Aunt

 

Cup of tea

 

Dinner

 

Apples

 

Fading

 

Counter cactus

 

In the fire pit

 

Lockdown (game)

 

For the past several weeks, a group of us have been playing games online on Saturday evenings. This week we played a game, which we dubbed Lockdown, that was a winner. It's a simple game that involves strategy and chance. I recommend trying it over the holiday this week. 

Required materials

• a pair of dice for each player (or you can use an app to roll dice digitally)
• Access to a video conferencing platform (such as Zoom)
• A shared document with a grid (You can do this on Zoom by pasting a table onto the Zoom Whiteboard)

Number of player: 2-4

Ages: 6 to adult

The object of the game is to cover the most squares on the grid with your color. 

How to play

• The first player rolls a pair of dice and adds (or multiplies, if you want a faster game) the numbers on the dice. The player choose a corner and colors in that number of squares to form a rectangle (In Zoom, you can do this by annotating the shared Whiteboard). 
• For example, the first player (blue) rolls 2 and 4. That player colors in 6 squares. 

• The other players roll the dice and begin building from the corners.
• For example, the second player (red) rolls 6 and 3. That player colors in 9 squares.
• The third player (green) rolls 4 and 5. That player colors in 9 squares.
• The fourth player (purple) rolls 1 and 1. That player colors in 2 squares. 

• The first player rolls the dice again and colors in a second rectangle. The second rectangle must touch something that player previously built. 
• For example, blue rolls 2 and 1. Blue colors in 3 squares to form a rectangle that touches at least one blue square from a previous rectangle. 

• The game continues with players taking turns rolling the dice and coloring in rectangles. If a player cannot play (the sum of the dice is too big) that player must pass for that turn. 
• The game ends when all of the players consecutively pass. 
• The player with the most squares wins (hint, it's easier to keep a running total rather than waiting to the end to count squares). 

Candle

 

Too cute

 

Typewriter

 

Leaves

 

I mowed the leaves in my front yard earlier this month. 

Through the window

 

Breakfast

One of my favorite breakfasts--oatmeal topped with yogurt, pecans and pomegranate. 

Stroll

 

Dessert

 

Naomi and I joined forces to create these desserts last week. 

Masks

 

Smile

 

Lines

 

Fire

 

Leaves

 

Cookies

 

Thanksgiving cactus

 

Canning pumpkin

 

Chair cycle

 I picked up these chairs from the side of the road, painted them and used them first in my kitchen and then outside.

But, our days of eating dinner outside on summer evenings are over for the season, and these two chairs were showing signs of wear--missing and broken pieces.  

So, I hauled them out to the side of the road. Surprisingly, the next day, they were gone. Someone had stopped to pick them up. 

November flowers

 

Fall colors

 

Playing Yahtzee

 

Baby

 

Red