pssst….
☆ August 21, 2010
It’s been pretty quiet, here on this blog.
Sometimes I just can’t stand
being on this computer.
Sometimes I wish I could just send all of you
a handwritten note
a pressed flower
and a grasshopper leg.
Comments
78 Responses to “pssst….”
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MY NEW BOOK!
More, Elsewhere
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August 21st, 2010 @ 11:54 am
That would be lovely! I like writing letters too.
August 21st, 2010 @ 11:58 am
Ah the joys of a handwritten note. People just do that often enough.
August 21st, 2010 @ 11:58 am
Wonderful!
August 21st, 2010 @ 11:59 am
All three of those would be awesome! No worries. I have a blog that hasn’t seen me in months. It’s ok to have dry spells. All natural environments do….
August 21st, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
I love to write letters! It used to be my favorite thing growing up. I had several different pen pals and we would write letters back and forth all the time. It was a time of happiness and dissappointment when the mail lady came. If I had a letter I was on top of the world, if there wasn’t one there I was disappointed. Now with today’s technology, it seems that letter writing will be a thing of the past. If anyone wants to start a pen pal group, count me in and email me at dlpark2@comcast.net and I will give you my physical address.
August 21st, 2010 @ 12:01 pm
you just did. Thank you.
August 21st, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
Letter writing is becoming a lost art! And how about an old fashioned Hard Back!!! No Kindles for me! Love the feel and the smell of a book. Remember when you got stationary as a kid!!! And the candle wax to melt on the back! Hand written notes are still the best.
August 21st, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
Oh, how nice that would be! I squee’d with delight when I opened the package I ordered from your etsy shop, because it smelled like Elsewhere. Somewhere earthy and alien and wonderful. I imagine you’d be the most amazing pen pal.
August 21st, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
Get yourself a glass pen and some ink jars. It is so much fun to learn to write with those and to be able to send loved ones letters and pictures in the mail that you wrote with a glass pen. It feels so much more earthy and real than even a ball point pen! Give it a try.
August 21st, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
:)
August 21st, 2010 @ 1:30 pm
April ~ I have a glass pen. Love it.
Here’s info for those that might be new to glass pens!
http://www.jetpens.com/cms.php/content/Article:_How_to_Use_a_Glass_Dip_Pen
Shop around for best pricing & selection though… they vary greatly.
August 21st, 2010 @ 2:41 pm
hahaha!!! you are so funny! a grasshopper leg!!…seems you might be dreaming about grasshoppers lately…we had a lot of them in Spokane when i was little and i used to catch one every once in awhile and hand feed them clover leaves. It was SO fun watching them take a little crescent shaped bite off the leaf with their little Jiminy Cricket mouths and chew…too cute! And those strong legs pushing off against my palm…soon they didn’t mind being held since clover leaves were being delivered right to their faces! When it was time for them to “use the bathroom” i released and sometimes they would not go! But i learned the hard way to let them go after a few leaves, they have the most green or brown squirty droppings! Like a spat of tobacco out the other end!
August 21st, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
really glad i got on FB this afternoon and got the secret call to come here. Thanks for sharing everyone! LOVE the Feeding the Grasshoppers story . . . i used to have a little spot in my yard a few years ago where i could go out in the early morning and kill mosquitoes and hand feed them to a little crab spider. I’d place them into her web and she’d run to them and wrap them up :o)
August 21st, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
A most wonderful example of the phrase “it’s the thought that counts”….
So thank you for the lovelies :>]]
August 21st, 2010 @ 5:43 pm
You’re more than welcome to… not sure about the grasshopper leg though ^_^
August 21st, 2010 @ 5:44 pm
note – yes. flower – yes. grasshopper leg . . . ummmm . . . is it tasty?! (& ditto what stephen said!)
those pens sound like fun! we had to use fountain pens in school while learning cursive, & i really liked ’em (wonder if i could find ink that wouldn’t trigger the multiple chemical sensitivities?)
whatever you’re up to – enjoy it!
August 21st, 2010 @ 6:00 pm
Thanks anyway, I have a 7mo puppy who keeps me well supplied with dismembered insects.
August 21st, 2010 @ 6:18 pm
One of my cats went hunting this morning and growled as she rang past the other cats and hid under my bed with my prize. As always her prey was immediately pounced and pieces and parts were spread across the floor. When she was done, she fell asleep in the middle of the mess.
Poor twig and dismembered leaves. Such a headache to clean up.
