Letter #277 from Massachusetts

Letter #277 comes from Michele in Massachusetts.Michele actually found out about our project through postcrossing when she was matched up with Brian from Jefferson City,MO who wrote to us months ago and had our project in his profile....how sweet of him to do that!Michele loves to write letters and has over 60 penpals around the world.She is also penpals with a writer for Home Education Magazine that wrote an article about us,but I haven't been able to find the issue,not even at our library,so if you have the issue (Sept/Oct),please let us know,we'd really like to have it to keep.I have even emailed the writer but haven't heard back. :(

Michele lives twenty miles south of Boston.Her small town has a population of 17,000 people and a total area of 10.1square miles.The terrain is very rocky,which they learned the hard way when they had their swimming pool installed.They often see deer,coyote and turkey roaming around their yard.Their dog,named Niko,who weighs 140 pounds (yikes,that's one BIG dog!) usually scares off the animals....well,who would want to mess with a dog that big?

She says that they don't visit Boston as much as she'd like to,even though it's less than thirty minutes when taking the ferry,then going by car or train.She also said that she lives 45 miles north of Cape Cod,which is a very popular tourist destination for people near and far.When she wrote the letter,the Obamas had been there the week before.She said that the Cape has beautiful homes and landscaping,and her favorite flower,which is the hydrangea....that's one of my faves,too. :) You can also see white sand beaches,shellfish and lighthouses.There are also said the stores are so quaint.Those are my kinds of shops.The only way to get to the cape is by crossing the Sagamore or Bourne Bridge or you could take a small,but inconvenient back road if you don't like bridges.

Michele has two daughters and she told us that her oldest was getting her first job at The Paper Store.That would be a dream job for me...I would probably spend all my money at my job since I love pretty paper.It must be a fun job,I hope she is enjoying it.She plans to go to cosmotology school after graduation.Her second daughter is very active in cheerleading and does competitive cheerleading.I actually wanted to be a cheerleader so badly when I was younger but I couldn't even do a split and I was scared of heights,so I decided against even trying out. :) She hopes to attend school for nursing.

Michele works full time as a legal assistant and wishes she had more hands to help her juggle her job,family,pets,and the house.She lives close to work so at least she doesn't have to spend a lot of time commuting back and forth.In February they were a host family to two boys from Austria.Seh said it was an awesome experience!She said they were there for a hockey tournament.They had a blast showing the boys around,meeting other host families and watching hockey.She said their native language is German and at age 10,they start learning English.It must have been an experience just having boys in the house since they are so different than girls.

Michele loves the fall season and loves to buy apples to make apple crisp.She said she loves fall and everything to do with it.I know we love the crisp cool air and the brightly colored fall leaves.

Thanks Michele for your lovely letter and postcards.She included two postcards of Boston....one shows the Public Gardens,which our previous writer from MA talked about and also a print out of the popular ducks,which can all be seen below: