| Posted in » so long barney
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A time comes when even avid animal lovers wish for a moment that they had pushed aside the desire to have and care for pets. A time when all the fun and affection feel like a fleeting memory replaced by sorrow. A pile of pictures replace the real thing and even the happy memories are tainted by thoughts of the final moments.
Barney, the scampy, polydactyl cat with a heart of gold went to that giant carpet gym in the sky today.
Although completely black, Barney never cursed his family with bad luck; only good times. He was adopted several years ago from a shelter where he took an instant liking to Michael and Michael to him. It was a magical coincidence that his name was the same as our dog. Calling one would result in both meeting face to face in a brawl.
Tearful eyes watched as Barney left home and the howl of a beagle rang like a churchbell marking his demise.
You will be missed, dear friend.
thanksgiving
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Mom and Dad. Not the usual Aspen Road fireplace shot with Santa hat, but it will do.
Strawberry cake made with love (you can tell by the heart shaped strawberry)
Shrimp and zesty cocktail sauce, compliments of Jackie.
Artichokes. New to the Thanksgiving fare. Compliments of Jackie.
She could have looked up, but refused.
Abbie. Hamming it up.
And, lastly, Abbie’s take on her big brother.
turkey and some ham
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Cool Chaz
Yes. We went up to the rooftop observation deck to watch shooting stars.
Chaz and Abbie. Abbie’s eyes slightly averted. Riiiiiiiiiip.
Chaz looks like he’s thinking something bad about his mother. Riiiiiiiip.
Landfill problem: they’d be full if we threw out every picture where someone was thinking something bad about Chaz’ mother.
My original shot as altered by my sister Jackie. Her use of Christmas clip-art and the outer glow give it double-wide trailer fun. The addition of Lola gives it that crabby mobster feel. Nice job Jackie. Usually, one doesn’t thank people for cropping out their copyright, but in this case… Thanks! Remind me to turn saving off.
my mom… a computer genius?
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I don’t know what’s going on, but I just received this message from my mother. How does she do it?
the game of alley oop!
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I’m adding text to this post because I had this long forgotten game and was interested in who might have played something such as this and where it came from. The description below comes from
ELLIOTT AVEDON MUSEUM & ARCHIVE OF GAMES
http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/
The University of Waterloo in Ontario (I hope they don’t mind that I borrowed it. Maybe they can take my picture in trade, theirs isn’t so hot!)
Alley Oop was a popular North American newspaper cartoon strip during the 1920s, 30s, 40s and beyond.
The game was produced by Granger Feres Ltd. of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The game was patented in 1937.
Alley was a caveman and the other characters in the strip were members of his family, his pet “dinosaur”, and his day to day problems. Ostensibly the content were issues facing such a family during archaic times, nevertheless the issues seem to be similar to those facing contemporary readers during the period of publication!
The lever-like pieces are also made of wood. Each piece is 10cm long x 1cm high and painted one of four colors to match the other pieces in the game. Each of these pieces are placed on a table, pointed side down, and with a “see-saw” movement can propel an “Oop”.
HOW TO PLAY ALLEY OOP © 1937
The idea of the game is to place the head of an OOP over the groove in the FLIPPER then strike the FLIPPER downward, thereby sending the OOP into the air and (you hope) into the CAN. Equipment consists of 18 units: 3 each Green, Yellow, Blue and Red OOPS, 1 Black OOP (”Foozy”), 4 Colored Flippers, and the CAN. Each OOP, according to color, represents a different value. GREEN - 1 Point, YELLOW - 2 Points , BLUE - 3 Points, RED - 4 Points, BLACK (”Foozy”) - 5 Points. The distance between the tip of the OOP and the CAN must be at least one-half inch during play. The player may move the CAN at any time. The manufacturer is not responsible for any remarks made by players during the game.
GAME 1-ALLEY OOP
Each player takes his turn flipping all 13 Oops. At sometime during his chance, the player must yell “Alley Oop” -which means he is ready to flip his “Foozy”. If the player misses “Foozy”, 5 points are to be deducted from his score. After all have had their turn the person making the highest score wins from each other player, the difference in total scores.
GAME 2-POLE VAULT
Before the game, players decide on a score to win. Only 5 Oops are used-one each of a color, and “Foozy”. Each player in turn flips 5 times, notes his score, and then passes the Can to the person at his left. Everyone must have the same number of chances. The winner is credited with the difference between his score and that of the other players. “Foozy” counts for 5 points plus - or 5 points minus, as in the game “Alley Oop”. POLE VAULT is especially good if played by teams of 2 or more players each.
GAME 3 -FOOZY (For 4 or Less Players)
A Flipper and 3 Oops of the same color are given to each player. To select the first player, each person takes a turn at flipping as many Oops as possible without missing. The one who is most successful begins the game by flipping his own Oops until he misses. When he misses, the Can is passed to the person at his left, who starts flipping his Oops. The first to get rid of his Oops gets a chance at “Foozy” - and the first to Flip “Foozy” into the Can wins.
GAME 4 - KILLER FLIPPER (For 4 or Less Players)
Flippers and Oops are distributed and the first player is selected as in the game of “Foozy”. Each person flips once. The play continues around the table total figure, such as 100 or 300 points until someone gets all his Oops into the Can. Then he tries to flip the Flipper of the person at his left. When a player’s Flipper is in the Can, he is put out of the game. The last remaining player wins.
Other variations of ALLEY OOP will occur to you as time goes on.
There’s a barrel of FUN in every CAN.
Tags: alley oop, alley_oop, games, neverwriteitdown, paulison, waterloo
mike’s drive in
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Let’s not focus on the burned out flash and think of it as highlighting the hot dog.
hey dad! can i help?
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Michael couldn’t wait to get up this morning and help out with the outside chores. He woke me up by jumping on the bed, eager to get started. I had to force him to slow down, while I ran out to buy breakfast. This kid is a real go-getter and, always ready to help his Mom and Dad around the house.
Tags: yardwork michael neverwriteitdown
