In praise of envelopes

It's a rainy Sunday morning here.  Whoever said it was going to be warm and dry here is full of "hooey."  Oddly, the NWS keeps insisting it's going to be warm and dry here.  Apparently, they don't bother to look out of their office windows.  It's chilly and definitely wet.

Yesterday was a real nice day.  We spent about 5 hours in Cottonwood doing all the typical stuff people from Rimrock do in Cottonwood.  Susun did huge amounts of laundry.  The blog author went to the semi-annual gun show at the Fairgrounds.  We shopped at waaay too many stores.  Susun filled up our drinking water bottles, we gassed the vehicle and then upon our arrival back in Rimrock, we spent the remainder of the afternoon unpacking all the booty we acquired in Cottonwood.  It takes a full day to deal with Cottonwood.  We won't be spending another day there like yesterday until Susun returns from San Diego the weekend after Thanksgiving.

OK, so whazzup with envelopes?  Well, the coolest thing about an envelope is not that it can be used to mail stuff.  Nope, the back of an envelope is our "go to" place to make a list.  What would life be without the classic "back of an envelope" shopping list?  Who knows how many businesses have started out with a Number 2 pencil sketch on the back of an envelope?  When the going gets tough, we reach for an envelope and make a list.  In our experience a list rendered on the back of an envelope is a REAL List and the stuff on that list actually gets DONE.  We are lifelong list makers.  We've made lists on every thing of paper object you can imagine, from paper plates to napkins to cash register receipts.  But the lowly envelope tops them all in utility, efficiency and effectiveness.  There's something about an envelope that gives it some much more substance than anything else.  Besides, an envelope fits in a jeans pocket so much better and feels like it belongs there.  For some reason, envelopes don't get lost like mere scraps of note paper do.  Plus, you can put coupons in an envelope.  Try that with a Post-It Note.

Envelopes also look really righteous.  They hark to a long tradition of list making usage.  When we are slogging through yet another grocery store, we dutifully pull out our envelope and studiously examine the back of the envelope for pearls of wisdom in what to buy next.  We would be lost without envelopes.  No doubt about it.  Some days are so busy they require a full #10 envelope.  Others, such as today, will easily fit on the No. 6 3/4 Security envelope.  Rarely do we need a large manila envelope for a REALLY busy days!  A staid old #10 will generally cover just about any type of day.  The bottom line is that you can generally accomplish all the stuff you put on the back of an envelope.  There's great satisfaction in looking at your envelope at the end of the day to see everything properly crossed off or lined through.

We often wonder if the phrase "pushing the edge of the envelope" actually evolved from making lists on them.
We push our envelope's edge all the time, especially when we're running out of room for the last couple of items on our "to do" list for the day.  That's when we are forced to write really small or use obscure abbreviations or notations to make something fit before the push the edge of the envelope.

Take today, for example, we ran out of room to write the word "Target" (the store not a shooting target).  So, we just drew a tiny little target icon right at the very tippy, tiny edge of the envelope and, hey, that's works for us.

We suspect every one who reads this blog has used or actually still continues to use envelopes for list making.  If perhaps you have fallen out of the habit of using envelopes for such a high and noble purpose, we urge you to reconnect with your Inner Envelope.  You will find it to be an especially satisfying experience.  Besides, it's nice to know you can push the edge of your own envelope and not get in any trouble!

Well, enough with envelopes already, OK?  When newspapers write about ridiculous stuff, readers yawn and mumble, "Must be a slow news day."  Well, it's a slow news day here at The Daily News so that's why we're stuffing envelopes this morning.

OK, what's on the envelope today? Looks like Little Yonni is heading down to the north edge of Phoenix to facilitate a transaction. While he's down there, he will engage is a mini-frenzy of errand running at stores which don't exist here in the hinterlands.  Susun might go hiking but it's doubtful with the weather being what it is.

Tomorrow, most of the day is taken up with the Verde NRCD meeting.  Tuesday morning see the weekly Target Shoot.  Wednesday we go early to the Red Rock Ranger District to witness Dexter Allen getting a National Award from the Forest Service.  Thursday we head down to Mesa.  Saturday Susun flies out to San Diego.  That's about as far out to the edge of our envelope as we can see right now.

Spudboater is a bit blue this morning.  Her beloved Boise State Broncos lost to TCU by a point last night.  We sure know how that stings Spud Buddy.  Sorry 'bout that.

Wayne Ranney put up a new blog post not long ago.  Something about rats and dams. You can click here to read it.  Kirsty's Momedy blog continues to showcase the cutest baby photos we've seen in a really long time.  Now, yes, I know that Mom Sarah officially sends the cutest photos of Gage and Van but check Momedy and I think you will agree Kirsty's photos are totally awesome.  Dear Friend & Neighbor Gary is down in the bottom of the Grand Canyon this morning.  He hiked down to Phantom yesterday.  Believe it or not, he has been meeting with a group of friends there each mid-November for 30 years.  This is his 24th participation in an annual tradition.  That's quite the place to have a gathering of friends.

We are mentoring Joshua W. on becoming a river guide.  This week we asked for some advice from one of Flagstaff's outdoor legends, George Bain.  It took awhile for George to focus on my request but he finally delivered last night.  Believe it or not, there is a program called the "Native American River Guide Training Program" at NAU where Josh is now a freshman.  You can click here to check it out.  It's offered under the auspices of something called the Landsward Institute. Ironically, Karan English is the Director.  Dear Friends who can go into the Way Back Time Machine with us will get a chuckle out of the irony of that connection.  HA!  Anyway, it's going to be fun seeing how Joshua interfaces with this unique training and developmental opportunity.

Well, this is about all the words we can to line up sort of in a row.  Have a great day and Many Cheers!  jp