Activity Overload

 It boils down to decisions that I understand get more difficult with age. Butch and I were quick deciders all our lives with mostly good results. We can still make quick ones today, they just take longer. (It's a joke.)

The number of activities taking place in Trophy Gardens this month could boggle the soundest of minds. If you cannot find your niche, you aren't trying. Trivia is still taking place on Tuesday nights in the main hall. And we have a dedicated group that is hanging in there but we had two teams who decided to do something different last night and that is A-OK. My guess is they were resting. 

Iowa Potluck

Yesterday afternoon we attended the Iowa Potluck supper in Trophy Gardens Main hall. There was a guestimate of 70 people in attendance. The twins, Mary and Marge host it each season and they do an excellent job. These things do not happen by themselves and it gets a bit more of a challenge when we hit the 'birthday button' each year. An abundance of volunteers magically appears and that helps too. 

After the meal, we played trivia. We were divided into teams by the tables we were seated. There were 20 questions all about Iowa. Our table won an ice cream treat from DQ by answering 17 questions correctly.

I am sure they thought it might have been a bit slanted in our direction with me heading up trivia every week. But the truth be known, putting the questions together isn't that much help. Butch, Darrel, and Linda were much quicker and more correct with the answers. Also, there is a guy back in Iowa that helped a great deal and he wasn't even here. Denny Lautner is an expert on Iowa trivia and he came to the trivia sessions we had each Thursday in our pool hall. And every now and then he would give us a few Iowa questions so I guess you could say we practiced.

Is anyone still out there?

 I do apologize for forgetting all about this blog! If you are still checking in now and then, please let me know by sending a message to keep.movin.on@gmail.com with "still looking" in the subject line.

Here are the results of the Sunday February 5th  Mixed Doubles Pool Hall event

First place with 8 out of 11 wins was 

Arja T.  and Lonnie Hull

Second Place with 7 wins out of 11 are, in no particular order,

Barb Utech and Greg Dowhaniuk

Diane Golly and Don Wolf

Betsie Brown and Paul Kelleher

Barb Brooker and Ed Thompson

Third place with 6 wins out of 11, in no particular order, are

Janet Brown and Darrel Millard

Bev McEnaney and Marcel Tessier

Gini Thompson and Lorne Evans

Sunday Mixed Doubles Pool

Sunday Mixed Doubles Pool

 Eleven pairs came to the pool hall Sunday afternoon for some mixed doubles pool. The goal of this event is to meet new people or get better acquainted with the ones you already do know and play a great game well if it works out. Bottom line- we have fun!

Scores: Barb Brooker/Alex Stinson, Gayle Steinbeck/Elmer Hanke each had 8 wins

            Sally Kelleher/Don Riley-7 wins

The next two Sundays land on holidays so the next Mixed Doubles event will take place Sunday, January 8th. The sign-up sheet will go up on Sunday, January 1st with room for 12 couples or pairs to sign on. Play begins at 1:00 pm.

See you then!

Barb Brooker/Sally Kelleher

Another Ham Ball recipe

 This one is from a friend of mine and I think I might prefer this one.

Iowa Ham Balls

 

Keri and I were talking about regional cooking; how some things are known in the area and only a few miles into another area no one has heard of it. An example is Ham Balls. Our Fareway grocery store makes a ham loaf/ball mixture and most modern cooks nowadays use that as a starter but there is an original recipe and older Iowans know how to make ham balls from scratch. So I went in search of it and found it. So if I wanted to make them in Texas I would approach the meat market in HEB and ask if I could buy the two ground types of meat I would need.

Here is the original recipe:

Iowa Ham Balls

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour

YIELD: about 15 servings.

This is a special recipe most everyone in Iowa loves. If you have out of State visitors and wish to impress them with something all Iowa, this will do it.

Ingredients

3-1/2 pounds ground ham

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

3 large eggs, beaten

2 cups whole milk

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) tomato soup, undiluted

3/4 cup vinegar

2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Using a 1/3 cup measure, shape the mixture into 2-in. balls. Place in two large shallow roasting pans. Combine all remaining ingredients; pour over balls. Bake at 325° for 1 hour, basting frequently with sauce.

Soon to be heading South!

 With the first tiny bit of cool in the air, we start thinking about taking off for our southern homes. Just want you all to know that we who live in the north always have our friends of the south on our minds. And we keep track as best we can even when it may not look like it. I have hosted trivia all summer in our newly built pool hall and we generally have two tables of participants. So I am enjoying a backlog of questions for our Trivia fans in Trophy to enjoy this next season.

And now ...Laugh of the Week

When I was a kid, my parents would always say “Pardon my French” after a swear word. I’ll never forget that first day at school when the teacher asked if we knew any French.