maple syrup and mud

By on February 25, 2014 in Kids, Outings

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That would sum up our day at the Maple Syrup Festival this weekend.  I should add in fun, lots of fun.  Oh and friends 🙂  We ran into about a dozen friends while there.  We were very excited to learn everything we could about maple syrup.  Our family has a commitment to eating local but living in Florida, we were never local to maple syrup 🙂  In Florida we could get cane syrup and sorghum but not maple, oh it’s so very good, yes?

It was a fun filled day of hay mazes, maple syrup sampling, festivites, tomahawk throwing, old fashioned log sawing (oh my aching arms) and momma with Matthew in the sling for about 6 hours.  He of course wanted to get down after his long nap against my body but with some areas being ankle deep in mud, I didn’t want him running around.  He was also in our famous “red shoes“, do you remember these?  I would like them to last as long as possible and with them being so old, I figured a day in mud and clay was not a good idea.  We learned how to tap our trees and got a kit (we have to first identify the maples on our property which is hard since there are no leaves to help me see which ones they are) and saw a demonstration of how the native Americans boiled down maple syrup in hollowed out logs with rocks that they heated up in their camp fires.  It really makes me think of how we take such things for granted.

I did finally find a dry spot to put Matthew down and he was very happy to climb and sit on the log there while we watched the older kids sawing away at logs.  The weather could not have been better and it was so good to my soul to be out in the sunshine all day long.  The kids seemed to be reveling in it.  Thankfully, for the past few days, the sun has been out quite a bit.  Except for the snow two days ago, I think spring is really coming soon.

We came home with some deliciously smoky tasting cotton candy, a gallon of grade b dark amber maple syrup and some secret treats I bought for Easter baskets.  The kids were so tired, most of them passed out right after dinner.

Comments { 11 }

Pinterest Pin-along

By on February 22, 2014 in Knits and Crochet, Pinterest Pin-along

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We are off on an outing today.  Today would have been the day I started breaking ground on our new garden but with the temperatures in the upper 50’s today, we just can’t resist so the garden will wait until the next warm day which the forecast says will be about next weekend 🙁  In the meantime, I am busy with paper and pen doing the important work of planning.  Checking whenever we have sun, were it lands or does not land in the garden, where the water goes when it rains etc.

With all this talk of warming weather, I got to thinking that in the spring, all of Matthew’s longies may not be so great for being out in the warm weather.  I am making him my usual bucket seated shorties from my own crochet pattern but wanted to knit something up.  It is so hard to be a mistress to crochet but ever since I learned to knit, my heart really is there more so than with crochet though I understand crochet so much more and can construct most anything with it.

These shorties are super simple (do I always say that about my projects?).  Many years ago, I saw a pair like these somewhere and sketched the idea down in my crochet notebook.  There was no pattern with it but looking at the sketch last week, it seemed so simple that I just cast it on.

I didn’t of course write down the steps I took but I’m pretty sure I can figure it out from looking at the diaper soaker.  I still have to add some ribbing around the leg openings to give it a bit more security but so far I really like it and it is a fast knit.

So what did you make this week?  I can’t wait to see it.  Please post a link to the pin that inspired you in your post :)

To see my Pinterest inspiration board for today’s project, click here.  Oh and if we aren’t friends on Pinterest you can follow me by clicking on the “P” bunting flag at the top right corner of this blog.

Here’s what to do.

1.  Pick a pin you have pinned from your Pinterest boards and do it.

2. Take a picture of your project or progress and blog about it or post a picture to flickr.

3. Then come back here on Saturdays and post a link to your blog post (please make sure the link you post is to your Pin-along post and not your main blog)

4. Don’t forget to link back to the Pin-along  so others can find us and get encouraged too.

5.  We all love comments and encouragement so please leave a comment here and visit at least 1 other pinner and leave them a comment  too :)
Fair enough?

Below is the link up tool.  Let me know if you need help!

You are invited to a Pin-along party.  Bring along all your Pinterest ideas and pinned projects and make them a reality.  Don’t just pin it, Make it, Bake it, Do it and then Share it!


Comments { 6 }