There are women gamers who play DnD too.

(People sometimes shorten the name, Dungeons and Dragons, to DnD).

There is so much to a game I can't begin to describe and explain all of it. But, I do think this is a great game for women and families especially. It may have a reputation as a geeky game for a bunch of college boys. That is so limiting.

I played Dungeons & Dragons with my family in the 1980s. My nephew played with young men and a few young women in high school too. I know there are women players out there. I would love to be part of a regular group of all women DnD players.

You might pick up the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set from Amazon. This is my affiliate link. The Starter Set is worth including and does give you the dice, rulebook, and etc. so you don't need to buy anything else to get playing. I'd suggest not buying fancier dice, roleplaying figures, and anything else until you know you like the game and will continue to play. It can become a very expensive hobby if you start buying extras.

Essentially a role playing board game.

To play the game you need a group of people, at least three. One is the Dungeon Master and the other two are players.

The players create a character by choosing some elements and rolling a dice for others. This way no character is ever just like another character. The random chance of rolling the dice brings some unpredictability to the game. Not everything is in your control and levelling up becomes more important as your characters advances in the game. You will find yourself learning new skills as well. Map making and orientation are two great things I learned more about as I played DnD.

Then there is the Dungeon Master. It may sound sinister or creepy but the Dungeon Master (shortened to the DM at times) is the one who plans the route of the game, literally. The Dungeon Master creates a world, a campaign or a map (depending on how much time is available for the game) and the players venture into it.

Players explore the map one virtual step at a time. The DM has set up traps, treasure and monster for them to find along the way. Each step of the game can be a surprise, a puzzle to solve or players could muck up their map making and become very lost and confused. This is why you can't just step into a game of DnD without setting things up ahead and learning at least something about map making.

Wizards of the Coast -D&D Beyond Dragon Con

I have an unplanned collection of coffee makers. I even have a couple which are old enough to be considered vintage.

The pot I use most often is the French press. I've got three of them now. One is the well-known Bodum brand. The others are brands I don't remember any more, one was no-name. The one I take with me when I visit or travel is the smallest French press. It's great because I can make coffee as long as I can boil water. No need for filters or a stove element to percolate the coffee through the machine.

That brings me to the percolators in my collection. The one I like best is Corningware. It has those blue flowers on a white pot. I found it at a thrift store and miraculously it was not only clean but had all the parts too. I've only used it once, so far. It's a large pot and I don't need to make that amount of coffee on a standard coffee-drinking kind of day. I like to watch the percolator pots, especially those with the clear knob on top so you can see the coffee get thrown up to the top of the pot each time.

I also have an espresso percolating pot. I had a second one but it got broken up for parts when my Mother needed the rubber ring for one of her espresso pots. It seems to always be that rubber ring inside of them that wears out first. Actually, unless something pretty dire happens I doubt much could cause the failure of those metal espresso coffee makers.

I don't have a ceramic drip cone filter and pot. That would be a nice addition. But, it wouldn't be simple for taking on the road. You would have to have filters and worry about it getting chipped or cracked. I do have my old Melitta cone filter and drip pot. I even still have the lid for the pot. They are made in a different plastic from that which is around now. They feel really solid and it takes a lot of effort to find any bend in them. I prefer not to bend them. I hope the set will last until I'm a very old lady and beyond.

• Flickr: Coffee Maker Museum
• Flickr: Coffee A Damn Fine Product (Vintage)
• Silver Coffee Pot
• Etsy: Coffeetropolis
• Royal Coffee Maker: History of the Coffee Maker

Each time I read a title claiming to have a cure or remedy for menopause I laugh. There is no cure. Menopause is not something to be healed, it's a cycle of life for women. It's something that happens like birth, death and taxes. But, it doesn't have to be miserable.

Let yourself think about the whole thing, the big picture and find your own way through it and out to the other side. One way or another you are going to get there. It's up to you how the ride, the journey, goes.

This is not an easy topic for me to write about. I am 52, or will be in less than a month, I've never had children though I have been married. I would have liked children, instead I have looked after a lot of other children all my life. Most of all, I've been feeling old and the fact that I have menopause ahead of me, hasn't been something I feel okay about. So, I'm not writing this as someone who has all the answers, more like someone searching for the answers myself. No professionals required. Which of us is really a professional anyway?

From the start of our years as a young woman we begin teaching ourselves how to be women, how the woman's body works and what does it mean to be a woman in the world today. There are some written guidelines. There are a lot of spoken guides and a whole pile of double standards.

I'm a woman, born this way, lived this way, cleaned up my own blood for years this way. Being a woman is not about wearing a dress, putting on cosmetics and smelling nice. There is more to being a woman than the fact that we have different plumbing. We bleed. I don't think that should be taken so lightly or passed off as our obligation to the species, or whatever other babble religious officials and the male gender tend to tell us.

By now you must have heard that old thing about not trusting something that can bleed for 7 days and not die. Well, that's us, the magical, mystical woman. We can bleed, we do bleed and we do it so often it becomes a part of who we are. Menstruation becomes part of our identity, like having breasts or not growing a beard on our faces (for the most part). It's more than hormones.

Stay on the Sunny Side

So it does shake you up when you get to that age. The age where menopause becomes a reality, not just a word you learned how to spell.

I think it is easier for those who had children (or those who really never wanted them). You don't need to wonder what the point of all this blood, cramps, mood swings, mess and ruined underwear has been for all these years. As you take your Midol because the cramps have gotten worse in these last few years... I don't think those with children can feel the anger I feel. I don't have to apologize or explain it or avoid it. It's there and it's how I feel.

Of course, what we feel only matters to us. Menopause waits for no woman.

It would be nice to have a date for it. Menopause will start at 1:34AM on December 14th and end on December 16th, roughly 2:45PM. There isn't a schedule though. No plan and no knowing just when it will start or finish or what all the symptoms will be.

We hear about hot flashes. If our Mothers were around at the time, we know what they went through. I remember my Grandmother telling my Mother she should just have surgery and get it all taken out, like spare parts. My Grandmother just wanted her daughter to avoid pain, or what she thought of as a painful experience.. In fact, my Mother had a very easy menopause as much as I remember. We did talk about it so it's not that I wasn't there or didn't hear.

My sister-in-law just had a hysterectomy. It wasn't what she would have chosen. But, she has had endometriosis for many years and though she is sad about not having been able to have children - I think part of her is glad. An end to suffering is a good thing.

Today I'm writing this on the third day of my period. I wonder how many of them I have had since I was that 12 year old kid. I wonder how many more of them I will still have. I won't miss much about menstruation. I'm tired of dealing with it.

On the other hand, the mystery of menopause is just ahead of me. My friend, Deanna, is already there and she is just a few months older than I am. Her symptoms are things I'd be glad to do without. So, I'm hoping I will take after my Mother when the time comes. But, there's nothing we can know for sure but the fact that it will come and then, one day... it will be over and life will go on.

Women have to endure a lot with our bodies all our adult lives. I didn't get pregnant and give birth. But, I've been here in the trenches all these years. I'm sure I will get through menopause too. In the end, it will be nice to have it done and see how life is on the other side.

Each time I buy maxi pads now I think... this could be the last time I ever need to buy these! That's the thought that cheers me up. I guess we each need to find our own encouraging and happy thought (or thoughts) when it comes to menopause.

As we get older we are told to think of ourselves as goddesses, getting better, like a fine wine. Those are nice sentiments. In reality, I feel we are supposed to fade into the background like a nice old granny (even if we never had children). I want to find something good about menopause. I want to feel happy about who I am in this time of my life. Most of all, I don't want to feel that I'm done. I went to Amazon, looking at the books with so much advice, mostly medical and promises of cures. You can't "cure" menopause! I noticed this book and it offered me the magic and happiness I want without even knowing that is what I lacked. Menopause has taken some of my spirit away. I don't want someone telling me I'm more powerful than ever and I should be out there taking over the world. I just want my own world to be a better place, again. That would be enough for me. I'm going to take a look at this book and I'm passing the link along with high hopes for all of us.

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Is this really about protecting gay rights or is this just an excuse to bash another group of people? To me this is a giant step backwards when it comes to our rights and freedoms in general. Are we no longer allowed to have our own opinion? Do we have to all agree with the popular choice? Are we going to end up throwing rocks at people who don't agree with homosexuality now?

This is crazy. Totally unacceptable!

Whatever you feel or think about the issue of homosexuality is irrelevant - should we not have the right and the freedom to express our opinion without being judged this way? Where is your free speech and free thought now?  You now have no right to disagree, no right to your own opinion and your own freedom of choice is gone. This cause is even supported by the government! I think this is too much. The government is supporting an event which is all about taking away our free speech and free choice. Think about that before you jump in with both feet.

• Two hours of writing as per the 90 Day Plan.
• Check the usual places for any interesting freelance work that might pop up.
• Look for post ideas to be rewritten for HubPages.
• Reading Suite101 University eCourses.
• Grab March bus pass.
• Read/ take back/ renew library books
• Police check thing for Barrie Health Centre
• paperwork for cultural diversity for Barrie Health Centre
• forms for self employment - expenses and earnings.
• Walk-in-clinic for referral for possible surgery. Maybe. Bleh.
• Write paid post for this week.