Congratulations Gabriola - Semi-Finalists in the Aviva Community Fund Competition...

The dedicated volunteers of the Gabriola Health Care Society have proclaimed the year 2010 to be The Year of the Clinic and are committed to raising $1,000,000 to develop and build a permanent community owned emergency treatment and medical care facility. We believe that a permanent, community owned, ecologically friendly, seismically-engineered and technologically advanced emergency treatment room will provide a desirable long-term solution to the health care needs of our increasing population.

Part of their fundraising efforts included applying to the Aviva Community fund, which offers a chance to share in the $500,000. The voting ensures that it is the most popular ideas as chosen by Canadians, the top “25” most voted on will go to the “judging” finals. Gabriola’s request to the Aviva Community Fund is in the range of $250,000 to cover the costs of the emergency treatment room for this facility. You can view, a complete history of the Gabriola Health Care Society . Gabriola is now be amongst the semi-finalists with the vote counters having been reset to 0, this semi-final runs until Dec 16th. Thank you Gabriolans and all the voters from around the world – be ready to start voting again Dec 2nd you can vote here! (Just a reminder that you can vote every day!!!)

You can see why the Lynch’s are casting our votes daily, and why we appreciate the excellent health care service here on the island at our: Discover Gabriola Blog .

Red Roaster - A fresh cup of coffee

Recently, we were greeted with a pound of fresh roasted coffee and we were pleased, we thought you might want to know about one of Gabriola's new businesses. If you send us an email with "red roaster" in the subject line we will enter you into a draw for a pound of coffee on December 7 2009.

Here's what Red Roaster had to say about their new venture:

"Darrin and i have always wanted to do some sort of business together. Over the years coffee roasting has come up many times. Darrin originally started to research the idea in 1994 and by the time we were together in 1998 he had also travelled and explored some coffee growing regions in the world, which further inspired him.
This past summer we were on the sunshine coast, with a contract job for Darrin and when we came back we were VERY happy to be home. We were energized and wanted to keep the momentum going, as well we wanted to branch out into the community some more. Having a small child and both working from home, was more socially restricted than what we were used to prior to baby and Gabriola life. It seemed like the perfect time to start the coffee roasting that we had long since discussed. It all came together quickly as Darrin and I have been following the coffee industry movements and trends for so long. I have said this before.....red roaster had a very long gestation period and a super quick birth!
All of our beans are always certified organic, fairly traded and ethically sourced. Our packaging is 100% biodegradable (vs. the foil bags most competitors use that are petroleum based). And we stamp the "roasted on" date on every bag. We don't want our customers to hold on to their beans-they are meant to be consumed fresh (preferably with in about a week+). We are all about the true fresh roast.
We will be offering a home delivery service, where roast to order the night before. There will be 3 sizes of bags to choose from, so you can best suit to your households weekly coffee consumption. We have chosen to do the home delivery for a number of reasons. This way we will have more direct dialogue with our customers and we can then work with them to customize blends/roasts that produce the perfect cup for their individual needs. Gabriola is small enough for us to be able to do door to door deliveries and this will ensure that everyone is getting fresh fresh fresh roasted coffee. Also, by skipping the middle man we are able to do more fundraising for the community.
We are working with community groups to generate fundraising from every pound of coffee we sell. This is very exciting to us, as it was initially and still continues to be the community here that makes Gabriola so special for us. We are excited that red roaster will be giving back to our local community directly and we are also committed to giving back to the coffee growing communities in the world as well, through profit percentage donations.
Red Roaster will be at the GES xmas fair (dec. 5th), with bean samples, bags of beans for sale, sign up sheets and tons of information on us and how you can donate to the local community cause of your choice, from your weekly coffee beans purchase."

Contact info for red roaster is:
http://www.redroaster.ca/
info@redroaster.ca
250.325.3250

(Submitted by: Tina Lynch)

Gabriola Island Emergency Care Facility- it gets my vote (daily)!

