Good Morning Canasta Lovers
Although on the calendar February appears to be the shortest month of the year, here in Paradise it is so crammed full of events that you hardly know where to go first. You can start with a breakfast book club, move on to a champagne brunch, then a charity luncheon and fashion show, next a lovely English tea (are you tired yet?), home for a quick lie down and then off to an art gallery cocktail party and then dinner and dancing at a sumptuous black tie gala. And you will still be home, in your jammies in time for the eleven o'clock news.
Steve and I use to attend alot of these wonderful affairs, but over the years we've narrowed our attendance to just the ones that are important to us personally. This year in early February my canasta buddies and I , dressed to the nines, attended the Morse Life Luncheon and Card Party. My mother-in-law was a resident at Morse for a few years and she was treated with such care and dignity that I always support them if I can. The day starts off with boutiques lining the walls of the Grand Ballroom of The Mar-a-lago Club. There are fabulous handbags, beautiful pashminas, lots and lots of jewelry and anything you could wish for with your monogram on it. And that's before lunch. After lunch the tables are cleared and the games begin. What a great day, we can't wait for next year!
The following week I attended the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation Luncheon at the Breaker's. My gorgeous and accomplished sister-in-law Merrill was the co-chairman of the day. And what a day it was, a great silent auction, exciting table decor and a brilliant fashion show. However, most important was the message shared in the speeches that afternoon. "If you see something, say something!" It would not be rude to tell a friend or acquaintance you don't like the look of a spot on their face or body and that it would be a good idea to have a doctor look at it. It maybe nothing but you may save a life. And don't forget the SUNSCREEN!
My tablemate, at the luncheon, asked me a question concerning threes. It is the end of the game, at the turn card, the player (who has 4 sevens in her hand) picks a three, if she replaces the three she won't have enough turns to get rid of her sevens. Can she keep the three in her hand, take the 100 point penalty and discard her seven? What do you think?
The last luncheon I attended in February was a reunion of a large group of goddesses who got together a few years ago to play on Thursday afternoons. The day was hosted by my friend and first student, Lissy, She served a beautiful lunch and a special "reunion" cake. We all reunited and played our favorite game all afternoon. Thanks Lissy.
The days are getting longer here in paradise and the season will soon be winding down, but we, goddesses will keep playing canasta and enjoying each other all summer long.
Love to you all, goddesses,
Barbara
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Vive le Difference!
Bonjour Canasta Lovers,
Over the last month or so I have been lucky enough to be teaching beginner's canasta at a nearby country club. Usually these classes are made up completely of Canasta Goddesses, but this time, we had four Canasta Gods in the group. I started to notice the differences in the postures, attitudes and competitiveness between the madams and the messieurs. The goddesses sit up straight in their chairs with their eyes on the card table at all times, the gods kind of sit in a relaxed, reclining position with an arm thrown back over the chair and spend a lot of time looking at the ceiling. They miss nothing, though and are actually very adept card counters. I find the goddesses very serious and focused on the lesson. The gods seem to be focused on their lunch and handicap, but, at the same time, always know what is happening in front of them. The gods are much more competitive than the goddesses during the learning process. The gods are always the first to ask about scorekeeping and how to go out while leaving the other team in the dust. In the end it all evens out and everyone has a good time at the card table, but it just seems to me that the gods have a lot more fun getting there.
There has been quite a bit of feedback on the super pairs (seven pairs including two big jokers, two deuces, two aces and two sevens) debate. Most people seem to like the idea and many tables have already incorporated it into their table rules, usually adding a five hundred point bonus. Try it, it's fun.
Another, rather elegant question has been posed recently: Setting the stage; Your partner has picked the pack and has at least three sevens in her hand, you have only three wild cards in your hand and places to lay them off on the table. Since discarding a wild card is the discard of last resort do you have to go out and leave your partner holding the bag (of sevens). My sources say yes, and I agree, but I'd love to hear what you think.
Keep playing canasta, all you gods and goddesses and, as always, Vive Le Difference!
Love, Barbara
Over the last month or so I have been lucky enough to be teaching beginner's canasta at a nearby country club. Usually these classes are made up completely of Canasta Goddesses, but this time, we had four Canasta Gods in the group. I started to notice the differences in the postures, attitudes and competitiveness between the madams and the messieurs. The goddesses sit up straight in their chairs with their eyes on the card table at all times, the gods kind of sit in a relaxed, reclining position with an arm thrown back over the chair and spend a lot of time looking at the ceiling. They miss nothing, though and are actually very adept card counters. I find the goddesses very serious and focused on the lesson. The gods seem to be focused on their lunch and handicap, but, at the same time, always know what is happening in front of them. The gods are much more competitive than the goddesses during the learning process. The gods are always the first to ask about scorekeeping and how to go out while leaving the other team in the dust. In the end it all evens out and everyone has a good time at the card table, but it just seems to me that the gods have a lot more fun getting there.
There has been quite a bit of feedback on the super pairs (seven pairs including two big jokers, two deuces, two aces and two sevens) debate. Most people seem to like the idea and many tables have already incorporated it into their table rules, usually adding a five hundred point bonus. Try it, it's fun.
Another, rather elegant question has been posed recently: Setting the stage; Your partner has picked the pack and has at least three sevens in her hand, you have only three wild cards in your hand and places to lay them off on the table. Since discarding a wild card is the discard of last resort do you have to go out and leave your partner holding the bag (of sevens). My sources say yes, and I agree, but I'd love to hear what you think.
Keep playing canasta, all you gods and goddesses and, as always, Vive Le Difference!
Love, Barbara
Monday, December 28, 2015
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays Canasta Lovers!
I often find the week between Christmas and New Years is a good time for reviewing and reflecting over the past year. What have I accomplished? What do I still want to do? 2015 was a pretty good year for me professionally. Thanks to my daughter, Erin, and her friend Benae, my "Canasta Gal Empire" expanded to include a wonderful group of young women in Broward County, These girls are so busy with their families, their careers and different community activities that it is hard for them to plan a weekly game but they are having fun and preparing for their retirement years, when some day, they will join us at the card table.
This year I was invited to a teach a beginners group at a nearby country club. So many people signed up that I had to recruit by best buddy Leni to come and help me. I bought GIANT cards to teach with. One class we went over those sexy sevens, adorable aces, and terrific threes. The following week I built special hands from those gigantic cards. Want to mention that the SUPER PAIRS hand (the one including 2 deuces, 2 big jokers, 2 aces and 2 sevens) seems to be catching on in the card rooms of Paradise, Hooray! My lessons at the country club have included a table of gentlemen, and as I suspected they bring great card sense and lots of fun to their table. These men can now have their own games or play as couples with their wives.
Just last week I was asked to teach a refresher class to a group after a private luncheon in Boca Raton. As the girls all had a good knowledge of the game we concentrated on strategy. I found it interesting that the players often held off melding too long, wanting to pick the pack on their initial meld. I had to remind them that Canasta is a partnership game and if they melded their partner would have the chance to pick that pack.
Personally, I am continuing to shape my mind and my body. I like to walk about three miles in the morning either with Leni or alone with Pandora. This summer when it was way too hot to walk I started bicycling on a Styrofoam noodle in our pool, again accompanied by music on a waterproof, blue tooth head set. Thanks also to Casey, my terrific trainer for keeping in my best shape and up to date on all the pop culture I need to know.
Just recently I started a course in Jewish Studies at a local temple. I will be learning about the rituals and rhythms of Jewish life. Steve and I also joined a group called the World Affairs Council, wonderful lectures on a myriad of current event topics.
I hope that 2016 brings to all my friends and follower the time to do what you love and the ability to love what you do. Health, Happiness and Peace on Earth to all. Happy New year Canasta Gods and Goddesses.
Love, Barbara
I often find the week between Christmas and New Years is a good time for reviewing and reflecting over the past year. What have I accomplished? What do I still want to do? 2015 was a pretty good year for me professionally. Thanks to my daughter, Erin, and her friend Benae, my "Canasta Gal Empire" expanded to include a wonderful group of young women in Broward County, These girls are so busy with their families, their careers and different community activities that it is hard for them to plan a weekly game but they are having fun and preparing for their retirement years, when some day, they will join us at the card table.
