Dec from Irene - travel attire

Here is Irene's card and envelope from the Dec exchange. All of us, including me, are tired of hearing me say that I hope to get my nibs and ink out of storage. This is inspirational. I was tempted to save some of my Dec mail to post in Dec of 2026 - but - that doesn't fit with my new system of posting which seems to be working out.

 

***

I need to forward this to Troy because he has let me know that he likes my rants.

It has been suggested that the decline in manners both on planes and at the airport has declined and if customers would go back to dressing up when they travel that would generate better manners.

What about the fact that passengers are being squeezed in like sardines? I would never wear my nicer clothes on a plane. I've often considered wearing something that I could just throw away after I reached my destination. If I traveled overseas,  I would absolutely wear something that I could throw away which. would free up space to buy one or two new items.

I'm not saying that the airlines are to blame for the decline in manners. But, telling your customers that they are rude and poorly dressed isn't going to help matters.

I'm a pleasant person when I travel and I've seen a few people who were not on their best behavior. But, a blanket statement telling people to dress differently clearly rubs me the wrong way. I actually enjoy some of the weird get ups. I was disappointed one time - when I couldn't stop and take a picture of an older, long haired, bearded gentleman who was also a size that would have inched into my space if we would have been seated in the same row. He was wearing bib overall cut-offs and a big cowboy hat and cowboy boots. And this was just Des Moines. 

OCT from Jacqueline - inspiration from trash

 

Here are the five envelopes Jacqueline sent in October. It's fun to see the different witches. I forgot to ask her if she works in watercolor or gouache - or maybe something else. As I've mentioned before, she uses very nice paper - something that I might do - s.o.m.e.d.a.y.

***

It's a little embarrassing to *out* myself as someone who will respond to click-bait that looks like this.

The guy looks wacky and the graphics are haphazard. I am not embarrassed about my *thing* for making things out of trash. So that part is fine. What tipped me into clicking was the grid pattern in the background and the notion that it was about storage for art supplies. I seriously doubted that it would have anything worthwhile, but, I had just finished a challenging teddy bear project and felt like I had earned 15 minutes of surfing.

The guy is not wacky at all. I ended up watching a few more videos and have several very useful ideas for gardening. I'll put links to the first two videos I enjoyed. His very loose style really appeals to me. It could so easily look like a pile of junk, but he pulls it all together and has a very clear aesthetic.

LINK to storage unit made out of trash

The next video I watched really spoke to me - because at one point he said, "I deeply regret...." Now that is a kindred spirit.... I am allowing myself one additional video each day. 

Once again, his goal is to use only what he has on hand. It is almost 19 minutes long and there is a very interesting part (from 7:48 to 13:27) where he keeps layering and layering until he is happy with the outcome. It did not look promising for quite a while - so I really enjoyed what he used to pull it together. And even better - all the projects relate to each other. The things he builds relate to how the garden is coming together.

From that project he goes into the one where he utters our beloved phrase - deeply regret. It happens at 14:30. I agree with him that it is a regrettable move. Once again - he layers - and resolves the situation.

LINK to potting shed made out of trash

I can see the borders and botanicals on an envelope.....

Sept from Jacqueline - Smithsonian Postal Museum

 

I had an email exchange with Jacqueline - tracking down missing mail from the Dec exchange and I asked her if she does one design for each moth or something different for each person. She kindly sent me the photo she took of these September envelopes. I already posted Charlotte's Web and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

The whole group is very fun.

***

Chuck sent me the link to the Smithsonian Postal Museum. I had been to their site a few years ago and then forgot about it. It's been fun to revisit it and find a ton of new information. 

The first fun item - was when I clicked on the Dead Letter Album. While scrolling through interesting mail that ended up in the museum, I found this one which was addressed to someone in Perry, Iowa which is one of my favorite small towns that is not too far from DSM. 

For 6-cents the USPS would transport a letter from Hawaii to Perry, Iowa and that's all they needed - a name/city/state.

Here's the caption:

Private John R. Rion inadvertently left a mark on postal history by mailing an envelope from Honolulu, Hawaii, postmarked on December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. 

On December 6, 1941, Rion dropped an oversize envelope at the Honolulu post office, destined for a friend back home in Perry, Iowa with whom Rion owned a barber shop. The next morning, the Honolulu post office cancelled Rion’s envelope at 8 a.m., the exact time that Japanese torpedo planes struck nearby Pearl Harbor and the unprepared U.S. Navy battleship force. 

