Was really great to see our regular boxers and meet some new ones at the Hallowed Grounds event this Saturday. I hope you all had as much fun as we did. Party Pig and Wes were our last guests. They came out Sunday and swung by here to say hi, so it was a full weekend for us.
If any of you come out and find any of the stamps (or want to know how to get to any other stamps in Orleans County), let us know and we'll direct you to anything you want!
Also, I know some of you wanted to know where to buy the LBNY t-shirts. The hiker logo on the front was from a specific company, but the LBNY logo is ours and is still on a shirt. You can get it by ordering from our Cafe Press store here: http://www.cafepress.com/spritesstuff
Hope to see all of you at Desperately Seeking Sun!
The (worn out but happy) Sprite & the (already asleep) Highlander
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Okay, THIS is the final Hallowed Grounds Tour update!
Quick update on this event...the 3rd stamp in the series (West Shelby Cemetery) has already been muggled by the little girl across the street. Since her parents might get all upset if someone came and roughed up their kid, we've decided to just call this one a loss. Follow the same directions from the clues, but DON'T stop here. Also, the East Shelby stamp IS still there, but you'll really need to peel the foliage apart down low to find it. It's fairly close to the metal Veterans marker behind the grave.
Also, if you want to swing by and visit for a bit, we'll be here all day, but probably won't be ready for company until around 5 (and the actual event is starting at 6pm). Enter our abode at your own risk and PLEASE call ahead (contact us offlist for the number). Identify yourself as a letterboxer right off or run the risk of being called a solicitor and hung up on!
Finally, if you want to stop and get the Weebls Pie stamp up at Brown's Berry Patch, contact us to let us know. We forgot to include this in the clues, but can direct you to there from the Waterport Cemetery easily for a great stamp but even BETTER PIE!!!!
See everyone tomorrow night!
The S & H
Also, if you want to swing by and visit for a bit, we'll be here all day, but probably won't be ready for company until around 5 (and the actual event is starting at 6pm). Enter our abode at your own risk and PLEASE call ahead (contact us offlist for the number). Identify yourself as a letterboxer right off or run the risk of being called a solicitor and hung up on!
Finally, if you want to stop and get the Weebls Pie stamp up at Brown's Berry Patch, contact us to let us know. We forgot to include this in the clues, but can direct you to there from the Waterport Cemetery easily for a great stamp but even BETTER PIE!!!!
See everyone tomorrow night!
The S & H
Monday, October 08, 2007
And the FINAL Hallowed Grounds Tour update!
Just letting everyone know that the clues are finally done and are posted on our website. Either click on the website at the event page or go to the AQ page for the boxes and the clue link will take you right to it: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=57018
Again, if you want to make a test run, let us know how it goes so we can make corrections if need be. Don't try to banzai the whole tour in one day if you can help it (or start early and take a break as needed!). The first leg took about 3 hours, for sure, but we don't quite know about the second. The Highlander got some kind of 24 hour bug while we were out (on that note, Otter Creek has a nice spot in the WAYYYY back if anyone wants to play Guess What the Highlander Ate for Sunday Breakfast!), so we had to do the last part over two days and forgot to watch the time. We also mixed up two of the stamps because I grabbed the wrong one in my hurry to get him home, but I mentioned the mistake in the clues so you'll know.
No matter what, be sure to let us know if you go and we'll give you our home number in case you get lost. I uploaded the map to a page as well, but if you want a better view, get a Western Region map from Mapworks...it's the best!
No more updates unless something's changed, so we'll see all of you on the 20th!
The S & H
Again, if you want to make a test run, let us know how it goes so we can make corrections if need be. Don't try to banzai the whole tour in one day if you can help it (or start early and take a break as needed!). The first leg took about 3 hours, for sure, but we don't quite know about the second. The Highlander got some kind of 24 hour bug while we were out (on that note, Otter Creek has a nice spot in the WAYYYY back if anyone wants to play Guess What the Highlander Ate for Sunday Breakfast!), so we had to do the last part over two days and forgot to watch the time. We also mixed up two of the stamps because I grabbed the wrong one in my hurry to get him home, but I mentioned the mistake in the clues so you'll know.
No matter what, be sure to let us know if you go and we'll give you our home number in case you get lost. I uploaded the map to a page as well, but if you want a better view, get a Western Region map from Mapworks...it's the best!
No more updates unless something's changed, so we'll see all of you on the 20th!
The S & H
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Hallowed Grounds Tour 2007 update
Just thought I'd let folks know that with any luck, I'll be planting the boxes this weekend for the event (since I'm booked for just about every other weekend after that). If I'm able to do so, I'll be posting the clues to the boxes EARLY (yes, early!) so those of you who can't spend THAT day getting stamps could get all the main stamps, then just stop by our place for the event stamp, some camaraderie and some basic Halloween fare (candy, apples, candy, doughnuts, candy, coffee...um...candy?)
I intend to have 30 total Orleans County cemeteries in the tour (which isn't even all the places we COULD go) and all the stamps will be drivebys. There might be SOME walking uphill, but nothing to get too worked up about if you've got decent knees. I'll have a better estimate of the time and mileage involved, but I would say allot a good 3 hours (especially if you want to buy pies and pumpkins and such while you're out and about).
More bulletins as warranted!
The (spooky) Sprite & the (haunted) Highlander
I intend to have 30 total Orleans County cemeteries in the tour (which isn't even all the places we COULD go) and all the stamps will be drivebys. There might be SOME walking uphill, but nothing to get too worked up about if you've got decent knees. I'll have a better estimate of the time and mileage involved, but I would say allot a good 3 hours (especially if you want to buy pies and pumpkins and such while you're out and about).
More bulletins as warranted!
The (spooky) Sprite & the (haunted) Highlander
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Happy Birthday to MEEEE! :-)
Okay, I know this should have gone under "Look At Me" on AQ, but since I'm still all puffed up with pride, I thought I'd blog it!
The Highlander and I agreed to not do birthday gifts this year, since my birthday always falls after our summer financial drought (September) and his is always after our Christmas drought (January). So, I went to school on the 27th not really expecting anything.
When I got in, 5 of my kids from LAST year came in with a box of cupcakes they had made AND frosted all by themselves! They sang to me, then had a few younger brothers and sisters holding up a banner they made with all their signatures on it. As I was gushing over how cool it was, one of them went "Ooo, let's get the whole 5th grade to sign it!" So, they held on to that, but made me open my present, which was a little ceramic fairy music box. I noticed she had a spot on her head and asked about it and the ringleader of this little band said, "Yeah, she had a crown that broke off and the knob to the music part is broken. We were kinda hoping you wouldn't notice that because we know you like fairy stuff from your earrings and your trailname (yes, I had made young boxers out of last year's class, too!) :-)
I promptly got teary eyed and said I didn't notice a thing!
I found out later from one of their moms that they had just REMEMBERED my birthday on their own and had been planning what to do about it every since school started this year! For kids who'll just be turning 11 this year, I was REALLY flattered that they remembered after a whole year. We did NOTHING special for my birhtday when they were in my class, so how they knew, I'll never know!
The rest of the day was great, too. The Highlander yelled out of the car that it was my birthday to my principal, who bellowed "Well, the WHOLE SCHOOL'S gonna know NOW!" and proceeded to shout it into every classroom as he walked in and THEN sang to me on the morning announcements and told all the kids to do the same if they saw me. So, I got musical interludes and hurriedly sketched homemade cards all day. My favorite was from one of this year's students, who made me fake money in $1,000,000 denominations. Another girl had colored a cute little purse for me, so I now have it up on my desk as my "retirement fund"! :-)
Yay kids...and Highlanders! ;-)
The (still feeling the love nearly a week later) Sprite and the (still giving her love year 'round) Highlander
The Highlander and I agreed to not do birthday gifts this year, since my birthday always falls after our summer financial drought (September) and his is always after our Christmas drought (January). So, I went to school on the 27th not really expecting anything.
When I got in, 5 of my kids from LAST year came in with a box of cupcakes they had made AND frosted all by themselves! They sang to me, then had a few younger brothers and sisters holding up a banner they made with all their signatures on it. As I was gushing over how cool it was, one of them went "Ooo, let's get the whole 5th grade to sign it!" So, they held on to that, but made me open my present, which was a little ceramic fairy music box. I noticed she had a spot on her head and asked about it and the ringleader of this little band said, "Yeah, she had a crown that broke off and the knob to the music part is broken. We were kinda hoping you wouldn't notice that because we know you like fairy stuff from your earrings and your trailname (yes, I had made young boxers out of last year's class, too!) :-)
I promptly got teary eyed and said I didn't notice a thing!
I found out later from one of their moms that they had just REMEMBERED my birthday on their own and had been planning what to do about it every since school started this year! For kids who'll just be turning 11 this year, I was REALLY flattered that they remembered after a whole year. We did NOTHING special for my birhtday when they were in my class, so how they knew, I'll never know!
The rest of the day was great, too. The Highlander yelled out of the car that it was my birthday to my principal, who bellowed "Well, the WHOLE SCHOOL'S gonna know NOW!" and proceeded to shout it into every classroom as he walked in and THEN sang to me on the morning announcements and told all the kids to do the same if they saw me. So, I got musical interludes and hurriedly sketched homemade cards all day. My favorite was from one of this year's students, who made me fake money in $1,000,000 denominations. Another girl had colored a cute little purse for me, so I now have it up on my desk as my "retirement fund"! :-)
Yay kids...and Highlanders! ;-)
The (still feeling the love nearly a week later) Sprite and the (still giving her love year 'round) Highlander
Sunday, August 26, 2007
5th Annual WNY Gathering ROCKED! :-)
Well, I would have posted a big wrap up last night, but after a few posts and replies to the 100+ e-mails I got over the weekend, the Highlander reached over, took the laptop and started shutting things down ("The world can WAIT for one more night!" as he put it!). Good move, too...I just got out of bed about an hour ago, so I TRULY needed the rest!
Anyway, the whole weekend was a giant blast! We (Skater Boy, the Highlander and I) began it early Friday morning around 6am (after going to bed around 2!) We took the Highlander to work, then CQ picked Skater Boy and I up with the intent to head to Sprague Brook, set up camp, then go to the Ridge and get some boxing in (we learned from experience that running a gathering means never leaving the pavilion, so we wanted to get some actual boxes before 100+ folks descended upon us!). We were hoping to meet up with Eidolon and Artemis at Chestnut Ridge around 2pm, so we wanted to really get moving.
What ended up happening was we helped CQ pack, stocked up on general supplies (donation boxes, raffle items, a new black marker) until the Highlander was already done with his half day of work. THEN the truck was doing ominous things with steering fluid and oil, so we dealt with that until we finally struggled into the CAMPGROUNDS around 2pm. We met Frog Prince, Queen of Everything and JB the Huntress, who'd arrived a little before we did. By then, Eidolon & Artemis had called us to let us know they were in NO way making it on time, so the sense of urgency turned into a sense of "sit in the woods on a cool rock to beat the 89 degree weather, then slog overheatedly into Springville for things REAL survival items...like WATER!"
Anyway, after we finally settled in, other folks started to arrive, like dee123, CathCainGwen, Chadams & Lady Lilac, the IAP and Bear and the rest of the Quinn clan. Party Pig and the Phoenix had started boxing at DAWN, so they were still at it by the afternoon/evening. Talking Turtle arrived around 5pm with car trouble that made our little bout with the oil and fluid look like a picnic. Luckily, she made it to the campsite, but unluckily, the auto service she got with her phone only worked on the phone she had at home (so she was told by the operator). After we all plotted the destruction of said phone company (don't worry, we'll get a name so that you can ALL hate it with us!), the Highlander and I called AAA and told them we had been riding with her and they towed her van to the local shop in Springville. Meanwhile, Party Pig and The Phoenix were STILL out boxing...
We kicked back and enjoyed the rest of the night. A group of folks (CQ, Frog Prince, Queen of Everything, and to my surprise, Artemis and Eidolon, who snuck in later) sat around exchanging stamps while the Highlander and Chadams cooked up some food. It became apparent that Chadams camping set up was way more conducive to grouping up (what with the gazebo, tent with a welcome mat and dog door and the actual campfire!) We sat around and shot the breeze for a while and Ryan told "The Cremation of Sam McGee" to us around the campfire while the dozen or so kids ran around playing sardines. I don't even remember when we all went to bed, but we were good and tired when it happened (and of course, Party Pig and The Phoenix were STILL out boxing, although they came back long enough to set up camp!).
The next morning had Green Star Quinn and a bunch of the 'tween boxers getting lost in the woods for an hour or so, just as we were getting ready to head to the park. I was so worried, I forgot the event stamp and all my boxing stuff when the Highlander shooed me off to greet folks at Chestnut Ridge. Luckily, they found their way to the main road in time for what was probably a tag team effort of parental/general adult chastisment, so I didn't have to ruin the event by sacrificing their small bodies.
All in all, the day went well! The kids never LEFT the playground (especially after the morning's scare) and folks rolled in to stamp and exchange at the pavilion and out to box and back in the same easy way they always do. To my dismay, the Highlander ended up burning himself on a misplaced barbecue fork while grilling, but Frog Prince saw him standing there with a bag of ice in one hand, the fork in the other and a line of folks with open buns in front of him (hmmm...more stuff for the Dirty Letterboxing Quotes list!) and came to the rescue! Meanwhile, I got to meet a bunch of new folks like Trekkie Gal (who must have been the star of the day since she's made it into two blogs now!) LOSTGIRL, S and K, K and T, jasondrew and a bunch of others I had only seen in logbooks or on boards. Balloon Fanatic's family was also there, which meant the winner of the youngest boxer award (Mermaid Girl) was present. She and her sister both look like they fell off a charm bracelet, they're so cute, so they probably coulda taken that award as well. We raffled stuff off and took pics around 5, just as a brief storm blew in...and blew out! Literally 2/3 of the boxers had gone when the suddenly the sun broke out and it was as if nothing happened!
With that, the Highlander and I headed back to Sprague Brook to get the night boxes placed. We'd intended to go eat at Ponderosa with everyone else, but just ran out of time before the boxing was to start. I was beside myself with ideas on where to hide them when Soccer Star 7 and gymnastics girl's dad Eric came up with the PERFECT path to hide the boxes on. It was partial in a field, but mostly in the woods, which were good and spooky dark by the time folks started finding boxes. A more mature and less rowdy group than Ryan's bunch went through with mostly kids and parents around 8, while the rest came around 10. After that, we all went to separate fun zones. A gang of adults hit the fireside again while a bunch of gamer kids and adults sat around our site playing Dungeons & Dragons again for a good 2 hours. Poor Skater Boy was out cold within the first 10 minutes, but everyone else was once again up until the wee hours having a blast.
Sunday morning began with my getting up and seeing a 6 foot something creature rear its multitentacled head from the vicinity of Ryan's sleeping gear. It took a moment to realize that this actually WAS Ryan wearing a funky ski hat to keep warm, but MAN, do I wish I'd had the camera on me for THAT! We all started to pack and say our goodbyes (being sure to give Ryan tips on how to keep strange men from touching him in the airport while he slept), then started to head our separate ways around noon (by which time Party Pig and the Phoenix were...hmm...STILL BOXING!). By the time the Highlander and I got home, I was ready to crash, but kept trying to post THIS leviathan of a wrap-up until the Highlander forced me to call it a night.
Oh, and Eidolon called me from the trail last night...he was still boxing, too, but wanted to see if we missed him yet. I told him I missed him so much that I had fallen asleep on the couch and he seemed satisfied....!
Anyhoo, for those who came, thanks for all the compliments, the donations and the general camaraderie. I couldn't have asked for more fun in one weekend, so I'm again REALLY glad we added camping to this event. Our most sincere thanks goes to Chadams for making this park more easily accessible to the layman and throwing his whole heart and soul into helping make this event come off. We also thank Frog Prince for saving the Highlander in his time of need and Eric Festor (who I'm gonna just call Nightbike for the sake of having a trailname) for saving me in mine! Another major thanks to folks who donated items for the raffle and boxes for the event (BTW, if you DID bring some event stamps, please help me out by listing them on the event page...I don't know HALF of what I got in this book right now!) :-O Also, for those who did them, the night box series (called Night Music) is listed here. If you told me the title of the song, you got the last stamp (#9). As far as pics, I know some folks are already posting pics at the event page, but those would be folks with digital cameras. Mine have to be developed yet (curse my desperate need for an upgrade!), but I think I took pics of every group that came through so you can put names with faces.
Finally, the next gathering has already been listed here. Not ABSOLUTELY sure about the location just yet (since Nightbike has mentioned another great park near Lake Ontario), but we'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks again, everybody! You make this yearly event a labor of love! :-)
The (worn, but happy) Sprite & the (happy, but burnt) Highlander
Anyway, the whole weekend was a giant blast! We (Skater Boy, the Highlander and I) began it early Friday morning around 6am (after going to bed around 2!) We took the Highlander to work, then CQ picked Skater Boy and I up with the intent to head to Sprague Brook, set up camp, then go to the Ridge and get some boxing in (we learned from experience that running a gathering means never leaving the pavilion, so we wanted to get some actual boxes before 100+ folks descended upon us!). We were hoping to meet up with Eidolon and Artemis at Chestnut Ridge around 2pm, so we wanted to really get moving.
What ended up happening was we helped CQ pack, stocked up on general supplies (donation boxes, raffle items, a new black marker) until the Highlander was already done with his half day of work. THEN the truck was doing ominous things with steering fluid and oil, so we dealt with that until we finally struggled into the CAMPGROUNDS around 2pm. We met Frog Prince, Queen of Everything and JB the Huntress, who'd arrived a little before we did. By then, Eidolon & Artemis had called us to let us know they were in NO way making it on time, so the sense of urgency turned into a sense of "sit in the woods on a cool rock to beat the 89 degree weather, then slog overheatedly into Springville for things REAL survival items...like WATER!"
Anyway, after we finally settled in, other folks started to arrive, like dee123, CathCainGwen, Chadams & Lady Lilac, the IAP and Bear and the rest of the Quinn clan. Party Pig and the Phoenix had started boxing at DAWN, so they were still at it by the afternoon/evening. Talking Turtle arrived around 5pm with car trouble that made our little bout with the oil and fluid look like a picnic. Luckily, she made it to the campsite, but unluckily, the auto service she got with her phone only worked on the phone she had at home (so she was told by the operator). After we all plotted the destruction of said phone company (don't worry, we'll get a name so that you can ALL hate it with us!), the Highlander and I called AAA and told them we had been riding with her and they towed her van to the local shop in Springville. Meanwhile, Party Pig and The Phoenix were STILL out boxing...
We kicked back and enjoyed the rest of the night. A group of folks (CQ, Frog Prince, Queen of Everything, and to my surprise, Artemis and Eidolon, who snuck in later) sat around exchanging stamps while the Highlander and Chadams cooked up some food. It became apparent that Chadams camping set up was way more conducive to grouping up (what with the gazebo, tent with a welcome mat and dog door and the actual campfire!) We sat around and shot the breeze for a while and Ryan told "The Cremation of Sam McGee" to us around the campfire while the dozen or so kids ran around playing sardines. I don't even remember when we all went to bed, but we were good and tired when it happened (and of course, Party Pig and The Phoenix were STILL out boxing, although they came back long enough to set up camp!).
The next morning had Green Star Quinn and a bunch of the 'tween boxers getting lost in the woods for an hour or so, just as we were getting ready to head to the park. I was so worried, I forgot the event stamp and all my boxing stuff when the Highlander shooed me off to greet folks at Chestnut Ridge. Luckily, they found their way to the main road in time for what was probably a tag team effort of parental/general adult chastisment, so I didn't have to ruin the event by sacrificing their small bodies.
All in all, the day went well! The kids never LEFT the playground (especially after the morning's scare) and folks rolled in to stamp and exchange at the pavilion and out to box and back in the same easy way they always do. To my dismay, the Highlander ended up burning himself on a misplaced barbecue fork while grilling, but Frog Prince saw him standing there with a bag of ice in one hand, the fork in the other and a line of folks with open buns in front of him (hmmm...more stuff for the Dirty Letterboxing Quotes list!) and came to the rescue! Meanwhile, I got to meet a bunch of new folks like Trekkie Gal (who must have been the star of the day since she's made it into two blogs now!) LOSTGIRL, S and K, K and T, jasondrew and a bunch of others I had only seen in logbooks or on boards. Balloon Fanatic's family was also there, which meant the winner of the youngest boxer award (Mermaid Girl) was present. She and her sister both look like they fell off a charm bracelet, they're so cute, so they probably coulda taken that award as well. We raffled stuff off and took pics around 5, just as a brief storm blew in...and blew out! Literally 2/3 of the boxers had gone when the suddenly the sun broke out and it was as if nothing happened!
With that, the Highlander and I headed back to Sprague Brook to get the night boxes placed. We'd intended to go eat at Ponderosa with everyone else, but just ran out of time before the boxing was to start. I was beside myself with ideas on where to hide them when Soccer Star 7 and gymnastics girl's dad Eric came up with the PERFECT path to hide the boxes on. It was partial in a field, but mostly in the woods, which were good and spooky dark by the time folks started finding boxes. A more mature and less rowdy group than Ryan's bunch went through with mostly kids and parents around 8, while the rest came around 10. After that, we all went to separate fun zones. A gang of adults hit the fireside again while a bunch of gamer kids and adults sat around our site playing Dungeons & Dragons again for a good 2 hours. Poor Skater Boy was out cold within the first 10 minutes, but everyone else was once again up until the wee hours having a blast.
Sunday morning began with my getting up and seeing a 6 foot something creature rear its multitentacled head from the vicinity of Ryan's sleeping gear. It took a moment to realize that this actually WAS Ryan wearing a funky ski hat to keep warm, but MAN, do I wish I'd had the camera on me for THAT! We all started to pack and say our goodbyes (being sure to give Ryan tips on how to keep strange men from touching him in the airport while he slept), then started to head our separate ways around noon (by which time Party Pig and the Phoenix were...hmm...STILL BOXING!). By the time the Highlander and I got home, I was ready to crash, but kept trying to post THIS leviathan of a wrap-up until the Highlander forced me to call it a night.
Oh, and Eidolon called me from the trail last night...he was still boxing, too, but wanted to see if we missed him yet. I told him I missed him so much that I had fallen asleep on the couch and he seemed satisfied....!
Anyhoo, for those who came, thanks for all the compliments, the donations and the general camaraderie. I couldn't have asked for more fun in one weekend, so I'm again REALLY glad we added camping to this event. Our most sincere thanks goes to Chadams for making this park more easily accessible to the layman and throwing his whole heart and soul into helping make this event come off. We also thank Frog Prince for saving the Highlander in his time of need and Eric Festor (who I'm gonna just call Nightbike for the sake of having a trailname) for saving me in mine! Another major thanks to folks who donated items for the raffle and boxes for the event (BTW, if you DID bring some event stamps, please help me out by listing them on the event page...I don't know HALF of what I got in this book right now!) :-O Also, for those who did them, the night box series (called Night Music) is listed here. If you told me the title of the song, you got the last stamp (#9). As far as pics, I know some folks are already posting pics at the event page, but those would be folks with digital cameras. Mine have to be developed yet (curse my desperate need for an upgrade!), but I think I took pics of every group that came through so you can put names with faces.
Finally, the next gathering has already been listed here. Not ABSOLUTELY sure about the location just yet (since Nightbike has mentioned another great park near Lake Ontario), but we'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks again, everybody! You make this yearly event a labor of love! :-)
The (worn, but happy) Sprite & the (happy, but burnt) Highlander
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Hallowed Ground Tour 2007
Hey, folks! Felt bad that we couldn't make it to Infinity's Massacre-ade, so we decided to make our own fun in WNY! This event is part driving tour, part mini-meet, all spooky! Check out the details!
http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=453
The S & H
http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=453
The S & H
Planting at the Ridge complete!
CQ, the Highlander and I just banzai-ed Chestnut Ridge Park, planting everything we had (all 33 of ours, 14 of his and the 4 donations we received. We are "TO' up from the FLO' up", as my granny used to say (which meant "worn out" for you traditional Northerners!) but ready to go boxwise. I have a few more stamps to carve for the night event (and some prize stamps for various things at the event), but other than that, WNY is open for business!
The clues for the boxes planted today will officially be posted on the website by Thursday morning. However, if you are coming from out of state and leaving Thursday night before the clues are posted, have no fear! The exact info in on the page will be in the clue books at the park and out of town guests AUTOMATICALLY get one, so long as you come to the park for it. If you want to start early, the boxes that are already in the park have been posted on the site already...just print them off and you'll be all set! DO NOT use the clues that are currently (as of Sunday) posted, though...they've already confused one person, so Chadams is trying to rewrite them and they SHOULD be good by Wednesday.
More bulletins as warranted!
The (snuggling on the sofa, finally relaxed) Sprite & Highlander
The clues for the boxes planted today will officially be posted on the website by Thursday morning. However, if you are coming from out of state and leaving Thursday night before the clues are posted, have no fear! The exact info in on the page will be in the clue books at the park and out of town guests AUTOMATICALLY get one, so long as you come to the park for it. If you want to start early, the boxes that are already in the park have been posted on the site already...just print them off and you'll be all set! DO NOT use the clues that are currently (as of Sunday) posted, though...they've already confused one person, so Chadams is trying to rewrite them and they SHOULD be good by Wednesday.
More bulletins as warranted!
The (snuggling on the sofa, finally relaxed) Sprite & Highlander
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sending a box for the WNY Gathering?
Okay, Celtic Quinn and I are planting boxes tomorrow (August 15th) at Chestnut Ridge Park. We're planting all the ones we have and have received, but since neither of us is done carving as of this posting, we MIGHT make another trip down this weekend. If you have one that you plan to send us, write us IMMEDIATELY and mail the box so it gets here by SATURDAY the 18th. Anything that doesn't show up by then will be on the table for the gathering and planted afterward.
Remember, if we can't keep it (as a permanent plant), we don't want it! Not being rude or nasty, but the plan is to seed this park pretty heavily so it'll be a boxer's paradise; plus, the park's pretty far away for those of us in the northern part of WNY, so we won't be going back unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (maintenance and such).
More bulletins as warranted!
The S & H
Remember, if we can't keep it (as a permanent plant), we don't want it! Not being rude or nasty, but the plan is to seed this park pretty heavily so it'll be a boxer's paradise; plus, the park's pretty far away for those of us in the northern part of WNY, so we won't be going back unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (maintenance and such).
More bulletins as warranted!
