Syrup Season

Syrup season has come to an end.

We have enjoyed some wonderful weather this last week.

Perfect for our task.

Caught up on some reading.

24 Hours from this.............

.............to this!

Counting our first taste.....5 Pints!

Lots of fun though. We promise to share with anyone who comes to visit!!!

Ken's Sugar Bush

In Canada, a forest is called a bush.

A forest of maple trees is called a "Sugar Bush"

We have two maple trees just outside our house.........Ken's Sugar Bush!

He collected sap for 2 1/2 weeks. The conditions were just right. Cold at night and warmer during the day.

Thats a lot of Sap!!

The idea is to boil the sap and evaporate the water, which leaves the syrup.

It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

Ready to start cooking!

He finished it inside as we anticipated our waffles.

(6 hours to this point).

That is it. A half quart but boy, was it worth it!!!

We figured that we will get about 2 and a half quarts of syrup from the sap that he collected.

We are taking bids if anyone is interested!!

The Guelph Storm

You probably think this post is about the weather, but it is really about Hockey. Ken and I went to our first hockey game a couple of weeks ago. Being that we have been in Canada for over two and a half years now, we thought it was time we saw a live game. People were beginning to look at us funny and it was getting to be embarrassing to say that we had never been to a hockey game. That is no longer the case.

The Guelph Storm vs The Niagara Ice Dogs.

Cool Names, eh?

Of course, Ken could fill me in on the "goings on" of the game, (how he knows these things, I do not know), but I learned that there are not too many rules. Of course there is quite a bit of skill involved. For one thing, they are very good skaters, and it is pretty amazing what they can do with a stick and a little disc.

There are three periods in Hockey and in between periods, the little "beginner hockey players" come out and play.

Remember tee ball? It's just like that only on skates. There was even a little guy, (or maybe it was a girl), just standing in the middle of the ice very preoccupied with something other than hockey. There was some slowmotion falling and crashing and even some goals. It was very cute.

And of course the evening wouldn't have been complete with out a fight or two.

It seems one of the biggest instigators was a fellow by the name of Friesen.

Here you see him being escorted to the penalty box for the second time.

I am sure that he is not related!

A very fun evening!

By the way, the Storms won!

My how time flies. We celebrated 28 years on January 14th, and are still counting our blessing!

February 9 National Sweater day

Wishing You all A

Happy Sweater Day!

Look Here

So Long Chester

We had no idea of the undertaking that we were in for when we volunteered to be Puppy Raisers for NSD, (National Service Dogs). I have to say, it was a good experience. We learned a lot, met some nice people and got to spend time with a lovable Puppy named Chester.

18 months.

Katie has about 4 less pairs of shoes.

Buttons that were there when Ken's shirts went into the wash..........GONE.

Sometimes we would find them and sometimes we would not.......

Vet visits,

Trips to the Mall,

Walks along the river

and of course , Puppy Class.

Chester was Katie's project. In fact she even took him to school one day when she was giving a report on Autism. The hope is that Chester will someday go to a child with Autism. They have told us that they will keep us posted on his progress and that we will be invited to his Graduation, (probably next fall).

People have asked us if we would ever do it a gain.....UH, NO!

But we are glad that we did it as a family while Katie was still home. It was a good experience and we have some fun memories of the year, (and a half), that Chester was with us.

Chester loves the snow and is famous for his Snow Angels

Quite the sophisticated Dog now.

I am sure that he will make someone a wonderful companion someday.

So Long, Chester. We will miss you!

Christmas in California

.....But first, Christmas in Canada.

I have been enjoying the antique stores in our area and have been looking for an old telephone table for this little nook. Ken surprised me with this before we left for California.

Believe it or not, the phone was in the antique store as well. Makes us feel a bit "antique" ourselves.

Ken and Katie and I got into LA late on the 19th. Lisa came in the next day and we had a wonderful few days in Sunny California.

One of our missions was to pick up Katie's car.

That's one happy girl!

Dinner with good friends Tom and Kari.

Dinner at Buca di Beppo's.

And Christmas time in Southern California would not be complete without a long walk on the beach

We got to Grass Valley on the 23rd and had a wonderful Christmas weekend with family.

Christmas morning

I must say.................beautiful!!!

I know, I know. I am their mother, but I just had to say it. Inside and out. We had so much fun being together. I tried to hold it together at the airport when we said good bye, but it was no use. I was flying back to Canada, Lisa to Portland and Ken and Katie were hitting the road for the long trek home in the car. It was an odd feeling to be going separate directions. I guess thats what happens when our kids become adults. We sure do enjoy the times we have together, and so thankful for God's many blessings.

I am home now.

Still listening to Christmas music.

Still have the tree lights on.

Still celebrating.

Hope you are too!

The last box

When we moved, I was determined to open and use or display the contents of each box. With the exception of old toys and keepsakes belonging to the girls, and some camping gear, I did pretty well. I do have some things set aside to embellish the family room when we get that renovated, (another "before and after" post to follow sometime this winter), and everything else is unpacked or gotten rid of.

Except for this box..............................

......................Fragile, but not eggs. I had a perfect spot at our other house for my Precious Moments collection, but in our new house it didn't seem to fit. My thought was to find a shelf that could house all the figurines and fit on the wall in my office. I found this shelf unit in a storage room at camp and rescued it for my cause.

Not quite right........................

............ A little better.

I have always loved shelves. Here are a few more in our home.

Some special nic nacs. Our wedding cake top, My Grandma Ewert's Bible (in German), and some pictures...............

Interesting that my Mom and I picked the same colors for our weddings.

The Blue and White

The all White. Martha Stewart can get away with it, I thought that I would give it a try with my dining areas yellow walls.

This shelf is above the door in the guest bedroom. Most of the things are Lisa's.

More of Lisa's things. I don't know what I will do when she wants to claim them. I guess I will just have to redecorate!!