Game Night – The Downfall of Pompeii
The Downfall of Pompeii
Designers: Klaus-Jurgen Wrede
Manufacturers: Amigo, Mayfair Games
Year: 2006
Players: 2 - 4
Time: 45 minutes
Ages: 10 and up
In the year 79 A.D., the beautiful city of Pompeii sits at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. For years, the lovely town has attracted the best of Rome's citizens, and it is famous for both its businesses and luxuries. But a terrible secret lies deep beneath the slopes of the mighty mountain. A secret that will unleash unspeakable horrors on the fateful afternoon of August 24th... (funagaingames.com)
The first half of the game is spent living in Pompeii and encouraging your Roman friends and family to join you. The second half is spent fleeing from the city in terror, trying to survive the explosion.
The theme is great, the game plays well. The rules are easy to learn, and there is both strategy and a little luck involved. Everyone enjoys it, from Amber (9) to my husband and our friends, except me....
Awards and a Picture
Freda of Freda's Voice passed the Let's Be Friends Award back to me. Thanks so much. I'm glad to "know" you.
Blodeuedd from The Book-girl of Mur-y-Castell gave me the Sisterhood Award, which I really appreciate it. You're so kind and thoughtful.
I picked the Kreative Blogger Award up over at Freda's Voice, too.
Now I need to list 7 of my favorite things and pass this award on to 7 other bloggers whose sites I love.
spaghetti and sauce
peppermint hot chocolate
my library card
scrapbooks
forsythia
Christmas carols
sapphires
I'm not passing this on to anyone in particular. If you want to join in, please do and leave me a link to your faves.
And a picture. My mom took David, Amber and me to see STOMP earlier this week . The show was fabulous and this is a picture of Amber and me with one of the performers....
One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein
One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein
"The earth laughs with flowers, but it dances with butterflies."
- Harold Feinstein (from the front flap)
I don't usually post such large images of book covers, but I wanted to give you an idea of how absolutely dazzling the photos in this books are. Feinstein has captured the beauty and brilliance of these ornate insects and reproduced it in a oversized format, allowing us to appreciate the details. The photos of butterflies from around the world are mesmerizing, the vivid colors shown off to perfection by the black background. The intense blues of the African Blue Salamis and the luminous oranges of the Monarch took my breath away.
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your should to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
Irish Blessing, - pg. 96
Butterfly lovers would treasure this book, as would art lovers. After all, butterfly wings are as magnificent as any painting or stained-glass...
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by Dave McKean
(Reading level: Ages 9-12)
I just finished The Graveyard Book, and no one warned me. No one told me how attached I would become to the graveyard residents and Bod's life there that I would end up crying when Bod had to leave.
A little boy's family is killed, but he escaped and wandered to the graveyard at the top of the hill. The ghosts who live there decided that he can stay and he takes the name Nobody Owens. The Owens become his parents and Silas, who is neither dead nor alive, his guardian. The ghosts are his friends and Silas his protector. He is safe in the graveyard, but no where else, as the killer is still out there.
I enjoyed this a lot, more than I expected. I liked meeting all the people and reading about Bod's adventures both in the graveyard and in the real world. One of his closest...
Women Unbound Challenge
I can't resist. I'm joining the Women Unbound Reading Challenge, reading nonfiction and fiction books related to ‘women’s studies.’ Yes, that's broad, and encompasses biographies, memoirs, essays by women, classics written by women, and topics like motherhood and body image. I'm not putting together a reading list, at least not yet, but I'm choosing the Bluestocking level, reading 5 books, at least two of which will be non-fiction. The challenge began on November 1 and will end November 30, 2010. I think this'll be it for challenges though, at least for now.
To start the challenge, there were a few questions.
What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?
Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it...