So, it seems that I am 1/8 Chippewa. My biological father's grandparents were both full-blooded Chippewa, of the Saginaw band in Michigan. Huh? Yeah, I'm still trying to process this.
You know, when I took a DNA test through ancestry.com to discover my ethnic make up, this was *not* at all what I expected to find. Ethnicity aside, finding biological relatives is absolutely nuts! It's only February... I'm not sure I'm ready for an entire year of this kind of revelation.
Saturday, February 01, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Hockey Hall of Fame....
I never imagined I'd spend my morning coffee time reading about hockey and then watching this. We, The Undersigned.
And now I am off to search for a biography of Terry Sawchuck.
And now I am off to search for a biography of Terry Sawchuck.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's day
My mister once told me, during one of my crazy purges, that I was not sentimental. And I must admit, he is right. Sometimes I keep things, but most of the time, I am a purger. That said, I still do little things that might be taken for sentimental.
Today is Valentine's day. This is the 11th year the the mister has been my Valentine, and I am still very happy about that. I also have a new little Valentine to celebrate - this our 2nd with him.
So, I made some silly little fortune cookies out of brown felt and pink thread (I totally stole the idea) and used the paper from our wedding invitations (proof I might be a little sentimental after all) for the notes inside. 11 for the mister and 2 for the boy. They are in little "baskets" made of the same paper as the notes.
Today is Valentine's day. This is the 11th year the the mister has been my Valentine, and I am still very happy about that. I also have a new little Valentine to celebrate - this our 2nd with him.
So, I made some silly little fortune cookies out of brown felt and pink thread (I totally stole the idea) and used the paper from our wedding invitations (proof I might be a little sentimental after all) for the notes inside. 11 for the mister and 2 for the boy. They are in little "baskets" made of the same paper as the notes.
(Please pardon my cellphone snapshot. I was too lazy to get out the camera and then download the photo...)
So, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age. Anyway, I hope you find something sweet about your day, everyday. It makes it a little nicer.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Winter
Okay, so I kind of dropped and then promptly forgot about the ball with the blogging. There has been a nagging little voice telling me to do something about it, but I've been outstanding about ignoring it. And, I read all these other blogs that are so clever and funny and filled with photos of projects and recipes and blah, blah, blah. Alas, I'm not that blogger (or blogess). So, when the mood strikes, I'm just going to write it, post it, and move on (and, if there are spelling or grammatical errors, it is because I'm not proofing my work).
Summer passed quickly. With the farmers' market, the garden, the yard, the toddler, and laundry that never ends, it was over too soon. The big projects I had planned didn't get done and I'm still doing laundry. I have finally accepted (just in the past few weeks - in the dead of winter) that I'm going to have to re-landscape the backyard if I want Jasper to have any place to play. We already took out the horseshoe pits, leaving one as a sandbox (and Ryan holding out hope that the other will someday be restored to its former location - the horseshoes hang hopefully inside the garage door). I will be moving my raised beds and the 2 or so tons of gravel around them. And, no, 2 tons is really not much of an exaggeration. We had 7 delivered when I put them in - 5 for the driveway and the rest for my paths. Clearly I'm a glutton for punishment.
Once that is done, we will put in some sod (no time for grass seed with a toddler!) and a swing set (thanks to some really, really nice neighbors who are letting us tear down and reassemble their unused swing set) in the open spot left behind.
The seed catalogs started arriving around the first of January, just in time to start dreaming about the smell of warm, damp Springtime dirt. (Insert my wistful sigh here...)
I've been doing some sewing and spending too much money on fabric. I am a junkie and sometimes I just need a fix of some crazy, bold print or something soft. I have been much better about not buying things without some idea of what I will do with whatever lovely half yard or fat quarter I pick up, but I can't say that 100% of the time...
Jasper is a good sport most of the time and asks sweetly "are you sewing now mama?" I say yes and more often than not, he says "okay" and toddles off to play in the next room after watching for a moment. Sometimes, he asks me to make him something. This has resulted in me making some little stuffed things for him (he *loves* the snake I made him in 15 minutes with mismatched button eyes) and pants - I'll stay away from florals for those I think.
