A nice letter

I received a very good letter the other day.  In addition to the nice words there were two things I adore: art and poetry.  The poetry was from John Keats:

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:

Below she drew this very good bird:

She also advised me to read Keats' letters.  Keats wrote some very nice letters.  My favorite is a letter to Benjamin Bailey dated November 22, 1817.  There are many famous quotes from this letter, and I have often seen his quote about men of genius reproduced, but I like this quote best:

              "The setting sun will always set me to rights, or if a sparrow come before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the gravel. "

What Are Letters Made Of?

Words, silly.  And stamps.  But we must have something to put the words and stamps on.  It doesn't have to be paper.  You can mail quite a few objects which are not paper.  I am currently reading an interesting book about a man who experimented with the limits of the British postal service around the turn of century.

I myself am a great fan of postcards.  I send lots and lots of them.  A good piece of stationary, however, makes it ever so nice to sit down and write a card or letter.  A little while back, I happened upon a company called Pounding Mill Press, and fell in love with the beautiful creations that Ming, the owner, sells.  I ordered some things both general and custom, and I couldn't be more pleased with the product.  It has made it all the more fun to sit down and write a note.  It arrived in short time and I piled it up greedily, before opening each box:

I personally love the product, and will order more (I also like that the company is small, independent, and based in my home town).  There are a million and one awesome people making beautiful cards and letters, and there is of course the fun of making your own.  One of my pen pals recently bought some customized stationary that is gorgeous to both sight and touch.  I think one of the best things about nice stationary is that it is an indulgence which you will share with many friends.