10/06/2024 Hurricane Helene has been an adventure. Our area has not been hit as hard as some other areas. It's really amazing how quickly roads are being cleared so people aren't confined to their homes and crews can get through to do cleanup and reestablish electricity.

I'm exhausted, we've been working 12 hour days to get the mail out and I may have to work my next day off. They asked me to work today (Sunday) but I declined the offer... it's a mess here. I'm also very glad that I'm able to get to work and deliver the mail. So many people have been very happy to see that the mail is being delivered. It's a sign of normalicy.

I've been helping elderly customers, getting things they need or want. One lady wants a hamburger from McDonald's and she doesn't care if it's cold. Unfortunately the McDonald's there isn't open yet and I think bringing one from my town would be really cold and nasty. I can't imagine eating a really cold (and McDonald's is nasty in my opinion anyway) McDonald's hamburger.

We still don't have power at my house. We were able to get a generator though. We do have drinkable water now, thank goodness. We have a lot of cleanup to do. We have some damage to the roof and the guttering is broken. We had a tree fall on a vehicle. There's some damage to my art space. We had about six trees fall on the driveway. It has been cleared by an electric team but we don't have electricity at our house because there's damage to the equipment that goes on the house. That will have to be fixed first.

So many people have lost so much. I'm very lucky and grateful.

"Life is full of love and beauty and magic"

Hello! My name is Diana. I'm a mailman and artist/graphic designer. I love both of my hats! I have always loved creating. I wanted to be a mailman since I was out of school. So I get to live in both of my worlds, happily. I am also trying to become a better artist and hone my skills. It's difficult to be creative and work 48 hours a week. I want to be creative and this is a good outlet to do that.

I love where I live, the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina! Beautiful here! I am so happy to have been able to come back here. I've also lived in Ohio (born there), Florida, Arizona and South Dakota.

I bought a sewing machine and I've taken two sewing classes! I've sewn two pillow cases, three pillows, a zippered purse and button holes! And did a sample of all the stitches my machine does! I'm very excited to S-E-W!!!

Love creating and making things from found materials is a lot of fun! I enjoy finding items and turning them into something else. I make urban plants from chair or table legs, copper wire and glass beads.

I make cigar box purses. Of course I use a cigar box :) and other materials include latches, wire for the handles, glass beads, mirrors, pretty fabric for the inside, embellishments, acrylic paints.

I also draw and paint. This is an ATC done with colored pencil.

I enjoy working with markers.

This is acrylics on a wood panel. My grandmother quilted. This is my version of a quilt since sewing isn't a favorite hobby.

I enjoy photography. See the blue moth in the flowers?

This is on my mail route. So pretty. I also see bears, wild turkeys, deer, rabbits, fox, other critters, and once a bob cat!

This is where I live! Love it here! I took this picture on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP).

Went to the Biltmore house fall of 2018.

Zentangles are fun. This is my very first Zentangle.

Markers of zen. This is how I doodle.

I also make jewelry.

I prefer silver jewelry over gold, myself.

I love making postcards and other paper art and mail art. Creating them digitally or physically is fun and relaxing. It's taking a little piece of me and making it into art!

I also make themed key hangers. Stickers, keys, army men, poker chips, game pieces, trinkets, small plastic animals and bugs are all things I use to create them.

I'm kind of a jack-of-all-art and master of none. :)

Other items I would like:

• Board game related ephemera and old game pieces
• Maps
• Antique and vintage (or vintage-style)
• Odd little things and curiosities
• Marbles, sea glass, shells
• Circus related ephemera
• Steampunk ephemera: compasses, pocket watches, hot air balloons, goggles, spectacle glasses, pipes, eyes, keys, typography, block type, arrows, cogs, gears, small mechanical pieces, etc...
• Handicrafts, folk art, hand-made items, I love to see what other people are making and to be inspired and have inspiring things around me!
• Miniatures for fairy gardens, captured fairies, fairy doors, ATCs and such.
• Glass and metal beads
• Anything Postal Related

My favorite movie is "Billy Elliot"! It's a must see movie!

"Billy Elliott" trailer

I also love "Amélie".

"Amélie" trailer

I also like "The Green Mile", "Face Off", "Forest Gump", "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" the original, "Lord of the Rings Trilogy", "The Hobbit", "Harry Potter", "Hellraiser", "Titanic", "Love Actually", "Dogma", "Matrix". I'm sure I can think of more but that's enough for now.

In no particular order after Stevie Nicks, she's my all time favorite:

Stevie Nicks ~ Pink Floyd ~ Florence and the Machine ~ Of Monsters and Men ~ Queen ~ Three Dog Night ~ Sinéad O'Connor ~ The Cranberries ~ Melanie ~ Pentatonix ~ Lindsay Fuller ~ Creed ~ Bobbie Gentry ~ Styx ~ Pink ~ Lorde ~ Lady Gaga ~ Sia ~ Johnny Cash ~ Eagles ~ Sarah McLachlan ~ AURORA ~ Fever Ray ~ Billie Eilish

I collect funky roosters =not regular roosters. They must be odd or different.

I collect salt and pepper shakers.

I collect fairies.

I collect postcards. I specifically enjoy linen post office postcards and handmade!

I'm a member of Postcrossing Silverd1 and Swap Swamp through Facebook. I love sending and receiving postcards!

Self made postcards are VERY welcome. A photo, drawing, graphics, photograph, collage, anything "handmade". I also don't mind receiving Zazzle, FreeAd, Red Bubble, Cafe Press or any other of that type of post card even if the swap says "NO". I WILL NOT RATE DOWN.

I would love postcards of gnomes and bees. UPDATE: As of 10/7/20 I received my very first gnome and bee postcard from the same person~ Poohtat! Thank you! The bee is a Steampunk mechanical bee but it's still a bee!

• vintage and vintage linen POST OFFICES! I collect them, even if they're written on. I have over a hundred different offices but there are probably thousands of offices. You can also ask me if I have an office before sending, but I don't mind duplicates of offices. They are often a different view.

No particular order:

• mail boxes!
• anything postal related
• Postal Love Greetings From...
• other Greetings From...
• art and design
• Stevie Nicks
• Fleetwood Mac
• Marvin the Martian
• Johnny Cash
• windows
• doors
• hot air balloons
• vintage/deco/nouveau themes
• endangered species
• roosters
• flamingos
• puffins
• manatee
• witches
• dragons
• state maps
• maps
• World Trade Center (twin towers & One World Trade Center)
• Route 66
• vampires
• steampunk
• lady bugs
• Betty Boop
• South Park
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• mountains
• oceans
• flat lands
• scenery
• postcards showing anything from your country/culture
• where you live
• coffee
• beer
• wine/vino
• gardens
• fruits
• vegetables
• flowers
• butterflies
• bees
• gnomes
• chocolate
• baked goods/cakes/cupcakes/cookies/bread
• alphabet of your native language
• words of your native language translated to English
• people
• moments in history
• moments now
• planets
• outer space
• Space Shuttle
• trains
• vintage cars
• trolleys
• subways
• funny/fun
  I could go on and on...

I love to cook and try new recipes.

I enjoy reading fiction as well as books about graphic design, sci-fi, spirituality.

Creating art is a huge part of who I am.

Love hiking and going to the different water falls, and jumping in them or just standing in them!

Postcrossing and Swap Swamp.

I love Illustrator and Photoshop and use them often to create.

I created both of these in Illustrator.

I like creating handmade postcards.

This pc is from a photo I took on my way to Texas. I added distress in Photoshop.

Some of my favorite books in no particular order:

• The Fat Cat Five minute reading if you'd care to hear the book read to you. :) This was a favorite book of mine when I was little, I have no idea why.
• Harry Potter
• LOTR
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull
• Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• You are a Badass
• The Help

Things I 'm NOT into:

Pokemon, Sponge Bob, Hello Kitty, Kawaii. I'm not a huge sticker person. I enjoy stickers on mail and unique stickers. I have quite a collection that is going to waste. If you like stickers, let me know and I'll send you some.

Ultracinematik sent me a Stevie Nicks sticker and I LOVE it! Thank you, Kat!

I am not a religious person. I believe life is about how you live your life and treat others (including insects, animals, people, the Earth) and how you treat the world. If you send something religious it will probably get passed to someone else. I'm okay with hearing others views but don't try to convert me to your religion or disrespect my beliefs. Let me add that it's okay to send religious items but no preaching and please don't go over board with it.

I despise cooked carrots, yuck. I don't like them with the brown sugar glaze either! I like raw carrots but ix-nay cooked!

I do not wear makeup or nail polish. I haven't worn a skirt or dress in a long time. My ears are very sensitive concerning earrings and get infected easily but I still wear them and just deal with it.

I don't like grape flavored candy.

I don't care for alcohol flavored coffee.

I don't like cooked liver or gizzards. But I like liver pâté.

Don't care for venison. I've tried it many different ways but can't get past the gaminess.

That's pretty much it but if I think of anything else I'll add it. But I will also mention that I will continue to try these foods because our taste buds change. For instance I didn't like radishes or mashed potatoes and now I like them. They're quite yummy!

If you don't get my item and it says it's been sent please contact me! I would not join a swap if I weren't going to participate, not a flaker. If you haven't received anything from me, let me know, I will be happy to send it again. I don't ask if the item I sent has been received anymore; so if you didn't receive my swap, please contact me.

I am not the fastest rater but I will rate, but if I haven't then please contact me. It gets busy in the mail room and the room of life.

I give every host a star- I feel that if you're going to take time out of your life to host even one swap then you deserve a star. Unless the host does something heinous- like flake...