cart that, not too many years ago, would have been seen bumping along behind an ox and driver as it carried produce from the field or families to church. Today, in most places they are primarily used in parades and for other festive occasions. Although where we lived in the mountains, there were still many people who use them daily for farm work, since their wobbly metal banded wheels easily cover rugged terrain. At the factory we got to see the artisans painting the traditional kaleidoscopic patterns on wagons, plates and other souvenir type items that would later be fore sale in the shop.

A little waterfall in the
botanical garden

From there we took a taxi to the Else Kientzler Botanical Gardens. The gardens were lovely, with tall stands of Eucalyptus and teak trees and flora and fauna that represents a good cross section of plant life from Costa Rica and othe parts of Central America. There were also plants from places as far away as Brasil and Mexico. Then it was time reverse the process; taxi, bus,bus, taxi to end up at hotel Cristina in time for dinner. All in all an interesting and happy day!

The next day was Saturday, which is our Sabbath, so we spent it resting and strolling around Parque Sabana. In the afternoon we went for a walk to Mercado Central, which is the central marketplace in downtown San Jose. It has hundreds of little shops, lining the brick pedestrian walks. This place is not for the faint hearted or directionally challenged, since it is a virtual maze of indoor venders and shops selling everything from herbal remedies straight from the rainforest to bootlegged first run movies. There are many dark little rabbit trails that will take you who knows where, and curious little restaurants that are so small that only three or four people at a time can be served. The curious part was that the floor of the restaurant was furnished with rickety little tables and a very tiny service area, then above our heads in what had to be very hot and dark conditions was the kitchen. The food was delivered via a make shift dumbwaiter that literally dropped the food from the ceiling!

The walk from the hotel to the Mercado and back was about 7 kilometers, I had worn flip flops, not realizing how far it was, so by the time we got back to the hotel I had blisters. It was quite an experience and except for a blister or two we made it back to the hotel without incident.

The next day was a taxi ride to the airport and the flight back to the states. I was leaving my husband in Costa Rica to spend another week visiting and hiking, while I return to the states to care for our homestead. It has been a wonderful and peaceful trip, I'm just sad it is over...

Now that I'm home and feeling some better, I have caught up on some of my mail backlog and have been planning my next mail art mail out while I try to tame the weeds in the garden and harvest the remaining spring garden produce. Until next time I'll see you in the mail!

Lobster Claw flowers

A banana flower being pollenated
by bees.

A red passion flower. I had never seen red ones before!

A local "soda" and internet cafe

A mural on the front wall of a tienda
(a Tico style stop and shop)

The Tilaran post office

Home Again!

2011-06-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

I am home safe and sound from Costa Rica. I started getting sick my last day or two there with a kidney infection and haven't really felt well enough to post since returning to the States. But I have been thinking about what stories I might tell and getting photos ready to go into my post .
It was a lovely time away with my husband and it was great getting to see my dear friends down there. We tried to make sure we visited our old haunts and saw some new places as well. Those stories are for another time... for now "hi" to everyone! I will begin catching up on my mail outs and blogging once I get the gardens back under control.

Blackberries from our garden

It seems impossible that things could grow so much in just a few weeks! I had a beautiful and delicious surprise waiting for me when I walked through the garden my first time... my blackberries are hanging thick on the brambles, ripe and juicy... I grazed on some with relish while walking around checking out the gardens. There is much work to be done and I am still feeling under the weather, but I do intend to get something posted in a day or two. Until then... I hope that everyone is having a good mail day and enjoying the outdoors!

A Day at Arenal

2011-05-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ah-h... to breathe deeply of the pure rain forest air! It feels so good to be on the mountain treading the ground I walked every day while we lived on the farm, seeing my friends and filling my senses with the sights and sounds that have filled my dreams since we left Costa Rica in the summer of 2010. It almost doesn't seem real.
  We took a drive around Lake Arenal and spent the day at the volcano. Volcan Arenal is the tenth most active volcano on earth. It erupts almost every day and lava flows constantly down its crusty sides. Today though it was unusually quiet, not a single fiery stone crashed down the sides, the venting steam was a faint mist instead of the billowing plumes that usually wreath the cone and shoulders in clouds of vapor. The view of the volcano was wonderfully clear all the way to the cone, but it made me wonder if this is the calm before the storm... this area had a 6 magnitude earthquake the day before we landed, it seems unlikely that the volcano would be so quiet. But for today we enjoyed the clear view we had of the volcano and strolled the lovely trails and meticulously tended gardens of the Arenal Lodge and Observatory.
  Several varieties of hummingbirds zipped around our heads and teased us into thinking we might catch a photo or two of them... not! The other birds that normally flock to the feeders and fill the air with their songs and chatter were as absent from the scene as the volcano's daily grumblings. But I did get some nice photos of some other creatures and lots of photos of the gardens and tropical flowers.
  On the way back around the lake we stopped at the Lucky Bug Gallery and ate a delicious dinner on the veranda overlooking the gardens and tilapia pond. Tiny purple and green Wood Nymphs and White Bellied hummingbirds battled for ownership of the feeders at the end of our table while we ate. A large Kingfisher flew past at eye level before swooping down on an unsuspecting tilapia in the pond. He barely disturbed the water as he snatched his dinner up and flew to a nearby tree to enjoy it. Wow...
We made it back around the lake to the Sabalito, (the pueblo where we used to live), just as the sun was setting. We spent the early evening hours chatting with friends and allowed ourselved to be swallowed up by the deep dark of the rain forest. The air was cool and fresh and the peace in my heart was as thick as the darkness. Life is good.
  The jungle insects have tuned up for their nightly serenade...I think I will let them sing me to sleep... So good night to all and Pura Vida!

*note: I am on a borrowed computer and don't have access to my usual tools so there probably won't be any photos posted until I return home.

Costa Rica Bound

2011-05-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Keel-billed Toucan on
the farm in Costa Rica 2009

Things have changed a couple of times back and forth but it looks like I am going to be making a trip to Costa Rica after all. If all goes well, my husband and I will be flying out on the 15th of May. I am very excited!

I am afraid that all the garden chores and preparations for our trip have kept me away from my art desk and letter writing. I have received a lot of mail from my pen friends and I am woefully behind on returns. If you have written me and haven't received a return, please forgive my tardiness...I am trying to get at least a postcard off to each of you before I leave, but I probably won't get many letters posted until I return from my trip. I haven't forgotten any of you and I want you to know how much I appreciate the letters and mail art that you take time out of your life to send to me. I will be gone two weeks and upon my return I will make letter writing a top priority.

For the moment, I will share some of the photos I have taken of life around Heart's Ease Cottage and I hope that you are enjoying life and making the most of the beautiful May weather.I'll see you in the mail!

Well, once Patrick's rose found a home in my yard other roses kind of found their way to the cottage as well. The roses on the arbor give us a huge display during the month of May, the border roses bloom in profusion all summer and fall.

Our border roses have masses of blooms which the bees love!

Trimming the limbs of our old oaks and planting 90 azalea bushes has been our big spring project this year. Can you imagine digging 90 holes to 2x the size of a 3 gallon plant bucket?

Our cultivated blackberries plants are just laden with fruit this year.

This handsome gentleman lives in the "Pond Garden" next to our front porch.
He is a stout fellow about the size of both my hands put together and has lived in the pond for years.

Bok Choi seedlings just waiting to be tucked into their garden bed.

My pen friend Sirpa commented on the cardinal in one of the postcards I sent her from our snow day in January. I have been trying to get a good shot of him ever since so I could send her a photo postcard featuring him. This one shows his colors well but I would really like it if he would oblidge and give me a nice pose in the profile...

The cabbage are heading up and soon it will be time to make saurkraut.

When the fava beans are ready, I will make Egyptian Felafels and Tabouli. Yum!

Sweet Charlie strawberries

Tagg is the only dog I've ever seen that sniffs flowers...

The scent of Jasmine wafts in through the open windows and fills the house with its sweet scent.

Patrick's Rose

2011-04-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Most everyone has a best friend at some time in their life. Someone who knew you better than anyone else, who loved you even though they saw your flaws, who knew what to say when you were down or could tell you without regret when you were making a fool of yourself. Of course this is true within the bonds of marriage, but I am not referring to the marital relationship, since it is so different in many aspects from friendship.
For me, my best friend was my brother. He and I grew up as Army brats. We moved so often that making friends was difficult and leaving them painful, so we were often to each other more friends than siblings. I was the oldest by four years, so when I got married, he was still in high school. During a few years when we were seperated by miles and stages of life, we went different directions, but that is often so with life long friends, they are woven in and out of the fabric of our lives.
After my husband and I returned from our tour of duty in the Philippines, we seperated from the military and settled down to raise our kids in North Carolina. Patrick and I were able to reconnect and it wasn't long before he moved to N.C. to be close to me. We had such fun, laughing and telling stories, playing with the kids and just hanging out. He owned his own business and worked his own hours, so many times during the day, when my husband was off at work, Patrick would come to help me with the kids and chat over garden chores.

Patrick had a green thumb, he grew all kinds of indoor plants and collected roses for his garden. Being the "practical" one I grew food, herbs and fruits, I salted in flowers for color and if they were functional, as in they could be used medicinally or for crafting, I felt free to use my precious garden space for them, but roses were fussy and thorny and took up room where I could plant food, so I didn't have any roses. When we went plant shopping Patrick would buy a new rose and I would say "they are pretty but you can't eat them", and head for the herbs and veggie starts. It became a standing joke over they years and the more he chided me about not having roses the more determined I was not to have them!

Then Patrick fell ill and was too weak to garden. I would go over to keep his beloved roses pruned and fed so that they would stay lovely and bring him some cheer. We would walk around his property chatting and observing the microcosm of his yard , pausing often to rest. The scent of damask and moss roses filled the air and I would marvel at his hair shimmering like a new copper penny as we rested on the bench in the rose garden. I tried to take it all in, to etch those moments into my mind to draw from in the lonely years after his death.

A couple of months before he died, he rallied and was feeling pretty good. We went out plant shopping and he bought a yellow rose called Graham Thomas. It was lovely, it's yellow frills scented like citrus and rose combined. When we got back to his house with his purchase I asked where he wanted me to plant it, he smiled and told me that this rose wasn't going in his garden it was going in mine... His impish grin told me there would be no arguing the point this time, and I didn't want to anyway. So we made a garden in a sunny spot in the backyard at my house, with the Graham Thomas rose as a centerpiece. I filled the garden with herbs and flowers that were blue, yellow or white, to set off the rose. Over the years I trained it to trail along a fence and every year in late April, the same time of year that we planted it together, it gives me it's first lemony blooms. This morning I went out on the deck and there they were in all their glory, their tissue thin petals shimmering in the morning light. A reminder that those we love live on in our memories and the stories we tell about them and that even though petals fade and fall the cycle of life continues.

I know this story has nothing to do with letter writing, but I just had to share it with you, because that is what letters are all about, sharing pieces of your story with others. Until next time, I'll see you in the mail!

OutGoing Mail

2011-04-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

I am such a scatter brain sometimes.I wanted to make sure that I got my letters posted in a timely fashion, so I dashed off to the P.O. with a stack, mailed them and then realised I hadn't photographed them. Sigh... I am posting a couple that I have recently worked on and did remember to photograph. I have more that I am working on and I will post them when I'm finished.

I used one of Patty's handmade envelopes, made from Laura Ashley wallpaper for this letter.

The envelope for this letter was originally sent to me by Hester in Boston. When I saw the envelope it made me think about the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are". I happened to have an old beat up copy of the book that I got from Goodwill some time ago, so I decided to use some of the elements from the book to decorate the envelope and send it on.

This is the back of the envelope. This "Wild Thing" is one of my favorites from the book.

This postcard is made from one of my original collages. I added some 3-D elements to a print of the collage and made it into a postcard.

I thought it would be fun to add my most recent artistamp and some other "Steampunky" elements.

There are more coming... and if you are fond of chocolate, leave me a comment and I will send you an Ode to Chocolate postcard. See you in the mail!

Incoming Mail March 2011

2011-04-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the goodies I have received in the mail during the month of March. It has been such fun to look in my POB and find these treasures in there! I opened them to discover well wishes, seeds, vintage stamps, add and passes to play with and pass on, handmade envelopes, photos, Marjolien Bastin calendar pages that are pretty enough to frame... It was really warmed my heart to receive such lovely gifts from my mailart and pen friends! Thank you all!

This envie brimming with goodness comes from Sirpa in Finland. Enclosed were several of Sirpa's fine photographs, a letter written on a Marjolien Basten Calendar and other goodies to bring cheer to the dreary March weather.

Hester in Boston, makes lovely cards and envelopes. She sent me a newsy letter and a card set. She mailed it all in a handmade envelope. I have restasked added to and sent to another pen friend. You will see her envie reborn in my outgoing mail post. The same day I received a second envelope with a recipe she meant to include with her letter. I haven't tried the recipe yet, but it sounds great!

Wanda from British Columbia wrote me a wonderful letter and filled the envie with vintage stamps and some tomatoe seeds from Seedy Saturday, an early Spring Horticultural event in her area. I am starting some of the seed today!

Samuel Montalvetti from Argentina sent me an"Add and Pass"booklet, a very interesting MailArt folded booklet and other goodies. He is a member of I.U.O.M.A

A package stuffed with handmade envelopes, from Patty in Virginia. She made them from Laura Ashley wall paper and offered them on her blog as a gift to anyone who wanted them. http://www.justletterrip.blogspot.com/ She sent Five and I have already used a couple of them in my mailings.

2011-03-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Some people collect shells when they go to the beach...I collect sand. I noticed years ago that sand wasn't just sand; in Tulum Mexico the sand is like sugar, granular and white. While in Kitty Hawk North Carolina, it is chunky, less like sand and more like shell fragments. On the other end of the outer banks in Jockey's Ridge, the sand looks like it came out of a huge sand box, uniform in shape and yellow, (Jockey's Ridge has sand dunes 16 stories high!). In San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, the sand is black due to the large amount of volcanic material mixed in with the sand. Recently I received a postcard from a pen friend who had been to the Sahara Desert, she incorporated some of the redish orange sand into the art on the post card. It was very interestingly done and it gave me an idea...

Why don't I put some of my sand collection to good use and send some of it to my pen friends. So I am going to do just that. I am at the moment in Wilmington, North Carlina, my husband has a business meeting and I decided to tag along so that I could collect some sand from Wrightsville Beach. I think I will start by sharing the sand from this trip. It will be fun to work out a way to send the sand on a post card, since it would be too easy to send it in an envelope. If you aren't on my mailing list and would like to receive one of my sandy post cards, please e-mail me your snail mail addy and when I get them done I will send you one!

Humbling Thoughts

2011-03-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I woke up this morning with a sinus headache. I had to get up at 5:45 to get everyone breakfasted and off to work, but since it is a rainy day, and moving my head really makes it thump, I decided to go back to bed and catch up on letterwriting and my blogs. Our dog Tagg got up on the bed to nudge me out as if to say,"Hey Mom, it's light outside what are you doing in bed ?" When he realized I wasn't going to get up, he flopped down resignedly at the end of the bed, but kept looking wistfully over his shoulder as if to say, " Mom, your worrying me...". He is such a good companion, sweet and funny and annoyingly persistant when things don't run on his schedule... (as he gets up from his spot at the end of the bed and tries to flip the laptop off my lap with his nose, so he can assume its place). I guess before long I will have to get up since I'll have no peace if I don't.
In the early morning quiet, I have been contemplating a great many things, our lives since we came back from Costa Rica, health challenges and questions about the future. But while I was thinking about all these things I felt more palpably the newest ache in my heart, the sadness I feel for the poor people of Japan. The tragedy that has befallen them makes my troubles seem like inconveniences. First the earthquake, then the tsunami, and to add insult to injury, one nuclear reactor after another in the middle of a meltdown. How hopeless and helpless they must feel. In some ways I can empathize, everything but the front two rooms of our house was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1982. My husband, seven yr. old son, six month old infant and I lived in one of the two remaining rooms while my husband and I began the slow process of rebuilding our lives. It took us 6 years to get back to "normal", but we didn't have to worry about our children being washed away by an ocean surge the height of a 3 story building, or being made sick by radiation from not one but three reactors melting down.
The task ahead of the Japanese people will be a difficult one: To survive all that has befallen them and then to find the courage to face the future, bury their dead, clean up and start over. It is my job to help how I may, with my finances where we can, with any practical things I can do from here like collect clothing and toiletries to send to refugees and most importantly to keep their plight before God, petitioning for His intervention and mercy.
Reflecting on hard days ahead of the Japanese people is helping to put my personal life challenges into perspective. I have much to be grateful for: today I woke up with my husband beside me, I know where all my dear family memebers are, I have a roof over my head and shelter from the cold and rain. I am truly humbled.
If any of you have thoughts on how we might be a comfort to those who are now finding themselves homeless and in danger please leave a comment. I am sure if we all put our heads together we can come up with some ways to really be a help!
I am off to start my day, I hope that you are all safe , happy and healthy. Until next time, I will see you in the mail!

