StoneLoops! and more addictive games

Okay, I wouldn't be surprised if I were diagnosed as having a mild case of selective OCD. Once I find a game or puzzle I like, I play it ALL the time.

I used to go to jigzone.com every day without fail. Since you could choose any (or all) cuts of hundreds of puzzles...free...I would start with the daily puzzle and work those. Then I would go to the different categories and work those. I went through the entire list of puzzles several times before I forced myself to back off and just work the daily puzzle in about 3 or 4 cuts...always the same cuts. I liked the USA cut, the 87 piece crazy cut and the 91 piece lizard cut. I was always well under half the average time. I just went to the website and worked my favorite cuts on the daily puzzle. The USA puzzle took me about 2 minutes, almost twice as long as I usually took. The other puzzles took me about twice as long also. Just didn't quite remember where the different pieces went. It's been several months since I last visited the site because a new challenge presented itself and I spent more time there.

The new challenge was a freebie from Incredimail. It was called "Dream Wedding." I don't know what I did to deserve it, but they offered a free game, so I downloaded it and immediately got hooked. It is a "find the object" type puzzle. The first time I tried it, it took me over 2 hours in real time to get to the end. It took about an hour & a half in puzzle time. So, naturally I had to work to improve that time. Jigzone didn't get visited at all. Instead I looked for hidden objects. I have improved my real time to about 40 minutes. My best puzzle solve time is about 8 1/2 minutes. The objects I have to find might be different each time, but they're always in the same place, so it's just a matter of memory. I don't know how much faster I can get, but I keep doing it anyway.

Actually, Dream Wedding has fallen by the wayside because I downloaded an app I really like on my iphone and now I play THAT all the time. It's called StoneLoops! of Jurassica....similar in action to the very old Asteroids game. Except in StoneLoops you direct a colored rock at lines of colored rocks and when you match a minimum of three of them, they are smashed and that might cause other smashes of other rocks. There are 15 levels in each of 4 areas and you can retry each level...if at first you don't succeed. So far, I've completed the whole thing twice and have only 1 level to go to finish it a 3rd time. Obviously, it's addictive. I've been doing that instead of watching television...and I like television.

If only I could get addicted to housework!

Hot tamales

Yum! Fresh tamales!

I got up really late this morning and has been my routine this week lately, I brewed a large coffee in my new Keurig single cup coffee maker and drank more than half of it before I made and ate my oatmeal. Love the coffee maker! I have been drinking instant coffee for several years and was perfectly fine with it. Then, when I got my last facial I had a cup of brewed coffee from a Keurig. I liked it so much that Carolyn (when I wasn't in the room) questioned them about it with the intent of buying one for me for Christmas...a gift from all three families.

Too bad! I didn't want to wait for it. The next time I went into a Bed, Bath & Beyond I bought the sucker and boxes of different types of coffee. I kept a list of the coffees and wrote what I did or did not like about them. The "pods" are about 50 cents each. You can also buy a reusable filter to fill with your own coffee. Numerous roasts are available in the store, but at my local supermarket and Walmart there are just a few. Of course, they're available online...but I haven't checked that out yet.

Enough about the coffee. Right after I finished my breakfast, I started a pot of quick chili. While I was doing that Wayne called to let me know that Raul (our tamale dealer) had been by and wanted to know if we wanted any. I told him sure, but we didn't have room for much in the freezer, so just get us 3 dozen. He said he was going to Edie & Glenn's to watch the Aggie football game, so we decided to get a couple dozen more for him to take over there...along with the chili and some rice that I would make.

Raul delivered the tamales to Wayne and when he brought them, piping hot, to the house I couldn't wait to tear into the package. Omigod! They were so good...the masa was soft and moist and the meat was medium spicy...just right. I probably ate half a dozen right then (even though I had just finished my oatmeal) and pronounced them fit to take to Edie & Glenn's. Just talking about them makes me want to go finish off that dozen. Think I will!

