Staff Announcement, or: Hello Kimmie!

Hi there. I'm Kimmie.

I've been penpalling since I was a wee child, and fully committed to being a letter writer some time around the year 2000. It was a thing nerdy punks did, and being a nerdy punk, well... letters it was. (Zines too, natch. Mail in general made-- and continues to make-- my heart swoon.)

Sad because though I got to play pinball all day,
the ice cream stands were all closed for the season.
Asbury Park, NJ.

I am thrilled to join the team at League of Extraordinary Penpals HQ this month. As a member of LEP since the beginning, I’ve enjoyed watching it morph, grow, and mutate into a magnificent collection of humans unlike any in the world. I have LEP to thank for best friends, companions in snarky swearing, joyous mail days, inspirational motivation, a dear sweetheart, an extensive fountain pen collection, and the deep knowledge that I am not alone in my weirdness.

Hanging out with my BFF Shark Girl.
Buffalo, NY.

I'm a born and raised New Yorker, and I still live here. When I'm not writing letters, dusting my typewriters, feminist rabblerousing, setting my fantasy football lineup (I commission the LEP Fantasy Football League), or cleaning my fountain pens, I can be found being a bookseller or bartending/serving.

If there's anything I can do to help make your LEP experience a magical one, or if you're thinking of joining the League and have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me: cpt.fancypants@kimmiedearest.com.

Oregon Meetup

Many thanks to our member Tamra in Oregon for sharing her meetup experience with us....


On a rainy Sunday afternoon, at the end of January, eight ladies gathered in a side room of the Gresham (Oregon) library to write letters, make cards, create envelopes, design Valentines, share supplies, eat tasty food and, of course, have fun. It was the first meet up of the Oregon-based League of Extraordinary Penpals. It was a wonderful time—but it had its share of frustrations and complications along the way.

I came up with the idea one afternoon when Nicole Orr, another LEP-er (as well as best friend and daughter) and I were getting out Valentine’s Day supplies. As usual, I had far more than I needed, and so I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to share these with other letter writers? Where would it be hosted though? There was my house but that meant I would spend the next two weeks cleaning frantically, which is never fun. (Cleaning and fun ARE oxymorons, right?) I called the library closest to my house and reserved their meeting room. One problem solved.

Next, I went to my LEP database and looked up anyone living in Oregon. I invited my already-made pen friends Jen Chastain-Escalante, Tee Cary, Christine Mauser, and Teri Staudinger. (And Nicole Orr, of couse!) I asked everyone to invite other pen friends. Teri brought Doris. I brought Jennifer (from The Letter Writer’s Exchange).

The morning of the meeting, I called the library to verify they provided tables and chairs. They found no indication of my reservation. Panic, panic. I told them I had email confirmation and they quickly put me down on the schedule. When I arrived at the library, they had—once again—misplaced my reservation. They gave me a much smaller room, which was a challenge to arrange to accommodate eight people, endless paper supplies and tons of food, but we managed.

For two and a half hours, LEP-ers and non-LEPers cut, punched, glittered, wrote, stamped, double-face taped, and glue dotted. We nibbled here and there too, but mostly we talked, laughed, shared, and got to know each other face to face instead of just on paper. It was a wonderful time, and we parted already discussing what we would do at the next one, tentatively scheduled sometime in early March. (Spring! Easter! St. Patrick’s Day!) I can’t wait to do it—and thank you SO MUCH. League of Extraordinary Penpals, for bringing us together in the first place.

Oh, and any Oregon or Washington area LEP-ers, if you want an invite to the next get-together, just email me directly at writinggoddess2@comcast.net and I will put you on the list.

Mail art from our members

We have some seriously talented members in our LEP community and I think it's about time we start showing off their mail art!

So, I'll kick this off with a few pieces and hopefully I'll soon be able to share more submissions from our members!

A lovely second letter getting to know the very generous Alethea! 

(Submitted by Rosie T. in the UK.)

Autumn/Halloween themes 

(Submitted by Lisa S. in the USA.)

Here is a collage of pictures of my Halloween swap that I'm pretty proud of.

(Submitted by Arlene S. in the UK.)

This is a happy doodle envelope, one of my favourite ways to decorate an envie. I love to 

draw in ink and use pencils to add some colour. I also love typography and 

always write the address in fancy lettering when I create mail art. 

I think the houses are so cute!

(Submitted by Alison B. in Australia.)

All handmade: two scrapbook paper envelopes, one woven envelope made from scraps of 

scrapbook paper, and a stamped stationery and envelope set!

(Submitted by Jen E. in the USA.)

Thank you for your submissions, LEP mail artists! Whether you decorate your envelopes or keep them simple, we can all agree on one thing... sending and receiving letters is one of life's most beautiful things!

Peace,

Denise

Shine On LEP Members!

One of our members was inspired to write a poem about the LEP and it will certainly make you feel good about our penpal club!

The letters dripped from my pen and scampered cross the page.
They ran hither there and yonder where they screamed as in a rage.
But finally they gathered up and into word and phrase they fell.
Then sentences just appeared and this story they did tell. 

There is a League who still believes in paper and in pen.
They are comprised of him and her and those and sometimes them.
They believe the written word extends the reach of human touch.
And in this world gone so insane we need this so very much. 

