Poppie's apprentice

Brynne gets a bird's eye view and first cooking lesson from Poppie on how to cook a delicious bacon & egg breakfast.... naturally, she required her very own spatula.

Brynne's 1st Christmas - quick clip

Andy filmed and edited this short clip.

Christmas images 2010

Age old truth

The wonder of Christmas is best seen through the eyes of a child.

Guess who's coming to Nana & Poppie's house for Christmas?

just three more sleeps to go!!

Christmas Chandelier

Andy threaded each of these ornaments with fishing line and passed them to me; I then suspended each of them from the dining room chandelier to add a little extra festive cheer. In keeping with our family tradition, the Christmas tree will remain ornament free until the kids arrive. It's mom and dad's job to put the tree up and affix the lights; the kid decorate the tree ... even if that means waiting until December 23rd this year ... no messing with Christmas traditions!!

Mmmm.... Butter Tarts

My mom and I made butter tarts today: 53 of them, to be precise. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't love a butter tart, have you? Butter tarts are the quintessential Canadian dessert. In fact, as Canadian writer and icon Peter Gzowski said: “They're part of who we are.” From the research I've done, the butter tart's history traces back to the arrival of the filles de marier (marriageable girls) who emigrated from France to Canada in the mid-1600s. The imported brides had to improvise with whatever they could find, ie: maple syrup or sugar, farm-fresh butter and raisins. Butter tarts soon became a staple of pioneer Canadian cooking, and they remain to be identified as a Canadian pastry. In fact, did you know the butter tart is considered one of only a few recipes of genuinely Canadian origin?

P.S. My mom brought these tart liners over today. Because I am not a big pastry person (my mom mixed this batch of pastry up from scratch), I had no idea these liners existed ... but I can tell you they make for easy clean up!! Just line them up on a cookie sheet and away you go!

Norman is rockin' the Santa suit!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The countdown is on ... just 8 more sleeps until we Rachel, Tyler and Brynne come home!