I know they say that the 3rd time is the charm, but tonight is only my second try. I hope that the gamers will be as ready to play as I am to run this little campaign.

I have been thinking about the many years that I’ve been away from actually running a role playing game. The rules have changed, the characters have changed, but the game has really stayed the same. It is all about the story and how the players (characters) interact with that story.

That being the case, will my recent years on stage allow me to tell a better story? Will my years of telling stories to my children allow be to tell a better story? I think I may know the answer..

Back in college, I was really into D&D, a friend talked me into being on stage. I was so nervous that I got physically sick after every performance. I vowed never to go on stage again. Some time between then and 1996/97 things changed. I got a job and a family. The pressure of the job actually gave me the confidence to get up in front of people to give them my ideas. My life and my family depended on me being able to do this, so I did it. The pressure of my family, made me realize that some things were much more important than some feelings of slight humiliation. The family allowed me to be me in all situations. So in 1996/1997 I tried the stage one more time. I must have enjoyed it since I’ve been doing it every year since then….

Now back to gaming. I am now a much more confident person than I was in the early 80’s into the 90’s. I’m not afraid of making a fool of myself. I know I can tell a story or two. My gut feeling is that I will be able to run the game better than I did before. Should be fun.

My body is now telling me it is very tired. I’m going to hope that going to bed now, I will get a full night’s sleep. If I wake up too early, I have the milk and vanilla to heat up. That was it wasn’t it? Nutmeg, cinnamon?

Now I lay me down to sleep, but forgot to wash my dirty feet. If I die before I wake, I pray they Lord my soul to take. Please don’t send me to the pits of hell, because of the way my feet still smell. Good night all, an early Friday night after a long week…

I don’t think I would try it on ice cream. I picked up some cheap chicken strips last week and the first batch I made I was a bit underwhelmed. Today I loaded them up with melted cheese and Hot Salsa. Much better this time.

But really, I didn’t want to talk/write about cooking. Did you ever notice that some things are just better when combined with something else. A warm and sunny day is better than a cold and sunny day. Even though we like the sunny day part, the warmth adds something to it. Add to that a day off and the ability to spend it in the warmth and sun you get something better. Add in some good friends or family. Some fun things to do. You almost have a vacation…

Sometimes adding things doesn’t make it better. Sometimes it is worse. (try the salsa with Ice cream and let me know what you think.)

And there are the times you know what you want to add to something, but it just isn’t available. Things could be better. So much better. You know it would be, but the situation does not allow the addition of that item.

All this is life. We live with what we have. We take the good and the bad. Try to combine things to make it better. Try to tolerate when things don’t go quite right. And hope that we have the combinations that make life better.

Ok, some people won’t find this funny, but I did. I think my daughter the Star Wars fan should see this one.

Try this, it won’t embed. It is a 5 second film called “Mommy Knows Best”

This was fun too…

https://youtube.com/embed/MKdGaGuggw0

When I went to work this morning, I just logged off of a working internet connection. When I got home this evening, the connection no longer worked. After spending quite a bit of time on the phone with my provider, the only solution was to re-install the software. It worked (as you may be able to tell), but I really don’t know why it worked. I really don’t know why the connection failed in the first place.

It is a Cell Modem. Open it up, dial the number — Name and password are automatic. I can’t see what went wrong. Neither could the tech person. I think the software reload was grasping at straws. Anyway, I’ve updated to the latest version, so I hope it will be good for a few months.

Oh well, I still got my laundry done today.. I just wish I had self cleaning clothes. And of course permanent press that was actually permanent. Buttons that stayed on new shirts! I wonder why my dark pants (black and blue) seem to shrink more than the browns, tans and beiges. They all started out the same brand and size. For some reason they all seem to shrink in the length.

It is about time to start looking for the signs of spring in the area. I will have to keep an eye out for the early spring flowers. Some of the bulbs my wife planted years ago are due up as soon as the ground gets a little warm. I’m not sure what they all are, but there are some that will bloom when there is still snow on the ground. A little frost is nothing to these very hearty flowers. Then of course there are the crocuses, daffodils, tulips. Spring wild flowers and others.

By mid March we should start to see the return of the Buzzards. There should be a robin or two soon. Of course the early spring peepers (frogs) when the ice melts off the ponds and creeks. Will we see a Maple Syrup Festival in our little town this year? What about returning ducks landing in the flooded fields? Spring is just around the corner and I am waiting.

Other memories fill my head. Longer days, earlier sunrises are things that make me think of spring. I’ll let you know when I see my first sign of spring.

Yesterday’s post on my foil steamed food made me think of other things with steam. I would guess I’m a fan of Steampunk. From reading Verne and Wells as a child, to watching Wild Wild West when it was on TV, I was always interested in ‘Advanced technology’ in a steam/Victorian setting. I enjoyed the Wild Wild West Movie and League of Extraordinary Gentleman for the same reasons. The old time setting with ‘advanced’ technology.

One of my favorite comics is Girl Genius, and that is Steampunk through and through. And I really would like this computer. If I could work with brass (time/inclination), maybe I could make my own.

I’m not sure if that is the name, but it is the name I give to this type of cooking. It is ideal for cooking for 1 and could be used to cook a variety of food for those fussy eaters. I’m not sure why I never used this much when my kids were young. I only remember doing it for fish. This is food wrapped in foil that gives you all you need for 1 meal. I guess you could put two meals in one packet, but much more than that makes it hard to turn.

Steam packet one
1 or 2 Turkey sausage (brat size) — Too much fat from a regular sausage for this.
1 small onion diced
1 small-medium potato diced
1 medium carrot sliced or diced
Salt/Pepper
2 tablespoons of your favorite salsa

wrap all ingredients in foil — Crimp edges well so it doesn’t leak too much.
cook in Frying pan over medium heat or on a grill at medium heat or in the oven at 325 degrees (on a cookie sheet). Cook for about 30 minutes. When using Grill or frying pan flip over at 15-20 minutes. Slice open packet, if sausage is not done just cook until it is.

More to come (or look back at the fish recipe) 🙂

Second game night last night wasn’t. We had the wrap up from the last game we played and then we would start my little session. Nope, we needed some characters made up, and we were hoping to have a few other people show up. In the end, we sat around and talked a bit (a lot) and made up a couple of new characters. Maybe next week.

Today didn’t turn out as planned either. I had all sorts of things I was going to do, and ended up doing none of them Oh well, it will still be there tomorrow.

I really need to go food shopping tomorrow. I don’t have much left in the kitchen. I can’t get by on chicken or fish with nothing to go with it very long. I need spice, herbs, garlic and onions… Cheese please! Some vegetables. Taters?

Since my youngest went off to college, I don’t shop nearly as much. But then when I do go, I need everything. I just don’t want to have so much on hand it all goes bad before I can use it. Maybe I should shop every other day or so… I’ll have to think about that at least for the fresh stuff.

Game night 1 of this weekend is finished. Played a couple of fun games, had some fun food (brownies are always good), and fun/good friends. We played/talked well into the early morning.

It was snowing and blowing in the area so I expected a treacherous drive on the way home. The roads were turning nasty on the way there, I only expected them to get worse. But since we didn’t have more than 2 or 3 more inches of snow, I thought I would be able to navigate all the roads roads I travel.

Not more than 1/2 mile outside of town, heading west, there was a car in the ditch being pulled out by a wrecker. I had to wait there for a while, since there was nowhere to back up and take a different route. Looks like I had to be a bit more cautious.

I finally headed off the main road and on to the back county road system. Drifts were piling up on the first North/South road I traveled on. Since it looked like they were straight across the road, I didn’t think I would have any trouble on the East/West roads. I was wrong, a bigger drift was on that road… Then an even bigger drift on the next North/South road. Obviously the wind was blowing in every direction.

Made it home in one piece. Happy I have the new tires on the truck. Happy I have good friends to talk to. Life while not perfect, for today it is good.