The floor in the basement is oh, so close to being done. We spent much of the weekend working on it, buying those DriCore 2x2 panels and laying them down like puzzle pieces across the concrete, using the jigsaw to cut special corners where we had to get around walls and other protruberances, using my handy-dandy Dado blade on the table saw to cut slots, using the circular saw to cut the end pieces to the right size. The right tools for the right job, and a vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess.
It'll be nice to walk around on wooden floors this winter. Our feet won't get quite so cold. And when we get some more money (spending all that overtime pay was fun!) we'll invest in some insulation so the walls won't be so cold, either.
Funny how having a home project can keep the brain focused inward. As I'm pondering all the things on the to-do list for the upcoming holiday time, getting this basement is right up at the top - yet it also seems so selfish in a way to be focused on something so interior when there are so many other exterior things to be done. Like visiting family. Like visiting friends from church. Like being involved in all sorts of other activities.
But at heart I'm a homebody. And I have a million projects on the back-burner I've been itching to do once there is "time" to do them. Songs which were written and performed but never recorded (or at least finally mixed). Stories that have been hanging over my head for the last ten years (somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy-five at last count, started but never finished). Model airplanes that need building. Computers that need assembling. Old electronic projects that need to be put together. Various toys and appliances that need repair.
Actually, top of the list for this weekend was spending some time with Adam playing this game he's created. It's a kind of Lego version of D&D, except without dragons and demons and things of which we don't approve; instead, it's got character sheets where the players keep track of their statistics (attack / defense / stamina) and inventories (weapons / armor / healing spells) as they go through the game. And it's played using pre-built (by Adam) rooms that snap together as you get to them, so the players never know what dangers they'll be facing until they get there.
Adam enjoys putting these things together, writing page after page after page of notes on characters and statistics and all that. Then he revises his plans as we play the game, adjusting the points to make the game more enjoyable. He just wishes we had more time to play.
As do I. But there never seems to be enough time in a day to get all the work done, and the play, too.
Speaking of plays, three of the kids are in the church play, "The Peace Child", and have received compliments from their staff for their abilities. Can't imagine where they get it from, can you?
3 comments:
I've been working on painting these built in bookcases my dad and I built in my house a while back. Every night I have enough time to add one coat of paint to one of the two bookcases. Which means the entire thing will take 8 days of painting, plus 2 days of sanding. I am down to just 2 more days of painting with the big deadline being to get done before Thanksgiving.
About the D&D thing. Sounds very cool what Adam is putting together. That's a great way to build creativity. My parents "banned" me from all D&D type stuff back in the late 80s/early 90s when I was interested. I still snuck around and played, but the church we were going to helped encourage everybody toward the ban.
I was wondering why the games are okay but not dragons/demons? Is it a magic thing? The basic game play is fine as long as the magic is taken out?
And, just because some things don't come across as well in print as face to face talking, there is absolutely no critique or anything negative in my question. I'm just curious what parts of D&D you don't approve of with your kids.
all these letters this morning are going to make me late to work but i don't care. I just love to read them and they are worth acknowledging so that takes time too. Keep them coming.
Love from down on the farm.
I used to play D&D in college, and have some wonderful memories of the guys in my dorm who were obsessed with the game, especially "Bud" the DM, who was the absolute master at coming up with fun and complicated dungeons. So I don't really have a problem with the game, even with the magic part of it, unless someone goes over the edge with obsessing about it, and starts to confuse reality with game-playing.
Back in college, we used it to let off steam and relax after a very nerve-wracking week of engineering classes.
Adam enjoys the creative side of the game, trying to come up with the right "stats" so that neither the players nor the adversaries are killed off too easily. He loves the numbers side of things. He even creates his own dice!
I enjoy spending the time with him and watching his mind clicking as he figures things out, seeing his creation come to life, and trying to help him make it better so that other kids will recognize his abilities as well.
The only thing that inspires my disapproval is when he allows his gaming obsession to get in the way of his duties to the family. So we make sure that his gaming doesn't interfere with his other priorities (school, family, etc.), and in turn, we encourage his creativity by reserving time to play his game with him.
Post a Comment