• Brewing Kombucha

    Kombucha brewing day here on the homestead.

    20131127-142601.jpg

    The top jar is two brand new baby scoby’s for a local friend.

    I started with one large scoby from Delia at Delia’s Pantry. Now I’m up to eight definite scoby’s. Enough to brew for my family and more!

    20131127-142805.jpg

    Biggest brew yet. Six jars for us. Should make for 12 litres finished kombucha with enough left over for the new batches next week.

    20131127-142925.jpg

    I bought a big jar of pickles from Costco this week, because I prefer the bigger jars over the 2 quart size.
    First we need to eat the pickles though! lol

    The large jar shown in the photo is actually my cookie jar!

    20131127-143056.jpg

    Although I love glass, to keep things simple for my family, that includes four teens, I use plastic 2 litre drink bottles for my second ferment and for storage in the fridge.

    I’m the only one that handles the first ferment, so glass is fine. A couple of our children are quite ‘klutzy’ though, so for their benefit and ease of mind, I use plastic after I’m done with the first ferment.

    20131127-144247.jpg

    If you’re interested in learning about kombucha and it’s health benefits, google will be your best friend. It’s easy to find ways to make your own!

    Don’t be scared to give it a try!

  • Duck Dynasty, Skeletons in their closet.

    For my fellow Duck Dynasty fans. As always, they are keeping it real. This is the story of the skeletons in their closet.

    Our family loves the Robertson’s, because although they are rednecks in the USA, and my husband and I are in Canada and come from very different backgrounds, our tale, our history, is still very similar.

    One day we will share our story, our skeletons, but that time has not come yet. For now, I’ll share the Robertson’s story, because they share it so much better than we could ever share ours:

    Five skeletons in the Robertson’s family closet, through three generations.

    Well worth the time it takes to watch, to the end. Best video I’ve seen in a long while.

    http://www.ijreview.com/2013/11/96798-duck-dynastys-robertson-family-has-skeletons-here-are-five-of-them/

    20131123-093429.jpg

  • Winter on the Homestead

    20131121-113647.jpg

    Winter on the homestead.

    I know not everyone loves the thought of freezing temps, ice cold winds, frozen water buckets, and putting on so much winter gear that it takes you longer to ‘suit up’ than the actual work of doing chores…

    But there’s just some things I absolutely love about winter on the prairies.

    The peaceful daily rhythm is such a contrast to the absolute busyness that is late spring, summer, and harvest on the homestead.

    20131121-114152.jpg

    Sitting by the fire on slow days after school is complete and there’s no gardening to be done.

    20131121-114431.jpg

    Even shovelling snow. It’s a chore I actually really enjoy. I’m not fond of ‘useless’ exercise, and I’m often too busy to exercise just for the sake of exercise. Snow shovelling has a purpose, and it’s a great workout! Bonus!

    To really enjoy winter to its fullest here on the prairies, my hope is to one day afford some snow shoes. I remember using snow shoes in elementary school once or twice years and years ago in Alberta. It was great fun! Cross country skies are another goal one day… Another fun winter sport that would be awesome here on the prairies!

    In the mean time, I’ll continue to enjoy my time by the cozy fire and perhaps I’ll break out the knitting bag again soon. Or join Shaylah in some wool needle felting.

  • DIY Elderberry Syrup

    I’ve mentioned a few times recently on the Homestead Emporium Facebook page that
    we’ve been making, and taking, Elderberry Syrup and many have asked
    how to make it, so I thought I’d share again on the blog, just how simple
    it is!

    Read more

  • Tea & your health.

    20130309-130553.jpg

    Like many others, I enjoy learning about healthy options. One of my latest learning adventures has brought me to herbs & berries etc. that I never thought of before. First, I learned about Elderberries, and Elderberry Syrup. I had bought elderberry lozenges when I found them on sale and put them to the test over Christmas. Everyone around me had gotten the flu, but I didn’t. I can’t say for certain it was the lozenges, but I figured it was worth the effort to learn more.
    Through a friend, Delia of Delia’s Pantry, I learned how to make my own elderberry syrup and we now take it often! It’s so easy! I’ll share how on a blog post again very soon. 20130309-130730.jpg Then Delia brought in Stinging Nettle Leaf, and I wondered why? I learned one of its benefits is helping pms. No need to research any further, I was sold and asked Delia to add it to my next order! I also liked what I read about dandelion, and decided to order a little to try also. I’m not one to remember taking a lot of different things, but I’ve found one way to easily
    take all these new things I love. Every morning I make myself a pot of tea! 20130309-130438.jpg I made up a personal blend. I start with my favourite loose leaf tea, cranberry fresh from TeaDesire.com Then I add in some stinging nettle leaf, some dried dandelion root, and dried elderberries. 20130309-131927.jpg My teapot is one of my favorite thrift store scores! I had been looking for a heavy duty glass teapot for years! I steep my tea for quite some time, then add in honey & elderberry syrup, stir well and allow it to cool. Once cooled, I pour it into a very large drink bottle and sip cool healthy tea all day! 20130309-132717.jpg I have a VERY hard time getting enough liquids into me, I don’t get thirsty for water, I don’t feel store bought juice is healthy, and I’m too busy to get in much hot tea, so this method works perfectly for me! 20130309-132914.jpg How about you? What are some Ways you’ve learned to
    add healthy herbs etc. into your life?

    Homestead Emporium now sells
    our own special blend of tea in our shop! You can find it in sample
    size, and larger, here:
    http://hyenacart.com/HomesteadEmporium/mt/269/87287/Homestead-Emporium-Tea-Blend-in-3-Sizes#

  • Saskatchewan, land of the living skies.

    Saskatchewan, land of the living skies.

    Read more

  • A young girls dreams come true.

    However, whenever that little bit of jealousy tries to creep up within ME when I see what OTHERS have, that we don’t have, I remind myself of that exact thing. We all travel our paths, and we all have hurdles and hills, and when each of us gets to where we are going, we can look back and see what we’ve been through.

    No one else can look back on our path and see it with the same clarity that we see it ourselves.

    Read more

  • Oh deer.

    On our way home from Good Spirit Lake last month, we came upon this lovely little family of deer.

    Read more

  • Another season over.

    The seasons are changing, quickly.

    Read more

  • A mother’s plan.

    A while back I came across a post in my facebook feed about a family of four girls who had their photo taken together every year, for years, in the same order. The photos began from the time the four were ages 15-25, and went on for the following 36 years. I thought this was pretty impressive and it got me thinking about my own children, and photography.

    Like all parents, we started with our first child snapping one photo after another. We have quite literally thousands of photos of Alesia, our eldest. When Joshua came along, life was a little busier with two but we still managed to get a fair amount of photos. Probably a more ‘normal’ amount of photos.

    Read more