Winter Fun at Island Lake Conservation Area

  

The husband hasn't skated in about 25 years. I thought he didn't like to skate - or at least that's how I remembered it after all these years, but it turns out his old skates were uncomfortable so he never went. We fixed that problem on Saturday by buying him new skates and on Monday we went to try them out. 

I don't like to skate indoors because of all the nasty smells so I did some Googling to find outdoor skating in our area. We decided to go to Island Lake Conservation Area near Orangeville, Ontario. It turned out to be so much more than just skating and was a great choice.

There was a skating area on a pond for hockey and one out on the lake for pleasure skating. I guess skating is like riding a bike because the husband did well once he got going. It was a cold day (-15C), but no wind so we actually warmed up while we were skating and walking around and even had to take our mitts off. 

  

There were about 40 ice huts on the lake and a fishing derby for the kids. I have seen fishing huts lots of times at the cottage, but never up this close. I looked inside one of the huts (well two, but one of them had people inside looking back at me - gulp). I figured you like interiors as much as I do so I even took a picture of the inside of one. They are a little plain inside and could do with some decorating. In addition to all the ice fishing huts, there were lots of holes in the ice and even a clever contraption to cover the hole and allow access to it.

  

Other activities for the kids included making snow art using paint and bird seeds and minnow races. These were both new activities to me. The snow art would have been something I would have done with my own kids if I had thought of it when they were young, but the minnow races ... well, let's just say the minnows looked a little hypothermic and the rain gutters were freezing over and leave it at that. There were also snow shoe rentals and plenty of trails through the woods to use them on and there were campfires to cook marshmallows and hot dogs. 

Island Lake was a great place to get out and enjoy winter. I'm on the lookout for some more outdoor skating rinks now that we've established that the husband likes to skate.

   

Winter Mantel and Sideboard

I've been doing a lot of helping kids pack recently.  Well not really pack - they are old enough to do that for themselves, but more discuss what to take and what not to forget. 

William is back in Winnipeg and started classes again yesterday.  Kate is off to the University of Bath in the United Kingdom for a term, but is first going to Paris for a couple of weeks, then to Amsterdam for a few days and finally to London for a few days.  She also hopes to visit Spain over the Easter break.  There was much deliberation over what clothes to take that would work for winter, spring, and even summery weather.  She took a small backpack for her computer and books and a wheeling bag that was half filled with her sleeping bag and the rest with her clothes.  She actually had room to spare which was the goal as she will want to bring things back with her.   

I decided to draw Kate's packing list as a good sketching exercise and a little reminder in years to come of what she took.  

The last few days have been wickedly cold and there was some snow yesterday which caused Kate's flight to be delayed by 12 hours resulting in her missing the connecting train from London to Paris.  Sigh.  I will be glad when we hear that she has finally arrived in Paris.

With all the Christmas decorations down, it was time to decorate the mantel and sideboard for winter. 

I went with simple and natural for the mantel this year.  I kept the paper star and the foil birds I made before Christmas and added some pottery jugs, candles, a few things we have collected from over the years from various walks, and a plant.  The plant was growing in our front garden all summer and I couldn't bear for it to be killed by the frost so I dug it up in the fall and put it in the brown pot and it has thrived (or at least not died and that counts for something).  I like all the soft browns and grays and silvers - they are very restful.

The sideboard is a little brighter than the mantel since I kept the red and orange snowflake runner as the base.  It seemed natural then to decorate with golds, bronzes, oranges and reds.  We still have a few seasonal plants around so they got added to the sideboard along with the carved oranges.  I kept the bronze candlesticks and pine cones along the back.  I love the look of the sideboard with the candles lit during dinner.

And last, but not least, I want to thank all of you for your kind words regarding my father.  I am just now getting myself in gear and replying to you, but I want you to know that your support has meant a lot to me.

Robbie Burns Day

Happy Robbie Burns Day!  Did you know that people all over the world celebrate Scotland's national poet Robert Burns' birthday every year with a special supper.  I've always wanted to go to one and this year I got my chance as our friend's Kim and Paul invited us to one that they attend.
It was a wonderful evening with lots of great food, friendly, intelligent people, and talented speakers and singers.
Many people were wearing their family tartans.  Here Kim and I are in our competing plaid scarves.

And some men were wearing kilts.

Jonathan had (appropriately enough), just arrived home from Edinburgh seven hours earlier.  He did so well to wine and dine despite the jet lag.

The setting was perfect - a pub in Toronto decorated with Highland regiments on the walls and a cozy atmosphere.

The evening started with Burns' traditional Selkirk Grace.

After grace, the bagpiper processed in followed by the haggis (you can just see part of the white plate to the left of the bagpiper.  Unfortunately I wasn't very adept at using my husband's camera and I didn't get good pictures of the bagpiper.)

There was the ceremonial cutting of the haggis,

followed by dinner.

Haggis really falls in the category of unusual foods.  Here's how it is described in Wikipedia:

Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casingrather than an actual stomach.

Naturally I chose to have haggis for dinner since it is the traditional food served at a Burns' Supper (and I have a burning curiosity that makes me want to eat strange and unusual food).  The haggis was served with neeps (turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes) and gravy.  I've always wanted to try haggis and fortunately I thought it tasted fantastic - rather like a mushy sausage.  It was definitely a dinner you didn't need teeth to eat.

I had some delicious sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

Some people had athol brose, which is a Scottish drink made into a dessert with oats at the bottom and fruit on top.

Dinner was followed by recitations of Burns' poems (including an amazing rendition of Tam o'Shanter), toasts, and music.  It was so much fun - we enjoyed the evening immensely (many thanks Kim and Paul). 

Have you ever been to a Burn's Supper?  Would you be adventuresome enough to eat haggis?