iLove iChat

Ravenboy has safely made it to Seoul and we spent some time this morning (for me) chatting on iChat. It was so nice to see my son's face and hear his voice. I wish RGBisMe had been here to enjoy the time we spent catching up a little.

He was going to get some food then do some laundry in his room. He was a little concerned because he can not communicate well in Korean and it is improper to point when communicating. I will be interested to learn how he does with finding food to eat.

He seemed really well but let me know that everyone int he company was very ready to come home. They have 5 performances in Korea, he dances the role of the lead Gypsy Saturday night and is looking forward to it.

The Week in Review

I have been painting part of Ravenboy's room prior to his return. Years ago this baseboard heater needed to be replaced and the model that was put in was much short on the wall than the one taken out. This left a swatch of unpainted wall that was terribly unsightly. I finally got around to priming it and choosing some paint that is complimentary to his rug an a lot of his decor. Two walls are done and I will finish the rest of the room after September.

We have had a lot of really cool toads in our yard this year. One the size of my (small) fist was on our back porch. It gave our cats the evil eyes when we took them out for a walk. Some smaller ones get caught down in the window wells. We make tours around the building, liberating any that get trapped.

We took our buddies, Mososo Kruppe, to do a little tour out to Lewisburg and back of our favorite grocery outlet and a few letterboxes along the way. We failed to get a few, one was in a store that closed and one was missing. We still had a couple of nice walks through a woodsy park and riverside path.

Tokyo

Ravenboy sent us a few photos from Tokyo.

Baby on a stick.

Zurbin on the metro.

Dancers on their break.

South Mountain... NOT

This past weekend we spent with Tracdc in Bethlehem. The intent was for 7 of us to hike South Mountain and find about 15 letterboxes. As the week approached different things caused each of the participants to drop out one by one. We were left with having a great time in Tracdc's house even thought her central air had died on one of the hottest days of the year.

We helped her put together center pieces for her wedding reception. Satan was out of town so we took advantage of doing things that Tracdc loved doing. We listened to hair band music, ordered in Papa John's and wore forbidden t-shirts (not on photos).

RGBisMe and I had fun mixing the clear water that was to sit and become solid over night. We called RGBisMe "tule-man" as he pitched in snipping flower stems for Tracd's autumn flower bouquet.

When the heat became unbearable, we left the house and had supper at the inn where Satan and Tracdc plan on being married. It was a quaint place with a gazebo and lovely trout street running through it. We are all excited for the wedding in September.

It ended up being a day of mojitos. Tracdc served us lovely lime and mint drinks served over ice to see us through our floral task. The inn we went to ALSO had mojitos as a special. Those beverages we night and day. While Tracy's were tasty and refreshing, the ones at the inn tasted like cold mint RUM. Way too much alcohol for any of us.

The evening was a living hell in her house because of the heat but the whole visit was so much fun. Yesterday the central air was reapaired and Satan came back from his brother's 50th birthday party in CA.

We found one letterbox this past weekend and planted one as well (clues have yet to be written). It was not the weekend we planned but it a a great way to spend probably the hottest weeekend of the year, just chillin'. All is well.

Asrai

photo by Dave Black

I am looking forward to August when Asrai (formerly dubbed UDAS) comes to visit. August is usually pretty warm here in Happy Valley but I have a feeling the heat is going to get kicked up a notch with such talent visiting the area. I cant wait!

Guess Who?

I know my blog posts have all been short and sweet. I am busy clearing out closets and cleaning the house. I have a couple of photos to share. One is of 靛蓝, our new betta. Birbanto is greeting him. It's up to you to guess who is in the other photo and why he might be dressed that way.

Neapolitan

It looks like Ravenboy might be dancing Neapolitan in Swan Lake while they are on tour. Will it be in Japan, Korea or Orange County? I can't make any location and will be wishing him a happy 23rd birthday via email. I love you and will miss you Skitty!

Busted!!!

Yesterday I was checking on most of the Crayola Posse's PSU campus letterboxes. Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is rolling through town and I had reports that some of the log books were full. This was my last chance to slip some new log books in before things got so muggle crazy that I couldn't even touch a box.

