From the Crow's Nest

Vakantie in Quebec

2011-08-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Stroopwafels!

2011-07-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

Als je aan een geëmigreerde Nederlander vraagt, wat ze van Nederlands eten het meeste missen, zal je regelmatig iemand horen zeggen: Stroopwafels!
Er gaat niets boven een heerlijke, verse stroopwafel, het liefst die grote, van de markt. Maar ja, er is hier geen markt te vinden waar ze verse stroopwafels verkopen. Wel een Nederlandse winkel, maar die stroopwafels zijn zo oud.... alleen nog lekker als je ze even in de magnetron opwarmt. Dus elk bezoek uit Nederland wordt altijd gevraagd of ze stroopwafels (en senseo :)) meebrengen.
Tot ik een tijdje terug bij Astrid dit blogje over stroopwafels las. En ik was onmiddellijk weer terug in de keuken bij mijn moeder, als klein meisje. Want mijn moeder bakte af en toe ook stroopwafels. Die waren natuurlijk het allerlekkerst, lekkerder nog dan van de markt.
Door het blogje van Astrid ging ik ook op zoek naar een stroopwafelijzer, of liever, een kniepertjesijzer. En ik heb er een gevonden, niet hier in Canada, maar in Nederland. Die heb ik toen besteld en twee weken geleden kwamen mijn schoonouders hier en die hebben 'm meegenomen.
En je raadt het natuurlijk al.... ik heb 'm uitgeprobeerd.

Het resultaat mag er zijn, vinden we. Het is heel veel werk, kost veel tijd, mooi zijn ze niet, maar ze zijn heeeeerlijk!

Warme voeten

2010-12-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

De afgelopen dagen ben ik lekker aan het haken geweest. Dat heb ik altijd al graag gedaan. Breien ben ik helemaal niet goed in, ik laat altijd steken vallen en dat gebeurt niet bij haken :)

Nou heb ik dus al best veel gehaakt, of liever geprobeerd te haken, maar altijd had ik het probleem dat mijn zijkantjes scheef liepen. Maar nu, dankzij het internet, waar je bijna alles kan vinden en dus ook hoe je moet haken, heb ik eindelijk geleerd hoe ik het goed moet doen. En mijn randjes zijn nu mooi recht!

Hier heb ik geleerd hoe dat dan wel moest. Net als de meeste beginners nam ik nooit dat laatste steekje mee. Maar nu dus wel... en mijn eerste project is klaar en ik kan er gelijk van genieten:

Na lang zoeken vond ik dit makkelijke patroon op internet. Het voordeel ervan is, dat je niet hoeft te meerderen en te minderen, geen hiel erin hoeft te maken en toch past hij perfect, zelfs bij verschillende voeten, van groot tot klein.

Nu dit project zo goed gelukt is, moet ik maar eens op zoek naar een ander leuk project... Iemand een idee?

Overigens wil ik nog iedereen de beste wensen meegeven voor het nieuwe jaar! Ik voeg hier gelijk een 'foto' bij die mijn oudste gemaakt heeft. Zoals zij ons gezin ziet!

Een weekendje kamperen!

2010-05-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

We hebben lekker een weekendje gekampeerd in Kingston, niet al te ver van de St. Lawrence Rivier. Het weer was wel mooi, maar nog wel een beetje fris. Gelukkig sliepen we niet in een tent, maar in een cabin, met verwarming... haha.
Kingston is een al wat oudere stad en leuk om eens te bezoeken. Het heeft ook een aantal verdedigingswerken, maar die waren nog niet allemaal open voor het zomerseizoen.

Hier wat foto's van ons weekendje:
Altijd leuk.... hoeveel keer stuitert het steentje op het water.....

Murney Tower, een van de verdedigingstorens

Het kanon binnenin de toren met schietgaten rondom. Het kanon kon helemaal rondgereden worden om zo aan alle kanten uit te kunnen schieten.

En dit hoort natuurlijk ook bij kamperen...

Lente?????

2010-04-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ja ik dacht toch echt dat het lente was. En een heerlijk vroege lente hier. Alle sneeuw was half maart al weg en we hebben al zoveel heerlijke dagen gehad.....