On June 24 2008 my husband was driving along North Road on Gabriola at just after 10pm. His vehicle was pulling a trailer and in a quick moment his instincts had him swerve for a deer, sending the SUV into a tree and across the road (yes, you should never swerve for a deer). Frequently, the roads on Gabriola at this time of night are very quiet, he was lucky to have someone on the scene quickly who called 911.
The firefighters (many of whom are first responders) had just ended practice when they got the call, which allowed them to be on the scene within minutes. We also have the fortune of having Dr. Bosman live on the Island, he also was on the scene in a short time as were the local RCMP. The advanced life support team was sent from Nanaimo, and a request was put in for a helicopter evacuation. I heard the sirens from the rental we had while we renovated, and knew that I was about to receive a dreaded phone call. While they worked on stabilizing my husband for transport, other firefighters set up the Rollo/McClay ball field for a helicopter landing. During this time, the heli-vac team also had a call to respond to on Vancouver Island and for a time that call was going to have priority, 3 hours after the crash the heli-vac team had set my husband as priority, and he was being transported with the life support team to Victoria General Hospital. At the hospital his spleen ruptured and they lost his vital signs twice, after days in the Intensive Care Unit he was considered to be in stable condition.
With broken ribs, punctured lungs and a splenectomy he began his long road of recovery. We strongly feel, that had priorities on the helicopter not been changed and if he was transported on the harbor patrol vessel, he wouldn’t be here to parent his kids today. Even on a calm night, his spleen would surely have ruptured on that vessel.
We have the resources on the Island; our Paramedics, Doctors and First Responders have outstanding knowledge, but they need somewhere to treat patients.
If you have a minute, please take the time to vote for the Gabriola Island Emergency Care Facility. You can vote daily, you only need to fill in your name and email address to register and we may just get $250,000 funding for this facility.
Voting for this round closes on Nov. 29, please ask anyone around you to take a minute to do this. (submitted by: Tina Lynch)

Festival of Trees

On Saturday night we loaded up the car and took the kids over to the Vancouver Island Univeristy in Nanaimo (a 5 minute drive from the Gabriola Ferry) for the Festival of Trees. We made a stop for a bowl of soup at a friend’s house and then a group of us headed up. There were some amazing trees, from traditional to contemporary, my daughters favourite was a pink tree with lots of silver feathers. After admiring the decorations and gingerbread houses, we ended the night with “sleepy time”, a nice collection of Christmas stories read as we sat in a circle amongst the decorated trees.
The festival runs until Nov 29 2009, for more information visit : Festival Of Trees .
(submitted by:Tina Lynch)

Fairy Fridays

When my daughter was 6 weeks old, one of my neighbors started a small group on the island for moms with newborns. We met on Fridays for lunch, exchanged parenting ideas from books and experience, shared little milestones, passed along clothes and toys to each other, and supported each other when parenting presented a challenge. Each Friday we would rotate lunch dates at one of our homes.
It’s now been over 6 years, and the 4 girls that started this group still meet on Fridays, now they often meet without their mom’s in tow. It’s amazing to watch them grow together, see how the play and interact, play sports, and create art.
It’s been a special group and a great way to make life long connections. If you have children but haven't been in a play group, I'd definitely suggest that you start your own- I think you'll be happy you did !

The first photo was taken of the girls when they were 6 years old, the second photo shows them when they were between 6months - a year. (submitted by: Tina Lynch)

Happenings on the Island.

You may have visited the Island during the summer and caught a glimpse of where the new retail space “Madrona Marketplace” was going to be created (on North Road, where the T&T gas station used to be). Progress is happening quickly, the footings are in place, the framing of the East phase is nearly complete, and the trusses were delivered last week.

With the first phase 90% leased, here's a list of local businesses to look forward to at the new marketplace; Tree Frog Sports and Clothing, The Sounder, Architrave Design Build, Woodfire Pizza and Pasta, Blueapples Metaphysical and Wellness, a contemporary coffee house, as well as two private offices.

We’ll update you as progress is being made and retailers have been confirmed so that you know what the Island looks like and what you’ll be greeted with the next time you visit Gabriola.

(photo taken on Nov 18 2009)

It's the end of the roll

And the beginning of a new art project ! If you are looking for an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way of starting a painting, consider getting a newspaper end roll from the Nanaimo Daily News(1-2575 McCullough Rd, Nanaimo). They have an assortment of them, I picked this one up last night for $3.

Clients & Friendships

When you live on an island that centers on community, it seems only natural for clients to turn into lifelong friends. I’ve experienced this several times during my Real Estate career and I’m so thankful that this is one of the benefits.

One of my first sales was to a family from the United States, buying a vacation home on Gabriola. Over the years, they have become our extended family. My husband, kids and I just went down to visit them in California and had an amazing 10 day dream vacation.

I know that it sometimes can be difficult to mix friendships and business, but this was just a reminder to me that there is always a way to make things work and I’m so glad that we did as it’s a huge gift to have this family in our lives. (submitted by: Tina Lynch)

The Trades on Gabriola

You’ll find that there are so many great ideas and ways to make things on the Island. Many people that live here, have the “back to the land” philosophy and are open to sharing their ideas with you. Recently I was approached to teach a special art project to some of the homeschoolers on the Island, and in trade, one of the parents from the group is going to show a few friends and myself how to make a pattern from our kid’s drawings and turn them into stuffed animals (this takes two Christmas items off my list).
I also have a trade lined up from one of the jewelers on the Island. This might be one of the easiest years for checking coveted items off my Christmas list. Getting to give gifts that are created locally is a gift to the local economy and creates a fantastic story to go with it.

Keep on trading ! (submitted by: Tina Lynch)

The tree that became your table!

Clients of ours recently told us about a Vancouver Island company called Live Edge Design
(www.liveedgedesign.com) that make spectacular west coast furniture. They salvage trees brought down by storms or left by forest companies. They incorporate "the living edge", the layer behind the bark into most of the designs, and often follow the organic lines of the tree.
The tables are a piece of art on their own, but you can also find the history of your furniture and use google earth to pinpoint the location where the tree came from. The company will provide you with the GPS location, and accompanying story books are available on request.
Can you imagine sitting around one of thees gorgeous dinning room tables, enjoying a meal and conversation with friends, and being able to tell them the history of the tree that became your table!

The Kerplunks add colour to your life

The Kerplunks will be entertaining an enthusiastic crowd at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo on Saturday Nov 14, 2009. They're excited about this, so excited in fact, that they are having a colouring contest to give away some FREE TICKETS to their show!
To enter, go to their website and click the red ticket on the top of the site to download the colouring page.
Deadline to enter is Tuesday, Nov 10.When you're finished, print your name, age and contact information and send it to:The Kerplunks1970 Murray Road Gabriola Island BCV0R 1X7.
Remember this band is a lot of fun, go wild !

Stressed over the Holidays ?

I'd like to suggest Chocolate.

I'm in the midst of organizing the fundraising packages for the Nanaimo Diamonds Synchronized Swim club. Each swimmer will be visiting friends, family and neighbors to collect orders for Purdy's chocolates, orders will be collected by November 10th and delivered on December 14th. If chocolate is the answer for any of your holiday stress, then please plan ahead and come by the Coast Realty office on Gabriola and fill out one of the order forms on my desk. (submitted by: Tina Lynch)

Gabriola's Sleepy Hollow

The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department with the support of the Community held it's annual fireworks display last night at Twin Beaches, it was amazing - the weather couldn't have been nicer & the bon fire & hot cocoa kept the viewers warm.

From there it was over the haunted house, hosted by Deborah & Jim, there amazing halloween display this year, surrounded the suspicious untimely death of Sir Edgar Allen Poe. Year after year, this haunted house is more and more amazing, thanks to the tireless efforts of so many volunteers - you guys are amazing!

For the next few evenings, the pumpkins that were around the island, are dropped off on North Road, in an area that islanders refer to as the tunnels. Come dusk, they are lit up! Beware that cars travel much slower on North Road during these evenings, as they go through the tunnel stopping at nearly all of the carved pumpkins. This years display is exceptional - if you haven't taken a walk or drive down the tunnel at dusk - it's a must do! Have a spook-tacular evening...