Hiking Crawford Lake

Before COVID-19 our family had a rule when it came to hiking. We wouldn't hike unless the daily high was 10 Degrees C (50 degrees F). Because we want to get out and stay active and healthy we've lowered this limit to a high of seven to eight degrees, and after keeping warm enough on our hike this weekend we think we may lower it to five degrees this year to extend our hiking season just a little bit longer.

This weekend we explored Crawford Lake to catch some of the last of the fall colours. This is one of the Halton area region hikes where you need to reserve in advance to make sure you can abide by their social distancing COVID-19 rules, so we booked this one the Tuesday before our hike. You can buy your reservation at the park in two hour blocks, so if you want to take on one of the lengthier hikes I'd imagine you'd need to reserve two, two hour blocks of time to make sure you are following their rules. Park staff check your license plate when you arrive to ensure only those with reservations are on the trails. The total cost for the four of us for two hours was $23.00.

It was a colder morning and we layered appropriately. Jack and I tend to run warmer and wore long sleeved shirts, hoodies, and toques, while Chris and Molly added on an extra layer of light coats and gloves to keep warm.  Remember to bring masks with you just in case. Although the hiking by appointment helped reduce crowds, and most people were wonderful at keeping a respectful distance, there was some very bad behaviour here. One couple on this trail who we crossed paths with three times were both clearly sick. One was constantly blowing his nose and the other coughing.  Neither wore masks. We ended up masking up and rushing ahead whenever we saw them. Remember, if you're ill, please stay home!

There are a number of trails to explore at Crawford Lake, so in order to keep within our time limit we had to choose wisely. We took on the 2.4KM Escarpment trail first which although secluded, was also rocky, muddy, and challenging. It was difficult in spots to pick up the speed we needed to keep warm as we climbed around muddy and rocky areas.  This challenging hike took us just under an hour without stopping and is best for older kids who are used to hiking.

Next, we planned to take a trail towards the Crawford Lake 1KM boardwalk trail. Unfortunately, trail markers are not that clear in some portions of the conservation area. Since the Bruce Trail (independent from Crawford Lake) uses blue trail markers just like the Crawford Lake Trail, and some of the faded sign colours have made greens look like blues, we ended up on the Pine Ridge Trail for some time before we retraced our steps to find the Crawford Lake Trail.

We were running out of time for the Crawford Lake trail, so needed to move quickly to make sure we could see the trail and get back to the car in time. 

The Crawford Lake trail has many interpretive art wood carvings that the kids loved. This 1km trail is simple and great for those with younger kids.

The flat trail was pretty with fall colours.

Molly loved posing on the benches for photos.

The boardwalk trail next to the lake is pretty, and has been set up with one way traffic during COVID to keep people apart. One piece of advice is to hit this trail early in your time slot so you don't run out of time.  The boardwalk bottlenecked toward the end, with very few places to pass people, and towards the end it felt more like a social distanced line up at the grocery store than a hike. 

The views were pretty and we had fun, but with the short, 2 hour window we were rushed at the end and didn't have a chance to explore the Iroquoian Village near the visitor centre. This hike is worth booking in advance and going to again.

Happy Trails!

Becoming Pennywise: Maker Parent Halloween Costume Ideas

 Whenever I tell anyone that my 9-year-old son is going as Pennywise the Dancing Clown from It, this year to celebrate Halloween, and specifically The Alexander Skarsgard version the clown I always trail with an emphatic disclosure -

 "No, I have never let Jack see It or read It, the mini series with Tim Curry, or the more recent two film series starring Alexander Skarsgard, but yes that is what he's dressing up as this year." 

He is aware of It because of the schoolyard, a fascination with pop culture and comics, and because it amuses him greatly that one of his aunts is afraid of clowns and he loves to tease her. He's been begging for this costume for two years and we finally made it happen. This is how I did it 

Skarsgard Pennywise dresses like what I'd describe as an "old timey" sad French clown Perroit. Fun fact about me as a child, I used to collect these clowns even though I was mildly afraid of them. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. To make the Perroit clown costume I thrifted a flower girl dress for $7.99, a pair of white jeans for $3.99 (these will become Molly's after Halloween), and a black and white ballerina tutu for $2.99.

I am an adequate sewist at best, so much of my creation had to do with cutting and attaching the tutu to Jack's dress and pants. I cut two of the ruffles off the bottom of the dress and then cut, pinned, and sewed the deconstructed tutu to his collar and sleeves. I rolled up and pinned the sleeves of the dress to ensure that his laced cuffs weren't too long for his arms. I also sewed cuffs for his pants to pull on over the white jeans.

