Waffle Wednesday

Elderberry syrup, made fresh today, from a HUGE supply of elderberries given to us by a friend named, Herb. We call this concoction "Herb's herbal syrup."

Grandma Klecker's waffle batter, ready to be made into waffles.

This is the waffle maker that Bill and I received as a wedding gift almost 17 years ago. It's still going strong (the waffle maker and the marriage!). This was a gift from Bob and Kay Pendleton. Seriously. I remember all sorts of completely useless facts like this.

I love to plan out my family's meals. Doing so makes it easier to shop for groceries. It's also nice to have an idea what I'm making for dinner more than 15 minutes before I start cooking. I try to keep our menus simple, healthy, and including things that everyone will eat. I also like to have some days with a set menu; like Tuesdays are "Taco Tuesdays" and on Fridays we always eat pizza.

Several months ago while planning out that week's meals, I happened upon Facebook and a status update from my cousin's wife, Maria. She was talking about making waffles for her family on "Waffle Wednesday." Now THAT was a new idea that I could easily incorporate into our meals. Fast, easy, and sort of nutritious. Thanks to Maria's suggestion, we've now adopted "Waffle Wednesday" into the rotation. But more importantly, we've also forged a new family bond.

Funny, I've never met this girl in real life. In fact, I'm sure I haven't even seen my cousin (her husband) in 10 years or more. It's amazing though, that something as simple as waffles can bridge the many miles that separate us and offer a common ground for becoming acquainted. It just sort of makes me smile. And when we're both using the same waffle recipe from our Grandma Klecker on Wednesday nights, I know that she'd be smiling too.