Yesterday morning while I was out with Beth and Christina finding treasures at the local garage sales, Keith helped our neighbors take down the buckets after another spring of tapping trees.

This spring was the first time I've ever seen the whole maple syrup process - from tree to bottle. Several evenings over the last few weeks, Keith and I would go walk down to the sugar shack and shoot the breeze while the men stirred the boiling sap. Here are a few pics of what we did.

The sugar shack sits a little ways off the road. Hundreds of maple trees surround the shack and each one is loaded with at least one bucket. When the days are warm and the nights are still below freezing the sap begins to run. The wind has to come from the east and the buds can't begin to form on the trees or else there won't be a good flow. 

The sap gets poured into a huge tub in the back of the shack, then after it is filtered it runs into the tubs on the top of the wood burning stove. As the density level in the sap rises the sap pushes its way through the maze until it reaches the last bend. When it reaches the right temperature it is drained into a bucket and poured into another filter.

Now the syrup is ready to be poured into the plastic bottles for sale. Up on a shelf in the back I noticed the old metal tins from years ago....this family has been carrying on the heritage for over a hundred years.

Keith and I have enjoyed sharing this time with the neighbors and after we saw all the work that went into it, we know why pure maple syrup costs $30-$50 a gallon. Believe me, that's cheap!

However, there is nothing like a good meal of french toast with a little cinnamon and maple syrup! Bring it on.

So I am an interior decorator at heart. And yes, I love HGTV. Not all of it, but the decorating shows definitely attract my attention.

Mind you, we don't even get one channel at our house, but once in a great while at the gym or the neighbors I'll get a chance to glean a little more decorating wisdom off their screen. :o)

Sunday night's show was a little more fascinating than usual. It featured the largest kitchen and bath show in the country.

Did you know that you can now install oven fans that expand over your cooking space and then fold up when you don't want them? Or how about a shower that you simply set the temperature you want (for each of the 6+ shower heads). Wouldn't that be nice when Keith wants to jump in with me. I think I generally scald him with my water. Or what about the fridge that emails you when it has a problem like a door left open, high humidity levels, etc. And then there is the new stove that with some kind of infrared sensor will cook your food for you (what fun is that?). But if healthy is your goal, the new steam oven cooks most food super healthy in under 30 min.

Keith's favorite was the new Kenmore freezers that not only give cubed and crushed ice, they now also have a shaved ice option. Talk about easy fruit smoothies and Italian ice.

So maybe I'll never have a kitchen with all of this, but won't it be weird when our kids can't remember the days before wireless refrigerators?

So my husband is hooked on skiing now.

Our neighbor is a ski instructor up at Gore and offered to take us two for the day - it would only cost $10 for rentals. Not bad for a day of fun. I skied a little in high school due to the CFA deal (thanks again to those that worked that out!), but Keith had barely ever heard of the sport. :o)

However, there are benefits to marrying an athletic man. Within 45 minutes, he was ready to head up the gondola to the top. We ended up having a blast together.

But even better, on Saturday we spent the day in Glen Falls and found a ski shop with incredible deals on skis...and got some for next year. I am ready for winter again. :o)