Brenda Hsueh

When I first made an offer on this property, I knew that the first major house repair I’d have to invest in was a new roof. So my Amish neighbour Gideon put the word out that I needed a new roof for the house and eventually, Sam showed up with his friend Levi. I decided […]

The one thing that I have not been able to get acclimatized to on the farm, is the slow speed of dial-up internet…28.8 kbps. Being in Toronto this weekend with high speed internet everywhere makes me appreciate how much I took fast web browsing for granted. And it highlights how handicapped I feel by the

I probably haven’t mentioned it before, but the farm’s name is ‘Black Sheep Farm’ and I’ve finally chosen a logo with much design help from Benita. I’ve now added it to the blog page, though there may be some more refinements to come. Let me know your thoughts on the logo…what words come to mind

I didn’t realize I missed the whole month of April for this blog as time just seems to be rushing by! Since getting back to the farm after the One of a Kind show in Toronto, I’ve been slowly plodding along with my various tasks and haven’t really been stressing too much over the timing

My first month at the farm has flown by in a flurry of moving, cleaning, painting and unpacking. The house was in a dirtier state than I’d feared, with clean up of cat feces in the corners of many rooms, and mouse droppings from all the kitchen cabinets. And then I started getting flea bites

I am now officially moved to the farm. After an extremely stressful week trying to get 2 mortgages finalized to pay for the farm on Feb. 27, everything finally worked out and I took possession that Friday. All I will say about the whole mortgage experience is that this ‘recession’ sucks, I hate appraisers, and

I went up to the farm yesterday with Mark and Robb. This was my third time there (preceded by my initial look and home inspection trip) and Mark’s second time. The trip had multiple purposes: take measurements in the house, examine the floors/walls/windows to plan for immediate repairs, meet with my insurance agent, examine the

After some packing up of my clutter (any one who’s been to my place before knows I have a lot of stuff), I was able to take pictures of my place so I could get it listed. I’ve moved some items to my sister’s and my minivan has also become my mobile storage unit. Though

First off, the best Christmas present I could have gotten this year…I’ve bought a farm! Technically, it doesn’t close until February 27, 2009, but my offer was accepted and now I just have to get my ducks in order so that the money to pay for it is ready by the closing date. It’s a

Monday was a bittersweet day for me as I left Everdale for the 2008 growing season. I will be in and out to help with the winter root vegetable harvest and also to continue with my farm property search, but I gave up my room in the straw bale and will no longer be spending