I'm busy "nesting" today

After a little over a year in my new house, things are finally beginning to get done.

When we'd moved in, the plumbing hadn't been up to code. So the plumbers were called in, and they had to cut holes in the ceiling of two of my rooms down on first floor - in my bedroom cum office and in the outer hall. And of course they never bothered to fix them.

My sister was perfectly prepared to do the sheet rocking at the time - way back when I had no furniture down here and it would have been easy - but my dad wanted to use the handyman who had worked for the previous owners because he was former Air Force and needed the money.

But it's a year later and he's just now getting to it - I've had holes in ceiling for over a year, and now I've got furniture everywhere and it's just stupid...

Plus the guy is doing things slowly, he sheetrocks one hole every Saturday. He's got one more hole to go, which will hopefully be this upcoming Saturday, and then he'll probably come back the next Saturday to do the tape and the mud and the textured paint, and then he'll be done.

I don't really blame him for taking so long - he told my dad last year he didn't really have time to do it (even though, if he'd needed the money, I would've thought that he would have made time.) But my dad says sure, take your time, no hurry. Well, there's no hurry for him, he hasn't had to live with holes in his ceiling for over a year! And he doesn't have to work around the moved furniture that has to stay like it is so the sheet rock stuff won't get over everything...

So, since I have no control over the two rooms where this is taking place and the look of them, I'm trying to assert my control in the places where I do have control - my bathroom which now has some Japanese posters on one side and some vicious Jurassic-era sea monsters on the other side.

And, out in the lawn.. which due to the clay soil here is nothing but clumps of grass amidst dirt. So, in a few minutes my dad is taking me to a concrete place and I'm going to get 20 concrete blocks to make up a square, and in it put a nice rock garden.

Long story short...I"ll post something Scrabble-y later today, right now I'm busy designing my garden...

The Die is now cast

I've made the hotel reservations at the Westin DFW hotel where the Scrabble tournament is going to be held over Labor Day Weekend, four months away. 120 days.

And I'm not going to be s hy about it - I am going to be "in the money." at the finish.

Which means I've go to start doing some serious studying, and I've got to start doing it right now.

And you, my faithful readers, will enjoy the benefit of this new study program.

So, stay turned!

Maine: 14th Annual Scrabble Fest raises money, awareness for Literacy Volunteers

From Sun Journal.com: 14th Annual Scrabble Fest raises money, awareness for Literacy Volunteers
AUBURN — They were certain this was going to be their year.

Definitely 2012 would bring with it their breakthrough.

Sure this year's Scrabble Fest Letters for Literacy would signal their rise to the top.

"Well, I at least thought we'd finally make it out of second-to-last place," said Lisa Ward, a member of Team Scrabblicious out of Lisbon Falls.

Ward and her three teammates took their loss in stride, joking about how next year they promise to prove victorious. But for the four friends who've competed in the event for years, the real prize isn't the plaque with their name on it.

It's getting the word out about the importance of the local non-profit agency benefiting from the annual event's proceeds.

"It's really fun and it's for a good cause," said Ward's teammate, Linda Mason.

Since 1974, Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin has helped thousands of people across the county acquire the basic reading, writing, and math skills they need to enhance their lives and achieve their personal goals.

The local non-profit is a nationally accredited affiliate of Pro Literacy America. The organization aims to provide free, one-on-one tutoring and other educational services to help children and adults in Androscoggin County.

Tahlia Chamberlain, executive director of Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin, said that 16 teams signed up for the 14th year of beloved event, but two teams competing in the Pro Division were forced to drop out due to illness. She said the event raises about $3,700 for the organization.

"It's all getting the word out about what we do," Chamberlain said. "I mean, raising the money is important, but getting word out about what we do is more important."

Right now, Chamberlain said the organization has a waiting list of more than 30 people in need of literacy services. She strongly urged people to consider volunteering an hour of their time to help fellow community members learn to read, prepare for the workforce and even just learn English and American culture through conversations.

Scrabblicious was among 14 teams from across the state competing Sunday at Auburn's Hilton Garden Inn for the title of top wordsmiths in two categories - the Pro Division and the Social Division. And after all the tiles were tallied up, the team indeed came in second-to-last place again this year in the Social Division.

First in the Social Division this year was a four-member team of co-workers from Brann & Isaacson in Lewiston. Members of the team include Lisa Galarneau, of Lisbon; Ben Redmond, of Durham; Diane Greene, of Lewiston; and Pam Hayman, of Auburn. The four co-workers and friends said they play at least once a week during lunch and started participating in the event four years ago as a fun way to help out a good cause.

"It fills and enormous void in our community," Greene said of Literacy Volunteers.

Her teammate, Galarneau, adds that "You don't realize how many people out there can't read."

This year's Pro Division winners were Cy & I, a husband and wife team made up of Cyrus and Gail Kendrick of Topsham. Cyrus Kendrick was also this year's top fundraiser for the event.

"We come out because it's fun," said Cy Kendrick. "We really enjoy it and literacy is an important cause."

The couple said they participate in three Scrabble Fest's throughout the state each year - all of which raise money for various Literacy Volunteers programs. Their interest and involvement stems as much from their belief in the power of literacy to their love of Scrabble.

The couple plays Scrabble daily against one another and even keeps an on-going score all year long. This year, the Kendrick's had the pleasure of being able to take the title from two Pro Division teams that have both beat them in year's past.

"We usually come close, but we beat ourselves by about 200 points this year," said Gail Kendrick of this year's victory.

Word Power Part 1

I picked up Reader's Digest Word Power a couple of days go.

If you read Readers Digest, you know they have a page called "It Pays to enrich your word power." (As opposed to "increase."

"Increase" means to become greater in size, amount, degree and the like "a straightforward word, plain and simple."

"Enrich" suggests depth, wealth, abundance and profusion. "Therre is a grandeur and promise to the word."

Consecrate
a) to bury
b) Beautify
c) Sanctify
d) Shock

Paramount
a) supreme
b) urgent
c) large
d) valuable

Allow
a) calms
b) warns
c) impairs
d) aids

___________________

1. consecrate: a) to sanctify, set apart as sacred

2. paramount: a) supreme, chief, the most important

3. alloy: c) Whatever impairs or reduces the purity of. "They make no pretense of living liberty and do not have the base alloy of hypocrisy." (Old French aloi (mixture).

Nigeria: Ibadan Agog For Tourney

PM News: Scrabble (Nigeria): Ibadan Agog For Tourney
All roads lead to Ibadan on Friday as the Scrabble Federation of Nigeria holds this year’s Ibadan Open Scrabble Championship.

The annual scrabble tourney, which enters its 8th edition this year will hold between 21-22 April, 2012, with over 100 players already indicating intererst to participate in the Masters, Intermediate and Open categories.

The event will be holding at the Liberty Stadium Indoor Sports Hall, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Registration fee for players in the Masters category is fixed at N5,000, while players in the Intermediate and Opens categories will register with N4,000 each. Female players will be allowed to pay 50 per cent of the registration fee to play in the tournament.

Speaking with P.M.Sports, General Secretary of the Federation, James Eaknys, said: “The tourney in Ibadan would serve as a qualifier to select players that will represent Nigeria at the Africa Scrabble Championship, ASC, in Zambia in November, 2012.”

Eakyns also informed that the prize money for the Masters is N150,000 for the champion, while runner-up gets N100,000.The third place player gets N50,000, fourth N30,000 and fifth to 10th placed players will be given N10,000 each.

In the intermediate and Open categories, the winner goes home with the sum of N75,000, second gets N40,000, third gets N20,000 while fourth gets N15,000. The fifth to 10th positions get N5,000 each just as the 11th-15th get N4,000 each.

13-year-olds win Scrabble championship in Orlando

From 13News: 13-year-olds win Scrabble championship in Orlando
ORLANDO -- They are a little bit taller and their voices are a little bit deeper from when they won the 2009 National School Scrabble Championship as 10 year-olds. But their way with words remained the same as Andy Hoang and Erik Salgado captured the 2012 National School Scrabble Championship in Orlando.

The pair bested Thomas Draper and Nicholas Vasquez from Millburn, NJ in a close final 422-376.

Among the words played in the final game were CUIF, AGEE, WARTY, AND STANINES. The annual event featured 150 of the top scholastic Scrabble experts from all over the US and Canada.

Scrabble saved my relationship

From Stuff.co.nz: Scrabble saved my relationship
OPINION: A couple of days ago, I was searching Stuff's image database for a picture of Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds to go with this story.

Of the 2851 hits I got for Johansson, guess how many showed her with her now ex-husband? Zero. Al Gore, yes. Diana Ross, yes. But Ryan Reynolds? Nowhere to be seen.

It's no surprise, then, that Johansson blames their breakup on spending too much time apart.

As any self-help aficionado will tell you, communication is the key to a good relationship. How many times have you read an advice column and screamed "Tell him/her that!"

Talking is crucial, and I don't think any amount of texting, emailing or Skyping can come close to an honest, direct, face-to-face discussion.

However. There's something else that, in my opinion, is absolutely vital in any healthy relationship. I like to call it Fake Quality Time (FQT, henceforth).

FQT is the time you spend ostensibly with your partner but actually, secretly, not with them at all. You're in the same room, so you have the security of their presence. You might even be talking to them. But in your head, you're enjoying blissful, pressure-free alone time.

The best example, and the medium through which most couples meet their daily FQT quota, is TV.

Curled up on the couch with your significant other, you can let your mind wander at will. You can go half an hour without talking if you feel like it, without that horrible panic you feel when, for example, you find yourself sitting across from him in a restaurant with nothing to say. ("What's wrong with us? Why isn't he talking? Why aren't I talking? Are we one of those boring couples we used to make fun of?" etc.)

Even if you do talk, it's along the lines of "I can't believe Andrea got eliminated! Matt's dish was way worse! Guinness and liquorice? It's a travesty!"

And as you agree over these very minor things, which aren't connected to your relationship at all, you quietly cement your bond.

Personally, I get my FQT by playing Scrabble, something that we do at least three or four times a week.

This is partly because I love it (I may or may not have earnestly described it as "the ultimate freedom" the other day), and partly because the only channels we get are One and Prime, and Masterchef comes but once a week.

It serves the same purpose as TV - you sit there quietly, shuffling your tiles around, occasionally making pleasant remarks like "I hope you don't have the Q, because I've really opened up this triple word score, ho ho ho".

It's also good when you want to slyly steer the conversation around to certain topics, seemingly by accident. ("Are there one or two Rs in 'marriage', honey?")

But mostly, it's a way to cope with the (let's face it) quite bizarre nature of human relationships, whereby you spend 20-odd years merrily going through life with no knowledge that the other person exists, and then suddenly find yourself spending every moment glued to their side.

If only someone had told Scarlett and Ryan to dust off the Scrabble set before it was too late, eh?

Will you be in Cheyenne May 26?

If so, come to the Laramie County Library and play in the 2nd Cheyenne Scrabble Club Tournament!

Easter Pause

So sorry to have missed so many days of posting - unexpected family matters cropped up.

And now it's Easter, so more family matters.

Will get back on track Monday.

Thanks for your patience.

Allusions: the Abominable Snowman

We've all heard of the "Abominable Snowman", but do we know when the sightings of the Abominable Snowman first started?

An unidentified creature of the Himalayas, which derives its name from Tibetan meetoh kangmi (abominable snowmen) or yeti.

It is said to raid mountain villages and to be tall, powerful, and bear-like, with a near-human face.

The name became known to European mountaineers attempting to climb Mount Everest in the 1920s and was popularized by climbing expeditions in the 1950s.

In 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary found footprints which seemed to be those of an animal such as a bear.

In 1953, David Eccles, Minister of Works responsible for the Coronation decorations in London, became known as the abominable Showman. Charles de Gaulle, having obstructed British entry to the European Common Market in the 1960s by saying, "Non," was dubbed "the Abominable No-man."

Allusions: Abba

Abba is an alternate name for God the Father (as opposed to the Son or Holy Ghost), as given in Mark 14:36 and Romans 8:15.

This is not to be confused with the Swedish pop group Abba, that derived iyts namr from the initials of its members:

Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad

6 letter word: R D E R B O

3 letter words Bed
Bod
Bro
Deb
Doe
Err
Ode
Orb
Ore
Red
Rob
Rod
Roe

4 letter words Bode
Bore
Bred
Doer
Redo
Robe
Rode

5 letter words Bored
Borer
Order
Robed

6 letter word Border