Simply saying thank you....

27/12/2014

..to Lynne for the golden candles which look perfect in the brass chamberstick!

Is it OK do you think to say thank you on a blog? Or on facebook or by e mail? In person is best when it is possible, and by phone is surely OK, but do you or your children ever now write thank you letters? Have you ever been even a little bit hurt when you have spent time and thought and money on what you hoped was just the right present to receive no thank you at all?

Vicki Archer at French Essence wrote a piece called The Art Of The Thank You which obviously struck a chord with many many people (100 comments). Read it here.

Thank you to whoever wrote this one -

Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

I don't know where I first read this, but I do remember it was advising us to repeat it when things are hard! I have it pinned to the kitchen wall.

I do know that the one time when it is perfectly correct to say thank you in a blog is when I say thank you to all of you for reading it.

Thank you!

Now I have a few little cards to write....

11 Comments

Madeleine

27/12/2014 04:41:39 am

I have always sent thank you cards, and continue to do so. I don't use facebook, so I'm not sure how it would feel to get a thank you via that medium.

Yesterday I had a friend to visit, and she sent me some links this morning that I wanted to look at, and thanked me for a fun day via email. This was lovely, and I didn't expect a card for cooking her lunch and having a lovely day together.

However, if someone were to post a lovely gift to me, have me to stay at their home or host a fantastic dinner party, I would certainly send a card. Similarly, if I want to thank a colleague for their support during the year it would be a card too. In some cases a phone call is sufficient - 'thanks for dropping those magazines on my doorstep' or 'thanks for picking my child up from school this afternoon'.

A book I've been meaning to read is Alexandra Stoddard's Gift Of A Letter. I do think in this day and age cards and letters can really touch people as they are becoming as rare as hen's teeth. Holding a beautiful card that someone has chosen feels quite different to receiving an email. An idea I got from Alexandra Stoddard was to have your desk kitted out with supplies - stamps, a good pen, writing paper, postcards etc... so that you can dash off a line or two effortlessly. I took up this habit years ago and I really think it makes all the difference as to whether a note gets sent or not.

Happy New Year, and thank you for your delightful blog!

Madeleine.x

Freda

28/12/2014 05:57:59 am

I copied your idea and put all supplies together before writing my cards - so easy! Happy New Year Madeleine.

Cathy

27/12/2014 06:57:23 am

I am a letter writer & a note sender. If I send a purchased card, and I do, I always write something by hand to go along with the printed verse. I've been known to send a quick note suggesting a book I think a friend would enjoy or with a newspaper clipping I think they would be interested in. I try to match the paper/note I send with the content of the letter. Most recipients aren't even aware of this, but I have had comments of appreciation. I like seeing a handwritten envelope in the mail. It means someone's taken the time to write. That's always the last piece of mail I open so I have time to settle & give it my full attention.

I have Alexandra Stoddard's The Gift of a Letter & have picked up letter writing tips. Like Madeleine, my supplies are always ready. Sunday morning is my favorite letter writing time, before anyone else is up & the hustle & bustle of the day begins.

Not on Facebook, Twitter; I do have several email correspondents, but there's nothing like a handwritten letter. I hope they don't become a thing of the past.

I also enjoy reading books of letters...Kurt Vonnegut, Martha Gelhorn, Abigail Adams, the list goes on.

Freda

28/12/2014 06:01:01 am

Books of letters are a good idea. In Tove Jansson's A Winter Book I enjoyed Correspondence - letters between Jansson and a Japanese Girl. Thanks for the suggestions Cathy.

elaine link

27/12/2014 04:23:44 pm

Ah the lost art of letter writing. A thank you is a thank you however you send it - email is convenient - but a personal note is so much better. Thank you for entertaining us throughout the year with your interesting posts I am so glad I have you as a blogging friend.

Freda

28/12/2014 06:02:37 am

Maybe all is not lost after all, dear blogging friend, as so many commentators here and on Vicki Archer's blog do still write!

Swissrose link

27/12/2014 04:44:20 pm

I see we are all of a like mind on here - I, too, don't want to lose the art of letterwriting by hand, and have a collection of cards available for all occasions.
I rarely buy one, though, as they keep dropping into that basket from all directions and I only have to weed out the "impossible" ones (though I keep the envelopes for cards I make myself, if needed)!
So it's the cost of my time and the stamp, which I find very reasonable.
If I had to buy a card each time, I would balk, I think, at the price of cards, which is high here. But then the letters might be longer…

Freda

28/12/2014 06:03:53 am

You prompted me to check my own collection - I've got lots too!

cath

28/12/2014 12:25:49 am

I love to say Thank You. In this case for another year of your interesting, challenging, sometimes profound writing about simple living. I'm very grateful for finding you here.

I'd do it in person if possible, not on Facebook (I have an account but do not use it) or Twitter (no account) and I prefer writing a letter or note, or card or an email, the intensive listening to the telephone makes me lose my voice and that's the conversation finished.
Letters, which ever form they take, have become a meaningful way for me to communicate, strenghten old and build new relationships
and be nourished by sharing a written conversation.

Freda

28/12/2014 06:06:10 am

Letters are treasured (e mails are not). And the feel of pen on paper is nice too....
Thank you for all your comments this year Cath. Always thoughtful.

Karen T.

6/1/2015 02:59:32 pm

I too am a letter writer/card sender, and also inspired by Alexandra Stoddard's "Gift of a Letter." I certainly don't keep every card or letter I've received, but I do have a few that are meaningful, from my grandmother, father, a special teacher, and some notes and cards made by my daughters over the years. I don't imagine that any of my notes or letters are worth keeping, but who knows? Maybe some thanks or news or sentiments I've written have been a valuable encouragement to the recipients.

Susan Branch has some good things to say about letter writing here:
http://www.susanbranch.com/letter-writing-101-how-to-write-a-good-letter-save-the-post-office/

Simply saying thank you....

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