Flashmobs and Festivus!

Friday night was a geocaching, 2 event night that consisted of both a Flashmob and the annual Festivus party.

Every year for Festivus they release a few caches, so we started off the evening by grabbing 3 caches before the party even began.....

The first event was the Flashmob.  GC384DD  Just Killing Some Time.  Geocaching Flashmobs aren't like the traditional Flashmobs where people sing or dance, altho that would be a pretty good idea.  A Geocaching Flashmob usually takes place in association with an event, like maybe 11-11-11 or an anniversary, or before a geocaching party, which in this case was Festivus.  More on Festivus in a minute.  At a flashmob, a bunch of geocachers gather together at a set time, say 5:45 pm.  Everyone signs the log book, gathers for a picture and then leaves.  The whole thing takes all of 15 minutes.  Flashmobs are fun because they only take a few minutes, but then groups of people usually run off to grab a few geocaches together, or go on to another event.  It's also a great way for out-of-towners to stop by and say hello to local cachers.

Everyone signing the logbook - that's dad signing in......

That's me in the blue jacket and Chablis is grinning next to me.....

Waiting to take the photo.....

Group photo -  Afterwards we dispersed pretty quickly as it was about 16 degrees out and we were all in a hurry to get to Festivus anyway....

On to Festivus.....  GC37EV9  Festivus for the rest of us 2.  Festivus is an annual Holiday party put on by a great group of cachers who go by the collective name of the KURJ Cache Agency, which is made up of local cachers:   KUJayHawk, RikJaxon, DNFU, 2CatChick and Adam, EnPleinAire & BDKnel.   By the way, 2catchick is my sister!


The Festivus party is a take on the Seinfield Festivus episode.  At the party they have the annual airing of the grievances, the feats of strength, food and drink, there is plenty of re-gifting going on and there is the ever present Festivus pole.  

2catchick and BDKnel at the logbook table....

We had a large side room in an area restaurant, with good food and lots of flowing pop and beer....

My good friend Mary and I getting our event picture with Snoopy......

Mikey B gives lots of hugs.....

Brian is always good for a few good hugs as well....

Rick is the master of ceremonies, altho I think he looks like he's at a karaoke bar.... LOL!

Bill bringing in the huge box of gifts (re-gifts).  I re-gifted the gift I got last year.  Hehehe.....

 Some of the gifts we received.....

I left before the Feats of Strength took place, but I heard there was a lot of arm wrestling going on.  Before I left, I grabbed a couple of travel bugs to move along.  One of them was this cute hot dog.  His mission is to travel around the country and visit hot dog stands.  Since Chicago has lots of good hot dog stands, that won't be a problem.

Festivus is a much anticipated event in these parts and it's a lot of fun!  Thanks again to the KURJ Cache Agency for throwing another winning event!  You guys ROCK!

Sanibel Shellin' Sistah's!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow Sanibel Island Lover - Moira.

Moira and I started talking to each other through the Sanibel Island Message Board a couple of years ago.  She'd make a trip down to the island and I'd ask her about it.  Then I'd make a trip and she's ask me about it.  We'd share tips about where to find shells, where we were eating meals, where we were staying, favorite beaches.  Both of us share such a love for this same small island off the coast of Florida.  Last year we realized that we live less than an hour away from each other.  Since then, we've been plotting and planning to meet for lunch.

Because of Saibel, we share a common thread that winds around many of the same people we've met while on the island, or through blogging.  Both of us have met Pam, from iloveshelling.  If you want to know anything about what's happening on the island, go to her blog.  She knows everyone and everything!

Moira and I both frequent blogs called  The Essential Beachcomber and Shellbelles Tiki Hut.  Both are top notch blogs and you should give them each a look.  I had the pleasure of hunting for sharks teeth with Karen from The Essential Beachcomber and we had a blast!

Moira and I also both took day trips with Captain Brian this past summer as well.  If you're on Sanibel, do not miss an opportunity to take a cruise with this man of the sea.  Not only is he an accomplished photographer, but he knows the good shelling spots, charms the dolphin so we can snap photos, points out local flora and fauna and he slices up a mean watermelon as well.

So after many months of unexpected delays, Moira and I were finally able to arrange a meeting for yesterday.  We sat for 2 hours and talked non-stop.  Meeting Moira in person was like seeing an old friend.

We had such a good time talking about Sanibel and shelling and all the bloggers we have in common.  We both wore our Sanibel Island shirts that we purchased from the iloveshelling gift shop.  Pam, we did that especially for you!!  Darn, we should have phooned......

It was such fun getting to meet another fellow Sanibel Shelling Sistah - They're a very special breed!

Holiday Traditions

Everyone has holiday traditions, right?  Something you've done for ages because your mom always did it, or something that reminds you of grandpa.  Maybe it's a special ceramic tree, or an ornament or a knick-knack.  For me, it's Christmas cookies.

Every year I bake about 10 different cookies, my mom bakes a bunch, Laurie bakes a bunch, and on Christmas day we bring huge platters of them to mom and dad's house and have them for dessert later on in the afternoon.  Mom and Laurie always put aside one afternoon each December to make my Grandma's special nut cookies and dad is always sure to make a batch of his mother's Ice box Cookies.  Christmas would not be Christmas if each of us didn't get to snack on our favorite cookies.  Somehow it ties us to the past, if only for a little while.

As we get older, leave home, start our own families, we begin new traditions as an extension of our old ones.  For example, every year I make gingerbread cookies with my kids.  We plan one afternoon around the kitchen table, elbow deep in ginger, flour, rolling pins and cookie cutters.  We make heaping bowls of frosting and decorate each cookie with sprinkles and candies.  We may make 10 different cookies each Christmas, but the gingerbread cookies are number one on our list!  I think that will be the one special cookie my kids will someday make with their own kids, hopefully while telling them "I remember making these with your grandma when I was your age."  I hope they remember to let them lick the frosting bowls with their fingers and don't care when the cookies aren't perfect.

Another tradition my kids insist on is taking out every.... single.... holiday stuffed animal they have ever gotten and lining them up against one wall in the front room.  We have Santas, and reindeer, and snowman in varying shapes and sizes and if one is missing, they are sure to point it out and boxes are ripped apart until each stuffed animal is in his proper place.

We also have a old nativity scene that I won may years ago in a raffle at The Historical Society and it has to be placed underneath the television, in the same spot, every year.

But our favorite Christmas tradition is something that I started when Chablis was about 3 years old  - The Christmas Elf.  On the 1st of December I hang up our stockings.  Beginning that night, the "Elf" stops by and leaves a small, wrapped gift in someones stocking.  Talk about a genius way to make your kids get out of bed in the morning!  They would leap out of bed every morning until Christmas, eager to see who got a gift from the Elf.

The lucky recipient was allowed to remove the gift from their stocking and gently squeeze it, touch it, sniff it and make guesses as to what it was.  Then they had to return it to their stocking, unopened, because they had to wait until Christmas morning to actually open it.

Truth be told, the gifts are usually little things, like a toothbrush, nail files, gum, a candy bar, an I-Tunes card, a magazine.  Sometimes I think the excitement of guessing what was in each package was more fun than actually opening it.  You know, the anticipation factor.

Then on Christmas Eve, while we're at church, the Elf always makes a quick appearance and leaves 2 gifts on each of their beds which they get to open after church.  One gift is always a brand new pair of pajamas so they look nice for pictures and movies on Christmas morning (yes, I have a little of my dad's Cecil B. DeMille in me as well) and the other is usually a Christmas movie or game that we can watch and play with before bedtime.

One year we got home from Church while the Elf was still in their bedroom and we almost caught him.  Alas, by the time we ran to their room we were left staring at a partially opened window, some tiny footsteps in the snow and and the Elf's hat laying on the ground.  We left the hat by Santa's cookie plate that night with a note for Santa to be sure to give the hat back to his Elf.  That whole episode was exciting and from then on, they hoped and prayed every year to catch the Elf in the act.  Too bad he was always too quick for us!

