Pretty 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 MoreHolding on by a Thread
We humans are both fragile and resilient. This has been brought home to me vividly as I recently watched my father fight for his life. His wish was to live, to continue to enjoy life to its fullest. He was a strong, healthy man, until he wasn’t. My father loved the good life; family, friends, good food and conversation and nature in all its abundance. He loved providing for those around him with fresh fish, home grown vegetables and all manner of food foraged from local forests and shorelines. He grew up on the West Coast of Canada with deep ties to the wild and he traveled the world,...
Read MoreVaping.
I cannot understand for the life of me why vaping been allowed and legitimised into Canada by our federal, provincial and municipal governments. What were they thinking about? oh silly me, more taxes of course; no matter what the costs. I think vaping is incredibly stupid and dangerous on 2 fronts. !. Why should I have to walk through the huge, obnoxious clouds that these things generate when I am out walking. What am I forced to breath in? 2. What chemicals are the users breathing in and passing on to me? We have spent 20 years or more actively, and successfully, encouraging...
Read MoreChloë Angus:
A Fashion Mosaic of Ancient and Modern Culture. Since before she can remember, Chloë Angus has held a deep appreciation for Indigenous art and culture. Coastal First Nations people were her neighbours during her formative years in the small fishing village of Egmont on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. And when she moved to Vancouver, reverence for First Nation’s artistic traditions catalyzed into her namesake fashion brand – an elegant clothing line which celebrates the iconic beauty and power of their craft. “I had to share their art with the world,” she says. “I wanted to create a truly...
Read MoreFemale Construction Workers
I found the article below to be a very interesting read. Construction workers are in great demand, they are well paid and include good family health benefit plans All projections point to construction being a driving force of the Island economy for years to come . Women can ,and must, be a part of the financial and security that this will provide. Trish Summerhayes. Owner/Publisher Island Woman Magazine. ******************************************** Slowly perhaps, but ever so surely, more women are starting to move into careers in the construction trades...
Read MoreMayan Magic Natural Skincare
Now, we’ve carried this little Gem for several years now,and it sits quietly and unasuming on the shelf, yet enjoys great sales. Both customers and fellow employees have been singing it’s praises for years and so I have finally taken the time to do a little research on it’s active ingredient. This star ingredient is called “Tepezcohuite”, extracted from Mexico’s “skin tree” and used by Mayan healers in their holistic practices. This ingredient, has proven to offer healing, restoration and protection for the skin. Now, I don’t believe every miracle claim I read, but...
Read MoreWomen’s Squash Week
Nanaimo Squash Club Opens Doors for Women’s Squash Week September 14-122. For many squash is a vegetable. But for an estimated 10,000 British Columbians, the sport of squash is their passion, fitness routine and social hub. It wasn’t until she was 50 years old did Catherine DiCecca stepped onto a squash court. The impetus she explained was that both her and husband needed to get back into shape. “The club was highly supportive and not intimidating for newcomers. Along with the Club’s welcoming culture we got addicted” said DiCecca. The Nanaimo Squash...
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 MoreSpreading my Wings, Standing Still
Sometimes the best action you can take, is to take none at all. There is strength is standing still. We’re such an action-oriented culture that we can miss out on the wisdom that comes to us only in the silence and stillness of non-action. Many well-meaning people have suggested over the years that I slow down; that I put too much on my plate; that just watching me do all the things I do, leaves them feeling tired. “I don’t know how you do it all!” is something I often hear. I enjoy being busy. I enjoy the challenge of sitting down in the morning and putting my Can-Do List on...
Read MoreWhat’s your reason?
Everyone has a reason to be out on the road. It may be because you have to get the kids to soccer, get to and from work or do your “running” around. All those are “I have to be on the road” reasons. It could also be because driving exhilarates you….. you cannot wait to jump in your vehicle and hit the road. Every time you get behind the wheel, it’s a whole new adventure. Maybe you are just running to the grocery store, but the way you see it, there’s also a chance you’ll take a detour and find a really great hiking place, a cool...
Read MoreTime To Take Out The Trash:
On May 5, Kestrel Helicopters was in the air again, moving back and forth between ground crew at the mountain base and a receiving area where sorters prepared the garbage for transport and disposal.During two and a half hours of flying time, a total of seven tons was removed, including over a ton of tires, three and a half tons of metal and more than two tons of assorted garbage. While this was a good start, it did not begin to return the area to its previous pristine state. It is estimated that approximately 50% of the debris was removed and thus the job is not yet finished. The Rotary...
Read MoreTo Bathe or not to Bathe.
Through the ages tales have been told of tubs and bathing. Here are some you may recall. Long ago Agamemnon, a solder returning home from the siege of Troy, while soaking his battle worn body in a hot bath, had a wife, who perhaps thinking he had been gone too long, creep up and whack him twice with an axe. On a kinder note, Homers’ Odyssey tells how travellers were always greeted with a warm bath in a metal tub, the water heated over a wood fire and carried to the bath. Who could forget Cleopatra soaking in her milk bath, or the ancient Greek Archimedes, discovering the physics of...
Read MoreElder Financial Abuse:
Protect Yourself and Those You Love Elder financial abuse is the most common form of abuse against older adults, accounting for over half of all elder abuse situations reported. It impacts an older adult’s financial options, and ultimately, their ability to properly take care of themselves. Fortunately, through education, you can learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from elder financial abuse. InvestRight.org, is the British Columbia Securities Commission’s investor education website. This BCSC InvestRight blog post describes elder financial abuse and provides common...
Read MoreWhat’s New?
Is anyone sick to death styling their hair? That blow dry, flat iron routine can really take its toll, but it looks lousy if you do nothing. I’ve recently been experimenting with my own hair. which is color treated, and naturally quite coarse and frizzy/curly. After considerable research (cause I’m like that), let me share what I’ve learned about products to tame and soften coarse and curly hair. Hair Serums, Yahoo! Distributed evenly through damp strands, serums coat your hair with oil and/or silicone polymers and seal the cuticle, protecting it from humidity. The...
Read MoreIsland Woman & Mermaids
B.C. seafarer named first Canadian woman to captain major cruise ship Capt. Wendy Williams will be master of the Scarlet Lady, the first ship in Sir Richard Branson’s new Virgin Voyages fleet, when it makes its maiden voyage from Miami to Caribbean ports in 2020 Pore through maritime literature and the women you come across are as likely to be mermaids or a ship’s figurehead with breasts exposed. Seafaring is a pursuit that’s finally shifted toward a better gender balance, but still has a long way to go, and Vancouver Island’s Wendy Williams is one of the women leading the...
Read MoreThe Act of Doing Nothing
We live in a culture of doing. We are on constant full throttle, multitasking, carrying on four different conversations at once, thoughts flying a hundred miles an hour. And all this busyness is a wonderful coping mechanism for not dealing with or looking at the things in our lives that need shifting. I hear so often from clients and students that they are unable to meditate, or slow down long enough to hear their Inner Wisdom. Yet they are determined to develop their intuition and psychic abilities, hoping to not have to slow down to do it. I know this challenge. I could blame...
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