Giving Thanks Today

On October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors30 Comments

For the sun lighting up the changing leaves

For someone to share the mysterious woods with

For beautiful, musical spawning streams and rivers

For witnessing the annual chum salmon run

For learning more about the salmonid species that inhabit the rivers and seas

For fish tacos and Jarritos at Tidal Tacos

For sneaky, cheeky birds eyeing our lunch

For the beauty of a Vancouver Island autumn

For Thanksgiving gatherings with family and friends

For life and for health; for everything!

Rock on gratefully,

The WB

Great Bears of Bute Adventure – A Full Day of Beauty, Wonder and Learning

On September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Retirement, Good Times, Roadtripping, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery53 Comments

Yesterday was one for the books! (My personal history books, I mean 🙂 ) My sister and Donna and her husband had arrived in Campbell River, BC the day before in order to be on time for our early morning Homalco Tour’s Great Bears of Bute adventure. (You might remember we were in Campbell River earlier this year…so of course part of the agenda for THIS trip was to revisit our favourite Indigenous woman-led businesses there and to stock up, which we happily did!)

On the dock at 7 am, a bit bleary-eyed and ~~raring~~ ready for adventure! L – R: my sister, me, Donna and Richard.

We eagerly boarded the beautiful Klohoy (Homalco word for chum salmon), a comfortable aluminum boat with 2 seats per person on the tour (1 in the indoor heated cabin with onboard loo, 1 on the viewing deck). After a brief safety lesson (including being instructed to wear our masks at all times), we were off on the 2 hour journey to Bute Inlet!

Words and pictures cannot begin to describe the beautiful views we encountered at every step of the day’s adventures.

We weren’t too far into the trip to the mainland when Captain Flavian noticed whale blow. Which meant of course we had to stop to investigate.

Not the greatest photo of 2 humpback whales. For better shots of these magnificent mammals, please go to an older post, here.

After enjoying the whales for about 15 minutes, we continued on to an inlet where Captain Flavian had grown up, to learn some of the more recent (last 200 years) history of the Homalco people. Our guide Holly also tried to teach us some words in the Homalco language.

From Donna’s notes, here are the English translations from top to bottom: 1. The language of our people (4 tribes); 2. Grizzly Bear; 3. Chum salmon (name of our boat); 4. Whale; 5. Seal; 6. Sea Lion; 7. Eagle; 8. Raven

Holly told us to notice that the waters of the inlet were the most beautiful colour, due to glacial sediment from the rivers that feed it. And that the boat’s colour scheme had come from the colour of the water. See for yourself!

Well, actually I am kinda hoping there are lots of bears in the area 🙂

After docking, we made our way to the cultural centre to get a safety briefing from our bear guides: JJ and Ian. Basic takeaway: Listen to your guides! When they say “back on the bus”, this means NOW, not 2 more photos first! On the bus, JJ also regaled us with stories involving bear spray…er…misadventures from his childhood, and cultural stories of what the Homalco learned from observing grizzly bears.

At our first stop, a bear ambled into view even before we were all able to get off the bus. And there were bears at every stop thereafter. Holly mentioned she has yet to be “skunked” on any bear adventures she has hosted. Please check out my Instagram for the many videos I posted of this adventure!

Of course the bears were there for one thing only: to fatten up on the many chum salmon in the stream! Unfortunately the fish – although plentiful and easy to spot – were very hard to photograph through the running water.

Where there are bears, there are also many birds (including bald eagles – no good photos to share, unfortunately) – also there for the salmon…both for the eggs in the river and to clean up the fish who had already died on their journey to spawn.

My sister and I are beaming, under our masks. Taken while visiting one of two specially constructed bear viewing platforms.

Donna, my sister and I in front of the bear sign. We asked and were granted permission from our guides to move to the sign for a photo. The Homalco word for grizzly bear is pronounced “howgas”. (I hope I am not butchering the language too badly.)

After 3 hours of being awestruck in the presence of the magnificent grizzlies, we were as hungry as the bears themselves.

Eating our delicious boxed lunches in the world’s most beautiful outdoor “restaurant”.

Once back on the boat for the journey back to Campbell River, even more wildlife was spotted.

Harbour seals sunning on a log in Orford Bay.

Orca! My first sighting!!!! This male is T11A, and you can read more about him and wild transient orcas here.

Steller sea lions having a bit of a bro fest.

Adult males can weigh up to 2500 pounds.

The stunning views just never stopped on this trip.

After over 8 hours on the water and the mainland of British Columbia, it was time to head back to the dock in Campbell River, and from there back to home in Nanaimo.

Today I received the following (excerpted, from the email) from Homalco Tours:

Thank you for joining us on a recent tour from Campbell River. We sincerely hope that you enjoyed yourself!
By travelling with us, you are contributing to the growth and preservation of Homalco First Nation culture, Indigenous employment, and to the restoration of wild salmon populations in Bute Inlet. “I:mote” means “it is good” and is the word for gratitude in the Homalco language. We extend that gratitude to you.

I don’t think there is a big enough word for me to express my gratitude to the Homalco people for providing me the opportunity to partake of this adventure on their land. IT IS and WAS GOOD.

Rock on,

The WB

Wordless Wednesday – Tofino Weekend with My Sister

On September 15, 2021September 14, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, Roadtripping, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors37 Comments

My sister from Ontario is here on Vancouver Island, visiting for 2 weeks. Last weekend we spent a delightful 2 nights in Tofino. Here are some pictures from our stay. Hope you enjoy! (We sure did!)

My sister enjoying the washed up wood on Chesterman Beach

Of course we had to visit Tacofino for a trio of delicious tacos: fried fish (lingcod, I believe), seared tuna, beef

Rainy Long Beach walk on Saturday, followed by lunch (Zoe’s Bakery: highly recommend!) and a visit to the Aquarium in Ucluelet.

There is a tuna derby going on all week long at our resort (Tofino Resort and Marina). $40K grand prize. Exciting!

This was cause for celebration on our part.

It was so much fun to sit at the pub and slurp back oysters, and watch the fishermen bringing their catch of albacore tuna in at the end of the day.

Caught in mid-bro fist. Sporting his lucky fishing wig? Or did he lose a bet? 😉

Official weighing: each team brought forward their 4 biggest fish of the day to be weighed.

Sunday morning found us on the Rainforest Trail.

Of course we had to visit the tree my daughter and son-in-law chose for their nuptials.

After checking out of the resort, we were off on a whale watching journey, guided expertly by Elder Moses Martin of Clayoquot Wild.

There were stunning vistas all along the journey. We spent a good amount of time watching a gray whale (named Orange Crush by the locals because of an orange spot on its fluke). I was too awestruck to get out my camera…sorry (not sorry).

We did see a good number of sea otters, and those I did capture a few shots of.

They are much bigger than river otters. These guys were hunting salmon.

Happy, tired faces. Ready for the drive back home over the mountains, and to get rested up for our next adventure.

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Staff of Life Edition

On September 1, 2021September 2, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, COVID-19, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, What's On Your Plate73 Comments

This is going to be somewhat of a looong story and a picture-heavy post so I hope you don’t mind. If you do mind, I don’t mind – so feel free to click away. My introduction to this recipe started way back at the beginning of the pandemic, when my good friend gifted me the most delicious loaf of homemade bread you could imagine. Jonathan somehow secured not only flour but yeast (remember those days?) and told me that this bread was not only insanely good, but insanely easy to make. He was 100% correct on both counts. His recipe came from the New York Times, I believe…and there are a bazillion versions of this bread recipe floating around Ye Olde Interwebs. Even recipes for gluten-free ~~doorstops~~ loaves, which I have tried (and failed ~~miserably~~ at).

The loaf that started it all. In my old kitchen, back in Ontario. March 26, 2020

Despite having issues with wheat (not gluten, but something else in bread), I can digest this bread just fine and without pesky heartburn. I think it is the very long rising…something that doesn’t happen in a production bakery. Anywho, here is the recipe (adapted by me from a gluten-free one I found somewhere…) told in pictures for this no-knead rustic bread loaf; pandemic and/or lockdown not required.

You will need:

3 cups of flour plus a little extra for dusting
3/4 tsp active quick-rise yeast
2 tsp kosher salt (I don’t see why you couldn’t use regular salt)
1.5 cups room temperature water
measuring cup and spoons
large glass bowl (Why glass? Does yeast hate metal/ceramic/plastic?)
wooden spoon (Don’t ask me why it has to be wood. Aesthetics? The anti-metal thing? I don’t know.)
Dutch oven
tea towel
parchment paper
cooling rack
oven (duh)

Mix dry ingredients together. The wooden spoon does look nice though…

Add room temperature water and mix (with pretty wooden spoon) to form the dough. Cover with tea towel and let it do its thing for at least 8 hours (overnight works well). In winter when the air is drier, I make the tea towel damp first so the dough doesn’t dry out too much.

