Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Update on the wishlist

A big thank you to those of you who have let us know you’ve purchased things off the amazon wishlist. I’m really looking forward to receiving the items. I can assure you they will all be put to good use.

Someone mentioned that you can add products from non-Amazon sellers to the Amazon wishlist. And as Beth has had emails from people saying they want to help with the Postcard Project but don’t know what types of cards or stickers to send, Beth spent several hours surfing through Amazon and other sites to find postcards and stickers for the Postcard Project to add to the Amazon wishlist. Beth also included items from Amazon.co.uk (UK) and Amazon.de (Germany). The German site has these fantastic Australian postcards she’s just about run out of – but for other countries as well.
You don’t have to live in Europe to purchase off these sites either. So for anyone who wants to contribute to the postcard project here’s another way to do so.

My challenge was to figure out how to add the wishlist to my sidebar - which I was able to do with only minor frustration.

I’m learning not to panic when Beth puts out blogs asking people to spread the word about the Postcard Project. I have visions of hundreds of people asking for cards and me trying to figure out how we’re going to afford them all. But I’ve come to realize that, to use a religious phrase, the lord will provide. And most times that provision comes via recipients of the postcards. I am amazed by the box of miscellaneous postcards someone sent, a big envelope of various stickers sent by another recipient and the constant flow of smaller amounts of envelopes, stickers and postage stamps coming from so many. Even some of the people Beth buys anime products from are eager to help when Beth tells them about the project. They’ll throw in a few extra stickers or a couple postcards and even some binsen Beth likes giving to people.

So yeah, I need to chill. With everyone’s help we’ve had to spend less on the project. And when I put stickers on cards I often remember who contributed them and think about what they might be doing right then or wonder if they would be surprised to know which country their stickers or postcards were going to. It makes me feel connected and a part of something big. Thanks for being part of it.

9 comments:

Veralidaine said...

Thank you again for sharing more of your perspective. I think I had a fairly significant part in the flood of requests and I hope they didn't stress you out too much!

While I have sent Beth other things (and I've got cookies and panties to send this week), I have been remiss in not sending things for the postcard project. I will remedy that soon.

Linda McClung said...

Veralidaine,

No problem about your part in getting more postcard requests flooding in. We found out that 81 cards is too many to do in one weekend and will try for a more moderate amount this weekend. It was too hard on Beth physically to get it all done.

About the parcel - although I love homemade cookies and the thought of you sending them, please don't send us any. Your last batch did not survive the journey very well - were dried out by the time we got to them. So please, eat the yummies yourself and think of us and save on the postage.

Raccoon said...

Yeah, I'm still waiting for my sister to send me cranberries...

Linda, it's great hearing from you. And today's post from Beth tells us all how much you're doing, so I won't chastise you for not writing enough.

Cheryl should be receiving stuff starting Friday through next week, from me.

Veralidaine said...

Oh good grief! Again!

I sent them priority and everything this time. Damn the Christmas flood! I guess maybe I can try again with edible things and overnight mail next time after the holidays when the post is less clogged, but I suppose sitting in the mailbox until Cheryl visits still wouldn't work out very well...

Sad. I am very good at baking (it's the ONLY domestic skill I've got... can't cook or clean worth a darn) and had hoped to share that with you!

Maybe I can find a recipe that gets better with age, like wine and jeans. Biscotti don't really get stale no matter how long they sit, but I don't recall either of you being coffee drinkers, and they're no good without coffee. I did homemade truffles one time, but they melted pretty easily. Fruitcake ships well... but fruitcake isn't really tasty.

Shucks. All the women in my family show love by baking (and a lot of them, like me sometimes, only know how to show love by baking and aren't real sure how to do so without the yummies-- we're a pretty funny group when we get together and all try to foist cookies off on each other), so it's going to be really difficult not to send baked things, especially in the winter when I bake constantly!

Meringue cookies don't get stale, but they also don't ship without crumbling...

Argh, I'll think of something.

Fudge? Do you like fudge? That ships well, or at least I've had good luck with it before.

Yes, I know you said "don't send yummies," not "think of different yummies to send." Give me some time. I'll wrap my brain around the idea eventually.

/Veralidaine twitches and resists making fudge at 2:00 AM

Linda McClung said...

Raccoon: Great talking with you on the phone briefly before Beth demanded the receiver.

Veralidaine: I love you - you made me laugh - and I can't remember the last time I laughed! I can just imagine all these women shoving cookies and other desserts in each other's faces.

You're right we don't do coffee so biscotti is out and neither of us like fruitcake - it's all yours.

As for fudge - we like it very sparingly. But I've been thinking about what would work to send in the mail and think I may have an answer - how about shortbread?

I actually made a small batch of cookies earlier this week. It's a soft cookie using a British recipe so I had to pull out the kitchen scale and weigh all the ingredients. Cups and Tablespoons are so much easier!

Linda McClung said...

Veralidaine: Forgot to mention I loved the Hello Kitty nightshirt you sent Beth. All the facial expressions would come in useful. Unfortunately it's too small for Beth. I think it's a youth's small and in Youth sizes Beth probably needs a large or extra large and for adults she'd need a medium. Even though she's lost a lot of weight her frame hasn't shrunk that much.

Is there any chance you can exchange it? How about emailing me at Linda.McClung at shaw.ca and we can talk about the options.

Thanks.

Raccoon said...

Veralidaine, if you're sending things overnight or second day, find out when Cheryl is going over and send it 2 days earlier.

Linda, she'll be asleep one of these times.

Veralidaine said...

Sending you an email. I am happy that I made you laugh! It really is just as funny as you're picturing.

I will look up shortbread recipes this weekend and see if I can find one that says it ships well-- they have fruitcake recipes in one of my cookbooks that say "travels well," but I'm with you there, yuck!

Raccoon-- What's the best way to get in touch with Cheryl to find that out?

Anonymous said...

Hey Veralidaine...

I have had very good luck shipping many different types of cookies by using the following method.

Pack the cookies tightly into an airtight container like glad or rubbermaid.

Use packing tape to make sure the lid will stay tight. Place in a box with bubble wrap or other stuff to keep it from sliding around. Ship.

I have found zip lock baggies are too prone to getting small holes so the cookies arrive stale and broken.

I go to see beth pretty much every weekend but during holidays my days off can switch around so that is harder to predict.

Email me if you like:
rangergrrlkio at juno.com