Love … Unconditionally
For a long long time, since I was a wee bairn I’ve linked February with Valentine’s Day. You know the book of cards you gave out (& received) from classmates, in an envelope that had its own fake stamp, or your own SWAK on the back. Later it was fancier cards, chocolates, flowers. I was lucky. I got all 3 and the flowers were always in a pot so they lived on and on… if I remembered to water them. I don’t recall any stat holiday in this month until about a decade ago. Now PEI has Islander Day, Manitoba has Louis Reil Day, Nova Scotia has Heritage Day. In BC...
Read MoreBook reviews by Janet
Not every novel in the New York Times top ten of 2022 was a hit with me. I skidded through a baffling cast of cameo characters, each offering some meme evoking my real-life digital experience. I felt a Where’s Waldo vibe, with aha connections between characters and plot twists revealed in a phrase to keep me reading. I was also drawn in by plot pieces like the machine that can download a lifetime of memory to a flash drive, or the one that can upload it to a searchable collective consciousness…feeling to me like Google on steroids. Prophetic? Possibly. Scary? You bet! Still, I give the...
Read MoreDOES PLANNING FOR YOUR FUNERAL MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO DIE?
There are many people who are afraid that just thinking about death will shorten their life. On the contrary, talking openly about the end of our lives helps us to accept the realities of aging which can in turn, help us to live with less fear. What do I mean by this? Talking openly about the end of our lives helps us to focus on the important things; it can help us to clarify our lives. We are all going to die one day. It is the one thing we all have in common. Going through the process of pre-arranging our own funeral helps us to deal with our mortality and can help us to live out our...
Read MoreThe Future is Now – Intelligent Quantum Healing.
The channel Kryon said the following about a new form of healing – ‘’ Get ready for medicine to change forever. Get ready for the elimination of one kind of healing and the opening of another. Get ready for intelligent Quantum healing to occur I have no way of describing to you a healing – it is not a process, do not say that word – a healing paradigm that you cannot see, you cannot imagine. That marries you and the innate intelligence of your body with the ability to imprint itself and heal itself using its own data and its own DNA. That is as far as I can go ….can you...
Read MoreAfter 10 years I still enjoy great pleasure and satisfaction from owning and publishing Island Woman magazine.
We have stayed true to the original concept of being a platform that encourages and supports women writers on Vancouver Island. During that time we have published the works of over 70 writers covering the whole gambit of styles and subjects. It has been, and still is, amazing to receive and publish the works these women. Whist many of the names have changed over time the energy and excitement has not. To ensure that this endures we are always looking for and encouraging new writers to join us. As we start this New Year if you or friend has toyed with the idea of presenting your written talent...
Read MoreLocal island ingredients make holiday dinners grand
As this year draws to a close, I feel privileged to celebrate this season of togetherness as I take on a new role as British Columbia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The holidays are a time to gather with friends and family, but it is also a time for us to support local producers by incorporating B.C. ingredients in our holiday meals. With so many products grown and raised here, a feast of B.C. products is both easy and tasty, and due to the mild climate and plentiful greenhouses in B.C., we are able to enjoy some of the best of B.C.’s vegetables even in the colder months. Here is a...
Read MoreSeasoned Greetings
If we’re not meant to have midnight snacks. why is there a light in the fridge? – unknown author Once again that magical time of the year is upon us. For many folks Christmas and New Years is all about friends and family and…FOOD, glorious food; my favourite 4-letter word that starts with F. Come to think of it, it appears to be the common denominator in all of life’s celebrations. Let’s name a few: Thanksgiving – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, and the grande finale pumpkin pie; then Christmas – more turkey, ham, brussel sprouts. But...
Read MoreWinter Food for birds
Our wildlife depends on Native plants for the food. Whether it is Native bees which depend on Native plants or birds that depend on fruit or seeds, we can lend a helping hand by supplying a food source. Many of you readers will put out bird seed in the winter to feed the hungry birds, but recently we have heard about a number of infectious diseases killing birds where feeders were not meticulously maintained. You can lend a hand by growing berries that help some of our birds survive the winter. Snowberries fall into that category. I am sure you are all familiar with snowberry or wax berry or...
