We’re still here. I’m still writing / blogging every day … in my head. I’ve realized that homeschooling takes a lot of time. (Surprise!) Sourcing local food and cooking from scratch also consumes huge chunks of time every week. And life with little people just doesn’t leave many free minutes. I have so often mentally [...]

On Saturday morning, our daughters beg for the news with Dawna Friesen the way some kids might beg for cartoons. (This is probably because, lacking a TV in our house, they don’t even know about Saturday morning cartoons.) They tumble downstairs in their pjs and hunker down in front of the computer, asking to watch [...]

I love, love, love Jane Austen’s work. There isn’t a book of hers that I dislike, but the big three for me are Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Emma. When it comes to Austen-based films, I am a bit harder to please, probably because the novels are so special for me. While I’ve enjoyed some [...]

Some of you have noticed that I’ve been absent around here.  So absent, in fact, that Just Five More Minutes was offline for a while. My excuse:  I started to do some work for money and it took over my life. I don’t like it at all that I haven’t been able to find five [...]

Here’s something you should know about my husband: he is devoted. This is a wonderful trait when it comes to our marriage. I love it that I can depend on him. His devotion is somewhat less charming, however, when it comes to old, worn out, ripped, tattered, and otherwise nasty articles of clothing. My strategy [...]

My girls are beginning to talk about what they want to dress up as for Hallowe’en.  These are fun conversations. We’ve made a decision as a family to make our own costumes rather than buy pre-made ones, so I tend to encourage the girls along the lines of easy-to-make-from-things-we-have costumes.  Bunnies are good:  construction paper [...]

This year I’ve decided to keep track of our garden-related spending, and compare those costs to our yield. Our goal is to be able to grow some of our own vegetables for the same cost or less than purchasing organic vegetables. Expenses January 09: $72.53 February 09: $10.30 March 09: $461.39 April 09: $59.59 May [...]

With the wonderful weather we’ve been enjoying, my family and I have been outdoors for the better parts of our days.  We’ve been walking lots, gardening, and playing the very active sorts of games that two preschoolers enjoy.  The days have been fun and busy and very, very tiring. So tiring, in fact, that last [...]

On the weekend Hubby and I were treated to a production of Glengarry Glen Ross at SoulPepper Theatre. The theatre is fortuitously located in Toronto’s Distillery District, a lovely cobblestoned pedestrian area with shops, galleries, theatres, restaurants, … and a chocolatier. [Aside: The last time I was in the doors of a genuine artisan chocolatier's [...]

Yesterday all gardening activities ground to a bit of a halt. That’s my new cold frame in the background, buried in the snow. April. It breaks my heart every year.