The Party’s in the Post!

Someone I know and love is celebrating a birthday!!  However, this global pandemic unsocial distancing has put a cramp in our birthday party style. I am usually all about creating care packages and parcels, but even gathering the goods and making one’s way to the post office can be difficult in times of quarantine! 😒 

But fear not! Let’s think inside the box, the mailbox, that is! 📬  All one needs to create some entertaining birthday mail is one’s imagination, paper, pencils and postage stamps!! 

For my birthday mail I created a personalized crossword puzzle with clues designed specifically for the birthday boy. You could do this any number of ways: memories from the person’s life, special places or people of significance for the person, famous people that share the same birthday or name as the birthday honoree, or a combination of all of the above! 

The mysterious, birthday fun didn’t stop with a crossword. I highlighted certain letters in the crossword. My recipient had to unscramble the letters to form the KEYWORD for a columnar cipher...a type of transpositional code. I included a few hints on how to break the coded message I enclosed!

If you can’t go out for your birthday, why not bring dinner and a movie home instead? I sent along an idea for a themed dinner and a movie complete with recipe and film discussion questions for the birthday boy and his wife. 🎥 🥘 🍴 

No party would be complete without a few balloons.🎈Origami “balloons” are a bit magical and extremely conducive to traveling by post! You can find folding instructions on those wonderful interwebs!! 😉

Finally, since we couldn’t celebrate in person I made a few “party animals” to go in our stead. 🥰 

I put all of this fun paper mail in a manila envelope and weighed it on my kitchen scale to figure out the postage. The current postal rate for a large, flat envelope is $1.00 for the first ounce and $0.20 for each additional ounce. I attached the required postage (and a little extra because I LOVE stamps) and decorated the envelope with some drawings, ink stamps and washi tapes! Happy Birthday, indeed!! 🥳

Hopefully a big birthday dinner culminating in cake is in the very near future!! In the meantime, the party is in the post!! 

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy

(PS: A birthday check is always a welcome inclusion in any birthday mail!🤑)

Games People Play...by Post!

Have you every heard of “the marshmallow test”? It was part of a research project conducted by Walter Mischel, PhD. He explored self-control and delayed gratification in children more than 40 years ago. He discovered that some children had more will power and self control than others and were able to defer instant gratification for a bigger reward in the future. 

What kind of a person are you? Do you prefer the instant? Or is there something wonderful about a long anticipated pleasure finally realized? If you are reading a blog about the joys of SNAIL mail, I can only assume that INSTANT is not high on your imperative qualities list. 😏 You may, like me, enjoy a snail mail game played through the post!

Snail mail is ideal for enclosing a puzzle for your pen pal to solve. Why not send a crossword puzzle, logic puzzle or anagram? You could send a coloring page, a maze or a “find the differences” picture from the newspaper or a book. Almost any “turn-taking” game can be played by mail. (20 questions, hangman, tic-tac-toe, Scrabble, chess, Jotto or geography.) 

Don’t limit snail mail fun to just games. Sometimes I like to send a random collection of tidbits: a newspaper clipping, magazine photo, origami creation, poem, ticket stub, sticker, swizzle stick, cartoon, pun, etc. There is usually a subtle theme running through my collection of goodies (everything starts with the letter K, rhymes, is pink, etc.) Let your creative juices flow! 

Hand crafted correspondence is always a gift, but snail mail that includes a puzzle or game is a true gift of laughter and fun! 😊😁😆 It’s worth the wait. 

Go postal, people! 

Good things come to those who send mail!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

Welding Mail...Making a Lasting Bond! 🔥

April is National Welding Month

Thanks to the those enchanting, endless interwebs it is now possible to celebrate things like National Poetry Month, National Gardening Week and National Pretzel Day, all of which are celebrated in April!!

April is Poetry Month! 

 I love to discover new (to me) celebrations, festivals and observances that honor and laud people in my life. It’s gives me a wonderful reason to send some mail! 

National Gardening Week is April 18-25, 2020

I discovered that April is also National Welding Month! I know a few welders and appreciate them greatly!! One particular welder fabricated and installed my porch railings! (Those things have saved my life and limb on many occasion during the icy Iowa winters!! I’m nothing if not danger prone😬) 

I don’t understand all that the work of the welder entails, but I do know their work holds our world together...quite literally! There are welding research engineers, underwater welders, pipe fitters, boiler makers, welder fabricators and a bunch of other stuff I’m sure I don’t even know about!! I appreciate the skills these lovely people have and thought I would take some time to send some snailmail to celebrate their vocation and contribution to our world! 