Amuse yourself for the next 8 hours. I made and served a blackberry trifle for my son-in-law’s birthday. I think he liked it. 😉 (Completely optional but if you do choose to do this, invite me over 🙂 ).

What it looks like after 8 hours of rise time. Finish admiring the magic, and then take a large piece of parchment paper and dust it with flour.

Take the dough out of the bowl and mound it up on the flour-dusted parchment paper. I pre-crease the paper to make it a bit easier to fit back into the bowl, and eventually the Dutch oven.

I usually put it right back in the bowl again once it’s on the paper…so the dough doesn’t spread itself out over the paper too much over the next hour. You probably don’t have to do this. But it bugs me, OK? *There, I said it*.

Cover and let rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When oven comes to temperature, place the empty Dutch oven (with lid) inside oven to pre-heat for at least 30 minutes.

Very carefully place the dough (in parchment) into the extremely hot Dutch oven. Can slash the top of loaf several times with a knife, ~~if you actually remember at the last damn minute.~~ Put the extremely hot lid on it, and put in the whole shebang back into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

The loaf looks like this after 30 minutes covered bake time. Remove the lid (careful!!!!) and let the loaf bake uncovered for the final 15 minutes.

Cool the finished loaf on a rack. Resist eating it because you made it to share with friends, for lunch the next day. (Optional, but highly recommended! Your hips will thank you for sharing. 😉 )

Next day: Go on glorious hike with friends, on Hornby Island.

Take in the views: Helliwell Provincial Park, looking east.

Helliwell Provincial Park, looking west.

Me, trying to enjoy the view and *not* think of the tasty food waiting for us back at Ann’s place. Photo by Donna.

~~Finally~~ – Lunch time! Photo by Donna. Ann (between Janis and I) provided us with the most delicious Maui chicken and sides, and I provided the:

Homemade bread! And it was mighty tasty. I’ve made this recipe many times now, and it has never failed me ~~except for the gluten-free experiments that we really shouldn’t talk about anymore~~.

So…enough about me. What’s on your plate this month?

As always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post (or both, if you are so inclined!). My partner-in-crime Donna has crafted a beautiful post about food and friendship (a theme I have shamelessly incorporated into my own post, in a minor way). Please check out her post, to read more about the many happy hours spent sharing meals with friends over the past month.

Remember: if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tags #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge or #woypbc so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Birthday Edition

On August 4, 2021August 3, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Good Times, What's On Your Plate92 Comments

Happy August, everyone! July went by like a flash, didn’t it? And to cap it all off, I had a birthday last week: #62, and life is still amazing and grand!

Adding another 12 dots to my Precious Life painting. You can read about it: here.

In my honour, my friend and What’s On Your Plate co-host Donna kindly offered to make me a birthday lunch (remember this…it’s important). Here’s what happened…a birthday lunch tale, told in pictures:

I got to choose from several meal kits just delivered to Chez Retirement Reflections from this here *food cult* Donna belongs to. 😉 I went with the salmon, since my momma didn’t raise no fool.

Donna made sure I read the instructions…hmmm, why? DAH DAH DAAAH! (*foreshadowing music*).

The veggies, herbs, and spices were in the brown bag. The salmon and yogourt were in another container, more suitable for keeping them colder during transport.

Next thing I know, I was cutting up potatoes.

Then I was grating cucumber for the tzatziki.

Then I was MAKING the damn tzatziki. BTW, don’t my nails look birthday-fabulous?

Then I was on to prepping the salmon. Remember when I told you Donna was going to *make ME a birthday lunch*? Yeah, not so much…

Well I guess Donna DID work the oven and stove top. Yet, here I am anxiously watching over stuff cooking because I am all alone in the kitchen and Donna is nowhere to be found. Oh yes! This happened!

