Write Til Your Ink Be Dry…Thy Mailbox Lies Barren!!

 

It has been 460 years since the birth of Shakespeare, but his words still live on. I particularly like that line from Two Gentlemen from Verona, 

“Write till your ink be dry and with your tears moist it again, and frame some feeling line that may discover such integrity.”

They’re surely talking about keeping up their correspondence, right? 😉 

I was first introduced to Shakespeare by Mrs. Hultgren, my high school English teacher. She loved the Bard and tried to inspire her somewhat reluctant students with his greatness. We memorized monologues, read whole plays aloud in class and took turns acting out our favorite death scenes. “Et tu, Brute?” 😵 

At first I struggled with the language. What is this guy taking about?!? But the more I read the easier it became. I soon got swept up in the stories which were amazing… both witty and profound. In the end it’s the words that do it for me. Shakespeare invented so many phrases, clever quips and salty insults. A lot of his lingo is still in use today. Here is just a sampling of what I discovered with the help of those interwebs…

• as luck would have it
•  bated breath
•  the be-all and the end-all
•  break the ice
• brave new world
• cold comfort
• dead as a doornail
• the dogs of war
• faint-hearted
• for goodness sake
• foregone conclusion
• good riddance
• kill with kindness
• laughing stock
• one fell swoop
• wear my heart upon my sleeve
• wild-goose chase

Isn’t that amazing? Four and a half centuries later and Shakespearean quips are still common! 

So in honor of the greatest English writer of all time, I decided to send a Shakespeare inspired letter to a friend in honor of her birthday. She loves books and words as I do so I hope she will enjoy it! 

“To be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.” (Much Ado About Nothing)

Hie thee, good folk, and let thy missives fly with all haste!

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy 

Go for the Gold…and the Mailbox!!!

 

Summer is great. You’ve got vacations, ice cream, parades, watermelon and swimming!! But every four years it’s even more fun…2024 is an Olympic year!! Woo Hoo! 

Inspired by this historic sporting competition I looked through my postage for some Olympic themed postage stamps. There are some really great vintage Olympic stamps! 

I always encourage non-postal people to look at the stamps on any mail they receive. For anyone with any interest in art, history, culture, geography, sports, science, beauty, life - really…there’s something for you to discover on a postage stamp!!! The Olympics is no exception. 

I wrote my Olympic themed letter to a friend with a family I thought might be interested in the Olympic Games. I described some past Murphy Olympic activities and challenged them to follow the Paris Olympics this summer. Perhaps they can learn something about the countries the athletes come from or study the flags of all the nations and make some paper copies to fly around the house. It’s always fun to follow the medal count! They can even create their own backyard Olympic Games that the whole family can participate in! Don’t forget the medals! 

And of course, if they do any of these awesome Olympic activities they must write back to Mrs. Murphy and tell me all about it!! 

Go Postal, People!! (And Go for the Gold!! 🏅)

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

My Olympic Snailmail 🏅 🐌 📬 

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor… Prolonged Blog Post Droughts…

What’s up, mailbox mates? Did you forget about ol’ Mrs. Murphy? Well, I’m still here and I’m still making mailbox magic! That’s one of my favorite things about snailmail as a hobby, it’s always a welcome surprise to receive some actual “Good Mail” in the mailbox no matter how long it’s been in between letters. In that same spirit I hope you, dear postal pals, are pleasantly surprised to have a new blog post from Mrs. Murphy. ☺️

Much has been happening in Murphy-ville!!  The most wonderful event has been the addition of another grandchild! Mr. and Mrs. Murphy-Boy-Wonder have added a bouncing baby boy to the family! Mr. (Papa) Murphy and I are overjoyed! This grandparent gig is the best! Mini Murphy was born at the beginning of summer and I’ve already sent him some snailmail. Yay! 🥳 

Another exciting event has been the Murphy Move! With all of these Nextgen Murphys in the works, Papa and Granny Murphy wanted to be ACAP (as close as possible! 🤗)!!

Sorting, purging, organizing and packing is probably good medicine for everyone every 20 years or so, right? 🤪 We are definitely downsizing and trying to dispose of unnecessary stuff and clutter to the best of our ability. I have NOT however gotten rid of any SSA (Snailmail Supplies and Accoutrements)! Another perk of snailmail as a hobby…few, small, flat, easily packable supplies are needed for unlimited results!! (Everyone knows the best part of any mailbox magic is the words that you write!!) ✍️ 

Moving is always bittersweet. One looks forward to a new adventure, a fresh start in a new home and town. But it is with great sorrow that one moves away from dear friends and neighbors. 😢 Once again, snailmail is the answer! Not only can we create delightful snailmail to make our creative hearts soar, the letters (hopefully) will connect us with our former friends and neighbors and bring them joy. Winning! 🥳 📬 🐌 And if you’re really lucky they will write you back! 😉 

So don’t let snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night (or even really long hiatuses 😑) keep you from sending some snailmail!! It’s always magic!! 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy ❤️