Today I thought of my ex-father/n/law who is in heaven. He was 99 years old just shy of turning 100 when he passed away a few years ago!  He was from Germany and loved breakfast. His favorite place to go for pancakes was “The Original Pancake House.” We would often go every weekend after church. A family ritual for Opa. His favorite pancakes were the 49er pancakes. A nice memory.

Oh, and in case you are wondering HOW I ended up at The Swedish Club, it’s because I received an email from a Midwestern Meetup Group inviting fellow Midwesterners to come out and meet new people while enjoying some Swedish pancakes.

Unfortunately, due to tough parking, I was 30 minutes late. The line for being seated was so long that I was too shy to go through the line asking, “Are you a member of the Midwestern Meetup Group?”  It wasn’t going to happen. Maybe if I had had a megaphone and made a Midwestern joke, but I hadn’t been prepared for such a crowd.

Inside they had a small band with the members dressed in traditional Swedish costumes. It reminded me of being in Italy and Munich when the older generation gets up and they know all the ballroom dance steps. It was very nice and felt family oriented. Their traditional outfit style reminded me of pilgrims or the Amish. I wanted to take a picture to share with you, but I did not feel it was appropriate.

More pancakes. I work with two Ukranian Technicians and their mother’s often make crepe style pancakes, but instead of making them sweet, they add chicken or a vegetable and roll it up. Last week one of them shared with me a chicken crepe. He told me when he was young his mother made a lot of dinner dishes using these thin pancakes.

So, here is to pancakes, memories of Opa, AND being open to new adventures!