Thanks, ita!

I'm watching Leverage now.

Calli, I'm so very sorry. Peace to you and yours.

Cashmere, LJ is doing maintenance, I think.

And "judgment" is how we lawyer-types spell it.

Allyson, my shelter dog benefited a great deal both from lessons and the advice my trainer was able to give me. She'll never be unflappable, but she's far more confident than she was when I got her.

Yay! It looks like I didn't have a kidney stone.

In even better news, I love being able to call and email my new doctor.

As much as the actors had a Murtaugh/Riggs thing going for this past ep (Lethal Weapon meets Clean and Sober) I want there to be one where Eliot and Hardison become Bodie and Doyle. And let the slash begin,

We are also getting a Whizzinator (http://www.ureasample.com/buy-drug-test-solutions/store/whizzinator.htm) so that the actor can pee on stage without peeing.

I just did a show with that issue. The director found the Whizzinator disappointing. Between that and the actor not really taking the direction he was being given with regards the the peeing, the bit was cut.

Hubby found a very interesting thing at the thrift store. It's deck of cards that is not in the same format as a traditional card deck, and it's not a tarot deck. The suits go from 1 to 7, then there are three face cards numbered 10 to 12. There are four suits just like this, so I think the missing 8 and 9 cards are intentional.

The deck was made in Spain, and the suits are daggers, clubs, glasses of wine, and coins. There's a card listing them as Oros - Navarra, Copas - Alava, Espadas - Vizcaya, and Bastos - Gulpuzcoa. The heading on this card is Barja Vasca.

The box is made of cork, and the printing on the box is Kartaetako Joku Bat. Which isn't Spanish, I don't think. Googling the phrase brought up nothing. There's a heraldic type symbol on the box and on the back of the cards, a red circle with a green X on top, and a white cross on top of it all.

Does this sound familiar at all?

My Oxford Dictionary of Card Games (What?) tells me that swords, clubs, cups, and coins are the standard suits in Spanish decks, and indicates that 7, 8, 9 can be omitted from standard decks.

It looks like there may be games using the national decks listed in here, but there is no index to find them readily. I will skim.

Skimming complete.

Might I suggest Briscola (Brisca in Spain), Primero, or Scopa, all Italian games?

Or, for a more authentic Spanish twist you could apparently play Hombre (Ombre in English) or Tute (that’s two syllables).

Those seem to be the only ones played with 40 cards (as much as I’d love to suggest Pip-Pip or Klaberjass).

Further poking around also tells me the face cards are King, Cavalier, and Valet.

the face cards are King, Cavalier, and Valet.

Interesting. The 10 card is a woman in these, and her clothes are similar to the youg man on the 11 card--17th-18th century style--but the 12 card is an older man with an outfit that has nothing to do with the others, ie, a fisherman when the other two are wearing festival clothes.

This deck has very good art on the front and back. This will be interesting to track down.

megan, strong congratulations on not-having a kidney stone! From my recent experience with one, I know how much pain one is avoiding by not having one....

I've got to take my car into the dealer to find out why the Check Engine light is on. Of course, we had an all-night snowstorm, so I'll have to clean it off before I can make my way through the commuter traffic, et cetera, and wait for however long in the waiting room... SIGH

A small amount of car-ma may be much appreciated that it's just some kind of loose connection that doesn't cost much to fix?