Apple Kolaches

These are easily my family's favorite. In fact, by tomorrow, this plate will probably be empty.  If you have some apples to use up, a package of cream cheese, and a couple of hours to let the dough chill, you should definitely try these out! You won't be disappointed!

Apple Kolaches

• 2 cup flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups apples, finely chopped and peeled
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

ICING

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl,  beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. Divide dough into two portions; cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle. 

When chilled:

In a small bowl, combine apples and cinnamon. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of chilled dough until approx 1/4" thick or less (depending on how thick you want your dough, I like mine thinner). Cut into 3" squares. Place a tsp of apple mixture in the middle of each square. Overlap two opposite corners of dough over filling; pinch tightly to seal.

Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet (or on parchment paper, which is how I prefer to do them). Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over kolaches. I usually put parchment paper under my wire racks and then drizzle the icing. Less clean up! Just toss the paper away afterwards.

Grab a Kleenex

And shed a little tear.

We used the tablecloth Christmas Eve, and it got few stains on it. I mean, that's what I made it for right? To be used.

I made the decision long ago that things in this house had to be able to handle normal washing.  Dry clean only items get tossed in the washer. You have to be strong to survive in this house.

So even though I had tested a transfer on this same cloth, and washed and dried it and it came out fine, apparently the new tablecloth couldn't handle it.  But fear not! Because in my pile of most excellent Christmas presents came this new beautiful table runner.

Mom took six left over squares of Christmas material that I had sitting in my container since I made my Xmas bags two or three years ago. She said she was going to maybe make them into bags for me. She's sneaky that way.

She had the kids sign their names in fabric marker and then she added some details, such as long black hair for Clayton and a gift in the hands of Blade's snowman. This is why my mom will always be more epic than me.

Hunter's had black thread buttons added down the front, and Storm's got long blonde hair added to it. How cute is that?

Hunter signed Ryan's name to his and it received a cute red moustache, while Storm penned my name and my snowman got some added buttons. I love this tablecloth so much that I'm not even sad over mine.

My uncle once called me fickle. I think he may have been onto something....

With a few days to spare...

The wall hangings are done!  Thank goodness for my Mom, again. She's always willing to design, iron, measure and make that first cut I'm always holding back on.

In this house they are hanging by push pins. I did put tabs on them for them to hang by rods later on.

Don't worry, Hunter's got done too. It's hanging above Clayton's. These babies are long. So much so, that I was kind of starting to wonder where exactly I was going to hang them. Let's hope the next house has a really long stairwell!

They definitely won't win that red ribbon at the County Fair (so don't look too closely) but they'd probably get one of those Participant ribbons that they hand out in elementary school...

A Tribute to Dad

There once was a young man:

Who married his teenage dream:

He almost always had a smile on his face:

Even after he had a couple of kids who sometimes looked like this:

He worked a long time in gravel construction. Many summer vacations were spent in a holiday trailer in the middle of nowhere:

When he wasn't at work, he was at play, (which seemed a lot like work to a couple of kids):

There were a few memorable vacations:

He was always willing to stop for some real fun:

And have some serious construction discussion:

He always had a beard which he sometimes let his bored daughter braid:

He loved his kids more than most:

Which he proved when he shaved his beard for the first time in over 20 years for his daughter's wedding because she asked:

He always knew what to do and taught how to do it:

He held a lot of babies:

And got roped into a lot of projects:

He will be missed more than words and thoughts can imagine:

Garfield James Scheie

October 18, 1947 - December 16, 2011

Tablecloth Finite!

I can see! I can see! LASIK is done. Vision is 20/20. Inflammation appears to be gone and I'm down to the end of my eye drops. Thankfully. Ryan and I are both more than tired of them and the trips to Calgary.

So I can see, but I'm extremely behind on every thing else.

Christmas? When? How long? Ohhh shoot.

I've had the transfers for the rest of the tablecloth printed out since before my LASIK, but that's about as far as they got. So after deciding I was done acting like an invalid, I wrangled Mom into coming over again. After all, we'd already wrecked the finish on my table, might as well not stop now.

There was a bit more double and triple checking going on this time to make sure we didn't have any years upside down, but it also went way faster. I wasn't quite so hesitant to iron them, plus there isn't 15 years of pictures for the little kids yet!

Storm's section

Blade's section

Hunter's section.

We were trying to conserve as much space at the bottom of the sections as possible. And Mother has strict instructions to not make the next 10 years of ornaments BIG.

It's a hard thing to get a full photo of!

So whadda ya think? Good enough to spill gravy on??