Thiessen Ark ~ Animal Sitting services!

Well, first it was the offer to bunny sit, then fish sit, and now 2 dogs have joined the mix.  The bunny was because I really wanted to give it a trial go and see how we fare with a bunny.  I had a dear black bunny "Hop-a-long" when I was 3-4 years old and loved that thing dearly.  He would hop a long beside me and want up.  We napped on the couch together, played together while my siblings were in school.  He was a good, clean bunny until Mom moved the couch and discovered little round chocolate "raisins"...ha ha.  One day as he was in the Holly Hocks (flowers) an owl must have got him.  So sad.  Now 31 years later, I am giving it a trial by bunnysitting a friend's little bunny.

We've been learning lots about rabbits.   How it's nearly impossible to tell the gender before they are at least 3 months old.  At 3 months old they are also very fertile.  No wonder they reproduce so well!  ha ha.

He likes carrots and lettuce.  I thought he was so cute sitting under the computer desk, but have just discovered he has left a few presents for me!  ha ha.

Other than that, he is super easy to care for, and super cuddly too.  Guess they can be litter trained too.

American Girl dolls join our family

Pardon the scrape on Mei's nose from sledding.  Kit is her look-a-like American Girl doll and she is so pleased.  She had saved and saved.  She came up to me the other day and said "Mommy, did you have a doll that was sorta alive? My Kit seems alive to me."

Kate's doll.  We will start fixing up her hair soon.

 Girls had made up some bunk beds and the dolls are wearing some new outfits we have sewn already.

 Josefina and Kit with Ruth and Mei

American Girl doll gets repair work done SURGERY

We ordered this little Kit American Girl doll from Ebay with Mei's hard earned puppy cash (Nana paid them a little for all the playing and training they did on the puppies) and when she arrived her hip was out.

We did a quick search on YouTube and found out we could repair her ourselves.  A little surgery was in order!
Good thing my hubby has a Bach. of Nursing degree!  ha ha.  We were forewarned that when we would remove her head, it would feel like we were killing something, and yes, we turned her face away!

First, check the patient's vitals.  Heart, pulse, temperature etc. to ensure she is up for the surgery.

Next, remove the strings that hold her next in place.  Turning her away from you is a nice bonus.

 Start removing all that stuffing, there is a lot of it!  place it in a container so you doesn't get all over the place!

Play with the head if you are so inclined!

 This is what the joints look like inside the doll.  The "wick" elastic string pulls the legs up so-to-speak.  The brass clamp sometimes gets pulled up, thus, loose limbs.  Easiest is just to put elastic around the string, underneath the clamp.  This tightens up the limbs ~ voila!

Daddy's Leatherman always comes in handy!

 Wrapping elastic around and around and around!

Kit watches her surgery.

Wrapping.

Stuff all that stuffing back in, paying attention to getting a nice little bottom...ha ha.  It happens naturally, we just stuffed in all back in and she looks great.  Put the head back on with the string and she stands perfectly!

Kit, as good as new!  Hip repair complete!  Limbs Repaired!  Happy owner!

The ole' BUCKET List

For those who are unaware of a bucket list, it is really just a list of things you would have liked to experience before you "kick the bucket", pass on...die.  I have a bit of a running bucket list in my mind and thought I'd share some of it.

~ get married
~ have babies
~ own a home
~ garden
~ show my girls an ocean
~ travel Canada and US with a camper with my family
~ Disney world or Disney land
~ travel somewhere outside of Canada with just my hubby
~ eat sushi
~ go to Starbucks
~ see my girls grow up, marry and hold my grandbabies
~ make a quilt by hand 
~ go wedding dress shopping and try on a wedding dress in a store
~ have a pedicure or manicure at a salon
~ drive in a monster truck
~ drive in a convertible ( I rode in Uncle Willards once)
~ adopt or help someone else adopt
~ attend a homeschooling conference with my family
~ visit my Dad's grave with my children (Ontario)
~ see a baby be born
~ eat Chinese take out from those cute little boxes
~ take lessons in ball room dancing/ swing dance with my hubby
~ get my ears pierced ???  ( I have tried this one before, but they grew in so fast, but my hubby likes it, so we'll see)
~ hand out a random amount of cash to a random person walking down the street
~ attend a music concert

The crossed out ones are accomplished.  Checked off.  That is the bulk of my bucket list.

What does yours look like???

