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We have a tradition in our family of getting together right before Christmas and having a party to make lefse. We gathered today at 10:00am and did it again. Doug and Steve and Jeff Cook had set up the tables, arranged the bricks and the sand and the oil pan and the grill. Then on to the mixing and the rolling and the grilling and voila! Lefse -- enough for sharing among all the families. But my purpose for writing this particular blog is to record who was there this year and a few facts about this year's lefse event.
Who was there? Jeanne Cook and Mary Lou Forier were there -- Ruth was absent and in Hawaii this year. On the Cook side were Steve and Janet and Andrew and Daniel, all the way from Rochester, NY! Doug joined us from Taos, NM and Jeff and Debbie from Phoenix. Debbie's sister Shelly joined us. Jack was there with Mary Lou, and Scott, Heidi, Kerr and Kaera from Tacoma, WA.., and Genevieve from Ellensburg, WA. Mark, Chris, Suzanne, Kate and Sean, Ayse, Kaitlyn, and Kody were with us from Phoenix and Tucson. Lee Michael, Tina, Mikaela and Crystal, (from Washington, D.C.), Micheila and Amari and Cameron subbed for Ruth this year. Lee Mike's riding buddy and his wife came to see what this was all about and I am sorry I don't have the names. Jeanne's friend Ellen, who teaches yoga here in Tucson, came and did some lefse rolling time; Mary and Chuck, our Paris friends who now live in Tucson were there for the first time ever, even though 40 year friends of Ruth. Now I must confer with my fellow lefse regulars about who else was there that I missed. We sorely missed Ruth but knew she was even warmer in Hawaii than we were in Jeanne's backyard! We were also incomplete without Liane and Mark and family and the senior Cubbages also. A tough year for that family. The awards were special this year and expressive as Jeanne wrote them out by hand (Mary Lou having forgotten the computer-crafted versions at home). They didn't get signed but that handwriting is very distinctive -- an original as lefse certificates go! Mikaela won the Mixer Award, Kate was Master Roller once again, Ayse won the Master Stick Award. "Do the Necessary" award went to Doug for all the behind the scenes prep work and keeping the coals hot duty, and the whole clan got the "Have a Happy" Award just because. The weather could not have been better. Sweaters were shed as the day wore on and we hope everyone had sunscreen on their faces! How can we be so lucky year after year -- well it is Tucson, after all. Just a beautiful place to be at this time of year We will get some photos out there soon -- they are beaming into my computer right this minute. Thank you Jeanne! for place and food and garden and santa hats and playhouse and ambiance which you create so beautifully every year. Thank you Jeff, Debbie,, Steve and Janet, and Doug for all the work you did in setting everything up -- and taking it all down again. Thank you all mixers, all rollers, all stick regulars for moving through those 25 pounds of lefse in a timely and cheerful manner. Thank you kibbitzers for keeping the sideline friendly and well-fed -- we know you will feel the urge next year to rise up and grab a handful of flour, feel the fine rollers of those rolling pins, or best yet, heist the STICK in a victorious carry and grill maneuver. We keep you in reserve! Love to you all -- have a wonderful Christmas Mary Lou |
AuthorThe photo above is of Sand Bay, Wisconsin, home of my grandparents and great-grandparents -- summer place of my childhood -- and a part of me. I am Mary Lou Forier Archives
January 2012
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