Wanderlust

Being that this is a card, rather than a postcard, it is technically too 'big' for this blog. Lynn asked jokingly if this meant I would kick her out of our project. Think again, friend. More likely, you should kick me out - based off of my recent lapse in timely blogging and mailing. A transatlantic move has me off kilter. Thankfully, things are starting to settle down, I am settling in and we will be able to catch up in person soon. 


This card - inspired by the cover for The Beekeeper's Bible by Richard A. Jones and Sharon Sweeney-Lynch - celebrates wanderlust.  A term, Lynn tells me, that the dictionary defines as to get out the 'wild oats'. Although fitting at the time, this theme is a bit ironic now since Lynn and I are both nesting (well relatively) rather than setting off an a spectacular journey. Nonetheless, let's be honest, my itch for discovering new places is never far (as is Lynn's usually) and this book inspired card makes me dream of travel-inspired stories to come. 

Illustrator

It's not a postcard but its some art I've been working on recently.  I used a brush and ink to make several illustrations for a book cover. So, now I'm officially an illustrator ;-) You can see how it came together here. I made several versions of each and really enjoyed that medium, I hadn't worked with it since college.

Letters from everywhere

Lynn, and I have been sending each other letters since undergrad, long before we started this postcard challenge. Posted to and from all over the world, amazingly, our letters have yet to be lost (or so I think!).

I am constantly curious about the journey our mail takes.  Lynn's first June drawing captures mailboxes she dropped letters into over the years. Her drawing provides a glimpse to the start of letter's journey, but it fills my curiosity only partially. What path did letters take when she sent them from Egypt to Samoa? What adventures? It is a journey I'd like to trace.
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Although the front of this card is a tale in itself, on its underbelly, Lynn wrote to me about the closing of school for the summer. The start of summer break is always sweet, but last year she also felt relieved to put distance on discussions of financial woes facing the public education system in Michigan. It can be a tiring, heated debate and is one that I listened to a lot growing up with a teacher as a mother. Although each day she would get up and work her heart out for her kids, her compensation, just as with most government jobs, depended on public policy and revenue rather than her effort or success. No rewards for hard work and no security if someone is relatively new or teaching elective classes.

It is the same in Ghana. Not only does a lack of incentives hinder teacher morale and performance, the budget is tight. In Ghana, nearly all of the education budget - which makes up a third of the government's total budget - goes to teacher salaries. This leaves the government with little money to build schools, develop materials, provide professional training - in short, to do anything other than pay teachers. Teachers deserve to be paid well, but each time I hear this debate, I always hope it will focus first on how to pay them rather than on blanket budget revisions. My two cents before school is out for the summer.

The proof is in the pudding

Yes, in this instance, the proof really is in the pudding. Thinking of how to illustrate idioms, makes me giggle. Inspired by Lynn's postcard, I went online and checked out a number of sites that list out idioms (find one here). Scrolling through the list, I could not help but laugh imagining how I might draw:

He lost his head * Back seat driver * Flea market * A chip on his sholder * No room to swing a cat * Everything but the kitchen sink * Lend me your ear * Its raining cats and dogs

 Lynn reminded me, on the underbelly of her card, that not everyone could understand idioms. Non-native speakers and people on the autism spectrum are likely to not get them at all. Somehow I imagine them conjuring up the same images Lynn and I might if we were to draw these phrases, although just as likely is that they are just confused.  This also makes me think about times I have used idioms during work conversations in Ghana. I have a feeling that if you had been a fly on the wall you might have cracked up realizing that my staff thought I was speaking mumbo jumbo.

Tee hee.

Self Talk

Tired of work meetings, Lynn tried to change her attitude by revving herself up for them. 'Let's meet it up!', she would say, while deep inside she was thinking - really, another meeting?

Lynn was practicing positive self talk. A term I googled to double check I had not made it up only to learn that Lynn would make the motivational coaches of this world very proud. While I was not in Lynn's meetings last year, I can say that self talk works. We believe the stories we tell ourselves. Often a little self deception is all that is needed to take the first step and before you know it you are doing something that you didn't think that you could or wanted to do.

