Apples to Apples

I have to tell you about the most fun I have had in a long time. When I went down to see my family on the 4th of July, I spent that Sunday evening at my son's house. We had dinner, spent some time in the garden...

looked at the sunflowers and marveled at how tall they grow.

and then while we ate strawberry shortcake for dessert, I was taught how to play a game called Apples to Apples.

The Beans showed me how to play and what to do. I guess I was a fast learner because I got the thumbs up from my oldest grandson.
I gave the camera to my daughter in law and she took these photos of our progress.

Little Bean needed some help with a few words that he didn't know... so we did some teamwork on the side. I would whisper in his ear what the word was  and sometimes what it meant.

This is a game of synonyms. A card is laid on the table and it might say "beautiful". The players all put one card in the middle of the table that they think comes the closest to being a synonym for "beautiful" But, because the cards were randomly given to you out of the deck, you don't always have a card that works and that's when it gets funny. You have to put a card down. Sometimes you have the perfect card, like "stunning" or "the universe" or "mothers"... but sometimes you only have " Mashed potatoes" or "motor oil" and that's all you have to work with. One designated person (that was me.) had to decide which came the closest to "beautiful" and who gets to keep the "beautiful" card. The person that ends up with the most cards wins the game.
Once in a while I would have two cards that were not even in the ball park as a synonym for the first card. That's when I had to decide which one was better than the other.
So they waited for me to read the choices...

.. which were sometimes so bizarre that I would have to repeat the original word and read them all the synonyms that they put on the table. I would read them out loud, trying not to laugh.
Then, we would all crack up, when the closest synonym to "snake" was not "slither", or even "scary", but "bologna sandwich".
We would all laugh ourselves silly... and then have a short round table discussion about what a "snake" sandwich would taste like.

Maybe you had to be there, but I haven't had this much fun in a long time. This is what grandkids do for you. They make you a kid again, if you don't let "being an adult" get in the way.
What a wonderful evening it was.

Fun with the Beans

After the Beans left on Tuesday, my good friend "C" came to visit for a few days. It was her birthday and we had to celebrate it with the New Year. She left this morning. We had a great visit and she enjoyed herself. It was then that I took a good look at this house. After having the Beans here, being gone so much and just having fun... this house was a sad combination of After Christmas chaos without any New Years resolutions to point me in the right direction.
The first order of business was putting away all the Christmas decorations. It took me most of the day...including a two hour nap, which was very needed, and tonight I feel like a new woman. The house is clean and I'm still going strong at almost midnight.
I also chose a few good photos of the Bean's and thought I would write another post about their visit, which was a whirlwind of activity.

They loved the hot tub.

It's a great way NOT to have to give your grandchildren a bath every night.
Carl wanted to play.. but he didn't want to get wet. So he watched... and barked once in a while.

The next day we put them to work digging for GOLD.

This area was a bit too steep but they had fun trying to scale it anyway.
Then we let them climb near the Chicken coop where it wasn't so steep and the dirt was filled with quartz.
 This was "Gold" dirt. They spent hours working here.

Actually, they were making steps up the side of the hill to the chicken coop... an alternate route for the brave and for those who want to climb hills to retrieve eggs, rather than walk up the "easy" trail... in other words, 8 to 10 year old's.
At the top, near the chicken house, were some big quartz rocks and they were sure that these were gold bearing rocks.

Papa gave them a crash course on gold panning. He got some quartz rocks that he had been saving for the occasion and put them through the rock crusher, which reduces the rock to dust and very small pieces of sand, dirt and (hopefully) gold. Then he showed them how to pan.

Then he let them do it.

And by golly... they found gold in their pans.

  They learned to use a snuffer bottle and suck those gold pieces out of the pan into that bottle.
They were hooked. They went back and got more dirt and panned... and panned... and panned. It's amazing what gold fever can do to keep two little boys occupied... for hours.

One night I let the Beans fixed dinner. A friend had posted a new way to use hot dogs on Facebook so I decided  that this might be fun. IT WAS.
The boys did all the work.

You cut a hot dog up into three pieces and stick as many pieces of uncooked spagetti as you can into the hot dog lengthwise.  (Six or seven is about it.)

We made  about three of these combos a person.

Then we cooked the spaghetti and hot dogs.

 Be patience. It takes a while to get the pasta down into the water and don't add salt to the water.
I warmed up some spaghetti sauce and made a salad. 

Pretty easy dinner and THEY ATE IT.
About this recipe: I would only say that this is a "kid friendly" dinner that is fun and filling. It is not for large dinner parties or gourmet foodies but it was a success with the hungry prospectors. I think the spaghetti could have cooked a little longer than regular pasta, because the part that was inside the hot dog was a little tough. Maybe cooking the whole combination longer would have cooked the speared spaghetti more.

I also went to my first 3D movie in 50 some years.

Took the Beans to see WALKING WITH DINOSAURS.

I was able to wear these glasses (above) over mine.

 They were the "adult" size 3D glasses. I had a moment of panic when I realized that I had to wear them and that I might have to take my other glasses off. Then I wouldn't have seen anything. But it all worked out in the end.
Synopsis... "For the first time in movie history, audiences will truly see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. WALKING WITH DINOSAURS is the ultimate immersive, big screen adventure for families. Meet dinosaurs more real than you've ever seen as you take off on a thrilling prehistoric adventure, where Patchi, an underdog dinosaur, triumphs against all odds to become a hero for the ages."