"Twas the Night before Christmas ~

This is the poem we made up to act out for the local community dinner on Dec. 18th.  I read, girls and Gregg acted out some parts of the poem.  Lots of laughter from the crowd as they were all mainly Cariboo-country type folk.  We have our own little life here that has been treating us very well.

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the Cariboo
The only creature stirring was Papa going to the loo
The children were all snuggled in their triple bunk
Dreaming of gingersnaps with milk to dunk


And Frank in his toque and Jacquie in her cap

had just settled in for a short winters nap
The wool socks were all hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that the Bandelo Bandit would soon be there!


When out in the corral there arose such a clatter!
They sprang from their bed to see what was the matter
Away to the veranda they flew like a goose
Wanting to keep the hay yard free of moose!


When what to their wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer (What?  I thought they were horses!)
With a little ole' cowboy, so full of wit
They knew in a moment it must be the the Bandelo Bandit!

Now Charo!  Now Poncho! Now Bandit and Poco!
Now Cash, on Clancy, on Doc and Little Joe!
To Graham Creek and Pressy Lake
We have goodies to take!


And then, in the moonlight, he crept about
Ensuring that the good Blue Goose beef wasn't giving the gout.
With skill and with ease, he entered the root cellar
He saw that darn pack rat and let out a bellar.


"Hey Brad, git your gun & we'll shoot that critter!
He's eating the apples, there'll be no fritters!"
What amazement and wonder sparkled in his eyes
Arriving in the Cariboo always held a surprise


"Oh my, what is this I see?"
RB and Claudia rippin' around on the quad ~ crazy as can be?
Don't they know only good kids get MaryAnne's beef roast?
Santa just may like Cindy the most


Hark! What a clatter, a party's goin' on!
Canyon Ranch is a bustlin' from dusk to dawn
Three little girls in bonnets skippin' around the yard
Sledding, skating & gigglin' while Cocoa & Duchess keep guard


Please, Bandelo Bandit, come to our Bovine BBQ
We can all use a break & think you can too
With a grin on his face, he sat by the fire
but we could soon smell the scorching of his cowboy attire!


Oh how quick from the Oxbow the fire chief came
Ray with his fire hose, did extinguish the flame
With everything under control, let's head to the lake
for a little game of broomball for ole' time's sake


The horses are hungry, head to the barn for some hay
To our joyous delight, Jacquie delivered a calf today
A shiny little Angus, all snuggled with his mother
Reminds us all of the precious birth of another


Just as our little Lord was born
into our world, all tired and worn

Jesus came so sin & death may end
He came to make us each God's friend

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A point to ponder...Friendship

What makes a friendship?  What makes a friend?  I am talking about a true friend, not a friendly acquaintance that you may see or converse with on a few occasions.  I am pondering this.

As a woman, I was first a daughter and a sister.  I was the 3rd born with an older brother and sister.  I was a cousin and granddaughter and great granddaughter.  Learning to play and share with siblings and cousins.  Learning obedience to my parents and those entrusted with caring for me.  When did I start to learn to be a FRIEND.  A friend is by choice mostly.  Yes, siblings and cousins can be great friends, but when we are taken out of our growing up environment, do we remain friends?  Do you call just to gab about the day or to check in on life?

By age 8 I had a few friends that I gravitated towards because I liked the way I felt when I was with them.  Some friends were there because of close promixity and ease of playtime (across the street neighbours).  I learned that words spoken in haste don't taste good.  I learned that a quick "I'm sorry, that was mean.  Will you forgive me and can we play again?" within 5 minutes was a good cure for that awful taste in my mouth.  I learned that jealousy never makes for a fun play time.  That Barbie car and house is lovely and all, but being jealous of it will make a fight in the end.  When the Barbie toys are shared, it all works out fine.  So we played with her Barbies and my dolls/clothes.  We ate store bought cookies at her house, homemade at mine.

Around this same age I changed schools and became friends with some other girls, but also kept the neighbour friend.  These friends "got me" and I really felt safe playing with them.  One girl "R" played so gently and I don't remember us ever fighting.  I was a few years older even but admired her family and all her younger siblings.  Sucker for babes I was.  We drew lots of pictures, we sat through church services quietly together and when my Father died,  she was still there.  Sometimes maybe a friend is "just there".

