Mount Misery

Tomorrow we will try for this box, after a small BBQ in Vally Forge to celebrate my birthday! I think I'll also go for a few more boxes in Norristown - after all, I can guilt my s.o. into boxing by using the ol' birthday excuse :-p

Monday..hmm. Would really like to box as well. I was briefly considering going into Jersey for the Terra Cotta Tangram, but then I realized that to go near the shore on Memorial Day weekend would be crazy! I'll leave that for another day.

To Use or Not to Use...That is the Question

Well we're back from our mini-holiday, with minimal boxing news to report. I went to check on my first planted box, Black Diamond and found that the animals had gotten to it a bit! The box itself and its contents were fine (save for a small chunk taken out of the box) but a poor HH left with it was soaked through and is pretty illegible now. I dried it out and am awaiting further instructions from its owner.

I completely forgot to bring the new inkpad for Black Diamond!

I planted a new box in the same area. Mother is now awaiting visitors. But I forgot to reprint a first finder's certificate so there is currently only a small token for the FF. I was certainly forgetful this week!

Finally, I wrapped both of my boxes in plastic Ziploc bags before leaving them. Hours after we left, however, I was still thinking about that - if I should have left them unwrapped or not. To use plastic bags or not - that is my question. Black Diamond survived the winter and wildlife just fine sans bag, but the HH in a bag did not. I think I'll be worrying about my little boxes until I hear about them again...

Thanks again to Mark Pepe for creating the Letterboxing Newbie list over at Yahoo Groups. Since I began this hobby, I've been wondering what "magnetic north" vs. (I guess) non-magnetic north was. I didn't want to email anyone privately though, and I certainly didn't want to post to the main LBNA list lest I start a flame war. So, I asked my question on the Newbie list, and Steve of Rayvenhaus and Isoceles were kind enough to point me in the direction of an answer and/or give me a straight answer. So now I know..and now alls I have to do is find my darn compass! :-p

Before we head up to Ashland on Sunday, I have to reprint out a little First Finder's cert for my Mother box to be planted, since I feel that the original one I printed was too large. I also need to remember to bring baggies and what not in case my Black Diamond needs some TLC. I can't wait to see who has stamped in there!

We're going up to Ashland in a few days to see Joe's parents - I'll hide my second Schuylkill County letterbox then. I was going to carve another one, but it looks like we'll have to return to Philly earlier than expected for a work-related meeting. So as much as I'd like to monopolize our time up there with letterboxing, I'll save my uber box planting for next time!

In other news, I can't find my compass! Argh!

New templates = new look! Fun! More more interesting, in any case, than the drab blue/white that I had going before.

Planted my last 2 Ben Franklin boxes today - yippee! I hope they last and are a source of enjoyment for many people.

3 of my 5 boxes planted - too bad a rogue thunderstorm hit us or I would have been 5 for 5! There's always tomorrow, though! The clues for the planted 3 are on my P F X page. Please let me know what you think!

My Ben Franklin series is done! It took many, many hours and some crazy logbook ideas, but they're done! I was going to plant them today, but I didn't sleep well so I'll forgo letterboxing today in favor of a nap. Tomorrow, I'll plant.

I also realized that I can't go and plant half of my On the Drive series this weekend due to the enormous Dad Vail Regatta - probably not a good idea to box in the midst of tens of thousands of people :p I'm lucky that I didn't plant those microboxes yet, as they surely would be tossed in the midst of the massive post-regatta cleanup that occurs!

I have two logbooks for my Ben Franklin boxes done, and working on the third. The third is taking a bit longer than I though, though, because I decided to get a little creative with the shape :) I'm glad to be doing it though - part of the fun of doing Laurette's Sunday Drive series was seeing how she matched each logbook to the stamp - all were so beautiful and creative! So I'm hoping that even one person will recognize the work I've put into my books and think they're also creative or cool or fun :)

Looking through my letterboxing bag today, I realized that I still haven't passed on Butterfly. Not that I've had the cute little hitchhiker forever, but I feel bad holding on to it. More incentive to get out there, then.

This week I'll scope out locations for my Ben Franklin boxes. It's supposed to be disgustingly rainy and stormy tomorrow, so I'll start to make the logbooks for those boxes. Hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be nicer and I can find some nice spots to hide them :)

I planted a mystery box today - my first! It took forever to plant it, but that's okay - it was a nice day in spite of the thunderstorm predictions :)

Wow!

In reading some posts from the LBMA site, apparently someone found my Black Diamond! Nathan (aka Cyclonic) was kind enough to report that he found it, and wasn't even the first finder. I didn't think it'd ever have hits, since it's SO out of the way of everything! But he said it was in good shape (phew- no water damage!). I'm so excited! Albeit a tad bit bummed because I don't like the ink pad color I left :p but that's okay.

Hooray! My day is made!!!

We didn't hit the trail today; instead we chose to get in some much needed R&R and laziness :)

I did however get some new carving material - hooray! I'd run out and have been itching to carve. I wanted to get some of the Speedball pink stuff (technical term :)) but the Utrecht downtown didn't have it. They had some white stuff but it looks a bit crumbly..guess we'll see. I also got a linoleum block to try - also looking forward to seeing how that carves!

I have my theme for my urban microbox series - just have to find some designs (since there is no way I can freehand draw), trace, and get going! I need some film canisters too - looks like I need to buy some film!

I wonder if Kodak sales have gone up since letterboxers came up with microboxing...I certainly don't need that much film, but it's the only way.... :)