Deep in the Heart of Boxing Country for Thanksgiving!

Well, our little jaunt down to Texas to see my (Sprite's) familydidn't turn out quite the way I planned as far as boxing, but westill accomplished some things! We went down on Thanksgiving day andcam back on Saturday, so we really had only Friday to box at all.When we got there, I was so glad to see my family again that Icouldn't bring myself to zip out of the house early in the morning toget boxes. My dad made a huge breakfast on Friday morning after he got up around 11, so we didn't even get going until 1pm.Our plan was to hit the Highlander's favorite Mexican joint (UncleJulio's) after visiting one of the kids I practically raised, so weheaded out to McKinney, which strangely enough had NO letterboxes init! The girl I raised has grown in a beautiful, confident young womanwith a terrific husband (whom I also used to take care of) and a newhouse that's she very proud of. So, needless to say, I turned themBOTH into letterboxers (Flutter Puppy and the Stealth Wookie, forthose keeping track of newbie names!) and we decided to go find someboxes.

That was when I realized I had left my trail stamp at my parents's house.

By that point, we were running out of time. We had to meet up with another one of my kids at the restaurant (and replace our box that had gone missing from there), then the Highlander had promised tomake venison chili for my folks, so we had to go to the store andthen get the chili started before dinner, which was about 3 hoursaway...and we were already at least an hour from home.

So, instead of searching for boxes, we planted one of my retired PLBs that I had wanted to place in McKinney (what better place for KC and theSunshine Band than a place with LOTS of sunshine!), went to UncleJulio's and put out the new box before lunch and went home filledwith margarita swirls and good will towards men!So, not quite the boxing tour de force I had hoped for (2 boxesplanted and 0 found), but strangely enough, a very satisfying holiday weekend!

Happy holidays, all!

The (filled with holiday joy) Sprite & the (filled with Mexican cuisine) Highlander

Gathering fun back on the table!

Just when I thought I could stop looking for events to go to until the snow thawed, we're back in action! There's actually going to be a WINTER event coming up soon, long before the other 3 events for next year. Lock Wench is running Desperately Seeking Sun in Syracuse, which will not only include boxing and carving lessons, but SLEDDING! SERIOUSLY! Yay New York in the wintertime!

The other events really aren't that far away, since next year is really little more than a month from now, so let me make mention of them all. First will be Rocks, Docks and Locks in Kingston, Ontario (which for most Upstate New Yorkers is only about 3 or 4 hours drive). It'll be on Memorial Day weekend in 2006. It's being put on by Norasta and Jiggs, who're frequent border crossers for our US events in New York, so we can't wait to visit them on their home turf. The best part is the meet is being held on a SHIP! It's called the Alexander Henry and is now a bed and breakfast for visitors. We can't wait to check this one out!

Next on the list will be the 3rd Annual Finger Lakes Gathering in Ithaca, New York on June 10, 2006. Turtle McQ has done these in the past and they've been great gatherings. Last year, we even had boxing royalty in the house...Green Tortuga and Amanda From Seattle! Totally cool meeting famous people that are just nice folks after all!

The last one is our personal project, the 4th Annual Western New York Gathering on August 25-27. In honor of poor Dagonell the Pirate (who's driven all over creation for these events up from somewhere deep in Chatauqua region), we've opted to take this event closer to his home turf this year. The plan is to do a 2 day camping trip (Friday night to Sunday morning) at Allegheny State Park for those interested in staying ovenight, which would still be a day event on Saturday for those who just want to come and go. Since we have to wait and actually see what camping and boxing is like down in Alleghany, we have no real details as yet and probably won't until summer starts.

Either way, there's a TON going on next year and we are SO there already! :-)

The (completely over her gathering fatigue) Sprite & the (knows how long THAT'LL last!) Highlander

Fairy Ring PLB (and a little rant!)

Just started a new postal ring, the Fairy Ring. All you have to do to participate is create a sprite or fairy stamp carving to add. With all the problems that tend to plague these rings, I'm hoping all 20 of my participants will be responsible mailers! :-)

Hey, is it just me, or is anyone ELSE noticing that people keep posting comments to my blog that are totally other there??? I'm noticing people who have NO interest whatsoever in letterboxing are posting stuff that makes no sense in the comments sections like some sort of low budget ad campaign. This one guy told me he found my blog very "inmformative" (???) and posted something about a trading company blog, while someone else had something about Halloween costumes a while ago. Who ARE these people????

Seriously, folks, if you're reading this, feel free to post about letterboxing. Feel free to post about stamping. Feel free to post about ink, carving tools, gatherings or to say hi, I love/hate your site! You can even post to let everyone know about your personal letterboxing/stamping/inking/hiking/related to boxing blog. But DO NOT post stuff here that has NOTHING to do with what I'M posting here...to steal a snooty turn of phrase, it cheapens us both!

Oh, yeah, so BOXING! :-) The Highlander and I are also heading to Desperately Seeking Sun in Syracuse in February, so we haven't entirely hibernated after all. I'm looking forward to boxing indoors, so I might start planting a mall series, if I can get away with it. Might have to be min-boxes, but it's a thought...

Okay, mostly babbling now, but thought I hadn't babbled in a while, so...yeah! Hey, seriously, if you have a boxing blog, post here so I can make mention of you here. I know for sure of a few blogs, but I have forgotten their web addys, so Celtic Quinn and Dixiekin...remind me again!

The (not as bitter as she sounds) Sprite & the (still thinks computers are from the devil) Highlander