Game Night: Zonk

Zonk is one of my favorite dice games.  Our friends, Kelly and Vicki, taught us how to play a couple of years ago and I've been hooked ever since.  It is one of the only games that Shaun will sit down and play with me on any given weekend night.  I have shared it with friends and everyone seems to get the hang of it easily and we all have a grand ole time!  It is easily played by two people or as many people as you want and so easy to play.  Of course, one person keeps score, which is usually me, and that person really has to pay attention.  Showing how to play and typing how to play may be two different animals so please bear with me here.  Either way, I hope you get the gist of the game and try it out with your friend or friends.  It is a good way to pass the time on winter nights.

Zonk

The game is played using five dice.  To get on the board you must have a minimum of 750 points.  Points are scored by rolling the dice and getting numbers that are worth points... duh.  Here are a list of points.
You can print it out as a cheat sheet if you need to.

To begin, each person rolls the dice when it is their turn.  Add points according to the dice rolled in your head or out loud.  If a one or five is rolled, scoot them to the side and roll the dice with no points.  If more points are rolled, add them to the scoot pile and roll remaining dice again.  Basically roll until you Zonk, meaning no points are rolled, or until you have a self satisfactory amount of points and you "stay" and the scorer logs your points.  If triples are rolled, at the same time, the points are... 200 for three twos, 300 for three threes, etc.  Three ones equal 1000 points.  If 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are rolled in one roll of the dice, it equals 2500 points.  When you have rolled all points, being any points, and all dice are showing points, you can roll them all to keep going until either you stay with the points that you have or you Zonk.  When you Zonk you loose the points you have gathered during your turn. 

To get "on the board" each player must obtain 750 points when it is their turn.  Sometimes this takes a while, other times it's no problem.  From there you can mark down points with each turn, unless you Zonk.  Then the next player takes their turn.  The first person to 10,000 points is the winner.  This amount sounds like it would take a tremendous amount of time but it can take a very short time too.  Depending on your points rolled.

Sometimes it can be a gamble.  When you have an amount of points and dare to keep rolling, you could Zonk and loose them all with no points to log.  Sometimes you choose to stay with just two or three hundred points per turn.  Those points do add up.  And the sometimes you go for the big points and gamble.

To be the score keeper, you simply make columns on a sheet of paper with names at the top, log points and add to each player's points as you go along.  I like being the score keeper, it adds to the fun of the game for me.  You really have to watch what other players roll.  Sometimes they might miss a trick or need help.

A few notes:
Rolling four of any number at the same time doesn't increase your point unless it is a five or a one.  For instance: 4 sixes and a three still equals 600.  You can stay or roll the other six and three.

Rolling a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 equals nothing although we sometimes feel it should.

Triples must be rolled in one roll.  Meaning if you already have two ones to the side and roll another one, this does not equal 1000 points it would equal 300 points.

Here are some examples of play:

If you aren't thoroughly confused by now I am delighted.  If you are, message me with any questions.  Zonk really is a lot of fun and people have played with us that never play games and have had a good time.
Why not play this weekend?!

Vegetable and Herb Seeds

A friend of mine gave me a tip on a great place to buy seeds!  Thanks!  I always love to find recommended companies to buy seeds from.  Especially companies who have a ton of quality items that are non-GMO (genetically modified organism).  I like it when they haven't been messed with.  Here I found caraway seeds, dock and stinging nettle herbs.  All of which are interesting to me for medicine purposes.

I also bought two new-to-me varieties of pepper and tomatoes.  I am always excited to try growing new produce and herbs that I haven't grown before.  It keeps me going!

Please visit www.rareseeds.com and take a look around!  Be sure to visit the About Us page for more personal and company information.

black beans and rice

I have been asked by my doctor to cut back my meat intake from three times a day to two or three times a week.  after i got up off the floor from shock (jk) I asked if he was truly serious.  then, he said to cut out pork all together!  my look of terror eeked "but doc! we have two hogs we raised that go to the slaughter house this week!" being a vegan himself, he had no sympathy.  ugh!  all that work.  I will say the sausage is divine.  I cannot cut it out altogether.  I've always been a carnivore/herbivore mix, for crying out loud.  he suggested that I replace meat with other proteins such as beans, lentils, etc. and brown rice.  so I have been doing my best.  I have changed my breakfast and lunch and most of the time supper too.  here's what I have made at the dc for lunch that goes along with a nice spring salad with carrots, tomato and whole grain toast.

it's pretty simple.  for me it took a day to get used to the idea.  i made one recipe for this out of a cook book and it didn't turn out near as good as this one.  i will say that i used tomatoes and okra that i had canned together from our garden.  i do feel sure there is something comparable within the canned tomatoes at the grocery.  you could just experiment with different varieties and see what you like best.  also, i used instant brown rice for this recipe.  since, i have made it again and used the bagged kind which turns out a little stickier than the instant but the flavor is better.  have fun!

cute little planters

From Terrain.  I love the look of these little planters.  I wish they came in larger sizes.  Then again, their price tag would reflect the larger size as well.  Aren't they precious!  

Take a look around at  shopterrain.com

weekend shots

I will never get tired of taking walks at our creek.  I feel very fortunate to have nature all around me.  Sunday, Shaun, myself and Katie bug took a walk.  My main goal was to visit the waterfall.  The path to it has been pretty overgrown since the summer so Saturday night we took a little four wheeling ride and cleared a walking path in my truck, Black Rose.  It really did help the walk and I was thrilled to see the waterfall frozen.  Even on a sixty two degree Sunday in January.  Amazing that it was sixty two today and the low tomorrow night is eight.  That arctic chill just keeps circling around to us.  Needless to say, we took advantage of the beautiful day.  I also included a not-so-good video that Shaun took of Kate and I playing.  I was skipping rocks and she started chasing them in the water and barking and got absolutely drenched in the process.  She was not ready to leave when it was time... neither was I.  I am hardly ever ready to leave.  

I like the pink on the stems in this picture.

I loved finding this area of ice in the creek that was hovering slightly above the water level and making droplets under the ice.  Looks like polka dots.  I walked between and left it undisturbed.  This pic is pretty in black and white too.

I like this water flow profile under the ice.

The moss is so slick right now.  This is the frozen waterfall.  The water is flowing underneath all the ice.  Is was pretty thick.

Me giving Kate a little love.  She's such a good girl.

I found this Chevrolet hub cap.  It was upside down and filled with dirt and rocks.  I brought it home and cleaned it up.  We are, after all, Chevy lovers.

Me and Kate playing.

This green leaf caught my eye.

I haven't seen these initials carved in this tree before althought they've obviously been there a long time.

Spot the nest.  In life it is pretty large and being on the edge of the tree line and up againt the trunk of the tree I feel it is most likely a hawk's nest.

And a really not so good video of me and Kate playing.  You'll have to turn your head during part.  Sorry.

journal pages

I generally keep a journal.  Although I don't write in it every day, I do enjoy looking back at things I wrote, pictures I printed and pasted, recipes, feelings, etc.  It helps sometimes to get those sort of things out and my journal is the perfect place.  Last year I called it my "Inspiration Journal."  I made it a point to print out pictures and cut out beautiful images that served as a moment of inspiration.  That way if there was a craft I found or something about the garden, I would have it with me when ever.  When I borrow images from the internet (telling on myself here)  I simply copy and paste them into a program on my pc and when I get a page full I print it off, cut the pictures out and glue stick them into my journal.  I have loved this process.  I even print out some of the collages that I make for this blog.  They are so pretty and I love making them and sharing them with you.  I thought it might be fun to share a page from my journal once in a while with you.  So here is my first.  I will have a list of the items after the images so you can be directed to the interesting things and where I found them online.  Thanks for playing!

This cubby hole cabinet is on sale and would be handy in my craft room!

While checking on how much a subscription would be to bon appetit magazine, I ran across this article.  I used to get this mag.  Although I never remembered ordering it, I got lots of tips and recipes from it and miss it terribly.

I think the eyelike reusable stickers would be a lot of fun around the dc.  Especially the garden ones!

If I was a mom and had friends who were willing... this sounds so much fun!  This post recommended The Goldfinch.

Pretty neat and free 2014 Stargazing printable.

I completely got stuck on this blog last week.  Having a glimpse into a beautiful life so different from my own always inspires me.

My doctor has recommended I change my diet considerably.  I have to cut meats down from 3 a day to 3 per week and so on.  This website I feel will serve as a big help.  They have tons of recipes.

This documentary, Blood Brothers, on Independent Lense that aired Monday night on NPT channel 8, opened my heart and made me feel selfish about my own physical issues seeing what these kids deal with every day.  What a heart Rocky has.

flower power

My friends, I have bought more flower seeds.  I have been watching for snapdragons at every flower vendor I visit for two years and haven't found any.  I guess the growers don't see the point anymore?  This year I decided to find seeds and grow my own.  I bought a tall version and a dwarf version, both from etsy dealers.  The dwarf version is coming from Lithuania!  Hope they will grow here!  They weren't expensive so if they don't work out, se la vie.  I also bought zinnia seeds, because I am addicted, one called Dichronda Emerald Falls for hanging pots, and a batch of Chamomile ( I decided not get the seeds from Burpee for this one).  I am going to talk my Mister in to plowing up a spot in the back field for the chamomile as the packet has a bunch of seeds!  Here are the links to the two shops I got my seeds from.

C81400

Seedslt

P.S. Happy Birthday Mary Evelyn!

Antiquing we will go

Last Saturday, after running from place to place and knocking shops off my list, my sister and I weren't quite ready to call it a day.  So after my last "have to" stop we headed to grab an ice cream cone.  Across the street from the Dairy Queen, there is an antique mall called Rare Bird Antiques.  It's been there for lots of years and when I was a child I remember the corner housed a pizza place.  It is right next door to the church I grew up going to.  While there are tons of treasures at the Rare Bird we seldom find much that we have to have and we almost didn't go.  Turns out we both came upon several treasures that we just couldn't leave behind.  I bought a couple of birds for next year's Christmas tree, a gift for her birthday and a candy dish to use as a planter for my smallest baby tears plant.  Mary Evelyn got really lucky and found several items that she collects at great prices.  We were both glad we stopped in.  Even though you haven't had much luck in the past at a certain place, it always pays to look again!

I wanted this tray!  They wanted more than I wanted to pay :(

Some may not like it tarnished and rusty.... but we do!