This year I was invited to a teach a beginners group at a nearby country club. So many people signed up that I had to recruit by best buddy Leni to come and help me. I bought GIANT cards to teach with. One class we went over those sexy sevens, adorable aces, and terrific threes. The following week I built special hands from those gigantic cards. Want to mention that the SUPER PAIRS hand (the one including 2 deuces, 2 big jokers, 2 aces and 2 sevens) seems to be catching on in the card rooms of Paradise, Hooray! My lessons at the country club have included a table of gentlemen, and as I suspected they bring great card sense and lots of fun to their table. These men can now have their own games or play as couples with their wives.
Just last week I was asked to teach a refresher class to a group after a private luncheon in Boca Raton. As the girls all had a good knowledge of the game we concentrated on strategy. I found it interesting that the players often held off melding too long, wanting to pick the pack on their initial meld. I had to remind them that Canasta is a partnership game and if they melded their partner would have the chance to pick that pack.
Personally, I am continuing to shape my mind and my body. I like to walk about three miles in the morning either with Leni or alone with Pandora. This summer when it was way too hot to walk I started bicycling on a Styrofoam noodle in our pool, again accompanied by music on a waterproof, blue tooth head set. Thanks also to Casey, my terrific trainer for keeping in my best shape and up to date on all the pop culture I need to know.
Just recently I started a course in Jewish Studies at a local temple. I will be learning about the rituals and rhythms of Jewish life. Steve and I also joined a group called the World Affairs Council, wonderful lectures on a myriad of current event topics.
I hope that 2016 brings to all my friends and follower the time to do what you love and the ability to love what you do. Health, Happiness and Peace on Earth to all. Happy New year Canasta Gods and Goddesses.
Love, Barbara
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Canasta and Politics Don't Mix
Hi Canasta Lovers,
Time to welcome many of my friends and followers back to Paradise. We seem to be in the middle of a heat wave here in South Florida, in fact we have broken temperatures records over the last week. Can not wear those pretty new cashmere's yet. While we cool off in the air conditioned card rooms there are a few things I'd like to discuss.
This week I gave my first supervised play lesson of the season. To begin I introduced a little warm-up exercise called "What Would You Do?" Together we go over possible opening hands and discuss the best play. One of my favorites starts out with 3 big Jokers, a deuce, three eights and assorted singletons, we discuss the possibility of melding with four wild cards. I am usually in favor of it at the beginning of the hand especially if you are having a "hot" day. Think twice about it if you are running cold. What do y'all think?
Next I want to remind all my followers that canasta, though a great game, is still only a game. If another player is not quite up to snuff, give her a chance to play and get better. I'm sure someone did the same for you.
In this year, leading up to the Presidential elections, I would like to suggest we leave our politics at home. Nothing good can come from discussing politics at the card table. You will never change anybody's mind and there will be a lot of hurt feelings and rancor along the way. Instead, talk about art, books, travel, golf, gardening or your brilliant grandchildren. Nobody ever gets tired of hearing about them.
One last item for today. It has been proposed that a new special hand be adopted; called "Super Pairs" it must include two big jokers, two deuces, two aces, two sevens and 3 other pairs. Great for those times that you have lots of points but can't pick that triple. I have sat like for a whole hand waiting for that three of a kind. Maybe tack on a 500 point bonus. Bring it up at your table and see what your friends are thinking. Would love to know if any tables adopt this new, cool hand.
Keep cool and keep in touch Canasta Goddesses.
Love,
Barbara
Time to welcome many of my friends and followers back to Paradise. We seem to be in the middle of a heat wave here in South Florida, in fact we have broken temperatures records over the last week. Can not wear those pretty new cashmere's yet. While we cool off in the air conditioned card rooms there are a few things I'd like to discuss.
This week I gave my first supervised play lesson of the season. To begin I introduced a little warm-up exercise called "What Would You Do?" Together we go over possible opening hands and discuss the best play. One of my favorites starts out with 3 big Jokers, a deuce, three eights and assorted singletons, we discuss the possibility of melding with four wild cards. I am usually in favor of it at the beginning of the hand especially if you are having a "hot" day. Think twice about it if you are running cold. What do y'all think?