Vanmorgen werd ik wakker en ik keek uit het raam... en ik zag dit:

En de vlokken die naar beneden vielen! Ik had nog nooit zulke grote gezien, wel 4 cm in doorsnee soms. Het was even schrikken, maar aan de andere kant ook wel mooi om te zien. En vanmiddag is alles weer weg... en morgen is het gewoon weer 12 graden en overmorgen weer 18. Dus zo erg is het nou ook weer niet haha.

De rabarber is ook mooi ondergesneeuwd.... Hmm.. t wordt alweer tijd om te oogsten. Kan ik weer lekker sinaasappel-rabarberjam maken.

Eerst maar even wachten tot het weer wat opgewarmd is denk ik.

Mer Bleue

2010-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Het was vandaag zo'n heerlijke lentedag, ongekend lekker voor de tijd van het jaar, dat we er lekker op uit trokken.

We gingen naar een natuurgebied, dat heet "Mer Bleue" en is eigenlijk een groot veenmoeras. Sinds 15 jaar is het een "Wetland of International Importance" en als zodanig dus beschermd. Er groeien diverse zeldzame planten en er leven ook veel waterdieren. Door het moeras heen hadden ze een vlonderpad gelegd en zo liepen we daar dus dwars door het moeras.

Er leven hier o.a. schildpadden, kikkers, padden, en ook bevers. Die laatste hebben we -evenals de andere, overigens- niet gezien, maar toch hebben we overduidelijke bewijzen gevonden, dat ze er wel waren:

De bevers hadden een prachtige beverdam gebouwd. Ongelooflijk hoeveel takken en ander materiaal ze allemaal daarheen gesleept hebben en daar dus in een hol hebben om in te kunnen leven.

Aan de randen van het moeras, waar meer bos was, zagen we overal aangeknaagde en soms ook omgevallen bomen, waar het overduidelijk was wie daar bezig geweest waren. Ik hoorde iemand vertellen dat een bever wel 250 bomen per jaar kan doorknagen.... En dat ze soms wel in 1 nacht een hele beverdam kunnen opbouwen.

Hier nog zo'n mooie omgeknaagde boom...
't Is toch een flinke boom waar ze iedere keer hun tanden inzetten.

Om nou te voorkomen dat alle bomen straks uit het bos verdwijnen, hebben de boswachters daar toch wat op gevonden.

Om een heel aantal grotere bomen hebben ze stevig gaas aangebracht, zodat de bevers er niet aan kunnen knagen. Ook wel zo veilig voor de wandelaars die langs half afgeknaagde bomen lopen..... ;)

Veranderingen..... en een grote klus

2010-03-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ik ben een lange tijd niet aan het bloggen geweest, maar nu ben ik er weer.... en... in het Nederlands. Omdat verreweg de meeste van mijn lezers toch Nederlands zijn, is dat toch handiger en voor mij ook wel zo makkelijk :).

Dat is niet de enige verandering hier. Sinds januari ben ik ook geen homeschool mom meer :(
Na lang wikken en wegen hebben we toch maar besloten om onze kids weer naar school te doen.
Dat ging natuurlijk niet helemaal zonder hobbels (lees: tranen, misschien wel het meest van mij), maar ze lijken nu allebei hun plekje helemaal gevonden te hebben. Nu ik nog haha.

De afgelopen weken ben ik ook met een grote klus bezig geweest, namelijk het maken van een groot fotoboek voor de 55-jarige trouwdag van mijn ouders op 31 maart. Ik ga dan voor een weekje naar Nederland om het feest mee te maken en neem dan ook het boek mee. Maar wat een enorm werk zeg! Mijn broers en zus hebben allemaal foto's opgestuurd (via internet) en zo heb ik een digitaal album samengesteld. Het is BIJNA klaar en gaat dan naar de drukker en wordt dan hopelijk een prachtig cadeau voor mijn ouders.

Het is wel erg leuk om ook de oude foto's terug te zien, sommige heb ik al jaren niet meer gezien, maar ook de laatste foto's van de nichtjes en neefjes zijn erg leuk, want die zien wij hier natuurlijk ook niet iedere dag.