Early March Outgoing Mail

2011-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Coffee Bag Envie to Angelia

Dr.Suess post card to Garci

Back of postcard to Garci

Dr. Suess envie to Misty

Back of Dr. Suess envie

Joss Paper post card to MIM

Back of post card to MIM

Watercolor collage post card to Pamela

Back of card to Pamela

There were other things that I mailed out as well, but I absent-mindedly dropped them in the box before I took pictures of them. Hope all is well and that everyone is having a good mail day!

2011-03-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like me getting away isn't going to happen right now. I could go and leave my family to handle all the things that we have going on right now, but I don't think that would be fair. We have been working hard to restore order to the gardens and to make repairs and improvements to our house, after our year in Costa Rica and there is still much to be done. Too much for me to feel peaceful about time away. Sigh.
The weather is warming up and soon I will be able to spend lots of time outside in the sunshine with my hands in the soil. Gardening has alway been very healing to me so I hope that before long I am feeling like myself again.
So, for now at least I am not taking time away. I'll do my traveling in my thoughts and dreams and take the opportunity to make some progress where I am. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, I have felt them.

A Sabbatical

2011-02-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,
I can't tell you how much I enjoy writing my blogs, it is a priviledge to know that there are poeple out there who read what I write and that we are participating in each other's lives through letters, mailart and blog entries. I hope that what I am going to say next doesn't cause you to stop checking in on me, you all mean alot to me and getting to know you has been a great joy.
The last two years have been really hard for my family, my husbands brain issues, a major move from the USA to Costa Rica and then back a year later due to health needs, reverse culture shock (trying to acclimate back to US living hasn't been easy), the death of my dad, and recently another life changing event... I can't seem to get on my feet real well before the next wave comes and knocks me down... I need to find my balance. I am thinking that I may just take some time away, go for a nice long visit to Costa Rica or to visit my long time friend Ketzy in Israel. My dear husband and son have given me their blessing and have assured me that they can hold down the fort while I am gone. Things are still up in the air, I don't really know what I will do, but I am going to put my focus on healing and regaining my sanity. I may be able to write in my blogs and I may not, it really depends on where I am and whether or not I have connectivity. But for now I am going to say that for the next little while I will be incommunicado via the internet. I can take pen and paper where ever I go so I will continue to write to my pen friends, the letters may come in plain envelopes instead of mailart, but I will continue to write.
I hope that my sabbatical won't interupt my blogging for long, but if it does, please know that I am thinking about you all and that you are in my prayers. And if by chance you are the praying sort... put in a good word or two for me if you think about it! Hugs to you all and I'll be seeing you in the mail!
P.S. I will leave an update when I know exactly what I'm going to do.

2011-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

A festive postcard from Pamela In San Francisco

The back was as festive as the front!

From Garci in Arizona

Mim sent me this from Virginia

There is more coming...I just need to get them loaded onto the computer. Thanks to all!

Letters Back Home

2011-02-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been overcast and and it is too chilly to spend time outside. Sigh... It is days like today that make me miss our mountain top in Costa Rica. Since I was feeling a little homesick, I went back through the "letters" that I mailed home to friends and family. Actually, they weren't letters, they were e-mails that I sent out periodically so that everyone at home would have a chance to share our adventure with us. The mail system in Costa Rica proved to be less than dependable so I wrote letters and sent them by e-mail.

Here is an exerpt from one of those letters back home:

November 23, 2009

The neighbor's rooster has a death wish...he stands at the window to our bedroom starting at 5 a.m. and crows at 5 minute intervals until he successfully aggravates me enough that I jump out of bed, fling the back door open, and shout threats at his tail feathers as he makes his retreat through the fence to the safety of his own back yard. He must start running when he hears my feet hit the floor, so that by the time I get the backdoor open he is safely out of reach. With my sleep sufficiently disturbed, I have little hope of going back to sleep, but I don't need to be on my feet until 6 or so. I spend the minutes between the last rooster crow and the time I need to get up laying in the early morning light, listening to the chorus of birds strike up their morning repertoire. This is one of the joys of my day. During this time of year though, the birds have competition for my attention; the winds are changing direction from Atlantic to Pacific and the resulting turbulence makes for some impressive wind gusts. These gusts are particularly ferocious in the early morning, drowning out bird song and with the bedroom window open, practically blowing the covers off the bed. So after relishing the serenade of the birds and the sensation of the sheets flapping in my face like clothes on a clothesline, I haul myself upright and begin my day in earnest.

