Norske Fields: A Novel of Southern California's Norwegian Colony by Anne Schroeder

Author:Anne Schroeder [Schroeder, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Published: 2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

In the following months Ellen took walks with her younger children down the dusty road to see how the new house progressed. Martin Overaa was a good carpenter, efficient and skilled, a master builder who made the house rise out of the flat field that Jorgen had used for planting beans. She feared that the Hansen shack would be torn down, the wood used for the new house, but it seemed that Nils could not bring himself to erase his friends’ existence. Better that it remain in use as a bunkhouse.

In May, Karn and Susie drove their wagon to help Ellen pack up the household. At the new house, Karn arranged furniture and stacked canned goods and dishes in new cabinets while she admired the size of the rooms.

Ellen laughed. “Yours is nearly as large now that you have added on. We are like rabbits, always building to fit our growing families.”

“But what a joy!” Karn said. “We are close neighbors now, only a shout away if one of us needs help.” She watched without speaking as Nils carried Nora past and laid her in the daybed he had placed near the new woodstove in the kitchen.

Karn glanced at her own daughter, grown hearty, playing outside with her older brothers. She broke the silence with an announcement. “My sister Susie has been spending time with a gentleman farmer who comes calling. Mr. Dyrkorn. She tells me she gives the right answer to his question. In only a month, she and her children will move to her new husband’s farm.”

Ellen turned to see Susie’s face glowing with happiness. “Good news!”

“I have other news, but I wait a while. Give us all a few weeks to settle into these new changes. One thing at a time, I think.” Karn picked up a wooden box and carried it down the hall.

At suppertime, Ellen poured buttermilk batter into the vafler griddle and set it over the fire to cook. When the batter ran out the sides and the steam ceased, she opened the handles and forked the waffle onto a plate before spooning gjetost over it. The room filled with the toasty scent of the soft cheese melting over the hot waffles. Nora looked up, encouraged by the smell, and took a tentative nibble. When Nils and the boys finished eating, Ellen sat at the bedside and tried to tease a few more bites into the child. “Tomorrow we make rosette cookies,” she promised. “I don’t care that it is not yet Christmas. We don’t wait.”

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