2020 in Review

I think we are all wishing for a healthy society.

JANUARY

In January, it was life as usual for most of us. We were contemplating the New Years resolutions we made, and deciding whether or not we would keep them. We were complaining about the weather, while, at the same time, being amazed by the beauty of winter in Canada.

For a select few, the word coronavirus had entered their vocabulary.

FEBRUARY

Times they are a changing. I’ve handed in my Date of Retirement letter.

We were able to spend two wonderful weeks with out little granddaughter as our children traveled. Life goes on as normal. The world as we know it, is a safe place.

MARCH

And we are in a global pandemic, lockdown happens and the parking lots are empty.

The World Health Organization has declared the Coronavirus, which surfaced in China, a global pandemic.

Coronavirus quickly becomes a part of everyone’s vocabulary, our world as we know it basically stops. While some of us start working from home, others stop working.

Kids start experiencing school from home, and suddenly get to spend a lot more time with mom and dad.

Playgrounds are roped off, but the forest is not.

A new chapter in our lives is being written. And we are the author. How this chapter is written will be personal for each of us. A personal journey of solitude and isolation. It is a time for deep self-reflection. A time to discover our strengths, and our weaknesses, and our supports. MT

APRIL

On my bucket list. Read the Bible. The Book of John, perfect when spending Easter in isolation.

Not since the Spanish Flu, in 1918, has the world come to such a stop, parks are closed, the malls are closed, all but essential services are closed. Gas is cheap, but we have nowhere to go.

MAY

A smooth, robust bottle of red wine, fine chocolate, and a good book, with jazzy blues playing in the background perfectly describes my first day of retirement.

A Polar Vortex blasts through Ontario with cold winds and streamers of white, wintery snow.

Freshly retired, and with the world closed, I decided to explore the foods the earth provides us. Leek, dandelions, spruce tips, etc., etc. etc.

JUNE

June brought racial discrimination and white privilege to the fore front. With the unnecessary death of a black person in the United States, colour has brought out a lot of ugliness in today’s society. It has also stirred up a huge desire for positive change in the hearts of many people.

JULY

Our usual small town Canada Day celebrations included a BBQ, and fireworks. This year, instead of the normal events, our wonderful volunteer firemen drove through town playing ‘O Canada’. Love small towns.

July also came with a flattening of the Covid19 curve which allowed for a bit of freedom of movement.

One of my favourite outings, the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit with my daughter.

AUGUST

The dragonfly and the butterfly symbolize the people we are and the work we have done.

In August the curve continues to flatten and social/physically distancing numbers allow for some social events. It was nice seeing old co-workers, some friends, and some family.

SEPTEMBER

Garlic cloves under a warm bed of straw.

With a lumber shortage, my intended 8X4 garden bed, became a 5X10 garden bed for the same price Spending so much time at home has kick started my desire to become more self sufficient. Next year, Chickens!

OCTOBER

We still took our annual Thanksgiving walk to the river. Only three of us though.

Thanksgiving was a little difficult this year. We usually host my husband’s family for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and walk to the river. Like everyone else’s, our gathering was much smaller this year, but we are still very grateful.

NOVEMBER

The white crosses bear the names of ‘The Vespra Boy’s who gave their lives in World War 1. Before Covid19 restrictions, local high school students identified each of these brave, young men

DECEMBER

Another difficult month for everyone, made easier for everyone with little events like vitual gingerbread house building.

And researching old Dutch traditions, like the history behind the infamous chocolate letter.

Another tradition, for 2020/2021 anyway, are ZOOM meetings. For Church Services, for Coffeehouses, and for staying in touch with family and friends.

Just nine months after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic, the first Canadian was injected with the Covid19 vaccine. Ontario is once again in lock-down.

I am very much looking forward to seeing what our new normal brings.

Photos from the Back Deck

From a green Christmas Eve to knee deep in snow on Boxing Day, you need to love winter in Southern Ontario.

I’m thinking that God made the snow so beautiful so that we will automatically give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us as we shovel and plow our decks and drives to travel roads that are mostly white.

Giving thanks for the beauty of our wonderful world of wintertime.

Photos taken from the back deck.

Gingerbread Houses

With a little bit of pine from the forest, and a chubby, little snow man!

I learnt how to make icing today. Before, I would make icing by mixing icing sugar with some water and a bit of vanilla, and giving it a stir. This liquidy mass would then be poured over a cake, with the creamy white mixture flowing over the cake and gently dripping down its sides.

Today, with recipe in hand; it came with the gingerbread house kit, I found that by whipping the icing sugar, water and vanilla for about ten minutes, I could create a mixture that would form soft peaks and hold together walls of gingerbread.

Perfect for building houses. Perfect for creating icicles. Perfect for constructing snowmen and attaching candy to walls. Candy walls, the likes of such not seen since the building of the cabin Hansel and Gretel stumbled upon on that fateful day they journeyed together into the forest.

My daughters’ tradition of building gingerbread houses, together every Christmas, started years ago. While getting together virtually is not quite like everyone being in a same room, today was a whole lot of fun.

Coming in from three province, beautiful houses were created. My husband and son were the site supervisors and consultants. Our beautiful, little granddaughter was the chief sprinkle distributor.