Aside from that, we still do a lot of laundry around here and rearrange furniture (much to the dismay of the husband...).
Summer passed quickly. With the farmers' market, the garden, the yard, the toddler, and laundry that never ends, it was over too soon. The big projects I had planned didn't get done and I'm still doing laundry. I have finally accepted (just in the past few weeks - in the dead of winter) that I'm going to have to re-landscape the backyard if I want Jasper to have any place to play. We already took out the horseshoe pits, leaving one as a sandbox (and Ryan holding out hope that the other will someday be restored to its former location - the horseshoes hang hopefully inside the garage door). I will be moving my raised beds and the 2 or so tons of gravel around them. And, no, 2 tons is really not much of an exaggeration. We had 7 delivered when I put them in - 5 for the driveway and the rest for my paths. Clearly I'm a glutton for punishment.
Once that is done, we will put in some sod (no time for grass seed with a toddler!) and a swing set (thanks to some really, really nice neighbors who are letting us tear down and reassemble their unused swing set) in the open spot left behind.
The seed catalogs started arriving around the first of January, just in time to start dreaming about the smell of warm, damp Springtime dirt. (Insert my wistful sigh here...)
I've been doing some sewing and spending too much money on fabric. I am a junkie and sometimes I just need a fix of some crazy, bold print or something soft. I have been much better about not buying things without some idea of what I will do with whatever lovely half yard or fat quarter I pick up, but I can't say that 100% of the time...
Jasper is a good sport most of the time and asks sweetly "are you sewing now mama?" I say yes and more often than not, he says "okay" and toddles off to play in the next room after watching for a moment. Sometimes, he asks me to make him something. This has resulted in me making some little stuffed things for him (he *loves* the snake I made him in 15 minutes with mismatched button eyes) and pants - I'll stay away from florals for those I think.
Aside from that, we still do a lot of laundry around here and rearrange furniture (much to the dismay of the husband...).
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Apologies and lame excuses to my loyal readers... all two or three of you.
So, I really, really, really had good intentions of blogging more regularly. It seems like my cup of tea, so to speak. But, there is this whole pesky life thing that keeps getting in the way. To placate you, my loyal, gentle readers, here is a brief summary in list form of what you have missed over the past several weeks.
1. We went on a little vacation to Canada. Planning and packing for a vacation with a toddler is challenging when the goal is to get there quickly, yet keep everyone in the car happy. I have to say though, Jasper was a trooper - it is only about 6.5 to 7 hour drive normally, but with a toddler, it was 9 hrs of travel time. He only complained a little and enjoyed pointing out every truck that we passed or that passed us. While in Canada, we took him to the see the largest salt mine in North America where both lake and ocean ships are loaded. Did you know that it is on Lake Huron, under which one of the largest salt deposits is located? Ryan finally got the shots of a train heading to said salt mine after 4 years of trying. I just wrangled Jasper and enjoyed the downtime. We enjoyed a nice meal at our favorite pub, with Jasper. And, we purchased the most expensive hunk of cheese I'd never imagined buying. But, it is delicious Irish Whiskey Cheddar and is especially good on Bison burgers.
2. The garden is growing both like a weed and lots of weeds. 'Tis the season for me to be outside and become a dirty, sweaty mess on a regular basis. The rain in the early season put us behind, but my friend Liza and I were able to get most everything planted finally. There is likely to be more beans and another round of radishes later on, but the tomatoes, carrots, beets, lettuces, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. are all in. And, Liza and I were also busy getting ready for the farmers' market. Our mixes have expanded from just beer breads to cookies, drinks, and marinades. So, we were getting things packaged and trying to stock up so we don't have to make up more mixes every single week. It is a lot of fun, but takes time to prepare. So far, the market has been going for about a month now and we are staying busy. I even had radishes and flowers to sell the last two weeks. But, between weeding, planting, cleaning the way for new beds, and everything else, I'm just usually to sweaty and tired to sit down and write a blog entry.
3. I'm a lame blogger. You probably already figured this out by now. But, in my defense, if you know me, you know I can be somewhat of a procrastinator. There just always seems to be something else I could do... another round of Scrabble with the computer, some laundry, weeds to pull, someone else's blog to read, and so on. Even as I write this I'm thinking about how I should be doing something else... And, did I mention I started writing this post several hours ago?
Alrighty then. I'm going to go out and pull some weeds. I hope you enjoyed this brief update.
1. We went on a little vacation to Canada. Planning and packing for a vacation with a toddler is challenging when the goal is to get there quickly, yet keep everyone in the car happy. I have to say though, Jasper was a trooper - it is only about 6.5 to 7 hour drive normally, but with a toddler, it was 9 hrs of travel time. He only complained a little and enjoyed pointing out every truck that we passed or that passed us. While in Canada, we took him to the see the largest salt mine in North America where both lake and ocean ships are loaded. Did you know that it is on Lake Huron, under which one of the largest salt deposits is located? Ryan finally got the shots of a train heading to said salt mine after 4 years of trying. I just wrangled Jasper and enjoyed the downtime. We enjoyed a nice meal at our favorite pub, with Jasper. And, we purchased the most expensive hunk of cheese I'd never imagined buying. But, it is delicious Irish Whiskey Cheddar and is especially good on Bison burgers.
2. The garden is growing both like a weed and lots of weeds. 'Tis the season for me to be outside and become a dirty, sweaty mess on a regular basis. The rain in the early season put us behind, but my friend Liza and I were able to get most everything planted finally. There is likely to be more beans and another round of radishes later on, but the tomatoes, carrots, beets, lettuces, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. are all in. And, Liza and I were also busy getting ready for the farmers' market. Our mixes have expanded from just beer breads to cookies, drinks, and marinades. So, we were getting things packaged and trying to stock up so we don't have to make up more mixes every single week. It is a lot of fun, but takes time to prepare. So far, the market has been going for about a month now and we are staying busy. I even had radishes and flowers to sell the last two weeks. But, between weeding, planting, cleaning the way for new beds, and everything else, I'm just usually to sweaty and tired to sit down and write a blog entry.
3. I'm a lame blogger. You probably already figured this out by now. But, in my defense, if you know me, you know I can be somewhat of a procrastinator. There just always seems to be something else I could do... another round of Scrabble with the computer, some laundry, weeds to pull, someone else's blog to read, and so on. Even as I write this I'm thinking about how I should be doing something else... And, did I mention I started writing this post several hours ago?
Alrighty then. I'm going to go out and pull some weeds. I hope you enjoyed this brief update.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Teenagers
Boy oh boy. I remember being a teenager. It sucked. Even if it occasionally seemed fun at the time, overall, those are some rough years for a multitude of reasons. And, yesterday confirmed my suspicions that it still sucks and is still rough.
I was minding my own business doing some yard work (Jasper and his papa were in the house napping, lest you think I had left my wee man unattended). The school bus for the middle/high school stops in front of our house. I was in the back yard, but we are on a corner, so I could see the kids getting off the bus. There are normally about 3 or maybe 4 kids that are dropped off here, but today it was about 12. So, the bus drives off and they are all standing around. There is some shouting, of which I couldn't quite understand, but I was only half paying attention. I figured they were just some kids hanging out before they headed off to their respective homes... then I hear a thud, some scuffling, and yelling - the kind that involves egging on a fight. Uh-oh. I turn around and look up to see two girls on the ground in the middle of the street wrestling with each other while the other kids stand and look - half cheering, half laughing. Both of which are horrifying to me under the circumstance.
So, there are, like I said, about 12 teenagers - the majority of which are larger than me - and most of them were boys. So, I figured if it didn't break up in a moment or it looked like it was getting brutal, I'd call the police and go over to try to ? - what I didn't know. Well, it broke up moments later, one girl bleeding (I heard the other one tell her she was bleeding - I didn't see any actual blood). Two of the regular bus-riding kids started walking off toward their house the other way, and then two boys looked over and saw me watching. They stepped back over to the remaining kids, and then it seemed to break up. (I guess that makes me an adult after all.) The one girl who was fighting - who looked to be about 15 (but, I'm a bad judge of those things these days), walked on the far side of the street with a boy, and the rest of the group came down the side I was on, but in the street. I didn't acknowledge them, nor them me. I was watching them though... the girl was smiling and laughing, and acting tough and proud - clearly she was the winner. And then... I saw the police car coming down the street toward them. I wondered who called, thinking it might have been the neighbor whose side yard the melee took place in.
I realized that one of the girls fighting was the little girl who lives across the street from me. She is barely 13; she lost. Ugh. Can Jasper just never be a teenager, please? Or at least, can he never be a mean, defiant teenager?
So, after a bit, the police came down and stopped to ask if I saw anything. I told him and told him where the girl lived who lost the fight - apparently the other girl wouldn't and was given a nice ride home from another officer. It was the bus driver who called the police. Good for him/her! The officer who spoke to me stopped by the little girl's house, but didn't stay long. I was actually surprised she answered the door.
I know that little girl that lives across the street has a few problems, which I won't go into here, but it sure did make me think. I hated high school. I don't really think there is an amount of money great enough to make me relive those days. I can't imagine it is any easier now to be a teenager - in fact I'm sure it is much harder.
I guess the toddler years might not be so bad after all.
I was minding my own business doing some yard work (Jasper and his papa were in the house napping, lest you think I had left my wee man unattended). The school bus for the middle/high school stops in front of our house. I was in the back yard, but we are on a corner, so I could see the kids getting off the bus. There are normally about 3 or maybe 4 kids that are dropped off here, but today it was about 12. So, the bus drives off and they are all standing around. There is some shouting, of which I couldn't quite understand, but I was only half paying attention. I figured they were just some kids hanging out before they headed off to their respective homes... then I hear a thud, some scuffling, and yelling - the kind that involves egging on a fight. Uh-oh. I turn around and look up to see two girls on the ground in the middle of the street wrestling with each other while the other kids stand and look - half cheering, half laughing. Both of which are horrifying to me under the circumstance.
So, there are, like I said, about 12 teenagers - the majority of which are larger than me - and most of them were boys. So, I figured if it didn't break up in a moment or it looked like it was getting brutal, I'd call the police and go over to try to ? - what I didn't know. Well, it broke up moments later, one girl bleeding (I heard the other one tell her she was bleeding - I didn't see any actual blood). Two of the regular bus-riding kids started walking off toward their house the other way, and then two boys looked over and saw me watching. They stepped back over to the remaining kids, and then it seemed to break up. (I guess that makes me an adult after all.) The one girl who was fighting - who looked to be about 15 (but, I'm a bad judge of those things these days), walked on the far side of the street with a boy, and the rest of the group came down the side I was on, but in the street. I didn't acknowledge them, nor them me. I was watching them though... the girl was smiling and laughing, and acting tough and proud - clearly she was the winner. And then... I saw the police car coming down the street toward them. I wondered who called, thinking it might have been the neighbor whose side yard the melee took place in.
I realized that one of the girls fighting was the little girl who lives across the street from me. She is barely 13; she lost. Ugh. Can Jasper just never be a teenager, please? Or at least, can he never be a mean, defiant teenager?
So, after a bit, the police came down and stopped to ask if I saw anything. I told him and told him where the girl lived who lost the fight - apparently the other girl wouldn't and was given a nice ride home from another officer. It was the bus driver who called the police. Good for him/her! The officer who spoke to me stopped by the little girl's house, but didn't stay long. I was actually surprised she answered the door.
I know that little girl that lives across the street has a few problems, which I won't go into here, but it sure did make me think. I hated high school. I don't really think there is an amount of money great enough to make me relive those days. I can't imagine it is any easier now to be a teenager - in fact I'm sure it is much harder.
