Liquid Gold

 I mentioned going to my neighbours house where we had a bonfire and made maple syrup. It was a gorgeous spring day, we still have snow but sitting in the sun was pleasant as there was no wind and the temperature did squeak past the freezing point. Mostly it was a day to get out, talk, laugh, eat snacks and drink what ever you were in the mood for. Luckily I had just made apple tarts that morning so I was looking pretty good showing up with a tray of treats, a regular Martha Stewart.

 We were making maple syrup, it was a very crude setup like many people do in the country. My sister used to make it when we were teenagers, I had forgotten how much work goes into making it. Many times in the store I feel that the price is too high but after this little adventure, I have a lot of empathy for people making the stuff. I think the number is something like 40 to 1, meaning it takes 40 litres of sap to make one litre of syrup. Basically you take a bathtub full of water and boil it down to a couple of jam jars. That's it, your entire day of work for a jar of syrup. No wonder it's almost ten times the price of gas.

 The next day I happened to be in a store and they had maple syrup on sale, a can of syrup for six bucks, I brought it home and poured it into a jar knowing what a super deal it was. I immediately text my neighbour and told her I got my jar of syrup as well, I also mentioned how hard it was turning the can opener (all that effort). My only dilemma now is waffles, pancakes or ooh la la, maybe French toast.