My first official act is to determine the "uniform of the day". It is rainy season here in the tropics, that means wear clothes that dry fast. I have a wide selection of clothing choices (not), I can wear my "wet" weather gear, which consists of a polyester tank top, lightweight jeans, tube socks and high top rubber muck boots, or I can wear my "very wet" weather gear, which is the "wet" weather ensemble with the addition of a rain jacket. Either outfit is going to be soaking wet in a matter of minutes, so for the most part, I just stick to my "wet" weather gear.

Bella

Bull

Once dressed, we are all out the door to tend to our first tasks of the day. For Daniel or Erin, (whoever is taking on the grass) it is to the bodega for safety gear and a honking Husqavarna weed-whacker. For me and whoever didn't claim the weed-whacker, it is to the animal pens, to feed and locate the animals on the grass for the day. Due to a resident jaguar, the calves and goats must be put in a pen at night and then pastured during the day. The goats go out on tethers that are staked to the ground with long pieces of bent rebar. They will spend the day eating a perfect circle in the grass, as they walk to the extent of their reach and eat the grass to a nub, leaving the rest of the grass untouched. sigh.... The calves remain in the pen until after they have their grain and their bottles. I usually get the job of feeding the babies while my partner puts the goats out for the day. It is a job tailor made for a mom. The process of feeding calves is much like feeding children, first put the food in front of them and then referee while they squabble over who is going to eat out of who's bowl, then break up the fight that ensues when one decides to "win" the bucket they want to eat from by sucking their siblings ear, thus depositing copious quantities of grain (and slobber) into said ear. Somewhere in the process both buckets get turned over and the grain is spilled and trampled. So it must be time for the bottles... this process is a contact sport...never,never,never, get in the pen with the baby bottles, that is unless you like being mobbed, butted, jostled and slimed with cow poo and saliva. It is advisable to stand on the outside of the rebar-clad pen and feed the little darlings through the fence, thus postponing the mobbing, butting, jostling and sliming until it is time to put them on the pasture...

I am glad that I wrote these letters back home. It would have been easy to be too busy to write, with all that there was to see and do, but I felt like it was important to share the story with those we left in the states. Now that we are back and life lacks the unique aspects of living 50 feet from the rainforest, with the tenth most active volcano on earth being visible from our front yard, it is nice to be able to pull them out and read them again. I can almost feel the Tilawa wind on may face...

If you would like to read more about our Costa Rican adventure, go to http://www.aviewfromthecottage.blogspot.com/ and look at the right side of the page, click where it says "click here to read Binford's Costa Rican Adventure". It will take you to a static page where I have posted the letters back home. I hope you enjoy our adventure! Until next time!

January's Last Outgoing Mail

2011-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

I am on my way to the Post Office with my last batch of outgoing mail for January. I am mailing some letters and a lot of home made post cards. There is more yet to come but it won't go out today! I hope everyone is having a good mail day!

Long Overdue Letters

Handmade Post Cards

The Last Sheet

2011-01-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

I have always loved paper, smooth silky 100% rag, earthy recycled paper, wide lined children's writing paper made of newsprint, unlined stationery, kraft paper.... they have all got their own charms. Over the years I have collected (hoarded..?) stationery. It used to give me distress to use it all since I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get that particular type again, so I started saving the last piece of stationery and envelope.
The other day I was unpacking one of the remaining boxes that I packed up when we were moving to Costa Rica. Inside I found a stationery box with part of my "last sheet" collection in it. I thought I'd share them since I had them out.

Snow Day at Heart's Ease Cottage

2011-01-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

We live a fair distance from the Mason Dixon line, at the bottom edge of North Carolina, near the South Carolina border. Since we live in the South, our weather in the winter isn't very interesting... dreary, cloudy, damp days in the 30's and 40's for the most part. If we get snow we almost always get it in mid January. I looked at my photos of past snow days where the accumulation was more than 4 inches and 3 out of 4 were on Jan. 11. The other snow day was January 10. Strange but true...Maybe there is some atmospheric condition that occurs then, who knows, but in future years I will be prepared with hot cocoa and extra socks on January 10, just in case!

