Chuck's gnome and Christmas tree

This was Chuck's January exchange envelope. I've seen his March gnome, too. I go back and forth on whether to do gnomes. They're so cute - and it's fun to think of a monthly activity for them. I do not recall if I posted this gnome that I saw in Chicago. It's an actual tree - or mini-tree. What do you call a tree that's not exactly a tree? A sapling? Is that term appropriate for conifers? Any botanists reading the blog who want to weigh in?

I've also lost track of which Dec envelopes have already been posted - so here is Chuck's. It's the Charlie Brown tree -  very nostalgic. 

It seems like I commented on the lettering -- it seems like it's one of those styles that you could just make up the whole alphabet based on seeing just a few of the letters. Is this a specific font, Chuck? Apologies if we have already had this conversation.

 

J's Feb to Chuck - Letterboxing puzzle

I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a gnome-ish cupid - or a cupid-ish gnome. The ones I found were a little creepy. I'll add them to the end of the post. Realizing that my mail would arrive after V-day, I decided to put my gnome inside something larger - which I forgot to photograph with the stamp. So, imagine it with a stamp and address. I do love that style. Back in 2019, I tried to track down the originator and came up with five names. Lynn Slavinsky, Sylvia Kowal, Ruth Booth, Marci Dinkey, and DeAnn Singh.  

 

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Some of us play a few online puzzles. On July 21, 2021 my blog post mentioned that I had found a new puzzle that I was really enjoying, Letter Boxed. You have to make words by jumping around on the letters provided. I could usually use up all the letters in 4 or 5 words - but was never able to figure out how to use all the letters in just two words. Until Feb 6th. It was so much fun to find the two words. I had to wait until the following day to see if my two words were the same ones they had in mind - and they were.

I rationalize my time spent on puzzles by thinking it might be helping restore my brain cells and synapses. Although, I need to think about doing the puzzles later in the day. There might be better things to do early in the day when the brain is all perky from sleeping.

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Ideas and my rough sketches trying to figure something out. I meant to enclose the sketches in the envelope - but that didn't happen. On a few of the exchange envelopes, I sent my rough idea pages so that people would maybe give me credit for the time spent on layouts. The final designs sometimes look a bit *simple.*

This one (above) is actually pretty cute - the one below is super creepy.

I tried to make a cuter pants-free guy.

Somehow, the wings-hat-beard just ended up being too much - so - once again, I'm dumb-founded at how I spend my time.

Well, wha-da-ya-know - I did take a picture of Chuck's envelope with address and stamp.

 

Mary's gnome for Alex - Ridiculous extreme?

This adorable gnome is from Mary. Alex loved it. Although - I'm having a weird feeling that I might have mixed up the names - and the kids are gone - and took the mail with them. If I have mixed up the names - please let me know.

The whole visit didn't really have any problems - but I could tell that I was somewhat inept at the usual multi-tasking. Between the weather and other un-planned events - it was a bit chaotic. 

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Well, the Maldives have carried the grid-aversion to a ridiculous extreme. Apparently their islands are sinking or the oceans are rising - so they have designed new floating islands and went for a *brainy* patterned system of *streets.* 

I am withdrawing my rant from yesterday. Maybe grids are un-natural. Maybe it's better to just do the opposite of logical stuff. Maybe this is the way creatures are meant to live. Maybe the postal workers are going to hold all the mail at a central location and you have to come pick it up. I believe that system worked for a long time. Maybe it was silly to offer door to door service. I am curious as to how they are naming or numbering the houses in case you want to invite someone to your house. If the plan is to just rely on your *app* I'm thinking that is a very short-sighted plan.

Full article with details. I have no idea if the info I shared is even accurate. 

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/maldives-floating-island-city-rising-sea-levels-06-22-2022/?utm_source=designboom+daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the+maldives+is+building+a+floating+%27island+city%27+in+response+to+rising+sea+levels

From Chuck in May and June (blog stats)

Real time note: I wrote *troll* when I meant *gnome* - which seems to be a common mistake that I keep making.

Chuck - who has his November troll gnome designed -- sent this in June - and there was one to Jan, too - maybe I already ran it. Yes, I did. So here is another envelope for today.

I need to go back and just look at which fonts Chuck uses with his trolls gnomes. And now I want to re-run all 12 of them in December -- maybe I'll remember to do that ----

Yesterday I mentioned that there were about 300 people checking the blog daily. And then I thought - Gee, I have not looked at my stats lately. Maybe my readers have moved on to other rabbit holes.

HOLY COW! The daily count is well over 1,000 per day. Who are you people? I'm so flattered that you are checking the blog. Once in a while I kick myself for not moving to a different platform - back when I first got going (2010) -- I could have built this into a side hustle. But, part of me is thinking that I am better off - over here - in the jurassic zone. My only concern is that Blogger decides to shut down all this free space. I suppose I could deal with that. Mostly - I'm not going to think about any of this. The whole point is to just make and send some fun mail. 

