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:

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

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

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

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

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!)

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

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...! :-)

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

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

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

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

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.

Canadian boxes everywhere and not a box to find!

Well, we went clean up to Toronto this week and TOTALLY skipped the 6 boxes in town, as well as didn't plant one while we were there! Argghhh!

We have a good reason, though. My dad sent us my grandmother from Florida and money to show her a good time and we've been doing just that She's been up here visiting us for a few days now and just having a ball. She's 83 years old and recovering from a spill she had in February, so she's moving slower than usual, but she's keeping up the pace pretty well, with the exception of stairs. While we were in Toronto heading to the subway, she was coming down stairs and going one step, one step, one step, etc. when all the sudden, this OTHER old lady, shorter than her and older, comes flying down the steps past her! She gave this lady a look so crooked as to be mistaken for a jealous 5 year old! I look back at her and, like a mom, tell her in a gentle voice, "It's NOT a race, honey," before we both crack up laughing.

She's also where I (the Sprite) get my goofy sense of humor from. We were sitting on the sofa all relaxed after that long trip to Toronto when Foggy (our youngest cat) jumps up on her lap. She tries to pet her, but Foggy can't sit still when you pet her unless you MAKE her, so she's doing her little ADD dance all over her while Shug (my grandmother) tries to make her happy. Finally, she goes "What is WRONG with you, cat? What do you WANT?" in her little soft Southern accent.

I pipe up with "She likes it when you scratch her more than just petting her."

She says "Well, now why didn't you just SAY all that, cat?" and starts doing it.

Meanwhile, Kevin (the Highlander) goes, "You know what she DOESN'T like?" With a totally straight face he goes, "She doesn't like it when you attach jumper cables up to her ears and attach her to a battery. She doesn't like that at ALL." I laugh to beat the band, but Shug looks at him all serious and we're thinking "D'oh, we went too far."

Finally after looking at him for an uncomfortably long moment, she says, "Exactly when was the last time you TRIED something like this?" Kevin is about to say he was just kidding or something and she adds, with an equally straight face "She might LIKE it now!" as if enough time has passed that our cat might ENJOY being electrocuted!

Man, I LOVE the way the nuts just float to the top in my little gene pool! :-D

Anyway, at some point we really WILL get back to boxing, but for now, I think I'll hang out a bit more with the granny and get back to you all after the holidays. In case we don't hear from any of you, have a great New Year and enjoy those shirts!

The (tainted apple) Sprite & (honorary apple) Highlander

LBNY t-shirts are in!

Okay, everyone, the shirts are now here! If you want to pick yours up, let us know before we mail them out. Other than that, you can expect to see them in your mailbox just in time for Christmas.

Hoping your holiday prep is going less hectically than ours,

The (fluttering about looking for more friends on the Christmas tree) Sprite & the ("Sweetie, the STAR traditionally goes on top of the tree, not Tinkerbell") Highlander

WNY Boxing Rainout Mini Meet

There were so many complaints about the rain and all the misery it brought to boxers a few weeks ago that the Highlander and I decided to throw an indoor mini meet. We were pleasantly surprised to find that most of our guests were relative newbies! Celtic Quinn (an old hand at boxing by now) brought his siblings (Green Star Quinn and Silver Dragon Quinn) as well as his sweetie, Kitten Without Mittens with him. Kitten brought her mom, Falling Leaves, who was also a newbie. Chadams joined us from the Southtowns and Tom of The Phoenix joined us from suburban Buffalo. By far, the person who drove the most miles was DEFINITELY Morgun, who drove in from Massachusetts to visit family in Irondequoit, but swumg by our place for the day.

We really didn't have much planned except the usual (eat, stamp, talk and exchange in varying orders!) and that's pretty much what we did! The Highlander manned the grill and I manned the socializing. Celtic Quinn brought his hostel to our place so we literally swapped the entire set of HH's out to put all his in ours and vice versa. Everyone brought a stamp related to the rainy day theme to either add to the hostel or plant for the day in our yard (thanks for the mini hunt, Morgun!) We were supposed to end around 5, but we all had such a great time that the last of the guests didn't leave until around 8 (not including CQ and Kitten, who stayed over night to work in a little geek time with D & D!).

Anyway, the whole thing rocked and totally reminded me how there really IS no place like home! We always seem to meet the nicest folks in WNY and they all seem to have no problem including newbies in and having a good time. Honestly, I can't wait to hook up again with folks at Desperately Seeking Sun or Suds (whichever we think we can make cheaper!).

Well, I'm off to bed! In the morning, I'll check on those LBNY t-shirts and hopefully be able to get back to everyone with more info than "Uh, should be in pretty soon!"

The (seriously worn out) Sprite & the (already been in bed for 3 hours) Highlander

My Underoos Shame

Totally unrelated to boxing, but...it's time I came out of the toon closet...

Like the commerical said, Underoos WERE fun to wear and they WERE something super new in underwear. I had not only the Supergirl Underoos, but the Wonder Woman ones. Now, the Supergirl ones just had the red panties with a pic of Supergirl on the shirt, but the Wonder Woman Underoos were the full deal...a red tank top shirt with the golden bird on it and the blue panties with the big white stars. Seriously, the only thing stopping me from looking like was Wonder Woman was not having the crown, the lasso and the armbands (oh, and being a 4 foot something 11 year old African American girl instead of being Lynda Carter, but other than that, I was a dead ringer!).

Did I mention I was 11 years old?

Anyway, my mother commanded me to NOT wear these under my clothes at school and I was really bent out of shape that she would say this. She was forever telling me I couldn't do things without reasons why beyond "Because I said so" and I was CERTAIN this was just one more in the series, since wearing Underoos was what all 11 year old girls did (forgetting entirely that all girls my age were begging to wear makeup and training bras, not racing boys on their bikes through the neighborhood).

After a long battle which ended in my tears and her not wavering, my dad came in and tried to convince me that if I wore these to school (especially since I had to change for gym that day), the girls at my school would definitely laugh at me. I still wouldn't buy it, so my dad sighed and said "Okay, go ahead, hon. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Remember the tampon scene in Carrie?

Okay, picture that (girls coming from all over the locker room to point and laugh), but without the tampons and blood and stuff and THAT was the scene when I busted out my Underoos in the locker room that day.

Years (of therapy) later, I've come to realize that parents sometimes DO know what's best, but 11 year old girls DON'T.

After all, what but sheer jealous rage could have driven those girls to be so mean? ;-)

The (now has naughty underwear and sprite wings) Sprite & the (likes the birthday suit Underoos on her best) Highlander

T-shirt update...taking orders now!

Okay, we're about to do another round of the LBNY t-shirts (see attached pic for the logo)! The cost is $11 if you can pick your shirt up from our place in Medina within two weeks of the shirts coming. If not, we'll mail them to you in a priority flat rate envelope for an extra $4.05 (or if you want the box for more shirts, $8.10). Just send the money via Paypal to our regular e-mail address (contact us offlist if you don't know it already). Be sure to include the number of shirts you want and the sizes (Adult S-XXL only).

If you've already sent us an e-mail telling us what size you wanted and where you live, we've got it, so just send the Paypal payment with info to confirm (I'll post a list of whom we already have on our list once I get my laptop running again). If you didn't give us info, just send us the money and info via Paypal, anyway and we'll add you to the list. We can't place the order until everyone's paid, so if we haven't gotten payment from you by the end of October, we'll have to drop your order and let you in on the next round.

Hope to hear from you soon!

The Sprite & the Highlander
(aka Daina & Kevin)
check us out at http://spriteandhighlander.blogspot.com/
or http://www.geocities.com/dasprite222

Want an LBNY t-shirt???

