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Tag: st cloud

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.

For Mary and Sue and Sue

For Mary and Sue and Sue

Memories, StearnsOctober 25, 2024

You’d be crazy to cross Mr Smith’s garden. But one night I had to.

Nights at the 10-Hi

Nights at the 10-Hi

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Oh Ja, StearnsJune 9, 2024

We live in media-rich times, but streaming services don’t compare to summer nights at the 10-Hi.

Listening for the Weather

Listening for the Weather

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, StearnsMarch 23, 2023

Minnesotans understand a funnel cloud, a menacing sky, the gusts of wind that mean business.

Well Heeled

Well Heeled

Coffee Klatsch, Oh Ja, StearnsDecember 30, 2022

Meh to the stiletto.

Dark Shadows Blue

Dark Shadows Blue

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Oh Ja, StearnsDecember 21, 2022

Collinwood, home to the Collins family, features gothic architecture and many candles in Dark Shadows Blue.

Prairie of the Dolls

Prairie of the Dolls

Coffee Klatsch, Oh JaOctober 3, 2022

Stearns County and the whole of Minnesota are a hunting ground for vintage items and antiques.

Doesn’t It Hurt Your Eyes?

Doesn’t It Hurt Your Eyes?

Memories, StearnsSeptember 19, 2022

She was trying not to judge, but her voice gave her away. Sister Paulette Laufer hated my bright blue eyeshadow.

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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Featured Posts

  • Dodging HopferatuApril 20, 2025

  • Fairy Cross Rocks 4.0April 17, 2025

  • The Silence of the BirdsApril 9, 2025

  • Christmas Through the YearJanuary 16, 2025

  • The Year That Santa ForgotDecember 20, 2024