Here is a LINK to the Smithsonian Postal Museum website Its to the Dead Letter Album - not the home page - which is probably where you need to go if you feel like surfing.

Dec from Nanski and Christy - USPS deciphering

 

Here is some nice clear addressing from Nanski and Christy. It was probably a good idea to put the white mailing label on the red envelope. A couple dark envelopes that arrived in Dec took a couple weeks to arrive while most of the mail was arriving in a week to ten days. Right before Christmas I asked my son how the volume of mail was this season. He had been at a station that day, asking the station manager the same question. She said, "Yesterday we had 15,000 packages and today we have 4,000."

That highlights another issue with the USPS. They have no way of predicting the volume. On a day with 15,000, they have to just forge ahead and get everything delivered. They can't hold it over for the next day - because there might be another 15,000 on the way. Shout out to Patty - that story came from Ash Creek. Is that your station? Or is yours Valley Junction?

I'm not sure if I have already posted this. It rang a bell when I watched it - so I'm sure I've seen it. It's from 3 years ago. 

I found it very interesting because I am on this campaign to get people to do scanner friendly addresses. Rest assured - it is a gentle campaign. If you love your script and you don't care how long it takes for your mail to arrive - go ahead and use your script. I imagine the people who work at deciphering addresses like their job.

I'd love to return to the days when our mail was lovingly handled by caring people - but that's not realistic. We live in an automated world. To go back to less complicated times would involve things that most of us would probably not enjoy. Dirt roads, outhouses, pot bellied stoves. 

This concludes my January first set of posts. I will be launching the January envelopes and file a progress report in a few days. Well - technically - it will pop up tomorrow - but it will be a new thread.

LINK to USPS deciphering squad a video by a journalist who got to go behind the scenes....which makes me want to become a journalist..... do you think my minor in Journalism from 1972 would open any doors. LOL

Dec from Kate - drawing, continued

 

Here is Kate's lovely card and envelope design for 2025. It makes me want to start my 2026 holiday mailing. I get too caught up in designing around the Forever stamps. Having a stockpile of vintage stamps is so freeing.....as long as you like to do the math.

When we talked about the Camera Lucida and The Lucy - the devices for transferring a drawing to paper or a canvas, I mentioned that a person could also transfer a photograph - and raised the question of when is it cheating to use photography for the under-drawing of your painting.

A few people are born with the ability to render what they see without any aids. It's like perfect pitch. Most of us have seen articles about people who have significant impairment along one of those *spectrums* which causes them to have some challenges with typical day-to-day stuff - but they can easily make very accurate drawn images. 

LINK to a savant artist

Once again, I have no idea where I am going with this. Maybe it's just another reminder to make stuff and if you think you have to come up with something 100% original that has never been done - you need to amend that thought. 

Dec from Jacqueline - Phish tickets

This envelope from Jacqueline goes nicely with my current topic in the add-ons. I wonder if Jackie has taken lessons in drawing or if she is self taught - or maybe she just started drawing and it was a natural talent. Her nice block printing in the address is interesting. All caps on Street and then u&lc on the city - except the Es are caps. Does she think about that? Did it evolve from some earlier phase in her life? So many questions.

***

 Yesterday I mentioned learning to draw. Some of the readers/exchangers mention drawing as something they can't do. They sometimes indicate that they wish they could draw. When I hear that, my teacher-persona wakes up and wonders if I could present things on the blog that would inspire people to learn how to draw. There are a gazillion tutorials online. Some of them are cool - others are cringy to me. 

I hesitate to get much deeper into the topic because it is so subjective. What I find cringy might look wonderful to someone else. And some of the stuff I like will most likely look idiotic to others.

Right before Xmas, my son asked me to draw some *tickets* to a Phish festival - to be presented as a gift. Nobody uses actual tickets anymore. Wow! I thought I could just pull up some images and make some cute (or clever) tickets. All of the images were so weird that I couldn't find a single thing that was fun to draw. Just very weird stuff. He was fine with what I provided. I would have liked to do something better - but - that Phish/Grateful Dead style is beyond me. 

I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe it's that you need to find the things that you like to draw before you learn to draw. Of course - if you are in classes and forced to draw everything, whether you like it or not, you'll at least learn what you like to draw. 

