Mindless Weekend Rambling: Family Quirks & Traditions

Welcome to my new blog event called Mindless Weekend Rambling where I will ramble on and on aimlessly about all the junk rolling around in my brain. Occasionally I might rant and rave about something that is bothering me or question the sanity of it all, or maybe choose to discuss my to do list or plans that I am making or maybe share something new I learned. The only thing I can guarantee is that it will be totally off the cuff. I hope you will bear with me and maybe get a laugh or two in the process.

 

 

So by the time you read this I will be surrounded by part of my mom's side of the family and I am so excited because of what happens when we all get together.

 

 

Let's chat about odd family traditions . . .

 

Well first I want to talk about my Dad's side of the family which is smaller and tends to be a lot tamer. Generally when that side of my family gets together it is at my Grandparent's house and we have this obsession with food.  In particular breakfast, ice cream and popcorn. 

 

Usually at least one or two days when we are there we have breakfast at 'Grandpa's House' which is just a fire pit on their extra lot that is surrounded by trees. We all pitch in to cook a massive breakfast over that fire pit in good old cast iron skillets of potatoes, sausage, eggs and toast. It is pure gluttony and you feel like you don't need to eat for another month by the time you are done.

 

See here is a picture of Hubby (several years ago) getting his first lesson of cooking at Grandpa's House

 

 

Dinner time is totally different. Come to think of it I don't think I have ever had a true dinner at their house. Sometimes we had a taco chip dip, but that probably doesn't count.  Anyway instead dinner is all about ice cream and popcorn. Because you didn't eat enough at breakfast you now get to eat at least 1/4 gallon if not a 1/2 gallon of ice cream followed by an old gallon ice cream bucket filled with popcorn. And this happens every night! You should have seen my Hubby the first time he came for a visit with me and went shopping with my Grandma.  She asked him to go pick out some ice cream and when he came back with on single half gallon for a week visit she just shook her head and lead the way to the freezers and proceeded to fill half the cart with ice cream.  Hubby was shocked and couldn't get over the fact that we would be eating all that ice cream (he now reserves the ice cream eating for our visits because he knows he will eat enough to last him for at least a year).

 

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Now while my Dad's side of the family is all happy, warm, mealtime memories my Mom's side of the family is all about competition . . .

 

My Mom's family is huge and every last one of us is competitive, but especially so when it comes to playing cards. It gets darn right brutal (there have been times when people have walked away with bruises and a broken finger or two).

 

Do you see that look in his eyes? (One of my Uncles)

 

Anyway we play this game called Peanuts, most people have never heard of it but it is kind of a cross between solitare and speed. It is set up similar to solitare, red on black counting down in for spaces and aces go up top. You have a pile of ten cards you need to clear to stop the game. Anyone can play off anyone else's aces up top. If you have good players that are familiar the game really flies.  Anyway if you want to know the full rules and scoring system just let me know. 

 

So we play this game all the time when we are together as a family and because our family is so big we normally play in partners (there isn't a table big enough for all of us).   Brace yourself for a little bragging here . . .  I am so darn good and whip them all so bad at this game they have taken away my partner, I am now the only family member who has to play the game alone. And you know what? I still whip them at Peanuts!

 

(see them all partnered up and my stack all by its lonesome?)

 

So anyway, one of my cousins I haven't seen in years started talking smack a month ago and now I am preparing to school him properly this weekend HAHAHA!

 

 

 

So now you know that if you come to visit, I will feed you a ridiculous amount of food and then beat you into the ground with card games!

 

 

What do you do when your extended families get together? Any odd traditions or quirks?