MAPLE SYRUP FROM AXE LAKE

Toby, the camp dog - I found his treats in the cupboards Joanne. He is happy now.

Clarence and John - the Master Syrup Makers

Where the magic happens

I think this tree is on Joanne and Mitch's property - just saying...

Mitch is coming in tomorrow so Rejean and I were over at his place getting things ready. John is helping Clarence do his maple syrup on the lake. There are a number of pails hanging off of trees on the road in to Joanne and Mitch's place. I believe one is on their property!!! So I mentioned this to Clarence and John and they have assured me that Joanne will get her share of the golden syrup. John goes around on his 4 wheeler collecting all the sap from the trees and delivering it to Clarence's wood stove. It is quite the setup. A lot of people up here have a maple syrup setup. Maybe next year I'll see if I can get some going. When we bought our property, there was a sugar shack with hoses all set up. But it was in pretty bad shape so we didn't keep it. But it was a good spot so I know where to go - easy access too. Some Cheney Lake Syrup - I like the name.

We had to take our freezer to the dump today - only 6 years old!! The fan was making weird noises and the other day it quit. We called around for replacement parts and were told that the company is now out of business and the parts are practically non-existent. We paid over $900 for that freezer. We managed to stuff all our frozen food into our existing fridges (notice I said fridges) We are using 3 fridges now. One upstairs, the new black one and now our old one. We still have one in the garage that is in use during tourist season. I'll be looking for a brand name smaller freezer now. I hope nothing else goes - it usually comes in 3s. :o(

Jack is coming in tonite - the 3 brothers in law will get to play together. I'll be cooking...

See ya Bye

STUFF

We put the snowmachine away and got the 4 wheelers out. I got to drive the 4 wheelers back to the other property thru the deep snow on the lane way - what a blast. It was easy with Mitch's machine because it is like riding an elephant - it just is so big and powerful that it made it thru the snow like butter. Rejean's was also pretty easy but mine was another story. It is just a 250 with no 4 wheel drive so I had to boot it. Fun!!! We are expecting Mitch this weekend and Jack is also going to try and make it. Let the party begin now!!! Mitch wants to get some work done like some wood splitting and maybe install the new pump. Good Luck. But - we will see what we get done.

See ya Bye

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

The mystery mark that can't be removed right on the front of the fridge.

We had our new fridge delivered today. The truck couldn't get up the lane way to the house. There is a bit of snow left on the road and it has become icy - Rejean had to back his truck down to meet the delivery truck and load the fridge into the back. The 2 guys rode in the back with the fridge. They unloaded it and put it in place. I noticed a mark on the front right door and thought it was dirt. The two guys rode back to their truck with Rejean to sign off on the delivery. In the meantime, I tried to wipe off the mark. It turned out to be a mark that could not be removed - it appears to be a drip mark where the shiny finish is gone - I tried various cleaning products and polish but to no avail. I called Leon's immediately and they indicated that they would order another fridge and replace the damaged door. Good enough for me. No hassle, no questions - just a solution. Great customer service!!!

Can't wait to try it out - instant ice and cold water. Rejean installed pieces of wood around the fridge so that you can't see into the utility room - it appears the fridge is built into the wall. The wood can be removed in case we get another larger fridge. Just the beginning of the bar area.

See Ya Bye

DAY 3

Blah blah blah blah blah...there is only so much you can say about working in the bush doing your fire wood. A lot of people don't have access to stands of trees so they have to purchase their fire wood. They get something called a "bunk" of wood delivered to their property by local loggers who provide this service. Bunks are logs of a certain length, and the people have to cut them to the length that will fit their wood stoves - ours are 16 inches - then they have to be split. Around this time of year, everyone is getting their bunks delivered and you can see the pile of logs on their front lawns or in their laneways. People are hard at work getting their wood done.

We have about 10 cords down so far. We are headed for 15, the number that Rejean says we need. We still have a lot in his wood shed but mine is really depleted. Remember, I have 2 wood stoves in the house that I feed daily. Our next chore is to transport the logs to the other garage where we will split them, then stack them to dry over the summer. Then, in the fall, we will transport them again to the wood sheds by the garage and the house. It is a lot of work but a great feeling when it is finally done. Thank goodness we are still ABLE to do this type of work without killing ourselves...

See Ya Bye

DAY 2

See any images in the logs?

A good fire going

Again, a cold morning but we headed over and got the fire started - we use old cooking oil to get it going - smells real good. Took about 1 hour to really get it going good but it burned all day long and took care of a lot of brush. We took down a couple more trees and the last one of the day we found a bit of sap was starting to run. We just made it!! We both were a little slower than the day before but now that we had all the trees down, we could take our time in cutting and stacking them. No sense killing ourselves.

See ya Bye

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

We finally got to work on the wood yesterday - we were just going to go look at the site and check it out - Rejean brought along the chainsaw, axe and 16' piece of wood (for measuring the logs) so we got a few trees down. I was very happy to see that the sap wasn't running yet in the trees. A few people around here have started their maple syrup so I was a little concerned. If the sap is running, the wood would be wet - a bit hard on the chainsaw and it would take longer to dry.

Today it was -20 when we woke up. Got a good breakfast in us - sausage and egg and toast. I made a sandwich out of mine as I usually do, with my bbq sauce on it. Yum Yum and it kept me from being hungry until lunch time.

My hands were cold at first but once you get going, you warm up fast. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky and it was actually warm on your face. We got a lot done in one day. We started at 10am and worked til 3pm. I didn't want to kill myself the first day out. But I enjoy the hard work - it is my favourite time of year. The snow is perfect - you can walk on top of it without sinking down and by the afternoon, it is like corn snow - very easy to walk on.

What slows us down is the branches. We pile them in a heap and tomorrow, we will light them on fire. Then I will just keep feeding it. It cleans up the area and it doesn't look so messy. Rejean said we got about 5 cords done today so we are on track for the rest of the week. And it is supposed to be nice for the rest of the week - cold at nite and sunny and nice during the day. We should be able to take all the trees down tomorrow, then just work on measuring, cutting, stacking and burning.

No more Kathy Smith workout dvds for me this week. You get a great workout doing the wood. It is both cardio and weights. Some of those logs are mighty heavy - and all the bending and lifting and walking in the snow - that is enough for me ;o)

See ya Bye

GAVE A LITTLE BLOOD TODAY

I downed my 2 bottles of water on the way into town and I think it paid off. Altho I got off to a bad start. You first have to have a bit of blood taken to test your iron level - if it is too low, you can't give that day - it has happened to me before. The nurse pricked my finger on my right hand but nothing came out - I have to say my hands were very cold so maybe that had something to do with it. She gave me a band aid and then pricked the other hand. Finally got enough to test and I passed. I got in to see the nurse where they take your blood pressure and your temperature. My blood pressure was excellent but she took the thermometer out of my mouth too soon for my temperature to register - she tried again and it was a bit low - she tried again but the machine didn't work so she tried a 4th time and it finally registered - normal. I answered all the "sex" questions correctly - they are weird but I can understand why they have to ask them. No, I have never taken money or drugs for sex. No, I have never had sex with a man who has had sex with a man even once. I have not come in contact with monkey saliva.
I finally get to a chair and meet up with Fran, the person who will be in charge of taking my blood. She is very pleasant and explains everything to me. I let her know my previous problems with the procedure. I give her my right arm and she finds my vein and inserts the needle and immediately the blood starts flowing. I can't watch the needle insertion but I can watch the blood coming out - I like to watch it filling the bag. There is something about seeing your own blood that gives me a feeling of satisfaction - I am helping someone else who needs it. I believe in Karma so I believe that when I need blood, it will be there for me. I know I have said it before, it is such a small thing to do that brings such good things. And it can save 3 lives with just one donation.
Thessalon will no longer be holding the blood donor clinics - we will have to go to Blind River for the next one. Not enough donors in Thessalon plus it was getting too expensive to warrent a stop in our town. Just when Clarence was getting the hang of volunteering and baking my favourite chocolate chip cookies. I will miss him and them.
See ya Bye