Hier is bijvoorbeeld de trouwfoto van mijn ouders.... alweer 55 jaar geleden. Wat een tijd. Ik ben erg dankbaar dat ik dit nog een keer met ze mag vieren.

Deze vond ik ook nog in de oude doos.... Die moet bijna 40 jaar oud zijn, want die baby ben ik! Samen met mijn twee jongste broers.

Hier ben ik alweer wat ouder en zit ik op schoot bij mijn zus.

Als ik die foto van mij daar zie, kan ik goed zien hoe mijn oudste veel op mij lijkt...

Het maken van het fotoboek was leuk, maar erg tijdrovend en soms frustrerend.... de computer was soms erg traag door het laden van de vele foto's. Maar ik denk dat het resultaat ook leuk geworden is!
De laatste bladzijde heb ik leeg gelaten. Daar moet een foto komen van het bruidspaar, genomen op de feestdag. Die plakken we er later wel in.

Snow Fort

2009-12-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

Before the first snow fell, Dad built a frame off of the deck in the backyard. He wanted the kids to be able to build a snow fort without the risk of it caving in on them.

On top of the frame came part of an old fence and a piece of multiplex, just some pieces we had left in the garage.
Dad helped the kids nail the fence down, which of course was great fun, especially to hit Dad's fingers (haha).

When there's snow they'll have to build the walls themselves. We tried to cover the top with a tarp, but the wind tore it to pieces... that didn't really work. But eventually.........

We got snow..... like 20 cm..... the day after they finished building.....

They packed snow on the roof and built a wall. We also had a plastic window that they put in:

It's a ton of fun for them to work at it. And it's much safer this way. I was also thinking that in Summer they can use the frame and put blankets on it for a tent!
I love those multi-functional projects!

Snow!

2009-11-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

When I woke up this morning.... the world was white. I always have mixed feelings about this.
Snow is beautiful and fun, but it lasts so long. The snow from today won't last, but of course there will be more this winter, that's a given. If only it wouldn't last till April.....

This is how my backyard looked this morning....

A story...

2009-10-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

For English our youngest had to write a story and he asked if he could type it on the computer, because he wanted to write a very long story this time. Since this is quite extraordinary, I agreed. Writing stories is not something our kids enjoy too much and they complain a lot about it. I guess he surprised me with this one.... enjoy!

Welcome To The Story Of Monster Mike

Alien Vinnie

Once there were two Superheros, Monster Mike, and Alien Vinnie. Monster Mike was funny, and he was considered “Brainy” he also had strong arms. Then there was Alien Vinnie, he was a tiny bit clumsy, he's sometimes a bit scared, but for protection he can give electric shocks.So here is how the story begins: The two Superheros were at home reading the newspaper.They see an article for a superhero contest, So they start training. While training Monster Mike meets Alien Vinnie, So Monster Mike asks Alien Vinnie,”Who are you? That other superhero guy who wants to steal my award for the best superhero contest?” Alien Vinnie says “yes, but I don't steal. I just try to win it, thats ok, right”says to Alien Vinnie, “Well I guess,” says Monster Mike. “They are really going to like my survival trick.I bet that “swing and atack trick” will not get any applause.” “I don't think so, I can give anything or anyone an electric shock.” says Alien Vinnie,then Monster Mike says “O,good for you, I can knock anyone or anything out with my really strong arms.But I want to go on with my training solet me go!BY”And he ran off. Three days later at noon, they met again. Alien Vinnie says “hello again,” Monster Mike turns around, and he sees Alien Vinnie and says “What do you want, the week is only half gone, I have to practice , NOW GO AWAY” Alien Vinnie answers “No I am not going away, I showed some people my Swing and Atack with Electric Shocks trick, I heard a lot of applause,I can use that trick for saving people too, It's very handy.”Monster Mike answers “I showed my survival trick and I heard tons of applause, it is even handier” “BYBY” says Alien Vinnie. On the day of the contest the superheros get ready. But when it is just about to start, some gigantic robot breaks the whole building trapping 1,685 people. It was a horrible sight.The only person not trapped was Monster Mike.But then he sees Alien Vinnie using his electric socks to get loose. After Alien Vinnie got loose, he walks up to Monster Mike and says “look at all these 1,684 people. (not including me) Don't they look hurt? We HAVE to be a team! Because if not 1,684 people could die! What do you think?” Monster Mike answers,”You have a point THAT REALLY COULD HAPPEN! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? LET'S GO!” “right” says Alien Vinnie, and off they went. A bit later they were running and climbing until they found someone trapped. Monster Mike would lift the thing trapping the person up and Alien Vinnie would break it by using his electric shocks. And if someone was sick Alien Vinnie would use his electric shocks to cure a sickness.They kept going until they found this deep dark tunnel, they heard crying,moaning,and gagging. It gave Alien Vinnie the shivers.Monster Mike said “We must go” but all of a sudden GGGRROOOOWWWWLLLLLLL!

