This and that

It’s a sunny morning, with spring-like temperatures in the dead of winter.  Odd but welcome … that is until the buds are fooled and start to show.

As I grabbed my morning coffee, I was pleased to see my newspaper trumpet new research that confirms the health benefits of a cup of joe.

So I drink up, feeling the antioxidants rise as fast as my metabolism. Go, boys, go!

Some musings and updates on such a fine day:

Having words

Uncle Dick ... word slayer!

In the age of the smart phone and the land of apps, there are plenty of games out there to play.  Many are free.

So on my iPhone is an aircraft-carrier game, Flight Deck, that requires me to line up fast-moving planes in a logical row before they crash into a fiery mess; Angry Birds, the flying-fowl game everybody knows and some now hate; Crash Kart, for road-racing fun; and Zen Bound, my favorite. With Zen Bound, you wrap rope around teak structures while mystical music plays in the background. (Headphones and Indian incense recommended.)

That’s it … except for my new nemesis, Words with Friends.

I first heard about this game last fall from a friend who seems ahead of the curve on what’s popular in the wired world.  But I didn’t have the gumption to give it a try until a few weeks ago … and then I picked on my relatives first.

So about once a day – usually at night, before I turn out the lights – I do battle with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and a few others.

Basically it’s a version of Scrabble; you’re given letters, and you take turns creating words. There are points, of course, with triple- and double-word and -letter scores.

What’s cool about it is that you can be continents away but still play as if you’re face to face at the corner pub.  What’s bad about it is that you have to know, well, words.

I’ve never been much of a crossword or Scrabble player.  And that’s my weakness.

Anyway, I often lose, incredulous that words like “toni” and “zat” and “ozbot” aren’t real.

But I play on.  Good for the noggin, I reckon. 

(“Noggin” … 36 points with a  triple-word score. Not bad.)

Nellie update

Well, it didn’t take long for her to feel at home.  The photo speaks volumes.

How'd this happen?

Not that we’ve decided she’s welcome on the couch.  But we’ve not had the heart to tell her no, honestly.  Unlike with Riley, she doesn’t shed.  Linus has couch privileges, so is it fair to deny the bigger dog the couch if there’s no cleanup to do?

Still, it seems wrong.  Part of the problem is practical … when she’s on the couch, no one else is.  And there’s a fear that, when friends are here seated, she’ll try to squeeze in between like a book in a too-full bookcase.  To us, cute.  To our friends, perhaps white terror.

What is apparent, though, is that despite Nellie’s big-and-getting bigger size, she’s very light on her feet.  When she runs across the back yard, she lopes along like Neil Armstrong, moon-walker.

“Her butt’s filled with helium,” I said to Cindy.

Last night we were watching TV and Cindy was at the south end of the couch. Nellie decided she’d settle into the north end.  Problem was, she was standing at the south end, at Cindy’s left.  So she simply jumped over Cindy.

A cow scaling the moon.

The problem is she’s about five months old now but already twice Linus’s size.  Doing the math, we figure she’s about 38% percent of her final weight.

So while she might remain light on her feet as she ages, the consequences of unfettered freedom – on land or in the air – weigh heavy right now.

Washington, ho!

We’ve decided next month to head to the Northwest again.  For another visit with daughter Meghan and fiancé Eric.

The two sent out their “Save the Date” cards … very cool postcards using old images of the scenery around Bellingham. 

The card sent us was a favorite, of Chuckanut Drive circa the ‘20s.

As noted previously, the wedding site on Mount Baker has been found and the reception site reserved.

Meghan also has made progress with the dress – sorry, can’t show it because it’s a secret. Nor can I reveal the price.  Some things you just don’t dwell on.

So yes, there’s some wedding planning that we’ll do while there.  But I’m hoping for some good walks in the woods as well, with Meghan and Eric as guides.

Like Northern Michigan, the dark green of the Northwest restores the soul. 

Wrote Emerson: "In the woods we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life  –  no disgrace, no calamity, which nature cannot repair."

Agreed, Ralph.  Nothing.  Not even Words with Friends.