I purchased two blank half masks from Spirit Halloween for $3.99 each. Since my eldest niece is far more talented than I am with a paintbrush she graciously agreed to paint on two different Pennywise faces for Jack, one with teeth and one without. The painting supplies we already had on hand from our craft supplies.

Here is the sewn costume mostly done. I couldn't find pompoms big and bold enough for the front of the costume, so instead I went to Dollarama and purchased two red puff "Canadian" key rings for $1.25 a piece that I took apart and pinned to the front of his frock. We bought spray can red hair to make for $2.50 from Dollarama, however apparently the next time he dresses up (for our Halloween Scavenger Hunt) I need to do a better job of spiking his hair into two sections so he can look "just like Skarsgard". His white stretchy pull on gloves were borrowed from nana. 

This photo is with the standard Pennywise face, and boat he's posing with for this photo is Molly's. 

This photo is with the sharp "I'm going to eat you" teeth mask.

What Pennywise photoshoot would be complete without someone posing as a terrified Georgie? This is Jack's raincoat that he affectionately calls his "Georgie" coat.

I had so much fun planning this costume. Total cost of the costume $27.95 plus taxes. While, Trick or Treating is cancelled in Toronto, we're still going to enjoy some social distanced activities where many people can see and be terrified of Pennywise, from at least 2 metres apart.  

As for when we're going to let Jack watch It, I honestly don't know. I told him that he needed to read the book Coraline, not get too scared of that and then he could talk to me about reading It which he knows is 1,138 pages long. I think this bought us a couple more years.

Happy crafting! Happy Halloween.

To find out about our social distancing friendly Halloween Decor Scavenger Hunt click here.

Halloween Decoration Scavenger Hunt

So, it's official Trick or Treating has been cancelled in Ontario COVID-19 hot spots, AKA our neighbourhood. I can't say that I haven't been bracing myself for this for months now, but it's still disappointing. Especially since Halloween won't be on a weekend night again until 2025 and I don't know how thrilled a pair of 14 year olds are going to be about Trick or Treating with mom and dad.

Just the same, we're going ahead with costumes and safe Halloween celebrations. One thing we're doing to ensure our kids get their Halloween candy fix is to let them enjoy a Halloween decoration scavenger hunt. The prize for completing it, candy, naturally. 

We're going to head out to a Halloween friendly area, with lots of decorations and the kids will have little clipboards with various things to check off. When they complete the hunt, they'll get their prizes. 

We also plan on completing our scavenger hunt well before the 31st as we expect many people will take their decorations down early to show they're complying with public health orders.

Here's the complete scavenger hunt M&J will be working on next weekend. Feel free to use the ideas for your own little ones. If your kid isn't a reader yet you can use pictures of these items to help them on their quest. Got older kids? Let them use their (or your) phones and make it a photo scavenger hunt! If you have any items you think we should add, let me know, the kids could always use additional challenges.  

Neighbourhood Halloween Decoration Scavenger Hunt

Skeleton 💀
Animal (non-human) Skeleton prop ☠
White Pumpkin 🎃
Teal Pumpkin 🎃
Giant Spider 🕷
Spider Web 🕸
Tombstones RIP 
Tombstones Funny Sayings
Bats🦇
Skeletons coming out of the ground 💀
Witches 🧹
Witches broomsticks🧹
Ghost 👻
Black Cat 🐈
Happy Jack O Lantern🎃
Scary Jack O Lantern🎃
Frankenstein 
Mummy
Zombie
Decorations that make noise 📢
Caution Tape
Inflatable Decoration💟
Orange and Black Lights🟠⚫
House Number 13
House Number 31
Rats 🐀
Spooky Signs 
Scarecrow 
Coffin ⚰
Vampire 🧛🧛
Corn Husks 
Fake Body Parts 🦶✋
Halloween Wreath 
Horror Icon (i.e. Wolfman, Jason, Freddy, Chucky, Dracula)
Grim Reaper
Devils😈

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Hiking Cootes Paradise Marsh

Limited leisure activities on a long weekend often means that everyone is trying to go to the same places. This meant many hikes that you need a reservation to tackle were all booked up the moment the weekly window became available (for you Toronto folks think Parks and recreation registration bad). 

