Childhood memories

Memories can be triggered by pictures, smells and conversation. A few weeks ago, I shared some memories of maple syrup and when I first tasted the sweetness in my early childhood at my grandparents home (pictured above). I also remember eating bannock, blueberry pie and baked beans in this house. A huge wood cook stove was used to heat the house but more important it was used for cooking. Cooking on a wood cook stove can be challenging but the the food tastes incredible! It takes skill to gauge the temperature on a wood cookstove and both my grandparents were masters. I can still smell the aroma of fresh bannock from the oven that my grandfather baked. He would then get maple syrup from the root cellar and made us feel very special. My grandmother would bake pies for special guests, with local wild blueberries - we all loved this special treat!
Cooking in this time period was not done for fun, it was a necessary daily chore. But it left me with many, wonderful memories of my grandparents beautiful home on the Dokis Bay Reserve. Whenever I look at pictures of the old homestead or catch the sweet smell of food being cooked in a wood cook stove or look at my grandparents (Pauline and John C. Restoule) wedding pictures, it triggers fond memories of my early years.