What I remembered about you

Of all the endangered species, I'm campaigning to save the written word. It's an increasingly rare thing of beauty, and holds much more meaning than helvetica or ariel ever can. And that includes Braille - physically touching words seems like the most intimate way to communicate. Here's a letter from my blind aunt, written to me when I was a child. (The fact that my grandmother wrote the "interpretation" is a bonus.) I took advantage of January's grazing light to take some pics - behold the beauty of the raised dots, like little pearls on paper.

(Speaking of vintage paper, my friend Ashlee Temple made me this lovely gift, an antique library card drawer filled with sheets from a vintage book. I've been tempted to pull out the sheets and try to read them, but they are much more lovely this way, don't you think?)

As communications become increasingly digitized, here's an option to keep in mind - Juliet's Quill can take any recipe and transform it into calligraphic cards, or even a decorative dish towel. As mothers and grandmothers around the world take up Facebook for posting their recipes, this handmade artistry's a lovely way to preserve the love behind the words.