The Wave

Is anyone else as entertained by the wave sinks in Walmart as I am???

 

 

I know…I am so easily entertained. 

(But I consider that one of my strengths!)

Friends

When you’ve got friends like these, you don’t need enemies!

Jason’s friends planned a party to celebrate his coming home from college.  They kidnapped him this morning and took him to one of the houses for an afternoon of games & fun.  What great kids!




Tonight while I was making dinner I had a really nostalgic Christmas CD in the background.  (It was Barry Manilow.  And I love Barry.  No one has a nose like Barry.  No one does a key change like Barry.  And few can make me feel nostalgic like Barry…)  As I was cooking and listening to the music I thought about our friends and how truly blessed we’ve been.  So tonight I’m sending out a message—to Jason’s friends, and to all our friends:

Merry Christmas.  We love you all, 

and our lives would not be the same without you. 

Buy This. You Won't Regret It.

Last year on a whim I bought this little wrapping paper cutter.  I think I regretted it as soon as I bought it, because it cost a couple of dollars and probably wasn't worth it.

In the last few days I've wrapped presents and been irritated at how badly my really good scissors cut wrapping paper.  In the corner of the back of my mind a little though started niggling...

didn't I buy a special cutter last year???

And so tonight, before pulling out a bunch of presents to wrap during the Survivor finale, I looked.  Sure enough, there it was in the bag with the ribbon.

It was wonderful.

Terrific.

You should get one too.  Then we can talk about how much better the wrapping thing is going.  Instead of how irritating it is when the scissors rip the paper instead of sliding along neatly...

Thanks to Survivor my wrapping is almost done, so I can spend the rest of the week sewing and making yummy treats and taking lots of naps.

Hope your week is wonderful!

He’s Back!

 

Jason got in this morning about 2AM.  Without his luggage, but we don’t mind that too much because we got a $50 Southwest Voucher for picking up the luggage ourselves.

Josh had been planning for days how he was going to celebrate Jason’s return.  Buy “letting” Jason cut his hair, which has definitely been looking a little shaggy.

 

I’m not sure Josh knew what he was getting himself in for.

 

Welcome home, Jason!

Monopoly Analysis

After sorting through all of the games yesterday Jared was in the game-playing mood today.

After sorting through all of the games yesterday I was tired today.

But I was also sort of curious.  So I said, yes, let’s play Oceanopoly. 

After all, Oceanopoly combines two of my favorite things.  The ocean with a game.  So perhaps that could overcome the fact that it was an “opoly” game.  I figured it was time to put the game to the test and figure out once and for all how I felt about these “opoly” games.

I even made it easier on myself and proposed we play the short version.  The rules suggested that the short version have a time limit of 60 minutes. 

 

Thirty would have been plenty for me…

 

I remember the exact moment our game-playing lives changed.  We had played a wonderful game (still a favorite) called “Clue Master Detective” with my friend Susan.  We really loved it and wanted a copy, but it was out of print.  One day I saw a guy set up beside a road in Utah, with a big sign that said “Used Games.”  On the hopeful chance that he might have a copy of “Clue Master Detective” I pulled off.  I looked through all of his games with no luck.  And then when I explained what I was looking for, he handed me a flier and told me that the company on the flier might be able to help me.

When I called the company, Funagaingames.com, and explained what I was looking for the employee was sympathetic.  He told me that because “Clue Master Detective” was out of print, copies were rare and usually sold for (gulp!) $50!!!

And then he said the magic words…

It sounds like you’re looking for a thinking game.  You need to try the German games.

Up until that moment I’d never considered whether or not Germans even played games.  I was certainly surprised to hear how strong the game-playing (vs. tv watching) tradition was in Germany.  Before I got off the phone with him I’d purchased two german games, Cleopatra (still not sure what I think about it) and Bhonanza. (The Bean Game) (Still a favorite.) 

As I played Monopoly earlier today I reflected on how far game play has come.  Monopoly takes way too long, is far too repetitive, and is just kind of boring. 

I decided the deluxe Monopoly game in the fancy game tin had to go (before it sits for another year, even) and listed it on craigslist.  (Turns out that special anniversary version is out of print, and worth something!)

 

And then Jared and I played another game.

Monopoly Deal.

This time there was no boredom, the game moved fast, I figured out a new strategy, and it took less than 20 minutes.

Oh, what fun!

 

It’s nice to see that Parker Brothers has also learned from the German game makers.  Monopoly Deal includes a lot of characteristics of the German games, and has lost the boring game characteristics.

 

Do you think they’ll ever make an Ocean version???

 

P.S.  Just to satisfy your curiousity (cause I know you’re burning with it!), we were eventually given a Clue Master Detective game by a nice guy Russ worked with.  It’s been treasured and played often!

Got Games?

I’m coughing like a crazy person, but other than that (and the resulting loss of sleep) I feel SO much better.  This afternoon the I persuaded the kids that before Christmas could come, we had to sort through all the games.

ALL the games.

Now for some families, that might mean two or three or twelve games.

This is what it meant for us.

Wow!

 

We sort our games into several catagories.  Group, traditional, two-player, 2-5 player, and kids.  We went through each category and decided which games we don’t play and made a big stack to give away. 

But this was the interesting thing.  We have several games that I really have no desire to play, yet I feel strange about getting rid of them.  For example; we have a very nice Monopoly set.  It’s in a neat tin, it has great holders for everything.  I still don’t want to play it.  We have 20 games that I’d choose in a heartbeat to play before Monopoly.  And yet I feel some kind of obligation to keep Monopoly.

As we put the games back, we tried a variation on a trick I read in an organization book last week.  We put all the games in upside down.  As we play them, we will put them away right side up.  Any games still upside down a year from now…will have to find new homes.

Something tells me that Monopoly game’s days are numbered…

 

P.S.  After going through all of the games I have a huge stack that need to be played ASAP so we can decide if we really want them.  And I decided that Santa isn’t bringing any new games this year.  (Except for S’Quarrels, which was invented by our friend Megan’s husband!)

Ah-Ha...

So now I understand why people who love their birds get heated birdbaths!