Gabriola Bottle Drive Fundraiser

This Saturday February 27th on Gabriola there will be a bottle drive fundraiser to help raise money for the Higgins family while John Higgins is in treatment for cancer. This fundraiser is being put on by the Gabriola 4-H Club and will take place at The Gabriola Commons on North Road across from the Elementary School. Please bring down all your bottles on Saturday starting at 10 am or call Cheryl at 250-247-8517 for pick-up of large amounts. Thanks to all who organized this, it is great to see how this community bands together when needed!

A Boreal Ballet on Gabriola

We were treated to a wonderful performance from the dancers of Gabriola Dance School. Owner and instructor Mara Brenner choreographed a lovely production complete with exquisite costumes, beautiful voices and smiling faces. The youngest dancer (who happens to be my youngest daughter) at only 2 1/2 all the way up to dancers who are 16 years of age made this such a fun and entertaining show. The youngest girls were dressed as snowflakes with beautiful tutu's and white crowns. They were lead in their dance by 4 eight and nine year old girls who were absolutely fantastic in making sure the littlest ones were happy, excited and ready to dance their little hearts out. I am so incredibly happy that there is a great little dance school right here on our door step, what a wonderful addition to Gabriola Island. Again a huge thanks to Mara Brenner and all the dancers and parents that made this show happen!
ps. To make it even better the admission was by donation of either a food item or cash donation with all the proceeds being donated to People for a Healthy Community.

Gabriola to Host Radio Conference

Gabriola Radio Society has been selected to host National Campus Community Radio Conference from Monday June 7—Friday June 11th 2010. This premium conference, taking place at Camp Miriam, will be open to all NCRA members as well as anyone interested in expanding their radio skills and knowledge. Gabriola Radio Society will be creating “Camp Radio”, an atmosphere with a total 5-day immersion in all things radio, hosted by experienced radio professionals. Delegates will have the opportunity to be housed in either on or off-site accommodation with a 100 available at Camp Miriam itself and the remainder using local B&B's and hotels There will be a series of advanced upper level workshops which will also appeal to those just beginning in a radio career. Visit www.ckgi.ca for any information pertaining to this conference and the battle to bring community radio to Gabriola Island.

Yummy Cupcakes!

A childhood friend of ours has recently opened a cupcake shop called "A Wee Cupcakery" in the Old City Quarter in Nanaimo, just a hop from Gabriola. We had the chance today to swing by for a visit during our eldest daughter's ballet class. She has a fantastic shop with many different choices ranging from mexican chocolate to pineapple and red velvet. All made in shop from scratch, are beautifully simple and taste like a piece of heaven! Medina Mayes is the proprietor and baker, a lovely and passionate woman which is evident in every cupcake. A Wee Cupcakery is located at 407 Fitzwilliam Street in Nanaimo and is open 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm (if the cupcakes last that long!) Weddings and custom orders welcome! www.aweecupcakery.com

Full day Kindergarten at Gabriola Elementary School

It was announced back in the fall that the province would be introducing full-day kindergarten for the September 2010 school year. What was not announced at the time was which schools would offer the full-day for the first year. Yesterday we found out that Gabriola Elementary would be one of the schools that will be participating in full-day kindergarten in September of 2010. I was ecstatic to say the least, as was my 4 1/2 year old daughter who exclaimed that meant she would need a lunch box because she would be eating lunch at school! Registration for Kindergarten began on January 4th and can be done anytime during the school day at the front office in the school, just bring the child's birth certificate, Carecard, and proof of address.

A Windy Night

Gabriola experienced strong winds with gusts around 100 km/h last night and early this morning. The power flickered many times before finally going out at around 5am (where we live anyway) and was out until the early afternoon. We went for a short drive and saw lots of trucks and workers out wrangling branches out of power lines and getting the electricity flowing again - THANK-YOU!!
Our "white house" which shelters our gardening tools and supplies unfortunately did not make it through the night.

Gabriola vs. Quadra!

