Mom's Cake

I play Dungeons and Dragons with a couple of groups. One group meets online. The other actually plays the way the game started, with pencils and paper and dice and maps. For the latter group, we get together roughly every 2-3 weeks. Part of that involves food. We've had theme food night and last week, it was breakfast.

Originally, I was going to make a chocolate walnut bread, but chose to sink my time into sewing shirt number 2. But I still had to bring something. I wasn't interested in dashing to the store for anything. I wanted to bake. What could I make that was quick but symbolic of breakfast? I know. Mom's coffee cake.

It's ridiculously simple and I've probably blogged about this before. Mix dry ingredients together with vegetable oil.

Set aside a cup of this crumbly mixture and add egg and buttermilk to the rest.

Pour into a 9x13 greased and floured pan and sprinkle the saved crumb over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and inhale the fragrance of cinnamon and nutmeg and brown sugar.

Cut in pieces and serve warm, with ice cream or cooled for breakfast or as a snack. This cake freezes very well. I've made it, cut it into pieces and stuck the pieces in the freezer. Even defrosting them at 3-4 months out, they were still moist.

This was a staple of family meals when I was growing up. I don't know if mom remembers where she found the recipe but she's been making this for at least 55 years, maybe longer. It's pretty much foolproof and would be a great cake to get kids cooking. I took what was left to the office and then finished off what was left after everyone at work had a piece.

Here's the recipe:

Salad Oil Coffee Cake

3 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2)  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan.
3)  Mix flour, sugars and spices together.
4)  Add oil to dry ingredients, stirring until blended and mixture is lumpy.
5)  Reserve 1 cup of the flour/sugar mixture. Set aside.
6)  Add egg, buttermilk, soda and salt to the remaining mixture. Beat until well blended and creamy.
7)  Sprinkle reserved mixture over the top of the batter.
8)  Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
9)  Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving. May be frozen for later servings.

Enjoy.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Gaming

Can't go to Carole's without playing games.

It started with the creation of a "Corn Hole". I looked at Larry. "A what?" I asked. "A Corn Hole," he replied, as if telling me again would make me understand it better. Out to the garage we went.

Once I saw these, I knew what they were for. We would call the whole thing a "Bean Bag Toss" set up. The object of the game is to toss a bag full of beans or, in this area of the country, dried corn kernels, into the hole from a distance. You get 3 points for getting the bag through the hole, 2 points for getting the bag on the top quarter, near the hole, and 1 point for getting the bag on the bottom of the ramp.

Larry had seen these at a store but they wanted an exorbitant amount of money for them. So he and his dad built their own.

The rectangle has two feet at the top which fold out to give the piece its slant.

This one was a little wobbly on the driveway, but once in the back yard, it was fine. My job was to paint chalkboard paint onto the top so topical items can be drawn or written on the face. It was warm on Friday morning when I did this.

Larry didn't want the sides or the interior of the hole to be be painted so there was blue painter's tape to edge those areas. I could not get the blue tape to stick to the sides. It worked for a bit with the interior of the hole, but I gave up on the one and just did my best to not have it drip. This was the first coat. It took a bit of mixing to get the paint to come out evenly.

Ultimately, it took three coats to get an even surface. I brought sidewalk chalk along but that was too hard for the surface and I had to paint over the markings. You need to use chalkboard chalk on this paint. The can recommends a drying time of 24-hours so I painted this on Friday as we were going to use them at the 3rd Annual Spectacular Death Guild Meet-up, held on Saturday. By Saturday, they were ready to go.

In this blurry photo of Larry and Luke, we had a great time playing "Corn Hole".

It was hot and humid so we wound up not using these as much as I think we would have had the humidity not been so oppressive. The chalk markings erased very easily. When the bean bags would land on the ramp, they would erase the chalk.

Late Saturday night, we played Cards Against Humanity.

On Monday evening, we blocked off the whole evening and played three games. First up was Star Trek Catan.

It took me a little bit to remember how to play Settlers of Catan, but once I remembered, this plays exactly like Settlers. Your pieces are the Enterprise space ship and Federation space stations. Carole won this.

Next up, we played Ascension.

I'm not one to enjoy card games where you have strategies utilizing various cards. Magic: The Gathering and Blizzard's Hearthstone card game are like that. Ascension is similar but it's easier for people like me to figure out. It was fun. It might be something I'd enjoy doing on a regular basis. Larry and I played Pirate Munchkin on Sunday afternoon. I do like that game, mainly because the cards are hilarious. I believe Larry won this round of Ascension.

Carole said there is an Ascension app for smart phones. She spends a lot of time playing the game on her phone. I looked at my smart phone and shook my head. I use my phone to make and receive calls, occasionally check the weather and find mapping routes, and as an alarm clock when one is not available. Play games on it? I don't think so.

We ended the night with my favorite game, Trivial Pursuit.

This was the newest version, the one Larry gave Carole for Christmas. Mom joined us and we played the fast way where you got a pie piece when you answered a question correctly. I won. I'd been stumped by the green Science and Nature category so they thought that was a good one to give me at the end. My question? "What kind of dog was Lassie?" I thought, at first, Larry, who was giving me questions, was joking. I was really expecting something along the lines of "Name one of the nobel gasses." I'd have had to actually think about that. It was kind of disappointing to win on what, to me, was a hugely easy question. Oh well, it was still fun.

I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons online with a group of friends since May. I just added a table top Dungeons and Dragons event which may play as much as twice a month, but right now, we're looking at just once a month. Years ago, bi-monthly gaming dates with friends was a part of my life. Games are a way to connect and have fun. It's slowly coming back into my life and I couldn't be happier.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

So Far Away

Yesterday was "Tabletop Game Day". You can be forgiven for not knowing about this. I didn't until a number of Facebook friends announced it. I'm not sure who decided it would be April 11th, either. It's a day designed to highlight the games we play on our dining room table. This is the stash in my closet.

I have more on top of the wardrobe. I've mentioned how my mother loved to play games when we were growing up. "Life", "Sorry", "Monopoly", "Candyland", "Chutes and Ladders", "Scrabble" and I think even "Clue" were games I grew up on. It was natural that, as Carole grew into game playing age, we'd get games and spread that love to her.

As she grew, what was a small market, exploded. I think "Trivial Pursuit" is what started it. Companies saw there was money to be made from designing interesting, intriguing and engaging games played not on a computer, but on your kitchen table, where the cat can interrupt play just by hopping up onto the board, and snacks and soda are the evening meal. Games are released with astounding frequency and, if you type "games" into Kickstarter or indiegogo or any crowd-funding site, the list of who has a game idea they want to make is very long. Some stuff isn't worth your time, but some games are very intriguing.

When mom and I went to Carole and Larry's wedding, once we unloaded the car and got settled, we grabbed some chili and sat down to play games. First up was "Scattergories".

If you've never played it, it's a word association game based on a dice roll. You have to think of a word or name that goes with the category on the left. All these words have to begin with the same letter. Both the card and the letter chosen are based on rolls of dice. Some letters were easy to find words, like "R". But some, like "O", were hard. You get points based on uniqueness of your word. If someone else has the same thing, you don't get a point. Carole's really good at this.

Then, we played the newest version of Trivial Pursuit.

I have to say that when it's general knowledge Trivial Pursuit, I'm pretty good at that, even when the game taps from culture, such as rap, about which I have very little knowledge. But when Larry gets out his "Star Wars" Trivial Pursuit, I'm sunk. It really is about your interests.

What I really wished, yesterday, was that I had a group of people with whom to play these games. I love to play World of Warcraft, but it's a solitary pursuit, even with the emphasis on groups. I sit at home, alone, and log on with others who are at their homes, alone, playing. As much as we work together to accomplish goals, we aren't trying to figure out if Jon has Colonel Mustard or if that card killed Mr. Body. Does that laugh mean he doesn't have Colonel Mustard but has the wrench? When I could stop and see April and Perry on my travels east, it was as important to time the travel to be there for their game night. I played so many games I never would have experienced by doing that.

Game nights are as much about camaraderie as they are about knowing the star of "Flashdance". And don't forget, tabletop gaming extends to marathon sessions of "Go Fish" with a bunch of giggling great nieces and nephews as it is about "Settlers of Cataan" with wine, cheese and crackers and friends.

That's what I miss.

Beverage:  English Breakfast Tea

Deb

On Vacation-The Games We Played

I've danced around the issue, but, for this post, it's time to acknowledge that my daughter's first marriage didn't work out. There are many reasons why but it just didn't work out. She's got a new beau, Larry, and mom is quite happy with this one. There's a lot more in common and a lot more mutual respect. One of the big things they have in common is playing games.

The ex was okay with game playing so long as it was the games he wanted to play. Larry doesn't care. It's about the experience of playing games with friends and family. Winning or losing is immaterial. Playing games, from card games to board games to role-playing games to online games, has long been a part of our family life. From the earliest times when Carole learned to play Candyland to now when she's off playing online games that are quite complicated, gaming is something she does. That Larry shares her interest in games is a huge plus.

I have long been jealous of my friends, April and Perry, who had a long running Monday Night Game Night where they got together with a bunch of friends and played anything and everything. There are a lot of studies which talk about how games keep your brain learning and learning staves off dementia. My ability to understand what April and Perry and friends were playing was limited. I sometimes felt as if the synapses in my brain just gave up. But their game nights were also more about being with friends, which, of itself, helps keep a myriad of health problems away. If I had a boat load of friends nearby, I'd try to have game nights once a month.

So, I was excited to play games with Larry and Carole while I was on vacation. We got out our sodas and cookies and had a ball. The first game we played was Star Wars Trivial Pursuit.

Holy Millennium Falcon, Batman. Talk about trivial. That Larry knew what color "x's" robe was when he was on x planet in the 3rd movie was impressive. He probably knows more than I've forgotten about the movies. Needless to say, he creamed Carole and I.

After that, we played World of Warcraft Trivial Pursuit. Um...yeah. I redeemed myself, going from last place to first place. Carole quipped, "Well, let's see if we even get a turn" as she pulled up the first card to read to me. I don't know everything about WOW, just as Larry doesn't know everything contained in the Star Wars trivia. It's fun to run into a question you don't know, one that makes you sit back and say, "Really? I didn't know that."

Later in the week, we played Settlers of Catan.

I've played this before with April and Perry. It's a fun game and requires just enough strategy to not make me dislike it. I really don't like strategy games so you'll never find me playing something like Risk. Settlers requires thinking about where to build roads and towns, but there's the luck of the dice roll too, which you can't control. Carole is really good at this game and soundly beat Larry and I.

The last game we played was Boggle.

Larry has a degree in computer science. Words are not his strong suit. Carole had, at one point, considered a double major in English and Anthropology, but opted just for Anthropology, so she can spell. Larry doesn't mind playing Boggle with her even though she can beat him by 100 points. He was looking forward to watching the two of us go head to head.

I'm afraid I cannot keep up with my daughter. I have slowed down in word recognition. She sees words very easily and, while I can see some words she can't, she's much better at it than I. She won both games we played although the first game was closer than the second game.

They also go to a local Irish pub on Wednesday nights for a trivia contest. I had really good fish and chips and some incredible chocolate mousse. Oh my, was it good. We were in 3rd place after the first round, first place after the second round, 2nd place after the bonus round, 4th place after the 4th round and then the bottom fell out. There was a "name that tune" final round. I had no clue what any of the music was so I just ate my chocolate mousse. It was current music and "classic rock", two areas that I have a very limited knowledge of. The guy running the trivia contest did have "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart, which caused me to laugh out loud because this came after 4 songs I hadn't a clue about. The others in attendance knew a few more than me, but we sank to 9th place overall. Still, I could see doing that on a monthly basis if I lived closer. My team would just have to understand I don't know rock music. Jazz on the other hand...