While Hansel and Gretel’s encounter with that candy coated little cabin was not a pleasant ordeal, our gingerbread houses were a delight to build, and decorate, and with be even more fun to take apart!!!!!

Gingerbread houses, and the tradition continues!!!!!

Walking with a Camera

The benefits of walking with a camera are the endless pictures just waiting to be taken.

The draw back is that it’s much harder to get a good walk in.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. How lovely are thy branches!

This is when you know the coyotes are dining elsewhere.

The wood was full of rabbit holes; and in the neatest, sandiest hole of all lived Benjamin’s aunt and his cousins Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter – This is the family’s winter getaway.

Chocolate Letters, a Dutch Tradition

I remember when, as a child, Sinterklaas would drop by every year on December 5th. In the weeks prior to this date, we would excitedly watch the windows for Peek-a-boo. Peek-a-poo, the mysterious little elf who spied on us children, deciding who was naughty and who was nice. I’m thinking that maybe our little Peek-a-boo was the precursor to today’s Elf on the Shelf.

Somewhere along the line, our December 5th tradition ended and Santa Claus began showing up at our home on Christmas Day.

Earlier this fall, my daughter found an article about another Dutch tradition; the Chocolate Letter. The Chocolate Letter, available in dark, milk, and white chocolate.

I remember Sinterklaas leaving unwrapped gifts. A small pile for each child, topped with a bowl of candies containing the name of the child. Later, the slip of paper was replaced with a Chocolate Letter.

Still Life with Letter Pastries – Peter Binoit.

According to history, receiving letters at Christmas dates back centuries with the original letters being made of pastry. Before gift wrap, parents would cover the gifts with a sheet marking each child’s spot with a pastry in the shape of their initial.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the Dutch chocolate industry began to make letters in chocolate.

During World War 11, supply shortages meant no chocolate and for a period of time the letters were made of gingerbread.

My first attempt at making Almond Pastry Letters.

I’m thinking it’s time to reintroduce some of these Dutch traditions back into ours lives. While the Chocolate Letter has always been a part of our Christmas tradition, I think that next year, on December 5th, I’ll be delivering Almond Pastry Letters to some special people.

Chocolate Letters, in dark, milk and white chocolate.

When the Snow Stops Falling

When the snow stops falling, and the sun comes out.

A Winter Wonderland

Even without sunshine, there is a sparkle in the snow……

From Woods to Wreaths

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas.

When you don’t want to go shopping, but you want to turn your home into a winter wonderland for when your children will all, hopefully, be home for Christmas, the best thing to do is to venture out into the forest with a pair of sharp clippers.

Experimenting with the art of wreath making first happened many years ago on a crispy, late fall day when a friend of mine and I thought that snipping evergreen branches, wiring these onto frames, then decorating them with various Christmas ornaments would be a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. And it was.

Christmas Wreaths are constructed of evergreen boughs to represent everlasting life brought through Jesus. The circular shape of the wreath represents God, with no beginning and no end.

Since those earliest wreath making days, I’ve built wreaths with friends at commercial garden centers, and for the past couple of years with others at a friend’s tree farm. As much as I enjoyed these outings, there is nothing quite like venturing out into your own forest, with a sharp pair of clippers.

I am being hopeful that we will all be together to celebrate Christmas this year.

If not, may my little winter wonderland bring joy to those passing by during these very strange times.

Sometimes it’s better to bring the decor to the forest.

Remembrance Day, 2020

Each white cross bears the name of a young man who sacrificed so much during the First World War.

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Fermented Cabbage = Saurkraut

Saurkraut- Three for others, two for us.

Years ago, my husband and I went to visit his old Uncle Eldie. The visit must have taken place in the fall of the year as the conversation quickly turned to the production of saurkraut.

On returning home, we proceeded to slice, pound and salt some heads of fresh, green cabbage. Once arranged, we allowed the crock pot a special spot in our apartment.

In a few weeks a very, unfriendly smell permeated the rooms of our home. Upon realizing the source of the offending odour, into the garbage went the fermenting cabbage. A quick phone call went out to Uncle Eldie requesting clearer instructions for his age old recipe. The old uncle laughed quietly and shared that the ominous odour was a necessary part of the fermentation process.

Our second attempt proved successful. The crock full of cabbage became a crunchy saurkraut, with a taste that my husband loves but can’t find adequate words to discribe.

In the move, to the home in which we continue to live, our old crock pot cracked. Life got busy, and the thought of making saurkraut got lost along the way.

The jar on the left is raw saurkraut that will continue to ferment in our refrigerator. The jar on the left recieved a hot water bath, the missing half jar topped sausage on a bun, with mustard.

This fall, with a crock borrowed from a friend, we once again set out to ferment some cabbage. Having forgotten some of Eldie’s teachings, the cabbage was sliced not quite thin enough, and the pounding was neglected. Still, fermentation took place. Just a couple of extra weeks were necessary for that perfect batch of saurkraut to happen.

Not yet comfortable with my fermenting skills, most of this batch recieved a hot water bath. A Mason jar of raw saurkraut will continue to ferment in our refrigerator. If all goes well, next year at this time we my need a second fridge.