Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Scrabble Online or How to Survive Without TV

Sandi and I are playing Scrabble online. This is FUN! We're using the Scrabulous website and playing by email. If the two games we've played are any indication, we are pretty evenly matched. But I gotta tell you, I really worked hard for my win!

Playing Scrabulous is free, easy, and addictive. Sandi and I played the first game slow, over a couple of days. The next one we pretty much sat by our computers waiting for the emails to come in. Being the antsy sort, I kept clicking on "refresh screen" to learn her next move. The only equipment I'll need, besides my computer and the internet, is possibly a Scrabble Dictionary. Merriam Webster is on my computer but I don't think that is considered official. It helps though. When Sandi spelled "xi" I had to look it up. That's when I learned you could use the spellings of Greek letters in play. Amazing! It's been years since I last played and we were pretty simple with the rules then, no proper nouns or foreign words. That was about it. Guess I need to reacquaint myself with the rules.

Sandi being good at this isn't surprising. Looking online for the above image, it's from Wikipedia, I learned that most of Britain is in love with the game. She probably played every other day when she lived there. Another thing I learned was that scrabble is available for cell phones. That sounds like fun!

Scrabble is helping me deal with not having a TV. Mine died Friday. I'm not ready to invest in a new one yet. So I'm looking for things to do to fill in the hours I used to spend watching "So You Think You Can Dance?" and "Numb3rs." This is doable. I've got a friend who only recently got satellite to watch. Before that she and her husband did other things. They did have a TV, but, not liking the selection of available shows...or the ads that go with them, they watched DVDs of series they'd heard good things about instead. The summer we landed on the moon my family went on a month long camping vacation. I survived that with no TV and I can survive this.

There are blessings to be had from going TV-less. They are electricity hogs. Yesterday I unplugged it, along with the DVD player, the digital converter, and the powered antenna. That should cut con$umption a bit. The activities I hope to fill the time with will, I think, make my life richer and more productive. I'll read more, listen to music, and practice my guitar. Maybe I'll get some yarn and try crocheting or knitting. I might even go outside for an evening walk. Cooking, cleaning, playing with GIMP and the photos I've taken, there's lots I can do. One thing I'd really like is to find myself spending more time with people. So I think I'll try to make one or two of the evening events at church.

Peace! Hope! & Joy! And with that Peace some Quiet!

14 comments:

murat11 said...

Congratulations on freedom from the tyranny of the tube. Maybe an early Lenten fast, eh?

Lee said...

If Lenten fasts become enjoyable, perhaps Paschal. :) Thanks!

If you think you'd be interested in a game of scrabble just let me know, Sandi and I'd be glad to have you join us.

Peace! & Have a good school year!

San said...

I love Paschal's comment. TV-watching can be hypnotic and not in a good way. And I believe he is considering your TV deprivation a not-quite-intentional early (VERY early) Lenten fast.

Getting together with people more--that sounds great, Lee.

And congratulations on your Scrabble victory. I would assume that Sandi is one tough competitor. My family plays Scrabble sometimes. We have one of the little booklets that came with the game. It lists all of the acceptable two-letter words. We refer to it a lot. One or another of us is always pushing our luck on the two-letter words.

Lee said...

Yeah, almost a year early for lent. LOL Guess I won't have to worry about what to give up next year. :)

I could use a booklet like that, San. Who made your game? I wonder if I can find a download for it. Hasbro had instructions on their webpage and there are other scrabble clubs.

Sandi IS hard to beat! Forty-eight points for a three letter play! Sheesh! And I was going to use the exact same spaces too, darn it. She is really good at putting words where they'll affect other words than the one she is building.

I'll let you know how the getting together with people goes.

Hugs!

Sandi McBride said...

You know I started playing scrabble when I was 8...my mother was a rabid..er, avid player...we played lots of games as children, tv was verboten after five pm! Rigid rules that made us use our imaginations...
I'm going to be interested in your reading material!
hugs
Sandi

jsd said...

who needs tv with the internet and books and cameras and for yous tejasans the hot outdoors. but, if you really need a fix, check out Hulu.

Lee said...

Thanks Sandi! Sounds like you had a really great Mom! Of course that's no surprise, your a great gal!

I'll keep you posted on the reading material. Maybe another sidebar list or a library thing widget. :)

Hugs!

Lee said...

You're so right JS! And Sandi has helped me with a new game place. :)

I'll be getting out a bit tomorrow...get a makeover at a new place opening up. Free! Yay!

Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to check it out.

Hugs!

david mcmahon said...

May you find the Triple Word Score every time!

Lee said...

Thanks David! I'm enjoying the brain growth activity plus the companionship.

Keep Smiling!

rosecreekcottage-carol.blogspot.com said...

If I had it to do over again, tv would be banned in my home! Great post! I hopped over from David's blog. Don't forget about Monopoly!

Lee said...

Hi Carol! Thanks for stopping in. My family helped me get by without TV when I was younger. I'd gotten out of the habit of being selective as I got older. Glad I'm doing it again.

Monopoly huh? Didn't know if it was online. I'll have to go looking.

Come back soon!

Peace!

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

Enjoy your time w/o the tv! We've gone with out TV shows, just had movies. One can get a lot of reading and walking done when there isn't TV to veg in front of.
Congrats on making David's post of the week list!

Lee said...

Thanks Carrie & Troy! I'm already getting used to the change. Hit the library yesterday and got several books to read. :) Still need to find my way outside. That's a great idea.

Thanks for visiting! David's the greatest isn't he? Ya'll come back.

Peace!