May. 10, 2007 - 22:07 MDT

RAINY DAY FUN

I loved to go over to my cousin's house. They had a big window seat and under the seat was where all the games were.

There were many things to keep my mind busy, whether doing something alone, or with one or more of my cousins.

There were all kinds of bent wire puzzles, of which probably the nail puzzle was the best and simplest. Various interlocking wooden puzzles numbed my mind for a long time until I could solve them.

Then of course were the decks of cards which were kept hidden when the preacher visited. Uncles Pinochle deck of cards and peg board always somewhere in his baliwick. He and my Dad would play while my boy cousin and I would watch and try to learn the game.

For a lonely pursuit, Solitaire was a game to occupy most of my idle moments. I could play several kinds and if I tired of one, then another one would come into play.

There was one we played which cousin called "Pick Up Sticks," possibly known as Jack Straws, not sure about that. I do remember that it took nerves of steel and a very steady hand to to very good at it.

Probably one that kept us busy for a long while was Tiddly Winks, another game of skill that as I gained strength in my fingers and a bit of judgement was enjoyed a lot. I got to where I could hold my own with my older girl cousins on that game.

They had several board games, I guess the one we played the most was Pachisi. Endless hours spent at the board, throwing dice and moving counters around the board.

There was one wooden puzzle I never learned how to work. It was a wooden ball of many pieces, I watched my uncle work it many times but just couldn't keep it all in my mind somehow.

Those were the things to keep us busily at play on rainy days, cold days or days of illness.

ANd along the line of self amusement I used to watch Mom work crossword puzzles which spurred me into learning words, definitions and mastering a bit of semanntics one might say. Then to add to the fascination, my Grandma used to work Ted Shane's crosswords in the Liberty Magazine. Those were humorous ones with wacky definitions for well known words. So, through the years I learned to play Monopoly, Yahtzee and many different card games with others and thrived from the companionship gained in the course of play, still I do the morning crossword in our paper as well as a few other word games.

Along with all the other games in my life I do remember with fondness the games my dad devised, categories in a row across the top of the paper and letters down the sides, trying to fill them all in and beat the others at it.

For me, fun was fun, outside was fine and super fun, but I knew what to do for RAINY DAY FUN . . . . . . . . . . .

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