Having fun these days requires a bit more creativity, doesn’t it? I have been doing a lot more on Zoom, as it is a safe way to see friends and have conversation. On Monday, I was able to spend a nice day sewing with friends, and working on Pachanga, while fat snowflakes drifted down all morning. I made enough progress to write the next couple of clues. If you missed the first post with cutting instructions, click on Pachanga Begins! to get the pdf. The next clue will post next Friday.
Something about snowfall makes me smile, especially when I am warm and cozy inside. The snow on Monday was lovely, with thick fat flakes coming down off and on all morning and into the early afternoon. It didn’t stick to the ground, melting as soon at it hit the grass or pavement, but it was lovely falling. On the suet feeder, I put my homemade recipe in the suet cage before the snow arrived. Lots of birds came for a meal that day. This downy woodpecker was just one.
Then, what could be more fun than winning a contest you didn’t even know you entered? That is what happened last week! My friend Darlene, who blogs at Creative Latitude, entered a drawing where she had to also enter the name of another blogger, and she entered mine. And we won!! Both of us got Amazon gift cards from a fun place called Caluya Designs. They have free and low cost graphics and downloadable files for use in cardmaking and crafting. I’ll be using some for cards for Safelight this year.
I have to share with you one of the most fun things we’ve found for playing with friends. The best thing is, you can play this easily on Zoom, but it is also fun in person. It is a game called Box of Rocks. We have been playing this crazy game on Zoom with some of our MINI car club pals.
It can be played with an unlimited number of people, as all the humans are on one team against the rocks. The box has two rocks, both have a blank side, and a side marked with a one. The game comes with trivia cards, where there are only three choices for answers – zero, one or two. One question was how many winter Olympic games have been held in Canada? The humans confer, and decide on their answer. Then the box with the rocks is shaken for the rock’s answer. Whomever is right gets a point. In the case of a tie, no team gets a point. First team to three points wins. As often as not, the rocks will win, LOL, and it provides a full evening of fun and laughter.
One of our very clever members has a handmade game board with nine post-it notes he holds up to the camera. The categories are clever, not really telling you what it is about. Someone chooses a category, then he has us number our papers from one to ten to write down our answers. His categories have been MINI Cooper trivia, movie quotes, book authors, horse trivia, space trivia, and lots more. Last time we played, one of the categories was called Tom-Tom, and turned out to be Characters Played by Tom Hanks. He gave us the character name, and we had to name the movie. I got 8 out of ten that time, and totally tanked on the “finish the quote” category. The only thing the winner gets after our game night is bragging rights, and we all have a lot of fun.
Simple joys can come from simple ideas. Although we cannot go sit in a restaurant right now, we have made a commitment to try to get a take out meal once a week from our favorite places. When I think of how many meals I had out before the virus started, including lunches, I realize that I need to support the places I like so they will be there for me when all this is over. I actually ate a meal out more often than I realized, until I started thinking about all the lunches out after quilt meetings, and meals for meetings like car club events. Add to those the meals arranged at a restaurant to spend time with friends, and it adds up. The loss of that has had a significant impact on our small, locally owned eateries. The small local retailers need a bit of help too, so I’ll see about finding something for my stash at my local quilt shop, and perhaps purchasing a small gift or a new blouse on Main Street downtown. I can’t make a huge impact, but if all of us make a small effort in our communities, we might help our favorite places survive. We are going to spend some of our stimulus money doing this, along with some donations to charity. Which reminds me, I miss thrift store shopping!! All of our thrift shops are charity shops. I hope I can be vaccinated soon and feel better about getting out in public again. This photo was taken in the spring of 2017, and I hope this coming spring will see us able to do more. I am ready to be released back into the wild.
What are you doing for fun these days? Have you played Box of Rocks?
Sharing Tuesday Turn Around, Vintage Charm.
From My Carolina Home 
Box of Rocks sounds like fun. I especially liked the homegrown game with post its. When we were kids our large families didn’t have money for camps & a limited number of board games, we made up our own games & activities to keep us busy over summer. Who knew we’d be doing that at our age?! I used to get together most Sundays at a coffee shop with my knitting/quilting friends. Just yesterday I lamented to one of them that surely I should have lost a pound, I haven’t had a frosted cookie or pastry in almost a year!
Good morning, I so enjoy reading your blog. I noticed the light on your sewing table and would like to know the brand. Thank you.
NEver heard of box of rocks, but have a neighbor who calls his handsome Irish setter dumber than a BIG box of rocks (he says it half-jokingly, and he’s the most calm and well-behaved Irish setter I’ve ever known).You’ve certainly made the best of this bad situation!
Those games sound like fun! We were lucky in our “family bubble” to spend the holidays together. My daughter had us all playing games and every one age 4 – 67 played! The funniest was trying to hook hardware store “nuts” with a candy cane out of a bowl, followed up by stacking them up using the “end” of the candy cane! Take out food is not something I enjoy because I want my food “hot” and hate the idea of reheating. The exception to that would be the chicken dinners I would pick up after church on Sundays. Not eating out has helped me to lose 20 pounds in the last year. I do miss those lunches out after quilt bees and quilt guild meetings.
Nobody said it has to be dinner, how about a take out salad or sandwich for lunch? Or get some pastries to have for Sunday breakfast. And yes, get a chicken meal on Sunday at that place. The idea is to keep the places in business that we want to be there when this is over.
Carole, I enjoy reading your blog so very much. Keep up the good work. My husband and I belong to a large RV group and one of the games we play is “I Should Have Known That.” We get into teams of 5-6 and wrack our brains together to earn points . Lots of fun!
I love the last photo you show of your town’s outside lunch/coffee area – I so wish my small town had something like this but they don’t even though it is a small town I feel it could do so much better for attracting people to dine outside – there are no outside dining areas at all, there are a lot that you can do pick up for but even if I wrap a hot meal up in a quilt to keep it warm it will still be cold by time I get it home and will need to reheat it and then it doesn’t taste as well. I do miss not dining out for lunch or in the evening – I never realized how much we did that until this year
I miss dining out too. We are finding things to order that will make it home, or pick a warm day to take a picnic to the park. We don’t eat at those tables downtown right now, still too many people about. Perhaps a sandwich or salad would do for a lunch. My point is we have to patronize our favorite places in some way if we want them to survive and be there when this is over.
Retiring this week! bittersweet
My daughter informs me I am Category 2 (daughters both Cat 1 since they are health care workers) as I am less than 70 but diabetic. I do take the flu shot every year, have had the Hong Kong flu, the Australian flu and other various when younger. Perhaps when my category comes up there will be a track record we can trust! I’m sure my doc will thrust it upon me, but currently they sent out a letter that they do NOT currently have it in stock and don’t know the status of local doctors getting it or if it will all be through County health centers and hospitals.
We still dine ‘out’ too much: everyone in the house on different schedules. One daughter mid shift, one graveyard and I am days. Before I moved, we had dinner too late for early morning risers, so often catch as catch can also. With me retiring I am going to concentrate on the crockpot again …. although the instant pot is GREAT for beans! dried black eyed peas in FORTY minutes for our Hoppin’ John? zowie. I had stopped using dry for that since it took so long to get them cooked correctly, and was using canned all the time.
The game sounds hilarious, my son and the nephews all play odd trivia games (millenial stuff, music I don’t know, a bit vulgar stuff…) so I only play Rummikubes or Uno with them! I bought a puzzle for the winter I am ready to set out soon!
Sharon in Colorado (staying in CO, sigh. The grandbabies are strong chains! they are here today as well)
We’ve been doing some takeout orders, too – ordered Chinese at a local restaurant for our anniversary just the other day. They gave us enough for 3 meals! Yesterday my book club met on Zoom – we miss seeing each other in person, but so thankful for Zoom! Your Pachanga colors look happy and fun to work on, Carole!
I agree with your buy local mission. We have tried really hard to support our local businesses. Its up to each of us, whether our local businesses will survive the pandemic. How are you helping your local businesses?
We’re doing what we can to support our local restaurants and our pub. Even with the announcement that everyone 65 and older is now eligible for the vaccine, the supply is so low and distribution sites limited, that I think it will be months before our turn actually comes. Our governor said yesterday that the change in age eligibility means there are 7 million New Yorkers now qualified, but the state only receives 300,000 doses a week. It’s truly sad and embarrassing how unprepared the country was for this pandemic.
It does sound like you are having some good fun this week. I’ll check out Box of Rocks. Thanks.
Congrats on your prize win, Carole, and thanks for including the link for those graphics!
We don’t eat out much but I do miss a few of the things I just can’t make at home. And I don’t think we will ever have buffet eating again. There was a Polish buffet that the whole family could find something. They are still serving pick in a box – but I still miss making my plate on my own.
Those games sound like fun, and the best part is you are socializing still and laughing. I like your helping plan. We do get a lot of take out, and have gone out to eat in, too, but at odd times. Yesterday morning at 6:30, we went to iHop. I thought there might be a lot of breakfast people, but there were only us and one other twosome. That is not good at breakfast time!
I’m alone since DH passed away 8 yrs ago so can’t imagine being holed up alone all day every day. There was a short period of time when about the only place we could go was the grocery store so I went 2-3 times a week! HA But since we’ve reopened several months ago, I go out to lunch every day of the week so I’m doing my part to keep businesses in business! I’ve also gone on 3 driving trips (last was to Death Valley) so keeping the motels in business, too!!
Those games sound like a great time! We are trying to shop local for everything we possibly can.
The games sound like a lot of fun! We still eat out occasionally but not often. That chicken looks fantastic! That is one of our takeout indulgences.
I’m going to check out Box of Rocks! Sounds like an engaging and fun activity!
I’ve been busy during the pandemic. I am a Toastmaster member and we have uplifting meetings via Zoom, allowing me to connect with others and learn new skills. I am also very involved with our quilting guild and am doing Zoom facilitation and online programs for them. I am finishing UFOs and I’m helping my daughter with her new longarm and fabric design business.
Loved the bird pictures. This morning a cardinal landed on one of our evergreen kissing balls but he flew away before i could take his picture! Locally, we’re keeping our decorations up in honor of the first responders.
Thanks for sharing about Box of Rocks and for the beautiful pictures. You made my day!
I have never played box of rocks but it sounds neat. We had snow off and on all day today and yet nothing much has stuck to the ground either. I kind of like it that way!