We Won! (P*S*C* #51)

We came as visitors to a lecture, competed as contestants and walked away
with prizes. 
WHAT?
Let's back up a bit.  First, we went to the Ottawa Visitor Center near
our cabin.  There was a program about black bears.  We have seen them
nearby and wanted to know more. 

But before the program was fully underway, the presenter led about 50 attendees through
the fun and engaging "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" with motions.

Loved it!

Then the presenter (I wish I could remember his name - Steve?) told us that instead of
a lecture, we were going to learn about bears by playing a game show with questions.
Winners would win prizes by choosing the answers from multiple choice questions.
Losers would also win prizes.  Count me in! 

Realize that black bears in Michigan number from between 15,000 to 19,000 and
90% of those bears live in the forests of the Upper Peninsula.  It's a wonder we
have not seen more near our cabin grounds, but they are a bit on the shy side unlike
their grizzly cousins.

The question I got right was about the birth weight of the bear cubs: between 2 and 7
oz.  The Smokey Bear Key chain is now mine!   Wes scored a zipper-pull thermometer
for answering correctly about the male bear living in an area of about 100 square miles
while the female has an area of 10 to 20 square miles due to her cubs.

Much was learned in this program.  It was highly BEARable!  For further info, clink on this
link:

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10369-105034--,00.html

Deal With It

There sure has been a lot of snow and cold in our neck of the woods this year. Not a big fan of winter myself, I'm trying to find strategies to cope with being stuck inside. Yes...reading, scrapbooking, quilting are all great cozy ways to spend time indoors, but my brain needs a little stimulation, too. I challenge this gray matter with computer Scrabble daily and Yahtzee occasionally. The best is when real people come together and not only is the brain exercise good, but the social interaction is highly entertaining! It also reminds me of fun times in the past when we would have Game Night as a family. (Thankfully, my days of tolerating Candyland are long over!)

Two weekends ago, Anne and Jed came here for dinner out and an evening playing a new (to us) game of Mexican Train Dominoes. Have you played it? It's quite quick-moving and involves more strategy than one would think. The first time I played, I was a disaster with points, but now I'm getting the hang of it and trying to rid my stash of those multi-dotted dominoes before the game is over. Just starting out with the game:

Notice how how Wes sets his pieces up...can you tell he was a former choir director? I think he looks like he has an audience with it this way! I think Anne looks like she is a math teacher with how organized and straight her game pieces are. My pieces are randomly placed...whatever. Jed just puts 'em as he draws 'em.

Just last weekend, John and Kari came out for part of the day and we had fun playing this game. Nothing like dealing out all the cards and finding that bird in your hands with the little star in each corner.

Well, February is almost over with now. Hurray! As much fun as it has been to play games with my computer and family members, I still am looking forward to a time when we can take walks outside, open up our windows for pleasant whiffs of fresh air, and get on with the business of living in a warmer world. As I get older, I think about retiring in a warmer climate...this is perhaps too cold a place to live 12 months a year. But, it is what it is and I need to deal with it. Games help in a little way to while away the time and give my brain something to gnaw on in the meantime.

My Scrabble Addiction

I have loved playing word games for as long as I can remember! It all started with Spill 'n Spell in the early 1960's. Then Scrabble. Then Perquacky. Then Boggle. Then Upwords.

Now I have returned to Scrabble via computer. The game lets me choose my opponents in human or computer form. I can play by myself with levels from Beginner to Genius. I can have a dictionary with the click of a key, hints if I need them (which I only use if I am being walloped by my computer opponent), and the best part of all...I DON'T have to score anything manually!

I can choose to set a timer for myself and play a "speed" round when I have a set amount of time free, or I can let the game be played at a leisurely pace over several days' time as it suits me.

And, I am exercising my brain as I play. I have learned so many new words from my computer

opponent such as quod (meaning prison), aalii (meaning tropical tree). There is no such word as

bling in the official Scrabble dictionary. It's fun to get x's for such words as xi (Greek letter) or

xu (money unit of Viet Nam). There are lots of great words with q's in them. But, I have come to detest getting the letters c and v. K's can also be painful.

The biggest thrill of all is to use all seven tiles in the rack and not only be rewarded with a lot of points, but the computer screen flashing the word Bingo! and hearing the little twinkling chimes

sound simultaneously. I have hit the jackpot in the comfort of my own home.

(By the way, can you tell I have reached new heights in my current CABIN FEVER by playing and reporting about this addiction of mine!! Come spring! Come summer!!!)