Curtiss, September 2nd 1892.

Dear brother,

As summer is coming to an end, and we have not written to anyone, it is time to write so you can hear we are alive and well and living as usual. The reason for not writing earlier is mainly that I have had workers here almost all summer. We built ourselves a new building, or house as they say here. From early spring we've had people here. They dug a basement and built a foundation. The master bricklayer was German. Then I had five men to cook for. And after that we had carpenters, both before and after the harvest. They were Swedish. They are not here now, but in a while they will return as not everything is finished yet. It is finished enough for us to have moved in. It is finished on the outside. It is weatherboarded and painted yellow. The house will be really pretty, but inside there is more carpentry work to be done yet. We now have a kitchen, living room, bedroom and a pantry. I guess you would like to know what it is like, so I will try to explain. The kitchen has two windows and three doors. There is a outside door on the southern wall and one on the northern wall, also opening out. Outside these doors there is something they call 'stoop' around here, and is like a Norwegian veranda. The third door opens into the living room. In this room there are three windows and three other doors besides the one between the kitchen and the living room. The one door leads to the pantry, the other into the bedroom and the third opens onto the northern stoop. This stoop faces the road that passes here. The house is built a bit away from the road. In the bedroom there are two windows, and one in the pantry. The basement is large and has two small windows and a door leading out. This house has cost us a lot of effort and money. We even owe some money on it. But as Mathias does not owe anything on his land, it does not matter so much. We have three cows milking this summer. This fall the heifer will be calving. We have 10 cattle all in all, including the calf we raised this spring. We have a sow and two piglets, one sheep and thirteen chickens. We had a good fodder harvest this summer, but no other harvest. This spring and early summer we only had rain, which caused lots of weeds. We will have enough potatoes for the winter. We have had a lot of thunder this summer, but now the weather has been good for a long time. I read from Ingeborg's letter that you at home were well and living as usual. I sincerely hope this letter finds you healthy and well. Give my greetings to Hjelkerhaugen. I wish them good luck with their little boy. Many greetings to Mother and Father from me. I am not addressing this letter to them, but to you Kristian, so it is you who must answer. But the letter is for them too. Give Anders and Kari and Johan and Marte our greetings. Many greetings to Mari from me. I see that Mari, who used to be at Hage, now is the maid at home. Also give my regards to everyone who knows me and asks about me. Sina and Eline Kankrud send their greetings. All is well with them. Kristian Kankrud has left for Dakota, but will be coming back this winter. With this I must end with a heartfelt greeting to all of you from me.

Randi Anderson

Mathias asks me to send greetings from him. Greetings to Moellerstuen and Kankrud from us.
Live well.