7Up Cake
7Up Cake
This is a deliciously easy cake recipe that came from my best friend!
It’s great served on its own (as it forms a nice glaze on the top) or served with ice cream, fresh fruit and/or whipped cream!
Ingredients:
1 1/2C butter
3 C sugar
5 eggs
3 C flour
2 tsp lemon flavouring
¾ C 7Up
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time.
Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
Bake in a greased Bundt or tube pan at 325 for about an hour (until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden)
Cool upside down on a rack for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
This cake freezes well, too. Wrap it in tinfoil and pop it in the freezer until needed!
Enjoy!
Making your own Search and Find Books
How to Make You Own Search and Find Book
This past fall our family embarked on a project to make Search and Find books for Christmas presents.
These were a big hit and make great coffee table books.
Here is how we did it.
Over a few months, whenever we went anywhere – for a walk, playing in the yard, at the beach, on an adventure, we would stop and take a few pictures.
The kids would hide somewhere in the scenery – sometimes obviously, or sometimes trying to camouflage – and I would take a picture.
We never dressed for the scenery (not trying to camouflage) as we didn’t think that far ahead! However, you easily could if you plan out your photo adventure!
After a few months of doing this, we had over 40 pictures that I had filed in a folder on my desktop. We then sorted through the pictures and divided them into “easy”, “medium” and “hard” finds.
I then researched a few online photo book options. There are often Groupons for these or website specials. I ended up using PhotoBox.
All of the programs are intuitive, easy to use and have great templates.
I looked at the cost of the book, the number of pages in the book, and the shipping.
Because we had so many pictures, I created 2 books. It would have been a lot more expensive to “add pages” to the template than it was to make 2 books.
I sorted the pictures so there were easy-hard pictures in both volumes. I added fun captions at the bottom and told the reader who to look for in the picture.
It was that easy!
Now, we have a lovely keepsake and conversation piece when people come to visit!
I am not a photographer or a designer, but this project was easy and fun and the boys loved making it for their little cousins for Christmas!
Maybe we will try for another volume next year!
How to Make a Pirate Treasure Map
How to Make a Pirate Map
One afternoon the boys asked how you made paper look old.
This started us on the quest to make our own pirate maps on our specially made paper!
I found a great website with instructions.
It lists 8 different methods, but we just stuck to the first one.
Essentially you:
1. Make Coffee. The stronger the coffee, the darker the colour. Tea would probably work, too.
2. Put a piece of paper on a cookie tray
3. Pour the coffee onto the cookie tray. Don’t pour directly on the paper, but let the coffee soak into the paper gradually.
4. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes
5. Pour the excess coffee off into a bowl
6. Heat the oven to 270.
7. Bake the paper in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until it is dry
8. Remove and let cool.
Now, you have old looking paper!
Next time we will try scrunching the paper after it is wet with coffee to make it look even more textured and old.
Then, we burnt the edges of the paper to give it shape and make it look like a pirate’s map.
1. Put a candle in the sink.
2. Light it.
3. With close adult supervision, have the child put the edges of the paper up to the flame.
It may light on fire, so be ready to blow it out. Or, drop it in the sink for safety.
4. Let cool.
Next, the boys had fun drawing on their own treasure maps and designs. They had a lot of fun coming up with creative and unique maps!
This activity would be great for a birthday party! We will definitely try it again!
Woodville Community Trails
Woodville Community Trails
**Please note: These trails are currently closed as of Dec 2020. The land is being sold, and owners are hopeful that the new owners will still allow land access. Please check details before going.**
I have been to the Woodville hiking trails several times and each time I go, it keeps getting better and better! The community association has done a ton of work on the trails – making them accessible during all seasons.
They are also well signposted now, too!
Directions
To get to the trails, follow Route 221 towards Berwick. Woodville is “back of” Cambridge. There are two entrances and parking lots – one on either side of the woodlot.
One entrance is on Bligh Road, and the other on Burgess Mountain Road. To get here take Bligh Road north at the flashing light in Woodville off of highway 221. The road will have two sharp turns and the trail head will be about 600 m from there on your right. You may park along the side of the dirt road. Partial maps are found here.
The other entrance is off Burgess Mountain Road.
