Maple Syrup!!!!

We did it!!! We actually made maple syrup from our big leaf maples in out back yard. Our 4 gallons of maple water boiled down to about 10 ounces of maple syrup. Our maple syrup has some sugar crystals that settled on the bottom of the jars. I'm not exactly sure how to filter them out, but a friend told me not to get rid of them. So for now I think we will just pour the syrup off the top trying not to disturb those crystals too much. Oh - and it taste so good!

Boiling down.

The end result.

See how the sugar crystals settled?

Maple Syrup in the Making...

A few recent events brought us to this point. It may have all started when I decided to do a 30-day no sugar challenge, dropping all processed sugar and using instead only honey and maple syrup. And for those of you who know me, you know I have a huge sweet tooth, so this is a big deal! A friend who came back from her family farm bearing a jar of homemade maple syrup could have given me a big push. And my husband showing up with 10 taps on loan from a co-worker through me right over the edge. We ARE making our own maple syrup!! Our first attempt at tapping the tree didn't go so well. We put two taps in and nothing. Waited another day, then two and still nothing. It was time to move on down the hill. For those of you in the know, we have 2 acres of land. Nearly 1 1/2 acres of it lay in what we like to call "the canyon." It's steep, and wet, oh and did I mention - steep? Yea. So down we hiked. We put all 10 taps in 3 trees and the maple water just started flowing. It was like magic! We left them alone for a few hours and came back later to find most of the buckets full!! I'm guessing we collected nearly 3 gallons of maple water in only 4 hours. All I know is that my gallon jug couldn't hold it all in one trip down so we had to take 3. Did I mention how steep the canyon is? We are going to see what turns up in the buckets tomorrow and then attempt to boil it all down and make us some syrup. So come back and check on our progress!

My big helper carrying the empty jug down the canyon.

The taps!

My first full jug of maple water!

More Snow Stuff...

Not only have I been working away on some of the projects on my list, but I also found a few minutes to clean out my fabric stash today. It was getting pretty messy in there and full of small scraps that should be in the scrap box. So I pulled everything out, re-folded and organized by color. Ahhhh....much better!

Snow Day Peasant Dress

I was expecting to be snowed in for a few days and so I lined up a few projects to work on. I saw this long-sleeve peasant dress from the Prudent Baby and had to make one for Sage. Seriously - it was so easy! And it turned out really cute. The fabric is some really lightweight corduroy from JoAnns. I think I'm going to make a few more of these - maybe with 3/4 sleeves for spring.

Mini-mochi Scarf

This little scarf just came off my needles last night. I love that it's not too long and I love, love the bright yellow color! Perfect to brighten up a winter day and light enough to wear in the spring. Oh - and - how do you like my new glasses? I am loving them! We are getting ready for a big snow storm here so I'm all stocked up on sewing and knitting projects. I'm hoping to hunker down and get lots done including a birthday present for a special little girl, a new dress for Sage, a knitting bag for me and some prairie boots on the needles! Come on SNOW!!!

Starburst Mirror

I've been waiting to show you all this project since August. Yes, August. I was inspired to make my own starburst mirror when I saw several in Pintrest (who knew??). And so way back in August I got the shims and started this little project. It didn't take much time at all to glue the shims down. I spent a few weeks deciding what color to paint and also to find a mirror that would look good with it. I finally found a mirror at Target and decided to go with a bright yellow paint. It was probably close to the end of September, maybe even early October when I finally got around to painting. And then I needed to enlist the help of my husband. Since I planned to hang this mirror over our bed, I knew he'd want a say in what to use to hang it up with. Because, you know, who wants a mirror to fall on their head while sleeping?? So my husband kindly helped by drilling some holes through the shims and base and threading some wire through before gluing the mirror on. But really the hold up was hanging this dang thing. Seriously, it's been laying on the floor in my bedroom for at least 3 weeks. Every now and then I'd give my hubby these sad puppy dog eyes and ask him to help me hang it. And finally, finally, it happened!! I LOVE it. I love to pop of bright color in our gray and white bedroom. What do you think??

November - A Month of Thankfulness

I've told you all about my obsession with Pintrest, right? Well I got this great idea while I was pining around and I knew that I wanted to make it on November 1st. And here we are. So today I went outside (it's sunny and crisp here!) collected some branches from the yard, cleaned up some of the Halloween decorations and put together my Thankful Tree. The idea is to have everyone write down something that they are thankful for everyday (guest are included, so beware if you come over!). Then on Thanksgiving, I'd like to gather up all the little tags hanging on the Thankful Tree and read them aloud. Does anyone else have a special way to celebrate their thankfulness? I'm hoping to make this a tradition at our house.