Life size Settlers Game

Just now, while trying to find a new facebook profile picture, I happened upon some great pictures of this last past Labor Day at Coniston.  BTW, I did not find a profile picture, because now that I have a new camera I am usually behind the camera, not in front of it.

Brother Mike and sister in law Peg had a wonderful party early in August during which they installed a life size settlers game on their property.  They were kind enough to bring it up to Coniston on Labor Day and we installed it there.  For those of you who are addicted to Settlers of Catan you will totally understand what you are looking at.  For the rest of you wikipedia might be a good resource to understand the game.

Mind you, we spent most of the time setting this game up it was pretty dark by the time we started playing.  Coming from a family of engineers, that did not deter this group, they strung up some lights so we could keep playing.

So this was our robber, and when you move the robber you move the wagon he sits in.  Yes, it did almost tip over once or twice.

Here is an overhead shot, where you can see some of the resources.  The little flags were the roads and the taller flags were settlements or cities.

And as it became darker, some lights

I think everyone is imitating Mr Bear, aka The robber.

Rod fertilized the hexagons, so hopefully next spring the game will still occupy our front lawn up there.  In the meantime, we can dream about warmer days and nights as the temperature this weekend at Coniston is below zero.

Mini reunion in Mesquite

This past weekend we traveled to Las Vegas and then drove to Mesquite for a mini reunion, where my cousin and his wife and my aunt and uncle live. Other than a brief severe health scare at the end of the last evening, we have a great time. We are all going to learn the Heimlich maneuver as mandatory training before our next reunion.

I will never be gambler. Slot machines the minute you de-plane and smoke filled casinos are just not my cup of tea.

These are my cup of tea:
Spas, massages, pedicure and Settlers with the cousins
Beautiful majestic countryside and vistas that seem to go on forever with colors
you only see in the West
Wonderful time with family
Sharing stories of growing up in Colorado
Hearing stories I forgot or never knew
Laughing so hard I cannot catch a breath
The smell of rosemary everywhere
Supporting our generation as the prior one faces increasing health issues

STOP - Not Done with Winter Yet

This is just not fair. I am not done with winter yet. As I sit on the couch at Coniston waiting for the rest of the house to wake up, I can hear the dripping of the snow from the roof, and the mound actually can be seen under the snow. Our ice sculpture which was installed on New Year's Day is in it's last day. This is just not fair. It is only February 8th and I can see the start of the end of winter.

Yesterday when the plow guy was here and I marveled at the piles of snow that he was creating he said "They are getting pretty big" to which I responded, "Yeah isn't that great."

I guess this confirms that we made the right decision to buy a retirement house in Vermont. We have been through almost a year of seasons and I still love it here. Granted we have not seen mud season yet, BUT honestly how bad can it be. A pair of wellies and we will be all set.

Yesterday Rod and I donned our cross country skis and went out into the meadow in front of us. I am making sure that my fragile knees can continue this sport before I invest in a pair of skis, and he did his best to obliterate the tracks in some places. (You can ask him for the details, since that is his story)

At night with clouds but almost a full moon we went for a walk with C and M and A and Q. We walked down Fox Crossing which is the road right across from Phelps Lane which leads to the causeway/bike path. All of the houses on South Street connect to the Lake but they are all PRIVATE ROADS. Of course at night, even with the moonlight we could not see the sign (tee hee hee). There are at least 4 beautiful houses down this road and we turned back when Qammi in her exploration turned on a motion detector light. We then walked down Allen Point Road which is another PRIVATE road. On both of these roads, if they weren't private we could get to the causeway on our bikes. Instead we ride 1.5 miles around. Not a big deal really.

Back to Coniston for games: this weekend it is Settlers (of course), Acquire (a game that A and his uncle play and he has a brand new box of) and Apples to Apples (which C and M had never played before)

Off to the Burlington VT UU church, back here for a few hours and then home.

It has so far been a beautiful winter weekend at Coniston, BUT I still don't like that it is melting, and that I can see the ground in a lot more places . . .