cat and blossoms

Friend Ryuko S. of Tono, Iwate, found this beautiful postcard showing a cat under the blossoms on a recent trip to Tokyo. Hand-dyed with natural dyes, the cloth at the center of the card was made by the Shigeta Dye Workshop. Ryuko knows how much I love cats. Her family runs Chikurindo, a sweets shop in Tono, which has the best akegarasu, a local specialty and one of my faves. I often used to have tea at the shop with Ryuko and her dogs. This card will go straight into a frame and onto a wall. Tono is in the northeast and cherry, flowering apricot, and other blossoms are now at their peak, just as they are here where I am in Pennsylvania.

more chinese stamps

More magical stamps from my friend Yue in Fujian, China.

field of greens

An old Stadium Club menu spurred this card, made from a recycled postcard, acrylics, and menu parts. How many people go to games to eat and drink? I think I'll send it to a friend who has scant interest in the game.

something fishy

Friend Sandy S. of Maryland sent this funny fish tale. Sandy definitely has fish on the brain. Maybe it comes from living on the Chesapeake.

What's on a Cat's Mind

A fun postcard from penpal Anu of Helsinki. She writes that she was a in great mood because spring is finally coming. She says her cat is very excited by the arrival of spring, she caught her first mouse in the garden. "Not nice," she writes. Card is made with watercolors, flower petals and leaves, color pens, stamp and the picture of the cat is from a "cat" lottery ticket. Thank you so much Anu I love it!!

Vanilla Postcrosser

This sweet card is from 16-year old Heidi of Seinajoki, Finland. She made this card from magazine pictures, a ribbon and colored paper. This is a second card she sent me - the first never arrived. Thank you so much Heidi for your efforts. Your card is gorgeous!

Baseball CD

Another CD in the mail! This baseball one from Jacqueline with a "swing or miss" message! It was posted without an envelope and arrived perfectly intact.

Taiwan

A fun handmade card from Postcrosser Hsiu-yin of Taiwan. She made a map of Taiwan from facial puffs, wrote the word "Taiwan" out of toothpicks and the small images are cut from tickets. She added a UPC code and wrote, "Taiwan Touch Your Heart." It's one of the sweetest cards I've received in a while!

The Wind Play Ball

Here is a cool baseball card from NOrbert Koczorski of Diepholz, Germany. He's incorporated LRMB's avatar, Mr. Mailman in his postcard. I cannot quite tell who the pitcher is in the postcard but it's very cool! He has asked for a catalog, if we end up producing one.

just another night

Leftover tickets, a stencil of a batter, and tags went into this postcard I sent to mrpotani.

we the people

Meant to post this yesterday in honor of the primary election being held here in the Commonwealth.

St Helena Post Office

The post office at St. Helena, CA has two interesting murals of farm workers. I also loved the wooden mail boxes.

ila borders

Mrpotani sent this card of Ila Borders, looking almost mythical in this photo by Annie Leibovitz. Borders, a lefty, was the first woman to pitch in men's professional baseball.

tom gordon

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is the only Stephen King book I've read, and I read it because baseball, in the form of Gordon and his then Boston Red Sox, features in the tale. 'Flash' wears 45 with the Phillies, in honor of Tug McGraw.

the japanese game

Another clipping from my Kyoto friend yielded this headline about Bobby Valentine, who has found a home in Japan. The rest of the card came from a local Chushingura exhibition, recycled cardboard, oil pastels, and a sticker.

Spanish Grass

Received this wonderful collage card from Orati, Spain. Antony says it is made with Cartulina de colores, plastico, papel de aluminio, recorte de revista, ramas ornamentales and postal. He says enjoy with the power of the moon. Gracias!

Norton CD Mail

Received this Postcrosser mail from Germany. Alas, the ID number was incorrect or incomplete and I cannot report it. Pretty cool mail though!

world of pain

Somewhere not far away the cherries are in full bloom. I sent this card to a friend, with an Issa ku from haiku-a-day:

world of pain--
and the cherry blossoms
only add to it

honda takeshi

A card came yesterday from Honda Takeshi, an artist from my old 'hood in Tono, Iwate prefecture, who uses charcoal pencil and paper. The piece shown is from his Walking in the Mountains series. This one is April and shows a tree clawed by a bear. It's been so long since I've been back to Tono that this card just about made me cry.

the babe's best bread

With this fabulous postcard Sandy S. of Baltimore celebrates her Lithuanian grandfather's bakery, which was in the same 'hood where Babe Ruth was born. Family lore has it that as a kid the Babe bought bread at the bakery. Definitely an all-time favorite!