August 21st, 2010 @ 6:22 pm
I have a special box for my stationary supplies. My address book, lovely stationary (not from Hallmark) a real fountain pen with extra peacock blue ink cartridges and my favorite thing I used to use in my childhood….sealing wax and stamp!!! I love sending handwritten notes. I might like joining Dana’s penpal group…
August 21st, 2010 @ 7:23 pm
thanks Nancy! =oD
August 21st, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
The sentiment presented here is beautiful, but as a lover of Shreve, I’d much rather you spend time with your farmily than fret about me. But perhaps I’ll send you something?
August 21st, 2010 @ 7:49 pm
Flowers sound great, grasshopper leg not so much. Now let us both get off our dull computers and brush the animals. Good night!
August 21st, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
Hee…Well, I am going to stand up for the computers of the world :)!! Without it/them I would probably not have known so many, albeit electronically and my life and experience is better due in some part to the expanded community I have via the internet. And…to qualify, I am a computer programmer and love electronic gadgets – one which is my Kindle.
So…I am odd commenter out so far :)!
But srsly, the things are tools. I grew up writing letters and have always been a writer, but confess I get as excited to receive a long email as I do/did to get a letter.
All in the balance and I believe the point is to not feel chained to the darn machine(s), but THAT is in each of our own hands! – pun INTENDED !!
Now, going for a walk with my dog… in my woods…by the mountains.
August 21st, 2010 @ 8:07 pm
we have tons of grasshoppers this year!!! several different varities, but one type that have wings like a butterfly!!! When I was a kid in Florida we had alot of grasshoppers but they were soooo different than the ones here in NH…I keep meaning to find out what type these butterfly winged/grasshoppers are and your post made me remember…so I’m gonna go and look them up now!!! thank you :)
August 21st, 2010 @ 8:55 pm
I taught my children to write thank you notes when they were young, and the habit has stuck. Now as young adults they still put careful thought into choosing stationary that matches their personalities and put pen to paper for every gift and good wish they receive. Pretty amazing considering they use their computers and smart phones for everything else in their lives.
(My daughter loved sealing wax, stamps, and embossing powders when she was little. Such fun!)
August 21st, 2010 @ 9:15 pm
Shreve, as much as I enjoy your emails and the postcard you had sent, I find pleasure in knowing that you are NOT sitting at your computer and just doing something you really enjoy doing!
and a question that has nothing to do with today’s entry…How in the world do you and all the animals stay cool in 97′ weather??
August 21st, 2010 @ 9:52 pm
Ahhh…a hand written note. Not much else tops that. Thanks for the sweet thoughts to all of us Shreve. :^)
August 21st, 2010 @ 10:18 pm
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the “coolness” of a new grasshopper leg! ;^)
August 21st, 2010 @ 11:34 pm
I write a letter at least once a week but I have a problem finding good stationery. It seems hardly anyone still writes letters. I couldn’t find any last time I looked and a friend has made me some cards to use.
August 22nd, 2010 @ 12:08 am
I love writing letters, I look for very old cards which I find at thrift stores. I have a pen-pal that I have been writing and e-mailing for 44 years. We started at fifteen and we are still writing. I live in Utah, she lives in North Carolina. We met in 1976 and I haven’t seen her since.
August 22nd, 2010 @ 12:35 am
i would love a grasshopper leg :)
August 22nd, 2010 @ 1:35 am
This blog is like a letter, scented with the essence of Wyoming.
August 22nd, 2010 @ 4:08 am
If I knew your address, I’d write to you! I love handwritten letters and notes. I write to someone every day. Margaret, you could try making your own stationery using a graphic program and a printer.
But this blog is as good as a letter, honestly!
August 22nd, 2010 @ 5:58 am
Amen Lesley!
Shreve honey, if we lived where and like you do, we wouldn’t be on our blog much either. Love you and Svensto too!!
August 22nd, 2010 @ 6:11 am
I forgot about the grasshopper legs! Sqeeze the top…they still…KICK…HA!…Letters…are beautiful things…
August 22nd, 2010 @ 9:09 am
I’m good on grasshopper legs….plenty of those around here lately. Could you use some insect wings in various shapes and colors?
August 22nd, 2010 @ 10:07 am
Penny – I’m with you on the books. I love the feel of a book in my hands, plus, if I want to make a note in a margin…. can’t do that with a Kindle. And if I’m looking for a copy of a hard to find book and order a used copy, I love seeing an inscription or someone else’s notes in them.
Margaret – Try etsy! Lovely stationery.
August 22nd, 2010 @ 10:08 am
Cool rainy morning
seeing what others are up to
have a coffee
August 22nd, 2010 @ 10:14 am
…But you just did!
August 22nd, 2010 @ 11:18 am
maybe we could start a hand-written letter club.? One note to one or two people a month? I love seeing people’s handwriting. xxoo
August 22nd, 2010 @ 11:55 am
….grasshopper leg, preferably still attached to living grasshopper who is, miraculously, able to eat & continue his little existence without destroying anyone’s crops, garden, etc. ………. I know, I know….. but we can dream, can’t we?………
August 22nd, 2010 @ 12:46 pm
We are an easy to please bunch,just a Ricardo picture, an Elie
sighting, a moth and you have gone talking for days.
A Ricardo picture please?
August 22nd, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
Have you ever heard of Catherynne M. Valente? She does something she calles “The Omikuji Project” where she writes short stories and mails them on high quality parchment paper to subscribers, signed, and sealed with wax. They’re stories she doesn’t publish elsewhere (though recently she published a collection of past stories from the project).
I’ve always wanted to do something like that with my own photography, or maybe mix it with my writings and my photography, or some combination thereof. It would be super fun. Plus, the idea of that kind of direct writer/artist-to-audience relationship is so appealing in this tech world. =)
August 22nd, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
Ah, fountain pens! I love them! My dad gave me one for graduation (Parker pen, as that was our family name) and I dropped it as I was getting out of the car, and my rider ran overit. I felt as if I’d lost a friend. I am left handed, so only other lefties could borrow my pen, and I always removed the cap when I handed it to them. NOBODY pockets an uncapped fountain pen!
August 22nd, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
Thanks for the suggestions of etsy and printing my own stationery. I’m going to check it out right now. I write to my mother (92 years old) and she writes to me, every week. We’re on different continents. I also have three penfriends, one of whom I’ve been writing to for 48 years!
August 23rd, 2010 @ 1:19 am
It’s still summer. Go.
Be outside.
We understand.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 9:10 am
:) :) :)
August 23rd, 2010 @ 10:03 am
Shreve, that is SO sweet. Thank you.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 10:56 am
I am lucky enough to have a job that I mostly love AND am paid well AND have good health insurance AND paid vacation (for which I am so grateful mostly) but it is just lovely to take time away from the ordinary to do something else. AND so you are entitled to take some time off from your ordinary, to the extent you can, and be assured that we will be waiting for your return. Have a good respite and visit with your guest.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 11:23 am
We understand. Take your time. We’ll be here when you come back.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
Love the info on the glass pens. Thank you all for that!
My favorite note supply is the paper. The colors, the textures. The smell. The sound of the pen gliding (or scratching) over it. Handmade paper with flower petals pressed into it. Oooooh, I wonder if someone could make a paper with grasshopper legs in it???
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
And No, I’m not hoping someone will harvest live grasshopper legs!
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:27 pm
How about this cool stationary.
http://www.greenfieldpaper.com/
There are flower seeds embedded in the paper so you can get it moist and it grows!!!
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
To Shreve: You are most kind and thoughtful BUT I must agree with others. GO & ENJOY…..
To the Lucky Repliers: How wonderful it is to enjoy the comments. I love the glass pens and will look into ordering one. Love hand written cards and notes too.
To Technology and living in 2010: Thank you for allowing me to enjoy Shreve’s site and connect with all these amazing people.
Have a great week.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
i write lots of handwritten letters every week i am a prisoner advocate and have kept in contact with some since college 13 years ago.
August 23rd, 2010 @ 11:24 pm
Awww thanks Shreve!! How thoughtful! :)
I never heard of glass pens, but how cool! I am a long letter writer and still have pen pals. I started writing in the 70’s to pen pals. One of my little pen friends is 10 yrs old. I’ve known her since she was 2. :) Isn’t it so fun? How true, its not easy to find nice stationery anymore. I do sometimes make my own. I cut out cute pictures and glue them on paper. Stickers are great too, but have become so expensive now! I think a pen pal club is a great idea!
I just enjoy writing the ABC’s of words handwritten on paper. That’s just way cool!
Enjoy everyone! I also enjoyed reading all the replys. :)
August 24th, 2010 @ 7:12 am
Shreve, it’s the thought you hold all of us in your heart that counts. We love you. If you send me your address I will send you a pressed flower. I hope you are enjoying your house guest!
August 24th, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
Nice sentiments, and thank you, but we’ve got plenty of grasshoppers (live ones) already out here! ;-)
August 24th, 2010 @ 5:54 pm
I love that idea! From now on, every tie I read your blogs, I will pretend it is written on pretty note paper with a flower pressed in it. And if I feel the need for REAL nature, I will imagine the grasshopper leg also.
