Peaches Prattlings











Tonight CKM and I had a great time and I want to tell you about it, but something else came up that I thought I would address instead. I will talk about tonight maybe tomorrow. (Ponder that one for a while)

They seem to be coming out of the woodwork…About three weeks ago, I got a text from a guy I dated about 4 years ago, I’ve heard from him two or three times since we split up, but I was not expecting to hear from him again. I was on Facebook one night and he messaged me, we caught up for a while, it was nice chatting with him, we had been good friends while we were dating, I’m not going to go into why we didn’t make it, you’ll have to buy my book!

Turns out he got married over a year ago, we talked about that, I was happy for him. I admit, I was a bit hesitant when he first messaged, I don’t normally hear from guys I’m no longer involved with since they’ve moved on, unless they want to find out what my dating status is because they remember how good it was when it was good and now they’re single and think it would be nice to get together with me again. But there was a reason it didn’t work out.

He asked about me and I told him about DCM and how we are moving to Colorado together at the end of the month, the packing, how excited I am and some of the plans we have when we’re settled, like me getting a new bike and DCM getting one as well, taking lessons together, LS is a biker, so he could relate to that.

We’ve chatted a few times over the last few weeks, he’s needed some advice from “a woman”
(thanks for noticing), someone unbiased to the situation, and someone who’s opinion and advice he trusts. I do appreciate that people value my opinion.

So, over the past few weeks, we’ve chatted a few times, it has been nice and…on a few occasions he has reminded me of some of the things that lead to the end of the relationship, but I know him and I’m looking past those things because they don’t affect me in the same way, just reinforced what I thought before, if that makes sense.

Then tonight, I am out with CKM and I get a text from a number I don’t know “is this JSH number?”
(You noticed that? I was JSH when I was married). What? CKM said don’t respond, she had an odd text from someone in her past recently, it’s still stuck in her craw, mine too because there was no closure. I can’t help it, I wanted to know who it was! Don’t you?

I responded, “Depends on who this is”, DCM bust out laughing when I told him what I responded with! I have to tell you, one of my favorite things is to make him laugh! I get tickled when I get CKM to burst out laughing too!

So the response I get is J, well, isn’t that helpful, a first name, a nickname of sorts. No offense, but I know a few people and I know more than one J. I didn’t want to be rude and say J who? I thought I’d figure it out by some questions that I could ask. I asked how he was, thinking I would ask about work next, thinking the might help me to get somewhere. Now, CKM took a guess at who this was, I didn’t think so because he was using a nickname that I never associated with him and through the conversation, turns out she was right on the money!

I figured out who it was through his next text.

We dated very briefly, maybe three weeks tops, almost 5 years ago! I heard from him about a month after he “dropped me like a hot potato”, to sort of ask me what was wrong with him… it wasn’t me, it was him, I hate to say “the usual”, and not since then, I haven’t even thought about him in that long.

He said a few things along those lines, what was I thinking? I was an idiot, ok, whatever. DCM said he was fishing, I’m sure he’s right. There ended the conversation, will I hear from him again? Will I think about it? Nope, I’m happy and why do I need to think about things that don’t contribute to my happiness? And after all, it’s all about me, right? Ha ha

So, you were wrong, what were you thinking…Really? Hmm… And exactly what did you accomplish by texting me in the first place?

Is there something in the air? Is it a full moon? Who’s next? What’s next?

Thanks for letting me vent.



{May 9, 2013}   Friends and ice cream

As Memorial Day Weekend gets closer and I get ready to head out west to Colorado, I am going to have to start to saying my goodbyes, not quite ready for that, but you have to start somewhere, right?

So, my wonderful friend, CKM is organizing a goodbye dinner, I hope you got an invite, I would love to see you there! Well, some of my friends can’t make it that night, so I working on making plans to see them before I leave. Not to worry, I will be back a few times, hey, I’m doing the Peachtree Road Race with CKM July 4th!

So, tonight, I had dinner with TS and SF, at a place that we love, The Loving Hut, http://www.lovinghut.us/ a vegan restaurant and most of my friends aren’t vegan or that into eating it, some have tried, just didn’t stick. Well, TS and SF and I love it, so meet for dinner we did! It was great, as always, the food that is, the service leaves A LOT to be desired! We had basil rolls, cha cha shrimp, it wasn’t as good as I’ve had it before, wonton soup (the only place I can get wonton soup!) and an eggplant dish. Yummy! We didn’t have dessert , they were out of coconut pie, we debated on dessert and the decision was made easy when they were out.

It figures they don’t have a location in Colorado, one hippy dippy state, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, not worried.

Dinner was light and fun we caught up on each others lives, we laughed, we told stories, we bragged on our families, they let me dominate a lot of the conversation, imagine that, me with a lot to say! (I hope you didn’t doze off during my post about Annie!) I brought them up to speed on the packing, the staging, the moving, talking to the realtor, what my plans are, what the backup plans are, all the good stuff.

TS did look at me like I had three heads when I told them I bought the Disney Villains Monopoly! TS is the one who had to pack my collection, she didn’t really see an end in sight and then found a few more downstairs, I have a feeling that if she never sees another one it will be ok!
It was the Disney Villains people! And it was on sale, yes that helps!

It was nice when we parted company, there were no tears, it was as if we were just to dinner on a Thursday, “bye, see you later, love you” and we were gone. These are two women who like to travel, I believe I’ll be seeing them in my future!

I know, you’re salivating, where is the ice cream? Since we didn’t have dessert, I was craving something sweet. You may or may not know, but I am lactose intolerant, among other things. Beyers came out with a lactic free line of ice creams and while it is still touch and go for me, I bought some and tonight, as I sit here writing to you about my wonderful dinner with my fabulous friends, I had a bowl of ice cream with multicolored sugar crystals, yum.

So, the reason I mention friends and ice cream is because I had a wonderful experience at dinner and it was topped off by a bowl of ice cream, which makes me think of my friends because they are so sweet to and with me. And I wanted to tell you about both!

Thank to TS and SF for being my wonderful friends, I am so lucky to have you in my life to enrich it and make it more colorful. I love you very much.



{May 6, 2013}   Ahh…What a Mechia

I just took a shower and I feel so much better, it was a mechia.

A mechia is a Yiddish word that means ‘a great feeling, a relief’. An ice cold coca cola, especially in a little glass bottle, on a very hot day, the feel of the air conditioning turning on that same hot day, warm chicken noodle soup when you feel like crud, a mechia.

Since I work from home all day, not going anywhere that I need to dress for and I haven’t been running in the morning lately and packing in the afternoons and evenings, I have been taking showers at night, to wash off the dust and dirt from picking up, wrapping, packing and moving boxes. I wash my hands many times during the day, but until I get to take that shower, it always feels like there is a layer of grime, especially on my hands, eeeew.

And, since we’ve been having all this rain for the last, oh I don’t know, thousand days…it’s been cold, so when I got dressed, leggings, long sleeve jersey and fuzzy slipper socks (a mechia for the warm and fuzzies) what? It’s May! It’s been raining for over a week, we’ve had tropical depression warnings, flash flood warnings and hail war innings, what? On the other hand…no problems with my allergies, no sneezing, among other things, now, that…is a mechia!

For those of you who don’t know, Yiddish is a slang, cross between Hebrew and German. The cool thing about Yiddish is that no matter where you go, when you meet another Jewish person, whatever language they speak, you should be able to communicate, a bissle, or a little. It’s also what parents will use when they don’t want their kids to know what they are saying, kind of like when your parents spell because they don’t want you to know what they’re saying. That works until you can spell!

The last time I was in Boston with the family, I spelled something for MG’s ears and EJ decided to tell me what I spelled. I said I was doing that for MG. Oh…

I bet you know more Yiddish than you realize, you might say, “I have to schlep all this stuff” it means to drag things around, like on vacation, having to schlep around twelve guidebooks. Ever say or hear someone say “oh vey”, I bet you have! That’s Yiddish. A schmuck is someone you might refer to as a self made fool, but by definition, not a word to be used in polite company…it really refers to a male’s anatomy!

If you watch any Mel Brooks movie, you’re going to pick up something, it’s great when it’s so subtle!

Here are “40 Words You Should Know”, I beg you’ll be surprised!

The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know

I’m sitting bed, with two cats curled up around me, I’ve got warm blankets, my feet are off the floor and don’t have to go back there until tomorrow, now that is a mechia.



I just wrote 99% of a post, saved it, rebooted the iPad and its gone…that is one of the most frustrating things! I saved it to publish later because the iPad was giving me fits and I thought rebooting would help. I won’t be doing that again! I know about SESO (save early, save often) grrr…

I’m going to try to recreate perfection, ha ha, so please bear with me.

A good nights sleep is so important, I hope you get one, because I rarely get one and I know how good it feels.

A good nights sleep is up there with a good breakfast, important to good health and weight loss. I wasn’t always into eating breakfast, but lately, maybe because I’m exercising more, I wake up hungry. This morning, I had breakfast, not a great one, but I ate. Ok, so I heated up some veggie gyoza, well, there were veggies and I’m sure eggs in the “wrapping”.

Does that remind you at all, like me of Bill Cosby’s “Chocolate Cake”? If you’ve never watched it, here it is:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsjr1_bill-cosby-chocolate-cake_shortfilms#.UYcri8u9KSN

So every morning, I start off with an omelet, and I have been getting creative, I believe I’ve given you some of my recipes. Keeps me going and I get some good protein to start my day.

As for the good nights sleep, I had a great one last night. I used to sleep like crazy when I was younger, my mom said when I was born I fell asleep, the nurses used to pinch my feet to get me to eat. I took long naps, slept through the night; I kind of ruined it for my parents and their friends, thinking, oh wow, she sleeps through the night, we can do this! Nope!

I used to sleep late on the weekends and in high school, my dad would come down the hall to turn off my alarm! I was lucky to put on clothes and brush my teeth before he left without me to go to school! In college, I slept under the fire alarm, they used to have to come and drag me out of bed, never heard it.

Even as I got older, I loved to sleep, I would stay up late,then catch up on the weekends. I’m not sure what happened, but when the wasband left, I stopped sleeping almost altogether, not giving him credit for anything, but since then, I don’t think I’ve slept more than 4-5 hours a night, 6 if I’m really lucky. But you know what, it’s ok. I sleep as much as my body needs and when I am really tired, I catch up, every once in a while, there’s a nap in my future and then I get going on little to no sleep until I’m ready again. That could be part of the reason I blog close to midnight, I’m wide awake! I know that when the sun goes down, I wake up! My brain seems to turn on full speed at that point, what about you?

That’s why I watch a lot of movies, read a lot of books, get a lot of writing done and craft a lot, all “after hours”!

I realized that while I’m packing, if I start off early in the morning, I can go all day, but on the days I work, I can’t seem to get motivated to pack until after the sun goes down, what is all that about?

Well, last night, I got some much needed wiped out, dog arsed tired sleep! After TS and KS left last night, I laid down on the couch to watch Iron Man 2, not a clue how far I got, but I think I knew that was going to happen and when I woke up this morning, it was with a remote control in my backside, but I felt great, refreshed and ready to go, that couch is something.

I know how important a good nights rest is, I try, but it just doesn’t always work out for me and I think I have figured out that my body knows what’s best for me and when I need rest, I will get it. I do know that when I was in Colorado a few weeks go, I was a little more tired in general and when I was there a few years ago, I never napped so well…who knows, maybe this move is just what my body needs! I’ll keep you posted!



{May 3, 2013}   Writing

I so appreciate you reading my blog every day, it means so much to me.

Apparently, I’ve always been a good writer or story teller, I just didn’t like to write as a kid. I didn’t like reading the books that were assigned in school, but I devoured books. The first time I babysat my sister, my payment was to go to the bookstore and pick out any book I wanted, there began my love of Nancy Drew, not to mention reading.

I was reading things at a higher level than my grade for a long time, my parents were very involved in my education, both being teachers and very encouraging when it came to broadening my horizons. Please don’t get me wrong, my parents had to put up with a lot when it came to me and school, lets just say, I wasn’t a huge fan of school or that stuff they sent home every night, I’m, what’s it called? Some day, I might share the joys that I put them through.

I loved to tell stories, especially to babies, it’s so much fun using funny voices to tell them stories, I do it every chance I get. One of my most fond memories is when I met JT, CGS’s first, the Bar Mitzvah I just went to, when I first met him, I told him a story of the sea and Jacques Cousteau and I did all the voices, it was great.

