No one is born with their future written in stone; it took me years to find my own path. Looking back I can see now what I couldn’t see then, that the tiniest inspiration, if you love it enough, can be the gateway to a future. For instance, don’t laugh, (and most of you probably already know) but I always got an A in handwriting. At the time, no one got very excited about that (although, when I was around fifteen, my dad did take something I wrote to work to show his co-workers, something the daughter will never forget ♥), but really, how much more insignificant could an “achievement” be? Would you ever imagine there could be a life in handwriting? Me, either.
But yes, it can happen. Which, by the way, means anything can happen! This is the top of my calendar page for March. Musica? Oui! It’s a celebration of good old-fashioned letter writing. I love my grandma’s old letters that all start with “Sue Darling;” my old boyfriend’s 
letters; all the letters from my best friend Diana when I left California to move to Martha’s Vineyard. Our letters flew back and forth and now they’re like little diaries. They never get old; their details capture and hold on to a moment in time like almost nothing else. Except for the photos, everything on that calendar page was either written or painted by hand. The old letter in the upper left was one written by a beau to Joe’s great, great grandmother in 1881. On the right, is the front, inside, and back of a card I wrote to my grandmother when I was eight. As you can see, I was so excited to get to the p.s., I almost forgot to sign my name first! I’ve always been a P.S. Person!
Goodbye cursive? Get outta here! They’ve been talking about taking cursive out of schools. I saw this newspaper in a gas station while traveling last fall and practically cried before I ran to get the camera! My sister says the school her eight-year-old twins go to is no longer teaching cursive! Luckily my little nephews are amazing artists; they want to know how to do cursive and Shelly teaches them.
I think learning cursive was the first connection between my brain, a pencil, and whatever artistic talent I had; moving the pencil just so to form letters, to make a little curl on an E, to bend the top of a T. I don’t know if it happened that way for other artists — but what if it was the same thing for some of the most talented artists, for example, like Monet, or DaVinci (who taught himself to write cursive backwards!), or John Singer Sargent? What if it was??? No pencil, no connection = just maybe, no art.
And for sure, two out of these three books could never have been written if it wasn’t for cursive. Not to mention the Declaration of Independence, which wouldn’t have been half so interesting or informative if it had been written perfectly, on a computer, all mistakes and cross-outs deleted.
I have nothing against a printed book, love love love them in fact, but
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
this kind of book makes me feel history more than any printed book could ever do. Rachel (we met as pen pals and now we are dear friends for twenty years; go say hello if you have time!) sent me this old diary she found for sale in an antiquarian bookstore in England where she lives; she knew it would be my cup of tea, and she was so right!
This diary was written by a twelve-year-old British girl named Alice. She writes about her lessons with “mademoiselle,” about her dog, about teatime and what she ate; and about how much she whistles, which is practically every night. She really loves to whistle! “Dec. 4, 1906 Nothing special today, whistled in the evening.” It’s a little treasure; she might have thought it was “nothing special” but it is to me. I wonder what she was like as a grown woman?
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I would love to have known Margaret Cavendish! And, just imagine, no this:
I have no doubt at all that Nancy Luce’s writings and little books were inspired by her simple everyday school life here on the island, learning to make her letters. Despite her illness and loneliness, she still managed, through her handwriting (and her heart), to become the most famous person on Martha’s Vineyard in the late 1800’s.
And for sure, this would look very different if it wasn’t handwritten; my favorite book I ever wrote; the diary of our adventure in England. Sure it could be typed, but I love all the mess in this diary, it’s real, with crossed out lines and misspellings and lots of exclamation points!!!! I tried to make this first page neat, within reason, I didn’t have a ruler, but inside it looks more like my other diaries:
This was part of my diary entry for January 19, 1978; the first time I broached the question of how “real” writing was done. Sometimes people tell me they don’t want to use their handwriting in their scrapbooks and on recipe cards because they think it’s so bad. Could it be any worse than this? Would it really matter? Wouldn’t a great, great, great grandchild love seeing any kind of handwriting at all, as long as it belonged to you?
I’ve been keeping a diary on and off since I was nine, and constantly since I was thirty. These are probably the most embarrassing items I own. They’re bare bones, pathetically truthful, “scream of consciousness;” running the gamut of emotional health from A to B and will all have to be burned one day. They know too much. I never thought about “writing” when I wrote them, which is too bad; I would have liked to see myself wax poetic! I left out lots of details and told things that no sane person would ever tell. Because I wasn’t thinking!!! This is the truth, there was no thinking going on!!!
I was a gut-spiller in my diaries, and yet, they are part of me and my life, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, I am married to them. I bought my House of Creativity inside those pages! Our Christmases are there. My kitty, Pooh, died there. I moved to Martha’s Vineyard inside those books, wrote my first cookbook and met Joe. And without cursive, all that important stuff would be lost!
And you know what else? Without cursive, here would be no more of these!!
So I’m declaring this day, March 10th, “I Love Cursive Day,” and in honor of the celebration I am giving away not one, but three, things that will exercise your cursivity and leave a little herstory for the folks in 3012, who are apparently going to need it.
First off, I’ll send the winner of our drawing a package of these How to Be Happy Notecards. So she can send a little note to someone she loves, and put it on paper to last forever. ♥
In addition, the package will contain a signed copy of my new Grandma, Tell Me Your Story book. I wish so much I had one of these when my Grandma was alive; there are lots of family memories lost forever. I would have loved to know more details of her childhood. I never did hear about her favorite dress. ♥
The book is lined, and filled with good questions for a Grandma to answer, the ones I would have liked to ask; “real” ones, such as “Did you ever leave school without permission?” And, “Did you like to dance; did your dances have names? Who taught you the steps?” (That’s where I would write that my first dance partner was our refrigerator door handle!) When finished, this book will be something a family will cherish forever. If the winner isn’t a Grandma, I’m sure she will know one or have one and it will make a wonderful gift!
♥ ♥ ♥
And last but not least, this. It’s my newest recipe keeper, and I’ll be signing this one too. It’s smaller than our three-ring-binder-recipe-keepers which means it would be a quicker project to put together; the letter stickers come with it so you can add a name on the cover; you just fill in the recipe pages with your favorite family recipes, gathered in one place, to save forever, perfect for a newly wed daughter or son.
To enter the drawing for all three items, you have to be actually on my website, which most of you are (some people have the blog emailed to them via subscription, which means there is no comment button; if that’s you, just go to www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/) and leave a comment by clicking the word “comment” at the bottom of this post. That’s all, and in a few days, charmingly talented “Vanna,” our in-house random number generator, will choose a winner. Join my quest to save the cursive! And have a wonderful weekend girlfriends!
X O X O X O
Susan, what an absolutely awsome Saturday blog! The good bye written in the MV sand! I can just feel the sand between my toes, and smell the wonderful smells of the ocean and sandy shore, is there anything better?
Thank you!
You’re just the best! I love Cursive Writing Day…here we are!
Cursive lovers unite!! I have 4 grandkids in college and they write such lovely “cursive” thank you notes. I have saved many that I will make a collage for them when they graduate. Have a 2-1/2 yr old grandchild and a brother/ sister on the way so hopefully they will be taught Cursive!!! Certain talents need to be preserved. I always have to ask my husband to write cursive on special cards as he has the Big Cursive Talent!!! Happy Day Light Savings Day!!!! Love the extra hour!!! Cheers,
Ritchie Saunders….Pacific Palisades, CA
Ahhh makes me remember the letters I used to write to my Aunt and Grandmothers…..all are gone now and the only mail I receive are bills and flyers! I have started many journals/diaries…wish I kept the ones from my youth (burned a long time ago!). Hmmmm I think I will go and write in my current one! Thanks Susan! (and it would be a real shame if cursive writing went by the wayside!)
Susan~~~Your posts are like a breath of fresh air to me. Since I have my own blog, I chose to follow yours, and breathlessly anticipate your name coming up on my dashboard that you have a new post. Your writing is always upbeat and inspiring. You are a treasured friend. Thank you for your words~~~Kathy
It would be such a loss to not have cursive writing as part of school curriculums. I learned to write using the Zaner-Bloser method-funny how I still remember that name. That style has always been how I write and I first learned it about 40 years ago. It’s just legible and beautiful in its simplicity.
I want to say thank you, Susan, for bringing smiles to all of us in your words and art.
I think the Smithsonian should consider placing your cursive in their archives . . . they could call it “All American Cursive”! Love your works.
Thank you, thank you for all your wonderful blogs! I am always so excited to see your latest in my inbox. We share so many loves – beautiful old china, Depression glass, quilts, cooking, art and gardening. And cursive writing…….the old Palmer Method, is still so important but losing ground in our schools unfortunately. There is nothing lovelier than a handwritten letter.
No one does it better than you, Susan, and with all the wonderful drawings and embellishments you add! Thank you for keeping it all alive and blessing our lives!
Susan,
Thank you for this post – and for all your wonderful art work! I love cursive – and letter writing, too! What could be more charming than that??? Have a blessed day!
Heh Vqnna – over here!!! Pick me please, please, please (picture me with my hand in the air, bouncing with the excitement at the possibility that you will select my name to win this fabulous giveaway.
Your post is write-on Sue 🙂 (pardon the pun)
haha!
Happy Cursive Day! I happen to have a few old letters from ancestors in the 1800’s and what a precious gift they are and to think of all who have saved them all this time. They are all in the most beautiful cursive. We are really going to miss out in the future because who saves emails? Thanks for the chance to win some really thoughtful gifts.
As a first grade teacher who teaches kids to write, it is so hard for little fingers to grip pencils when many 6 year olds type more. We teach d’nealian at my school which is like printing but everything has a tail or a curl on it so that it makes the transition to cursive easier. My daughter started learning cursive in 2nd and a lot in 3rd. She just loves it because ” it’s so grown up” I learned cursive writing by using an ink cartridge pen. We use to have to put ink capsules in it and I always had stained fingers but great handwriting. It’s gone done hill since. I’m so glad that you still celebrate writing and writing letters. It’s a dying art. Thank you for reminding us!! Have a springy day.
I have a love/hate relationship with diaries! I start them, guns blazing, everything full glory, and then something will happen in my life that darkens my days and I do not wish to write about it and the diary goes blank for days, weeks, even months. Funny that this is your topic today, I just read the diary I kept in 2007 in your book Days from the Heart of the Home. I happened to find a bunch of them on sale at Barnes & Noble and bought up the whole lot! I forgot about them until I was searching for something and lo and behold there they were. This year I am writing a creativity and projects journal. I hope it’s a winner! 🙂
Yes! Save cursive! I have my husband’s cards and letters saved. I’m afraid my kids will only have texts saying, “Where u at?”
LOL! 🙂
I, too, love handwriting. So much so that I have taken classes in calligraphy and have so much fun with all the little swirls and flourishes you can add to letters. I also love scrap booking and making/stamping my own cards, so I have lots of opportunities to practice. I would hate to see the art of cursive writing taken out of the schools! However, with all the emphasis on assessment and testing, it’s going to be a challenge to keep it, along with the other “arts”.
I never really loved writing in cursive, being left-handed and having the whole smeared writing thing going on (although both my sisters have lovely, neat handwriting, and they’re lefties too—don’t know how they do it!), but I DEPLORE the loss of it in our society. So THANK YOU, Susan, for creating a day to honor it, and I promise to re-double my efforts to have neater handwriting. BTW, I ‘specially loved your “Goodbye” written in the sand; my husband wrote our names, with a heart, in the sand, on our honeymoon (37 years ago!) and it’s one of my very favorite photos from that trip. 🙂
Dear Susan,
How I wish I could write this post in cursive! I LOVE wiring in cursive and always have! I have been blessed with very nice cursive handwriting! I work in an elementary school and last year I had to cover a second grade class for an hour or so and lo and behold, they were working on cursive. I don’t know who was more excited, me to teach the letters they were learning that day, or them to learn them! Cursive is still alive and well in our second and third grades and the children love it! Thank you for another great post…I think I’ll have a cup of tea and write a note to someone! Xo
Hi Susan
I agree that not teaching cursive writing is a big mistake. I think it is a wonderful way fr children to learn eye hand coordination and developing a skill that should last a lifetime.
I went to a Catholic elementary school and if there was one thing the dear Sisters insisted on, it was good penmanship. We were also required to write with fountain pens and use a blotter. I remember having inky fingers most of the time. as I practiced the alphabet over and over in a special Palmer Method note book. I used to have the most spectacular handwriting but it has deteriorated a little as I’ve gotten older as I don’t as much as I used to now that I’ve been using a computer. I think should begin practicing again!
I would love the chance to win your pretty note cards or one of the two special books. I would especially love the grandmother memory book so i could fill it in for my two grandsons to read one day!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Hugs,
Pat
Nothing more delightful than receiving a beautifully written letter. I was telling my young niece that we use to have handwriting practice in school…making loops, curls, etc. and the teacher came around to make sure we were using our whole arm. She just stared at me (starting to feel like a fossil here). Have been writing in a journal for a long time…but have been inspired by you to add some flourishes (pressed leaves last autumn) and some drawings. Love you blog and all the inspiration I get.
I love the old-fashioned calendar page. I just don’t understand why the schools want to stop teaching cursive writing. Very sad. Thankfully I homeschool my four children and I have taught three of the four so far and my daughter, Ellyanna, has lovely handwriting. The boys–not so much.
Thanks for the giveaway.
*sigh* A world without cursive. Sad. So sad. I think the school that my little girl goes to is considering dropping cursive lessons. I LOVE writing in cursive! My grandpa was a professional calligrapher. His works of art were absolutely amazing and we treasure them.
What an awesome giveaway!!! Want!!!!!
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
Loved your little bio from 1957. As you can see, I live in Long Beach and used to live on Park Avenue when I was first married 35 years ago. And . . . . you went to Minnie Gant!! – my sons attended school there too!! Love to read your blog – it makes my day!! Keep them coming!!
My mom says she came about an eighth of an inch from naming me Candi . . . but then she found out (after 72 hours of labor) that I wasn’t that sweet!
Ha!Ha! My mom wanted to name me “Donnella” – my dad came to the rescue with “Candace”, but he always called me “Candi.”
I used to write letters all the time…I am afraid that e-mail and Facebook have taken over much of that communiction…but I continue to send cards, note cards with a little, “thinking of you” message or printed greeting cards with a small note. You have inspired me to sit right down and write some letters…maybe a great project for tomorrow… a quiet Sunday afternoon (especially after loosing an hour sleep…and gaining an hour of sunshine). As always , I thank you for reminding me to add more fun to my life!
Love the blog, Love cursive writing, Love journals & diaries.
P.S. Am currently reading Gardening Letters to My Daughter by Anne Scott-James…..if you haven’t read it, you might check your local library (or Ebay)! I think you’ll love it.
I think of the letters my Momma wrote to me in college and wish that I had saved at least the one she wrote in red ink, starting it with, “Dear Chrissy, this is your red letter day…” and it was full of that same brand of wit and her beautiful flowing handwriting.
I, too, love to write in cursive. One time when I was signing my name on a charge slip at CVS, the older checkout lady, whose name was Angel, said, “What lovely handwriting!….Catholic School?????”. I busted out laughing….cuz, yes, I DID go to Catholic School!! She said, “I knew it…..beautiful handwriting!”. Sadly, my two boys who grew up here in MA, can hardly hold a pencil! But their typing is FABULOUS!!! :). These are the times we live in.
Tho
I have so many male friends who can’t type because it was a “girl” thing when we were in high school. The computer is definitely not as fun with hunt and peck. Good for your boys!
Happy Cursive Day! Im so happy you are keeping it alive. I have taken up journaling again since my husband passed away in December. Its a great way to get your feelings out.
I say again because I did it as a teenager also, but sadly, I have no idea where they are.
Michelle
So very sorry for your loss Michelle. Writing has definitely helped me through some things!
I never realized how much my mother in law loved me a or my letters,until she died, and I found every letter I had written to her for the past 28 yrs bound up with with blue ribbons and kept in boxes in her closet, with the words My heart, on the lids.
I am not a neat writer and now wish I had paid more attention to my cursive classes in school! It’s true no one writes letters anymore. Thanks for a great blog Susan .
What a touching thing to find!
When I learned cursive in elementary school no matter how much I practiced I always received a “C”. Maybe once a “B”. It was a major embarrassment to me at the time that I remember 50 years later. The rather funny thing is the number of people who now compliment me on my beautiful handwriting!!! Guess I was a really slow learner. I had a wonderful French language professor in college ( a little English woman who was raised in a French convent) who liberated me from my embarrassment by declaring the messy writing just meant I had too much in my mind to put on the page.
I do appreciate what you put on your pages – it is always guaranteed to make my day. Thank you so much for your good cheer and inspiration.
What a generous teacher you had!
I have a second grade daughter and what she learns in school is totally different than when I went to school. Kids in kindergarten are expected to be reading when they leave now. I cant wait to get my hands on the new ‘Grandmother’ book for my mother-in-law. I love your work Susan! 🙂
Why does it seem we take steps backward in the name of “progress?” Being a retired 3rd grade teacher, one of my favorite parts of the day was handwriting! It was such fun to teach cursive! Will there no longer be those important papers that will need our written signature? I am with you on keeping handwriting!
It’s a beautiful day here in Knoxville! Hopefully it’s a nice day for you there! xoxo
It’s been wild today — a white swirly snowstorm this morning, and now, warm and gorgeous, we just came in from a walk!
I went to school when handwriting–either in printing or cursive–was something to be proud of. I remember in 2nd grade, we learned cursive after Christmas break and I felt so “big.” When I taught school, it was still a subject. But, I noticed when my children were in school, it wasn’t such a big deal any more and neatness didn’t seem to count. To me, learning to write instills qualities of neatness, organization, creativity, and a certain individuality, which are all good things in life.
Just loved your comments on handwriting. As usual, your blog makes me feel so peaceful and really think about things I wouldn’t ordinarily think about, so thank you for that!
Susan,
You are such an inspiration! Thank you for the opportunity to win some of the wonderful things you create. I finally found the 2012 calendar on eBay and got it about a month ago. Since my January didn’t start out so well (husband filed for divorce), I was happy to jump to February. Now happily ensconced in a friend’s guest cottage, trying to heal, and am working on cookbooks for my daughter and my sister. Scrapbooking these memories, in our Mother’s, Grandmothers’ Aunts’, and Great-Grandmothers’ cursive handwriting is indeed a gift! Thank you for your art, your blog, and your inspiration!
Sherry
I was one of those who always wished my cursive was nicer & have continually experimented with it. I’m also a doodler, so any snips of paper that are passed down from me with have scritches & scratches of whatever I see or what is sparking in my brain at the time. A freshly sharpened pencil, a new kind of pen, highlighters, crayons, colored pencils….all of them wait to give birth to more illustrations of life. Thanks, Susan for so much daily inspiration!
