Salmon for Supper

I was shopping  at Aldi when I  saw this in the meat section. 

Hmm! Should I  try that recipe Olaf and Lisbeth gave me? 

Can I find the recipe in my email?

                               Success!

Very happy with my purchases I went to the parking  lot and found  this on the door of my jeep.

What is this all about? (I mentioned that I'm behind in some of the modern trends.) 😀 When I called  Ellis he knew immediately that I had been *ducked* and now I must begin a row of ducks on my dash. Also it would be good to purchase some ducks to give away to other jeep owners. This began in 2020 (if you can believe Google) in Canada 🇨🇦.

What fun!

I was even more tickled when I found a duck at home which must have been purchased for a baby gift and then left behind in my gift basket for later use. 

The recipe was quite easy to follow. It would  be even more amazing if Olaf and Lisbeth and Deanne could join us for supper!

           Here we are! It was delicious! 

Salmon Sandwiches

Rain poured from the sky.  Mom, my sisters and I sat in a cozy nook with windows on three sides of our table. We had been hoping to go for a walk or a driving tour --  then it began to rain. We changed our plans. A fancy tea inside a warm, dry place sounded better than being drenched in a thunder storm. Tea was served in a chubby teapot. Next, fancy sandwiches on platters  arrived. Slices of cucumber and cold salmon were sandwiched  between two pieces of bread. These were held together with skewers. I don't remember what kind of bread. This was before the sourdough fad.

 We were celebrating Maria's 40th birthday at Niagara on the Lake in Ontario Canada.

The year was 2006. Doug had reserved a bed and breakfast as a surprise for Maria. Ladina, Trenda and I flew to Toronto where we were picked up by Dad and Doug. Dad and Mom had driven to Ontario earlier that week. Dad was helping  Doug work on some renovations on the house. 

There was the huge satisfaction of pulling off the surprise without Maria suspecting anything. The next morning we drove to Niagara on the Lake.

Each morning, after a lovely breakfast, we went on little outings in this quaint town. There were  picnic lunches in the park, hikes on walking paths with glimpses of the lake showing through  the trees and history lessons learned when we toured historic buildings. 

Now as we sat at the table with rain streaming down the windows, chatting about our weekend we attempted to eat our very expensive sandwiches. The salmon was a shocking pink color and icy cold. Each of us ate half a sandwich. Bravely, Trenda picked up the second half and lifted it to take a bite. I was feeling quite squeamish and thought to myself, "I don't  think I want any more of this." Suddenly, Trenda put the sandwich down and said, "I cannot eat another bite."  All of us drew a sigh of relief as we put our sandwiches back on our plates.

The desserts were delicious. We downed another pot of tea when it appeared. When the rain stopped  we asked for a box to put the sandwiches in. 

The next adventure began. We had a ride in a carriage pulled by beautiful horses. The  horses wore diapers to keep the streets clean. The drive took us past old homes and our tour guide had more stories to tell about long ago days. 

When it was time to drive back to Toronto to catch our flight we passed an old fashioned carousel and stopped for a ride. Then Maria dropped us off at the airport. As we were flying home to Minnesota Trenda said, "I hope Maria takes those toothpicks out of the sandwiches before she feeds them to her dog!"

Since that memorable day I  have eaten salmon once. I know .. it's good for me. I should  be buying it and preparing it and fixing it for my family so we can all benefit from this healthy food. 

In Norway, Lisbeth fixed salmon for our last meal together. It was served hot with baked potatoes. There was a delicious sauce to smother each bite. And Olaf translated the recipe into English for me so now there is no excuse. I should be fixing salmon on a regular schedule. I'll let you know how that goes.

              -------------------------------------

The other day I found the salmon sandwich memory scribbled on a piece of paper. My cousins are writing 20 minutes each day and posting their stories. They inspired me to write again. I am finally learning to talk into a microphone and see my words being typed in front of my eyes. (Ellis has been using that feature on his phone for texting for years). Many times I scribble the first draft of a story on paper anyway. Now I can read it and my words are typed.  Amazing technology. I am spoiled. I am grateful to family and friends who help me catch up when I lag far behind.

This was an experiment to try the 

*new for me* method.

Some Background Stories

Quote from Prairie Doctor written by:

John R. Fischer, M.D.

