Not on Shelves Mini Meet

So, a much longer ago time than I care to admit, I came up with the idea of a stamp series that would be a bookshelf with book spines of books that don't really exist.  You know, books that exist in fiction that have a fairly recognizable name, but don't actually exist in real life.  Example: Hogwarts: a History (well, it doesn't exist at the moment - I don't put it past JKR to actually write it).

I had even gone as far as creating the design and carving the bookshelf.  I had transferred all of the bookspines onto OZ Kut when OZ was a new carving material - to give some of you a sense of the timing ;) And then they sat.  And sat.  Remaining mostly uncarved.  I've changed jobs, moved homes... and those transferred carves sat waiting.

Finally, at the 2017 Box ON (for which I'm horribly behind in posting about), I decided to get off my butt, finish the series and host a winter mini meet!

Yesterday, the mini meet took place.  It started off with a significant goof on my part: I forgot the event stamp at home and had to run home to get it.  Other than that - the event went well.

Sorta.  Philosophical question for you: when is a letterboxing mini meet not a letterboxing mini meet?  "Mini" means less than, shall we say, a regular Box ON! meet, right?  But how small does it get before you can't call it a mini or even micro meet?

At one point, there were around 20-23 people signed up, but for various and assorted reasons (I'm lookin' at you, mother nature!) that number dwindled down to 3.

Don't get me wrong: any time you get to meet up with boxers is a great day.  I had a blast, but I'm sad I didn't get to catch up with more boxers or that others didn't get to see the series.  (For reasons you can guess, this isn't a series I can leave in the library...)

It's all done though and would be really easy to re-host next year... I've been known to re-read many a book in my time...

Happy trails!

Throwing a stamp in the mail...

Does anyone else have a moment of panic that you wrote the address right on an envelope after it leaves your hands at the post office?

On Monday, I finished a fun carve that I've sent off to GreenSpirit who was kind enough to host this year's Box ON! event.  I remember writing something on the front of the envelope.  I sorta remember writing my return address.

Don't worry.  I'm sure my stamp will reach GreenSpirit.  I think it's sort of like driving; you suddenly arrive at a location but have no recollection of the actual drive itself.

I hope.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to Box ON!, not just because of the letterboxing, but because it will be really nice to catch up with everyone.

Hope everyone is having a great summer :)

My newest logbook

So just before leaving for Live & Breathe, my then current log book was nearly filled.  I'm pretty set in my ways, logbook-wise, so I went out on a hunt for another 5x7 hard-covered spiral bound book.  There's lots of them around, my current one was by Eco-Jot, but I had a harder time finding one this time around.

I did find one with a beige cover.  Ugh.  So I bought it.  Ick.  And while driving home a nice thought occurred to me: because of the cover colour, I could cover it with stamps! And I was heading to L&B, so what better thing to do than to have people put their stamps all over it during exchanges! Whee!!

So, here it is in its current glory:

Front and back

Inside front...

... and inside back.

As a result of L&B, I actually filled this brand-new book almost 2/3 of the way, so I'm already having to look for another book.  Have to say though that this is just about my favourite book :)

Happy trails!

Remembering We Live & Breathe XV

It was an amazing trip.  It truly was.

The venue was great.  Okay, it was a little hot and stuffy (care of mother-nature), but perfect for our needs.  The trails were fantastic, the types/varieties of boxes were great, and I loved meeting so many other letterboxers from across the country.

Not sure what more I can say, other than to say that words wouldn't describe it properly.  So instead, here are some more pics from the event.  

Wassa was there, in spirit (or clue) of course...

When in doubt: be suspicious and investigate.

If I can't get to Dartmoor, this is the next best thing (for now!)

There wasn't a clean hand in the place...

Der Mad Stamper's amazing top hat...

... love.

Other boxers on the trail...

... and people were stamping in everywhere.

Magical and fantastical box.

Too bad you can't photograph heat...

... cuz it was wicked hot - high 40s with the humidex.

It's a dressy Fiddleheads!

Yarn-bombed trees... stamps were there...

I don't collect patches, but this makes me want to...

Ours should have won (on the right, but of course).

Obligatory boob shot, care of FH.

Oh Wassa, you're so handsome in that shower...

Beware of beavers!

Already looking forward to We Live & Breathe XX...

Happy trails!

We Live & Breathe XV – a who’s who of licence plates

One of the things I like about driving in the US is seeing all the different licence plates while driving down the road.  The states are so small that you inevitably see a large variety of plates.  On the other hand, Ontario is big.  Really big. Almost two times larger than Texas.  Go big or go home. So driving around here you rarely see other plates, and certainly few other provinces in your travels.

Fiddleheads and I stayed in the Adult Centre at L&B and had to walk through one of the big parking areas every time we went in and out of the building.  Now there was a crazy parking lot to see. Plates from far and wide.  

Interesting note: meeting people at L&B, many commented on “how far we’d come” for the event.  As in, “ooo, you’re from Canada, you came far!”.  Now, while we indeed took two leisurely days to get to the event, in reality, we could have made it there in 8 hours.  People from Michigan came farther. Those nutters who drove from California came farther.  Pretty much anyone who flew came farther.  Yes, we crossed a border, but it’s not that far.  Really.

For posterity, here are some of those plates (most blurred to protect the innocent):

So who came first?  New York...

... or Massachusetts?

I'm glad to finally find someone willing to take a position on things...

That's dedication.

BTW: Ontario's motto, which is covered here, is "Yours to Discover".  True words.

Never saw anyone getting in or out of this, but I love it.

Planning ahead for We Live & Breathe XV

We're just a little over two weeks away from We Live & Breathe XV - the fifteenth year of letterboxing post-Smithsonian in North America.  I'll be heading down the day before the event starts, staying in Boston for a few days after, and my head is a whirl of thoughts, lists, and questions as I start to get ready.

Travelling while letterboxing on the way has become one of my favourite things.  It couldn't be cheaper - so long as I bring my gear it's free - and by their very nature, letterboxes are usually planted in awesome places to visit.

One of my favourite days of letterboxing was in Charleston, South Carolina.  I was down in the area on a trip with my band and we were given the option of a day trip into Charleston.  I hadn't been feeling well and decided to spend the day alone, letterboxing.  I had an amazing day! I saw pretty much the whole area, went on a couple architectural tours (I love American heritage preservation practices, btw), and nabbed a number of letterboxes along the way.  When I met back up with the bus, others had spent a lot of money and didn't see much and grumbling about how little time they had.  Needless to say, I was pretty happy on my home.

So, I'm looking forward to both the event and some letterboxing in Boston afterwards.  I've been to Boston before so I'm not looking to "see the sights" as I've pretty much done that.  Also, Boston reminds me a lot of Toronto - both great cities, but there's not much left that I feel I need to see.  So letterboxes and shopping (gotta make use of that duty-free allowance and get some fall clothes while I have the chance!).

I've started going through the clues of boxes that appear to be close to where I'm staying.  I figure I have to determine what sights I want to see, where I want to shop, and what boxes are in those areas...  Once I figure that out, clue printin' time!

Hope everyone will be joining in Groton at the end of the month!

Happy trails!

Letterboxing and mini-meets in Guelph

Ah.  What a wonderful Saturday I had.  First, some lovely winter letterboxing in Eden Mills, then a lovely mini meet with old and new letterboxers.  I finally got to go boxing this year, found some great boxes - didn't fall in freezing water this time - and then off to a mini meet which was hosted by the ever gracious Fiddleheads.  Ah, bliss.

I had actually meant to get out earlier in the morning yesterday so that I could go after a few more winter letterboxes, I ended up going out with only enough time to hit some Lone R plants in Eden Mills (on the way to Guelph).

First up: Food for the Undead - planted by the talented Lone R.  I love this gorgeous trail system.  This particular box takes you along the Guelph Radial Trail near Eden Mills.  It's a gorgeous trail, for me particularly in winter where you have some nice crunchy snow in the silence of a fragrant cedar forest.  Very serene.  Loved it. 

Continuing along the trail, a wonderful box planted by Lone R with layered stamp by 3 Blind Mice - I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK.  I've always lusted after the gorgeous images 3 Blind Mice has created and shown online, and I'm really happy to have one in my logbook today.  Unfortunately, it's not the best of transfers.  I think it was about -10 Celsius yesterday, so I think the ink was actually freezing to the stamps and not transferring well.  I loved the image so much, I may just return in the summer to ink this one up to do it justice.  However, this also has started the gears going in my head to try to find a way to make good impressions on the trail.  Hmm...

Finally, Two Little Zombies Sitting in a Tree. Too cute.  Loved them. Sadly, no more boxes so back to the car and off to the meet!

The very first letterboxing meet up I ever attended was Fiddleheads' Winter Mini-Meet and Carve in 2011. I was completely awed by all the amazing carving I saw going on around me.  I found it really inspiring and I really got carving after that meet.

Two years later, I found this meet equally inspiring and have been plotting some new boxes for Toronto.  It was a smaller gathering - but actually perfect.  I love our little community, so it was great to learn some new things, catch up, and chat about the state of letterboxing in Ontario.  Just like Vivian the Viking, I was most intrigued by the parchment transfer technique which I haven't tried yet.  It seems a little more cumbersome than the xylene pen or hot iron - the two transfer types I rely on now.  The only draw back for me of those is that I have to know that I'm going to carve and what I'm going to carve the business day before I'm actually going to carve since my trusty printer is at work.  I can't be inspired and start carving on the spur of the moment as I have an ink jet printer at home.  So I definitely want to try this one - but I'm lacking in ink, paper, and parchment at the moment, so that's a post for another day.

Anyways, after yesterday, I have a number of transferred images waiting to be carved, so I must be off!

Happy trails!