Several years ago when we moved into our newly built house, I dropped a hint or two that it would be nice to have a clothesline. We get an ample amount of wind out here, so it would save money and there really isn't anything like clothes dried in the country breeze and sunshine. That is, as long as you don't have livestock living downwind.
And that is where I left it, knowing full well that I could rest comfortably in the safety of Hubby's ridiculously long To-Do list.
But he tricked me. During his time off over the last few days, I have watched in morbid fascination as not one, but four perfectly positioned 50 foot long clotheslines have been erected across the backyard, per my previous request. And before I knew it, I was being domestic and hanging clean clothes in the sunshine to absorb all the wholesome country breeze. And as I carried a basket back into the house, Hubby commented, "Hey, they're already folded too!" I stood there with my jaw hanging as I realized he was right. Unknowingly, I had folded the clothes as I took them off the line.
My reputation may never recover.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
A Low Simmer
What a terrible thing has been happening in Connecticut. I have read the various posts and blogs on the subject and I am still at a loss for words. Well almost.
- To those in Connecticut-I am so sorry for your loss. The product of your creativity, effort and giving spirit was appreciated by many. You freely gave so that others might enjoy and that effort was trampled on by a handful. Please don't give up. Take a season to protect and rebuild, but come back stonger than ever. Let us know how the rest of us can help.
- To those responsible-I am sorry that your life is so empty that doing something malicious and destructive is the only way you can enjoy yourself. Get help.
- To everyone else, like me, who is watching helplessly-Start carving! Stock up on Lock n Locks! Create logbooks! Let's not only fill our own corner of the world with lots of clever letterboxes, but let's also send some to Connecticut!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Year in Review
This weekend has been about victories and defeats. It has been about all of the things, good and bad, that distract us from letterboxing. It has been about why we letterbox in the first place.
One year ago, we found our first letterbox and we were hopelessly and completely transfixed by this grand and glorious passion. We came, we carved, we searched. We spent way too much time on the computer and way too much money at the post office. We saw places that we never knew existed and met extremely interesting people. We ticked a few people off and hopefully encouraged many more. It was a good year.
This past weekend was a condensed version of our year. We found boxes and searched for boxes that were missing. We walked what seemed like an eternity and have the blisters to prove it. We found thorns and the bugs found us. We spent a wonderful time together away from all of the things that constantly demand our attention (like the laundry). We saw amazing things in God's Creation. We communicated with friends and received a couple of very special PLBs in the mail. We deciphered clues and studied maps. We read the message boards, sometimes laughing, sometimes not. We looked through our journal and shared favorite memories.
If there is one thing that we have learned this past year, it is that all of the negative things about this hobby cannot take away from the wonderful things that we gain. The disappointment of failing to find a box is softened by the excitement of being in a fabulous park. An incredible stamp image is more than worth the risk of poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes. Coming face to face with breathtaking wildlife makes up for having to search in a pestifilent slough earlier in the day. And paying the bill at the post office seems trivial when a package arrives from someone who works magic with a Speedball.
We haven't learned everything there is to know about letterboxing. But we do know more than when we first started. And we know we are not going to stop here!
One year ago, we found our first letterbox and we were hopelessly and completely transfixed by this grand and glorious passion. We came, we carved, we searched. We spent way too much time on the computer and way too much money at the post office. We saw places that we never knew existed and met extremely interesting people. We ticked a few people off and hopefully encouraged many more. It was a good year.
This past weekend was a condensed version of our year. We found boxes and searched for boxes that were missing. We walked what seemed like an eternity and have the blisters to prove it. We found thorns and the bugs found us. We spent a wonderful time together away from all of the things that constantly demand our attention (like the laundry). We saw amazing things in God's Creation. We communicated with friends and received a couple of very special PLBs in the mail. We deciphered clues and studied maps. We read the message boards, sometimes laughing, sometimes not. We looked through our journal and shared favorite memories.
If there is one thing that we have learned this past year, it is that all of the negative things about this hobby cannot take away from the wonderful things that we gain. The disappointment of failing to find a box is softened by the excitement of being in a fabulous park. An incredible stamp image is more than worth the risk of poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes. Coming face to face with breathtaking wildlife makes up for having to search in a pestifilent slough earlier in the day. And paying the bill at the post office seems trivial when a package arrives from someone who works magic with a Speedball.
We haven't learned everything there is to know about letterboxing. But we do know more than when we first started. And we know we are not going to stop here!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Cootiepalooza!!
It all started with the rain yesterday. Frankie the Moose and Tweeter conspired together and cootied Pinky Poo. She promised revenge. Then with another day of rain today, everyone was getting a little punchy and Pinky found my stash of cooties left over from the gathering in Columbus, Ohio. Before you knew what was happening there were cooties flying everywhere, the carving supplies had been pulled out and there was very little actual stamping taking place. It looked more like the melee of a grade school cafeteria food fight.
I pulled out the whistle and eventually brought the chaos to a halt. We decided that since they were all over the place anyway, we might as well have our own cootie event right then and there. With a little organization and cooperation, all the buddies were able to stamp about seventeen cooties a piece. I threw in an event stamp to finish things off and scooted the buddies upstairs for a nap so that I could clean up the mess.
I'm not sure what I'll do if it rains again tomorrow. I'm fresh out of ideas!
I pulled out the whistle and eventually brought the chaos to a halt. We decided that since they were all over the place anyway, we might as well have our own cootie event right then and there. With a little organization and cooperation, all the buddies were able to stamp about seventeen cooties a piece. I threw in an event stamp to finish things off and scooted the buddies upstairs for a nap so that I could clean up the mess.
I'm not sure what I'll do if it rains again tomorrow. I'm fresh out of ideas!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Hostess with the Mostest
Playing hostess to three separate boxing buddies can keep you quite busy, we are discovering! The girls are having a great time and we are all enjoying planning special things for the buddies to do. Even my two nephews have gotten involved. So we're not complaining, but...
Last Friday on the trail we ended up with six logbooks between us, and the stamping got to be really insane! And did I mention we had the crazy puppy with us too? We ended up paring it down to just the nephews' two logbooks and all the sig stamps. We stamped everyone into the letterboxes and then scanned and pasted the images into all of the rest of the logbooks after we got home. That worked. At least with that many buddies, each of the kids had someone to pair up with. It kept them engaged in the letterboxing and focused on what we were doing instead of getting bored 100 feet from the car. Which is a beautiful thing.
The rain this morning kept us all in, which meant alot of cootie mischief going on. I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them if it rains again tomorrow. Two kids, two cats, a puppy, a poodle, a bat and a moose can be a bit much! ;)
Last Friday on the trail we ended up with six logbooks between us, and the stamping got to be really insane! And did I mention we had the crazy puppy with us too? We ended up paring it down to just the nephews' two logbooks and all the sig stamps. We stamped everyone into the letterboxes and then scanned and pasted the images into all of the rest of the logbooks after we got home. That worked. At least with that many buddies, each of the kids had someone to pair up with. It kept them engaged in the letterboxing and focused on what we were doing instead of getting bored 100 feet from the car. Which is a beautiful thing.
The rain this morning kept us all in, which meant alot of cootie mischief going on. I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them if it rains again tomorrow. Two kids, two cats, a puppy, a poodle, a bat and a moose can be a bit much! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)