                      

             

Has this strange time of quarantine given you extra time for reflection? Why not make a list of all the people you can think of whose work affects your life? I’m sure you can come up with a long list of “essential” workers! Join me in making and sending some mail to those people!! The postal worker is DEFINITELY on my list! 🥰📬🐌

Strengthen your bond! Send more mail!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy

PS: National Hairstylist Appreciation Day is April 30!! Now THAT’S appropriate!! 😁

Hey! Check it Out! It’s National Library Week!

The month of April brings the celebration of one of my favorite places! The Library!! This year National Library Week will be celebrated April 19-25. This year’s somewhat ironic theme of “Find your place at the library” was chosen long before a global pandemic would force the closing of the library doors. 😢 However, we can still find our place at the library because libraries are amazing and those clever librarians are doing everything they can to keep us connected to the wonderful world of books! Libraries are providing digital books and virtual story times along with access to movies, music and video games to library patrons! 

On the Wednesday of Library Week, Bookmobile Day is celebrated. I have very fond memories of the book mobile arriving in my neighborhood and sounding its unique horn. My sister and I would sprint out of the house with our library cards and scurry onboard that moving treasure trove of literary happiness to check out a book or two! 🥰 (I must confess I have had a secret dream to become a book mobile driver for as long as I can remember!)

I could not let National Library Week pass without some mailbox merrymaking! I’m forever discussing the books I’m reading with my pen pals and have often sent some books via post to like minded literary lovers. Books about books are particularly pleasing! 🥰 (The Princess Bride by William Goldman is one of my all-time favorites!! Even better than the movie!😉) This year I’ve decided to send some book inspired mail to my most bookish pen pals! 📚 

Send some book post today! I’d love to check it out! 😉

Go postal, people!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

Rivers of Life

These are strange times. The days are definitely dark and frightful. I have occasionally found myself struggling with feelings of worry, fear, loneliness. But it is at times like these, when I am overwhelmed by my feelings, that I must counsel my heart with the truths of my faith. Before it’s over, this pandemic will surely touch all of us in some way. Some homes will experience grief and sorrow and all will experience fear and anxiety. Snail mail is an excellent way to reach out and bring words of comfort and peace to our hurting friends and family. 

In 2019 the USPS issued a new FOREVER stamp that features the beauty of American Rivers. Rivers always remind me of lines from one of my favorite hymns, A Firm Foundation. 

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.


”We like to think as human beings that we are so advanced and capable. If we dream it we can become it! But if this virus has revealed anything it should be that there are things beyond our control! It is no respecter of persons. We are not the masters of our universe. We were created to be dependent on the Creator.

When I was in college (when I wasn’t taking nursing classes) I took every philosophy, psychology, sociology, comparative religion and anthropology class I could fit into my schedule. I’ve always been interested in the nature of man, the nature of God, the concepts of existence, reality, morality and the inability of mankind to fix the problems of society like poverty, crime, war and oppression. Here’s my conclusion...

⚡️The problem is sin and the solution is Jesus.⚡️

That may seem overly simplistic or naive to some, but I urge you to think about the big questions for yourself. This pandemic reminds me that there is a greater, darker, and more dangerous infection - one with eternal consequences. Not everyone will be infected with the Coronavirus, but everyone has been infected by sin from birth...that’s pretty obvious...just look around (and in the mirror😕). Sin is the problem, but Jesus is the cure!! God looked at us with mercy and in love decided He would not let us perish from the disease of sin. There is hope!

During this time of worry, fear, suffering and sorrow, spread some comfort, hope and peace with some encouraging post. Your letter may help alleviate someone’s pain and suffering. It might lift their burden. It might help quench their thirst and lead them to the river of life.❤️

I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me!

Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see!

Opens prison doors sets the captive free!

I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me! 

Keep the faith, my postal pals!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

Let’s Go Fly A Kite! 🪁

It was April of yesteryear. The Murphy Brothers were about 4 and almost 6. We had new kites and a strong, spring wind! Thanks to Papa Murph’s speed, we were able to launch the kites successfully!! All was going well until a strong gust tore the kite out of Murphy Boy Wonder’s hand. We raced after the runaway kite but it was no use. 😢 The wind was faster than even Mr. Murphy and the kite was swept over the houses and out toward the highway. (We were only slightly concerned when we later heard sirens! 😳 A coincidence, surely! 😬)We consoled the Murphy Bros. with a purchase of ice cream and plans to make another kite. 

