I have this game ...

Years ago I got a box of stuff from the house of my Great Aunt Zipporah who used to live in New Hamburg Ontario until her death at the tender age of 102 !!!

Aunt Zipporah gave up her house in her mid-90's and moved into a care home.

From the box of stuff I found a very cool game that was given away by the CBC as part of the War Effort between 1939 and 1945. I thought it was called "Carry the Guns to Europe".

Today in the War Museum I found myself staring at the SAME game in a display case ... the title of the game in the display is "Carry the Tools to Europe." - but it's the same game ... I'm gonna have to look a little harder in the boxes of clutter I brought back from Mom's in the summer of 07 ... if I find the game I'll let you know what it's called ...

The Longest Night ...

Tomorrow the days start getting longer, and nights grow shorter ... We've officially entered the season of Winter, and we begin moving our way towards Spring ...

Tonight as I walked around town I thought about the Longest Nights I've marked in recent years. While in ministry The Longest Night Service was among the most meaningful for me through Advent. We would invite folks to come and mark what some call a "Blue Christmas" wherein we acknowledge that in this season for some the losses darken the season and dim the light that many associate with the Holiday season.

Perhaps it was the dull ache that has settled in over recent weeks, or maybe it was the twinge of pain I felt walking past the vacant lot on Main Street where the Church Building once stood and I was simply overwhelmed by the cascade of losses that poured over me ... the church fire wasn't even the beginning of my losses ...

Whatever it was, I thought back over the December 21st of my past and I found myself smiling as I recalled on Longest Night in Bella Coola when a group of four grown men gathered around a table and played the Board Game "HeroQuest" pictured above.

I won't even begin to describe the game or how it is played. BUT, I will say it was lots and lots of fun. So much so, we began playing it regularly for over a year ... with beer, munchies and lots of laughter, we four continued to wage battles between a host of evil minions and our Heroes until our lives lead us away from the Bella Coola valley ...

I can honestly say that I have never had a circle of friendship like the group that encircled the tables in our respective homes while we played a silly Board Game.

Tonight I realized how much I would love to once again spend the Winter Solstice sitting around a table tossing dice and playing a board game with my circle of friends ... tonight I realized how much I miss them ... I can't think of a better way to heraldthe arrival of Winter and to fit the winter blahs that I have in a major way.

Tomorrow we draw closer to the resurrection that is SPRING!!!

Fun, Food and Learning ... I see NO downside here!!

The issue of poverty and hunger has popped back on the media's radar screen this week thanks to the Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's announcements about addressing the issue of child poverty in Canada when his party becomes the national government ...

Today though, I found a fascinating story about a website that allows the visitor to have some fun, learn some new words and help feed the hungry in our world, all in one marvelous fell swoop!! (click here to read the article)

Freerice.com donates ten grains of rice to the United Nations Food World Food Programme for EACH word you guess correctly !!

THAT'S RIGHT !!!! you can improve your linguistic skills while simulatneously helping to feed the hungry ...


Ten grains of rice doesn't sound like much, but the game is kind of addictive ... I think I managed to donate somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3000 grains this afternoon ... and learned a few new words along the way !!!
.
I can honestly see no downside here except perhaps spending way too much time in front of the computer ...
.
Click on the picture above to start playing - Then HAVE FUN!!!

Calling all Parents !!!! (Grandparents too !!)

Ah heck ... this goes to anyone who has kids they need to buy a gift for ...

.

On Saturday we swung by our favourite toy store in Winnipeg a funky place in the Exchange District called Toad Hall ... Grandma gave each kid ten bucks to blow, and they had some money of their own from Birthdays, Christmas and the occassional allowance (chore dependent - there ain't no free ride in this house !!!) ... Beetle and Ms H bought some craft supplies and PlayMobil ... while Noahkila cruised the store repeatedly ...

.

Now to pause, for those of you who haven't been ... it's hard to describe Toad Hall ... it has old creaky wooden floors and a HUGE variety of every quality toy, book, magic trick and game imaginable ... I like to hang out in the puppet section and check out the characters there ... then I head over to the model train corner and drool ... and from there I head back to the PlayMobil section and just marvel at the sets ... but enough about me ...

.

Noahkila ended up in the games and puzzle aisle where he spent time checking out the many different games stacked there like cordwood ... He then found "Killer Bunnies" a card and dice game that is kind of hard to explain ...

.

"Can I get this?" He asked hopefully as I came down the aisle.

.

I took the box from his hand and looked at the price sticker that was three times the 10 dollars Grandma had gifted him, but I was equally as intrigued as he was enthusiastic. I read the description on the back of the box, then checked out the various booster packs.

.

I then said, "I'll give you the money, but the game is ours, not just yours ..."

.

"Okay," he answered with a big grin as he took the twenty out of my hand and headed for the check out with the blue box tucked under his arm.

.

I was and is a good purchase. I can't even begin to describe Killer Bunnies, and despite the less than appealing name, it is a good, clean game that is lots of fun to play. Even though it says ages 12 and up, Noahkila has also managed to teach it to his eight year old sister and her little friends (ages 6 & 8) from down the street how to play.

.

And last night after supper at a neighbours the adults sat around the table and played it with Noahkila ... It is an interesting, potentially fast paced game where you have to strategize how to play against your opponent while obtaining food, water and the carrots in order to win ...

.

It is a game that can be fun and frustrating - usually at the same time ...

.

And now, a mere two days after purchasing it I would highly, highly recommend it to any one looking for a fun non-electronic gift this year. For Parents and Grandparents, it is the kind of game that could cause the video games to be turned off, and the circle of family and friends gathered around the table to play ... As proof, I would offer Noahkila and his buddies playing the last two afternoons at the dining room table ... there was alot of chatter, laughter and groans as the cards were played and the dice tossed ...

.

A good time was had by all ... SO - look for it - Killer Bunnies, and take the leap!!