Indiana's State Flag

One of the things that I love when it comes to postcards is state flags.  I absolutely love anything that has to do with the 50 United States, but I love flags especially.  I think it's because I love how much history and thought is put into flags(or not, depending on the state. ;) LOL) and how much you can learn about the state.  Today's postcard is of the Indiana State flag, one I have had the pleasure of seeing in Indianapolis, IN.

Now, if you're slightly blind, like I am any time I forget to put my contacts on, you might have an issue with reading the font at the bottom of the postcard.  Never fear, I have it right here for your convenience!

"The state flag (formerly called banner) was adopted by the General Assembly in 1917 as part of the commemoration of the state's Centennial, after a competition sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.  The prize-winning design was submitted by Paul Hadley of Mooresville, Indiana.  The torch in the center stands for liberty and enlightenment;  the rays represent their far-reaching influence. The outer circle of stars stands for the original thirteen states, and the inner circle of stars for the five states next admitted to the Union.  The larger star stands for Indiana, the nineteenth state.  The name was changed from banner to flag by act of 1955 General Assembly.  The state flag is "regulation in addition to the American flag, with all of the military forces in the State of Indiana, and in all public functions in which the state may or shall officially appear."  The state colors are always carried or displayed on the observer's right of the Stars and Stripes."

There was a $100 prize for the winning design and for Paul Hadley, the General Assembly only had to change one thing!  They added "Indiana" in a crescent shape above the torch.  There were over 200 original submissions and this was the winner.  There was a survey that was completed in 2001 and NAVA placed Indiana's flag at #32 out of 72 Canadian, US States, and US Territories in design quality.

HEY!  This is the hummingbird stamp I was talking about!  Though, whoever sent this postcard put the stamp on upside down. *angry face*  I get so weird about stamps. LOL!  I love it when they are straight and even with the sides of the postcard and facing the right way!  It irks me when someone overlaps the stamps or flips one on it's side or upside down. It's never been such a big deal when I have penpal letters, because I just cut the stamp out for my album, but on postcards, it drives me BATTY!  Am I the only one?    We've had the Tiffany Lamp stamp for quite a long time.  That's never been one I have been particularly impressed by.  I always put it in the same category as the Chippendale chair.  Boringggggg. *yawn*  But it does help break up the monotony of the hummingbird stamps once there's a postal rate change!

Well, I enjoyed learning about the Indiana State flag!!  I hope you guys learned something new as well! Tune in next time!

Happy Mailings!
-Jessa


Postal Soundtrack

• Hard To Love- Lee Brice
• My Town- Montgomery Gentry
• Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Mind

Happiness is...Mondays #3

It's MONDAYYYY, oh happy MONDAYYYYY!  Are you guys singing with me?  It's a glorious day.  Just a few days before we stuff ourselves with delicious food, watch football, and SLEEP! Some of you may be going out and braving the crowds for shopping (I will NOT be doing that, too crazy!) and others may be forced to work.  Lame-o!  But until then, we have this little Happiness is...Mondays #3!  I am so excited! Occasionally, when I don't think I'll have enough postcards requested for, I'll ask badger some of my closest friends to take a small stack of postcards and randomly send them back to me so I have postcards I can use when I'm going through a postcard drought.  After all, I just got all you guys to start reading this!  I wouldn't want you to disappear so quickly!  Thankfully, I have some pretty radtastic friends that are always there for any assistance I might need.   Today's postcard comes from one of my closest friends and to her dismay, I even call her my best friend.  :)

I think my ultimate favorite type of postcards to receive ever are the "Greetings From..." vintage style, large letter postcards that became so famous in the early 20th century United States.  I love how the idea was to show something of the state or city you were in to send greetings to someone else.  It almost has that "Americana" sense to it, you know? I love the vintage cards and the cards that really show some history.  Because of that (yes, I just started a sentence with because. :O ) I am always on the lookout for "Greetings from..." cards whenever I go somewhere that might have postcards.  I found a pretty fabulous antique store that had DROVES and DROVES of vintage GF Postcards!  But because they were vintage, they were $4-8.00 a piece!  Which is completely worth it, but I'm a poor college student. LOL  So they'll have to wait.  I was able to snag this one for $1.00 and I'm so happy I did.  I sent it to my best friend, and this is what she sent back.

"Happiness is...wide open spaces with a wonderful companion.'