It's competition time! Gabriola and Quadra Island are competing to see who can be the most active and in turn help prevent cancer. It begins January 16th and runs until February 26th when one of the 2 islands will be crowned Most Physically Active. The challenge is $10 and you are to keep track of your numbers and call them in every week. Kids are only $2 and thanks to Arbutus Building Supply every child registered at Gabriola Elementary School has been sponsored. The extra bonus is not only the good feelings from being physically fit but all the proceeds from the registrations go to a local charity. The winning island gets 100% of their proceeds as well as 50% of the losing islands proceeds for a total of 150% going to the Lunch program at the Elementary School (when we win). Get your fitness challenge log at IDA Pharmacy in the Village, Arbutus Building Supplies and The Gym @ Twin Beaches. Come on Gabriola, let's get active and show who the winner is!

Happy Birthday Gabriola Artworks!

This past Thursday was the midnight birthday bash for Artworks here on Gabriola, 14 years, hard to believe! It was a great time with door prizes, champagne, food and cupcakes. Many items where marked down substantially with some being on sale until the 11th of January and a few straight through the month. We got there around 7:30 and had a nice evening sipping champagne while chatting with friends and shopping. A very elegant way to shop for sure!! Robyn bought a pair of Lindsay Godfrey earrings while I have my eye on a stone heater and may go pick it up today. Thanks to Artworks for being such a fabulous place to be, so many art shows and events you are a rockin' part of this community! Happy Birthday!!!

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.

Gabriola gets her vote on!!

Congratulations to all Gabriolan's and beyond who voted daily to ensure our place in the semi-finals for the Aviva Community Fund. We are in need of a permanent emergency health care facility and we are now one step closer to realizing that need. Daily we voted, reminding each other at the end of the day to vote became an evening ritual. This evening my husband asked if I had voted yet today because we only had 14 minutes left, I had. So wonderful to see what can happen when something so valuable is needed by all. But remember we are not done yet, voting resumes on December 2 so please vote! What a great challenge and community building activity this is, keep up the good work everyone.

The Roxy Theatre

A girlfriend of ours had a great birthday celebration idea, she is hosting a wedding party. Come as a bride or groom, bridesmaid or groomsmen, wedding crasher or such. The question of course when you have young kids is were will you host such an event...The Roxy.

We are very lucky on Gabriola to have many venue all of differing size and location. The Roxy is a great 50-seat theatre, located centrally in the village area, showing a regular schedule of movies and offering a venue for lots of other events. A perfect place for a intimate birthday gathering such as this one.

For rent at a affordable $20 per hour it is a great venue for many parties, young and old! Happy birthday to the birthday girl, have a fabulous time! For more info about renting The Roxy please email them at theroxy@shaw.ca

Beach Access

There are a great many public beach accesses on Gabriola, this one is at the end of Malaspina Drive where there is a little park and the point separates the beach in Taylor Bay from the rock shelf of the Malaspina Galleries. This is a great swimming spot in the summer for teens and adults, a good spot to watch the yearly bathtub races, and an attractive place to hang out on any nice day.

Official Community Plan

It is time for Gabriola to review the Official Community Plan. The review will be made up of a 15 person volunteer group who will look at both the OCP and Land Use Bylaws. There were 29 applicants in total with 15 members appointed by way of Local Trust Committee motion on Friday November 13th. The full membership of the Volunteer Review Committee is as follows:

Carly McMahon
Bill Pope
Tom Kirchmayer
Kees Langereis
John Peirce
June Harrison
Daniele Rudischer
Adam Velsen
Sara Brockelhurst
Susan Yates
Melanie Mamoser
Kathryn Molloy
Robert Ferris
Lisa Webster-Gibson
Randy Young

I am excited to have been chosen to be on the review committee. It will be exciting and a fabulous learning experience.

Lunch and a project

With winter coming on and the family needing to exercise but not wanting to be out in the pouring rain we decided to share on the purchase of an eliptical trainer. This is a very easy thing to do, you order it from costco.ca and it arrives at your door. Putting it together was a bit more challenging but we managed it in about 4 hours. We had pizza for lunch, whole wheat naan bread, sauce from scratch, back bacon and jalepenos, topped with mozarella and avocado, all ingredients from our local grocery store.

