Maple Syrup Time

March 26 and 27

Karine was working on the weekend, so we dropped in to lend a hand with the sap boiling.  They had already boiled enough sap to have several jars of syrup ready to become wedding guest gifts but more were needed. Kirk and Grant managed the boiler, while Barbara entertained Samuel inside.  He did come out to help too and tried his sled with Reuben (Henk and Jodi's dog) on board and tried some warm fruit with sap from the boiler. Bill cooked some lunch on the BBQ after Kirk borrowed a propane tank from Jim next door. 

On Sunday, Bill was birding, but Barbara came up again to help Kirk, Samuel and the dogs with the boiling. They snacked on some toasted bread dipped in sap - yum! It seemed to ease the teething gums.

Maple Sap Boiling

March 20, 4 pm

We went for spring skiing, then dropped in to 47 to see the family.  They had the boiler going in Henk's yard.  With their 10 trees and the neighbour's 10, there was lots of sap running.

Samuel was sleeping, but his cousin Hunter was there along with the rest of the family including the other grandparents.

 After a good rest, Samuel got up and tried his new boots.  They are red with a fireman theme, but they aren't much use for crawling.

Uncle Craig comes to visit

March 6, 2011

Craig had a business trip to Ottawa, so naturally stayed with us.  Karine had a friend visiting from Montreal, so they went shopping while Kirk, Samuel, Boots and Bagel came over to visit with Craig.

We had a light lunch, featuring peanut butter and jam muffins made by Craig,

then went for a walk to try out some sledding on the fresh snow.  Grant and Kirk took turns sliding with Samuel.  Afterwards, Samuel had a rest while the guys played a game of Pick Two before supper.

Return from Ski Trip

Feb 27, 2011

We were in Algonquin Park for our annual ski trip with friends, and Grant spent the weekend with K, K & S.  We called in to find that the whole gang was at our place (dogs too!) with hot chili on the stove.  What a great surprise to see Samuel, who now has a walker and is on the verge of striking out on his own.  Of course, he had to take a turn on the stairs too.

Breakfast at Café Alpengruss

We wanted to make a day trip to the cottage to see Colleen and Terry.  When other drivers came forward to drive the Venturers to Otter Lake camp, we got our chance on February 19.

We called Kirk and Karine, intending to bring a breakfast with us to share on our way to the lake.  But Kirk had an even better idea.  We would all breakfast together at Café Alpengruss in Wakefield.  We had never been, in all those years of back and forth to the cottage.  So it was a very special treat for us.

Samuel was very good and enjoyed the restaurant, especially when another young boy came in and sat at an adjacent table.

After breakfast, they took Samuel on a walk to shop in downtown Wakefield, and we headed off to Grand lac des cèdres.  We went snowshoeing with Colleen and noticed Farley's van at Reudi's.  So afterwards we went over and chatted with them and Ruedi.  Then we had a late lunch with Terry and Colleen and watched the Tourament of Hearts curling on TV.

Valentine's Lunch

Feb 12, 2011

Kirk had another appointment for his eye, so the whole family came over afterwards for lunch.  Samuel was really tearing around on his hands and knees getting into everything.

After lunch, Samuel had a nap and Karine went for a jog in Craig Henry.



We profit from Kirk's Misfortune

Feb 11, 2011

Kirk got something in his eye, and had to make repeated trips to the eye doctor.  We got to keep Samuel, and watch him climb stairs.