What a year!

Well the year is winding down and it is time to look back and remember all the days sunny or rainy, happy or sad. The girls are another year older and our oldest will be registered for Kindergarten in the coming months. The younger will be starting pre-school this year and so begins the yearly adventure of another grade, another teacher and so much to learn for both them and us. We added a new member to our family by finally getting a dog! Dexter is a 5 month old Bichon and is greatly loved by all, especially the girls. This year also came with the addition of 15 chickens of which 12 are still around and kicking, 2 of the 3 roosters became dinner this past summer and were quite tasty. Our garden was fantastic with beautiful tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and beans, we are still eating greens, herbs and squash that we grew this year. Hopefully we will expand the garden next year and try growing new things such as some ancient grains.

I joined the board at People for a Healthy Community and look forward to working with the other amazing board members to give back something to the community that made me who I am today. Dave's business has taken off and Sleepdeprived Computer Tech's have helped keep many people's computers running smoothly. He also has spent a fair amount of his time volunteering with the Gabriola Co-op Radio. Through all of this we still manage sometime for each other and the kids and have really enjoyed the past year watching them grow while laughing at all the goofy things they say and do.

We always tried to keep Real Estate out of this blog but I am breaking the rules just for a moment. Business was slow in the beginning of the year but then took off at an incredible speed, so much for the "Quiet Year" perhaps that is still to come. Okay so know that the rule has been broken I will endeavor never to do it again and keep this an island lifestyle blog.

Thanks so much to all who have made this such a great year we really appreciate all your support.

The McMahon's/Vincent's/Wishinski's

Gingerbread Cottage

Last year we picked up a gingerbread house kit from Costco with everything you need to make a house. The problem was the ingredients were so awful the girls were not allowed to eat it. This year we decided to do one from scratch and it was much easier than I had anticipated. I used the gingerbread recipe from Martha Stewart, recipe here, and then cut out the shapes needed to build it. Once it cooled I made Royal Icing, recipe here, and then we got to building. We cut chocolate layer mints in half for roof shingle and then I let the girls get right into it. Of course every piece of candy we had purchased was used and I am amazed that it has stood up under the weight. The girls are very excited as they have been told they can start eating some on Christmas Day. It was a really fun activity to do on a rainy afternoon.

We Did It!!

Congratulations Gabriola, we did it. After making it to the semi-finals for the Aviva Community Fund we have moved on to the finals for Gabriola's Emergency Care Facility. The 25 favourite ideas are currently being reviewed by the competition judges. The competition winners will be announced January 25th, 2010. So with our fingers crossed and thinking good thoughts we enter into the holiday season with our hopes set on the biggest gift of all come the end of January. What a fantastic group of people to set this motion and thanks to everybody who reminded and reminded and reminded us to vote everyday, you are very dedicated. Everybody deserves this toast, "Here's to a fabulous community that extends far beyond our backyard, Thank-you"!

First Gabriola Snow!

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event"
It is the first Gabriola snowfall of the season and as always it is beautiful. The kids were so excited when I got home from work. We quickly got dinner started, got dressed and headed outside. Snowballs and snowmen and snow angels were made by all. Snowflakes were caught on tongues and much laughter and giggling came from all. Once we were ready to come in the girls enjoyed dinner and hot chocolate and my oldest gushed about all that she would be doing tomorrow in the snow, especially sledding. Here's hoping that the snow sticks around long enough for that to happen. What a wonderful evening we had marked by the first snowfall of the season.

Dance Recitals

Miss Mara's dancers will be performing for free this week at their dance recitals. The kids love to have a big crowd to cheer them on and as an added bonus they are free. The Kinderdance recital is Wednesday December 9, 2009 at 11:30 pm at the Gabriola Commons, the Grade 1-2 class is Tuesday December 8, 2009 at 3:00 pm in the Gabriola Elementary School gym and the Grade 3-4 class is Wednesday December 9, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is also at the school gym. All recitals will last about an hour. If your child is interested in starting to dance or just wants to watch this is a great way to introduce them to the world of dance that is on their front door step! For more information about Miss Mara and her classes offered visit her website.

Gabriola Street View

This past year you may have seen the Google Street View vehicle making its rounds around Gabriola. Well it is now official, visit Google maps and you can take a lovely tour of Gabriola on what looks to be a warm spring day. It covers every road on the island and does a 360 degree view from the road. See the ferry in dock, people on the streets, gas at $1.06/L, and many other things. A very interesting idea, now people who have never been here can get a good feeling for the island.