My name is Deborah (or you can call me Deb as my family and friends often do) and I live in Burlington, Ontario (that is in Canada for you NON-Canuckian readers) with my adorably funny husband of 30+ yrs. Together we have raised 2 (now grown) children that we have efficiently swept out of the nest making sure they took all their junk with them…don’t get me wrong, I love them dearly, I just do not want them or their junk in my house anymore.
In real life, I am a Real Estate Sales Representative. Now don’t hold this against me, and don’t you dare hit the ‘x’ on your browser window! Real Estate has been my ‘job’ for the past..oh I guess almost 10 years now, but I have never thought of it as a ‘job’. I think of it as helping people attain what they dream of. I love happy endings. To see people thrilled with their new (and/or) first home purchase, well, this is the best reward for me. People who know me along with all of my past clients can easily attest to my most precious attribute ~ PATIENCE. Apparently I have boatloads of the stuff, just don’t listen to my husband when he tries to tell you otherwise…. he fibs.
If you are looking for information on the local real estate market, check out my Real Estate Website for regular updates. Want to check out my listings or detailed real estate info? It’s all there. If you are looking to buy or sell, or just have general questions on the real estate market, pop me a note at info@deborahlsykes.com or give me a call at (905) 681-7900, I would be happy to oblige.
Real Estate is my main occupation, but there is so much more to me when I am in my ‘home persona’. This is the part that my family and friends see the remainder of the time, and this is where the ‘Homesteading‘ comes in…. I have been drawn lately to ‘getting back to the basics’ in life. Today’s world is running at breakneck speed. Technology is changing by the second and who knows what tomorrow will bring. City streets are chaotic at best with traffic and people have become downright rude! With all these changes in the world, I have found it increasingly difficult to try and maintain a ‘balanced lifestyle’ in both mind, body and soul.
Instead of joining in on the misery of the rest of the mad, mad world, I have turned to newfound passions that not only de-stress me, but some are also good for my families health….and one of these is Vegetable Gardening. What better way to ensure you are getting fresh produce and herbs to your table than to grow them yourself? Have you ever tried to eat those strawberries that are from the other side of the continent when they are out of season here? They look so plump and juicy and bright red, but you are sorely disappointed when you bite into one and it is nothing but a white, fibrous hollow interior with absolutely zero strawberry flavour. It is a cardboard cutout masquerading as a wanna-be-berry.
Hence, I have been bitten by the gardening bug and I am now totally gaga over growing my own tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, herbs and other vegetables and flowers. With the harvest bounty that comes every summer, I have started to can/preserve a lot of what I grow. What I can’t grow in my small garden, I buy locally at their peak of freshness at my Farmer’s Market, thus supporting my local economy. I now make my own Chipotle~Peach Jam, Pickled Serrano Peppers, Tomato~Basil Jam and so much more. You can follow my gardening exploits over at the Homestead Gardener page or browse recipes in my Homestead Kitchen page to recreate them for yourself if you are not blessed with being a family member and therefore eligible for free, take-home samples.
Of course with all this gardening comes another related passion….Cooking! I love to cook and host family Holiday/Special Occasion get togethers of which I am proud to say I am actually quite good at it… at least that is what my husband keeps telling me (or maybe he’s fibbing again). I have also become a notorious recipe tweaker. I take perfectly good recipes and put my spin on them because I know I can make them better (with minimal catastrophes, so far). But what I am really most famous for (so my family tells me) is my ‘Baba Bread’…Ukrainian Easter Paska Bread as it is more commonly called. Easter is not Easter (and now Christmas is not Christmas) without this wonderous loaf of yummy goodness gracing the table. You can find the above recipe and lots more over at the Homestead Kitchen page.
I also love to sew, I know, crazy right? I can just hear you saying…’how DOES she do all this in a day?!” But trust me, I find the time, because I enjoy doing them, therefore you WANT to do them and procrastination is not allowed. I sew for many reasons (I love the sound of my sewing machine humming away). From making home decor items and my own ‘dress clothes’ for a fraction of the retail cost saves me mucho $$$ dinero (which hubby is extremely thankful for), to making thoughtful and unique handbags and totebags as client gifts or helping out family members with their decorating dilemmas… they all fall under the ‘love to do’ category. Check out my Homestead Hand~Made Projects page for some fun and funky ideas.
Probably without a doubt, the most beloved thing in my life (other than my husband and children) are the short getaway times we enjoy at our cottage in Northern Ontario. A place where one can relax and unwind without cars, traffic, city noise and pollution. The pace of life is so much slower and NON-urgent (unless you need to catch dinner…i.e. fishing, because you forgot the hamburgers). It just makes you so mellow and carefree. I feel recharged everytime I come back to the ‘Big City’ ready to tackle the regular grind.
One more quirky thing to know about me, is my longtime love of NASCAR. Yes, I am a Redneck at heart. I love fast cars and love watching the beatin’ and bangin’ of short track racing. I do have a favourite driver, but lest I jinx his efforts this year in the Championship, his name shall remain unspoken….but his car number does equate to a case of beer for those that are curious.
There, that is pretty much me in a long, drawn out nutshell. Please feel free to ask any questions about anything I have touched on above. I like to save others from making the same mistakes I did or just pass along some new, innovative, funky ideas. If you want to know how to make my Spiced Blueberry Jam, ask me, or perhaps you need to know just how to get those hospital corners in your bed to look so perfect, just ask me…. or maybe you want to know which NASCAR driver I really despise…go ahead, just ask me…but if you want to know how to make perfect Shortbread cookies… DON’T ask me, ask my daughter, she received the diploma in Grandma’s Tutorial on Shortbread Cookies, not me.
By the way, I am really not perfect, even though it may seem that way….remind me to tell you the story of when I melted the lid of a corningware dish in the microwave….!!!
Awesome deb! i thoroughly enjoyed going through it. i especially love your opening page pic! keep up all the good work:)
I can say that the chipotle peach jam in the BOMB, can’t wait for peach season again. Beautiful job on your new site, love it!
WHOO HOO!!!! Hope I can get your stuff now 🙂
Hi Deb, Anne sent me this link. I’d like to follow you, but I don’t see a “subscribe” tab to click. Can you help me. I’m sorta clutesey with this kinda of stuff. Can’t wait to get reading your blogs. Candice
Hi Candice! Go to the main page, there is a ‘Subscribe’ link on the right hand side just below the main pic! 🙂
Hi Deb.
I am the publisher of the Camelid Quarterly Magazine (est. 2002) and found your web site by chance. I was first taken by your photos and then by your ease with the written word. We (I/CQ) would be interested in using one of your photos in our June issue and entertain the possibility of an article from you about your experiences using alpaca of llama fleece in your projects.
Please contact me asap as our deadlines are fast approaching. Thanks.