Whatcha Doin?

 

Last night just before the electricity went out, I thought I heard the tail end of a news story that USPS is raising stamp prices. So, I'm checking to see if it's true and when the increase occurs.

Yuppers, it's true. USPS is raising prices from 68 cents to 73 cents per ounce for First Class postage. The rate increase takes effect on July 14, 2024. Still time to go to the Post Office and stock up on stamps at the lower 68 cent rate.

Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I stopped in at the post office to see if they had a 14 in x 14 in box to send the Young One's hat and other things to her. The flat rate boxes weren't big enough. S went out back and found a box from recycle that might work. The percs of living in a small town.

2.  I found a penny in the Target parking lot

3. I ordered a sun hat for the Eldest. The hat, from the Wallaroo Hat Co. ,arrived so I had a perfect hat box to mail the Young One's hat.

4. I finished watching The Mandalorian. For the most part, I enjoyed the story except for the puppets!

5. Driving home from Teague's there was a mama turkey crossing the road with her poult. It was the cutest, tiniest baby turkey I've seen.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

Image from USPS.com

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. Himself and I worked on the taxes. He did the taxes. I just verified what money came in and went out.

2. I tagged along to Himself's appointment only because I was promised breakfast out.

3. Doing some Easter shopping, the salesclerk gave me a great idea for Easter baskets for the Littles in the family

4. I needed some stamps. I thought I'd get a generic floral to use for bills that I don't pay through the bank like the oil bill. I asked for something with flowers and S gave me Garden Delights. Too pretty for the oil bill.

5. For five minutes the laundry hampers were completely empty.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I made a crockpot lasagna meal. Lots of leftovers and no cooking for a day or two

2.  I went to mail a package in the afternoon.  My friend, S, was working the counter. She usually works a morning shift so is gone by the afternoon.I had a nice little chat as the post office wasn't too busy. 

3. I was able to get an appointment for Saturday morning for the groomer to come to the house to do the kitties' nails.

4. For Valentine's Day, Himself had ordered me a garden stake of a kitty and a bell. The company sent temple bells instead. Himself called the company. They are sending the kitty and we can keep the temple bells.

5. I had a nice, long chat with my SIL about her new granddaughter

How was your week?

Happy Mail

Friday was a jackpot, happy mail day.

Elizabeth and Bleubeard sent a 10th anniversary T Day ATC, a charming kitty and 10 teacups. Two postcards don't that have any snow on them and note signed by E and Bleubeard. It took a day or two for me to get to the post office box where Elizabeth mailed the goodies. Thank you, Elizabeth and Bleubeard (and thanks to Squiggles, too) for such a wonderful surprise. I didn't expect an ATC as I didn't participate in the exchange. So many thanks for thinking of me.

For those that like stamps, Elizabeth used the Year of the Ox stamp issued in a virtual ceremony sponsored by the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. USPS did a great job of running Elizabeth's envelope through the cancellator. Such a nice, crisp postmark.

L, my tablemate from the 2017 year-long class with Reggie Ezzell surprised me with a Valentine. L loves sheep and they feature in her artwork. Even more surprising is the stamp didn't receive a cancellation mark though the city where the card was posted is printed as well as the bar code along the bottom.

L doesn't read the blog so I'll be sending her a note thanking her for the Valentine.

She used the new 2024 Love stamp issued January 12, 2024, Romance, AR 72136

My blog buddy, Phillip from Envelope 100 sent me a first day issue, complete in a cellophane wrapper with a cardboard insert to keep everything flat, the festive, metallic envelope and lovely notecard. Thank you, Phillip, I was blown away by your thoughtfulness.

The first day issue have the date and place where the stamps were issued along with a special cancellation mark based on one of the animal stamps.  There are 4 animal stamps in the Woodland Animal series and you can see them on the flat that Phillip mailed to a friend.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The first big snowstorm of the season.  Another meticulously, hand-shoveled walkway.  Half the driveway was plowed. Around the car and the car were cleared by hand. The snow was forecasted to be a light and fluffy. The weather dudes lied. The snow was heavy and wet.

A weather watcher in town officially measured the storm total at 11 inches.