Quixote like they joust the windmills of human despair.
You see they are our champions and friends extraordinaire.
Their lances are their fountain pens and they write letters long and true.
But most of the time they send a brief, "Friend, how'd you do?" 

They believe in Dulcinea beauty in each and everyone.
Their souls as brilliant as the fire radiating from the sun.
So shine on LEP members, I raise my glass and give a hail.
Send bundles of letters bright and bold and play havoc with the mail. 

~ Christopher Bombardier AKA Last Cloud Warrior

Thank you Chris for penning such sweet words for our community!

LEP Secrets

"A secret is something you tell another person," Bono once advised, and while that would seem to defeat the purpose of secrecy, if you think about it, he had a point. A secret untold is just mental dead weight, a fact or event or suspicion that the mind chews on endlessly, sometimes to the point of madness. As humans, we are constantly evaluating ourselves- in fact, self awareness is one of the things that makes us human, one might say. When we communicate and interact, we are, in effect, asking for validation, subconsciously demanding that the world confirm the things that we think we know. A secret that a person has not shared gets no feedback, no confirmation from the rest of humankind, and that can be frightening.

Some time ago, a call for LEP secrets was put out, and the results poured in. All secrets were scrubbed of identifying information, and then scanned into a computer, and they are reproduced here. They are the collective unconscious of us all- heartbreaking and personal and very real. There is obviously no feedback for these secrets, unless the provider chooses to step forward on his or her own. They are here, in part as an exercise in unburdening, and in part to remind us all that there is not a single one of us that does not have a hidden side, and thus we should view each other, and everyone else as well, with even more compassion than we already do.

~ Michael AKA Slayer of Popcorn

Bucket List Swap

We've been so busy welcoming many new members that we almost forgot about our blog space! In case you were thinking that this penpal club was inactive, I wanted to let you know that it's definitely not! As I'm typing this very sentence, we have 510 current, active members!

Back in April, we hosted a Bucket List Swap. Participants were encouraged to write their bucket list in the form of a letter and exchange it with their partner. As members signed up for the swap they were asked this question:

"What is the most important item on your bucket list?"

Do you want to hear the responses?!? Good, because I want to share them with you...


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It was seeing Fleetwood Mac in Concert... Now it's going to be self publishing three books by the end of the year.

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Travel!!!

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Publish (or just print) a collection of original poems and photos.

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Writing a book.

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Travel... and a lot of it!

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Writing a complete book.

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Fall in love!

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Visit the Egypt pyramids!

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Travel! I want to travel almost everywhere!

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Getting my Bachelors!

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Do photography for the Special Olympics!

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Have another baby.

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It's not important, but the most pressing I'd say is to pass the driving test.

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The most important item on my bucket list, hmmmm, it's so hard to choose but one of the most important things is seeing the Northern Lights.

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To live my life to the fullest.

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Travelling.

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Love and be loved in return.

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Not actually on my list but my motto for it is: There are no excuses.

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Staying curious!

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Happiness.

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Going to Canada.

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Go back to Quebec and eat REAL poutine! 

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Seeing the world! I've traveled extensively in North America and the Caribbean, but it's time for me to visit other continents.

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Writing a dystopian novel.

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Travel!

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Traveling.

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A trip to Paris.

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Spend a month in Paris.

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Become a teacher.

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To go tour the UK.

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Visit my German penpal.

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Get a dog.

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I think be a mom. But there are so many things on there!

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Travel.

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Climb a 5.14 level rock climb.

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Knit up my entire yarn collection. However, that means I would have to stop buying yarn. Challenges, oh man! ha.

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Taking a culinary tour/trip of Italy to learn about the various regions of Italian cuisine!

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Write a book and have it published.

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Road Trip with my family.

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Trek to Everest Base Camp.

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Visiting every continent in the world (not sure about Antarctica, though).

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Travel around the World: specifically Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Japan, Ecuador.

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Mmmhh, I have not even started my bucket list. Therefore I really love this swap as it introduces me to something new and exciting. I have some vague ideas, so for now I think the most important item is spending one year concentrating on creativity (writing a novel, photographing for a whole year, learning how to paint). 

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Move back to Minnesota: completed August 2014. ;-)

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I would like to live in another country, preferably non-English speaking.

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And there you have it... the official unofficial bucket list compilation from members of the League of Extraordinary Penpals!

Our members do a fabulous job of hosting new and exciting swaps that come out in our newsletter each month. Aren't you excited to see what comes out in the July edition?

Peace,
Denise

Sweet little village

One of our members created this visionary masterpiece that we felt compelled to share! This sounds just lovely! 

Sometimes I wish LEP was an actual place. 

Like a sweet little village of the cutest homes surrounding the town green with a great big stationery store and post office and darling little cafés to pen the days away. Throwing confetti would be a commonplace greeting instead of shaking hands. Blanket forts and teepees would dot the parklands and the weather would be perfectly suited, with cool rain sprinkling the windows of an evening.

Mail would be delivered each day. Reply piles wouldn't get unruly and no letters would be lost. 

Kindness and compassion and loveliness would be the normality and no tears would come from the harshness of others.

LEP would truly be our utopia.

Like a great big hug when you need it most.

Thanks for being that in the virtual world, beautiful people.

Thanks to Bel in Australia for writing this. Won't you come and join us?

Peace,
Denise