Joy of Cooking

I don't remember when exactly I became interested in cooking but I have been asked many times by friends why I don't cook for a living. My answer to that is that I do it for the love of it and want to keep it that way. I had considered taking some classes to learn some new skills and tackle the dishes I have shied away from in the past. Now I can do that thanks to Gabriola chef Double Dave. He will be teaching the lucky class how to prepare a sensational yuletide feast using local Gabriola fruits, nuts, wild mushrooms, vegetables, seafood and free-range meats. Classes are to be held at Jupiter Ranch. select either the session on Friday November 13th from 6 to 10pm, or the session on Saturday November 14th from 6 to 10pm. Cost is 120.00 per evening. For more information visit Jupiter Ranch.

Poetry Gabriola Festival

Plan to come to the 6th Annual Poetry Gabriola Festival, a wild West Coast celebration of literary performance. For four days, November 12-15, the Surf Lodge on Gabriola Island will be filled to the rafters with poets, musicians, storytellers, sound artists, and other special guests. Enjoy an off beat weekend of unconventional performance, remarkable readings, Round Table talks, and four captivating workshops sponsored by The Poetry Gabriola Society. This group has provided a forum for great poetry and extraordinary performance since the year 2000. Tickets should be bought in advance; on line at poetrygabriola.com, in person at Artworks, or by phone 250-247-7604.

Raising Timber

A timber frame raising took place at the Gabriola Commons, the result of a huge volunteer effort. The timber frame structure was donated by the Island School of Building Arts and will house farming equipment at first. The plan is to finish the building using a number of green building techniques such as strawbale, cordwood and rammed earth and alternative power. This will be an interesting project to observe, complemented by a recently built cob wall.

Final Rest

We went to a memorial service at the United Church to say good bye to a lovely person. This beautiful church with contemporary stained glass windows and a shining cross is located at the south end of Gabriola Island beside centuries old petroglyphs. The service was touching and afterwards the burial took place at the Gabriola Cemetery overlooking the Narrows and Pylades Channel. What a beautiful spot for a final resting place with graves dating back to the 1800's. If you would like to know more about Gabriola's history, click on the history label below.

Sustainability on Gabriola

This weekend a sustainability workshop was held on Gabriola at the Community Hall. With approximately 50 participants it was a lively event. The focus was to bring together individuals and organizations committed to long term sustainability of a healthy community. The format was small groups dedicated to such topics as affordable housing, water, food security, emergency response and community preparedness, art and culture, youth, waste management, and protecting natural areas and ecosystems. This was a grassroots effort and all were welcome to participate in crafting a plan for the future. Contact this group at communitysustainablityplan@gmail.com.

350 Climate Action Day

October 24, 2009 marks the second annual 350 Action Day, a day dedicated to joining thousands of people around the globe to call for strong climate action. Wonder where the 350 number comes from? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. We are currently at 387 and Saturday is a call to action to bring about awareness and get that number down.

The website 350.org is a valuable resource in determining what you can do whether it is creating your own action or joining an already planned action. Search for the location closest to you and see if any event for Saturday peaks your interest. Dance, sing, hike, walk, jump, swim, do whatever it takes to help bring awareness to this event. Become part of the solution...the children of the world will thank you!

Winging It!

Part of the Gabriola Thanksgiving Festival was this weekend of Art Start Workshops. Sponsored by Gabriola Arts Council and British Columbia Arts Council, this two day extravaganza of Art instruction was free for the under 18 crowd and $10 for adults. The workshops averaged 2 to 3 hours and covered such artistic pursuits as drawing, painting, dance, singing, mosaics, knitting, hooking and spinning, drumming, working with clay, and making suncatchers and wings. Carly attended "Winging it!" and created a beautiful pair of wearable faery wings.

Beach Visit

This beach access and swim raft is located in Clark Bay. It is a bit too cold for swimming in the waters off of Gabriola now, although the hardy still do, but there are stairs down to this very pretty sandstone beach which offers pleasant walking and the view of the Strait is spectacular!

Gabriola Studio Tour

It is day two of the three day Gabriola Studio Tour 2009, this free self guided yearly event is a favorite of islanders and visitors alike. 40 artist studios are open from 10-4 over the Thanksgiving weekend with art from the whimsical to the useful including paintings, glasswork, woodwork, leatherwork, metalwork, stonework, jewelry, quilting, books, pottery, photography, textiles - meet the artists and experience a grand display of their art in quaint little artist gallery settings throughout the island. This is a well planned event with a fabulous tour brochure map available everywhere and on line. We find 1/2 hour per gallery is a good expectation. On our first day we each bought a purse from Indian Summer and some little gifts. With day two and three ahead of us we are sure to find more treasures to make our own.

