Scandinavian Almond Bars

We were invited to feast on some oysters Chris Holm brought north. Chris and Wally breaded the oysters and Chris did all the frying. Terri brought a beautiful salad, Grandma Koke had fish cakes in cream sauce, muffins, bread, a pot of rice. We brought dessert...I thought sherbert with a crispy cookie would be a good finish to the rich meal. I looked in the cookbook and found this recipe. It goes together in a snap and tastes like Scandinavian Heaven!

 

Pat out four logs and top with toasted chopped almonds. Bake, slice and cool. Then top with glaze if desired.

  
The end pieces become the cook's snack!

Little Norway Festival Parade

The sun shone for the 2011 Little Norway Celebration Parade this last week. I was amazed at the turn out...people were lining the length of Main Street and the parade stretched up the PFI hill.

First came the helicopter fly over with the flags, fire department, color guard, and various vehicles and they all threw candy! The lady in front of us kept her kids' stash between her feet.

Then winding down the street came the Norwegian dancers lead by Heidi Lee. We didn't know a single dancer this year.

  
This was the Northern Lights Brass Band.

The Son's of Norway is celebrating 100 years in Petersburg. They were represented by the Vikings and Valkyries with the Norwegian ship. This year's Norwegian American Award was given to Naomi and Doug Welde. 

 Jack Engell was in the boat throwing candy in the red sweater.

 Alaska Airlines had an entry:

The school used some grant money to purchase some drums for a drum line. It's the closest thing Petersburg has to a marching band!

 Then came the families of Hammer and Wikan celebrating 90 years in business. They had a shopping cart drill team led by Sue Jensen Paulsen.

Smokey and something green also trailed along!

The Harley contingent took up the end of the parade...I don't know how many there were but it was quite impressive.

We wandered around after it was all over and ran into family. Jenny had Parker in his Norwegian sweater.

Easy Does It

 This one's for you, Caitlin. I put Easy Does It into the ground this morning and now it is looking a bit weepy! When I pulled it out of my large pot I found that it didn't have much of a root system and the soil was very moist. One plus was finding lots of earth worms in the bottom! I think the potting soil I used was too heavy and it didn't drain well. Hope it survives the summer in the new spot.

 Crown of Thorns is doing wonderful. I'll put the pot under the lemon tree where it will be watered by a sprinkler. It has been growing for about 4 years now.

 Easter lilies are in bloom...always just before we depart. Next year I should probably divide the clump as I see fewer blooms on each plant each year.

Hybiscus

Saying Farewell

Annie, Brooke and Oliver visited with us in Thousand Palms in April. We enjoyed a longer visit than planned since Brooke came down with the flu. Grandma and Grandpa didn't mind the extension at all!