 

Chuck's Sept gnome - Bamboo guy

 

Here is our monthly gnome from Chuck. Have I already asked if Chuck is going to have a theme for 2024? I know he does a lot of mushroom drawings - but I'm not sure if he wants to layer seasonal motifs onto mushrooms. That seems like a bit of a stretch. I'll keep pondering. He draws very nice flowers - maybe the 12 flowers that go with the months. I think that's a thing --- I feel like my April flower to go with my April stone (diamond) is sweet pea. I wonder who assigned the stones and flowers to the months? Is anyone going to offer to do the research on that one? More importantly -- how does Chuck feel about the 12 monthly flowers for 2024?

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I debated for several days about whether or not to include this video. It's *off-beat* in several different directions. Definitely off topic. I decided to include it because it is the opposite of Knolling. Remember back in mid-September I mentioned my affinity for lining things up at right angles? There is so much to orderliness and  grids that appeals to me. This guy is all about natural shapes - and points out that there are few (if any) right angles in nature. Maybe in crystals? Snowflakes are pretty rigid with their angles - but they are not 45s. The video reminded me that I'm equally drawn to the disorderliness of nature as I am to manmade grids. It's fun to recognize situations where we can see things both ways and not get all riled up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fRgM-nKiXg

Chuck's snowman & gnome

This was Chuck’s Jan exchange envelope. The colors pop on the actual envelope better than in this photo. Maybe I could figure out a way to enhance my photos. I’d love to do that, but have reservations about finding the time. I was expecting a S(gnome)man. 

I’m going to allow myself a little rant here about planning on getting ahead of the curve on blog posts and then having the internet decide that it does not want to cooperate. Or, perhaps the internet is trying to help me find a better way to post. What if I wrote all my posts in a Word doc and then I could upload both photos and blurbs at the same time.

Oh.My.Gosh. This might be the equivalent of figuring out how to slice bread. Streamlining. I love it. 

Hopelessly confused, I am running this one - because I was sure I already ran it - but, I sure can't find it and it is way too cute to skip. It was Chuck's Dec exchange envelope.

 

Chuck's Feb gnomes - paint rag shirt

 

As previously mentioned, Chuck works on his envelopes way ahead of time. I think this is one of his best - and I've been thinking that one of these months he might do a whole gnome family.  There are lots of them on Google images - this one is pretty cute - although I don't think Chuck has ever done a gnome with eyes....

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This caught my eye. I am an introvert - but I am not going to this gathering. 

And yet, I'm curious. Maybe I can find someone who will check it out and report back. And I am annoyed with myself that I did not click on the [Learn more] button..... I wonder what it said.

If you can't read the fine print, it says: Love books and hate talking to people? Join like-minded readers as we sit quietly and read. Discussion optional and icebreakers forbidden. Bring your own book.

I wonder who monitors the gathering to make sure nobody gets chatty - or tries to break the ice - and what tactics do they employ if a rowdy extrovert shows up - just to make trouble. 

From Chuck to Jan+Wrigley (Titivillus)

Here is Chuck's June troll.  No - it's a gnome. I wonder how many times I have called them trolls. Geesh. Apologies to Chuck as well as gnomes and trolls. Or maybe they are kindred spirits.

OK. Here is someone who is definitely NOT a kindred spirit. Titivillus. And good luck with pronouncing that name. I've heard it pronounced at least three different ways. So - if anyone knows -shoot me an email. 

Or we can see what Wiki says. We have to go to Wiki for the story. 

Well, that's odd. I do not see a pronunciation guide. What's with that?

I love the story - and I love it so much I am not going to give a brief overview. It is not a long story - check it out:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titivillus

His cousin is the Printer's Devil. There is a link at Wiki.

Did any readers take Latin? I'd like to know which pronunciation works with the Latin rules.

Or is Latin full of exceptions?

By Filip Ciślak

I like that spelling of Philip.

I like that I know how to put in this version of ś.

You just hold down the key and your options pop up.

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This cute card was inside the envelope from Amy to Jan - that I posted yesterday

 

From Chuck in July and Aug -- another game/puzzle

 

I'm not sure if I already posted the July gnome from Chuck. Here is the August one. I've seen some of the upcoming designs. Are we going to think of another series for Chuck to do in 2024? Now that he has all those cool markers - maybe we can come up with some ideas that utilize lots of colors - like mandalas. 

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From time to time we have shared our favorite games/puzzles that we play. We talked about Wordle when it came out. The NYTimes launched a new one (in July, maybe) and I tried it in August -- and I really like it. 

You start with 16 words and you must divide them into 4 categories. It's pretty self explanatory. 

If you saw MARY JANE and WEED, you might include POT and then look for another slang term for cannabis - like BUD or HERB. When you submitted those words - you would find out that you had one or two wrong. And you would try again. Maybe you would see that CROCK, SKILLET and WOK needed POT - and if you submitted that - you'd be right.

The shoe category was easy.

By then - BUD looked like something that would go with CHUM, MATE, PAL

This one was pretty easy - some of them are tricky. Sometimes the last 4 words make no sense - and I can't see the connection until I submit them. There was one that was 4 kinds of cake - CARROT, SPONGE, POUND and I do not recall the other one - but none of them made me think of cake - of course, once you see *cake* it's so obvious.

