My kind of soft drink!

My husband found this Dr Pepper bottle featuring postage stamps. It appears to be a part of the "Pick Your Pepper" promotion the soft drink company first launched last year to celebrate self-expression.

According to a news release last summer, the hundreds of unique designs were inspired by "various millennial passion point categories." That must mean that stamps -- and maybe letter writing, snail mail, analog communications, etc. -- are still relevant and interesting!

Other designs include unicorns, fireworks, cassette tapes and many more. Have you seen one yet?

Outgoing mail

I got up bright and early this morning and wrote four postcards to Postcrossing.com members. Are you a member of Postcrossing? It's a great way to connect with people all over the world! Check it out if you love sending and receiving postcards. Some Postcrosing participants are interested in "direct swaps" and/or regular letter writing, but not all are.

I'm also sending out a letter to a friend today. I love using vintage (never used, of course) stamps!

Monday morning roundup of articles about letter writing

From the Irish News

Here's a Monday morning roundup of recent stories in the news about letter writing. Enjoy!

Penpals meet in Boulder, Colorado, for the first time after corresponding for 60 years. Read the story in the Boulder Daily Camera.

A letter collector writes about the joys of letters. Read the story in the Irish News.

Some celebrity penpals are strange pairings. Read more in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Three writers pen the letters they never wrote but wish they had. From the Belfast Telegraph.
 

To write or not to write about politics

There seems to be quite a bit of political turbulence world-wide nowadays, and I'm curious if people who have international penpals discuss politics in their correspondence.

I would have to say that I usually don't write about politics in my letters, mostly because I'm not very confrontational, and I don't want to offend anyone. But, I'm happy to answer questions from my penpals, even offer up my opinion, if I'm asked for it.

I think that the longer a correspondence continues, the more likely penpals are to write about such matters. Once they get to know each other better, through their letters, they are more comfortable being open and honest about things like that.

How about you? Do you write about politics or any other controversial topic in your letters?

Letter writing finds a new generation of fans

From the Grand Haven Tribune.

Thanks to two Michigan school teachers -- who just happen to be mother and daughter -- a new generation has discovered the joys of letter writing.

According to the story in the Grand Haven Tribune, Trisha Larsen and her daughter, Georgeanne Larsen, live in western Michigan. They teach kindergarten in towns just across the Grand River from each other. And, since February, their students have struck up a correspondence.

One of the things the students have learned is how they like the same types of things that the kids in the other school like. What a great way to teach the youngsters about the world, even if it isn't that far away!

Read the full story online at the Tribune.

USPS stamp honors philosopher Henry David Thoreau

Last month, the U.S. Postal Service introduced a new stamp celebrating writer, philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau during the bicentennial year of his birth. Thoreau was born July 12, 1817.

He is likely best known for his book "Walden," detailing his experiences of living for two years in a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau wrote many more books, essays, poems, articles, etc. And, he also wrote many letters, which have also been collected and published. 

In one letter to his sister, a 20-year-old Thoreau wrote:

 "...letter-writing too often degenerates into a communicating of facts, and not of truths; of other men's deeds and not our thoughts. What are the convulsions of a planet, compared with the emotions of the soul? or the rising of a thousand suns, if that is not enlightened by a ray?"

The USPS stamps are available in blocks of four or 10 and as a sheet of 20. Additionally, you can order a digital color postmark, first-day cover, framed art piece, a ceremony program and more. Visit usps.com or your local post office.

Weather gives us something to write about!

This photo of the cholla cactus flowers at our house shows bright skies. Today, it's cloudy with a chance of rain.

 

It's not yet summer here in the northern hemisphere -- there's still almost three weeks to go -- but already we've had 100+ temperatures here in this part of Texas. Last week, the thermometer topped the century mark at least two days. Fortunately, this week, we've had more clouds and a little bit of rain, so it's cooled off somewhat, only reaching the upper 80s and lower 90s.

Does the weather affect your letter writing? Do you tend to write more if it's cold and/or rainy and you're stuck inside? Or, do you write more when you can go sit outside on the patio or in the hammock?

At the very least, the weather gives us something to write about. If you're experiencing letter writers' block, try writing a few paragraphs about the weather. Tell your letter's recipient what it's like where you are. How does it make you feel? What's your favorite type of weather?

If you find yourself wondering what to write this weekend, try writing a weather letter. Maybe even delight your penpal with a sketch of your atmosphere!

Happy letter writing!