Oct 2022 from Maggie - dreams

 We see many floral designs done with pointed nibs from Maggie. This is a lovely side trip into illustration - a dream catcher. I wonder if I need a dream catcher because I have some pretty wacky dreams. Some of them are on the verge of nightmares. A recurring theme is that I am driving and the brakes don't work. 

We do not need to do a search on Google for dream interpretation - because we will find the obvious suggestions that I am feeling out of control, like a failure, stressed, or angry about something.

But this one (which I found when I Googled to validate my guesses)  is a little different than anything I would have come up with:

5. Out of Focus

If in the dream the car brakes are not working, it could be a sign of misdirection or focusing on the wrong things in life. Chances are, the dreamer is stressing over small details instead of enjoying the big picture.

If you feel like you are constantly struggling to keep up with the demands of work, school, or your personal life, this dream may be a sign that you need to take a step back and reassess your priorities.

Maybe we’re worried about an upcoming deadline at work, or a looming family disagreement. Whatever the case may be, these dreams are a way for our subconscious to tell us that we need to get a handle on things.It is important to remember that you cannot do everything on your own; sometimes it is necessary to ask for help. This dream can be a powerful tool for self-reflection.

***

Well -- staying focused is a fairly obvious thing we need to do - as we proceed through the day to day distractions. Note to self: stay away from dreams as an add-on topic.

Oct 2022 from Mary

Here's another nice raven design. I like how Mary's raven is eying the stamp. Her little double line block printing is worth noting, too. Below is a card - and I can never tell which part is done by hand and which is digitally printed. I miss the days when I had a color printer right next to my desk. Although those days contributed to the backlog of things that I should have been doing - resulting in the difficult game of catch-up that plagues me daily. <sigh>

I'm not allowing myself time to dig into the stacks and find this - but, as I recall, the patterned part was collaged on top. If you imagined this rectangle with the lion a bit smaller, leaving room for a stamp and an address - it's a steal worthy idea for an envelope.
 

***

As I do a quick review of this on Jan 17 - a week before this is to pop up - I see that I do not have an add-on. I need to get my Jan envelopes in the mail - and keep having the idea of reposting inspiration pieces that have arrived with my own versions - so maybe that will happen....

***

Mary and Chuck both provided a very nice add-on - a picture of that Babylonian clay tablet that I mentioned. Here is a link to an article about it. 

https://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/speccoll/tag/clay-tablet/

It is being held by a hand that is wearing a white cotton glove - so you can see that it is as wide as three fingers. The photo that I have somewhere - of my own hand holding it - does not have the glove. I think I know which computer it is on -- I might do another search...

Jan 2023 from Mia to Chuck

 

This post is different in that it is a January exchange envelope popping up in January (of the same year). I woke up at 5 am on Thursday and there was no new post - so, I quickly moved the Fri and Sat posts into Thur and Fri -- and then grabbed the first image I could find to fill Saturday. So here I am writing a brand new post only two days before it will pop up.

Sometimes people send me images of envelopes that they figure I will like - when I am not on their list -- which is what Chuck did. And -yes- I like this a lot - I'm intrigued with the lettering and I have quite a few  circle templates - so I am thinking I'll be taking them out for a spin. It's always fun to see the Canadian stamps on Mia's envelopes.

***

I'm not going to get myself all worked up about how I have missed the *time slot* on two posts in January. I'll just make a note to be more conscientious about scheduling and proofing posts. In 10 days I will be returning to brain rehab to talk with people about how I have done on my 6 month DIY rehabbing. They do not call it DIY - but that's pretty much what it is.

They had given me about a hundred different things (exercise-ish activities) over 3 months - and then gave me the assignment of implementing these things (on my own) for 6 months. I just read an article (a.n.o.t.h.e.r..a.r.t.i.c.l.e) about treating brains as well as the people who are hauling their brains around in a body that is connected to the brain and e.v.e.r.y.d.a.m.n.a.r.t.i.c.l.e is very thorough about explaining that the people who deal in these issues 

1 - don't really understand how a lot of it works

and

2 - often disagree on any *findings*

Not to worry - I am not disturbed by any of this -- I continue to believe that the brain work that goes into the blog is maintaining my good attitude and certain kinds of functioning. Thank you to readers and exchangers who are my virtual-re-habbers.

Oct 2022 from Sharon - MCEscher (2nd of 2)

That is one fine layout. It reminds me that several years ago I ran an envelope with an alligator and the name was inside the mouth. I was going to do a whole series of animals and never did. I love the stamp in the mouth. Maybe there should be (will be) a series with stamps getting chomped.

***

If you read yesterday's post super early - you might have missed a couple comments and some links provided by Mary. So, feel free to back-track if you are a fan of Escher.

Here is someone who was inspired to build a 3D version of a famous Escher piece. It boggled my mind. I wasn't all that interested in the actual 3D piece - I was more interested in seeing the techniques the guy used to build it.

LINK to 3D Escher work

It was hard finding a shot that gave a good impression of what he was building. I think this was the inspiration. I'm not sure if there are variations of this image - or if this is the only one he did like this. Sorry - no time to do thorough research.

 

Oct 2022 from Susan - MCEscher

Sorry this is late - again -- same excuse as usual.

Apologies to people (Chuck, Sydney, and Mary) who have left comments - that I did not get OKed to appear on the blog. Every once in a while the comment approval emails go into the Spam folder and I forget to check that folder. Chuck knew the clues were for Winona Ryder - but did he know on the first clue? Sydney does not have a name for that cool font. And Mary had lots of nice things to say on a variety of topics.

 Susan has several things going on here that contribute to a charming envelope. The simplicity of the name and address are very nice. The basic black stamp reminds me to stock up on basic black stamps the next time the USPS issues a basic black design. Plopping the pumpkin in the pie shell is so cute. All the detail in the drawing is something else that adds to the charm.

***

How many of us know anything about MC Escher? People from my *era* saw his work everywhere when we were in our teens and 20s - and it's had some real staying power. I started watching the documentary and then flipped over to read the Wiki article about him and it was very interesting.

The documentary had a very early reference to him stating that he was not an artist - he was a mathematician. 

LINK to documentary on YouTube about MCEscher

LINK to Wiki article on MCEscher

There is no way to find out - but I'd be curious to know if there is a single person reading this who does not recognize his work. Maybe people can't come up with his name - but they recognize the style. And here is another question (I'm guessing Chuck will know) were there any other artists who worked in this style at the same time? 

Gosh, I'm full of questions. I know that those *puzzle* pieces are called tessellation's. But are there tother names for other kinds of puzzle/math/geometric features in his work? 

***

Don't miss the valuable information that Mary has left in the comment below. Thanks, Mary. I appreciate readers who do the research before 9am CST - so that I can provide these prompt updates.

Oct 2022 from Rachael - answer to quiz

 Answer to yesterday's quiz: Winona Ryder. I lived in Winona, Minnesota for 5 years. It is a charming little town on the Mississippi River. 

I like the style of Rachael's lettering and the arrangement of the elements. The hand and spider make it a halloween theme - but, I think the overall design would work for any number of themes - including valentine's day. I have not even started my Jan exchange envelopes - so maybe I will. I only ended up on one list this month.

And then there is the card. It is soooooo cute. The little skull on the string can be *wound up* so that when you open the card, it spins. Cute to the nth degree. Again -- it could be a whole valentine theme with a spinning heart. Or there are probably a gazillion other things to attach to the thread that would look cute spinning.

And I mustn't forget to mention the splatters on the envelope - very nice detail.

***

Here is a reminder - requesting exchangers to send me photos of the envelopes they make before they send them - to insure that I have a good supply of images for the blog. I'm getting less and less optimistic that I will ever return to the original volume of creative output. And we all know -- this blog would be worthless without an envelope every day. Thank you to the people who have sent photos -- all 3 of you --- out of how many? Well -- I don't know he exact number off the top of my head - but it's definitely in the double digits. 

Oct 2022 from Kristine - NameDrop update

 

Kristine was inspired to do her take on a clothesline -- I like it a lot - especially the way the stamp is dangling. Outlining stickers is also a good idea.

***

I hesitate to jabber about this - but, there are a few readers who enjoy the morning puzzles and games that some of us do. I really enjoy Name Drop - 6 clues/chances to guess who the mystery person is. I do not do very well at all. Half of them I don't know or get wrong. Of the ones I get - it is usually on the very last clue - or once in a while the second to the last clue. I kept wonder if I would e.v.e.r. know who the person was on the very first clue. Bingo. On Dec 2, I knew who it was on the first clue.

For those of you who do not play the game - I will post the answer tomorrow.

Here are the clues:

• CLUE 6

  I’m named for my birthplace in southeastern Minnesota, and I returned there to film a 2020 Super Bowl ad for Squarespace, in which I wear a trapper hat and recline in a snowbank.

• CLUE 5

  A 1994 movie opens with my character giving a commencement speech, in which she reflects on her generation’s refusal “to work an eighty-hour week just so we can afford to buy their BMWs.”

• CLUE 4

  Other memorable lines I’ve delivered include “Dear diary, my teen-angst bullshit has a body count” and “My whole life is a darkroom. One big, dark room.”

• CLUE 3

  Literary characters I’ve portrayed onscreen include May Welland, in “The Age of Innocence”; Abigail Williams, in “The Crucible”; and Jo March, in 1994’s “Little Women.”

• CLUE 2

  After stepping back from acting for nearly a decade, I experienced a career renaissance in the twenty-tens, when I played an aging ballerina, in “Black Swan,” and Joyce Byers, in “Stranger Things.”

• CLUE 1

  After landing my breakout role as a teen-ager, in the dark comedy “Beetlejuice,” I went on to star in such films as “Heathers,” “Reality Bites,” and “Girl, Interrupted.”

Oct 2022 from JeanR - Troy's mail art links

Pretty stamp - inspired a cool design - and JeanR included a card that needs to be seen in person to be appreciated. I have no idea what all she used. It reminds me of some of the things people do with things that rust. I love the sentiment on the inside of the card - with the map collage:

Feeling Frazzled: even the map doesn't know where I'm going.

Troy sent the following links and asked me if I knew about them. Yes, I have known about both for quite a while. The top one is the one for people who like international mail art exhibits. Anyone can post a call for entries. Sometimes they want actual mail sent - other times they are fine if you just send something digital. Lots of fun themes. I responded to a few back in the olden days when I had my studio. I used the activity as a way to de-stress after working on jobs.

I never participated in the second one - but you can read through and see how it works. you can choose an individual and just exchange between the two of you. Or you can sign up for what they call *swaps* where you send a stack of mail art to the hostess - and she collects from a bunch of people and then she divvies up the postcards and you get a stack in return. I don't think the postcards go in the mail - but I could be wrong about that. I don't think that the lettering is a feature at all - which is why I was never interested in participating. But - it's a perfect exchange opportunity for people who like collage or drawing and painting or mixed mediums.

http://mailartprojects.blogspot.com/

and

https://mailmesomeart.blogspot.com/

Thank you Troy for reminding me about these.

Oct 2022 from Kate - Tip 5 - shoot it

 

Perfect layout and colors -- using a very versatile stamp. I'd say more about what Kate might have used on this - but, I would have to take a break from blurb writing - and that's not allowed while I am enforcing my new system. The main thing is to type - halloween - so that this will pop up when we are searching for ideas in Oct. I think it is a rubber stamp and embossing powder.

***

Tip 5 in how to manage your hoard is to *shoot it.* Take a picture of all the random scraps, layouts, ideas, fonts, whatever - that are cluttering up your drawers, files, life - and post them on a blog. I might crosspost these so that I can find them all in one spot rather than searching on the blog. I think I can organize them by creating categories - which might be helpful. At the very least - this is allowing me to throw away scraps of paper that have been following me around for years.

The first item was something other than what is posted here - I contacted the person who made the item requesting permission to post it and they regretfully declined. So - this alternative item is not something that has been in my hoard for a long time - but, it was a fun little project and I tend to forget these things - so it will be fun to have it in my digital folder of fun little projects.

My son stopped over with a rough draft of a get well card that someone had done at work. He asked if I could make an actual card. They wanted it to look like an eye chart. I said I could do it on the computer. He said -- No -- they wanted it to look hand done. OK - so I printed out an eye chart for reference and made the card. A few days later - he related all of the comments from people who had seen the card at work - who were amazed that someone could do something like that by hand.

Here is the rough draft. I'm actually impressed with the person's understanding of fonts. He knew that eye charts have those big square serifs. This was about 2"x3"

And here is my 5"x7" card.

The person to whom the card was sent had some kind of eye surgery - and his name is Kabongo Kabongo. I didn't get his first name centered on the envelope - so wrote the second name, stacked - to even it out.

I am sooooo rusty.

Everyone liked the fine print at the top - Official USPS Vision Test.

And this is the inside

Oct 2022 from Janet - Tip 4 - what if?

 Once again, Janet's envelope gets the stealworthy tag. This would work beautifully for Valentine's Day which is a month away. I generally forget to post valentine ideas ahead of time. I wish I were organized enough to do a valentine variation of this - but, I am on a blurb writing binge and must keep myself focused. 

***

Tip 4

This tip speaks to the motivation to get this stuff done. It asks: what if I die and someone else has to go through this stuff. Unless you already have someone lined up who is excited to go through your stuff - it's likely that you would be leaving a difficult chore to someone who will not appreciate it. Having all the like-items together will be a huge help. If that's the only step you get around to - it will probably be very helpful. Not to mention that you, too, will have a better idea of where your stuff is. 

Fabrics are one of my items that are getting consolidated. I simply chose the largest container of all - a Rubbermaid trash can - new and clean. It is not that convenient if I want something at the bottom - but, it works - and if I die before I finish those projects - it will be super easy for my heirs to list it on CraigsList - under the Free category. I have no doubt that any number of people will be racing over to collect a *treasure chest* for their own hoard.

Then there are the large pieces hanging in closets. Soon they will all be together - and that will be so helpful. 

Oct 2022 from Diana - Tip 3 - don't touch it

 

I really like this arrangement of rubber stamping and stickers. It's very cute - and I like cute. The careful coloring in so that there is a little pop of red adds a lot. The candy corn and stars are whimsical. It is also a fairly small envelope and there is just something very sweet about the tiny envelopes.

And Chuck sent me a photo of the one he received. Thank you Chuck. 

***

OK - here is a tip that was new to me - but so helpful. It came from an episode of Hoarders. I had not seen that program in quite some time - but the studio-fairy conked me on the head one evening when I was too tired to do anything and needed something to keep me awake so I didn't fall asleep too early. If you ever feel hopeless - just tune in to Hoarders - and I'm pretty sure you'll feel like you can pull yourself together.

Tip 3. 

This new tip helped me understand why I have trouble pitching things that are really not important - but can't quite *let go.* Here is what's going on: when you actually touch something, it makes it harder to let go of it.

The woman on the episode of Hoarders where I learned this was very different from the usual people who are living in complete and utter squalor. This woman had everything in a nicely labeled plastic bins. Her house was tidy - but it was so full of organized boxes that there was no room left to actually do anything. 

The person helping her pointed out that it would be easier for her to say goodby to her stuff if she just sat in a chair and helpers held the things up in front of her and asked her if she was OK with donating the stuff. She had been a school teacher and most of her stuff could be donated to people who could use it. There is something that happens when people touch their things that make is more difficult to let them go.

So - I do not need to get someone to come over and do this with me. It was just super helpful to realize that I needed to ignore the emotional tugging as I pitched the stuff.

Oct 2022 from Chuck - Tip 2 - smaller chunks

 Ooops - late post again - need to proof the clock.

Welcome to the beginning of the Oct 2022 envelope. In a perfect world, I would run them in Oct of 2023 - but, I've had so many years of losing both the images as well as the actual envelopes - or to be more accurate - misfiling. I don't lose things - I misfile them. I've spent nearly 13 years thinking I would get a handle on a system. That dream is gone. You're going to get things in random order - and if you want to complain - go right ahead. I do not recommend complaining. It won't change anything. If I remember to use the word halloween in every blurb - and all y'all learn how to use the search feature -- you can pull these up next time you are looking for halloween ideas.

Cool lettering, Chuck.

***

Tip 2. 

Another tip that we have all heard before - handle the mail once - don't leave it in a pile to be dealt with later. Toss the junk mail - put the bills in the bill folder - put the correspondence in the correspondence folder - etc. Finding ways to extend this concept beyond the mail is helpful. I've found myself with way too many piles or boxes of items that I sorta want to keep, but I sorta don't, and indecision keeps me in gridlock.

I know Marie Kondo is pretty emphatic about attacking everything at once - but some of us have to break the process down into smaller parts. I can see that her method would be better - but, if you simply can't do it all at once - at the very least - choose an area to *fix* and once you have one area *fixed* make sure you sustain that area. If you turn over that new leaf and maintain order in that one place that you *fixed* - you will gain a lot of confidence that you can extend that order to broader areas. 

Once you get one room *fixed* - maintain it. And if for any reason - there is slippage - don't let it go too far - just pull yourself together - and restore it to where it is supposed to be - pat yourself on the back - and move forward.

Nov 2022 from Sydney - Tip one - like items

Well, this is going to drive me crazy. I know I have seen this lettering somewhere. But where? Maybe Sydney will tell us. Or maybe someone else recognizes it. I love it. I hope to try it -- it's so lovely. 

***

We are finally getting to the tips for restoring order - or if there has never been order -- adopting an exciting new and orderly lifestyle.

Tip 1.

 Keep like items (ALL of them) in the same place. It's so easy to fill a space and have some leftovers and then look for a place to tuck them - but it's impossible to remember where all your paper is if it is spread around in 5 different places. Granted - there are different sizes of paper - so you need to factor that in -- but - figuring out a way to keep all the like items together is essential. This is why Marie Kondo insists that you never buy your storage containers until you have figured out what size container you need for whatever LIKE ITEMS you have decided to keep.

This is not exactly easy - but I'm here to tell you that it is helpful and also IMHO essential. And don't forget to keep lists of where you are putting your stuff. I've had a heck of a time trying to remember where things are. But, that might be a side effect of my brain issues.

The only exception would be when you need to store the large sheets of 24x36 paper in a different place from all the 8.5x11 and 9x12 paper. You are allowed two places for things that are wildly different sizes.

There is a second level advantage to doing this. You allot a certain amount of space to each item and if you start over-collecting and a space is full, you are required to edit. You may not put the overflow into a space that is not an official space for that item.

Nov 2022 from Susan - The hoarding/organization topic (digression)

I ran a photo - previously - that Susan was kind enough to send - of all her November envelopes - but it's fun to see these two a little bigger. I still have a full sheet -- and hope to think of something as good as this - but it's going to be hard.

***

Even though I digressed yesterday, I didn't want to delete anything because I figured it might make sense to a couple readers who grew up in a house with people who didn't really understand their art (and art supply hoarding). Even though, as an adult, I indulged myself in some serious collecting of art supplies - I knew a ton of people who were much further out on the bell curve than I was/am. By the time I had a studio and a free lance business - I was pretty good about keeping things organized.

And here is another digression - while I have some art clutter out in the open, I certainly enjoy having drawers and closets very orderly. MrWilson is the opposite. Zero clutter - but IMHO - the inner sanctum is embarrassing. To each their own.

Sorry to be off track again. I promise that tomorrow I will get to the point. In the meantime - be thinking about whether you have chaos everywhere or are there some places that are harder than others to keep organized.

Nov 2022 from Patty - hoard reduction

This is pretty and you are all expecting me to rave about the white space - yup - I love it. I like the colors, too. The add-on topic today is about being organized -and since Patty is a local - I have seen how organized she is. Maybe she would like to tell us some stories about where she thinks her organizational skills came from. Or maybe she will divulge some little corner - out of sight - which is a *mess.*

 ***

The topic of hoard reduction has been popping up for years now and I won't go back and look for them, but I am fairly certain that some of my readers (fellow hoarders) have asked me to pass along any tips that I might have. I have a really good one. Actually, it is a combination of two or three. 

This topic will be with us for a few days. Apologies to those of you who were blessed with an organizational gene. I know you are out there. I grew up with one who was 99% (mom) and a dad who was about 90% and a BigHelpfulBrother who was about 100%. Technically you can't put numbers on things like this. Suffice it to say, my brother and I played a game one time when we needed to pick something up from our mom's house and she was not there. We laughed at how easy it was to find anything in her house because for our entire lives everything was in a place and we knew her *filing system.*

I only gave mom a score of 99% because the BigHelpful Brother is a 100% and I can't really say what it is that makes me feel like he deserves to score higher than Mom. Dad only got 90% because he would hang onto scraps of wood, etc. DK and I got a little misty when we tossed some of the carefully labeled cans and boxes of miscellaneous items in his shop. Several had come from Dad's - so - I guess all three of them get 100%.

And what kind of score do you think they gave me? Without going too deep - we'll just say that there is no resentment, but, my artsy side was not popular. They put up with me. But, I knew I was odd-man-out. Grrrr - this is getting to be too long. Sorry. 

Nov 2022 from Lynne and Troy - common ground and clay tablets

Lynne did leaves for Ellen's birthday mailing and Troy did uncials. I'm pretty sure Ellen likes kraft paper as much as I do. It was imprinted on her from an early age because I was quite fond of making things out of kraft paper. There were a bunch of snowflake ornaments that I finally discarded this year. I don't think anyone will miss them. I discarded the tree, too. 

***

And another thing about labeling things using the terms *art* and *artist* - and my apologies if I keep saying the same thing over and over -- but, it makes me happy that it is a conversation that tends to generate many different perspectives, but it also generates a significant amount of tolerance between people - tolerance for respecting those differences. 

Many of *the arts* find common ground between people - even people who are from wildly different backgrounds. So, that's a good thing.

An old memory just jumped to the forefront of my mind. It's one of those random tidbits of information  that stuck in my head even though I've long since forgotten the origin. I learned that our brains are born with all kinds of *abilities* - things that work and accomplish stuff and direct us towards functioning. I guess we could even call them instincts - since they are things that develop on their own. But there is one ability that we are not born with - reading. 

Maybe everyone already knows that. And maybe I've heard that before - but somehow it didn't really sink in until quite recently. It made me wonder what it would be like to live in a world without reading. I guess I did know the part of the evolution of writing where the origin of writing things down centered around record keeping. I know I've written about the oldest *book* in the special collection at the U of Iowa. It is a Babylonian clay tablet -- and it is a receipt for goat.

I can't find my photo of the clay tablet. Maybe Chuck can find it in his archive -- I know he is the one who took the photo.

Nov 2022 from Leslie - Guest ranting

 

The image of the back is upside down so we can see what Leslie wrote on the flap - which was flipped up. It looks like it might say something - but it might be very artistic scribbling. I'm surprised that I don't do scribbling any more. Maybe I should try it again. I wonder how many of the readers have never tried scribbling. It might seem like a ridiculous idea. Maybe I should look for some tutorials. The formal terms for scribbling are gestural or asemic - and once again - I am not sure of the spelling of that word - but do not have time to search right now.

***

Well this is fun. On the day I requested topics for ranting - I received a lovely list from a loyal reader -- and some of the topics on their list are things that I do. So - I'm wondering how to respond. I don't think it is important which of our readers sent in the list - but, it does give me a lot to talk about that is somewhat related to envelopes/art/art supplies. It also relates to the bigger picture of how we integrate our lives with the chores we have to do and the creative activities that feed our souls.

At some point in early November, while looking for something else, I ran across an old blog post form 2015 discussing my I'm-SERIOUS-this-time declaration that I was going to get my hoard reduced. This would have been back during the time I had a studio - 1500 square feet of cherished art supplies, etc.

What is it about hoard reduction that is so difficult? 

As luck would have it, as I delve into books that may or may not have some strategies for working with my *new* brain, I've actually stumbled across some information that is interesting and might be tipping me into the zone that I have been attempting to enter.

(Apologies for the lack of structure or making a point today - just rambling.)

Nov 2022 from Chuck - 700x20 art books

Sorry this is late today - I forgot to set the timer for 1 am.

 Chuck's November envelopes are fun. I appreciate the clear addressing for the post office. I've been pondering a review of all of my posts (5,500+) - and even went back to the very beginning. I had forgotten that within a couple weeks of starting the blog, I was posting mail from other people. Chuck's envelope was the very first non-Jean envelope to appear on the blog. 

 

Here is a link - http://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-mailbox_25.html

***

I hope the discussion of art and artists and the definitions is not driving people away. All y'all have probably noticed how the blog posts are an array of tangents. Imagine that old game Pick-Up-Sticks. Each stick is a blog post. With no rhyme or reason.

Something made me wonder how many books start with - The Art of...

I searched my library and there were over 750 pages - and each page had 15-20 books. Not every book had those three words as the very first three words - but the word *art* appeared.

Here is just a partial list. I only looked at the first 3 pages of over 750 pages. I am skeptical that there are actually 750x20 books that start with The Art of *whatever* - Maybe those 14,000 books include any title that starts with the word *The*

I was surprised how many I have read. There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the order of these books - and I was wondering how many to post. I figured that at some point, there would be a book that would tell me when to quit - and sure enough -- there was. 

Of course, I did a search for a book called *The Art of Quitting* - and did not find that exact title - but I did find several books that look very interesting - including that last one on the list.

The art of hearing heartbeats 

The art of detection 

The art of war

The art of gathering

The art of fielding

The art of memoir

The art of mending

The art of theft

The art of the wasted day

The art of violence

The art of making memories

The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing

The art of travel

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

The art of asking

Remember: the science of memory, and the art of forgetting

The art of fermentation

The art of dying well

The art of fiction

The art and craft of hand lettering

The art of conversation

The art of Lego design

The art of the engineer

The art of whimsical lettering

Thomas Jefferson: the art of power

The art of thinking clearly

The art of living: peace and freedom in the here and now

The art of fabric collage

The art of happiness at work

The art of the common any place: the agrarian essays of Wendell Berry

The art of losing: poems of grief and healing

The art of mindful living

The art of knitting

The art of discarding: how to get rid of clutter, and find joy

The art of noticing: 131 ways to spark creativity, find inspiration, and discover joy in the everyday 

Catherine Langsdorf - rock stars are typical

 

From the olden times - 2009 - a year before I started my blog.

http://longvillagelettering.blogspot.com/2009/09/whimsical-decorations.html

The envelope is from Catherine Langsdorf's blog. I emailed with her way back when. She's put *the studio is closed* on her blog. This popped up on Pinterest. You could spin some ideas off the layout with the large name on top - clotheslines last name and then the rest of the address in clearly lettered caps. You wouldn't need to do birds - you could do flowers or gnomes or anything. 

***

Here I am - circling back to the declaration I made back in November that rock stars are *typical.* At the time, I didn't think that it made any sense to try to convince anyone who might disagree with me. My perspective is just one perspective - and everyone has a unique perspective. But, I do have another random comment:

No matter what you do or create (do-ers are the musicians/dancers/actors/etc - creators produce tangible items) - your product is still a product - separate from you, the person.  You and your product are the Venn diagram of two intersecting circle. There are various degrees of overlap - but, IMHO, 100% overlap is so far out on the bell curve that it seems like it might be problematic.

Apologies for combining the Venn diagram with the bell curve, but this is just me, rambling.

We don't need to debate my premise - because technically, everyone wins - because all viewpoints are valid. If someone insists that they are synonymous with their product - they are correct - for them. I'm vigilant about allowing every possible possibility. We can both be right and wrong at the same time. Yin/yang. 

So back to those rock stars who IMHO are mostly *typical* people. 

To me, typical means you manage to balance all the different things going on in your life. Some people adhere to established systems and philosophies, others are out-of-the-boxers who dabble in things randomly. But, whenever people cross paths - the rock stars tend to be kind to everyone else and grateful for their success. They are often teachers and mentors. Very few of them seek to live on pedestals. 

***

A real time comment - the number of emails recently from people who have had the covid or various other kinds of crud - is a large enough number that I just wanted to give a shout out to the people who do not keep me posted on what's going on - and are suffering through *whatever.* Hang in there.

Nov 2022 from Maggie - trigger/inspire

 

I'm not sure I have mentioned the stamp in all of the 2023 posts. I'm pondering whether I want to mention Truck Stamp in this one. It seems like I'd be more interested in both car and truck stamps. Maybe not. What I do find immensely steal-worthy about this one is that rectangle and the scene at the top. It seems like there would be a ton of ways to use a rectangle below the stamp for something. At least we have steal-worthy in this blurb so that it will pop up next time we a looking for inspiration.

***

Speaking of inspiration...

...back in Nov - when I was editing posts right before they popped up, there was the new chore-avoidance *thing* I had shared - just another way to find rabbit holes and follow them and then -perhaps-  you would run across something that would *trigger some creative ideas.* 

I had written *trigger* originally, but during my edit, I thought: the word trigger is popping up all.the.time. these days. It's a buzzword. Seems like everyone has *triggering* events. You probably think I am going to lean into a rant about that. Nope. It's fine for people to be aware of things that trigger or elicit a response that might need some attention and coping. 

During my editing - I switched my comment to *trigger/inspire* - because I don't really know if I want trigger to be relegated to just negative situations. Obviously, it has the connection to guns. But, I'm not sure that it hurts to allow for someone to be triggered in a very positive direction. It seems like it has a more immediacy to it than *inspire.* Inspire is gentle and seems to float in. Trigger is more of a *flash.*

We have reached the limit that I allow for this pondering.

Nov 2022 from Leslie + Time bombs

The Happy Birthday stamp looks nice on red. As I recall, I did a little bit of whining about the colors on that stamp being a little hard to work with. Leslie's solution, to use a red envelope, is brilliant. The white lettering pops with the white background on the stamp. It's no big deal that the reddish color on the stamp is orange-ish. I'm not sure my daughter is getting a kick out of her early 40s. I warned her that having kids at 35 is a ticket to the exhaustion-bin (not all the way to the looney-bin). At least she has friends who are her age who have kids in diapers so she can feel better about avoiding that whole nightmare. She doesn't have time to read all the helpful advice I find about aging. 