The quick chili recipe...in case anyone is interested, is below. It's what Carolyn makes for chili and fritos. Personally, I prefer Wolf Brand chili for that...

Quick Chili

Brown 1 lb hamburger
Add 3 or 4 tablespoons taco seasoning (to taste)
Add 1 can Ranch Style beans

Optional: Add 1/2 can chili-style tomatoes (I use the HEB brand...I also use an immersion blender to make it more like tomato sauce...Wayne pushes tomato dices to the side)

I add a can of water (we like it soupy.) Let it simmer as long as you like. I like the hamburger meat to get tender, so I cook it at least an hour. Carolyn would probably serve it as soon as all ingredients are in and it's heated good. She's usually in more of a rush with hungry kids banging on the table.

The Freeman Family

Christy and Billy's babies were delivered on October 29, 2009. I don't have the exact weights, but I think Joey weighed about 4 lbs. 8 oz. and Molly weighed in at about 4 lbs. 5 oz. I think that Molly was about 17 inches long and Joey just a little shorter.

Both babies and their mom are doing well. I know Christy is at St. Luke's in Houston, and I think the babies might be there as well. If they were very early and very small, they would have been moved to Texas Children's Hospital, but I don't think that was the case. I think you can figure out who is who. Joey is wearing a blue cap and Molly is wearing a pink one.

The new parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends) are ecstatic that everything went so well and they look forward to taking the little ones home in a little over a week.

I'm sure Christy will have much more to post (when she has the time and the energy), but I hope these pictures make you smile.

The photo below is of the Freeman barndominium, taken this afternoon. Since it's covered now, framing has begun on the house. I think this is about day 3 of the framing.

Clicking on a picture will open it in a new screen...larger.

Dusty

Our horse, Dusty, is ancient. He was about 5 or 6 years old when we bought him for $500 for Wendy. I think I remember being told he was foaled in 1977. Wayne and I always disagree on his age by about a year or two, but in any case, he's old. He's been a good horse for the kids and we've taken good care of him. He's starting to look his age now, but he was a pretty fellow for many years.

Lately, I've heard him make his neighing sound quite a bit. It always got my attention because it was unusual. It seemed like I was hearing him more and more. A couple of times lately I've even gone outside to look in the pasture to see if something was bothering him. I heard dogs barking constantly and then heard him, so I was worried that they were barking at him...but they were in the neighboring pasture barking at something else. I couldn't see any reason for him to be upset.

I mentioned it to Wayne a few nights ago. We talked about it, wondering if maybe there was a snake or a rat in his stall. He was surprised that I could hear Dusty from inside the house...but that doesn't mean anything...we already know he can't hear.

So, a morning or two ago I heard Dusty neigh. Then less than a minute later I heard him again...then again. I opened the door to the playroom (formerly the porch) and walked to the window to see if I could spot him. But, the shrubs are high and trees block most of the view of the pasture and the barn. Suddenly, I heard a neigh that sounded like it was coming from the right, just outside the playroom. My first thought was that Dusty was in the yard. Then I looked down and heard and saw the reason for all the neighing.

You have to pinch his ear to make the sound effect. And a dang good sound effect it is! It fooled me for a couple of weeks. I don't know what was making it play the sound without being pinched. Maybe the battery is getting weak.

Tele-surveyer

I have been pretty successful in training Wayne not to answer the house phone unless the caller ID is someone he wants to talk to. Let me rephrase that...he should let it go to the answering machine if its an "Unknown Number", a "Private Number" (screw em!), an 800 number or any other area code that isn't right around here. It only rings 4 times then goes to the answering machine. If they leave a message and it's not from Palais Royal or something similar, then we can decide whether or not to call back.

We have been on the Do Not Call list for years and I have updated that periodically. So, we shouldn't get any telemarketers...and really, we don't. Now, it's non-profits and surveys. And he gets calls from Doane Marketing and other ag-related surveys. Arghhh! The most maddening thing about the ag surveys are when they call in the middle of the morning, during harvest, say, to talk to Wayne. I don't know how many more ways I can tell them how it works! HE'S NOT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MORNING...EVER! HE'S ALMOST NEVER HERE DURING HARVEST! But, enough about that.

Last night, just before 9, the phone starts ringing. Caller ID gives me the caller...Shillington PA, and the phone number. I know it's not someone we need to talk to, but I decide to answer and give them what for. Here's the conversation, as best I can remember:

Me: Hello

Wayne: Hello

Survey: This is................, may I talk with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?

Wayne: I can barely hear you. (I can hear his television blaring in the background...plus I know he was probably asleep before the phone rang)

Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?

Wayne: Really, I can barely hear you, can you speak up?

Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house?

Wayne: Do what?

Survey: Is there a male resident over 18 years of age that I can speak to?

Wayne: I'm only hearing about every other word.

I've left out a few lines here, because I can't remember them, but I can tell you that I was quietly giggling at his "answers" to questions that he couldn't quite hear. Not answers to survey questions...they never got that far. They were still trying to establish a connection with "the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older."

Survey: Is there a better time to call?

Wayne: How about 9 in the morning? (Suddenly he can hear!)

Survey: Thank you

So, I went downstairs and asked him why he answered the phone in the first place. He replied that he didn't like to hear it ring. I know it was just a reflex since he had been sleeping. I then asked him why he told them to call back at 9 in the morning, when he knew he wouldn't be here then. He just grinned.

They haven't called yet. Probably deleted our number from the list.

The parade

I can't remember why, but Carolyn and Jax didn't go to church with Brent, Kate & Carlee on Sunday. Might have had something to do with the Game Night on Saturday which didn't end until past midnight...but, I can't say for sure.

Anyhooo, at church, Carlee managed to slip past the woman who was also in their pew. Kate alerted Brent with a "Daddy, Carlee..." and off they go making a circuit of the church. Carlee was in the lead, I don't know if she was running or strolling, with Brent trying to catch up with her and Kate bringing up the rear (well, she didn't want to sit there by herself, now, did she?) It must have been amusing to those who witnessed the whole episode. But some people there would only have seen Brent (since Carlee is so little) and probably wondered what he was doing. Poor Brent! All those boyhood shenanigans at St. Philips are coming back to bite him in the heinie. (I really couldn't say "ass" in a post about church.) Oops...

Game night with the girls

The girls decided it was time for a game night, so after the kiddos were down for the count on Saturday night, they came to my house. We asked Dee to come, too, but she had been away from home during the day and needed to seriously get her stuff together for going to the Quilt Festival in Houston.

We played 2 or 3 games of Mexican Train dominoes and then decided to switch to another game. Everyone except Wendy wanted to play Pictionary. In playing past games of Pictionary, Wendy has kept us in stitches. She would typically either draw a very detailed picture or a series of clues that meant nothing to anyone except herself. An example of her detailed picture: the thing she was supposed to draw was "boil." She drew a stove, complete with the burners and controls, drew a pot on one of the burners and at last some bubbles which indicated boiling water.

Robin and I are usually the players you want to team with. Carolyn can't draw...period. She just moves the pencil around, laughing, and saying, "I can't draw!"

Carolyn and Robin happened to be sitting on the same side of the table, so they were a team and Wendy and I were a team. We started slowly, but all of a sudden we were on fire. Wendy's drawings were good! And quick! And to the point! Mine weren't that good, but Wendy guessed the answer anyway. Sometimes she would guess the answer before I got started good. She would say the answer and since there was no real reason for her to have guessed it from what I had drawn, I would say, "Huh? What did you say?" She brought her A-game, that's for sure!

We decided that it's way more fun to be doing the drawing and guessing than to watch someone else do that, so we made our own rule that both teams would participate at the same time. The winning part was fun, but not as much fun as the drawing and guessing. And laughing at our drawings.

It was after midnight before we ended our game night. Lots of fun!