Category Archives: Life

A Package From My Oma

A couple weeks ago, my Oma called me to let me know she was going to send me a package of some special baking ingredients to make some delicious cookies. I made these cookies with her quite a few years back, but have not since then because they require some odd ingredients that are difficult to find. I was very excited she thought of me to send me the items.

Earlier this week, I got a call from a lady at a company called Flaman just south of Edmonton saying she had a package for me there, because apparently the address was wrong. We figured out the J in my postal code was replaced by a G (easily misunderstood for each other while giving my address over the phone). This lady was so great, she looked up my Oma’s phone number and called her to get my number so she could get my real address. If you need any kind of farming equipment, they seem like a good company to deal with…at least their administrative staff are.

I eventually got the package delivered to my door. Because my Oma cannot send a box that isn’t completely full, I also received a mug and some of my favourite sweets…Cow Candy! The ingredients that were the purpose of the package are Baking Ammonia and Peppermint Oil (not extract).

The recipe that called for these things is Peppermint Cookies (linked to my Oma’s recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook, where my aunt is a contributer; the page explains the use of the ammonia and oil). They were a favourite Christmas cookie of mine growing up, and I am excited to make them for myself now! I’ll probably make them next week sometime.

Do you have any favourite family recipes or recipes that require different ingredients?

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The Tooth

6 days ago I was shocked to find a tooth coming out of Calvin’s gums. I was sure he would be cranky and whiny for a bit beforehand, so it completely caught me off guard. Since then, I have been trying to capture it in a photo to prove it, but it’s difficult since his lips and/or tongue can be in the way at any given moment. But this afternoon I got a shot of it! Behold, the tooth!

(you can click on the photo to get a closer view if you like)

And yesterday I noticed the one beside it starting to come up too. So crazy!

Thrifting

So this afternoon I went out to get a handful of items crossed off my Christmas lists. Naturally I went to the thrift store first. No, I didn’t find any gifts there, but I did find some clothes for Calvin!

GAP jeans
H&M trousers
warm socks for myself

Grand Total : $1.50

Tim and I have a fairly strict budget. We allow ourselves $50 a month for things for myself, Calvin and Tim, as well as anything for our home. If I can find clothes for us adults like I can for Calvin, maybe we will need more than 2 feet of our closet rod!

The thrift store I went to was MCC. Much cheaper than Value Village, and the “proceeds are used locally and globally to meet basic human needs and work for peace and justice through Mennonite Central Committee”. Although Victoria is not lacking in second hand stores, it does not have an MCC. The one here in Edmonton is quite small, but it has good stuff. I stopped myself from buying $1 pieces of Tupperware. Maybe next time.

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Quick Fix

I have had requests for more pictures of Calvin, so here you are!

In the past week or so, he has taken a big liking to this stuffed rhino. The horn/tusk/whatever fits nicely into his mouth to suck on.

Sometimes he even takes it a long for a ride!

I think it’s hilarious every time he does this. Future pole dancer? If he wasn’t wearing long sleeves, you would totally be able to see his bulging biceps.

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The Laundry Room

I’m a mother. I do a lot of laundry. Probably about 7 loads a week. I think about laundry rooms a lot.

In the past 5 years, I have had a few different set ups for laundry:

Mom and Dad’s: The laundry room I grew up with. Totally comfortable with it. The washer and dryer aren’t side by side, but rather across from each other. A simple twist of the body and you are able to get the wet stuff into the dryer. Also, there was a laundry sink to put random things and get them off the floor or do some pre-rinsing when necessary.

Victoria Rental #1: This house was a 100-year old suited Victorian, and all three suites had shared laundry in the basement, down some dingy outdoor steps. My apartment was on the top floor, so I had to go down my stairs, out the front door, around the back of the house, and down the back steps into the laundry room. Not ideal in wet weather, or when I go down 5 minutes before the washer is actually done. The nice thing about this set up though, was that the dryer was to the right of the washer. Dryer hinges seem to be only on the right side, so when the washer is on the left, the door opens away from the washer. Makes it easy for transport between the two.
I am glad I no longer have to go outdoors to do laundry now that I do it three times a week, rather than once every week and a half.

Victoria Rental #2: In this suburban home, we rented a basement suit that had laundry hookups on the inside, but the owner decided to build a lean-to on the outside to house the washer and dryer so it can be shared with the upstairs. This wasn’t so much of a big deal since the door was directly beside our front door so I barely needed to step outside. However the dryer was on the left so the two unit doors opened towards each other requiring a little more work to get things in and out. Also, this washer was front loading which was not fun for taking little baby things and diapers out of. So much bending over! And the dryer made a loud banging sound which was not so great since the lean-to had a window into Calvin’s room. Not ideal for nap time.

Edmonton Rental: Now this set up is a little strange. We rent the top floor of a bungalow. The laundry is downstairs in the basement in an unfinished corner. No big deal, right? Except for the fact that I have to walk through the entire basement suite (where there are other renters) . That means that somebody down there needs to be home in order for me to do laundry. It actually hasn’t turned out to be that bad. They are easy going and somebody is almost always there. But once again, the dryer is on the left. Does this bother anybody else, or am I the only one?! The nice thing about the washer, though, is that it is a top loader. So much easier! When we first moved here, the washer was super old, and you had to manually turn the water taps to change the load temperature. But then it broke down so we got a new one! Very thankful for that. This laundry room also has a laundry sink, but the washer drains into it, so you can’t really do anything in it. Once I found that my sock had come out through the hose and plugged the sink! Now I know where the missing socks are going to!

So in all my experiences, I have come up with a list of what my ideal laundry room would include:
– Side by side washer and dryer with the doors opening away from eachother (I do not have any experience with stacked laundry…anybody?)
– In my own suite! Oh, the freedom of being able to do laundry whenever I wanted!
– in a finished room; unfinished rooms feel dirty and I don’t want to do laundry in a dirty room
– top loading washer
– a usable sink
– a folding area/place to put baskets
– a place to hang dry diapers and other items

Here are a couple of photos of good laundry room ideas (thank you, Pinterest):

(click the photo for source)

So those are my thoughts on laundry rooms. What kind of set up works for you and preferences?

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Getting in a Groove

I am feeling settled in to life here, I think. Weekly patterns are forming, and I am making new friends.

I have been going to a moms and tots group at the church we are going to every Tuesday morning which is quite fun. There are only a handful of moms so it’s easy to get to know them, and it’s fun seeing Calvin interact with other kids. Or rather watch them interact with him. He just watches quietly as they pet his head or take toys from him. It turn out it really IS easy to take toys from a baby!

Tuesday evenings are the small group. I have only gone once since they have a rotation of one week for the ladies, next week a group service night, then the guys have their week, and then it’s a group get together. I didn’t go to the service night a couple weeks ago because there was orientation I was not there for. But tomorrow is the group get together, and this will be the first time Tim will go. I am looking forward to getting to know everybody a bit more and for Tim to feel like he has a place too.

I’ve also made a new friend! Amy’s cousin, Dee, moved here about a year ago from Abbotsford, and we have hung out a couple times. Yesterday she and her husband and one-year-old son, as well as Jordan and Amy, came over for the football game. It was fun having other people to hang out with and play games and such.

Other than that, If my walls could talk, they would tell you I do laundry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and have started to get back into crocheting. On the weekends Tim and I hang out and get stuff done. Next Saturday we have an appointment for our car to get checked so it can get registered here. We also need to get a block heater installed.

So life is good and full. In under a month we will be driving back over the mountains to our families on the coast for some Christmas celebrations! We are praying for good weather conditions and safe travels. Does anybody have experience driving wintery mountainous roads?

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New Specs

Just recently my work (where I no longer work, but I receiving the benefits for until Tim starts getting his) added optical to their plans. Hallelujah! I have been sporting the same glasses and lenses for 7 years. I take good care of my stuff, but you are bound to have to use a t-shirt at some point to clean them during that time, guaranteeing some fine scratches.

I thought I would use this opportunity to go down memory lane with regards to my vision correction devices.

I got my first prescription in grade 3, and here I am in grade 4 with my very first pair:

Nothing like a frame touching your cheeks.

A couple years later I downsized. This is my grade 6 school photo:

I wore overalls until grade 10. Didn’t you?

This one is from grade 9 when nose pads were out and plastic frames were in:

This also happens to be my favourite school photo.

The year after I graduated highschool, I convinced my mom to get me one last pair, before I had to start paying for it on my own. These are the ones that served me for the past 7 years:

My favourite part of them was that they had green on the inside of the arms, like a colourful little secret.

And just this afternoon, these ones landed on my front step:

Back to plastic frames with no nose pads.

Apparently my prescription changed an itsy bitsy amount, and got a little better. Even though it was just a tiny change, looking through these new lenses makes it seem like I am seeing in HD. Colours are crisper and lines are sharper. It’s amazing what a few little scratches on lenses and a little bit of a wrong prescription can change the view.

And can I say how easy shopping at Clearly Contacts is? I took advantage of their “Get Your First Pair Free” sale. It ends tomorrow, so you can still get in on the deal! I did have to pay for the lenses though, since my prescription requires special things done, but the benefits will cover it! Hooray!

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