New Look For The Homestead?

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Deborah

Take a look at the top of the page…notice anything different?

I have been playing with Photoshop (as a result of stumbling on an app on my smartphone) and loved the idea of transforming my main header pic into a pencil drawing. It is more than just changing to a black and white photo, you manipulate the doodads and whatknots (technical terms) to arrive at something that can be *almost* considered an actual penciled drawing…

This was the previous photo…

This is the new one…

Which do you prefer and why?

I will leave it up until next week to … Read more...

Lemon Turkey Soup

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Deborah

With Canadian Thanksgiving well behind us, our American friends will be having theirs in a jiffy and before you know it, they (like we were) will be up to their elbows in leftover turkey and a carcass just begging to be made into stock.

If you are tired of all the ho-hum, same-old boring turkey soup recipes that are out there, then give my award winning recipe a try. OK, maybe not award winning, but it was just accepted and published on the allrecipes website. If you have never heard of allrecipes before, then you most likely are not the

My First Weaving Project

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Deborah

Actually, it isn’t really a “Project”, but more of a “Lesson”. After spending over 2 hours painstakingly setting up the loom with regular sock fingering yarn, I sat down in front of Bob, instruction book in one hand, a case of beer in the other to calm my nerves.

Ok, no actual beer was handy, so I made do with a glass of water. I know, so unlike me. Anyway, I wound a bobbin with yarn and popped it inside the shuttle. With my feet at the treadles, I pushed each one to make the frames lift in turn, watching … Read more...

Knitted Cottage Socks

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Deborah

Cottage socks are different from average, everyday, city socks. City socks are thin, orderly, neat and always found in matching pairs. Cottage socks are rebels. They are comprised of colours that do not match anything nor with each other. They are independent spirits drifting along in the Great White North.

Cottage socks are made from all the odds and ends of leftover sock yarn. As long as the weight of the yarn is the same, you can be as creative as you want. Nothing needs to match, no stressing if the colour pattern of the left sock perfectly mirrors that … Read more...

Lest We Forget

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Deborah

Take the time today to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us can live in Freedom. For all those currently serving our country in other parts of the world, I thank you.

Next Weeks Menu

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Deborah

The days are screaming by faster than you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

At least it seems that way to me. I can’t believe how busy I have been this week, hardly having any time to sit down and play with the loom since getting the warp tied on. At this rate I will be a pro when I am 95.

For those looking for some fun this weekend, the Royal Winter Fair ends on Sunday, but you still have 2 good days of spectacular events and tons of things to see and do. A little bit of country in the city … Read more...

Learning To Weave = Math???

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Deborah

I hate math.

I have always hated math.

Numbers scare the bejeebies out of me. Give me good old letters any day. I excelled at English, grammar and spelling in school. Math was just along for the ride, and not a very good one at that. So what does this have to do with weaving? Well, every piece of weaving you want to do will have math involved. If I had known of this ahead of time, I may have thought harder before I pounced on the opportunity to buy Bob.

There are formulas to arrive at your sett, e.p.i., … Read more...

Renewing Old Treasures

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Deborah

A month ago I headed up to the far north on a day trip to visit my aunt and uncle (the one from the Vushka post) and took along daughter and her husband. Located a little over 2 hours north of North Bay, ON, the drive was a scenic one as Hwy 11 took us through rugged, rocky terrain dotted with lakes and small cottages as well as passing through small Northern towns that time seems to have stood still for.

Temagami is one of those towns. If it wasn’t for the modern marina on the west side of Hwy … Read more...

When Do You Put Up Your Christmas Tree?

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Deborah

WAIT! Don’t Shoot Me!

Just a poll here, no need to get all snippy…..

Even though Halloween was just last week, the retail establishments have been hauling out the Christmas stuff for over a month now (especially Costco, they started mid-August for pete’s sake). So this brings me to ask you, when do you get serious about decorating for Christmas?

I have a cousin that used to put away her Halloween decorations and immediately haul out the Christmas baubles and commence with Santa Zone on November 1st. I haven’t been over to her place in a long while, hopefully she … Read more...

Next Weeks Menu

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Deborah

Happy 1st Day of November! Only 54 days left until Christmas…have you started your shopping yet? If you are like me…hell no.. It is way too early to start even thinking about anything related to Christmas, besides, Halloween was last night and there are mountains of chocolate and candies to be eaten still.

Today is also one of the special days for those folks living in Mexico and other countries around the world. Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where families celebrate and honour the lives of those that have died. It typically commences on October 31st and … Read more...