We know that peak fall leaf colours are nearly here and wanted to see what we could by enjoying a nice fall hike. Lately we've gravitated towards the Hamilton area since there are some great trails there and it's less than 45 minutes away from our home. This past weekend we explored the trails of Cootes Paradise Marsh.

The cost to park here is $3 an hour. We paid $9 to hike these trails.

This trail was a mixture of dirt paths with some boardwalks along the marsh path to keep our feet dry. While the paths have signs to direct you where to go, it's unclear exactly how the paths connect so we ended up walking several different trails over the course of two hours.

On the Bull Point Loop section of the trails there were several lookouts where we could enjoy snacks with a view. There were also some steep hills on this trail which would be difficult for novice hikers, although we did run into one hardcore family who was pushing a stroller on some of these trails, so good for them! Stick to the trails as there is some poison ivy and our dog managed to "find" a few ticks.

Chris and I often like to think about what movie setting a hike looks like. We felt this hike looked like the set of the initial Hunger Games film. 

The reeds were so high along the marsh it made for a neat experience.

View from the edge of the marsh.

We voted that this was prettiest trees on our hike. Both Chris and Molly managed to each catch a falling leaf while we were on the trail. 

The diversity on this trail was great in terms of wildlife was wonderful. We saw hawks, ducks, blue jays, chipmunks, and turtles. In terms of flowers along the trail we saw over 10 different kinds including Barren Strawberry, Burr Marigolds, Blazing Star, Daisy Fleebane, Lupins, and more.

This was a pretty hike and I'd definitely do it again. We may attempt get back here again later this fall.

Finding Muppet Man - Halloween Costume Ideas

Sometimes your kids pick the generic Halloween costume of the year. You know the most popular one that every other kid on the block is wearing. Other times they pick something so obscure that you're sure they're going to be explaining to everyone in detail exactly who they are all Halloween as people nod enthusiastically still not understanding who they are. For us, this year is the latter, but that doesn't make designing the costume any less fun.

Being raised on The Muppets ourselves, we've exposed our children to the wonderful puppet-laden world of The Muppets. Favourites of theirs include the 2011 film The Muppets with Jason Segel and Amy Adams and the new show Muppets Now.

A particular notable gag is when the Muppets attempt to fool someone by disguising themselves as "Muppet Man". 

Muppet Trivia describes Muppet Man as, "a disguise in which two or more Muppets are stacked to appear taller, while usually donning a trench coat or other longer clothing items." In the 2011 movie The Muppets, Fozzie, stacks on top of a bunch of other Muppets as Muppet Man leading to a typical, rowdy debacle all in attempt to get some face time with Miss Piggy.

To see a clip of Muppet Man in action click here.

The kids find Muppet Man hilarious and when Molly asked herself the important question,  "Are you a Muppet? Or are you a Man" She decided she was MANY Muppets.

Here is how we built the Muppet Man costume....

First we looked to see what we already had on hand. Muppet Man would need something to hide his tower of Muppets, so we grabbed a dark gray wool coat that Molly already owned. 

Next, we wanted to look for hands and feet that look like they could be owned by a monster or Muppet. In my childhood dress-up box we found a pair of fuzzy bear slippers, that I believe my sister bought at "The It Store" circa 1986. Anyone else remember that store? The feet look like they could belong to Sweetums or even Bobo the Bear. For hands we looked to our mismatched glove and mitten collection from last winter finally settling on an old monkey mitten and a fuzzy glove that looks like it could belong to the hand of Animal.

Finding Muppets to stuff into the trench coat was a little more difficult. I looked at some thrift stores, posted on our local buy and sell group, but didn't have any luck. Since we are limiting our outings because of COVID I decided that we'd look for other options.

A long time ago, a family friend was staying with us. McDonalds was offering Muppet Babies stuffed animals as a part of their Happy Meal promotion. This friend made it her mission to get us kids as many of these Muppets as possible. Since this was a holiday promotion they are dressed in Christmas garb. For 30 plus years these stuffed toys have been a part of my mom's Christmas decorations, often sitting under the tree.

Since the "Muppet Man" we wanted was going to be headed by Fozzie Bear, we began to look for masks for the costume. Full face masks were quite expensive, but then we had another idea. On Etsy we found a cloth mask adorned with Fozzie's face. I ordered it for $23.99 and luckily it arrived from England in plenty of time for Halloween. Added bonus, Molly can wear it well after Halloween as a part of her reusable mask supply to help keep herself and others safe.

