A day at home for me. Apparently I slept through a storm last night, and this morning clouds rolls in, roll out. A quick shower, sunshine, a sudden hard rain with the sun beaming. Then sunshine alone.

Inside, Griffin challenges Nana to a chase. But he’s changed the rules! Now as I chase, he can turn and shoot fire at me. I counter with a hose, but it’s no match for his inferno. He leads me to the kitchen where it seems I’m trapped.

I escape.

Watching me, he circles the dining room chairs, then takes my hand and leads me inside the blockade. I appear to be in jail.

Jail break! Wild chase. I am recaptured. Multiple times. You can’t escape the long arm of The Griffin.

Logan’s still feeling yesterday’s boat ride, so taking it easy in his room. Nana makes him a sandwich.

A group heads to the store for supplies for tonight’s dinner, and I head upstairs to work awhile.

Work’s done. Groceries hauled in. We’re adding chicken to the menu as the fish won’t be quite enough.

The three oldest kids and I settle into a game of Hearts.

When it’s time for me to marinate the chicken, Kat takes over for me. When it’s time for her to peel carrots, Jason takes over for her. Despite the tag team, Kayla wins.

Rosemary was not to be found at the store, so I make do with thyme and oregano. Carrots are in. Kat scrubs and halves the pretty potatoes, and in they go.

Kayla and Colt play some Mario Cart which always entertains Griffin.

I give the carrots and potatoes a good start before I pull out the chicken. Oil in the skillet, then Kat’s finely minced garlic, some herbs and spices. No white wine handy, but we’ll make do again.

The gang clears and sets the table, and while the chicken’s sautéing, I tackle the fish BW filleted and Kayla makes some Mac and cheese. BW slices a pretty baguette.

And there we are, a hearty, home meal. Fish eaters declare the fish good—which is a relief to the cook! And yes, as I sample, it’s pretty tasty.  Plenty of food for all, and no complaints.

Cooks are excused from clean up, as is the house rule wherever I happen to be the cook!

But the cook isn’t excused from Chase! Whew!

When the boy settles down, the rest of us—after a tutorial by Logan—play Texas Hold ‘em. Fun. And Jason who rarely has luck at cards wins the first two hands. Handily.

Wins and losses, near misses and sneaky bluffs. In the end, I come out five fake dollars ahead. I think BW and Kat are the big winners, wiping out Colt and Logan while Jason and Kayla came close to breaking even.

So a game-filled, food-filled day at home.

Cloudy this morning, but it seems to be lifting as a breeze comes up.

Kayla’s boyfriend, JR, is flying in this afternoon to spend the next week with us. Not sure what other plans are, but there was talk of doing the Italian restaurant for dinner, and BW said something about driving down to the lighthouse.

I’m at a place in the work where I’d like another couple hours before the weekend. But I’m flexible there if any plans solidify.

Nora