I was whining to my nearly 35 year old son that I was sad that I would not be alive to see him retire. A couple weeks later, he must have been thinking about my remark because he said, "By the way, mom, if you can just hang on until you are 97, you won't miss my retirement." 

My eyes rolled so hard and fast I had to sit down for a moment.

***

“These bodies of ours are time bombs, but each detonates in a different way.” Frank Bruni

That quote is from an article by Frank Bruni. I have not read his book, but here is the blurb from my library's website.

THE BEAUTY OF DUSK: On Vision Lost and Found, by Frank Bruni

"From New York Times columnist and bestselling author Frank Bruni comes a wise and moving memoir about aging, affliction, and optimism after partially losing his eyesight. One morning in late 2017, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni woke up with strangely blurred vision. He wondered at first if some goo or gunk had worked its way into his right eye. But this was no fleeting annoyance, no fixable inconvenience. Overnight, a rare stroke had cut off blood to one of his optic nerves, rendering him functionally blind in that eye--forever. And he soon learned from doctors that the same disorder could ravage his left eye, too. He could lose his sight altogether. In The Beauty of Dusk, Bruni hauntingly recounts his adjustment to this daunting reality, a medical and spiritual odyssey that involved not only reappraising his own priorities but also reaching out to, and gathering wisdom from, longtime friends and new acquaintances who had navigated their own traumas and afflictions. The result is a poignant, probing, and ultimately uplifting examination of the limits that all of us inevitably encounter, the lenses through which we choose to evaluate them and the tools we have for perseverance. Bruni's world blurred in one sense, as he experienced his first real inklings that the day isn't forever and that light inexorably fades, but sharpened in another. Confronting unexpected hardship, he felt more blessed than ever before. There was vision lost. There was also vision found"--Publisher's website.

Nov 2022 - Janet's Raven stamp - NameDrop game

 

Here is Janet's birthday month envelope to my daughter. Those stamps have inspired so many nice designs. For at least 10 years, I have wished that I had put the name of each stamp in the description so that I could do a search for all the envelopes that popped up for a particular stamp. We'll see how well I do at remembering to do this. It is Jan 2nd. I do not have high hopes. Low hopes. Does anyone ever say *low hopes*? I think it has a nice ring to it.

Here we go: Raven stamp

***

Here is a new daily *game* to play. It is just 5 days a week - not on weekends. I will give you a link - but you are going to have to be comfortable with figuring out how to sign up - if you are interested. It is NameDrop - through The New Yorker magazine. I signed up - for free - and so far, I have not been inundated with junk emails - but, I suppose that could happen. You also get a free daily crossword puzzle.

If you like games - this one is a general knowledge of people from any time and from any *sphere.* They include everything from ancient Greeks to contemporary playwrights to sports figures to political figures. 

You get a clue, then you can guess who the person is or you may choose another clue - up to 6 clues. If you have a correct answer, you get points based on how fast you figured it out and find out where you fell in relation to the other people playing the game. Today it was John Legend - and I did not figure it out until the last clue - and 47% of the people figured it out faster than I did.

It's a fun game - and they are all listed in order, so if you like the game, you may scroll down - and play all the previous games.

I am not sure if this link takes you to the info for signing up. You may have to dig around to find the sign up. Hopefully it will just take you to a page where you can try it to see if you enjoy it.

LINK to NameDrop

Nov 2022 from Rachael and Jan exchange sign-up

A lovely envelope from Rachael arrived in Nov when I requested birthday mail for my daughter. I can think of at least 2 other *wreath-y* designs from Rachael. There have been other envelopes with the Elephant Stamp that I loved - maybe it's not too late to find some stamps and steal this idea.

***

Newcomers as well as old-timers: it's time to sign up for the Jan exchange.

I need the following info, in this exact format sent to me by Jan 4th 

at PTEnvelopes@aol.com. Lists will be sent on the 5th

Jane Doe

123 Oak Street

Ames, IA 50110

jane.doe@gmail.com

(birthday) (2 lists)

Optional to mention if it is your birthday month - and optional for exchangers to do a themed envelope.

(2 lists) means you are willing to be on two lists if I need to make the lists come out even.

Additional info on how the exchanges work: LINK to additional info

I always confirm that I have received your sign up, so if you do not hear from me - shoot me another email.