Current at 11/6/2011 (Online waypoint URL) You have already found this cache! Master Index    Nearest Caches Tom Tiddler's ground by 1Queenand4Jokers (1.5/1.5) N49° 47.638  W97° 06.915 (WGS84) UTM  14U   E 635647  N 5517428 Use waypoint: GC17Z2D Size: Small    Hidden on 12/15/2007 In Manitoba, Canada Difficulty:     Terrain:               Christmas is over, the Spirit is gone. Instead another bit of Dickens to dwell on. Project Gutenberg is an online website which holds the dreams of many. An online library of popular and obscure books which I download to read at varying times. Dickens is best known for A Christmas Carol but you must sample some of his other work if you love to read. Try Tom Tiddler's Ground. Written in 1861, the phrase is also used in modern English as a euphemism for being on shakey ground. Cache is off the ground.

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12/18/2007 by Kabuthunk
VICTORY! On both the part of the gift-hunters as well as ball-grabbers.

...The chainmail balls, that is .

But yes, I remembered last night that I'm to be on-call for work after work today... so heading out before work it is. Luckly... working at 11:30, it wasn't too hard, and traffic was at a minimum. Sliding the car into the mini-parking lot down that path to the football field, I trudged over. Nothing looked different, but I could easily be mistaken and it may well have been found again... didn't check the logbook. But I cracked open the bigger container and entered another gift... which for the record, will be fun for anyone who gets it. It may not be big... but it's cool . I had it around as a cool anyone-would-like-it emergency present if I forgot someone, and this pretty well fits the bill .

As well... the TB has found a new home in what is likely to be a frequently visited cache. All in all... quite a productive morning. Albeit the socks got a touch soggy again, it wasn't as bad as last night . I also swept over my footprints close to the cache as best I could. A little snow and a little wind and there shouldn't be any signs of activity .

I've also chatted with a co-worker in regards to the 'Spirit of Christmas' note. It was to call someone who experienced the death of a loved one and comfort them. Well... I work right beside them, and their grandpa passed away last week... so it's almost as if that 'Spirit of Xmas' note was meant for me. So if you interpret 'call' as 'talk to', it's all good. Cheered them up a bit .

All in all... quite a successful cache which cheered up both myself and others .

Took: Nothing... since I was y'know... here yesterday... or earlier today technically, I guess.
Left: TB, chainmail ball, interesting gift

12/18/2007 by Kabuthunk
So I'm sitting at my computer, shortly before 1:00am, poking around online. Noticing that "My logs (last 30 days)" showed a paltry four listings... one of which was a note, two of which were TB-related, I felt it looked empty. Somewhat discouraged by the distinct lack of my chance to geocache, I poke my mouse at the 'newest in Manitoba' geocache link. Fully expecting all of them to be at least 30 or so km's away, I see that the newest one is "Spirit of Christmas II". Intrigued by the name... I have a looksee. I recalled that the last Spirit of Xmas cache had been in a park LaBarriere Park, and fully expected to see this one at a similar distance.

But what's this? A little over 6km's away? Mini-map shows it within the Perimeter? Queen... you may not realize it, but the sheer coincidence of you placing it, followed by it being published RIGHT at this particular time definitely cheered me up during this busy time of year .

A few thoughts run through my mind. First... there was no 'last found' beside it's listing. Scrolling down confirmed that noone had found it yet. A quick math equation appeared in my head:

Middle of night + work tomorrow morning + icy cold out + already tired != Potential FTF + sweet, sweet geocaching

Oh yes... there was very little question as to what must be done. Informing my fiancee... who was already nearly asleep... that I was taking off to find a geocache (pretty sure she was too tired to register most of what I said, otherwise she would have called me a bloody fool ), I hopped into the car and took to the streets.

Pulling off the Perimeter onto St. Mary's, I made a minor wrong turn pulling onto that road that leads to the football fields/etc, and quickly corrected myself to be parked across from the cache vicinity.

I quickly spotted tire tracks as I pulled onto the side. Alas... I am second, I think to myself. Hopping out of the car, I notice some footprints. This is now confirmed in my mind. However... I only see one set of tracks. Could these be the tracks of the cache-hider? Delving forth, I fill my shoes with anticipation and snow... but mostly snow. These tracks in question appear to twist and turn everywhere. I go back to thinking it was a cache-hunter instead. Poking around here and there, I eventually find my head-lamp shining on what could only be the cache. Victory is mine! It appears freshly hidden... could it be?

Cracking open the cache (not literally... but you get the idea ), I discover... gifts. 'Peculiar', I think to myself. 'I thought the page said 'no FTF note', or something like that. Although it DID recall it saying something about gifts.

Now... before I go on, allow me to apologize for my actions which follow, of which I promise WILL be corrected in the near future... likely towards the end of the 18th, after work. I was filled with adrenaline and anticipation, and didn't clearly understand the cache page. And when I promise to do something... I stand by my word.

Hence... thinking the gifts inside were for FTF, STF, and TTF, I took one at random, and hunted for the logbook. Upon opening it and flipping through it... I find no other logs inside. FTF it is . Signing it, I put it all back together and headed out.

Now... upon my return to this cache, I vow to will correct the following:
1. A gift will be left in exchange.
2. A full-sized chainmail ball will be left, since all I had at the time was a micromail ball to leave.
3. That TB I need to drop off will have just that done.

Aaaand that about covers my stupidity. Again, sorry about that. In either case... heading home, this was a heck of an adventure . I just need to learn to read a bit better ahead of time to avoid having to return to caches .

Took: Gift + Spirit of Xmas paper (to be posted after completion)
Left: Micromail ball + filled out a Spirit of Xmas idea

Note: My post would be longer, but I'm out of space .