I just love this photo of Jim and Tim I took while Jim was here. They amuse each other so much.
Jim was teaching us a new card game that he learned from his grandmother while growing up, “Spite and Malice.” Sounds like the perfect family pastime, right?!? We did have fun, and Tom, Tim, and I have vowed to continue playing so next time Jim visits, he can focus on beating us instead of teaching us.
Now that kids have so much technology to entertain them, I wonder if they still sit down to play cards? Or if they get to experience, as I did, the pleasure of having a patient father and competitive siblings to help them learn, lose, and get better at card games? I can still remember my father teaching me rummy and gin. I wonder how many games he had to lose to me before I got decent at playing? Meanwhile, my mother’s game was Scrabble, and the whole family was good at that one because we all loved words and constantly tried to learn new ones. I think David and Debby also played Monopoly, but that was never my thing. I do remember that they’d play Candy Land with me–they must have been bored out of their minds.
Then, as I’ve mentioned before, I learned to play Boggle and Yahtzee with Lynne and her sister. In turn, I remember when Lynne’s son Jess was finally old enough to join his parents, Tom, and me at the table to learn and play progressive rummy. But I also remember plenty of games with him like Scattergories, Outburst, and one of Jess’s favorites when he was really young, Guess Who.
Here’s a photo taken on the porch of the wonderful rock house of me, Terri’s little sister Jerri, and Suzanne, a friend from church, playing rummy on a summer afternoon.
I suppose it doesn’t matter that the games have all moved to monitors now, if families are still playing them together. Although I suspect these days, it’s more often the kids who have to be patient as they teach their parents how to play.
Spite and Malice! I recognized the game as soon as I saw the table. A friend (Shirley – Tim knows her) and I used to play this for hours on end when the kids were young, before I had to go back to work. Now, after a 25 year hiatus, I would need a refresher course. I do remember it was a lot of fun!
Cribbage was my favorite game to play with my father. Talk about parental patience…
My brother taught me to play cribbage. I’ve forgotten every bit of it! I love backgammon. I taught Tim to play, and then he consistently beat me.
he taught me to play and i skunked him first game. fluke, possiby.
Have you played since?
nope, i wasn’t much competition.
THE ROCK HOUSE! LOVED IT!
Me, too. Look how little Jerri is! I can’t even believe she’s old enough in this photo to play cards.
I love love LOVE playing rummy with my family. My German relatives still get together every Sunday and play….
I haven’t played regular rummy in a thousand years. Progressive rummy has spoiled me for all other versions of the game.
that’s because you haven’t played with a bunch of drunk Germans…. GOOD TIMES.
Everything is better with a bunch of drunk Germans. That’s why there’s Oktoberfest.
Games around the table are a must for every family gathering around here. M. Renee however prefers more active outdoor games.
It’s because she can’t hold the cards in her paws.
My grandmother loved to play cards. She taught me how to play poker, but my favorite game was Crazy Eights. There was always a pack of cards out on her kitchen table.
I didn’t play Crazy Eights or Go Fish until I was a grownup. Though I do remember having an Old Maid deck as a kid. I’ve also enjoyed games of Uno with Lynne’s family, and in college, our card game was Spoons–which can be highly hazardous! Have you played it?
Yes, I have. You want to see something truly hazardous? Try playing a game with sneakers in place of the spoons. That game should be renamed “Holy Sh*t! Duck!”
Ha ha! Spoons are hazardous enough.