“IN the tunnel.”continued Monster Mike “WHAT WAS THAT” shouted Alien Vinnie. Monster Mike said “I don't know, but I don't think I want to know” But then again GGGGRRRRRROOOOOOOOOWWWWLLLLLLL! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH ! HHHHHHHEEEELLLLLLLPPPPP!

Gag gag gag gag gag gag choke choke choke cough cough cough cough! They heard in the tunnel. Alien Vinnie said “I'm not sure if we should go in there” Monster Mike answers “We have to, Plus, I have my survival-figting skills and you have your electric shocks to help kill that weird monster, and we only saved 651 out of the 1,684 people so I think those other 1,033 people are still out there, and I think that that weird monster is that robot that teared the place apart” Alien Vinnie answers “ you have a point, but it is still a bit scary” “O, come on” says Monster Mike, “superheros have to be tough” “right” Says Alien Vinnie. Then they go into the tunnel,even though Alien Vinnie isn't so sure about this.......

Then they reached the end of the tunnel,They heard gag gag gag gag gag gag gag and choke choke choke choke choke cough cough cough cough cough!andHELP SUPERHEROS! HHHHEEEEEEELLLPPPPPPP!then they saw fighting, hurting, and people getting tortured. But the most amizing was the robot. Standing 163 meters tall.Alien Vinnie said to Monster Mike “ do you call that big or what” “OF COURSE I DO, THATS HUMUNGUS!CAN'T YOU SEE HE'S 163 METERS TALL ! WHAT DID YOU EXCPECT!” Shouted Monster Mike “don't shout! The robot might hea...” then the robt stopped and dropped the person he was holding.OOAAF! (that must of hurt!) “RUN!!!!!!!!! the robot heard you yelling!” “Oh.” answerd Monster Mike. STOMP! “RU...STOMPN!!!!!!!!!!!” “ WHEN DO WE HAVE TO STOP RUNNING!” said Monster Mike. “when...STOMP...we...STOMP... get...STOMP... to...STOMP ...that...STOMP... big...STOMP... stone...STOMP... wall...STOMP... covered...STOMP... with...STOMP... chainsaws...STOMP... that...STOMP... are...STOMP... on,...STOMP... not ..STOMP! ..far...STOMP... from...STOMP... the...STOMP...carpenters...STOMP...shop”says Alien Vinnie ...STOMP...STOMP...STOMP...STOMP...STOMP...STOMP...STOMP.......................

A long time later they were still running when they saw the wall. “Praise The Lord!” said Alien Vinnie. Alien Vinnie took his electric shock maker and made a door smaller than the robot's head,but they could run through.After they were a distance away, they stopped and plugged their ears because..........ZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP!...chainsaws......ZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!....Were cutting .....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZaAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP!.............the robot ZZZZZZZZAAAAAPPPPP...ZZZZAAAAPPP....ZZAAPP...ZAP...ZAp...zap. “Thats done” said Alien Vinnie. He said again “Monster Mike, I'm going to call 100 ambulances, the police, and the fire department.” “Best idea” said Monster Mike. And now they go to town to town showing survival tricks and attacking tricks, and Alien Vinnie writes the kids names with his electric shocks, and they all go together .

the end

"A Day in the Park"

2009-10-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time celebrating and remembering God gave us over a yummy chicken dinner (we don't do turkey). It was actually the first time for me to cook a whole chicken in the oven and it actually turned out really well. We still have lots of it left and I'm already looking forward to the meals of leftover chicken.....

Because of Thanksgiving it was a long weekend, so Dad was off on Monday as well and we went to Parc Oméga in Québec. We had been there a few times before and it's always great fun. So armed with a big bag of carrots we took off.

The fall colours were at their brightest... so beautiful!!! It always amazes me how bright they are. The trees looked on fire at some places.

In Parc Oméga you can see animals that you could see in Canada in the wild, so you see them in their natural habitat. There are wapiti, white tailed deer, bisons, arctic wolves, wild boars, bears, moose, caribou...

There is a road through the park that leads you to the different habitats. Ofcourse the wolves are separated from the deer and the bears are also separated. But other than that the animals have a large area where they can roam freely.

The deer come up to the cars and you can feed them as many carrots as you like. It doesn't hurt them. You have to be careful that they don't stick their whole head into the car.... they slobber...

There were also walking trails where deer were walking freely and they wouldn't say no to a juicy carrot. I guess they have been trained to pose for the camera...

I made a little collage of some of the other animals we saw. The bears were really cute. Ofcourse we couldn't feed them, but they were really cute to see. There were about 12-15 bears and you could see different dens on the side of the hill where they would soon go in to hibernate.

Some more beautiful fall pictures...

We loved this wonderful day in God's beautiful nature!

The Homeschool Family

2009-09-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

I often visit The Homeschool Lounge, a wonderful place for homeschoolers... I found this great video there... check it out!

There are lots more videos of Tim Hawkins on Youtube. He's hilarious!

Art Class!

2009-09-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

This school year we've been doing art regularly. I found cool lessons online and it's been fun and the results look great.

Here are some of the things we've been doing:

The assignment was to draw a fantasy flower and colour it in with ecoline (a kind of shadow paint, or water colour).

I love the bright colours they chose!

Twisting Circles

Another assignment was one of my favourites.
This is what you need for this lesson:

a square piece of drawing paper (8" x 8"), easy to cut from a 8,5" x 11" sheet.
sheets of paper in different colours
background paper in different colours (at 10"x 10") e.g. scrapbook paper in solid colours
compass
markers or pencil crayons in bright colours
paper cutting tool

On the drawing paper, with the compass, draw 4 or 5 small circles on the different sides of the paper. Draw bigger circles around the small one (with the same centre). When the paper is full, start colouring, using no more than 5 colours.
Cut the paper in 4 squares and twist the squares into an interesting looking picture. Choose a colour of paper that goes with it and cut 4 squares (4 1/2" x 41/2") from it. Paste the 4 squares of your drawing on the cut squares, leaving a little edge.
Then paste the 4 squares on the background square of your choice.

These are the ones we made:

I think they did a great job, the art work really brightens up our classroom!

Today we worked on snakes... not my favourite animal haha. But the activity is a nice one. First we had to draw a snake on black paper, cut out and cut in small pieces and paste on paper with a little tiny space in between. Then with tempera paint and the head of a nail you stamp dots all around the snake and make beautiful patterns.

And again the artwork is very colourful and wonderfully done. It was a lot of fun.

Great job kids!

We're looking forward to next week....

A Perfect Mystery!

2009-05-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

Our oldest turned 10 years old last week. Double Digits! It's amazing! Ofcourse we had to have a birthday party and some time ago she decided she wanted a Detective Birthday Party.
She had been reading lots of mystery books, especially Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys and at the library always tried to pick up some kind of mystery book.

So I went hunting for ideas... and found tons! And finally I found the best ideas: We were going to have a Nancy Drew Detective Party! When I asked my daughter if she'd like her party to be a Nancy Drew Party, she was so happy, she started to cry...

These were the invitations we sent out. We got the idea from this website.
Folded up it resembles a Nancy Drew book.

