Sugaring Off - Kingston Style

Growing up in Quebec, I have very fond memories of going "Sugaring Off" (trip to Maple Sugar Shack). When I was little, we'd got to a wonderful place somewhere out in the country and enjoy touring around and learning how they make maple syrup and all of the other products. We'd get to sample the maple syrup being poured onto snow, and see how they evaporate the water from the sap to make the syrup.

We'd then go into a big lodge where they had huge long tables set up, and you'd be served an amazing meal of pancakes, sausage, bacon and real maple syrup. They'd have traditional French singers and musicians playing songs and there was always lots of singing and food and fun.

Times change though. I have no idea if the festivities still run the same way in Quebec anymore, but I know that things are much simpler if you go to maple syrup festivals throughout Ontario.

While Alex and I were in Kingston for a couple of days over March Break, he and I went with my parents to a local conservation area that has a fun "Maple Madness" event going on where you can go out to the woods, learn a bit about the process of making maple syrup and sample some pancakes with warm syrup. Granted it wasn't as extravagant (or fattening lol) as it was when I was a kid in Quebec, but we truly had an amazing time.

The weather was incredible and it was so much fun to get out for a little bit with Grandma and Grandpa and Alex had fun running along the path and checking out tree after tree to taste the sap that trickled into the pots.

I got some great pictures from the morning - hope you enjoy them.

Please note - if you click on any of the pictures in my blog, they should show you an enlarged version.

What an Imagination!

Alex has a wonderful imagination... I'm not sure if it comes from being an only child or if this is typical of being a five-year-old, but he's actually really good at keeping himself occupied.

One thing he's always loved to do is "fight bad guys". He will have very complex (and noisy) battles by himself where he jumps from one piece of furniture to another, having mighty duels with Star Wars bad guys, or Ben 10 monsters or one of the bad guys from things like Spider-Man or Superman. It's very cute to listen to as he does all of the sound affects for the battle, while he's literally bouncing around the room.

Another fun imagination game is to build forts or playhouses. Sometimes I build him the fort and then he'll spend eons getting it all set up just the way he likes. Other times, he'll build it himself, like he did in our bedroom closet or under his bunk bed.

And the latest craze is dressing up so he's ready for some adventure. He usually will just disappear into his room, and then come out wearing the most incredible outfit - adorable, bizarre, funny, outlandish and oh so priceless. I've managed to grab a picture of some of his latest outfits (usually for some big adventure or for the inevitable... 'for fighting bad guys'.

Winter's Ending

Well it's hard to believe that our first winter (well... half winter) in Ottawa is nearing an end. Alex and I built a cute little snowman in our front yard, but it didn't even last till Chris got home as the temperature starting rising and the snow changed to rain, so our pour little snowman became a lump by the time Chris finished work.

A few days later, it snowed again with nice wet snow that's perfect for making snowballs and snowmen, so Chris and Alex went out to the backyard to make a snowman with Strider running around like a lunatic, chasing snowballs and generally being a typical goofy lab. I was stuck working on the final stages of a big project, so Chris asked me for some suggestions about what to use for the eyes, nose and mouth on the snowman. I told him that Alex and I had used baby carrots for eyes and a small parsnip for a nose, and licorice for the mouth, so Chris raided our fridge and decided to use small baby red potatoes for the eyes and buttons, a parsnip for the nose and licorice for the mouth. They also put a hat on the snowman and gave him arms and had him holding up a broom - the snowman looked adorable and Chris and Alex had fun playing outdoors.




Once they came in to hot chocolate and a warm fire, they left Strider outside to play. That's where the plan derailed a bit. For anyone else with a Labrador retriever, you'll probably be able to guess what happened. These dogs are literally walking garbage disposals - cute, but they will eat just about anything you put before them. So just imagine what Strider did when faced with what he surely saw as his personal buffet in the form of a snowman... he very carefully ate every edible part of the snowman without disturbing anything else.

I looked out a few hours later and our poor snowman was still there, but without the parsnips, licorice and potatoes!

Lesson learned, I guess. *grins*

Another big winter activity we got Alex involved with is skating. It's a bigger deal here in Ottawa as it seems kids are fitted for skates before they can walk, so we're a little behind the typical schedule but Alex seemed to get the hang of skating very quickly. The first time out, he could barely keep his balance but within minutes he could stand up on his own. Now, after only about 4 short practice skates with us in Kingston and Ottawa, Alex went on a field trip with his class to the local arena and got to skate with his class. Chris and I went along to help out, as did many other parents from the class. At first, Alex held onto Chris' hand, but very quickly he was skating on his own towards Chris. It was fun to see him getting comfortable with this new sport, and I truly hope he enjoys it as it will be nice to skate on the canal next winter with him. We had hoped to do that this winter, but they closed all of the outdoor rinks earlier than usual due to the mild weather we've been having in Ottawa.

Here's a few pictures of Alex skating with his class trip.

Earth Hour

Once again this year, I'm planning on having our family participate in Earth Hour - it's a very small thing we can do to learn about climate change and help Alex learn about making responsible decisions for the environment and recycling and conserving energy.



I fully admit that we're probably one of the worst examples of being a "green" family. We are still getting used to the new 'green bin' program that Ottawa initiated in January, and we still make the mistake of throwing out things we could probably recycle - but we are trying to change. I have used local "freecycle" groups for about two years now and have kept quite a few things from being thrown away.

For those who don't know what Earth Hour is, here's the info from their website:

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.


In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. So sign up now and let’s make 2010 the biggest Earth Hour yet!.

It’s Showtime! Show the world what can be done.