Getting to the Other Shore

Pretty much since high school my life has been full up to the max. From 18 to 20 I balanced three jobs and a full course load. My early twenties began with a mortgage, a marriage, and the start of my "career".  While working 40 hours a week or more, for a large company, I took on the task of achieving my professional accounting designation via correspondence. And given that I am an incredibly, stubborn overachiever I didn't just do a couple courses at a time, nope, I did 4 or 5 per semester for five years straight. I know, I'm crazy. Oh but wait, that wasn't all.  During this time I also helped my husband run his business by tackling the accounting and all of the paper work that constantly spread across the kitchen counter.  Fast forward a few years and near the end of my schooling we decided to really test the limits of our sanity.  I was in the final two year leg of my CMA designation, what they call the Strategic Leadership Program and what I call Management ...

Life Lessons via Berry Pickin' Yesterday I took the kids junk huntin' and berry pickin' as it had been ages since I had picked salmon berries and huckleberries. For those of you who are not familiar with these berries a salmon berry is the raspberry's sour cousin that grows wild all over most coastal islands and the huckleberry is a tiny, round, coral coloured delight that is a real pain in the butt to pick (hence the ages since picking) If you've ever picked Huckleberries you know, it takes for bloody ever, and although Huckleberry jam and pie, and all that, is frickin' amazing, at the time of picking, it hardly seems worth the effort. As a kid I would routinely cheat and just strip the entire branch, tiny leaves and all, just to fill the bucket and to avoid painstakingly picking the little berries one at a time.  Even the other day, here I was an adult, picking berries (which was my idea) and five minutes in I was frustrated and annoyed and switched to p...

Sailing 'round Lasqueti Island and Back This weekend we took off from Shelter Point and headed for Lasqueti island, another island I have literally stared at for years and never stepped foot on. It was to be our very first overnight adventure with the kids and we were packed to the rigging with food, drinks, blankets, pillows, bug spray, sunscreen, snacks, books, and more snacks. The weather report called for sun, sun, sun and more sun and it was about darn time!! We were departing at dinner time so I crafted up some Basa (slightly wrong that while sailing on the west coast we were about to feast on farm fished catfish from China but c'est la vie), with roasted mushrooms and red pepper in tinfoil.  Tinfoil rules - it is an essential kitchen tool for west coast living . The trip already felt magical. On the way across Bubs (aka Kowalski) and I played a few games of "Deep Dive" with his Shark Cards (these are a super cool find I brought back from a trip to Maui..c...

Harwood Island - June 24th, 2012 Last weekend, for the first time in my 30 + years living on the west coast, I stepped foot on Harwood island.  The sun had come out in the morning and in a mad dash we had made our way to the sail boat, loaded with food, drinks, music and activity books for the kids. After a short stint of shiner fishin' (for bait) we headed for an island that I have passed probably no less than 1000 times by boat, ferry and plane. It almost seems silly that I have never seen it's shores but June 24th was going to be the day to right that wrong.  We fished for awhile, hoping to catch a cod (and if the stars aligned a Halibut!) but only ended up catching and releasing seven "shoes" (Skipper nicknamed dogfish shoes as they don't put up a fight - they reel in like shoes).  Striking out on fishing meant that it was time to hit the beach (with the emergency chicken kabobs that I had ready to go in the cooler - never count on fish!). We ancho...