Take 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...
Read MoreAn hour in the life of a Horticultural Therapist
A regular HT program I run involves caring for our feathered friends in the garden. The goal is to provide age appropriate programming for older adults who live in a long term care residence, which will increase social interaction for the participants and stimulate lost memories. For many older adults watching bird life in the garden can be calming, joyful and uplifting, just to mention a few of the benefits. It can be done from the comfort of your home and for those with mobility challenges it’s a great way to maintain a connection to nature. To set the scene: I have cleaning materials...
Read More5 fantastic daily habits to help you achieve permanent weight loss after 40.
Trying to lose weight after 40 can feel like torture even for the healthiest person. You may feel you’re doing all the right things, yet you can’t figure out why the weight keeps piling on. It can be confusing and frustrating trying every trick you see online only to be disappointed. But there is something you may not be taking into consideration. It is the things you are doing every day that potentially contribute to your weight gain. It could be as simple as making small changes for a considerable impact. Imagine it’s as easy as making minor adjustments to your routine...
Read MoreA cry for help
I received an Email to Seniors 101 with a cry for help regarding the scenario below which is a variant on the desperate need for housing and understanding for far too many people in BC. ————————————————————————- “My friend is in the hospital in Duncan with a broken leg. Until her accident, she rented a room in a house, but she can’t return there because of the stairs. The task of finding new housing is challenging and she is getting anxious as her...
Read MoreA purrfect ending: Kabul cat and NATO officer reunite in Vancouver
Abandoned, tear gassed, airlifted and very much loved: a cat rescued from Afghanistan finds a new home. But Tay Tay, a three-year-old grey tabby, was much more than a number to Gary Ash, 59, a NATO officer stationed in Kabul. Ash worked in occupational safety at Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Kabul, Afghanistan, located next to the American Embassy. She was a friend. (Tay Tay beside Gary Ash on a cold night at Camp Resolute Support in Kabul. PHOTO BY GARY ASH /PNG) So when an international mission organized an airlift to Vancouver to liberate Tay Tay and 300 other dogs and cats stranded...
Read MoreMy journey as a registered Horticultural Therapist.
I grew up on a farm in England and on leaving school trained as a registered nurse (RN). Having worked as an RN for many years in both England and Canada, I realized I needed a new career direction. On a busy surgical unit there just wasn’t enough time for me to work in accordance with my values. The vocation of nursing seemed to have changed. I wanted to reconnect with people and ultimately re-establish my connection to the land. After moving from Edmonton to Nanaimo ten years ago I began my search for a new career. I soon discovered Horticultural Therapy (HT), a formal practice that...
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