kimberly ah

Feb 16 2015

Letter Month 2015 Week 2

We are at the halfway point in Letter Month! Last week’s mailings were all about Valentine’s Day. And, as much as I love sending out Valentines, I’m a little relieved that they are mostly sent out (I have a couple to send in this week’s mail) and I can go back to returning letters and sending postcards.

I didn’t do as well last week with visiting new mailboxes, only mailing out of the blue box in our neighborhood once, and the box by work once…the rest of the time, I relied on the box in our lobby. (What can I say, I hate the cold weather!) Today is a mail holiday (Presidents Day) so tomorrow, my goal is to send my Sunday, Monday & Tuesday mailings out of another box in our neighborhood. It will be good to get out of the house, right?

My totals for the week:

19 cards
0 postcards
1 international
0 packages
20 Total mailings

This week, my goal is to put away all of the pink and red stuff and respond to all of the letters I’ve received this month.

Cheers to more letters!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 13 2015

5 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, holidays, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail, vintage

Vintage Stamp Valentines

I’ve been making some handmade Valentines for pen pals and friends since January. Yet, somehow, I am not done. I get distracted too easily, and Presley joins me and naps on my supplies, which slows things down too.

I decided to make some cards that looked a little bit like envelopes (similar to my calling cards for ex Postal Facto last year.) I started with some 4-bar cards and added pink and red vintage (or Japanese) stamps and a variety of washi tapes. I typed the message “You put the stamp on my envelope, Valentine!” on labels or directly on the cards. The labeled ones kind of look more like envelopes, but hopefully the silly message kind of makes sense.

They were a lot of fun to make and I was happy to be able to spend out some of my vintage stamp collection…although now I feel compelled to build up my red and pink stash again!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your mailbox is full of love this weekend!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, vintage, washi tape

Feb 11 2015

10 Comments

adventures, Naoberly's Noodle Tour, what's for dinner

Naoberly’s Noodle Tour: Ramen-San

Naoto and I are back in a ramen groove again…which is perfect timing since we are still in the dead of winter around here. Last weekend, we tried Ramen-san in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. I wish I’d taken more pictures of the entire restaurant. It’s rustic-modern with beautiful exposed brick walls, semi-communal tables and bench seating. It was just the right amount of noisy and while we were there (early dinner on Saturday night), they turned down the lights and showed the Bulls game on the brick walls. We started with cocktails. Naoto got an Asahi (He loves finding Japanese beers on tap!) and I got a Singapore Sling. Can you believe I’ve never had a Singapore Sling before? It was so good–gin, pineapple, Cherry Heering, Benedictine and lime, all beautifully topped with a slice of pineapple and decadent Luxardo cherries. We ordered the shrimp & pork wontons, which were a little spicy and really tasty. It was a nice warm-up for our big bowls of ramen. I have to say that the ramen presentation at Ramen-san was pretty lackluster. It kind of looked like my ramen was just thrown in the bowl, which was a bit surprising considering this was the priciest ramen we’ve had and the restaurant itself was very polished. In spite of it all, the ramen was very tasty. I got the tonkotsu ramen, which is pretty traditional with its pork broth, chashu pork slices and soft cooked egg. The broth was really tasty and the noodles were cooked perfectly.Naoto had the Kimchi & Fried Chicken Ramen. He really liked this spicy and unusual take on traditional ramen. He said it had just the right amount of heat to warm him up and he loved that the fried chicken was still crispy, even in the broth! Because we were taking the L, we got drinks for dessert. Naoto got another beer and I tried the Cilantro-Lime Margarita. It was rich and delicious with its special addition of yuzu (my favorite Japanese citrus) and spicy lime salt.

