honda dirt bikes and domino games.

7:24pm

Alrighty.

Hope all your Mondays were good:) I have to say, one of my favorite Mother's Day posts was this one, by Chana. And who can beat chocolate pie on a Monday? ;) 

Well, our Monday was pretty dandy. We went to Grandpa and Grandma T.'s house (Dad's parents) and I made bread dough to bring and make focaccia and pizza with. 

[This is the way I brewed a single cup of joe yesterday, while the yeast, warm water and sugar developed. :)]

Great-Uncle Eugene had made a wonderful marinara sauce that he added a few odd but delicious things too--like clams, and carrots. It was a little different, but oh, so good.

I went outside while Dad and the children had fun making pizzas of all sorts, and rode the Honda dirt bike that Ben and Caleb bought from a friend for a bargain...I have to say, it was pretty fun. But, before he let me ride it myself (I wasn't expecting to do so when I got out there) I sat in front of him and kept my feet on the short spokes of the front wheel, and we went around the house's large square of green property about 4 times. Yowzer. There are muscles in my thigh/hip area that I didn't know I had or ever used, aching with walking. Don't ya just love finding muscles that way? Golly. 

So he let me try it, and I forgot to put on the helmet, and got to go around maybe 3 times...he tried to show me how to switch gears, but all his kind, patient explaining flew over my head but heck, I went fast enough (around 15mph) for my first time on a dirt bike. :)

When I went back in, I tossed this into the oven made with extra dough:

It's dough rolled out, butter spread on in a moderate manner;), cinnamon and sugar dusted thickly over that. . . basically, cinnamon rolls studded with pecans. Not cut and turned on their side, though.

Then after eating to our hearts content, we sat down for a little game of chicken feet. Or some game called something with chicken in it. It was a domino game, 'kay?

You can guess who people are, can't you? Grandma T., Rachel and a little cousin...that's Caleb with the wide eyes, seated next to G-Uncle Eugene. And then the rest of us.

It was more fun than I though it was going to be, and after a while, I got the point of the ways you played the game...that always helps;)

Before the game, I was daring and brave and stepped up onto a counter stool thing; a slightly wobbly one at that. But I snapped this one...

Bottom left all the way up and around to the right...

Caleb, G-Uncle Eugene, Rachel, a small cute random cousin (we don't have too many young cousins, though a few are starting to have babies, yay!), Grandma T., another random cousin, Lyd, Grandpa T., Ben, Dad, and Anna.

Now onto tonight. Er, today.

Anna made this soup... 

[I made this collage big enough so you can click on it and read the most important parts of the recipe...if you want it;)]

Ugh, it was good. Even Caleb, the food critic who eats anyways but has his opinion spoken, liked it a lot. ;) Add chips on the side, and the mushed up avocado. Mmmm.

Okay, someone agree with me that that's a pretty cool little place-to-hang-out thingy...in the bottom right. It's a picture from the book New Classic Interiors by Alessandra Branca.

So glad we caught these today. Perfect timing--tomorrow night they'd probably by bad.

Okey-dokey. And we had this really simple apple-sauce cake. With cinnamon-sugar on top with nuts. And then I brewed some chai in my new thermos, which keeps my tea hot enough for quite a while, hot enough to burn my lips. :)

Bigelow chai tea bag, honey, and a good dribble of milk.

Do you like chair? How do you take it?

Ha, and have you ever brewed your coffee like the above picture? ;)

What games do you play with your family?

Have a lovely night! Ah, there's nothing like an after-dinner walk. Though it's nicer if it's not quite as chilly as it's been the past few days... oh well. :) As soon as the family's done watching another episode of MI-5, Anna and I will be hitting the sidewalks;) 

G'night.

p.s. apple sauce cake unveiling: asap! ;)