Pete's BLOG: Day 26,660. Gift #22: To myself - i described gifts 1 to 8.

Gift #22 is to myself again - I'm going to bring my BLOG up-to-date. I'm doing this on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.

I didn't start BLOGGING about my "22 gifts in 29 days" until gift #9. So my gift today is to myself - it will make me feel better by posting the first 8 gifts so my readers will have all 29 of them.

Gift #1 was on October 30, 2013 My gift that day was to forward an email video to my siblings and friends - I had gotten this video from Brad. The video was about an eighth grade football team in Michigan who let one of their lesser developed teammates score a touchdown. He was mentally challenged and physically smaller than his teammates.. It was an amazing story and it brightened my day so I thought I would brighten the day of my siblings and friends also.

Gift #2 was on October 31, 2013. I visited Esther - my 88 year-year-old lady friend. She lives in the mobile home court - and has been a widow for at least 30 years. She is a remarkable woman, always in good spirits and one of the most loving and sincere people I have ever known. I visit her every couple of months. She appreciates me stopping in to see her - she says I always brighten her day - and she brightens mine.

Gift #3 was on November 6, 2013.  The gift was a $15.00 donation to the Salvation Army . They are one of the best run charity organizations in the U.S. They do so much good in this world.

Gift #4 was on November 7, 2013. Brother John and wife Lorna had hosted a family get-together in St. Peter, MN the weekend before.. The gathering was to watch great- nephew Josh Bungum play football for St. John's College against Gustavus  Adolphus College. Even though I had THANKED them profusely when we left I felt it appropriate to say THANK YOU again - so I sent an email thanking them again for their great hospitality and food. This expression of gratitude was my gift for the day.

Gift #5 was on November 10, 2013. This might not exactly qualify as a gift but it is to me. Ruth Ann and I made 53 lefse and 40 krumkakke. My gift to the whole affair  was contributing my expertise at being the perfect lefse flipper and my expertise at getting sugar on the krumkakke and stacking them in perfect piles of four. The lefse would never have the right number of brown spots on it unless I had  done the flipping.

Gift #6 was on November 10, 2013 - it was to give an extra $5.00 to my church. Every month our regular gift is automatically taken out of our bank account. As I sat in the pew that Sunday I was thinking that my gift today would be an extra $5.00 to be given anonymously. That's is exactly what I did - I dug into my pocket, pulled out a five dollar bill and put in the envelope with no name on it.

Gift #7 was on November 11, 2013 - it was to the server at the Hale Supper Club in Hale, Iowa. Ruth Ann and I go to the hale Supper Club once a week for Happy Hour - we have a couple of beers each and go home. Terry always waits on us and pours our beers and I always give her a dollar tip. My gift that day was to triple her tip to $3.00. She got a big smile on her face and gave us a big "Thank You very much." I brightened her day a little bit.

Gift #8 was on November 13, 2013 - it was a gift to HACAP - which provides free food for the hungry and needy in Jones County. On Sunday our church bulletin had an announcement that HACAP was running low on food and needed to be replenished, I went to Walmart and bought $15.00 worth of non-perishable food items like canned vegetables and fruit, Hamburger Helper and macaroni and cheese. I delivered them and got a nice expression of gratitude from the administrator. It made me feel good.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,659. Gifts 19, 20 and 21

Today is Tuesday, November 26, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 49.6 miles. My weight was 166.2 pounds.

I'm going to get caught up this morning. Brad and Alexandra came Friday night from Denmark. Saturday we went to the Hawk-Michigan game and froze our butts off but it was worth it when we made a second half comeback and won 24-21. Sunday Alex's friend's from her 2008-09 yearlong stay in Anamosa had a surprise party for her at a local restaurant from 4-8 pm. She was really surprised and had a lot of fun renewing old friendships. Monday, our other granddaughter Ellyn and friend Nate came for brunch and we visited until 3:30. So I haven't had a lot of time until now. I'm going to  report on how my 29 gifts in 29 Days Challenge is progressing. Here I go.

Gift #19 would be for Sunday, November 24.  #19 is a gift I'm giving myself. One day I heard I Hoda mention on the TODAY SHOW that every morning she read a chapter out of a book called God Never Blinks: 50 lessons for Life's Little Detours - by Regina Brett. She mentioned it was such an inspirational book. So I went and ordered it from Barnes and Noble. Thanks to Hoda, what a great gift I have given myself - it is truly a wonderful inspiring book. It is divided into 50 chapters - here are three examples: Lesson 3 is LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WASTE TIME HATING ANYONE and Lesson 4 is DON'T TAKE YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY. NO ONE ELSE DOES and Lesson 50 is LIFE ISN'T TIED WITH A BOW, BUT IT'S STILL A GIFT.

I would highly recommend this book.

Gift #20 is for Monday, November 25, 2013. Monday morning my sister Janice called from her winter home in Mesa, Arizona. She said  I have to ask you for a favor. My friend down here read your Gratitude Journal a year ago and was so impressed by it that she wants a copy to use for a Bible Study she is leading at her church. The Bible Study topic is on GRATITUDE and she wants to use my book for kind of a textbook or reference. Janice said she forgot her copy at home in Bloomington so she couldn't help her friend out. I told Jan I would put a couple of copies in the mail today and they would be there in a few days.
Later in the day Jan sent an email and said she would pay the postage. I told her what I was doing with the "29 gift challenge" and I didn't want any money. The books and the postage would be my 20th gift - SO NO MONEY AND TELLYOUR FRIEND SHE MAY KEEP THE BOOK - THIS IS A GIFT FROM YOUR BROTHER PETE AND HE IS GRATEFUL AND FLATTERED THAT SHE FOUND IT INSPIRING.

Gift #21 is for Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - it is another flower for Ruth Ann. When done walking inside Walmart at 7:00 this morning I saw poinsettia plants for sale. I know Ruth Ann likes flowers and always wants a poinsettia for the Christmas season. I have done this before but decided I would do it again and make my 21st gift a poinsettia for Ruth Ann for the Christmas season. She was surprised and grateful when I had it sitting on the kitchen table when she arose.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,656. Gift # 18. My salmon loaf.

Today is Saturday, November 23, 2013. No stats today as I'm at Kinnick Stadium.

 I'm really writing this on Friday, November 22  -  because I'm going to the Hawk-Michigan game tomorrow and will not have time to do Gift 18. I'm kind of fudging a little but I want to keep my gift giving journey going.

Gift 18 really took place the other night. Ruth Ann had been busy getting things ready for the Hawk game and making plans for Thanksgiving. To save her from having to think of anymore things I decided a gift I could give her was to make supper. I made my famous "salmon loaf" - it was enough for supper on both Tuesday and Wednesday night. She really likes my salmon loaf and I like it to.

Pete's bLOG: Day 26,655. Gift #17: A $ contribution to the SPLC

Today is Friday, November 22, 2013. My stats today: 19 minutes of walking = 1.0 mile for a November total of 45.6 miles. My weight was 166.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Donna Chnupa: "Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place."

My THOUGHT today is about Gift # 17 in my journey to give 29 Gifts in 29 Days.
Gift 17 was an easy one. Every year I contribute to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) located in Montgomery, Alabama. The SPLC mission is to monitor and prosecute when necessary the right-wing groups or individuals promoting racism and   hatred against Latinos, blacks, immigrants, etc. There are over a 1,000 hate groups in the country. My $10.00 contribution to SPLC is Gift #17. It will be doubled by some wealthy donor so my contribution is worth $20.00.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,654. Gift #16: Flowers for Ruth Ann.

Today is Thursday, November 21, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 44.6 miles. My weight was 166.0 pounds.

QUOTE for today from YourPocketGuru: "If you had a bad day, don't worry. We all have a reset button - it's called tomorrow."

My THOUGHT today is about Gift #16 in my journey to give 29 Gifts in 29 Days.. Ruth Ann has been having some downer days recently so I've been trying to think of something to cheer her up a little bit. So Gift #16 was to buy her some fresh flowers at Walmart. She loves flowers and I actually think it is helping her think a little more positive. She appreciated my thoughtfulness.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,653. Gift # 15. To myself - 73 mintes of exercise.

Today is Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - my 73rd birthday. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 53 minutes of walking = 2.9 miles for a November total of 41.6 miles. My weight was 166.2 pounds.

QUOTE for today: "No one ever admits they're wrong half as loudly as they claim they're right."

