10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Blast off!
Charlie (2 1/2) was in his astronaut suit after breakfast, ready for lift off before Ben Huberman at WordPress challenged bloggers to show Out of this World.
(Ben did say it could be a loose interpretation of the theme)
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/out-of-this-world/
Lunch on Friday afternoon in Ohio. Granddaughters Anna and Maura each made a grilled cheese sandwich, plated them with a garnish of fruit and served the sandwiches to me.
I was to eat half of each and cast my vote for the winner. Yikes. Anna’s wasn’t quite as grilled as Maura’s but she used garlic butter and that was unexpected and delicious. Maura’s was thicker with cheese and toasted nicely. Mmmmmm. I ate a half of each but I declared it a tie. They said my verdict wasn’t allowed. It was not quite Iron Chef but it was fun. They kept jockeying the plates so I’d sample their efforts first. Anna selected her dad’s favorite mug to serve the oj. Nice touch. I loved them both and it was a great lunch.
After the swim meet Friday night. Ohio State U. Here’s the family headed to the car. The pizza order already phoned in for pick up. We’ll be back at the pool at 8 in the morning, 6 am on Sunday. I was lagging behind the family a bit, hauling a bag and a chair. Jack came to relieve me of the chair which was nice. I saw the lights and shadows. Steve’s old dorm. No face in the crowd.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/a-face-in-the-crowd/
This week’s challenge was just that- a challenge.
A Face in the Crowd. Or two or three or four……..
Austin TX
PNC Park tailgate/ Wedding 
Wedding -Fredericksburg TX
Zion Apostolic McKeesport PA
Panza Gallery, Millvale PA
Lion Dance Strip District 
Pittsburgh Marathon 
First Communion Columbus OH
Below-Kennywood Amusement Park Pittsburgh Plunge
New York City
Swim Meet Columbus OH
Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/a-face-in-the-crowd/
Beloved. The Weekly Photo Challenge.
Murphy. The Airedale Terrier. A member of the family. Missed by all. RIP.
The grandchildren have grown up significantly since these photos were taken in June 2012.
Murphy the Airedale Terrier Tenth Birthday Blog
Murphy the Airedale – A Family’s Best FriendRest in Peace beloved Murphy
GROWTH– the Weekly Photo Challenge
And the grandchildren have grown even more since these photos were taken.
Except maybe Jack holding his Christmas present from his Grandma Marlene. She takes the year of photos and creates a hardcover book for each grandchild. She makes one for the family, too, which is really nice to have the hard copies instead of a picture on a computer or phone. A good way to document growth from year to year.
Some of you’ve seen the little sock monkey I keep on my camera lens. He stretches around the cylinder, a gutted Beanie Baby. I’ve got a sweet spot for them.
Eleven years ago I made this Sock Monkey Book for granddaughter Anna(14 now). I found it on a shelf while re-shelving some children’s books at Mark and Erika’s. Finding some books to pass on to the younger grandchildren. Not sure if these blank Little Golden Books are still available but it was fun to make.
I’ve sewn a lot of sock monkeys over the years. This book tells the story of transforming a pair of Rockford Socks into a lovable toy.
The finished sock monkey joins the other toys.
A few alterations to the original recipe but Wednesday night Laura guided Charlie and Maura in the holiday tradition of making Chex Mix. One site says “it’s been a party staple for 50 years”. I can tell you the original recipe was not on the boxes we had this year. Boo.
Baked at 250 F for an hour stirring every 15 minutes. What could be bad about it with all that melted butter and savory salt? Hmmmm
After the Mix making the two cousins played in Charlie’s new train tent. Crawling between the red and blue and back again. Then the added collapsible tunnel component.
A fun night.
Charlie said ” I love this game”
My house is quiet this morning and it’s zero degrees with a windchill of plenty below.
I got back to Pittsburgh yesterday evening. I miss them all now, having spent two weeks with my families in Ohio.
This morning in my kitchen I see my 33 year old self looking at me making toast and wonder where the time flew – I took a cake decorating class in Germany with my friend J when Laura was small.
There’s the reliable top of the line toaster from my dear friend V.
Best 50th birthday present, still working wonderfully fifteen years later.
There’s the new ceramic pour over I received from James and Laura this Christmas. The family photo mug Marlene created for me last Christmas waiting for hot coffee to drip in it. The new spices and tiny lidded butter dish from J in Florida. Oh and the new spices on the rack from her,too. There are Christmas cards to read, bills to pay, Laundry, ordinary life stuff.
At my daughter’s home it’s “pour over” and mugs of places traveled. Every morning my DIL would make a fresh carafe of coffee. Both types delicious. How lovely it is to have someone serve you coffee. I made a pot in their fancy machine but I know they like it a certain way.
Five grandchildren in two homes guarantee fun, laughter and lots of activity. I like playing. Here at home, I’m thinking about finishing knitting projects, checking out a book at the library, hoping the pipes don’t freeze, going to a doctor’s appointment, meeting friends for lunch next week and continuing my efforts to reduce the accumulations in the house with multiple thrift shop trips with donations. I found I had difficulty doing this ongoing task so hired an expert to assist me, spur me on. Need to clear out my third floor.
It’s good to be home in my kitchen.
I’ll catch up on the blog and reply to comments, think about what’s next.
Schedule a battery replacement for my iPhone, (link to a Washington Post Article Below Run Don’t Walk To Replace Iphone Battery for $29). I won’t be running to the nearby Apple store as there is no availability support said to try tomorrow to schedule.
Do you have boxes of board games in your home? Or have electronics taken precedent?
This week I’m visiting family in Ohio and we’ve been playing board games. Some take hours and hours. The card games aren’t included in this picture but UNO is the most popular around here. Maura and I’ve played a few rounds. I heard the four grandkids were playing Life before Christmas.
Does anyone in your household seek world domination- or scarf up real estate, utilities and railroads, add houses and hotels?
On my mother’s side my Uncle John was very good at chess and my Uncle Robert was good at backgammon and Royalty. Both of their families are good game players. I think my family missed that game playing gene although we had Flinch. I looked up the vintage card game Flinch and it’s pricey on eBay.
Different ages prefer certain games and there are a few games I find difficult to stick with and finish to the win. If I were photographing games at my house you’d see Scrabble and Jenga, Boggle, Pictionary, Mille Bornes and Monopoly.
Good sportsmanship and learning to lose gracefully is an ongoing effort.
Following the rules, taking turns, paying attention are essential ingredients.
The new Risk has been trending at Mark and Erika’s house this week. I’ve been watching Ticket to Ride tutorials on YouTube to teach the grandchildren how to play.
At Laura and James’ house the selection is colorful and fun. Charlie is 2 1/2 so it’s Hi Ho Cherrio! Or these two games photographed by Laura today. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
Charlie and the squirrel grab acorns. 
Goodnight Moon Counting Game 
