The Rugs

Okay just so you don't get confused part way through this post there are no actual rugs here. I have been wanting some area rugs for our home since I was pregnant with Suzie but we have never really taken the time to make that happen. One day.

In the mean time this post is about the once a year rug making that I do right here in my own home.

I doubt their original name was such but that is what we called them growing up and continue to do so to this day. My girls will not even know there was a different original name. And that's the way we're going to keep it so, Shhhh, don't tell.

Here is one out of the three logs that have to be rolled out. When they say only fridge for one hour they mean it. A whole day and it is more like a green, tubular brick.


Needless to say starting at nine and getting done at eleven is very plausible. A whole day spent doing unexpected things is what led to this late night bake fest but turns out it was fun.


I even got Paul to take some pictures of the process so I was not alone.


(I use wax paper while rolling it out to get even sizing and real sharp corners. It is therapeutic for me.)


Three layers rolled and cooled.


And then to align the colors is much easier as I can move them without actually grabbing the dough.






Three lovely layers all stacked and ready for folding.


Don't mind the mess that I am in, remember this is after a long day of bumping around in a dump truck.


And fold




Eeee! isn't it the cutest little tube of folded goodness. Are you starting to the the gist of where this Rug reference is coming in?










Slice and bake. These are a favorite of my moms and I am sooo excited to say that this year they will be out here for a bit of Christmas holidays along with all the rest of my family. It will be a full blown Thiessen mess.


Happy Christmas baking if that is your thing and if not then Happy Christmas doing what ever it is you like to do for this season. I hope you are diving into the things that help to bring joy in your lives.

Sold some more

When I woke up Sunday morning and opened up my ipod there was a notice from my Etsy shop. Another item had sold. In fact another two items.


What!!? Really? I pushed my husband aside from the computer to check in to see what I could see.


Turns out there is a momma of a little girl in Australia who was happy with her first purchase and wanted to have these in her little girls wardrobe as well.


Thanks so much Anita for deciding to take these little beauties home.




All packed up and ready to make it's long journey around the world.


(A little art work from both my girls to make the final wrap, Suzie colored her finger with a marker and then made finger prints all over this one)

Another part of my day today was learning the ins and outs of making English muffins.



Not to bad in the end. A few little tweaks to the technique and we are on our way.

There you have just a small part of my day and week. I am freshly showered after working a couple of hours on our project helping my man insulate two rooms. That job is done and now I am going to sit and relax for a few minutes before bed.

You know one thing I am learning again is that when you put your nose to the grind stone things can get done. You may be a bit sore in the end but a job well done feels good.
Have a good night and a great day.

Happy Day of Love

I had planned on this coming out yesterday but I got busy with life and taking it easy. It seems I get tired easily these days and have very little energy. I try to put what I do have towards the things I want done most.
Anyhow I have been wanting to make Valentines cookies for a long time but could not seem to find a heart shaped cookie cutter. When I did finally come across one I couldn't bring myself to pay $2.00 for a flimsy piece of metal. So I left it. I all of a sudden thought the other day that there must be a way I could make one. Google it real quick and of course there are ideas out there. Some more elaborate than others. The one I decided on was a tuna fish can. Cut of the bottom and shape. done and done. All I had to do was eat some fish the one day (which I have no problem with).
So here they are. My tuna fish heart shaped cookies. Okay they don't taste or really have anything to do with tuna seeing as it was actually a can of salmon. But non the less these are my fishy heart cookies.

Suzie was blowing on them cause they were "really hot". It looks like she got a little close with this one.


Blowing some more.


Suzie did her own version of the heart cut out with this one.


Enjoying the fruits of her labour.





I only took time with a few of the cookies the rest just have sprinkles on them.


Paul Came home some days ago with this surprise waiting for me when I came upstairs. We are not usually for the conventions of the holidays. We avoid all the hoopla but this time he did this for me. It is so nice to have some color in the house after so long in the winter.











Suzie's pants fit nicely into the holiday, and this was not on purpose either.





It was a good relaxed day for us here. Nothing crazy. Just a simple supper and then some work on the baby's quilt. Paul and I watched another episode of Star Trek. Yes you read that right. We started watching the very first season awhile back and are really enjoying the old timey space thing. Very fun to see what they came up with and to see how they made simple props work for them.
Well this day is getting away on me once again and there are a few things I would like to get done. I have a new idea as to how I want to finish the edge of the latest quilt so I need to do some research on that.
Have a good day and rest of the week. (Thursday is the start of week 30, time is starting to fly).

Full to the brim

I have thought of this post many times, wondering where on earth I will start and end. There has been so much that has passed through this life in the last month that every time I think of it I cannot, for the life of me, decide how to get it out on this blog. So then I wait a few more days and then the memories get further away and I move more into regular life again.