We went to lunch at Larry's parents' house on Monday and they also like to play games. We played one of the longest Uno games I think I've played in years. We also played Rat-a-tat Cat. This is a very fun card game from Gamewright Games. It's suitable for all ages. It was a lot of fun to play with Larry's parents, to see where he got his love of gaming from.

I miss this. I have a large number of games in my closet that I'd love to play if I could get a group of people together. Mille Bourne, Scrabble, Disney Trivial Pursuit or Humble anyone?

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Here and Gone

I'm typing this after a wee nap and a load of dishes done and a load of whites washed and hung to dry. Carole and David are headed back to Virginia. It was such a whirlwind visit.

They arrived on Friday morning at 6:30. That's right. They drove. All night. From Virginia. They were the photographers at Niles Eastman's wedding yesterday and did not trust TSA or any baggage handler to not break or otherwise confiscate their photographic equipment. While there is no way on this planet I could drive 13 hours to get to one place, with two of them, they did it.

After a nap on Friday, we had lunch and they trundled off to see friends. Friday night, we had time for a home cooked dinner and some Trivial Pursuit.

Saturday, they met more friends and then started their photographic odyssey by shooting the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Sunday was the big day.  This blurry image is from the church as Carole was waiting for the processional to start. Carole is a landscape photographer. You can see some of her work at www.buckwalterphotography.com. She has a unique perspective on scenery. David's vision can be found on www.buckscorner.com. He's been involved in photography longer than Carole but they share the same kind of energy and passion for the medium.

We have known Niles since he was in 8th grade, I think. Ironically, the church where Niles married and where his mother is the senior pastor was the church where Carole was baptised, St. Paul Lutheran, in Wheaton. It's too long of a story to explain why we aren't there anymore. When Niles and Jenn were looking for photographers, Carole and David became the only choice, never mind that their involvement meant a drive back to Wheaton. A friendship going on 10 years means you come to a wedding, wherever you are. (Once some of the photos get processed and up on the web site, you know I'll share a link.)

If you look at David's web site, you'll see a lot of interesting images, close ups and stills, which require a "studio" of sorts. It was this equipment they were concerned about as a photographer comes with his full arsenal. They did have to rent a couple pieces they didn't own to make sure they had all options covered. It's quite a lot of material, in large and small bags, to haul around.

Thirty-odd years ago, when I married Carole's dad, the photographer had a bag filled with film. The idea of the photographer as a mobile person within the wedding was not fully developed. If you had a formal reception, say, at the country club, there could be a spot reserved for everyone who attended the wedding to go be photographed.

Today, Carole and David wandered about the wedding and reception taking photos all the time. Here they are, as we wait for the meal to be served, looking through the digital cameras at what they had already taken. Multiple images on film was unheard of. That would cost too much money. Now, you can squeeze off 4-10 in a row and pretty much capture movement and the perfect photo. A lot has changed.

They were offered a hotel room last night and gratefully took it. They were exhausted. I heard nothing but compliments on how they handled things, the photos they took and their willingness to "Can you shoot x?" I think she personally shot over 1600 photos. That will be a lot to process and upload over the next week.

This morning, they loaded up the car and left. The girls are happy they are gone. Mija and Pilchard are just not at all used to more than me or Pam in the house. Pilchard was more willing to be petted and I'm pleased that Mija did come out and say, "Hi" a few times. A couple more days and maybe she wouldn't growl when Carole and David came into the house.

It was a too short visit, of course. Something like this generally is. I have such a small house without a guest bedroom that it can be an inconvenience for all around to co-exist. But, we made it work. It's quiet again.

I miss them.

Beverage:  Grape Juice

Deb

Visiting Ohio: What I Played

The Ohio friends are a group that has been getting together for eons, usually on a Monday night, to play games. The gaming location varies between houses but it's the same crew. When I came through for the very first time, back in November 2010, I made sure my trip included a stop-over on Monday night so I could participate in game night.

