2014/2015

And so December went by and now it is January 2, 2015. December started out mild and stayed that way. Very grey, rain, fog, with an occasional hint of winter. Sounds like a Dutch winter recipe to me.



 Good thing there are lots of lights in and outside to brighten things up

Had the traditional Lucan Christmas parade party here, with Rijsttafel afterwards. 12 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs. A full and happy house.

Then it was back to work for 2 weeks and preparations for the gluten free baking for Christmas, and all the other stuff of "what to serve for breakfast, dinner, snacks, presents, stocking stuffers, etc.


Gluten free since both Maaike and Marjo would be home and the both have Celiac disease. Made the usual gevulde spekulaas and (new triumph in my GF baking) cream puffs. Marjo stayed for a full week, Maaike only for 2 nights. She had nobody to look after her cats and had to leave on Boxing day. We had a good time, lots of talk and just relaxing.


 For some reason our cameras were not used over the Christmas days, so this is all you get. Food pictures. Next time we will do better, we hope.

Tim and Bice wouldn't be Tim and Bice if they wouldn't go for a road trip once the kids were gone and that is what we did. Visited Maaike in Toronto to have a look at her new apartment and have coffee, and to drop off her Christmas presents which were a bit bulky for on the bus. Of course we forgot the presents, so they are still here waiting for her. After that we visited some friends, who are in the finishing stages of building a house (gorgeous) and then on to Bancroft. Rain in the previous days had washed away most of the snow so we were able to drive halfway up to Eagles Nest, and then had to hike the rest. Amazing views.

 After that effort a dinner in the local pub seemed appropriate (calories in and out and all that stuff), and left the next day to go to Huntsville via Algonquin Park. Beautiful drive, and there was actually a bit of snow left in the park. Stopped to look at a piece of land just outside of Huntsville. Beautiful piece, 10 acres, 8 km. outside of town, driveway in to the top where there is a clearing to build a house and garage, healthy trees, but .... facing north, so solar power is not possible (we want to be off the grid), unless you blast the hill to pieces (NO, and I don't think you would get a permit for that anyway), and the driveway was steep once halfway up (20% Grade) and Tim could not see himself plowing this driveway once he reaches the noble age of "old". So after hiking it twice, we decided not to pursue it for now. We do know now that the Huntsville area is our preferred area to live after retirement; Bancroft is not. We also bought some ice cream in Tim's favourite store in Huntsville.



New Year's Eve was spent with our friends Drew and Jan. We had fondue and played Mexican train after that. Now we will just slowly but steadily think about putting all the decorations away and do some general cleaning.