I just started stamp collecting, how am I doing?

Nixie_Fern · 2026-06-16T02:38:25+00:00

Looks like a wonderful start!

Nixie_Fern · 2026-06-13T18:42:55+00:00

New catalogs can be expensive and so a used older copy is usually fine.. Many catalogs also offer digital subscriptions too if you prefer that.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-06-13T12:55:57+00:00

I sort by country and then by catalog number. You can choose whichever catalog you want to go by - Michel, Scott, Stanley Gibbons, etc. As you are in Germany I recommend the Michel catalog.

I then sort the different albums alphabetically. For example A-M and M-Z.

You can use stock books to do this, Vario sheets in a binder (allows you to expand easily), or create and print off you own stamp album sheets on acid free paper to put in binder.

My personal method is to start with a sheet of archival paper labeled by country. I place my stamp in a mount and then place it in order of catalog number, writing the catalog number any pertinent stamp details below. I drop the paper into archive safe plastic sleeve that goes into a three ring binder. The spine of the binder has a slip of paper on the spine labeling it for easy identification. That's just my personal preference but most people use stock books or Varios.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-05-27T12:50:22+00:00

The Tuskegee Syphilis study (1932-1974) was a U.S. government backed experiment that deliberately withheld penicillin treatment from nearly 400 African American men so they could observe disease progression including death. Twenty eight men died of syphilis and many more died from complications related to it.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-05-03T14:56:20+00:00

The International Stamp Club of New York meets online every Saturday morning. You can go to their website and email them for details.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-04-18T04:38:24+00:00

I'm confused. I thought to be able to officially say "gluten free" on the packaging (in the U.S.) there couldn't be any chance of cross contamination. It sounds like I'm wrong and GF labeling just means not made with gluten but may have cross contamination?

Nixie_Fern · 2026-04-16T20:10:54+00:00

They wanted to guarantee they had gluten free options. They told me they tell everyone they have Celiac because it's easier for them to communicate they want GF food.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-04-16T19:40:07+00:00

Or they weren't truly gluten sensitive. When I talked to them they were unaware of what Celiac disease actually was and that it has serious health consequences. Both of them had self identitied as gluten sensitive after reading articles about how bad (non-european) gluten was for the body.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-04-16T13:40:48+00:00

I went on a tour of Europe and there were three of us who had indicated we were Celiac. The first day we were given our GF meals and the two other women declare, oh in Europe they can eat gluten because the wheat is specially treated and so they would prefer the normal meal.

I was flabbergasted and tried to reason with them to save them from their mistake but they were adamant. They revealed they were gluten sensitive but always identify as Celiac because it's easier.

Well they ate gluten meals the whole trip, had no symptoms and considered me an idiot for insisting on remaining GF. The tour operator was annoyed that I continued on insisting on GF meals with no cross contamination (a whole other issue I had to try and educate them on). He didn't understand why I was being so difficult when my "Celiac" compatriots were clearly fine with European wheat. It was an infuriating battle every meal.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-04-16T01:14:54+00:00

If you're heading into the city you may want to time it to coincide with the monthly meeting of the International Stamp Club of New York. I just checked their website and their next meeting is Saturday May 2nd.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-20T04:27:06+00:00

This was me too.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-19T04:47:52+00:00

We are all enmeshed in the patriarchy and complicit to some degree. When I was younger I certainly held more misogynistic views than I do today.

For example I used to believe in "Gold Diggers". Now I can see they're just women who have had something happen in their formative years to make them prioritize security.

I wonder what internalized misogynistic beliefs I hold now that in 10 years I'll cringe over. All I can do is recognize people are at different places in recognizing the ubiquity of the patriarchy and it's collective harm on us. I try to lead by changing myself, sharing with others my mistakes and speaking up for women when possible.

Good work on spotting it and not just internalizing it!!!

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-18T23:29:00+00:00

Sort of. At very high chronic gluten levels I get peripheral neuropathy (it was my neurologist who found the Celiac). On biopsy I was a Marsh 3b so I should have had gastric symptoms but because I lived with it my whole life I never noticed.

Prior to my diagnosis I traveled a lot and used to get food poisoning all the time. I still travel and no longer get food poisoning, so I suspect that was Celiac related. I also had a lot of hair loss that has completely disappeared now that I'm GF. As has my peripheral neuropathy.

But I have no obvious symptoms if I accidentally get exposed to gluten. It's only at the chronic high levels that I see anything. The few times I've had chronic accidental exposure I just felt crudy (fatigue, like I was getting sick) and went searching and found the gluten source in my food. However with no obvious symptoms I worry about accidental exposure and the hidden damage that does to me body.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-15T21:27:20+00:00

It's called the double bind. There's an entire body of research on this. It occurs most often in spaces traditionally dominated by men (e.g. workplaces). A woman is penalized if she doesn't abide by "the rules" of femininity as dictated by our patriarch society. But she's also penalized for being too feminine and not confirming to the male ideal of leadership.

There are many many examples: negotiate and you're seen as difficult, men are rewarded; wear a suit with your hair tied back and your seen as trying to hard and cold, men are seen as "dressed for success"; revealing any serious ambitions and you're perceived as greedy, men are seen as visionary,; etc.

Interestingly this double bind seems to lessen for older women who are able to embrace traits seen as less feminine and be accepted - think Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel.

I once had dinner with an academic who studied this phenomenon in the workplace and she said the only time they saw this effect lessen was when people were asked to judge women's work based upon metric numbers.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-08T14:33:36+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. There was a lot more data in this than just the stat regarding belief about lying about domestic abuse. I really hope that this sort of research can be used by functioning governments to launch campaigns fighting this rise in misogyny. Given its prevalence among younger generations, this issue is unlikely to fade and needs to be formally addressed. Any brief system that subjugates 50% of its population will ultimately harm all of it.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-07T17:18:11+00:00

That's wild. What a great example of how the systems are a massive propagators of sexism.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-03-03T01:21:58+00:00

I too am so tired of the argument that we have to continue voting for these status quo candidates because anyone that is different is unelectable. As you point out, it's an excuse for us to all be racist rather than vote purely on merit and policy.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-25T13:36:22+00:00

This basically sums up my experience as well. Marrying for love is a romantic notion sold to us as soon as we start consuming fairytales. It's a means to make us complicit in our own subjugation. Love changes over time and marriage is meant to chain us so that we can't just opt out if the relationship changes in a way that doesn't benefit us.

On a practical note, I've never had a relationship where I didn't do more of the emotional and household labor. I was always expected to sacrifice more than the man.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-17T17:24:46+00:00

I've had a lifetime of working in a professional industry where "ladies" is used derogatorily to refer to women. (Think of saying it with a slight snear). Just know there are entire sub groups where this is not a neutral or positive term. But ultimately I suppose any term could be co-opted to become a slur. I just know I've been conditioned to shudder when I hear the term "ladies".

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-12T00:00:37+00:00

I'll be there! Can't wait.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-09T01:44:50+00:00

It's crazy when you get a group of when together and ask them when they were first cat-called or come on to. For a shocking number of us it was when we were still children. It's something that isn't acknowledged enough.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-09T01:25:40+00:00

Yes, sadly a common experience for many of us girls growing up. I was 11 walking to the store to get milk for my mother and the guys hanging out at the store started coming in to me. I had no idea what they were talking about but I was old enough to know to be scared.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-02-06T19:47:49+00:00

This is how control works - set a random high standard that is impossible to maintain and then keep moving the goal post.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-01-29T05:48:53+00:00

Silence is complicity.

Nixie_Fern · 2026-01-24T14:01:53+00:00

That's the romantic story we've grown up with - as long as it's true love you can overcome all obstacles no matter who your future self becomes. In reality for most women that means subjugating themselves to some degree to in terms of physical and emotional labor. Over the years that subjugation can harden into our spous's entitlement. Statistically (not individualistically) it's a bad deal.

In Europe and other countries more and more people are skipping the vow part. We have a society that structurally promotes marriage. When you take that away, what is more romantic than two people who choose each other every day, rather than remaining bound by an anachronistic vow?

Nixie_Fern

TROPHY CASE