In my youth, I published some poems and articles and studied writing formally and informally in several settings. Then I took a side-road off into family-life, mental health professional counseling, graphic design and fine arts. Along the way I kept taking in stories and learning more about how people grow and change, especially in their relationships.

My husband and I are now over five years in the Madison, Wisconsin area and in our 41st year of marriage. We have two grown sons, now married and living in other states. 

We have visited a very old barn that belongs to a Norwegian family near Madison. It has a stone foundation and has been in use for special occasions. This barn got my mind going about a series of stories about one family line with one barn in common.

Characters Olaf and Katrina landed in Wisconsin in 1870 as a young couple with children and were able to secure their own farm. Their family grew and so did their farm. 

By the time their eldest son Severin was old enough to marry, they had enough land to support their children and grandchildren, if everybody pitched in and worked the land, ran the households, the gardens and the livestock well. 

Generations go by and in 2016 that old barn is still standing--owned by descendant Rick and his wife Ginny, and also their 3 married adult daughters and their husbands. Rick and Ginny have a surprise son in middle-age, Andy, who is 4 by 2016. Andy eventually grows up and marries, but will he continue to farm?