Blame it on the Blue Moon

This, to me, is a sad picture.

Yes, the sun is shining and the snow is glistening.  And, oh, yeah, at first glance you see a nice, spaceous area with semi-clean windows, lighting, and carpet.

But if you look closely, you'll see tracks in the carpet where, once upon a time, something big sat and occupied this space.
This space is sad because there is no longer a HQ16 sitting here.
Yes, DD, the HQ16 machine went to a new home in the middle of December.
Just so sad.
(Imagine all the sad emoticons here)

 But, things are looking up...
There is land-line evidence that that Big Brown Freight Truck will be coming sometime soon.
There is paper evidence that it will happen.
And then, there was an email:  confirmation! For Tuesday Afternoon!!!
YAY, today is Tuesday!!! And now it's afternoon!!!
I have stitched and cleaned and stitched and cleaned all day.
The whole while listening carefully for the sound of a delivery truck.
Afternoon became evening.
Finally!
The Big Brown Truck came.
We heard the truck slow down.  I looked out the front window eagerly.
Then the Big Brown Truck drove on by!

Then the Big Brown Truck driver called and said he would deliver when he finished his other deliveries.
The Big Brown Truck driver decided he didn't want to back up our driveway.
So The Big Brown Truck driver went on and made more deliveries around town.
More sadness.

The Big Brown Truck driver called back.
The Big Brown Truck driver decided he could pull into the neighborhood down the road, we could back OUR truck up to his freight truck lift-gate and we could off-load onto our truck.
Then WE could drive OUR truck back to our house and up the driveway.

Does this mean that there was "delivery made"
if WE had to go with our truck and pick it up???

Notice that it is now dark?  And notice that there are no lights out here in rural Ohio?

Notice in the pic on the right that Sweetie, in blue, is balancing the load, and Brown Truck Driver is shining a little light and letting the lift-gate down.

Still can't figure why the Big Brown Truck driver had to drive by our home during daylight hours, go make other deliveries on the other side of town, then come back after dark, to a location not the address given for delivery, and have us do the delivery!!!

Anyway, the eleven boxes came off of our truck, through the garage, the entry, the kitchen and into the sunroom.  Sweetie and I started unpacking and laying things out.  We emptied all four boxes that held the table sections and parts & pieces. 

It's looking just a little happier in here now...messier, but happier!!!

Then we stopped for the night.  We'll get an early start tomorrow and work on it some more before we need to leave for appointments that have to be kept.

Wait, I have an idea!  Maybe this all occurred because of the Blue Moon tonight!  Yep, I bet that's it.  Not Big Brown Truck driver's fault at all. 

Just blame is on the Blue Moon.   

Guess I did a little Blue Moon stitching today.  How about you?

Happy Tuesday!

Yay! Snow!

It snowed!
Four or more inches!
I could stay in and sew all day!
A Snow-sew day!!!
Measure and cut and sew and trim and measure and cut and sew and trim all the live long day!
Oh, wait, I am on the schedule to work today....
So, I'm off to the local quilt shop....
where I will:
Measure and cut and sew and trim and measure and cut and sew and trim all the live long day!
YAY!
Snow!!!

What are your plans? 
A little sewing, or quilting or playing outside in the (insert word here)?
snow...sun...wind.  I could insert all of those words!
Happy Snow Monday!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

uuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuu!
*deep breath in, hold it, deep breath out!*
Another wonderful Christmas!
Still one more Christmas family gathering on New Year's day,
but all is well, better than well - would that be weller, wellest?
Hope yours is going well, also.

Even stitching a little today!
Happy Saturday to you all!

Fat Goose

Christmas is here!  Ready or not!!!

No worries, no stress, no sleep, no, no, all is well. 
All is calm, all is bright.

Merry Christmas to all my family,
all friends near and far! 
All my old friends and all my young new friends...

Peace and abundance are my wishes to you.

Joy to the World,
Love, D

The goose is the fattest ever!!!

Tonight is our traditional Christmas Eve, five-course meal here at my house.
A little of our "true spirit of Christmas Dinner". 
A way to give thanks for our abundances and blessings.

This all started way back when...
When my Dad was still here and he really didn't have a place to go on the Eve of Christmas.  Also, a few Aunts, Uncles, a couple of single neighbors, just whomever was around with nothing to do the Eve night...all were invited.   Sometimes quite a bunch, sometimes only a few.  Then, after we were stuffed, and I mean STUFFED, we'd waddle out to a midnight service if the weather cooperated. 

