My New Obsession …

Marilyn would probably like to hit the “DELETE” button when it comes to her blogging buddy! Especially since I post so seldom, but she’s such a great friend that she keeps dragging me along with her! By the end of a work day sitting in front of a computer all day, the last thing I want to do all night is … sit in front of the computer!! Especially since this blogging thing is rather difficult for me as I’ve said in previous posts. I’m not too tech savy when it comes to whole thing which is another reason I’m in LOVE with my newest obsession … POSTCROSSING!! Who doesn’t love getting real live paper Mail?! The kind with handwriting on it and some times little gifts that bring great joy, and my mail comes from all over the world!

I happened to fall into this new past time of mine when the woman at the local post office saw my handmade cards being mailed in their clear envelopes. She said she knew about a great program that I would be interested in and gave me the Postcrossing.com website which I checked out as soon as I had gone back home. I registered that very day, wrote my profile and added my photo then asked for 5 addresses. I was so excited when I got the names of people I’ve never met but was soon going to share my life with on the other side of the world. I wrote out my postcards very carefully, put colorful stamps on them, dropped them in the box and then I waited. When the receiver “registers” your postcard, they will write you a little note back and thank you for your card then if you are lucky, strike up conversation with you and possibly continue to exchange cards. As soon as one of your cards is received, your name goes to the top of the computer generated address listing and someone else in the world will pull your address. In no time at all, you will start receiving postcards as well! There are a few little rules that are easy enough to follow and the website is a great resource. As you send and receive cards, you post the photo of the card on your “received” or “sent” wall of cards and others can see what cards you’ve sent. You would never imagine the AMAZING cards that other countries have available to them! That was a bit of a problem for me in the beginning. We tend to have more tourist type cards in my area than anything, but after a few months and some travel, I’ve figured out some of the places to look for unusual cards. When we were on our 2 week road trip this summer I shopped for cards everywhere I went!

After a few months of exchanging cards with some amazing people, I’ve made new friends in Russia, Poland, The Netherlands, China, Taiwan, Malaysia … the list goes on and on. I’ve been blessed to receive some Tour de France souvenirs from my friend in The Netherlands, absolutely beautiful collectors stamps from a young man in China and I’ve added to my Hard Rock pin collection while exchanging with my friend in Russia. While the gifts are an extra treat, just learning about other cultures and making these new friends has been an extraordinary experience. There are people around the world who want to be friends, want to share their stories and get extremely excited in receiving a small package with 3 or 4 postcards and a token from your country. I want to share an email I received today from a girl in England. She had pulled my name and sent me a postcard telling me how much she loves Disney and she collects Disney pins. I returned 3 postcards about Oregon, the beach, the mountains and Portland as well as a Disney postcard and a Disney pin of Pluto of which I had a duplicate. Here is what she said …. “Hi Debbie … I was super shocked when I opened a parcel from you … thank you so so much. I loved the cards and the pin. I don’t even know what to say : ) it’s possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever done!!” Now… wouldn’t that make you smile????

I’m still deciding how to display all the wonderful cards I’ve received, but will show you as soon as I figure it out. Marilyn was so kind as to share some wonderful old vintage cards that she had and I’ve been sending them to people who have vintage cards listed in their “likes” on their profile. I’ve gotten many many compliments! Check back later to see more because I love sharing this with everyone!