As you can see - they thought that the FRIEND category was the easiest - but - I started with cookware. I'll be curious to see if I ever get a TRICKY category first. Probably not.

https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections

You do not need a subscription.

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Update - yes - one time I did spot the tricky category first - but I forgot to record it.

Chuck's July gnome + adaptive skateboarding

 This is so cute - and Bugs Bunny is a fun stamp. I like the way he did my name and the city/state in the more decorative style of lettering, but kept the street and zip more scanner friendly.

You probably thought you had heard the last of my early-bird visit to the Dew Tour skateboard competition. It's been too hot to do anything outside so I had to *surf* a bit in between the indoor chores. I figured that the Dew Tour would have some videos on YouTube and I was right.

I didn't watch all of them, but when I saw *adaptive* in the title of one of them - I was curious. It's heart warming to see that skateboarders have included a division for people with prosthetic limbs, no limbs, and on crutches.  

If you have any interest - here is the link to all of the videos. They keep adding more, so it's hard to find the Des Moines ones. 

all the Dew Tour videos

Here is the Des Moines video - Women's adaptive division. I'm not sure what the first woman has. The second woman has no legs and the third is the one on crutches. 

DSM women's adaptive winners

HB to G3 + pollen rant + trip report

 The gnome standing on the cancel is just cuter than heck. These are from Chuck and arrived for Mr Wilson's birthday. I still haven't cornered him to open the rest of his birthday cards. But, every time I return from one of my extended mercy-missions to Chicago, I am rejuvenated and energized to complete the hoard reduction project. So, I imagine we will get them opened and posted pretty soon.

Here comes the rant.

One of the saddest parts of the trip was watching my poor granddaughter struggling with seasonal allergies. I happened across an article about why scientists blundered us into the current situation. I did a little more research and found this article which is better and older.

If you don't want to read the article - in a nutshell - many trees have males and females - and the females produce seeds and fruits so they are messy - and in the case of ginkgo trees - super smelly. So *they* started planting only male trees which produce the pollen. And now there are mostly male trees everywhere - in cities and towns where they are planted. (not forests). And the abundance of pollen has caused a rise in allergies and asthma.

Grrrr.

It's too late to do anything about it - and considering all the other problems we are facing - it is probably not anything that is going to get any attention at all. But, thank you for letting me rant. 

Allergies are like migraines. If you have not had one - you have no way of understanding how awful they are. So, even if you think people who are suffering with allergies or migraines are just whining, try really hard to empathize with them. My allergies were so bad that I went through the whole shot thing for about 5 years - which helped a lot. But, it is a pretty challenging treatment to buy into.

Link to article about pollen

Medical appointment warning + Envelope from Chuck

 By the way, I've been meaning to mention something that goes along with the Patient Portal warning from earlier this year. If someone tells you that you have an appointment to have your broken bones set - be prepared to fall (virtually) through the cracks. And while you are down there - be prepared to have a very difficult time getting anyone to respond to you. Keep in mind, you are not allowed to have any food or water, so you will not be in tip top shape as you navigate the situation. And then later, be prepared to fight with your insurance company to fill a simple prescription for pain meds. This did not happen to me - but it was painful to hear about it. 

The worst part is that there are fewer and fewer ways to actually talk to people who might be able to straighten out things that are not going as planned. Electronic communication has caught on and nobody worked the bugs out before they embraced the exciting new concept. It seemed like a good idea - and lots of people/agencies/companies/etc have jumped on board -- but, it reminds me a lot of the excitement surrounding the Titanic when it was new and exciting. And now--- just as then --- there are a lot of people left *floating.*

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Here is Chuck's November envelope - a pilgrim/gnome. I suppose I could insert my trip report now that it is the 28th and I should be home. I'm writing this on the 25th - right after brunch. The grandkids have plenty to keep them occupied for the rest of the day. The adults are dazed and confused. There was a covid scare (thankfully everyone was negative) but two of us had/have a generic head cold - so everyone is a little off. It's good the kids are getting old enough to handle some quick changes of plans. The mom and dad are ready to switch from traditional holidays to an alternative - a trip to a beach. The kids are not on board at all. 

Next challenge -- make it through 8-10 weeks of winter. No more falling.

April from Nanski

 

Nanski's envelope is nice and clear for the USPS. She managed to find colors that did not get muddy. The details are fun. Here's the card - in case anyone needs a cute gnome to appropriate.

There is something ominous going on with Blogger and uploading photos. I'll keep working on it - and hopefully things will pop up the way they are supposed to. The last thing we need is technical difficulty.

I'm writing this on May 8 - a lovely spring day. I have to hustle to get the rest of the month filled. I just dropped my exchange envelopes in the mail. I took one idea - and tried variations on 10 envelopes so we might have a very boring stretch - but that won't be until June. Were are in the middle of the April mail that I received - and there are a lot more to post.

Coming up tomorrow will be someone to send mail to who will be so surprised. He seems like someone who could become a spokesperson.