When Tomiko and I went to the November Annex Flea, we found Stephanie Ibbitson’s St. Lawrence Luggage to be amazingly beautiful and useful. Crafted from Alberta buffalo hide, the barrel messenger bags we saw were buttery soft and supple yet made from extremely thick leather. The backpack was also made from Alberta buffalo hide, and the […]
Our New Year’s in Pretty River Valley
Every year for the past seven years, we have been spending our New Year’s Eves in Pretty River Valley in rural Ontario. As you can see, it’s in what’s called the ‘snow belt’ of Ontario. We snowshoe and visit the reindeer, horses and chickens, help make the appetizers, spend the evening playing Balderdash, and then […]
How to Study
Even though I’d love to spend all my time crafting and cooking, sometimes I need to study or at the minimum, concentrate better. To begin the new year as a more efficient and productive person, I’ve assembled my favourite study tips.
Easy Creamy Vanilla Custard
When our mom was a little girl in rural Germany, one of her chores was to make her older brother vanilla pudding after school. He was three years older so I don’t know why he couldn’t make it himself – it was so easy since the custard she made was from a powdered mix […]
The Year in Books: January with My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz
My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories by David Lebovitz, 2014. David Lebovitz says himself that he likes reading the stories behind the recipes, and this is how his new cookbook is formatted. I can read through this cookbook like a novel, and the tales about friends, food vendors, provinces in France, and treasured ingredients are even […]