Letters.

I know I am not alone in preferring to find a real envelope addressed to me rather than an email. I might be alone in not liking to call it "snail mail".
Hand written letters are an art form. I have boxes full of special letters and notes. They are treasures.

Letter writing was a Victorian ritual. There was care taken in every part of the letter.

Letter writing was a sweet part of the long distant relationship between my {now} husband and I. Of course, we did text and talk on the phone and email, but it's the letters and postcards and parcels that melted my heart. Letters are very dear to me.

I have several lovely friends with whom I exchange letters. Sometimes we fall out of the habit, thankfully we usually get back on track.
Most recently I've been exchanging letters with my half sister. She is 18 years older than me. She is the second child from my father's first marriage. I met her a few times growing up, but we never had a relationship. The last time I saw her was at my father's funeral in 1997. Thanks to Facebook we've connected. We've begun to get to know each other through letters.
I don't have much to remember my father by materially, but I do have some cards and notes that he'd given me. They are prized possessions.
I have a very special letter from my Grandfather relaying his life story for a project of mine in the 10th grade. That letter is floating around in my mother's attic some place, but I must find it. It is the only thing I have in my Grandfather's handwriting in his own words.

Regardless of the contents of the letter, because it is something so personal and thoughtful I treasure them so.

I don't only love receiving letters. I love writing them. I used to be a great collector of cards and stationary. I don't really buy it anymore. I'm still cruising on my vast collection. Two girls gave us personalised cards for wedding presents, and I have to tell you, next to my KitchenAid Mixer, they are fave presents! For our first (paper) anniversary a sweet thoughtful friend sent us note cards! She ticked a few of my boxes with that gift!




In case you've caught the letter writing bug and aren't sure where to start there are several websites out there dedicated to letter writing. The Letter Writing Alliance. The Letter Writing Alliance's mission statement is

In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item. The Letter Writers Alliance is dedicated to preserving this art form. Prepare your pen and paper, moisten your tongue, and get ready to write more letters!

They offer fun free downloadable stationary to boot!

Over at Indie Fixx there's

 Did you always want a pen pal when you were a kid? Were you one of those super lucky kids who actually had a pen pal? Either way, you can pop in and pick up a penpal! They also offer printable note cards and stationary.

I would love to have a penpal too, so you could start out by writing to me if you want! I'll write back! I promise! Just email me {MrsWooBlog@gmail.com} for my address if you wanna be penpals with me:)

 I'd better get my skates on, I've got a couple of things to post!