Monet and Me

and saw this crossword, solitaire game called Q-Less advertised. Twelve cubes with letters. You shake them up, dump them out, and try to use up all the letters making a crossword.

No need to buy a new game. I had a game called Boggle. Boggle has 16 cubes but the idea is the same.

We did pretty good, if I do say so.

Monet and Me

 

From the suggested scarecrow names from last week, Monet and I decided we liked the name Bolger. This name was contributed by Mackerull and the FSG from Trout Town.

Thank you all for the wonderful names

Happy, Little, Time Waster

* Age backward: 96.  Hmmm, might be better if it was a game level.

* Favorite pie:  Cherry

*Favorite cookie: There are very few cookies I don't like.

* Steak or Seafood: Seafood

* Italian or Chinese: Italian

* Favorite soda:  Pepsi, and I'm partial to ginger ale

* Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate

* How many tattoos: 0

* Ever hit a deer: no

*Ever been to a World's Fair: No

*Be the cook or the dishwasher? Cook

* Netflix or Hulu: Netflix

* Last text from:   A user verification code

* Favorite season: Summer

* Broken bones: Nope, though I did have to be on crutches because they couldn't tell if it was just a bad sprain or a hairline, ankle fracture 

* Beach or mountains: Beach

* Dogs or cats: 🐈‍⬛

* Early morning person? No

* Surgeries: 5

* Favorite color: Blue, like Royal Blue, Sapphire

*Indoor or outdoor activity: indoor 

* Have you ever flown on a plane?   Yes

* Fly or drive: Drive

* Mild or hot salsa: mild

* Waffles or pancakes: pancakes 

* Favorite holiday: Halloween

*Favorite time of day: nap time

* Smooth or crunchy peanut butter: 🤢

*  Large or small curd cottage cheese- either, but only if it has pineapple in it

*  Hellman's or Miracle Whip: 🤢

* Thick or thin crust pizza: Yes, please.

*  Country or Rock n Roll:  To quote Bob Seger: Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old, time rock n' roll.

Second on the Second - 100 Foods to Eat Before You Die

 A fun game from the way back machine. January 3, 2012 Because I didn't get today's post finished in time.

How many of these have you eaten? Results say most people will have eaten fewer than 20 of these.

             1. Abalone     

             2. Absinthe    

             3. Alligator    

             4. Baba Ghanoush     

             5. Bagel and Lox  - Do I get 1/2 a point for this? I have eaten bagels. Don't care for lox    

             6. Baklava   - yup   

             7. Barbecue Ribs - yup       

             8. Bellini        

             9. Bird's Nest Soup   

             10. Biscuits and Gravy - yup       

             11. Black Pudding    

             12. Black Truffle       

             13. Borscht    - Borscht or beet soup. I've had the Polish version called barscht. Tomato, Tomahto

             14. Calamari  - yup

             15. Carp        

             16. Caviar      

             17. Cheese Fondue   

             18. Chicken and Waffles      not together

             19. Chicken Tikka Masala     

             20. Chile Relleno      

             21. Chitlins    um, no

             22. Churros   

             23. Clam Chowder    - yup, and I hope they mean New England clam chowder

             24. Cognac   - yup  

             25. Crab Cakes   - yup        

             26. Crickets   - my nose is turned up.

             27. Currywurst          

             28. Dandelion Wine  

             29. Dulce De Leche  

             30. Durian     

             31. Eel        - even though this was one of the traditional fishes for Christmas Eve, no way!    

             32. Eggs Benedict     - fancy name for eggs and cheese on an English muffin. Does McD's count?

             33. Fish Tacos           

             34. Foie Gras 

             35. Fresh Spring Rolls           

             36. Fried Catfish       

             37. Fried Green Tomatoes    - yup

             38. Fried Plantain      

             39. Frito Pie  

             40. Frogs’ Legs    - These were to be served for dinner on the first night of our honeymoon cruise. I had been seasick when we left port and didn't want to chance it. Too bad for me, I lost  a point.     