As I got older, we moved and I struggled to find a friend again.  I struggled until I changed schools and found some fun fun fun friends in grade 10.  I love these friends.  We goofed.  We played. We laughed. We cried.  We fought quietly amongst ourselves.  We wrote notes.  We gave eachother the silent treatment, then made up.  We were there and we still are.  Whenever we get together it is like there was never a day inbetween.  We would go to eachother in a minute.  We may suggest things, but we never insist.  We don't mother, we listen.  We ask questions and then wait for an answer.  We may ask MORE questions until the person we're talking to finds their own answer.  We pray.

So today I am thinking on what makes a friend any different from anyone else.  Maybe it's this.  When you think of a friend that you would like to tell you got the job to ~ who do you see?  When you just got some bad news ~ who do you want to tell?  When you have free tickets to a fun event ~ what girlfriend do you want to come?  When you feel like barfing and need someone to hold your hair ~ who would do it?  Ha ha.


  But seriously, who would do these things for you?  Not because they would have to (a spouse or child perhaps would "have" to, though not in a negative sense) but because they are a FRIEND?  Who knows your dirty laundry but loves you anyways???





Thinking this way, I do have a few friends.  I know I would do this for them and hope they know it.
So what is friendship?  How do you get it?  How do you give it?  How do you keep it?

Some more Christmas fun

Like most people, it seems like Christmas is such a wonderful blurr of activity, visiting, eating and laughing that it is hard to "blog" about it.  I did blog a little about our Thiessen time in Alberta, but nothing about Unger time in BC.  We had a very relaxed time, did the usual giving out goodies to neighbours, attended the 70 Mile House community dinner (did I post about that?  I will check) and hung around home with my folks and waited for my brother's family to show up and bring the entertainment.  They are always fun fun fun and we always sleep in after they leave.  Too much fun going on to bother sleeping while they are here !  ha ha.


 First, a little of our own private Christmas time as our own little family.  We have only really started our traditions now that we have moved to BC.  Before, there was so much other family around that we just went to whatever was going on.  Now we seem to have a tradition of Christmas EVE we play outside in the snow, sledding, skating, whatever, then we have Mickey Mouse waffles (my waffle iron is that by default, but I have since ordered a regular round one with a gift certificate I was sent this year) and then retire to the living room to read the Christmas story in Luke and then open some gifts.

 Woke Daddy up with watching some funny cartoons on YouTube.

 We love when neighbours pop in for eggs, or just for a chat...what a lovely time of year!

 Fun loving employees and yard buddy "B" is always up for a practical joke.  This time Kate's weird glasses.

Girls were making a little nativity scene...

then decided to make a larger one!

Taking great care to get baby Jesus' eyes right.

Great neighbours we have, posing for a picture with Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  OH wait, that's my folks.  You'd never guess Mom had a pound of bacon hiding in her jacket.  ha!

Now for our turn!

Eating our M M waffles and all the toppings

Reading from Luke

Cocoa would rather have snowballs form on his feet than endure the shame of wearing his new booties.

 Putting together the Playmobil Nativity set

 Ruth found Gregg another record of Uncle Rhemus Brair Rabbit

I should say that Gregg finally found a record player at a 2nd hand store for $2.  He happily paid the money from a cash gift from his parents.  The rest he wants to put towards a day snowboarding in the mountains.  Poor man hasn't gone for a few years and his heart and soul need it.

Kate gave Ruth and Mei little wind up mice.  They tortured Cocoa with them later.

 Girls also re-gifted some of their toys to each other.  

 We had ordered the complete 9 seasons of Little House on the Prairie from Ebay with our homeschool funding and it came in real handy as a Christmas present for the girls.

 all they needed were some bloomers...oh look!  I made 4 pairs and hoped 3 would fit.  I may need to make a larger pair for Ruth though.  She's in a growth spurt!

This post is long, so I'll do another of my brother's family later.  So there was our Christmas.  Our children were very happy.  I asked if there was something they had really wanted and didn't get.  Ruth said "rug cookies" then found that Auntie A had sent some in the mail this week.  Kate said "I didn't get my horse" but she gets to ride Little Joe almost every day that the weather permits, just he is not hers in respects that we have to provide feed and upkeep on him.  Don't know how to work that out quite yet.  Mei didn't even have a list of what she wanted, so she was happy happy.  Seemed like she got a lot of things to do with frogs.  And as for Gregg and I, we just watched the girls with happy hearts then I ate a Bounty chocolate bar Kate bought me.  It was good.