I usually stick to crafts around here, but the nice thing about having an ad-free/labor of love/personal blog is that you get to talk about whatever you want… so I feel like writing about voting today.

We are big fans of Barack Obama, and after a busy summer I’m finally finding some time and energy to volunteer for his campaign. One of the easiest (and baby-friendliest) things I’ve done so far is write postcards to fellow voters here in Oregon. All the details are on the my.barackobama site if you are interested in doing a few for your community too, but hurry — they need to be in the mail by Monday, September 15. (If you’re here in the Northwest, our beloved Fred Meyer has a bunch of souvenir postcards that are perfect for this. The ones at the Hawthorne store are upstairs with the books and magazines during their wacky renovation.)

I’m a bit too shy for going door-to-door or calling people up, so something like this is just my speed. Writing ten postcards was so quick and easy, and I’m donating to Crafters for Obama and bringing Pearl along for some data entry at his Portland headquarters, too. Another thing you can do to help out, if you are so inclined, is to donate supplies or food to your local campaign office — mine, on Division St. here in Portland, is asking for basics like paper towels, paper plates, food, napkins, and toilet paper. And if your preferred candidate is someone else, I’m sure a couple of minutes of internet research will give you plenty of ideas on how to help there too.

On a non-partisan note, if you are as excited as I am to vote in this fall’s election, please take a few minutes to make sure that your registration is current. Here in Oregon, the last day to register or update your address is October 14. I’m sure every state has different deadlines and cut-offs, so double-check that you’re all set as soon as you can.

Off the soapbox, now — see you next week for some craftiness!