Earth Hour 2011 - Yahtzee by Candlelight

So, some of you may or may not know that it was Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday night (your local time).. It was an initiative started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia and has since taken off around the Globe. The idea being that if everyone switched their lights off for an hour between 8.30 - 9.30, even just one night a year, we would be saving the world lots of energy.... with the idea of course, that you are supposed to carry that sentiment into your daily routine.. switch the light off when you leave the room etc etc.

Lights out for Earth Hour!

I had previously never taken part as I was usually at work.. but this year, the mister and I were home, so we thought we'd take part... we decided to switch off the tv & our laptops as well as the lights & play Yahtzee by candlelight..

Ready! (Can you spot all our monkey friends?)

Yahtzee is a game I remember from childhood, but not one I had played a lot.. In Taiwan, some street vendors, usually the ones selling sausages would have a big bowl with 5 die in it.. if you could roll a "yahtzee" in one try, then you got the sausage for free!

Anyway, I rediscovered the game while at a hostel in Seattle a few years ago, there were groups of us sat around the living room/dining area and someone pulled out a handful of dice and asked if anyone wanted to join in for Yahtzee... curious, most people gathered around, a scorecard was hastily drawn up, the "rules" explained and off we went! It's such a simple game, requiring only 5 die, pen & paper, a bit of strategy, a bit of luck and provides loads of entertainment! It's easy enough to explain across language barriers as well, which is always a good thing! You could essentially play on your own or with just one other person rather than needing a group to play.. and it has a relatively short game cycle, which is good for those of us with relatively short attention spans!

Are there any games you play at home?? What are your favourite games??

Oh wait.. this is supposed to be about Earth Hour... Here are some other ways I try to help the planet: always having a fold up shopping bag in my handbag, so if I buy things, I don't need to take a plastic bag from the store... We also always take our own grocery bags when we go shopping.. We recycle all our paper, cardboard, glass, cans, tins and recylable plastics.. I take a lot of clothing to charity stores and thrift a lot of my clothes too.. the mister walks to and from work and I take the bus and walk..  I have to admit tho, I walk a lot less since meeting the mister because he has a car... but hopefully once the weather gets warmer, we will start walking more places rather than taking the car all the time!!

Do you do anything to help the planet?? Did you partake in Earth Hour?? What did you do, if you did??