I love to cook (I know, like that's a surprise), and since we don't always know when people would come and go, I always start with appetizers.
Appetizers like: stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, meatballs, rumaki (aka - bacon wrapped water chestnuts) vegetable pizza, veggies and dip, lettuce wraps, cheese and crackers.  Sometimes there are a couple of new ones tested out, sometimes not.  Always a lot of appetizers to hold you over until meal time when most of the people would arrive.

Follow with a homemade soup - this year it is Italian Wedding soup
with a fresh batch of mashed-potato dinner rolls just out of the oven.
Then a great family style green garden salad.
There are usually two entrees:  some type of beef - usually steak, a nice fish - usually salmon or tilapia grilled, and some grilled chicken. 
A couple of hot vegetables; this year green beans and, I think, a dish of winter squash from my brothers garden.
I think this year the potato will be twice-baked potatoes.
Then to finish it all off, I have all those beautiful cookies that my helpers and I just made yesterday, and I have a really nice chocolate cake with tart cherries in it and iced with chocolate ganache.  Yum!!!

Now most of the older folks and singles are gone.  People we miss, but think of with smiles.  Now, it's mostly just immediate family; much smaller, but still a lot of food! 
We always welcome whomever:
And, on one of these Christmas Eve Dinner nights we met our future Son-in-law!
He had a flight from somewhere to somewhere and was diverted to somewhere even further from his destination of Tennessee, had none of his luggage, and ended up grounded in an ice storm in Cleveland airport with 10,ooo of his closest friends.  No rental cars or hotels available, stuck in the airport with only his carry-on (which we found out was his gifts for his parents).  We have a friend close to the Cleveland airport who would bring this then-friend/now S-I-L part way south as we drove part way north.  We got online and checked road closings and openings and met somewhere inbetween Columbus and Cleveland and brought then-friend/now S-I-L back here to eat and spend the night.  Gave him sweats to sleep in, a new toothbrush, washed his clothes and called his parents to let them know he had a place to sleep on Christmas Eve that wasn't the airport.   To make it more exciting, it got colder all night, the electric went out, and our septic froze up to most of the house.   
At this point, we only had one toilet in the whole house working, no electric, and had to shower at a neighbors' down the street that still had power!  So, Christmas Day Dinner was grilled outdoors on the gas grill, outside in the frozen tundra, and left-overs from the night before that were warmed up in the wood stove!  
Then-friend/now S-I-L's parents drove up from Tennessee mid-afternoon on Christmas day and had make-do Christmas dinner with us.  Little did we know that was "meet the parents" time. 
Even after all that, he and Daughter started dating and he proposed the year after!  

Although there were only maybe five or six of us that Christmas eve, it was wonderful.  It was freezing inside the house and out, most of the state of Ohio was under some degree of major storm warning/closing level,  we huddled around the wood stove and talked and laughed and made a new friend/now S-I-L.  
Amazing Grace! The true spirit of Christmas.

So every year, we will have our traditional Christmas Eve, five-course meal here at my house.  We will count our blessings and thank the good Lord above for everyone and everything that He put into our lives.  You never know who might show up for dinner, right?

Happy one day before Christmas!!!

The goose is getting fatter!!!!

Christmas is still coming!!!

The tree now has lights and cranberry/popcorn strings and a handful of ornaments. And, yes the tree is leaning just a little, it's not a photo illusion.  I might fix it, but maybe not.  It's kinda' growing on me!

I also got out the box of snow

flakes.  These glass and glass looking snowflakes don't come out every year. But this year, they came to visit. They are strung on clear monofilament and hung across a monofilament leader. This is then put onto the small nails above the back sliding doors. These doors don't really get used much in the winter, so it doesn't bother me to have the fragile things hanging there.  And, WA- LAA. It looks like I did a whole lotta' decorating.

Then, here's a cute story:

My Sis calls last week and says that her 8 year old daughter said that they don't have to bake cookies this year...

"why not" Sis asks?...

8 year old daughter says " We can just go make them at Aunt B's and bring them home!!!"

"Aunt B's"?  you ask...

Why, that would be ME!!!  

(when my other neices were little they couldn't pronounce my name, but could say "B"  Soooo, I became Aunt B to the neices and nephews in my family, which my brothers think is hilarious).

So, today, two days before Christmas, was cookie making day.

Check out these cuties (cookies and kids!):

Also check out the mess we are making!  Doesn't that look like fun???

And, yes, I let them eat the cookies and icing and candy sprinkles as we decorated!

I got to send them all home with sugar highs and trays of cookies!

Now that the neices and nephew have gone, and I have sort-of cleaned up the baking stuff, I need to do a little wrapping.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, you know!

Happy two days before Christmas, Everyone!!!

quilts and christmas

Here are a few of the last quilts I did:

Patty's golf quilt for hubby on the left.
On the right, the first of three memory quilts.

Above left, a great purple, very large quilt by Kay; on the right the second memory quilt.

The "12 Days" quilt by Patty - on left and close-up on right.

Then on the right the third memory quilt.

The last two are just wall hanging size, by Aunt Mary, both commission pieces.  These two I quilted TODAY at my local HQ dealership.  Remember my HQ16 sold?  My new HQ24 is on order - and YAY, it is shipping today!!! Yay!!!!!

Then I took a little time and cleaned the kitchen and then threw up (not the gross throw up) a little christmas decor.  More about that later... 

Now off to the airport to pick up daughter and S-I-L!
Happy Three Days before Christmas!!!!!

The goose is getting fat!

SOOO... Only  FOUR days left until Christmas.  And that's if this is published before midnight!!! 
This is what I see from my stitching chair:

The tree is out of the box, not fluffed or decorated...not even a quilt as the skirt around the base.

I HAVE hung up the cards received.  I don't know how this started, but tradition is to hang all the cards in the slats of the folding doors between the kitchen and great room.  Maybe because when they are removed they also remove some of the dust that never seems to be removed at any other time of year?

Sweetie felt really bad about the lack of decorating around here and got the one-horse open sleigh down from above out in the barn, put it on the front porch and strung some lights on it haphazardly.  (The sleigh was my maternal grand-dads'.  He lives in Florida now, and doesn't have any use for it in the sand, so I purchased it and love it.)  The lights look great on it from the road, driving by at 45 miles per hour!

And finally, I just received this great bubble light in our work Christmas exchange...so it's plugged in the kitchen.

Oh, wait...I have a very nice Snowball Ornament from one of the lovely ladies in the Snowball Quilt Challenge.  It's hanging in the Quilting Room on the center white divider of the windows.  But that is a sad room right now.  Notice that there is no D.D. Handiquilter machine there now?  Yes, it sold and went to a new home on last Friday.  The new, Big D.D. is ordered, but haven't heard a delivery date yet, so everytime I walk by the door, I'm a little sad.

Back to Christmas decor, or lack thereof:
THAT, my friends is the extent of my christmas decorating at this point!
Happy Four days before Christmas!!!

Still no sympathy!

The feeling of Christmas is definately in the air... I notice that all of my bloggy friends are showing pics of their house and tree and lights and packages all wrapped and tied up in bows.  Also pics of all their projects they have worked on and finished...
No, not me...
Yes, this is the 20th day of December!!!
No, I do not have my shopping finished.
No, I do not have cards written and mailed.
No, I do not have decorations out - well, unless you count the tree that is artificial, still in the box, sitting on the middle of the living room carpet.
No, on the baking, cooking, cleaning.
No, I am not prepared for Christmas.
Yes, I am just back from my caribbean island vacation.
(I tried to send you some cyber, calming, island-paradise thoughts - did it work?)
Anyway, not a single person so far has offered one bit of sympathy that I have none of the above accomplished.  And this is because I was on a balmy island vacation instead?  No sympathy at all.  I really don't understand.  Crunch time is crunch time, isn't it?
So here are just a few of my pics from last week - I don't want to bore you with too many, so here goes:
Day one - Cayman Island, East End District: My relaxation on the beach

Day two - me at the island waterfall pool.

Day 3 - Me chillin' at the Grand Pool

Day Four - me at Rum Point for a semi-cloudy but beautiful sunset.

Day Five - Another day of sunset at Rum Point after a day of snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays.

Day Six -  Sunrise on the East End in front of our piece of paradise

Day Seven:  lunch ordered in the waterfall pool. Me, Sweetie, Terri, Rick.

We all decided that we do not EVER want our house painted this color, even if it ever comes back in style!!!

Then I took some pics of the local Christmas decor. The car on the left is in a sandy pull-off where we stopped to snorkle and saw a couple of sea turtles.  The picture on the right is at one of the locally owned and operated little bar/restuarants on the East End.  Great food, not so great Christmas decor... maybe I'm not doing so badly in that department after all!

So these were my pictures this week to share with all my bloggy friends out there to show how I am doing getting ready for Christmas.  I know they are not the usual tree, decorations, cookies, nothing wrapped and tied up with bows.  NOT very holiday at all. 

 But I think you "Get the Picture" .

A whole week of Totally relaxing!

TOTALLY worth it!

Happy five days before Christmas!!!

Cookies and milk and Chocolates?

Cookies and milk. The phrase makes me think of that wonderful holiday that's here whether we are ready or not.  And chocolates, I'll get to that in a second.

'Tis the season' is just around the corner, or so I've been told.  (I think I've told you before, I have a friend who is counting down the days, and she is always reminding me!)

My family has a semi-tradition of gathering to decorate cookies. Semi-tradition because we do it not every year, but most every year. Sometimes its just a few of us: me and a couple of nieces and nephews; a couple of us sibs and our families making different variations of gingerbread or not-gingerbread houses; a group of aunts, girl cousins and girl cousin-in-laws reminiscing while we ice and decorate an obscene amount of cookies. Cookies everywhere! I get cookied out - almost! Not really, I  L-O-V-E it!

I love it so much that I have found a way of changing it up a little, adding to the hecticness by trying to fit more into the season!  So, here is the chocolate part of the cookies and milk: 

The last few years I have hosted my spin on the traditional cookie decorating/exchange party. I invite just a few (o.k., sometimes more than a few) couples over.  The invite reads: 

 Chocolate Making-Ping Pong-Pizza Buffet-Party! 

Now doesn't that just make you want to attend? 
Read: Warning! Crazy lady having another weird gathering!

It all starts with a pizza and salad buffet.  I used to make myself crazy and make the pizzas myself.  In my old age, I've gotten just a tad smarter, and now I order the pizzas.  We eat and visit and laugh, then the guys go out to the barn to play ping pong (at least that's what they say they do) and the gals get to work making chocolates. 

dark chocolate,

milk chocolate,
white chocolate,
caramels, creams, nuts,
coconut, nougats, crunches,
break-ups, buckeyes. 
Things covered in chocolate- like pretzels, cookies, marshmallows, dried fruits, cherries, cereals, candy canes...
I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting. 

Terri (in blue) turned as I snapped that pic and said:  "poo, I have to go wash my hands again, don't I?"  And, yes, that is my behind behind Diane.

Chocolates of every kind and look and smell and taste and texture.  Chocolates, chocolates, chocolates.  Isn't it beautiful?

Then we divvy up and package (oh, so prettily) the sweets to make them ready for gifting.

Eventually, the guys come back inside.  They say they have played some mean ping pong and they are hungry again.  So they help us sample the goodies.

We end up with chocolate highs, maybe a glass of milk, and a good time had by all, and to all a good night.

Left to right: Diane, me, Terri, Lavonn, and Diane.

A second of time...

A cousin recently sent me this pic -- Don't you just love the nostalgia of the picture?
Just a second of time past at a family Christmas.
Cousin Carolyn on the left, aunt JoAnn center back, Uncle Bob behind right, my momma on the right with the gift box.  And... that is me (at ten months) on that beautiful linoleum.
(Why do you suppose that I am the only one that is smiling???  Anyway, 
Look at that gorgeous tree - I love the tinsel. 
Look at the glasses, and the shoes and the FASHION!  Skirts and sweaters and heels!!!
Do you wear skirts and sweaters and heels to your Christmas gatherings with family???
I think I may have to wear a skirt and sweater to my family Christmas gatherings!
Skip the heels, though...I'll go with flats.
This is my Christmas sweater that I found at C. Banks:

and now I think I will have to make a skirt to go with!

What do you think?  A little retro Christmas for the parties?

NOW...
Back to work!!!
Only a few commissioned quilts still awaiting meandering.  Everything is to go for drop off/pick up Thursday and Friday. 

