LOCAL aebelskiver was a great start to our day's LOCAL fun! We are making a choice to drive less (and the price of gas helps make that choice) and to find more and more of our entertainment for "vacation days" close to home. It didn't take a flight to Copenhagen or even a drive to Ballard to enjoy a fun and festive Danish breakfast this morning. We shared it LOCALLY with friends and neighbors at the Danish Hall in Enumclaw.
We used to wait all year for this event, but the Danish Sisterhood now offers this breakfast of aebelskiver, sausage, applesauce, juice and coffee several times a year. It's a treat and a bargain at $6. (If you've missed it, watch for the next one in September!) (And if you're saying, What's aebelskiver? well, it's a puffy pancake ball--see the pictures.) The event includes a bake sale, with cookies, cakes, breads and pies, sometimes jam and pickles. I stock up, telling myself "It's to take to Mom" or "It's for the freezer", but I admit that doesn't always work out. Mom will be lucky to see any of those lemon cookies that I bought with her in mind....
Well, back to our LOCAL fun day: After breakfast we strolled through the Street Fair, in and out and around the booths. We ran into friends, listened to music, talked to an amazing young man about his work on issues around bottled water (more on that next week). I don't "shop" much anymore, but look for local products when I do. I bought three lovely and very small dishes from local potter Ed Convalin, who was demonstrating his work on the sidewalk. ("Very small" was on purpose, thinking portion control for desserts. But that's for after we finish the above-mentioned baked goods. Or give them to Mom.) Our other vacation treats were a bag of fair-trade coffee and a bag of cocoa mix. Right, neither coffee nor cocoa beans are grown locally. But--a local roaster, Buono Coffee in Wilkeson, does roast the coffee for the newly-opened Mountain Aire Mercantile. And Tickettyboo Hot Chocolate is a new enterprise based in Enumclaw, established and run by three sisters who want to make cocoa just like Grandma's. (You can find them at Issaquah Farmers' Market or order online. Their products will probably be showing up soon at local stores as well.)
After some town chores and home chores, we went back to Street Fair later in the day for more strolling, people-watching, and eating a hefty hot dog. We took the long way home--well, a few miles rather than one mile--looping through some of our beautiful local countryside. And then we came upon another new venture, Hitchin' Post Produce. It's where the wind turbine is on Warner, just east of 410. So we stopped to investigate that. We left with some local organic potatoes and local salsa (Auburn). John often rides that route on his trike, so I'm hoping he'll pick up one of those Washington watermelons next week....
A fun and full day, and we didn't get more than three miles from home. So "Have Fun Locally" works. We have a list going, not exactly a Bucket List, but a list of nearby places to go/things to do as "locals". If we haven't been there-done that, well, Let's! If we have already and enjoyed it, Let's do it again. (Aebelskiver is definitely on for again. And again.) We'll take suggestions for that list. We know coming up in Enumclaw are the Highland Games, the King County Fair, Art in the Garden, and more. We can have picnics in the parks, potlucks at home, walks and rides on our trails, hikes on our mountains. For many people, this area is a destination. Lucky us, we're here!