This year my husband and I were taking a drive when we noticed that the brine trucks were out spraying the roads. It seemed odd since the sun was out and the day warm, but we figured there must be a call for sleet or something in the next day or so. We checked weather.com when we got home and saw that there was a storm coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Oh goody!! No wonder the trucks were out, if we are going to get snow it always comes from a storm heading up to us from the deep South. Usually those storms dump a fair amount of snow so I was hopeful that it would do more than spit a few flakes, promise snow and then blow over.

I was like a kid hoping for a day off from school due to snow. I could hardly sleep. When I woke up in the morning I detected that special glow the morning light takes on when there is snow outside. My husband was already up sitting at the glass doors watching it snow...I must not be the only kid in the house.... It was lovely, the ground was blanketed with a thick layer that covered the grass and it was building by the minute as the heavy fat flakes hit the ground. I wolfed down a bagel and drank half a cup of coffee while I fitted myself out to "play" in the snow. I trunched through the pristine carpet of snow, stood in the yard listening to the barely audible hiss of falling flakes and reveled in the gift of a snow day.

Recently, my heart has been so heavy at the loss of my dad, and the fear for my husbands health often wears at my resolve not to worry. But not today! The utter brilliance of my snow clad garden out shown even the darkest of my sadness and fears. It was a balm to my aching heart and a chance for me to forget that I am a grown woman and play like a child.
After some time of just standing there absorbing the essence of the snow fall, I noticed that the birds were sitting on my clothesline forlornly looking at the snow covered ground. So I went to fill the various bird feeder in the yard and cast a fruit and nut mix out under the hollys for the Cardinals and Jays. It didn't take my feathered friends long to flock to the food I put out for them. I decided to go inside and get my camera for a photo op with the birds. It proved more difficult than I expected to get the birds to cooperate. I guess they were a little more cautious since they couldn't hear the cat with the muffling affect of the snow, so if they saw any movement they all took flight. After missing a really good shot of a Carolina Wren perched on a watering can heaped with snow, I decided I needed a new method... so I drug my wicker chair from the front porch out into the yard, got a white tablecloth and made a makeshift bird blind. I sat all afternoon shooting away hidden under the tablecloth with just the camea lens sticking out, as the snow mounded up on my head and lens shield of my camera. My feet were frozen and my eye kept fogging up my viewfinder, but I got some nice shots of the birds and snow covered yard and forgot my troubles for an afternoon.
As I went through the photos I decided that the best way to represent the day was to make a set of postcards. If you would like me to send you one leave your address in the comment block or e-mail me at elle.mental@yahoo.com

Postcard #2 from my Snowday postcard set

2011-01-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

During the month of December I had very little in my mailbox to knock off the Winter's chill. December is such a busy month. There are lots of activities and demands on time, so I am not surprised. I am really glad though that January is here and in it's frosty wake, a stack of letters from pen pals and mail art friends!

With a Heavy Heart

2010-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

It is strange how things happen sometimes... My husband is visiting friends in Tulum Yucatan, my son and I are visiting friends in Florida. This is unusual, I hardly ever travel without my husband, I usually stay home and hold down the fort while my husband and son do things. This time though, I felt the need to recharge and refresh. It has been a long year....So when the invitation to come to Florida for a visit arrived, I decided to break the mold, get a house sitter/pet sitter and go for it!
Well, Murphy's Law once again found me. As we were preparing to leave the house for our trip, I got a call from my Dad's wife. They have been in Canada visiting her kids and while they were out with friends my dad had a heart attack. There wasn't much information to work on, it was too early to tell what the prognosis would be. Since Daddy was in Canada and I couldn't be with him anyway, I decided to go ahead and travel to Florida to be with friends. The idea of sitting in the house waiting to hear something, without the loving arms of my husband to comfort us, was just too grim. At least if we were with friends, my son and I would have others that care about us with us while we waited. Unfortunately, soon after we arrived at the home of our friends, tragedy struck for them as well. Now we are taking turns propping each other up, speaking words of encouragement and trying to get through.
The days passed, I called Canada daily, the news was not good. Daddy was in a coma, his brain filled with fluid, his body was shutting down, but we were still hoping for a miracle. In my heart I knew that he was not strong enough to fight his way back... the toll that Agent Orange had taken on his body would make it difficult for him to recover. He spent much of his life as a soldier, a decorated hero, a man who put his life at risk to save others, but age and infirmity are our worst enemies. While it is possible to win a battle, eventually we all lose the war. He died last night.
Now with a heavy heart, I realize that I am the last of the family I grew up in. There is no one but me who remembers my childhood. I am the only one left to remember the lives of my dear family members, grandparents, brother, mother and now my dad. While all this is true, and I feel small and alone, I know that I am not alone. My heavenly Father has never left me alone, He has blessed me with His palpable presence everyday of my life. He has also blessed me with a loving husband, two great kids and friends that will help me find peace in the days to come.

