Recipes

There is an unspoken understanding that, once you have been a member of the Art and LaVonne Anderson family, you will always be a member of the Anderson family. Kind of like a cult, but with grandma’s sourdough pancakes. This includes all weddings, anniversary parties and, of course, family reunions. Therefore, it came as no…

I do not always struggle with new kitchen technology, but after years of arguing with the Keurig waste, I decided to trade it in for a percolator. Keurig and I often went toe-to-toe with either too strong coffee or too watery hot cocoa. And the K Cups were the straw that broke my back. I…

As some of my friends already know, I started volunteering at a local hospice house last year. I make dinners for the residents and staff every Monday night. I was inspired to try this by three different friends before I took the leap. Years ago I lost a dear friend to cancer. During this time,…

I was playing Hotter and Colder with my nephew and niece last weekend. That is where you hide something and say “Hotter/Colder” depending on how close they come to the item. The game is only fun if it isn’t 27 below windchill. Let me say, we played the game INSIDE. I am amazed at how…

As I sit here in our VRBO in Decorah, Iowa, writing this column, we have just finished Anderson Christmas 1.0 and will be celebrating the Holthaus Christmas 2.0 in about two hours. (Cousin Christmas 3.0 has been pushed back to January.) I am understandably tired but not stressed. I guess I have learned to let…

Thanksgiving is over and now looms the biggest Holiday of the year. Christmas. Time for addressing beautiful cards. I recently read a Facebook post about the proper addressing of cards and the adding of the plural to names. No more APOSTROPHE … ever. If the last name ends in A thru R or T, U,…

For those of you who don’t know, I have committed the next two months to be a “newborn nanny” for baby Odin. He is adorable, learning to coo, track faces, smile, and of course poop. I now spend my days completely focused on the care and happiness of another human being. It has been a…

I will share this with you because you are my friend. I have been hazy lately. It’s like my brain is running in mud. If you understand this expression, then maybe we are on the same page. I try to focus, I honestly do. Information just can’t get through the fog. I blame it on…

Even as a small child, I liked to gather all my blankets and pillows around me and make a comfy nest. I remember making a nest behind the couch while my parents played cards with the neighbors late into the evening. I would fall asleep back there listening to the laughter and the clicks of…