My book reports in school were good, always got good grades on those, but I really started to excel in my writing in college. I remember a few papers I wrote that my professor loved. The first was a description of my grandmother’s house, I did such a good job, she wanted to visit. The next paper I did that I still have and am quite proud of, and maybe I’ll repost it here some time was to compare Homer’s Odyssey with the Wizard of Oz, my favorite movie. I’m not a big fan of Greek mythology, but I had a great time comparing the two and writing the paper.

I had friends growing up, (yes, I had friends, ha ha) who had to write stories, paragraphs, I am so l I never had to do that, thank you mom and dad!

My dad asked why I blog every day, aside from it being something I wanted to do for a year, it was something I thought I might enjoy and I have to tell you, I have enjoyed it. In some ways it’s creative and in some it’s an outlet. I love that I am able to auto post to Facebook and twitter, it allows some people to see it every day. When I hear friends say its like sitting across the table from me every day,they know what’s going on in my life and that to me is great!

There are some days I have no idea what to write until I start typing and some days not even then! Other days, I have at least 4-5 different things I think about to write and why do I wait until 10, 11:00, midnight even? I have no idea! But they say it takes 21 days to form a habit and here we are, after midnight, I must have formed that habit.

I am also getting inspired to finish my book I can’t wait, I think it’s going to be good, but then I am slightly biased. I’ve also been thinking about other things I’d like to write about, other books, but I’m not telling.

One of the reasons I wanted an iPad was so that I could have something light to keeps with me so I could write whenever and I have. It’s also been great when I teach a class,I have the documents right there and I don’t need a big training manual.

So, in conclusion, this was a very long winded and rambling post and I want to say again, thank you for reading my blog every (or almost) day.



If I have moved on and it’s in the past, why can’t you?

Before I go into my daily musing, I did go to the orthopedist for my knee. (I am filing a workers comp claim for my wrist, it’s a lot harder to go to see someone when there is a claim to file, but I am hoping to see the same ortho, really good guy, but I am taking care of it JR). He said everything looks good, I didn’t tear my meniscus, which is great, reflexes are good, flexibility is good, it seems that the uneven ground during the races is just aggravating it. Even as he was checking things, he was watching my eyes to show signs if pain, nothing. It was hard to tell him about the pain when I’m not in any (no CKM, I didn’t have to run downhill in the mud to tear up my knee just so I could describe the pain!).

He gave me some good exercises I could do to strengthen my legs, knees, hamstrings, so I will try those and hopefully they will help. He said he didn’t want to send me for PT, since it wasn’t a constant issue. He also prescribed something topical that I should use when the pain is bad. I’m not sure I won’t be able to sit cross legged while I work, I said I would try.

I told him about getting my knee wrapped with Rock Tape, so he sent me to the PT office down the street, thinking they could wrap my knee and also tell me what to get and how to apply it properly so as to not do any damage. And here comes my musing for the day.

When I get to the PT office, I am talking to a receptionist, waiting to talk to a therapist and a woman stands really close, remember that post about personal space? I turn towards her and just as the receptionist says “Personal space, J” I realize its one of my former neighbors, we hug, exchange pleasantries and then she asks…”Are you still with (insert wasband’s name)?” really?!? I said “No, we’ve been divorced almost 5 years”, “oh that’s right” huh?

The year after we split, I ran into her around Christmas and she asks me about him, I said we were divorced, and he had married the woman “he fell on top of”, that was 3 years ago! You’re going to ask me about him now? I didn’t forget that you got divorced, didn’t know how long, but I knew you were divorced. She then looked embarrassed and didn’t know where to go from there, so asked about her kids.

A few months ago, I ran into a neighbor, very sweet and I think well intentioned, but with no filter. It’s been almost FIVE years, yes, five years and I think I’ve adjusted quite well, but every time we see each other, she wants to talk about my ex and his wife, as if it were yesterday. She felt that she had been wronged in the deal as well, she was friends with the woman and their kids played together, that’s great, but I have moved on, I don’t want to talk about what you had suspected, how you felt you were tricked and deceived and how you act towards them when you see them now.

When we run into each other, ask me how I am, ask me about my life, don’t ask me about my past. I don’t think there is anyone who knows me who doesn’t know I’m no longer married, I am thriving, have amazing family and friends to talk about and brag on, I’m in a great relationship, I’m move to Colorado!! and I have a lot to talk about, if you want to know, let’s talk about what I’m doing today, lets talk about the future, lets talk about what we’re having for dinner, but please, leave the past where it is, that’s why it’s called the past.