Hardly a single thing done around here decorating wise, but now that the quilty quilts are about finished up, I can start throwing tinsel around and putting flour on my apron and myself and say I have been working hard!
Still smiling!

Dear Santa

Ring, Ring:  "Buddy, the elf, what's your favorite color?"
Answer:  "Blue! - as in Bonnie Blues"

Ring, Ring: "Buddy, the elf, what's your favorite color?"

Answer:  "Red! -- as in "Cayenne 19th Century Reds" and

"Inkwell Reds"

and

Rouenneries"

(ok, the Rouenneries?, the whole collection is calling to me, not just the reds!).

To the Fat Quarter Shop Jolly Jabber... "thanks for being an elf!" 
Santa:  These are on my wish list:

fat quarters, layer cakes, yardage...anything gifted will be put to use in many planned projects! Thank you Santa...I will continue to try to be good and use the fabric stash that I already have.

And don't forget this "Elf"-ism:

"I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite."

Bet you can't make just one!

I recently went blog-hopping along with many other bloggers and visited the group of designers that had the "Cross Country Christmas ~ Blog Hop".  Each of the twelve designers had a project idea on one of the twelve days of the hop.  So by the end of the hop, each designer had given a great project idea, and each hopper had twelve great project ideas.  There were some great ones, too.  I filed all of the project ideas to make at a less busy time of year.  Except for one of the ideas.  This one idea had me just jumping to get going.  I went ahead and printed it out and dug into my stash and gathered stripey fabrics.  I pulled out the ole' bag of loose fiber fill.  I even had the stiffening stuff and dye and glitter from a long ago project.
This project I fell in love with was contributed by Carrie of
Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

I made one.
Is it not just the most adorable candy cane you have ever seen?






Then I made a second one.
Then the third, fourth, and fifth.
Then just one more.
Then another, another, another.
I just couldn't stop!
I made enough to put one at each place setting at the Christmas dinner of my garden club. 
A dinner that I can not even attend this year! 

Beware!!!

I'm telling you they are adictive!

And, guess what, I have made them before!  As I was digging in the box that held the stiffening stuff, I came across a wrinkly pattern for a heart, a gingerbread man, a star and a candy cane! 

The size was a little different, but there you go - You can't make just one...

and evidently, you can't make them just once, either!

Now, I will start the next batch for package tie-ons!

 (totally addictive!!!)

Happy Friday!

and don't forget...stitch a little today...

even if it's a candy cane!

It's the most re-lax-ing time of year...to the tune of "The most wonderful time of the year" by Andy Williams

My sweetie is really a sweetie...he is SO sweet, he planned a trip recently to go to an island.   An island located in the far Western Caribbean, 480 miles south of Miami, 150 miles south of Cuba.  An island that is a British territory.  An island that only occupies 76 square miles, is approximately 22 miles long and 8 miles at its widest point, with a maximum elevation of 79.77 feet.  The average temperature in the winter is 75 degrees Fahrenheit.   This island is also hassle-free with no street vendors, allowing a peaceful and pleasant visit as well as the freedom to wander and enjoy the sights, sounds and capital.  It also possesses some of the best cooking and shopping in the Caribbean. The island is one of the safest in the Caribbean boasting a very low crime rate. 
Does this not sound wonderful beyond wonderful???
No plans .......
No plans except for sun screen and relaxation...
Sun screen and relaxation on the island paradise of Grand Cayman.
No plans except for sitting on the pure, white beach in the dappled shade of a Silver Thatch Palm, next to the clear blue, warm Caribbean water.
Or, sitting in the shade of a very large umbrella and having iced-teas brought to you poolside.
Or, lunch poolside, reading the latest novel.
Or, snorkeling anywhere around the entire island, in the clear blue gently lapping waves of the western Caribbean.
Cooking minor meals if wanted, or sitting in a nice, local, little hut and ordering the fresh catch of the day.
Maybe a little visit to the stingrays, or the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park and the endangered blue Iguanas, or Turtle Farm, or local artisans, maybe even catch the Lighted Boat Christmas Parade and welcome Santa to the island.
Total relaxation.
Total relaxation of body. 
Mind relaxation?  Yeah, not so much!!! 
It's the most re-lax-ing time of year...
to the tune of "The most wonderful time of the year"
by Andy Williams.The draw-back you ask?????
That would be the time period of the planned trip:
My mind will be going round and round and round and round and round.
My mind will be thinking about all that should be done:  two weeks before Christmas.
TWO stinkin' WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
Now, I don't want to sound ungrateful. 
And, really, I am not whining. 
But, TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
And, have I mentioned that it is TWO stinkin' WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!?
I can tell, you are not on my side with this.  You think I am whining.   
You think I should just drop everything and just let go.
I am doing deep breathing right now, preparing myself for the onslaught of anxiety. 
I can do this. 
I will do this. 
I WILL be prepared for Christmas before we leave. 
I will have most of my shopping done. 
I will have everything some things checked off my lists:  cookies baked and frozen, breads baked and frozen, holiday meals planned and meats in the freezer, all pantry items pre-purchased and stocked and checked off, cleaning done (oh, who am I kidding, cleaning will happen if it happens!), cards may be sent as New Year's cards if at all.  Don't really need to finish the quilty gifts before Christmas...they can be New Year's gifts, or added to WIP list.  Take going to cut down live tree off the list and the artificial tree can go up whenever.  Not all the decorations have to come out.  Oh, yea, I am feeling a little better.  Thanks for talking me through this.
It's the most re-lax-ing time of year...
When I am back from relaxing on the beach,
I will just need to go pick up some fresh fruits and veggies and thaw out some things. 
The more I think about it,
with your help and after making this little list,
this IS going to work. 
Simplify.  
Snowballs and other projects can wait until January, don't you think??
R and R...that's what we all need this time of year. 
 I'm going for it. 
And I will be thinking of you. 
I will try to send you some cyber, calming, island-paradise thoughts. 
Can you feel it?