"My ancestors came from Germany. Typical Germans, they showed a genetic predisposition for hard work, consistency, responsibility and emotional constipation."

I suppose this is a description that could be said about people from many nationalities. This quote tickled my funny bone and made me laugh when I first read Prairie Doctor. 

Growing up in my childhood home there was a mixture of, "Keep a stiff upper lip,"

and "Cry your eyes out." 

For example I can never listen to the song "Pomp and Circumstance" played by a high school band at a graduation without tears rolling down my cheeks. I don't  know why. It takes me back to a girl in 6th grade playing a clarinet and hoping to hit the right notes and praying that the reed would not squeak. 

As was mentioned before, six of the Skrivseth family married Martins or cousins of the Martins.  The remaining three children, Jo Ellen, Phillip and Leah led very different lives. My uncle, Phillip Mark, was born August 1, 1956. When he was a little more than 2 months old his big sister, Norma, married Lester Martin on October 11th.

When Phillip was 13 months old there was a little sister born to the family named Leah Christine. Leah became an aunt  three days later when her niece, Rebecca Irene Martin was born. Becky was the first daughter born to Lester and Norma and the very first granddaughter born to Bendick and Christina Skrivseth. 

There was so much rejoicing in the two families with two beautiful little girls to love.

Sadly, Phillip died October 18th when Leah was one and a half months old. 

More sadness came to the Skrivseth family. 

In March 1958 Grandma's mother died. Great grandma Caroline was only 60 years old. 

In June of that same year, Sharon married Lloyd and moved to WI with her new husband.  Now Arnie was 19, Sid was 17, Carol 13, Jo Ellen was 8, Rhoda 5 and Leah almost a year old.

It seems to me Grandma was suffering from postpartum depression. And grief. Losing a loved little boy. Then saying goodbye to her mother. It is beyond my comprehension to think of all she was going through. 

She was helping a lovely daughter get ready for her wedding day. And then saying  goodbye to her daughter as she goes away to make her own home. All good and joyful happenings but overwhelming when all of this is smashed  into such a short space of time.

Grandma was unable to do her work. My mom was asked to come and help. She cooked (on a wood cook stove) and cleaned, washed clothes (with a wringer washer) and helped care for the little ones in the household. 

This wasn't a modern house. As Mom remembers there was a pump at the kitchen sink so they didn't  have to haul water in. Otherwise the plumbing was a path out back to an out house. 

There is a story about the lunches Mom packed for the men. They were working in the woods and took lunches with them. Mom sent hard boiled eggs in the lunches, but unfortunately one of them was a raw egg instead of hard boiled. Sid was the unlucky  one who cracked the egg. He is convinced it was a trick played on purpose. Mom continues to defend her innocence every time that story is retold.

After a time Grandma regained strength and courage and was able to continue on in making a home for her family.

Mom later went to PA to help Noah and Ella Hege after a new baby joined that family. By that time Dad and Mom were dating. Dad traveled to PA to visit one weekend. There are many questions I never thought to ask Dad about his time in Indiana and the dating years.

-- to be continued 

My Life Story

Our Bible study group decided to have a time of telling our life stories. Guess who was picked to go first? Yes, yours truly. 

We have a list of prompts to help us get started. I read those and these suggestions tend to get memories rolling. In October 2025 I  was asked if I'd switch with Coretta so I said Sure, then everything got busy so we canceled until November. All the while my memories were circulating through my head but I had not written anything down.

November 21 found me sitting beside Mom's bed in the ER scribbling things down on paper ... Because the next day I was supposed to give my life story.

My daughters arranged to go ahead without  me since my siblings and I were preoccupied with Mom's health. 

In that small space of time in the ER when I sat down to write, some words came to me, Procrastination, Perfectionism, 

Parenting, Praising God and Finding Purpose in Life. 

My name is Dawn Kaye Skrivseth Harshbarger. I was born February 9, 1961 in Fort Wayne IN. My dad was working in a hospital, just finishing his two years in 1W Service. This was an alternate program for men who were conscientious objecters to war... there was a draft at that time.

My parents were married April 9, 1960 and lived in an apartment in Fort Wayne. 

When I was six weeks old we moved to Graceton MN. If you will look at a map of MN highway 11 goes across the top of the state from east to west. About 100 miles

west of International Falls you will see Baudette, Pit, Graceton, Williams, Roosevelt ... this is where I grew up. 

The prompts asked me to describe my childhood home. Which one ? 

Before we start that conversation I will try to tell you how my parents met. I don't know the exact moment. I can only surmise they met at their siblings weddings. (This is a question for me to ask Mom.) When I asked Mom she thought they may have also attended youth rallies at  Loman MN or a Bible School. She wasn't sure.

The Martin family had twelve children. 

The Skrivseth family had nine children ...

-- Lester Martin married Norma Skrivseth in 1956

-- Lloyd Martin married Sharon Skrivseth in 1958

-- Arnold Skrivseth married Leona Martin in 1960 

-- Sidney Skrivseth married Ruth Kauffman in 1962

-- Amos Kauffman married Carol Skrivseth in 1968 

-- Nelson Martin married Rhoda Skrivseth  in 1971

Ruth and Amos are siblings. Their mother is a first cousin to the Martins.

-- To be continued 

Prayers on a Bus

They may have deleted prayer from our schools, though I doubt that.  As long as there are Math tests, English tests and History exams there will be prayers in school. 

You can be sure there are still prayers on school buses during a Minnesota winter. Take December 18, 2025 for instance. Snow fell that day. The wind picked up. There was a forecast that talked about wind gusts of 50 mph. 

Eight buses pulled away from the Blooming Prairie Grade School that afternoon heading for the wide open prairies. At that moment I believe there were prayers ascending to God's throne room. Maybe they were subconscious prayers, maybe they were prayers muttered under the breath of each driver. 

Strobe lights flashing, head lights shining,  amber lights warning and red lights with stop signs telling people to STOP -- students are scurrying into their lanes. All the vehicles I met on the road  had their four ways on. 

Everything was going quite well considering the conditions of snow swirling around us and wind whistling in through the windows.

One little girl had the misfortune of having her hat blown off her head as she crossed the road in front of the bus. She looked startled and then very sad as her hat turned cartwheels and skimmed away. I watched,  helpless, but yelled back to the students still on the bus, "She lost her hat!" One of the high school  girls dropped her book bag on the seat and came to the front of the bus. 

"Where is it?" she asked peering out at the windswept skating rink. 

"It blew down that lane," I said, pointing to the spot where I last saw it tumble.

*Karen slipped and slid on the icy lane. All the rest of the students watched out the windows, groaning when the wind blew the little hat out of reach, then yelling triumphantly, "She got it!" 

By that time Cindy had already reached her house on the other side of the road, so we hung the hat up to dry and hoped she would  ride the bus the next day to get her lost hat.

 Bus 7 drives past Allen and Krysta's place. Just as I passed their house and trees the wind hit my bus with even more fury. This was a white out for sure. Zero visibility. I slowed the bus to a crawl, at the most the speed of walking.

Four girls were still on the bus. There is only a quarter mile between Krysta's house and my next stop. But I couldn't see the trees that marked that lane. Peering in front of me I imagined I could see the wind break off to the right. Imagination is not a comfortable guide for driving. Between gusts I could see a pole on the left side of the road. When there is good visibility I can see a line of poles marching down the side of the road. 

As the bus crept along I noticed a strip of grass at the side of the road. I was looking out of the window on the door of the bus. My goal was to keep moving slowly, keeping the bus in a parallel line to that strip of grass. I hoped no one else was on the road.

It seemed like a long time before I saw a smudge of dark trees and knew we had reached the next lane. This was Karen's stop. I thanked her again for rescuing the hat.

The blizzard swirled around  us. I followed the grass strip and stopped when even that disappeared. Kayla had her phone on Google maps which showed we had a long way to go before we reached her road. Inching along at a crawl and stopping to wait for the gusts of wind to slow down created some tension. 

"Are you crying?" Myra asked her little sister. 

"Who me? Of course not!" was Missy's speedy reply.

Teasing the girls, I told them they will be telling their children about driving home in a blizzard, following a grass strip at the edge of the road. 

I'm glad it was still daylight.

I'm praising Him for safety for all the drivers that day. Everyone made it safely back to Blooming Prairie. We are in the middle of a Minnesota winter for sure.

*Names have been changed