Good neighbours are what it’s all about

Good neighbours are what it’s all about

First We Eat: Always there with friendship, moral support and help in an emergency

Our neighbours are one of the reasons Dave and I are able to live in the country. Admittedly, as writers, we have the wrong skill sets for rural life. Dave can edit a short story like nobody’s business, and he’s a fabulous writer, but he’s not so good at manual labour or at troubleshooting failed […] Read more

Pasta puttanesca.

Gifts for aging parents

First We Eat: A home-cooked birthday meal for Dad and friends helped to solve the gift-giving challenge

I recently spent a considerable amount of time perusing old photographs as I edited a vanity press family history book written by my mother. When I showed Dave the wedding photo of my parents — taken 63 years ago — he confessed he would not have recognized the young and handsome couple in the image. […] Read more


Some funerals have graveside flowers for 
the family.

Why funerals matter and ways to get ready for yours…

Meeting together has healing properties and planning ahead will help the grieving family

In February at the Boissevain Post Office sorting table there were a record five white funeral notices on display. I am happy to report that the majority was an invitation to the funeral. Why does this matter? There is a trend in 2018 that has likely been building for some time as families avoid conflict […] Read more

Ruth Bitner encourages people to get out and explore Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan woman explores the province

Aim was to visit cities, towns, hamlets and ghost towns

Ruth Bitner has two large road maps of Saskatchewan attached to a bulletin board in her home. One is covered in pins — 961 of them, to be exact — each marking a city, town, village or hamlet she has visited. The other map has only about 60 pins — the communities she has yet to visit. […] Read more


Chicken soup made with really good homemade broth

Chicken soup made with really good homemade broth

First We Eat: Make a batch of stock and freeze to have on hand when you want to make soup

Our globe tracks a circular route around the sun, and life often mimics that pattern. As does culture. Skirt lengths go up and come down, narrow lapels and three buttons come in and out of style. And crafts too, come in and out of fashion. These days, it’s common to see young people perusing websites […] Read more

farmland metal farm gate

Having the ‘s’ talk on your farm

Don’t wait for an accident to happen before you talk about safety

Like many of you, I’ve checked out the grain bin suffocation demonstration at the farm shows and collected many farm safety brochures. I think this spring is finally the time when we’ll do things more intentionally on our farm. Why now? We experienced family trauma in October during harvest when a key person crashed a […] Read more


I can’t justify paying the premium for organic food.

Why I don’t feed my kids organic food

Because of this I’ve been called a bad mom, irresponsible and downright lazy

I could certainly afford to pay up to 50 per cent more for organic food for my children to eat, but I refuse to. I decline to pay the premium for organic food because I cannot justify it when comparable conventional foods (including those with GMOs) are just as healthy and nutritious, and arguably more […] Read more

Try this bread recipe — baked in a pot

Try this bread recipe — baked in a pot

First We Eat: This method of baking in a heavy pot will produce an amazing crust

When Mom learned that Dave and I were going to spend two weeks writing at Wallace Stegner House in Eastend, she said, “Make sure you say hi to Shon and Steve. They’re good folks.” So, soon after our arrival, I parsed the village’s streets, looking for evidence of potters. When I found a front yard […] Read more


We can’t wait for rhubarb!

We can’t wait for rhubarb!

First We Eat: Here’s a pie recipe to use up the last of the 
frozen or the first of this season’s rhubarb

Dave and I celebrated a significant anniversary recently. We’d met in Banff, at a writing retreat. During that two-week span, he’d flirted shamelessly, held my chair, chatted me up, sat with me at meals, taken me swimming and to dinner, everything but serenaded me. For that, we waited 10 years, and then it was an […] Read more

Brothers farming together can be a challenge.

And… I have a brother farming too

This can present a whole set of challenging situations

Brothers farming together can make for many different, interesting, and somewhat challenging dynamics. Oldest son syndrome. Birth order has been very well researched by Dr. Kevin Leman. Seek out his work for the different traits of first-born sons. My coaching experience tells me that some founders automatically default choosing the oldest son as successor which may not be a great idea if the younger sons or […] Read more