The S & H
Uncle Julie's (Third Swirl's the Charm) Mini Meet recap
Well, I'm finally home from Texas, where 102 degrees worth of heat and 9 other folks make for a great day of letterboxing! I finally got to meet Gryzzled Gryphon, Blooming Flowers and her hubby and little one, Puddle Splasher, Batty Girl and her hubby, plus I brought along a new boxer, Stealth Wookie. We all sat down to margarita swirls and event stamps galore while packing away Mexican fare. By the time I had nearly finished my swirl, the parking lot was looking kinda swirly, too, so I gave the rest to Stealth Wookie's wife and drank water until I felt like driving my father's new Infinity was a safe thing to do! ;-) Blooming Flowers gave me a LbTx patch and pin from Barefoot Lucy (not my first, but the first to go on my bag until I can find my LBMA patch again) and we all had a ball despite the heat. I even brought some noxer friends (since I really only had one day to catch up with friends this trip), but everyone was really nice about it...no taunting, mental abuse or ritual hazing the way we do with noxers up North! ;-)
Afterward Stealth Wookie and I dragged his wife along to do the Carrollton boxes of the A League Of Their Own series. What a cool set of boxes! Instead of stamping into your logbook, mater et regisfilia left a little baseball diamond so that you had to stamp the stamps (little ponytailed players) onto it! Had we done the entire set, we'dve had the entire field filled; how I wish we'd had the time to go to the other cities!
Frankly, aside from my brother's wedding, this one day was the most fun I had in the whole 5 day trip! Being without my husband/lifelong pal was tough enough (especially at the wedding where I had no one to dance with, pout, pout!), but the boxers of Texas really salvaged my visit. Thanks again everyone!
The (now freezing back at home) Sprite & the (just glad she's there to keep warm again) Highlander
Afterward Stealth Wookie and I dragged his wife along to do the Carrollton boxes of the A League Of Their Own series. What a cool set of boxes! Instead of stamping into your logbook, mater et regisfilia left a little baseball diamond so that you had to stamp the stamps (little ponytailed players) onto it! Had we done the entire set, we'dve had the entire field filled; how I wish we'd had the time to go to the other cities!
Frankly, aside from my brother's wedding, this one day was the most fun I had in the whole 5 day trip! Being without my husband/lifelong pal was tough enough (especially at the wedding where I had no one to dance with, pout, pout!), but the boxers of Texas really salvaged my visit. Thanks again everyone!
The (now freezing back at home) Sprite & the (just glad she's there to keep warm again) Highlander
Monday, August 06, 2007
WNY Gathering Webpage Updates
Hi folks! The beginning of August is already here, which means the end is not too far behind. As promised, the page for the even has been updated in many ways. First, Chadams has prepared a page of his own (http://www.geocities.com/chadams2691/chestnutridge.html) that will give anyone unfamiliar with the park some info on where things are and how to use the maps.
So far, there's not many changes to the main webpage (http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gathering4.htm), but the clues page (http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gclues4.htm) now has the groups of boxes Chadams mentioned on his page for you to use in finding boxes without having to search in more than one place. I'm still adding them, but they'll all be on here by Wednesday (except the new music themed boxes, of course). Remember, we'll have this entire page plus maps printed up as a clue booklet available at the park for anyone who needs it, but it's first come, first served. Show up late and you might have to rely on your own printed (or PDA'd) clues!
The night boxing at Sprague Brook Park IS open for anyone that wants to come, whether you camp out or not. Our plan is to place the boxes along a path in Sprague Brook that's NOT in the overnight camping area so folks can still come and go as they please. It's a county park, so we can't say for SURE if they really are as lax with the dawn to dusk rules for visitors. However, since the budget cuts in Erie County, the parks are pretty well understaffed, and the ranger himself said that they don't come around checking to see where people are after hours, so we should be good.
Finally, we've got quite a few folks staying with us overnight at Sprague Brook. So far we have sites 55-64 with boxers, but we're totally out of the sites we originally reserved. If you decide to stay as well, you'll need to call the park yourself and reserve a site near us (which should still be no problem). The area we're in is shaped like an L, with the Highlander and I at the bend on Site #60. If you get anything in the 50s or 60's, you'll be in the same area as we are.
More bulletins as warranted!
The S & H
So far, there's not many changes to the main webpage (http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gathering4.htm), but the clues page (http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gclues4.htm) now has the groups of boxes Chadams mentioned on his page for you to use in finding boxes without having to search in more than one place. I'm still adding them, but they'll all be on here by Wednesday (except the new music themed boxes, of course). Remember, we'll have this entire page plus maps printed up as a clue booklet available at the park for anyone who needs it, but it's first come, first served. Show up late and you might have to rely on your own printed (or PDA'd) clues!
The night boxing at Sprague Brook Park IS open for anyone that wants to come, whether you camp out or not. Our plan is to place the boxes along a path in Sprague Brook that's NOT in the overnight camping area so folks can still come and go as they please. It's a county park, so we can't say for SURE if they really are as lax with the dawn to dusk rules for visitors. However, since the budget cuts in Erie County, the parks are pretty well understaffed, and the ranger himself said that they don't come around checking to see where people are after hours, so we should be good.
Finally, we've got quite a few folks staying with us overnight at Sprague Brook. So far we have sites 55-64 with boxers, but we're totally out of the sites we originally reserved. If you decide to stay as well, you'll need to call the park yourself and reserve a site near us (which should still be no problem). The area we're in is shaped like an L, with the Highlander and I at the bend on Site #60. If you get anything in the 50s or 60's, you'll be in the same area as we are.
More bulletins as warranted!
The S & H
Friday, August 03, 2007
Batman is WAYYYY too easy...!
From the couple that brought you Squirrels After Dawn and the Voyeuristic Gopher....
Okay, so we're sleeping last night and all the sudden, the Highlander jerks half up out of the bed. I assume he's having a some kind of internal trouble, like acid, but when he barely makes a sound except a startled grunt, I start to think he's having a heart attack!
I go "Hon, what IS it?" and then he jerks a second time and I hear something hit the wall. He stammers something about there being "something", then flicks the light on and stares at the wall for second. Then he goes "Holy !@#$ it's a BAT!", jumps up and says "I gotta get something to put him in" before running out.
Either I totally missed him saying this or just didn't get what he was saying, so I end up laying there in the bed trying to see what he's seeing. I look over on the sill and hanging off it IS a BAT! Panicked, I go to get up and move and its HEAD follows my movements. This panics me into "deer-in-batlights" mode, so I'm just laying there frozen in place while he rushes back in with a plastic cookie thing.
He goes after it and catches it in the container while I bravely waited below the blanket, then he sighs and says "Well, it BIT me, so we're going to have to go to the hospital and THAT means I'm going to be TIRED in the morning!" Not "Oh, I could die of rabies...hold me, my love for one last kiss" or "gosh, shots really sound TERRIBLE!"...no, the Highlander's hacked because he's going to lose sleep over a winged mouse! (did I mention how much he HATES his second job at the lab???)
So, we (yes, even our new buddy) pile into the car and go to the hospital where the entire night staff (including some EMTs) come by to visit and express sentiments along the lines of "wow" or "gross" or "you gonna EAT that?". Eventually, they gave him a tetanus shot and some antibiotics, then they kept the bat to give to the health department. They'll have results on Monday after they destroy it and check the head, I think they say (Snappy's, of course, although for the right price, I MIGHT have let them check the HIGHLANDER'S head...would explain a LOT...!). They also let us take some pics that I have to scan in and show you guys.
The funniest part to me was when one nurse came in and said "Well, don't get too attached...we'll have to give it to the health department and they have to destroy it." The Highlander got all cute and wide eyed and tells the lady, "Oh, but I've already named him! I call him Snappy!" Maybe it was because it was so late at night, but when he started to nod happily, she looked like she really believed him and thought he was just getting messed up from the rabies or something!
So, this morning I told him company policy frowns on draining the blood from others and he was like "Don't worry, I'll be a pile of dust LONG before I get to work this morning! LOL Poor guy. Honestly, he's had the rash, the beasts, the burning fire (from his butt, anyway). So...I'm thinking locusts next.
The (shampooing her hair with garlic) Sprite & the (eyeing up the only non-garlicked eligible young females in the house to attack...our 3 cats) Highlander
Okay, so we're sleeping last night and all the sudden, the Highlander jerks half up out of the bed. I assume he's having a some kind of internal trouble, like acid, but when he barely makes a sound except a startled grunt, I start to think he's having a heart attack!
I go "Hon, what IS it?" and then he jerks a second time and I hear something hit the wall. He stammers something about there being "something", then flicks the light on and stares at the wall for second. Then he goes "Holy !@#$ it's a BAT!", jumps up and says "I gotta get something to put him in" before running out.
Either I totally missed him saying this or just didn't get what he was saying, so I end up laying there in the bed trying to see what he's seeing. I look over on the sill and hanging off it IS a BAT! Panicked, I go to get up and move and its HEAD follows my movements. This panics me into "deer-in-batlights" mode, so I'm just laying there frozen in place while he rushes back in with a plastic cookie thing.
He goes after it and catches it in the container while I bravely waited below the blanket, then he sighs and says "Well, it BIT me, so we're going to have to go to the hospital and THAT means I'm going to be TIRED in the morning!" Not "Oh, I could die of rabies...hold me, my love for one last kiss" or "gosh, shots really sound TERRIBLE!"...no, the Highlander's hacked because he's going to lose sleep over a winged mouse! (did I mention how much he HATES his second job at the lab???)
So, we (yes, even our new buddy) pile into the car and go to the hospital where the entire night staff (including some EMTs) come by to visit and express sentiments along the lines of "wow" or "gross" or "you gonna EAT that?". Eventually, they gave him a tetanus shot and some antibiotics, then they kept the bat to give to the health department. They'll have results on Monday after they destroy it and check the head, I think they say (Snappy's, of course, although for the right price, I MIGHT have let them check the HIGHLANDER'S head...would explain a LOT...!). They also let us take some pics that I have to scan in and show you guys.
The funniest part to me was when one nurse came in and said "Well, don't get too attached...we'll have to give it to the health department and they have to destroy it." The Highlander got all cute and wide eyed and tells the lady, "Oh, but I've already named him! I call him Snappy!" Maybe it was because it was so late at night, but when he started to nod happily, she looked like she really believed him and thought he was just getting messed up from the rabies or something!
So, this morning I told him company policy frowns on draining the blood from others and he was like "Don't worry, I'll be a pile of dust LONG before I get to work this morning! LOL Poor guy. Honestly, he's had the rash, the beasts, the burning fire (from his butt, anyway). So...I'm thinking locusts next.
The (shampooing her hair with garlic) Sprite & the (eyeing up the only non-garlicked eligible young females in the house to attack...our 3 cats) Highlander
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Solsbury Hill
Okay, another post that has NOTHING to do with boxing, but this was just...yay!
Last night (July 17th) was the Highlander's and my 8th anniversary. Even though we ain't got money (there's a song in there somewhere), we've sort of developed a tradition over the past 5 years that I really enjoy that doesn't cost us a thing.
Back on our 3rd anniversary, I put together a list of songs that really represented our entire relationship history up to that point (the high tech version of the tape of songs couples used to make for each other back in high school!). I put them into a playlist on my Musicmatch program, then, in the Notes section, I wrote a little blurb about each one. For example, the first song is "Boy From New York City" (since the Highlander lived in New York and I was in Dallas when we met). I wrote:
When I first did this, there were 10 songs for the first part of our relationship, where we met online and really fell for each other. I used songs like "Take A Chance on Me" by ABBA and "I Just Want to Hang Around You" by George Benson. Then there's another 10 for when we met in person and things initially went sour because SOME dumb sprite was too afraid of commitment. I had some pretty sad songs there like "I Don't Know How To Love Him" by Helen Reddy (from Jesus Christ Superstar) and Please Mister Please" from Olivia Newton-John (on that one, I began with "Once you've reached the country music phase, you're missing someone too much!") and the last 10 for our amazing reunion and the two more separations afterward, all the way to our finally being together permanently. That part ends with "At Last" by Etta James and "Our House" by CSNY.
Anyway, it's become habit to listen to this set of songs on each anniversary. We read the blurbs all over again and sit and talk about where we were, how we were, and even WHO we at that time (plus we usually dance to our favorite ones). It had sort of become a musical timeline of our lives between 1997 and 2002, so for our 5th anniversary, I decided to go back and add a song for each year we'd been married. I already had songs up to the 3rd anniversary, so for the 4th, I added "You Just Can't Smile It Away" by Bill Withers (the song we danced to our first night in our new and VERY empty house) and the 5th was "As" by Stevie Wonder (where I began the blurb with "Our 5th anniversary...and now we're old enough to find meaning in obscure Stevie Wonder songs!") The blurbs have become longer each year so that I'm now writing short letters to go with each song and just adding it to the list. The list itself I've finally put into a Word Document so we can read it while we listen to the songs.
Which brings me to out 8th year...
This year's song was" Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel. It was the song playing when I drove him home from the hospital a few weeks ago (he had a myelogram done to see what was wrong with his neck), and we were REALLY scared about it. Everyone told him how bad the pain could be and he put it off for months. So, as I looked over at him looking all worn out and tired, with the sun shining in on him, I was so overwhelmed that I suddenly had to just thank God for letting my hubby come home safe and sound. The song just wouldn't leave my head, thought, so after researching it a bit, I found out it's a song about changing your life and being ready to lose what you have for what you might get and just letting go in general.
That's been a HUGE thing for us this year...we had to choose to give up our home, most certainly gave up our pride, our personal and physical comfort and many other things, only to find out that fate had other things in mind. We gave up the house, only to find a last minute option that let us keep it and got us back on track financially again. The Highlander gave up working at the lab to sink everything into trying to become a teacher and we discovered that, even though he made less, we actually saved some money in not having him drive clear to Buffalo, plus he was SO much happier that we spent LESS time at the doctor's in pain. Because of the pain, we both gave in and decided to do this myelogram in the first place, knowing it meant he'd be in horrible pain for a solid week, but found out it wasn't as bad as we thought. We gave up any hope of having a child, only to discover how important the kids we teach have now become to us, as well as each other. And about 10 years ago for the Highlander and 6 for me, we both chose to leave our homes and families to live with the one we committed out lives to (he moved down to Texas where I was and we both moved back up to Western New York where he was from).
Sometimes you just have to give up your comfort zone to move on to the next big thing in your life.
And through all that, we've had each other. He's been my silent, stalwart companion in the storm, keeping me calm and centered when I thought I might crash on the rocks, while I've gone and STARTED storms for him, being his lightning and thunder when he needed someone to speak up on his behalf or to get him motivated. Each of us has been there to protect and care for the other.
So, what have we learned in 8 years? Life isn't always what we planned, but when you feel like you're "in a rut" or "part of the machinery" and you have to let fate take over, I hope each of YOU has a person like I do that can come to you, give you a hug and say:
"Grab your things, I've come to take you home."
The (thankful for 8 happy years) Sprite & the (hoping for many more) Highlander
Last night (July 17th) was the Highlander's and my 8th anniversary. Even though we ain't got money (there's a song in there somewhere), we've sort of developed a tradition over the past 5 years that I really enjoy that doesn't cost us a thing.
Back on our 3rd anniversary, I put together a list of songs that really represented our entire relationship history up to that point (the high tech version of the tape of songs couples used to make for each other back in high school!). I put them into a playlist on my Musicmatch program, then, in the Notes section, I wrote a little blurb about each one. For example, the first song is "Boy From New York City" (since the Highlander lived in New York and I was in Dallas when we met). I wrote:
Kevin Burke, bachelor farmer, super uncle and generally laid back guy. He works all day, goes out on weekend nights, hunts during the season and sleeps when his body tells him to. He's out of the race for the right girl and has decided to enjoy life the way it is.
Poor bastard...doesn't even know how miserable he is! ;-)
When I first did this, there were 10 songs for the first part of our relationship, where we met online and really fell for each other. I used songs like "Take A Chance on Me" by ABBA and "I Just Want to Hang Around You" by George Benson. Then there's another 10 for when we met in person and things initially went sour because SOME dumb sprite was too afraid of commitment. I had some pretty sad songs there like "I Don't Know How To Love Him" by Helen Reddy (from Jesus Christ Superstar) and Please Mister Please" from Olivia Newton-John (on that one, I began with "Once you've reached the country music phase, you're missing someone too much!") and the last 10 for our amazing reunion and the two more separations afterward, all the way to our finally being together permanently. That part ends with "At Last" by Etta James and "Our House" by CSNY.
Anyway, it's become habit to listen to this set of songs on each anniversary. We read the blurbs all over again and sit and talk about where we were, how we were, and even WHO we at that time (plus we usually dance to our favorite ones). It had sort of become a musical timeline of our lives between 1997 and 2002, so for our 5th anniversary, I decided to go back and add a song for each year we'd been married. I already had songs up to the 3rd anniversary, so for the 4th, I added "You Just Can't Smile It Away" by Bill Withers (the song we danced to our first night in our new and VERY empty house) and the 5th was "As" by Stevie Wonder (where I began the blurb with "Our 5th anniversary...and now we're old enough to find meaning in obscure Stevie Wonder songs!") The blurbs have become longer each year so that I'm now writing short letters to go with each song and just adding it to the list. The list itself I've finally put into a Word Document so we can read it while we listen to the songs.
Which brings me to out 8th year...
This year's song was" Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel. It was the song playing when I drove him home from the hospital a few weeks ago (he had a myelogram done to see what was wrong with his neck), and we were REALLY scared about it. Everyone told him how bad the pain could be and he put it off for months. So, as I looked over at him looking all worn out and tired, with the sun shining in on him, I was so overwhelmed that I suddenly had to just thank God for letting my hubby come home safe and sound. The song just wouldn't leave my head, thought, so after researching it a bit, I found out it's a song about changing your life and being ready to lose what you have for what you might get and just letting go in general.
That's been a HUGE thing for us this year...we had to choose to give up our home, most certainly gave up our pride, our personal and physical comfort and many other things, only to find out that fate had other things in mind. We gave up the house, only to find a last minute option that let us keep it and got us back on track financially again. The Highlander gave up working at the lab to sink everything into trying to become a teacher and we discovered that, even though he made less, we actually saved some money in not having him drive clear to Buffalo, plus he was SO much happier that we spent LESS time at the doctor's in pain. Because of the pain, we both gave in and decided to do this myelogram in the first place, knowing it meant he'd be in horrible pain for a solid week, but found out it wasn't as bad as we thought. We gave up any hope of having a child, only to discover how important the kids we teach have now become to us, as well as each other. And about 10 years ago for the Highlander and 6 for me, we both chose to leave our homes and families to live with the one we committed out lives to (he moved down to Texas where I was and we both moved back up to Western New York where he was from).
Sometimes you just have to give up your comfort zone to move on to the next big thing in your life.
And through all that, we've had each other. He's been my silent, stalwart companion in the storm, keeping me calm and centered when I thought I might crash on the rocks, while I've gone and STARTED storms for him, being his lightning and thunder when he needed someone to speak up on his behalf or to get him motivated. Each of us has been there to protect and care for the other.
So, what have we learned in 8 years? Life isn't always what we planned, but when you feel like you're "in a rut" or "part of the machinery" and you have to let fate take over, I hope each of YOU has a person like I do that can come to you, give you a hug and say:
"Grab your things, I've come to take you home."
The (thankful for 8 happy years) Sprite & the (hoping for many more) Highlander
Monday, July 09, 2007
Missing Lockport boxes replaced!
Finally got out to do some maintenance on a few boxes, including some that we adopted. Since the adopted boxes had stamps that were muggled just months after they were placed, we recarved them from the images we had in our logbook and put them back out. Therefore, the clues for all have changed a little, but the stamps are basically the same. Here's links to all three (the first two are the adoptees):
The Biz: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=3101
Take Me Out: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=3102
If Only For A Moment: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=1982
The S & H
The Biz: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=3101
Take Me Out: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=3102
If Only For A Moment: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=1982
The S & H
Friday, June 29, 2007
A new page for all WNY Gatherings
Now that summer's here (and summer SCHOOL hasn't started), I have a little more time to do some of the stuff I've been wanting to. One of those things was making a page where folks could link to all the Gatherings that we've had in WNY. I don't know that I have EVERY single event that's gone on between Buffalo and Rochester, but I gave it a shot. Let us know what you think!
http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gathering0.htm
The S & H
http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gathering0.htm
The S & H
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Location, location, location!!! (More WNY Gathering Stuff)
Our WNY Gathering is now happening in two different locations. We'll be having our normal day event ((LB)WNY is ON THE AIR!!! 2007) at Chestnut Ridge Park on Saturday, August 25. The address is 6121 Chestnut Ridge Road, Orchard Park, NY 14127 You can either put that address into Yahoo Maps, Mapquest or Google Maps, that will let you do driving directions from where you live to the park OR (even easier) use the map search on the event page and it will already have the park's address in for you! It's right in the location box near the top.
For those who want to stay overnight with us and do some night boxing, we're also spending that weekend at Sprague Brook Park for Block Party W(NY)eekend 2007. The campsites are only $13 a night (much cheaper than the other campgrounds), plus having an actual PARK for the nightboxing means the night boxes can STAY instead of being picked up at the end of the night. The park's address is Foote Road, Glenwood, NY 14069, so use both addresses to find your way between here and Chestnut Ridge on a map search. Anyone planning to stay overnight should sign up for BOTH events, but if you're only coming for the day, just sign up for (LB)WNY is ON THE AIR!!! 2007. Once you've signed up, we'll tell you how to reserve your campsite.
Finally, the gathering webpage (not to be confused with the event page at Atlas Quest) is changing regularly now. If you've yet to see it, be sure to check it out. It gives you info on the parks, the boxes, the schedule and anything else you wanted to know about the gatherings. I'm also planning to add a link to the past gatherings on here so you can see the pictures and general aftermath for yourselves! :-)
Hope to see you soon!
The S & H
For those who want to stay overnight with us and do some night boxing, we're also spending that weekend at Sprague Brook Park for Block Party W(NY)eekend 2007. The campsites are only $13 a night (much cheaper than the other campgrounds), plus having an actual PARK for the nightboxing means the night boxes can STAY instead of being picked up at the end of the night. The park's address is Foote Road, Glenwood, NY 14069, so use both addresses to find your way between here and Chestnut Ridge on a map search. Anyone planning to stay overnight should sign up for BOTH events, but if you're only coming for the day, just sign up for (LB)WNY is ON THE AIR!!! 2007. Once you've signed up, we'll tell you how to reserve your campsite.
Finally, the gathering webpage (not to be confused with the event page at Atlas Quest) is changing regularly now. If you've yet to see it, be sure to check it out. It gives you info on the parks, the boxes, the schedule and anything else you wanted to know about the gatherings. I'm also planning to add a link to the past gatherings on here so you can see the pictures and general aftermath for yourselves! :-)
Hope to see you soon!
The S & H
Saturday, June 23, 2007
WNY Gathering Site Updated!
Finally added the webpage for the 5th Annual WNY gathering site! You can either go to the Atlas Quest event page and click on the website, or just click here: http://thesprite.orgfree.com/letterboxing/gathering4.htm
Also, we're still looking for box donations that have anything to do with music, so contact the Highlander and I if you're interested in carving and sending something. We need to get it by August to have time to plant them all, but we need to know if you're sending something ASAP so we know what we've got. Oh, we're also still trying to find a place to camp out and night box....more info on that as it comes!
The S & H (& Chadams!)
Also, we're still looking for box donations that have anything to do with music, so contact the Highlander and I if you're interested in carving and sending something. We need to get it by August to have time to plant them all, but we need to know if you're sending something ASAP so we know what we've got. Oh, we're also still trying to find a place to camp out and night box....more info on that as it comes!
The S & H (& Chadams!)
Sunday, June 17, 2007
5ht Annual LBWNY Gathering coming in August
It's getting to be about that time to start promoting the Western New York gathering, which is coming as the last holler of summer (you know, the summer that starts...well, NOW???) We'll be in Orchard Park (Chestnut Ridge, to be exact) and our theme this year is "(LB)WNY is ON THE AIR!". We intend to do a standard day tripper's Saturday event from 10-5, but also plan to have night boxing again and hopefully camping from Friday night to Sunday at one of the closer campgrounds.
We'd REALLY like to seed this park with boxes enough to make this trip as worthwhile as our past gatherings have been (okay, and to try and meet or beat the Stone Mountain record!), so we'd love to get box donations. Any stamps you'd like to create that deal with music of any kind are great, so long as we can get them by the beginning of August (gives us enough time to plant them). Contact us here and we'll give the address to send them to.
Thanks in advance and hope to see you there!
The Sprite, the Highlander and this year's local host in OP, Chadams
We'd REALLY like to seed this park with boxes enough to make this trip as worthwhile as our past gatherings have been (okay, and to try and meet or beat the Stone Mountain record!), so we'd love to get box donations. Any stamps you'd like to create that deal with music of any kind are great, so long as we can get them by the beginning of August (gives us enough time to plant them). Contact us here and we'll give the address to send them to.
Thanks in advance and hope to see you there!
The Sprite, the Highlander and this year's local host in OP, Chadams
The New Boxer Spiel!
Just in case some of you are reading this and don't know about anything else but Atlas Quest, here's a version of the spiel the Highlander and I like to send to new boxers that join the LBWNY Yahoo group.:
Welcome to letterboxing and I hope you're finding it just as much fun as we did (and still do)! Kevin and I (the Sprite and the Highlander) thought we'd give you some info to help you connect to a bunch more boxing info and some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet!
First, if you haven't already, sign up for Atlas Quest (http://www.atlasquest.com/) and Letterboxing North America (http://www.letterboxing.org/). Both are great places to find box clues and log your finds. The first also has other boxing info, like message boards and listings for events you can join other letterboxers in.
Second, there's a few Yahoo groups that folks from our neck of the woods frequent (great for asking questions and connecting in general):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lboswego/ (a more central NY area board)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBNY/ (full New York State board)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox_ON/ (our Canadian buddies)
Finally, be sure to set your settings on Atlas Quest so you can find out when any local boxes or gatherings are posted. Just go the "Letterboxes" heading on AQ, click on "Advanced Search", then type in the name of your and expand the distance out to 100 (or less, if you can't go too far). You can also click on the right to hide all the boxes you've planted or found so you just see the ones you need to do. Once you do this, click "Search", then when it comes up, click on "Save Search" in the upper right of the screen. Name your search and be SURE to click "Yes, tell me about new boxes!" That way, anything that happens in the mile radius you chose (including letterboxing events) will be sent directly to your Atlas Quest e-mail. Then just be sure your preferences are set to alert you when you have Atlas Quest e-mail and you're all set!)
Feel free to contact us here or there if you have questions...hope to see you on the trails soon!
