My Garden Decor
Even when your thumb is not particularly green, you can have an intriguing garden– certainly one with more personal, perhaps nostalgic, history behind it than the heirloom rose in the corner. Not to knock the roses though, because my robust and invasive Rugosa, covered with scented blooms, carries with it a story of the Alaska Highway. But back to those garden specimens that have sprouted without roots and need no pruning or fertilizing. Probably the first of these is an ancient cast iron Franklin fireplace. While directing its placement in a corner by the hedge of my present yard, my husky...
Read MoreAfter the turmoil of the past year or so I’m sure we all have stories and happenings that we will always remember.
I set up island Woman 2012 because I knew many talented women on the Island who loved to write. They produced beautiful articles and poems etc. but had no means of easily sharing or publishing them. Since then so many Island women have posted incredible articles that were as varied and interesting as they are. To maintain and continue the range and scope that is Island Woman magazine I would like to reach out and encourage others to post items with us. These articles can be a one off or you may post them on an ongoing basis. The choice of subject matter and size is totally up to you. We will...
Read MoreI am delighted to introduce Teresa Schapansky, an accomplished published author.
Teresa will be posting regular articles and excerpts from her books. Thank you Teresa for joining us at Island Woman Magazine, Trish Summerhayes. Publisher, Island Woman Magazine ************************************* In June of 2016, I received a message from a cherished high school friend. Polite folk that we are, he and I exchanged our usual pleasantries before he got down to business. His dad had been hoping to have his story written for quite some time, and he asked if I might be interested in taking on a project such as this. Would I ever. Since then, I have met with Jamal 45...
Read MoreExciting News
Haley Healy’s second book following the success of her first “On their own terms” is now available Once again she features some of the amazing women that help to create the Vancouver Island that we now enjoy and cherish. Thank you Haley for portraying these women such a graphic way for us to enjoy. Trish Summerhayes. Publisher Island Woman Magazine. ***************************************** Flourishing and Free: More Stories of Trailblazing Women of Vancouver Island is an inspiring and eye-opening collection of true stories about sixteen women who blazed their own trails in...
Read MoreStill I Rise
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard Cause I laugh like...
Read MoreOn Their Own Terms:
True Stories of Trailblazing Women of Vancouver Island I am delighted to introduce and welcome Haley Healey to Island Woman Magazine. Island Woman was started and designed for just such women as Haley; to promote and feature Island women writers. What makes Haley’s first book so special is that it features the achievements of other Island women. Thank you Haley for this wonderfully written book and we wish you every success for this and for the other books that I am sure will follow. Best regards, Trish Summerhayes Owner/Publisher Island Woman...
Read MorePoor Darling.
Upon hearing my screams of terror coming from the bathroom as a small child, Mum would rush up the stairs knowing there was a gigantic human eating spider in the bath tub, it’s black shape more prominent against the white enamel. Picking it up, she would say, “Look at the poor thing, no one loves it with all those hairy legs.” We would walk downstairs and out the front door where she would carefully place it on the grass saying, “You can’t live here, poor darling.” My mother also believed in fairies and when it would rain, she would bring in the ceramic ones from the flower pots...
Read MoreScience Lesson
My son Will was the kind of kid that just had to investigate everything in his path.My other two, his older sister and brother, when I would tell them, “no”, they stopped what they were doing. With Will, that word was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. “No, you say? Well let’s just see about that!” With Will, it was necessary to invest in those nifty little plastic plugs that would prevent two-year old would-be electricians from sticking things like bobby pins or even fork tines into electrical outlets. We also invested in those door-knob-thingies that prevented him from...
Read MoreSWITCHED AT BIRTH
It never did seem quite right.I just do not resemble in any way anyone in my family.I feel at times my father is a little suspicious of my origins, however he has not suggested a DNA test yet. Easy for him to get a sample of mine, we share the same bathroom. I do not appear to be loved less than my brother and sister, although they do joke when looking through family photos and say things like ”Still can’t find a match for Lenny.” It is unnerving at times, although I really seldom think of it. I am taller,smarter, and better looking than my siblings. Not bragging, it is...
Read MoreLost Sisters.
Why had no one ever mentioned Mum’s twin? After she passed away last month, we daughters had the job of going through the house and finding things family members had requested, sorting clothing that likely would all end up at the Thrift Store, and finally shredding all those old house bills that she and Dad had kept for the last thirty years. Why? We could never answer that question but it was common to believe they might come in handy one day, or someone might call to verify the bill had been paid. Lots of people felt they were important papers and should be kept. It certainly kept us...
Read MoreDiscovering The Artist Within!
Many moons ago, I remember asking the person standing next to me at an artist’s studio party if he did anything that was artistic. He replied that he didn’tdo anything artistic, because he was only a gardener. I replied that I was also a gardener, but that I experienced gardening as painting in 3D. By considering design, shapes, colours and combinations I would create the garden of my dreams; but as a garden is continually growing and changing it becomes an ongoing living work of art. I have always been envious of artists. They take their talent for granted. It must be the way their...
Read MorePretty Polly…
Every morning it was the same routine for Martin. The 6.30 am scratch on the bedroom door, the gleeful kisses from a six year old Corkie, Spam, patiently waiting all night for his early morning run in the garden. Next coffee and off for a walk with Spam, just around the neighbourhood. A few neighbours would be out walking as well. Martin chatted with each of them as they met. It was leisurely and somehow fulfilling. Since retirement the routine seldom changed. Martin was in his early 70’s now, a widower, with Spam his loyal companion. He often mused on the wonder of the smell of the...
Read MoreI HELD MY BREATH
The letter came in the mail . It was postmarked Cambridge and I recognized the return address. It was months ago I had sent in my poetry to the Cambridge writers collective for blind judging. I had been writing poetry since I was a kid in high school but never before did I have the nerve to put my work out there for scrutiny. It felt as if I were giving away my firstborn. “Am I being presumptuous?” I thought . How could I compete with the likes of writers like David who encouraged me to submit? I bet it’s a rejection letter. They say you often have to expect hundreds of rejections...
Read MoreHOLIDAZE
It is that time again! Hidden Halloween wrappers finally all discovered and vacuumed up. The last of the frozen Thanksgiving turkey stewed, and now every store isle is full of Christmas. It’s here and you better hurry because one, two, three, and you are making New Year promises. I am older now, a great-gramma and Christmas is calmer. No, not anywhere near as exciting as shopping for the just right gift, or taking five small children to Eaton’s mall to visit Santa so they could tell him in person how they desperately needed the latest toys advertised on TV. I loved watching their...
Read MoreThe Canada Council for the Arts
Seventy Canadian books up for the Governor General’s Literary Awards Canada Council for the Arts revealed the 2018 finalists for the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks) today. These 70 Canadian books are among the best published this year in seven categories, both in English and in French. They are the works that stood out to peer assessment committees from close to 1,400 titles submitted for consideration. Quote : “Innovative, troubling, surprising and emotional. This year’s GGBooks finalists have once again proven just how rich, bold, diverse and...
Read MoreThings We Miss.
Nostalgia. I love looking back. I remember the patterns on my Grandmother’s dishes, sometimes I see a cup and saucer just like that in an antique store, I never purchase them, somehow just looking and enjoying the mental scene they evoke is enough. There was a wooden clock on her sideboard that donged out each hour. A garden of flowers , beans, and potatoes. The colors in her front room, and her massive fern plant sitting on a table. I often watched her cook and bake and that was where I learned nearly everything I know about cooking, and especially about waiting ’til...
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