Postcards from the Picnic

Oh no! Time is running out. There is only one week left in July. July is National Picnic Month. Have you had a picnic yet? 

Perhaps, like me, you’re not quite sure how you feel about picnics. As with most things in this life, I’m enamored with the idea of a picnic. It sounds so lovely. Perfectly prepared food eaten in a picturesque setting while pleasantly conversing with your partner. 🧺 🥰  What’s not to love? 

My real life experiences have fallen somewhat short of this idyllic mark. 🤨

There was the time I carefully packed all the ingredients for a delightful picnic with Mr. Murphy (we were just dating at the time and I was wanting it to be magical 💫 😊) We had quite a drive to our enchanted picnic location so I decided to assemble the sandwiches upon arrival in an effort to avoid soggy bread. 😝 When we arrived I was horrified to discover I had remembered the meat and the bread but had forgotten the condiments and toppings! Ever the gentleman, Mr. Murphy ate his unadorned lunch without complaint and simply asked for “Another plain, meat sandwich, please.” 🤦🏼‍♀️

Oh, and there was that time when we packed our picnic lunch and headed to the ocean during our college spring break trip to Myrtle Beach. We had just laid out our chairs and towels and I innocently asked, “Do you want to swim first or shall we open the picnic?” Right at that moment, the life guard sprinted by blowing his whistle and shouting, “Shark!! Everybody out of the water!! Shark!! Out of the water immediately!!” 🦈 

“Perhaps we should eat first,” was Mr. Murphy’s droll reply. 🙄

I can recall many other disappointing picnic experiences over the course of my life, mostly having to do with the food getting invaded by ants 🐜 and bees 🐝, the people getting eaten alive by mosquitoes 🦟 and my perfectly planned food not traveling well and ending up in an unappealing mess in the picnic basket. 

I don’t know why I keep trying. 🤷‍♀️  If literature has taught me anything it’s that most picnics are rarely...well...picnics! 📚 🧺 😱

• Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Set in an Australian girl’s school in 1900, the pupils go on a picnic and three of the school girls disappear all thanks to some creepy rock formation.
• Emma by Jane Austin. Emma humiliates Miss Bates and everyone marinates in an awkward tension. Later, Mr. Knightly scolds Emma and everybody’s crabby. 
• Enduring Love by Ian McWan. The picnic is abandoned due to a freak hot air balloon accident that haunts the picnicker and basically ruins his life. 

It is the truly wise person who learns from the experiences of others, even that song Teddy Bears’ Picnic has always kind of freaked me out a little. 🐻 🧺 😦 

Well, if you are willing to risk it, despite my ample warnings, I encourage you to celebrate National Picnic Month this week. Be sure and send me a letter or postcard! I want to read all about it!! (From the comfort of my own home😉)

Go Postal People!

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy

It’s lovely out in the woods today, but safer to stay at home... 🎶 🐻

(see what I mean?)

Return to Lender

  

A friend loaned me some books once and I...(gulp)...didn’t give them back for a long time. I mean, a really LOOOOOONG time. 😬🥺 

I feel super bad about this. Oh, I had my excuses but they were all lame...

 

• I was reading a library book and had to finish it first.
• After I read the books I put them on my bookshelf, just to tidy up, and then I forgot about them.
• One of the MurphyBros came home from college and borrowed them and I didn’t realize it.
• It had been such a long time I was too embarrassed to send them back!!  

Ugh!  What was I to do? 😞

Snailmail to the rescue!!! Of course!

Besides enjoying writing letters and decorating envelopes, I love to wrap crap!! (And by crap, I mean, big gifts, small tokens, odds and ends and all manor of stuff to send to folks😏)

I found the evidence, I mean books, and wrapped them up! I had some fun green/white, polka dot paper that I bought from Hobby Lobby at Christmas that was perfect. Serendipitously, I found a coordinating floral paper (at least 8 years old) 🙄 that I used to wrap up a new book I was passing on to my friend. I created some fun paper bows out of the wrapping paper and wrote my letter of confession, I mean apology. 

