Letterboxing

“Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letterbox” ~ Lennon/McCartney

Do any of you out there know what letterboxing is? Oh my gosh, this letterboxing stuff is so cool! My husband told me about it last year (I think) but I had forgotten all about it. Well, he just directed me again, the other day, to the website and this time I have bookmarked it. (A huge thank you to my husband who knows this stuff is right up my alley!) (By the way, have any of you checked your bookmarked stuff lately? My list is quite lengthy and I wonder if I already have this letterboxing on it. The other day, while sifting through my bookmarked stuff/“favorites” I came upon this great blog I saved about tides in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Very cool stuff. I’m so glad I saved it and I need to check further to see all the others I’ve saved – and forgotten. Of course, all of you out there have my blog bookmarked, right? Right?)

OK, back to the letterboxing. Go to www.letterboxing.org. (Wait, not yet.) I know you all can figure it out from there. (But I’ll explain a little bit about it below) So people actually make these stamps. I remember making something when I was in the 4th grade. You sort of carved out something on the surface of a special block of wood. The wood was soft and we had special tools – (I can’t believe they let us have these sharp tools, which I remember looked something like a potato peeler.) Then you had some sort of roller thing that you rolled in ink and then rolled on your wood design and then finally stamped on a card which you brought home to your Mom. So, I think that is what they mean when they say everyone has their own unique handcrafted stamp. But, they say, you can buy one if you’re in a pinch. I wonder what they mean by that? Why would someone be in a pinch and just have to rush out to go "a- letterboxing?"

So, here’s what you do. When you go online to the website, you’ll click on your state and find your county and you may find your town or a town near you. There should be several different things listed to click on. Each one will be a whole separate thing. You click on it and they give you clues. You need a compass and it is like a treasure hunt. Anyway, when (if) you find your letterbox, inside it will be the person’s unique stamp and a pad. You stamp your pad with their stamp and you stamp their pad with your stamp and then re-bury the treasure box – I mean letterbox. Beyond that, I don’t know what else you do. I still have to find out. Of course you can go hide a letterbox and register at this site and then go online and give your clues, etc. This is really exciting stuff for me. And, more importantly though, it’s something to do with your younger children. Something fun you can do together. How wonderful is that.

Well, I can’t believe that there is a letterbox at the very place where I go almost every time I walk my dog. This place is my favorite spot to go, overlooking the lake where I live, (it is “the Point” that I have mentioned in other posts) and there is a letterbox there, somewhere. I haven’t looked for it yet, but I’m looking forward to doing that soon! Be sure to check out that site I gave above. (Yes, go there now). Enjoy!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Well, I couldn't find the letterbox at the Point, but I am going to keep on searching for it when I'm there. However, at my other favorite place to go to, which is right near the Point - (it is the cemetary - weird, I know) I did find a letterbox. Very cool and exciting! I didn't have a hand-made stamp (or an emergency store bought one) but I did sign my initials on the pad and the date and tucked it all back safe and sound! Very very cool!