Our household has gone into overdrive on the excellent hobby of sending postcards, as Joan has been sending awesome cards (many featuring penguins) across the United States and the globe. They've jumped into Postcrossing and are also involved in other online postcard groups, sending out motivational and encouragement cards almost every day. We're doing our part to keep the USPS funded!
That makes our daily walks to the mailbox twice as fun, too. We have a friendly competition to see who receives the most postcards each day. Joan has been winning most recent days. Over the course of a three-day stretch, they received about 30 postcards!
Meanwhile, here's another batch of the nice thank-you emails I've gotten from Postcrossers around the world who have received postcards from me:
Marjon from the Netherlands wrote: "Hello Chris, thank you for the nice postcard. I've had a lovely birthday. I checked out your website, it's nice. We are not able to walk in the mountains this summer, but we're taking hikes by the river, a few minutes from our home. Always beautiful, in each season, with all types of weather. The book you mention,
Convenience Store Woman, seems like the kind of book I love. Have a great day."
Philis from Singapore wrote: "Hello Chris, and thank you for the really cool postcard! I've heard of
Dante's Inferno but haven't read it yet — I really should, considering how many modern pieces of work have been inspired by it. One of my favourite movies of all times is
Pan's Labyrinth — a great combination of fantasy horror and real, human horror. Yet it somehow still holds some sort of child-like mystical wonder.
Tom and Jerry was a staple of my childhood! I really don't know if the cartoon violence would be approved for airing during modern times, but I definitely had great laughs over the funny shapes Tom would get compressed into when his plots failed. I think one thing about it that makes it more accessible is that they never really speak, so I could still understand what was going on despite not knowing English very well then. There were a few cultural references I believe, but not enough that I would lose the storyline for not knowing them. Hope that you and your family are safe and healthy during this time! Have a great day and happy postcrossing!"
Natali from Ukraine wrote: "Thank you, Chris! It is cool card and coin. Unlimited delight."
Annette from Germany wrote: "Hello Chris! Thank you very much for the cute postcard and your nice words. I think you are very right. Those anti-vaccination fools are in my country as well. Right now we are at 50% of full vaccinated Germans, but it could be a lot more. My family and I are all vaccinated, because we want to save those around us. I will have a look at your homepage. History is something that has got me through pandemics. There is so much interesting to read or listen. Thank you. Let's hope the best. Be safe!"
Elfriede from Germany wrote: "Hello Chris, thanks a lot for the nice card and the stamps as well! We've a cold summer. In the morning are between 10 - 15° C, and it's raining. The
horrible flood is far from here. Our river, the
Weser, is a big river and we're protected by dikes. Yes, we've to change our habits. Greetings from here and my best wishes. Elfriede. My English is not so good. It's allowed to laugh!!!"
Marina from Russia wrote: "Hello Chris! Thank you for your lovely card and nice stamps. I adore raccoons, they are so cute and funny. Have a wonderful day!"
Kira from Russia wrote: "Hello! As I wrote in my profile — I love these two things: sunflowers and LGBT people. You managed to combine them
in one postcard, thank you! She's so awesome! By the way, if I'm not mistaken,
the brand with a robot is a brand from Star Wars, although I could be wrong ... In any case, it turned out to be cool too!"
Iris from the Netherlands wrote: "Hello Chris, Thank you so much for the cute cat card you sent me. The stamps are also really nice. I don't tolerate heat very well, so I can't live there I think. Have a nice day!"
Anitha from Australia wrote: "Hello Chris, made my day by sending me
this Doctor Who postcard and also telling me about yourself. Vacinnation process in Australia has been pain-stakingly slow. I am still waiting for mine. Do continue to stay safe."
Jana from the Czech Republic wrote: "Hi Chris, thank you so much for the beautiful card you sent. I like your handwriting as well. I am a journalist as well, I write about music, interview musicians, write reviews of new releases or concerts, always something to write about. Thank you so much for the kind words about my music. You are right, the creativity has kept me sane during the past year. It has been challenging to say the least but things are looking up now. best wishes."
Matthew from the United Kingdom wrote: "Hi Chris and many warm greetings from East London. I studied as a journalist and worked briefly for the East London Advertiser and also the Ilford Recorder before the internet destroyed the local press! I now work as a labour union official. Thanks for your card and awesome stamps. Peace and solidarity."
Willie from Germany wrote: "Guten Tag Chris! Thank you for the nice postcard of your own creative making. Merveilleux! I really like the nostalgic Americana style of your photograph. It brings back memories of my travels along the Route 66 as far back as 1965. Wonderful! I love such styles and 'lost places.' It is a favorite photographic motive which I often seek. You might like to look into Matthew Christopher’s excellent work in Abandoned America under:
https://twitter.com/abandonedameric and
https://www.abandonedamerica.us/. Thank you also for the old, 10-cent stamp depicting the Jefferson Memorial and issued between 1970 and 1974. It almost didn’t make it. It was hanging on to the card with only a 4 mm piece of paper and the rest was hanging free. I also place old stamps upon my Postcrossing postcards, which I send. My uncle Wolfgang passed away, last year. I take the stamps of his old stamp collection and paste them on the postcards. In this way, a little memory of him travels around the world and I cherish his memory every time I create a postcard. Of course, I am aware of the films of
Agnes Varda. One of my favorites is
Quelques Veuves de Noirmountier, 2006. I enjoyed looking into your website! Great work! I really liked the section 'Postcards'. Keep up the excellent work! Stay safe and healthy! Greetings from Germany!"
Ulrich from Germany wrote: "Hello Chris, thank you very much for your so interesting message and the beautiful postcard with nice stamps — I hadn't never heard about
Lewis Chessmen, best wishes and stay healthy, Ulrich”
Yasi from Germany wrote: "Hi Chris. Thanks so much for the amazing postcard. I love it. I can not believe how hot the weather is in Arizona in September. We don't even get those temperatures in summer. But I am more of a fall fan anyways. I love tea and books and long film nights with friends. I love the variety of filmmakers that you like and I am not sure if I have seen
Sunrise. I will definitely check it out. Just like you, I love Elton John and I am so looking forward to concerts again. I hold a ticket for an Elton John show but it was rescheduled twice now. I wish you all the best. Stay healthy."