Pandemic Board Game

I had heard of cooperative board games but didn't really understand what that meant until I actually played one. The concept of all players being on one team so that everyone was working together and all would win or all would lose as one seemed rather cheesy. I mean, let's all be honest, what's the fun in not getting to beat anybody else? It sounded like a modern twist on the old Ungame (board game in which you talk about your feelings and there is no winner or loser).

Well, let me tell you, there is a lot of fun to be had in Pandemic! Sara and Julie, two friends from Hope College were here visiting over the weekend, and Julie brought the game with her. We played six rounds of it all in one day, just because it was very fun, and we were determined to win. Finally, on the sixth round we got it. I think if we won too easily, it wouldn't be as much fun, since in a game with four players, you should only win about 1/4 of the time (I know, I know, that's not how it really works, but if all players were equal and luck distributed evenly, that's how it should pan out). Having a cooperative game that is a true challenge made us all put our heads together and try to plan moves out for each player in advance in hopes that we might win. Guess what? It was really fun!

Should you be interested in aforementioned game, it appears that the cheapest place to buy it is on Amazon: Pandemic on Amazon

I highly recommend it!

On this date...

November 25 is one month before Christmas, is sometimes Thanksgiving day and is always Thanksgiving week, at least, and is a memorable day for us - the anniversary of The Flood and Jerod's birthday!

Way back in 2011, we had a week to remember. We had recently returned from vacation, and I returned with cases of both malaria and dengue fever. Just in case one mosquito-borne illness wasn't enough, I picked up two. I've never been so exhausted in my life! I missed an entire week of work because I was lying on my couch either asleep or acutely miserable most of that time.

Our amazing friend Holly was living next door to us at the time, and I remember one day she came over for dinner. I had mustered the energy to attempt to cook, but halfway through I told her, "I think I need to sit down." I guess I looked like I was going to fall over right then and there, because she ran and got me a chair and made the rest of the meal herself while I sat there. I don't think I managed to eat anything.

Thursday of that week was Thanksgiving, and I left the house for the first time that evening, and ate my first food of the week at Thanksgiving dinner. And then on November 25, we awoke to rain on Friday morning, and then THIS is what happened: http://www.amsandeen.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html

To keep things exciting, that very night we had visitors from America arrive for a visit, too! Just in case being doubly sick, a flooded house, and a big holiday weren't enough, how about two guests coming? Of course the runway in town was flooded, too, so they had to fly into a city several hours away and we didn't know how or when they'd actually be arriving in town, and they had no way to contact us...

On November 25, 2014, we had another "visitor" arrive - Jerod! He wasn't due until mid-December, but he wanted to arrive early, and I certainly wasn't opposed to the idea. Because he was born on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we skipped last year's celebration. It seemed a bit much to try to put on a big dinner on our first day home from the hospital. We were certainly very thankful for our healthy little boy, though. We were also very thankful for a house that wasn't flooded, and not being sick with malaria or dengue fever!

Flowers from our backyard (former backyard, that is)

I was looking through a folder of pictures on my computer when I came across the flower pictures below, which I took in 2011. This fabulous plant was located in our very own backyard in Musoma. I was fascinated by how the flower grew downwards and spread out as it matured, starting at the top and moving downwards over time. It was about 18 inches long (.5 meter) when fully in bloom. Isn't it beautiful? A friend (who used to live in this house) called it an ornamental banana plant, I believe. The leaves certainly resemble the leaves of a banana plant. They grew to be about 10-12 feet tall - our own tropical jungle!