My THOUGHT today is on Gift #15. Today is my 73rd birthday  - so my THOUGHT today is on the number 73  - for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I'm 73 years old today. The second reason is I wanted to see if I could exercise for 73 minutes. Ten years ago I started this birthday ritual of exercising the same number of minutes as my age. I'm happy to say I've achieved that every year. I usually go 55-65 minutes but today I made it to 73. Next year the challenge will be 74 minutes. I'm hoping I can continue this ritual for quite a few more years.

So  gift #15 today was to myself. It was not only a physical gift but a mental gift - I met the challenge of 73 minutes.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,652. Gift #14: A phone call to help a 94-year-lady.

Today is Tuesday. November 19, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 38.7 miles. My weight today was 164.4 pounds. After two months I finally have shed 6-7 pounds and am below 165 for the first time since August 31.

QUOTE today from Marc Chernoff: "It doesn't really matter if your glass is half full or half empty. Be grateful that you have a glass and there's something in it."

My THOUGHT today is on Gift #14. About 2:30 yesterday afternoon the phone rang. Calling was a 94-year-old lady from Denver, CO. Her name is Lenore and she used to live in Anamosa and was a friend of ours from church.  Lenore called to see if I could get a hold of one of her old Anamosa friends  (Dorothy) now living in Cedar Rapids. Lenore said she had tried to call her many times and could never get an answer and was worried that something had happened to Dorothy. So I asked her for the phone number and told her I'd try to make connect and deliver the message to Dorothy that she had better call Lenore and let her know that she was okay.
I called Dorothy and got through right away. I told her the story about Lenore calling and being worried about her. She said she would call Lenore right away.
A half hour later the phone rings again and it is Lenore. She had just talked to Dorothy and was calling me back to thank me for contacting Dorothy. She was so grateful I had done that.
So gift #14 was the phone call to Dorothy which sure brightened Lenore's day.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,651. Gift #13. Donation to FEEDING AMERICA

Today is Monday, November 18, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 36.2 miles.  My weight was 166.0 pounds.

QYOTE for today is from Diane Sawyer:  "Whenever you are blue or stricken by some humiliating thing you did, the cure and the hope is in caring about other people."

My THOUGHT today is Gift #13. My gift today is to send a $15.00 donation to an organization called Feeding America. The purpose of FEEDING AMERICA is to provide much needed food for America's food deprived adults and kids. My $15.00 will be matched so it amounts to $30.00. According to their literature it will help secure and distribute $570.00 worth of food. I have contributed to this organization for the last five years. Another THOUGHT I have today is why do we need organizations like this in America - we are the richest nation in the world and we can't even feed our own people.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,650. Gift #12.

Today is Sunday, November 17, 2013. No stats today - my day of rest. My total miles for November are still at 33.7 miles. My weight was 166.4 pounds.

QUOTE for today from John Bunyan: "You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."

My THOUGHT today is on Gift #12. My gift today was at coffee hour which we have after the 8 AM service. At coffee I have gotten to be good friends with Darvin Harderson, who is 93 years old. We always sit together at the first table. He uses a walker so I remove the folding chair so he can scoot up and sit in his walker. This morning I decided for my gift today I would buy Darvin's coffee - the cost is only $1.00 so it is no big deal. But the point of buying the coffee is that I wanted to give a gift today regardless of how small. It is the thought that counts. If I hadn't read the book 29 Gifts in 29 Days I probably wouldn't have done it. It has really gotten me inspired.

Darvin has an 88-year-old girlfriend named Betty. She does the driving and they go out to eat several times a week. My friend Paul Lewison and I give Darvin a lot of ribbing about his love life. He loves it and all three of us have a lot of laughs.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,649. Gift #11.

Today is Saturday, November 16, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 33.7 miles. My weight was 165.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Morgan Freeman:  "The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit."

My THOUGHTS  today are on Gift #11. When arising at 4:48 this morning I knew what gift #11 was going to be. I had 30 empty cans of beer that could be redeemed at Walmart. I decided I would take them to Walmart and set them in front of the recycle machine and let somebody have them. I put a note on the box saying. "This a gift just for you. It is worth $1.50. As I walked back and forth in front of Walmart I noticed that someone had redeemed them. That made me feel good that someone had a nice little surprise at 6:30 in the morning.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26, 648. Gift @10

Today is Friday, November 15. 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga. 10 minutes of lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 31.2 miles. My weight was 165.2 pounds.