How true and on point is this one??  At least for me, it's absolutely true.  I'm almost never as happy as I am when I'm riding my horse on a trail or with a friend.  Granted, it's a pretty small group of friends that I can be in wide open spaces with and just be quiet, but those that I can be with are worth their weight in gold.  I've never been much for city living.  I'd much rather have acres upon acres to ride and roam and just take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.  I don't ever have to deal with my anxiety as much in wide open spaces, I don't have to worry about talking to people I don't want to, I don't have to worry about idiots driving crazily, and I know that while I'm not the only person out there, it feels like it and that is just so wonderful. I've always thought I'd love to live in Wyoming or Montana, or Northern Nebraska because there is so much wide open space.  It's just waiting for me.

Yay! American Flag stamps!  I love those.  I really do love our flag.  The USPS did a series of forever stamps and there were four designs, each one with a different word. This one is obviously "Justice" and I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I like how the word is above "Forever" implying that we'll have Justice Forever.  Each stamp design is like that and I really like them!

What are your thoughts on the postcard or the stamp?  What about the "Happiness is..." response?  Let us know in the comments!

Happy Mailings!

-Jessa

Postal Soundtrack

• Where the Stars and the Stripes and the Eagle Flies- Aaron Tippin
• I Still Miss You- Keith Anderson
• Do You Believe Me Now- Jimmy Wayne

The Pinto

Today's postcard comes to us from FL and while it doesn't have a quote, list, or a piece of advice, I still love it. Not all of the postcards I post will be in response to the postcard writing prompts I have.  When postcards like that come in, I'll just be posting the front of the postcard, the stamps, and info about the postcard.  Sometimes it's fun to see what other postcards others have felt like sending me!  These are surprises that someone felt like sending and I absolutely love them. Sometimes I get doubles, or even triples, of a postcard I already have.  But each and everyone has something different written on it!

This little gem is absolutely fabulous.  As you've probably figured out from my other posts, I'm a big horse person.  No, let's rephrase that.  HUGE horse person.  I absolutely love this art postcard from the talented Amy Jean Porter.  Head on over to her website and see just how talented she is!  I'm loving the rest of the horse series and there are so many ADORABLE hedgiehog pieces that I feel like I just have to have!  Her style of drawing is just so great to me.  It's distinct and very easy to like. This postcard is definitely going to be one of my favorites!

The USPS has always had a history of having some pretty great Olympic stamps over the years, but I think this is one of my least favorites. HAH!  I like the 'smudgy' art look for certain things, but I'm not so sure that javelin throw is one of them!  The green color is pretty fabulous though.  Gives it a little bit of a different look from the rest of the stamps that usually have a white or blue or red background!  That 3 cent stamp has been around for what seems like forever.  For some weird reason, it always makes me think of Jesus Christ Superstar.  LOL.  I'm not even sure what it is about it.  Maybe because it kind of looks like someone standing like Jesus with multicolored light shadows behind it?  I have no clue.  The end of the school semester is getting to my brain!!!

Well, that's it for this post.  Tune in next time for the Indiana State Flag!

Happy Mailings!
-Jessa

Post Soundtrack

• Beer on the Table- Josh Thompson
• Just Got Started Loving You- James Otto
• Red Dirt Road- Brooks & Dunn

Farm Fridays #2

Farm Fridays are upon us again!! I know this is only the second Farm Friday we've had since I started it last week, but I have to say that I've really begun to get excited for the farming and agriculture postcards that have really come pouring in!  It's so neat to receive postcards from other farming families and hear what these strong women have to say!

This postcard was a cute donation I received to add to my blank postcard collection.  The cute little pinto miniature horse is just adorable, is it not?  I just kind of want to go "Awwww! How cute!" to it even though I know it's not real and it definitely can't hear me.  Though, I do already talk to myself, so there's that.

Mamie, from MN, writes

 "One of the main things I learned growing up on a farm is that of responsibility. My dad taught me that the animals eat before we eat.  They're counting on us.  I have passed that value on to my daughters as well."  

I was happy to see this postcard come in with this piece of advice on it.  I know when I was younger, and even now, I had problems with friends that were having a party or wanted to get together, and I couldn't go because I had animals to take care of.  Now, I wasn't blaming the animals.  After all, we had them because I wanted them and I understood that I was the one that was mostly responsible for the care. But my friends didn't understand so well.  They'd always ask why I wasn't able to go, or why I couldn't stay out late.  I always tried to patiently explain to them that the animals got up early and I needed to be able to get up just as early for them, having a regular feeding schedule was healthier for the animals, and that the animals were their responsibility.

