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 16, 2017 @ 9:39 am
There’s a card game called Phase 10 that is a lot of fun, and you can play it with kids. I look forward to your posts — they are a special treat to my day!
December 16, 2017 @ 10:10 am
I had a number of aaawwwhhhhh!!!! Moments with the kitten photos and desperately wanted sleeping snuggling kittens for myself , then I remembered that my two twelve year old cats Stella and Fat Frankie, and Troll the semi feral that lives under the front porch, would object.
Like well just drat!
Then I thought about your family and realised that Pass the Pigs would be the perfect game. Available on Amazon from $12.38. 912 reviews. 81% have 5 stars.
For some bizarre reason this is a completely hilarious game. No strategy or intellect required. It helps if you can add, but hey just those cute little pig dice landing on various parts of their anatomy and balancing is a marvel. NB no actual pigs get thrown or tossed. No pigs are hurt. No pigs are intended to be thrown or tossed. Just little plastic pig shaped dice.
December 16, 2017 @ 1:49 pm
I can not handle the kitten cuteness! Utter Nonsense is our new favorite! http://www.utternonsensegame.com
December 16, 2017 @ 3:02 pm
Well, I just got the Toilet Trouble Game for our family get together, strictly to horrify my mother and delight my brothers in one fell swoop. I feel I shall succeed wildly on both fronts. I may use Mt Dew instead of water, because I am evil like that.
In case I didn’t mention it before… I WANT THOSE KITTENS!
December 16, 2017 @ 7:24 pm
My Dad has just rescued a cat, best thing ever, keeping the elderly active. Doubt heād be happy being called elderly but as Iām over the hill he must be. He hasnāt had a cat for about 10 years, had this one for a week and already creating scratching posts and indoor treehouses. Lucky cat!
December 17, 2017 @ 12:44 pm
We like all the ones you do, plus Battle of the Sexes and Pictionary is always a favorite. Quick Pictionary story. My husband was drawing the pedals on the floor of a car, circling the left one. His gay brother was drawing a small purse. The word was “Clutch”. We still laugh about that one.
December 17, 2017 @ 9:39 pm
Time’s Up is an excellent game and is adaptable to large groups.
December 18, 2017 @ 12:04 am
Joking Hazard is similar to Cards Against Humanity but with cartoon images, it’s by the Cyanide & Happiness cartoonists. Very fun, also for mature audiences.
December 18, 2017 @ 8:16 am
Thanks for the book links! They look terrifying and sobering at the same time. Choice is a luxury that not everybody has.
December 18, 2017 @ 10:36 am
Our favorite games are Rummikube and Settlers of Cataan. Great family fun. Also, Twister. Love the kitten pictures! We adopted two last week for my 5 year old son and I am so I love Iām lobbying to adopt a third. And foster once the kids are older. Fingers crossed my husband relents!
December 19, 2017 @ 2:59 am
The Great Dalmuti (available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BZB56W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_lwmoAbYG8EYRW )
Fast-moving card game, super easy for newbies to pick up, and you can go from loseriest loser (the greater peon) to the winningest winner (great dalmuti) in just one hand. Also good because while there can be some mild strategy, it’s not so intense it inhibits chatting and frivolity (I’m looking at you, Settlers of Catan).
December 19, 2017 @ 10:05 am
Cuteness overload…you MUST check this out Victoria if you’ve never seen it, a pouch for your kitten! https://www.buykittyroo.com/?utm_source=Email2016Q1&utm_medium=KittyRoo&utm_campaign=121817
December 19, 2017 @ 1:34 pm
Dutch Blitz is theoretically family-friendly, but I swear it makes me curse like nothing else. It’s basically competitive solitaire that moves really fast, but if you get two packs you can easily have eight people playing at once. Smart Ass is a fun trivia game that also moves really quickly, and I’ve rediscovered how much I enjoy playing Uno with my nephews.
December 19, 2017 @ 7:26 pm
Telestrations is my favorite party game. Plays up to 8, great for mixed age groups. If you aren’t good at drawing or guessing, it just makes the game better.
December 20, 2017 @ 8:20 am
Telestrations is really great! It’s like pictionary and telephone had a very silly baby. We use the “after dark” (adult) version, but there’s a tamer one too. We’re also fond of Pandemic (fun because it’s collaborative) and Code Names, though that one has a bit of a learning curve.
December 20, 2017 @ 11:49 am
That princess bride quote would have been hilarious at the wedding!! And Oh! I LOVE Balderdash! I hope you and your family have a VERY MERRY Christmas!!! Here are my game suggestions: Spinner, it’s a domino game that has wilds in it (like a wild card), so, so fun! Apples to Apples (we’ve played this at work a few times and it’s always a lot of fun!) Also, we really like playing some of the variants of scrabble: (you can find a list on wikipedia), but this is my favorite, it results in a LOT of laughing! Take Two (also called Speed Scrabble or Bananagrams) is a fast-paced, non-turn-based Scrabble variant played without a board. Tiles are placed face-down in the middle of the table in a communal pool and each player is given a small number of face-up starting tiles. From their starting tiles, each player tries to build his own valid Scrabble gridāplayers do not use each other’s grid or tiles. When a player successfully uses all of his face-up tiles, he shouts “take two”, and every player takes two more tiles. Play continues until there are no more tiles left to draw. In some variants, the person who creates the first complete grid when all the tiles run out is the winner. In others, a calculation based on word length is used to determine the winner. Some variants allow for the exchange of unwanted tiles. Local variants include Take One or Take Four; the banning of 2 letter words; having a dictionary on hand for any players to use (but since it is a game of speed, this doesn’t get used much); a bonus of 50 points for building the word “chicken”, a bonus for longest word (number of letters in word, not tile values; and only if a single player has longest word), etc.
December 20, 2017 @ 4:30 pm
We are big Scotland Yard fans in my family although we call it “Mr. X.” Telestrations is also absolutely hysterical. The kittens have left me dead and longing for kittens.
December 22, 2017 @ 4:36 pm
The kittens are devastatingly adorable !!!!!!
December 23, 2017 @ 12:01 am
I can’t wait to read Evicted. As a foster parent living in Milwaukee I’m face to face with the issue of women and poverty in this city. I’ve never heard of this book but have a feeling it’s going to give me insight I didn’t have before.
I’m also a cat lady. Keep the kitten pictures coming!
December 25, 2017 @ 9:18 pm
This is late to the game, but I got our mid-teens the game āNot Parent Approved,ā which is exactly CAH but cleaner. It can get just a little inappropriate, enough that my kids think itās funny but arenāt horrified or scarred for life. It would be fine to play with more proper types, too. We also have Apples to Apples but this one is more fun, I think.