QUOTE today from Anne Frank: "No one has ever become poor by giving."

My THOUGHTS are on Gift #10. When deciding what to give today I thought of Galen Harms. Galen was the janitor at the middle school for around 25 years when I was teaching - he became a good friend.  Anyway, Galen was diagnosed with cancer 4-5 months ago - the doctors told him he would be dead in eight weeks unless they started treatments right away. He has been taking chemo and radiation since that time. For my gift today I decided to call him and see how he was doing. I wanted to brighten his day and let him know I hadn't forgotten about him. He said he was doing fine - the doctors had told him they could no longer see any tumors in his lungs or any other place in his body. He goes back in January for another check-up. I told him I was so happy to hear the good news and I wanted to come up and see him this morning. He said he and wife Judy were going to Cedar Rapids today but how about getting together next week. So next week I'm going to see Galen and Judy and bring them several Busch Lights so we can celebrate the good news together.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,646. An explanation of gift giving.

Today is Thursday, November 14, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 28.7 miles. My weight was 165.6 pounds.

QUOTE for today from author Steve Maraboli: "Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them."

My THOUGHTS today. The "29 gifts in 29 days" book explained that every gift does not have to be a material thing - your gift each day can be anything you mindfully offer to another person. That can be anything from: kind words, compliments, to calling some one on the phone, to visiting someone, to writing a note or letter, to just brightening someone's day in some manner. It is simply "using your time" to make someone feel good. I like those ideas and I will use a lot of them as I go through my 29 days, including today.

Today is Day 9 f my 29 days. When I took my walk this morning from 7:15 to 8 AM I ran into a seventh grader who was walking to the bus. He was wearing a cowboy hat. It looked so good on him so I stopped him and said, "I really like your hat,  it looks so good on you." He looked at me with a big smile on his face and said, "Thank you so much." I made that kid feel good - it was a "day brightener" for him.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,646. More on 29 gifts in 29 days.

Today is Wednesday, November 13, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for A November total of 26.2 miles. My weight was 166.0 pounds.

QUOTE for today id from actress Helen Mirren: "It has nothing to do with clothing or makeup. Just put your shoulders back and your chin up, and face the world with pride."

My THOUGHTS today are to conclude the story of Cami Walker and the 29 gifts in 29 days. Did the 29 day giving challenge change Cami's health situation with MS?
Here are Cami's words.
I wish I could say that giving 29 gifts cured my MS, but that would not be true. I still live with a lot of the effects of this disease, but the difference is that I cope a lot better. HOW?
- I only take two prescription pills a day.
- I still inject myself daily with a drug that slows the progression of MS - the doctors say it is working because the MRI scan shows no new progression.
- Chronic pain is still a part of my life.
- I'm able to work about two hours a day on my consulting business.
- Most days, I can walk on my own - no cane is needed.
- Mark (her husband) and I are getting along better than ever. We have no children but are looking into becoming foster parents.
- I'm writing every day. In fact, I wrote this book.
- I learned from my minister the following formula for an abundant life.
   GOD CONSCIOUNESS + GIVING + GRATITUDE = ABUNDANCE
- As a result of learning the formula - Cami says, "I now start each day with prayer and meditation, I give at least one gift to another person whose path I'm blessed to cross. And I say thank you and express my gratitude as many times as I can."

I'm grateful I saw Cami being interviewed in 2009. Every morning I read my gratitude entry for that day in my Gratitude Journal that I wrote in 2009. That entry was #301 for October 28, 2009. When I read that entry on Oct. 28 I decided to order the book through Amazon. I wrote at the time that I was going to try the 29 gifts in 29days. Well, to be honest I never did. But now that I've read the book I'm going to give it a try - it has been a real inspiration to me. I've already started giving and being grateful that I'm able to give. So far, I've given eight gifts that I wouldn't have done if I hadn't read the book. I record what I give each day. My gift today was buying $15.00 of non-perishable food and gifting it to HACAP.  (HACAP stands for Hawkeye Area Community Action Program which provides food and other household items to needy families.)

If any readers want to learn more about 29 gifts in 29 days go to this website:

www.29Gifts.org.