This movie did not get great reviews but we loved it. I'm not an animated movie buff.  I just don't like most of them, but this movie was entertaining and I fell in love with Patchi, the little dinosaur who saves his migrating herd.
They even stopped the action to tell you what kind of dinosaurs had just arrived and what kind of eaters they were. A little prehistoric history along with the entertainment... wonderful scenery and great animation.
If you have kids (or grand kids) who like Dinosaurs... this is the movie for them.
Oh... and bring your own food and drinks. A small Slurpee was $6.25. Can you believe it? Two bags of popcorn and two Slurpee's were more than the price of admission. Wow!

I'm going to do another post on our trip, with the Beans, to Columbia, CA. and then ( after you can't take one more Bean post) I will move on to the quest for the Great Blue Heron at the river.
All is quiet here, now... but I miss them.

and all the silliness that we love.


My friend "C" and her little dog Max were good, adult company. We had a wonderful visit.
Happy Birthday, C. You are missed. Hope your drive home was a smooth one.
Well, it's getting close to midnight so I guess I will stop, post and go to bed.

I hope that "C"s daughter, in Boston, is not still frozen shut into her apartment after the big storm. She was raised here in California and she is braving this awful winter in the east... and my Dawn in Michigan... and Donna in Montana... and all my blogging friends in the east. I send you warmth from California where we keep the screen door open all day and the sun feels good. Take care.

Wordless Wednesday: The Beans helping rake the Sycamore leaves.

"Have a Good Time and Drive Defensively."

Those were the Prospectors last words a week ago, as I drove off to see my family."Did you take the phone, your camera charger, your medicine and your toothbrush?"
"Yes." I answered. I had enough "stuff" to stay for a month. He was still waving as I drove down the dusty road.
I drove to South Sacramento first and got four Cortizone shots, at the hospital, in my feet. My poor feet were aching , tingling and overdue for my twice a year injections for multiple Neuromas... the awful afflection that numbs and cause pain at the same time. The doctor says that an operation is coming, in the near future, to remove the thick nerve tissue that has developed in both feet. Bummer!! It from all those years of working for a living.
 I headed down the highway and through the Delta, stopping for some fruit and vegetables at the Delta Farmers Market on Highway 12, just before the Rio Vista bridge.

You can read about all of the good things that The Delta Foundation is doing for the Delta if you're interested. It's a good non profit organization that has membership with benefits.
The California Delta is a beautiful resource that is worthy of being taken care of. It's one of California's geographic wonders. Take a look at the links.
I turned south and drove along the  Sacramento River on highway 160 and, of course, got stuck waiting for the bridge linking Brannan Island and Sherman Island because it is just what happens out there.

 The traffic stops for all the boats going under the bridges. You wait, get out, stretch. TAKE PICTURES and relax because there's nothing you can do about it. It's a water world out there and bridges are the only way to get from one place to another. If a bridge is up, then you wait. It's a time honored Delta tradition.
The bridge went back down and I continued on.  I drove over the San Joaquin River and into Antioch, through Pittsburg, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek... and finally got to my sister's in Lafayette.
My lovely upstairs "room with a view" was ready... with flowers.

My sis always does some little "extra", like flowers and... see the black clock? She found two little Corgi statues and put them they to remind me of Carl and Cutter while I was away from them. That was very sweet.
I needed a nap. She left me to veg for a few hours and later she fed me. This is my home away from home when I come down here. I'm so lucky.

The next morning I sat with Sis and the dogs, drank some really good coffee, and planned the day.
 Later I went to visit my grandkids and their Mom. She needed to get some work done so I took them to the park.

Oh, the wonderful Pleasant Hill Park and pool...

This is where I learned to swim and hang out with friends... and yes, if we're being honest, met boys every summer. This little brick building was the first building here. Now they are building another one to the right that will be a swimming and teen center.
The park is beautiful.

 The Beans love to play here. There are lots of ways to swing, climb, slide and tumble. They always move at the speed of light.

Climbing high and yelling, "Hey Noni, WATCH ME." and I do... like a hawk, following them, worrying, telling them to stay in my line of sight. Telling them to smile for me, as I take pictures of them.
They know that Noni "Takes pictures of their LIFE." and they are so good about it... most of the time.

Angry Bird, sittin' in the tunnel, is five and trying, very hard, to keep the tongue in the mouth. It's always getting out.

They really like to climb. It must be a throwback to our "monkey" connection. Darwin would be proud.
Here is the "hanging monkey" move.

And this is the half hanging monkey.

And my most favorite,

The "Oh, my gosh. What do I do now." move.
You just have to love that flexibility and form.
Later they  found a small shovel that someone left in the sand. But there was no pail for them to put the sand in. So, being the amazing and creative Bambinos that they are, they improvised.

Laughing themselves silly about having "fat" stomachs and looking like they were "going to have a baby".

What goofiness!

Before we left they climbed into a big old tree and I took... "More pictures, Noni?"
"Yes dears, just one more...please."
 and they let me indulge my passion...one more time.

 And... once more.

There's that tongue again. It's uncontrollable!
Tomorrow would be the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for them. Angry Bird would be starting Kindergarten and my California Bean would start second grade. Wow! Growing at the speed of light.