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Read Reviews on YelpAugust is blackberry time, and Gabriola has lots of thickets of these luscious treats at the south end of the island. We try to go out a few times each season to pick berries. This time we took the kids and they helped, mind you they ate as many as they picked. We brought
home enough to make jelly, a pie and blackberry ice cream. Yum!
How easy it is to grow and how beautiful when harvested. We grew garlic for the first time this year. Just plant cloves in the fall and they are ready to harvest in late July, no fuss they almost take care of themselves. And they are out of the ground early enough to mak
e a last planting of bush beans in their stead! We are so pleased with the result that this will be a yearly crop for us.
What a great day, it was sunny and warm. We walked to the market this morning to pick up some artisan bread and fresh produce. We ended up with that and more. There were juicy carrots, big walla walla sweet onions, and freshly made spring rolls. We bought old fashion style licorice and on the way out I picked up a shampoo bar – the best for good hair days! There were lots of people at the market and we chatted our way up one side and out the other.
Saturday was opening night for Woodfire Pizza and Pasta located at the new Madrona Marketplace and we had a reservation and high hopes. We were not disappointed! Each of us ordered a different 10″ pizza, some with unusual but very tasty toppings, shared a couple of tomato salads, washed down with a sleeve of beer and followed with one of the fabulous desserts – it was too much food for four but great nonetheless. The marscapone cheese cake was exceptional and the creme brulee was to die for. We highly recommend this restaurant and look forward to going back. I will try the Degnen Bay pizza next time (confit of duck, shitake mushrooms, cilantro oil and baby mozzarella). ps – great wine list!
There was live music today at the Village Shopping Center. We were there to shop for this afternoon’s get together with our friends and family. We stopped at the Village Liquor Store and then on to the Village Food Market. I love our grocery store, it is open every day except Christmas and always well stocked with everything I want. And they gave me and all their other customers a present today – great music and 
a really nice shopping bag!
On June 9th Robert of Robert’s Place will be donating food and time to cook up a lunch as a fundraiser for People for a Healthy Community! The cost of lunch will be by donation and all the funds raised will be donated to PHC. PHC recently got word that the Gaming Commission grant money they have come to depend on will be 4 1/2 months later than expected. The above is one of the
fundraisers that will be going on over the next few months to help carry them through until the next available money is released. Please come and enjoy a lunch knowing that the money will be going to a good cause, helping to feed people in our community through the Food Bank and Soup Socials.
It is amazing what you discover is in your backyard just by googling something somewhat unrelated. While searching for Belvedere Farm whilst writing the previous blog I stumbled across “Supply Line Organic Foods Buyers Club”
which is accepting orders for Gabriola residents for the next 2 weeks, May 4- May 16, 2010. Very excited I browsed throught the online store and am very excited to receive flours, sugar, oats, dried fruit, lentils etc. in bulk, all organic and well priced. A fantastic end to my great day, and again I say “I love this place”!
We took the girls to Victoria for the weekend which unfortunately meant we missed all the Gabriola festivities this weekend but I think we would miss something great here no matter when we went! We stayed at a downtown hotel which made it so easy to get around on foot with the kids. On Saturday morning we took the girls to the Imax at the Royal British Columbia Museum and watched “Under the Sea” on the huge screen. Aylan loved the movie, asking so many questions while her sister fell asleep in my lap:) After the movie we explored the museum for about an hour which was as long as the girls had the attention for. Once we finished we walked around Victoria and had lunch at a great fish and chips stand called “Red Fish Blue Fish” which is close to the sea plane terminal in downtown Victoria. We spent time wandering through Beacon Hill park which is so beautiful in the spring and watched as the girls and our dog Dexter ran around, great way to tire everybody out. It was a wonderful weekend but so nice to come home to our home, city lots seem so small when you come from an acreage on Gabriola.
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
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Most of the apple trees have been producing well this year and these century old Kings are no exception. There are half a dozen old trees on this property and we were invited to pick. 100 lbs of apples later and the trees looked the same as when we started. Now it is time to preserve them. We will dehydrate some, can the apple sauce, freeze some for pies, make juice and apple jelly, and the best we will save for munching on – lots of fun!
Robyn & Carly McMahon and unlicensed assistant Lesley McMahon, your Gabriola Island Real Estate Sales Team
Located at The Folklife Village, #1-575 North Road, Gabriola BC, Canada V0R 1X3
Toll Free 1.877.422.8455 or Local 247.2088 or email mcmahon@gabriolaproperty.com
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