Fleur de Lis' Letterboxing Journal

2009-01-25T13:52:00.004-05:00

Got out today for a little bit and found a nice local box - first one since August! Eeek. Life has gotten in the way, and my 'boxing partner can't do the longer walks anymore, so I'm somewhat limited as of late.

Still working on a big project behind the scenes, though. Shaping up rather nicely. I hope others think so too.

2008-06-24T17:54:00.004-04:00

We're in Rhode Island for the week, visiting my parents. We headed out to find a mystery box today that I occasionally work on (when I'm up in this neck of the woods). Found the starting point, started out, and then the sky opened up and it started pouring. Went back to the car, regrouped, got an umbrella, and tried again. Found most of the clue points, but didn't actually find the box. The skeeters were in full force and the thunder was rumbling overhead. I was convinced that we'd get stuck in a bad situation (especially since the weather forecast called for 60 mph winds and hail during this storm) so we left. Perhaps another day.

We did see this, though:

I don't know much about turtles, but I'm pretty sure they like to be near water. There was no water anywhere around, so I wonder if he took a wrong turn somewhere...

2008-06-01T22:12:00.004-04:00

Someone found Metamorphosis the day after I planted it. That's fast! And they found it on a day when tornadoes were predicted in Philly (but didn't happen, thank goodness).

Now if I can just get lb.org to accept my clue...apparently there's another box out there with the same name and it won't let me post. I can't be the first person to have come across this problem...?

2008-05-30T16:39:00.002-04:00

Planted a letterbox today. I've had the stamp carved for a good six months but never planted it. My first plant in a long, long time.

2008-04-25T12:29:00.002-04:00

There's a place we like to go to walk and find boxes, but goodness it always kicks our butts with the terrain. Went there today, and it was definitely a beautiful day for a hike! Unfortunately, allergies got the best of me later in the morning and I'm a sniveling mess. Waiting for the allergy meds to kick in.

On a planting note, I have so many ideas floating in my head - I just need to find the time to get them on paper. I think the challenge with planting for me has always been finding the final place to put a box. With my first few boxes, I picked a general location and then found a suitable place for the box, but I've never been happy with those final locations. Now, I'd rather wait and find a place that would be perfect for a box, and then go carve, write clues, etc.

2008-03-17T21:43:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a letterboxing project with a muggle/noxer/whatever you want to call him. I'm really excited, and it's just getting started. Hopefully it will turn out as well as I hope...

2008-03-15T16:05:00.001-04:00

I am on a mystery box CRAZE lately. If it has clear directions, I don't want it! I've been making myself crazy with some of them, but also I'm really having a blast using the ol' grey matter to the fullest. I need to get this all in now anyway, because once spring really comes, I'll be out in the garden and away from the computer until autumn!

2008-03-08T21:29:00.001-05:00

Working on a couple of different Mapsurfer puzzles at once...I'm going to need glasses after this is all over.

Wish it wasn't so muddy out, so that I could go and do some actual finding instead of armchair searching...

2007-08-04T17:59:00.000-04:00

Replaced the logbook for Black Diamond today - finally! Thanks to Lightnin' Bug for putting in a temporary logbook last year.. I can't believe how much that one "trail" changes every time I visit it. Today, it was a tree blocking my entire path. I had to get a bit creative to get around it. I'm thinking of pulling the box and finding a better place for it, as I constantly get reports that the clues aren't exactly as is. The box isn't difficult to find, but the landscape certainly does change from season to season. While I'm at it, I need to recarve Mother, as that stamp is an embarassing display of my lack of artistic talent!

2007-06-23T10:15:00.000-04:00

Found my first Mapsurfer box last weekend! One down, many more to go...

Replanted The Watcher today.

My dining room table is covered with carving tools, ink pads, etc. I need to get going on my project and get that planted and out of the way. But first, a nap...

2007-06-08T20:14:00.001-04:00

We're heading out tomorrow to do some serious boxing. I'm going after a couple of mystery boxes that piggy-back off of some known boxes that I have yet to find. I think I've figured out what I could thus far and hope that the rest will make sense once I get there.

That being said, my printer ran out of ink! I'm contemplating writing out the clues to other boxes in the area by hand. In the dark, of course, because the lightbulb blew out in the computer room and I only have the glow of the monitor to guide me.

I was all ready to plant my mystery box tomorrow as well, but then I realized that I need to wait until after the weekend is over, as there will be tens of thousands of people in the area for an event this weekend - I don't want it getting muggled it's first day out!

Wish me luck tomorrow...!

2007-06-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

Posting twice in one day - I must be excited!

