My 45th Meltdown Bash

So - about a year ago I started plotting and planning to have a birthday party for myself - with friends, folks I wanted to be with on my birthday : )  I commandeered my sister's house, invited a few friends, and planned some stamps, a menu of foods I like and then waited for a year to pass.  I carved a series and a few single stamps - but asked some friends from afar to send a stamp so they could attend my party in spirit if not in person.

I planted my series - a Ying and Yang series cause when you're turning 45 its all about balance - past and present, etc.  - don't worry - that's as deep as I'll get in this blog : )  Ashley and I went out and planted the boxes... then I asked Amber to proof the directions since Ashley and my clues tend to be just slightly - off on occasion.  Amber did - managed to find 3 out of 9 boxes but picked up 15 ticks for her troubles.  So later in the week - Amber and I set off to find the rest of the boxes.  Oops - missed a key direction to turn around and continue on the road you were on before... my bad.

We ended up calling Ashley 4 times for more help since I couldn't locate the boxes and I was with her when we planted them!  But eventually - we found them all - tweeked a few words here and there, added a few sticks for clarity... you know - made the clues make sense!  Any who... so those we fixed nice and neat.  Had Amber check on a couple more - they seemed okay. So now to list them and start pulling together a menu...

What to have?  Hmmm... some of my favorites of course.  Old stand-bys like cheese and crackers, fruit and veggie trays to munch on and a variety of dips, chips, pretzels, and tortillas.  I'd recently found a new Asian noodle salad that I made, plus a Spinach salad with strawberries, manadarin oranges and candied walnuts.  Made chicken kabobs to be grilled and of course punch and cake!  We were supposed to have shots to toast... but the weather turned out non-shot worthy, so only a couple folks did shots (my step-mother being one of them!)

I was supposed to plant a bonus series - but spent the week before my party pretty much sick or running ragged to other events.  In case you didn't know it, my husband Ron and I share a birthday on June 1st.  He's a few years older than me - but since we've been together - we've had a silly little tradition.  We go to the movies because we can get in for free.  Then we splurge on a decent dinner since the 2nd is our anniversary so its kind of like celebrating both on the same day.  So the first rolled around and while I waited for Ron to get off work - I went with my son's second grade class to Scarborough Marsh. 

The weather was picture perfect!  There was just a slight breeze - just enough to keep the marshy bugs at bay.  We learned about the marsh habitat and about the birds and other animals that live there.  I will say - its been MANY years since I've ridden in a bus... I forgot how well excited kid's voices in a bus amplifies!  But I survived the trip and then headed off to wait for Ron to get home.  We saw Men in Black - a fun movie with less slime than in previous movies.  After that - off to visit Ashley at her new job serving up soft serve to Lewiston's finest (YIKES!)  Over the river to WalMArt in Auburn for fondant for my cake... another YIKES!  Walmart on the first of the month... a Friday to boot.  What WAS I thinking???

Off to dinner for some wonderful seafood... and en route driving there - my brakes decided to give out.  Ron kept telling me I could speed up a little bit - but after I finally told him that my brakes were barely holding out - he agreed the EXTRA distance I was leaving was probably a smart thing to do.  Home again (with Ron driving home from the restaurant) I was ready for bed.  I had a whole list of things I needed to get done Saturday morning - starting with a 7am trip to the grocery store.

Saturday I managed to over sleep - so I ran off to the grocery store and flew through the aisles, gathering the food I needed.  Upon arriving home - I pulled out the ingredients I needed for prep at my house and sent Christopher off to wake up Ashley.  After putting all the various supplies back in my car - off I headed to Colleen's house.  After driving across her lawn to unload - I sent my niece Emily off to plant a couple boxes outside.

Veronica and Ashley showed up - and with Emily's help - they set up the decorations.  We planted a few boxes inside, made punch and then waited.  I continued to prep food for salads and the fruit trays, while behind me Ashley managed to cut her finger to the bones with a bread knife.  Colleen, a paramedic and a nurse steri-stripped her up and we shooed her from kitchen duty.  But this put Colleen on KP duty.  We finished putting out most of the food as Amber and a couple others started to arrive.

And as they arrived, so did the rain.  Not just a little bit of rain... not a pesky drizzle that most can box through.  Nope - we had a full fledged rain event.  Thankfully - Colleen's house is large and we were able to hang out and party.  Amber handed me that gift she gathered before she had to rush off as her husband was ill.  I asked her if it was going to make me cry, and she said no.  I lasted through 2 sentences before I started crying.  Its such a heartfelt feeling to know you have friends both near and far.  My gift was amazing.  46 stamps carved and gathered by Amber.  Planted and clues assembled in a Gargoyle Girl logbook for me to head out and seek.  46 individual images from folks I've met in person and shared many good times with and from folks I've met and shared nothing more than internet exchanges, postals, LTCs and numerous e-mails with.  All I had to do was go out and find them!

I managed to get through the rest of it and some folks went out and found some of the boxes in between the rain drops.  We ate food, drank lots of punch and just sat around and had a wonderful chance to catch up.  Other friends arrived a little later and we continued to catch-up some more.  We talked about how we started in boxing, what some of our favorite finds were and when we first exchanged.  It was fun to spend a relaxing day with such great friends, both in person and in spirit.

So today - Amber took me out to find a few of my gifts.  We hiked Hedgehog Mountain and mud was certainly flingin!  We hiked and stopped and got inky.  I felt like a mud princess as Amber fetched muddy boxes, tapped the excessive mud off the outside and handed me the individual presents to stemp up!  What a fun day.  What a great start to filling those pages with incredible art sent to me by incredible friends.  Of the 46 on the list - we plucked 17 off the list today.  The others will have to wait for another day and another adventure. 

I can't even begin to express my gratitude and my profound appreciation for the generosity of so many - it just proves once more what a wonderful community letterboxing and what great people letterboxers are.  I'm so thrilled to be a part of this community every day.

Ironically - 11 years ago - the Friday and Saturday of our birthday and wedding had the exact same weather.  I beautiful picture perfect Friday and nothing but pouring rain for our wedding.  It just proves that great things come from many rain drops!