A Month of Letters - off to a busy start

I am having a blast writing letters, making cards and sending mail since February started. As of February 10th I have sent 69 pieces of mail. Yep that is right, 69! I had quite a few Valentines to send out, but that only accounts for part of this number. I have been writing letters, birthday cards, thank yous and even a few just thinking about you notes. Here are some of the things I sent this week.

Weedy "Beady" Sea Dragon  quilted postcard to a friend. I painted the fabric then stitched and beaded.

It says 2012 because he was all finished except the eye until about a week ago. I finally found the perfect eye for him.

I have also had mail coming in. Some from friends and pen pals already established prior to February 1st. I have also received letters from some new Lettermo.com friends. How fun it is to meet new people! Here are some of the surprises I have received.

I am busy finishing up a few things to go into today's mail. - Love the 3 day weekend for me, when the post office is still open! I sent these out on Monday.

Fiji Water bottles, fun square shape, used to send a message in a bottle. I stuck little erasers, pencils and other cute items in the bottles through a slit cut on the side. Then sealed the slit, Labeled them and off to the post office I went.

This is one of the Valentine Cards I created this year to send out. 

Valentine I received from LB one of my Cricut Buddies, along with all the rest of the mail I had received the past week or so from the Month of Letters Challenge.

I suppose it is time to get back to writing letters now.

February 1st! Let the Letter Writing Begin!

By the time this is posted, 5:30 AM, it will be February 1st, the first official day of the "Month of Letters" challenge.





I have my first postcards ready to go out today. Just in time for one of my favorite holidays, Groundhog Day!

A few of these cards are also heading out for friends and fun.

I don't have a clue why I like this so much, but I do. Maybe it is the adorable fuzzy little guy that we are celebrating. Maybe it is the funny reason for the holiday. I don't know.

I just learned about a cute little Post Office in Vermont that is in need of some mail support.

Isn't is cute?!

It has recently had its hours cut. In order to keep it from closing altogether, Jane Davies has proposed a postcard campaign as a way to increase volume of mail passing through it's quaint halls. I will be working on a few Etegami cards to send her way. In the meantime, I share Jane's original blog post about the Post Office and her challenge.

A Bit of Comfort on a Rainy Day

Before I get to my topic, can I just say, I am so glad it is Friday evening. I am exhausted. My students were quite wound up after the 3 day weekend and then 2 days of rainy day scheduling (indoor recess...) I have been enjoying quiet and calm at home this evening.

Now that I have that off my chest, I am going to share a bit of what I think of as comfort food. It may seem funny to you. I am a Scots - Portuguese California native that finds everyday Japanese food to be comfort food. I lived in Japan for 2 years while in my mid-twenties. And yet I find myself at times thinking "when I was growing up in Japan." I suppose in some ways I did. I learned a great deal about myself while I was there. I love the culture, the people and the landscape.

Tonight, while wandering the grocery store aisles, I decided to make Okonomiyaki. It is a regional food found in cafes and train stations. It is a savory cabbage pancake. So I grabbed a coleslaw mix (shredded green and purple cabbage, with carrots) and a bell pepper. I had the rest of the stuff needed at home. Typically the mixture included shrimp or thin slices of meat such as ham/bacon. I am not a huge fish fan, so I dug through the fridge at home to add some tasty ingredients of my own. There was crumbled bacon, diced bell pepper, a bit of grated ginger and chopped garlic, and some cubed fresh mozzarella.

Oishii desu! (Delicious) I haven't made this in awhile but have to remember it is quite quick and simple. And YUMMY!

Here is the website I used for the recipe. I used regular flour, no starch additive. It was fine. Make sure not to over mix though. I was making only one for myself, I did cut the batch in half and it was perfect. Love the variations on this page.

I like it with the sauce they recommend.

Easy Okonomi Sauce Recipe:
Mix 3 tbs of ketchup, with 1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, with 1 tsp of Soy Sauce. 

(Taken from Okonomiyaki World site)

On an artistic note, I sent out my first Etegami. I found some watercolor postcards in my stash of art supplies. I painted another umbrella and sent it off with a quick note to my mother in law. It is definitely winter and wet where she is outside Seattle. So a bit of color should bring a smile to her face.