"A Problem Page For All!"

Erm, I may have got just a trifle carried away in telling the Esther story. She did use ragged magazine pages (very artistic, I admit); she did write our address on about a 1'x1' square of paper in blue caligraphy pen; she did use copious amounts of masking tape. But she did always put the stamps on straight. I apologise for the deception. (The storyteller in me is always at war with my honest side!)

I don't really know our postal workers. Huntington has about 20,000 residents; even the most avid pen pal doesn't really make friends with the postal workers, and all our mail gets shipped to Fort Wayne to be sorted -- even a letter mailed from Huntington to somewhere in Huntington! There is a really grumpy guy who always makes cracks about our hyphenated last name and grumbles when I ask for stamp designs other than flags; I don't know his name, but I try to avoid me! The last time I went in he was really nice to me, though, so I don't have a clue what's up with him.... And there's a nice, pragmatic, no-nonsense woman who doesn't mind finding flowers or birds for me when I ask for something other than flags, please. And there's a harried woman with frizzy hair who purses her lips and who I'm so scared of that I just take her flag stamps!

Yeah, Esther went to England all alone. She got some kind of theatre internship, flight and room paid for, but she's going to have to fend for her own food (she told me she'd be begging -- or worse -- on the streets, which I found highly amusing and which freaked Rachel out!).

Alisa only ever wrote me one letter, so I only know what my other pals told me. I don't remember what she herself said; nothing outrageous; but it could all have been lies. Whateva!

I don't know what happened to Sarah! I miss her, too.

Silly me. Of course you'd sew your jeans legs together! Bonk me on the head, eh? Oooh, we have a beautiful Singer sewing machine from like 1898 or 1907 or something...it's so gorgeous! The leather belt that turns the wheel broke, so it's stapled and duct taped, but other than that it's in marvelous condition and most definitely works. Nana gave it to us because she once put an iron down on the fold-out side shelf and she felt so guilty looking at the stain that she wanted it out of her house! I'm so grateful we have it. I love just looking at it.

Mweh, mweh, your letter sounds great! However, feel free to ask me all the questions! I love questions! What are you dying to know about me, sweetums?

Oh, phew, you're not favoring Ilona over me with your photo favors! Sorry. Feel free to send your photos to whomever you wish! Heh.

Yeah, we went out to Kansas last year, for Jimmy to visit the guy at the National Weather Service office in Dodge City. He's the brother of one of our friends here in Huntington, so Jimmy couldn't pass up the chance to make a NWS connection! Now Jimmy and he e-mail, and he sends Jimmy links to web sites of private, NWS-only weather data, etc. It's not like top-secret stuff, just that it's not public. It's wonderful for Jimmy to have an "in" like that! Also, this guy knows the guy who runs our local NWS office, so...there's a possibility of an internship for Jimmy, whatever, in a couple years.

Cool stuff like

NBTSC party
Fly to the moon
Knit 5 sweaters
Learn to fly a jet

!!!? You crack me up! Sorry to be awfully boring, but it's more like this:

Cherie to dentist in Indianapolis on Monday
Turn in poem for library contest
Finish preparations for Rachel's birthday
Rachel's birthday
Cook and freeze meals to eat during trip
Shop for trip food
Get Toyota fixed because it smokes when you drive it (!)
Get van overhauled to make sure it's in good health
Volunteer at co-op plant sale
Buy more essential oil of peppermint
Baby-sit on Tuesday
Stevie has to participate in HC's graduation ceremony
Fast once a week with Cherie
Remember three pen pals' birthdays this month
Et cetera, as the Latins say!

Gotta go; it's chore time. Remind me to tell you about my thoughts on Calender Girls and Love Actually, both of which I recently watched!

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