Fleur de Lis' Letterboxing Journal

My thoughts on my new favorite hobby.

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

I wonder if Kayak has had any visitors yet. A few people emailed me saying that they were going to search for it... It'd be nice to hear about my boxes from time to time...!

This is the part I like the least (if I dislike anything at all about the hobby) - not hearing about my boxes and HHs. I know it's all part of "the game".. I guess I just wish that everyone would be as conscientious about Contacting the Placer as I am...

The upcoming holiday weekend means THREE days of letterboxing! I know that, as usual, we won't take advantage of all three days, but even two days of boxing would be great! We were invited to my sister's birthday picnic on Sunday, but anyone who knows anything about driving to the Jersey shore on a summer weekend, let alone a holiday weekend, knows that driving there means sitting in about 7 hours of traffic. I think I'll pass :)

My Ace of Hearts HH was received by my sister and then sent on its way in NJ. I also heard that the Ace of Diamonds was received by Team PresSinOn (along with the old You Can't Touch This HH log), but it seems that one of their members has sustained an injury, so it'll be some time before they head out. That's okay - speedy recovery, NeverEnuff! The only HH in that series left is the Ace of Clubs. I have an idea what I'll be doing with it... just have to carve it first!

Finally, after reading on the LBNA talklist about transferring images to carving material, I think I will try what seems to be the easiest - "ironing" on laser printed copies of pictures. At this point, anything will work better than my quasi-tracing method at the moment, which usually results in my freestyling the drawings. Not good!

Maybe I'll go check on my Ben Franklin series this weekend too...I'd love to see how many "hits" he's received :)

Saturday, June 26, 2004

I wanted to go letterboxing this weekend and try to get up to Allentown to get some boxes (including a box whose clues have not yet been published!). Unfortunately, we can't get out of our neighborhood, as there's an arts festival going on today and tomorrow. No driving, and we didn't think ahead to park the car elsewhere! Guess I won't get the aforementioned box early...ah well.

Friday, June 18, 2004

Today Joe and I went to search for the Who is the Author? series up in Doylestown, PA. We found #1 after first overshooting it (we always either overshoot or stop too soon!!) and stamped in. #2 we had to save for later, because on of the park maintenance trucks and driver were right in front of it.

On to #3. Found it easily. We pull out the box and sit down to stamp in. As is my custom, I start looking through the logbook and all of the people who have stamped in before us. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden, I see Joe's handwriting. Turns out that while I thought he was at work for hours yesterday, he drove up to Doylestown, scoped out the series, and wrote in the third box log: "Hello Kathryn! I know how much letterboxing means to you! So I skipped out early and beat you to this one... But while I have you here and before our vacation on Saturday: Will you marry me...? Love, Joe"

Then he got down on one knee and presented me with a ring. Of course I said yes :)

I was shocked, to put it mildly! Especially since I've wanted him to propose this way for months, but never actually told him! He thought it up all by himself :)

What a happy, happy day :) I still can't stop smiling!

Oh, and I ripped the note he wrote out of the logbook so I can keep it... :)

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

The Ace of Hearts Hitchhiker was created and sent to my sister in New Jersey. I hope she's still letterboxing! lol If not, I guess I'll get it back and retry here in PA. I also created an Ace of Diamonds Hitchhiker that has been released into the world. I'm sure we'll be hearing about that one soon :) So with those two done, the only one left is the Ace of Clubs. I think I left that one for last because it has more curvy lines than the other three, and I'm still not such a great carver!

Monday, June 14, 2004

Something I just posted to the LBMA list about feeling like I'm the Black Hole for hitchhikers(!):

Do you ever check up (online) on the HHs you've found and then moved on?

There are about 7 now on Wanda and Pete's site that end with me, and I've moved along every single one of them! I KNOW that some of them must have been found, because I've heard reports that so-and-so found xyz box last month, and I left abc HH in xyz box.

Maybe people who find them just aren't posting that they've found them? Am I the only one with this problem?

I just signed up for my first Postal Letterbox! Catbead and Leapin' Lizard's Who's Got a Bug Up Their Butt Hitchhiker Hostel PLB just sounds too good to pass up. More details are available in post #41976 on the LBNA talklist.

I have to admit - I used to think that PLBs were "cheating" in a way... although the concept is a fun and new idea, there seems to be little work involved in "finding" the box. I doubt that this foray into the world of PLBs will have me signing up left and right to receive them, but the aforementioned PLB should be a fun intro into that sub-group of letterboxing.

What do you think?

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Planted Kayak today in letterboxing-poor Western PA. Like I said earlier, I really like the stamp I made for it!! Hope it fares well since it is a really wet area. In any case, we'll definitely go back to Ohiopyle because it was SO much fun camping and kayaking! I can probably plant more stamps then too :-p

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Random Thoughts

I just finished carving a new stamp for a new box I'll place on our camping trip in western PA this weekend. I'm proud of the stamp - I think it was the new medium I used that made it MUCH easier (Staedtler MasterCarve vs. Speedball white stuff). I'm completely out of materials to make a new logbook though, so I guess I'll have to venture out into the heat at some point tonight!

Not sure if I'll make a Flight 93 stamp yet...

Finally, after not carving for about a month, I took out my Speedball carving tools and noticed that some of the nibs are rusty! I don't quite understand why...they were just in a box and not exposed to water or other elements. It makes it even more difficult, now, to put the nibs in and out of the handle. I wonder if I'm the only one with this problem...?

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Boxing This Weekend

We're headed to western PA this weekend to do some kayaking and camping. I definitely want to carve a stamp to place in the park where we'll be, so I need to do that tomorrow!

I also found out tonight that we'll be 10 miles away from where Flight 93 crashed in a field on 9/11, and 2 miles away from where those coal miners were trapped underground for days....

So it looks like I really need to get motoring if I'm going to get out one "normal" and at least one commerative stamp tomorrow!

Friday, June 04, 2004

It was brought to my attention tonight that someone has been trying to contact me about my Ben Franklin boxes, but I never received any email. I'm wondering what happened, since I just tested it and I received my email! Hm... Well all I can say at this point is, if you don't hear from me, try again! I love hearing about my boxes and would never ignore anyone who wrote to me...

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Ben Franklin Receives Visitors

I still can't get over the excitement I feel when I hear that one of my boxes has been visited! I just read a post on the LBMA group by Irene (of Hikers & Hounds) that her friend went and visited Ben and on the way ran into some other letterboxers! I can't wait to go and see who's checked in and to see their stamps and what not. I guess it also means that the Butterfly HH is on its way, since I left her in one of those boxes.

Raindeer also wrote me this week and said that he visited Black Diamond and was the first finder to Mother. I hope he took the little trinket I left! :)

I need to get some materials to create a new logbook for the You Can't Touch This HH I found at Black Diamond, and then send the old logbook back to Team PresSinOn. I remember chuckling at the HH image when I saw it last month in a logbook, and now here it is waiting on my counter - ready to get moving again!

And in final thoughts, I hope that the Pepes are having a lot of fun on their vacation, but I can't wait for them to return! I really enjoy reading Mark's almost-daily comments on this hobby!