Solstice Bookends - WINTER Solstice Cards, Batch 2

So here I go again, bracketing the Summer Solstice with cards I received from friends throughout the world for last year's Winter Solstice. I'm always amazed, gratified, and delighted with the cards I receive from family and friends. It's such a variety of cards, and each one brings to mind the person who made or sent it, their families and the ties I have to them. Some, I know very well, others, I have never met, but each person is important to me. As we move into the second half of our year and head towards winter once again, I wish peace for all of you, and a beautiful day ahead. Now for the cards. ... 

I'm starting out with this duo (obviously the card on 
the left is on it's side). The left card is from Rev. Susan 
Aguirre, a former customer, a good friend for decades, 
and a Reiki Master. Although we rarely see each other, 
we're in fairly constant contact on FaceBook. The 
delightful card on the right is from Samtyr, an 
online Tolkien fan-fiction friend for many years.
Both cards symbolize Hope for me - hope in
winter, and hope with joy. 

This duo features two sisters of the heart. My sister-from-
a-different-mother, Sharon, and my dear, always 
creative, shining soul from India, Shruti. The animals 
in Sharon's card are actually 3-D textured, so it's 
a very unique card. I also loved the birds 
in the foreground and the antlers on the deer. 
Shruti always hand-makes her cards. Unlike 
me, she sends out 500 (I limit myself to 50). 
This year she made small medallions for each 
person, and then hand-fabricated the envelope 
for each. It leads to longer mail times, but 
her cards are always a treat and I always save them. 

Two LJ friends are in this duo. At the top, a bright 
spot of color from Shirebound, and at bottom, a 
handpainted watercolor from SeaIvy. I love the 
bird from Shirebound - she feeds the birds at her 
house every day and she and the glorious Pippin, 
make sure their feathered friends are cared for. 
SeaIvy lives near the water. She's an artistic 
soul, a fascinating person, and brilliant. Getting 
this small hand-painted beauty from her 
brightened my winter days. 

The lefthand card is from my "sister" out on Pine Ridge. Starlet 
always sends cards from this particular company, and 
they are always Native American in scope. I loved this 
warrior on his horse in the winter's gloaming. On the right 
is a card from a friend in Germany who adores deer. Her 
cards, spanning more than a decade, always have a deer
on them somewhere, and her house is filled with deer 
ornaments and statuary for the holidays. 

At the top is a lovely Polar Bear card from 
DH's college friend, Tom and his wife Mary. Mary 
just retired from working at the CDC, early last
year. I'm pretty sure she was happy to not be
there when Covid hit. The bottom card is by
Cindy Durand's daughter Jenibeth (see Saturday's
post for Cindy's card). Jenibeth always hand-makes
her cards. She has lovely design sense and a good
eye for detail. This year's card was charming and 
quite well done. 

And finally, at the top I have this fabulous and 
funny card from one of my favorite cat people, 
Ellynn_Ithilwen on LJ. We've been exchanging 
cards and commentary back and forth for 
years now. If I'm ever in her area of the world, 
I'm definitely stopping by to say "Hi". The 
bottom card is from long-time friend Raven, 
a strong pagan woman who's a fire-walker and 
has wild birds land on her outstretched arms,  
Raven is a magical person and a wonderful 
friend. 

So there you have it. I got additional cards from other friends and family members, but they were family photos and I won't share that on social media - privacy, etc, you know. I also received fabulous e-cards from several other friends from the USA, England and Peru - all very beautiful and that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

All told, when the season was completed, the cards stretched along the mantle of my living room fireplace from one wall to the other - an impressive length. They brightened my heart, but more than that, they allowed me to think about each one of my friends and how much they mean to me. That's also what I think about when I'm mailing my own cards out every year. Thank you to each of you - those who send cards and those who receive mine. My life is blessed because you're a part of it. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a totally fabulous Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Let's start this "new year" out well. Be kind, stay safe, and please, smile. That smile may well help someone else to have a better day.