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,645. 29 Gifts in 29 Days.

Today is Tuesday, November 12, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 23.7 miles. My weight was 166.4 pounds.

QUOTE for today from changemakrs.com:  "We feel comfortable with where we are in the world when we are comfortable with who we are."

My THOUGHTS today are on this book I'm reading.  The name of the book is - 29 gifts; HOW  a MONTH of GIVING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.   I first learned about this book in  October of 2009 when I was watching the TODAY show and a San Francisco lady named Cami Walker was being interviewed by Meredith Veiera.  Cami told how she had married in her early 30s in 2006 and within two months she was diagnosed with MS.  MS is a chronic, progressive disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord).  It's an autoimmune  disease, which means the body's immune system attacks healthy cells in the body. Some of the many symptoms of MS are: fatigue, numbness, mobility, balance, and coordination problems, bladder and bowel dysfunction, vision loss, depression, vertigo, sexual dysfunction, slurred speech, swallowing problems, headaches, hearing loss, seizures, and breathing problems. 

That's quite a daunting list, but different people exhibit different symptoms. It doesn't look like there is much to live for. Cami had many of the symptoms and was treated by many doctors - they filled her full of pills. When living in the Oakland/San Francisco area she had gotten acquainted with her  next door neighbor, a lady named Toni. Toni had been born in South Africa but had moved to England when she was three because of apartheid. She ended up in Oakland where she worked for The Institute for Health and Healing at California Pacific Hospital. Toni had helped guide and shape the programs at the institute, where they marry Western medicine with various forms of alternative medicine.  Toni took a trip to South Africa to visit relatives and came back with the new name  of "Mbali, pronounced em-BALL-ee.  When the treatments and pills didn't work Cami called Mbali and talked to her about her MS. Mbali told Cami she was falling deeper and deeper into a black hole by focusing all her time and energy on her pain. You're making it worse by putting all of your attention there. Mbali said, "I'm going to give you a tool to help you dig yourself out. I have a prescription for you. I want to give you away 29 gifts in 29 days."

After much apprehension Cami decided to give it a try. She said,  "I have nothing to lose." So the book is the story, written by Cami, on how the 29 day giving challenge changed her life and improved her health.  I'm not done reading it yet but it is an inspiring story with lots of life lessons for all of us.  I'm anxious to read the rest of it. I'll write more on Cami and the 29 gifts in 29 days in the days ahead. 

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,644. I wonder if Bush and Cheney are proud.

Today is Monday, November 11, 2013 (Veteran's Day). My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total of 21.2 miles. My weight was 166.2 pounds.

QUOTE for today: "Don't ever underestimate the capacity of a human being who is determined to do something."

My THOUGHTS today have to do with the Wounded Warriors we have from the Bush/Cheney wars we have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. The TODAY SHOW on NBC this morning was honoring all veterans but concentrated on the veterans from the Iraq/Afghan wars. As I was looking at these Wounded Warriors and the physical and mental scars they have I thought of why did this ever have to happen. After 9/11 we had a right to go into Afghanistan and take on the Taliban and al-Quaida. We did and we had them soundly defeated and the majority of the Afghan people were on our side. All we had to do was finish the job - that would have included keeping a good number of troops there and then help them set up a democracy with a good deal of our help. So what did Bush and Cheney do - they decided to invade Iraq for no apparent reason other than Bush's Daddy didn't do it 1991 plus Cheney was bound and determined to prove that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and that Saddam Hussein had chemical weapons and was a threat to Israel and to us.

So Bush and Cheney pull thousands of GIs out of Afghanistan, send them to Iraq to overturn Hussein and destroy his chemical weapons. They did overthrow Hussein but surprise, surprise, there were no chemicals weapons. The other result is by pulling troops out of Afghanistan they did not leave enough troops there to stop the Taliban from rebuilding and then continuing the civil war  - it is still going on today.

The Iraq War is one of the biggest blunders in our history. It is one of ignorance on the part of Bush and Cheney. As a guest column writer said in Sunday's paper, "People who do not know history are not necessarily condemned to repeat it. Instead, that ignorance actually can lead to ever bigger blunders." Bush and Cheney proved that.  Before those two invaded Iraq in March of 2003 one of Bush's advisors said to Bush, If you invade Iraq, you are going to stir up a hornets nest between the Sunnis and Shiites." Bush  gave him his best stupid look and said, "I thought their were Moslems in Iraq." Bush didn't even know there was such a thing as Sunnis and Shiites. Now that is ignorance at its best, especially when you are going to invade that country.

