Simple notes. Notes received in a new land, a new home. Will you meet us Sunday at the park? But sentimental notes, too — the birthday greetings from loved ones from a home and country far away. Each has its own story, a special attachment. A reason for keeping. Cards marking new friends, new places. Long distance messages from family, old familiar places steeped with memories. Cherished then. Cherished now, generations later.

They are a treasure — the post cards alone are special, a glimpse into a past long gone. But together, they are a voice. The story of my grandmother. The stories she didn’t get to tell me. A window into a young woman’s early days in America… the beginnings of her new life. A history that comes to life, card by card; the postmarks and handwritten addresses forming a GPS of her travels, her work, her adventures. And she saved them all. I’m listening. I can hear her... And I'll be sharing her stories...

Ethel Svensson, from Halmstad, Sweden was born 125 years ago and came to America when she was 16. I'm excited to honor my grandmother and her post cards with Postmark Traditions, a new note card set in the Lingonberries line. Follow up on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/LingonberriesScandinavian-InspiredGifts