If you hear a voice within you saying,
'You are not a painter,' then by all means paint
and that voice will be silenced.
Vincent Van Gogh

Lynn, you said you were inspired to write this down and send it to me by another blogger who posts phrases on postcards. Who was it?

Checked

One of the things I like increasingly about this postcard project is that Lynn and I produce cards the other would never have thought to create. Checked boxes and leaves? Never would have occurred to me in my boxed in world - but I like it.

Lynn thought it was boring though, just like March. The month that if you live in Michigan drags on as if summer might never come, especially when it has 5 weeks in it like last year. Lynn wrote that she predicted March wouldn't be as long and tedious as if felt it might be looking out from its start, but knowing that didn't diminish the fact that she longed for excitement. 

We both have exciting changes brewing in our lives this year. I go between relishing mine, a new work opportunity outside of Ghana, and dreading the sad day when my move will happen. Ghana has seeped into my heart while I was busy with other things and suddenly I am realizing that it is going to be harder to leave than it was to arrive.

Another reality check that I cannot have it all. I spend time trying to find balance, or feeling bad because I have not found it, but perhaps a more achievable focus at this point would be to learn to weather these changes, to cross these lines with grace.  It's not easy-o.

A second chance

An ironic, final victim of the rainy nights of July 2011. This postcard urged me to look on the bright side when I discovered, earlier this month, that Lynn's use of water color pencils had downsides as well as upsides. The cutout on its left side was a saving grace since at least it did not blur and run when it became wet. Lucky for Lynn, I have become good at throwing back my shoulders and moving forward when life gets muddled. With rose colored glasses on the bridge of my nose, I pulled out a black pen and a red colored pencil this week and gave the washed out postcard a touch up so that it was blog worthy enough for this post.

On the pink underbelly of this card, Lynn checked in to see how I was doing on my 2011 new year's resolutions. Had I made it through January successfully? Her resolution was to slow down and think more carefully. I laughed when she then wrote, "Do you think watching a lot of documentaries counts?" This year, my goals for 2012 are quite similar to Lynn's last year - Slow down - and no, I have not kept them even though we are only 1/26 of the way through the year. Can I hit restart sometime around June? I want a do-over.

A shadow of fun

When I saw Lynn last Christmas, she had just moved into a new house and was relieved to take pause from moving and renovations. After hearing what this involved, I remember thinking, as we ordered yet another cup of coffee, that she deserved a bit of a break.

Coincidentally, the postcard (also victim of my primal living conditions) I received a few weeks later confirmed this. Wishing for more than household chores, snow shoveling and slushy urban slop, Lynn daydreamed about the simplicity of summer. You can almost hear crickets when you think of backyard camping, which is not typically a winter activity (unless you are my brother who dug snow caves to sleep in behind our house when we were kids). Lying in the grass in your tent with your book and your flashlight, flashing an occasional shadow puppet on the wall next to you. Who doesn't miss these moments when it gets cold?

So here we are again. Its January. Lynn has been just finished putting in hardwood floors and has completed her holiday family tour. Winter and snow shoveling are here. Luckily flashes of summer fun are not completely elusive, and can be practiced. A flashlight and bare wall is all you need for shadow puppets, right? Perhaps it should obligatory to 'practice' having fun in January so that you are really good at it once summer arrives... maybe my brother was on to something.

Sweater fuzz

This seagull's sweater is rather fuzzy, which may strike you as odd even if you are not used to seeing fully clothed, pipe smoking fowl. Unfortunately, this hearty bird, and his sweater, was inadvertently exposed to bad weather. You see, this card should have been posted in December 2011, but was not because it was lost. After searching in drawers, cupboards and folders in my office and home, I finally, after a month of searching, found Lynn's December postcards in a cupboard near where my roof leaks (I apparently did not know it leaked when I received the post card last year).

