Dear Sam,

I did have that Radette. Dan Hirschi was visiting with a girl friend, yes, she was nice and pretty cute too. Ruth has one of those irons. That cheese was $l5. a pound. They cooked the cheese plain and then with a special kind of bacon. It was very good, but not good enough for me to buy that special iron. We had the potatoes too. Dan must have had that in Switzerland. Jim found the irons searching onf the computor. He and Johanna each bought one. Cost them $250. each. I really appreciate your research. The ones that I have found only make two at a time, but I think they are larger. The picture of the bratzalies looks the same as ours do.

Katie, those pearls were a personal wedding gift to you. I gave Alison and Laurel a piece of jewelery also. Sara and Lisa are both expecting this month. Lisa is having a boy and I can't remember what Sara is expecting. Sara has been feeling louzy most of her pregnancy. Strep throat, ear ache etc.

Sam you have a real gift for writing. Maybe you should take it up seriously. Your Dad does also and so does Cristie. When Mary was at Dixie her English teacher told her that she had potential also

Your Grandfather is really slipping. He complains of shortness of breath and chest pain. He responds very slowly. I don't know if he's overmedicated or if he' s slowly fading away.

I hope Jenny is making a good recovery and not in alot of pain. Got to get to bed. Love to all
Grandma

Here is a link where imported irons may be purchased:

http://www.shopswiss.com/bratzeli.html

For a real treat, buy one of these:

http://www.shopswiss.com/raclette.html

I only ate bratzelis once on my whole mission, and I spent plenty of time looking for them. It seems to be a Swiss tradition that is dying out. In antique shops I used to see old irons that were heated by coals. I didn't see any new irons, and the only Swiss company (Jura) that used to make the irons no longer makes them. Mom and dad have a Jura iron.

Raclette (second link) is a truly wonderful thing. Though none of you will likely run out and buy an iron, it would be a fun thing to try. Raclette is both the name of a cheese, and the name of a dish. When prepared on the streets, a wheel of raclette is sliced in half. The cut side of the wheel is melted next to a red-hot iron until the exposed surface begins to crisp and the layer below is melted. The street merchant selling the raclette will then scrape the melted layer of cheese on a plate of boiled red potatoes, ham, carrots, and other meats and vegetables. The plate is not complete until paprika is sprinkled atop the cheese, and two sweet pickles added to the side. With the home version, raclette is melted in little dishes, and the meat is grilled on top of the iron. If you want to try raclette in Switzerland, make sure to visit in the fall. The leaves begin blowing through cobblestone alleys, carrying the scent of roasted chestnuts and the coming winter. The Swiss call it the Foehn, and some of the older ones with glassy eyes will tell you how strange things happen when the Foehn begins to blow. There is nothing like this in the new world. Even at twenty-one, I knew this as I dreamt beneath a 730 year old roof.

S