I guess the toddler years might not be so bad after all.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Krengel's toddler dictionary
In the interest of amusing myself, I thought I would compile a list of my favorite "Jasperisms." I know, as he gets older and gets more words, he will fill our ears with all kinds of delightful phrases (insert my snickering here as I think about all the hilarious things my friends' children have uttered). However, for now, we have mostly single words. And, lots of them. But, here are just a few of my personal favorites. Also, note that I have spelled them as he says them.
REEEEEEEAAAAD (read): Clearly, he is his mother's son.
soutsieee (outside): A favorite word that is usually accompanied by him trying to put a hat on or bringing a jacket to me.
cah (car): This was his first word where we knew he understood what he was saying because he was pointing at a passing car.
cah-cah (truck): This should not be confused with "ka-ka," which is something entirely different. No matter how many times we say "truck," he says "cah-cah." Yet, he says "bus." Mysterious little brains they have...
'boose (caboose): Okay, I guess he is his father's child too. He really loves trains, but loves the cabooses the best. He goes through all of the train magazines his papa has given him looking for the "'boose." Of course, half the time (or more) he is pointing the the engines enthusiastically declaring "'boose!" but we can let that slide.
bess you (bless you): Any sneeze, cough, nose blowing, or loud throat clearing will get you a sweet "bess you" from our boy. It is seriously cute.
gain (again): Anything he likes or wants more of, he says "gain." It is usually when you are tickling him or chasing him or doing something he finds silly or funny when he demands this. However, it may also follow letting him have a drink of your lemonade at lunch.
Jassus (Jasper): Yes, it does sound a lot like Jesus, which is amusing in and of itself. But, it is never said alone. Apparently, it only comes in a set with mama and papa. So, he points to each of us and recites our titles: Mama, Papa, (then turning the finger to himself) Jassus." He rarely will say it without announcing who we are too, which is very endearing.
moogo (milk): This one is part of a collection of words ending in K, but is one of my favorites of the group because it seems so silly and random, yet it makes sense. For some reason, he adds an extra syllable to words that end with K. So, in addition to "moogo," we also hear "sock-uh," "fork-uh," and the recent addition is "book-o." Cute and curious.
He has a bevvy of animal sounds too, which I couldn't even begin to try to translate here... it just wouldn't do them justice. In the meantime, we just continue to chuckle and be amazed at how his brain works.
REEEEEEEAAAAD (read): Clearly, he is his mother's son.
soutsieee (outside): A favorite word that is usually accompanied by him trying to put a hat on or bringing a jacket to me.
cah (car): This was his first word where we knew he understood what he was saying because he was pointing at a passing car.
cah-cah (truck): This should not be confused with "ka-ka," which is something entirely different. No matter how many times we say "truck," he says "cah-cah." Yet, he says "bus." Mysterious little brains they have...
'boose (caboose): Okay, I guess he is his father's child too. He really loves trains, but loves the cabooses the best. He goes through all of the train magazines his papa has given him looking for the "'boose." Of course, half the time (or more) he is pointing the the engines enthusiastically declaring "'boose!" but we can let that slide.
bess you (bless you): Any sneeze, cough, nose blowing, or loud throat clearing will get you a sweet "bess you" from our boy. It is seriously cute.
gain (again): Anything he likes or wants more of, he says "gain." It is usually when you are tickling him or chasing him or doing something he finds silly or funny when he demands this. However, it may also follow letting him have a drink of your lemonade at lunch.
Jassus (Jasper): Yes, it does sound a lot like Jesus, which is amusing in and of itself. But, it is never said alone. Apparently, it only comes in a set with mama and papa. So, he points to each of us and recites our titles: Mama, Papa, (then turning the finger to himself) Jassus." He rarely will say it without announcing who we are too, which is very endearing.
moogo (milk): This one is part of a collection of words ending in K, but is one of my favorites of the group because it seems so silly and random, yet it makes sense. For some reason, he adds an extra syllable to words that end with K. So, in addition to "moogo," we also hear "sock-uh," "fork-uh," and the recent addition is "book-o." Cute and curious.
He has a bevvy of animal sounds too, which I couldn't even begin to try to translate here... it just wouldn't do them justice. In the meantime, we just continue to chuckle and be amazed at how his brain works.
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