Tomorrow we'll talk about working from photos.

P.S. It also occurred to me that if someone said they would pay me $500 to draw some cool faux Phish tickets, I would definitely be able to do it - and probably enjoy the experience - or maybe it would take $1,000. 

Dec from Amy - Being irritated

 

My first glance at each envelope is always looking for ideas to appropriate. This one from Amy seems pretty Christmasy - but I think it could go in a lot of directions. Is this the year I do that thing where I take each envelope and use it for the inspiration for that sender's envelope in the following month? Can I dovetail that with the Style/Tool Project? This is sounding like we need an editor or a coach.....someone to rein me in.

***

Does anyone remember that I posted a spacial reasoning test (on Dec 9th)? I invited readers to take the test and let me know how they did. Eventually, I heard from one person who scored 100% on the test and had an additional comment that I found very interesting. Here's the comment:

I took that spatial test you posted the link to.  I had a perfect score, but at the same time it made me feel irritated taking the test.  Wonder what that says about me?

I, too, wonder. Maybe it means that a person can have a skill and they can put it to use - but that doesn't mean that the skill provides any positive feeling. It reminded me that, as a kid, all I ever wanted to do was write and draw.... but mostly write. Later I learned to draw - but not just anything. We'll talk about that tomorrow.

The comment that *it made me feel irritated* was so interesting. We can force ourselves to do things that are irritating. I don't think I feel irritated by spacial reasoning tests. I think they just feel like puzzles. I also  remember when I was going through a whole day long series of tests to pin point exactly where my brain damage was located - that during some tests I would become irritated. I think I mentioned that to the person giving the test. 

Sometimes, when I gave feed back, the tester would stop - and pull out a different test - and we'd test something else. 

All I learned was that it's complicated - and that if you like to make art you should definitely do that. 

DEC from Morgan - The Lucy

 

Here is another new exchanger from St. Louis. When I saw this envelope on my Informed Delivery email from the USPS I was instantly loving the idea and now I'm pretty sure I need to try it out on my January exchange envelopes. It's possible that the reason I like it is because it has that nice J to start things off. Luckily, we have a lot of J people on the list - plus - we just got a new one - Judi. Jessica/JeanR/Janet/Julianna/Jeannette/Jacqueline/JeanMarie - that's 8.

***

Some of the old-timers who read the blog might remember the Lucy. It was a device that would project an image so that you could trace it onto your paper or canvas or wall. The first ones were invented over 400 years ago and were called a Camera Lucida. When I first learned about them (70s-80s) they were big and clunky. There are a couple new ones on the market that are very compact. I won't be needing one - but if you are young and you like to draw but you don't want to go through the process of doing it *by eye* - you might be interested.

Non-artists think that artists who draw representational subject matter just *draw.* Some people can do that - but ever since lenses were invented, people have been working on devices where you could project your image onto a surface to get the basic outline. If you study art, you learn how to draw using just your eyes - but - it's one of those things that can feel tedious - especially after you find out that there is a *helper.* To me - it was more about liking the feel of paint and brushes. I needed to get the drawing on the canvas - and that wasn't the fun part. I'd already made a drawing on my own - but I just needed it larger on the canvas - so it wasn't cheating.

Some people think it is cheating to take a photo - and project the image from the photo onto your paper or canvas - and then paint it. Whether or not this is cheating is a much longer topic - which we may or may not revisit.

The camera obscura was an earlier device that did not have a lens. It had just a pinhole - but it still projected an image.

https://neolucida.com

https://drawlucy.com

Dec from Janet - letter writing tips

Janet chose the Hanukkah stamps for her December mailing. The Hanukkah stamps are always so pretty and this envelope has inspired me to buy some. They have many colors and that will be helpful with the Style/Tool Project. I'm writing this on Jan 1st, so I am full of enthusiasm for the coming year and the project. I wonder how many penmanship exemplars Janet has. I have a whole binder full of them. I could spend an entire year on just penmanship - but, I doubt that would be a crowd pleaser and I'm all about pleasing the crowd.

***

Part of my Swedish Death Cleaning project is sifting through the photos. This photo was taken in March of 2024. It's from one of Janet's books. She knew I would enjoy this page on how to write a good letter. I can't remember the title of the book. As I recall, it was one of those early 1900 books with comprehensive instructions on how to live a proper life. 