Next I want to remind all my followers that canasta, though a great game, is still only a game. If another player is not quite up to snuff, give her a chance to play and get better. I'm sure someone did the same for you.
In this year, leading up to the Presidential elections, I would like to suggest we leave our politics at home. Nothing good can come from discussing politics at the card table. You will never change anybody's mind and there will be a lot of hurt feelings and rancor along the way. Instead, talk about art, books, travel, golf, gardening or your brilliant grandchildren. Nobody ever gets tired of hearing about them.
One last item for today. It has been proposed that a new special hand be adopted; called "Super Pairs" it must include two big jokers, two deuces, two aces, two sevens and 3 other pairs. Great for those times that you have lots of points but can't pick that triple. I have sat like for a whole hand waiting for that three of a kind. Maybe tack on a 500 point bonus. Bring it up at your table and see what your friends are thinking. Would love to know if any tables adopt this new, cool hand.
Keep cool and keep in touch Canasta Goddesses.
Love,
Barbara
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Happy Labor Day
Hi Canasta Lovers,
Steve and I are back in Paradise after spending a wonderful Labor Day weekend in New York. Everyone up there thought they were right in the middle of a heat wave, but we Floridians were calm, COOL, and collected. We visited with family on the south shore and had a wonderful cousin's BBQ at Judy and Artie's house. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your hospitality. The primary reason for our trip, though, was to celebrate Sandy and Liza's wedding. A special bonus; Sandy coming down the aisle like Rocky to "Eye of the Tiger". Congratulation to the newlyweds and their families, especially our wonderful friends and hosts, Roni and Phil.
During cocktails at the wedding one of the guests (a canasta goddess, of course) approached me with an interesting question. A little background for your edification: this particular goddess plays a " three card base " so you "five card bases" must adjust your thinking along those lines. Ellen was playing in a game where she had six open wild cards melded in front of her, at her partners next turn her partner laid down two kings and a deuce (two face cards and a wild card are allowed in some base three games). So what happens next?
(A) She is not allowed to do that because you must close an open wild card canasta before making any other wild card play.
(B) As it is still her turn she can pick up the meld and put the deuce on the open wild cards to close it.
(C) What's down is down!
(D) Should she be penalized in some way? How?
(E) Other ideas?
Please send suggestions, Ellen and I are waiting to hear from you.
As the Jewish High Holidays are fast approaching I want to wish all my followers, their families and friends a sweet, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year and may there, finally, be Peace on Earth.
Love to all Canasta Goddesses,
Barbara
Steve and I are back in Paradise after spending a wonderful Labor Day weekend in New York. Everyone up there thought they were right in the middle of a heat wave, but we Floridians were calm, COOL, and collected. We visited with family on the south shore and had a wonderful cousin's BBQ at Judy and Artie's house. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your hospitality. The primary reason for our trip, though, was to celebrate Sandy and Liza's wedding. A special bonus; Sandy coming down the aisle like Rocky to "Eye of the Tiger". Congratulation to the newlyweds and their families, especially our wonderful friends and hosts, Roni and Phil.
During cocktails at the wedding one of the guests (a canasta goddess, of course) approached me with an interesting question. A little background for your edification: this particular goddess plays a " three card base " so you "five card bases" must adjust your thinking along those lines. Ellen was playing in a game where she had six open wild cards melded in front of her, at her partners next turn her partner laid down two kings and a deuce (two face cards and a wild card are allowed in some base three games). So what happens next?
(A) She is not allowed to do that because you must close an open wild card canasta before making any other wild card play.
(B) As it is still her turn she can pick up the meld and put the deuce on the open wild cards to close it.
(C) What's down is down!
(D) Should she be penalized in some way? How?
(E) Other ideas?
Please send suggestions, Ellen and I are waiting to hear from you.
As the Jewish High Holidays are fast approaching I want to wish all my followers, their families and friends a sweet, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year and may there, finally, be Peace on Earth.
Love to all Canasta Goddesses,
Barbara
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
A Thing of Beauty
Hi Canasta Lovers,
Steve and I are just back from a terrific week in Amagansett (Leni, the very busy travel agent, had to leave early to finalize her client's summer plans.) Everyone had a wonderful time and we are already planning for next year. Our wonderful hostess, Maralin, makes all the reservations for our week at the ranch and once again this year she hit it out of the park. We all loved Café Max (yummy soft shells) in East Hampton along with Winston's and Highway Restaurant, all on Montauk Highway. The East Hampton Grill is a special favorite of ours, this year we all shared one piece of Key Lime Pie that I am still salivating over. And, of course, our annual Tuesday night lobster dinner at Bobby Vans in Bridgehampton never disappoints. Thank you Maralin and Rick for another fabulous week at your ranch.
Ok, I promised you all some interesting hands. Well, this was a pretty hard promise to keep. For the first time in our almost 25 summers at dune ranch most of the games were pretty ordinary. There were a few joker canastas but that was pretty much it until our last game on Saturday afternoon. Roni and I were partners, we needed 180 points. The other team had melded with 155 and I had a hand that was going nowhere. It was a great big juicy pack when Shelly* discarded the first ace of the hand. I saw my partner, the lovely Roni, reaching for the pack, OMG, what was she thinking? She said, "These games are so boring, I can't stand it!" Out of her hand came five deuces, one big joker and four aces. Okay so we have aces in sixth and wild cards in sixth. I was keeping my fingers crossed that our opponents could not go out. Hooray, it was my turn, I had one ace and one joker, BAM closed them both and finished the game with a big win and two "whip out checks" to boot. What a hand! It was a thing of beauty!
I hope all the goddesses are having a wonderful, happy, healthy summer. Fall is just around the corner and many of you will be winging your way back to the card rooms of Paradise. Keep in touch Canasta goddesses and love to all.
Barbara
*name changed to protect the discarder.
Steve and I are just back from a terrific week in Amagansett (Leni, the very busy travel agent, had to leave early to finalize her client's summer plans.) Everyone had a wonderful time and we are already planning for next year. Our wonderful hostess, Maralin, makes all the reservations for our week at the ranch and once again this year she hit it out of the park. We all loved Café Max (yummy soft shells) in East Hampton along with Winston's and Highway Restaurant, all on Montauk Highway. The East Hampton Grill is a special favorite of ours, this year we all shared one piece of Key Lime Pie that I am still salivating over. And, of course, our annual Tuesday night lobster dinner at Bobby Vans in Bridgehampton never disappoints. Thank you Maralin and Rick for another fabulous week at your ranch.
Ok, I promised you all some interesting hands. Well, this was a pretty hard promise to keep. For the first time in our almost 25 summers at dune ranch most of the games were pretty ordinary. There were a few joker canastas but that was pretty much it until our last game on Saturday afternoon. Roni and I were partners, we needed 180 points. The other team had melded with 155 and I had a hand that was going nowhere. It was a great big juicy pack when Shelly* discarded the first ace of the hand. I saw my partner, the lovely Roni, reaching for the pack, OMG, what was she thinking? She said, "These games are so boring, I can't stand it!" Out of her hand came five deuces, one big joker and four aces. Okay so we have aces in sixth and wild cards in sixth. I was keeping my fingers crossed that our opponents could not go out. Hooray, it was my turn, I had one ace and one joker, BAM closed them both and finished the game with a big win and two "whip out checks" to boot. What a hand! It was a thing of beauty!
I hope all the goddesses are having a wonderful, happy, healthy summer. Fall is just around the corner and many of you will be winging your way back to the card rooms of Paradise. Keep in touch Canasta goddesses and love to all.
Barbara
*name changed to protect the discarder.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
mid summer review
Hello Canasta Goddesses,
In just a few days Leni and I will be leaving Paradise for this summer's adventure at the only dune ranch in Ammagansett. It is the week we look forward to all year, What makes it so special you might ask? Our group, affectionately known as Rho Kappa, have been friends for over forty years. What does Rho Kappa do at the ranch? We get up, eat a delicious breakfast, talk, take a morning walk, talk, we play canasta, talk, we eat lunch, we talk, go to the beach, more talk, we play canasta, talk, we shop the Hamptons, talk, we go out to dinner, talk, more canasta, more talk. We go to bed with sore throats and sound of the ocean outside our windows. We get up early, rinse and repeat. Hope to have some interesting hands to tell you about when we return.
A few weeks ago, while playing, one of the girls asked what we thought of melding with just three big jokers. I said you'd have to be having a HOT, HOT day to take that chance. (see When You're Hot, You're Hot, posted 9/22/14) One of the girls thought the odds were pretty good because there are still nine wild cards left in the deck. The other two players said they would never do it. What would you do?
Last spring I donated a canasta lesson for four to my grandsons' charter school. Benae, my daughter Erin's friend, bought the lesson at a fundraising auction. The Broward Bunch, as the girls named themselves are lovely young women who are very busy with their families and careers, but took a few hours off to learn our favorite game. First they reminisced about watching their moms and grandmas play our favorite game when they were young (take it from me, they are still young). And there must be something about those young brains (not filled with as much junk, sorry... knowledge, as ours) because they caught on very quickly. They remembered to put down their threes, they remembered to take their talons, they took packs and made canastas. It was a great evening and we plan to do it again. Any readers who want to give their daughters or granddaughters lessons in our favorite game, contact me and we will set something up.
Hope all goddesses are having a happy, healthy summer, staying cool and dry and playing lots and lots of Canasta.
Much love, Barbara
In just a few days Leni and I will be leaving Paradise for this summer's adventure at the only dune ranch in Ammagansett. It is the week we look forward to all year, What makes it so special you might ask? Our group, affectionately known as Rho Kappa, have been friends for over forty years. What does Rho Kappa do at the ranch? We get up, eat a delicious breakfast, talk, take a morning walk, talk, we play canasta, talk, we eat lunch, we talk, go to the beach, more talk, we play canasta, talk, we shop the Hamptons, talk, we go out to dinner, talk, more canasta, more talk. We go to bed with sore throats and sound of the ocean outside our windows. We get up early, rinse and repeat. Hope to have some interesting hands to tell you about when we return.
A few weeks ago, while playing, one of the girls asked what we thought of melding with just three big jokers. I said you'd have to be having a HOT, HOT day to take that chance. (see When You're Hot, You're Hot, posted 9/22/14) One of the girls thought the odds were pretty good because there are still nine wild cards left in the deck. The other two players said they would never do it. What would you do?
Last spring I donated a canasta lesson for four to my grandsons' charter school. Benae, my daughter Erin's friend, bought the lesson at a fundraising auction. The Broward Bunch, as the girls named themselves are lovely young women who are very busy with their families and careers, but took a few hours off to learn our favorite game. First they reminisced about watching their moms and grandmas play our favorite game when they were young (take it from me, they are still young). And there must be something about those young brains (not filled with as much junk, sorry... knowledge, as ours) because they caught on very quickly. They remembered to put down their threes, they remembered to take their talons, they took packs and made canastas. It was a great evening and we plan to do it again. Any readers who want to give their daughters or granddaughters lessons in our favorite game, contact me and we will set something up.
Hope all goddesses are having a happy, healthy summer, staying cool and dry and playing lots and lots of Canasta.
Much love, Barbara
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The shimmy!
Hi Canasta Goddesses,
Anyone who has ever taken a bridge lesson from the irreplaceable Roberta Salob will remember her standing up in front of a ballroom filled with beginner bridge players and shimmying to "Use up the honors from the short side first!" No matter how poor your bridge skills might be you will always use up the honors from the short side first. I have been trying to come up with a " Roberta-Worthy"
catch phrase for my canasta rookies, so try to imagine me shimmying to "Three, Five, Seven I am in Canasta Heaven!"
Why three, five seven? I'm sure your asking yourself. To me they are the most important numbers in our beloved game. Three? Threes are very valuable commodities. If you can collect and cover all eight of them you will be rewarded with 2000 points. Three is also the minimum number of cards you need in each individual meld.
Five as in five card base (the way we play here in Paradise). Five is the amount of face cards you must show before you can add a wild card to your meld.
Seven, ah sevens! Seven is the number of cards in every canasta. Sevens, if you can collect seven of them, your team will be rewarded with 2500 points. Sevens, if you try to collect all seven and cannot your team will be penalized that same 2500 points. If at the end of the hand you have more than two sevens (or aces) in your hand you will be penalized 1500 points.
So c'mon shimmy everybody, Three, Five, Seven I am in Canasta Heaven!
Well they have certainly turned up the heat here in Paradise. When it is this hot outside I do a lot of reading inside. I've recently come across a very prolific writer name John Lescroat. His newest book is called The Fall. If you like law procedural novels you might want to try one of his.
Lastly, my daughter mentioned that though I often write about my friends I never mention her. My daughter Erin is a wonderful young woman who makes me proud every single day. Next week she is going back to practicing law full time after a long mommy-break. I know it will be a wonderful and rewarding experience for her and her new firm. Good luck baby!
Stay cool and in touch Canasta Goddesses,
Love, Barbara
Monday, April 27, 2015
A Written Down Rule
Hi Canasta Lovers,
I bumped into Lissy at Publix last week (Paradise is a very small town.) Lissy usually comes up with some pretty interesting card concerns to discuss and, as usual, she didn't disappoint. She related to me that she was playing at a table where one team needed 155 points to meld. Player A melded incorrectly with 150 points but showed three wild cards on her various melds before she had to pick up her cards. She was penalized the usual 10 points for her mistake. When her partner, Player B's turn came around she picked a card and then laid down six wild cards (two big jokers and four deuces). The other team said that she was cheating and that move was not allowed because she knew from her partner's mistake that she could complete the canasta. My initial thought was that is not illegal, who would not lay down 6 wild cards and worst case, she was making lemonade out of lemons.
It was an interesting enough issue, however, that I started asking random goddesses what they thought. The results were mixed, about half saying it was a legit move and the other half saying it shouldn't be allowed. One goddess told me it was a "written down rule!" " Written down where?" I asked. Nobody knows. My suggestion to break the tie would be to make it a table rule to be discussed before playing. BTW if it goes for joker canastas it should hold true for clean aces also.
What perplexed me even more, though, was thinking your opponents were cheating. I like to think that all the Canasta Goddesses here in Paradise and beyond are nice, honest girls who just want to get together for an afternoon of canasta and conversation. We do not play for big enough stakes or celebrity to sully our reputations at a card table.
Whew, now I will get down off my soapbox in time to wish all of my followers, their mothers, daughters, aunts and friends a very happy Mother's Day and a healthy summer season beyond.
With much love,
Barbara
I bumped into Lissy at Publix last week (Paradise is a very small town.) Lissy usually comes up with some pretty interesting card concerns to discuss and, as usual, she didn't disappoint. She related to me that she was playing at a table where one team needed 155 points to meld. Player A melded incorrectly with 150 points but showed three wild cards on her various melds before she had to pick up her cards. She was penalized the usual 10 points for her mistake. When her partner, Player B's turn came around she picked a card and then laid down six wild cards (two big jokers and four deuces). The other team said that she was cheating and that move was not allowed because she knew from her partner's mistake that she could complete the canasta. My initial thought was that is not illegal, who would not lay down 6 wild cards and worst case, she was making lemonade out of lemons.
It was an interesting enough issue, however, that I started asking random goddesses what they thought. The results were mixed, about half saying it was a legit move and the other half saying it shouldn't be allowed. One goddess told me it was a "written down rule!" " Written down where?" I asked. Nobody knows. My suggestion to break the tie would be to make it a table rule to be discussed before playing. BTW if it goes for joker canastas it should hold true for clean aces also.
What perplexed me even more, though, was thinking your opponents were cheating. I like to think that all the Canasta Goddesses here in Paradise and beyond are nice, honest girls who just want to get together for an afternoon of canasta and conversation. We do not play for big enough stakes or celebrity to sully our reputations at a card table.
Whew, now I will get down off my soapbox in time to wish all of my followers, their mothers, daughters, aunts and friends a very happy Mother's Day and a healthy summer season beyond.
With much love,
Barbara
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
No Good Deed....
Hi Canasta Lovers,
A few weeks ago I bumped into my first canasta student (see Lissy's Lesson 4/12/13) at the hair salon. As we both getting "beautified" we started talking about our favorite game. Lissy mentioned that she had taken on the thankless task of scorekeeping and suggested that I talk about the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the rights and wrongs of scorekeeping.
It is important, obviously, that the scorekeeper can add and subtract quickly. She should also have very acute hearing as many numbers are called out to her at the same time as cards are being shuffled and dealt, the previous hand is being heatedly dissected, phones are ringing and candies are being unwrapped.
It is also important that the scorekeeper is well acquainted with the table rules used by her particular group. It is important to know which special hands are acceptable and how much it is worth. Score pads can be made up with the value of the special hands, the value of the threes, etc. Is a regular pairs hand the same value as a pairs hand made with wild cards (AKA Palm Beach Pairs)?
The scorekeeper must also keep track of who the next dealer is. Many score pads have a column where you can write in the dealers initials ahead of time which is great if you are only playing with four players, it gets a little sticky with five or six players. For the scorekeeper playing with more than four players can become a scorekeeping nightmare, hence the Whip Out! If a special hand is made when playing with only four players a check mark is made on that team's side of the score pad, at the end of the game the check marks are added into the base score. When playing with five or six players you should bring lots of singles, that way only the players involved in that hand will "whip out" their dollars to pay the other team and the score keeper doesn't have to do anything but smile.
The scorekeeper must have a thick skin! Someone is always looking over your shoulder for a mistake or to make a correction. It is very annoying and unnerving. I like to equal out the scores after each hand, that way you don't carry a mistake for the whole game or God forbid the whole afternoon because when the girls are done playing they want to collect their winnings and go home. If scorekeeping becomes too much for your delicate sensibilities (and it can) the only thing to do is hand your pad and pen to another player and relax for the rest of the game. Then they, too, will learn that no good deed goes unpunished.
It is the time of the year to wish all my Jewish followers a sweet Passover and all my Christian followers a Happy and Blessed Easter., and to all Canasta Goddesses, their families and friends I wish Peace on Earth.
Much love to all, Barbara
A few weeks ago I bumped into my first canasta student (see Lissy's Lesson 4/12/13) at the hair salon. As we both getting "beautified" we started talking about our favorite game. Lissy mentioned that she had taken on the thankless task of scorekeeping and suggested that I talk about the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the rights and wrongs of scorekeeping.
It is important, obviously, that the scorekeeper can add and subtract quickly. She should also have very acute hearing as many numbers are called out to her at the same time as cards are being shuffled and dealt, the previous hand is being heatedly dissected, phones are ringing and candies are being unwrapped.
It is also important that the scorekeeper is well acquainted with the table rules used by her particular group. It is important to know which special hands are acceptable and how much it is worth. Score pads can be made up with the value of the special hands, the value of the threes, etc. Is a regular pairs hand the same value as a pairs hand made with wild cards (AKA Palm Beach Pairs)?
The scorekeeper must also keep track of who the next dealer is. Many score pads have a column where you can write in the dealers initials ahead of time which is great if you are only playing with four players, it gets a little sticky with five or six players. For the scorekeeper playing with more than four players can become a scorekeeping nightmare, hence the Whip Out! If a special hand is made when playing with only four players a check mark is made on that team's side of the score pad, at the end of the game the check marks are added into the base score. When playing with five or six players you should bring lots of singles, that way only the players involved in that hand will "whip out" their dollars to pay the other team and the score keeper doesn't have to do anything but smile.
The scorekeeper must have a thick skin! Someone is always looking over your shoulder for a mistake or to make a correction. It is very annoying and unnerving. I like to equal out the scores after each hand, that way you don't carry a mistake for the whole game or God forbid the whole afternoon because when the girls are done playing they want to collect their winnings and go home. If scorekeeping becomes too much for your delicate sensibilities (and it can) the only thing to do is hand your pad and pen to another player and relax for the rest of the game. Then they, too, will learn that no good deed goes unpunished.
It is the time of the year to wish all my Jewish followers a sweet Passover and all my Christian followers a Happy and Blessed Easter., and to all Canasta Goddesses, their families and friends I wish Peace on Earth.
Much love to all, Barbara
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