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...