I packaged everything up into an old shoe box and attached a vintage mugshot on the box lid. (I’m pretty sure she was a famous book thief from the 1960s. 😉) 

Snailmail is fabulous way to return much overdue items!! 

As I was doing my research for this project I looked up book borrowing and lending etiquette. I found numerous articles filled with rules and recommendations and basically it all boiled down to the notion that people can’t be trusted and you should never lend your books to anyone because you will (1) never get them back or (2) they will be ruined in some way. One author went so far as to state their simple rule: Lose a book, lose a friend. 🤔

As frequently happens in my life, my daily Bible reading applied to what I was thinking about. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 happens to be all about giving. I made a note of the qualities of a giver that pleases God:

• Eager to help and bless others
• Enthusiastic
• Give what you’ve decided in your heart to give 
• A cheerful giver!!😊
• Doesn’t give reluctantly or under compulsion, but generously on every occasion. 

That list was in stark contrast to the list of book borrowing and lending rules I found via my internet search. Those qualities weren’t the only things I discovered in my Bible reading. I made a second list, a list of some of the benefits and promises enthusiastic, cheerful givers will experience! 🥰 🎁 

• Whoever sows generously will reap generously 
• God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
• God will supply and increase your store of seed for you to sow and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.
• Others will praise God for your obedience and generosity.
• Others will pray for you. 

Why would I ever want to live a stingy, score-keeping life when God makes such grand promises about how He’ll provide everything I need when I give cheerfully, enthusiastically and generously to others?! 

Sometimes it’s hard to be generous, but if you, like me have been the recipient of someone’s generosity send them a hearty thank you! Pay it back!  Pay it forward!! Do both! Just keep it going! 🥰📬🎁🐌

Snailmail! A lovely way to give a piece of your heart! 💌

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

This or That?

Do you ever feel awkward or shy when meeting someone new? Perhaps, inspired by the current social climate you are breaking out of your social rut and trying to get to know folks from different backgrounds, ethnicities, interests, ages, neighborhoods, and world views than you. That’s great! But there’s a problem...um...I’m shy. ☺️ My nickname in school was “Turtle”!!! 🐢 How do I even start? Those folks who have more outgoing personalities may seem at ease with getting to know new people, but everyone struggles sometimes in social situations and there is often the dreaded lull in the conversation. 😬 

Enter the beautiful solution of snailmail! Want to get to know somebody better? Send them a This or That? Letter!! It’s great fun and an easy way to break the ice. Simply write a letter filled with choices!! 

• Breakfast or Dinner?
• Sea Stars or Sea Horses? 
• Butterfly or Bee? 
• Mystery or Adventure? 
• Cookies or Cupcakes?
• Checkers or Cards?
• Chocolate or Vanilla?
• Circle or Square
• Carve a Pumpkin or Dye an Egg? 
• Snowman or Snow Angel?
• Swing on a Trapeze or Tame a Lion?
• Zoo or Aquarium? 
• Pizza or Cheeseburgers?  

Think of as many fun and quirky choices as you can. You can also add some serious questions in there, but don’t come on too strong too fast! Developing a friendship takes time and gentleness. To make your letter extraordinary, add some illustrations! Include some questions or suggestions under your main choice to help clarify and develop their answers. For example, “Tell me about the last time you made a snowman (or snow angel). 

Get them thinking and sharing a little more about themselves! It is best to make this letter a sort of fill in the blank worksheet that your pen pal can complete and return to you. Hopefully they will be inspired to come up with their own choices for you or simply have you make the same choices and give explanations as to your preferences! It’s a super fun way to expand your perspective and gain insight into your friend’s life. In short, you’ll become a better friend!! 

Snailmail or Email?? You know my answer, postal pals! 

🐌📬🥰

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy