Tag Archives: Washi tape

Day 182: Katie

Katie is a friend and former colleague of mine. I’ve been living vicariously through her this past year as she is attending the London School of Economics and traveling to fun places throughout Europe.

Day 182

I added some washi tape to the top of this paper as well as to the back of the envelope to dress it up a bit. Also, another recycled envelope liner that I made from a Paper Source bag.

Katie,

I hope my letter finds you well. And who knows when you’ll get this because you seem to be quite the traveller (see I used the British spelling for you!) these days. I’ve followed your jaunts around London, your travelling adventures to Italy (I also loved Cinque Terre…and a charming little town called San Gimignano, I don’t think you went there), Portugal, Spain…you do such a wonderful job of sharing interesting images and story – it’s almost as if you bring us along with you.

While you’re on your fantastic year-long tour of Europe, I hope that on occasion you find the time to discover an absolutely splendid place called the London School of Economics – I hear it is a remarkable institution. Seriously, I hope you are enjoying this experience. I know it wasn’t an easy decision to quit your job and take this giant leap of faith across the ocean, but I doubt that you question it one bit now as you look back. We often overestimate what we have and underestimate what we can gain by trying something new. I’ve lived I’ve lived abroad in three different countries and loved each experience.

I look forward to getting together sometime when you are back on this side of the pond. Until then, enjoy the rest of your time in Europe!

Reed

P.S. I saw that you were selected to run in the NYC Marathon – that’s awesome!

Day 149: The Ruta Family

I met my buddy Ryan Ruta while living in Valladolid, Spain back in 1995. We spent a semester studying Spanish at the Universidad de Valladolid. It was a tremendous experience and I made a couple of friends along the way, Ryan was one of them.

He ended up moving to Bolivia to do some post-graduate work, met his wife Twyla, got married, started a family and joined the Foreign Service. Every couple of years they move to a new country and he often comes back to Washington for periods of time, so we get to catch up then.

He was here back in April and I’ve been meaning to write him ever since.

I used some Wasi tape to add an international touch to the header of this piece of stationery.

I used some Washi tape to add an international touch to the header of this piece of stationery.

Dear Ruta Family,

I hope my note finds you well. One thing that I always enjoyed during my time abroad was receiving handwritten letters from friends and family.

I’ve been writing a handwritten note or letter to someone every day this year. Today is Day 149! I’ve written to all kinds of people – family, friends, celebrities, politicians – just yesterday I wrote to former President George W. Bush. Ryan even helped me leave an anonymous note with $10 in it at Starbucks on Day 104 while he was visiting here in DC. I’m sorry there’s no money in this letter for you, I learned long ago that sending cash in the mail is not a wise decision. That reminds me though of a short story, Una Carta a Dios by Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes. Have you read it? You can find it online – it’s really short but worth reading.

I hope to some day visit you guys while you are living abroad. I don’t know if I will make Honduras, although it’s one of the few countries in Latin America that I have not visited. It would be fun to see you and check it off of my list of countries to visit.

I hope that Bianca, Diego and Lexi are all doing well – hopefully making new friends and adapting to life there. I guess the same could be said for both of you too!

When you have time, drop me a note and let me know how you are doing. And definitely let me know when you’ll be in Washington as I always enjoy seeing you and catching up.

Abrazos,
Reed