Dear RAoC -

I was away for a few weeks and came back to a huge pile of mail from 25 senders (some sent several items of mail). So much love - thank you so much! Because I don't know in what order they arrived, I've grouped and ordered them by username. Here goes:

• u/AlatTubana: You only put your given name on this card (not your username) but I think it must have been from you (the given name and approximate location of the city from the postage cancellation match)? Thanks for sending me one of the World Postcard Day cards! I'm happy to know that you've put them to good use and that you are also active on Postcrossing (I've never been to a meetup!). I loved the stamps, especially the dia de los muertos stamp - OMG it's amazing!
• u/amyt13: Thanks so much for your card written on World Postcard Day! You're always so super sweet, thanks for that! 🥰 That you ended up sending all eight of those WPD cards and that you had fun doing that brings me joy. I also loved the four pretty stamps! ❤️
• u/AppleCritter723 x4 across three letters:
  • letter 1: OMG I loooove Mr Rogers! I only learned about him a few years ago through a close US friend and I've not seen any of the episodes, but I've seen the documentary and wow, he must be one of the sweetest and most wholesome humans to ever have walked the Earth. I think somewhere in the movie someone says that if there is a heaven then there can't be any doubt that Mr Rogers is in it, and I agree (although I'm not religious). Just watching the documentary was so wholesome. If I had kids then I'd totally get them to watch his show, even though now out of date (I know that his show did sometimes make reference to current events). Oh and also, every little girl should have a sweet little pet like the one on your seal. Thank you also for the additional Star Wars stickers, they are awesome and I'll be using them towards decorating cards for a potential future Star Wars offer on RAoC.
  • letter 2: Haha those bigfoot "documentary" binge watch sessions sound like a very bonding and formative experience! I never watched those movies with my brother because there's a big age gap between us. Your card/letter did get here before me (I found it when I got home today). The 3x T-Rex stamps were very fitting and cool. Have I mentioned that I love your sender address labels? The hedgehog is so cute!! ❤️
  • letter 3: Wow, SIX 'forever' stamps from the The Sun set? They are so cool, but please don't spend so much money on me (the other letter had 3x T-Rex stamps as well)! I wish Germany had as cool stamps as the US - actually I think I've got $100 or so worth of US stamps somewhere that I can't even use except on holidays, but I bought them because they were so cool (I used to have that 'The Sun' set, too!). OMG you hand-made a quokka card for me? Have I mentioned yet how sweet you are? So cute! I immediately recognized it as a quokka BTW, no need to understate your own talent! I never really got into Studio Ghibli but I know several people who are - a friend of mine visited the studio on a holiday in Japan, and another friend bought the set of 100 postcards (which also seems to be popular around RAoC) for her son. I'll save the updates about myself for future mail to you. Thank you so much for putting so much love and effort into your mail, I was telling my girlfriend several times today how awesome you are. 🥰 (But really, just a normal card is also fine - I love to hear from you).
• u/baredoim x2: Thanks for your two separate but similarly themed cards!
  • Thanks for your Halloween card, such a cool design and great decoration skills (your envelopes are very recognizable)! Halloween isn't really a thing around here, at least my family or I have never celebrated it. I wonder if you'd like the movie ""Monsters, Inc.""? It's probably 20 years old by now but one of my favourite Pixar movies. Sorry about the struggles. I'll save updates on my life for future mail to you!
  • Thanks for the spooky card! To answer your question: I like my stories that spark happy thoughts - no scares and with a happy ending (science fiction, romance, comedy are all good - I stay away from horror and only watch/read a small amount of drama). I didn't notice any smudges but sorry to hear that you had to wait for so long for the ink to dry (I noticed that the card surface was very smooth, perhaps it'll work better on others). I always love to hear from you, thank you so much for writing to me! The Gruffelo stamp was super cute 😍
• u/bluedecemberart x2: Thanks for the two written cards (one of them a folded greeting card), the effort you went to with the envelope (many stickers and gorgeous handwriting on the address!), but most of all thank you so much for your travel recommendation for your hometown - it sounds absolutely wonderful and you've convinced me, I've already marked it on my to-travel map! I hadn't heard of the particular ink that you used but it looks fairly similar to (a bit darker than) the non-shimmering component in my 'golden sands' ink. Thanks again!
• u/Bree867: Thanks for the cute Halloween/Fall card. I loved your "treats but no tricks" line, I'll have to remember that one! I also loved the stickers - pastel colours are my favourites
• u/ch037866: Thanks for your holiday destinations which I'd normally focus my thank you on but wow, that's no doubt the coolest hand-made card that I've ever seen. It caused quite a lot of attention when I opened it at the dinner table! So cool - I've never handmade any cards but if I do then I'm definitely stealing this design. Kudos, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. ❤️ The envelope decoration was also super cute! I loved the blue elephant, the sunflower and the cacti washi tape.
• u/comingtogetyoubabs x2: Your first letter finally arrived! I loved the card with the shadow of Surveyor 1 (I recognized it as one of the Surveyor probes as soon as I saw it!). Did you know that Surveyor 3 was visited on the Moon by Apollo 12 astronauts, who deliberately landed nearby and brought part of it back to Earth for analysis? Thanks also for the cute space stickers, I'll use them. Your other card did bring back nice memories of my time in SP - haha no I never went to R. Augusta. I'll report back on the tea!
