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
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