One of our most difficult boxes to grab mid-day is Huntin' for Old Main. I know right where it should be but if it hasn't been replaced just so I end up scrabbling around under a bush for a couple of seconds. This is tricky because Old Main gets a lot of foot traffic.

When I have to grab this box in the day, I find I am assessing which of the muggles has the potential of threatening the longevity of the box. Grounds crew and physical plant employees get more attention from me than the random passers by but a single person passing by will feel like more of a threat than an organized tour group that has to stick together. Yesterday I had all of the above mentioned muggle-types as I was swapping out the old log book and popping in the new one. I pretty much gauged every move I made off of when the guy cleaning the steps of Old Main was not looking. I felt pretty good about having replaced it with a minimal number of people seeing me doing anything odd.

Today I got a friendly email from a local letterboxer. She and her family had enjoyed many of our local boxes over the holiday weekend. They missed Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu and Martin Luther King Jr. at PSU (one had gone missing one was removed during construction. We marked them as unavailable in a couple of places and I felt badly that information was missed and they had a wasted trip. They did have success at many of our other boxes so it was great to know they had some success.

What she also mentioned was that I had NOT gone undetected in front of Old Main! Her daughter saw me swapping out the log books but didn't have time to stop and chat. I am so glad that it was another letterboxer who saw me - whew! Small world and what a good laugh thinking I was all discrete.

Chief Fakir

Our Creations

I was just reminded of how it felt to have my efforts overlooked when RGBisMe was given credit for something I had put a lot of work into. It probably happened because I had forced him into the role of correspondent on the project on which we both had spent hours on and it was a real zing to me when our combined efforts were acknowledged with just his name.

This is one reason our trail names use "posse" - our past times are combined efforts. In the mundane world, our last names are hyphenated. We each bring individual strengths to everything we do together. We like living together and working together. Our greatest and most rewarding achievements have all been collaborations.

All of our artwork is collaborative. It is a rare item that you will encounter if it has not had the touch of both RGBisMe and myself and then it is usually a gift for the other. If one of us conceives a piece the other may spend time actually doing the design work then back into the hands of the director for the actual building/ carving/ painting /sewing before finishing touches bounce back and forth between us.

Some of the confusion lies in that I am the one who frequently documents most of what we do. I am the corespondent and the more visible representative for what we create and share. RGBisMe is frequently "The Man Behind the Curtain" and it hurts both of us very much when he is not recognized for the huge amounts of time and energy he puts into our achievements.

Both of us try to credit each other with exactly what we have put into finished pieces, it is in our nature to give proper recognition. We realize that not everyone works this way and it can be confusing. For the record, if you aren't told otherwise, we are to be credited as a couple or family.

Solstice Stamping

Summer officially arrived sometime Friday evening soon after our Zeno's passports reflected another summer destination. Mososo Kruppe joined us to raise our glasses to the beginning of summer. We then walked the Barghest a while and got to bed early so we could meet Janila and Dogs with Wings for a little walk on Nittany Mountain.

The longest day of the year dawned and we found ourselves bright and early at the Nittany Mountain trail head. The ladies showed RGBisMe and me their laundry list of clues of what they hoped to find. I was shocked; they had clues solved to every letterbox (that I know of) on Nittany Mountain! This was going to be a substantial hike with quite a few stamping stops along the way.

It was early enough that next to no one was on the mountain except for us and the cicadas. We grew quiet as we climbed as the cicadas grew louder. We stopped at a few overlooks, found a few stamps and enjoyed each vista all the more as the morning have burnt off. The Crayola Posse sherpas provided the service of picking up anything that anyone dropped. Dogs with Wings wanted RGBisMe to tone up those abs.

About 4 miles into the hike we realized we were going to have to leave one box unfound if we were going to meet Mososo Kruppe for lunch. Even though Janila was sharing her tasty veggies with us, our bellies were growling for some good Otto's chow. In my typical fashion, I started reciting the menu that I was looking forward to. I don't think this made any one feel better but we got down off of the mountain straight away. I even let the woman with indigo boots escape and pass by us unharmed.

