The kind of girl you can't send through the mails

My USPS.com package arrived yesterday, and the Margaret Chase Smith stamps are every bit as festive as I imagined they would be. Along with my large order, the Postal Service sent a catalogue advertising the many exciting products they carry for postage enthusiasts like me. Some of their stationery sets are actually pretty nice -- too bad they're made to coordinate with stamps that now "require additional postage." This Muppets kit is very cute, but having to add a Chippendale Chair stamp kind of ruins the effect. (I know, because I'm still using up my old Muppet 37-centers.) I guess you could just use up the stamps on the enclosed postcards... as long as you don't mind overpaying to send your postcards. The Postal Service always wins.

Incidentially, don't you think the USPS should know the difference between "stationery" and "stationary"? I do.

My favorite "gift item" is the Noteworthy Bridal Set, which coordinates with the old, elegant "Our Wedding" stamps. Not such a bargain anymore, is it? You can also get their Weddiquette booklet. (They've trademarked that title, by the way, but I think the rest of us are still free to use the more sensible spelling of "wediquette." If that's a term you can imagine yourself using. And I hope it isn't.) This description of the booklet, from the USPS site, is the best sentence I've read so far today:

The Official Guide to Mailing Wedding Invitations is the essential booklet that will delight any bride with its style tips, postage guidelines, and size regulations.

Ah, yes, how my little bridal brain thrills when I imagine myself properly formatting the addresses on my wedding correspondence! The only thing that delights me more than postage guidelines and size regulations is the wise countenance of the first female legislator to serve in both houses of Congress. I'm off to spend some quality time with Sen. Smith now! I can hardly wait.