Thanks for listening, I think I’m done, well for tonight anyway!



{May 1, 2013}   A great idea!

Leaving can be difficult.

It affects so many people and in so many different ways. For the person who is going, it can be bittersweet, they are excited about a new and exciting venture, but they are leaving so much behind. For the people who are staying behind, they are excited for their friend or family, but sad to be left behind.

I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, seems to be mainly with teenagers, especially those going to college, they become incredibly unbearable, hard to deal with and hard to be around. This is common, subconsciously, it’s easier to leave if someone is mad at you, so they make everyone around them miserable and mad at them, they can leave thinking they aren’t wanted there anyway.

For me, Georgia has never been my true home, I was ready to leave about a year after I got here and then I met the wasband and we stayed, we promised the kids we’d stay in Georgia until after they graduated high school. I was excited about the new venture and then that ended and what was I going to do then?

The house went on the market and the possibilities opened up, I was going to move to the beach. I had a lot of friends in Georgia, but none that I was super super close with like I am now and it was going to be great, I was going to move, keep my friends and make new ones, and have a place for people to visit.

Then I started to settle in, made some new friends and got a lot closer with others, you might have noticed through my posts the people who are mentioned a lot. Going will be tough, and I promise not to be a ….and make people mad to make it easier to leave! But we will be back a few times a year for special occasions.

We’ll be back in July for two reasons, DCM’s daughters birthday big 16th! And I am doing the Peachtree Roadrace with CKM, then in September I am running a race and seeing my dentist, there are special birthdays to celebrate (Miss A, SSD, just to name a few), so not to worry fair Georgians, I will be back!

But…here is where my great idea comes in! I have a bunch of friends I get to go out with, brunch, lunch, dinner. Well it’s those times I am really going to miss so I proposed today to many of them that even though we would still talk on the phone a bunch, I want to set up virtual dinner/lunch/brunch dates. We will grab some dinner, Skype or FaceTime and have a meal while sitting across from each other! I thought it was a great idea and I look forward to that time with my friends and family!

That idea makes me smile



{April 28, 2013}   It’s really coming along!

First friends and family, I want to apologize. I know most of my posts lately have been about moving, the move and packing. At the moment, this is my life and that’s what’s on my mind and you are the victim, as the faithful reader of this blog.

Second, I promise this will not be all my posts going forward! It will be for a few more days and then there will be posts peppered here and there when the move finally happens, the unmove/unpacking when I finally get there and then exciting new adventures! I can’t wait to take you with me.

With that being said, it’s really coming along! I am still going crazy with all the chaos and clutter, yes, friends, I, JRS, said clutter! Anyone that knows me knows I like a good mess; the living room is clean and tidy, but there are crafting things on the table or in the corner, my desk is always cluttered, I have no excuse for that, bedroom is put together, but there are some books or yarn laying around, I’m ok with that. This is driving me C R A Z Y! There is stuff EVERYWHERE!!!

When I was a kid, my parents thought the next world disease outbreak was going to start in my room! I was a Messy Marvin and proud of it! When the cleaners would come, everything would go on the bed, after they left, right back on the floor! What is it they say, a messy desk is the sign of a brilliant mind!

The hard thing with packing, for me anyway, is that I get bored of one room after a while; I am packing, packing, packing and then I am so done with that room, I go to another, so every room is in a state of getting done. But…lo and behold, as I pack a little here and a little there, move this over there, I look around and there are boxes stacked in the closets and I can see floor! It’s really coming along!

I can see this room being done soon and I can see that room next, it’s crazy how that happens. Every time I come across a piece of clothing, into the closet it goes, uh oh…I went in there earlier and thought “I am so not looking forward to packing this closet” but then I was just in there pulling out bags to pack [Yes, I said BAGS! I already have 2 boxes – Hi my name is JRS and I am a bagaholic!] and cleared some space and realized that it won’t be too hard to pack the closet, crisis averted!

I am sitting in my office, newly staged, but not quite ready to show you pictures, those will probably come tomorrow, as I am so close, I can taste it and want to be done with it! And I am thinking, ok, it’s almost done, two rooms down, then the bedroom.  It feels good.

I had a great idea today, I asked one of my neighbor’s son’s to move boxes down to the garage, wahoo, how smart am I? He wasn’t available today, so later this week and then when I get a POD, I will hire him to pack the POD, what a huge weight off my shoulders! The garage is almost ready to go!

The best part of all this, I am looking to the future…when all this packing is done and the house is staged, I am looking forward to sitting on “my personality” and doing nothing! I know, those of you that know me are saying, “I just don’t see that happening!” Well, I don’t either, but it sounds good!

Gotta go, another box to pack!



{April 25, 2013}   Falling apart

I may very well be falling apart.

How old am I? Some days I feel like my body has it in for me and some of those days I think, “ok, you win”. Who wins and who am I talking to?

This last year has taken a toll on my body. I am only talking about the external, internal is a treat. I’ve had bunions on both my feet, something I inherited from my mom and grandfather, thanks! Most of the time I can deal with it, but it has hampered my ability to purchase some really cute shoes that might dig into them, I bought some ballet flats and said “the hell with it” and sometimes it’s a good day and sometimes it’s a bad day. There are times that they hurt after a long day, standing for a long time or just for being there, I have even woken up screaming from the pain.

When I went to see Dr Julian for something else, we talked about surgery, he said bunion surgery was his favorite, when I asked why, he told me because it was easy for him, and he didn’t have to deal with the recovery, gee thanks! I’ve considered it off and on for years, but, I found out, it’s 2-4 weeks off your feet completely then about 3 (maybe 6, I could be completely wrong here) months full recovery. That means no walking, no races, what? Nope!

The reason I went to see Dr Julian, and by the way, amazing podiatrist in Atlanta! Was my feet were hurting after I walked a few miles and when I did the Atlanta Women’s 2 Day, 30 miles in 2 days, I had blisters that had blisters, ouch. He told me I had heel spurs, thank goodness I wasn’t the hypochondriac I thought I might be turning into! He gave me some Smart Feet and recommended the sneakers I needed and exercises that I have to do. The Smart Feet are great, I just picked up some new ones, (they need to be replaced every 8 months) I wore them to my last mud run, so now I need new clean ones and a pair of new clean sneakers. I vowed never to run any kind of race without the proper foot-ware and Smart Feet, I learned my lesson, that which I am still paying for over a month later. (I do my exercises most of the time, I really try.)

The next fun thing to happen…I wrenched my knee! I was coming downhill, through the woods, in the mud, at a race and something snapped, great! Oh my word, I don’t know if I’ve been in that kind of pain before, well, maybe kidney stones, but it kept waking me up! Now I am very careful when I run, especially downhill. Luckily, each time it has happened, it was close to the end of a race. Yes, I said each time, I never claimed to be that smart! I saw someone after a race, he wrapped it with Rock Tape http://rocktape.com/products/tape/. I was rockin! And it helped! He told me what the issue was and I would love to tell you, if I could remember! One thing he told me to do was lunges, let me know how that worked out for you! I know, need to make an appointment with an orthopedist and I will, I promise! It’s hard to remember to make an appointment when nothing feels wrong, you know?

Now…I think I have carpel tunnel, really? I know it comes from a lot of typing and using your wrists, well, I have all the symptoms and when I spoke to a pharmacist, he said it sounded like carpel tunnel. So, it wakes me up at night, but when my hand falls asleep while I am asleep, then I don’t feel it, kind of ironic, isn’t it? I am wearing a wrist brace and making an appointment, when it happened the last time, I an to cancel the appointment. I didn’t think anything of it when it first happened, it only lasted a few days, these last few times have been for weeks a a time. I know, I know, make an appointment. I will, tomorrow! What I’m afraid of with the carpel tunnel, they’ll do an X-ray, tell me to take Tylenol and wear a wrist brace, thanks and here’s your copay.

I can tell you that as much pain as I am in, it has not stopped me and I just keep going, but wait, I’m not done. When my feet hurt too much to walk, I do take it easy and don’t do my morning run/walks, like today and yesterday, so there. I am sort of taking care of myself.

How old am I? Some days my body feels ancient, but I am stubborn like a 3year old, I won’t stop moving! Somebody stop me! (Wish me luck in the race tomorrow!)



{April 24, 2013}   My Monopoly Collection

It all started with The Wizard of Oz…

For my birthday, my friend LGR gave me Wizard of Oz Monopoly and it seemed to take off from there. I played Monopoly as a kid, but it wasn’t a great love or fascination for me, but I enjoyed it, I was a passive player. I know people who have marathons, can play for hours and others who don’t like to play, for that reason.

And for that reason, is started hosting Monopoly Marathons, I set up 3-4 games, depending on how many people attend, one in each room, a different version (we’re getting there) and everyone is on a team. One person from each team is at a table, so each table has someone from team 1,2,3,4. We play for 30 minutes, then when the buzzer sounds, or I yell “Time!” everyone moves to another table, you don’t have to go to the next logical table, as long as there is one person from each team at a table. When you sit at the table, you have to sit at your teammate’s seat and play the hand that they left. You may have started at that table with money, property, hotels and come back and find that you are bankrupt!

People seem to like it, it goes quickly and you’re never in one spot for too long. At the end of the tournament, there are prizes for the team with the most money/property. I also ask people to bring specific food, never telling them what the versions we are playing. For example, Kiss-opoly (based on the band) I asked for Hershey’s kisses, we played NY Yankees, I asked for peanuts, pretzels and cracker jacks, get the idea?

My friend AM is uncanny when it comes to Monopoly, he is like Yoda, he plays without looking at the cards, he knows exactly how much each property is worth, what the mortgage is and what it would take to get it out of hock, without even thinking, he’s amazing! He also gave me Waffle-opoly!
I got The Beatles from my dad for Chanukah and my latest? DCM found Klingon! Geek out people!

Before I list out my collection, as people have asked me to do, I want to tell you about my pride and joy. Years ago, and I mean years, I cross stitched an afghan with a Monopoly board, I think one day I a going to cross stitch the properties. I have played on the blanket, kids love it. I hope you enjoy the picture.

I once took a picture with all the monopolies I had at the time, I am 5’1 & 1/2 ” tall, with my hand extended I couldn’t reach the top of the pile and I’ve added more since. I am spoiled! People will buy them for me, I have only purchased a few, and I’ve played many of them, but I love them all!

I have had pictures of my collection on Facebook and I was so tickled when someone I have known since grade school and reconnected with on Facebook, SBS, said she had her mom’s Monopoly from when she was a kid and would I like it? Oh my yes, she dropped it off at my dad’s house and now it is part of my collection! How lucky am I?

How about this…I was in Las Vegas with my dad in October 2009, staying at Caesar’s and what did we find? The World Monopoly Championship! What are the odds? There were players from all over the world! They had team jackets, track suits, coaches, translators, separate judges and bankers! It was awesome! The pot was exactly $20,071, exactly what is in the bank in a game of Monopoly!

I didn’t start out collecting these, but I love each and every one of them, I hope to have more, so if you find a unique one, one that screams YOU, send it my way! I will love it dearly!

Here now, is my collection (some of them are not Parker Bros)
Official
Snow Boarding The Beatles The Muppets Sesame Street
Greenway Packers The Nightmare before Christmas. Whooville
My Marvel Heroes. Nintendo. Justice League of America
Disney Theme Parks. Monopoly Junior Classic Wooden. Harley Davidson
St Louis Rams. NY Yankees. Wizard of Oz. M & Ms
Las Vegas. Pirates of the Caribbean Rudolph
The Simpsons. Simpsons: Treehouse of Terror. Mickey Mouse (75th edition)
Fantastic Four. Scooby Doo: Fright Fest Edition. Pokemon
The Muppets (collectors edition). Lord of the Rings Klingon
Coca Cola Star Wars: Episode I. Millennium (has rice paper money!)
Disney. NFL. Original (1950’s)
Classic 1935 Reproduction. Looney Tunes. Here & Now
Anniversary Edition (mine from when I was a kid!). 2006 edition
Electronic (play with an iPad)
Fancy schmancy wooden box edition I got at Restoration Hardware
I gave DCM USMC ooh rah!

Unofficial (add “opoly”to the end of each one)
Motown. Atlantis. Waffle. Niagra. Earth.
Anti. Kiss. Greatful Dead. Brew. Stitch.
Redneck (thanks twin) Cat. Atlanta. Millennium.
Make your own. Brooklyn Dodgers. Staten – Comes in a pizza box!

Who wants to play?

20130424-234506.jpg

20130424-234511.jpg

20130424-234518.jpg



et cetera