second to introduce myself, but
first things first:
I messed up I think. Initially, I
subscribed to the digest, because
I feared my mailbox would be too full.
But now I want to subscribe to the
regular list and cannot figure out
how this is done. I thought un-subbing
and then re-subbing would do the
trick, but somehow I don't think
that worked... and I have no clue
if I'm still subbed or not.
Any help would be appreciated.
Daniel, thank you for the introduction.
I feel like a babe in the woods here
with all you "veterans" of letterboxing.
My name's Michelle Spalding. I'm a 37
year old woman living outside of Boulder
Colorado. I have done some horseback
orienteering in my distant past, and have
dabbled in treasure questing (Kit William's
"Masquerade" et al). I'm a professional
artist/webmistress and my other interests
include animals, glass, antiques, old movies,
and science.
Last year while invalid/recovering from a
serious illness, I read the Smithsonian
article and was so excited about it I
chattered for days. I promised myself if
I recovered fully, I would make a trip
to Dartmoor in hopes of tracking down at
least one box. I searched the web for sites
about letterboxing in the states, but came
up empty-handed. Then while organizing my
bookmarks last week, I found LetterboxUSA linked
from a Dartmoor site. So now I'm excited
all over again!
I'm brainstorming about planting my first
letterbox here in Colorado, but really
have no idea where I want to go first.
In my excitement, I went out yesterday and
purchased a box, some little notebooks,
a stamp pad and ink, some carving tools
(what fun!), and a handful of erasers
to practice on in my spare time.
Eventually, I will put together my
box, plant it, and write up clues...
but for now I'm just playing with ideas.
Sorry this letter is getting long, but
I would love to hear feedback on a
specific subject: Group or individual
opinion on custom (commercial) stamps vs.
hand-carved original stamps in letterboxes.
I truly understand the value and aesthetic
appeal of hand-carved stamps (and plan to
do my own carvings), but... there is
discussion here about box vandalism,
and so I cringe at the thought of
spending hours on a stamp only to
have it swiped or destroyed. I guess
my question is: since many people
prize collecting original stampings,
would it lessen the experience to
have a commercially-made COPY of the
original carving in the box? Additionally,
is vandalism a frequent occurence, or
just a part of the "adventure" of
letterboxing? I fear there will be two
types of letterbox vandals in Colorado:
Inconsiderate people, and militant
environmentalists... seems like those two
types comprise about 98% of the population
here. ;O)
On the subject of advertising. I dislike
them personally, and also feel they
detract from a site's quality. I haven't
been a part of the group long enough
to have strong opinions one way or the
other, but generally speaking, pop-up
ads are not worth any potential revenue
they may bring. Most people find them
annoying at the very least.
I do love the idea of special stamps as
reward/commemorative for outstanding
collections. I have NO stampings yet
(well okay, one that I made and planned to
use if we ever hopped the pond and
letterboxed on Dartmoor).
On a personal note, due to my recent disability,
I will likely be unable to access many
letterboxes that are located in excessively
rough terrain... at least for a while.
If any of you are actively planting boxes
around here and there, I would love see
clues indicate those boxes that are easily
accessible. Thank you to the clue-givers that
are descriptive about the level of terrain
difficulty in your clues.
Anyhow, I hope I get my group mail subscription
sorted out. I look very forward to taking
part in discussions here and also contributing
wherever whenever I'm able!
Michelle
http://www.gigagraphica.com/michelle/
mailto:hoofbeads@aol.com
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