Friend Love is True Love

with everything that's happened over the past 3 days, i think we can all use some heartwarming happy thoughts. i've been meaning to post this for a while, but now i'm glad i waited - it's the perfect time.


i've talked about my friend j before. to say that she's amazing is a complete understatement. she's one of the most incredible people i know. she's thoughtful, kind, inspiring, nonjudgmental, knowledgeable, supportive, strong and gentle. and, on top of that, she's an incredible fibre artist. (i posted her wedding invitations, but i think that's all... i really need to post the amazing mini quilt she made me a few years ago)

one of the many wonderful things about j is that she occasionally sends me the most incredible packages. you all know how much i adore mail love, but j's packages go so far beyond just mail love! she's someone who takes such delight in the small details of everything, so every single aspect of her packages is meaningful and heartfelt, and that makes them absolute treasures.

just before valentine's day, i received a package from her, and she completely outdid herself.

i opened the envelope in the car, but made myself wait until i was home to actually open the package, knowing that j's packages often include small details that might be lost otherwise.




but the package was exciting! lookit the pretty ribbon!

and then i came home and opened it and it was even more exciting!


a bundle of valentine themed embroidery floss and the most wonderful needlebook


with a beautiful hand embroidered and beaded typewriter - the keys are beads!


when you open it up, the first page has a lovely heart milagro, a beaded border, and hand sewing needles.


the centre pages have pins and pockets


there's a little cupcake in the centre of a beaded heart outline, and matching red and yellow pins.


the pocket page held a little tissue package wrapped up with pink waxed linen thread and another little piece of cupcake ribbon (which always reminds me of j, i know how she loves waxed linen thread!)


the tissue package held more heart milagros, a small brass heart, and a lady of guadalupe charm


inside the back cover, there's another little heart pocket


with a little book folded up inside


the book used two kinds of paper, one that's very lacy


and one that can be written on, with a valentine's day message


on the back of the little book, she wrote all of the materials she used


and on the back of the needlebook itself, she embroidered my name

isn't that most amazing package ever?

mail love!!

the other day i went down to washington to mail a few packages, and while i was there, i signed up for a post office box.

i had a mailbox with a private company until the end of 2010, and i'll still be using them for UPS, which won't ship to boxes, but getting a box directly with USPS is actually way cheaper (i always thought it was more, for some reason!), and the mailpeople are much more pleasant to deal with. and i'll be able to get magazine subscriptions and i won't receive them 3 weeks late!! plus, i'll be able to ship AND receive at the same location! the private company discontinued their shipping service about a year ago, which meant that i had to go there to pick up, and then to the PO to mail stuff. two places to drive to, two lineups to stand in, etc...

AND, i feel confident that USPS won't disappear or close or do something else as generally annoying, so now i have an address that i can use on zines, etc, and can post publicly. yay!!

so!

wanna send me a letter, card, etc? i love mail, and i try to respond within a reasonable time frame (though i should point out the word "try"! if i'm feeling crummy, i won't respond asap, cause who wants to receive a crummy themed letter anyway?)




amy dame
PO Box 516
Point Roberts, WA 98281-0516




PLEASE NOTE:
if you're sending something more than a letter, like a swap package or something, it MUST have an invoice to show it's value. even if it's a gift, i still need proof of value to bring it into Canada. if you're not sure what that entails, please ask. few things suck more than being hassled by border guards! thanks!!