Games have always been a part of my life. Growing up, we had the usual; Scrabble, Sorry, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, etc. My house contains three dozen games of the card and board variety. When Carole was growing up, we got one or two new games a year.

I don't do well with strategy games. I term them "stradegy", because my strategy is usually a tragedy. I have never won Clue. The logic of trying to figure out who did it with what where eludes me. I'll play it but I have never, ever won.

April and Perry, Jim and Joe, Chad and Chris, Jim M and Greg are gamers in the purest sense of the word. They follow gamer podcasts and YouTube updates. They keep abreast of what games have been added to the pantheon available at a local store or online. I have nothing they haven't played to death, but there is a vast world of games that I have never experienced. Part of the trip was to assure myself a spot at the table, to be exposed to new games and at least one old one.

I know I'll forget something or put what we played in the wrong order, but here goes. Perry and I played Carcassonne. I really like that game. Every time I visit, I want to play it. It's sort of strategy but it is determined by the tiles you draw. Then, he taught me to play Dominion. I wasn't too sure about the game at first, but it grew on me. I don't think we played anything else, just the two of us, after Dominion because it was time to get ready for the party.

While we waited for people to arrive, we played a newer card game called The Resistance. In this game, spies infiltrate a group of resistance fighters. You draw a card at the beginning which tells you if you are a loyal member of the resistance or a spy. A leader, which rotates around the players, chooses a certain number of people to go on missions. You get to vote on whether you think these people will carry out the mission. Then, they get to vote on whether the mission succeeds. Loyalists have to vote yes. Spies can vote yes or no. It was great fun to try to figure out who was the spy.

After dinner, we played a game I knew about because Carole plays it; Cards Against Humanity. You can see one set up above. If you are easily offended, do not play this game. If you like Apples to Apples and have a quirky sense of humor, you will love this. It's exactly like Apples to Apples but the cards, well, interesting doesn't quite cover it. There was much, much laughter and poor April got the worst one to read. She wound up handing off the black card to someone else to read because she was laughing so hard.

This is a game called 7 Wonders. We ended the night with this but I know we played something else that I had to learn and have forgotten the name of already. It was green.

I was lousy at 7 Wonders. I had a lot of cards, but you also have to build wonders from each age and that part I didn't understand. Oh well. We had to maximize gaming and card games seem to be the best way to do that.

On Monday, Perry and I played quite a few games in the afternoon. We started with a game by one of my favorite card game creators, GameWright. We played Forbidden Island and There's a Moose in the House. I really liked both of those.

After those, we set up Settlers of Catan, but discovered you can't play that with two people. So, Perry pulled out Rivals of Catan, a card game with the same idea. This was great fun. It took me a bit to figure out what I was supposed to do, but it is easily learned. I won that game. I was quite surprised.

Chris arrived at this point and we played some Wii bowling. I had never done that. I'm rather impressed that Wii bowling even gets your hook. In spite of tossing the only gutter ball, I won with a 146.

We had supper and settled into another Cards Against Humanity. It was fun but the game definitely benefits from having more rather than fewer people. After that, we played Citadel. This was a very fun game, once I got the hang of  it.

From there, it was another round of Cards Against Humanity and we ended the night with Munchkin Impossible. Last year, I played Munchkin for the first time under the Munchkin Booty banner. Munchkin Impossible was just as silly and enjoyable.

I do miss gaming. I miss the long games of Trivial Pursuit we used to have. I have a large number of GameWright games, including a few they don't make anymore. Nothing like a rousing round of Rat-A-Tat Cat to end an evening.

In getting together, it's not just about the games, trying something new or something familiar. It's about the camaraderie. It's about friendship. It's about being with other people, sharing life and conversation and insults across the table. I got to see a lot of different games, games that, if I had a group I regularly played with, I'd get.

Most importantly, it's about laughter and togetherness. Solitaire is nice but sometimes, there's nothing better than playing a card on your neighbor that destroys his army.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb