We do this thing with Simon called Really Reliable Recall, or a version of it anyway.  It is basically:  pick a special word and reward the HECK out of them when they come to it.  Like pizza and cheese and liver and so forth, and more than regular treat amounts.  Jackpot treats, in other words.  We use the word NOW.  So every day at some point, ( Read more... )

The holidays, yay ( Read more... )

It's true ( Read more... )

Current DC SOWPODS League activity is still confined to the Kitchen at John&Marsh's, but it's exciting and mind-expanding.  (Honestly, it's partly Simon's recuperation that has us playing more.  He's not supposed to jump on furniture for 2 weeks, and the kitchen is really the only room that he can freely hang out in ( Read more... )

Get in the tub.  Use the pink bubble bath and medium warm water, with the window open enough for a breeze.

Immerse, all the way.  Put your fingers in your ears and listen to your breathing and your heartbeat.

Good.

We are having a good series so far.  My once decent knowledge of the # sevens is disastrous at the moment, and I'm sure we're both missing hookiness all over the place ( Read more... )

The first two games last night.  As usually happens when we start playing again after a break, we were both a little more conservative than we normally are.  That fades fast.  John killed in the first game and almost broke 600; I did NOT break 300.  Some of this was tiles, but some of it was me not seeing GIUSTED# and so forth.  It may be like ( Read more... )

This is important.

We're about to switch over to all collins all the time (again, yes).  Should we start a brand new series?  Say --  best of 1000?  Or should we merely add on to the lifetime championship series?

There's really only room for one record on the fridge.

Is 1000 games really enough to give a true champ?

No easy answers, I'm afraid.

"Little" Simon is six months old today and 28 pounds.  (For reference, Curie bulked up was 19 pounds.)  And he has no baby fat left on him.  He's lean and a doofus.  He's decided that he's a young man, with young man interests, like shredding corn cobs and full toilet paper rolls.   We say "hey, gimme that" and he dashes with glee out of the room.

( Read more... )

So I think part of my problem this week is that I'm quite stalled on a big rewrite project.  There's only a very tenuous path between the section I've been working on and the section I still need to do, and I'm stumbling around in the dark in the fog in bare feet ( Read more... )