Candy!

So . . . where were we?

(Checks back at blog . . .)

Good lord, the last time I posted was in 2013, December. Time flies.

So, quick update. Still a stay at home dad, still have two energetic sons (Sonwun and Sontoo), still have a lovely wife and am still coming back to my creative outlet once in a while when I the need to write rears its ugly head. (I think it was a review on Urban Spoon this morning that sparked the need to write again.)

I guess the most significant change of late has been the introduction of Sunny’s Treehouse Candy . . . my first real run at doing something to earn a little cash to add to the family stash. It started a couple of Christmases back when the wife and I decided to make candy for our family members who live in other provinces and countries. We wanted to do something different. So we did.

And just this last Christmas, the wife’s sister, who works in Toronto, asked us if we could pull off 5 $200 corporate gift baskets. We had no idea. But I’d read Richard Branson on Twitter say something like, “If someone asks if you can do something, say yes. Then figure out how and do it.”

So we did.

And then in January, we started hitting Farmer’s Markets here in town and in Winnipeg. We’re not yet profitable, but we’re getting there.

I gotta say, I really enjoy making the candy. We’re up to about 18 different flavours of Hard Candy, four flavours of Salt Water Taffy, Sweet and Salty Peanuts, Sponge Toffee and three different kinds of Brittle (peanut, chocolate peanut and almond).

We’ve designed a logo, labels and packaging in keeping with our Treehouse theme. (Mostly the wife there, she’s really good at this stuff!) We’ve sourced inexpensive suppliers for candy ingredients as well as packaging. It’s been an education and, in a couple of months, we might even be profitable!

So that’s what’s kept us sane over the winter. More later, I hope.

Thompson's Not So Weird!

Well, Happy November!

There are 54 shopping days until Christmas. You may officially begin to panic.

Our first Thompson Halloween went well, in spite of the cold. I think the temperature was around -8C (17.6F), so retrofitting the costumes was mandatory. We had to abandon the Shrek outfit for Sontoo, as we simply could not get enough insulation into the equation.

A quick hunt the in basement turned up half a skunk costume, a cow costume and a monkey costume that Sonwun wore last year. We went with the monkey, as it fit over Sontoo's snowsuit and came equipped with a nice warm hat/head. Personally, I went with the top half of the kids' cow costume, just 'cause I thought it was funny.

Sontoo, the Monkey

Sonwun, the fearless Knight

As for Sonwun, we swapped out the Knight pants with snow pants, the Knight's boots with snow boots, and packed on about four sweaters beneath his tunic. The chain mail helmet sufficed for headwear.

Neomom loaded the kids up and headed out while I stayed back to hand out the loot. I was joined about 15 minutes later, when Sontoo decided he'd had enough of the whole "looking cute" thing and returned to the warmth of the house.

Sonwun, on the other hand, would have gone all night. He's at the age where he's figured out this whole Halloween thing mathematically (T+CC=L). Time plus cute costume equals loot. And he was more than willing to put in the time.

After an hour or so on the streets, Neomom and the Knight headed over to a friend's house about 5 minutes from here, where Sonwun was given what he called a virgin "jello firer." And, when they got home, Daddy received three non-virgin jello shooters. Thanks Shari and Ty!

Visitors to the front door here in Thompson were pretty much the same as anywhere else, with one notable exception. There were plenty of cute kids out early, all dressed up and under the watchful eye of mom or dad. They loved my cow costume. As the evening wore on, the teens, wearing little or no costumes whatsoever, made an appearance to collect their loot. They kinda sneered at the cow.

And finally, the notable exception. Just when we thought the night was over, we turned off the porch light. And then we got the knock on the door and opened it to find two full-grown adults, dressed as homeless alcoholics, (convincing costumes, complete with cooking sherry cologne) carrying four full shopping bags of candy each.

I gave them each a handful of candy and, at their request, supplied them with a few more grocery bags and sent them on their way. Next year, I will prepare a couple of big ol' nutritious sandwiches to supplement their Halloween diet, and keep them handy, just in case. I only hope they found a warm place to curl up last night and enjoy the loot.

So that, in a nutshell, was our first Thompson Halloween experience. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. There were no local mishaps on Devil's Night, or Gate Night. And on Halloween, we dressed for the cold, our visitors were, for the most part, polite and well-behaved. Now all that's left is a week or two of sugar-fuelled mayhem in the house.