             41. Fugu        

             42. Funnel Cake  - yup       

             43. Gazpacho

             44. Goat        

             45. Goat’s Milk         

             46. Goulash   yup

             47. Gumbo    

             48. Haggis   - No way   

             49. Head Cheese       - ick

             50. Heirloom Tomatoes  - I suppose this does not mean tomatoes that have been sitting in the fridge for a few weeks?        

             51. Honeycomb         

             52. Hostess Fruit Pie - apple, cherry, blueberry, you betcha

             53. Huevos Rancheros          

             54. Jerk Chicken       

             55. Kangaroo

             56. Key Lime Pie    - yup   

             57. Kobe Beef           

             58. Lassi        

             59. Lobster   - yup  

             60. Mimosa   - yup

             61. MoonPie  - yup

             62. Morel Mushrooms           

             63. Nettle Tea           

             64. Octopus  - turning green  

             65. Oxtail Soup         

             66. Paella       

             67. Paneer     

             68. Pastrami on Rye  - with yellow mustard

             69. Pavlova   - no but I have the recipe

             70. Phaal       

             71. Philly Cheese Steak    - yup     

             72. Pho          

             73. Pineapple and Cottage Cheese   - yup

             74. Pistachio Ice Cream        - a favorite

             75. Po’ Boy   - if they mean a sub, yes, if they specifically mean a New Orleans sub, no.

             76. Pocky      - yup

             77. Polenta    

             78. Prickly Pear         

             79. Rabbit Stew        

             80. Raw Oysters       

             81. Root Beer Float - yup  

             82. S’mores   - yup

             83. Sauerkraut           

             84. Sea Urchin          

             85. Shark    - yup    

             86. Snail        

             87. Snake      

             88. Soft Shell Crab   

             89. Som Tam 

             90. Spaetzle   - yup

             91. Spam    - I'd rather die    

             92. Squirrel    

             93. Steak Tartare       

             94. Sweet Potato Fries    - yup       

             95. Sweetbreads    - See Spam     

             96. Tom Yum

             97. Umeboshi

             98. Venison  - Yup  

             99. Wasabi Peas        

             100. Zucchini Flowers   

I scored a 28. What's your score?

And since it's 2025, I've had more time to add a few more from this list. My new score is 33

It's your turn to play. From Elizabeth: Now it's time to share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable.  Join hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth to see what else is being served up the Second Time Around.

Monet and Me

are playing with a new toy. From Black Oak Games a set of Celtic Knot Dice. Last year close to Christmas I saw them advertised, but they were sold out of the blue dies. A few weeks ago, they crossed my path again and this time I jumped. I purchased the basic set with 18 cubes. in Just My Shade of Blue

The set came with a booklet with multi-player games to play, puzzles to solve, or you can make your own patterns or traditional patterns like the 4 cube, 2 x 2 thread knot called King Solomon's Knot.

Scrolling through the store there was also a nine die set with Cats and Salmon. Like a crazy cat lady could resist it. This is a stand alone set or it can be combined with the other sets.

So, procrastination desk toy, study aid, or party game, Knot Dice fills the bill.

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

If you like magnetic words to make sentences, poems, etc. on your fridge, you'll love Magnetic Poetry Online.  All the fun of the word magnets without having to find a place to store them or running out of room on your fridge doors.  There are lots of sets to choose from, and did I mention free to play?

Music Game

 

Ok music lovers, here are the rules…

Answer each category with a SONG. No repeats and DON’T USE THE INTERNET (it's tempting but DON’T). Go with the first song that comes to mind, change the answers to your own (Can’t steal mine!😉). 

* Something to Wear -Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis

* A Place - In My Room, The Beach Boys

* Animal - Alley Cat , Bent Fabric and his piano

* A Number - One (is the loneliest number), Three Dog Night

* Color - Blue Hawaii, Elvis

* A Girl’s Name -  Gloria, Van Morrison

* A Boy’s Name - A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash

* Profession -The Doctor from Put De Lime in De Coconut, Harry Nilsson

* Day of the week - Monday, Monday, The Mamas and The Papas

Your turn.

T Stands for A Puzzle

What's this?

A picture of tea and macarons

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Gift Idea for Gamers

 

Do you have a Gamer  and are scratching your head for a gift idea? Does your Gamer have an alter ego/character they use to play role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons? My Young One can help bring your Gamer's character to life. She will translate the character into Hero Forge for you. You will get links and screenshots of the character. This is not a physical Hero Forge Mini. You will need to order that through Hero Forge itself.

She also cannot create copyrighted characters for you. The characters must be original and created or owned by you.

If you're interested check out her Etsy shop: Wish Upon A Spud. Tell her The Great Manusinistra (All Hail!) sent you.

The Name Game

 

I'll begin Chocolate (and your word doesn't have to be food oriented)

Word Game

 

I saw alignment, gratitude, and selfcare

Sackboy from Little Big Planet

 Gift giving to adult children can be difficult. What do they need? What do they want? What do they like? It's easier for me to take the Italian route and just give money (a check). That way they can save or spend. A card or envelope with a check in it isn't very exciting.

I was trying to think of a way to present the Young One's Christmas gift in a fun way or wrapping. She's a gamer, enjoys video games, computer games, table games. For her birthday, I had already made her a Gamer Gift Box and Card. What else could I do?

When she was a teen, she played a game on the Play Station called Little Big Planet. The game involved a character named Sackboy or Sack Child. The game was a puzzle game. You guided your Sack Boy through mazes and obstacles. You also dressed Sackboy in various costumes and decorated the walls of his abode with stickers and stuff. 

I'm not sure how I thought of Sackboy, but as luck would have it, I found a crochet pattern for him. Make Your Own Sackboy The cool part of this doll was the working zipper. His body cavity would be the perfect place to tuck the check. Three weeks or so before Christmas, I began crocheting the doll. After a couple of false starts, the doll began to take shape.

I used to play Little Big Planet with the Young One. More often than not, I watched as I was so slow with the controls or couldn't remember which control button did what. The Young One patiently went over buttons over and over again.

Her Sackboy would pick up a frying pan and would sidle over next to my Sackboy as I tried to remember buttons and how to pick up objects. When I didn't get the buttons correct, her SackBoy would bang my Sackboy upside the head with the best BBBBOOOnnnnnggggg sound effect. That would dissolve us into gales of laughter.

As it happened, I found a pattern to make a frying pan to complete Sackboy's ensemble. With a little fiddling, I was able to size it for the doll.

A tag would let her know that something was inside Sackboy, an origami envelope with the check inside. Happily, the doll went over just as well as the check did. I think a happy memory of having fun together. Either that or the joy of banging Mama upside the head with a frying pan. 😺

T Stands for A Give Away

Studio cleaning is a never-ending cycle, a  realization that I have too much sh stuff. So I've pulled out supplies enough to fill two of the large priority mail boxes. The boxes are filled with gently used items. Some items have never been used and are still in their packaging. 

I hate to throw the stuff away as the pastels, rubber stamps, watercolors, punches, embellishments are still in good shape. Some of these items were bought for workshops and used only once. Or not at all. Some were samples in goodie bags during open houses at the museum. Some were, I thought I'd  use it some day, but that day never arrived. 

 I'm hoping you can help me out. I'll raffle off both boxes, plus a small box for those outside the US. Just let me know in the comments if you want to enter the raffle. The 3 new recipients will be announced on Friday.

And since this is a T Day post, my drink reference is the tiny set of tea and coffee themed rubber stamps in the above photograph.

By the way, I can't guarantee which box of items you will get. The other boxes are filled with equally wonderful things.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Which Would You Choose?

On Facebook my town library asked, if you had to be trapped in a children's book for a month, which one would you choose? I would choose:

If you're not familiar with the story, armed with his purple crayon, Harold is a little boy who draws his way in and out of trouble while trying to find his way home.

Who Do You Write Like?

