One of Gabriola’s Tastiest Treats

There is nothing like starting the morning right, and no better way to start than with treats from Gabriola’s, Slow Rise Bakery.

Waking up this morning the sun was shining, it was another beautiful day in paradise, the trees outside were in full blossom and the garden was finally starting to grow! On route to an early morning house inspection, I made a detour to Slow Rise Bakery. I was glad to see the welcome signs of their wood fired oven – which meant it was a baking day! Stepping into this beautifully created building, I was greeted by the smells of a combination of granola, brea, chocolate pannini's & scones, and the two smiling faces of the bakers, Dimitri & Paul. Only a 5 minute wait for the fresh triple berry and white chocolate and berry scones, it gave me an opportunity to see the baking in process. I was intrigued by the flow as I watched them work, and was firing a million questions at them, which they seemed happy to take the time to answer.

Slow Rise Bakery products are available at; Village Food Market, Artworks, & starting the May long weekend they will be at the farmers market. No trip to the island is complete without sampling their offerings! But be for-warned its highly addictive it will keep you coming back to the island for more!

Administrative Professionals Week

This is a salute to our two office personnel and the amazing job they do not only this week, but every day of the year, to keep our office co-ordinated, running smoothly, and for them going above & beyond to ensure the success not only of our company but off all the individuals in our office.

Their knowledge & customers service skills are invaluable, as they are the greet new people to the island, I think of them as embassadors for Gabriola! They are a vital part of our business, and we are fortunate to have the best of the best!

If you haven’t done something nice for your office administrators, it’s not to late to recognize, everything they do. It can be simple; take them out for lunch, spa services (tend to be a favourite), who doesn’t like getting a beautiful arrangement of flowers, a gift certificate to a local nursery, or perhaps some time off… & don’t forget the card with a personal note!

Gabriola - More than a place to live!

Being a Realtor on the island, I am often asked what I like best about living on Gabriola; of course it’s hard to sum up all the things I like about the place I’ve called home for 29 years. Other than the islands inherent beauty and the amazing people that make this island what it is, I would have to say the amazing sense of community!

With a base population on the island of approx. 5500 people, made up from all walks of life, there is a fantastic sense of community. A simple visit to the islands local grocery store is changed from a mundane task, to an opportunity to visit with friends, catch up with what’s new with the cashier, or visit with your “neighbor” in the line up.

For me one of my favorite spots is the Co-op, where at 9:00 am you’ll find the friendly faces of the same crowd nearly every morning, there to get their morning coffee fix & catch up on the local happenings.

It’s not hard to become part of this community, find a hobby, interest, or volunteer (there’s always plenty of organizations looking for assistance) – it’s a great way to meet new friends and integrate into the community… What's your favorite thing about Gabriola?

Gabriola Novelty Map

I was so excited to receive an email that Gabriola’s Novelty Map, created in the 1980’s by island artisan Edd Ulushak, is back by popular demand.

When the opportunity came along for local businesses to mark their place on this artisans map rendition, amidst the Gabriola scenery – we just knew we had to take the opportunity to get involved. The Chamber of Commerce teamed up with Ed to get local businesses involved. These are sure to be a collectors item, we still have an original in the office, and often get queries from both locals & tourists alike where they can get their copy of the map. There will be a limited quantity available, and they are likely to sell out quickly!

Whether you are a business wanting to participate & be a part of island history in this unique way, or if you are looking at getting your copy of the map check it out online at: http://noveltymap.org/ .

Earth Day 2008

Earth Day has spread all over the world since it’s inception in 1970, as people made promises to help the environment. It’s amazing how everyone stops to recognize that there are problems we need to work on & look at the planet and identify those things that need to be changed.

On Gabriola, today in the grocery stores they were encouraging the use of paper bags decorated by school aged children of the island, these bags were pieces of art, each with a colourful and vibrant message. What a great way to educate kids by having them participate in one way to help the environment by using less plastic bags.

We are fortunate to have many businesses on the island that focus on a greener lifestyle choices and living with a lighter foot print. Many of these businesses are home based, or web based I’ll be featuring them in future blogs – so make sure to stay tuned for some exceptional island offerings.

It is truly amazing to think that this day was started by one person who had an idea & kept working on it as it became an international event of people working together - it’s amazing what happens when people care about our world!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

There is nothing better, than those things that make us reminisce about our childhood. For me it’s the smell, well that and the taste as well of Mom’s chocolate chip cookies. We were fortunate to have a Mom that enjoyed baking, so often times after school we would come home to her freshly baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I thought I would share her recipe with you:

Ingredients.

1 ¾ cup Flour
½ tsp Salt
2 cups Quaker Oats
1 pkg Chocolate Chips (or less)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter
1 tsp. Baking Soda
¼ cup Boiling Water
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions.

Cream sugar & butter, add vanilla. Blend in flour, salt, quaker oats. Set aside.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Gradually stir into creamed mixture. Mix chocolate chips. Spoon heapfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes & transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approx. 18 – 24 cookies.

Enjoy!

A Green Solutions Demonstration Home

Today we visited the Green Solutions demonstration show home in Fairwinds. It was amazing to to see the developers team with local contractors and designers to showcase products & design; that respect the natural environment, incorporate “smart” technologies, conserve water & energy, and allow for the opportunity of aging in place.

The home is absolutely stunning and featured an array of energy efficient products, including energy star appliances, solar tubes allowing the natural light to filter into the home, West Coast Design windows with low E glass & so much more…

Among the most popular features in the homes was the engineered hardwood flooring, which I have been recently seeing more of in homes. It is an environmentally conscious alternative to solid hardwood flooring, it is very durable & conserves natural resources.

If you have been thinking of building or renovating, it is well worth the trip up to this show home, where it is easy to view the many practical & easy ways to incorporate greener building practices.