Christmas holidays were busy, full, joyous. We had fun and a few little trials. (A potty trained little girl stuck in a play pen far from ear shot is bound to have an accident.) But I digress. I will get to the holidays and the events there in but first I want to start with some recent Suzie-isms.

I have to admit that some of the funniest words out of Suzies mouth as of late have been "Holdy Cap" I quietly smirk to myself and strictly say not to use those words. "You can say 'Oh my Goodness' instead". When she again says the phrase and I again tell her not to say that she says quietly to herself "don't say holdy cap, just say oh my goodness".

You know that you have taught your daughter well in the ways of ice fishing when she asks where Grampa and Gramma are and then says all on her own "they ice fishing, yup, ice hut". Then shortly there after she finds an empty milk jug and a twist tie and while dipping the twist tie in the jug says "I'n fishin, yeah, I'n fishin". I ask what she will catch and she says she will catch a fish.

All right, let's get started here.


Suzie loves the outdoors. She thinks the snow is some of the greatest stuff since sliced bread and with her that is saying alot. (she loves her bread products)




Christmas morning we opened stockings full of paint and little stuffed toys.


She also found a kinder egg which she didn't know which part to eat. I guess the plastic insert looked tasty.


She and her Dad put together her other christmas/birthday gift. I think it fits them both quit nicely.




The table and chairs has a home in the basement and will become her own little art center. Right now it is crowded out by all the back porch items that will be moved back into the back porch when the reno is done. (which has now had it's first coat of colored paint)
When that is done I hope to have a little place set up for her where she can go most anytime she wants to create most anything she wants. Got the idea here. It may be a little while but we'll get there eventually.


on an earlier day we headed over to Alex and Gabs for the big Thiessen family Christmas.


This is how Suzie and I got there. Paul headed over to the post office and met us later. Surprisingly none of my packages hit the snow.


Then it was family time. A day of fun and photos. Babies and toddlers. Gifts and laughter, lots of laughter.


We, as a collective group, decided to open gifts in the morning. This is against all Thiessen family tradition. But as a larger family with little kids we see the benifit of getting it done early so the kids can enjoy the rest of the day.

When we were kids the gifts were opened after Christmas Eve Supper. I at first thought that the other kids had it good cause they opened in the morning but when I got a bit older I realised we opened the night before most kids. Funny the things you worry about as a child. As to our own, Paul Kroeker family, traditions there are no plans as of yet. The little one is still young enough that she doesn't know that we aren't doing it the same as last year. We'll see when the time comes. Right now it is relaxed and unschedualed and that is more than fine with me.


All right back to gift opening.




Liams Bob the Builder construction gear was a hit with all the kids.


And my dear, sweet, husband had to wear some sort of Christmas gear on his head. I do believe that, unbeknownst to him, that this is a "family" tradition.


I do so love him.


I love how in the bottom two photos Gab is trying to tell this little guy to turn around. Then she remembers that he is younger than her youngest. With this age you still have to do a little physical redirectioning.


Suzie's Dad made sure she tried on all of the new clothing she got. Of course all as it was opened without removal of the first item.


Then Gramma read new books to whom ever would sit still for long enough.


and who ever came to join part way through.


Charlie Brown Christmas was another one of those things you just have to put on. Turns out I didn't see it this year, just watched those who watched.


I went for a short walk around town to take some pictures of the beauty in the frost.








Our own back yard with the path Paul plowed out for Suzie.


Turns out the path is usefull for me to get to the back yard and take pictures too.

Christmas season Misc:

I had a lot of fun decorating the ginger bread cookies this year.



There were plenty of these little guys to do too. Suzie has a hard time eating them unless it is just their legs. I Cut out a peice of cheese in the shape of a man. She refused to eat it, even looking at it in horror untill I removed its head and upper body, then she gobbled the legs down.


I managed to make Cookie packages for both of our families again this year. I love doing this even if all anyone gets is a little sampling. There are some that have been in my family all of our child hood and some new to me this year and last.


We took in these two little guys for a night as their parents went out for supper. The were so easy to care for and such fun to have over.


All drinking their milk before bed.


One of the many ways these two like to hang out. It seems Paul likes the kitchen floor right after supper and Suzie likes to join him. It makes for a bit of a difficult time doing dishes but who can complain about something that is so much fun to watch.


This little girl loves her Daddy and I do too.

There was of course a day spent out at the farm and I again seem to have no pictures of that. We all arrived early on the 27th for a pancake breakfast put on by Pauls younger brother and his wife. The rest of the day was spent opening gifts and hanging out. Also eating a lot of really good food. There is always much fun to be had on the Kroeker farm. With much conversation and playing of games. The pool table and the Wii getting the most work out. Suzie and her little cousin Jordynn running around the house making such a racket.

Now I will head off down stair to sew on a new project that I am much excited about. I have finished my husbands house coat (a man who is 6'2" is a bit difficult to find a house coat for if you want it to go past his knees, expecially when you don't want it made out of super fluffy material). so now it is on to the next project.