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When all of Susanne's great Aunts moved to the United States looking for work in the 1930's in made a big shift in her family's history.  Today, with the uncertainty between the United States administration and Canada, those relationships may be fragile but are worth protecting. 

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Knowing a little bit about food handling safety procedures can make you uneasy when you are making sausages at home.  Join Susanne and she and her family try to make venison summer sausage with a meat grinder and a thermometer. Oh, and scalloped potatoes are involved. 

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The Night Before Christmas was first published over 200 years ago.  Reading it is one of Susanne's favourite Christmas traditions.  

Please take a few minutes, sit back with your family and remember this charming rhyme that has remained popular for two centuries. 

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After the hubbub of the holiday passes, memories and meals are mixed with loss and laughter to create another Christmas surrounded by family and pets. 

Susanne reflects on Christmas 2024 and many other memories get thrown into the mix. 

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Years of worry ended in nine seconds when all the stars aligned for the new cupola to be installed during the major reconstruction project of the Crazy 8 Barn in Palmyra, Ontario.

Let Susanne take you through the anguish and the joy that rebuilding history can be. 

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Can you imagine finding a heritage home filled with the gigantic fruit of an Osage Orange tree?  Well, Susanne did and you can find out here how that adventure turned out. 

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You can conjure up that old Christmas feeling anytime if you have an old Victrola and a group of rangy kids.  Hear how Susanne and her friends and family brought an old snowman back to life on every summer vacation. 

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When the Tamarack trees turn gold in the cool days of November, Susanne recalls the days when private pilots were plentiful and friendships were formed through flight and food. 

You'll hear about a little yellow airplane and how it changed the lives of many local residents. 

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Artists from around the world collaborated to make one of the most cherished Christmas animation movies from the past half century.  It was one of Susanne's favourites.  Find out how it came together, and watch out, there's singing.

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When harvest rolls around, we want to show our appreciation.  One autumn Susanne and Manfred created a Corn Queen to honour the bounty of the harvest.  This week you'll hear how they accomplished it. 

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Susanne has plugged the combine while harvesting corn.  Listen where she wanders to as she reflects on the dangers that have faced farmers in the past and how they coped with them. 

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Susanne takes you into the combine with her as they race against the weather and the setting sun to finish up a soybean harvest. 

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Susanne re-imagines how her family could have come together to make a safe landing spot for her parents who were trying to get home in their small aircraft before dark.  It's a unique look at rural families who flew private aircraft from their own farms in the 1960's.  

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Creating stories and fairy tales comes naturally to children as Susanne realizes when 11 year old her grandson describes his new experiences making his first stop-motion animation film. It's where the real stars are created. 

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When Robert Redford died last week, Susanne thought about the lessons she had learned from the movie star who "wasn't her guy".

You'll also find out why she chose the jaunty theme music for this podcast.

So join her as she re-enters that golden age of film making with Newman and Redford. 

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When a grandson's graduation gift flies out of sight, Susanne and family are on a misadventure to the soybean field.  Will they find the misguided gift or return with only scratches and  bad memories?  Find out by listening to Doomed Maiden Voyages. 

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Manfred and Susanne delight over the beauty of the barn swallows that take up residence every summer in an old dairy barn on their farm. Follow the turns and tales that have kept these beautiful little birds housed here for almost one hundred years. 

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Susanne has been on some surprising horse purchasing adventures with her daughter. Hi ho ..... 

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Susanne makes a shattering discovering about the rebranding of Pyrex and its offspring. 

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Susanne is surprised when she answers her cell to  hear Manfred shouting that she is one fire.  Follow their frantic efforts to squash the fire in the field. 

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Coyotes populate southern Ontario and when we are outdoors we see them often, but not as often as they watch us.  Listen as Susanne is surprised by a voice from the darkness. 

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Do you ever wonder why you love or loath foods that were popular in your family when you were a child?

In this episode, Susanne tries of her dad's favourite treats, one that she found repulsive in her childhood. Will her taste buds have matured?  Will she still find this food yucky?

Listen to find out. 

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Over the years, Susanne has had some delightful brushes with real and suspected Ukrainian heritage.  She has learned that all is not as it first appears but also treasures the remarkable tastes she encountered. 

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When a local club hosts a Frog Legs Supper, Susanne remembers a frog fishing fiasco from a childhood vacation on a Northern Ontario lake. 

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When Susanne and her cousin travel to the islands of the northern shore of Scotland, they are lambasted by ferocious winds as they visit an ancient village from Neolithic times. 

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My website to join in our barn quilt painting experiences is www.crazy8barn.com Duration: 00:06:53

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Warm summer days have Susanne reminiscing about a 70 year old neighbour who drove his motorcycle to work in the local tobacco fields in the 1960's. 

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Rural mailboxes are a source of pride for most country folk. So when Canada Post eliminated the Rural Route designation in mailing addresses, it reminded Susanne of how that simple abbreviation "RR" had shaped a bit of her image of herself. And you'll also find out about a long-forgotten neighbourhood crime spree!

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Starfish keep appearing in Susanne's life.  They are mythical creatures that shine through childhood joy, farming surprises and loves and losses. If you've ever wondered about how one could end up in a farmhouse in Ontario, you'll want to listen to this episode. 

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In this episode Susanne discusses the unique stories that Barn Quilts tell about farmers' brand loyalty and their property histories.

You'll even get to find out which tractor brand is her favourite and her crazy reason why. 

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An unknown lifetime fact is revealed to me as I travel with my Dad between medical appointments.  It was surprising and reassuring at the same time. 

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This week I introduce you to the life lessons I learned while flying ex-military training aircraft in formation flight at small airshows in the 1990's.  Let me tell you one thing, it's a unique way to learn to handle stress. 

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I arrive in a Newfoundland bar at the end of Canada's attempt to avoid a constitutional crisis in June 1990 and discover that it's important to tackle our big ideas.  Whether they fail or succeed, is immaterial. 

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When three generations start to purge a household, it is surprising who becomes the hoarder and the lover of all things old and sentimental.

Find out who takes Lady Grace's tattered top home at the end of this episode. 

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When four generations of my family gathered to watch a full eclipse of the sun in the Spring of 2024, I was amazed that my 10 year old grandson was enthralled with the event.

First published in my newsletter Sun April 14, 2024.

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This story recounts my end-of-year attempt to cycle the Port Talbot Hill in Elgin County, Ontario.

It is a steep paved hill on the northern edge of the first European settlement in our area of Canada.  It had been my goal in 2024 to be able to cycle down and up the hill.  

Join me as I attempt this strenuous challenge. 

First published in my January 4, 2025 newsletter. 

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First published Sept. 1, 2024

Susanne and Manfred eat like the locals do under the Blue Water Bridge at Point Edward, Ontario. In this episode, they find a local treasure that tourists would love to discover.  

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