A month ago, a snake lay across my path. Still and... snakelike. It felt potent, like a visit from the wild world. I hunkered down on my haunches at a respectful distance, thinking "oh hello!", expecting her (a wandering garter snake) to whoosh away, but the only thing that moved was her tongue - flick, … Continue reading Magical encounters of the serpentine kind

There are some recipes I make that are always accompanied by the absurd urge to announce the making thereof... not to the world at large (billboard on Times Square? instagram post?), but specifically to the person whose name is at the top of the recipe card. It happened yesterday when I made Oma Shelley's most … Continue reading Karen’s grandmother’s relish recipe

A recent Angus Reid poll showed that 1 in 5 Canadians don't really have much respect for public health, so I'm potentially wading into choppy waters with this post, but when I look at the way the pandemic situation in Canada, and BC, is tracking (I have a spreadsheet and have been following some of … Continue reading Shout out to Public Health

Did you know, that food doesn't decompose in landfill? It needs oxygen to decompose, otherwise, mixed in with landfill, it releases methane, which causes a lot more CO2. Composting is the solution! Learn more in this final instalment of Zero Waste living tips from the Squamish Climate Action Network.  

Here's a little thought that might blow your mind today. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEHQMhQjZuC/ Your ancestors love you. And are deeply vested in your well-being. Pair with this little mathematical mind-explosion: I love this. When the pandemic first began to unfold, and my world contracted into a very small bubble of me, my partner and my kid, I … Continue reading Your ancestors love you

7Song, herbalist and director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, talks people through assembling a herbal first aid kit, in a free online seminar offered tomorrow by Learning Herbs. More than just putting together a salve, tea tree oil and bandages in your backpack, 7Song, who apparently teaches the most comprehensive herbal first aid … Continue reading What to pack in your herbal first aid kit? Free online seminar tomorrow, Thursday, August 27, 1pm

Save the date, and book your favourite lounge chair for the 2020 edition of the Whistler Writers Festival, because the event is going virtual, live-streaming readings and masterclasses direct to you, regardless of your postal code. The line-up was announced August 13, with tickets going on sale on August 31, and a full reading list … Continue reading Whistler Writers Festival goes virtual for 2020, with headliner Wade Davis and host of incredible indigenous and Canadian writers

Based on the best-selling novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson, TRICKSTER, a new series coming from CBC, stars  newcomer Joel Oulette, and is created by award-winning filmmaker Michelle Latimer (RISE, Nuuca) and Tony Elliott (Orphan Black). Oulette plays Jared, an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water, holding down an … Continue reading Eden Robinson’s novel Trickster coming to CBC this fall

  The Pemberton Museum reported in its July newsletter that it has received a significant donation from Johnny Jones in late May. Johnny donated a musket rifle barrel that he found at Q'alatku7em (33km) and a metal spear found at Twin One Creek. He also donated two huge pyrite rocks for the displays. His donation … Continue reading Johnny Jones donates musket and spears to Pemberton Museum which may prove to be among the oldest items in the collection

It's not really cost-effective, this pickling and preserving business, I realize, as I empty another $20 bottle of Bragg's apple cider vinegar into a pot. My husband keeps checking in, nervously asking "Are you having fun?" because these evenings are cutting into my Netflix/book-reading time, and I tend to be an angry-and resentful-if-you-aren't-also-contributing house-cleaner. But … Continue reading Picklepalooza: preserving high summer for my Future Self (and friends)