My attempt at a pop-up card! 😂 

The history of the kite is long and interesting. Man has been flying kites for various purposes for close to 3000 years. For most of that time kites were the only aviation there was. The first manned flight was recorded by none other than Marco Polo in one of his manuscripts about life in the Far East! (It was a drunk guy, strapped to a kite! Yikes! 😳) Kites have had many uses over the years, including but not limited to: war, the discovery of electricity, weather science and most importantly, POSTAL DELIVERY! Apparently, during the Civil War, one Virginia town regularly used kites to carry letters across a river to neighbors in Maryland...possibly the first regularly scheduled air mail. 😊📬 ✈️ 

Kites remain extremely popular. There are festivals and clubs and conventions.  April is National Kite Month! To celebrate you can make a kite or buy a kite or read a book about kites or watch a movie about kites or sing a song about kites or go fly a kite (a perfect social distancing activity! 🪁) OR do all of the above and then make some kite inspired mail, recounting your kite adventures, and send it flying around the world via the marvelous postal system!! 

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy

Send Some Mail! No Strings Attached!

April is International Guitar Month. This celebratory focus on the guitar is meant to inspire the world to strum and pick their way through chords to sweet serenity. The Murphy Boy Wonder taught himself to play the guitar while in high school and he recently gifted a guitar to the Murphy Pater Familias and now he, too has started to learn the guitar. Yay! ❤️ (Now all the Murphy Men can serenade me! 🥰)  

I’ve discovered an unexpected benefit of this social isolation...the sharing of videos by professional musicians. Brian May, a particular favorite of mine, has been posting micro concerts on Instagram! Now that is a fantastic way to enjoy Guitar Month...even when one can not attend concerts or music festivals. 😢

Whether you play guitar or your talent, like mine, is in listening, everyone can celebrate!  Guitars bring joy whether we play them or listen to the music they produce.

I’m sending some guitar snail mail to a few axe wielders 😎 🎸 in my life! Won’t you join me? 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

Chain Mail...The Good Kind😁

Mr. Murphy and I are empty nesters. Since it’s just the two of us now, we’ve downsized a lot of things including our holiday decorating. Last Christmas, for example, we put up a small tree with lights. In lieu of all the old Murphy Family Ornaments however, I thought it would be special to make a paper chain of prayers. I wrote out a simple sentence prayer on a slip of paper for one of the four Murphy Kids (The Murphy Bros and their Lovely Lasses 🥰) It was a simple way to decorate the tree and Papa Murph and I loved praying for our grown up children everyday during the Christmas season. ❤️

My original plan was to give the prayer slips to them at our family Easter celebration. (There is something really special about reading the prayers other people have been praying for you!) But...you know...isolation. 😢

This has been an insane time. We’ve all had to adapt to a new way of life in these strange and uncertain days. That is why I am thankful for the small joys of everyday life...like receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. 🥰📬🐌 I decided to take apart my prayer chain prayers and send them via post to the Murphy Kids. Hopefully it will bring a smile to their faces and some peace to their hearts! 

My Christmas prayer paper chain combined with this uncertain time of waiting inspired me to make another paper chain! 🧐💡Everyday during the quarantine, I will write down a reason to be thankful, a small joy I experienced or a prayer for someone. I will add the link to my isolation blessing chain and will watch and see how it grows! 🥰 Won’t you join me? 

Stay home and write more letters, people!! 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

A Dam Fine Time to Send Some Mail

Living in the middle of nowhere has its advantages. One of my favorites is the fact that fewer people means more wildlife! The Marvelous Mr. Murphy takes a long walk/run almost every day usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15 miles!! Consequently, he sees many animals and since I’m usually not with him (He leaves the house before dawn, people😴🥱), he will try to snap a picture to share with me. Thanks to his early morning walks, he has discovered that a family of beavers is living in the creek that runs near our place. They are kind of amazing and adorable! The babies are called kits! ❤️ We learned from a PBS documentary that beavers are second only to humans in their ability to change an entire ecosystem. A single beaver can fell up to 200 trees in one year. Beavers are nocturnal and very hard workers. Their lodges are amazingly complex structures that have multiple underwater entrances, a food cache and two rooms - one for drying off in and one for sleeping. These rodent geniuses engineer the heck out of the environment in order to create a safe place to live all year long, even under a layer of winter ice. Their amazing bodies are specifically designed for the aquatic lifestyle. Their fur, eyes, ears, feet, tails and respiratory systems are all part of a beaver’s super powers!! 

For centuries humans have admired beavers for their hard working, diligent natures. Undaunted by long hours or crisis, the small but mighty beaver maintains its lodge and cares for its family with passion and purpose. They have been the subject of many character building stories and fables and the beaver is the national animal of Canada! 🇨🇦 Beavers have even been known to share their lodges peacefully with muskrats! 🥰 (But I did read about a beaver that attacked a scout leader floating down a river on a pool noodle...so...you know...don’t mess with animals!!😳😬)

The beaver must be a pretty amazing animal because it has been honored on a postage stamp in many different counties!! 

Guess what? April 7th is International Beaver Day! What a great opportunity to send some mail, especially to your Canadian pen pals!! 😁

Wood you not agree? (Hee hee!!) 

Go postal, people. 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy