Biscuit Flickers

Crokinole boards are kind of an odd piece of tabletop gaming equipment. You feel like you see them everywhere, and you even see them in television and movies, adorning the wall of a cabin or leaning against the wall of a rumpus room (yet almost never being played). My circle of friends is well into games, just about all games, really, and yet none of us actually possessed our own crokinole board. Well, until this weekend.

My household took the plunge through a circuitous course. I had never actually played the game until four of us were looking to try a game out on the Tabletop Simulator we had all gotten into as a means of keeping our gaming going during the COVID isolation. TTS is a PC app you can buy from online game distributor Steam, which creates a simulated 3D virtual tabletop with proper physics applied to it. 

Our primary motivation for collectively obtaining this product was boardgaming, particularly games like Formula Dé, which can support up to ten players, but seeing how well the physics worked for the many dice made us curious about games with a more physical dimension.

Screen capture courtesy of Earl Woods and The Earliad!

We pulled up a (virtual) board and sorted out the default settings (which actually prevent pieces from being moved once placed, normally a great feature!). Earl. who grew up with crokinole being the game of choice at holiday gatherings and such, walked us through the rules. The four of us had a great time, caroming the little discs (also called biscuits) across the digital playing surface.

Afterwards, I told Audrey about the great time we'd had and asked if she'd ever played, but her experience was similar to mine - had come across the board many a time, but either the discs were missing, or no one else wanted to play, or nobody knew the rules so it quickly devolved into a basic and boring game of drawing towa4rd the button like in curling.

Discovering that your shot only stays on the board if it strikes a disc from the opposing team was a revelation. With all the games we own, very few classic ones have an appeal to our household, but a strategic dexterity game that is simple to learn, difficult to master and fairly quick to set up really spoke to us. The fact that crokinole is yet another game invented in Canada, with a legacy extending all the way back to 1876, and which still holds its world championships in Tavistock Ontario, was just the icing on the cake.

And so it was on Friday that Audrey and I drove to Mission Fun & Games on Friday to pick up a crokinole board. 

We stopped at Jack's Burger Shack on the way back and brought home way too much food, so it was some time before we could really get into it. But Audrey and I got a fair number of games in over the afternoon, looked up some of the rules (do ricochets stay on the table? how do you score biscuits that are on the line?) and got a handle on some of the finer points of the game.

Taking video for fun came in handy at one point, proving that one of my discs had moved when I could have sworn Audrey had missed!

The occasional brilliant shot would be immediately followed by a stunner of a scratch, gliding across the table without making contact with anything. 

The best part came when Fenya was travelling through the basement, saw what the two of us were doing and asked, "so, this is...Date Day?"

"Yeah..." we both answered, maybe a little defensively.

Our oldest chuckled and shook her head as she walked away, "You nerds are adorable."

Tonight the four of us sat down for our first family game, with Audrey and Fenya beating Glory and I definitively, despite it being Fenya's very first game.

It was a lot of fun, if perhaps a teensy bit more competitive than we'd expected. Still, maybe a game so associated with cabins will be well-suited to helping us fend off cabin fever, eh?

UPDATED

And apparently, I am not the only one who thinks so - mere hours after posting this blog, the gaming site Polygon published an article called "Make 2020 the Year of Crokinole." The zeitgeist and I have never been affable up until now, but good grief, am I ahead of the curve for something? 

Frustrations and Revelations

It began in the afternoon, with the discovery that the condensate pump attached to our furnace was leaking. My initial instinct in all such matters is to bring in someone who knows what the hell they're doing, but after watching a 5 minute YouTube video, I felt empowered enough to take the cover off and make sure the float was moving freely.

Not two hours into my smugness, Audrey informed me that there was water seeping beneath one of the cupboards in the basement washroom (the fabled "BatCan").

Audrey emptied the cupboard while I continued to cut vegetables for the next day's stew, stewing my own self, then returning downstairs so the two of us could remove the cupboard and mop up the water. It was by no means a flood, but feeling the damp windowsill made us both fear for the worst. A cracked foundation? Leaky window wells? Being a man with next to no handyman skills at all, I was terrified by what we might discover. I imagined we might need to hire a professional just to figure out what the problem actually was.

The washroom cleaned, and stew underway, I went outside to start the barbeque in order to grill up some hamburgers for us for dinner.  While it was preheating, I grabbed the compost bucket from under the sink and took it out to the bin behind the garage.

