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

  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!

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

 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.



My Newest Artistamp

Well, I am happy to say that I am finally finished with my newest First Day of Issue! They are addressed, stamped and in the mail! If you are on my mailart mailing list you should be getting it in the mail in a couple of days. If you would like me to mail you a First Day of Issue cover of my newest artistamp, please leave a comment or e-mail me at elle.mental@yahoo.com.

A Day Out For My Birthday

  My birthday is in early November. Since my husband is very busy with election business this time of year, my birthday celebration is usually postponed until after "canvas", (when the results are officially reported to the State Board of Election). But this year he made a special effort to block out my official birthday and spend the day with me! That was a wonderful gift all by itself, but he had also made plans to take me out for a day of wandering around small towns with my camera, taking photographs.
  I love small towns. I am drawn to things that show the signs of age, not run down and shabby, but just greying around the edges (kind of like me...).   Coca Cola advertisements painted on the sides brick buildings, the paint peeling and faded from age and elements, intricate terra cotta mouldings from days gone by, narrow little alleys with a wrought iron gates at either end, are like candy to my minds eye. Over the years I have gathered up the essence of many a small town main street and kept them safe from further deterioration, photographically that is... I have a collection of Coca Cola wall paintings, (as well as other wall painted advetisements), from wherever we have traveled, all over the world, as well as from many places in the USA.

  On this particular foray we went to Belmont N.C., a lovely little town that gets it's claim to fame from Belmont Abbey, a private college with a campus that is renouned for its beautiful architecture.

On this trip I decided not to go to the campus, but to the mainstreet area of the old downtown. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, with just a bit if nip in the occasional breeze, the skies vivid blue with not a cloud to be seen. This sky would prove to be a perfect backdrop for some of my photographic finds. Since November shadows stretch out long and heavy fairly early in the afternoon, I was worried that I would have difficulty with deep shadows and too much contrast, but as it turned out we were there at the perfect time. Instead of struggling with deep shadows, I had the pleasure of playing with richly saturated color and chiseled edges. What fun! 

  Once home, I had to leave my photos in the camera, waiting until I had a some time to download and file them. Since the guys left yesterday afternoon for a few days of hunting, I was left to myself last night. So, I got the photos downloaded into my computer, filed and I even worked up a couple of post cards to send to family and one for my snail mail friends.

My favorite photo subjects

I know what he's thinking...
I just gotta have one of these...

 













Just for fun... I would love to add to my collection of photos of soda advertisements painted on building etc, if you have one in your local area, why don't you take a photo of it and send it to me, labeled with your name and the date of the photograph. In return, I will send you one from my collection and post the photos I receive to this blog with a credit. My Snail Mail addy is:
                                                                        Elle Mental
                                                                         POB 535
                                                                       Waxhaw, NC
                                                                                   28173

Until next time I hope to see you in the mail!
                                                                                   

A Busy Little Homestead

  The days are shorter, the fall leaf turn in progress and the nip in the air reminds me that I am no longer on my beloved mountain in Costa Rica. Mid October through early November are chaotic at our house. My husband works in the election industry as a consultant (non-political) and we cease seeing him around the house about mid October. His job demands leave little time for him to play his role at home so my son and I take up the slack.

  On our little homestead fall is a busy time, harvesting the last of the garden's produce, preparing the beds for fall planting, smoking peppers and cheese, dehydrating and canning, the kitchen is busy and soon the larders will be full to the brim with goodies to eat all winter. Unfortunately, between my husband being MIA for weeks and the garden/kitchen chores, I have not had time for my personal pursuits. I have a stack of letters waiting to be responded to and an artistamp First Day of Issue to finish, they call to me...

  The guys are out hunting this week so I am here to hold down the fort alone. The garden is mostly planted, the kitchen chores are still in que, but I am at a point where I can take a day or so and turn my attention to "my stuff". Hopefully, I will be mailing out some delinquent letters and finishing up my artistamp project today and tomorrow. One point of work stoppage still seems to be that I can't find a card stock that I like for my FDOI mail out. I guess if I am ever going to get it out I am just going to have to settle on what I can find locally and then work on a better paper source for the future. I am very excited about my little artistamp, I can't wait to see it in final form, stuck to it's First Day of Issue cards and in the mail box to all my snail mail friends. So hopefully very soon, I will see you in the mail!