Weekend

 

I had a fun weekend until a cold showed up Saturday night!

Tim, Sarah, my parents, and I played a card game called Quiddler on Friday night. Have you ever played it? Some of my family like to play more cutthroat ways, but I like it when we can help each other!

 

Then Sarah went to read and the rest of us played SkyJo. It's a lot of fun, too!

Mom loves to play games and so we try to make time to do that on weekends.

We all slept in on Saturday, then Tim and Kyle delivered Mom's piano to a homeschool family we know. It makes her sad to not keep it but she doesn't play anymore and doesn't want to find room for it. 

Do you know it's almost impossible to give pianos away?

I met up with some longtime friends for lunch at the Speckled Hen in Strasburg. One of our group is going to teach ESL for 6 weeks in Jordan, and is leaving soon. It was great to be together. These are strong women who love the Lord, but none of our lives have been easy or perfect. 

Later that evening I felt like I was getting clogged sinuses, which happens from time to time. I did all the things but still have a cold. It's okay. I feel better today than I did yesterday, and yesterday I didn't feel horrible. I just stayed home and rested and kept my germs to myself. 

The photo at the top of the pages shows I still have some small trees and a poinsettia in the living room. They are cheery, and so they'll stay for a while.

Praying for those in the south that are getting a lot of snow, including our daughter and family! Thankfully our son in law works from home most days, and won't have to be out on the roads. Emma grew up in PA so she knows what to do if their power goes out, etc. They have a nice fire place in their living room and can all camp out in there if needed.

We are supposed to get a few inches of snow tonight here at the cottage. We'll see!

Do You Wordle?

 I'd heard about Wordle, but hadn't played it until I was reading an online newsletter and they shared a link to the game. I gave it a try and was hooked.

Rachel and Weston recently started playing and she says that she finishes before him, but he does it in less 'guesses.' She plays like me, sometimes using a letter you know isn't in the word but to try to get letter placement right, or find other letters that may be in the word.

Here is an example of how I play. I usually start with words with e and a in them but this day I used a different word to start. I also got lucky to have the R and E in the right spots on the first try with those letters.

I tried a R and E word and got no more correct on that try.

On my forth word I got help with the N but it was in the wrong place. 

So I thought for a while and tried this word.

Happily it was correct!

Here is a shot of another game.

I play for fun, and I confess that if I get to the last chance and have no clue I use a generator that helps with options. However, you still have to chose the correct option! I think I have failed once.

I'm not a highly competitive person though I enjoy playing games, and I like to win.

So do you Wordle? Do you use an app to help you with options? Do you write options down on paper?

Game Night

My kids and Tim are big game players.  I'll play some games, and I'll play in the right circumstances, but I don't like super competitive games or strategy games that people get worked up over!

I do love Clue though, and when Lindsay and the girls got the game out last night, I was all in!  I'm pretty good at it, I won a round last night, but I like figuring stuff out (must be all the Nancy Drew books I read as a girl!) and this is one game from my childhood I'll still play.

 I like Rook, and some other card games, I like to play Domino games, too.

I guess I mainly like games that are not cutthroat, and that allow you to socialize while playing.

What kind of games do you like to play?

Another Fun Blog Party!

My dear friend Cheryl is hosting a link up party where we can share our Hospitality Tips.

You can join the fun here...

www.thinking-about-home.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 I am so happy to join her in talking about hospitality.  I love hospitality and have seen the blessing and fruit of it over the years.

I asked my husband years ago now what he would like for us to be involved in as a family - what we could do together.  His quick response was that he would like us to invite people to our home - he wanted us to be hospitable on a regular basis.  I love having people over so this was a win-win for us!

The kids didn't always like the preparatory time - I would drive them pretty hard about cleaning up etc.  Finally we got a system of cleaning that basically allowed us to have a tidy house in 15 minutes, so we were all a lot less stressed!

My tips about hospitality are not anything earth shattering or new.  We are just regular people with a regular income.  We have had masses of people over all at the same time, and we have had just one person on a regular basis who has become like family to us all.

Tip #1 - Take the plunge and invite someone over!  People love to be invited - it shows that you were thinking of them, and that you want to spend time with them.  

Tip #2 - Don't be afraid to have a large family over.  We consider ourselves an average sized family due to the circles we run in, but for most people a family of 8 is big!  People are intimidated to think of having us over with "all those kids."  Most people think that all children are unruly and out of control - this is not true!  Plus as a mom of a larger family, I am quick to ask what I can bring to help with the meal.

Tip #3 - Remember there are more ways to entertain in your home than to have a meal.  You can invite people over to play games - with everyone bringing a snack to share, invite people over for dessert and coffee, invite people to a potluck.

Tip #4 - Don't be afraid of your house not being perfect.  Believe me a Mom can relax a bit if the home they are going to doesn't look like a magazine!

Tip #5 - Don't wait until your children are older to start practicing hospitality.  For my kids, it is as natural as breathing to have people over and they pursue it themselves every week!  Sarah is always making sure people have been asked over on Sundays.  And the girls have become the regular hosts of game night.  As I write this post there are 12 young people carving pumpkins at our table in the kitchen.  They are laughing and having a wonderful time, as they enjoy spending time together.  There is a bonfire burning outside as well, and they will end up out there soon, drinking coffee, hot chocolate and hot cider and spend hours talking away.  They are tying the strings of friendship and camaraderie from heart to heart.  I hope that in the years to come they will raise their families together, still encouraging each other on!

I am blessed as I see my children walking this path.  The other day Lindsay and I saw a sign at a store that said "Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends."  She said "That pretty much describes our house!"  That made me a happy Mama!  

Give hospitality a try - and if you get the occasional grumpy person, chalk it up to a fluke and invite someone else the next week!  You'll be glad you did!




 

On This Labor Day

I am going to play!

No school.

No shoppe.

No cleaning.

Or Laundry.

I might cook.

Yes, I will have to cook.

But....

I am going to play a Nancy Drew mystery game on the computer - with no guilt that I should be doing something else or sleeping.

I am going to play Blink....

Depending on the weather I may take the kids swimming at my parents house.

I am going to watch a movie.

I am going to laugh with my kids.

I am going to knit.

I am going to read!

I better get going....I have a full day of fun to start on!

I Am Addicted...

to these Nancy Drew computer games!  Her Interactive is the maker of these fun mystery games.  Trail of the Twister is the one that I bought Sarah for her birthday.  Of course, since they are for age 10 and up and Sarah is only 8, Mommy has to help her.  I am very self sacrificing that way.

But just for full disclosure - I have my own game going too! 

They are really fun, you have to do tasks, solve puzzles, collect clues...it is very good for the brain.  Sometimes the puzzles are hard to solve and you can go to the website message boards for each game and get spoilers!  This is very helpful.  This game also is dealing with a team of storm chasers in Oklahoma, so you are learning real information about safety, what to put in a disaster kit, different kinds of clouds, etc...

I played yesterday during my computer time...read email, read blogs, but no post from me.  Why?  I am Nancy Drew and I am trying to figure out who is sabotaging the equipment, like my gps unit that sent me straight into a serious storm...the nerve!

When we get a new one, I like to play it, get it done, so I can get back to my real life which is pretty great. 

So now I have shared my secret addiction with you....what is yours?

Rook

A game our family enjoys playing is Rook. Usually my parents, Tim and I play but recently we taught the older girls to play. The are really good at this game. Last night we "grown ups" played but for the last hand Lindsay sat in for me. I probably should have had her play for me alot sooner, as it was not a good night for me!