Between the tulip post, tapping maple trees and this gardening giveaway I’m starting to think spring might be on its way. Also, I just remembered to put the rubber, winter floor mats in my car, which is a sure sign of spring. I will leave the winter mats in my car until August at [...]

  Let me be serious for a moment.   1. That is the number of maple trees in my backyard. 360.  THAT is the conservative estimate of how many bags of maple leaves I’ve raked up and put out to the curb since I moved into this house 10 or so years ago. 886,762,254,981.   [...]

      In this house the fella mainly just grunts when I discuss my seed wants. Unless he thinks I’m referring to a different kind of “seed”.  In which case he grunts and then smiles. There’s something about picking out seeds that makes me all swoony.  And the seeds you can get through actual [...]

Welcome to the very first episode of “Will They Eat It?”.    Chickens will eat almost anything.  With the operative word being “almost”.  There are a few things that my chickens technically should love, but collectively turn their beaks up at. So every once in a while I’ll be bringing you episodes of “Will They [...]

It’s my favourite day of the year.  Christmas Eve Eve.  You still have all the excitement and anticipation of Christmas without the pressure of the Christmas Eve party and the sinking feeling that comes at the end of Christmas Day. So Christmas Eve Eve it is!  The most wonderful day of the year. I plan [...]

Oh my GOD.  This didn’t work out.  This didn’t work out at all.  That whole plan I had to get everything done by the beginning of December?  Well … I got everything done I wanted to.  And then I stopped. Being so prepared for Christmas so early lulled me into a false sense of security. [...]

Anyone who’s been following my blog for  a while is familiar with my Portable Outdoor Fire Pit. This winter I took the premise of that fire pit and altered it to make it bigger, badder and  more impressive.  And you can do it too.  Unless you’re frightened of going bigger, badder and more impressive.  Because [...]

When I was growing up we never had a laundry basket in the house.   That’s because we were so privileged and averse to any form of manual labour that we simply threw our dirty clothes in the woodland forest behind our house and had Yves (St. Laurent) make us new stuff. By the time [...]

As you know, I’m partaking in a Christmas Pledge.  I have vowed to get the majority of the stuff I need to get done, finished before December 4th.  If you read the original post you know that I said the first nice day there was, I was going to put up my outdoor lights and [...]

Many, many, many, several, too many to count … years ago, my father brought home some garlic.  He got it from an old Italian man at work.  Actually, I’m making up the old Italian man part, but it seems entirely possible. And THAT is when my garlic growing obsession began.  I’m obsessed with many things, [...]

  There are 4 things in my house that prove that both it and I are old fashioned. They are: 1. Aprons 2. 16″ wide pine plank floors 3.  Mouse traps 4.  Window Unit air conditioners Every summer the fella lugs the window units into the dining room and our bedroom.  I know they’re ugly [...]

I got my first real egg this week.  In the nesting box and everything. After a lot of debate about souffle, omelette, scrambled or poached … this is what I ended up doing with it … I bronzed it. Well, coppered it to be exact. The bookshelf awaits … And so does the souffle. At [...]