(google pictures)

Then we have Mom's favorite traditions...... I mean, the holidays would not be complete without my own warped sense of humor traditions that I unleash on my unsuspecting family.

Meet Santa Elf.....

Isn't he a cute, chubby little thing?  I got this guy as a gift for my 1st Christmas, which technically makes him an antique, I think.  He's old!  And I love him and he's actually in pretty good shape for such an old guy.  Louie hates him.   He thinks he's creepy looking.  So I like to stick Santa Elf around the house where Louie is going to run into him unexpectedly....  Like on Louie's end of the sofa, nestled up against his pillow....  On top of his laptop...... Under the blankets on Louie's side of the bed....  Or in Louie's chair at the kitchen table.   I just think it's kind of funny!

The other tradition I have involves this adorable Snowman....

I won him in our family grab bag a couple of years ago and he is a source of constant amusement for me.  He sings and talks and the reason he's in the refrigerator is because he's motion activated, so when someone opens the door, they get this...... (blogger is having video issues right now so the videos aren't working)

Isn't that a riot?  You never realize how many times in one day your refrigerator gets opened until you get one of these.  It scares the crap out of everyone for the first day until they realize it's in there again.  After awhile Tony starts calling him "That %$@** Snowman,"  Louie walks around mumbling "I hate that Snowman and I hate that stupid Santa Elf even more."  Chablis will shut him off so he can't talk, and I laugh every time I open the refrigerator.  Occasionally I'll get up in the middle of the night and wander out to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal and as soon as I open the refrigerator, he'll startle me too. Sometimes I'll find him stuffed into a kitchen cabinet or behind the toaster.  How rude is that??  I just put him back into the refrigerator so he'll do this......

 I can't help myself, I think it's the funniest thing.  Don't you just love holiday traditions?  What's your holiday tradition?

Our Lady Of Guadalupe

Last night we went with my parents to do a cache that is hidden very near a shrine in Des Plaines, Illinois.  The cache is GC38RB4 and is named "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

The only clue we had for the cache was to find this brick, among thousands of bricks that make up the walk ways:

Once located, mom was quick to find the cache....

The cache is located away from the shrine and doesn't disturb anyone who is there. Beginning December 1st, worshipers start to bring flowers and candles to the shrine.  There were very few people there while we were looking for the cache, but I understand that the closer it gets to the 12th of December, the more crowded it gets.

Every December 12th thousands of Latin-American Catholics gather at the shrine to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Many travel on foot for miles, some walking as far as Chicago, to join in the celebration with food, music and dance.  Then they march through the city in a huge procession that winds up and down the streets for hours and lasts into the wee hours of the morning.

Already there are well over 100 bouquets of flowers placed around the shrine...

If you speak Spanish, could you translate this sign for me??  Cris - I know you are fluent!
"Let us show our love for the Virgin by keeping this place clean. Thank You."

I loved this picture....

The top of the shrine has these 2 statues.....
According to Cris:  The statues relate the moment the Virgin appeared to a peasant on the site where her Basilica now stands (beautiful and very moving place, a must see if ever you're in Mexico City!)

 Off to one side is this huge cross......

And at the base of this cross is a glass enclosed case holding this gorgeous gold cross.......

And the gold cross is flanked by these signs.......

Around the back is the area where you can light candles and say a prayer.....

There were many, many pictures of people hanging up on the walls, as well as ultra sound pictures.  It was interesting to look at everything that people had placed there.

On our way back to the car we passed these really interesting looking trees....

And another area with 3 crosses.....

We also passed a bench with this sign, which I wish someone (Cris)  would translate for me as well....
"Mother from Guadalupe 
Bless us always
Blanca and Jesus Luna"

For more information on Our Lady of Guadalupe, please read this.  I've lived here for a long time and had no idea that this shrine was even here.  Once again geocaching brought me someplace new to discover and explore.

Special thanks to Cris for providing the Spanish translations.  Cris leads a really fascinating life and has traveled and lived all over the globe.  She also has 2 blogs:  Cris Crossing the Globe and Here There and Everywhere. I love her spirit and sense of adventure.  For some fun and really interesting reads go visit her blogs!