AmyMarie

[July 30] My nearest Post Office closed in mid-July. I have been taking outgoing mail to various other post offices. Swaps seem to be reaching their destinations in a reasonable manner so far. Postal delivery to my house is still a bit unreliable plus I have received a high number of torn envelopes recently. Please make sure envelopes are sturdy - but not too sturdy for me to open!

My first name is AmyMarie (all one word with NO spaces, 2nd M is capitalized).
Preferred pronouns: she/her.

I love sending and receiving snail mail. Swapping is fun and a great way to have mail other than bills and ads.

Since I collect postage stamps, I'd appreciate actual stamps on mail (preferred real stamps and not metered mail).

Please no religious items.

I am very sensitive to several scents including tobacco smoke and perfumes. Please keep anything you are sending me away from perfumes and other artificially scented things.

I am allergic to several foods. Please do NOT send foods or beverages (including tea).

I collect playing cards from decks with backs different from the typical Bicycle brand blue or red backs. And decks with different pips or different design / color on the face side of the cards. I have MANY decks of cards and several duplicate cards from swaps. I am open to private swaps for playing cards if you also collect / use them or if you have interesting decks and wish to swap something else for them.

• creative, have many artistic interests, and enjoy doing a variety of mixed media & paper crafts

• life-long learner, love to read, explore, travel, and try new things

• being in nature and near water (lakes, oceans, waterfalls, rivers, etc) refreshes me and my soul

• married, no kids, several nieces & nephews

• have one cat and appreciate all animals (supports zoos & programs that focus on conservation, rehabilitation, education, and sustainability)

• enjoy spending time with family & friends, playing board & card games, exploring National Parks & collecting NP cancellation stamps, earning Quest Scout points & badges (see next section), browsing through antique stores, and hanging out in libraries & bookstores.

I have been a Quest Scout [QuestScouts.com] for a few years and really enjoy it. I like being creative and trying new things. Quest Scouts is questing for adults and completing Quests and earning badges (stickers & metal tags) through objectives in categories like create art, DIY, literature (reading), travel / explore locally, games, photography, research, geocaching / letterboxing, etc. It is so fun and gets me doing things I wouldn't try otherwise or things I didn't even know about. There are also weekly challenges that are connected to various quest objectives and you earn a star upon completion (# stars to earn for each level badge). It's been fun to have a motivation and more of a "group activity" (even though we live in different states).

I enjoy paper crafts and using mixed media art supplies. The items I use and make shift over time. I have made handbound books, homemade paper, artistamps (faux postage), mailart, handmade envelopes & postcards, collages, zines, ATCs, altered books, altered playing cards, pocket letters, and hand-carved rubber stamps.

In the past I have done scrapbooking and art journaling. I am still doing a form of fauxbonichi / junk (ephemera from my day) journaling.

Please do NOT send me random bits of paper!

I collect the following items:

• postcards [see Postcards section below]

• postage stamps, international & USA (new & used) [please NO USA flag and NO religious stamps] All postage stamps are great and I especially like postage stamps with themes of mail, letter writing, post offices, PostCrossing, space & space exploration, the Olympics, National Parks, women & their contributions, nature & scenery, and shapes other than the typical rectangle.

• Airmail and other mail/envelopes and stickers, including from other countries (outside the USA) and in all languages

• Vintage ephemera including travel tickets (bus, train, etc), paper forms, letters & envelopes & postcards, languages other than English, playing cards, labels, stamps (ration stamps, grocery store stamps, tax stamps, postage stamps, etc), old passports & identification papers, maps, cookbook pages, library cards & pockets

• Playing cards: It's fun to see the different designs and special packs, especially those that have images or decorated fronts (different colored or design face cards, fun pips on the number cards, pictures or images on the number cards, etc). I like all suits & cards and tend to prefer A of spades, all 5's, all Queens, and unique Jokers. I am willing to do private swaps for playing cards.

