Canastanuts Newsletter
Head Admin – Imbacatya January 5th, 2008
Newsletter Editor – Mstery56 Volume 2 Issue 1
It’s new and improved and better than league brand X! Yes - in a blind taste test/card game, 4 out of 5 people chose Canastanuts! Why you might ask? We work hard to provide a great gaming experience for the entire Canastanuts family. We’re making some changes to make the league better than ever. What exactly are we doing? You’ll have to read the rest of the newsletter to find out.
From the Desk of Bacatya
Hope all had a wonderful holiday season. We all ate far too much and yeah I know. We all have decided to go on a diet asap right? Yeah, that’s what I thought. How many of us made a New Years resolution? Did you break it within 24 hrs after making it? I for one quit making those stupid things years ago, for the very same reason. I am excited about some of the Tourney Schedule Changes coming up this month. We should see some definite times where we can get into a tourney. This should take some stress off our staff members and it will greatly help me too. As you may have noticed I have not been available lately. It is due to the stress put on my legs when I sit for long periods at a time. The pain is unbearable at times and I hope this new schedule will allow me to host and then get off this computer for a bit. We will also start having an Admin on duty, so pay attention to your yahoo messenger. You will see written by their name "Admin on Duty". They have been given full rights to act on my behalf. Many of you do not know how much time is spent in running this league and the many tasks some of you never see. I am very thankful to have such a great Admin staff who cares as much for this league as I do. I hope the changes will meet your playing needs and we have a Great and Successful year in 2008. Also, we have added Meeting Notes to the newsletter so you, as members, can keep abreast of the many changes. You will see some of what we do in our meetings. Although some of the more personable stuff will be omitted as we try our best to keep the "not so nice" stuff away from the public view and keep the stress of problems away from the members so you can enjoy our playing without having to feel you are in the middle of a soap opera. With that I wish you all luck in your games and please enjoy the company of your fellow Canastanuts. Let's have a great year!!!!
With Love Always,
BACATYA
Now Hear
This
Both the December and January staff meetings focused on the changes we are making to improve the league. Rather than give you the details piecemeal, I have combined the information for clarity.
Attending: Linda, She, Mandy, Phud, Carol, Terri, Mary, Joe (both Dec. and Jan.)
1. People booted from table – Some members are having trouble with Yahoo booting them repeatedly and then giving the game to the other player regardless of the score. We need a consistent way to deal with the situation in order to be fair to everyone. If the score is 2501 or higher, the person with the higher score will win the tournament game (even if Yahoo did otherwise). If the score is 2500 or less, the players should restart the game.
2. Evaluations - Evaluations are coming up soon. Please be sure you are doing your job as a staff member. Tourney directors should not be a no show for their tourney. If there is a problem and you are unable to move the tourney yourself, you need to contact an admin. to let them know what is going on. Phone numbers for staff were given at a previous meeting. If you don’t have them, please get them.
3. Newsletter - Please send your newsletter submissions on time so Terri can get the newsletter out on time. Homestead changed the log in so if you can’t access the newsletter email, you need to talk to Linda.
4. Tourney Calendar – Guaranteed tourney times are 11AM, 3:00PM, 8:00PM, 11PM and 12 AM. Every weekday tournies will be hosted at these times. Tournies may be hosted at other times in addition, but these times will be guaranteed. There will be a short meeting every Sunday night to set up which TDs are hosting for each time slot. TDs will get to choose their time slots first, followed by HTDs and then Admin will fill in.
These times have been requested so far:
Carol 11PM Tuesday
Phud 3PM Tuesday and Thursday
Joe 12AM Friday and Saturday
Mandy 11PM Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
5. Admin on Duty – We will have an admin on duty who people can contact with any problems. They will have full authority to deal with problems. They will have “admin on duty” next to their name on Messenger so people will know who is on duty. Admin on duty must be able to take screenshots and handle all admin duties. This will start the first of the year. Admin. need to think about what time they’re available to be on duty. We will discuss this at Sunday’s meeting.
6. Pop up tournies - OK if there are at least 3 people in the lobby who say they want to play. Tourney could be set up and spammed then.
7. Tournies that don’t make - If a tourney has not made 15 minutes after it is scheduled to begin, it MUST BE MOVED.
Recipe of
the Month 
by Phud Send recipes to newsletter@bacatya.com
Recipe submitted by Mary
CROCKPOT MULLED CIDER
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Quarts Apple Cider
1 Tsp Allspice - whole
1 1/2 Tsp Cloves -- whole
2 Sticks Cinnamon
Orange Slices
DIRECTIONS:
Put all ingredients in crock-pot. If desired, tie whole
spices in cheesecloth or put in tea strainer. If spices
are added loose, strain before serving. Cover; cook on Low
2 to 8 hours. Serve from the crock pot with a ladle, or
if using a coffee pot, right out of the spout in place of
coffee.
At the
Movies with Joe 
AT THE MOVIES........ok nut , time to test your movie knowledge. here are some famous movie tag lines. see how many you remember1.check in, relax take a shower 2.the happiest sound in all the world 3.its scrumdiddlyumptious 4. dont go in the water 5. a long time ago in a galaxy far far away 6. just when you thought it safe to go back into the water 7. they're not getting rich....they're getting even answers next month, good luck nuts!
Minister’s Corner
by Scott
The New Year a chance to begin anew. Would it be that easy, with the new year to begin as if nothing had ever happened. It is impossible to think such a thing, but it is not impossible to use this as an opportunity's to repair relationships, to look up old friends , or to heal old wounds. Live has a tendency to leave us worn and weary. We have the power to turn these things around and make a difference. We can say I am sorry or take the time to look someone up just to talk. It is left up to you to take the initiative and do what is right , for if you do not it may never be done. The key to all of this is love, show those around you that you care and you will be surprised at the results. My prayer is that you show forth the love of God throughout the whole of this brand new year.....Amen
January
Birthdays
2 - MAGGIEBSNYDER
13- CHEEKY_BABE0
17- PRETTYLILLEAH
23 - KITTY_N_JOE1983
24 - KILLER_46721
December
Tourney Winners 
betty_brown94 3
bigsispat 1
bilbo1962us 4
blacksheep77us 1
bud8753 1
cgkelly01 1
cheeky_babe0 1
gestes1 1
IMBACATYA 2
killer_46721 1
kindra1785 1
liloldme57 1
love_gmamoocow 3
mello7593 2
MsMandy2u2 1
mstery56 3
nijazo3 1
No Winner 5
phud_mi 1
RED3BANDIT 2
scott_grant84 3
SHE_ADM 4
sweetcake_467 3
will_td4nuts 5
Carol’s Crafts
Diaper Cake
"Ingredients"
40 small
diapers
2 receiving blankets or baby towels
1 burp rag 1 baby bottle or cardboard paper
towel roll
scotch tape or rubber bands 3 diaper pins 1 cardboard cake plate
1 roll colored curling ribbon 1 cake topper (ie: small stuffed
animal or beanie toy)
various baby items to decorate (mini soap and shampoo bottles, baby hair
brushes, teething rings, ect)
Directions: Start by rolling diapers lengthwise around the baby
bottle, & continue to roll the diapers around themselves til you have used 20
diapers for the first layer of the diaper cake. Use scotch tape or rubber bands
to secure the diapers together. Do the same to make the second layer of the
diaper cake, only this time make it a bit smaller by only using 10-15 diapers.
The third, top, layer should be only about 5 diapers round. Fold a receiving
blanket to match the width of the bottom diaper cake layer and wrap around.
Secure the back with a diaper pin. Do the same for the second layer. For the
third, smallest layer, use a burp cloth to wrap around the cake layer and secure
with a diaper pin. Tie curling ribbon in whatever colors you choose around each
of the 3 layers of the diaper cake, tie leaving enough extra ribbon at the ends
to curl. Take the baby items and tuck them in the ribbon to decorate. Top your
cake off w/ a small stuffed animal, or something that matches your cake.
Mary
Mayhem
A man walks into a pub and says, "Give me three pints of Guinness, please."
So the bartender brings him three pints and the man proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they're gone.
He then orders three more and the bartender says, "Sir, I know you like them cold, so you can start with one and I'll bring you a fresh one as soon as you're low."
The man says, "You don't understand. I have two brothers, one in Australia and one in the States. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night we'd still drink together. So right now, my brothers have three Guinness Stouts too and we're drinking together."
The bartender thinks it's a wonderful tradition and every week he sets up the guy's three beers as soon as he enters in the bar. Then one week, the man comes in and orders only two. He drinks them, then orders two more. The bartender sadly says, "Knowing your tradition, I'd just like to just say that I'm sorry that one of your brothers died."
The man replies, "Oh, my brothers are fine - I just quit drinking."
Pet of
the Month
Send pet pics to newsletter@bacatya.com
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THIS IS MINI MUCHIE. "SHE" IS HER OWNER. SHE IS A YR OLD PART POODLE PART I NOT SURE WHAT LOL.
SHE IS VERY LOVING AND ADORES KIDS. SHE IS MY BABY AND BY FAR MY FAVORITE PET. SHE IS DUE TO HAVE HER FIRST LITTER ANY DAY NOW. :))
Editor's Note: She is now the proud grandma of three adorable puppies. Be sure to congratulate her when you see her and ask about her wet foot!
You will sometimes hear the disclaimer, "It's better than putting him to sleep." This is a fallacious argument, and usually offered only to soothe the owner's conscience. Only the cat's owner can make the decision to kill her cat because of scratching problems. He or she can also make the decision to let him keep his toes. Unlike neutering, which does benefit the cat, both healthwise and behavioralwise, declawing simply does nothing positive for the cat.
A typical counter-argument is, "My cat is indoors-only." Even indoor cats sometimes manage to escape. A declawed cat does not stand a chance against a large dog, a bigger cat, or a predator. Although he still has teeth, by the time he gets in close enough to bite, it may be too late.
Think of it as 10 amputations (if only the front feet are declawed). Pain meds may help initially, but phantom pain may last for weeks or months, as nerve endings heal. Dr. Nicholas Dodman describes the pain following surgery: "Unlike routine recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage because of excruciating pain."
Declawed cats often associate the pain when digging in litter with the litter box itself, and will avoid it, choosing softer carpeting instead.
When cats lose their ability to give a quick warning scratch, they will often resort to their second line of defense: a good, hard bite. The cat's owner may sometimes find himself the victim, just when he thinks his cat is enjoying a petting session.
Watch a cat stretch, whether horizontally on a carpet or vertically with a tall scratching post. He will grab the carpet or sisal with his claws, using the resistance to pull and stretch his muscles. Cats' claws actually play a large and positive role in their amazing muscle tone and agility.
Domestic cats are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes. Walking with an altered gait because of the lack of the first digit of the toes can affect all the joints of the leg, resulting later in arthritis of the hip and other joints. Jean Hofve, DVM describes this joint deterioration more fully, in her article, "A Rational Look at Declawing."
Honestly, if a cat could speak human
language, do you really think, given a choice, he'd say, "Sure thing. Cut off
part of my toes?" His claws and toes are an integral part of making a cat a
cat. Would you honestly want him to be anything less, especially since there
are
humane alternatives?
It's your decision, but please take your cat's needs into serious consideration
before making such a drastic and permanent choice.
Fun Fact
of the Month
Walt Disney was afraid of mice.