I found some more people interested in another round of Letterboxing New York t-shirts, so I thought I'd check once more to see who else is interested. The front has the image you see at the WNY event page (http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=35) and the back has the LBNY logo (same as this minus the W for Western http://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewphoto.html?gPhotoId=555&gReturnUrl=%2Fgallery%2Fviewalbum.html%3FgAlbumId%3D12)

So, even if you've already told me you wanted a shirt, write me again and tell me what size you'd like (adult sizes only, but the adult small is perfect for those elementary sized boxers!). They should only cost $11 (plus the cost of shipping to you in the flat rate priority envelopes).

And a NEARLY damp time was had by all...!

Well, the 4th Annual WNY Gathering is over and only NOW am I soaking wet! The promised rain only hit when we were all packing up to leave this morning, so we avoided a weekend full of squishy shoes and damp stamps.

The day event went as laid-backedly (new word!) as they always do upstate...lots of folks hanging out stamping and eating and exchanging without the intensity you might find elsewhere. Frankly, it's like a family reunion, even with our new folks...and the list of first time gatherers was enormous! I got to meet tons of folks I had only chatted with online for the first time and was really glad to mix it up with them.
Our farthest guests came from CT, (Bluebird & Music Woman), PA (Cyclonic), Canada (just can't keep the Jiggs Clan away!) :-) and new friends from Ohio (Pioneer Spirit and Lady Dove). Unfortunately, the Highlander never made it to the event (had a long day of certification testing that he never woke up from Saturday night), but he was there in Sprite...er, spirit! :-)

The night boxing seemed to go pretty well, too. I didn't have as many boxes as I would have liked, but the idea of night boxing was enough for all of us to be excited about. The camping out was a blast in and of itself...can't believe how much fun we had just hanging around talking! Without the Highlander around, I was glad to have so many folks around to hang out with (plus I was THRILLED to find a cadre a letterboxing GAMERS to play some late night D & D on Saturday...power to the geek!).

Anyway, the next event is already posted, so we hope to continue the trend of one big happy family next summer...thanks to everyone for making this event a wonderful experience!

The (worn, but happy) Sprite & the (glad to have his Sprite back home) Highlander

Nightboxing for daytrippers (and other updates)

First, this commercial break in honor of the upcoming event (forgive me if I get the words wrong to this commercial...haven't lived in Pennsylvania in nearly 20 years, but the tune won't leave my HEAD!!!):

If...you...
Feel like riding, just climb in your car
The roller coaster capital is right where you are!
The Enterprise'll rocket you around and around,
The Laser Loop is gonna take you up when you're down,
The Log Jammer's gonna drench you 'til you're anything but dry,
The Thunderbolt will be a blast from outta the sky!

Kennywood Park, Kennywood Park
Around the corner and out of this world!

Okay, so that's just ONE amusement park you'll find at the gathering, but one of my favorites nonetheless! :-) Now on to the important stuff!

Just found out that Darien Lakes SP is open until 11pm to vistors, so those of you who can't come for the official gathering at the pavillion on August 26th can still show up later that evening to do some boxing (I've already changed the time for the gathering to last until 11pm instead of 5pm). The night boxes will ONLY be there that night , though (since they can't be left in the spots we're placing them longer than that), so you will definitely want to make this trip!

Also, we're thinking of taking Lock Wench's suggestion and making a set of the day boxes into a psuedo-road rally (meaning you'll follow a set of driving clues instead of walking ones). Darien Lakes doesn't have quite as many trees and such for hiding boxes, so we've got to take advantage of the surrounding area instead. It won't be as intense as the Road Rally we went to in PA, but it'll be a chance for those of you who've not boxed in Genesee, Orleans & maybe even Niagara County to pick up something old and something new in the way of local boxes.

Some of the stamps will be placed in the current permanent boxes on your route, while others will be placed as new permanent boxes. No matter what, we intend to only have ONE logbook at the very end rather than a full set of logbooks for each box (since that really backfired at the last gathering...too many people all in one place!)

Anyway, hope this encourages more of you to stop in and say hi...hope to see you soon!

The (besotted with dreams of coasters and rides) Sprite & (just hoping to find respite from the HEAT) Highlander