Inside is an envelope with this:

I printed it on Shrinky Dink paper and shrunk it in the oven, so it was very small and barely legible. So the kids would need a magnifying glass to read it.

We also prepared a Detective kit for the girls. A notebook, a magnifying glass, a pen, a small flashlight in a bag. And ofcourse some candy for energy.

Dad and I planned a Mystery for the party which was great fun.

When they arrived the girls put the presents in a basket in the living room. Then we played some games and after that I took them to the dining room to have their fingers printed and decorate their notebooks.

After all this we had a great pizza lunch and I took the girls to the basement, to distract them. It was about time for our mystery to start. Our youngest was in on the plan... he was about to steal the birthday presents. After a while the telephone rang, and there was a message on the answering machine.. left by the perpetrator: "I left you a message on the laptop..." so we all ran back down to the laptop and there was a video message of the crook who stole the presents... you can see it here. It was taped sideways... by accident.... haha.

So the sleuthing began... They immediately grabbed their notebooks and their magnifying glasses and went looking for clues. It was so much fun to see...
They had to look for cards with rhymes on them which sometimes revealed another clue, or a puzzle. Besides the cards they had to pick up letters, which would form a word at the end. But they didn't know that. That they had to figure out by themselves....

In the end they found all the letters and they had to form a word that would reveal the hiding place of the presents.
It took them a while, but they did find them!... ofcourse...

After all that exhausting sleuthing we watched the Nancy Drew movie, had popcorn and relaxed.

Last but not least, we had the most amazing birthday cake, made by a friend of ours. She is a very talented person and makes beautiful cakes. My daughter had asked her if she could make a "Magnifying glass cake" and this is what it turned out to be:

It was sooo yummy! The kids loved it:

As always it was a lot of work, but all worth it!

Now we have to start thinking about the next party... I wonder what that's going to be....

Jam!!

2009-05-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

In the Spring we always have lots of Rhubarb. It grows like crazy and we always have more than we can eat. Everyone here in the country has lots, so giving away to your neighbours is not really an option. But I've found a wonderful recipe for a delicious Orange Rhubarb jam. We make it every Spring now and enjoy it the rest of the year.

You can find the recipe here.

And ofcourse oldest wants to help. She's becoming more and more proficient in the kitchen! Slowly I'm introducing her how to cook meals and she's doing well.

This jam/spread is great on a peanut butter sandwich, or on pancakes, waffles, and definitely on ice cream! I'm sure you could find more delicious ways to use this delectable treat! Let me know!

Our 'little' builder

2009-03-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our youngest has always loved to build. He always found something to build with.
When he's building he's totally drawn into the process and I love watching him.

The tip of his tongue will come out of his mouth and he's not really into talking with anyone at these moments...

At my question:"What do you want to be when you grow up?", he answers, "A builder... so I can build houses for people who have no house. And a missionary." This was years ago already. Sometimes he wants to be an architect... but it probably will be something with building...

He has quite a big train set and in the living room on the wooden floor is a nice open space where he sometimes builds a whole park for the train. Together with Dad he built bridges and other constructions and he's been playing with it for hours and he keeps building on to it.

He made a river out of blue paper and houses out of blocks, there is an animal park and the animals get water through some kind of water supply. He has it all thought out.

He has even made an aquaduct:

It is so wonderful to see him play, even his older sister loves to play along, she is taken into his game by his enthusiasm. He is full of energy when he plays like this. And he learns a lot, too!

Playing is learning!!!! It's definitely happening here!

Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

2009-03-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

In February we were in North Carolina and we visited one of the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. It was wonderful! There was so much to see! We learned a lot about marine life here!

This tank was called "The Living Shipwreck". It contains a sunken submarine and lots and lots of fish... such as sharks!

Some of the sharks were very large. There were sand tiger sharks, bonnethead sharks, nurse sharks and sandbar sharks. The sand tigers were the largest... up to 10 feet.

There was also a basin where we could pet stingrays. They had removed the sting and it was fun to try and touch them. They were fast! I tried to upload a video but it wouldn't do it for me. So maybe that will come later.

Outside of the aquarium there were walking paths and platforms where you could look out over marshes. There is lots of wildlife there. We saw a blue heron and sea gulls and this beautiful egret. It was very beautiful out there.

After our visit to the aquarium we went back to the beach. It was a beautiful day with nice temperatures (16 degrees Celsius). A lot warmer than back home in Canada at this time of the year! We found more shells and got our feet wet....

It was wonderful to be at the beach again. We used to live quite close to the beach in Holland, but in Canada we live very, very far. So we hadn't been to the beach in so, so long, at least not to the sea or ocean. We were at the beach at Lake Erie or Lake Ontario, but that's not the same...

Some of My Digital Scraps

2009-03-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

I like scrapbooking and since I have a digital camera I also do a bit of digital scrapbooking. I just play around with the pictures on Microsoft Picture It! and use free kits that I download from the Internet.

I really like this page I made. We did a photo shoot and the pictures turned out really great.

Another one from the same photo shoot. I used a kit from Shabby Princess and it turned out very nice. We had such a fun time doing this photo shoot. We tried everything to get the kids to laugh naturally... I guess it worked.

This one of Vinnie is one of my favourites too. He smiled so sweetly that I just had to record that.

The Making of the Tree House

2009-03-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

We have this wonderful big Silver Maple Tree in our backyard. When we moved to Canada I said... I would love to have a house with a Maple Tree. It turns out we have two! But the one in the backyard is the best!

The tree on the left is the one. It has three swings on it and is the favourite play structure of our kids. It has 5 big limbs that branch out fairly low above the ground which make it a perfect tree for a tree house.
We love this tree. It gives lots of shade in Summer, and also Maple Syrup in early Spring! It's not exactly the same as the Syrup from a Sugar Maple, but it's still very good!

Last Summer we finally got to building the tree fort. Dad is not really a builder, so it's not something that comes natural to him. He asked his friend Ted, the Carpenter to help him a bit and Ted helped him with the frame and some other stuff.

We built it quite high up in the tree so it would be nice and big.

It was quite scary to sit up there and work. The kids wanted to work up there too and had to be tied with ropes.

Most of the floor is finished in this picture. It's starting to look like something! It's a big tree house, so it's a lot of work and we did want it to be sturdy and secure (it's very high up), so it took quite some time before it was finished. But we had two big helps...

And ofcourse we had to put in a ladder.
That worked out well. There was a natural low step in the tree and with a ladder that we got from another friend we have a beautiful tree house! We put a nice railing on the sides to make it really safe and now it is a super super AWESOME TREE HOUSE!!!!!!

We are very proud of Dad that he made this wonderful Tree House!
Thanks so very much, Dad!!!

Our trip to the Sugar Bush

2009-03-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

It's Maple Syrup time so that means a trip to the Sugar Bush! We have a nice one pretty close by, Stanley's Olde Maple Lane Farm in Metcalfe.

It's not a very big farm, they have about 500 trees, they only collect for tourism. They still do it the old fashioned way, with buckets on the trees. Commercial Maple Syrup farms now have sap lines running from the trees into tanks, which is much cleaner and less labour intensive.

The buckets are much more interesting for the kids, though!

They drill holes in the tree and put a spout in the hole and then hang the bucket on the spout. The sap then drips into the bucket.

Once a day they collect the sap in big containers. They boil the sap in a big woodfired kettle in the Sugar Shack:

They really have to boil down the sap for a long time. 40 litres of sap boils down to about 1 litre of Maple Syrup. If you consider that a mature Sugar Maple tree (at least 40 years old with a diameter of at least 25 cm) produces about 40 litres during the 6 week sugaring season.... you need quite a number of trees if you want a few bottles for your relatives and friends!

Here you can read more about Maple Syrup

There were lots more fun things to do at the farm:

Petting and feeding the beautiful Belgian horses. You had to be careful for your hands though... They wouldn't bite, but they folded their lips around your fingers, which was a bit scary...

An exposition about old fashioned tools on the farm and how Maple Syrup was made in past centuries.

And OFCOURSE a playground.....

And we had pancakes at the restaurant
although we liked the waffles and the french toast much better. Too bad the Maple Syrup didn't taste like anything.