May 3, 2013 - Stine Vuholm and Jens Flinch Bertelsen

We were very happy to host our 2nd International Servas travelers, Stine (pronounced Steena) and Jen (pronounced Yens), graduate students on a two month trip to the USA and Mexico from Copenhagen, Denmark.  We met down at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting at the Centurylink Center so they got to experience the financial nerds and exhibits.  My mother's father's family was from Denmark, and they taught me how to prononce Neeco-lie-sun.

We went to North Omaha to see the Malcolm X Birthsite.

Then to the Charles B. Washington Branch of the Omaha Public Library to see the Wordsmiths spoken word program.  Then back downtown for a quick walk down Gene Lehay Mall to Lewis and Clark Landing along the Missouri River and the Omaha Old Market along Howard Street, shopping at HyVee and heading home where they got to work preparing supper.

Jens made a potato salad with chives from our garden, green onions and new potatos, and Stine made a raw beet and apple salad-just shredded both and mixed with orange (she meant to get a lemon but it tasted good with the orange).  She also mixed pork and hamburger to make Frikadeller (Danish meatballs).

Our stay was their first Servas host stay so we hope they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed hosting them. Stina said her mother was a Servas traveler 30 years ago and told them about the home hosting program.  For dessert we indulged in hot tea and See's candy purchased at the BRK exhibits. 

After a Sunday morning breakfast of waffles and strawberries and leftover Frikadeller, downloading "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl" by Timothy Egan on their thumbdrive to listen to, they headed to Denver for their second servas stay!

January 27, 2013 -The Ryker Family from Blaine County, Nebraska

My niece, Sybil Ryker and her husband, Jason and kids, Mac and Mattie came to Omaha on Sunday, January 27th to join us for an Omaha Symphony kid's concert. When we got home they made us some awesome Chili soup using bison meat from a buffalo that Jason has shot and butchered. 

Mattie helped put together a Peach Cobbler.

Mac helped to set the table.

Add some muffins and a salad and some good conversation and we all enjoyed an excellent meal!  We hope they will come back again so we can visit the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Children's Muesuem, the Rose Theatre, or the Joslyn Art Museum and enjoy another good meal!

September 2, 2012 - Jackie and Wooly, Lincoln, Nebraska

Thank goodness for good friends who love to cook.  We joined Jackie and Wooly at the 2nd Annual Applegrass Bluegrass festival at Ditmar's Orchard in Council Bluffs.  They were vending henna tatoos and gem stones and enjoying the music.  They spent the night with us and in the not-so-early Sunday morning, Wooly was the cook for amazing breakfast.  He made pancakes, Harvest Valley Farms sausage from our our local CSA farm on Platteview Road in Sarpy County, Nebraska, and eggs from my sister Liz's chickens on the Never Sweat Ranch in Blaine County, Nebraska, and Rick's Vermont maple syrup.