Last Call for Pen Friend Sign Ups!

Tomorrow  is the last day to sign up...

"Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first?"

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the November/December Pen Friend Exchange.  All the details can be found here .

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at:  JALWSociety@gmail.com

Write Letters,

Write Often,

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane...and letters!

Tuesday Tea Time and Letters!

Autumn Tea...

I just got a box of "seconds" from an apple orchard.  Yesterday I spent the day in the kitchen making apple pie filling to freeze.  The whole house smelled of the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and tart apples.  But with all of that standing ... my sore feet were asking for a bit of a break, and so the kettle went on!  Spiced Apple Cider tea seemed to fit the bill.  Today, with the lingering memories of apple fragrances, the same tea  will be my tea of choice.

And you know ,of course, that it is not healthy to take tea alone.  It is always best to invite a guest.  Mr. Tea was just "hanging around" so  he naturally  was invited.



We have very autumn-ish weather happening here in central Virginia.  Temperatures are cool and the promise of rain is inevitable. This is definitely "snuggle down with a book" sort of day. What book are you reading right now? Currently, I am still reading The Jane Austen Guide To Life, and still enjoying it. Now, I realize that all great readers are not necessarily  letter writers, but I believe there might be a strong correlation for this:  All great  letter writers are usually bibliophiles!

I find that reading seems to inspire me for letter writing. I'm not sure if it is the dialog, vocabulary, or just the remarkable descriptions in so much good literature that keeps  me reaching for my pen and paper.  But I certainly notice the beneficial effect of reading and writing. I have plenty of correspondence to catch up with and am currently working on an organizational system to keep me from slipping into epistolary debt.  Not really being able to relate to Jane Austen's being a lady of leisure, I find that  trying to just keep order in all areas of my life quite a challenge.

But back to this dreary, chilly, rainy day (outwardly).  Inside is warm and dry and inviting for my spot of tea,  a few pages of a good read, and always...letters.  And Autumn colors lend themselves to cheerful, delightful mail!  So find that stash of goodness and put them to use.

Write Letters,
Write Often!

Lady Pamela

Make Haste! Make Haste!

It's Time To Sign Up For The Jane Austen Letter Writing Society 

Pen Friend Exchange!

November/December

Just a reminder that sign ups are going on right now. The registration for this exchange expires in just 4 days, Oct. 30th. This is a totally FREE  Pen Friend service that will match you to your very own Jane Austen persona, or you could select a different personality to correspond with.  If you do not know if you are an Elizabeth, Anne, Marianna, Elinor, etc-- then do not distress, I have a link in the side bar to your right (below the Jane Austen Thesaurus) that will take you  (with one click) to the Jane Austen Heroines Quiz  to discover your very own character that you can relate to.

The details of the November /December Pen Friend exchange can be found Here .

If you are interested in becoming a Society Member, just fill out the Pen Friend Application found at the tab at the top of this page.  Cut and paste the application into an email.  Fill out the application and then simply send it to Lady Pamela at :  JALWSociety@gmail.com

I am here to assist you in any way that I possibly can, in navigating  letter writing perplexities.  Our highest aim is to make your experience a pleasurable one.

Write Letters,
Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane Austen

Tuesday Tea Time And Letters

How has your Tuesday been?  I had a lovely cup of tea and started reading this delightful book by Lori Smith, The Jane Austen Guide To Life.  The book, described as " a light biography and guide...on everything from living our dreams, being a woman of substance, finding a good man, managing money, and more" certainly delivers.  I am enjoying its thoughtful, meditative style-- almost prosaic.  Perfect to snuggle up with on these chilly days and sipping a hot cup of  tea (in this case, Chocolate Chai).  And yes, I have laundry needing to be folded, dishes are in the sink, and papers need grading.  Those things can wait for I believe that there needs to be a time for loveliness and physical rest each day even if it doesn't amount to more than 15 minutes.  Do you concur?

After reading a bit about all the struggles Jane Austen endured with her writing, it made me feel ashamed of all the excuses I give for not pursuing my projects with the same ardor.  Did you realize that Jane Austen had been writing for 25 years before her first book was published?  Incredible.  I haven't read far into the book, but what I have read, I highly recommend.  

So my afternoon ritual of putting the kettle on , sipping tea, and reading a few pages from a good book gets me primed to sit down and write a letter to my own "dear Cassandra".  I am indeed blessed to have two sisters to write to.  To whom  will you be writing today?

Write Letters,

Write often,

Lady Pamela

November/December Pen Friend Exchange Sign Ups Commence!

Now Receiving Pen Friend Applications for the 

Jane Austen Letter Writing Society

How To Secure A Pen Friend: 

It is time to sign up for the next Jane Austen a Letter Writing Society Pen Friend exchange beginning November 1- December 31 2015.  The process is simple.  Click  on the tab at the top of this page that says"Pen Friend Application".  Cut and paste the form into  the body of an email and answer the questions.  Then mail the completed form to me, Lady Pamela,  at JALWSociety@gmail.com .  November 1st I will send you your Pen Friend  match.  At that point you need to make email contact with your partner and then send a Jane Austen styled letter to your partner within 5 days of receiving your Pen Friend match.  This round will last a full two months, so you should be able to get at least two  letters to your partner (if international) and more for domestic match ups.  Sign up deadline for the Nov./Dec. exchange is October 30th.


Try some of these basic letter writing ideas for your Jane Austen letter:

• Write your letter on paper that looks period, perhaps some parchment if you have any.
• Try using a dipping pen, if you are adventurous, give a try at using a quill pen.
• Perhaps spend some of your letter discussing how you became interested in the Jane Austen novels, and discuss your favorite novel and why it is your favorite.
• Did you know that you can use the Jane Austen Thesaurus to make sure that the words you use are words that Jane herself used. I have a button on the right column of this site that will take you to  the Jane Austen Thesaurus. (Personally, I have used the thesaurus for small projects, but haven't used it yet for letter writing.)  Ha, this could be a challenge all in its own!
• Relax and have fun, these ideas are NOT mandatory, they are just suggestions for those who are new to letter writing and  the Society.

Janeite Letter Writing Challenge:  (Optional)

Jane Austen Challenge for November/December  was suggested by a participant from the last round.  I am sorry that I have lost  the email that revealed who brought this challenge to my attention.  (Please email me to let me know so that I can give you the proper credit for this challenge.)
The Challenge is to be a "ghost writer" of sorts.  You select a character (major or minor) from any of Jane Austen's novels and assume that character as you write the letter.  You may add to that character, giving more depth to the character by way of carrying his or her story into more detail.

If you are wanting to do this "ghost writing", please let your partner know when you email them.  I think that would be a proper thing to do.  You could also make the character writing just a part of your letter, or the whole  letter.  That would be up to you.  Sounds wonderfully  creative, and interesting.

Thank you , dear readers, for your input and suggestions.  As always, I am here to help you navigate this Society.  If you run into any problems, please let me know as quickly as possible.

Affectionately yours,

Lady Pamela

Tuesday Tea Time and Letters

Tea with Jane

This is such a lovely book.  Have you read it?  I have re read it for a second time and it was just as enjoyable as the first read.  Kim Wilson  pulls out nearly every mention of tea from all of Jane Austen's novels and letters.  I find that fascinating--does that make me a nerd?

I am having some black tea, Lipton Natural Energy...for a little pick up  this afternoon.  What about you?  Do you have any tea rituals when you sit down to write letters?  I wonder if Jane did?  She was in charge of the tea in her home.  She held the key to the cabinet where the tea was stored and typically made the tea for the family at breakfast.

Sometimes, when I receive several letters in one day, I put the kettle on, and make a pot of tea, place it in it's cozy to keep it warm, put it on a tea tray with some goodies, and  then I make my way to my sitting room for some quite time to enjoy my tea and letters.  Perfect relaxation!

Just a business note...the Pen Friend sign ups for November/December begin on Thursday Oct. 15th.  But, I have already received several !  This will be a lovely exchange.  Details coming.

Have a beautiful tea (or coffee if that is what you prefer) inspired day,

Lady Pamela

My Jane Austen Letter .... Round 1

5 Hidden Quotes...

Did everyone get their letter off to their Pen Friend of the first round?  I was a bit rusty with my dipping pen.  I have been neglecting the art of writing with a dip pen.  Dear Mrs. Duffy at Letter Matters had sent me a feather quill that she had cut, but I was too nervous using it on this project.  I must practice to get the feel of a feather quill tip.  

  

  It is believed that Ms. Jane Austen used feathered quill pens for writing.  Handwriting in the Time of Jane Austen  is a nice article on what Jane Austen most probably used.  I'm afraid my steel nib was probably not  much of an option for Jane and my paper and ink are not period.  

Did anyone do the 5 Austen Quotes embedded in the letter?  I actually have 6 quotes and so I suppose one is a bonus quote.  I wrote out the quotes on a separate piece of paper and enclosed it in a mini envelope

After my letter was written to my satisfaction, I decided to see about adding a tad of interest to the outside of the envelope.  Before the Janeite gestapo get after me, I do realize that most (all?) of my letter is not "period"correct.  I am just trying to capture the spirit of genteel, thoughtful, civilized, letter writing.  But, if you are interested in doing things "period", then here is a great  article to show you how to fold your letter according to the time period:  How to Fold A Regency Letter .

Hmmmm.  You might think that the above picture of some cute stickers is a mistake on this blog post, but I assure you it is not.  I am inserting this photo because I made an astonishing discovery.  When I decided to place some string and a wax seal on the outside of the letter, I knew I would have to put it in a clear envelope due to postal regulations.  And here is where the discovery was made.  Did you know that the cello bag that holds these stickers fits a letter folded in this manner--perfectly?  So don't throw out those cello bags...reuse them!

Here is the letter protected with a clear cello bag (from the above sticker package).  Jane's silhouette is looking over the address, she is there to oversee that the letter reaches its destination. 

This letter is heading to the Netherlands.  I had the letter weighed at the post office after I had affixed my stamps and of course I had one too many. I count that as my donation to the USPS.

Please share your results of your letter writing experience.  I would be delighted to post them on this site.  Please email me at :  JALWSociety@gmail.com for consideration.

May all that is pleasant, be yours.

Lady Pamela