Family Room

Gamble 101: The Family Reunion Poker Game

By Alethea Nale 36 mins ago

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I was just seven years old when I first discovered poker. I’ve loved it ever since.

My first introduction to the game began rather innocently, at a family reunion hosted by my grandparents. In total we gathered six cousins, three brothers, four sons, four wives, and 15 grandchildren. Excuse the obvious “full house” pun, but needless to say it was a large gathering for a tiny home.

In the afternoon we all shared a lunch together, heaps of mashed potatoes and baked casseroles of varying levels of edibleness coupled with ham and iced tea for days. It wasn’t a special event, just a yearly tradition that had been pulling

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The Family Tradition

By Alethea Nale 1 day ago

Long before the name “Gracie” meant something in North America, it carried a lot of weight in Brazil.

I grew up in a fighting family. The Gracies invented the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and really put the sport of mixed martial arts on the map in my country. I didn’t just learn martial arts growing up, I was surrounded by it. It was passed down to me. Every day I trained with my brothers and cousins, figuring different ways to get better.

Growing up, people would want to challenge the family. My brother set up a garage where we would train, and every so often, guys would come in and say, “Hey, my friend’s a wrestling coach,” or “My friend’s a black belt in karate.” We’d tell them to bring them in to show us what they had. When the challengers came by, we’d have a sparring session. We’d fight

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The Most Important Part of the NHL Locker Room

By Alethea Nale 2 days ago

Look inside the locker room of any team in the NHL, and at the heart of the space you’ll find a revered staple of the Room. No, not a Bieber-trampled emblem (although any hockey fan knows the extent to which the logos on the carpet are respected). I’m referring instead to the other cherished staple: the Ping-Pong table.

For years, Ping-Pong tables have had a special place in the NHL. In the 1980s, rumor had it that Wayne Gretzky and his Oilers buddies would do battle just moments before puck drop en route to their Stanley Cup dynasty. In recent times, more controversial Ping-Pong stories hit our feeds, like an incident involving a visiting team getting some flack for using the home team’s table on a practice day … during the playoffs.

Ping-Pong has been an integral part of hockey’s locker-room culture for decades, and having played for almost a

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Centara Brings Guests Extensive Privileges with Special Promotion

By Alethea Nale 3 days ago

Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is giving travellers the chance to upgrade their holiday into The Ultimate Staycation with the launch of the new “Even Stronger Together” promotion, available at all its hotels and resorts across Thailand and overseas.

Room rates range from as little as THB 720 to only THB 3,120 per night, and there are daily hotel credits of up to THB 2,020 to spend on spa, food and drinks, plus Central department store gift vouchers of up to THB 1,600 per stay.

Guests can also have more time to experience their destination with free early check-in from 9 a.m. and late check-out up to 9 p.m., subject to availability for stays from Sundays to Thursdays.

The promotion is inclusive of daily breakfast for two, and the offer is enhanced with a half-board upgrade available for stays of four or more nights at select hotels.

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‘This world just lost a very special person’: Wilton teen, 16, remembered for positive spirit

By Alethea Nale 4 days ago



George DiRocco, 16, who died unexpectedly on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, is remembered fondly by friends for his positive attitude. Photo: Contributed Photo

George DiRocco, 16, who died unexpectedly on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, is remembered fondly by friends for his positive attitude.


WILTON — Jake Sommer remembers the bonfires, the games and “Friday night dance parties” with his longtime friend, George DiRocco.

Friends since fifth grade, Sommer says DiRocco always found ways to spread a positive vibe.

Sommer and other Wilton High School classmates have been struggling to stay upbeat since DiRocco’s unexpected death on Monday.

“I think this world just lost a very special person,” Sommer said.

DiRocco, 16, died from an “undetected heart condition,” according to an obituary notice. The state’s Chief Medical Examiner’s office is conducting an autopsy and said Thursday the cause of death is “still pending further studies.”


  • A memorial was set up in the junior lot at Wilton High School to honor the memory of George DiRocco, who passed on Sept. 21, 2020. Photo: Jake Sommer Photo

    A memorial was set up in the junior lot at Wilton High School to honor the memory of George

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How One NFL Team Paid Tribute to a Very Special Fan

By Alethea Nale 6 days ago

The kickoff for the 2020 National Football League season was always going to be disappointing because of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, but the lack of fans turned out not to be the sport’s biggest problem. Throughout the first weekend of the NFL, fans cringed and tuned out as their favorite teams and players either kneeled during the national anthem or skipped it altogether.

With a pandemic, an economic crisis, a do-or-die election, raging wildfires, skyrocketing crime, and anarchy in the streets, many fans were looking for a distraction in the NFL. What they got was a political lecture. But there was one fan who made it impossible for his favorite team to ignore him.

Mo Gaba, a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Ravens, died at age 14 in July after battling cancer throughout his childhood. Certainly, any young fan succumbing to a devastating illness would have made an impression, but

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Chicken coop keeps Marion family connected | Local News

By Alethea Nale 1 week ago

MARION — When the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily closed Matt Cassell’s office this spring, his wife Amanda found something to keep the family busy at their Marion home.
Chicken coop keeps Marion family connected

Bill Graham / The Meridian Star

Luke and Lilla Cassell play with their chickens in the family’s chicken coop. 


“She was raised with her grandmother having chickens in Kemper County,” said Cassell, a doctor at Meridian Oncology Associates. “She had been begging for us to get chickens, so when COVID slowed things down a little bit, I finally agreed.”

“Since I was three, I remember going every morning and letting the chickens out,” Amanda Cassell said. “It was fun – it was such childhood memory for me, so it’s special seeing the kids enjoying it.”

After ordering a plan in April, the family – including Hayden Grace, 8, Luke, 6, and 2-year-old Lilla – went to work assembling the 8-by-26 chicken coop.

By

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Boston city councilors mull creating a commission to tackle family homelessness

By Alethea Nale 1 week ago

The panel would work to identify gaps in resources for homeless families, conduct a cost analysis of the problem, and generate a thorough plan that would unite city resources in a coordinated effort that would lead to the end of family homelessness.

At a Monday afternoon council hearing conducted via Zoom, Danielle Ferrier, the CEO of Heading Home, a housing and shelter provider, said that both the city and state lack a strategic and systemic approach to preventing and addressing family homelessness. Services, she said, are hard to access and limited, and there are inconsistent data regarding the problem.

“The goal is for the city and the state and the feds, ideally, for all of those to coordinate,” she said.

Advocates want the commission to report its recommendations to the council within a year, said Christi Staples, a vice president at UnitedWay Massachusetts Bay. Any plan should address structural racism

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High school football: Catholic Central poised for special season | Prep Sports

By Alethea Nale 1 week ago

Aldrich has already delivered that message to his players. Even though the Hilltoppers’ new opponents will include smaller programs the likes of Brookfield Academy, Jackson Living Word Lutheran and Kenosha Christian Life, nothing is going come easily for them.

“Our main goal right now is winning conference,” said McCourt, a running back and inside linebacker. “Even though we are playing smaller schools, that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have the same talent level that maybe St. Cat’s does.
Neal McCourt

McCourt


“We’re still going to go into every game thinking, ‘We have to play well in order to win. This is not going to be a cakewalk just because we played in the Metro Classic Conference.”

For now, it remains to be seen who emerges for the Hilltoppers. Tight end Dave Doerflinger, a first-team All-Racine County player last season, has graduated along with other key players the likes of quarterback-safety Brandon Pum

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Interior Adorning Advice

By Debora Carley 1 week ago

home designResidence inside design reflects your character, way of life and aesthetic sensibilities. As Oliver (1994) notes, the time interval multimedia has not on a regular basis designated laptop computer-primarily based media, as a result of it does now, however initially referred to combos of audio, visible, and print supplies delivered by assorted media. The Hawkins’ Household Backyard , an additional forty 9 hectares, is open to visitors four events a yr for seasonal festivals and choices one of many country’s largest English Discipline Hedge Maze, Cascade & Temple, Walled Kitchen Backyard & Glasshouse, and the Chinese language Pagoda over Mayfield Lake.

Someone might want to specialize and develop technical information specific to at least one space or sort of inside design, equivalent to residential design, business design, hospitality design, healthcare design, common design, exhibition design, furnishings design, and spatial branding. Inside design is a creative career that’s relatively new, continually … Read More