20 August 2007

It's In The Cards





All families have different ways of bonding. Some are loud and boisterous rough housers. Some are all peace and quiet in understanding silence. There is unity in religion with familial heads bowed in prayer. Others are kissers and huggers as well as those who travel together or the ones where food flows from the kitchens of the cookers.

We are quiet folk possessed of a quirky, off the wall sense of humor and imagination. You can barely hear us over the music in the background. We don't usually realize how quiet until someone shows up with a voice of normal volume leaving us all with headaches after their departure. So how do you endear yourself into adoptive status: You play cards!


Canasta, Spades, Hearts, Whist, pinochle, bridge, and every kind of Poker thus far invented. In desperation for companionship we will sit quietly at the table playing side by side solitaire. If you must wander into a casino, forget the wheels, dice and one arm bandits ... look for the shuffler and the hands whipping cards left to right . We have even been known to tackle foreign languages with Mille Bourne, a great card game in French.

Oh sure we do other stuff. Nothing equals a triple triple in scrabble, or possessing that one little piece of esoteric information that will guarantee the last piece of pie in Trivial Pursuit, or finally nailing Miss Scarlet in the Kitchen with the Knife. No cheating or poor sportsmanship is allowed. If a two year old can't beat you at chess, well they will just have to lose gracefully and get older! Think of the thrill of victory when they finally holler CHECKMATE after years of dismal defeat.


UNO, Sorry, Checkers, Monopoly, the upper shelves of all the closets are stacked with possiblities, but the decks overflowing from drawers says no other form of bonding takes precedence over a friendly game of cards. So if you want to achieve adoptive status in our household, there is only one thing to do:

SHUT UP AND DEAL



21 comments:

Jenny McB said...

We are a card playing family also! My husband and I used to play whist with either set of parents. Now our two younger sons can play well enough without me going crazy.

I went with card theme also and included directions for Big Bertha, a progressive rummy game.
Happy Monday.

Anonymous said...

lovely post!! That reminds me of game night in many household--our children are too young right now but I really want to incorporate this into our weekly schedule. You are right, a great way to bond!!

Anon-Paranoid said...

And our grandmother taught us Bunko a dice game. I also loved to do puzzles, however its been a long time now since I sat down and did one.

God Bless.

Anonymous said...

What great fun! :)

Have a great MM.

Ian said...

man, I'd TOTALLY have nailed Miss Scarlett in the Kitchen.

She was HOT. ;)

Ian

Gattina said...

Never invite Mr. Gattino in your house, lol ! Not only he has a voice of an opera singer and certainly doesn't need any microphones you can hear him everywhere, but also he is a dangerous card player and wins all the time, even Poker !

Anonymous said...

my hubby's uncles used to play cards, too ... till the wee wee hours of the morning! too bad most of them have passed away already; but it feels good to reminisce ... :)

Carrie said...

My brother-in-law and his wife host poker parties at their house every now and again, but we get pretty rowdy. The last "quiet" card game I had was probably the last time I played Magic.. and that was quite a while ago! :)

Mo and The Purries said...

I think a weekly game night is a great tradition, and this was a great post!

Sandee said...

This was loads of fun. What a great MM. I love the sign too. That says it all. Have a great MM. :)

Christine Boles said...

I'm relishing your funny sign!

Anonymous said...

that's fun!

we used to play BINGO cards with relatives.

Sophia said...

Are you sure we're not related???? My family is the same way. Not so much Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit, but every card game imaginable!

bundle-o-contradictions said...

Tag! *runs away giggling*

Sarge Charlie said...

How did i miss the loose women???

Schmoop said...

We used to play UNO and Euchre quite a bit.

Stine said...

Sorry about that link glitsch... Deal me in!!!

Travis Cody said...

When I was little it was the Friday night pinochle games. I learned how to play solitaire, but I never developed the love of card games.

Sadly, I am not a good poker player.

I do enjoy most board games, and I love me some HeroClix!

Happy MM!

Linda said...

I can remember spending many a Sunday afternoon sitting at the big table in my grandfather's dining room and playing Hi-Lo-Jack or Gin Rummy or maybe a board game like Clue or Life with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Those are some fantastic memories.

My ex-husband liked to play games, too, and we would spend many an afternoon playing Cribbage, Scrabble, Backgammon, or Dominoes. It's one of the few things I miss about the marriage as now it's basically just solitaire on the computer. Somehow that's just not the same!

Maybe you're right - maybe we are somehow related!

Lisa Ryan said...

Between your family and mine we could have some wonderful card games. The only game I don't know yet out of those is bridge. Happy Monday!

Liz Hill said...

Ah--I adore cards!!
Cool beans!!