• u/Fragrant_Ad7734: Thanks for the card with all the tourist destinations / recommendations for next time I'm in your state. I appreciate them!
• u/ignaposts: I'd looooove to go to the Atacama Desert for stargazing, thanks so much for sending me a card from there. I'm so jealous that you got to go! I hope that one day you'll be able to get into an observatory. I'm very sad that the ESO Hotel at Cerro Paranal can't be booked by laypeople like myself :-(
• u/Intrepid-Researcher x5: Thanks for your pile of mail that I found when I got back home, sorry for being late responding! I like the new shiny/metallic tape, and as always the origami! You're always so sweet, I'm so happy to have become card friends with you 🥰
  • I'm happy to have received a Lazy Panda card from you and it was not one of the ones I sent you (it was a greeting card) so I hope that means that you also like them! You're always so sweet, I love hearing from you. The cutie cow stampsand bird / butterfly stickers were also very sweet!
  • Thanks for the cards from the Art Museum! I didn't have many art cards yet so they will definitely be useful for my collection (some people on postcrossing can be very specific in their card wishes)! My favourite was the card from the Alhambra because I've been there, although I didn't get to go inside because I didn't know that one had to reserve tickets weeks in advance.
  • fantasy animal card 1.) cat sitting sounds fun except I'm allergic! Please give your sister a hug from me (if she wants).
  • fantasy animal card 2.) Is this year particularly cold? I'll send you a chat about the other things you mentioned.
  • Wow thanks for all the turtle cards ( envelopes!) - I love them! Hope they weren't too expensive. I have a friend who loves turtles and will definitely send her one.
• u/karenlui: thanks for your card, only my second ever from your country (based on the stamps - the front of the card was of North America). I don't remember requesting a card from you and don't have your address, I wonder if I may know you under a different username so I wasn't sure how to best thank you - I've sent you a chat message to clarify the details.
• u/lavendar_ling: I'm happy that you got to spend such a perfect birthday with your boyfriend. Thanks for your sweet card and the stickers!
• u/mmmyesplease---: Thanks for the The Little Prince card! I love the little prince. If/when you can receive mail again and send me your address, I'd be happy to send a card back!
• u/mushroomappreciation: Thanks for the cute "thank ewe" card! I enjoy exchanging RAoC card love with you :)
• u/mydinosaurdidit: Wow, those were the best travel recommendations I've ever received! I've been to California at least ten times, but I've been to none of those! I know of Baker Beach (that's where Burning Man started!) and Sequoia National Park (I've only been to Redwood NP); I actually planned to go see Sequoia NP in April 2020 but then the pandemic happened... Your family member is very talented, the handmade card was truly impressive. Please pass on my best regards to them! I also thought your typewriter writing was super cool - I can't decide whether typewriter or handwriting is more oldschool, and it's obviously not because of a lack of handwriting skills - your handwriting on the envelope was gorgeous! Thanks again for sending me this card/letter, my first one from you (and I've only sent you one, too) but already one of my favourites ever received! Thanks for the extra goodies in the envelope, too ❤️
• u/nazetel x2: Thanks for the Immanuel Kant card AND also the Marie Curie card! I totally agree that Marie Curie was awesome; Her daughter wrote a biography, "Madame Curie", which I quite enjoyed - I recommend it. She and her husband were soooo committed to their research! One other example I can think of where a couple really committed their lives to a cause were Catherine and Reginald Hamlin - I highly recommend Catherine's book, "The Hospital by the River" (Catherine and Reg were doctors).
• u/panpantastic x2: Thanks for the cat card and the pretty stamp! I'm happy that we've now connected not only through redditgifts, but also both ways through RAoC :) Thanks also for the separate envelope with six pretty cards and a sachet of cambodian black tea!
• u/puppylish1028: Thanks for the super sweet Star Wars greeting card and the hand-drawn Yoda! I'm so impressed with your handwriting, that must have taken you forever to perfect! The tropical fruit (from the lychee family apparently!) from your stamps looks delicious. May the fork be with you (since The Matrix, we know that There Is No Spoon)!
• u/qw46z: Thanks for the Fraser Island card! I've actually been there twice, and I've once flown in the small (and no doubt less safe than commercial airliners) plane that offers tourists a quick round trip from/to the beach! I hope you're doing well. 🤗
• u/SamathaYoga: Thanks for the travel recommendation along the coast! I note there is a cute looking BnB next to that lighthouse and I've already marked both the BnB and the lighthouse as destinations to visit on my future travel. Thanks again!
• u/shy_ally_cat: Thanks for sending back one of the WPD cards! So sweet of you! I'm impressed that you had three different WPD stickers to decorate the card with - where does one find those? They're awesome!
• u/SkywardGiraffe: Thanks for your card and the bumblebee stamp - so cute! I hope the pandemic situation will allow you to travel again soon.
• u/sunfireninety9: Thanks for your card from the Isle of Wight, that red squirrel is soo cute! I'm also excited to learn from your ink depletion that, like me, you apparently also write the address first on your cards :-)
• u/Tigerhueterin: Thanks for your super sweet card! I like the postcode too although I wouldn't recommend you move here (as you know, I have plans to move to your city next year)!