Gabriola Island Lifestyle Blog
Archive for the ‘West Coast Living’ Category
Sunday, July 17th, 2011
We are very lucky to have wonderful friends on Gabriola Island who are willing to take our eldest daughter everyday last week to Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo to partake in the Arts Alive Summer Program for “A Play in 5 Days”. The kids in conjunction with their wonderful teacher Mary-Jo Fulmer created an entertaining and very goofy
play complete with bad guys, magic bananas, a princess, fairies and more. After working on it all week family and friends were invited to watch the play which the kids performed in the auditorium. It was a wonderful introduction to drama and I am sure many will continue on as the kids were all fantastic.
Posted in Daytripping on Vancouver Island, family life, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, Kids, People, The Arts, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Monday, July 11th, 2011
There were two curious little girls who were able to spend an afternoon exploring within a fairytale land. There were dragon’s, castles, lush greenery, faeries and so much more!
This past Saturday the girls went and explored the wonderful Once Upon a Time art market/tea house here at a private residence on Gabriola. There were 16 artists, a tea house, faeries and more located in beautiful lush gardens making it a very magical experience for all.
This beautiful dragon and its rider is made from foam found on the beach then carved and felted, absolutely stunning!
Posted in family life, Flora and Fauna, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gardening on Gabriola, greener living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, Kids, People, Shopping on Gabriola, The Arts, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
I have been spending a fair amount of time looking online at farm co-op’s and how they are started and run. I looked at Glen Valley farm’s website located in the Fraser Valley and was inspired by what they have created there, a successful model of co-operative organic agriculture. The goals of this co-op is below and a model like this could work on Gabriola :
The original goals of the co-op when established in 1998 remain priorities today and figure into our decision-making processes. These goals are to:
- provide access to certified organic food for shareholders and the local community;
- own and operate the farm co-operatively;
- steward the entire farm for the mutual benefit of the land, wildlife and people;
- be a model of sustainable living; and
- create opportunities to learn about sustainability.
Shareholders and friends of the farm meet regularly for a shared meal and meeting. All major decisions for the co-op are achieved through concensus. We believe this process helps to ensure that issues are carefully thought through before action is taken, that it gives everyone a voice in the process, which results in much greater buy-in by all participants.
Check out their website for more information at http://glenvalleyorganicfarmcoop.org/ and a local blog from a Gabriola group who is quite involved with the slow food movement at http://www.goal-2025.com/
Posted in Food, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gardening on Gabriola, greener living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, West Coast Living | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 17th, 2011
They have told us to be prepared for one of the coldest winters on record. Yesterday, as if mother nature was thumbing her nose at the whole idea, the afternoon temperature crept up to an absolute balmy 15 C and sunny. We spent the afternoon outside walking in the woods and checking out our pond which is much larger than usual (In the picture the pond usually ends at the brush in the background). The girls had a blast pretending to fish and splashing in the water. What a treat in the middle of what should have been a winter day!
Posted in family life, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, greener living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Kids, People, west coast, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Monday, January 10th, 2011
It was a beautiful day yesterday, the snow fell most of the night and the clouds parted to give us a beautiful and sunny winter day. The kids and the dog spent as much time as possible outside knowing that the snow never stays long enough for their liking. We went for a wonderful afternoon walk and came in to have hot chocolate and oatmeal cookies. It was a wonderful day!
Posted in family life, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Healthy Living, Kids, Recreation on Gabriola, Weather, west coast, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
Thanks to all who made it out to the studio today for the Gabriola Winter Art Affair, it was a fantastic event! To all who receive the gifts we hope you love them even more than we do, locally made is extra special! Also a very happy holidays to all, may it be full of warmth, family, friends and laughter. Here’s to a great last 2 weeks of 2010 and a smile to the year to come, may 2011 be a wonderfully special year with new adventures and experiences. Thanks for all the support and business we have received this year, you are all wonderful in your own special way and we appreciate all of you!
“Ther are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward”
Kahlil Gibran
Posted in Buy Local, Crafts, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, People, Shopping on Gabriola, The Arts, Uncategorized, west coast, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Saturday, October 16th, 2010
We were so lucky today to have the chance to take the girls to a pottery class at Feedlot Studios here on Gabriola. We were greeted by an extremely fun and warm Mariko and her husband Bryan in their large, bright studio space located at 800 Valli Place. The girls started by getting in the Halloween mood with some ghoulish drawings to get the creative juices flowing. Once they had done a drawing Mariko showed us how to create a Halloween landscape complete with owls, pumpkins, snakes, crows, tombstones, cats and “Do Not Enter” signs as well as so much more. Once the creepy landscapes were formed the kids were able to paint them with a non-toxic ceramic paint in fun colours such as orange, green, black, red and white as well as a myriad of other “non-Halloween” colours. Once they were finished the kids were told that there pieces would be put in the kiln and would be ready for a later date. The finishing touch for the kids was a lovely little treat bag with Halloween candy and stickers. What an incredible way to spend a Saturday morning in October! To keep up to date on what this talented couple are doing subscribe to their blog http://feedlotstudios.blogspot.com/ and check out their website at http://feedlotstudios.ca
Photo courtesy of Bryan and Mariko
Posted in Crafts, family life, Gabriola Island, Gabriola Living, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, Kids, People, The Arts, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
What a delight it is to find a few chanterelle mushrooms along your path. When you are walking in the mossy forest in the fall it is not unusual to find mushrooms of all types, but the chanterelles are particularly tasty and very easy to recognize. Both white and golden ones can be found on Gabriola. The golden ones seem to grow a bit higher off the ground while the whites snuggle under the moss and are usually more covered in forest debris. On our last forest expedition we found a large grouping of the whites and were able to pick enough for the whole family to enjoy!
Posted in Flora and Fauna, Food, Healthy Eating, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
This past weekend my husband and I had a couple of days off and met up with some friends from Vancouver and camped at the Living Forest campground in Nanaimo. We spent one of the days with them and our girls heading up to Coombs and continuing on to Cathedral Grove (MacMillan Provincial Park). The girls loved Cathedral Grove, the big trees, “fairy holes”, streams and flowers. It was a wonderful and magical day topped off with ice cream cones
for all at the Old Country Market while watching the goats gambol on the roof.
Posted in Camping on Vancouver Island, Daytripping on Vancouver Island, family life, Flora and Fauna, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, Kids, West Coast Living | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
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.
Posted in Buy Local, Causes, Food, fundraising, Gabriola Island, Gulf Island Lifestyle, Holidays and Special Events, volunteering, West Coast Living | No Comments »
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play complete with bad guys, magic bananas, a princess, fairies and more. After working on it all week family and friends were invited to watch the play which the kids performed in the auditorium. It was a wonderful introduction to drama and I am sure many will continue on as the kids were all fantastic.
Robyn & Carly McMahon and unlicensed assistant Lesley McMahon, your Gabriola Island Real Estate Sales Team