Max the doodle in wet paint

Painting the Cottage Wooden Floor

Our summer cottage had an old wooden floor painted forest green which I did not love. We gave it a coat or two of neutralizing paint for a quick makeover.

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Lollipop lamb ribs on the grill

Lollipop Lamb Chops

Lamb Lollipops are one of our go to entrees for entertaining – they are simple to prepare, but delicious and impressive.

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Blanket flower and iris

Blanket Flowers

Blanket Flowers have been the biggest surprise success in our Northern cottage garden this summer!

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Printers Strike 1872

Labour Day

Labour Day, observed on the first Monday of September, signifies more than just the end of summer in Canada. It’s a rich tapestry of history, family traditions, and seasonal changes. For our family, it was often the last big day to barbeque before the kids went back to school, or attend a local fall fair (last year even a rodeo!).

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Spicy Red Pepper Jelly

Spicy Red Pepper Jelly

Little jars of spicy red pepper jelly – make a nice addition to a cheese or charcuterie tray. They make great little gifts as well.

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Baked blueberry boy bait

Blueberry Boy Bait

Blueberry Boy Bait is a recipe for a delicious cake baked with blueberries with a hint of cinnamon. The title is old-fashioned and maybe even inappropriate – but it really is boy bait!

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Ducks in blueberries

Duck, Duck, Goldendoodle

A few pictures of ducks in the blueberries and our doodle trying to protect his property.

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side view of butter tart square

Butter Tart Squares

Butter Tart Squares taste just as delicious as those classic Canadian butter tarts, but are so much easier to make!

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pickles

Bread and Butter Pickles

The cucumbers are ready to pick! A recipe for bread and butter pickles.

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Painted brick fireplace

Painting a Brick Fireplace

Painting the fireplace in our Northern Ontario Canada cottage. A DIY Before and After story.

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Sauerkraut - 3 types

Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut

Preserving Carrots by fermenting with a Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut recipe.

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bread food dinner lunch

Cabbage Turmeric Garlic Sauerkraut

Make sauerkraut at home with this easy recipe. Fermented cabbage is not only delicious but also packed with probiotics and health benefits.

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close up shot of a daylily

Daylilies

Daylilies are cheerful, easy to grow, they prevent erosion and shade other garden plants – and the price is right!

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This year goose island

How High’s the Water?

The Water level is rising at our Ontario cottage. We keep asking each other “How High’s the Water?”, which reminds us of a Johnny Cash song.

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close up photography of yellow flowers

Signs of Spring

This past week in Southern Ontario we have had a lovely quick blast of summer temperatures! We are heading back to colder temperatures again next week, but we’ve had a wonderful time of it while it lasted!

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The Story of My Experiment with Truth Book Review and reading glasses

The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Our house is littered with unread and partially read books. This autobiography of Mohandas K. Ghandi has made it to my favourite bookshelf. I very much enjoy reading non-fiction – and in particular stories of history. This book kept me riveted!

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purple lupin flower field under blue sky

Growing Lupins

Starting lupins from seed to add to our Northern Ontario island garden. All about the island, starting lupin seeds, and growing lupins.

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close up photography of wine glasses

We Made Our Own Wine

We had fun making a batch of “home made” wine at our local make your own wine store!

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TD Ballpark Dunedin Blue Jays spring training warmup

Blue Jays Spring Training Tour

We took a last minute trip to Florida to watch some Toronto Blue Jays spring training games and had a wonderful time with very little advance planning!

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Bowl of lamb stew

Lamb Stew

A delicious recipe for Lamb Stew – perfect for a spring or Easter dinner.

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Free wheat bread toasted with peanut

As Canadian as Peanut Butter

The history of peanut butter – A delicious and healthy Canadian food!

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Cheesecake Tiramisu

Tiramisu Cheesecake

We prepared this easy Tiramisu Cheesecake for a birthday celebration. It’s a seemingly fancy dessert but we made it no-bake and without eggs or mascarpone cheese.

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woman gardening

Spring Head Start – Seed Starting

Get a jump on spring gardening with simple seed starting tips. Learn how to choose the right seeds, create the perfect environment, and care for your seedlings for a bountiful harvest.

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Ice harvest

Ontario’s Ice Harvest History

Our mysterious island barn is a legacy of Ontario’s historic Ice Harvest industry.

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photo of groundhog on grass

Groundhog Day

Lots of facts about Groundhogs and Groundhog Day! Happy Groundhog Day 2023!

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vegan roasted butternut squash soup

Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

A very easy recipe for a delicious roasted butternut squash soup that just happens to be vegan!

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the lineup to pickup passengers at Kitchener Airport

Canadian Flights

A story about our flights from Ontario to Calgary and back on Flair Airlines, and some thoughts about Westjet and customer service. (and an update!)

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tomato on weathered wood

It’s Tomato Harvest Time

This post is the beginning of short series about harvesting our home grown tomatoes – and what to do with them all and some details about tomato nutrition.

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Hot Dogs, Pogos and a Twist

A little bit of history and trivia about hot dogs, pogos and corn dogs and a recipe for corn dogs.

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Easter Weekend – Easter Eggs & The World’s Biggest Easter Egg

Do you know where the World’s Largest Easter Egg is? This post is a silly look at some giant roadside attraction style eggs, a few Easter egg facts, and some egg quotes. It is frivolous and light hearted, and a shameless outreach to my children who are far away and at home.

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Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

What’s in a Sauce? A Bolognese Recipe

Our family favourite recipe for Bolognese Sauce. Printable recipe card included.

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Vegan Buttermilk Cinnamon Holiday Cake

Vegan Cinnamon Buttermilk Holiday Cake

An easy recipe for a holiday style cake with cinnamon and raisins, made with vegan buttermilk. It’s perfect as a coffee cake, as a snack or as a dessert. Did I mention it’s a vegan recipe?

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