Finally, we bought a used straw hat for $4.99 from Value Village to complete our Muppet Man costume. Total cost of the costume: $28.98. We may or may not get a fake moustache to put on her Fozzie costume for complete authenticity.

We still don't know if Trick or Treating is going to happen this year with COVID-19, but we had a blast making the costume just the same and at the very least Muppet Man is going to complete a Halloween themed scavenger hunt to celebrate.

A Hiking we Will Go - Exploring Chedoke Radial Trail Hamilton

Fall is hiking season finally here. I love getting up early and heading out on a cool, crisp morning, enjoying a hike, and stripping off layers as you warm up along the way. I also love having a nap in the afternoon when I get back home. My father in law sent me a list of hikes to check out in the greater Hamilton area, so this weekend we decided to try the Chedoke Radial Trail in Hamilton to see some fall colours.

This hike is a mix of urban and trail paths and starts out beside a golf course. As the leaves have just started to turn we had a contest for the prettiest tree of the hike. This pretty orange tree won! We also decided to see how many types of wild flowers we could spot (8), dogs we'd see on our journey (15), and said we'd award a quarter for each fallen leaf that could be caught mid-air as it was released from a tree onto the ground. There is no charge for parking, but arrive early. By the time we were leaving late morning people were circling the lot like sharks anxious to get our spot.

The trail is said to be just over 5KM each way as an out and back trail, but it isn't easy to navigate when you come out into certain streets. We did some side trails and ended up in the middle of a soccer field at some point, but still enjoyed our meander which took us about an hour and a half. I really wish this trail was better marked because I was hoping to explore all of it.

While the majority of the trail is easy and flat, the Dundurn Stairs (giving you a beautiful view of Dundurn Castle are not). Much to our surprise our dog Ted was happy to climb the metal stairs with us, all 326 of them. There were some fitness buffs who had come exclusively for stair running. 

You can see Dundurn castle and quite a few green trees from the top of these stairs. I'm not going to lie,  this was a tough climb.

I just love this picture of Molly patiently waiting for a leaf to fall so she can earn 25 cents. She managed to catch her first falling leaf of the season midair today and was rather pleased with herself. This was a fun hike overall, with the stairs as a definite highlight and a nice way to stretch our hiking legs and see the start of autumn colours. We enjoyed this hike, but I wouldn't put it on my list to do again unless I was in the area anyway, particularly because it was so poorly marked.

Have any hike suggestions in Ontario? Please send them my way!

Our 2020 Halloween Movie & Cartoon Special Bucket List

Because of COVID-19 we don't know whether or not we'll get to celebrate Halloween this year with Trick or Treating. Since Halloween is a pretty big deal in our house we've decided to celebrate with as many social distancing and self-isolation activities during this spooky time of year. There's nothing quite like watching some Halloween specials or scary movies to get you into the holiday spirit. 

Last year our list was a little too ambitious, so this year we went a little smaller, knowing we can add on extras if we watch all of these. This is what is on our list for this year.

Being Introduced To The Kids This Year

Hocus Pocus✔

None of us have watched this before and we figured it was time it was added to the list.

Practical Magic

I quite like this movie and look forward to watching it with Molly.

Clue

Chris thinks this doesn't count, but as a murder mystery I feel it embodies everything fun about Halloween.

Tim Burton's Batman

Dark, brooding, people dressed up in costumes, what could go wrong?

The Witches

We may end up renting this Roald Dahl new release direct from Cineplex Odeon as a special Halloween treat.

Classic Family Favourites For Repeated Viewing

Nightmare Before Christmas

Ghostbusters

The Wizard of Oz

Molly says this counts as a Halloween movie because it has witches, a scarecrow (for harvest season), and creepy monkeys - it also doesn't hurt that they just added it to Netflix).

Paranorman

Coraline

Coco

Halloween Cartoon Specials

Simpsons Halloween (Seasons I - X)✔✔

Captain Underpants Hackoween Special✔

Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin✔

The Garfield Halloween Special✔

Disney cartoon version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow✔✔

They even managed the Tim Burton Version This Year

✔

For the Grown Ups

The Birds

Never seen this classic and it's about time.

The Craft

Another movie that I haven't seen in many years, but I want to revisit.

The Crow

I haven't watched this since the early 2000's and I'm curious how it holds up.

Jennifer's Body✔

I read an article that this is a fantastic feminist horror flick.

If you have any other suggestions please share them!

To see our list from last year click here.