Finished recarving The Watcher as well as another mystery stamp whose clues will be in very limited distribution (read: only available to a select few). It's a really nice stamp - a bit artsy a la my Lance Armstrong hitchhiker, where you kind of have to stare at it and then voila! I see it now... I just have to make the logbook, and then hopefully I can plant it tomorrow or Tuesday.

Also formulating a stamp idea for a bonus box off of The Watcher. The clue for the bonus box has the potential to give away the entire area (and thereby not making it much of a mystery), so I think I'll email it to those boxers that have listed their Watcher find via AQ or email, instead of just posting it as a mystery to the mystery. In any case, The Watcher should be replanted no later than the end of next weekend.

2007-06-03T12:52:00.000-04:00

So...last wrote in this thing a year ago. Can't say I've done much boxing since then. Only recently have I returned to thinking about it a lot. Who knew that it would take 3 years to get the house really in order and my garden self-sustaining so that I could actually leave Philly on the weekends!?

Recently found some boxes up in the Allentown area, and then found some over by Valley Forge. Doing some work on some Mapsurferian puzzles, and I think I just figured out She Turned Me Into a Newt. I have to actually go and find these boxes now - I've found that I tend to solve the puzzles for the sake of exercising my brain, but then I don't follow through and get the box!

On my To Do list:
* Pull my Ben Franklin series for some much needed maintenance and stamp recarving
* Recarve/rehide The Watcher, as it's definitely gone missing
* Hide some new boxes
* Purchase new letterboxing journal, as I've filled my original one up (only 113 finds, but I'm definitely not in it for the PFX numbers!!)

It's good to be "back"!

2006-07-16T21:57:00.000-04:00

Once again - wow. I haven't updated in forever! To be honest, the last LB that I found (before my recent streak) was in November. We've been busy with the house, trips, new jobs, etc. Plus it's hard to make time for it when your former LB partner is no longer very interested in the hobby!

I had the chance to find some boxes when I was visiting my parents recently in RI, and I got the bug again. I even ran around in a skirt and heels to find a Der Mad Stamper box while at a conference in OR. Last night I had a dream about finding a hitchhiker hostel. I definitely have the fever again!

2005-09-18T12:56:00.000-04:00

Went to Ashland last weekend to visit the in-laws. Did some maintenance on Black Diamond and Mother, and changed the clues a bit to reflect some changes in topography. Also left a little present there... I'm hoping to carve a Centralia stamp this week and plant it up there when we go back to the area this weekend for a christening.

I also slightly modified the clues to my Ben Franklin series, as it seems people are getting hung up on my mention of Statesman and not using their noggins to find Founder and Inventor.

We were in RI over Labor Day to visit my parents. It was really nice, and I took my parents 'boxing! It was my dad's first "find" (even though I've been doing this for almost 2 years). I think he liked it, and hopefully they'll do some finding of their own. He even came up with a trail name for them - The Tall and Short of It (my dad is 6'5, and my mom is 5'3)! Go parents! I also found my 100th stamp in the form of a HH while in RI. It's a good thing I don't keep track of my PFX count, or I'd be sad that it took me almost 2 years. But I don't really care - I'm in it for the fun and outdoors, not the number of finds.

In any case, I've barely been 'boxing. Gas prices are just too out of control for us to justify taking random drives to find Tupperware right now. It stinks!

2005-05-30T17:32:00.000-04:00

Two fun pictures that Catbead emailed me awhile ago - turns out two of my HHs went and visited two of her boxes - both with the same theme.

Ace of Diamonds HH and LB

Ace of Clubs HH and LB

Thanks, catbead!

2005-05-30T17:09:00.000-04:00

Wow - it's been awhile, huh?

Finally got out boxing today - first time in 2 months! We found the Dog Day series by B&E, who always tell the greatest stories! Left behind a little surprise at one of them...

Last time we went boxing, we found The Persistence of Winky, in honor of the Dali exhibit at the Philly Museum of Art. That took a lot of stealth, as there was a constant stream of people going by. While there, we found The Velveteen Rabbit HH - which has been around since December 20, 2002!!! Rubaduc apparently thought this fun little guy was gone for good, since he hadn't been heard from in a year or two! I don't understand why people don't report on the HHs that they find...

My entrant into The Great Hitchhiker Race, Lance Armstrong, came in second, narrowly being beaten by WWI Flying Ace. I hope this isn't a bad omen for the real Lance in this year's Tour de France!

And finally, I have got to go and maintain my Ben Franklin boxes. I haven't visited them since planting them a year ago, and I have no doubt they need some upkeep.

2005-02-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

I got a fun surprise in the mail today! The Who's Got a Bug Up Their Butt? Hitchhiker Hostel PLB arrived at my doorstep this morning. What a fun fun box! It's the first and only PLB I signed up for and I was not disappointed. It's a really fun box to look at aesthetically speaking, and then there were a ton of goodies inside. And imagine my surprise when I found my Ace of Spades HH in there!! I hadn't heard from that little guy since mailing him to Team PresSinOn last year. I'll let him stay in the box though - I'd like to see it travel around some more.

I'm also really impressed and fascinated by the logbooks people have created and the little pouches they've made to transport the HHs around. The creativity of people in this hobby never ceases to amaze me!

2005-02-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

What a gorgeous day!! I had every intention of getting outside and doing some letterboxing, specifically planting a new WoM box and doing some recon on a mystery box, but I guess it wasn't in the cards. I took the dog for a long walk and by the time we got home (after walking up the 12% grade hill to our home) we were both beat! Not to mention the Excel spreadsheet I'd made for the mystery box didn't open and I didn't feel like hurrying to piece together the clues again before I left. I may try to run out and hide the WoM box tomorrow - I'd love to get it going. I haven't carved it yet, but it's a different kind of box so I don't have to do too much carving.

In any case, this weather was a tease because I want it to be Spring already!!

Also, go Yanks!!!

2005-01-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

We were able to get out and find the rest of the 12 Boxes of Christmas series on Thursday night. We got there around 7:30 pm and saw only 3 people (all joggers) the entire time. We beat the rain, cold, and crowds, and completed the series. It was definitely a bit difficult in the dark, as stumps and rocks and trees didn't just jump out at us as they might during the day, but we had success. Hooray!

Also got out today and returned to Evansburg for the rest of Raindeer's series, but it seems as if 2 of the boxes are gone. I hope they're not and that we just didn't see them. It seems like a lot of his boxes go missing, which is a shame! It was good to get out and run the dog and be outside, in any case.

2005-01-01T16:12:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

As last New Year's Day was gorgeous out, so was today - 65*!! We went (minus the dog) to find Mizscarlet's 12 Boxes of Christmas series but only found one - there were SO many people out on the trail that even though we were trying to be stealthy, we had to pass the first one by (too many people) and couldn't poke around enough for the third (too many people). We felt that we were actually attracting attention do our suspicious poking around so we're going to go back on another day.

Coming home, we grabbed the dog and took him to find Wizardland. It started out a bit hairy, as Joe fell and I thought twisted his ankle (but didn't); lost his sunglasses (I found them); and the dog HATED his new collar/leash/training thingy, so we were hindered by him rolling around trying to get it off. We did find the box, though - out in the open (argh!) - and we were first finders! My first first finder!

My first boxing-related resolution is to get out more and enjoy the hobby. I've been too focused on the house/work/dog/wedding that I need to remember to get out and enjoy the fun things in life! (I also need to pay more attention to this journal, as the updates have been few and far between.) However, if Team SuddenTurkey can go out boxing a week after their newest addition to the family was born (massive congrats to you!!) then I can put aside house cleaning (a la Hikers and Hounds and enjoy the hobby!

2004-11-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a long time since I've updated. Unfortunately, life has seriously gotten in the way of letterboxing. Between a new house, new job, planning a wedding, and rain (boo!), I feel like I haven't boxed in ages. I barely even have time to read my Yahoo groups anymore! I think that what needs to happen is to schedule time into my weekends to box. I need to plan it instead of waking up Saturday morning and hoping that I will have time in my day to do it. It's especially rough now that the holiday season is upon us, and weekends are really booked. I need to remind myself, though, of how much fun I have boxing and how happy I am when I'm out there, and do as the Pepe's do - just get out there and box!!

2004-09-29T18:46:00.000-04:00

Also realized that N.E.S.S #3 put my PFX count at 100! A milestone reached.

2004-09-29T18:42:00.000-04:00

Went boxing this afternoon up here in RI with my mom. We found 5 boxes with minimal work. Three were thanks to the von der Insels and their great letterbook series! One was a relative drive by, and the fifth was close to my parents' house. Unfortunately, it was also extremely out in the open. Whether or not the last finder didn't rehide it at ALL, or a noxer found it and just left it, I'm glad I found it and rehid it well. It's a shame that so many boxes these days are going missing or not rehidden well!!

2004-09-28T18:04:00.000-04:00

Haven't updated in a long while...been busy with the new house! We did get out and get a box on Sunday - first time out boxing in over a month.

Good news, though - the Lance Armstrong hitchhiker that is my entry in the Great Hitchhiker Race was found first! It was found last week by Keegan the Airedale Terrier and moved along the same day. The only other racer to be reported found thus far has been Turbo Slug, but I know Lance is much faster than that critter :)