Happy Penpaling!

I recently got into penpaling. I know someone that was doing that but I was a little leery at first. I mean, it is a bit awkward writing to people you don't know and I imagined getting people who weren't anything like me. It is hard to write someone that is not your age or into similar things. It is also a bit nerve-wracking putting your address out there to strangers. Well, I found a website called Letter of the Month and for the month of February they send out mail every day the post goes out (so 24 days in Feb). I missed it this year since it was already May but there are people that send mail all year, just maybe not daily. I filled out my bio and posted in the forum and right away got 4 friends. I was thrilled to see they were all people that have things in common with me. Two of them have already become really good friends and the other two I just haven't heard from as much because they are in the UK and mail to them is slower. I love getting mail from all of them.

I got my first postcard today and I love it. This person was so thoughtful. I had mentioned that I like to read and learn about the Titanic and she sent a postcard from Ireland where the Titanic was made.  She actually lives somewhere else in the UK but visited Ireland.  She said she has also been to Florida to a Titanic exhibit there several times.  I haven't been to anything in Florida but I went to a Titanic exhibit in Vegas at the Luxor where they have the section of wall and several items from the Titanic on display.  I have read several books about the Titanic and it is very sad but I don't think it should be forgotten.  Did you know there were First class dogs that made it on to the lifeboats before the 3rd class passengers were released?  I think that is horrible.

Anyway, I am slowly accumulating goodies for writing.  I am also practicing writing Spanish.  I hope to find a Spanish speaking/writing person that I can write to.  I am learning Spanish on my own at home and I am a beginner. I am using duolingo and a textbook and workbook I got on Amazon called Destinos.  I think writing to someone in Spanish will help me to learn.  There are so many words I don't know but I can figure it out using my computer.

Adiós,

DJ

My Creative Bible

I'm still sick and pretty much sleeping all the time but today was a big mail day for me so I couldn't wait to share. Everything I've ordered recently decided to come at the same time. Three books I requested from paperbackswap.com came today and I got two packages from Amazon which included my new My Creative Bible.  It is a KJV and has space on the sides for notations or doodling and designs for coloring that goes with the text. I love it! I had a really hard time choosing which one to get since I couldn't see them in person. There are several to choose from. There is a pretty hardcovered aqua one that I loved too and I've been really drawn to that color recently so it was a really hard decision. There is also a very pretty silken flex cover one that has a beautiful floral cover too.  I believe these all have the same pages inside. I decided to get the pink, hardback cover and it is perfect. I love the embossed designs on the cover, especially the butterflies. The page edges also have a beautiful floral design. It has a matching elastic band to keep it closed and a matching satin ribbon bookmark. Then, of course, there are different Bibles for the different versions. These are just all the KJV bibles I was looking at.  There is a pretty aqua Inspire NLT version that has pretty butterflies on the page edges. That one has different artwork but it is very similar.

I love the verse on the back from Isaiah, 

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of

our God shall stand for ever." 

Isaiah 40:8 

I just keep petting it. The cover feels so nice in my hands.  It will probably take a long time before I can write or color in it. I am just going to use colored pencils in it. I have some nice Prismacolor pencils. I read reviews from other people that got this bible that said the markers and highlighters they got showed through on the other side. They said they didn't bleed through and leave marks on the page underneath but you could definitely see it intruding on the image on the back of that page. I'd rather play it safe because I'm sure I'll have this forever now.

There are several illustrations throughout like this and some are in the really light gray text meant to be drawn over and then colored in. Other pages just have lines for note taking or for drawing your own word art. I'm not very good at word art so I'll just be coloring the images printed on the pages and using the lined sections for actual notes (unless I get inspired!) I've seen some very impressive artwork people have done in these and I wish I was so creative. Many people even draw right over the text covering both pages so the words can be read through the artwork. It might make those pages hard to read but this is a creative journaling bible and they have another bible for study. The idea is that the artwork is inspired by the passage.

I also got another Titanic book because I have an obsession.  I got A Night To Remember by Walter Lord. This book is hardback and looks brand new. I still can't believe I got such a nice book on paperbackswap.com. That site is for swapping used paperback books but you can also find hardback books. They are just valued the same as a paperback. That site works by giving you credits for books you send out to people. You pay the postage to send the book and then you get a credit which can be used to request a book you want. The sender always pays the postage. So it is more beneficial to send lighter books but the books are either sent by media mail or first class if it is light enough. They have a nice system where you can print out a label on printer paper plus an extra page with information about the transaction and you then use both those pages to wrap the book. I use their printable postage which adds a barcode to the shipping label so I can just stick it in my mailbox and avoid the long lines at the post office. I wrap my books in plastic wrap before wrapping in the paper to protect from snow and rain and also use packaging tape to protect the edges and corners.

Okay, I'm going to go try to find a place on a shelf for my new books.

D

Sick as a dog but reading

I hate being sick but I don't mind having easy days in bed with a good book. I just finished the third one so far. Now I've been bitten by the Titanic bug again. Maybe it was the recent news that they believe it was actually a fire that sank the ship instead of the ice berg. I was looking at a website I use a lot called paperbackswap.com and a book jumped out at me. It is a mystery book about the Titanic. I tried to resist because my goal this year is to focus on reading books I already have taking up my shelf space. I have so many books already and I really need to make room for the books in boxes in the garage. It was always there though and kept popping up in the corner of forum pages I was on. I finally gave in and ordered it. It's called Something's Alive on the Titanic by Robert Serling. It is on the way to me as we speak.

I also felt pulled to read a book about the Titanic that I have on my shelf but never got around to reading. It is called Ghosts of the Titanic by Charles Pellegrino. This is not a fiction book and looks really interesting. I've also requested A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

I guess it is okay that I've just ordered 3 new (used) books, counting one I didn't mention since it is only 1/12th and I've already read 3 books and put them in my swap box. That means I only have to read and de-home 17 more books this year. I actually hope that number is a lot higher but I'm sure there will be some I'll want to keep.

-D