FALLING ON MY HALIBUTCHEEKS
Bill became part owner of the boat he normally skippered for a good friend, Loman Daury. When tragedy struck and Loman died unexpectedly, Bill partnered with another skipper friend, to buy the old Prince Rupert longliner, Zapora from the widow. The Zapora was a haywire boat. Everything was wrong with her, but like the Grande Dame she was, she seemed to plug along with baling wire and a wad of chewing gum. That’s not the way Bill rolled however, and before the boat was taken out again, she was overhauled from stem to stern. There was no end to the problems, but finally the work was done. Or...
Read MoreThe Importance of Early Literacy
I began writing stories for all the right reasons, more than 20 years ago.Having been an avid reader for as long as I could remember, I was rather upset that my eldest daughter, then age nine, chose not to read. She could read, and she could read well – she just didn’t want to. I didn’t understand that logic, and so like any good mother would do, I set out to guilt her into reading; child abuse at its finest. I decided to write a story about magic and mermaids, two of her favourite subjects, and this story would without a doubt, change her life forever. My evil plan worked, and I...
Read MoreBBQ Pizzas
I love making my own pizza. I get the toppings and the thinness of the crust I love without the cost. However, in the middle of summer I don’t want to turn my oven on and heat up the whole house. Using the BBQ is a great option during the summer months. Not only do you keep your house cool, cooking pizza on the BBQ gives it a “fire wood oven” taste. So good and so easy. I pair the pizza with a light and crisp salad to round out the dinner. To get this meal to the table all at the same time: Make the pizza dough earlier in the day. Prepare your toppings earlier in the day and keep them...
Read MoreChildren at Risk
One of the positives from COVID was that it shut down all my regular activities and gave me the time to focus on writing my first book, Children at Risk. The book is a thriller and I wanted to write it for forever. COVID gave me the time and opportunity to do it. Many years after I worked as a front-line social worker, I am haunted by some of the difficult and heart rendering situations in which I was involved. Though my story is fiction, the emotions of the main character, Lillian, are real. After having worked as a social worker for forty years, only briefly in child welfare, I was fed up...
Read MoreAlong the Way
My recently released a 12-volume series of children’s books introduces young readers to each of the Canadian provinces and territories. Entitled “Along the Way”, the series features a young dinosaur named Albert, who takes his readers on make-believe road trips to points of interest around the country, where they learn amazing geographical and historical facts and are introduced to different cultures, cuisine, horticulture, science and more. The series is dedicated to encouraging children aged 6-12 to broaden their horizons; be all they can be – all the while sharpening their...
Read MoreTake time in life to stop and smell the Lavender!
After 17 years of getting up at 5AM, driving in the city traffic to be at work for 6:45am with my suit and big smile. Working overtime Monday to Friday and making good money. I learned life was rushing by and I was only looking forward to time off on the weekends. During the week I would find myself daydreaming for what I had planned for the weekend. Thank goodness Google was invented. This is so much fun at work… Work was great, and the money was rewarding but the quality of life was depleting with the grueling long hours and the daily stresses life can bring. Time was a flying by. So,...
Read MoreSO… THAT SKILL IS AN ASSET?
I worked on a fishboat for a few years, which was heavy gruelling work One of the jobs I had – yes, there were multiple – was cooking meals in the galley. I prepped meals, watched the sounder for the inevitable shallow spots, and steered, the floor pitching wildly underneath. I careened from one spot to the other. The spaghetti I made for lunch one day, was topped with Parmesan cheese, the smell of which promptly drove me outside, to lean gasping over the rail. Under normal circumstances I do not get seasick. This ‘moving feast’ no longer qualified as normal. My ignorance made...
Read MoreThe shy one
I was born in Nova Scotia. My father was in the Navy and we were moved back to Victoria in 1961. In August of 1962 my family was in a very serious car accident, which changed our lives forever. My parents were told if I lived, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. My father said. I was a fighter. As life went on I worked through bullying, and I worked through discrimination. When I was 29 years old, my son was born. When he started school, he encourage me to volunteer at his school. Then he encouraged me to try to get a job at his school. He also encouraged me to write down stories...
Read MoreMay we all walk in light and peace
My first look at Vancouver Island in Victoria BC was in 1970. I was blown away by the view on Dallas Rd and wanted to live here as soon as I saw it. The houses were so cute and cozy. I tried living in Vancouver for a few months but it was too rainy and big so we moved to Victoria. BC. We immigrated to Canada running away from the Vietnam War. I finally felt at home after living in Sweden for a few cold years. I am an artist through and through and would like to share my book with you called Journey of a Mystic Artist. It is a colorful, mystical adventure where I go to sacred shrines and...
Read MoreGREEN IS DEFINITELY MY COLOUR
At the time I met my husband, Bill, he’d been a commercial fisherman on both east and west coasts of Canada for the majority of his working career. As a young man, he’d gone around the world on a research vessel owned by Columbia University, as a chief oiler, which gave him his taste for sea life. After that He’d worked as a longliner, dragger, and lobsterman. By the time we finally met, he was a BC commercial fisherman with his own troller, catching salmon off the north west coast of British Columbia. We decided I would work as his deckhand. Both of us had gone through divorces,...
Read MoreThe Hiatus & The Honey-Do List
The new year is well on it’s way…once again. 2021 was a lightning-quick one for me. The summer? Zipped right by. Writing was on hiatus – no time to wax the eloquent. Most of the farm production, plant-pick-preserve, was thankfully in the capable hands of a very good man and companion. My focus was on the Honey-Do List (and still is!). An explanation: It all started a few months after Laurie’s sudden passing, four years ago. He was an organized man, a list man and we both found great pleasure in figuring out retirement plans. You know, after we were mortgage-free and...
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 MoreProject Rise: New employability program launches bringing hope to ICCS clients
Project Rise offers training and work placements for people who have experienced homelessness – breaking down barriers to employment and community connection, and building confidence for the future. The program launched on Monday, April 4th with its first cohort of 6 client participants. Project Rise is a new program of Island Crisis Care Society (ICCS) aimed to deliver pre- employment and employment skills training and work placement opportunities to people who have experienced homelessness, but are now ready to re-integrate fully into independence and community life. Many ICCS clients...
Read MoreFish en Paupiette
This is a great dinner for both family and friends. It looks impressive and the clean-up is a snap! Serves 4 Preheat the oven to 400°F. 4 firm white fish fillets (snapper, halibut, etc.) 1 inch thick if possible 4 medium waxy potatoes, unpeeled and cut into thin slices 12 thin lemon slices 1 large bulb of fennel, trimmed and sliced thinly 2 carrots, thinly sliced on the bias 1 small red pepper, julienned Salt and pepper to taste 4 rounds of parchment paper Cut the parchment paper into circles large enough to hold the fish and the veggies and place them on a working...
Read MoreA Message from Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food.
One of the many lessons we learnt the hard way from the chaos created by the wild fires and flooding of last fall was how critical our food supply chain security is. As soon as the main highways were blocked supplies of all sorts were cut off and that created empty shelves in shops throughout the Island almost instantly. It seems we only have about 3 days’ worth of food on the Island at any one time. This highlighted a critical change as to how much of our food is actually grown here on the Island. In the ‘50’s about 85% of the food consumed on the Island was grown here; this supply has...
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