Really Good News!

2010-12-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
Letter writing and mail art are in many ways about sharing little bits of our lives with each other, it is also about community. Well, I am shouting out in joy to my correspondence community to share with you some really good news.
I have mentioned on this blog that my husband has some life threatening health issues. He is a strong healthy man full of life and irrepressable optomism. He is the healthiest person I know, but he is walking around with a ticking timebomb in his head.We had to return from Costa Rica to have a second round of treatment earlier this year. Once they were inside his head they discovered that although the rogue blood vessels (dural fistula) at the back of his brain were in check, a much more threatening situation in his frontal lobe had developed. We decided to try a one time radiation treatment to wither the blood supply to the growths in the front of his brain. This was accomplished 3 months ago. Yesterday he had a follow up CT scan and this morning we found out from the doctors office that it looks like the blood vessels that supply blood to the fistula in the frontal lobe have begun to shrink!!! The doctor is very happy with the progress and it looks like there may be a prevention for a potentially fatal rupture in the front part of his brain. He still has many other fistula in his brain but the rest of them are in a less critical areas, and easier to reach for treatment. This is the best news we have had in a long time.
I am very grateful to God for His infinite mercy, for His love and patience with us as we struggled with fear and emotional paralysis. I know that God hears and answers prayer, I also know that sometimes the answer is no... but then...sometimes it is a resounding yes! I am so happy that Da has been given a new chance at life! One thing I have learned through all of this is that today IS the day you have... hold it precious, savor the time you have with those you love. Squeeze all the good out of every day, so that when you fall into bed exhausted, having truly lived the day, all you have left in you is gratefulness to the One who made it all possible! Shabbat is fast approaching and there is still much to do, so for now with all my heart I say thanks for your prayers, and caring emotional support. Shalom!!

The Blessing of Mailart Friends

2010-12-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

My mailbox has been sadly collecting dust of late... Life hasn't allowed for much time at my art table and the addage, "you have to send mail to get mail", is very true. At the moment all my mail art supplies are packed up in totes, sitting out in the barn in preparation for carpet to be laid on Tuesday. So I haven't had access to my paper, rubber cuts or ink pads. I have a couple of letters written that need to be mailed, but they will have to wait until I can get my stuff moved back into the house.

I do have a few really nice pieces of mailart to share with you from several weeks ago. My mail art friend Ahmet Demir sent me a set of his wonderful envies, I got a really nice surprise from Gregoris Kotsaris in Greece and an add and pass returned home from Samuel Montalvetti in Argentina. I am posting two of the three and will post a scan of the add and pass once I have mailed it to Hester, who blessed me with the floral card that was the base of the add and pass. I want her to see it first.

This wonderful set of four envies is from Ahmet Demir in Turkey.

The bicycle print is from Gregoris Kotsaris in Greece, a letter and goodies from Hester in Boston, an envie and artistamps from Julian in Chicago,and the envie that Ahmet's set of four came in.

We have now been back in the States six months. During that six months a lot of things have happened, good and bad; one of the good things that has come about is that I have reconnected with my letter writing and mail art friends. Sending and receiving mail has been a life saver for me throughout my life. It takes the edge off of lonliness and reaffirms my faith in the human race. I am so grateful for the friends I have made through the mail, as a whole they have been interesting, generous people with a large view of the world and an open heart. I am glad to say that I can now add blog writers and readers to that list. It is a pleasure to write and know that somewhere out there, people are reading( listening to) what I have to say and particpating in community with me. It is a joy! So for now, I will with a grateful heart, say thanks and blessings to you all.