The Sprite & the Highlander
(aka Daina & Kevin)
check us out at http://spriteandhighlander.blogspot.com
The Highlander and I send a version of this out to each new person that logs a find on one of our boxes so they can meet more people and join us at the gatherings. We used to only use it as a way to post gatherings by getting folks' e-mail addresses and adding them to a e-mailing list, but once we started the LBWNY Yahoo group, we just started directing folks to there instead for info. Now, with AQ having event listings, it's even simpler to just teach everyone how to set their preferences to find info on AQ on their own. It's a REALLY easy way to expand boxing in your area, so feel free to modify this and use it yourself!
Next week...how to make a pepperoni pizza! First, you'll need about $20, a phone and the number to your favorite pizza place...! :-)
Welcome to letterboxing and I hope you're finding it just as much fun as we did (and still do)! Kevin and I (the Sprite and the Highlander) thought we'd give you some info to help you connect to a bunch more boxing info and some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet!
First, if you haven't already, sign up for Atlas Quest (http://www.atlasquest.com/) and Letterboxing North America (http://www.letterboxing.org/). Both are great places to find box clues and log your finds. The first also has other boxing info, like message boards and listings for events you can join other letterboxers in.
Second, there's a few Yahoo groups that folks from our neck of the woods frequent (great for asking questions and connecting in general):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lboswego/ (a more central NY area board)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBNY/ (full New York State board)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox_ON/ (our Canadian buddies)
Finally, be sure to set your settings on Atlas Quest so you can find out when any local boxes or gatherings are posted. Just go the "Letterboxes" heading on AQ, click on "Advanced Search", then type in the name of your and expand the distance out to 100 (or less, if you can't go too far). You can also click on the right to hide all the boxes you've planted or found so you just see the ones you need to do. Once you do this, click "Search", then when it comes up, click on "Save Search" in the upper right of the screen. Name your search and be SURE to click "Yes, tell me about new boxes!" That way, anything that happens in the mile radius you chose (including letterboxing events) will be sent directly to your Atlas Quest e-mail. Then just be sure your preferences are set to alert you when you have Atlas Quest e-mail and you're all set!)
Feel free to contact us here or there if you have questions...hope to see you on the trails soon!
The Sprite & the Highlander
(aka Daina & Kevin)
check us out at http://spriteandhighlander.blogspot.com
The Highlander and I send a version of this out to each new person that logs a find on one of our boxes so they can meet more people and join us at the gatherings. We used to only use it as a way to post gatherings by getting folks' e-mail addresses and adding them to a e-mailing list, but once we started the LBWNY Yahoo group, we just started directing folks to there instead for info. Now, with AQ having event listings, it's even simpler to just teach everyone how to set their preferences to find info on AQ on their own. It's a REALLY easy way to expand boxing in your area, so feel free to modify this and use it yourself!
Next week...how to make a pepperoni pizza! First, you'll need about $20, a phone and the number to your favorite pizza place...! :-)
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Panning for (Mo)Wiz(liz) mini-meet a success!
It began with a simple note from Mowizliz:
Hi CQ, Kitten, Sprite and Highlander, River Otter, and Craftymouse,
Teepsman and I will be flying out of Buffalo early morning, Saturday June 9th, which means, that we'd love to meet any of you over coffee or dinner Friday night somewhere in the vicinity.
Normally, when we travel together some place new, letterboxing isn't high on the list, but ever since River Otter put up that Mel Gibson's Drunken Tirade box, I've laughed so much over that that we absolutely have to have that one. Now it is compounded that I've seen some of the bunnies of Morbid Affair with ...301...302 calling strongly.
This is short notice, so its understandable meeting up isn't a possibility. Without a doubt, I'm leaving someone out of this message that I'm going to kick myself for having missed when we get back, so
any suggestions are welcome. :-)
Thanks for the consideration! I'm hoping to meet all of you!
Pats
And suddenly, we were all sucked into a wonderful evening of mini-meeting in the classic WNY style; laid back and relaxed with lots of chatting and general silliness! And don't ask about the Panning for Wiz thing...for some reason, the title just wouldn't leave my mind, so I HAD to use it!
If you haven't had the chance to meet Pats (Mowizliz) and her significant otter Teepsman (whose real name eludes me all the sudden!), they are a TON of fun! We weren't five seconds into the Panera's Bakery where we were all to meet when this woman in front of us in line says "You think they serve Sprite here?" Trying to be as helpful as possible, I start to tell this laughing lady about the variety of beverages the place DOES have before realizing that THIS is, in fact, Pats giving me a hard time! :-)
It all just went uphill from there! Most of the regulars were there, such as the Phoenix, Celtic Quinn and the rest of the Quinn clan (including his fiancee Kitten Without Mittens and her mother, Falling Leaves), Chadams and his fiancee Lady Lilac, and dee123 with her family. A few of my students came as well, since the meet was in Lockport where I teach, but we also got Team Dakota to make an appearance, as well as carve an event stamp while we waited!
I don't know who's got pictures, but I DO know that we all hung out there for about 2 hours just stamping and talking about everything, then most folks went back to the hotel room with our guests while the Highlander and I had to call it a night because he'd braved the entire evening without his pain medication and we had to get him back. Still, a good time was had by all and we can't wait to have MWL and Teepsman back around here again (we hear she's a D & D player from way back, so we're thinking we MIGHT have to kidnap her and get her geek on during the NEXT visit!)
The (bouncing in anticipation of the next gathering) Sprite & the (packing the proper medication just in case) Highlander
Hi CQ, Kitten, Sprite and Highlander, River Otter, and Craftymouse,
Teepsman and I will be flying out of Buffalo early morning, Saturday June 9th, which means, that we'd love to meet any of you over coffee or dinner Friday night somewhere in the vicinity.
Normally, when we travel together some place new, letterboxing isn't high on the list, but ever since River Otter put up that Mel Gibson's Drunken Tirade box, I've laughed so much over that that we absolutely have to have that one. Now it is compounded that I've seen some of the bunnies of Morbid Affair with ...301...302 calling strongly.
This is short notice, so its understandable meeting up isn't a possibility. Without a doubt, I'm leaving someone out of this message that I'm going to kick myself for having missed when we get back, so
any suggestions are welcome. :-)
Thanks for the consideration! I'm hoping to meet all of you!
Pats
And suddenly, we were all sucked into a wonderful evening of mini-meeting in the classic WNY style; laid back and relaxed with lots of chatting and general silliness! And don't ask about the Panning for Wiz thing...for some reason, the title just wouldn't leave my mind, so I HAD to use it!
If you haven't had the chance to meet Pats (Mowizliz) and her significant otter Teepsman (whose real name eludes me all the sudden!), they are a TON of fun! We weren't five seconds into the Panera's Bakery where we were all to meet when this woman in front of us in line says "You think they serve Sprite here?" Trying to be as helpful as possible, I start to tell this laughing lady about the variety of beverages the place DOES have before realizing that THIS is, in fact, Pats giving me a hard time! :-)
It all just went uphill from there! Most of the regulars were there, such as the Phoenix, Celtic Quinn and the rest of the Quinn clan (including his fiancee Kitten Without Mittens and her mother, Falling Leaves), Chadams and his fiancee Lady Lilac, and dee123 with her family. A few of my students came as well, since the meet was in Lockport where I teach, but we also got Team Dakota to make an appearance, as well as carve an event stamp while we waited!
I don't know who's got pictures, but I DO know that we all hung out there for about 2 hours just stamping and talking about everything, then most folks went back to the hotel room with our guests while the Highlander and I had to call it a night because he'd braved the entire evening without his pain medication and we had to get him back. Still, a good time was had by all and we can't wait to have MWL and Teepsman back around here again (we hear she's a D & D player from way back, so we're thinking we MIGHT have to kidnap her and get her geek on during the NEXT visit!)
The (bouncing in anticipation of the next gathering) Sprite & the (packing the proper medication just in case) Highlander
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Gox Box Sox (revisited)
Well, I just went out and got the mail today and lo, there in our box were gox box sox from dbltall, along with the brand new Gox Box Sox HH (here's a pic of them at the Woolrich catalogue http://www.woolrich.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+L3D74537A45138000EA4303U+PRD+ENG)!
I was laughing like an idiot until I actually put them ON!
Oh...
...my...
...GOD!!!
These sox...I mean, SOCKS are AMAZING! They are SOOO on my list for boxing wear (and daily wear, really...after all, we're in upstate NY, where Winter goes for the winter...and summer...and spring break...and the vernal equinox...!). First, they're the right color (I LOVE blue and those wintry sweater type patterns). Second, they're merino wool, so they're warm AND soft and have this delightfully cushy feel to them everywhere I walk. I'm walking around barefoot in them now and making sounds that the Highlander normally associates with a different room of the house! And finally, they're MINE! Muhahahahahahhaaaaaaa!
I'm telling you, I'm going online to get more of these because I will TOTALLY PAY for this kinda sex...I mean, SOCKS! :-)
The (cheating on the Highlander with winter wear) Sprite & the (been in love with the other socks for YEARS, but never told the wife) Highlander
I was laughing like an idiot until I actually put them ON!
Oh...
...my...
...GOD!!!
These sox...I mean, SOCKS are AMAZING! They are SOOO on my list for boxing wear (and daily wear, really...after all, we're in upstate NY, where Winter goes for the winter...and summer...and spring break...and the vernal equinox...!). First, they're the right color (I LOVE blue and those wintry sweater type patterns). Second, they're merino wool, so they're warm AND soft and have this delightfully cushy feel to them everywhere I walk. I'm walking around barefoot in them now and making sounds that the Highlander normally associates with a different room of the house! And finally, they're MINE! Muhahahahahahhaaaaaaa!
I'm telling you, I'm going online to get more of these because I will TOTALLY PAY for this kinda sex...I mean, SOCKS! :-)
The (cheating on the Highlander with winter wear) Sprite & the (been in love with the other socks for YEARS, but never told the wife) Highlander
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Iron Man/Woman Goxing!
The Highlander, CQ and I just put a good 24 hours into gaming and boxing (hereafter known as goxing until someone gives us a better name). First, we went to Panera's on Friday around 9pm to hang with the early boxers before Kitten's A Morbid Affair event on Saturday. Around 10:30, we left there and headed to Kitten's house, where CQ ran an impromptu gamin session until about 1:30 in the morning (or later, but that's when we had to leave to get home...got in bed around 3 am). We got up around 7:30 the next morning, then headed back to Buffalo to box and exchange from 10 to about 12:30 at Kitten's event, then lwent to the University of Buffalo for UBCon, a gaming convention that actually started Friday and ended today. We gamed some more from around 1:30 to about 6:30 (strangely early, really!), then went back for dinner at Chili's with more boxers for 2 more hours. When we realized a bunch of the gamers couldn't make it back to meet us again, we finally ended up calling it a night around 10 and got home about 11pm.
We had a great time doing both and only wish we could have had more TIME for both...the Highlander and I are gonna play a little more today just to get the NEED out of us before we go back to work Monday!
Still, a GREAT time was had by all, proving even MORE that we really SHOULD try a goxing event sometime!
The S & H
We had a great time doing both and only wish we could have had more TIME for both...the Highlander and I are gonna play a little more today just to get the NEED out of us before we go back to work Monday!
Still, a GREAT time was had by all, proving even MORE that we really SHOULD try a goxing event sometime!
The S & H
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Box maintenance at Royalton Ravine & Let's Go Morbid!
I (the Sprite) am planning on doing some box maintenance on the set of boxes we've got at Royalton Ravine, which still have last summer's Record Holder stamps from the It's a WNY-ld Ride gathering. I'm also planning on moving the last boxes from the series (Hot Baths, Anime Babes and Ivy) to a different location so no one has to climb that huge hill anymore to get to it. I'm pretty sure they'll be out of the park entirely (thinking Williamsville in a month or so or UB this weekend).
So, if anyone wants to get those or any of the summer stamps before they go away (or just an exchange), I'll be there starting at 11 AM. Some of my students are coming with their parents, so you can get a few other exchanges as well. No matter what, wear clothes you don't care about and hiking boots...it'll be MIGHTY muddy and nasty out there!
Here's the link to both the regular permanent boxes (SOME of which are leaving): http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=1814
and the extra stamps (ALL of which are leaving): http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=20183
PLEASE contact me ahead of time if you plan on being out there so I know to wait for you!
Also, in case you haven't heard already, there's another gathering coming up
VERY soon! It's Kitten Without Mittens "A Morbid Affair" and it'll be
in Tonawanda, NY on the 14th! I don't know of many folks in the WNY
area that AREN'T going, so don't miss out! Here's all the details at
AQ...sign up now by going to this site:
http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=305
then scrolling WAY down to the bottom of the RSVP list to click on
"Sign Me Up!" The Highlander and I have two places to be that day, but
we'll be around with the IAP from 10 to noon. Hope to see you there!
The (enjoying spring break) Sprite & the (whiteknuckling the wait for teaching interviews) Highlander
So, if anyone wants to get those or any of the summer stamps before they go away (or just an exchange), I'll be there starting at 11 AM. Some of my students are coming with their parents, so you can get a few other exchanges as well. No matter what, wear clothes you don't care about and hiking boots...it'll be MIGHTY muddy and nasty out there!
Here's the link to both the regular permanent boxes (SOME of which are leaving): http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=1814
and the extra stamps (ALL of which are leaving): http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=20183
PLEASE contact me ahead of time if you plan on being out there so I know to wait for you!
Also, in case you haven't heard already, there's another gathering coming up
VERY soon! It's Kitten Without Mittens "A Morbid Affair" and it'll be
in Tonawanda, NY on the 14th! I don't know of many folks in the WNY
area that AREN'T going, so don't miss out! Here's all the details at
AQ...sign up now by going to this site:
http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=305
then scrolling WAY down to the bottom of the RSVP list to click on
"Sign Me Up!" The Highlander and I have two places to be that day, but
we'll be around with the IAP from 10 to noon. Hope to see you there!
The (enjoying spring break) Sprite & the (whiteknuckling the wait for teaching interviews) Highlander
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Herobia
Totally off the boxing topic, but...
WHAT THE HAPPY HARPY HADES is THAT ABOUT??? WE GOTTA WAIT UNTIL APRIL FOR MORE HEROES???
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!
The Highlander was immediately like "They're gonna lose viewers like this. Who the heck is gonna watch it THEN???"
That's when I sighed and said, "We are and you KNOW it."
God, we're so hooked...I swear we're going to need rehab after this...
The CLAIRE Center ad:
Do you religiously watch Heroes?
Do you suffer from anxiety whether the show is on or not?
Do you experience moderate or severe depression when the show goes off?
Do you worry about whether New York City will be blown up by a man that no one can see?
Do you unconsciously shy away from cheerleaders, Japanese tourists, clock repairmen and Haitians?
If so, you are one of the millions of people who suffer from Herobia. However, there IS hope...
At the Clinic for Longterm Anxiety Issues Related to Excitement (CLAIRE), we help you take back your Monday nights and survive the week long torture associated with waiting for the next episode of Heroes to come on. Our teams of experts will work with you to find out what makes you tick so you don't feel explosive or suicidal after yet another amazing plot twist. Then, with just a simple injection, you will never feel those anxious moments again.
Don't just wait for special powers to make it all go away...come see us at CLAIRE and turn Herobia back into just another Monday night TV show. CLAIRE is located in the back of the Primatech Building. Just ask for Mr. Bennet or call 1-800-CHARLIE to make an appointment. If you can't come to us, call 1-800-HEY-SYLR for a quick and easy house call!
Disclaimer: Side effects may include forgetfulness, inability to keep metal objects solid, difficulty being seen, inability to maintain normal gravity, sensitivity to sound, extreme heat, sudden internet access, fear of Frenchmen, golden retriever headed children, fear of horned-rimmed glasses, a desire to investigate paper mills, a desire to rescue cheerleaders, inability to maintain cranial consistency, and a strange equal sign shaped birthmark after first visit. CLAIRE is not responsible for any possible birth defects or mutations that may occur. See your doctor before attempting to visit CLAIRE.
WHAT THE HAPPY HARPY HADES is THAT ABOUT??? WE GOTTA WAIT UNTIL APRIL FOR MORE HEROES???
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!
The Highlander was immediately like "They're gonna lose viewers like this. Who the heck is gonna watch it THEN???"
That's when I sighed and said, "We are and you KNOW it."
God, we're so hooked...I swear we're going to need rehab after this...
The CLAIRE Center ad:
Do you religiously watch Heroes?
Do you suffer from anxiety whether the show is on or not?
Do you experience moderate or severe depression when the show goes off?
Do you worry about whether New York City will be blown up by a man that no one can see?
Do you unconsciously shy away from cheerleaders, Japanese tourists, clock repairmen and Haitians?
If so, you are one of the millions of people who suffer from Herobia. However, there IS hope...
At the Clinic for Longterm Anxiety Issues Related to Excitement (CLAIRE), we help you take back your Monday nights and survive the week long torture associated with waiting for the next episode of Heroes to come on. Our teams of experts will work with you to find out what makes you tick so you don't feel explosive or suicidal after yet another amazing plot twist. Then, with just a simple injection, you will never feel those anxious moments again.
Don't just wait for special powers to make it all go away...come see us at CLAIRE and turn Herobia back into just another Monday night TV show. CLAIRE is located in the back of the Primatech Building. Just ask for Mr. Bennet or call 1-800-CHARLIE to make an appointment. If you can't come to us, call 1-800-HEY-SYLR for a quick and easy house call!
Disclaimer: Side effects may include forgetfulness, inability to keep metal objects solid, difficulty being seen, inability to maintain normal gravity, sensitivity to sound, extreme heat, sudden internet access, fear of Frenchmen, golden retriever headed children, fear of horned-rimmed glasses, a desire to investigate paper mills, a desire to rescue cheerleaders, inability to maintain cranial consistency, and a strange equal sign shaped birthmark after first visit. CLAIRE is not responsible for any possible birth defects or mutations that may occur. See your doctor before attempting to visit CLAIRE.
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