Back to Eden
For years I have been pondering the scenario of what would happen to seed supplies if the whole world suddenly became food insecure and people all around the globe started to grow food. I could not imagine what would cause such an unlikelihood, yet today here we are seeing an unprecedented reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a return to the land and expansion of food gardening not seen since the Victory Gardens of World War 2. This has caused sweeping demands in seed sales and food starts as folk who have never grown food plant food gardens, and others switch their gardens to grow...
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 MoreA Rediscovered article from a dear friend.
30 years later it means so much more. What it Feels Like to be Old The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that is was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know. Old age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the cellulite, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, the jiggly thighs, and the sagging butt....
Read MoreHeartbreak, Healing and Happiness
Megan Edge Master Healer, Author, Educator, Public Speaker & International Radio Host Megan Edge Master Healer, Author, Educator, Public Speaker & International Radio Host MeganEdge.ca LinkedIn or FaceBook Listen to Megan on Transformation Talk Radio Read Megan in Island Woman...
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 MoreConstruction set to begin on new supportive housing building in Nanaimo
New building getting underway next week will provide secure homes with wraparound services for people in need Construction will get underway next week on a new 59-unit supportive housing building at 702 Nicol St. in South Nanaimo. The four-storey building features 52 studio suites for people experiencing homelessness in the community. In addition to the studio units, one floor will feature seven units with two beds each that will be available exclusively to vulnerable women — a service previously provided by Samaritan House at 355 Nicol St., which has been demolished in preparation for...
Read MoreKALE – NUTRITIOUS AND DELICIOUS
Kale is not just really GOOD for you but is also one of the easiest and longest lasting garden vegetables to grow. It has the highest levels of beta-carotene of all the brassicas. It contains 10 times the Vitamin A of lettuce and 3 times the Vitamin C of oranges. It also has more B vitamins than whole wheat bread, and more calcium than milk! It is so versatile in the kitchen that Sharon Hanna describes 80 + delicious recipes in her Book of Kale, The Easy-to-Grow Superfood, everything from kale chips to smoothies and kale shepherd’s pie with lentils. Check out a 2021 seed catalogue to...
Read MoreNettle is Starting to Sprout!
Foraging in nature feeds my soul, we are so fortunate to be surrounded by such abundance My research of native plants has taught me that Stinging Nettle is a superstar! Drinking the herb tea or eating the cooked fresh leaves builds the blood; strengthens the lungs, hair, nails. It has been used to relieve seasonal allergies, who knew?! So I’ve been out harvesting nettle VERY CAREFULLY! It probably goes without saying to wear gloves, the sting can be painful. Snip nettle stem about an inch above ground to as not to destroy the plant and always leave a few, we want to continue to...
Read MoreThis Year’s First Trunk Show with Joseph Ribkoff
Ladies mark your calendars for PatrYka Designs’ Joseph Ribkoff’s Trunk Show on Saturday, April 17th from 10 am – 5:30 pm. Classic, chic, elegant, timeless, and luxurious are the words customers use to describe Joseph Ribkoff’s statement pieces and PatrYka Designs in Mill Bay is proud to carry the uniquely Canadian line. Trunk show attendees will view the most popular spring 2021 styles and enjoy a first peek at the 2021 fall collection featuring warm tones and drawing inspiration from the 70s. Joseph Ribkoff’s fashion specialist Mark Saint James will be in attendance also!...
Read MoreCoq Au Vin and Bananas Foster
To get this meal to the table all at the same time: Cut up the chicken and make the stock the day before. Chill the stock over night. Chop the pancetta ealier in the day and set aside. Prep the finishing veggies earlier in the day and cook them during the last cooking time for the chicken. The pecans can be candied several days in advance. Store them in an air tight sealed container until you finish the dessert. Prepare the sauce for the dessert up to just before adding the bananas but finish the dssert just before serving. Coq Au Vin Serves 4 1 chicken Salt and pepper as...
Read MoreAncient Healing Wisdom – Home Energy Clearing
Do you love the energy in your home? Is your home a place of refuge for you? Does the energy in your home feel nourishing and supportive? Your home should be a sacred space for you and your family. If it isn’t, a full Home Energy Clearing may be just the thing to help your household get back on track! Space holds energy! Have you ever walked into someone’s home and felt instantly better, welcomed and embraced? That’s some good energy! But even the most welcoming home needs a good energy cleaning every once and a while. With so many of us now working from home there’s a lot more energy...
Read MoreOur sister site Seniors 101 has just extended it’s reach and scope.
It has produced a Nanaimo Seniors Directory which is available not only on-line but also in PRINT!!! This is huge. Until now our 3 magazines have been strictly of the web variety. The article below was printed in our local newspaper gives a good overview of what we have done. The on-line version of the Directory can be opened from the Home page of Seniors 101 via this link https://seniors101.ca We would really appreciate any comments you might have. Thank you. Trish Summerhayes Owner/Publisher island Woman Magazine. *********************************** Printed product proves popular...
Read MoreLast year at this time I was speaking about gaining mastery over ourselves,
so that no person, no government, no idea could keep us boxed up and unable to guide ourselves as individuals and communities.This was almost prescient beyond belief when you consider how this last year has unfolded, and what has been presented to us. We also emphasized that there is a way to be master of the guidance system that will keep us on track. What is this ‘track’ ? In bearing witness to the global confusion which has erupted all over the globe this last year, it often feels like any kind of ‘mastery’ is a rough and impossible notion. Merely a speculation or a hope of the...
Read MoreComfrey
It’s everywhere, taking over gardens and impossible to get rid of and I think I know why. I think it’s the universe knocking us up side of the head saying “for Pete’s sake, notice this plant, it is amazing!” It has been used for over 2000 years for ulcers, wounds, muscle soreness, bruises, rheumatoid arthritis, varicous veins, gout and fractures, rashes, scars and the list goes on and on. This past Fall my Aunt Joanne shared that she had Comfrey taking over her garden and I was welcome to take as much as I liked. Yay! So I decided to start with an Herbal Infusion. This is made by...
Read MoreThe Fours Secrets of Successful Soil Building
This year many of us went back to our gardens to grow more food in the face of an uncertain future. Since plants constantly remove nutrients from the soil, if these nutrients are not replenished, plant health in your future crops will be jeopardized. Your garden will never be as good as it was the year before. So here are my four secrets of successful soil building. Secret Number One: Compost is the gardeners’ version of humus, but it is produced much more quickly. The quality of compost as an organic soil additive depends on the residues from which it is made, as well as the extent to...
Read MoreCovid and me made for a very strange year
The happenings of 2020 will forever be a period in time that will be with all of us forever. No one escaped from the world wild mayhem that was created by Covid-19, obviously some more than others.I am so fortunate, that to date I, and those that I care about, have not become a victim and thereby a statistic of this disease. I live in Chemainus which has become my cocoon from the daily horror stories being faced by the rest of the world. Being a mother, a grandmother and the publisher of Island Woman Magazine.ca has caused me to experience the mental stress and pain caused by Covid-19 ...
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