ALT="Cardthartic pandemic card with bear hibernating, mug of hot cocoa, mitten, stamps"Feb. 2, 2021 — Did you see that hibernating Punxsutawney Phil emerged this morning long enough to tell us there are six more weeks of winter ahead? Happily, we have this fun new design to do exactly what cards are supposed to: warm hearts, lift spirits and — even through a blasted blizzard — connect us.

Holed up as we all have more or less been lo’ these many months now, at Cardthartic we were tickled to see this greeting on a Cardie’s order last week: “It’s becoming more and more difficult to find truly meaningful cards,” she said. “Grocery and drugstores still carry cards, but in a price range of $4.99 to $10.99. Plus they are huge and ugly. So how is everyone’s sweetheart, Hannlis?

Someday perhaps an opportunity will surface to explain meaning/origin of her name? Warmly, JoAnn Dalziel”

Still giggling over “huge and ugly,” we decided it would be fun to surprise JoAnn with a real life answer to her Hannlis question, so we recorded and sent her this video of Hannlis LIVE yesterday. Haha, this morning we heard back from one delighted and delightful Ms. Dalziel. “WOW! WOWIE,” she began. “What a super wonderful surprise to be visited by dear Hannlis on this dreary cold and sunless day in Michigan.”

Now it might be that someone would have to view the video before you can appreciate the following from JoAnn. “Lady Hannah Elisabeth Emma,” she began, “you are a beautiful fashion runway example of style and grace. I suppose looking out on the ocean doesn’t hurt either. Your hair looks perfect in your fashionable bob and pert pixie bangs. I respond with no video nor photo,” JoAnn wrote and, haha, explained, “for nearly a year now, I have cut my own hair and dyed my own roots. I am no stylist. My technique is clump and cut. I could scare a raccoon or make a baby cry. But I so appreciate your reply to my question, Hannlis, and on video to-boot!”

It made our homebound spirits soar to think that JoAnn epitomizes what makes our little Cardie community great: Even in virtual hibernation, you are bright and fun, upbeat and real, reaching out with warmth, humor and genuine interest in your fellow cave dwellers everywhere. We see it every day and hope it does your own heart good to hear it from us: There are so many of you charming bears out there!

JoAnn served as such a midwinter blues buster for us that we thought how about we show everyone hunkered down in this blanketed nation some latest designs just right for these times. Like the hibernating card above, the new cards remind us that there’s a lot of good in our lives if we can look past the news and the brrrr, the gloom and the snowplows.

Enjoy your fun card options (not one pricey, ugly or huge :) with thanks to the muse from Michigan!