If it is too hard to read the photo - here are the words:

Rate Your Letter

Appearance

Is each page of the letter framed nicely by margins on all sides? 

Does the letter look easy to read? 

Are there at least two paragraphs per page? 

Is the typing free of obvious erasers and crossings out? 

Are there any ink blocks or crossing out? 

Is the letter clean to look at? 

Does the handwriting look neat and orderly? 

Is the letter folded neatly and squarely? 

Are your illustrations neat, effective, clear?

Are your name and address printed clearly somewhere? 

Is the form of the letter correct? 

Subject matter 

Have you written about appropriate and appealing subjects? 

Can any of your subjects offend your penpal? 

Have you thought of your penpals emotional needs are the things you want to say definite, concrete, exact? 

Will your penpal get all the shades of meaning you intend? 

Would you say in a conversation with your penpal the things you wrote in your letter? 

Does the letter sound as if you know what you are talking about? 

Did you provide all the information necessary? 

Have you stimulated your penpal to think further about some question? 

Are your questions clear and pertinent are your statements, clear, complete, convincing, logical, fair? 

Is there anything you want to send with your letter? 

Tone 

Is the letter free of sarcasm, ridicule, anger, complaints, despair, pessimism, unpleasant criticism? 

Does the letter sound true, natural, sincere? 

Does the letter contain hints of ulterior motives, rationalized, self interest, subtle hypocrisy? 

Is the letter consistent in tone, approach, attitudes, point of view? 

Will your penpal like you better because of the letter? 

Interest

Is the letter personal enough to make it human?

 

Bonus post - scroll down for the regular post

 Today's regular post is a repeat - but I have something fun and new as a bonus.

Mia sent it - and it's so good. I hope the link works. Blogger has been temperamental lately.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSp5qDkCWa5/

If the link doesn't work - try to copy and paste and see if that works.

Dec to Grace - adding Ann Miller to the blog list

Oops this is a repeat. But, I have an announcement below.

This one got lost in the shuffle. I'm pretty sure it has not been posted. In some ways, it seems to be exactly what I am looking for in my project to take a style and mess around with it. The term to *mess around* sounds sloppy or haphazard. Maybe riff is a better word. Maybe improvise. Both of those terms seem more musical - but maybe they are fine. Maybe I am over thinking it.

I like the way I went a little larger with the triangle/serifs. I think the rectangle on the G is very complementary to the triangles. I like that the holly leaf turned into its own element. It got to be larger and easy letter only gets one. Then - each letter has one piece of scrolls-spiral. The triangle on the C should have been al little larger - but I like the bottom of the C and am glad I didn't stick a triangle down there. The G's triangle should have been larger. 

I'm happy with this one and it looks like the Style/Tool Project might be a good idea for 2026. I already started my idea for Feb - and it is only Dec 26. Now I have to ponder whether I truly stick to one style for each month. That would mean I only do 12 styles for the whole year... and there are 24 styles on my list - not counting fonts. I guess it's a two year project.

***

If you look at a web view of the blog you will see a column of options on the right. One of them is My Blog List. This is a list of blogs that I have kept to 5 for quite some time. It could easily grow - but, I hesitate to provide even more distractions for people who might have other things they should be doing. 

I have added Ann B. Miller's blog because she teaches and is a cornucopia of information and ideas. Currently she is covering runes and styles that dovetail nicely with what I've started. So, if you are interested in lettering, check it out. The main part of her blog is free and she wrote that she is keeping it that way. She also has the option to pay the monthly fee for extras.

Nov from Juliana

 

If we had an end of year recognition ceremony for excellence, this one would be recognized. Because it is a serious rule breaker - that might surprise people that it earned the designation of *excellent.* Most people know that I'm a stickler for scanner friendly envelopes. I'm just happy that it made it through. As much as I love this one, I'm not finding specific words to express why I like it so much. I guess it just speaks to me on a variety of levels. Grids and neutrals - that sorta screams *jean*

I can't remember if I put architectural lettering on my list of styles in the style/tool *thing* we are doing this year. I don't even know where I put the list. Grrrrr - let's try Notes - and see if it's there. I don't even remember what we are calling the *thing* that I am referring to. Grrrr

***

OK - I found it. I called it a Style/Tool Project. There was one list in Notes and then a longer list in a Word doc. Here it is for anyone who is interested - I've added architectural lettering. 

