Picture Update

I am so happy for them! :-)

Love their hair.

Uriah.

Mum. Isn't she lovely?

Dad and Jesse talking about Jesse's current work project.

Cilla and Martha washing dishes. Such good girls. :-)

Cinnamon Twists

My sisters and I made these a lot a few years ago... but we got out of the habit. So, when I suddenly thought of them the other day, they almost seemed legendary: all I could remember was that they were wonderful and the dough had a special ingredient. Since my husband loves cinnamon, I decided to call my mom up and see if she could remember the recipe. At first, she didn't but as we prodded old memories to life, she found the recipe in our 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook. I love that cookbook!

Today, I made them and I discovered that I simply must share the recipe with you. It is so easy and the result of your labor is really, really good. :-)

Cinnamon Twists

1 C. Sour Cream

Heat in saucepan until lukewarm. Take off heat and add:

 3 TBSP sugar

1/8 tsp . soda

1 tsp. salt

2 ½ tsp yeast

1 large egg

2 tbsp shortening (butter)

3 cups flour (add one cup at a time)

Mix until you have a smooth dough. (I mix by hand, then put dough out on counter and knead until smooth.) Lightly flour counter and roll into a 12" x 24" rectangle. 

Mix together: 

1/3 C. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon 

Spread dough with butter, then sprinkle sugar mixture over half of dough. Then, fold dough over itself. Cut into 24 strips. Twist each strip a couple of times and place on greased cookie sheet, pressing ends down (so the twists don't untwist...). Allow twists to rise for an hour in a warm place. 

Bake at 375* for 12 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Glaze when cool. 

Glaze: 

2 TBSP boiling milk

1 tsp soft butter/shortening

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 C. icing sugar

Mix until smooth and drizzle over twists. 

Bridal Shower... Married Life Prep... and Lot of Fun Stuff

Back home, enjoying the rain and quiet. The weekend and the days surrounding it were lovely and full of excitement. The party was amazing. Many thanks to my lovely friend, Lindsey who worked so hard to organize everything. My mom and sisters were also amazing... and all the ladies at the church who spent hours of their time cleaning, helping and simply being there.

Has anyone heard of Everyday Style? They used that company for the party (bridal shower). Basically, people would order things off of my wish list (items taken out of the catalogue)... and if the orders were over a certain amount of money, I would also receive many things half priced and some for free. The quality of the dishes and accessories are good. We're quite excited about it all. :-)

We got the keys to our house and looked at it more thoroughly yesterday. Our conclusion? That we got our money's worth. We love our house. :-) :-)

The Sun is Shining!

Theatre was amazing. :-) Yes, it is always a lot of work and yes, by Sunday, we're all exhausted and "punch drunk" to quote Michele and Kristy! But it was amazing. The experience is always invaluable. Working with so many wonderful people and making new friends.... I can say sincerely that I do not regret a moment. :-) 

We did not have many flubs.. one that sticks out in my mind happened on Saturday in the first act. One line was forgotten and we had to figure out where we were at. :-) It took a couple minutes of floundering before everything was back on track. It was not terribly obvious to the crowd, though. We didn't come out of character and the story line stayed the same. 

Yesterday, I was so tired. I made it through the day (it was a good day!) but by the time I got home, I was almost falling over. I went to bed at 10 or so and slept like the proverbial log. I woke up feeling really good. :-) Energy level is up, etc. The only thing is my allergies are kicking in with spring. Or shall we say, with the dust. However, I will just carry around tissue with me and be fine. :-D 

I worked almost all day in the photolab yesterday. It was closed on Saturday because there were only three of us on the floor that day (well, Marcia left mid-afternoon because of a funeral... which left just Anna and myself..) and we had stock to put on the shelves. So yesterday, we had a lot of photo orders that needed to be filled. Plus, a lot of older people came in to get pictures. It's really interesting watching/helping them trying to figure out the computers and all this digital photography. I find it fascinating to think how many ways they have seen pictures get developed over the years. Sometimes I wish I would have been born earlier to have been able to learn the older processes. I do like the digital process though. :-) And I love my job. :-D 

Jesse and I have our own address now! We received a phone call from the post office that they had a box for us. We're both so excited. :-) We spent time discussing how we were going to remember the Box #. Neither of us are good with numbers. Our methods are quite different but it helps that we both have siblings born in 1987. Lol. 

I haven't been able to work anymore on wedding details since last week but I'm hoping in the upcoming days to be able to work on guest list. My mom, sisters and Lindsey are throwing a bridal shower for me up in Endeavour on May 6th. Mom said I could invite anyone I wanted to. So, if you're in the area around that time, drop in. :-) I am really looking forward to it. It will be lots of fun to see everyone again... especially the kids. I received a letter from Ruth yesterday and I am a little homesick for them. 

So... today I work and teach and enjoy my evening. I am able to teach one of my students an hour lesson today to make up for the one I had to cancel when I was sick. I am glad for that. After this week, I will only have around five students to make up lessons with. It's simply a matter of organization. (Which isn't a strong point of mine!) Lol. 

What have you all been doing lately? Have you been learning anything lately? Discovered something exciting? Does anyone like 1920's era music? 

I'm not previewing this because I need to run to work right away... I have high hopes of it's readableness. :-) Ya'll have a great day!

True Canadian Home Conversation

Mom: “If you want to play Hockey, you'll have to leave the table.”

Welcome, 2010... I feel really, really old

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:... Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9: 8 & 11)

New Year's Greetings to all of my blog readers from a chilled Saskatchewan dwelling girl. Actually, it isn't as cold as it could be or was. I don't have as many layers on as I did the last cold snap we had. Hehe. Only two pairs of socks and a hoody/sweatshirt over my regular wear. Did you know how much warmer a person is when they put the hood up on a hoody? Holds the heat in better. It is -33* C (-26* F) today and the sun is shining on the sparkling, crisp snow.

There never is a dull moment around our place. If I'm not reading, watching a video, practicing music, writing, playing with my siblings, baking bread, boiling caramel for corn, cleaning, doing dishes, bossing [smile], correcting school work, giving spelling tests, entertaining company or on the internet, I'm doing something else.

[Question from Jesse's school work:

“Why might a perfume manufacturer give a perfume an esoteric name?”

Their answer: “The manufacturer might want a name that suggests mystery or romance.”

Jesse's answer: “A product with a cool name probably will sell better.”

In light of the fact that both answers are correct, I find the difference between them interesting. The former is full of class; Jesse's: country-fide. :-)]

We have been doing ok. The past week has been a little rougher as we contracted a virus/cold and several of the kids have been coughing a lot. Some nights are worse than others. It's a strange cold in that it seems the cough is not that it is in the chest but because the sinuses are draining down the throat. Bread and water seem to help, thankfully.. it's especially nice at night or early morning (I'm talking 2 am or so). ;-) [January 7th, 2009 update: almost all of us have this cold/cough. Last night, Ellie coughed almost all night... she can't seem to find anything that helps. I'm really looking forward to everyone getting over this. :-P And really hoping that those of us who don't have it will stay healthy.]

Yesterday was Hannah's 22nd birthday (happy birthday, Hannah!!). We had a big birthday meal: chicken strips that were made by cutting off the breast meat of five very dead and delicious chickens, cutting the meat into strips and dipping each strip into a mixture of mayonnaise, dried onion and dried mustard, then rolled in sesame seeds and cracker crumbs. Bake at a moderate temperature for the correct amount of time and you have a feast fit for a king. [mouth waters in remembrance] Thank goodness for leftovers. Hehe.

We also had butterhorns (crescent/bread roll of sorts), homemade jello made from homemade raspberry juice, honey (which we get from our bee-keeper neighbors) and plain gelatin (which we did *not* make from our cow's hooves :-P) (it was rather good... the consistency, color and flavor was lovely but she needed to add another cup of honey) (I'm still puckered up), shrimp (at Superstore a few months back, if a person bought a certain amount of dollars worth of goods, you were given a shrimp ring. We were given three.), punch, veggies and...we were supposed to have potatoes. Cilla, Ellie and myself all worked on them and I put them on to boil (I even boiled a teapot and poured the water into the pot so it would heat up faster) but I made a mistake and didn't turn them on high. By the time it was discovered, it was almost time to eat and by the time they were done, most of us had already stuffed ourselves so full that there was no room for even one small bite. In fact, we were all so full that we had to wait until four pm before we ate pie, ice-cream and caramel corn.

Do you remember the little native girl that spent some of the summer weeks with us this past year? Well she and her 'dad' came and celebrated with us. We had a pretty good time... the kids went snowmobiling and the grownups (mainly my parents, Eugene and my brother Jesse) spent hours discussing all sorts of matters and we read a couple of stories, etc, etc. The most exciting thing was when Eugene and Cilla came down with some sort of stomach bug that we're still not sure about. We're hoping it's not a virus but it seemed strange for stomach poisoning as they weren't very sick at all. I think they each threw up three times. Very strange. Everyone else feels healthy... so far. :-)

[Being as there are four girls of fairly marriageable age at our house, the topic of weddings is a common topic of conversation. A couple days ago, I overheard Uriah say something about my wedding (which is not happening until I find the groom :-P ;-)) and Cilla replied with a sigh that tried to sound harried and distressed but was in all reality very pleased with the prospect: “I'll probably have to be a bridesmaid.” Ruth stood up at that and held a hand in the air announcing, “I want to be the princess!”]

Has anyone watched the documentary “Pioneer Quest”? Eugene brought it over for us to watch and watch we did until 10:30 pm last night. :-) In case you haven't viewed it, this documentary is about two couples who have been chosen by a company to spend a year on the MB prairies, living like the pioneers did back in the 1870's. They were given supplies and clothing just like they would have had in that time period. They lived in a tent for nearly two months before they built their cabins. They had to dig the well(s) by hand, learn how to milk a cow, work with draft horses, build corrals, a barn with wood from trees they harvested with axes and sawed into appropriate lengths, and on and on it went. The first few months were very difficult. The isolation really got to one of the couples, especially the woman. But it was amazing to watch the change in her eyes when she began loving the place. It was like she finally came home. :-)

Now, of course, my family is talking about living just like they did. I'm not sure what will come of it, if anything. If nothing else, we all love our hot showers. :-)

[And while we're on the subject of marriage: Cilla was walking through the kitchen singing, “Holy, holy, holy...” and Zeke picked up, “Holy, holy, matrimony...”]

Speaking of films, I picked up a movie at our store called, “Firehouse Dog”. It's about this boy and his dog. Very funny, very touching. :-) It's almost better than “Beethoven”. Not quite but almost. :-D I love movies with firehouses in them. Lol! It's always nice to find a film that's clean and funny. A pleasure to watch.

Anyone read “Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis? I did recently and found it to be... interesting. There are a lot of truths in it. But some of it I'm not sure about. I'm actually glad it's as short as it is because I don't think I could have finished it had it been any longer. Something else that really helped was what the author wrote in the preface about being careful not take Screwtape literally. He is a demon and his “father below” (that title made me laugh every time I read it) is the father of Lies.

One thing that was mentioned that really rang a bell with me was how Screwtape's nephew was encouraged to try to take the Christian's mind off today... this moment. Placing it instead on tomorrow or yesterday or some time in the future. In fact, putting his gaze on anything but God. It made me realize how often I start worrying or anticipating the future or regretting the past. Doing that is not bad in itself but the fact that it takes my gaze off of my Lord and Savior is the problem. It's an age old concept and one I have heard my entire life. But for some reason it really hit home for me this time.

[A friend of mine from church said, “In college, I'm such a nerd. My friends and I sit around listening to Gaither Vocal Band, read Sherlock Holmes to each other and knit!”]

Because of the that book, I've really thinking about my struggles and how much power God really has and how, if we really want His will, it will become apparent in our lives. It's strange to think of how many times I've listened to that evil voice saying, “You don't really want that. Not truly. Because if you were really living in God's will, you'd be so oppressed. You wouldn't have the freedom you have now. No, you wouldn't! I swear it.” And when I realize that outside of God's will there is nothing worth living for and embrace it, I find that every word the little guy said was a lie. Every word! Because it is true, Jesus' burden is light. There is never so much freedom as there is in God's will. All the guilt and and blindness are gone.

[Martha celebrated her 13th birthday recently (I can't believe we have another teenager in the house ;-)) and a friend called to wish her a happy birthday. After he did so, he chatted with me for a bit and when I got off the phone, my dad asked, “So, how is he?” I replied airily, “Oh, he's just fine! They just put the turkey into the oven.” (It was Christmas day.) I didn't realize what I'd said until it was repeated back to me. Now you know how I really feel about you, K. Lol!]

We're scheduled to sing again on the 9th. It's coming up quickly and I'm not sure if it's going to work out. Since we have been sick, practicing has been not working that well. [January 7th update: Hannah & I are planning on doing music with just the two of us. I had to change the program three times as more people came down with this cold. We have never done more than one song with only two of us so this will be a good experience... at least we hope so! I'm a bit nervous about it but definitely don't want to cancel because I know they must be looking forward to this date for the last two weeks.]

Could you please pray for my mom? She has a gum or tooth that is infected and can't figure out what to do about it. Tried to call a dentist but can't make an appointment until Monday. She's not feeling that great, of course, and it's hard for us to know what to do. She's had trouble with it before but she wouldn't have it checked into for a couple of reasons. I'm really hoping that she will put aside all of the reasons and get it fixed this time.

And now I will end this long but rather brief update on my life and leave you to wipe your face with relief that you actually finished it. :-) :-) :-)

I hope you have the happiest of holidays behind you and a wonderful year ahead of you.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2: 20)

Bread

I love making bread. This is my Mom's recipe, with my own touch added for good measure. :-)

Photo courtesy of Lydia Rose.