Flowers for Sale

Earl's Dahlia Garden, where you can buy a bunch of Dahlias for $3, is located right next to the little boat launch in Descanso Bay. Sitting on the bench in this picturesque setting you have a good view of the ferry coming into the Dock on Gabriola.

Olympic Torch Coming to Nanaimo!

It hasn't happened since 1988 but the Olympic Torch will be coming to Nanaimo. On October 31st starting at 5:45 pm at maffeo Sutton Park there will be live entertainment and the torch will arrive at 8 pm - actual Torch Relay Route will be announced 10 days prior to the event. See the City of Nanaimo site for additional info and have fun at the festivities!

Apple Time

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!

Enchanting Chanterelles

It is the time of year for gathering mushrooms and for us this means Chanterelles. These mushrooms can be found on Gabriola along forested pathways and in mossy clearings among the trees and they are very easy to recognize. My favorite way to prepare and enjoy them is painted with olive oil, seasoned with mesquite and cooked over an open fire - put a couple of fish beside them and you have a great meal!

Ancient Grains

Since we started ordering our groceries through Spud we have been trying to buy food grown as close to home as possible. The difficult part is ordering local breads and such due to the fact that nobody is growing grains on Vancouver Island...so I thought. Upon reading a local food magazine I discovered that a hand full of Vancouver Island farmers such as Sharon Rempel are growing heritage grains like spelt, “Utrecht Blue” bread wheat, and red fife wheat to mention a few. This piqued my curiosity and next year in our (hopefully) expanded garden I am looking forward to growing and eating some of these, if nothing else they are beautiful to look at.
(photo credit Terry Chapelas)

Fall Fair Day

It was Fall Fair day today and my sister and I took the oldest of the four girls and walked the short distance down to the Gabriola Commons. From noon until 3 pm today many Gabriolans spent the day listening to music, watching squash races, looking at beautiful fruit, veggie and flower displays and eating ice cream. The 4-H club served cotton candy and popcorn while the proceeds from the fresh corn on the cob and the ice cream went to the Hot Lunch program at the elementary school. There was a silent auction, face painting and plenty of good company, if you missed it this year make a point of coming next year!

Taxi

The Gabriola Taxi provides service throughout the island, call them at 250-247-0049. Gabriola has a long history of friendly taxi service.

Celebrate Summer and Welcome Fall!

It is that time of year again when the Gabriola Commons hosts the Fall Fair. It is a fun filled day full of animals and cotton candy, games, contests, demonstrations and more. It is wonderful way to spend the last day of summer, we hope to see you there!

For more info visit the Gabriola Commons website.

Shed Chic

A couple of days ago I was visiting with a friend who turned their 8 x 10 electical shed into an animation studio. It is a fantastic little space with insulation and drywall and even a cute little window. There is a fair amount of room and it functions as a great space for him to escape and get work done. On an island such as this where so many people work from home it is a cost effective way to turn a small outbuilding into a usable space. Outbuildings under 107 square feet can be built without obtaining a permit. If you decide to turn them into work spaces with electricity or a sink you will need the appropriate permit for either plumbing or electrical. Recently we have been looking into the idea of a workshop space outside for me and are having a great time looking at all the ideas for very nice "sheds". Books such as Shed Chic give great design ideas for outbuildings such a gypsy caravan or barn style while keeping it small. Take a look at some of the pictures and form your own ideas but be warned that it will be hard to decide what to build!
ps There are also pre-fab versions, check out Modern Shed for some ideas

The Post Office

In the late 1860s mail came from Nanaimo by boat or canoe brought as a neighborly gesture. Alexander Shaw signed a contract with the government for mail service on Gabriola in 1884. James Gray was the first postmaster in 1890. In 1935 Thomas Taylor ran the post office out of his home with living quarters around back. This was the post office until 1950. It was then run out of the postmaster home until the present post office was built in 1970. For more about the history of the Gabriola read June Lewis-Harrison 'The People of Gabriola'.