A Feast for Canadians - Week of Oct. 7th

"This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive." ~Alice Waters 

Thanksgiving has been officially celebrated as an annual holiday in Canada since November 6, 1879. While the date varied by year and was not fixed, it was commonly the second Monday in October. On January 31, 1957, the Governor General of Canada Vincent Massey issued a proclamation stating: "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the second Monday in October." 

Cameron's great grandmother, Mary, on his dad's side, is French Canadian. We also have cousins with Canadian lineage so we were excited to officially celebrate by gathering on Saturday.

Friday evening, our household was full of baking activity.  We made mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, gathered fruit and appetizers and made a dessert.  Chris and his son were in charge of Oreo truffles.  This came about because Cam claimed the Oreos were "getting stale" and since there were quite a few left in the package, a truffle recipe seemed to be the appropriate action to take.  After pulverising the Oreos in the food processor and adding cream cheese, they were ceremoniously dipped in dark chocolate.

Saturday was the scheduled day of our Thanksgiving feast.  It was warm enough to be outside for most of the afternoon.  While the turkey and duck baked in the oven, we soaked up the rays on the deck.

Canadian Thanksgiving dishes follow the same format of offerings as in the U.S.  The only exception is poutine.

Poutine, a dish of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy, originated in rural Quebec in the 1950s. It became popular across Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, and is now a symbol of Canadian culture.

It has also become a staple at our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.  We were all completely stuffed by early evening after partaking in all of the delicious food. Our dessert options of pumpkin truffles, Oreo truffles, homemade apple pie and ice cream topped off the meal.

Since the sun has been setting before 8pm, we were fortunate enough to see the colorful sky before heading back to Grand Rapids.  We all agreed we would definitely be having a late breakfast the next morning!

Camology Quotes:

Having technology-minded parents can be beneficial...or not.  Cameron has a school chromebook to use at home for any homework.  When he logged in on Sunday, there was a window indicating that his password was recently changed.  He was on full alert...

"Dad, I've been hacked!  I did not change my password.  We need to contact the school IT department immediately!" "Mom, I need you to send a picture of my screen to my teachers!"

Fall Baseball Finale - Week of Sept. 30th

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~Albert Camus

"Autumn...the year's last loveliest smile." ~William Cullen

It didn't seem possible that we were welcoming October already!  We were happy to see a beautiful sunrise one morning predicting a beautiful day ahead.  The weather has been unseasonably mild.

Cam continues to work with his physical and occupational therapists two times a week at Mary Free Bed.  Jane typically picks him up from school about 20 minutes early.  The appointments are one after the other and the duo arrive home at dinnertime.  Cameron is making steady progress and looks forward to seeing the PTs and OTs.  He is fortunate to be able to do his physical therapy in the solarium area where the sun shines in.

On Friday, Amanda was scheduled to hang out with her buddy.  As a kindergarten teacher, Ms. Amanda looks forward to her time with Cam after being with the much younger kiddos all week.  She and Cameron dined on Qdoba and Cam showed off his OT skills holding his quesadilla on his own.  Chris and Jane enjoyed an evening out.

Saturday marked the final West Michigan Miracle League game for the fall season.  At every last match up, each kid receives a medal for their efforts.  Once again, the weather was favorable!  The volunteers were from our local Cornerstone University women's softball team.  We appreciate all of the volunteers who arrive at 9:30am and remain until the last game ends after 1pm.  

Coach Tom, from Cam's MFB Power Soccer Team, was in attendance to see one of the WMML games for himself.  He had never been to the Nate Hurwitz field and very impressed.  After the medal ceremony, Chris wore Brody's medal since he couldn't attend the game.  Cameron wanted to be certain it would be given to his best friend so he kept joking with his dad to take it off.  

Following the game, we attempted to stop at the Robinette's apple orchard.  The line looked to be a half mile long and there were even parking attendants directing traffic. We decided to forgo that visit.  Instead, Cam and his mom ventured out to our local Heidi's Farmstand to pick up some caramel apples, homemade baked bread and farm fresh vegetables.

Sunday was a relaxing day at home for us.  We were happy to welcome our cousins in the late afternoon to visit and play for awhile.  Besides Cameron's vast array of toys to choose from, the younger cousins love watching the squirrels in our backyard.  The funny animals typically chase each other all around the yard.  The best part of the day was seeing all three of them equally excited to see each other!

Camology Quotes:

Cam wakes up at 6:10am every weekday morning. Some days he is more awake than others.  He usually greets his parents with a sleepy voice.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Weatherford!"

"Oh, you're being funny this morning..."

"No, I'm just being formal" 🤭