Family Photo Nov 2011

Sorry about the flash spot--but here is a first look at our family photo! I think I matched it us great, with all the blue colours since the boys look great in blue ! Our local Loblaws did it...they only got Kijin to smile for a few photos, but we got a few good shots ! I am happy with them, I think they turned out fantastic and I'll be adding these photos to our new "Family Wall" ! Of course they will be Christmas presents this year !!!

Toblerone Shortbread Cookie Exchange

It's been about 5 years since I have been going to a yearly Cookie Exhange with friends :) ( only the ladies are invited ! ) All ya need is 12 pals who like ( or don't ) like to bake ! Bake your favourite cookies...( or squares, breads, candy etc) bake away until you get 12 dozen, and find neat ways to present them ! This year, I baked my Chocolate Pudding Cookies ( recipe on blog..and they got 3rd place in a bake off!!!) and my famous Toblerone Shortbread cookies. I found these cute paper boxes ( a dollar store find ! ) and added one of my Krafty Karen Krafts ! ( my dad cutted them out, i painted them ) Each person got 6 of my Choc and Toblerone cookies. After an afternoon full of munchies wine and coffee, we each get to take home 12 dozen cookies ! Of course we don't eat them all !!! We freeze them, and take them out when we have company over or give them to neighbours or bring them to Christmas or family events. It's a nice gift too to get a nice little bag of baked goods ! :)

My Krafty dad, likes to make the snowmen every year , paint them and sell them in Kitchener. I got my dad to make me a taller snowman and I painted him myself.

Here is my Toblerone Shortbread Recipe. It's from the KraftWebsite.....

2 cups salted butter, softened

1 cup white fine sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 bars ( 100gram each ) Toblerone chopped into small chunks

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl till light and fluffy with a fork. Combine flour and cornstarch and gradually add into butter mixture. Blend with fork or wooden spoon ( or hands ) until well blended. Add the chocolate chunks. ( i break the bars up -put them in a large ziplock bag--and hammer away at them with my kitchen mallet)

What ever size you want- small or big- use your hands and place them on the cookie sheets 1 inch apart-flatten them a bit.

Bake 25 min or so...until golden brown or a bit lighter. It makes about 4 dozen ! Yummy!!!

Good luck ! Enjoy the recipe ! If ya start up a cookie exchange , let me know :)

Karen

Kijin enjoying the leaves!

Here is Kijin , 17 months, enjoying a nice November morning with the leaves. He is growing so fast ! Such a little boy now ! My 9 month leave is done in December already :(. Kijin will start daycare in January at a centre in Pickering , the same one Kyler went to many years ago. We hope he adjusts to his new play centre and I'm sure I'm going to miss him and my time off !

He is almost up to date in his needles, doctor visits and I hope he is almost done teething ! UGH ! He will be getting allergy testing though soon, because of milk and yogurt skin reactions he has had in the past. I want to make sure we at least know what to stay away from!

He totally loves ELMO ....he loves books, toys and watching his TV programs. He is a climber though ! He has climbed out of the playpen on grandad and nana's watch and on my watch from his play area ! I am sure this is the beginning of a smart little boy who can climb out of anything !!!! He says a few words now, and he knows what we are talking about most of the time when we ask him, " Go pick up your socks or Elmo or a specific toy". He even makes his "PIG Noises" when he sees a pig ") soooo cute ! He loves to go outside and just pick up leaves, sticks and rocks. I think we have an Adventourous Outdoorsman on our hands!

Ed and I are waiting for his "Adoption Order" to be finalized in the upcoming months. Once that is completed, we can get his documents in order and apply for his Canadianship. So we have some paperwork yet ahead of us, but thankfully , most of it finished !

I only have a short few weeks left of being off with him, so we will make the most of it ! We are getting ready for his first Christmas and getting some of that stuff done first before I head off to work. Ed will be home with both boys over the Christmas holidays with both boys and get Kijin into his daycare schedule for January.

Im off to get my Christmas cards done.....

Karen

Karen's Outdoor Greenery Decor for Christmas

I have been doing this on my own for a few years now. It's easy to do and it's free !

You can buy the greenery at your local green houses or grocery stores now...but if you have this stuff in your neighbourhood why not do it yourself?

What I do, is bring my clippers with me on my walks or even a spare set in the car around this time ! Bring a bag or 2 as well.

On your walks in your local park or pathways or even a conservation area ( not from your neighbours plants !!!! ) look for the Red dogwood branches, and all the greenery from different types of pine trees. Clip lots or from here and there.

You may have to do a few trips to get what you need. Using your flower pots ( i save mine with dirt in them every year ) and your favourite garden vase or pot, start to put them in at random, and do your magic. Birch branches are a bonus if you can find them or like me, the guy up the street was cutting up his Birch tree and I snapped up a few free branches ! Then when you are done, start putting in your red dogwood branches. Branches with berries on them are nice too. You can get many things from your dollar store and put in more red, silver, gold, purple stuff or whatever you like. One year I put in bows, and pine cones. Even those lighted up branches would look awesome !

The other one I made, was just lots and lots of dogwood, a birch tree in the middle and voila ! You got another one. You can make hanging baskets too with your leftover greenery.

Made by Krafty Karen

Karen's Green Picture Wall

I got this idea from my creative friend Kerr, who actually built her own house and has an eye for colours and detail ! In her office, she put up a wall "Tree" transfer that you can buy at Wallmart or HomeSense or wherever. They are a rub stick on....anyways....she put the tree up and put black frames around the tree, creating a "Family Tree" ! So I took her idea ( thanks Kerr ! ) and went with it.

I found green paint , painted the one wall ( yep, and not the whole hall !! ) and knew what I wanted to do. When I shopped in the USA-Bath and Beyond store--and they had this "Tree" Frame idea already in a box ! I bought it, and Ed put it up for me. It turned out great ! Of course we added more frames, planned it out the way it looked the best the wall. The floating shelf underneath the "Family Tree" will have a lamp on it and a few more frames. An easy and creative home project !

Krafty Karen Kreated by Kerr !!!

Always Remember...

"In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

the torch; be yours to hold it high.

If we break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep,

though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

The pictures above are me. I was in the infantry division of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada Regimental from 1990-1993, out of Cambridge Ontario.

The group picture- I am last standing behind my Master Corporal- in Bordon training Blackdown"C" when I graduated in summer of 1990, Infantry Division.

On each Remembrance Day I remember marching in a Rememberance Day parade in Cambridge wearing my full get up dress gear. What a great feeling to march in a parade on a day like Remembrance Day!

So a shout out to my old Regiment in Cambridge ! Have a great parade and have a beer on me !

Remember to honour the heroes of yesterday and today who gave their lives for our Freedom !

Karen Wiersma

( PTE MARSHALL 1990-1993)

My Pumpkin Loaf turned out great !!

Well, my pumpkin loaf turned out great ! It was not as dark as the one I bought- but still I am happy with it !

Pumpkin Loaf

• 1 1.4 cups brown sugar


• 1/2 cup cooking oil


• 1 2/3 cup cooked or canned pumpkin


• 2 eggs


• 2 1/2 cups flour


• 3 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt, ginger, ground cloves


• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat together 1 cup sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cloves , and 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine pumpkin mix with dry ingredients

Grease 2 loaf pans

Mix remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the loaves.

Bake 350@ 1 hour- or until tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy !!!!

PS- apparently my cookie recipe won in a competion- 3rd place !

Karen