September 8 - Minnesota, and relatives!

What a heart-warming experience! I've been in Roseau, Minnesota since Friday, visiting with my second-cousin, Leanne, and her husband Keith. They've welcomed me warmly, and I've really enjoyed staying in the warm, comfortable roomy house – quite a contrast to my 13 foot Boler trailer!

We met last year when I was touring through the area, and we just hit it off. Leanne is a central person in my family history, as she is related to many people in the area, and knows almost everyone else. Being a former school teacher, a very active church member and of Sons of

Norway, and a participant or instigator of many local activities, she's well-connected. Among other things, Leanne is a quilter, and plays accordion in a local band, entertaining not only at local events, but also at Norse-focused events in the mid-West. Keith is a highly skilled carver and carpenter, and both he and Leanne have displays in the local historical museum of the Norse art.

My paternal grand-mother and grand-father (Karen Gaukerud and Theodore Haaby), were both from families of 9 children; and Leanne is the grand-child of one of Karen's sisters. Many of the children from both sides stayed in this area, and some of their children (people my age) are also nearby. And, that means that I have so many relatives in this area that I have only to close my eyes, throw a stone, and I'll hit one. Being so well-behaved I don't do that, but during my visit, Leanne has frequently said, “and you're related to that person, through the Gaukerud (or Haaby) side of your family”. It's been overwhelming to me to see how many relatives I have here.

Leanne and Keith have showed me around, taking me to local cemeteries, one of which contained headstones for TWO Karen Haaby's (my maiden name); and another where my grand-mother, another Karen Haaby, is buried. One was my great grand-mother. Very eerie to see a headstone with one's own name on it. Thank goodness the dates were wrong, so I'm not dead yet.

On Sunday we went to the Rollag Steam Show, an annual event in a village 3 hours away – it brings together hundreds of tractor and other steam engine machines, and thousands, yes thousands of people from near and far. Remember we're in northern Minnesota, about 50 miles from the border with Canada, and farming has been the way of life here since the settlers came (my ancestors among them) in the late 1800's. We saw tractors and farm equipment of all sizes, some dating from the early 1900's; a working sawmill, powered by steam engines; displays of Norse hand-work – embroidery, weaving, knitting.

I also experienced some Norwegian food – lefse, of course, which is a tortilla-like bread made of potato and flour. I was also treated to Rømmegrøt (Sweet Cream Porridge) . I was chatting the white-bearded fellow in front of me while waiting in line for my lefse, and when he told me what he was ordering, I said “what's that”, and the conversation all up and down the line halted, faces turned toward me in disbelief – how could a person not know what “ Rommegrot“ is?? (Could they tell I was not a local:) Nothing would do but that I had a bite of it. He offered me a clean spoon in a gentlemanly fashion, and I slurped into a bit of heaven – wow! What a great taste – fresh cream, thickened with a tiny bit of flour, mixed with sugar and a bit of cinnamon, and topped with melted butter! Sort of like condensed milk on steroids. I was later told that this was often eaten by women who had recently given birth, to restore their strength. I guess!!

If you want the recipe, go to: http://www.gjenvick.com/Recipes/Rommegrot-SweetCreamPorridgeRecipe.html

For those of you that attend our potlucks, stay tuned - you may get to sample some!

We had dinner last night with Leanne's brother John and his wife Randi; and talked and laughed about many things. John took over the family farm years ago, and now their son is at school studying agricultural business. They have 1500 acres of diversified crop (wheat and beans, maybe some beets), which John carries on by himself. When need arises he can hire help, or sons and sons-in-law also help. In the past Randi worked there too, driving the huge combines to get the crops in. But, her work as a nurse took her away from the farm work, and John has carried on, and is a successful small farmer.

As always, Americans are interested in our Canadian health care system, so there was lots to talk over dinner about that. We also compared notes on living in the heart of a culturally diverse urban Canadian area with life here in rural northern Minnesota. Neither side won out, by the way – I think we agreed that each has its pluses and minuses, and it seemed we were all content with our choices.

This visit has been good for my soul; it's great to feel connected to so many blood relatives.

And, now I'm off to the next leg of my journey – will end up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for Saturday, as my next Habitat build starts Sunday. But, am taking the long route going west to Grand Forks, North Dakota, then south to Fargo-Moorhead for a day or so, before heading east again to Grand Rapids. Bye for now.