Ode to the US Postal Service (kind of)

I have always been a little obsessed with mail. When I was younger, I wrote letters to a lot of people: my grandma, my friends, my cousin Whitni, the cast of ZOOM, the President, and so on. I loved getting mail just as much as sending mail. Sometimes I would get mad if someone else, like Mom, got the mail out of the box before I did. Something about the uncertainty of opening the box and not knowing what's going to be inside, whom (who?) it's going to be from, if it's going to be for you, or if there will be anything at all, is just wonderful. It's sort of like a mini Christmas every day. You don't know if there are going to be any presents under the tree until you wake up. It's like that. I didn't like Sundays and holidays (the lame holidays, like labor day) for this particular reason. The mailman didn't deliver.

Since I've been in Florence, I knew that there was a building I could go to to pick up mail. I just hadn't checked because I wasn't expecting anything. Today, I got an email that I had a package ready to pick up! (They email you for packages, but you have to check on your own for just regular mail, letters, etc.) I found the building where the mail for LdM students is sent. Just for fun, I checked the regular mail section. I had not one, not two, but THREE letters. PLUS a package. It was like Christmas, times four! Which is a lot, considering how much I love Christmas.

The pink envelope is full of Valentine's cards from my Sigma Kappa sisters at Truman. Let me tell you something, if you didn't know already. When you're living on the other side of the world from your best friends, and you aren't going to see them again for several more months, you sometimes wonder if things will be the same when you get back or if they will forget you. This was the best reminder of how much they mean to me. SLAM, ladies. I miss you.

The smaller envelope is a letter from my Sigma Kappa Little, Ginger. If you aren't familiar with the Big-Little system, it's like a small family tree within the sorority. When you join, you get someone who has already been in the sorority for a year or more to be your Big. Your Big's Big is your Grandbig. My Big is Val. My little is Ginger. Val is Ginger's Grandbig. Get it? Anyway, you don't really have to understand all this if it's confusing you. But the point is that my adorable Little sent me an adorable homemade birthday card with booger jokes inside. (Where did the nose go when it was hungry? Booger King! . . .and so on.) She also wrote me a letter. And she threw in some temporary tattoos as well.

The last envelope is a card from my aunt Sue. I love Sue. I have dubbed her Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Maker and Best Chicken Maker. . . although not best bacon maker, unless you like it black and crunchy ;) I love stopping by Sue's house in Jeff City on my trips between Kirksville and Republic and she is always happy to feed me and/or give me a place to sleep. All of my aunts are wonderful. Sue's letter made me miss all of them. Not that I am ready to come home yet. But I would LOVE some visitors. Anyone want to come?

Last but not least is the package from my mom. It wasn't a surprise because I knew what she had sent me. It was surprising that it got here so soon, though! I was expecting it sometime in March, maybe. I now have measuring cups, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla and almond extract. Let the baking begin! I also have chili and taco seasonings, oatmeal, hot chocolate, plenty of peanut butter, index cards, ear plugs, and my beloved Converse sneakers. I was under the impression that people in Europe don't wear Converse, so I left them at home. I was wrong, and now they are here. I can't wait to wear them again.

If you're tired of hearing about my mail, I don't blame you. I think I'm the only one who gets that excited about me getting mail. So if you've read this far into my post, I truly appreciate it. :)

Here are my earrings I started last night in Jewelry Making class.

In the process of cutting them out

After shaping the flower part

I started with a simple drawing for my design. I traced it on tracing paper, and then rubbed that face down on to my sanded, and oiled-with-clay silver sheet. Then I used a steel point to draw over the pencil marks because the marks rub off easily. I used a punch with a tiny drill to make the small holes. Then I put the holes through a saw blade and hand-sawed the holes out. After that, I sawed around the outside of the design. Then I sanded the edges. The flowers are 3-D because I used a round metal thingy (I don't know the technical term) with a hammer on a tar block to make the petals bend out. Then I had to turn them over and use a straight thingy to make the lines separating the petals.

Next week I am going to texturize the leaves and work on the tiny chain links that hold the pieces together. That's going to be the hard part. It involves soldering. I'm afraid it will also involve crying if I can't get it to work right. But we'll deal with that later.

One more thing! This weekend is the official opening of the Carnival in Venice. I am going as part of a school field trip. Kate and Lindsey are also going, so it will be lots of fun! We're leaving early Saturday morning and traveling by a combination of buses and boats. We'll have a tour of the main part of the city, stay in a nice hotel, eat a traditional Carnival feast for dinner, and witness the opening ceremonies on Sunday. We come home Sunday night.

One of the coolest things about Carnival is the masks. You can't go to Carnival and not get a mask; that would just be wrong. We heard from a lot of people that the masks are much cheaper to buy in Florence, though. And they're the exact same as the ones in Venice. Yesterday, Hannah, Meghan, and I went to buy ours. (Hannah and Meghan are going to Carnival too, but not with the school group.)

My beaufiful purple and gold Carnival mask;
see the bells hanging on the top three things?

It was only €7. It's so pretty! There is a loop on the back of it, too, so you can hang it on the wall when you're done wearing it. How fun!