Lunch was great and the conversation was even better. The best part was seeing two different groups of friends from letterboxing get to meet each other and get along well. We shared personal travelers and letterboxing stories. It was well into the afternoon before went onto PSU campus for desert; Creamery Ice Cream and more letterboxes!

Campus was nearly deserted and I used Janila's camera to document something on the Nittany Lion which I had overlooked for over 30 years - it's a boy! I don't know if she will send me the photo but you can look for yourself next time you are near the statue.

We spent the evening walking with Mososo Kruppe, Barghest and our good friend Tom Cali. By the time I got home, my feet were like ground meat even though I had changed shoe and sock 3 times that day. My friends all have way more stamina than I do and I felt like and old tired turd.

The next day was just as beautiful. The weather was great and we called Janila to ask if we might join them. She gave me the big list of letterboxes they were going to look for and I suggested that we might all go looking for Music Woman's Peter's Unfortunate Adventure. I had RGBisMe read over the clues and had determined that our car had fine clearance for all of the roads that she had planted this local series on. It also would be on the same route that Dogs with Wings and Janila had hoped to seek some mystery boxes they had painstakingly solved. I too had another box in mind I hoped to wipe off of my radar.

My day started off with another 2 - 3 mile hike and the feet were hurting right off. I was looking forward to seeing the mountains of central PA through the window of my vehicle for a bit. Peter's Unfortunate Adventure was not exactly what I had imagined. The clues were sharp and accurate, the route chosen was the best available and the little jaunts to get each letterbox was just right to work out the kinks from sitting for a while. I think we all agree this series gets a high recommendation. When you look back upon the beautiful stamps in your logbooks, you will have memories of some of the best sections of our PA woodland.

The evening wrapped up at Facia Luna for some pasta and calzones with Mososo Kruppe. We all chatted so easily with no pretense nor reason to try to impress each other. The 6 of us could have easily spent the evening talking if Barghest didn't need his walk or Janila and Dogs with Wings had to pack up and rest for their last day of letterboxing in our area. The first weekend of summer was filled with many miles walked and some letterboxes visited with a few good friends.

The past couple of weekends are what I like about getting together with letterboxers; time to chat and share and be natural. I am coming to terms with my INFJ self and recognizing that I shouldn't have to feel guilty for not throwing myself into group situations that are horribly awkward and painful for me. It is only when I get together with smaller groups of trusted friends that I do not feel the need to apologize for most of the things I say and do. It feels great that I am not pushed to a point of panicking and am hopefully less misunderstood, defensive, reclusive or rude.

La Bayadère 2008

Arron Scott pictured above

Next week American Ballet Theatre performs the ballet La Bayadère again. Ravenboy is cast as Bronze Idol the evenings of 6/25 and 6/28 and as Chief Fakir the evenings of 6/24 and 6/27. It is not too late to get tickets through the Met.

Poe Evermore

Our good group got together for a letterboxing triathlon this past weekend. We properly fueled up at Mad Mex where they were shocked and appalled that we were nothing like the PSU students who know how to consume plenty of alcohol before lunch time. The waiter nearly passed out because PA PAddler is such a lightweight when it comes to libations and was afraid to offer him anything other than prune juice.

It must have been that prune juice that put the sour look on PA Paddler's face and made him build a cootie barrier between him and the rest of the innocents at the lunch table. Hunter Jumper decided to order from a unique menu; a palette of well organized entrées that she had brought for everyone's enjoyment. When she has tasted every item, she intends to put the binder up for auction on eBay. The owner's approval is pending but, because jbzfarm generously picked up the lunch tab, I have no doubt you will see it listed sometime soon.

Serious storms threatened the area all day but that didn't keep anyone from hiking Mt. Nittany. I left the camera behind in case we got caught in a down pour but all we had were a few rumbles off toward MILESBURG. It was our reservations that evening at the Elk Creek Cafe that called us from the ridge top before every letterbox was found.

Mososo Kruppe and PA PAddler took advantage of the sampler of microbrews. Consensus was that Elk Creek Copper Ale is the best. I must try it next time out. They also agreed that the Brookie Brown was quite good, the Winkleblink was like soda pop and the Big Trout Stout was a little flat for a stout beer.

