Postcard feature: Penguin

This is wonderful!

Jonno made this little penguin postcard and we planted it in Portland in April.  It was discovered by a children's drama class, who all added a bit to the front of the card before sending it back!  How fun is this?

Their letter reads:

Hello, friend!  Our drama class at Northwest Children's Theatre found your postcard while reading the book Mr. Tiger Goes Wild.  We play games, eat snack, and act out stories in class.  What do you like to do when it's sunny outside?

(heart)
Jayden, Iddo, Fia, Adele, Ruby, Maddy and Carrie

Well, young thespians (that's a fancy word for actors!)--we love sunny days!  We love to swim.  The boys are in swimming lessons.  They are twins and are seven years old.  We also like picnics, bike rides, camping, fishing, and playing with our bunnies.  We have popsicles every day, and most days we eat lunch at the park.

We liked hearing about your drama class!  It sounds like fun.  When I was young I had a book called The Old Man and the Tiger that was written like the script of a play. I used to like to read it and do all the voices and actions by myself.  Anna, Jesse, and Jonno have performed with Missoula Children's Theater.  Acting is fun!

Thank you for returning our penguin to us, and for collaborating on the art with Jonno!  Did you know that's what you were doing when you added your drawing to the front?  It's a really, really big word that means making something together!  We love what you helped Jonno make!

Postcard feature: The Best Day!

In January, when we traveled to Coeur d'Alene to visit our second-eldest son, Brett (husband and dad) even joined in the postcard project!  This was his first postcard, which was returned to us in June after being hidden in the library in Spokane, WA.  Even though our visit to North Idaho was in winter, it had us both feeling nostalgic for the ten years we lived up there near the lakes and mountains. Hayden Lake is where our third son learned to fish, something he loves.

An older man used to sit on the dock at Hayden Lake, fishing.  Kids would often scramble his way and ask questions, the way kids can--"What are you doing?  What's in this box?  How many fish have you caught?"  The man was gruff and short with them, clearly annoyed at the interruptions.

One day a kid carrying a tackle box and fishing rod sat down about ten feet away from the man, who gave him a sideways scowl.  The boy looked back calmly, saying nothing.  The man returned to fishing and the boy watched his every move for the next three or four hours.

The next day, the boy came again, sat down at a distance, and watched.  The man glanced his way with a stern look and the boy looked back, clear-eyed, but said nothing.  He just observed in silence for the next few hours.

This went on for nearly a week. After about the fifth day, the man turned to the boy and said, "Come here."  The boy stood with a measured calm that belied his eagerness, picked up his tackle box and went to where the man sat fishing.  "Sit down," the man said. "Do you like to fish?"

That boy was Nate, and he was eight years old.  The man spent the next couple of weeks teaching him the water--what fish lived in it, how to work it, what bait and lure to use for which species of fish.

Nate and Brett have spent a lot of hours fishing.  Anna and I enjoy fishing too.  Jesse, I think, will be a good fisherman one day if he gets the chance; Jonno is less interested.  Braden doesn't care for it, and Seth (our eldest) doesn't mind it but doesn't really go out of his way to fish.  But Nate was born for it.

The finders are named Becky and Cole.  They wrote:

I found this in a Spokane library book & it kicked around in my kitchen after the book went back.  I work as a courier at Spokane's blood bank & my husband is a semi-retired wheat farmer.  We play Cowboy swing music with our friends & are looking forward to full retirement in a year.  Have a great day.  Becky & Cole

Thanks, Becky, for returning the postcard!  Here's to passions--whether art, reading, fishing, growing things, or swing music!

Postcard feature: Owl against the sun at dawn

Jesse was very particular about the name of this postcard!  This one returns to us from Portland (we seem to be in a wave of Portland postcards).  We've actually had it for a while, but summer started with a bang here with business trips, a family reunion, a wedding, and some unexpected revelations. Life can be crazy, can't it?

The finder has written:  Very Very COOL artwork.  Found in a book @ Central Library Downtown PDX

Peace!

Much peace to you, kind finder, and thanks for returning Jesse's postcard!

Postcard feature: Dog and bird

Another postcard from Portland! This one is one of Jonno's creations. He got an animal drawing book from his grandparents, and his drawings of dogs will never be the same...

The finder appears to be about the same age as my boys (by his handwriting), and has written:

this was fun
__________

Clark

Thank you, Clark, for sending Jonno's puppy and bird back to us!