Romans

Foundational

Architectural lettering

Runes

Uncial

Carolingian

Blackletter/Gothic/OldEnglish - Batarde, Gothisized Italic, Fractur

Italic

Neuland

French Roundhand

Copperplate

Spencerian

Penmanship/Cursive/Handwriting

Versals

Brush script - pointed brush

Brush script - flat brush

Ben Shahn

Peter Thornton’s Button Alphabet

Jacqueline Svaren’s Bone

Gwen Weaver’s WeaverWriting +

Loredana Zaga’s Flame

Carol DuBosch’s Jubilee

MishMash 

Arts&Crafts styles

Fonts - this category has an infinite number of styles - it will include all the styles where the letters are drawn and there are many alternatives to how to make particular letters. This would include all the styles where the letters are actually little pictures. 

And then we have Asemic writing - which is scribbling that seems like it might be writing but it isn’t.

Dec to Nicky, Christi and Jacqueline

These were the last three envelopes done in December. The rest had been done earlier and were mailed and I was thinking I'd choose a different style. Then I nudged myself back to the concept of doing more variations of the style I had used on all the other envelopes. 

This whole plan for 2026, to choose a style and then try it with many different tools - has that other layer of *The Stamp.*.  The stamp is such an integral part of the envelope. So I ended up with these three and while they aren't spectacular - I am reminded to always have my stamps ready before I even look for a tool. 

I wish I had used the tan/yellow on Christi's last name.

I wish I had spaced out Jacqueline's name better.

I might be addressing some envelopes to *Jackie* if she keeps signing up for the exchange because that's how she signs the notes that she encloses. Although, I've been enjoying the long name.

I have no idea if she has ever done a search for the name *Jackie* - but there are a ton of envelopes to another Jackie - plus, if you do the search, you see envelopes I received from the other Jackie, JackieD, who is a very skilled artist.

 JackieP: Please let me know if this ever arrived - I think we were emailing about missing envelopes and you said you had not received one from me.

Dec to Valerie - Dec from MrW

 

This is the envelope I sent to Valerie whose mail to me was posted yesterday. I was doing marker testing to clear out the dried up ones.

I'm writing this on Dec 26th. This was my Christmas present from MrW. It's 9x12. Maybe I should have taken a photo to show the scale. It's big. On the inside was a card - 8.5x11 - folded in half. There's a part of me that wants to ask questions about how he makes design decisions. But, questioning non-artists always comes across as an interrogation and that might take him back to the years that he participated in depositions and that's a very adversarial world. 

I've never gotten the impression that he reads the blog, but, it feels weird to talk about his design choices. My first impression of the lettering was that he was inspired by my unfortunate gold envelopes that ran on Dec 25th. But, he made the envelope on the 24th - so I don't think he would have seen those envelopes back in Nov and then remembered them.

I noticed that he put it on display along with the other mail that I had on display - so I'm going to leave it up indefinitely and see what happens. [ a couple days ago he moved it to a discard pile - he piles things, but let's me be the one to actually discard. I think that's the lawyer making sure that if someone accidentally destroys evidence, it's not him ]

Here's the card. I guess he found the image online. Once again, I'm so curious. The inside referenced purchases that are unwrappable.

Christmas Eve dinner was just the three of us. I made a card for our little postal worker using  one of his childhood drawings on the front. I have a stack of the kids' artwork that I saved and have been taking photos of it and tossing it. I'm putting the images on the blogs I have for each of them which I am making instead of scrapbooks. This was something that Hunter drew when he clearly thought that being a third kid was not fair.

This is the wording with his spelling: I think unfar is when my brother and sister get evreything they want. And I get nothing. no no no!!!

This was probably the year that he was 6 or 7 and he made sure that we knew that all he wanted was a dog. When that didn't happen - he cried his little eyes out. It was so sad. It still pains me to remember it. 

 

Valerie's yearly envelope

 

I hear from Valerie once a year - in Dec or Jan - when she sends a bookmark with the moons of the upcoming year. Her envelopes are delightful and this year I even figured out that she has an IG - and was happy to see more of her work. She also sends a post card - which you can see in the second photo. She must do all this digitally. I saw on her IG a photo of a past mailing and it looked like she sends out about 50 of these.

I suppose Valerie found my address through Pinterest. She is not an envelope exchanger but she has a lot in common with those of us who like nature, astronomy, the moon, stars, collage, sewing, quilting, paper, etc. 

