Dungeons and Dragons and Amusement Parks

For years, I have wondered where my brain linked up D&D and amusement parks. 

Well, dang. It's half here: 

And the other half is right here at Darien Lake: 

From 1981 to 1987, I was a member of a church youth group. I wasn't that interested in the churchy aspects of the events, but really enjoyed the camping, trips to Darien Lake, and several other events. I mention Darien Lake and camping primarily because they involved games. All kinds of games. 

(Editorial note: My parents were church shoppers, I dug in my heels with this choice as the young group. It was something I really appreciated even if the religion was not my own. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and all that. There are a ton of ministries that have excellent outreach to any and all who have at least some of the same beliefs. It's always worth a look. ) 

On one of the first trips with the youth group, someone busted out a brand new copy of Top Secret. We thought it was like D&D. 

Nope. 

Bang. Dead. Start again. All rainy weekend long. 

The girls didn't get it and neither did I. Eventually, we all ended up in the park. 

Future trips were a lot better. A kid named Ethan pulled out a game called Toon. Unfortunately, this was somehow mixed up with a copy of Bunnies and Burrows and the insert to Bone Hill but no cover/map. No one could make heads or tails of it, I can't even say we had a whole set or multiple sets. Obviously, it was an older siblings' boxed set.  

However, I did get the references as Watership Down is one of my favorite books. Being 12 or 13, I knew I wanted the girls to play, and soon there were a dozen of us kids sitting at the table playing a game half-imagined by me and completely bought by the others. Somehow, I made pine cones and rocks become creatures, and chips, pretzels, and chocolate kisses were resources. 

I knew I was winning when the Reverend asked us if we wanted to go on the rides and three of the girls said, "No." Invariably, we would play games until it was "last call", when the adults told us there would be no more time for rides and roller coasters. We'd cram in a handful of rides just to say we did. 

I eventually fell away from that particular church for one of my own choosing, but the memories of that youth group were amazing. And has shaped how I choose to play. 

Lego TIE Fighter

At Christmas, I picked up a replacement X-Wing and TIE fighter lego set for my son, Nate. Amusingly, I also got a TIE fighter for Christmas. It took a couple of months to open it and put it together. 

I figure this is a good way to test a new way of displaying images from a Google Photo Album. It sort of looks like a Youtube Video, but if you mouse over it, you will get a controller to flip through the images. Additionally, you can simply wait 5 seconds for the image to change. 

If this works out, I probably use it for all of my photos. 

Building a Better Shelfie - Part 1

I have six shelves to fill. I thought it would be interesting to make a post about each one as I fill them up. 

Today, I filled shelf five. Why start at five? It's at eye level. 

The books are a favorite of mine. The image is blurry, but the title reads: "The New Junior Classics". 

Volume 1: Fairy and Wonder Tales
Volume 2: Folk Tales and Myths
Volume 3: Tales From Greece and Rome
Volume 4: Heroes and Heroines of Chivalry
Volume 5: Stories That Never Grow Old
Volume 6: Old-Fashioned Tales
Volume 7: Stories of Courage and Heroism
Volume 8: Animal and Nature Stories
Volume 9: Stories of To-Day
Volume 10: Poems Old and New; Reading Guides and Indexes 

It was published in 1912 by Collier as an answer to the 51-volume set of Harvard Classics. They are contemporaneous publications, one for adults and one for children.

My grandfather purchased a set for my father in the 1950s and of course, my dad gave it to me. While mine was lost, I have made an eBay investment so that my children may each have a copy. It is not as pricey as you'd think, but even at 10 times the price, I'd do it. 

Just reading through the titles of each volume sparks ideation. I can't tell you how many ideas have leapt off the pages and into my D&D campaigns. They are really good for that sort of thing. My personal favorite is Tales from Greece and Rome. 

On the right side of the shelf is a family favorite, rug checkers. The story about it is here in a post from September of last year. 

I mentioned this post to my children and they issued a correction. Darien Lake, both the theme park and the State Park has a set of checkers like this. So do all of the Boy Scout Camps we've ever visited. 

Yes, this simple checker set gets a premium spot on the shelf. 

I should be emptying boxes for weeks to come. As I find more stuff for the shelf, I'll update the blog. 

Returning...

We have returned home. 

I'd like to show off some of the features of the all restored house, so of which didn't go off as planned. I asked my wife for a shelf for my games and this is what happened: 

On the bottom shelf, to the right of the cat is a set of 12 travel-sized board games. So, I guess I got my way. Down in the basement, there is plenty of room for shelves. This is plenty of room for books and knick-knacks. I play on arranging it very similar to what we had at the rental house, with a mixture of gamebooks, board games, and other things. 

I am very excited about the walls, which look like garbage right now. Since they look so poor but have a great surface, my wife has granted permission for a themeing. My daughter and I have picked Alice in Wonderland for the theme. It's a great idea with warrens, castles, and forests. A lot of dissimilar pieces could fit there. 

For example, few weeks ago I purchased a collection of stock art by Jermey Hart which we plan to print and use detail pieces for the room. 

In addition to that, we picked up a great conversation piece: A rabbit named Bo. 

What else would you need for an Alice in Wonderland space? 

This was a carefully considered option, one we jumped at due to the time of year. Sadly, two weeks after Easter the SPCA is overwhelmed by surrendered bunnies. A rabbit for easter is a cute idea but often very poorly executed. 

My wife and I have 3 kids: two 17-year-olds and a 19-year-old. I extracted a promise that each of them would spend at least 30 minutes a day with the rabbit. 

Rabbits also need a large space for living and play. At the moment with have a 7 by 10 area in the basement which will be supplemented with an outdoor pen space for playtime. Since we have hawks in the area, unattended outdoors time is not going to happen. Because of this, when time permits, I will be lifting the hutch area of the basement floor, to allow more space for him to play. I'm shooting for 2-3 feet off the ground. 

Right now, we are acclimatizing our other pets to the rabbit. One cat, Shinobu, has zero interest in the rabbit. Saraphina is rather afraid of the rabbit. And Tori, our dog barks and barks at it. 

Since we can segregate the animals from one another, I expect that things will eventually settle down.

Back upstairs, we have a couple a family slash gaming spots. The living room has a massive furry ottoman while the kitchen breakfast counter will feature 3 stools. Behind the counter space will be a table with seats for up to four other people. We haven't received the table and seats yet as they are on backorder. About 2 weeks. 

Anyway, the ottoman sits between a nice chair and a sofa, if no one wants to sit on the floor. We have a tray for food and rolling dice. Along the far wall is an electric fireplace for atmosphere. This fireplace features orange and purple flames. There is no way to mistake it for a real fire. 

In addition to that, I picked up an oil defuser. This particular one is Disney themed. We have scents that smell like the Confectionary on Main Street, the Christmas Tree Shop, Space Mountain plus a few others. If you can't do incense or candles, this is the way to go for aromas.

I can't wait to get back to play. But given I have just moved back home and need to get things settled, it could be a while. 

Edited to add pictures of the sofa and chair. 

Color Palette: