Plague of cuteness.
The original title of this post was “500 photos of kittens”… which the kittens published for me, this morning, (accidentally,) by stepping on the keyboard… and I guess I should be glad they did not somehow email North Korea.
Kittens = wild hooligans of destruction.
I keep going with the kitten photos below, keep scrolling if you donāt care what Iām reading!
***
What I’m reading: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond
On the surface, this explores housing issues in Milwaukee, in the very poorest neighborhoodsā¦ but itās incredible insight into how the instability of poverty utterly destroys social structure; disproportionately affecting children and women.
If that sounds boringā¦ itās not. Itās amazing. And insane. And infuriating. And terrifying.
This is what poverty takes from you: the ability to choose from GOOD OPTIONS.
It reminded me of one of my favorite books:
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx, by byĀ Adrian Nicole LeBlancĀ Ā
The reporting spans over 10 years and follows two young women from the Bronx.
Reading these stories makes you realize how EXHAUSTING poverty isā¦ how being poor is a JOB THAT LEAVES NO TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE; the systemic nature of it, to escape is nearly impossible… especially when you had a baby at 13.
PS, if you are a “game” family, and have a favorite game, I would love some recommendations!! We like Balderdash, Spoons (the card game– it’s super easy and moves fast!), Taboo, Cards Against Humanity (limited audience, not for kids! and also not for parents, if your parents are like mine), stuff like that! And it’s nice to have a new one at the holidays.
December 15, 2017 @ 3:38 pm
Only 4 people can play at a time, but our family loves Blockus. It’s a board type game. Really fun.
December 15, 2017 @ 4:27 pm
You take amazing kitten photos!! I love the way you capture their tiny expressions, and your lighting is always so perfect. You could be a professional kitten photographer! Thanks for sharing all the cuteness with us!
December 15, 2017 @ 4:44 pm
Dicecapades is my favorite (after the aforementioned Cards Against Humanity). The dozens of different dice bring me joy, but so does the hilarity.
December 15, 2017 @ 5:11 pm
We have a family game tradition after Thanksgiving dinner where kids (from age 6 or 7 and up) and adults gather to play the card game called The Great Dalmuti (you can order the cards online). It is a very silly game about class struggle, which sounds terrible, but it is actually really fun and silly.
It is easy to learn and play, and is especially fun because it involves the wearing of silly, exotic and glorious hats (we spend the time between Thanksgivings scouting for more even exotic and even more glorious hats). It also involves the opportunity to get photos of relatives in said hats. What could be better?!?
If I could figure out how to attach a photo, Iād provide documentation to show the wonderful hats and family members enjoying the game.
December 19, 2017 @ 3:01 am
I second this recommendation! One of our favorites.
December 15, 2017 @ 5:12 pm
Oh, oh, oh…those babies. Lucky you! I have a growly, slightly insane cat, so I don’t dare bring kittens into his orbit.
The Guardian has an excellent article on poverty in the US, which sounds as though we’re going to beat out third world countries. Embarrassing and…makes me kind of frantic. How! In this country!
December 15, 2017 @ 5:17 pm
No game suggestions, stuck in a time warp of Scrabble, but the kittens……that little tuxedo is just such a little kissy bundle. High spot of the day, thank you!!
December 15, 2017 @ 5:37 pm
Mille Borne… it’s a card game about distances and strategy. It’s delightful and you can be more vindictive than Uno, but there is math… oh! and it’s all in French so you can practice sounding French when you drop a card on them…
December 15, 2017 @ 6:22 pm
Gosh, your carpets are all in one piece! How can that be?? I have two fairly new adorable little rescues and I think in a few months my house is going to be totally shredded!
December 15, 2017 @ 7:49 pm
Telestrations is a great game that parents and kids can play.
December 15, 2017 @ 8:16 pm
Have you played King of Tokyo? You get to be a monster and wreak havoc on your opponents, or die, if your heart points hit zero before you achieve victory. Very exciting.
December 15, 2017 @ 8:35 pm
The Game of Things is great if your family is funny. If not, donāt. We like Crack the Case, Pit, and Charades
There are also a few game packages you can buy online. Theyāre around $10 and include 5 or so games. You load them on a computer and everyone answers through their phone. Made by the You Donāt Know Jack people. Fibbage is our fav. Family must be good liars in addition to funny.
December 15, 2017 @ 9:26 pm
Love your blog , your rantings, the adorable relationship with your hubs, and your esthetic!
I have a ( gasp) vent over my fabulous oven AND also make my husband (bend to my will) learn to enjoy the āobviouslyā finer things in life. As far as the vent , I am SO glad I did it ! I burn things all of the time ! As far as the husband, he would be happy in a tent but, deep down I know he is so glad he has a chandelier in his bathroom š
So , Iām prompted by the game query. At our house , we LOVE bananagrams! Itās like individual scrabble. Itās portable, easy , and so much fun.
Happy Holidays !
Rachel from Massachusetts
December 15, 2017 @ 9:47 pm
Wonderful! Thank you for the book references. Fwuffeeness too.
Games:
SET card game
https://www.setgame.com/set
Because 6 year olds can wipe the floor with adults on a level playing field once they get the hang of it. Lateral thinking is required. It’s good for kids to get personal, incontrovertible evidence that adults are NOT smarter than they are.
Yikerz!
http://yikerzgame.com/
Magnets to be laid out competitively. At guitar camp, the table with this game was laughing louder and longer than anyone else’s.
December 15, 2017 @ 11:26 pm
I love your blogs! You always make me laugh. The book recommendations are terrific, and the kittens are absolutely adorable.
December 15, 2017 @ 11:35 pm
Kitties are SOOOOOO CUTE!!!! The new favorite game in our family is Catch Phrase…if you love word games that move fast and are great for playing in teams.
December 16, 2017 @ 1:19 am
I’m in love with the little fur nuggets!!! Our favorite game lately is Pictionary the card game! We’ve played this with ages 6 to 69 and it’s so easy and fun to play with all! It’s like Pictionary but instead of actually drawing the clue each team has a set of cards with shapes that they have to use to get their teammates to guess the clue!
December 16, 2017 @ 1:48 am
Too great this kittens!!!
I just got my stray cat trapped last night and a rescue group picked up this am to take to a vet and then into a foster home. I have been feeding her for 5 weeks but couldn’t let her in without a vet check as my indoor cat whom I rescued last year would have been at risk for disease. She has roamed this neighborhood for a couple years so this was a wonderful thing to finally get her captured!!! Our shelter euthanizes so couldn’t take her there so this was heaven sent rescue as she mistakenly finally trusted me and was able to be caught. Bless you for taking foster cats in –God will reward you ! I named this cat Eloise Victoria Elizabeth and that name is now registered with the Vet! Merry Christmas—- love your blog!!!
December 16, 2017 @ 2:08 am
We like all of those games too! I would also recommend Ticket to Ride Europe and Heads Up. The latter is an app that (I think) Ellen DeGeneres made. It’s free if you have Amazon Prime.
December 16, 2017 @ 5:13 am
Your comment about the book “Evicted” brought back some memories of my very poor days, and how sometimes the lack of money scared me so much it actually made me afraid to even breathe when I thought about it.
Good on you for mentioning a subject that most people either don’t care about or don’t want to think about.
Interestingly I got another email just after this about a national housing strategy that the Canadian Government has just enacted, basically making housing a Human Right.
I’m so proud to be a Canadian.
I love your posts, they bring a smile to my face. Kittens and mirrors included!
December 16, 2017 @ 8:50 am
We just got a game called Snake Oil. It is super fun, easy to learn, and is either family friendly or not. You really control it. But it doesnt have any offensive word cards. Another one is CATS. It is like Telestrations, but with Cats. It is awesome.