Today's Adventures
Jan. 26th, 2024 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithWe went up to visit Dad today. It was a very successful trip.
In the car, we finished reading the Basque Cookbook together. That's the second out of four cookbooks toward my goal for the year. \o/ We weren't greatly impressed until we hit the last section and found a bunch of recipes for non-alcoholic punches and an herbal syrup, which really justified the whole book.
Lunch came from our favorite Mexican restaurant in Danville. I love their tongue tacos.
We visited with Dad for a while. I packed a bag of Mom's clothes to be donated, although we didn't have time to drop them off yet. That's the first of three bags toward my goal for the year.
On the way out, we stopped at Three Crows Emporium. The folks there are interesting to chat with. I found two new flavors of incense: Mother Earth from Green Tree and Positive Vibes from Satya. I got a protective amulet of cobalt glass with an eye on it, which wards off the Evil Eye (and most other mystical attacks or mischief). The freebies were a gray moonstone and a sticker of a narwhal that reads, "You are lovely and deserve kind treatment ALWAYS (most especially from you)."
We made some great finds at Costco. One was That's It Dark Chocolate Fig Truffles. These are tiny, only about the size of a cherry, but they are intense little flavor bombs -- bitter, sour, sweet, chewy, and a little crunchy from the fig seeds. These things just beg to be put on a cheese tray with things like fresh gouda or aged white cheddar, or a fruit tray with juicy things like grapes and strawberries. They would also work in chunky trail mix or if you like a bit of sweet in your mixed nuts. If you're a fan of powerballs based on figs or dates, definitely give these a try. Also labeled organic, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, fair trade, and non-GMO. So I'd call this clinical-grade chocolate with a delicious high-fiber center, useful if you need a healthy pick-me-up treat. Both chocolate and figs are mood-boosting foods. We also restocked on the Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis. (Kosher dairy, Gluten free, Non GMO, Vegan, Fair trade certified, No sugar alcohols, No soy ingredients) They're kind of like Mounds but much better and less junky.
My partner Doug found a new Lego set that we picked up with holiday money: Auspicious Dragon. Now there are two schools of thought in Legoland: 1) New pieces should be minimized and builders should use their imagination with a set of basic bricks. 2) Lego is a set of snap-together bits of any compatible shape. This is one of the more spectacular examples of the second stance, and I have to admit that I'm captivated by the picture on the box. It has 1,171 pieces. That's gonna take a lot of quality time together in order to assemble. :D I'll try and remember to take pictures, we haven't done a Lego set in a while and we like these fancy ones that are basically DIY sculptures. And for the record, I think the first-stance Architecture Studio in all white is also well conceived.
We picked up supper from Afghan Cuisine, which meant I got to browse at Titan Games while Doug got the food. Titan seems to have high turnover in their new game sections (one for big box games, one for card games and other small stuff). Most of what I saw was new to me. I picked up a roleplaying book for myself, Kids on Brooms. This is a rules-light game that runs heavy on worldbuilding -- you basically create a magical world and mystical school for your characters to live in. Since you-all have expressed interest in a magical school for Quorth (in Quixotic Ideas) that seems like a useful framework. A mutual acquisition is TimeLine Twist, a cooperative card game where you try to put events in historical order. What hooked me on this is that we have a previous lineup-based card game, Illusion (using visual images) that we really like because it makes for fun discussions regardless of who wins.
Two other games piqued my interest that we didn't pick up this time. Perspectives is a cooperative mystery game with three different crimes to solve. For those of you wishing to practice your language skills, it comes in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. If you like Clue but want something more cooperative, check this out. It seems like a promising team activity.
The other was Lacuna, which after researching, I really want to pick up. The concept is simple: you are collecting flowers from a pond at night. The flowers are pretty little wooden pieces; there are 7 different shape/color types and 7 of each type. So even if someone is colorblind, they can play based on flower shape; and you could probably manage even by touch. (If you want pieces easier to distinguish by touch, you could just as well substitute dry pasta, figurines, or any other small bits.) Like Go, the concept is extremely simple but the strategy is deeper. The game has two phases and only 6 turns. You place one of your 6 metal pawns between two identical flowers, then collect both flowers. But the second phase of the game -- after you and your opponent have placed all your pawns -- involves picking up the remaining flowers closest to your pawns. So you can play this for the visual and tactile appeal for a chill game, but if you like strategy, it can be quite challenging because the flowers are randomly sprinkled on the playing cloth and every move that you and your opponent make will impact the game flow. I rarely find myself attracted to abstract strategy games, tending to prefer more story-oriented games. However, I love visual appeal in games, and this one has paid attention to tactile as well; and I like geometry. Since my partner is a fan of strategy, and we often play with people of mixed skill levels and tastes, this seems promising.
All in all, we had a fun and productive day.
In the car, we finished reading the Basque Cookbook together. That's the second out of four cookbooks toward my goal for the year. \o/ We weren't greatly impressed until we hit the last section and found a bunch of recipes for non-alcoholic punches and an herbal syrup, which really justified the whole book.
Lunch came from our favorite Mexican restaurant in Danville. I love their tongue tacos.
We visited with Dad for a while. I packed a bag of Mom's clothes to be donated, although we didn't have time to drop them off yet. That's the first of three bags toward my goal for the year.
On the way out, we stopped at Three Crows Emporium. The folks there are interesting to chat with. I found two new flavors of incense: Mother Earth from Green Tree and Positive Vibes from Satya. I got a protective amulet of cobalt glass with an eye on it, which wards off the Evil Eye (and most other mystical attacks or mischief). The freebies were a gray moonstone and a sticker of a narwhal that reads, "You are lovely and deserve kind treatment ALWAYS (most especially from you)."
We made some great finds at Costco. One was That's It Dark Chocolate Fig Truffles. These are tiny, only about the size of a cherry, but they are intense little flavor bombs -- bitter, sour, sweet, chewy, and a little crunchy from the fig seeds. These things just beg to be put on a cheese tray with things like fresh gouda or aged white cheddar, or a fruit tray with juicy things like grapes and strawberries. They would also work in chunky trail mix or if you like a bit of sweet in your mixed nuts. If you're a fan of powerballs based on figs or dates, definitely give these a try. Also labeled organic, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, fair trade, and non-GMO. So I'd call this clinical-grade chocolate with a delicious high-fiber center, useful if you need a healthy pick-me-up treat. Both chocolate and figs are mood-boosting foods. We also restocked on the Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis. (Kosher dairy, Gluten free, Non GMO, Vegan, Fair trade certified, No sugar alcohols, No soy ingredients) They're kind of like Mounds but much better and less junky.
My partner Doug found a new Lego set that we picked up with holiday money: Auspicious Dragon. Now there are two schools of thought in Legoland: 1) New pieces should be minimized and builders should use their imagination with a set of basic bricks. 2) Lego is a set of snap-together bits of any compatible shape. This is one of the more spectacular examples of the second stance, and I have to admit that I'm captivated by the picture on the box. It has 1,171 pieces. That's gonna take a lot of quality time together in order to assemble. :D I'll try and remember to take pictures, we haven't done a Lego set in a while and we like these fancy ones that are basically DIY sculptures. And for the record, I think the first-stance Architecture Studio in all white is also well conceived.
We picked up supper from Afghan Cuisine, which meant I got to browse at Titan Games while Doug got the food. Titan seems to have high turnover in their new game sections (one for big box games, one for card games and other small stuff). Most of what I saw was new to me. I picked up a roleplaying book for myself, Kids on Brooms. This is a rules-light game that runs heavy on worldbuilding -- you basically create a magical world and mystical school for your characters to live in. Since you-all have expressed interest in a magical school for Quorth (in Quixotic Ideas) that seems like a useful framework. A mutual acquisition is TimeLine Twist, a cooperative card game where you try to put events in historical order. What hooked me on this is that we have a previous lineup-based card game, Illusion (using visual images) that we really like because it makes for fun discussions regardless of who wins.
Two other games piqued my interest that we didn't pick up this time. Perspectives is a cooperative mystery game with three different crimes to solve. For those of you wishing to practice your language skills, it comes in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. If you like Clue but want something more cooperative, check this out. It seems like a promising team activity.
The other was Lacuna, which after researching, I really want to pick up. The concept is simple: you are collecting flowers from a pond at night. The flowers are pretty little wooden pieces; there are 7 different shape/color types and 7 of each type. So even if someone is colorblind, they can play based on flower shape; and you could probably manage even by touch. (If you want pieces easier to distinguish by touch, you could just as well substitute dry pasta, figurines, or any other small bits.) Like Go, the concept is extremely simple but the strategy is deeper. The game has two phases and only 6 turns. You place one of your 6 metal pawns between two identical flowers, then collect both flowers. But the second phase of the game -- after you and your opponent have placed all your pawns -- involves picking up the remaining flowers closest to your pawns. So you can play this for the visual and tactile appeal for a chill game, but if you like strategy, it can be quite challenging because the flowers are randomly sprinkled on the playing cloth and every move that you and your opponent make will impact the game flow. I rarely find myself attracted to abstract strategy games, tending to prefer more story-oriented games. However, I love visual appeal in games, and this one has paid attention to tactile as well; and I like geometry. Since my partner is a fan of strategy, and we often play with people of mixed skill levels and tastes, this seems promising.
All in all, we had a fun and productive day.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-01-27 05:30 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2024-01-27 06:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-01-27 12:24 pm (UTC)It does sound like you had a fun day out :)
Yes ...
Date: 2024-01-27 12:34 pm (UTC)