Miss Peach's Plate

Hi, I'm Merci. I'm hosting today's post.

Jan worked on an important secret project yesterday so we didn't get to write a post for today. But since she's busy swinging a weed whacker through the yard, we're going to do a quick post.

Many of you know Deb and ML (of the CB). The two are old friends and they love to plot and scheme to surprise others. So we were excited when Deb contacted us about sending one of Jan's collector plates (Jan's Funny Farm Fair) to the lovely Miss Peach's mom Karla.

We responded, No problem. Ha! We should have expected that since we had to send Jan to the post office to mail the plate there would be a problem.

First, after saving cardboard boxes for months just for such an occasion, Jan tried to find a box the original packing would fit in. No luck. She checked online at the USPS website. There didn't seem to be anything the right size. She checked Wal-mart and the dollar stores for a padded envelope. No luck there either.

Finally, she went to the post office carrying a bag with everything she expected to need -- plate, tape, scissors, bubblewrap for extra protection, a paper with Miss Peach's information to address the package..  She checked boxes.  The only box it might fit in was huge and way too expensive to use for a relatively small and lightweight item. She checked envelopes. With the assistance of a very nice clerk, she checked all the packaging set out for customers but none would hold a 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" x 2" box.  Everything was rectangular.  The plate package was square. Two more female clerks searched behind the counter.  They finally found a very large non-padded envelope in a cupboard. The plate just barely squeezed through the opening  -- without the bubblewrap for extra protection! -- and the extra length  folded over.

We were so relieved to see the plate in one piece on Miss Peach's blog this morning. We were all worried she would have to glue it together when it arrived. 

But the funny part of the story is the envelope.  Jan brought home a couple more envelopes for (hopefully) future plate mailings. A couple of days later we noticed they read "Mili-Pac."  We wondered what a Mili-Pac is so we visited USPS website and did a search.  Evidently, it's short for Military Package and is to be used for APO and FPO mailings only.  Oops. We don't suppose you're at least retired military, Miss Peach?

Miss Peach and mom Karla's post today is Flowers Sent With Love. We Funny Farmers left our scent on the plate so Miss Peach would know we helped mail it. And we notice she checked it out very thoroughly.

Deb and ML, thanks for allowing us to play a small part in one of your acts of kindness.  If any of you know how we might mail/protect future plates without sending them by military mail, please enlighten us.