The plow guy neglected to plow in front of the mailbox. That was cleared by hand, too. I received a wrist slap in the mailbox. Apparently, postal regulations require a 30 foot clearance between the entrance to and exit from the mailbox. 

Red sky in the morning

After the snow, wind and heavy rains turned the snow to slush

We were lucky as we didn't lose electricity and no water in the basement.

Unseasonably warm temperatures, sun and another round of heavy rains, cleared most of the snow from the yard

The heavy winds took off some of the panels from the greenhouse.

Almost all gone snow.

Beautiful sunset

  

and pastel Winter

skies.

How does your garden grow?

USPS Postage Increase

United States Postal Service has announced another postage increase to take place on January 21, 2024. 

First class postage will now be 68 cents (two cent increase) 

Postcards will now cost 53 cents. 

International postcards and letters will cost $1.55 per ounce

The last postage increase was in July 2023.

T Stands for The Happy Little Gingerbread Man

 

A request from the Young One to send her childhood mug, The Happy Little Gingerbread Man. He was supposed to arrive on Saturday, but as of Monday night, tracking says he's late (Duh!) I just hope he's not lost.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

2024 USPS Stamp Reveal

 

From the USPS site: "The 2024 Love stamp features a stylized bird in flight bearing a message of love in its beak. Made of four geometric shapes shown against a rich red background, the white bird carries a pink envelope sealed with a red heart. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed this stamp with an original digital illustration by Katie Kirk."

I think this stamps can also be used for weddings and Christmas.

See this stamp and all the wonderful new stamps that will be issued in 2024 at U.S. Postal Service Reveals Stamps for 2024

Another Postal Increase

 

Sail on over to your local post office to stock up on stamps. The USPS has announced another postage rate increase on 9. July 2023. 

Stamps for a 1 oz. letter will increase from 63 cents to 66 cents. Postcard stamps (domestic) will increase from 48 cents to 51 cents.

Mr. Zip Makes A Special Delivery

 

The Eldest's next work assignment is in Arkansas. A problem arose and she needed the item overnight. No problem. A trip to my post office where I mailed the package and told the Eldest she would have it by 5 pm the following day.

The next morning, I check on the tracking number and was surprised to see the package had been delivered. I sent a text to the Eldest that she could pick up the package at the hotel desk.

A few minutes later, a text the package wasn't there. Rotrow! Did I have the right address? Did I mail the package to the wrong hotel?

A call to the closest post office and Bob to the rescue. He remembered the package coming in. I told him tracking said it had been delivered, but it wasn't there. Maybe I had the wrong address. He put me on hold while he went to check. 

No, I had the correct address. Whew! The carrier left the package at a different hotel. Fortunately, the hotel was within walking distance where the Eldest was staying. Thanks to Bob, the Eldest went to retriever her package.

Later that afternoon, Bob called back to make sure the Eldest had gotten her package.

Like the postal service slogan, "We deliver for you.", Bob went above and beyond customer service. He could have just said, the package was delivered instead of tracking down exactly where it went.

I thought Bob deserved a special thank you note from a grateful mother on behalf of a relieved daughter far from home.

My envelope features the More Than Meets The Eye stamp and Mr. Zip. He was part of the postal campaign in the early 1960s to remind us to use the new Zipcode instead of the old zone number for an area of the city. Mr. Zip said: Mail moves the country, and Zipcode moves the mail.

Hopefully, Bob got a kick out of the mail art.

The Friday Five Good Things.

 

Image from https://www.visitmaine.net/things-to-do-in-ogunquit-maine/

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Errands to close out the safe deposit box at the bank,  drop off the Grandniece's birthday gift, and then take out from 99 Restaurant

2. Master Beef and Grandmaster E stopped by on their way home from Connecticut. E brought a 

taste of all the goodies she made for the Easter they had with their niece last Sunday

3. After being delivered to the wrong hotel, The Eldest finally got the package I had overnighted to her. The post office clerk in Blytheville, Arkansas was so very helpful and patient.

4. Packed for camp.

5. Teague and I are on our way to Ogunquit!

How was your week?

USPS Postage Rate Increase

 

In case you didn't see Finnbadger's comment on the 2023 Love Stamp post,  here it is: 

FinnBadgerJanuary 9, 2023 at 5:31 PM

The next price increase is January 22nd (first class 1oz letter will be 63c), so buy these on the 19th through 21st to pay 60c per stamp.