My leaking roof was the bane of my existence during the rainy season. Regular torrential downpours meant that it was wet both inside and outside my house. Not sure what else to do, I would place pots strategically so as to control the water and capture pinging drips as they fell. Along one cement wall, the flow was constant. After the rain subsided the first time this happened, I sprung to action and contacted a repairman. He promised to come immediately. Long story short, after many complications including wasps nets, tree limbs and long work trips, my roof was only fixed after the rainy season ended. Thus every time it rained, I would fear that either A. I would drown in my sleep or B. my roof would cave in. Luckily for me neither A nor B happened and Ghana's sky is now clear.

Thank goodness this bird was dressed appropriately for the weather, but I am sorry Pal for adding substantial fuzz to his sweater.

Almost cool

Bows are in and ruffles out claimed Lynn a year ago (I could not verify whether this was true from Ghana, but I am taking her word for it). She had just wrapped her 'head around wearing a whole feminine ruffly mess' and then, suddenly, it was so last season and she had to start all over.

Her students, however, were perfectly in sync. Apparently, sophomores wore jeans, while seniors (too cool for school or, in this instance, to get dressed) wore sweats, specifically PINK by Victoria's Secret only. I think we are both glad we missed this trend, although it may be that we were never great at keeping in step in the first place.

Joint account

Lynn is one of a few people (alive?) without a Facebook account. Having been a late joiner myself, I have tried to convince Lynn that it is nice to stay in touch with acquaintances, especially when I am far away. I also pointed out that I wanted her to see pictures I posted. But Lynn is private and was hard to budge so I gave up the nagging and instead found an alternative solution: I gave her my password. This means that every now and then Lynn checks in with the world and with me by logging onto my account (watch out!). And after doing so, she usually reports back on what she discovered. On the back of this card and she exclaims about babies and engagement announcements that friends had posted online that she had not known about. This never fails to make me laugh.

You see, the problem with our love affair with snail mail is that everyone else has moved on. They are blasting things to the world, while we are still sending targeted updates to each other. For us, this joint FB account/pen pal arrangement is the best of both worlds. Lynn gets my news and can spy on the world, while I am updated by Lynn (albeit more slowly). Unfortunately, the one hitch is that if Lynn has news the larger world may miss it. Yes, privacy prevails.

The card, by the way, is cut from a watercolor painting. It did not scan well, but I can vouch for the fact that it is way more beautiful in real life. Come to Ghana and you can see for yourself. :-)

Locked doors and blooming tea

Although Lynn told me to not read into her lock and key theme, she did mention that sometimes she wishes she could lock her door and close her blinds at work to block distractions. I couldn't agree more, especially now that I am trying to catch up from my time in the States.

Her card also mentions a visit to a tea house serving 'flowering tea' - a dried flower that blooms as it steeps in boiling water. I have a feeling this is not an extreme rarity, but I have not seen it before so I immediately googled it and came up with this.

Seems like a perfect drink to have when you are locked your office catching up from a holiday - or preparing for one!

A book club report

Lynn wrote in spiral on the back of this card so that I had to spin it like an antique vinyl to decipher it. As I spun the card around, I learned that through drawing this card Lynn found that watercolor paper is not great for color pencils. It is hard to make the color even.

She also reported that she was a member of a book club at long last. They had just finished The Help by Katheryn Stockett, which just happens to be in the theater this month, and were about to read the The Elegance of a Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. A choice that Lynn was hesitant about because she had just read, and not particularly enjoyed, Muriel's earlier book, Gourmet Rhapsody.

It is funny to read this again now because The Elegance of a Hedgehog came up in discussion last week. A friend and I were chatting about recent/favorite reads and our reading addictions. I was lamenting that I was having a reading dry spell. For more than a year, I had been taking months to get through a single book, reading only a few pages a night. This is not at all like me at all, I had exclaimed, I am usually a binge reader. It was then that I remembered that The Elegance of a Hedgehog was the last book that I had read cover to cover in a single night. I had planned to read a couple chapters before bed but the sun was threatening to come up before I finished the last page. I only caught a few moments of sleep before work. Not particularly responsible, but perhaps not the worst pleasure to indulge. Lynn, I cannot remember your final review. Did you end up liking the book? What are you reading now?

(Note - I'm in Michigan and have yet to conquer the family scanner so this postcard is especially mini, sorry Pal!) .

Mickey!

Lynn's little dogs have been featured on a few postcards. This is a drawing of Mickey from a picture taken while visiting Lake Michigan. Apparently, he was so excited that he was flying around checking everything out. I totally relate with Mickey. When I hit the beach at home, I cannot help but jump around either. How could we not be thrilled? Who could resist this:

Finding time to stitch

Ghana has great fabric. Knowing Lynn was sewing, I remember asking Lynn if I should send her some so that she could keep stitching. She laughed at me. Apparently, fabric was not a constraint, but making time to sew was. About a month later I received this postcard from her. Proof that she had fabric and plans. Lynn, were you able to make these plans happen?

Doodles lost

Lynn's discovery of an old sketchbook has been referenced a few times in the last few postings. It seems that the rediscovery of old doodles provided a real source of inspiration. This doodle is a piece cut out from that very same sketch book. I feel lucky to have gotten a corner, even if it means that next time the sketchbook is re-found it will be missing a piece. I like to think that perhaps its finder will come looking for the rest of the puzzle.

On the back, Lynn wrote, "And here is the only fun doodle I found in my sketch book. I like to think of phones like these. We had a rotary phone when I was in elementary school - and now kids have crickets/cellphones! Remember how cell phones exploded after Junior year? Sometimes it even amazes me that you can call me from Ghana. I guess I sound like an eighty year old with all this babble about 'the old days'."

Oh pal, you are my favorite Luddite. And, yes, I owe you a call.

Picnics

Water color pencils. I had almost forgotten that they existed, and I never understood what to do with them until I received Lynn's card last summer. Lynn clearly knew that these nifty pencils can make clean lines easier. A great attribute, since successful clean lines are a headache for any new water-color student using a brush, or at least this has always been my experience (I know this may mean I need to learn to live in a world without lines; I am working on this. But as my post cards demonstrate, I have a hard time letting go of borders).

Lynn wrote on the card's belly that she had been thinking of picnics. Picnics she had decided were better thought of than to be had. Bugs, ants and heat, resident picnickers, make her prefer to enjoy her sandwich somewhere other than reclining on the lawn. Although I have had my share of lovely park picnics, living in the tropics, where we take all of aforementioned components up a notch, I must say that she may be on to something.

Cheers to the waning days of heat and bugs my pal.

Scratch off cootie catcher

Now isn't that a catchy title?

Last year, Lynn sent me a fantastic birthday gift - a cootie catcher with a scratch off heart.

One pick at a time I got words of wisdom on how to start a new decade:

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. | When planning for a year plant corn. When planning for a decade plant trees. When planning for life train and educate people. | Happy people plan actions, they don't plan results. | Success is often the result of taking a mis-step in the right direction.

A lot of sage advice to mull over, pal; good thing we have a decade to do so.

Four seasons

Lynn was playing around with common postal pal themes - seasons and trees - when she drew this card. This image does not do her creation justice. By the time she sent this, she was finding herself in the middle of the summer break feeling relatively unproductive except for regular work outs. Aspirations of creating art everyday had not been reached so she wrote that she had looked for inspiration in old drawing pads... which apparently led to little more than a reminder of the ceramics class she had taken with me in our senior year (not a bad thing to remember I must say). Perhaps in hopes of soliciting ideas, she spent the rest of the card asking me about my creative outlets... which in theory was a good strategy except for the fact that by this time I had morphed into a complete workaholic. Not an art inducing activity. Somehow though Lynn pulled through and kept up with her post cards.

Since this week I have been trying to make myself sit down to draw a card after a crazy month, reading this is a good reminder to me that I should not wait for a great source of inspiration. Taking a pause and letting ones mind wander - at last - is likely to be all I can manage and is luckily all that I should need.

Flying through time

This blog is getting loopy in very fun ways. A year ago, I blogged about a cut paper postcard I made the year before, reflecting that I would have liked to do something similar but to then lay the cut paper on photo paper to create a cyanotype. A few weeks later, I got this card from Lynn showing me she had tried my idea out. It worked!

In other words this blog post was two years in the making in that it is about a card that was inspired by a blog post that was inspired by a postcard made two years ago...