Ramen-san is the latest in our Ramen Adventures. Here are the links to our previous journeys:

Slurping Turtle

Misoya

Tagged adventures, cocktails, food

Feb 10 2015

8 Comments

Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail

Traveling Postcard Kit

I knew if I was going to keep up with Letter Month, I would have to keep a little mail kit in my bag. I decided to make things simple for myself: I would return proper letters at home but I would write quick, fun postcards when I was out and about. So far it’s working, as I’ve been able to write postcards while waiting for Naoto at the doctor, while waiting to meet friends for coffee, and while waiting for our food to come at a restaurant. If I didn’t carry a little kit, those postcards would have never happened. Inside the kit (which is really just the box that held my New Year cards) I have a handful of postcards, pens, stamps, my travel address book, my return address stamp and ink. I could probably drop some stickers or some washi tape in the box, too, but I really just want these postcards to be simple. Write a postcard, stamp it, and drop it in a blue box. Done!

Tagged mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Feb 09 2015

1 Comment

Letter Month, snail mail

Letter Month 2015 Week 1

I’m off to a good start with Letter Month! I’ve written at least one thing each day and I’ve fed four mailboxes in my neighborhood–one by work, the snorkel box at the River Forest Post Office, the one at the corner near my apartment, and the one in the West Suburban Hospital (not really in my neighborhood). Feeding the blue boxes has helped me get out and walk around in the winter wonderland and has kept me on the lookout for more area boxes that I hadn’t noticed before. I’m glad I added that as part of my personal Letter Month challenge!

My totals for the week:

3 letters/cards
3 postcards
2 international
2 packages
10 Total mailings

How are you doing with Letter Month/InCoWriMo? Remember it’s all about the effort and not the perfection! Just send a letter!

P.S. The “Bless the USPS” postcard is from Eggagogo–perfect for Letter Month! (Not sponsored, just a fan!)

Tagged forest park, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail

Feb 08 2015

2 Comments

Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail, Valentine's Day

Happening Today: LWA Virtual Social

Happy Virtual Letter Social Day!! Although I won’t be able to participate in the video portion of the social (I hate it when work commitments get in the way of letter writing!) I will be finishing my Valentines and writing letters throughout the day (or as long as Presley stays off the table.)

Happy letter writing!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 06 2015

4 Comments

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park

Holy Snow!

On Saturday night it started snowing and it pretty much didn’t stop until sometime early Monday. And it snowed some more on Tuesday and Wednesday. Our area snowfall was somewhere between the 19-22 inch range. Above is what it looked like when I walked for coffee on Sunday morning. Everything was still passable and it was very pretty! Late Sunday afternoon, Naoto and I walked over to our friends’ place for the Super Bowl. The wind had picked up by this time and sidewalks and streets were somewhat of a challenge to walk in. We ended up walking to the L and taking it two stops and then walking through at least a foot of snow in some places to get to their apartment. It felt a little insane, but it wasn’t very cold and we feel like as Chicagoans, we should be able to handle a little bit of snow. (That being said, we never would have driven in that mess!) By the time the Super Bowl was over, we found ourselves walking in the streets to get back to the train. Some homeowners were outside clearing the walks, but not everyone had, so you’d find yourself in a clear path that walked into a dead end of waist-high snow. In front of our own building, the snow had drifted up by the garage door and we had to climb a snow mountain to get to our front door. What a fun adventure! On Monday morning, things were bright and sunny and a big mess! We’ve been trying to walk everywhere (mostly to work, for coffees and to the blue mailbox!) so we don’t have to navigate the messy roads and crazy parking situations out there. Stay warm, Chicago!

Tagged adventures, celebrations, forest park

Feb 05 2015

6 Comments

crafty adventures, holidays, snail mail, Valentine's Day

Easy Printmaking For Kids (& Adults)

Last week, I quickly shared about my thrift store find, Tomie dePaola’s Things to Make and Do for Valentine’s Day. When I got to this printmaking craft, I was really excited because I’ve done something like this before. I think it’s a really fun project–for kids and adults–and a good introduction to block printing without investing in a ton of materials.

Here are the instructions starring Tomie’s cute kids and cuter cat: Tomie de Paola Things to Make and Do for Valentine's Day A few notes:

I know styrofoam is a horrible thing for the environment and a few cities in the U.S. are banning the use of styrofoam take-out containers. Think of this as re-purposing something evil. I got my styrofoam trays with fish and vegetables at Mitsuwa.
I used a brayer because I already had one on hand from a printmaking class, but a rolling pin works just fine and may be even better for kids since it’s bigger and easier to handle.
The book suggests poster paints. I used Martha Stewart craft paint because I had some already. It worked fine, but it did dry quickly. So, I tried oil-based printmaking ink, which I also had. It worked perfectly but I would highly suggest you don’t use it if you are working with kids. It’s messy, permanent and dries so slowly.

