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Join me for a little lunch. Or something. Sometimes.

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Dodging Hopferatu

Dodging Hopferatu

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Occasions, Oh Ja, StearnsApril 20, 2025

There were no bad bunnies in Stearns County.

Fairy Cross Rocks 4.0

Fairy Cross Rocks 4.0

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Occasions, Oh Ja, Stearns, Wobegon TrailApril 17, 2025

It’s not easy to find a fairy cross rock.

The Silence of the Birds

The Silence of the Birds

Coffee Klatsch, Oh Ja, Stearns, Wobegon TrailApril 9, 2025

We listened to the rustle of grasses, the leaves in the trees, the distant traffic. But after a few days I realised there was no birdsong.

Christmas Through the Year

Christmas Through the Year

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Memories, Occasions, StearnsJanuary 16, 2025

I didn’t bake a single cookie in December. Not one.

Living Dolls

Living Dolls

Coffee Klatsch, Oh Ja, StearnsNovember 10, 2024

Mannequins are freaky and sometimes disturbing. I see them everywhere and can’t help photographing them.

Candles In Memory

Candles In Memory

Cuisine, Memories, StearnsOctober 23, 2024

All families have secrets. As people get older or pass away, the secrets come to light. Like Grandma Lena’s.

Shmokin’ To Freeport

Shmokin’ To Freeport

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Stearns, Wobegon TrailOctober 17, 2024

It’s the town that welcomes you with a smile, and a cinnamon roll at Charlie’s Cafe.

Pickled Parts

Pickled Parts

Cuisine, Memories, StearnsOctober 8, 2024

We creatures of the earth shouldn’t eat each other’s lips. That’s my firm view.

A Commotion of Coots

A Commotion of Coots

Cuisine, Wobegon TrailSeptember 20, 2024

Lake Osakis wore a black veil of birdlife – a coating of coots.

Dairy Queen Delights

Dairy Queen Delights

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Memories, Stearns, Wobegon TrailSeptember 1, 2024

Some things change, some stay the same.

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The LenaMina Record

Join to receive our secret MN recipes, bullcrap, and Stearns style news. Enjoy it over a little lunch. Or something. Sometimes.

We of Wobegon

Lena and Mina were my grandmothers – Stearns County, Minnesota women who grew up and raised families in small towns around the Lake Wobegon Trail. Born in the USA, they spoke German and had German accents. As did my parents, who spoke only German until they went to school. As do some of my cousins, who have never lived anywhere but Stearns County. We’re quirky folks, like those in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Stearns town of Lake Wobegon. I’m Laurie Hilsgen, and if you’re reading this, you might be Wobegonian, too. Let’s celebrate our loony ways. Oh ja!

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