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Blog > Postcrossing Spotlight: yvi-1 from USA

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Before joining Postcrossing, Yvonne from Cape Coral, Florida, USA, had never sent or received a postcard. Now, she has over 1400 in her collection.

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

I had heard about Postcrossing from a forum post on Bookcrossing.com. I had visited the front page of the website several times without joining. Since, at the time, I had never sent or received a postcard in my entire life, I wondered who still sent postcards? Apparently the answer is me! I was hooked by about the 15th postcard I ever sent through Postcrossing. Finland, Germany, Brazil, New Zealand, Portugal, and Japan were all very foreign countries to me and I was so excited to be able to exchange postcards with people who lived there. The fact is that 1,400 postcards later, I am still excited to send and receive postcards to and from the common-to-Postcrossing but foreign-to-me countries.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I do enjoy reading quite a bit particularly mystery/thriller type books set in the area where I live. There is a very successful author. Randy Wayne White, that writes specifically about Southwest Florida and many others who set their books in Florida like Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiaasen, Jonathon King, Harlan Coben, Laurence Shames, and James O. Born.

I also enjoy nature photography and concentrate my efforts on the huge variety of birds that call South Florida home either year round, during migration, or during the winter. I also have a weakness for Reality TV shows that involve contests (for example, Survivor, Project Runway, or Top Chef). Here is one of my favorite photos.

yvi-1

After joining Postcrossing I realized that postal stamps and cancellation marks are very unique things. I got my own Mailer’s Postmark Permit so that I can cancel my own mail.

yvi-1

(although I live in they city of Cape Coral, we do not have a Postmaster; as such, my postmark is issued by Fort Myers which is the city that manages our mail)

Lastly, I enjoy volunteering my time. As many of you might already know, I am part of the Postcrossing Team and most of my volunteer hours are dedicated to them. For a local club, I created a website including content and now maintain it. I also record articles for Wikipedia through the Spoken Wikipedia project. I randomly select articles that interest me. The resulting spoken article can be heard online or downloaded.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

I have a post office box and have never met the person who delivers my mail to it.

yvi-1

My post office from the outside.

yvi-1

I keep my postcards in plastic tubs sorted by country. When I took this picture I only had two tubs … now I have three almost full ones.

yvi-1
Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

You can get an idea of the types of postcards that I like in my favorites list but I cannot really pick just one favorite. There have been so many amazingly kind people who have read my profile and have been able to pick the perfect postcard and pair it with beautiful stamps. I do seem to have a preference for handmade or self-made postcards.

If I must pick one to show and tell, then I will pick the one that combined my love of maps (which predates Postcrossing) and self-made postcards (DE-282950). The person who sent me the postcard is a cartographer and she created a postcard out of a map that she had designed!

yvi-1

This next postcard I love because it combined things I love – cats, computers, and humor. It also happens to be the fifth postcard I ever received from Finland (FI-33265).

yvi-1
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19 comments so far

dollart, Finland

I like the way you have organised your received cards by countries. I wish i would have time to do it too. The cancelation stamp thing was new for me. I like the mailers postmark permit :)

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isagvproject, Germany

What a unique bird photo! You should make a card of it!
Greetings, Isa :)

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ipuenktchen, Iran

very interesting you can cancel your own mail!!?! I never heard this untill now!! happy postcrossing! ipue..

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TheRealPenThief, United States of America

I am definitely looking into getting a permit to cancel my own postcards!!

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Brendon33, Finland

Nice to see familiar names here :) It's interesting how many people have found Postcrossing thanks to Bookcrossing.com.

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Stephany, Netherlands

I love the photo of the bird, wauw.

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kazinhabueno, Brazil

Great interview!!!! And I loved the last postcard!!! Cute cat :)

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mdam22, Australia

Great interview and post; superb photograph. -thanks Yvonne! thanks postcrossing!

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13_february, Russia

Photo with bird is really great!

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Nordbaer, Germany

Great to see you here! You deserve it!
:-)))

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lucymonty, United Kingdom

That bird photo is fantastic!! Would love to get that as a postcard!! :-D

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yvi-1, United States of America

Thank you all! The bird is called a wood stork. It is considered endangered in the United States; however, it is abundant in the Caribbean and Central and South America so is considered a species of "least concern". I have made some of my bird pictures into postcards but not this one. If you like looking at birds, here are some pictures that I took (although none quite as good as the one in the article) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yvi-1/sets/72157602481069917/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/yvi-1/sets/72157594388927760/

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geri4hanson, France

Awwww i loved reading the interview, that's very cool ! I love the cat/computer postcard too :)
Happy Postcrossing!

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FemkeDorien, Netherlands

Nice interview and nice bird photo.

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Luziaceleste, Brazil

Fantastic interview, pic and chosen cards are greats!
Congrats.

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ichabodhides, United Kingdom

The Mailer's Postmark Permit looks very neat! And you are so organised too, that's great.

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Blogger, United States of America

Hello Yvonne! We need to have another Postcrossing meet-up!
Loved your article -
the cat eating the 'mouse' is too funny :)

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Hqeem, Indonesia

Wow, its a very interesting that you can cancel your own mail!!?!
I never heard this untill now!, Can i have one?
happy postcrossing! ..

http://www.postcrossing.com/user/Hqeem

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mundoo, Australia

Wonderful interview Yvonne. I learnt something about the USA postal system with the cancelling of your own mail. The Finnish postcard is too funny and the pic of the bird is stunning. I am glad to see I am not the only one with a mail box that is the same as its neighbours. Thank you for your hard work on the Forum and the Postcrossing Team I really appreciate it.

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