August 24th, 2010 @ 7:48 pm
how very refreshing all the comments are!! i feel the same about books; no kindle for me ever. nothing can take the place of the feel of a book in your hands and opening to the first page, or endless browsing in a bookstore. and pressed flowers!! this summer i purchased a small flower press at a yard sale and each section is like a small treasure when flowers are dried. i live in southwest wyoming and love a good rainstorm, good coffee-freshly ground and brewed :) and a book in hand with my cats around me.
thanks to shreve for sharing her family with us
peace
August 25th, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
Hi Shreve,
This is off topic to your most recent post, but while trying to find a new type of receipe, you came to mind.
I was wondering if you had any suggestion for receipes on how to make a good dish of zucchini pasta and sauce?
I am new to cooking with zucchini but am opting to trying to make pasta and then bread.
I am also looking into glass pens now-I write all day long at work!
Thanks for keeping up with all the posts and the two wonderful websites, they are a highlight to my morning reads!
August 25th, 2010 @ 1:31 pm
What a lovely, wistful image this conjurs up. And what lovely thoughts and comments of taking the time to slow down, reach out, to feel and experience. At a time where we can both love and abhor all the stimulation and exciting new images and thoughts the internet brings, this one wins for ‘love’, hands down. This post is about as close to a hand-written note as I could ever imagine. Thank you, Shreve.
August 25th, 2010 @ 1:33 pm
Thank you for the virtual pressed flower. :)
August 25th, 2010 @ 3:49 pm
Take your time, we’ll be here when you return.
Those glass pens are gorgeous!
August 26th, 2010 @ 11:11 am
My dad passed away almost 2 years ago and one of the things I miss most is going to my mailbox and getting a letter from him..I have boxes of them..what treasures handwritten notes are!!
August 26th, 2010 @ 12:22 pm
Ahh… letters received in the mailbox. A treasure to be sure. Speaking of hand written letters, I’m reading the most wonderful book and thought I’d share – maybe it will make your list of books on the shelf. It truly is wonderful and I recommend it for all ~ especially if you enjoy heart felt letters, receiving and sending. Okay, the book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, written by Mary Ann Shaffer. Enjoy!
August 26th, 2010 @ 4:25 pm
Shreve…You can take a break. I think we can all understand.
PS: I am sitting here in Alpine, TX outside the Big Bend National Park where I have wanted to be for years. You have inspired me for years and that post on the gut feeling, intuition, practice and failure pushed me to make the decision. I left me “sensible job” in Denver, rented out my home and am extremely happy here. Thank you… that was a beautiful post and is it ok if I share it with my therapist to give other people????
August 26th, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
WOW, Rebecca!! Congrats & yay!!!
Of course you can share the link/post with anyone you choose ~
~ S
August 27th, 2010 @ 1:23 pm
My son is in army bootcamp (in Georgia) and for the last 8 weeks we have ony been able to communicate through the mail via letters. Very old school and quite a shock to kids who have known the internet, cell phones, and video games their entire life. This is a great growing experience for him and we love writing and getting his letters.
August 27th, 2010 @ 6:43 pm
Aloha… I want to say; hi cowgirl in the sand!, but I guess bullgirl is more like it!
Could not agree more…I really miss “real” handwritten letters!!! And, your sentiments are sweet and ol’ fashioned. Love your blog…
Come say hi sometime, I’m a country girl too…living the good life here on Maui- upcountry, with my dogs and good friends of the aina.
August 27th, 2010 @ 8:41 pm
consider it received!
August 28th, 2010 @ 10:11 am
Message to Montanarose: I agree with you.
August 28th, 2010 @ 4:20 pm
I just got my new glass pen! Shreve I think you should get royalties from sales at JetPens! It is very interesting and fun. I bought one that came with a free fountain pen also. I bought green ivy colored ink which is delicious – can’t wait to write my first letter with it. Thanks!
August 29th, 2010 @ 10:44 am
ditto here Rhea, I went wild at Jet Pens, the greens are so good and I did tell them where I got the address, they should sponsor Shreve site ! I am ready to be the next “Colette” or “Simone de Beauvoir”, all it takes is a good pen, right ?
August 30th, 2010 @ 10:49 pm
The grasshopper
would be pretty pissed
and running in circles.
August 31st, 2010 @ 5:43 pm
Very William Carlos Williams-esque!
September 5th, 2010 @ 6:04 am
Yes sometimes the computer is so impersonal, but u can reach so many more people. I’m in the middle of Ohio… But u have touched my life, inspired me to take lots more photos, of everything, and continued to encourage me as u continue to explore all life has to offer. Thank u for sharing so candidly, may life give u back all that u are so beautifully sharing with others!
September 29th, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
Hugs, Shreve. :)