Read MoreWhat’s stopping you from getting your affairs in order?
As mentioned in my last article, we typically associate getting our affairs in order with the end of life. As a result, it is considered an undesirable task. It is also known to be overwhelming. Where do we start? How do we know when we are finished getting our affairs in order? Getting our affairs in order is simply about getting our life organized, whether that be details regarding our future health care planning, financial and legal matters, or information regarding our vital statistics like identification documents and family history. Documentation regarding pets, pre-planned funeral...
Read MoreBook Worm
There is more treasure in books, than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island -Walt Disney, I have a confession – a shocker for some. Although I like to write & love to talk (really?), I’ve never been a reader; a pleasure-reader that is. I have indeed digested many a medical tome. During my nurse training the favourite party tale was about how I sustained a black eye while studying late into the night. The massive anatomy book that I had propped up on a pillow suddenly careened over just as I was momentarily checking my eyelids for cracks. I believe the term...
Read MoreHelp your bees and butterflies!
We have all heard about the worrisome reduction in native bee and butterfly world-wide. But we can help a little on a local basis. BC is known to have about 400 different Native bees and many varieties of butterflies that depend on our Native plants. By planting Native plants in your garden you will provide a food source suitable to those bees and butterflies (especially their caterpillars) and can enjoy the beauty of our local flora and fauna. When the Saskatoon bush blooms in April-May they are covered in white flower, a great attraction to bees, then in July-August they have...
Read MoreA message from Lana Popham B.C;s Minister of agriculture.
To me, summers on Vancouver Island are emblematic of farmers markets, packed with local produce, patio season and afternoons spent on the beach, enjoying a picnic lunch. As the leaves begin to change and we welcome the arrival of autumn and the harvests of many B.C. fruits and vegetables, I also wanted to share some lesser-known products from Vancouver Island that feature in fall meals at my home. They are all part of the BuyBC program, which helps consumers recognize local foods through labels and marketing, making over 3000 participating products easy to identify and are a shortcut to...
Read MoreGetting your affairs in order
Having our affairs in order is NOT just for those who are dying! When we start talking about getting our affairs in order, we get this uneasy feeling in our gut. Am I am going to die soon? If I think it, therefore I am? In our society we have come to accept this expression as preparing for end of life, when, we could all benefit from having our affairs in order in any season of life! We can spend countless hours looking for personal information that has been stashed in different corners of our home. We keep meaning to get it organized one day – but each day gets consumed with other...
Read More– The Office of the Seniors Advocate today released BC Seniors: Falling Further Behind, a review of the financial challenges facing B.C. seniors.
The report highlights the impact of rising costs on B.C. seniors who depend on government pensions and ranks B.C. as the lowest in its financial support for seniors compared to other provinces and territories. “Seniors I speak with tell me their pension incomes are not keeping up with rising costs and they are paying too much for rent, groceries, dental care, homecare, house repairs and other essentials,” said BC Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie. “Currently 45% of seniors in British Columbia are living on less than minimum wage and 25% of seniors are living on less than $21,000 a...
Read MoreNEWFOUNDLANDERS, OCTOPI, AND AN OIL CHANGE IN HIGH GEAR
During the fishing season, at least for a few trips, we had a Newfoundlander on board as another deckhand. I couldn’t understand a word he said, but we had fun with him. I found out he had certain phobias. Spiders. Women. On the first trip out, Bill had him convinced that on our stop in Rose Harbour, we would be taking him to the dance, and setting him up with a nice girl. (In reality there is absolutely nothing in Rose Harbour, let alone a dance) He spent the next twenty four hours locked in his bunk because “all women had AIDS!”. During my turn at wheel watch one night I’d promised...
Read MoreA Tale of Two Unicorn
A great horse will change your life. The truly special ones define it. As I sit here on the swing, in the shade of a rather large cedar tree, protecting me from the sun/cloud/rain (take your pick, give it an hour and we’ll get all three!), I’m looking out at the corral where my 2 unicorns remain sequestered. I watch them nibble away patiently, nay more like rambunctiously, at their hay net bags – nuzzling, prodding, lifting, teasing the stands of dried grass through...
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