Fun and Games

For a few days over the holidays, we managed to sit down with some board games.
 

A little bit of 'Blokus' for the cousins

 
 
 


'Ticket To Ride' for the adults
Love this game, now that I know how to play!

 
 

The adult game table is in prime form when a few of these are present

 
 
 


Several rounds of 'Apples To Apples'
So fun, now that the nieces and nephews are all old enough to play
 
'Telephone Pictionary' guarantees laughs when the Dynna family all gathers to play

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 Tell me, is there any reason why these two have to pose for pictures like this?  ;)
 
 

 

 

I guess there's part of me that will always equate quality family time with board games.  It's what I grew up on.  A wobbly TV antennae that 'guaranteed' one good channel only went so far - we had our usual shows - The Walton's, Little House On The Prairie, Happy Days, Hockey Night in Canada and Tommy Hunter were television highlights of our week.  We had to be given special permission to abandon the supper table to watch TV and how I remember begging my parents to allow me to take my plate into the other room to watch something really important like, um, what was it again? 

 

We had work, work and more work to do on the farm so days off were mostly reserved for Sundays and after my parents napped forever in the afternoon (Sunday really was their Sabbath, their day of rest), we often spent Sunday night gathered around the round wooden table in the small kitchen with board games that had become family favorites.  The wood cookstove sat beside the electric stove (we were half modern, half old fashioned....hey, it was the 70's) and it warmed the room with the warmth that only wood fire brings.  Sometimes we ate a Cuban Lunch chocolate bar, split 4 ways, and I realize how excessive we have all become in the 21st century.  We shared a single bag of chips out of the Old Dutch box (now that seems like a single serving) and on rare occasions divided a 750 ml bottle of Pepsi 4 ways.  And we were all satisfied.  Delighted, actually.

 

Some board games were just more fun than others.  We practically wore out Masterpiece board game - the thrill of not knowing who owned the FORGERY piece vs the MILLION DOLLAR PIECE - wow, high thrills back in our day.  Then there was Probe - the little snappy yellow/orange trays that hid letters of the most unguessable word that you could think of, each letter revealed one by one until someone successfully guessed.  We played Triominoes and still have the box where we recorded the time that Dad had to pick up 50-some tiles before he could play his next play.  How we giggled at his expense!  Yahtzee, Scrabble (which wasn't very fun then....) and then, for me, the dreaded Bible Trivia game.  It was only dreaded for me because I come from a family of Bible scholars and I don't retain facts well about anything so there was no way that I could ever wrap my lips around a reasonable guess, let alone have any chance at winning. 

 

When Dean and I were newly married, both he and my dad developed an obsession with Boggle and  the rest of the family quietly backed away from the game table whenever they got together. They'd rattle those noisy dice around in that noisy plastic box and it was game on when the dice settled and the timer started.  Good times. 

 

My parents still play Scrabble every night.  Sometimes they phone us to brag (or whine), depending on who scored the smartest play.  Not too long ago, one of them scored a word worth well over 100 points, landing a high counter on a triple word plus a double letter or some such combination.

 

So it's pretty deeply ingrained in me that time spent sitting around the table with a little snack, family and some silly game is time well spent.  I hope to do a lot more of that this year.  It's just good.

 

Anyone wanna come over?

 

 

 

I've been waiting to share a new recipe with you that I found on Pinterest just after Christmas.  It's SO easy, inexpensive and is a nice throw-in-the-oven option for those busy days when supper needs to be ready with not much fuss.

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

6-7 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed, no need to pre-brown
4 1/2 cups of diced potatoes, uncooked
4 sliced of cooked and crumbled bacon
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp melted butter

Heat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9x9 baking pan

Layer half of the potatoes, half of the chicken, season with 1/4 tsp S and P, cover with half of the bacon crumbles, half of the green onions and 1/2 cup of cheese.

Top with the rest of the ingredients in same order, reserving the last half cup of cheese for later. 

Pour the whipping cream and melted butter over the entire dish and cover with tin foil.

Bake for one hour.  Uncover and bake for another 1/2 hour.  Just before finished, add last half cup of shredded cheese, bake to melt, then serve.