When I opened the lid, I saw a mouse scurrying for cover under and around the vegetable discards and humus. Now, I hate the notion of mice in my dwelling at the best of times, of which a pandemic lockdown situation is not, and it is a short hop from the compost to the garage to the house in my estimation. I returned the bucket to the house, informed Audrey about my discovery, and got a spoonful of peanut butter to bait the traps in the garage.

I placed the traps close to the compost bin and opened the lid, only to discover that there were now two mice darting about. I grabbed a stick from a bundle of firestarter in the garage and jabbed into the compost, killing one of the mice, though it brought me no joy, what with my being a renowned softie and all.

I disposed of the stick and stepped back into the house to wash up and start grilling dinner, but before I could explain what I'd done, Audrey turned to me wearing her most disgusted look of the day and said, "The cupboard underneath the sink is saturated."

Sure enough, everything underneath the sink aside from the garbage can was either coated or filled with water. She and Fenya emptied the second cupboard of the day and began laying out some of the soaked items to dry, including a lot of plastic garbage bags. Once they were secured to the branches in the backyard, Fenya wistfully remarked, "Our apple tree looks like a bride - a ghost bride, mind, but still..."

After supper, I went back out to the compost bin to check the traps on the off chance there had been an early arrival, but instead, I opened the bin lid to see at least a half-dozen mice, frantically bounding around like popping corn. I closed the lid, and walked away, disgusted and perplexed.

Returning to the kitchen, I got a flashlight and got under the sink on my back, but couldn't see any more than I had after dinner. Was it possibly a leak in the roof draining down the inside wall of the house somehow? Was this seepage related to the water in the basement bathroom, directly below?

It occurred to me that we hadn't tried the sink since emptying out the cupboard. I asked for the water to be turned on, and after a moment, felt a fine mist upon my face. Taking my glasses off, I reached my hand toward the back of the cupboard, where the mist intensified. Feeling my way along the flexible hose connected to the pullout faucet, I discovered that, sure enough, the hose had become completely frayed. Well, at least we knew!

Once again, the impulse to call in a plumber was difficult to resist, but eventually recognized that replacing such components must be a commonplace affair. While I hopelessly scoured the internet to determine what part I might need, Audrey found the installation manual. Armed with the proper part number, I was able to order a replacement hose online which should arrive here Wednesday.

Yes, the mice are still going to be a problem, and I am constantly reaching for the kitchen faucet when I know full well I shouldn't, and to top things off, the condensate pump is still leaking.

But the furnace is overdue for a servicing anyway so we can sort that out this week (assuming we can find a technician still doing service calls!), and I can always get more traps to place around the bin.

But getting control of one problem was enough to give me a better disposition about all the rest. And besides that - it was nice to deal with something unrelated to COVID-19 for a change!

Strangest of Easters

Easter has always been a bit of a weird holiday, hasn't it? I mean, despite being linked to the Hebrew calendar and the Jewish festival of Passover (which is why it hops around the calendar so much), it also overlaps heavily with and borrows imagery from many European Pagan springtime and fertility festivals. Even the name Easter is derived from the Old English name for the Goddess of Spring, Eostre. But this year, everything is made that much weirder due to countermeasures and physical distancing.

Thursday evening I got the shopping done while wearing an N95 mask and latex gloves, a first for me. Perhaps even more surprising than perusing the helpfully-marked one-way aisles in Safeway while thus attired was the fact that the majority of the other dozen or so shoppers were similarly garbed, most with homemade cloth masks. I had planned to rid myself of the mask and gloves upon leaving the store, but they had sold out of ham so I left them on and had to roll the windows down while driving to another store in order to prevent my glasses from fogging up.

Friday, we went to our church's website to find the online version of the bulletin for our Good Friday service.  Embedded within the document were links to YouTube videos created by our minister which contained his children's time story, his sermon, and performances of hymns. It was awkward and stilted for us in places, but the four of us really appreciated the chance to worship "together" even separated from the rest of our community by time and space. We all had a copy of the bulletin which the others read on their phones, while I used my iPad and our ChromeCast to put the videos up on the basement television. Watching your minister expound on the similarities between the deaths caused by COVID-19 and the eventual asphyxiation of Jesus on the cross was one thing, but seeing him do it while I was seated comfortably in a recliner with the footrest up made it almost surreal!

That afternoon, we watched Jesus Christ Superstar, which is a bit of an on/off Easter tradition for our household. With our throats primed from hymns and the subtitles turned on though, it became the most interactive sing-along version ever. In fact, following Ted Neely's wailing crescendo in "Gethsemane," Fenya said, "oh, man, I'm sweatin' now."

