Puzzler genes 1 vs Athlete genes 0

Momma is what we refer to as a "puzzler", meaning one who likes to construct puzzles... but only when she is in the presence of other puzzlers (i.e., her mom, sister or Uncle Pete). I remember New Year's Eve 2005 as if it were yesterday... it was close to midnight on the eve of January 1st. Nine humans (Momma, Stew, Michelle, Pete, Veronica, Matt, Susan, Kermit and Russell) and four dogs (Berkley, Ole, Theo and yours truly) were holed up in a cabin somewhere in northern Minnesota. Everyone took turns cooking dinner (and Russell always brings his homemade Irish Cream... it's to die for), and Stew elected to provide party revelers with a Mardis Gras-themed New Year's Eve dinner -- complete with Hurricanes -- to honor my New Orleans heritage. In the event you live under a rock or don't know what a Hurricane is, then go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_(cocktail)

So, with his Emeril Lagasse cookbook (a Christmas gift from Aunt Karen), Stew - with Momma's help - set out to create a Truffle Potato Soup with Truffle Mushroom Dumplings. While the soup simmered, Stew started creating Hurricanes using Hurricane mix shipped directly from Pat O'Brien's Pub in New Orleans (recipe here: http://www.patobriens.com/howtohurricane.html). In the event you are unfamiliar with the Hurricane drink, it's named "Hurricane" for a reason... mainly because it can cause a lot of destruction if not administered conservatively. But "conservative" is not a word familiar to this gang of yahoos (picture Momma streaking around the outside of the cabin on a dare... it might have happened... or maybe not...). Anyway, Stew's attempt at making Bananas Foster after dinner (and after a few too many Hurricanes) did not go well... which is why Uncle Matt was positioned nearby with fire extinguisher in hand.

So, why am I telling this story anyway? Oh, that's right... the puzzlers. Basically, Momma and Uncle Pete can sit and put together a puzzle for hours on end while the rest of these rowdies play cards, watch videos or... well, I can't tell you EVERYTHING that goes on at these New Year's Eve gatherings, but I can show you a picture of Stew taken minutes after he finished his third Hurricane. So, while the other folks party and call them "nerds" and "puzzlers", Momma and Uncle Pete sit quietly constructing their puzzle. They even have a secret handshake (it's just a fist knock, but it's "theirs").

Time to bring this story back home... Momma obviously has a "puzzler gene" in her make-up. Grandma Helen passed it down to her two daughters, and it appears Linda has passed it along to Claire (see video below). Much to Stew's dismay, I might add. You see, Stew continues to put mini-basketballs in front of Claire in the hopes she will eventually become the star point guard for the Minnesota Golden Gophers (or some other Big Ten school) and go on to a stellar career in the WNBA... thereby earning more than enough money to pay for Stew and Momma to travel the country playing golf (as soon as they both learn how to actually play the game). Unfortunately, Claire is more interested in eating the basketballs at this point, so we're not sure where this will end up. In the meantime, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish...