I hadn’t used a typewriter in a very long time. Neither had I written a real letter in a long time. Until last night.

For her birthday Bonnie invited 6 of her girlfriends and Donovan Beeson from the Letter Writers Alliance over for dinner. And what I first called a “cheesy” idea turned into a fantastic night..  Donovan came with four old typewriters, and Bonnie provided us with amazing stationery, postcards, envelopes, stickers, stencils…and postage stamps of many designs, ( however old, the postage is still good to go- just make sure they all add up to 44 cents.) Now, there we were, hanging out and writing letters the old-fashioned way, to our kids, our lovers and loved ones, our friends- and at least one of us wrote a letter to herself.  No spell check, no command Z- just these gracious mechanical letters hitting the paper. Over and over again.  It felt amazing and sounded beautiful.

Btw: Donovan tells me that she gives monthly workshops at GREER, one of my favorite stationery stores in Chicago. ( I linked to Greer’s facebook page, while their site is getting a make-over. ) Now, if you prefer to write your notes by hand: we have plenty of amazing cards to help you get your message across. Just saying…