My Last Entry

Dear Readers,

Blogger allows me to write an entry for my blog and schedule it to be published well into the future. So, as I write this, in April of 2009, I intend to schedule it for several years from now.

This idea intrigues me because it's almost like a "time capsule." I hope it will be unearthed at some point in the future, but I don't know what will have happened in the interval.

Why is this the last entry? What might be the reasons that I'm no longer writing my blog?

When I first wrote this entry, I went on to list several negative reasons, but I must have been in quite a mood at that point.  Well, whatever the reason, this is it -- it's my last entry.

So, with that in mind, I have to say the following:

• Each of my family and friends mean a great deal to me. In each of you I've found more than enough reason to like and love you. You add joy and happiness to my life. If you and I have ever had a disagreement, or hard feelings, you can be sure that I did not carry those feelings with me at the end. It's not in my nature to harbor grudges (my memory is just not that good!) and you have always added to my life.
• Kids, I love you. If you have kids of your own, you will appreciate just how much love there can be in a parent's heart. How much the happiness and struggles of a child's life affect the parent. I am truly blessed to be your father.
• Sherry. Wow. What can I say? I love you more deeply, more completely, more intensely than anything in life. From the day we decided we had to be together forever, my life drew into focus, and our love and commitment formed the solid base for everything else. You mean more to me than words can state. Without a doubt, I know that you know that.

And those things are true, no matter the reason for my blog ending.

To anyone who reads this, and to the others who did not, I wish you Peace, Faith, Hope and Love.

Merry Christmas from the Will Family

Social Media and the Solitary Traveler

So, lately I've been doing something I don't get to do very much: taking a bit of time "off" when I am traveling for work.  Now, I don't blog about work (here) but every once in a while, I have to stretch that rule a little bit so I can talk about my life.  This is one of those times.

When I travel for work, I almost never get a "weekend" away.  I am using the term "weekend" loosely here.

You see, when I travel for work, I often have to leave on a Sunday, and sometimes a Saturday, in order to be able to participate in whatever event I'm attending.  For example, if I have to give a presentation on Monday morning in Europe, I have to leave on a Saturday, which puts me in Europe on Sunday.  This current trip, I needed to attend the start of the conference on Sunday, which meant I had to leave on Friday.  And, I had been at a conference in the US all week before I went to Sweden, so I had flown to that conference on the previous Sunday.

If you don't follow all that, the point is this: a standard "weekend" where the Saturday and Sunday make up two continuous non-work days -- this just doesn't happen much when I am traveling.

If you saw a few Stockholm photos from me, they were taken during a few hours when I did not have to attend the conference, but I was definitely working most of those days.  And mostly, I was taking the photos while walking around with a colleague.  (Hi, Tim!)

Anyway, as it happens, I left the conference in Sweden in order to fly to London for another work event in the middle of the week.  And, as schedules would have it, while I was due in Budapest the following Sunday, I didn't have to rush immediately from the hotel in London to the airport.  I had a couple of days in which I was not required to be working.

So, I could have made other choices:

1. Spend the time in my hotel room, doing work.  There's plenty to do.  But there is always plenty to do.  I could work through pretty much every weekend at home, too -- you know, those Saturday/Sunday combinations.  But generally speaking, I don't.  It's part of how I balance my work and my life.
2. Fly back to the US for however much time I'd have, and then fly back to Budapest.  I think, had I done this, I might have had something like 16 hours at home.  But I would have spent another 48 hours in aiports and airplanes.  And it would have cost more than staying in a hotel.  Sure, someone else is picking up the monetary cost, but I'm the one on the plane.  And I can tell you, after all that time in the air and airports, those 16 hours would have seen me one brain-dead individual.
   
   So, I chose option 3.

3. Spend a "weekend" in London.  Put away my computer (except to write personal blogs in the evening [and answer critical work e-mails; and try to make reservations for my next trip {See?  There is always work to do.}]) and push myself to enjoy the time here.

Now, while option 3 seems reasonable, there is a problem.

I don't go out alone.

It's not a phobia or anything.  It's just a personality trait.  When I am alone, I just tend to prefer to stay alone.  I huddle up with books, games, music, a comfortable place to sit, movies, TV shows, snacks -- and I just sit relax, and enjoy myself.

This works out fine in Rochester.  In fact, let's be honest, it works most anywhere I normally travel in the US, given that I typically only have a couple of "free" hours anywhere.

But here I was in London!  I mean, wow, there are a lot of things to see within an hour of the Hilton Metropole in London.

If I had been here with Sherry, we'd have been out all day, every day, every hour I was not required to be working.  Because she's like that.  And when I'm with her, it rubs off on me.  So, when I took the work trip to Australia and New Zealand, and she joined me, we saw things!

But here I was, alone in London.  What would I do?

First of all, I got a great start because on the first uncommitted day, I didn't have to be alone.  A work colleague who lives near Winchester offered to show me around, and specifically to take me to Stonehenge, which is within an hour of the Winchester train station.  So I rode a train to Winchester, she picked me up, and we saw Stonehenge!  We also saw Winchester cathedral, walked around the lovely old town, had a drink in a pub, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Now, we did end up talking about work for a while, and it was a good conversation to have.  But really, the day was basically a "weekend day."  (Thanks, Therese!)

However, I still had some time on my own.  I had part of one day without work, and one more full day of non-work, if I wanted it -- and I wanted it.

So, how to push myself to see as much as I could, when my normal state of mind would draw me back to a quiet room in the hotel?

I decided I needed to get social.

Despite the fact that it would use data from the cell phone plan, I figured if I posted photos and comments as I went along, it wouldn't feel so much like I was alone.  See, one of the best things about traveling around (for me, anyway) is often the experience of sharing what you see, hear and learn with others.  Most often, for me, that's Sherry.  But I've also had a good time sightseeing with people I know from work.  It's a great way to form friendships, and it's how I saw most of what I saw the other two times I was in London.  (I saw "Wicked" in London, taking the chance to introduce two of my co-workers to what is probably my favorite musical theater experience.)

But this time, I didn't have any traveling companions.  So I used facebook (and blogger, but I only did the latter in the evening, so it was not the same.)

When I'd see something, I would post a good photo, or a status message (usually both) to facebook.  And I could hope some of my friends would see it and react, so I could feel like I was sharing the experience with someone.

Did it work?

Did it ever!

When I started looking at fb, after posting the photo Therese took of me at Stonehenge, I saw that lots of people were paying attention, and sharing things with me.  Mostly, it was "likes" -- and that's what I was hoping for - a few people noticing and being glad for me.  But there wer more than a few, and then there were several people who left comments!

It was all beyond my expectations.

And it made me feel like my travels would not be so much "alone" as I had thought.  So, after my day with Therese, it was much easier to go out into London with a plan to share other stops along the way.



The Tower of London, with the Poppies exhibit.  The Tower Bridge (which is so striking in sunlight,) the walk along the Thames to the Parliament building and Big Ben, the visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum (you can take pictures in there!  Almost everywhere!) and then the performance of "Billy Elliott."  I made all of these "social" events by putting them on facebook and interacting with family and friends back home. 

It was a full day, and it was made more full by sharing it.

I want to thank every single one of you who participated by responding in some way to the facebook posts, or to this blog.  It means something to me -- something real.

So, as a reward for sticking around for this long post, here are a few more photos, and some information about Stonehenge.

Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Garden - and another Panoramic photo. 

St. Paul's Cathedral

And I walked as high as they would let me - the views!

Oh, and Stonehenge?

It was not built by druids.  That theory was proposed by one of the famous people who studied it -- John Aubrey -- who had no true concept of how long the structures had been around, so his attribution of a druidic origin, while widespread in "common knowledge," has been shown to be false.  Stonehenge predates druids by thousands of years, as far as science knows.

