Dutch blitz and other games

I really like playing games. Growing up, we didn't have regular family game night, but I have fond memories of playing a myriad of different games. We played Monopoly, Careers, Mousetrap (one of my favorites), Clue, Life, Mille Borne, and of course Euchre. 

Saturday night we played Euchre with Glenn and Nancy before they move. (If you're looking for a house in Alger Heights, theirs is for sale, it's very, very nice!!!)

Tonight we started out playing Skip-Bo with D.d. and Jon. But D.d. remembered playing Dutch Blitz and really wanted to play that. So after googling it and pulling out multiple decks of cards, we learned how to play Dutch Blitz.


It's quite fun and fast.


Of course I liked it because I won. 


I'm a sore loser. But so is Bill. We're two peas in a pod we are.


That's why we don't play Risk. One of us has to lose. 


But in general, win or lose, I like games.

Sunday, a day of rest

After breakfast, I had decided I would sit down and read. I'm currently reading, "Blue Like Jazz", a book I've been wanting to read for quite some time.

Then I remembered I told Sami I would bake cookies for her for Wednesday night. But I can't be there Wednesday night because I have HPC. 

I then decided to go ahead and bake them today so they were done.

I made Oatmeal Butterscotch chip with Walnut cookies.

Bill and I had to try one to make sure they were good.

They were.

Then I went outside and started the never-ending process of removing the grass that grows between the brick paver edging and into the flower beds. I got a quarter of the way done before filling the bucket and it was time for us to go to youth group.

It wasn't really so much of a day of rest, but I didn't work as hard as I did yesterday or Friday.

Thank you to the men and women who serve our country

I have thanked those who have served our country in previous posts, but it's worth saying again.

Thank you for your service. Thank you for giving your time and yourself (well-being, mental state, and sometimes life).

We celebrated the homecoming of one of our servicemen today. His family held an open house and we stopped by for awhile. He had pictures of his tour in Afghanistan. Bill could identify all of the planes in the pictures. Pete is in the Air Force and is an aircraft mechanic. 

I'm impressed by anyone in the service. This includes several former high school classmates as well as family. I have a special place in my heart for the Air Force specifically. Sort of like cars and their brands, military "people" tend to have their favorite branch. I "chose" the Air Force because my dad served in this branch, as did my in-laws and at least one aunt and uncle (I know others served, I'm just not positive in which branch).

Thank you. You are brave and are our heroes. God Bless each and every one of you.

t-shirts and tags

I have a t-shirt that is pretty old. It may actually be older than me. I have to ask my parents if they remember where and when they got it. I think they got it from my grandparents when they went to a trade show. My grandparents owned a small electronics shop in Niles, Michigan.

The shirt says "Built to Move, Road-Rated Receivers, Craig".

I don't know anything about the Craig brand and wonder if they're still around. Yes, I could do a quick google search, but frankly I don't think I care enough right now.

The point is the tag in the shirt. Have you noticed how much our tags have changed? Many clothes are tagless. Most have symbols, which I don't understand. This t-shirt that is easily from the 1980's has a tag that, get this, is only written in English.

Shocking.

Plus, the best part, it was made in the U.S.A. and actually has the address of the Ohio company that made it.

It's like a piece of history. 

Maybe it belongs in a museum.

At any rate, I thought that was cool and wanted to share that with you.

If you read my post yesterday, I mentioned I had a secret ingredient in the carrot soup. We've eaten dinner, so I can share the secret with you now; it was honey. Just a tablespoon or so. I didn't measure, I just squeezed in an amount close to that. You can't taste it, but I think it helps cut the otherwise overwhelming carrot flavor. 

another food post

I made some Creamy Carrot Soup tonight.

I actually made a lot of Creamy Carrot Soup.

I had a 3 pound bag of carrots that tasted different than the other bags of carrots I've bought. My reasoning is that these weren't organic. I really could taste a difference.

So what better way to use them then in a soup? 

It's a pretty easy soup and you can eat it warm or cold.

I had to freeze half of it because I used all the carrots (the recipe only calls for 1 1/2 pounds). I doctored it up a bit too. I added mascarpone cheese and a secret ingredient. I'm not going to tell you until Bill tries it. It's nothing scary and I found another recipe that used it, so I thought, why not? I also used thyme and a dash of celery salt. It's pretty tasty. It needs croutons. 

I'll make more croutons tomorrow.

The other night I made pancakes in order to use up the Bisquick that I had in the cupboard. I stuck the pancakes in the freezer.

Yes, I made pancakes just to stick in the freezer.

I'm weird that way.

But tonight I thought those pancakes would be good with the homemade chocolate hazelnut spread I have. So I am going to try that for breakfast tomorrow. I'll let you know how it tastes.