Susan, we truly are kindred spirits and handwriting has ALWAYS been very special to me and I still at the ripe old age of 57 get compliments on my handwriting….I look back at my writing when I was in my youth and it looks very much like yours in the letter you wrote in 1957!! I will admit I always wanted to add curly q’s on all my letters which drove my teachers crazy; so, I conformed and did it their way until I got in High School (where they wanted block printing) my Senior year, and the older I got my creativity soared and it was like the ugly duckling that turned into a swan. I do caligraphy (my style) and have addressed wedding invitations, written in baby books, certificates for all my family/friends…..I love letter writing and it was nothing for me to send 5-6 full pages. I agree with you and think creative people who love writing are 100% against taking cursive writing out of the schools. We all know that parents are too busy and will not take the time to show their children and it will be a lost art. I don’t understand the thinking in the schools, people need to know how to sign their name on documents what are we going back to X’s?? I can still remember practicing all the loops etc. and even though I had to wait to grow into my signature and make it my own I do not regret it. I think a person’s signature is as important as their name afterall it is all we truly have that is our very own. I LOVED this blog and seeing all your letters/notes, and was so surprised to see how similar our penmanship in our youth was. I do have to agree that since the computers I do not write letters like I did in my “younger” years; but, I do enjoy it and it never gets old hearing people say how beautiful my handwriting IS. Thanks for the giveaways!!!
I agree with you in every way. My older granddaughter was excited about learning cursive, so I’m hoping it is still being taught in the NYC school system. I loved learning and did quite well. My grandfather saved samples in his scrapbook. As a young woman I dappled in calligraphy and now love to make and give notecards. But sadly, I don’t think they are used as often as I would wish.
That should have read dabbled not dappled.
Dear Susan, when my girls were in 3rd grade (they are 1st year college at Cal Poly SLO and a Junior in HS, they were required to write completely in cursive. The only way that they were allowed to print again was to pass the Cursive License, showing that they could write cursive fluently enough to be read. I have no idea if they still do that here in the Sacramento area. Interesting to read that though.
Thank you again for another lovely giveaway. I have kept a handwritten cookbook since I was 19 (a long time ago), and make my daughters hand write thank you notes for all birthday and Christmas presents. It is important to give and receive handwritten notes. Not everyone has a computer!
You are truly a blessing in my life and the lives of countless other “girlfriends”.
What a wonderful day, I Love Cursive Day. My father did a lot of travelling for his job when I was a child, and I still have some of the letters he wrote to my mother in beautiful cursive. Even a few from my grandmother to me, also in cursive. I can’t imagine why the schools would want to discontinue this very creative practice. I’ve never done any journaling, but of course, now I wish I had. For Christmas this past year, my son gave me a Grandparents’ Memories Box, a record of your life for your family. The first things that will go into it will be the above letters. And I will try very hard to write down as much as I can of my history. My cursive is not nearly as beautiful as yours, but I will take the time to try to make my writings legible and in the process, enjoy some of those past memories. Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful writing can be. I’ve been enjoying the March page of your calendar every day.
Happy, Happy I Love Cursive Day!!! I have loved writing thank-you notes and letters since I was probably 5 or 6. Some made sense..some didn’t but the sentiment and love poured in was just as sincere. I practiced and experimented with my cursive..adding my own curlicues..remembering what our teacher had instilled in our minds..this will be your signature forever..pay attention..and I did!
The biggest thrill was going to the little shop in Binghamton, NY, called of all things..”The House of Treasures” and picking out a box of perhaps pebbly-finished, pale yellow vellum and if I had enough money saved up, a fancy new seal and a stick of colored wax! What a thrill that was! To my way of thinking, there is nothing that surpasses a handwritten note or letter. The writer’s heart beats within the page(s). It’s a travesty that cursive is not promoted more in schools and it angers me to see so much importance given to texting. The youth of today have problems with spelling as it is..why should it be so wonderful to send someone a note in abbreviations..What does that teach anyone?? I better get down off my soapbox before I fall and hurt something (LOL) and just state that I may be an old-fashioned girl but I’m all for Cursive, “Pour-your-heart-out” diaries and notes/letters sent with the same care that you would give a person.
I’m so hoping I win this charming package. Lovely notecards!!! The Grandma’s book will go to my Sister-in-law to fill for her four Grandchildren and three Great-Grandbabies..and the recipe keeper will get me motivated to collect all of my Mom’s and Grandmother’s recipes for generations to enjoy as much as I have.
P.S. The Robins have arrived here in N.E. Pa.!!! Not sure where they’re hiding out of the wind..but I hear them clucking!! @)—)—)—- (supposed to be a rose??)
P.P.S. Have you ever given thought to an “Auntie’s Memory Book”–there are some of us out here who have no children of our own but have beautiful Nieces and Nephews to spoil rotten and return to Mama and Daddy. I’d like them to know different things about me when I was their age..Just a thought..let me know if you like it. 🙂
I do like it, and have even suggested it to the people who license my art and design for those books, but so far, they haven’t gone for it. Will keep trying! I’m an auntie too!
Perhaps they’d do a “generic” Memory Book that would work for any relationship!
I’m going to try for that! Thank you!
Hurray for cursive writing! I went to Catholic School and they taught cursive like it was math or science. I wish I had the letters my mother wrote to me in college and when I went to Girl Scout Camp when I was younger. Thanks for sharing what appears to be an old lost art. I long for the good old days…….
Really, Susan? You kept your old boy friend’s letters? 🙂 What will Joe say? 🙂
I had all the letters before I met Joe. He pays no attention to what I have in my little baskets!
I can’t believe that cursive is going out (it won’t here, at any rate–we home school!). I have the same sense of sadness about this as I do when I read the articles about how books will someday be obsolete. I’m sorry–I don’t think you’ll have the same ambience sitting outside in your backyard in the summer reading a tablet that you would have with a real honest-to-goodness book! Long live old fashioned things like cursive writing, handwritten letters, and books.
So true Theresa!
Susan,
I’m sappy;and now,I’m sappier! Hearts have truly connected.
The pen is exquisite in your.hand.But alas’,it’s only in my heart and mind.
Ah… if the twain should only meet. Anyway?
I adored the blog! Thank you for such a divine gift…..
Mine to you:Sweet Susan
The Word
Writing is as creative as a child’s colorful crayon.
As flavorful as a shaker of salt.
As bubbling as a babbling brook.
As whittled as the working fingers of a whittler.
As solid as the stone slabbed commandments.
As unsure as the restless rushing river.
As perfect as parchment paper.
As sharp as a fine lead pencil.
and as rewarding as a renewed rainbow!
Happy Day and blessings…
Veronica ‘Sumerduck” Va.
Please everyone – hand write whatever you can – while you can – I have arthritis and find it difficult to write now and I regret not writing more! The recipe cards my grandmother wrote are my treasures and I hope my old tattered recipes will be seen by my grandchildren and great-grandchildren someday! I remember the cursive letter examples posted around my classrooms – such wonderful memories! Susan, you brought back these nice feelings to me – thank you!
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.”, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Susan, I’m a year older than you, and I remember well my lessons in “penmanship”. I attended, for a time, a little two room school in West Virginia with one teacher for grades 1-6. We had a little tan, rectangular penmanship book in which we copied and copied and practiced and practiced our cursive. And now, I am so sorry to admit, I sometimes have trouble figuring out what I scribbled down on my shopping list!
Loved todays post- nothing is the way things used to be. My 16 y/o daughters text – and thats all they do! They don’t talk on the phone to friends, send cards or letters. I find it so sad, but my husband says I need to understand it is the times we are in. I send out invitations to parties and holidays and everyone else I know e-mails them. I am old fashion and I don’t care!
You know how it feels like time is going faster, like there’s only maybe really six hours in the day? I think it’s actually true.
As always, a delightful blog post. I, too, have letters from both of my grandmothers and a few from my mother. Recipes in their handwriting, yes cursive, are a treasure in my recipe box. Would love to win any of those items you so generously choose to give. Thanks for the chance.
Okaaaay! I’m going to do this the right way.
I have hadwritted (and stained) recipe cards in my mother’s and grandmother’s handwriting and they mean a lot to me..
I’m hoping your grandmother book is better than the ones that I have been given in the past and for which I can complete one or two pages. Sigh! Liza
No no, I promise, mine is fun!
Celebrate Cursive Day! What a wonderful idea. I was also upset when I saw the news about cursive no longer being taught in school. My handwriting still receives compliments from people and, when young, I had a penpal in England. I wish I still had those letters. From time to time I write to people I know although no one writes back these days. A letter my mom sent to me at camp when I was a teenager is a lovely memory. Thank you for this blog entry, Susan. It has brought back some wonderful memories.
Susan, thanks for declaring I Love Cursive day…………….I love writing notes and letters and LOVE to receive them. I have boxes upon boxes of notes, cards, etc. friends and family have sent – I try to thow them out but when I read them I can’t! I’m running out of room to store them!!!
I did take a handwriting analysis class about 25 years ago – it was so very interesting.
I’m sorry for the young people who won’t know cursive, and don’t have fun running thru the sprinkler in the summer time, etc.
Thank you for your wonderful calendars and books.
D
I cherish your calendars and cookbooks because they are so personal
and friendly….the watercolors and handwritten notes are so special.
Cursive is an art and makes me so happy just to see it!
Love the ‘grandma’ book idea….what a wonderful way to fill in the blanks
of a family history…too many important stories are left untold. Can’t wait to make it a gift for a grandmother to be!
Thank you for being you and sharing yourself with all the girlfriends!
I learned to write when we were stationed in Japan in the 50’s at Sacred Heart in Tokyo. Back home in the States my teachers were always frustrated with the way I held my pencil…trouble ,trouble!! Later, when I started painting I discovered I held my pencil perfectly to do calligraphy…what fun that’a been!
Yes! Cursive writing is an art and it must not be thrown to the curbside! I have little cards and letters from my grandparents that I treasure..I wish they could see and some how know that their great-great grandchildren read them! I think that’s why I love journaling in scrapbooks … “one day” one of my great-great grandchildren will read and get a peak at what life was like “way back then!”
BRIGHT LIGHT!! I never knew Joe had a last name!! He’s always been Joe! Now he is Joe Hall!! I think we should have Snail Mail day where we write to each other in cursive!!
Oh, how sad that the schools will no longer teach cursive! I used to love when it was time to practice writing in school! Like you, I have letters from loved ones from years ago and I love their handwriting, the ink blots, and the stationary. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, Susan!
I too have been keeping hand written journals for years. I have given my husband strict orders to burn them when I die. That’s assuming I go before him. I remember when I found out that you hand write your books how utterly amazed I was. Now, whenever I give or show someone one of your books I am always sure to make sure they know that you wrote it by hand.
My mom died when I was eight. My siblings are 11, 14, and 17 years older than I. For my fortieth birthday, nearly fourteen years ago, they put together a beautiful book for me titled “Memories of Our Mother.” It is the most beautiful gift I ever received. It took me two weeks to read it, because I kept crying. It is the one material item I would grab if the house were on fire. In order to put it together my sister Ann had all of our living relatives write their memories of our mother. All was put together in a beautiful scrapbook style. My sister made sure that in that book was something with my mother’s signature. I love having her driver’s license. The book was typed, but my sister gave me a beautiful pack of all the handwritten memories everyone sent to her. I love reading those letters over and over again. I now have the handwriting of so many family members. I know my children, my some day grandchildren and great grandchildren will all love having the photos, the book, and the handwritten letters of our wonderful family members.
Happy Saturday,
Terry
I would write in all caps if I didn’t think it might scare everyone! How wonderful, what a thoughtful gift for YOU. What could you have possibly wanted more? They gave you your mom. I want to cry! We made photo scrapbook for my mother’s 80th, she had the same problem, couldn’t read it for the crying.
This made me cry, too!!
What an amazing gift! Just in case, I would suggest that you scan every page and item onto the computer and CD disk so that, God forbid, anything might happen, you will have saved the treasures. Maybe make copies and send them to your siblings who so lovingly put it together for you. My husband did a great kindness for me and my sisters a few years ago. I had inherited my Dad’s photo albums that included photos from great great grandparents days…my great grandmother was Cherokee Indian and he had saved pictures of the reservation in Oklahoma and Indian chiefs). I really wanted to share and protect them for my sisters and children.
I thought I was the only one who loves cursive handwriting!! Remember when we were had penmanship classes? I was in third grade and couldn’t wait to learn how to write my name in cursive. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Allison, would call us up to her desk, one by one and show each pupil how to write their name. I can still see myself, going up to her desk with such excitement. Funny, the little things that made us happy as children. Thank you, Susan, for such an inspiring post today.
Hugs from Barbara S. in Cumming, Ga.
My little 4 yr. old grandson is just learning to print. It is precious to watch him try to get the pencil just right in his hand and make the letters correctly for his name, P A R K E R. It is all in capitol letters. I taught grade school for 30 yrs. and hope that handwriting stays on the curriculum. Our signature is our personal ID. Remember John Hancock?? Love your blog and look forward to it daily.
Hi Susan, I want Jack (not your kitty….but the human Jack) , from his comment above quoted here: (“Handwriting! Catholic School – third grade – Palmer Method – ink pens – strict Nuns – left-handed –
Blurred and smeared writing – embarrassing conflict between Father and Sister Loretta in classroom regarding changing from Left to Right — I hated penmanship class!”)…… to knowthat I feel his pain…..being a leftie…. but at least for me the outcome was a good experience in the end.
My version of Jack’s story:
Catholic School – fourth grade- Palmer Method – ink pens – strict Nuns – left handed- blurred and smeared paper- ink stains all down the side of my hand from doing that “leftie upside down thing” and a nun/teacher named Mother Eurharistica (can you believe that??? – poor woman -no wonder she was so stern 🙂 who decided to take matters into her own (right) hands. We had blackboards around the room including one at the back in between the cloak room doors. And one day I arrived at school to find out that my new place in the classroom was in front of that board, complete with a little step ladder so I could get up higher….what???? Mother E had drawn lines all the way across the board very close together and I was to write my assignments on that board until I stopped smearing the chalk line above me as I went to the next line, and managed to erase the work above with my “leftie upside down” hand movement. Fast forward through tears, drama etc…..and remember that Mother E was having to re-create this board every day until I had enough and turned my hand around – horrible handwriting but no more mess…..she then went to work on my “form” and to this day people comment on my handwriting! She may have used rather drastic measures……but never tried to change me from left to right….only straightened me out. BTW….she did manage to not totally destroy my self-esteem by telling the class why I was back there and that since I was so smart, anyone turning around toward that back blackboard to look at my work would be disciplined:)……and to think I stayed in Catholic School all the way through college:)
Susan, I was appalled when I read the headlines in the newspaper, “Goodbye Cursive?”!!!! Just another sign in our society that we are losing the “niceties” of life. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy!! Makes me cry!!
My biggest LOL in this blog was: “These are probably the most embarrassing items I own… there was no thinking going on!!!” ROTFL!!!
And your diary entries that you say are messy – I think the handwriting is beautiful!!!
Love from Mary S. in Fresno, CA
Hi Cousin(-: I can just hear you saying “Appalling!” haha
Hi Debbie Dee!!! 😀
P.S. “The Vow” is a wonderful movie!!!!!
From Mary S. in Fresno, CA
Thank you, Susan for celebrating with us Cursive Writing Day! I loved practicing the Palmer method in grade school and to this day love writing with a fountain pen. I, too, mourn the loss of beautiful writing, although I rmember that the boys usually could never write as well as the girls. My grandsons told me they have trouble reading my cards and notes because they are so unfamiliar with cursive writing! How sad.
I remember the first time I saw some of your books and marveled at the fact they are all hand written. You have a wonderful talent and I hope there are some young girls reading your books today who will treasure your talent as we all do.
Blessings to you for preserving the best of handwriting for our history.
Dear Susan!
I wish I had saved old love letters, pen pal letters, letters from friends–I was just thinking the other day how sad it is that most people just use email nowadays. A letter is a gift, a treat so I am with you 100% on celebrating “Cursive Day!” and thank you for bringing back a lot of wonderful memories!
I am told I have lovely handwriting. I always say I owe it to my fifth grade teacher, who I thought did not like me. I slaved and practiced every week to receive an “A” in handwriting. I am not sure I did, but I did learn to write a nice cursive hand.
Linda L. In rainy Texas
Susan, I, too, excelled in penmanship and spelling and grammar in school. To this day, I still make that little ledge on a lower case r! Those were skills that I am so glad that I learned and it saddens me to see them being lost in this generation. I guess each generation focuses on different life skills…I don’t know. What a fun, generous giveaway! If I win, I’ll write you a letter in cursive… 🙂
I would love to be entered into your drawing. Although I’ve always been more of a printer, I swear my husband has the best cursive I’ve ever seen! Most have been those wonderful nuns who taught him writing!
Thank you for this, Susan! Thankfully, both my children (Katie – 15, Jackson – 11) learned cursive in 3rd grade. Katie barely uses it, but Jackson seems to still be sticking with it. I pray we don’t lose the ART of cursive and of letter writing! Of course I would love any item from your collection, but especially the Grandma’s Book. My mom is 75 and her memory is far from what it once was, so I would LOVE to “catch” her memories on paper while we still can…and in her own handwriting! Fingers crossed! Have a blessed day! ~Kristina, Georgetown TX
You are correct about the written word. My mother died when I was eleven, and our house burned a year later. Not only did I lose my mother, but I lost all her photos, letters, and recipes. Fifty years later I received from a relative a small photograph of my mother holding a baby that also had passed. She had written her name and the baby’s name on the back of the photo. These words are the only examples of my mother’s handwriting that I am aware of. I cherish those few strokes of her pencil as much as the photo. Little did she know that those few words would bring me to tears and bring me such joy. LC
I’m sure. How hard that must be. How great to find that.
I just love seeing your name in my inbox! I must confess it is your lovely handwriting that makes your newsletter, blog, and books so special. A printed font would not carry your charm so well!
Time is the biggest gift anyone can give these days . . . that’s why a letter feels so good, or a home cooked meal.
Does anyone remember the Zaner-Bloser handwriting method. We learned cursive in 3rd grade and each year in the spring we took timed handwriting tests. The teacher would send them to the company and they would send back certificates to those whose handwriting passed. I think everyone got one but we were always so nervous and excited when they came in. I still have them.
I taught 1st grade for years and loved the old ball and stick printing that we taught but the kids couldn’t wait to learn “curvis.” When I went to 4th grade the kids begged to be able to print. I am sad that neither is taught anymore. Before I retired they went to the D’Nealean method which is a hybrid. It’s fine but I think a background in block printing and cursive is best.
Well I agree not teaching cursive is a mistake, school on the whole is not what it was 30 years ago, re our placement in world achievment lists is going down, down, down.
But my penmanship is attrocious, never good when I was young and now after carpel tunnel surgeries and arthritis, I cant even read my own writing. Good to have computers or Id never communicate at all. But I still write in my journal, the act of doing so frees things up, even if noone can read it. (thats probably a good thing!)
I think a diary is supposed to be about gut spilling, all the things you are too restrained to say or too anguished, we need one place to tell the truth without censoring it for polite company. Much conflict and issues would be sorted if people just told the truth…
Love your books, would love the grandma one as my mom is getting close to the end of her life and her grandkids dont know her that well. Thanks for the chance.
What amazing insight you have into the minds of women & the reasons they do what they do! I loved reading this post & seeing all the precious handwritten messages. I saved ALL my cards from my parents (both deceased now) as well as from my husband (who turns 86 on Tues.) as well as the ones from my DD & DGKidlets. I just noticed that all 3 of the grandchildren wrote their names in cursive on DH’s birthday card this year. (16, 10 & almost 8 yrs.) Yet, my husbands son, who grew up in Australia, can only print & never learned cursive writing. How on earth do these people expect to ever sign a contract??
True story: When we bought this house, the bank didn’t want to accept my DH’s signature because they “couldn’t read it”. (he’s a doctor) ~~insert rolled eyes~~ They wanted him to RE-sign the papers in a “clearer handwriting”. He refused, telling them that it wouldn’t then be his true signature. They caved! LOL
It would be nice to win your treasures but it is truly just a treasure to be able to read & follow your daily adventures via your blog. I’m so very glad I found you & now get your posts via email, so I don’t miss any.
Hugs,
Rett
p.s. I’m a big p.s. person, too! LOL
I’m always trying to think of something!
Happy Cursive Day!
My 4 children are still learning cursive starting in 3rd grade. It is fun to watch how they learn and develop their own style. Thank you for all the inspiration.
Loving cursive writing in PA!
Kathleen
I once discovered a Memory Book in an old antiques shop for 25c…it was owned by a Lucy Barriclo of Jersey City, NJ, and all the entries are from the year 1871 and forward. The blank pages are printed with questions on each few lines, allowing for a short or long response! The cursive handwriting is astonishingly more beautiful written by the MEN! Some were lawyers, shopkeepers, doctors, teachers…and amazingly, an entry by an American Indian including his photograph, wearing a cowboy hat with a feather stuck in it! Some drew pictures as well…one gentlemen on his beautiful moustache! I have enjoyed reading and re-reading this book over the many years I have owned it. I have even thought of sharing it by having it published…as it is a personal record, I think that is possible. I would include pages just like the originals that are still blank, and the new owner could have fun filling it and getting friends and family to sign it and write in it, too! I have several Grandmother books my children gave me to complete for THEIR children, and tho I have made an attempt to sit down and complete them, I have not finished even one! My bucket list, for SURE! I am including a poem MY Mother( who is nearly 96) wrote on the frontispiece in my one and only autograph book when I was in 8th grade.
“Our life is a book, each page is a day,
And with our own hands,
We write what we may,
When the pages are full,
E’er our life is o’er,
God closes our book,
And we write there no more.”
All for now, have a wonderful day, everyone!
I posted a comment to Anne’s post and somehow it went haywire, so I’m posting it again:
What a beautiful poem your mother wrote! I love the imagery of each day of our lives being a page in a book. When you think about wanting neat handwriting for our journals it should give us pause to think what is “written” with our lives each day–not just how pretty it looks but what’s “on the page”.
It takes too long to print and cursive is prettier. Only the “big” kids can write in cursive so it is added motivation to learn. I have always had trouble printing clearly but cursive flows. Long live cursive writing!
I LOVE cursive! Thank you for this post, Susan! Happy Cursive day and Happy Spring to you and Joe! xx
Hi Susan,
I, too was distressed to learn that the schools are no longer teaching cursive! I wondered why the “thank you” notes I was receiving from high-school age nieces and nephews were all printed! How will children learn to sign their names? I join you in celebrating “I love cursive” Day!
Dear Susan,
Progress as gone TOO far.What about a signature without cursive? Reading that you are just a year younger than myself. Aren’t you grateful we won’t face the decline of future generations.We have lived in the best time! Your 2004 trip to England sounds fantastic!I’m jealous. Love every thing you do.So grateful I discovered your first cookbook decades ago.Keep creating.
Kathleen
When you sort of glance over all of human history, we sure have lived in lucky times, and still do. Relative to so many others.
I would love to have the things you offer. i look forward to reading your posts to your blog. It is so sad that cursive writing is going the same way that so much of our former American way is lost.
P.P.S. Forgot to tell you, I have my mother’s recipe for her Christmas sugar cookies, in her own handwriting…in PENCIL, no less, framed & hanging where I can see it often. It truly means the world to me to have a tiny piece of her writing there.
My Mother passed away 5 shorts months ago and as I was going through her things to try to decide what to keep and what to dispose of, I was delighted to find a stack of plain lined subject notebooks filled with the daily musings of my Grandmother, her Mother. I never knew they existed and I was ecstatic and so grateful to my Grandmother for having written her daily history down on those pages for me to find. Other’s would surely find them dull and boring, but to me they are priceless. They range in the years of 1947-1989. I was amazed to find the first one had actually been written by my Grandfather and not by my Grandmother. Not sure why it is the only one he wrote, but I am glad to have it. Maybe there were others and they were lost. Or maybe she decided to take his over. I don’t know why my Mother never brought them out or let anyone know she had them. She was 86 when she passed. I miss her so much everyday, and this is a way to keep her memory and that of my Grandparents close in my heart. I take them out and read them often, and stare at the writing. I note the way her capitals were curved and how she always crossed out her mistakes. And how she always ended each entry by thanking God that she lived to see another day and she always wrote’Bless Jesus’. She even had Alzheimer’s in the end of her life and that too was reflected in her writings.
What a wonderful thing to find.
It was not until I started doing my family’s genealogy that other family members told me about my grandfather’s diaries from 1905 to 1915 and gave them to me. I only knew him in the late 1950’s when I was elementary-school age and he was a very old man. How splendid it was to see a totally different man–young and ambitious–that I never knew. Anyone interested in their family history should start asking people, especially the older generation, whether they have old letters or journals and any memories they can share.
I have school age boys who weren’t taught cursive in school. I taught them myself at home using the Zaner-Bloser method. It’s been hard to reinforce the penmanship since all their papers are required to be typed (even in 4th grade!). However, I insist that anything they need to do by hand needs to be in cursive. When they complain that they would much rather print or if I make them erase and do a better job, I tell them that some day when they are rich and famous, they will need to sign all those autographs in cursive. They like the sound of that!
What a wonderful post Susan. I can certainly relate to the love of handwriting. I have always loved to print and use cursive, but my handwriting is a morphing together of both printing and writing. I remember my 4th grade teacher saying on report cards that my handwriting was very small, and it was! It is certainly legible now and a good size for reading.
My dad (now deceased) bought me your first book, because he linked the style, with the hand written pages to me and my love of handwriting. He wrote in the inside cover too.
Thanks so much for offering the give away.
Grace and peace to you and Joe.
Susan, I am a former fifth grade teacher and had to fight each year to keep cursive in our curriculum. It was a struggle each year because our busy curriculum left little time for it. It is such a skill!
This post touched me in many ways. As a Christmas gift a few years ago I gave my mother-in-law a box of stationery and the promise to start writing via ‘snail mail’; four years later, we are still corresponding this way. I save her letters in a wooden pantry box so my daughters may enjoy them years from now.
When I was first married, she gave me a small bound recipe book filled with my husband’s favorite recipes. The book is falling apart but I still treasure it and use it frequently. Her gift meant so much to me!
Finally, I love your Grandmother’s book. I don’t have grandchildren yet, but I thought what a lovely idea, to fill this book with memories. Thank you for the inspiration!
What a wonderful thing it is to write, send and then to receive a letter from a far-away friend. I write each letter in my very best left-handed cursive form using one of my special pens that I have just for that very purpose. My family knows not to use any of the pens I have in my desk. I take time to select just the right piece of stationary (one can never have too much stationary!) and finish off the letter with the proper sticker to seal the envelope. I savor each letter I receive and have boxes filled with letters from family and friends.
I loved learning to write cursive in the second grade and still love it. Though e-mail certainly has advantages and uses, we really lost something special when we stopped writing letters. I have a few letters from my grandmothers and once in a while I will get them out and just looking at their handwriting makes me feel so connected to them. I have some of my grandmothers journals as well, and love reading about how she spent her days. . treasures
Susan:
I also had heard about the schools doing away with cursive handwriting and was just shocked. I had to ask myself why. Why would they do this. Thank you for declaring this day “I love cursive day” and for bringing this to the attention of so many. You are an inspiration and joy.
Thank you for just being you.
Joyce
I too, always enjoyed “penmanship”. Unfortunately, none of my children inherited nice handwriting; in fact, the younger ones think it torture to have to write cursive other than a signature. They barely can read the cards their grandmother sends. Sad !
I first heard about the abandonment of cursive style writing last summer while attending a beef cattle seminar – it is amazing the diversity of individuals within any one organization – I was speaking with a former principle of a high school. I was appalled; she was not even though this woman had 20 years over my age. Also, information provided by another indicated that there is no real need for cursive writing. Even banks, she informed me, preferred names being printed at the bottom of checks rather than written in cursive and otherwise (many people get really creative with their signatures) – easier to decipher.
I am a pack rat; I hate to throw anything out. My treasures may not be treasures for any future family member, but maybe I need to keep my grade school papers a bit longer. If nothing else, maybe I can provide a little humor in years to come with samples of cursive from my school days.
I hope. I pray. Please pick me. Please pick my number. I absolutely love the items you are giving away today and I know they will be treasures with me forever. Just like my Susan Branch material, books, stickers, vellum, notecards, stationary, etc. Thank you for always sharing! It is very enjoyable.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this National Cursive Day. It’s my birthday and also National Festival of Celebrating Things Living in Cracks, like the grass in the cracks of my driveway which I spray with Roundup. Now I’m happy.
If we delete cursive from our lives, how do we sign contracts? Just an “X” like the old days? I know they’re trying to get us to do away with checks, but until we do, do we just send them with printed names? We should all band together and protest next March 10.
By the way, did you know that March 27 is National “Joe” Day? It’s the day when anyone named Joe can change his name to anything he wants; at least for that day. Tell your Joe we like his name just fine, but if he decides to join in the celebration, he can change his name to “Mr. Wonderful” for that gorgeous picket fence he created.
Happy Birthday Patsy! Loved the festival of celebrating things living in cracks! LOL! Not to mention National Joe day!
I remember handwriting practice in both 4th and 6th grades (1959 & 1961). I had the same teacher for both, Miss Swayney, at Franklin Elementary School in Lakewood, Ohio. She would recite rhythemic poetry as we practiced . . .”How would you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh I do think it’s the pleasantest thing, Ever a child can do. . . .” I still love to recite that poem.
Happy Cursive Day! I really think you should work on somebody making that official! Thanks for sharing.
Well, Susan, it seems you are my conscience! At the beginning of the year I said I wanted to learn French this year and calligraphy (because my handwriting is so messy). Your comment to me about French spurred me on to get some CDs from the library and I’ve practiced every day except for a couple days. Now it seems I must get to the calligraphy as well! When I write people snail mail letters I usually use some fancy cursive font on the computer, but I agree, it’s just not the same.
Concerning burning your diaries. I’ve considered putting mine in a trunk and burying them. I just hate the idea of destroying them because just like you love Alice’s 1906 diary there will be someone a hundred years from now who will treasure yours! How else will the real you (and me) ever be known in this world unless we leave our journals behind–warts and all.
When are you going to mention writing your childhood memoir since that is on my list of projects this year, too, that I haven’t gotten around to! Since I have three sons who don’t seem all that interested in the past, I’ll be writing it for any future grandchildren that I have.
Dear Ms. Branch,
What an interesting post; per usual, you illustrations are delightful. I am very glad that I was born before the invention of texting, as I take great pride in my penmanship and letter-writing. Your handwriting if beautiful, and I sure would be thrilled if I were the recipient of one of your charming giveaways.
Fingers crossed!
Jeanne Murray
We still teach cursive but the truth is that with keyboarding required by 5th grade most kids prefer printing. I think cursive will eventually be lost because it is not needed. I don’t hear the kids talk of being eager to learn it as we did so many years ago. I will miss it though. If you don’t learn it – you pretty much can’t read it. I already am careful to print my notes home to parents as I want them read. Sigh, sigh, sigh. Loved this post.
Thank You again for reminding us to take time and appreciate all the beauty around us. I am a keeper and have lots of old letters, from grandparents, parents and relatives I have never met! Penmanship back then was an art and just lovely. Going thru papers I found a hand written note – on an index card dated 4/29/56. My grandfather had made a deposit of $40 as a “down payment on a grand piano….balance due $385.” Toni in Lakeview Oregon
At Christmas time, I still send hand-written letters to my friends out of town. It may take a little longer but I feel it is more personal. Also, I have letters my husband wrote while he was in the Army and away in Viet Nam (that was before we were boy friend – girl friend.) I must have known something wonderful was going to happen if I held on to them. Now 41 years later, 4 children ( 4 wonderful in-law children) and 6 beautiful granddaughters I was right.
Hi girls…
It’s a sunny but cold winter’s day where I live. So different than 3 days ago when it was 70 degrees and sunny!…oh well…at least no snow storms.
I love to write in cursive…learned at school in the 1950’s. As I have aged my writing has become somewhat sloppy but no too bad. It’s a shame no one knows how to compose a letter anymore. It’s all computer lingo. It was so nice to see this blog and remember better times. Your blog always seems to bring back fond memories of times gone by.
Have a great day everyone!!! Kathie from Pa.