That doesn't make the references from "This is Spinal Tap" any less funny.  More, perhaps.

And while some of the stones were, in fact, transported for miles overground (the sarcens, which are taller stones -- the vertical ones we typically see -- came from about 19 miles away from the site) the bluestones are the ones from Wales, and they almost certainly were taken to the site primarily over water.  Again, this does not make Eddie Izzard's bit any less funny; just not quite as accurate.

I think it's important not to get our science from non-scientists.  It's kinda a thing with me.

So, there it is.  I have spent a few more hours, now, making this "weekend" a "social" event by composing this blog entry.  Again, thanks to everyone who has participated in my travels.

Because tomorrow is Sunday, and while it might be a weekend for you, I am traveling to Budapest, and working.

Weekend Over.  G'Night!

Excited for Exploded Shakespeare

In just a few days, I get to travel to New York City and see Leah perform in the Exploded Shakespeare version of As You Like It.  I'm pretty darn excited about it!

The photo is not mine, obviously, but I hope to take a few shots while I'm there!

A Little James on Monday

Sometimes, what I need on a Monday, especially a Monday when I'm traveling, is a little James.  So here he is, sporting the outfit we bought him back in January when we visited Leah in New York.

He's standing on "the Big Rock" which has served as the location for many a photo over the years.

And, as a bonus, here's a shot of him with Sherry, just after he had played with the lawn sprinkler at our house for the first time.  Happy James!

Vacation Was Wonderful

Another vacation; another wonderful time.  This vacation was largely about family.  Now that our youngest lives in New York City, we only see her a couple times a year.  So, when she planned to spend two weeks with us, we planned for me to take some of my vacation days.

Many times, vacations include long trips -- by car or airplane.  Not this time.  We did travel up to The Cities several times -- again, mostly for family events.

Week 1 was the "busy week" - filled with events such as the graduation party for our Nephew/Cousin and a trip to a Minnesota Twins game.   Week 2 was more relaxed.  We still did plenty, but our schedule was less rigid, and we spent far less time in cars. 

The biggest point, today, is that I relaxed, and relaxed with family.  I cherish such times.

At a recent business event, I met someone who assumed I did not ever relax.  Fortunately, Sherry was at the event so she could corroborate my ability to take it easy.  I guess there are people who don't know how to unplug.  I, however, am not one of those people. I have so many things I like to do outside of work, that I can always find plenty of other options.

I luvs me my vacations!

Here's some photographic evidence.

We took some shots in preparation for our Christmas photo.  Here's one we did because, you know, grandson.

Here we are at Walter's graduation party with Eric and Tracy.  Sorry I didn't get a photo of the graduate or his parents.  I assure you -- they attended.

Graham and Anna's wedding took place in Minnehaha Park.  We arrived early, the park was cool, but beautiful and not crowded, so we walked around for a while before the service began.  Here are Sarah and Troy at Minnehaha Falls.

Adam served as Graham's best man.  These two have known each other for well over 20 years.  As part of his speech, Adam told the story of how Graham made Adam want to be a better person -- back in grade school!

Here we are, sitting in Target Field at a rain delayed Minnesota Twins game.  The game eventually started 2 hours and 10 minutes late.  The Twins won, beating the Chicago White Sox 4-2, with the final out recorded at 11:59 PM.

Lucas enjoyed some time with his favorite nephew.

Before I am done, here are some lovely ladies and a very adorable toddler.

Several of the posts in this blog over the next couple of weeks will give some of the highlights of the vacation.  I'll micro-review all of the X-Men movies in one post.  I'll talk about some of the games we played, and a book I finished.  Who knows what else I will find to talk about.  Now that the long vacation is over, and I've queued up several posts (already written) I seem to be inspired to write more. 

I hope each and every one of you reading this gets -- and takes -- an opportunity to have some truly relaxing time away from your normal responsibilities.  It's some of the best time you can spend, and it will only happen if you take it.

Dungeons and Family

Years ago, so many years ago that nostalgia washes over me every time I think about the simpler days in Decorah, when I could get together with my friends almost anywhere in town by hopping on a bicycle for a short ride, my good friend Craig introduced us to a new game called Dungeons and Dragons.  We were teenagers, we had time, we loved fantasy -- we were hooked.  Soon, we were playing every chance we had, and I spent most of my waking hours reading, thinking, talking and designing for the game. 

Around the country, and around the world, others were falling in love with this game which allowed its players to assume the roles of adventurers in imaginary worlds full of epic fantasy, searching dark, dangerous dungeons; facing both creatures well known from myth and monsters of new imaginings; rescuing the weak from the forces of evil.  The Role Playing Game had been invented, inspiring a whole new class of entertainment.  But these larger issues were not important to us.  We, the players, just loved the game.  And, in those few times we thought about the future, we longingly imagined being able to gather again to play the game, even in those far away times when we were finally adults.  In fact, we, who started playing as sixteen-year-olds, and who continued playing during our college breaks, imagined that, perhaps, someday, we would gather in our retirement to play again.

Yet never did I imagine what the game could mean to me in my life as a father.

When my boys were young, it was clear they loved the fantastic as much as I did.  So it was easy -- natural, even -- to introduce the idea of giving them each a character and having those characters fight "bad guys" with dice.  This was one of many, many activities we had together.  Sports, plays, movies, vacations, and other more traditional games filled most of our time.  But there was always fun to be had with a couple of miniature figures -- a warrior and a wizard, perhaps -- and a few dice.

But could the fun continue?

I'm here to tell you that it certainly has.  Last night, my boys, together with one of my girls, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and friends of theirs, invaded a castle, were made prisoners, escaped, and then defeated an extremely powerful vampire who had been preying on a city for more than a hundred years.

As a gamer, I still enjoy playing this game. But far more importantly, as a father I cherish opportunities to share experiences with my children.  Over thirty years ago, when I first encountered this game, I could not have predicted how much enjoyment it would bring to me as a father.  Now, even in the midst of it, I find it hard to believe.  But oh how I appreciate it!

Game On!

Favorite Foto Friday - Sherry and James

I tried to get a little artistic with this shot.  Those are two very cute people!

Favorite Foto Friday Repost - The Solitary Fisherman

Some of my photos have been seen by very few people on this blog, according to Blogger's statistics.  I will be reposting some of them which deserve a wider viewing.  Today, one of the few "nature" shots in which I include a person.  It also draws frequent comments when it is among the photos cycling on screen before I give a presentation.




Originally posted April 23, 2010.

Waiting for Godot - McKellen and Stewart, Hensley and Crudup

Over the years, I have heard of the play "Waiting for Godot."  I have seen (perhaps in a class somewhere?) a brief scene, and I remember thinking "This is strange."  It's one of those plays I somehow knew I should know more about, but it's not as if it's an accessible Broadway musical comedy which is going to be part of a Civic Theater season.

Then, two actors I admire got together a production of it on Broadway.  And, we happened to be going to New York to visit Leah while it was playing, so we simply had to take the opportunity to see  it.

What an experience!

Let's get a few misconceptions out of the way:

• The cast has five actors.  Many people think of it being about two people, and certainly the characters played by Sir Patrick Stewart (Vladimir/DiDi) and Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon/GoGo) are the central parts.  But Pozzo (Shuler Hensley) and Lucky (Billy Crudup) are critical to whatever "meaning" this play ultimately has for you.  Even the Boy has a crucial part to play, small as it is.
• The play is accessible.  OK, so it's hard to describe what it's about, and there are nonsensical lines, but when acted and directed as this production was, the interactions make much more sense than they would if you just saw lines on a printed page.
• The play is funny!  Oh, it's deep, too, and dramatic, but there is plenty of opportunity for humor, and this cast did a wonderful job of giving the audience a wide range of emotional responses.

These actors played off of one another amazingly well.  The timing was exquisite.  I laughed.  I was moved.  I very quickly stopped thinking of the actors as the parts they played in other works, and started living with them as incarnations of Beckett's characters.  Certainly, there were times when an expression of Stewart's would remind me of Captain Picard, or a groan from McKellen would stir a memory of Gandalf.  But that just helped to emphasize how completely different their "Godot" characters were from those other roles.  Oh, and Billy Crudup was practically unrecognizable, so there was no chance I would think of Dr. Manhattan or his role in Big Fish (one of my favorite movies.)

Live theater is to be treasured, in part, because each performance is unique.  And because these shows do not go on forever.  Sometime in February or March, these fine actors will close down "Waiting for Godot" and "No Man's Land" (being performed in rep) and it may well never happen again.  I will treasure this memory, of seeing such fine acting, from such gifted performers, with my wife and daughters.

My only regret is that we did not plan to see both shows.  I would have loved to see this cast in another great play.

Bravo!

Vladimir	Patrick Stewart
Estragon	Ian McKellen
Lucky	Billy Crudup
Pozzo	Shuler Hensley

(I'll credit the actor who played the Boy) when I have access to the program from the performance.)

Creative Team

Written by	Samuel Beckett
Director	Sean Mathias
Set and Costume Designer	Stephen Brimson Lewis
Lighting Designer	Peter Kaczorowski
Sound Designer	Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen

Favorite Foto Friday - Fantastic Fun with Superworld

Happy New Year, everyone.  I know my "Favorite Foto Friday" photos are not usually "snapshots," but today I simply have to post this one.  We have such a fantastic time playing Superworld, a Role Playing Game in which we each have a character with superpowers.  This year's group photo was not posed, but I did manage to get everyone into it, other than myself, and they are all looking rather good, I must say.





Special things to note about this year's photo:

1. New art on the walls
2. New draperies, created by Sherry from material "reclaimed" from a set which was less-well-designed she purchased (from Target, I believe)
3. New carpet, which is typically spotless, except when covered with toys brought out for our
4. New non-playing participant.

Games and James - Games of Christmas 2013

Each year, the vacation I take for Christmas is an extended period of time, always lasting through New Year's Eve.  During this festive time, we celebrate the holidays (in particular Christmas -- "the most wonderful time of the year") and we gather with family and friends.  We've also developed a long tradition of filling many of our hours with gaming, and the three days of December 29, 30 and 31 in particular are almost completely devoted to games.

I heard this year that Adam thinks of these days as the very best days of the year.  It's not hard to understand why this is:  Adam loves games, and he has grown up, his whole life, with this period of gaming surrounding him.  As a young child he could only watch, but as he grew, he got more involved, and now he anticipates "New Year's Gaming."  By the way my other children react and participate, I think the feeling is similar for each of them.

To commemorate the gaming which is such a big part of our holidays, I have written an annual summary of the "Christmas-time games" in this blog for four years now.  (See 2009,  2010,  2011, and 2012.)  Continuing the tradition, here is the annual "Snippets and Wisps" recap of the games which were played over the long holiday vacation.


This year, we had many new games join the roster.  I think I will start with those, and then move on to the older games.

Games New to Us This Year

Alhambra - I wrote about this game back in January of last year, after seeing it on the web series TableTop. I never did buy it, though, so I put it on my Christmas list and received it from Adam and Marisa.  I won the first game we played, and Sherry won the second game we played (and the first she played.) Still, it was pretty clear that everyone who played it enjoyed it.

Elder Sign - Here's another game I saw first on TableTop.  Convinced I would like it, and so would my friends, I bought it.  Still, it sat unopened until this Christmas.  The game is actually pretty fast to play -- Once You Know the Rules!  Well, the rules took a long time to read and explain, which was strange because I watched people actually play it on TableTop (video of the game is here) and I thought it was very well explained.  The game is a trimmed-down version of Arkham Horror, played without a board, and so it is another cooperative game, with all the players trying to defeat the game together.  We didn't actually finish (probably because it was time to eat one of Sherry's fantastic meals) but it was pretty clear we were going to win.  I must play this soon with my Rochester Game Dudes.

Ticket to Ride: Africa and Ticket to Ride: India are new maps, with some rules variations, for the popular Ticket to Ride railroad games.  I greatly enjoy this style of game, but I must admit that I did not play either of these during this Christmas vacation.  Why?  Well, as you can see, there were many games to be played.  And this type of game appeals to several of my guests who did not like playing other games (such as Dominion or Magic: the Gathering.)  So, sometimes there were two different games going on, and I had to make a choice.  Troy and Sarah own almost all of these games, and I see them more frequently, so I figure I will get a chance to play these at some point.  I certainly hope so!  The reviews I got from those who played them sounded quite positive.

Smallworld: Underground - Another Days of Wonder game, and another I did not get to play!  What makes this even more surprising is that I bought this game earlier this year, forgot I had done so, didn't open it until December 29, and had never played it before!  But still, I was busy with some other game, so Lucas, Troy and someone else played it.  They said it was good, and I believe them!  I certainly like Smallworld (it will come up in the list below.)  And while I did not see this version of the game on TableTop, I did see the original there, so this makes the third game on the "New Games" list tied to that web series.

Rayman: Legends (for the Wii U) - Sherry surprised me with this gift for Christmas.  We enjoy playing video games together (she usually watches while I play and gives me ideas of what to try next) so it's not surprising she would buy a game.  What was surprising is that I had not asked for this game.  I guess she saw a short review of it on TV somewhere and thought it sounded fun.  We started it after the crowds had left, and we are having fun with it.  It's a single-player side-scrolling game, with many options.  I will probably write more of a review when we have played more of the game.



Games We Had Played Before

Superworld  is the traditional game of the holiday season at the Will house.  We've been playing this Superhero Role Playing Game for over 20 years on or around New Year's Eve. This year, our group of heroes was sent on a search and rescue mission.  The team included Anastasia, Foil, Solo, Toymaker, Phoebe, Phoenix (no, not that one) and Icebird.  This year's scenario took some real determination and focus on the task at hand.  We captured a flunkie working for our arch-enemy, General Isotope, who has been a thorn in our side since we started playing.  This flunkie could have led us straight to the General's compound!  But, we are heroes, and there were people missing and probably in danger.  We had to put off our assault on General Isotope so we could explore an abandoned mine and attempt to rescue some ordinary folks from the clutches of unknown super-villains, while also attempting to avoid waking what we dubbed "Water Cthulhu" which was living in the underground Lake of Evil. Exciting!

Magic: the Gathering.  Though this is one of the favorites for many of us, we do not typically get to play many games of it over the break, because it does not involve enough of us.  That was true again this year for the times when a large group of us was around, but there were several times when fewer people were available, and then we Magic players played.  There were three 2-Headed-Giant games played, and a couple of Three-For-Alls.  I did not participate in the Three-For-Alls this year, because there were other games to be played.  Including ...





 Dominion. This is the game I have been most interested in for the past year. It might be my new favorite game (perhaps excluding M:tG.)
I wrote about it  before in this blog, and I've played it quite a bit since last Christmas.  Both games which were played this year included the Dark Ages expansion I received last Christmas.  And I even won a game, despite the fact that Adam and Lucas were playing, too (they are very, very good at Dominion.  Very Good.)



The Great Dalmuti - Again, a New Year's Eve tradition. It's not fair, but then again, life is not fair. And we all play for fun.  We called Mike as we started to play, to wish him a Happy New Year and a big Huzzah! This year the ones who earned their way to being crowned Great Dalmuti were Sherry and Paul, so I was always part of the crowd wishing the new Dalmuti Huzzah!





Skip-Bo is an old stand-by and must be played every New Year's Eve. We had a 6-player game one day, and then an 8-player game the next.  The game says it's designed for up to 6, but we figured out how to have two teams of four, and it was quite exciting.  I believe it moved much faster, and that's not a bad thing.

Small World is a really fun game I encountered because of the new web series "Tabletop" on the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel.  I bought it immediately and played it soon after.  I mentioned the Underground expansion above, which I did not play.  But I played this original game again.  I didn't win, but I really don't care much about that.  Honestly.  And I know this is one of the games which Tyler was around to enjoy, so that was a bonus.

 

Star Trek Catan - I am surprised to find that I have not blogged about this game yet.  It's a version of Settlers of Catan, but done in space, and with new rules which incorporate the characters from Star Trek (the Original Series.)  Personally, while I greatly enjoy the original Settlers game, I find this version to be much more fun.  I was glad to introduce it to Paul.  When it first came out, it was only available at Target.  I'm not sure if it's more widely available now, but I was very happy to receive it (for my birthday, I think.)

Lord of the Rings: the Card Game - I have played this game a few times with Troy and Sarah.  We were the only ones who played it over Christmas.  It's another cooperative game (I am quite happy these games are being designed!)  Before playing this game, I had never been involved in a cooperative game where the players lost.  This time?  The game kicked us to the curb, ran over us with its back tires, and splashed mud on us as it left us for dead.  Later in the vacation, Troy and Sarah redesigned their decks to have a better chance of beating the scenario, and they won!  What a cool idea!  Learning by losing, and then cooperatively redesigning to win.



Whoonu - Making its return for the first time since 2009, this party game is a game you play to get to know your friends and family. Paul and Sherry demonstrated their knowledge of the others by sharing victory, though if Adam had not mistakenly put another card in the sleeve when it came time to learn about Sherry, his "Scrapbooking" answer would have put Sherry over the top, we are sure!



Funglish was played in 2010 and 2011, but somehow did not get played in 2012.  I'm glad it made a comeback. It is really funny, as long as you're not too terribly interested in who wins.

Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker. Apparently, this is a Christmastime game.  Leah looked back through my blog to see when we had played this last, and it was around Christmas several years ago.  In any case, it's been a long time, and as far as I can tell, I never owned the game.  I think it belonged to Lucas.  So, when the game came out for the Wii U, I decided to pick it up again.  The changes for the Wii U are not all that significant.  It is prettier -- it takes advantage of the High Definition capabilities of the system.  We finished beating Ganondorf the evening of December 28th, just before company arrived on December 29th.  For the record, we only had 12 Hearts of health, and we completed the final battle with a fairy left in a bottle.  I am glad to have it in my library of games, and I bet I will go back to it again in a few years.

Forge of Empires - I must include this as an Honorable Mention, since I have played this online multiplayer game over the break.  I've completed all of the ages which have been released to this point (Progressive Age is the last one so far.)  I mentioned this game in late January, 2013, so I guess I have been a part of the game now for about a year.  It's something I would probably have given up (Mike and Adam have) if I didn't have a couple of friends and a couple of family still playing.

Dave and Buster's - I haven't mentioned this before, but during many of our recent Christmas seasons, the Will family has gathered at this restaurant which features a large number of arcade and video games.  I can't possibly enumerate each of the games which were played, but we certainly had fun playing them!

I think I have listed every game, though I reserve the right to revise this post (I almost forgot three games as I was preparing this!)  As you can see, the Will House is a very game-filled house over the long Christmas-to-New-Year's-Eve break, and we enjoy those games quite a bit!  In the coming year, I will be looking for even more new games to add to next year's gathering.

But I would be remiss if I did not list the most entertaining part of Christmas and New Year's:  James!  Having a grandson around for all of the eating and talking and gaming was extremely special.  In fact, when we were playing Great Dalmuti, we assigned the Least Merchant the job of sitting out and watching this nearly-9-month old.  That position -- Least Merchant -- was the most coveted position in the game!


              HUZZAH!