Tag Archives: game

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It’s another Christmas question, so try to get your jolly on.

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When I was a teenager my mother had a close friend she insisted I call aunt though we weren’t related . She was a career woman when women didn’t have careers and rose to a senior position with Time/Life. A wealthy widow with two grown sons, she was extremely intelligent and quite eccentric.

To be honest, she was loaded. Both financially and physically… the old gal liked her scotch.

Having New England roots she was also tight as a tick when it came to spending money. The electric bill could sour her mood for days and she wore clothes that were so threadbare the moths didn’t even bother nibbling. She constantly added milk to chowder to stretch it’s longevity and only went out to dinner if someone else was paying. She cut her own hair, never bought a new car and had drawers full of used tin foil. When she retired she had money enough to travel the world but chose to sit home and clip coupons, waiting for hamburger to go on sale.

But when it came to Christmas? That’s when she really outdid herself. Presents were wrapped in newspaper with leftover butcher’s twine for ribbon. She thought it was fun to give dozens of gifts and watch you squeal with delight when you opened them. Problem was … there was never anything worth squealing about. Quantity not quality made her happy.

Over the years I received toilet paper, toothpaste, tiny bars of soap and shampoo as well as plastic ice buckets. All of which she lifted from various hotel rooms. She traveled a lot for work and the woman never passed up a freebie. I had to say thank you for swizzle sticks, matchbooks and little paper umbrellas. Have you ever pretended to be over joyed with ketchup packets and those little square jelly containers? Trust me, it’s not easy.

So in answer to the question … the weirdest Xmas gift I’ve ever received?

A matching set of barf bags from TWA.

Festively wrapped in the New York Times and the envy of all my friends.

How about you?

What bizarre gifts have you received….

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Because it hurts less than having a tooth pulled.

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For long distances I’m going with plane.

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Even though air travel isn’t half as much fun as it used to be.

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It’s odd how much I miss those rubber chicken dinners now that all you get is a packet of dry as toast cookies.

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But while the views out the window can be spectacular, I do prefer driving when it comes to setting your own schedule and stopping at will for local points of interest. Some of the best things we’ve found and seen have been well off the beaten path.

Cruise ships? Never. Floating germ factories crammed full of people with whom I don’t want to converse no less vacation.

Trains? Like them for day trips but no cramped overnight bunks and minuscule bathrooms for this chicka.

How about you?

What’s your preferred method of travel…

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It won’t strain your brain, I promise.

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While I’m not a huge tv watcher, I do like a variety of series HBO has developed over the years. Every once in a while I can even get my husband interested… which is what happened with Carnivale.

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It was a dark and wonderfully bizarre show that immediately garnered a rabid fan base.

It’s the mid-1930s, and we’re in the middle of the Dust Bowl, a time when sandstorms and disease were running rampant across the Great Plains. After his mother’s death, teenage fugitive Ben Hawkins is picked up by a mysterious traveling carnival run by an unseen force known only as “Management.” Surrounded by magic, Ben reconnects with his long-dormant supernatural powers. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, an evangelical preacher is plagued with apocalyptic visions. What the two of them don’t know is that they’re set to become players in the great (and heretofore hidden) battle between Darkness and Light.

We loved it and though it was immensely popular with its followers and slated for six seasons, it was cancelled after just two leaving viewers with an awful cliffhanger and no resolution. When asked, HBO said the reason was falling ratings but I read the religious right took an instant dislike to it and pushed for it’s removal. Funny when you think about all the other shows that are filled with blood, gore and rampant sex.

That’s my pick.

What show do you want to see return?

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Because I want you to, that’s why.

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I know the easy joke would be my husband! but while his years are steadily advancing… he’s not nearly as old as this fascinating carved crystal oddity passed down from my father.

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It’s a bit of a weirdo and though we’ve tried repeatedly over the years, we’ve never been able to positively identify it.

Heck, we even took it to Sotheby’s in NYC a decade ago and if their experts were stumped? It may just have to remain a mystery.

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My paternal grandfather was a world traveler in the late 1800’s and brought this back from Egypt. It hung in my grandparent’s house, my parent’s house and now it hangs in mine. The family lore said it was ancient Egyptian but Sothebys said no, the skull was not used iconographically back then. They did think it could be early Coptic, and as they are the direct descendants… I suppose that’s close enough.

( Historical context. Copts believe themselves to be the descendants of Egypt’s ancient Pharaonic people. They were first converted to Christianity with the arrival of St Mark in Egypt in 62 CE. Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire in 395 CE, and the Egyptian Church was separated from the Christian community in 451. )

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The famous auction house said the metal work was added later and in its present form could have been used as a talisman for pirates.

How cool is that?

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We never even bothered to ask what it was worth… which in hindsight was rather stupid. But no matter, it’s part of my father’s history and would never be for sale.

So how about you….

What’s the oldest thing in your house?

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You don’t have to, but you should.

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Good grief, there are so many I don’t know where to start…

I shall try to limit myself to 5.

1. Avatar.

I don’t see the appeal, never did. And if you love it, please don’t try to change my mind. I don’t care how much money they spent on the “Let’s add water!” sequel, I’m not watching that either.

2. Dumb and Dumber.

The title says it all.

3. Twilight.

Do not get me started on this ridiculous teenage vampire crap. If you’re over 13 and enjoyed these badly written and acted films? We can no longer be friends.

4. I’ll probably piss some people off with this one, but Back To The Future. Marty McFly? Sorry, no to all 3.

5. With a slight exception for Deadpool (because it’s snarky) and maybe Venom (because let’s face it I’d watch Tom Hardy mop his kitchen floor) the never ending parade of super hero, Marvel, DC Universe, multi verse whatever movies. Enough already. Every time I want to go to a movie, they’re all that’s playing. It’s time to move on.

So how about you?

What popular movies do you dislike….

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What have you got to lose, except time.

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I’d say an 8 track player or the dimmer switch on the floor but let’s go with this one.. as seen in my husband’s truck.

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It’s one of my spouse’s favorite features and I swear he keeps buying old trucks because the new ones don’t have it.

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It’s that triangular corner window that acts like a directional air conditioner… at least in Maine where the air is usually cool.

He seriously loves these things and if you’ve ever ridden in an older truck you know they can force some serious air.

How about you…

What’s unrecognizable in your old vehicle?

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This week’s game should be fun.

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Here are a few of mine –

Justin Bieber is playing on an endless loop.

All the floors are wet and you’re only wearing socks.

There’s television, but only one program … The Apprentice.

All the cocktails are alcohol free.

The only book in the library is 50 Shades of Grey.

There’s an all you can eat buffet… but the only thing on it is kale.

How about you?

What’s happening in your version of Heck….

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Don’t argue. It’s required…

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My parents were not vacation people and we never once loaded up the ‘62 Ford Falcon station wagon to hit the open road when I was a child.

Oh, there were wonderful day trips to the Jersey shore to swim and stroll the boardwalks… and overnighters in NYC so I could get my fill of dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History or stuff my face full of cotton candy at Madison Square Garden when Ringling Brothers was in town…. but a true road or airline trip vacation?

Nope. Never.

I can’t honestly say I felt deprived, when you grow up in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area there’s always plenty to see and do. And while we might have spent a few days in Connecticut or upstate NY with my parent’s friends on occasion, I wouldn’t really call that a ‘vacation’.

So as weird as it sounds, my first “real” vacation happened right after I got married at the ripe old age of 20. The husband and I were living in North Carolina where he was stationed when we jumped in his shiny black 280ZX with T Top removable roof panels … the ultimate in cool in 1984… and headed for Washington DC. I’d never been so we did all the typical tourist stuff – the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, The National Zoo, the Jefferson Memorial and of course there was the prerequisite sexy photo in front of the reflecting pool at the Washington Monument.

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Complete with stone washed denim and chunky silver link dangling belt. Oh to be that thin again. Sigh…

Done with the nations capitol, we headed to Newport Rhode Island where the husband had been stationed at the Naval War College years before.

Here’s a pic of his handsome self receiving a commendation for saving a young man’s life.

❤️

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I honestly don’t remember much about what we did in Newport other than visit the Breakers… that oh so cute and cozy cottage where the Vanderbilts used to summer.

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Those were the pre cell phone and selfie days where you had to rely on your husband to take a good picture and then wait a week to see if it turned out.

So that was my first real vacay.

How about you?

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