I would love to get Maxicards! NOT extra large postcards. They are maximized postcards = postcard picture, postage stamp, and cancellation mark all on same side and all depict the same item / image! I'd even enjoy a postcard that has a postage stamp similar to or matching the postcard image.

I also would love to receive Japanese Gotochi (shaped) postcards.

I am a member on PostCrossing and have collected postcards since I was a child. I prefer postcards sent naked (not in envelope) with postage stamps (not metered postage) and something written on the back - even just a short message. If you do not know what to write, here is a list of 20 ideas: http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2013/02/05/20-ideas-of-things-to-write-on-postcards

Store bought postcards: waterfalls, mailboxes, post offices, mail / postal theme, letter writing / fountain pens / writing desk / correspondence theme, PostCrossing, libraries / books / reading theme, doorways, windows, maps, National Parks, State Parks, landmarks, historical sites & people, UNESCO sites, earthworks, lakes, oceans, lighthouses, skylines / scenes / images of your town / city / country, images of regional traditions / culture, nature scenery, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Star Wars, wild animals (not domesticated cats & dogs), also check out my likes section below for postcard ideas

MailArt (homemade) postcards: etegami; photography; using art, collage, drawing, painting, ephemera, rubber stamps, etc.

traveling themes, maps, foreign coins, travel tickets and tokens (bus, subway, etc.), passports & passports stamps,

waterfalls, oceans, lakes, rivers, lighthouses, autumn, trees, nature, dragonflies, owls, tigers, cheetahs, rhinos, koalas, polar bears, penguins, butterflies, (animals), sunsets and sunrises, mountains,

mail art, mailboxes, postage stamps (NOT religious ones), postal / mail / airmail themes, fountain pens & ink, typewriters, books,

antique & vintage items and ephemera, small / miniature items, different textures, unique designs,

book themes, hand-bound books / book arts, paper engineering, earth tones including terra cotta and rust-ish reds, shades of purple and mauve (pinkish, blue-ish purple), most shades of green, rubber stamps, embossing powders, {not fond of neon colors}

connecting with people, other perspectives and cultures, ancient civilizations, hanging out with family & friends, playing board & card games, interesting playing cards,

celestial / astronomy especially moon / lunar / galaxies, NASA / space travel, science fiction, Doctor Who (favorite is 10th with 11th as close second, River Song, TARDIS), the world of Harry Potter

I love to read. I recently started reading Terry Pratchett's books. I read "Going Postal" at the beginning of 2021 and now want to read all his Discworld books.

For fun I usually read mysteries. I also like general fiction and some science fiction. I do read non-fiction on a variety of topics and enjoy a well-written book and learning new things.

Some of my favorite authors: Kate Morton, Andy Weir, Rita Mae Brown, Donald E. Westlake, Dorothy Gilman, M.C. Beaton, Jenn McKinlay, Martha Wells, Elizabeth Berg, Brene Brown.

I watch WAY too much TV and am working on reducing the hours spent watching shows. I enjoy Resident Alien, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Young Sheldon, NCIS, Mom, Star Trek Discovery, Doctor Who, Amazing Race, The Blacklist, Orange is the New Black, Lucifer. I enjoy British shows like Taskmaster, Would I Lie To You?, QI, and the Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

I (used to) get to the cinema a handful of times a year but I watch movies, series, & stand up on Netflix & Amazon Prime. I do like sci-fi, adventure, comedies, action, mystery, Independent films, and some of the older / b&w films.

cigarette/cigar/pipe smoke (I am allergic)

overly glittered items (some bling / shiny is nice but when it leaves a trail of glitter on anything it touches, it gets annoying)

Christian-based religious items (plenty of that available around here).

Random bits of paper, teachers' stickers, puffy stickers

Altered Art (puzzle pieces, library card pockets, strands of tickets, playing cards, etc)

Letterboxing, Geocaching

Passports & cancellations / stamps for National Parks, historic sites, state parks, lighthouses, nature preserves, etc. So fun to visit, see, learn, and fill a passport.