"Well, can't you just get your parents to feed them or something?" they'd ask.  Well, yeah, I could ask my parents to do that for me and they'd be happy to.  Once or twice.  Or for a special event/circumstance.  Not every Friday or Wednesday when you guys got together.  These animals were there in my backyard because I wanted them there.  If my father had a choice, they wouldn't have even been there.  He wasn't, and still isn't, much for the livestock. :) I knew that going in to the agriculture industry and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Granted, I was born into agriculture and livestock, but if I hadn't been interested in it, we wouldn't have spent time and money finding me chickens to raise and show, a market lamb for my FFA Project, or investing money in breeding and training horses.  My grandfather was raised on a farm and he instilled quite a few of his teachings and beliefs in my mother, who in turn, instilled them in me.  Whether it's a dog, a fish, or a horse, they're at our house because of us and it's our responsibility to care for them in the best ability we can achieve.  Caring for my animals and livestock have taught me so much in just being a better human being and a productive member of society.  I know how important it is to keep those teachings and traditions going in the younger youth.

The USPS has had quite an adventure this past year with all the different stamps they've released and these new postcard rate stamps have been interesting.  Previous to this set, the postcard stamps were of a single image of a turquoise and teal hummingbird that was geometric in shape.  I wasn't sure I was really that big of a fan and I really have to say that I like these quite a bit better.  The bird on this particular stamp is the Red Knot is a medium sized shorebird that calls the tundra home.  It's found in the Arctic Cordillera and is a member of the sandpiper family. Which makes sense.  I would say it kind of looks similar to a sandpiper.  What do you think? We'll have to see which other birds we get on the stamps!

I really liked this Farm Friday and I hope you guys did too!  Is this a teaching you've had in your family?  Yes or no, let us know!  Until next Friday!

Happy Mailings!

-Jessa

Post Soundtrack

• I Can Love You Like That- John Michael Montgomery
• Summer of '69- Bryan Adams
• Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue- Toby Keith

Bloglovin'

We're joining Bloglovin'  and we are super excited by it!!

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Love Rule #1

Looks like we've found our #1 Love Rule already!  It came quite a bit faster than I thought it would have! :D When I first read this particular rule, I couldn't help but to agree wholeheartedly to it!  Not only did I feel that this rule fit with pairs of significant others, it also fits within friendly relationships!

The postcard is an illustration of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. "The lofty peaks of the Grand Teton's blue-gray of 2 billion year old rock , were carved by glaciers over millenia."  I've never been to the Grand Tetons, but guess whattttt?  It's on my bucket list!  I'd love to go someday and I have heard wonderful, wonderful things about it.  We are lucky being in the United States and having so many wonderful National and State Parks.  Theodore Roosevelt certainly did us a service!  What's your favorite National/State Park?

I also love the set of postcards this particular one came in.  They're all hand drawn/illustrated and depict the various parks around the United States. They kind of have a vintage look to them that I absolutely love. I bought an entire postcard book of these over sized postcards and I can't wait to receive them all back with things written on them!

" Love Rule #1

A relationship/marriage is a two-way street.  Be considerate of your significant other."

Brianna continued to write " My hubby and I ALWAYS work together.  There is NO job either can't do.  We are a team.  And with that, we are unstoppable! <3"  I agree with this, as I said above, wholeheartedly.  One of the other words that comes to mind when I think of being considerate, is being respectful.  These two go hand in hand with each other when it comes to relationships, both romantically and platonic-ally.  Sometimes, when emotions are running high, it's hard to remember that you're not the only one who may be feeling hurt or misunderstood.  There always needs to be compromise, respect, and working together.


How cute is the stamp that matches the love rule completely?  Red heart with the scrolley letters of 'Forever' inscribed in the middle.  I know there's a matching white and red stamp that is cuter than this one.  The stamps the USPS puts out are kind of hit or miss, but they've been coming up with some pretty neat ones lately!

This was a great Love Rule and I am so excited to see what the next one is!  Let me know your thoughts are in the comments!

Happy Mailing!

-Jessa

Surprise!!

Sometimes, I think one of my favorite parts about this postcard project is when a surprise postcard finds it's way into my mailbox!  I love the ones that people request and then send back to me, but the ones that I'm not expecting just end up making my day that much better! Especially when they are so perfect for my collection!  This postcard is so great.

The postcard is a vintage card from an older postcard book of "La Cote d'Azur- Monte Carlo"  The entire back typography is in French and I absolutely love the scalloped edge.  I've never been to the French Riviera, I've never even been out of the country, but I've always thought it looked so beautiful.  I feel like this postcard makes it look so peaceful!  What do you guys think?

The quote on the back was a pretty great one

"If you want to change the world, you have to change your self."

-Monte Carlo

I think this quote kind of speaks for it self, so I'll leave it as it is!  Let us know what you think. 

Happy Mailing!

-Jessa