Letter #266 from Virginia/DC

First off,I apologize for the delay in updating...so much has been going on,not to mention my keyboard likes to stop working a lot these days...maybe because there is always somebody needing to do work on it so I think it figured it has worked hard enough and needs a break. :)

Now back to regular programming.We received this lovely package from Laura in Virginia filled with wonderful postcards of DC,a map (which will definitely get used when we go back in April for the Science fair...can't wait) and a lovely magnet.She didn't include a letter and I tried emailing her to see if she had forgotten it,but I have not heard back from her,so I don't have anything to share except the photo of her goodies below.If you are reading this Laura,thanks for the great package and we hope to hear from you soon!

Letter #59 from Virginia

Letter #59 comes from Beth,who lives about 3 hours away from us in Richmond,Virginia.She has been living there since 2002 when she moved there to attend the University of Richmond.She now works in the academic department of the college.She loves her job and her colleagues very much.

She grew up in the south side of Virginia and still visits the area all the time so her dog can run around all over her parents yard.

Beth loves to travel and has been to 39 states and 6 countries.She also loves music and frquently travels to see her favorite bands play live.She also says that she has seen her favorite band,called The Academy Is about 70 times over the past six years...talk about a major fan! :) She's followed them from Richmond,Virginia to New York to Chicago and even to London.Do they know that you have followed them so much?They should give you free tickets by now. ;)

Her more recent obsession is British tv shows such as Dr. Who and Torchwood,Misfits, and Being Human.She says once you see one show,you get sucked in and become addicted to them.She says the shows even help her to be able to understand her friends from England more.

Thanks Beth for your lovely letter and she has also enclosed a picture of her beloved dog,Sassy.Enjoy her letter and picture below:

Letter #45 from Virginia

Letter #45 comes from Stephanie who lives in Blacksburg,VA,which is about 45 minutes from us.So you can consider her our neighbor. :) She was actually born in New York and grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.She has lived here in Virginia for over seven years now.

She is currently working as a librarian (I really want to be a librarian one day since I love books so much!).She says that not many people realize that you have to have a college degree to be a librarian,so you can learn how to manage a library and meet people's informational needs.Stephanie says that not all people who work in a library need a degree.We are actually getting a brand new library this fall and I can tell you it will be our second home since we have had to deal with a horrible,small and smelly one since moving here so we are very ready for a new library.We've always spent most of our time at libraries since my girls were little.It's the best place to visit! :) She also told us about the many different kinds of librarian jobs,some of which are-Public Librarians,Medical Librarians,College Librarians,Medical Librarians,Library Managers,Government Librarians,Law Librarians and many more.I did not know there were so many types of librarians.The job of librarians are always changing and that she says many people do not like that more information is made available on computers and think there will no longer be a need for libraries.I do love having information online to access 24/7 but I do love having a paper book in my hand to read and just the fun of searching a library shelf for a book that I may never have found or looked for had I not found it in person on the shelf.I think that libraries open our minds to reading different types of books,but online we usually are only looking for certain things which can prohibit us from finding something else that is fantastic.

She doesn't see the electronic information as a threat and she also reminds us about some of the books that are rare and original mauscripts that will always have a home in libraries for people to be able to look through.Even though information is accessible online,she says that someone has to be there to teach people how to use it and find just what they need and that somebody still has to purchase the information.

Stephanie also enjoys hiking,travel,regional music,creative writing and crafts.She also loves exploring nature and is a Virginia Master Naturalist in training,which has been very enjoyable.Her last class was on botany and she was able to visit the herbarium at Virginia Tech.Sounds like a great class to learn about the nature of your area.

Thanks Stephanie for writing.Below is her lovely letter,along with some hokie bookmarks and a card about rocks and a recipe that will imitate different types of rocks.We do need to try those recipes.Thanks again Stephanie!

Letter #18 from Virginia

Letter #17 has come from Jill in Virginia.She tells us that there are several shipyards in her area because it is a big Navy and shipping area.She is close to Norfolk,which is home to the Chrysler Museum,Chrysler Hall and ODU.She is also close to Virginia Beach,which is a very popular tourist place.I know many people from our city visit Virginia Beach often.Virginia Beach is home to the Francis Lord House,The Lynnhaven House and The Adam Keeling Thoroughgood House which still exist from when Virginia was just a colony.She also lives close to some other historical cities such as Jamestown,Yorktown and Williamsburg.We are hoping to visit some of those cities this summer.Thanks Jill so much for your letter and beautiful postcards...they are appreciated.Enjoy her letter and postcards below:

Letters #8-11 from Virginia

This envelope arrived with letters from a mother and three of her kids,so we count each letter individually since they were written by different people.These letters come from a homeschooling family in the same state as us-Virginia.I would like to thank Shelenea and her three kids-Anna,Jacob and Taylar (I hope I spelled it right).These were our very first letters from kids and we loved them.Jacob is almost 10 and is a boy of few words,but knows what he likes-hunting fish and trapping.Anna is 6 and has great penmanship...she loves to smell flowers...so do we Anna! :)

Taylar is 14 and is the oldest.Her favorite color is turquoise...that's mine,too.It's so calm and soothing.She is a very good sister...she loves to spend time with her siblings.She also enjoys literature and writing,among other things.Keep up the hard work Taylar and you will be successful in life. :) Shelenea is the mother and enjoys spending the summer with her large extended family...I've always wanted a large family....one can never get bored.She also loves taking care of her family which is something we all value.She is currently hard at work chasing around her 10 month old,so she is quite the busy mom.Thanks to you all for writing and sharing a part of your life with us.We really enjoyed it! Here are their letters below: