Travertine and Scrabble

This travertine was beside the highway on the way to Durango.

Travertines are natural hot springs erupting from the ground, spewing not only water but also limestone and other minerals that solidify over eons, creating an unusual looking formation.  The surface is known as "tufa" (an excellent Scrabble word), a porous deposit that looks spongy.

At Ft. Lewis College, Scrabble was the game of the day.  Here is a picture of some competitors.

The tournament was held in a math classroom.  The most interesting things to observe there were poster pictures of mathematicians.  Such as:

 

And my favorite:

 

At a study hall across the corridor we saw four deer and a rabbit grazing and resting together.  I got several photos through a window, and this is one that processed better on the iPad:

It was a fun weekend, although we ran into snow on the way there.

And unbelievably, I achieved second place in the Late Bird, and won forty bucks, almost paying for gas to get to Durango!

On the knitting side, I finished these ballet slippers:

Not Just Another Scrabble Tournament

...because this time the tournament is in fairly close proximity, beautiful Durango, Colorado.

In a few hours I'll be on the road to Durango to fling down tiles over the next two days.  All the details are here.  It should be a beautiful road trip with the fall colors still displayed.

In this morning's Daily Mail there was a post about 101 ways to win at Scrabble, a small book by Barry Goldman.  The tips are what most tournament players already know, but darned if he won't make a mint of money on his little book because he got great print media coverage for his production.  Well, good on him.  He does not mention cheating of any sort.  (By the way, if you want to read of my little heartbreak with a cheating scandal five years ago in a Calgary tournament, check out my prior post from 2008.)

The Apple app Words With Friends is a really fun game, in my humble opinion.  But people do cheat there (a lot) with a cheater app, so it is really just a fun kind of way to learn new words withouth taking the game seriously, win or lose.  My friend Ginger played the word ZAPTIEH and told me she looked it up; she got over 125 points for it, if I remember correctly. We both laughed and decided neither of us would remember that word.

If you play Scrabble and want to play me on WWF, invite me with my handle of "templeton7" and I'll be sure to let you beat me.

Onward!

Show the Pink

We are bombarded this month, rightly so, with October Breast Cancer Awareness.

Inspiration Avenue challenges you this month to show your pink art.  So much out there, so little time.

This post will review some of breast cancer awareness that I have blogged about over the years.  Click on the links if you want to read more about breast cancer thoughts (links are under each picture).

Go on over to see more Pink Art here at Inspiration Avenue!

linked to a previous post here

 

bra inserts linked to a previous post here

 

lymphedema, a common side effect of radiation, linked to a previous post here

 

There are things that we don't
want to happen but have to accept,
things we don't want to know but have to learn,
and people we can't live without but have to let go.
~ Author Unknown

 

(linked to a previous post here)

 

Remembering Rivka post here

 

printed on my favorite t-shirt with post here

 

Sisterhood of the Traveling Shawl post here

 

post here

 

post is here

 

Show YOUR pink!  And look at Inspiration Avenue and others' posts to show art to Fight for the Cure.