Thanks for the head's up, Finn. 

The 2023 Love Stamp

Look what's available in time for Valentine's Day! A Love stamp with an adorable kitten or puppy. The 60 cent Forever stamp will be issued on January 19, 2023 and is now available for pre-order on the USPS website. 

Postage Stamp Cancellation Marks

 

Christmas cancellation mark to coordinate with the Holiday Elves stamps

This past month I've seen people questioning the USPS cancellation marks and especially the dreaded Sharpie marker through the stamp.

A friend's husband worked at the USPS as a postmaster and big boss of a mail distribution center. I had asked her to ask him why stamps sometimes have a Sharpie line drawn through them. He said:

Envelopes are put into the machinery upside down. The first thing the system scans for is the postage stamp which should be located in the upper right corner of your envelope. If the stamp isn't found there or it's in a different location, the envelope is kicked out of machinery. The envelope sits around until a human can come and take a look at it.

 If for some reason the stamp(s) didn't get a cancellation mark over them (a hiccup in the  machine), a clerk has to take the dreaded Sharpie or grease pencil and scribble over the stamp. This is to prevent the stamp from being used again.

Title 18, U.S. Code, Sections 471 and 1720: Once a postage stamp has been used, it is a federal crime to:

1. Remove, attempt to remove, or assist to remove cancellation marks from postage.

2. Reuse a stamp whether cancelled or not.

So like it or not the cancellation mark and Sharpie scribble have a definite function. Maybe it's best to embrace the marks as part of the artwork.

It might be fun to think that each mail clerk has a distinctive way of marking through the stamp similar to the way railroad conductors had distinctive ways to punch railway tickets.

On this eleventh day after Christmas, or Twelfth Night of Christmas depending on your reckoning

USPS Postage Stamp Increase

In case you haven't heard, the USPS will be increasing postage rates on July 10, 2022. First class postage will increase from 58 cents per ounce to 60 cents per ounce.

If you send a lot of holiday cards, you might want to stock up on stamps now before the rate increase.  

Whatcha Doin?

Today is errand day. A stomach bug the past week kept me from getting to the post office to mail the Food Service Girl  the hand lettering book. The post office will be stop number one followed by

a trip to the groomer's to get Calli and Quill's claws clipped.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Ink in a Teacup

A surprise piece of Happy Mail from Finnbadger. Ink in a starry night teacup with a solar eclipse stamp. Isn't it purrfect?

Loos like going through the cancellator or the sorting machines a couple of spots tore on the envelope or as I thought of them cat scratches.

Finn reminded me to warm the stamp over a lightbulb to see it change. All the lightbulbs in the house have been changed to LED bulbs which do not give off heat so I had to use the heat from my hand. Behind the umbra appears the moon and the corona of the eclipse. So cool! Even the cancellation mark is perfect like waves of solar radiation, and handled with care by post office personnel as there are no magic marker marks to mar the stamp.

Finn likes to make his own envelopes. In his note, he said he knew I was eyeing the cat literature envelopes. He was so right. 😺

Inside, he included a collage, a silver moon (the scanner wasn't happy with the shiny, silver paper) rising above or sinking below ocean waves. Or mountains.

Thank you so much, Finn, the envelope was a delightful surprise and as you said in your note, "perfect for you and the spirit of Ink."

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Image from https://www.clipart.email/
because we ate them before I thought
to take a picture

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Informed Delivery  from the Postal Service notified me Happy Mail was waiting. Even though I had picked up the mail a couple of days earlier, I went back to the post office to pick up the mail.

2. While grocery shopping, Himself picked up chocolate dipped strawberries and pineapple. Such a delicious treat.

3. Two different friends paid me the same compliment on the same day.

4. Another piece of Happy Mail arrived

5. Another missed storm for my area. Just a dusting of snow before changing over to rain.

How was your week?

Head's Up

On January 27, 2019, first class postage rates in the  U.S. increased from 50 cents per ounce to 55 cents per ounce. Hopefully, you stocked up on Forever stamps before the rate increase.

You can see the new USPS Postage Rates and Prices