Thanks to my hubby, I got sugarin' supplies for Christmas! A bucket, several spouts and a book explaining all about the process of extracting maple sap from maple trees and cooking it down. There were several times already this winter/spring when things have warmed up and it seemed like the sap may be running. I was starting to worry about missing the...well, the sap. But then we had another cold snap with our daily highs well below freezing, so I was reassured. Now the weather has turned warmer again. We even let the chickens out to forage in the yard. So, when we woke up this Saturday we thought it might be a good day to start. Bret has a friend at work who also does this and he said he might get started this weekend. Well--I got super excited and dug out all my stuff. I washed everything and since it was sunny and warm(er) so we drilled a hole in our lovely red maple. The book stated that sometimes the sap starts flowing out of the tree before you can get the bucket in place. I was certain this could happen to us! I was prepared with my bucket in hand. Well. No such luck for me! I've gone out to check on the bucket several times. There were some bits of bark in it the first time. An hour later...nothing. I am a little put out.
I had a request for some Christmas pictures and thought others might like to see some of our family Christmas pictures too--even though it's already February! I know--a little late, but family pics are always fun. Above Katie is bonding with cousin Ben and below we are gathering for dessert around the table. It was a real blessing to us to have the opportunity to host the Rempel Christmas gathering! 