As I was watching some of these wounded warriors being interviewed my thoughts turned to Bush and Cheney.  I was wondering if these two feel any sense of guilt or shame when they see these young men and women with missing legs or arms or those  who were burned and their faces are deformed for the rest of their lives or those with PTSD for the rest of their lives.  And I wonder if they realize how many hundreds of billions of dollars their war has already cost the U.S. and how much more it will cost in the future. Our future costs will hit the 2-3 trillion dollar range because of the disability payments to all these wounded warriors for the next 70-80 years.

I guess for a couple of guys who had never seen combat it was easy to send other men to war. Bush's Daddy got him into the Texas Air National Guard ahead off 200 other guys who should have gone before "W." And Cheney got 5-6 deferments during the Vietnam war and never served a day. The sad part is neither one has ever expressed one iota of guilt or shame or regret for what they did to these young men and women and what they did to our national debt.

I feel better getting this off my chest. For the rest of my life I'm going to be thinking the same way every time I see these wounded warriors from the Iraq war. I simply have no time for Bush and Cheney. I feel they will go down in history in the bottom five of our worst presidents. ( If they don't they definitely should,)

Pete's BLOG: Day 26,641. Lefse - I love it.

Today is Friday, November 8, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a November total 16.2 miles. My weight was 166.2 pounds.

QUOTE today from Garrison Keillor: "It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars."

My THOUGHTS today: My first thought is I'm happy Ruth Ann and I got the lefse made for Christmas. Wednesday afternoon Ruth Ann sent me to Walmart to buy all the ingredients we need to make lefse, the traditional Norwegian potato bread we make every year at Christmas. The list included two boxes of Betty Crocker potato buds, a pint of half and half, Gold Medal flour, sugar, and Parkay margarine.  Ruth Ann mixed up the ingredients Wednesday afternoon, let it cool outside for a couple of hours and then put it in the fridge overnight. Yesterday morning we got out our round lefse grill (24" diameter), the wooden roller, cloth sleeves to put on the roller, the 19" (diameter) round board she rolls the lefse balls on to flatten them, and a folded sheet we put on the table for me to tuck the hot lefse pieces into when I take them off the grill. At 9 AM we started making the lefse. By noon we had made 53 pieces of lefse. Ruth Ann takes an ice cream scoop of the lefse mixture, puts the scoop on her round board that is covered with a cloth, then sprinkles some flour on the cloth so when she rolls out the ball it will not stick to the roller or the cloth. She rolls the ball out until it is flat at about 12-14 inch diameter, then rolls up the piece on the stick, and unrolls it on the 500 degree grill. Then I take over: she hands me the stick, for about 15 seconds I will brown it on one side, flip it over to brown it on the other side for another 10-15 seconds and then I pick it up with the stick and take it to the folded sheet on the kitchen table. I fold it twice and tuck it under about three layers of the sheet. That way it cools very slowly which is what you want to do with lefse - that keeps it nice and soft. I put four lefse on top of each other and then start another pile. When we got done at noon we had 13 piles and one extra. Working together we can make 20 lefse an hour.

Ruth Ann and I have eaten lefse every year at Christmas since we were toddlers. We are both 100% Norwegian and eating lefse is one of the customs our grandparents and great-grandparents brought from Norway in the latter half of the 1800s.

How do we eat lefse? First of all it looks like a pizza crust. We usually cut the pieces in half or quarters. I grew up eating it with real butter and sprinkling brown sugar on it. Ruth Ann's family was more for plain sugar. Some Norwegians lay it on their plate and load it up with potatoes, gravy and lutefisk (they pour melted butter and salt and pepper on the lutefisk) - then fold it up and eat it like a burrito.

What is lutefisk? That is another story. But I can assure you more people like lefse than lutefisk.

I'm happy we got it done yesterday. Now we have enough for some friends we give to every year. Also, Brad and Alexandra are coming for Thanksgiving so we can treat them. Brad absolutely loves it.