Grandma Erickson & Swedish Pancakes

My Grandma Erickson was a lovely lady. She taught me a lot about love and joy, as she always put family first. I cannot think of a birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Valentine's Day when there wasn't a handwritten letter in the mail waiting for me. She faithfully wrote letters to all of her family members, which included 8 grandchildren, at least once a month. In fact, I have a whole stack of her most memorable letters in my keepsake box.

It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to her this summer, but we find peace in knowing she is now with her sweet Savior.

One of my favorite memories of Grandma Erickson was her Swedish pancakes. When Blake surprised me a few years ago with a trip to Colorado, Grandma gave me her own recipe. I made sure to write it in my journal, so that I wouldn't lose it. I hope to pass along the family tradition and enjoy Swedish pancakes with hot coffee on snuggly, lazy mornings :)

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Grandma Erickson's Swedish Pancakes

serves 2-3

1 c. flour

2 c. milk

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbs butter, melted (although... I would use a little less)

Beat egg and 1/2 c. milk with whisk. Add flour and beat until smooth. Add the remainder of milk, then the butter and salt.

Pour about 1/4 c. of batter onto heated skillet. I usually pick up the pan and rotate it to spread the batter thin, so that it reaches the edge of the pan. Cook for about 3 min on each side. Enjoy!

*** Traditionally, Swedish pancakes are served with lingonberries and whipped butter (you can get the lingonberries at Ikea). But when I made these a couple of weeks ago, I filled them with cooked peaches and a maple cream sauce. It's fun to play around and try out different fillings. Enjoy!

Maple Cream Sauce

3/4 c. heavy whipping cream

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 1/2 Tbs light corn syrup

from an island... to downtown

In the midst of a busy summer we also moved!

It's fun to say that we started off our married life living on an island with a palm tree outside of our bedroom window, but for the past year we have both been itching to move downtown. We now live right in the heart of downtown, and we're absolutely loving it!

There's actually a funny story to it. You see... I found the place, negotiated, and signed the contract before Blake even saw it. Blake was on an away-rotation for 6 weeks when I found this little treasure and, afraid that someone else would snatch it, I called him and asked what his thoughts were.

Me: "I just don't think it's still going to be here when you come back. I don't know what to do."

Blake: "You like it?"

Me: "Yes! It's perfect!"

Blake: "Ok. Well, I trust you. If you think it will work go for it!"

So I signed my name on the dotted line :)

Rest assure, he liked the place once he finally got to see it.

My favorite part about living downtown is that you can walk/bike just about anywhere. We're a block from a farmer's market, 5 blocks from one of my favorite coffee shops, 3 blocks from a local bakery, just blocks from many beautiful parks. I love, love, love it!

More photos to come once everything is more settled...

Med School Memories Made in Honduras

Ah!! I completely left out one of my favorite stories from Honduras. Shame on me ;-)

To preface this story... I just want to claim my bragging rights as a wife. Done. Claimed. So I'll continue....

So in early June Blake took his first board exam, the USMLE Step 1. He studied his butt off for it for it, which still blows me away. You know when a 10 year old plays video games hours on end, and then his eyes are completely bloodshot afterwards? Blake would come home looking just like that, only his "video games" were six inch thick textbooks filled with medical gibberish. Doesn't sound nearly as fun to me. But anyways... I left many of you hanging because I asked for prayers on the day that he took the exam, but I never brought back report. So then... let your mind travel back to Honduras....

We were in this little town called Valley of the Angels, which has a ton of touristy shops. You could buy tiny trinkets, beaded jewelry, a rainbow of hammocks, and intricate wooden carvings. I decided to go scout out a hammock while Blake went with a group to an internet cafe. I found my hammock, and then as I was walking towards the town center I started running into people...

"Have you seen Blake??!!"

"Juli, Blake is looking for you!!!"

"OH!! You need to talk to Blake!!!"

One of his classmates explained to me that Blake had good news he wanted to tell me. Actually, the way he described it was that Blake was asking if anyone had seen me.... then he started walking in the direction he thought I was, then picked up speed, which turned into a jog, and ultimately became a SKIP! Haha... I just wish I could have actually seen Blake skip through Honduras!

Somebody pointed me in the direction of where they last saw him, so I went in that direction. As it would happen, Blake circled around the opposite way. Pretty soon, we're both making circles around a foreign city in search of each other. There were groups of people helping us find each other.... it was like something straight out of a movie. One of his classmates finally reunited us, and then Blake told me the good news-- he dominated the USMLE Step 1!! He beat that test until it cried. I was so stinking proud!

We screamed, danced in the streets, and then celebrated with a coconut-mocha-iced-coffee-drink-thingy :) It was such a fun memory!

This boy amazes me. He really does. To give you some idea of what he made, he scored above average for a neurosurgeon.... you know, the people that cut into people's brains and stuff. I'm excited to see where he goes in the medical field and which direction God takes him. He is definitely gifted, that's for sure.