Changes

 

Ancient craft

Today we toured the Cantillon lambic brewery. This is the only lambic brewery still operating in brussels and one of five in Belgium. Lambic brewing uses the original 5,000 year old recipe and technique. 

 

Grains and dried hops (as preservative not flavour) are used to make the wort. But then the wort is left to cool in open air vats where wild yeast and lactobacteria infect it and begin the fermentation. 

 

The yeasts are "kept" in the wooden rafters of the brewery. That's the white you see. 

 

The beer is then fermented in wine barrels for a minimum of 14 months. Because dry hops and wild yeast are used the beer has a sour taste that takes some getting used to. But we have time for that. 

 

Auntie Heather!!!

We just wrapped up a wonderful visit with auntie Heather. We did SO much. From the grand place waffle-off, chocolate shopping en masse, and finding a Belgian beer to love we covered the brussels life. Add to that side trips to Disneyland, Brugges and Cologne to name a few and day trips to the kids favourite places, I'm sure she is now home for a rest. We loved having Heather here and hope she comes back soon! 

 

Connections

My sister just wrapped up a great visit with us. While she was here we took the chance to visit Lithuania ( or North-uania as Sam calls it) to see the country our grandparents came from. While the visit was short, it was worthwile and has given me a new curiosity about my grandparents experience. The weather was cold but the food was good. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Book week

This week is book week at the kids' school. Today they dressed as literary characters. 

Sam couldn't wait to wear his Halloween costume so he was a Jedi. 

Calvin is very much into the book series "the Kane Chronicles" so he went as Carter Kane. A normal kid so another easy costume. 

Emily decided last minute to test my creativity and request to be the little mermaid. Nothing else would do. Luckily some make-up and mermaid hair made up for the make shift costume. 

 

 

Pumpkin picking

This weekend was a beautiful blue-sky fall day so we headed out the pick-your-own farm to get a few pumpkins. At least what passes for pumpkins here. 

 

Unfortunately, the season was finished. So we got a few to decorate the step. And picked some kale and squash that were still available. 

 

At least the weather was good. 

Apple pickin'

On this gorgeous blue sky thanksgiving day we went apple picking. Sort of. 

 

The orchard was on the grounds of a chateau and is only open to the public this one weekend a year. 

 

The orchard is also not a commercial orchard so the trees are very tall and any harvesting equipment is BYO.  

So some creativity was required.

 

Most of the year the orchard is a cow pasture and the cows were eager for some apples.