(idk if this applies but!) i've found that with long distance friends reaching out once again via letter is much, much easier than in via texting or social media or facetiming or whatever (phone calls can go either way). *
letters lend themselves to introspection, asking too many questions (in the best way) and offering random anecdotes/basic information all in one place rather fluidly.
+ it shows very clearly the value you find in y'all's friendship through how you make the thing! What card or kind of paper did you use, what's your handwriting look like, did you pick out a cute sticker or 2? etc. all these things from the get-go show that you want to put effort into reconnecting!
*you may need to use these methods first to pop the awkward question of "dude what's your address? (,,Β¬οΉΒ¬,,) "
another caveat: people will want to put time and energy into their letters!! this has the adverse effect that sometimes it'll take awhile to get a response (Λβ’βΏβ’)
Jan 28, 2025
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a few weeks ago i got the sudden urge to write all my friends a letter/postcard and now i am finding all their replies in my letterbox! let's bring back pen pals, they create infinite joy!
Oct 21, 2024
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I love hand-writing a letter. the delayed gratification of it, talking about anything and nothing, decorating it with cartoons and drawings and stickers. Sending little extras and photographs with tiny micro-playlists scrawled out on the back of it. It takes at least an hour to craft a good letter, one worth receiving and replying to, and it's intimate to think about someone nonstop for that long. I just love that form of communication.
Mar 4, 2024
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If I haven't spoken to my friend in at least three months, I start to ask if they want to send letters. If you don't communicate for months or years, you might as well send letters: they're practically just as fast but with depth and physicality! Who doesn't love some paper treasures! Plus, it provides a Victorian-drama level of yearning in waiting to continue a conversation. There is nothing I have savored more than checking for a reply after sending a letter. I open my mailbox every Sunday. I am aware of this error in logic, but I love it every time I do it. I am a child again, and I am joyfully impatient. Not only is it mail, but it's mail from a friend: the best kind.
Jan 26, 2024
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18h ago
Feb 8, 2025
Lately I've been spending too much time scouring every corner of eBay I can for the cheapest and most delightful soviet era porcelain figurines available
I didn't even realize it until diving head first into this rabbit hole, but I have had soviet era porcelain figurines my whole life (a bunny and a bull for those curious), so I guess I was always destined to develop a fondness for the form, and eventually dig a little deeper into it.
There is something so incredibly charming and also incredibly interesting about these porcelain pieces! These little guys!
There's a lot of history to dig into that I've barely scratched the surface of AT ALL, but I'm fascinated by how porcelain reflected the common sentiments* of the times, the economic conditions, the artistic movements and ideas of the day, and also the ability (or lack thereof) of people to stay in one place and hold onto something so "useless" and easily broken.
I have very, very few things from any of my ancestors. Figurines like these make me think about the way history and art are passed down to us, forgotten, broken, left behind, sold in thrift stores and online, if they survive at all.
Figurine collections are kind of a barometer of safety and stability, or at least how dedicated to the illusion of it you might be.
They also make me think about how useful "useless" things can be. How even art that is purely decorative can be thought-provoking (by for example valorizing "folks"), or just make you happy (via being very cute! Or expert use of color and form!).
Grannies collect this shit for many good reasons and I'm starting to catch on.
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* Notably the $$$ collectors type ones are the ethnographic figurines, something I NEED to read an academic paper about.
Especially, because Ive noticed some of these figurines depicting "ethnic types" are inaccurate copies of earlier prints, which themselves should be placed under immense scrutiny! This is all extra interesting in the context of the porcelain industry transitioning from imperial rule to the soviet era. The ways of talking about ethnicity changed, (in addition obviously to y'know, everything!) but the products produced largely remained the same. Lots to think about!!!
Jan 31, 2025