Groundhog Day Ballot

I changed my idea about the ballot just a little bit. I had intended for the people who attend the meet to vote AT the meet, but then I found out that February 2 is actually groundhog day, and by the time we are at the meet the little guy will have made his forecast. SO, I've turned the ballot into a postal. Those attending the meet can sign up to have to postal sent to them, they choose the groundhog or the shadow stamp, stamp the postcard included with their vote, mail the vote to me and mail the postal on to the next person. Of course, the ballot is listed on AQ so it can be claimed. I only have one participant signed up for the postal, and one person in NC has asked to receive the postal. Since it doesn't seem to be 'in demand' I'll send it to that person anyway. If more attendees sign up, though, they will go to the top of the list.

I am so glad that Christmas is over. I just was not in the mood this year. Majorly stressed out. I've never been stressed at Christmas. But I just had too many demands on me this year. I felt like I was being pulled from all directions. I need a vacation!

Hosting My First Meet

I have never attended a meet before, though I've wanted to. They've just been too far away or at a bad time for me. So, I decided to hold my own. It is going to be February 2, The Groundhog Day Mini-Meet. I wanted something a little out of the ordinary. I'm working on an event stamp. I also want to plant some new boxes in the area. I'd like to have a game, but I haven't thought of anything yet. I've been told, though, not to bother with activities, etc. because everyone will be too busy stamping in to really care about that other stuff. I would like to do something, though, centered around the groundhog. I think I'm going to carve two stamps -- one with a shadow and one without, and have them cast their "votes" as to whether the little fellow will see his shadow or not. Those who guess right will get a prize. But so far that is the only creative idea I've come up with. I have nine signed up so far. I hope a few more will rsvp in the next couple of weeks, but nine is a good start.

Cross-Boxing

For Thanksgiving we went to the cabin. While there I planted a bonus box near one I had planted earlier in the year. A bonus box is another box hidden in the area of another and the clue for this box can only be found in another box. We'll see how it goes. This has been my most popular plant so far.

On our way home we stopped at the Nature Center to get the box that had been planted just a couple months before. Hubby and I had found it when we went out to the cabin by ourselves at the end of September. I didn't have my logbook with me, or any of my boxing gear, so I wanted to go back, stamp it in red as it needed to be (it was a cardinal) and let our son get the stamp too. Well, the box was gone. We are going to try again in the spring just to make sure it was missing and not just us not giving a thorough search because of the snow ;)

When we were just half and hour from home we stopped by Kanawha Falls to stretch our legs and look around. For some time I had thought that this would be a nice place for a box. So I wondered off toward the wooded area. I saw a tree that had a broken limb that had hollowed out. I thought that might be a good place. As I walked around the tree I saw another hollow space, and as I saw it thought that it might actually go all the way through to that limb. So I stepped forward and peeked in, and there was a geocache! Ugh! I had toyed with the idea of geocaching at one point, because when I started letterboxing there were hardly any boxes in my area, but there were oodles of geocaches. Well, I did find a couple, but it just wasn't the same thing. Since then, I have also seen where geocachers have come across letterboxes in their hunt and haven't treated letterboxes very well. There have been some that have been very respectful. I can't say that it is very different even in the letterboxing community (sadly.)

But, I looked for another spot, and think I've found one. So now to just carve a stamp....