I Know My Onions: Homesteading North of the 53rd by Ileen Boechler Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Keith Foster $16.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-30-0 Imagine reclining in your favourite armchair and reading a good book beside the fireplace on a cold winter evening. Then, having finished the book, laying it down and basking in the memories it evoked. Ileen Boechler’s I Know My Onions: Homesteading North of the 53rd is this type of book. The title comes from an expression that people who were well read, articulate, and possessing great general knowledge were said to “know their onions.” The author relates experiences from her growing-up years with her three sisters and their dog, Sport, on the family farm near Carrot River, SK. Trees were abundant in this northern area and she helped her parents build their log house. She still loves working with wood. To her, a building supply store is “like a toy store is to a child.” Ileen says she felt safe and secure in her childhood. Even in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930s when times were tough, the family made do by being resourceful. They’d use the waxed paper lining from cereal…