Don't you just love it? and smiles

Did you think I was going to say Chickaboom, Chickaboom???
No, I was going to say:  I love family....
Family,
family togetherness......
I really don't understand some families' dynamics.
Families that don't talk to each other all the time,
families that don't see each other often - even on holidays.
Well, I know why, I just don't have that in my family, so maybe it's just my comprehension that is lacking.
Yeah, we disagree, maybe even fight occasionally, but we agree that each is entitled to their opinion. What is right for me may not be right for you and visa-versa. It's not all about me, or you, or mine or yours. We do agree that life is too short, so get over it.

It also helps to smile - a lot! Makes others wonder what's up.


And they smile back, kinda like a yawn: you can see someone yawning in a PASSING car and that makes you yawn too.
That's what I think smiles do. Doesn't cost you anything, doesn't take much effort or cause any trouble, you don't have to pack along anything, just use those muscles in your lips and cheeks.


You smile, and the smile recipient will smile back 99% of the time.
Try it...you'll like it! You, too, will have 99% reciprocation.

OK, sorry about the 70's references: "Chickaboom" and "try it you'll like it”.
Don't know where those came from... anyway,
check out some of our Thanksgiving family fun:
I won't bore you with lots of pics and family movies, just a couple few, I promise!
1) Too much food...I usually have self-control, not so much here...

This is only the beginnning of the food - two more counters just like this, and another whole two counters with desserts!
YUM.

Oh, yea, usually, either my brother or I slice the meat before dinner, and I talked my BIL into slicing the ham - so here's a pic of his inaugural slicing - write this on the calendar:
Great job Tim!




2) A new to us word game called "Last Word":
 lots of laughter, creativity and togetherness.

We didn't really play by the rules and move around the game board, just all ages (8 to 80-my number, not the game recommendation) calling out words that fit into two different, changing categories and before the buzzer.

3) "Round the World table tennis". Don't know if that is a real name, but that's what we call it - running around the table and each person taking their turn at hitting the ball on each end of the table. You are out if you miss your return or don't hit the table on the opposite side, just like regular table tennis. So how ever many paddles we had was how many played. The challenge is when you are down to 2 peeps and you have to hit it to yourself on at the other end of the table and get there in time to hit it back! That burned off some calories!  (Also created some sweat and dizziness).
 4) "Blink" - a fast paced card flipping game that requires hand/eye coordination, shape and color recognition and logic.  OK, some people were faster than others, but, again any age and not a great time investment, so many people played.
So, love to my family, immediate and extended.  I love you guys!  Thanks for smiling, too - it helps keep my average up to 99%!!! 
Don't you just love it?

Chickaboom!