More Minnesota

Louise adopted this card via Juli. What's funny is Louise and I have written to each other but I never thought to send her this card myself. I think it ended up being more fun having Juli send it to Louise. I'm sure Juli and I share a lot more correspondents, too.

Louise commented on the old Minnesota stamp I used on this card. I like these old postage stamps, too.

Wyoming Wildlife

Juli moved from Florida to Wyoming last November. She wrote this card soon after she arrived and she notes that she had seen a doe and her fawn "just moseying down the street" in her hometown of Lander, something that thrilled her to no end. Deer here don't tend to mosey. They dash across the street and are very skittish. I think I agree with Juli... wildlife in Wyoming is wonderful.

Keep Those Mail Carriers Busy!

This card featuring the Hawai'ian capitol is another card adopted via Juli. The adopter, Elizabeth, is a mail carrier in California who is happy that sites like PostCrossing, SendSomething and Swap-Bot are keeping her employed :-) Elizabeth also loves Hawai'i, though she admits her "naturally curly hair begs to differ."

Third Time Charm

This lovely vintage postcard featuring Chicago libraries was sent, unsolicited, to two other people via SendSomething before finally finding Ashley, who sent it back with a very appropriate Sylvia Plath quote. The other two attempts to get this card adopted resulted in the envelope being returned marked "return to sender." That sometimes happens when you send stuff via SendSomething. It's always a bit of a gamble.

The Plath quote is, "I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."

Dubrovnik From Way Up High

Pictured in this high aerial shot is Dubrovnik, Croatia. This part of the city is listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Many of the buildings, though they have suffered the damages of earthquakes and war, date back to the 13th century.

Jeremy adopted this card and notes that it "rocks." He also provides some excellent travel suggestions should we happen to visit Dubrovnik. He encourages us to walk the wall, enjoy the best seafood meal in the world and indulge in the awesome arts and crafts. Oh, and he also notes that the city woud serve as a good defense against zombies. Are you listening George Romero?

By the way, should I ever get the book about this project written, I suspect the message on this postcard will put it in my top favorites. Thank you Jeremy!

Contemplating Beauty

The title is "Crater Lake" and the photographer Edward Curtis. This is an old postcard, but not as old as it appears. The original photo was taken in 1923 and it was probably a postcard at some point in the early 20th century, though I think this card dates to about 1960s.

Edward Curtis was a reknown Native American photographer. The man in this photo is a Klamath Chief and Crater Lake is in Oregon. Curtis was often criticized for posing his Native American subjects in situations and dress that would not have been appropriate for the tribe or era. He also altered his photos to removed any European decor or objects. I don't think either of those complaints are attributed to this photo, though. Some might find it melancholy but I don't. I think it is just a lovely image.

To the right is one of the postage stamps I used on this card. I love it when I happen to have complementary postage.

Kris in the wonderfully named town of Clackamas adopted this card. She writes that she is pleased to be part of my project. I'm thrilled she found me and Orphaned Postcard Project.

Let's Call This Twenty Ten

When I first came up with the name "PostMuse" I had an idea to send postcards to random people asking what they would do to be the change they wanted to see in the world (a Gandhi quote I liked). I sent about 60 or so postcards, and only received a handful of responses. That was three years ago. The initial project only lasted a few months. It was really not going anywhere and the blog just sat for a year with no posts at all.

Orphaned Postcard Project was born on 5 February, 2008 and it was never a project to change the world, but over the last two years it has become something that has given me a renewed passion for mail and a connection to other mail enthusiasts. I still think about how to turn this all into a book, but haven't really spent quality thinking time on that idea. That might be my goal for Twenty Ten.

Juli adopted this card (she added the wonderful peace postage, too!) and she wrote other Gandhi quotes, including "As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it." I have some quibbles with that quote because it could be said that addictions provide people with what they believe is "inner help and comfort." However, leaving that extreme interpretation aside, this project is something I keep because it does give me comfort. Thank you to all who have contributed by adopting postcards. And thank you to those who keep coming back and reading this blog.