I made my “block” by tracing the outline of the Japanese character for “friend”. I flipped it around and traced it onto my styrofoam with a sharp pencil. I went over the outline a couple of times to make a deep enough channel to get a clean outline. If I had pressed too lightly, the outline would not be as clear.My prints are imperfect, but that’s okay. It takes some practice to get the right amount of ink on the styrofoam–I need some more practice! And, if this oil-based ink ever dries, I will cut them apart into little cards and send them out as Valentines.

If you try this project, I’d love to hear about it! Happy Valentine making!

Tagged crafts, diy, holidays, mail art, snail mail, thrifting

Feb 04 2015

1 Comment

Forest Park, Oak Park, Postal Consumer Advisory Council, snail mail

USPS Consumer Advisory Council Meeting 5

At our January Council Meeting, we continued to discuss the customer service surveys. (Some may say we were beating a dead horse with our continued belaboring, but others found the information useful.)

Postmaster Crawford was back in attendance and he brought some statistics regarding the surveys. Survey responses increased from 16 in the October report to 71 in the January report. This makes sense because so many more people are frequenting the post office during the holidays. The only negative responses on the surveys were related to the clerk’s attitude. Other questions include clerk’s knowledge, wait times and staffing. Postmaster Crawford said he was open to hanging signage in the post office to inform customers of the surveys, but needs to stay within the standard prescribed by the USPS.

Oak Park will be one of the first on the list to receive new vehicles and new scanners. The new vehicles will be better equipped to handle the large amount of packages the USPS will handle. The new scanners will have GPS to aid in delivery patterns.

Now that the holiday rush is over, the Postmaster needs to schedule a meeting with the village of Oak Park to discuss the education and enforcement of the snow removal ordinances. Suggestions from the Council included a note in the VOP Newsletter, a mention during Village board meetings and a piece on the local TV station. Members also suggested that the post office reach out to residents by hosting a booth during A Day in Our Village (a community event during the summer) and having an information table at the Farmers Market (which runs May-November).

We were reminded that as council members, it is our jobs to help to educate the public about the USPS. So here’s my PSA: Please keep your walks and stairs clear of snow and ice to help make your letter carrier’s job a little bit easier. And if you have elderly neighbors, give them a hand with clearing their walks and stairs. Your letter carrier will thank you for it.

Even though–at the time of the meeting–our area had not seen a large amount of snow or severely cold weather, Postmaster Crawford said he felt very confident that this season would be much better than last season* because of increased staffing and training. We had a huge snowfall on Sunday, 17+ inches and blizzard conditions. My building did not receive mail on Monday but delivery resumed on Tuesday.

That’s all we were able to cover since we spent such a large portion of the meeting discussing the surveys. Hopefully next month will be more productive.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I’d love to hear it!

*Last season’s mail delivery issues, chronicled here, were the catalyst for starting the council.

Tagged forest park, mail art, snail mail

Feb 03 2015

3 Comments

Forest Park, Oak Park, snail mail, vintage

Vintage Postcards Are Delightful

My pen pal Ryan is a frequenter of the Vintage Paper Fair in San Francisco. Last month he sent me a couple of fantastic old postcards from his shopping adventure. The top one, featuring my favorite president Abe Lincoln and his wife Mary, is unused. I’m not sure if Ryan knew I was a fan of Abe or if this was just a coincidence, but I’m excited to display the postcard with my mini Abe collection this month! The second card was mailed from Chicago in 1911. It shows The Casino in my very own Forest Park, Illinois!! I had to do some research to see where The Casino was located, most likely down by the shopping area along Roosevelt. I might need to visit the Forest Park Historical Society soon to learn more. The postcard was sent to Clara in Wisconsin. The note is hard to decipher (maybe someone else can read it better?) but I believe it says: