Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Games For Women, NOT DOGS!



My wife Wendy is breathing easier now that she successfully threw a bridal shower this past weekend for her future daughter-in-law Lindsay. It's not easy planning such an event for a dozen ladies, most of whom she had never met. What to do, what to do?

She consulted the internet for bridal shower games. One game Wendy and her sister came up with was a version of "Scattergories" where party-goers took a letter from the bride-to-be's name and formed a word that fell under a specific category. For example, think of a color that begins with each letter in Lindsay's name.

Not that easy when you think of it. Can you come up with a color with the letter "d" that doesn't begin with "dark?" One party-goer came up with "dead red." Dead red? I don't think you'd find that in even the super-giant box of crayola crayons. Hmmmm, but when I Google "dead red" I come up with a nail polish called "Drop Dead Red." Well, maybe that's why Wendy did give credit for that answer.

Another game was "Guess that spice!" It was a game where small amounts of different spices (nutmeg, ginger, dill, etc.) are put in these small plastic bins. There were ten different bins, each with a different spice. The game was for party guests to guess each spice by its aroma, appearance and taste. Wendy actually had two trays with ten bins on each, so the game would go more quickly. Then before the party, she hid the trays underneath a table in another room.

Only problem was that when the bride-to-be was dropped off at our house, her Boston Terrier came along for the ride. Simon was ready for a game of his own. The game was called, "Find Out Where Those Interesting Aromas Are Coming From." So he was playing that game all by himself while the rest of us were distracted with last minute shower preparations.

While we were in the kitchen, we heard a loud commotion in the other room. Wendy investigated and I heard her cry out, "Dammit Simon." Simon had won his little game and was tasting the spoils when he knocked the bins onto the carpet. As I vacuumed, Wendy rushed to clean and re-fill the containers. I proposed that contestants get extra credit if they detected and included "dog slobber" with their answers.

Bad dog! We punished him by taking him to my son's house and forcing him to watch Michigan State take on Louisville in basketball. Since I believe Simon is a "Go Blue" Michigan fan, watching rival MSU upset the Wildcats to make the Final Four probably was probably quite painful. That'll teach him.

By the way, the winner of the spice contest correctly named eight of ten spices, which was pretty impressive I thought. I doubt I could have named any.

22 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who cares about the spice game, has anyone wrapped up your family bracket yet?

4:11 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

ANONYMOUS--Not sure. I kinda lost interest when my favorite to take it all (Louisville) lost. I do know that the Enforcer is still leading my nephew's money league, but he needs MSU to beat U. Conn to take top prize. I assume then he must be leading the family league as well.

5:13 PM  
Blogger Babette said...

Too bad your future daughter-in-law's name doesn't have a G in it.

The MSU game against Louisville was MAGICal!

Come on over to GREENer pastures, Dave!

6:34 PM  
Blogger Lynilu said...

Ahhh, Simon returns! I believe Simon knows you are somehow his target for mischieviousness! Or is it because you have teased him into orneriness? I donno, Dave, but it seems he just does things for your benefit! Call me crazy.

And BTW, I believe "denim" is an acceptable color name these days.

7:50 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

BABETTE--You're right, Bonnie. MSU is a great school. They have great fans too. I hope they win it all this year (posted 12:05 p.m. on April 1)

LYNILU--Everytime Simon pulls something like this I'm reminded how you said that Boston Terriers are scamps.

Denim, good one. Some lady used "nude" for a color beginning with n, so denim certainly should be acceptable.

9:07 AM  
Anonymous cassie-b said...

That's a job I haven't done. I'm glad it was successful. That spice game sounds interesting.

Cas

9:17 AM  
Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Simon again!!! That dog is more trouble than he is worth....Sorry, I shouldn't have spouted off. Shame on you Miss Lucy, you might hurt someone's feelings....

Glad the shower went well otherwise......I am glad that Wendy had plenty of spices...lol.

12:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad it all came off okay I did that once and would never do it again.. trying to get all the stuff together and for someone you hardly know.. very difficult. Hope your weekend is SNOW FREE!! It is spring now isn't it???
Take care

10:17 AM  
Blogger B.S. said...

Yeah, I remember this Simon character from a long ago post of yours. I'm surprised he's still allowed on your property. I expected to read that he had his way with the cake, which looks mighty scrumptious, by the way. Do you think he learn his lesson after his very appropriate punishment?

Hugs,
Betty

5:22 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

CASSIE--Wendy made the spice game a little more interesting by throwing in some ringers, like white pepper and ground mustard.

LUCY--The last time Simon was at our house, he opened the cupboard where he knew the treats were kept (it was at floor level) and helped himself.

CAROLDEE--I'll believe it's spring when I see flowers.

BETTY--Oh, I'm sure Simon would like the cake. He does look guilty when he's being disciplined. His ears go down and his eyes have this very sad look. Boston Terriers can really get that hang dog expression.

9:32 AM  
Blogger Nankin said...

Simon the demon dog? I'm surprised you let him in the house again.

Talking about shower games, did you see the clip of the women with the toilet plunger held between their legs and their teammates holding toilet paper (also between their legs) trying to get the TP onto the handle of the plunger?

12:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How about now? Who's gonna win the family bracket?

2:02 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

NANKIN--That game never would have flown at Wendy's shower. She had a hard time getting volunteers for this game where you're blindfolded and try to spoon cottonballs out of a bowl then drop them on the top of your head.

ANONYMOUS--Okay, I just checked. It's "Magic Duffer" who is either my nephew or my dad. Magic Duffer has it locked up while Old Duffer is on the bottom. One is my nephew and one is my dad, but since they share the same first and last name, I don't know who is who.

My guess is Magic Duffer is my dad, since he would never call himself "old." And my nephew Vic being on the bottom wouldn't surprise me because that's where he's been the past two years in our fantasy football league.

6:33 AM  
Anonymous bonnie said...

Be a smarty! Party hearty at the Sparty Party!!

11:58 AM  
Blogger Carine-what's cooking? said...

Thank Wendy for me Dave-we're not much for "games" at any kind of showers around here, but I think I like the one about spices, being a foodie and all. I'm going to run it by Sam and see if she likes the idea.

May all our troubles be so easy to solve and have such wonderful results!

4:43 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

BONNIE--We did have a little party though I was cheering for the state of Michigan, not necessarily Michigan state. Great win for the Spartans though.

CARINE--If you do the spice game, my wife advises that you just make sure you keep an eye on any and all dogs in the area.

4:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I could hear you all the way over here..
Michigan sure showed them! SO glad there were NO RIOTS!! : )

6:25 AM  
Anonymous Enforcer said...

I was just wondering if you paid Vic for your bracket?

11:30 AM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

CAROLDEE--Yeah, my older son got a phone call after the game from my younger son who is a student at MSU. The message from East Lansing was, "I'm out in the street and I have a couch to burn."

ENFORCER--Congrats on winning the money league there, bro. I gave Vic $20 at his St Patrick's Day party to pay for beer. If there was any money left, it was supposed to pay my $10 entry fee for the bracket. I heard they bought at least three kegs. So the math doesn't look good for my paying your share of the winnings.

12:26 PM  
Blogger Fred said...

Every time a dog in mentioned here, it's always going to get interesting.

Eight of ten spices is pretty darned good. I would get lost after two.

12:21 PM  
Blogger Big Dave T said...

FRED--I learned a while ago that dogs are a blog's best friend.

3:44 PM  
Anonymous Enforcer said...

The 20 you paid Vic didn't cover the beer you drank

9:58 AM  

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