THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2017
FEATURES
Cutthroat board gaming
Dear Annie: I would like do better or leave the group?
some help with this problem. — Undecided
Dear Undecided: You
I recently joined a board game
group. A friend had told me to don’t need to improve your
come and play. Two women score; they need to improve
in the group are very com- their attitudes. Try talking to
petitive; one is my friend. I your competitive friend about
your feelings. If she
haven’t played these
DEAR
and the other poor
games since the 1970s.
sport in the group
So much has changed.
ANNIE
can’t be kind, relax
They even play these
and enjoy themselves
games online to prac-
while playing board
tice now. One warms
games with girl-
up for our weekly
friends, it’s their loss.
games by playing a
Start your own group
game at the computer
with
like-minded
at the center where we
Annie Lane
women
who
are look-
meet.
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
ing to have fun, not
This week, we had
just to win.
an extra person when I
Dear Annie: I am writ-
came, so we made two teams
instead of playing individu- ing in response to “Trying to
ally. One of the competitive Stay Afloat,” the parents who
women said I should play with are falling behind on every-
another woman who doesn’t day chores in their efforts to
score high. She wanted to play be great parents and excel at
with another of the top play- their jobs.
I absolutely agree with
ers so they could score really
high. I felt that I was not your advice to use Mint. Auto-
wanted, and so did the other matic bill pay can be such a
ladies. Now I do not want to timesaver and can take the
go to this group anymore. worry out of this chore. I liked
The other woman gets upset the Blue Apron or Green Chef
if she does not win. Should I idea, as well. That’s a great
continue to go and hope I can way to cook healthful meals.
I would like to add one
observation. As parents, one
of our biggest jobs is teaching.
And we teach by example. We
are teaching our children how
to be adults and what they will
need to do to survive in our
society. No matter the age of a
child, we can incorporate our
chores into their daily lives.
When they are young, you
can make it into a game. When
cleaning, give them a dust
cloth. Tell them they are chas-
ing down the dust monsters
with their magic cloth. Get
them toy vacuum cleaners and
brooms. If doing the laundry,
teach them colors as you sort
the laundry. As the children get
older, the lessons can become
more technical. But always
spend good quality time mak-
ing what you might otherwise
see as a chore into a lesson on
being an adult. I think we do
a disservice to our children by
letting them believe life is all
fun and games.
Thanks, Annie, as always,
for your good advice. — Betty
Dear Betty: You’ve found
teachable moments in every-
day chores. I absolutely love
your suggestions. Thank you.
5A
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Most days you get
somewhere by doing the hard things first, while
your energy is fresh. Today it’s the opposite.
You’ll need to coax yourself along. Ease yourself
into it by taking on the next small step.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Know many things;
teach one thing. Your editing skills will be as
important as — if not more important than —
your ability to get one message across. You’ll be
a godsend to an eager student.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ve access to
many creative people. Let them inspire you, but
don’t hand the work over to them. Trust your
own creative instincts and skills. You’ll enjoy the
outcome better when it’s entwined in your own
learning process.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your mind can be
an unreliable ally. Instead of jumping to your de-
fense, it sometimes trips you up instead. That’s
OK. Minds can be trained, and it’s easy to do so
because your heart is the right place.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ve been known
to write things down, keep receipts, refer to a
calendar and more — habits that could use
some tuning up now. These systems allow you
to offload certain mental functions, freeing your
brain up for what you really need it to do.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You aim to spend
less time on mundane things so that you can
spend time more creatively. Oddly, the mundane
things may bring all the inspiration and rewards
you were missing. It’s the approach that matters,
not the task.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). A large number of the
things you’ve ever thought or experienced are
still in your memory banks or have been moved
to an ancillary storage space somewhere in your
body. It will be useful to trust that you know what
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
you know.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You are on an
adventure, a true co-creation, and the options
multiply with each person you add to the team.
Just make sure that everyone has a defined role
and something key to do.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The brilliant
circumstances won’t be designed out of wishes
and built out of expert plans. They will be dis-
covered through trial and error or settled upon
because they work well toward a desired end.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There will be
much meandering before the idea. Even then it
may not be a good one. It will need to be tested.
So be patient with your day. Listen to people.
Take the time to relate. Don’t be in a hurry to get
anywhere.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Hesitation
projects the wrong image. The good news is that
you don’t have to worry so much about making
the wrong decision; most of your inclinations
will work. So just make any decision, and do it
quickly.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). In all things there’s
a kind of cost-benefit analysis that’s at the heart
of finding satisfaction. All that’s required is that
you work until it’s more or less good enough,
reaching a kind of equilibrium between effort
and benefit.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 23). The
world got better when you were born, and the
next six weeks bring increasing amounts of
clarity as to who you are and the life you want.
There’s something very lucky going on with work
the last part of 2017. January brings an exciting
reveal. February involves new friendship circles
and influences. Gemini and Aquarius adore you.
Your lucky numbers are: 8, 40, 29, 30 and 15.