Fall Harvest...

This year was the perfect gardening season on Gabriola, and the harvest has been impressive... The fruit trees were no exception, and the apples were the best crop I've had yet.

After eating all the apples we could over the past month, it was time to make Apple Sauce to preserve the harvest for the winter season.


With the abundance of apples on the island right now, here's my apple sauce recipe;

Ingredients

18 peeled, cored, and quartered apples, fresh from the tree is best
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar (or more to sweeten)
3 cup of water

Method
1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2 Remove from heat. Mash with potato masher. Add additional sugar or cinnamon to taste.

Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated, or a good time to process it to preserve it. It also freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Enjoy!

Halloween is in the air!

Everybody enjoys the Halloween holiday whether they are young children looking forward to dressing up as their favourite characters and heading out trick or treating, or as adults getting ready for the big night of festivities. On Gabriola being a smaller community have an amazing Halloween line up for kids of all ages…

FIREWORKS
You may have seen the Gabriola Fire Departments rubber boots on display at various businesses as they collect monies to put on the fireworks display on October 31st 7:30 pm at Twin Beaches. Reminiscing on some of my favourite childhood memories on the island this has to be one of the most spectacular evenings, who can resist – goodies, hot chocolate, fireworks & hot dogs…


Gabriola’s SLEEPY HOLLOW
Halloween night could not be complete without a slow drive down the North Road area referred to islanders as the “tunnel” that comes lit up by the amazing display of carved pumpkins. With the homes on Gabriola being further apart, it’s a great way to display your pumpkin by dropping it off in the tunnel – the spectacular display usually is lit up for a couple of evenings post Halloween.


Trick or Treating
Well, the kids tend to have to put in a little extra effort in trick or treating on the island, with the long driveways and the homes having some distance between them, that said there are some popular areas of the island that kids & parents tend to find a little easier; the Strand, Malaspina Galleries, the Village core, are among some of the popular ghouling areas.



For the ADULTS
The Skol & Silva Bay both have events planned for the Halloween weekend. In addition if you haven’t taken in one of the radio after dark Halloween shows, they are not to be missed and usually tend to sell out quickly!



RADIO AFTER DARK
The Radio After Dark Troupe recreate the classic radio shows of the 1930s and 1940s, capturing the essence of those timeless gems with live sound effects, period costumes, passionate performances and the occasional hilarious blooper

Wednesday & Thursday, October 26 & 27 – Silva Bay Restaurant & Pub, Gabriola 7:30pm
Tix $15- , Gabriola tix available at Artworks,

Radio after Dark's Halloween Show catapults the audience back in time to the golden age of radio, bringing those gripping tales of suspense to bone chilling life. Don't miss this amazing experience!

Happy Haunting!

Flocking to the Gabriola Studio Tour

Ok, here we go. A new flock of 20 Junk BIrds just flew into the studio in time for the Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour. Come visit studio #22, 2635 Islands View Drive to find the perfect bird for you. Randi has been busy making encaustic cards, Jennifer has been creating jewellery, funky sculptures and hand sewn gifts, and I've got lots of original paintings on display. Submitted by : Tina Lynch

Gabriola STUDIO TOUR . OCT 8-10

The Gabriola Studio Tour is quickly approaching and will be held over the Thanksgiving weekend, Oct 8, 9, & 10. I love the tour, it's a great time to meet people, check out studios, talk with other artists and there is a great vibe on the Island during the weekend. We've been busy creating pieces all year long and hope that you find the time to pop on by. If you fall in love with the Island while your here, we'd be more than pleased to find you a place to live! Submitted by: Tina Lynch

It's picking time on the Island.

I was down to take a listing of a beautiful acreage on the weekend and while I was there I couldn't help but notice all the blackberries. The owner said I could come and pick blackberries, so I took my son,my dad and a few empty containers and headed over. The picking was great, there was lots of large berries, it was overcast and there weren't any wasps to speak of. We may have ended up with a few scratches, but nothing compared to the taste of our fresh sweet handpicked berries. I've frozen a few so that we can be reminded of the local summer harvests all year long. You'll find lots of blackberry bushes on the sides of the roads on Gabriola, or if you want your own patch you may just want to take a look at the acreage we just listed. Submitted by: Tina Lynch,

Gabriola Portrait Day!

Yeosmith Studios is coming to Gabriola this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011!

Cassandra Yeomans-Smith is a great friend of mine and a truly amazing professional photographer. Recently she came to the Island to do a special photo shoot so that we could have some family shots with my dad and I know these will be family treasures for years to come. She'll be back to the Island this weekend, so you have a chance to have a photo session with her.

At this time there are a few sessions open on Sunday, Session Fee for each session is $49 or you can choose a session package.
If you are interested in a session, it is important to have a consultation either in studio or on the phone. This way Cassandra can get to know you and what you are looking for in your portraits. For all Yeosmith Website, go to www.yeosmith.com.
Please call 250 739 0340 to book a consultation or email Cassandra at yeosmith@shaw.ca .

Submitted by : Tina Lynch

Fishing Thrasher Rock

We had a few hours yesterday afternoon that we could spend on the boat, so we loaded up the kids and took my dad out to Thrasher Rock, near Silva Bay on Gabriola Island. The water was calm, it was hot and sunny and there were lots of boats of all sizes out on the water. We did some jigging at about 50-60 ft, and landed 3 nice size Ling Cods on the boat. I recently found this website that shows the bites and tides in a visual format, which I think makes it pretty easy for anyone to follow : tides4fishing Submitted by: Tina Lynch