Palmpasentok

I have been researching Dutch traditions, culture, and foods. This one caught my attention. It is very timely, given that Sunday is Palm Sunday.

In parts of the Netherlands, children would build a Palmpasentok. They paraded with them, then gifted them to the elderly.

The cross represents the Crucifixion. 
The green and yellow streamers; spring, the season of renewal and new life.
The green twig, resurrection. 
The bread rooster, the rooster that crowed three times when Peter denied Jesus.
The bread, symbolizes the Body of Christ shared at the Last Supper.

The twelve chocolates, the twelve disciples.
The thirty raisins refer to the thirty pieces of silver, paid to Judas who betrayed Jesus.

If this was a tradition in the area of Holland where my parents grew up, they did not, to my recollection, continue the tradition in Canada.

Personally, I love this tradition and plan to bring it anew.

It’s Maple Sugar Time!

It’s maple syrup time again. Due to covid19, we will be celebrating a little differently this year. So I like to share some photos from a couple of years ago that have made me homesick for the better days to come. Soon. I hope.

Horse and buggy were the vehicles of the day, taking us from a neighbouring parking lot to the Sweetwater Harvest Festival at the Wye Marsh.

Watching pancake mix being poured onto hot grills.

Eating those pancakes, soaked in newly boiled maple syrup.

Rolled onto a stick, then into my mouth.

We are really looking forward to experiencing this again, next year!

Snowshoe Trails…..

After snowshoeing in our beautiful Simcoe County Forest for so many days, I think it is time for us to hang up our snowshoes and start thinking about spring.

Snowshoeing with family, and friends. Busting new trails and traveling on those well groomed.

Midnight strolls, and sharing our tracks with wildlife.

Our snow trails have seen better days.
They gave us joy, in so many ways.
Stomping through,
Knee deep snow.
Tracks grew,
Wherever we would go.
Until a maze of twisty trails,
Cured all of winter's ails.

Until next winter, when we will meet again!

The Return of the Trumpeter Swan

It was such an amazing feeling, standing on a dock, in the midst of the crisp, white beauty of 50 or more, Trumpeter Swans!

A great sign that winter is almost over is the arrival, to our area, of the magnificent Trumpeter Swan. Last evening, a friend shared with us that a large flock of these beautiful creatures had landed on a small beach in the little town of Washago.

Today, we went on a road trip to this wonderful, little spot.

We met a lovely couple who shared that they have been stopping by, a couple of times a week, with a bucket of corn, for the swans, and for the ducks.

Strange Sights and Sounds

Different shades of brown, and a stand-on-
guard lawn chair.

It was a rainy Sunday in February. The last day in February to be exact. February 28th, not February 29th, as this year is not a leap year.

Some of the sights that we seen, and the things that we witnessed, were just a little bit out of the ordinary.

It might have had something to do with the gloominess of the day. The grayness of the sky. The old dirt on the snow.

Or the strange, frozen mist that covered the world this morning.

Strange faces found along the side of the road.

Graveyards; for old barns, and old Christmas trees.

Icebergs, not as big as those in the Atlantic Ocean, but Icebergs none the less.

Daytripping during Covid19.

Chili Cheese Dogs and Crispy Chips

Phelpston Roadhouse chili cheese dog, and crispy chips.

Today, I joined Corner Gas’s Brent Butt and enjoyed a very messy, but delicious, chili cheese dog.

A well done hot dog on a white bun; smothered in hot chili and melty cheddar cheese. It was quite messy to manage, which added greatly to the fun of eating it.

This answered my question as to why, while watching Corner Gas, Brent was always so careful when handling his favourite treat. I don’t know that I’ve seen a single episode of Corner Gas where the chili cheese dog wasn’t visible, or at least mentioned.

As much as I enjoyed this delectable treat, I don’t see it becoming a regular item in my diet. I will leave this delicious food for the Brent Leroy’s of the world.

The chips, however, I will enjoy again. Light, crispy, crunchy, no salt, no grease.

Thank-you Phelpston Roadhouse for opening your doors, presently take-out only, in our little town. I can’t wait for Covid19 to remove it’s ugly face so that we can enjoy a sit down meal in this new establishment.

And just maybe, Brent Butt will stop by and claim that this little chili cheese dog rivals that of Dog River; As the ‘Best Chili Cheese Dog’ in all of Canada!

Flowers in the Snow

Snow flower, Snow flower 
Where are your wings?
You sit up so delicate, and so regal.
Patiently, waiting for spring.

Tall and jagged,
Knot holes and fringe. 
Sticks, and old trees
Old beauty you bring.

Fresh green whimsy, 
And raspberry twigs.
Covering the snow,
Sparkling with bling.

Tucked in a triangle 
So beautifully framed.
Old wood, and new blossoms,
Cover the earth again.

Snow flower, Snow flower
Where are your wings?
You sit up so delicate and so regal,
Patiently, waiting for spring.

Cedar Tea, for the Boost of Vitamin C

Cedar tea is packed with vitamin C. Perfect for cold and flu season; but like most good foods, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Recommendation is no more than 3 cups per week. So I will be sharing this batch.

The Bible describes the cedar tree as strong and durable; Isaiah 9:10 ‘we will replace them with cedar.’

Graceful and beautiful; Psalm 80:10 ‘the mighty cedar with it’s branches.’

High and tall; Ezekiel 17:22 ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from it’s topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain….. 17:23 it will bear fruit and become a splendid cedar.’

Indigenous tradition holds the cedar as a sacred tree, used to purify homes, sweat-lodge ceremonies, and for medicinal purposes.

This tea is simple to make, and quite delicious. I brought four cups of water to a boil, then added two cups of fresh cedar. I allowed this to boil for about ten minutes and then added some dried elderberries, just for fun. A golden cup of deliciousness!

Today, when I pruned back some of it’s branches, I thanked the cedar tree for it’s bounty.

Vitamin C from our cedar tree. Vitamin D from today’s bright sunshine. It’s been a perfect winter day.

My Comfy, Comfy, Couch.

The laughter, the tears, the joys, the fears

It's a comfy, comfy couch.
Not the couch from the Big Blue Couch.
But it's a comfy, comfy couch.
It has seen laughter, it has seen tears, it has seen joy, and it has seen fears.
It has heard many, many stories over the years.
Stories from small children, teenagers and young adult souls.
Old folks, young folks, grandparents and babies.

People have sat upon it, jumped upon it, played upon it, and slept upon it.

Oh the stories that are held by each broken thread.
The saggy old pillows that held so many a head.
Babies, children, adults and little puppy dogs.
Oh the stories in the springs that go pop, pop, and squeak. 
If only they could think, share and speak.
The stories are too many, too precious, too great.
So instead of replacing it, it got a remake.
The pillows refluffed, the breaks restitched.
And now it's covered in colours so rich.
Colours as rich as each memory.
Each story, each step, that watched us all grow.
Are now covered with a colourful, delightful, comfy throw.
The pillows have been slipped into hues of gold, treasuring every memory that they hold.

The laughter, the tears, the joys, the fears.

So if you have shared this couch with me, know that you are cherished for the memory you did leave.