Plot your route
These Kings County Trails are approximately 10 km long over privately owned land and are open year round.
It will take you approximately three hours to complete all of these interconnecting loop. The outer loop is 6 km long and the inner loop is 4 km long.
The trail travels along the side of the North Mountain and up to an elevation of 700 feet. During the trail you will go through mixed forest, a Christmas tree farm, by a waterfall, and to a look off with a picnic table.
When we go, we plot a simple loop (1-2km), but most recently went to see the waterfall (which was mostly frozen in the winter).
This trail was completed by following a combinations of various other trails that are all well sign posted. However, it is VITAL that you print off a copy of the map to take with you.
Map
It is easy to get turned around. Each of the sections is labelled, but it doesn’t tell you how to get where. Plot your route, and follow the map. It’s easy.
The course is a bit rough underfoot and icy in the winter. There are spots (especially near the waterfall) with steep cliffs.
Our boys (6&8) were fine with the trails, but it might be a bit too much for active younger ones who might stray to the edge. If this is the case, just stick to an inner loop!
Most of the hikes are on the edge of the mountain, so can involve some climbing (not steep but steady).
There is a great look-off trail with a great view of the Valley!
The Woodville trails are definitely worth checking out. You’ll want to keep going back and exploring different routes in different seasons!
How Heavy is Snow?
How Heavy is Snow?
How heavy is snow? What’s heavier snow or water?
To find out, we decided to do an experiment.
Materials needed:
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Paper and pencil
Kitchen scale (or digital bathroom scale)
Snow
Water
To begin, I drew up a chart, listing all the combinations we would try, and included a column to write the weight.
The boys began by hypothesizing which they thought would be the heaviest. They both guessed WATER (but weren’t sure why).
We weighed several types of snow and water using the kitchen scale (a bathroom scale may work just as well).
1. Snow. Not packed. Just lightly filling the measuring cup
2. Water
3. Half water and half snow – to form slush
4. Tightly packed snow
The boys began by hypothesizing which they thought would be the heaviest. They both guessed WATER (but weren’t sure why).
We weighed several types of snow and water using the kitchen scale (a bathroom scale may work just as well).
1. Snow. Not packed. Just lightly filling the measuring cup
2. Water
3. Half water and half snow – to form slush
4. Tightly packed snow
We discovered, as hypothesized, that water was the heaviest.
The Science Behind it All
This has a lot to do with the air. There is more air in the lightly packed snow than there is in the water. Air weighs less than water.
You can also teach your kids about density by using this website
Get Life Right
Get Life Right
*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free. It means that I got a free book to review, and some help on a few areas of my life!*
What if knew that you could make simple changes to your life and it would only take 10 minutes?
Would you give it a try?
This is the premise of the book Get Life Right: Ten Minute Reads by David Dunn.
The book’s introduction states:
“This book will show you that you already have everything you need to nail your life. Whether you are polishing up your act or you need a complete makeover, these principles, philosophies and ideas will give you the tools you need to craft your life to its fullest.”
The book is written in several chapters, each with a different theme from relationships to finances and goal setting. Within each section, there are a series of short 10-minute (or less) readings to help you think about the topic. There are guided questions, rooms for notes, and thought provoking statements. You are going to want to have your highlighter in hand when you read it.
The book is meant to be a reference. Use only those sections that you need at the moment. Read the parts that will affect you now and keep it handy. When new issues arise, read the topics that apply to your life at that time.
I really enjoyed this book, and read it cover to cover, underlining statements that affected me, as I went along.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Do what you like best or can do best, and reposition yourself constantly until you love what you are doing and you are using your capabilities where they can do the most good for the greatest number of people.
Accomplishing your goals is not as important as how you live while you are heading toward them.
At this time in my life, the statements that I most picked up on were about goal setting. I am in transition right now – wondering what I want to be doing with my time, whether I should be changing paths, and figuring out who I want to spend my time with and how.
Get Life Right gave me a lot of things to think about and strategies for making some goals and priorities for myself.
Who knows, when I read this book in a few months, I will be picking out a completely different set of statements!
If you are looking to make some changes in your life, or know someone who is, I recommend Get Life Right. It’s a quick read with lots of deep ideas and actual strategies for making manageable changes in your life.
