New hobby: Letterboxing

Okay, If you don't know this yet, I have quite a few hobbies that keep me busy. Genealogy, sewing, collecting, DIYing etc.
Enter Letterboxing.

It all started on the 4th of July at my husbands grandparents house. Waiting for us were his cousins and Aunt. They couldn't wait for us to get there to tell us (me) about their new hobby. Once they explained it, I said "lets go", and out the door we went. =)

It's basically a scavenger hunt, throughout the country and actually worldwide! People make a rubber stamp or they buy one and they also include a logbook. These items go into a hard, plastic "letterbox" (usually Rubbermaid type box). Then the "planter" the person planting the letterbox, writes up clues for you to follow and posts it online. There are two major websites for letterboxing. Atlas Quest and Letterboxing North America. Just do a search (usually by zip code) of what area you are looking for and you will finds TONS! and I mean TONS!! of letterboxes in your area!

All that you need for this fun adventure is an unlined logbook or notebook and a pretty cool stamp of your liking, this is your "signature stamp", an ink pad and also a "trail name" that you register on the website. Once you find where the letterbox is hiding, empty the contents of their box. Stamp your signature stamp into their logbook and sign your trail name and date, also the area where you are from too if you like. No personal information! Then take their stamp and do the same with your own log book. Make note of the date and the letterboxes name in there as well. Then close up their letterbox and hide it back in the spot you found it. As discreet as possible, we don't want any passersby to realize what you are up to. =)

 Basically you are collecting stamps that are secretly hidden. And I am HOOKED.

Usually the clues to where the letterbox is hidden takes you on a journey to beautiful places, quiet spots that you didn't even know where in your area. Some are historic and some are brain teasers that really make you think!

Butternut Creek Recreation and Nature Area

Old Orville Cemetery

It's a fun activity to do with the kids or family. My son and husband enjoy going with me. I've even got my sister hooked! It's a cheap date for sure, and we are spending our time together outside in the beautiful weather. Making memories, I think that is my favorite part.

My sister Lisa and I

Some of my favorite stamps so far:

These were hand carved!



My trail name is "Love Mom" which is one of my tattoos in my mothers handwriting that I have on my right forearm. My signature stamp is a picture of two vintage women with a background of a dress pattern instructions. =) Totally me!

Once you and your family start Letterboxing, I guarantee you will not want to stop. You will be jonesing for another find! Next up I plan to carve a stamp for my sister. We shall see how that goes! 

Pink, Pink, Pink!!

I just purchased this fun fabric for my sofa pillows! I can't wait for it to get here!

The website is www.spoonflower.com

My living room is a mix of different patterns and colors. I've been going with blues, greens and browns. Just recently I've been adding splashes of pink.

I just received this beautiful Leigh Viner print from her Etsy shop.

Jeff hasn't noticed the pops of PINK yet but I'm really considering replacing our boring black dining chairs with something pink. Hmmmmm, I think he will notice that. ;)

Here are some inspiration photo's....

Armonia Decors

House Beautiful

I'm really excited at all the new possibilities of room design with the color pink!!

Beefy! Dinner for a picky teenager.

Kind of a lazy day today. I threw together a recipe for dinner that I knew my picky son would like. Easy Beef Stroganoff. I really wasn't sure what to make for dinner until about an hour ago. =) So I just checked the pantry and knew I was going to make something with egg noodles.



Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup of Italian dressing
1 10 3/4oz. can of cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cup of dry white wine
1/4 butter
1/2 of 8oz. tub of cream cheese "chive and onion"
Hot cooked egg noodles

In a frying pan brown the hamburger with the Italian dressing. Drain and set aside. In a pot, add the cream of mushroom soup, white wine, butter and cream cheese. I also added a bit of Italian dressing to the mix along with a splash of water. Cook until nice and combined. Add the hamburger and mix well. Serve over egg noodles. Makes 4 servings.

Caiden loved it! He's so picky! If I had them I would have added fresh mushrooms, which Caiden thinks are gross. Luckily the mushroom soup had small specks of mushrooms he wasn't able to identify.
=)

Beautiful Diaries

I'm excited to say that I just inherited a ton of family diaries!! I am on cloud 9!! My mother's first cousin Colleen in Colorado sent them to me. She has children and grandchildren of her own but she knows I'm the family historian and would take good care of them. I was given copies to a few of them a number of years ago, from my mother's other first cousin Pat in Vermont, but to have the whole collection of actual diaries is just completely awesome, I can't even describe it!!

One of the diaries is from my great great great grandmother Damaris (Robbins) West, it is from 1879-1883. She passed away in 1885 at the age of 77! The diary is 133 years old, unbelievable. The others are a total of 9 diaries from my great grandmother Catharine (Piquet) Clarke. She passed away in 1972 at the age of 92, just 11 months before I was born. Her diaries are 1914-1918, 1920-1925, and 1961-1966. It makes me wonder what happened to the 35 year span of diaries that are lost. =(

I plan to annotate the diary from my grt grt grt grandmother Damaris first, since it is smaller. I want future generations to be able to read them and have an understanding of who these people were, even 130 years from now!

I will probably scan every page into my computer and add the annotations there so as not to ruin the original. I will need to research US and NYS Census records, old newspaper articles and cemetery records to be able to add correct information to the diary of "who, what, where and when". At some point I will tackle my great grandmother Catharine's collection, but that will be a major undertaking, as some of them are very fragile.

(Click on picture to make it larger)

Damaris Robbins West 1879

Catharine Piquet Clarke's Diaries

My great grandmother Catharine had such beautiful handwriting

I can't wait to get started! Dang pesky job and chores will get in the way I'm sure. grumble grumble. Do you have any family treasure's to pass down to future generations??