I've had lots of good mail days of late. I thought I'd share a few of the cool postcards that have arrived in the mail via Postcrossing (already shared my book mail!). To date I've sent out thirteen postcards. Seven have arrived at their destinations (which means I've received or will be receiving the same number back from random Postcrossers). And six more are still traveling. I've received five postcards so far.
This first card, artwork by ceramist Helja Liukko-Sundstrom came from Finland. You can see more images of her work here.
Although I love all the cards that come in the mail I must admit to being partial to this one. It reminds me of the silhouettes you see in papercutting. For more on the art form, take a look at the gorgeous work of this papercutting artist. It came from Germany, though I believe the lady who sent it is actually Dutch. The design is by Dutch artist Jan H.M. Willemsen.
And then two postcards from US postcrossers arrived in quick succession. This is Echo Lake and Mt. Evans. According to the sender the road up Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in North America (elevation at peak 14,260'). Quite breathtaking. Doesn't it look pristine? I live in Nebraska and Colorado in a neighboring state, but it still took *five* days to get here. Granted I live on the far eastern part of NE, but five days seems like a long time for a postcard to travel such a short distance (477 miles or 768 km).
But then this cool card from California took a mere three days to arrive (1,411 miles or 2,270 km). Go figure. The card is "Roaring Camp & Big Trees" and the description reads: The Sonora, Roaring Camp Railroad's Shay Engine #7, crosses Indian Creek Trestle, the tightest narrow-gauge passenger trestle in North America. I had to share this with a coworker who is from California, and she knew exactly where it was from and had also ridden the train and recalled it with fond memories. The Redwood Forest is very high on my list of places to visit.
And then to round things out this lovely card with a detail of the Supreme Court of Canada with it's Art Deco design arrived from Canada yesterday. On the flip side there is even a matching Art Deco stamp.
I'm really enjoying Postcrossing. Aside from getting something in the mail other than ads and bills, I get a little taste of another culture or place, many of which I am sure I'll never get to to visit otherwise. And people have been really friendly, sharing something about themselves or where they live and even a few have shared favorite books. There is a forum connected with Postcrossing where you can participate in other 'unofficial'swaps and I've had a very good experience there as well. I've even started sharing online the postcards I receive, if you want to take a peek at the other types of cards I've received.
A few interesting facts:
--the quickest traveling postcard arrived in only four days
--the slowest traveling postcard is still en route...26 days (destination China)
--total distance sent so far 30,760 miles or 49,505 km
--countries cards have traveled to or from: France, Finland, Netherlands, USA, Japan, Germany, Russia, Canada, and en route cards going to China, Netherlands, Taiwan, Brazil, USA and Poland.
The cards I've sent have had more international destinations, but most of the cards I've received have come from North America. It's fun to wonder where my next card will arrive from.
It's been interesting looking at the profiles of various Postcrossers. One lady I mailed a card to joined along with her eight year old son and they note where the cards come from and look the locations up and read something about the place. I've also seen teachers do Postcrossing and share the cards with their students. What a fun way to learn about geography and different cultures. I think it's going to be very addictive, though, so I need to pace myself. Luckily a postcard is small and requires just a short note and then into the mail it goes. Almost effortless but very worth it to get something fun in the mail.