Kid's Visit

Daughters Lara and Nellie and grandkids Jessie and Katie came to Bismarck from the west and east coasts, respectively, for a short visit during the New Years holiday.  A blizzard was threatening the area as they arrived, but fortunately it stormed mostly east of us.  We had little new snow but bitter cold temperatures.  None brought appropriate clothing for the severe cold, but by using borrowed apparel from Zona all who wished to were able to play and/or walk in the novel conditions.  Zona gets the credit for offering to host the reunion, and for making everyone feel welcome.  We were all pleased to enjoy the mix of four generations. 

The interstate highway was closed for days due to the heavy snowfall and high winds in the eastern half of North Dakota so Zona's daughter Cathy and her family were not able to get back to Bismarck (from Minneapolis) to spend time with the cousins.  Then a second storm also missed us by hammering the eastern part of the state, so the girls escaped the bad weather for their flights out.

Jessie, Nellie and Katie	Four generations: Jessie, Mom, Chuck, Nellie and Katie	Barb joins the group	Mike and Zona bookend the four generations	Enjoying a card game
Barb enjoys it too	Katie and Zona are team mates in another game	Jessie and Katie play (very briefly) in the bitter cold	Jessie "parks" the sled and flees to the warmth of the house	Lara found the sledding frustrating but the long walks very satisfying
Mom made bunches of pies -- here is a rhubarb pie she made for her only son	Jessie and Zona

Spanish Coffee

Jerry and Dawn had the Robbs and Shipleys over for a vast array of appetizers and then some delicious soup.  Afterwards, Jerry demonstrated his mastery of the art of making Spanish Coffee.  First, a glass of brandy is heated and then set aflame.  Then, sugar is sprinkled into the flaming glass, creating a few sparkles.  Then, cinnamon is sprinkled, resulting in a dramatic flare up.  Then, a small ladle of Kalua was heated and ignited from the glass, and dramatically poured into the glass while raising the ladle high into the air, leaving a stream of blue flame from ladle to glass.  Then coffee and ice cream is added to the glass, and the delicious concoction is served.  Yummy!

 

 

 

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