Here's a LINK to her IG

Dec from Jeannette and Nov from Christy (USPS processing centers)

This fun little bird is collaged. Jeannette's adhesive was strong enough to stand up to the USPS machines. Christy, below used washi tape which stayed put. Washi tape is hit or miss on whether or not the USPS machines remove it. Personally, I do not use it and if asked, would not recommend it. I've been swayed by the years that my son worked on the machines that handled the mail and he reported that there was a serious amount of shredding of the mail. He thought that the only thing that should be stuck on an envelope is a stamp. 

He has moved on to the world of locks, cluster units and other types of maintenance.

I've posted some info about USPS matters - and I know there are some other related topics coming up. It's possible that there will be some repetition. None of this is required reading. I apologize if I sound like I am harping on any of the topics. I'm experiencing a lull in the writing portion of the blog. The art part seems to be in a pretty good place.

 One of our exchangers sent me a notice that I said I would share with the readers. I will add my 2-cents after this:

Effective December 24, 2025, the United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmarks and Postal Possession rule clarifies how postmarks are applied, which may affect how the timing of mailed charitable gifts is determined.    Under this rule, machine-applied postmarks are now generated at regional USPS processing centers rather than at a local post office. Historically, a postmark served as proof of when a gift was mailed. With this change, the postmark date may be applied several days after mail is dropped off locally and is no longer a reliable indicator of the mailing date.  As a result, this change could affect whether certain mailed gifts qualify for a 2025 income tax deduction.  To help ensure timely end-of-year giving, donors are encouraged to visit a USPS counter and request one of the following:

A Postage Validation Imprint (PVI)  A Manual Postmark  A Certificate of Mailing, Registered Mail or Certified Mail

Please note that self-service kiosks and third-party mailing services do not guarantee compliance for charitable contributions.  *** My 2-cents This notice is directed at the people who want to document that they made a charitable donation by the end of the year. Apparently, the date of the donation depends on when you mailed the check rather than when the check cleared. So, all you have to do is go to the counter and ask for one of the 3 ways to document when the letter was mailed. There are other times when people may need to prove that something was mailed by a certain date - but, I imagine those situations come up less often now that most documentation is done through email and eSigning. In the past, I know from my son working for the USPS - that it was a very big deal that every single piece of mail that was dropped in the box at the main post office - by the 7:00 pm deadline - would get a postmark on that day. They understood that sometimes the date on a postmark was important. This new notice - that the only way to assure your mail will get postmarked on the day you mail it  - is to have it postmarked by hand - in person.  I think it's going to be really hard for the USPS to explain what's going on with these new processing centers. Personally, I understand it - and it's complicated - but - I'm going to go ahead and give it a whirl. It is affecting people who live where the mail had always been processed in their town - but now all their mail is sent to a different town (or city) and it's taking longer for local mail to be delivered - back to the original location where it was mailed. My son has worked on machines that are old and becoming difficult to maintain - and which will be replaced at some point. He's talked to people who have been to the new improved regional processing centers that are gradually replacing the old centers all over the country. The people who have seen the new centers are very impressed. They are huge. They are efficient. They are shiny and new. They are almost space age. They will run for many years - but they too will have a lifespan....just as the current machines which are out dated are being replaced. The cost of the new improved processing centers has made it necessary to consolidate some of the regions. For example, Wyoming and Montana have so few people - the USPS probably can't justify giving each of those two states their own new improved processing center. They are probably going to put a processing center in one of the states - and the other state will have their mail sent to the first state for processing - and then returned. To some people, that seems absurd.  But, I can see how the USPS tracks the amount of mail they handle in all the different regions - so - they're going to draw lines that make sense for efficiency - and those lines have nothing to do with state lines.  My son has even heard that the new improved regional processing center where Des Moines' mail will be processed might not be in Des Moines. If that happens - I know people will think the USPS is bonkers - but, I totally see how that could happen.  So, that's my explanation. If you find out that your mail is going to some place that is far from where you live - you might think that's bonkers - or you might consider that the USPS has been chugging along for 250 years - and they might be doing a decent job of handling mail and packages at a cost that is less than UPS/FedEx and now Amazon --- who is trying to be the new way to *mail* things.  We can't predict the future - but for now, it is probably safe to say that the changes will be coming gradually and while we may not like them - we'll figure out a way to adapt.