Appetizers were enjoyed after exchanges and PTs were swapped. I enjoyed sharing Of Things Arcane and Mososo Kruppe allowed everyone to see if It could be your Luck Day! Some cute parody stamps were passed around and ideas started to pop up for future carving. After the food was tucked in the markers and stamps came out again much to the surprise of the wait staff and manager. We have yet another new group name, the Elk Creek Coloring Club. More t-shirts and patches are being designed, put your orders in now - supplies are limited to those who are chaff (and chaffed).

A nice blues band kicked in at 8PM but some of us needed to find accommodations for the night. We packed up our markers and stamps and went outside to watch what seemed to be a most ill fated parking job before driving back home. Jbzfarm went off to their remote and romantic campsite, 4Rhines had a nice room booked at the Stephen's Motel (they were very happy with this) and the rest of us had paid for places at 2201.


Trying to get a jump on the next morning we decided to put the bikes on the car and inner tubes in the hatch back but not before we got a call from jbzfarm. The road that lead to their campsite was blocked with one of those notorious PA black and yeller gates. They decided to take us up on an earlier offer of pitching their tent in our back yard.


The next morning I woke to be treated to bagels and cream cheese; jbzfarm beat us to the punch and went out to get a bag of breakfast goodies to fuel us for the bike ride. The 4Rhines came over and some kick @$$ cosmos were mixed in my kitchen. I have never had the scent of vodka and triple sec dominate my kitchen at 9AM and I got a little giddy just smelling them. Hunter Jumper mixed them with precision and packed them into her cooler for the afternoon.

Our caravan met on the far side of the Coburn tunnel and as we exited our vehicles I felt the need to grasp the door handle so I would not levitate. There was a whirring noise that sounded like space aliens were trying to beam us all up. It was all around us over head although it looked like any other beautiful day in Penns Valley. This was my introduction to the never ending call of the 17 year locusts. The volume of the noise was almost annoying and quite spooky. We joked about them a bit as we got onto our bikes and prepared for a few miles on the rail trail toward Ingleby and beyond.

There were letterboxes to check out along the way. One letterbox had quite a steep and rocky climb to a view of Penns Creek and the Coburn trestle below. The happy hikers were careful not to mention to Stonefly (until later) that there was snake skin quite nearby. Successfully logged into one letterbox, we started down the trail for another .25 mile to pause for the same reason. It was this area that the cicadas were most vociferous. Undulating waves of drumming cicadas serenaded us as we pedaled on to Ingleby.

Five letterboxes were logged into along this trail before we had to turn around. Just like the day before, we had to leave a box unfound because we had plans to meet the rest of our party at a different location. Mososo Kruppe and Dabralady were going to be meeting us a few miles farther down Penns Creek to put in for the float.


Finally, the nine of us were all at one place at the same time; we have to make sure this happens at least once a year or terrible and monstrous things will certainly happen. Inner tubes were inflated, libations were chilled and a local fisherman waved to us as we put in near the trestle. The day was just right and water temperature (don't go by the initial look on Dabralady's face) turned out to be very nice.
PA Paddler and Hunter Jumper were the bar keeps and when the rapids allowed they served up a few potent treats. I rode in what PA Paddler called my dingy and tied RGBisMe to me for a while. The rapids kicked up again and I set him free so that he wouldn't get tangled and he spilled the last of the iced beverage we had been sharing.

RGBisMe and I daudled on the far bank for a while, trying not to give away the location of a letterbox that was right along the creek. Eventually we saw them exploring the correct location and went over to check it out. It had taken on a little water but the baggies had been closed down just right by the last finders (thank you wanting snow and Ms Beachys) so everything was in good shape. A humorous moment came when Puddleby tossed Stonefly their signature stamp and it stamped him squarely in the chest before he caught it.

More of Penns Creek was enjoyed after the letterbox and we each managed to get tossed out at least once. Mososo Kruppe saved my inner tube from escaping once and Puddleby had hers shoot out from under her at about the same time Mososo Kruppe took a tumble from hers. Dabralady ended up with a mashed shoulder and RGBisme and I had banged up shins.


The walk through the Paddy Mountain tunnel was so much fun and before we knew it, we were back at our vehicles. It was like we had defied some law of time to be immediately back where we had started. Nine letterboxers having too much fun and defying laws. Being one of nine, I look forward to doing it again.

Wheat/ Chaff

When you separate things out, like skimming cream from milk, is what is left behind more or less worthwhile? One can easily argue "less" because the cream has been taken out and all that is left is milk. Some then assume that the cream is more worthwhile but I argue that it too is less. The integral whole has been divided. Cream is just as much a lesser entity as the skimmed milk.

In classrooms where children have been divided out by academic abilities it may be to a student's advantage to be able to learn at their own pace. The ones who have challenges in certain subjects can have some extra care while those who excel in similar subjects can finally be challenged. It sounds like a win/win situation if all you are focusing on is academics. Many times the academically advanced can have serious challenges in social interactions; a lot of book worms need a helping hand in blending well with others and speaking with decorum. It is then, I feel that a good mix of personalities can make for more wholesome growth.

Does chaff have worth? Of course it does, it serves the purpose of protecting the wheat with it's scaly casing. Wheat would not be nearly as desirable if it were not for the chaff. So when threshing time comes and you cast off what you deem unworthy of your needs or focus, remember that there is more worth to cast offs than you might be giving them. It all depends on your perspective.


Ibberson, Old Saw Mill Trail...

Our Gypsy Pilgrimage

Ravenboy was cast as lead Gypsy in the ballet Don Quixote. This is another brief and dynamic dance in the middle of a long classical ballet. It is one of the many roles he has always dreamed of performing so we wanted to be there to cheer him on.

We left in plenty of time to enjoy the sunny day outside of the Metropolitan Opera House. Maga11 had broken her ankle so we stayed pretty close to Lincoln Center the whole time. We were able to check on our 2 NYC letterboxes. We replaced our one in Central Park and looked through the log book of the one near Lincoln Center. Maga11 was really happy to stamp her and Toolman Luke into Peter the Fisherman.

We caught a cab up to Harry's Burritos to sit and waste some time.RGBisMe and I and enjoyed a couple of nice big bowls of chilled Gazpacho while my parents ordered big burrito type things with meat in them - ha! The iced tea there is always fresh and the house margaritas always tasty but they ran out of Dos Equis Amber on tap so Toolman Luke had to settle for a bottle.

I know I have written about Harry's Burritos before. This place is a little bit of a hole in the wall but has an awesome Mexican menu. The interior of the location on Columbus Ave. is filled with kitschy artwork and groovy lights. One of the high point of visiting Harry's is to pay homage to the bizarre lenticular photo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Deano is riding (what?) right behind Jerry and holds a rising crop in case things get out of hand. You try looking at that picture after a house margarita and keeping a straight face. Maga11 was a real sport and got our photo in front of it. I know you can hardly see it but it is weird!!


We caught another cab back to Lincoln Center (broken ankle remember) and got ourselves all prettied up for the performance. It really was a lovely evening for a ballet. I wrote the following review for a ballet discussion board:

Although I was unable to attend the matinee performance, I was very happy to have seen Wednesday evening's cast. It is never a happy moment when casting changes but I can say I was thrilled with the performances of both Ananiashvili and Pavam last evening.

It was understandable how Ananiashvili's Kitri fools Krauchenka's Don Q into thinking she is his lovely Dulcinea; she won me over completely. Carreño was a wonderful sight to behold, as always. His Basilio was all one could ever hope for up until his final variation which left me a little flat.

Carreño and Ananiashvili were well matched. The joyous playfulness they projected combined with their rock solid technique made them a most enjoyable couple. Their trust in each other as partners blossomed into breath taking moments by the final curtain. The audience responded to them in what I found to be surprisingly more lively than typical mid-week politeness.

Flower Girls Copeland and Pavam were a highlight as was Scott's debut as lead Gypsy. With a nod to Cornejo's costuming, Scott sported the open fronted shirt and was on his leg for solid turns.

The pinnacle of the evening was Lane's Amour. Her sprightly and gay performance had me beaming and feeling blessed to be able to be in the audience. It is rare when we can afford the trip from central PA to see ABT at the Met; that evening's Don Q was like a gift to us.