What is everyone up to?

[Ghostlady]

I am sorry to say that I haven't played any games lately. With all the work I have to do with Covid at the hospital, I am beat when I get off of work and the last thing I want to do is be on a computer. So, I've been doing a lot of reading. And loving it.

[mbday630]

I have a jigsaw puzzle in my kitchen going - but, I find out that my eyes are having a hard time seeing it. I went to an eye doctor this past week and I guess that I have macular degeneration. so, no wonder. I am thinking of playing Night of the Rabbit this weekend and hopefully I can finally finish it. I had to babysit on Wednesday - which is fun - but I have to drive 1/2 hour to get there and I loath driving. so, I am not doing anything big but still alive and kicking. oh, my son said that he saw a whole big flock of robins in Wisconsin so that gets me excited - possibly spring is around the corner? Hope so.

[Val]

Keeping busy daily checking local and international news, there is always a jigsaw on the go in my house, The Guardian daily crossword online, watching tv, reading, and, of course, ending the day with a glass of wine playing the current computer game!! Which at this moment is Broken Age which I haven't played since it first came out.

Eye problems are the worst, mbday! Hope you will manage the game ok. And did you know that there are jigsaws available with extra large pieces? x

[LadyKestrel]

My sister and I are also doing a jigsaw puzzle, and I've just started book 3 in the Game of Thrones series. My dog, Zork, has been unable to keep any dry dog food down and has gotten very thin, so I've been preparing meals for both dogs, since they're inseparable except when asleep. This morning they got scrambled eggs with pieces of roasted chicken mixed in.

I'm also cleaning up and reorganizing my craft room so the things I use most often are within reach. I have some new ideas for some art projects but have to excavate the accumulated paraphernalia on my craft table before I can start anything new.

[Jen]

Working, reading, playing games, eating too much

[Phlebas]

Ooh, you're a Guardian crossword fan, Val? I haven't done it regularly in a while (working from home with a 3-year-old force of nature about the house doesn't give the same quiet lunchbreaks I used to have...) but that'd be my crossword of choice! Have you any favourite setters?

[JKEerie]

I haven't been doing much gaming...other than casual games. Paying close attention to the news, keeping up with workouts. My favorite football team has provided a nice distraction. Hope that continues past this weekend. Working my newspaper puzzles...jumble, crytoquip, sudoku and kakuro is also a nice distraction.

[Ghostlady]

So much fun going on for all. Wonderful news!

[Val]

Phelbas - I have been doing the Guardian crossword for years and still have no idea where you find the identification of the setters!! I certainly realise that there are many and some are easier to work than others. Those are my favourites!

[LadyKestrel]

I've been trying to limit the news to once a day, simply because it has been so upsetting. If I watch it before bed, I have trouble falling asleep.

The New Yorker has 3 regular crosswords online every week, starting with the most difficult on Mondays and the easiest on Fridays. They also have a couple of cryptic ones scattered in during the week as well. I sometimes find the easier ones more difficult, simply because many of the answers deal with pop culture. I prefer wordplay and especially like the clues that have double meanings.

[draclvr]

We're following the news very closely, but I agree that it's not something I want to watch before I go to bed. Thought hubby was going to melt down when out DirecTV went out Wednesday! I started trouble shooting because I suspected something to do with the HDMI on either the TV or the DirecTV box. Thank heavens it was the box! I got a chat with DirecTV support, had it sorted out in about 15 minutes and they sent me a new box which arrived in less than 24 hours! He is now back up and running. I did get him on-line access to CNN and NBC so he didn't have to go cold turkey! The best part was I didn't have to deal with AT&T customer service over the phone which is a complete nightmare.

I really need to finish painting in the kitchen, but it involves getting on ladders and working at the ceiling and my back said, NO WAY! I am way overdue for a back injection and have one scheduled for Wednesday. It can't come soon enough.

[Kickaha]

My hero Guardian crossword was John Graham pseudonym Araucaria, his crosswords were sublime.

Zork is a good name for a dog Lady K! Hope the diet works.

Since retirement I’ve been doing odd bits of voluntary work, helping on websites and the like for sundry organisations.

[skeeter]

I have been renovating my laundry, and trying to tidy away Christmas while keeping up with a hurricane, as well as the usual housework and gardening. Squeezing in a little reading and jigsaw puzzling if I can.

[Val]

Kickaha - thanks for that information. I googled John Graham with his pseudonym Acraucaria and found a delightful and informative video of him on Vimeo! What a tribute to a delightful man. Thanks for sharing.

" https://vimeo.com/129804959"

My sister and brother as well as my own children went to a primary school here in Cape Town called John Graham Primary but can find no reference that it was named after the same guy. However it still was a fascinating read. What a remarkable man.

[Phlebas]

Aha, I was going to say I thought Kickaha was also a devotee of the late great Araucaria! Thanks for the link Val, that looks lovely - I'll have to give it a watch sometime when I'm not working. He also featured on Desert Island Discs a few years ago:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012f7f3


In the print version you can usually find the setter's pseudonym next to the number of the crossword. Other setters I enjoy include Paul (Araucaria's protege), Arachne, and Brendan (whose puzzles almost always have a theme, and when the theme was dogs he used himself as a clue for 'Irish setter').