Thursday, April 28, 2011

it's time

I took this picture a few weeks ago and now it's time to post it. Our great friend, Danny, has pulled out all the stops and this huge celebration is about to take place. His band has arrived from Germany and things seem to be humming along. We're all pretty excited!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

got it!

My "Mennonite Girls Can Cook" cookbook came in the mail yesterday. It looks amazing! Of course it's full of wonderful recipes but the real goodness comes from all the personal anecdotes written by the ten women who contributed to this treasury and knowing that all author royalties will be donated to charity to help feed hungry children.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

the rise continues

The flood is nowhere close to being over. The crest is on its way and should reach Winnipeg any day now. In the meantime communities such as Morris, where we were visiting family on Sunday, are on alert and prepared to deal with the rising water. There are currently 1954 people evacuated from their homes in southern Manitoba.
The whole town is surrounded by water. The US border is 40 km south of Morris.
There are many "islands" of farms and homes.
This is looking east across the freeway which heads north. As you can see it's completely under water.
The dike at the north end of town is already closed. This is the south end and they are ready to close it up at a moment's notice.
The Morris River plays its part in adding water to this already dire situation.
This is the bridge into Morris. Our brother-in-law, Ron, who lives in town said that in 1997 the water covered the rails on the bridge and people were boating over it! The wind was fierce, creating 3 foot waves which were splashing over the dike.
Just where it goes.....nobody knows.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

HE is risen - HE is risen indeed!

Christ the Lord is risen today
Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say:
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high
Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav'ns, and earth reply
Alleluia!

- Charles Wesley -

Friday, April 22, 2011

sugaring off

Last week Howard and I took a bit of time (between grad banquets and ceremonies) to enjoy the Sugaring Off Festival in town. All the trees around the museum and many in town have been tapped and the sap has continued to run due to the unusually cool weather we've been having this spring. We learned last weekend that once it warms up the sap will stop running. Never knew that before. After a hearty Voyageur breakfast of eggs, fried ham, pancakes, and bread we made our rounds.
Home spun wool with hand made items.
The taffy pouring on the snow. Fortunately it had snowed the night before otherwise this process would have been a bit more difficult.

The original homemade product from our little village. I also learned last weekend that the longer the sap is boiled the darker the maple syrup gets. This is maple syrup in its purest form.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

back at it

Subbing was a bit slow last week which gave me time to get a small project finished up. I will post some "completed" pictures once the project has been delivered.