Before going to bed, Audrey opened up a package that had arrived in the mail earlier that day and called us all to watch. Thinking the package contained leggings or some such, I was slow in joining them, but was delighted to discover it was a selection of t-shirts for each of us from our good friend Jim, now living in Illinois!

Apparently, he had seen the one he gave me online and was compelled to get it for me due to its applicability, which many of my "friends" have seen fit to verify.

Then he was reluctant to leave anyone else out, especially after finding a Viking-theme one for Glory, whom he affectionately refers to as "Valkryie" or occasionally "shield-maiden." It is a pretty metal-looking shirt, I have to say, even more so when you see the words printed on the reverse:

The wording on the back of Fenya's shirt is no slouch in the "whoa" department for a casual garment, and the graphics on the front are brilliantly executed.

We called Jim the next day to express our appreciation, and all he asked for in return was a photo of Glory looking appropriately nonplussed, which she obliged us with:

Now, I guess I need to get Disney+ so we can watch The Mandalorian and Audrey can get a better sense of why kids in her classroom will love her shirt the most...eventually.

Not the most seasonal of vestments perhaps, but a joy nonetheless!

The line for curbside pickup at MFG last week.

Rather than painting Easter eggs, the ladies spent part of Friday (and some of Saturday, and even a little of Sunday) painting miniatures instead. I had taken advantage of the curbside service offered by Mission Fun & Games to get them some appropriate figurines for our now ongoing D&D campaign. I think they turned out wonderfully, especially considering that Fenya had only painted one miniature prior to this, and was the more experienced of my two daughters.

Saturday afternoon we cleared the table for a game of Settlers of Catan that Fenya won handily. In the evening, we ordered takeout from Padmanadi's. Fenya's boyfriend Bobby did the same so that he and Fenya could have a virtual date that evening while Audrey, Glory and I puttered about in the basement colouring and reading while watching Army of Darkness and old episodes of Muppets Tonight. I guess that's maybe not so weird except for the inclination the three of us non-daters had to do nothing, but to do it together.

Sunday was the weirdest though. I'd had a terrible night's sleep and an unsettling dream just prior to waking. 

In the dream, my mother was turning around an enormous motorhome in a campground with little margin for error. Pulling up next to me, she came to a stop so I could board, but opening the back door I saw something that looked more like the back seats of our Ford Flex, not an RV, and there were other people there already. I said aloud that I was going to put my sack lunch (I have no idea) into the back because there was no room upfront. Going around to the starboard side fo the enormous rig, I opened the preferred door, but it was only a washroom (and it was by no means filthy, but dirtier by far than any facilities associated with my late mother!).  I closed the door and the motorhome pulled forward a few inches before stopping again. This was a not uncommon prank for either of my parents to play, so I walked a few steps to open the next door, but before I could grab the handle, the motorhome pulled forward yet again. I raised my voice, telling my mother to stop, that I was not on board, but the motorhome pulled further away, picking up speed until it was on the road. 

Looking away, I somehow knew, in that strange omniscience afforded by some dreams, that the RV was now a jumbo jet, climbing to its cruising altitude and heading east. For reasons I cannot explain, I also knew the jet was bound for Ottawa or another large city in Ontario. I found myself on a bus, seated across from a long-haired man. I looked around to try and get my bearings, and heard my sister's voice, and turned to see her where the long-haired man had been. She said something I cannot remember, which I think was meant to reassure me, but when I awoke, I still felt myself troubled by feelings of abandonment and loss, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Tired in a multiplicity of ways, I joined my family in the basement for the virtual Easter service. When it was finished, I asked if I could leave the preparation of the Easter meal to the others. I should mention that this has never happened before - whenever there has been a holiday meal in our house, I have been involved in making it, usually taking care of whatever is being roasted, while Audrey sorts out the side dishes or the gravy. But on this weirdest of Easters, I had no gumption left for preparing a large meal.

Thankfully Audrey was completely understanding. "You've done plenty of big meals on your own, and the girls can help me," she said. And so it came to pass that, for perhaps the first time in a quarter-century, a feast was being prepared for a holiday and I was not involved with it!

I was unable to get the nap I had hoped for, but got a good video chat in and some gaming research done as well. By suppertime, Audrey had baked and glazed the ham I had managed to find on Thursday (third last one in the store!), Glory had seasoned and roasted a bundle of asparagus, and Fenya had sorted out both mashed potatoes and yams. It was a lovely meal, and I have never been happier to do the cleanup all by myself.

The weirdest element of all was not having more people around the table, friends and family, but Tara and Jerry's plans to join us had been scuttled by the border closure weeks earlier - perhaps that was part of the reason for my dream. But despite the lack of company, we had a lovely Easter dinner.

Masked shopping, virtual church services, remote date-nights, and strange dreams - this Easter was truly one for the books. Like Glory's birthday last weekend, it is likely to imprint itself upon our memories for years to come. Still, amidst so much consternation, it is reassuring to know we can count on each other, and after nearly a month of isolation, we still appreciate each other's company. Some blessings are a joy to count, whatever the season.

Surviving Your 18th Birthday at Home, With Your Family

Of all of us in this household, COVID-19 prevention measures have probably had their greatest impact on Glory.

Schooling from home seems to have caught many educators flat-footed. Diploma exams have been cancelled for this year, and since delivering tests remotely is kind of a non-starter, it is presumed that her remaining marks will be based solely on assignments. In one of her classes, she had only received one mark prior to isolating at home, and her first assignment was fairly "fluffy" by pretty much any measure. She needs good marks if she wants to get into nursing, a very competitive program, and has been exerting very decent discipline while studying at home.

But being at home has also meant trying to do her dance classes over Zoom and may have also jeopardized her plans to spend part of her gap year working in Churchill, as Fenya did. And meanwhile, there is a very real possibility that this year's graduation ceremonies will be cancelled or postponed, a very major milestone that might happen later or not at all.

And speaking of milestones - she just turned 18 years old on Friday.

She's been a champ, honestly, far better than I would have been under the same circumstances, but her celebration planning has gone from a night out with friends, to a party at the house, to a cocktail gathering of less than a half-dozen to... the four of us, at home.

I am happy to report that a good time was had by all!

Changing out of the pyjamas, sweats and hoodies that have characterized our wardrobes in isolation, we dressed in clothes befitting a casual, but significant, night out. Glory picked out a tropical shirt for me, and made sure her hair and makeup were sorted out before dinner. Choosing the meal on your birthday is a tradition I am sure we share with many households, and Glory's request was for "Pub Grub." Audrey made sure that we had chicken wings, mozza sticks and a veggie tray on hand for dinner, and her first highball of drinking age.

After dinner, she opened her gifts - a pair of sunglasses, a lovely blanket depicting a pair of dance shoes, a huge bag of candy that her best friend delivered to our step that afternoon, along with a six-foot hug. And other gifts, of greater or lesser appropriateness.

After the gifts, we made our way downstairs for games and cake. We got in a couple of games of Drinking Jenga and then Glory taught the rest of us how to play beer pong, a divertimento she had learned at a birthday party of her cousin's.

As part of her gift, Fenya had baked a decorated a simple yet beautiful cake that we adorned with a sparkler. and sang "Happy Birthday" as it sizzled away.

Following the cake, we lured Glory outside. Audrey had dropped a note in our neighbours' mailboxes earlier in the week, asking if they could turn on their Christmas lights Friday night, in order to “brighten Glory's day." Delightfully, they did, as documented in this blurry phone video.

Singing, drinking, laughter, and even some dancing rounded out the evening, which our beloved offspring took into the wee hours.

The next morning, we extended the festivities by packing a light lunch and some snacks into the Flex, and hitting the open road. Our destination: the mountains!

Once out of the city, the highways were sparsely attended, and we nearly had them to ourselves once we left the Yellowhead. We stopped for a bathroom break just south of Lodgepole, and refuelled at Nordegg. 

The previous night's revelries had taken their toll on all of us, especially Audrey and Glory in the back seat, but we proceeded on nonetheless.

Unsure if the non-commercial Icefields Parkway would even be accessible, we were delighted to find the gates open and highway 93 almost devoid of moving vehicles. We saw a few parked at some of the hiking trailheads, however. After several unsuccessful attempts, we also found an open outhouse, much to our collective relief.

We stopped several times to stretch our legs, take pictures, and draw deep lungfuls of crisp mountain air. Most of all though, we enjoyed being out of the house, and together.

It made for a long but lovely day, prolonged by our stopping to watch a pair of coyotes stroll across a frozen lake as we approached the park gates.

It was by no means the 18th birthday that Glory had hoped for, but given the constraints of our current situation, I can't help but feel it went unreasonably well.

What a privilege to live in proximity to such wonders, and with people of such an accommodating nature!