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Bluestem Gables

Gardening with vegetables and native prairie plants

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closet shelving in mudroom

Simple Mudroom

April 7, 2026 by Erika Leave a Comment

Another very important secondary room! Just like our pantry, this mudroom is designed to be a simple workhorse – a room to hide the mud. Check out what we have accomplished, and what we have planned for this simple mudroom. Small war or post war ...

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whole, halved and sliced small melons on a plate on an old tree stump

Grow Your Own Small Melons

wonderberries in a small bowl on a place mat with a plant on weathered wood

Wonderberry: Is this Success or Failure?

staining wood trim with brush

80 Year Old House Remodel 11: Finishing Trim

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stocked pantry shelves

Build a Pantry

March 16, 2026 by Erika Leave a Comment

This might be the most anticipated room in our old house remodel. At 6x12 feet, this pantry is almost as big as our old kitchen. Let’s explore how we build a pantry and what we have planned for this workhorse of a space. Our old kitchen was an ...

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drying herbs on a shelf and hanging herbs to dry

Air Drying Herbs

clear mug of homemade iced tea on a tree stump

Best Ever Homemade Iced Tea Concentrate

green oat stalks laying on a log

How to Grow and Dry Milky Oat Tops

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green kitchen drawers with copper pulls

80 Year Old House Remodel #14 Kitchen

October 31, 2025 by Erika Leave a Comment

Ok, time for a kitchen update I our old house remodel. In keeping with our country setting and love of rustic, our kitchen is a definite reflection of this, with its green cabinetry and butcher block counters. Check out the progress we’ve ...

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excavator begins digging the basement for our old house remodel

Old House Remodel – 3: Dig a Hole

80 Year Old House Reno 17: Installing Siding

Cuban burrito on plate

Cuban Burritos

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staining wood trim with brush

80 Year Old House Remodel 11: Finishing Trim

May 5, 2025 by Erika Leave a Comment

This article is packed with everything on finishing wood, from wood conditioner and wood bleach to stain and polyurethane. Join me on the nitty gritty journey of finishing our trim for our old house remodel addition. I have completed a bunch of ...

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water halfway up windows in window wells of old house remodel. Frog in water.

80 Year Old House Remodel – 7

sweet and sour beans on rice on a plate

Sweet and Sour Beans & Cooking Dry Beans

jar of hulless pumpkin seeds on placemat on weathered boards with greenery

Hulless Pumpkin Seeds

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paint swatches for old house remodel on pine with deep red and gold fabric

Old House Remodel 9 – Colour!

March 17, 2025 by Erika Leave a Comment

How fast can an experienced amateur paint a house? As we continue our old house remodel, we add colour, yes, colour. Join the journey! There was one thing Kent and I agreed on – no white paint! He may have regretted that statement. He probably ...

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green bean soup in a pot

Green Bean Soup

spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage in skillet

Grace’s Best Spaghetti Sauce

four large leeks on wooden cutting board on grass

Grow Your Own Leeks

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bubble glass vial and teaspoon with painted flower background

80 Year Old House Remodel – 8 Trades & Treasures

February 15, 2025 by Erika Leave a Comment

Getting back to the old house remodel. The only thing worse than working slowly, by oneself, is waiting, especially for someone else. Life lessons, kids. In the last few months a lot has gotten done, but it hasn’t seemed that way while living in ...

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two pieces of platz on a plate with a flowering plant

Platz: Fruit Dessert Square Bar

beet soup in bowl with slice of bread

Beet Soup and Growing My Favourite Beets

floor plan for our old house remodel

80 Year Old House Remodel – 6

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water halfway up windows in window wells of old house remodel. Frog in water.

80 Year Old House Remodel – 7

October 11, 2024 by Erika Leave a Comment

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated our old house remodel. It seems like there have been a lot of little things going on, but in there, a few bigger things have been accomplished as well. The evenings have been getting shorter and with it, ...

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wild rice mix, seared roast and cremini mushrooms on cutting board

Ultimate Wild Rice Bake

Entryway ripped off by truck and lying on the ground of old house remodel

80 Year Old House Remodel – 2

front view of old house

80 Year Old House Remodel – 1

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floor plan for our old house remodel

80 Year Old House Remodel – 6

August 23, 2024 by Erika Leave a Comment

Working on the roof, finding more old stuff, is all in a day’s work at our 80 year old house remodel. And I finally reveal the floor plan for the renovation and thoughts behind the design process, here on the blog. We are getting very close to ...

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homemade chicken salad tortilla wrap on a white plate on place mat with greenery on weathered wood

Homemade Chicken Salad

crane raising the roof trusses over the addition of the old house remodel

80 Year Old House Remodel – 5

chokecherry BBQ sauce in a jar with a spoon and snake plant on a place mat on butcher block counter

Chokecherry/Chokeberry BBQ Sauce

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crane raising the roof trusses over the addition of the old house remodel

80 Year Old House Remodel – 5

August 3, 2024 by Erika Leave a Comment

This edition of our 80 year old house remodel is full of big machinery. The basement is backfilled and our trusses are raised. High. Check out the video on that! We start with backfilling The Hole with a rented skid steer. That is a relief – one ...

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yellow door with wood looking concrete pavers and a dwarf snake plant

80 Year Old House Remodel 10 – Epoxy Floor

from below, looking through the floor joists to the trees and sky

Old House Remodel 4 – The Basement Gets a Roof

comparing flooring and stained baseboards, dark teal wall with snake plant

80 Year Old House Remodel 12 – Projects

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from below, looking through the floor joists to the trees and sky

Old House Remodel 4 – The Basement Gets a Roof

July 13, 2024 by Erika Leave a Comment

In the fourth installment of our 80 year old house remodel, the new basement gets a roof. Things start to go wrong as framing begins. As we continue our old house remodel and addition, things continue to be built in the upward direction. The ...

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a bunch of purple, white and orange carrots

Carrots: Sowing, Storing, Saving Seed

three jars of dry beans

Grow Your Own Dry Beans

potato salad in wooden bowl on place mats with whole potatoes and potted plant on butcher block

Homemade Potato Salad

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Welcome! I'm Erika, I live on eighty acres in the northern prairies of southern Manitoba with my husband and four kids. Here, we enjoy the outdoors and try to be more self sufficient as we try new things in the garden and learn about our land and the world around us.

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Featured Posts

Ground cherries and grond cherries in husks in a bowl on a place mat on weathered wood with a plant

Ground Cherry: Tropical Taste in Zone 3

wonderberries in a small bowl on a place mat with a plant on weathered wood

Wonderberry: Is this Success or Failure?

Summer squash in a basket on a place mat on a stump with a wildflower bouquet

Summer Squash Success

garlic stalks pulled from the garden, on the lawn

Part 2: How to Grow your own Garlic

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WELCOME

I'm Erika, I live on eighty acres in the northern prairies of southern Manitoba with my husband and four kids. Here, we enjoy the outdoors and try to be more self sufficient as we try new things in the garden and learn about our land and the world around us.

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