Sandra from Sandra's Blog had this fun game the other day. Submit a sample of your writing, and the site will analyze your writing and match you to a famous author. I tried twice with 2 different writing samples and both times came up with Raymond Chandler. 

Go here if you want to play, and I know you do.

So, who do you write like?

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. We went to see 1917 and then had a late lunch or early dinner at Uno's.

2. Awesome lunch and dinner leftover from Uno's. We got their buy one entree and get a second entree to take home. No cooking for a few days!

3. Kept getting errors on the Sleep Number bed controller. Tried one more time crawling under the bed and checking all the connections. Missed one. Plugged everything back in and no more errors.

4. New, slim, filter carafe arrived from Amazon.  The Brita pitcher was too big to fit in the refrigerator. Now, crystal clear, water from the tap to refill bottles/thermos for teaching, activities and traveling. Now won't have to buy water bottles when traveling. The Little Princess can't stand the smell of chlorine in municipal tap water.

5. While waiting to pay the taxes at town hall, a man can down the corridor pushing a dolly (hand truck). He looked at me and asked, "Want a ride?" as he whipped around the corner. So non sequitur it made me laugh.

How was your week?

And the five participants randomly drawn from Monday's Visits and Kind Words are:

Robin, Sandy from CA, jinxxxygirl (Deb), Divers and Sundry, FSG (You said not to enter Da Tabbies, so I entered you.😺) . Please EMAIL ME your snail mail address. Robin, I have your particulars.

Thank you, everyone, for your visits and kind words.

Visits and Kind Words

Leave a comment on this post. Five (5) people randomly drawn will receive something from me during the course of 2020, a surprise, going to dinner, some coffee, a letter, book, sweets... whatever I can think of to thank you for your visits and kind words. #alwaysbekind

Names will be announced on The Friday Five Good Things 31. January 2020

Winnie's Picks Acrylic Paint By Number Kit

Back in June, Eileen ran a contest on her blog, The Artful Crafter leave a comment to win a chance for a Winnie's Pick Paint By Number Kit. And I was notified I won on July 3!

I had my choice of any kit from Winnie's Picks (there are lots of wonderful kits to choose from),

or I could send a photo to have a custom kit made. I chose to have a custom kit made. Did I choose a picture of my girlies or Himself?

Nope

The package arrived on August 8. in a sturdy and well wrapped mailing tube.

The kit contained a rolled 16 x 20 in. canvas of my selected photo. 24 little pots of acrylic paint, 3 brushes (I bright (flat), and 2 small rounds) and some hardware (hangers and a couple of screws though there is no mention of what they are for or how to use them). There was also a sheet with some general how to go about using the kit instructions, and the same picture printed on a sheet of paper. There was nothing to indicate what this is for. Maybe as a reference sheet or to have other copies printed.

The instructions say to tape the canvas onto something sturdy like a piece of foam core. For the photo shoot, I taped it to an acrylic slant board I have, but I don't think that will be the best thing to use. I'll have to look to see if there's a large enough, sturdy, piece of cardboard or something else to use.

I'm looking forward to painting Ink. I also want to again thank Eileen for running the contest and for Gaetan at Winnie's Picks for a fabulous prize.

T Stands For A Very Merry Unbirthday

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Since this is my birthday week, a celebration for T Day. If today is not your birthday, a very happy unbirthday to you. If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday 🎈🎂🎁 to you.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Saw a majestic blue heron at Lake Manchaug on the way home from Red's house

2. My town had its first Fourth of July celebration in decades. A parade, music, activities on the town green, and fireworks.  While we didn't go to any of the activities, we did sit out on the front stoop to watch the fireworks. They were being shot off in a field behind the new neighbor's house.Sadly, we couldn't see the fireworks except for a few sparks every now and then, because the tree line was too high, but we could hear them. Himself and I had a nice time sitting and chatting with each other. (Video courtesy of our local cable TV station)

3. I got an amazing piece of Happy Mail (more later)

4. Had dinner and saw fireworks from The Brother's back deck at our annual get together.

5. I won a super prize from a blog contest. (more later)

How was your week?