Games at Home: CRIBBAGE

I have a great interest in turning off some of my electronic devices and trying to have a low-tech family fun evening. Last year I bought a Cribbage board (remembered my Mom and Dad had one in the house growing up but never learned it) and downloaded some instructions. It didn't take. J was a bit too young and I never got the hang of playing it or even the point of the game. When you are learning a card game in a vacuum it takes awhile to get it right.

Fast forward one year. J is 7 and is great at counting and adding. We have been playing Cribbage for a solid week and are still going strong. It is a great game, doesn't take too long and holds his interest greatly (and is really quite fun). It isn't just a card game, it has it's own vocabulary of which, Muggins is our favorite. (I also enjoy saying "One for his nobs") Sort of feels like a Monty Python sketch in the middle of the game. Get a board, they are 10 bucks at Target and you use a standard 52 card deck and you'll have lots of fun.

Turn off the TV. Stop reading this and turn off your computer. Play cards.

Where They At?

I'm still waiting for the invasion of our block. The cicadas seem to be everywhere else (in Park Ridge it is nasty with them). My son wants to see them, my daughter will be happy if they stay away. It is like the weatherman stoking me up for a big-ass Wizard-of-Oz tornado or a Perfect Storm and getting.....nothing. Now I don't trust A. Weatherpersons and B. Entomologists.

High Chairs, High Balls

Our block in Oak Park (represent SOUTH SIDE) has a semi-formal summer Friday-Evening event hosted at random various residences. I think we're gonna try to have it soon, maybe tomorrow night. One of our Wesleyans (we live on Wesley) got quoted in the Chicago Trib a few weeks ago about it.


From the Trib
Snip

Lisa Reed, 37, of Oak Park, lives on a block with 20 kids younger than 6. A consumer research executive, Reed helped start a weekly summertime happy hour group that calls itself "High Balls and High Chairs." The moms and the kids kick off the Friday gatherings around 3 p.m., while the dads roll in as the afternoon progresses.

Reed, a mother of two, emphasizes that the group is not out to get drunk. Most people drink only one or two glasses of wine or beer--or an occasional bourbon slush--over the course of three or four hours, while the kids blow bubbles, draw with sidewalk chalk and sip juice boxes. Non-alcoholic drinks always are available.

"It's a great way for me to unwind," said Reed, who travels globally for her job. "It's a great way for me to catch up with what's going on in the neighborhood, because I don't see the other moms during the week.

"I can be an adult, have a glass of wine, talk with my girlfriends and keep an eye on the kids all at the same time."

Unsnip
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It's a Shame About Ray

Manta Rays, that is. We had a great time at the Brookfield Zoo on the opening weekend of the new pet-a-ray exhibit. Yes, you can touch these baddies and no, you won't get stung by them. With their barbs removed, these guys are just playful and loving. J loved touching them, I thought they were like touching slimy sandpaper. Lovely.