A few years back, Denis wanted to get a new printer, and he decided that a "black only" printer was best. At the time, I was printing greeting cards to send to friends and family and I knew that this one-color printer would put the kibosh on my cards. But I went along with it. (Those of us who are married will understand when I say that, when your dearly beloved keeps mentioning something if it's not going to change how the world turns it's easiest just to go along.) So I started buying greeting cards to send. Then I found out that the expensive and very special cards I was buying were disintegrating in the mail and the pieces falling out when the envelopes were opened. (Ask me if I was happy.) So I changed to e-cards, but that wasn't satisfactory because I think most of my e-cards landed in various spam traps.
The good news is that Denis decided to change back to a full-color printer. Yes, I'm back in business!
As I started looking up birthdays and special occasions for my nearest and dearest, I saw that there was a dearth of such dates. But I was jonesing to print and mail cards again.
The best solution was to send cards "just because" since I know what a pleasant surprise it can be to open the mailbox and have something besides bills and junk to look at. Old-fashioned snail mail. Go figure.
My cards were a hit, and I'll be sending more. Maybe it's due to the pandemic, but reaching out to those we love in as many ways as we can seems more important than ever. And just so you know-- if Denis wants to go back to one-color printing, I'll tell him exactly where that idea can go to die!
On that obstinate note, I'm heading out to the corral. Those links better not give me any trouble. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Why diverse books are more important than ever.
- Jennifer Finney Boylan talks about her book Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs.
- Here's a video on how to find a book without knowing the actual title.
- What a celebrity book curator really thinks of A-Listers' bookshelves.
- Victorians were obsessed with the idea that George Eliot had two different-sized hands.
- Earth's magnetic north pole is on the move and scientists might now know why.
- A 1929 Michigan mansion has a two-story library with a Sistine Chapel-like painted mural ceiling.
- This solar energy project in Nevada will be the biggest in the United States.
- A new study suggests that the salty sea breeze contains microplastics.
- What bestselling authors are reading at home.
►Why Doesn't This Ever Happen to Me?◄
- A family found nearly $1 million in cash stuffed into sacks in the middle of a road.
- People in a tiny village in rural northern England keep finding mysterious bundles of cash worth thousands of dollars on the street.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A bored man discovers a 120-year-old tunnel under his house while doing DIY during the lockdown.
- This 2,000-year-old coin commemorates a Jewish rebellion against Rome.
- Take a free video tour of the blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition.
- Arlington National Cemetery opens its 105-year-old time capsule.
- Explorers can take Titanic's Marconi telegraph, cutting into the wreck for the first time.
- An ancient leather "mouse" highlights the Romans' sense of humor.
- This ancient hillfort may be the largest known Pictish settlement in Scotland.
- Text has been found on supposedly blank Dead Sea Scroll fragments.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- This adorable orphan possum looks like a real-life Pikachu.
- Millions of cicadas will re-emerge this year after seventeen years underground. Oh, joy. I won't be able to hear myself think out in my cement pond.)
- For dogs, puberty is pretty ruff, too.
- Zoos make birthday cakes from bugs, bamboo, melons, and more.
- Moose, the Virginia Tech therapy dog, gets an honorary degree after years of helping students.
- Stork chicks hatch in the UK for the first time in 600 years-- and why that's great news for British wildlife.
- Police lure an escaped peacock into custody with a mating call played on a cell phone.
- "Extinct" no more: the rare blue bee has been rediscovered in Florida.
►Mother Nature Responds to COVID-19◄
- "We've never seen this": Wildlife thrives in closed US national parks.
- Coyotes, bobcats, and bears: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park.
- Dolphins lavish humans with gifts during the lockdown on Australia's Cooloola Coast.
- Mount Everest is visible from Kathmandu, Nepal for the first time in living memory. (Mother Nature appreciates being able to breathe again.)
- Carbon emissions dropped 17% globally amid the coronavirus.
- How COVID-19 is disrupting crucial conservation efforts.
- Some zoos-- and some of their animals-- may not survive the pandemic.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Finisia Medrano, the death of a radical rewilder.
- Mabel Stark, the life and times of a real tiger queen.
►I ♥ Lists◄
- Six international crime novels you should read.
- Twenty-seven Asian and Pacific American authors to read.
- Five books that will make your child a future crime writer.
- Isolation thrillers, maternity leave, and the long history of social distancing and gender.
- Thirty-one historical fiction novels to take you back in time.
- Fourteen charming British mystery shows for your binge-watching pleasure.
- Ten of the best novels set in Spain that will take you there.
- The top ten books set in Iran.
That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Practice social distancing by curling up with a good book!
Liked the links, especially what authors are reading now, the dogs' adolescence, dolphins bringing gifts to humns and the book lists. Just more to add onto the TBR lists.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I made cards, I'd want a color printer. But I use Jacquie Lawson ecards all the time, and they arrive at their destinations immediately. But I have to use their choices, and they are a bit limited in terms of holidays and cultures.
I've been the recipient of some Lawson e-cards, but I've gotten away from that type of greeting card because too many mail programs send them into spam folders, and not everyone checks those.
DeleteI do like 'just because' cards and greetings. It's nice to know you're cared about even when it's not your birthday or a holiday. I'm glad you've got the printer you need to do that. And I know exactly what you mean about choosing the marital hill you want to die on, so to speak. Now, off to that Pictish hillside establishment...
ReplyDelete"...the marital hill you want to die on" reminds me of Donis Casey's book The Wrong Hill to Die On!
DeleteSee, my thought is that color printers also can print only in black/white - ours does. Just sayin....LOL!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what his reasoning was. It probably occurred during one of those economizing spells of his. *sigh*
DeleteI love sending mail to people! I still feel it fosters a great connection and if you can find the perfect stamp--even better!
ReplyDeleteI agree, but then I'm one of those kids who had at least a dozen snail mail penpals!
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