When I think of letter writing as an abstract notion I think of Vermeer paintings. When I think of myself sitting down to write letters I think of particular things such as my desk and bottles of ink and fountain pens. Sealing wax comes to mind and also paper. I can almost feel its texture or its smoothness just thinking of it. These images are always accompanied by feelings of comfort and warmth.
The reality of sitting down to write a letter is often complicated by little things going wrong like misspelling words, crumpling up the paper and starting over. Sometimes, pen in hand, I stare at the paper as though my mind has gone mute. Tonight I sat at my desk to respond to letters. They would be my first letters of the year and all was well. I wrote the first letter easily. Thoughts flowed and letters correctly formed words with no embarrassing misspellings. Filled with the optimism borne of accomplishment I thought I would make an envelope instead of conveniently pulling one out of the box. A handmade envelope is always a nice touch I thought. To make it a sort of celebration I opened a bag of Smarties to eat while making the envelope. I then brought out the glue. Please understand that Elmer's Glue has been a lifelong friend. It has served me well since kindergarten. It was there for me though various and multitudinous craft projects even into my adult years. But tonight...Elmer wronged me. The cap came off the bottle and glue puddled on the paper, ran on to the desk, down to the chair, and finally to the floor. I ran to grab a wet rag and set to work cleaning, cleaning, cleaning before glue could dry. The warm feelings I enjoyed earlier had completely cooled. I am pleased to say that espite this bumpy start I was able to press on and write more letters...but only after eating more Smarties.
6 Comments
Smarties make everything better! I have to admit, though, that a small bag of peanut M&M's can get me through a really rough ride.
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1/5/2013 01:11:44 am
Smarties is my keep-on-hand candy. Peanut M&M's are for real emergencies :o) As for Elmer's, even after such treachery, I have no where else to turn for glue needs. I'll just have to keep a closer eye on that cap of his in future.
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1/5/2013 05:32:48 am
Don't tell Elmer but I must check out the EZ Runner tape. (I had to Google that one.) I think I have a glue stick around here somewhere too. Your envelopes always arrive intact with NO ripples like Elmer's causes so easily.
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Jan
1/7/2013 02:39:54 am
Both the Michael's and Beverly's up here used to carry EZ Runner tape but switched last year to brands I don't like as well. :( The stores near my sister in So-Cal still carry it though so if you have any big craft stores near you it's possible they may carry it. 1/7/2013 03:36:12 am
Thanks for the tip and the link. We have a Joanne's in our area. I'll try them and if they don't have it there's always Amazon.
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