Krumkake

The Haraldsen family shared in a Norwegian tradition this week. We made Krumkake. And I was fortunate enough to have inherited this beautiful iron, forged in Norway. My Grampa, Erling Haraldsen, passed this along to me. It had originally been his mother's.



And the recipe was written in her hand-writing. Once you bake the krumkake over the heat, it is rolled into a conical shape on the wooden piece below. They are smaller and flakier than waffle cones, but can be enjoyed in the same way. Yummy...







Grampa instead used an electric iron so we could get through the batter mix faster... here you will see his process.


Thank you, Grampa for sharing this tradition with me. I will treasure this gem for a long time.

R.I.P Joanne Wynne

Mrs. Joanne Wynne... we are proud to call ourselves friends of yours. You affected each life you touched in a gentle and yet poignant way. We loved you and miss you dearly.





On a hillside just outside of Brownsville, OR we paid our respects to a legacy. We will not stumble across many others with your beauty, grace and spunk. We miss you... but are happy to know you are no longer in pain. Dance with our Lord and get the party started for us, will ya?!



On a personal note, while on vacation I was in town to see Joanne's family and lay her to rest. My Father was asked to perform the funeral and speak at the burial. I couldn't imagine not being here for this...









We said our goodbyes, and left her alone with God ... and as the song says, "I can only imagine".

Then we went back to the church for a down-home potluck. I got to laugh with my Jack, Joanne's loving husband, who I so fondly call "Wynne-o". Jack's my guy... he's silly, he's sarcastic and he loves so deeply.





Jack - you have good friends who love you, loving children and grandchildren who want the best for you and a legacy that goes before you. You have shown all those around you the depths of your love for your wife. Your tedious caring for her over the past 13 years speaks volumes of the deep love you held for her. Thank you for that legacy. We could never match up to it...

Pictures from the Road

If you know me at all, you know I love to hit the road for a good drive. And this Fall was no exception... we drove straight through from Escondido, California to Salem, Oregon. Yeah, long drive... here it goes...













Are we there yet?! Not quite, virtually... we're here physically, so stay tuned for more pics. More pics to follow...

Cary's English Toffee

I lead with the pictures because they speak louder than words for this post... my friend Dina (Eugene, OR) had two of these boxes delivered to me today. This continues to be one of my favorite sugar fixes... Cary's.

And they are literally melt-in-your-mouth goodness... thank you, Dina!!! You made my day! In fact, you made all of the days in between now and when they are all gone...

It's a bright, sunshiny day...

The view I see as the sun rises every morning... from my perspective...

How blessed am I?!