Correspondence - Find a Pen Pal

[J.W.]

Okay folks, I'm ready: got a new fountain pen, a bottle of ink, some nice paper and envelopes. I contacted a couple of you guys on the board, but apparently, nothing came of that. So I'm still looking for a pen pal.

 

[JennieWren]

I'm too shy to message anyone, but I'd like a pen pal if anyone would like to write to me. I live in Canada, am married, am a mum, am a knitter, and am also interested in books, music, and sewing.

 

[Big Man]

I've had several pen pals as a result of this thread. Some have come and gone for various reasons, but one has remained for six years now. We're probably as different as night and day, but have discovered we have some things in common (aside from the obvious Fedora Lounge type mind-set). I doubt we will ever meet face-to-face, but it is has been an interesting six years following the changes in each of our lives via the written word.

I enjoy getting and sending the occasional letter, and wouldn't mind having one or two more pen pals. Anyone who would like to correspond with a happily married, 57 year-old retired grandfather of three who lives in a house built in 1907 (my grandparents moved there in 1917, and the family has been there ever since), enjoys working in the garden and driving old cars (1948 Plymouth, 1961 Chevy, 1965 Ford), send me a PM and I'll send my address, etc.

 

[Kishtu]

*shameless bump*

I've PM'ed a couple of people but there are such a lot of people looking for correspondents that I thought I'd give myself a bit of shameless PR - I'm afraid I am such a sad individual that I'm likely to take on any and all penpals.
Me, I'm 40 in a week (eeks!!!), I have a toddler and a hairy husband - the Hairy Bloke of this very forum, infrequent visitor that he is these days - and three very lovely cats. We live in rural Cornwall, we're very active re-enactors (Napoleonic, Anglo-Saxon and now it seems WW2) and you get two correspondents for the price of one....
I love most crafts and will have a go at anything involving handwork; Dan is the house cook.

I also really, really, really miss having a pen-pal!!

 

[St. Louis]

This is a wonderful idea. I enjoy writing letters, but can't get my friends and family to send so much as a Christmas card, unless it's the electronic variety. I would love to have a pen pal or two, particularly anyone who is interested in recreating the daily life of the 1930s and 1940s. I promise to be a steady correspondent.

 

[owlbeen]

I'll toss my hat (and pen!) into the ring, as well.

I'm a recent Cal Poly graduate and a part-time illustrator. I like comics, machinery of all types, and history (naturally). I could-- and have --spend all day at the Natural History Museum or the Autry, and can be long-winded on topics that interest me. I may also abuse commas, frequently.

Because I'm below 15 posts, I'll leave my email: kittybirg AT hotmail DOT com.

 

[Dawna]

Gee this thread is kind of old, so I don't know who's still looking for pen pals, but I'd love one! I'm from Canada but live in Sweden (have done for about a year and a half all told), I'm a student and I have a weekly radio show so I love talking about music - especially from the 40s, I need to expand my knowledge! I love cooking, sewing, knitting - all that handy stuff - and I've also gardened and can produce. I also like to read a lot, especially novels and old magazines, and to go out hunting for records and other treasures. I love to talk about clothes, beauty, style and how they did in the 'old' days. Well I guess that's enough about me! Please do PM me if you're at all interested in exchanging letters!

 

[Stray Cat]

I gave this some thought, and it resulted in realization that I can't get my friends to take up on writing letters (now with the new technology, it's getting harder to squeeze out a postcard!).
For those who don't dwell in the same posting area of FL as I am, here's a little bit about me:
I live in Serbia (Behind God's Back)
On the picture to your left, you can see I'm quite young(ish)
I'm also a bit bookish: I like reading (I'll be honest - I'll always put Agatha and Austen before Dostoevsky and Faulkner)
I enjoy black-and-white much more than 3D
My perfect party includes tea cups and piano tunes, not broken beer bottles and (what's that new-Hipster-kind-of-sound called?!)
..and I'm the only one "like this" in my small town. :crazy:

I'm not picky.
(OK, I am a picky eater) :eyebrows:

So, I guess I'd like to be able (every once in a while) to find an actual letter in my mail box - stuck between water bill and mega-market-promo flyer.
All those who are looking for a pen-pal - send me a PM.

...
Oh, and I like CATS. :rofl:

 

[Stray Cat]

OK, the cats part was a bit too much, right?

I am still looking for a pen-pal. :wave:

 

[Big Man]

OK, the cats part was a bit too much, right?

I am still looking for a pen-pal. :wave:

I think a lot of people are hesitant to jump in there and say they want to correspond. The "fear" comes from what to say. How do two people who really don't know anything about each other write letters? Well, the answer lies in just writing. It doesn't really matter if there is anything in common, most of the fun comes from writing a letter and (most of all) getting a letter in the mail box.

So, folks, just jump in there. Write about what you did on the weekend, what the children (or grandchildren) did, what interesting went on at work, or how your garden did this year. Anything. Just write anything. I know you will find it fun and interesting once you started.

 

[angeljenny]

Hopeful bump!

I like letter writing (although not with a fountain pen as I would make a mess!) and really enjoy writing to my sponsor children. I had a pen pal that I wrote to for 4 years and it was lovely to hear about just every day things going on in her life - from a new milk goat to trying a recipe or two. Unfortunately she doesn't want to write any more since I moved in with my boyfriend.

I am 28 and live in England. I just moved house and job in November. I am trying super hard to get organised with homemaking as I love all that stuff! I also really like crafts and gardening and baking although my skills generally don't match my ideas! I love books and am in a constant battle with clutter.

My life is pretty dull though so maybe no one will want to write. I got all excited last week to get a new broom for sweeping the yard!

 

[Big Man]

I've gone through five or six pen pals since this thread began. It's hard to get anyone in the habit of writing on a regular basis. Too bad. I always enjoyed sending and receiving letters.

 

[Caroline H]

I would love to do this! My husband and I were just talking about letter writing over the weekend. I saw some beautiful stationary and wanted to buy it, but I realized I couldn't use it if I bought it because no one writes letters any more!

 

[angeljenny]

 

[AmateisGal]

My nearly 90-year-old grandmother and I still write letters to each other. Nowadays, I'd rather get a letter in the mailbox than an email in my inbox!

 

[Fading Fast]

I would love to do this! My husband and I were just talking about letter writing over the weekend. I saw some beautiful stationary and wanted to buy it, but I realized I couldn't use it if I bought it because no one writes letters any more!

I find we go through stationary regularly as we write thank you notes for the occasional gift we receive or when we've gone to somebody's house or even to just drop a friend you don't speak to regularly a note to say hi (it's a much nicer way to touch-base than an email). And when we give a gift (my girlfriend loves to bake, so cakes, cookies, etc., "just-because" gifts go out of our house regularly), we always enclose a note.

Thus, while we don't really correspond regularly with friends via mail, we still go through a decent amount of stationary and, to be honest, have fun picking out interesting / beautiful stationary. To that end, we recently bought a coop apartment in a 1927 apartment house (one of those old classic looking brick ones with ivy up the sides) and were thinking of having some custom stationary made with a faded etching of the building on it. It's just a thought (and we'll have to see if it is crazy stupid expensive or not), but thought it could be fun.

So my unsolicited advice would be to pick up the beautiful stationary you saw and see if that encourages you to write a few more notes, etc. If so, it's a win, if not, overtime you'll still use up the stationary for this our that reason.

Off-shoot topic. I would write more handwritten letters if I had nice handwriting, but the best that can be send about mine is it is legible. My girlfriend has really nice handwriting and, usually, writes all our notes for that reason. One of our ongoing jokes is that whenever a letter is written in a movie (mainly classic movies as on TCM), the writer's handwriting is beyond gorgeous. So we alway joke that actors must have had to have wonderful handwriting back in the day (ignoring that they obviously hired in handwriting specialists).

If I could give myself one artistic skill (which would mean I would then have one artistic skill) and ignoring whether or not one could make money from it - it would not be singing or playing a musical instrument (can't do either) or dancing or painting (no and no again), etc. - it would be illustrating and handwriting (something I always wished I could do, but despite all efforts, I am completely talentless).

So, to bring this home, do you personally write more or less handwritten letters / enjoy it more or less based on the quality of your handwriting?

 

[Big Man]

I find we go through stationary regularly as we write thank you notes for the occasional gift we receive or when we've gone to somebody's house or even to just drop a friend you don't speak to regularly a note to say hi (it's a much nicer way to touch-base than an email). And when we give a gift (my girlfriend loves to bake, so cakes, cookies, etc., "just-because" gifts go out of our house regularly), we always enclose a note.

Thus, while we don't really correspond regularly with friends via mail, we still go through a decent amount of stationary and, to be honest, have fun picking out interesting / beautiful stationary. To that end, we recently bought a coop apartment in a 1927 apartment house (one of those old classic looking brick ones with ivy up the sides) and were thinking of having some custom stationary made with a faded etching of the building on it. It's just a thought (and we'll have to see if it is crazy stupid expensive or not), but thought it could be fun.

So my unsolicited advice would be to pick up the beautiful stationary you saw and see if that encourages you to write a few more notes, etc. If so, it's a win, if not, overtime you'll still use up the stationary for this our that reason.

Off-shoot topic. I would write more handwritten letters if I had nice handwriting, but the best that can be send about mine is it is legible. My girlfriend has really nice handwriting and, usually, writes all our notes for that reason. One of our ongoing jokes is that whenever a letter is written in a movie (mainly classic movies as on TCM), the writer's handwriting is beyond gorgeous. So we alway joke that actors must have had to have wonderful handwriting back in the day (ignoring that they obviously hired in handwriting specialists).

If I could give myself one artistic skill (which would mean I would then have one artistic skill) and ignoring whether or not one could make money from it - it would not be singing or playing a musical instrument (can't do either) or dancing or painting (no and no again), etc. - it would be illustrating and handwriting (something I always wished I could do, but despite all efforts, I am completely talentless).

So, to bring this home, do you personally write more or less handwritten letters / enjoy it more or less based on the quality of your handwriting?

I like your idea about having some custom-made stationary (I’d recommend note cards) with a drawing and/or photo of your new (old) place. I’ve used several sources for similar things and, surprisingly, they are not that expensive. Here are several sources I’ve used for custom stationary, note cards, and Christmas cards. I have been well satisfied with cost, quality, and service from all of these.


Gifts in 24 (https://www.giftsin24.com/)

Shutterfly (https://www.shutterfly.com/)

The Stationary Studio (http://www.thestationerystudio.com/index.cfm)

Vistaprint (http://www.vistaprint.com/)


As to handwriting. Mine is atrocious unless I deliberately take my time (which I usually don’t). Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped me from writing as often as possible. Writing notes and sending cards is something you have to get in the habit of doing. Also, you can’t (and shouldn’t) expect to get something back every time you send something out. It would be nice, but it just doesn’t work that way.

My little five year-old granddaughter likes to write notes. She will ask me how to spell the words (sometimes that’s a mistake, as I am not the best of spellers) and she will write them down. I always address the envelopes for her, but she writes the notes and the content is entirely her own. Just recently I got her some personalized stationary of her own, which she is very proud of and has lead to her writing more notes to more people. I think it’s a good habit to get into, and if she “learns” this habit at an early age it’s more likely to stick with her throughout life.

 

[Big Man]

As a follow-up: Anyone who would want to exchange correspondence, be it as a true "pen pal" or just the occasional card or note, send me a PM with your name and address and I will do likewise.

It seems like things are in such a rush these days. E-mails and text messages are fine, but nothing beats the occasional hand written note (even if you have to work to decipher what it says). I think it adds just a touch of "civility" to the world.

 

[Fading Fast]

Big Man,

Thank you for the stationary recommendations. I bookmarked them and will follow up when my day job (that pays for my second day job ) and my second day job (this renovations) slow down.

Right now, it seems every time they demo something, they find a pipe, beam or "bump out" where we didn't expect it. Nothing catastrophic, but a lot of on-the-fly redesign. All is good though at a big-picture level as, so far, the contractor is engaged and positive.

Also, I just sent the stationary sites to my girlfriend and she is already digging in - so something might happen on that front sooner. Your comments on your experiences with those sites and your encouragement to us is motivating.

Best,

FF

 

[martinsantos]

Hi all.

I would like to start again with letters! I'm married, 38 years old, like to writing, photography, travel, and so on.

I live in São Paulo City, Brazil. I can write and read perfectly in English and Portuguese.

Tks!