Mail Adventures in 2024

Of the last few years, 2024 is not the year I have sent the most mail. 

Postal services are not working properly, at least in my area. Most people I write to are already aware of my complaints: In November, the number of days I received mail reached the terrifying figure of one day. (It had been two days in October, and three in September.) After that, 35 days without mail. It is not my penfriends' fault, of course. It is not even the postman's fault. But, you know, it is discouraging.

Besides that, the mail box I like to use (because it is on the way to work) is still out of service. I guess some of my letters and postcards got caught in the storm that caused the water leaks, and we lost them forever. Besides that, the Mail Monsters attacked a couple of letters, but luckily they survived.

The saddest of all things is that a pen friend passed away.

·.·.·.·.·oOo·.·.·.·.·

All in all, I was tempted to write that this has not been a good mail year. However, I realised that it has been, as far as this blog is concerned:

• In May, Mail Adventures reached the post number 4000 and its 13th Bloganniversary.
• I have published a whopping 345 posts this year. That is the highest number since this blog was born. Honestly, I do not expect to beat the record next year.
• I managed to participate all 52 weeks in Sunday Stamps. And the same for Thursday Postcard Hunt. That must be some kind of record, too. Anyway, it has been really fun, and I thank Violet for hosting both, and all the participants.

·.·.·.·.·oOo·.·.·.·.·

And, when I come to think of it, I realise that mail has had a BIG place in my life this year. For instance:

Sunday Stamps | Castillo de San Marcos

The last Sunday Stamps theme this year is A Favourite. That is almost impossible: the latest stamp mailed to me is always the favourite!

So, among many favourites, I have chosen this one, which is not so easy to get by mail due to its high value. 

It was issued on April 2021. According to the USPS site:

[...] celebrates the oldest masonry fortification in the United States, the Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine, Florida. The stamp art features a digital illustration of the fortress based on a contemporary photograph. With a view toward the northeast corner of the fortress, the artwork captures it in the golden glow of sunrise over Matanzas Bay. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with art created by Dan Cosgrove.

Good Things Project (II)

Actually, the project worked both ways, although I have not go all the postcards yet.

Good Things Project (I)

A friend gave me a postcard calendar at the beginning of the year, and I decided to sent the postcards back to her, month by month. I chose a theme: Good things that happened this month.

No January postcard on the picture above because I took the picture in February. But I managed to send the whole set.

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Christmas Mailboxes

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
December theme: SNOW

• Week 1 - Snow
• Week 2 - Animals in snow
• Week 3 - Keep warm
• Week 4 - Christmas

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Merry Christmas!

By Omomo Yosuke

Sent by Eri (Japan).

Christmas Magic

Looks like the Christmas magic is working, and some more Christmas cards and letters arrived today…

Little Women
Illustration by Dawn Cooper

'Are you really sure you have been good?'

By Alexander Holzach

Nisse med lyskæde

By Barry West

One thing I like about getting mail from Denmark is the Christmas seals:

Christmas Sheep

The Continental, by Scott Church (2012)

First (and almost last!) Christmas card received this season, sent by Phillip (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | Christmas

For today's Sunday Stamps, dedicated to Christmas, here you have a variety of old and new Christmas stamps I have got in 2024*:

Canada

Spain

The United Kingdom

The United States of America

*Most of them received in January 2024!

Ready for the Winter?

 

'A smurfy beginning is half the battle'

Sent by Melissa (the Netherlands).

'Happiness is when your soul
stops asking for it doesn't have
and starts enjoying the things it has'

Sent by Olga (Russia).

Sent by Phillip (the USA).

Hand Printed Christmas Cards

Card printed by Alan (the UK), from very old printing blocks.

Printed by Vicky (Spain).

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Reading Rabbits

This advent calendar arrived in January. So, I decided to keep them and use it on the following Christmas season -Now! The rabbit on the oversized chair is reading the most appropriate title: Christmas Story.

The postcard was sent by Phillip (the USA). The following day, curiously, another reading rabbit sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) reached my mailbox!

Story Time, by Racey Helps

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
December theme: SNOW

• Week 1 - Snow
• Week 2 - Animals in snow
• Week 3 - Keep warm
• Week 4 - Christmas

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Happy Winter Time

Christmas collage on an envelope sent by Laura (the UK).

And one of the first holidays postmarks from the USA:

Christmas Bears

Bears sent by Bryon (the USA), Heleen (the Netherlands), Phillip (the USA) and Bruno (PC), for 2023 & 2024 Christmas.

Vote for the 2024 Sepac Stamp of the Year

This year marks 25 years since the Small European Postal Administrations Co-operation (Sepac) network was founded. The twelve member countries of Sepac comprise the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Vatican and Åland. 

Since 2007, the Sepac countries have each issued a stamp in a joint series every other year, and every year since 2013. Sepac stamps are recognisable by the special Sepac logo, which is incorporated in the design of these stamps. The common theme changes from year to year. The theme of the 2024 Sepac stamp series is Main Tourist Attractions.

You can vote for the most beautiful 2024 Sepac stamp. By casting your vote, you will automatically be entered into our prize draw to win exclusive stamp collections from SEPAC members. Voting closes on 31st January 2025. You can vote here.

Sunday Stamps | Shaker Design

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is The Colour Red. I know mine is not the most obvious choice but...

... two mostly red stamps belonging to the set Shaker Design, issued by USPS last June, to coincide with the 25oth anniversary of the arrival of the first Shakers to America.

This designs combine the simplicity and the utility. The 12-stamps feature photographs by Michael Freeman. On the stamps above:

• silk neckerchiefs from South Union Shaker Village (Auburn, Kentucky);
• the tannery at the Shaker Village of Mount Lebanon (New Lebanon, New York).

On the stamps above, from left to right: 

• a heater stove (Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield);
• a spinning wheel from Fruitlands Museum (Harvard, Massachussets);
• a rocking chair from Canterbury Shaker Village (Canterbury, New Hampshire).

From left to right: 

• cheese baskets in the dairy (Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield);
• the “swallowtail” joints of a bentwood box (Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield); 
• staircases in the Trustees’ Office and Guest House at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill (Harrodsburg, Kentucky).

(This post has been updated on 15 December 2024.)