No More Overcooked Prawns!

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

I had the privilege of watching Matt Horn of Cowichan Bay Pasta‘s cooking demonstration at the Cowichan Bay Spot Prawn Festival on Saturday. I thought I would share the recipe and a few tips I learned from Matt about how not to overcook prawns, how to make fresh pasta, and what to use instead of lemons to keep ingredients entirely local.
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Posted in Cowichan Bay, Good food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Bicycle Named Steve

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

Tonight was my first speech at Toastmasters — the Ice Breaker speech. I was so nervous I nearly cried and spoke too fast at the beginning, but that’s why I’m going to Toastmasters, to settle these ridiculous butterflies. The topic for the Ice Breaker speech is me, something about my life. It’s a fun tale, so I thought I’d share it with you. Enjoy!

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Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

HMB Lodge & Retreat: It’s Just So Easy

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

I was looking forward to a day with just me and the mister after a hectic week that included making Valentine’s cards with a 5-year-old and 3-year-old whose idea of fun is mushing together my expensive and brand new (unopened since I bought them 5 years ago) craft ink stamping pads (“Look Mommy! A new colour!”). Scratch that: I was looking forward to a day with just me and the mister because the last time we were together, alone, with no kids, for more than 3 hours was my third kid’s birthday 15 months, 5 days, 17 hours and 52 minutes ago. Continue reading →

Posted in Lake Cowichan, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sustainable Valley, BC?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

In December I had a job interview with Nokia. They were looking for a technical writer for the Nokia App Store, located in their Burnaby office. The office is gorgeous: The atmosphere is a mix of après-ski and Finnish minimalism. (Just to give you an idea, a fireplace sits in the center of a circle of six huge floor-to-ceiling tree trunks (possibly fake) and three sofas in the common area.) Continue reading →

Posted in Cowichan | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

And They’re Off…With A Whistle

Posted on December 7, 2011 by

There was no confetti falling on a convertible car with our newly elected mayor sitting in the back, waving at the cheering crowds, along North Cowichan’s main drag. But today’s eagerly anticipated (at least by me) municipal council swearing-in ceremony did start with a parade, if only a small one. Continue reading →

Posted in Council, Cowichan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thanks to You, I’m Famous (ish)!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by

I was encouraged by some of my most loyal readers (all two of you) to submit an article to the Cowichan Newsleader about my thoughts on the election. On Monday, I called John, the editor at the Newsleader, and asked if I could send him an article. The conversation took 30 seconds; the guts to call him took 30 days. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Community, Election | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

A momentous day: 10,000 views

Posted on November 6, 2011 by

It’s a momentous day. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | 14 Comments