And here is the delicious finished product, artfully plated by Donna. See, she *did* do ~~one thing~~ something…

AND THEN after our delicious lunch ~~You’re welcome, Donna~~, she had the NERVE to ask me to pose as if I was relaxing on the couch the whole time it was being prepared. Seriously! I kid you not. My expression says it all: *this is some kinda bullshit right here.*

MEANWHILE Donna is ~~pretending to be~~ exhausted from *making* lunch and loading the damn dishwasher. As if! Should you ever get a lunch invitation from this woman, be forewarned! Whoever said there is no such thing as a free lunch was spot on.

AND THEN Donna hands me the birthday candles she forgot to use on my cupcake, so I brought them home. ~~Woman, you had one job…~~

Which were put to good use the next day (actual birthday) when my daughter (and fam) brought over Vietnamese food and a homemade trifle for dessert. ~~WHICH I DID NOT HAVE TO MAKE, DONNA…TAKE NOTES!~~

All kidding aside – you know I was kidding, right?!?! – we had such a fun time and were hooting up a storm planning this blog post. (I think I have some pieces of lemon in my eyebrow ~~WHICH A TRUE FRIEND WOULD’VE TOLD ME ABOUT, DONNA~~.)

So, that’s my tale of woe and foul treatment by Ms Donna, my lovely co-host. 😉

What’s on your plate this month?

As always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post (or both, if you are so inclined!). Donna has made an amazing dish with great significance for Indigenous people. And she has created beautiful badges for this challenge, should you want to place one on your blog. You can find them here.

Remember: if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tags #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge or #woypbc so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Rock on,

The WB

Lead with Your Heart

On July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 By Widow BadassIn COVID-19, Good Times, Roadtripping70 Comments

For at least a year now, I’ve been looking to support more women-led businesses, when I ~~want~~ ~~need~~ want to purchase something. And for the past six months I’ve been trying to do the same for Indigenous-run business. And when I come across them and they are good (and so far, they are ALL good), I will talk about them on ye olde blogge. For some of these finds, look here and here (Indigenous AND women-run).

I learned about WestCoast Wildflowers & Company on ye olde Instagram quite a few months ago…I saw that they were following Sequoia Soaps (Indigenous women-run company from Quebec) and was excited to find a related business just “up the road” from me here on Vancouver Island, in Campbell River. At the time I became aware of them travel outside my local community was discouraged due to rising numbers of Covid-19, so I filed this tidbit away under “later, in better times”. And just recently I learned of Raven S ong Soap and Candle…also located in Campbell River; also run by an Indigenous woman. A road trip to Campbell River was written in the stars!

I asked adventure/camping/blogging buddy Donna if she wanted to come along and the answer was a resounding “HELL YES”. So off we went, vaxxed to the max and ready to rumble. According to Google, the businesses were practically next to each other in Campbell River but what we didn’t know (and Google didn’t either, apparently) was that both had very recently moved to new, larger locations. So as an added bonus, we got to explore more of downtown Campbell River than we had anticipated (a very good thing!) and got to speak with some locals in our quest to find these businesses.

First stop: West Coast Wildflower & Co., where we met delightful, bubbly business owner, Ali.

L-R: Yours truly, Ali, and Donna in front of the West Coast Wildflowers & Co’s new location. We wore masks when entering the local businesses, but removed them for the photos.

Ali stocks local and (mostly) Indigenous-made clothing, accessories, food, toiletries, toys and crafts in her bright, spacious store. Donna and I immediately gravitated towards, purchased and donned the Totem Design House shirts you see in the photo, and were stylin’ twins for the rest of the day. (Honestly, we didn’t intend to coordinate our bottom halves either but there you go…) Here’s a closeup of the gorgeous shirt design:

Chatting with Ali and trying on shirts was hungry business we found out. The ever-helpful Ali suggested Jiggers Grill, also Indigenous-run. Which we didn’t get to (next time! ) as we came across Seabreeze Food Truck (another Indigenous-run eatery) first and made a wise decision to stave off the “hangries” by stopping the car and checking it out.

I had the Fish Taco salad (L, with mango salsa) and Donna had the Halibut Caesar salad (R). Both excellent choices!

Refuelled, we sought out our next (and final) destination: RavenSong Soap and Candle! Little did we know when we arrived that the store had opened for the first time in its new larger location just 30 minutes prior! Another bright, beautiful, well-stocked retail operation with another bright, beautiful owner: Valerie.

From L to R: owner Valerie, Donna and myself. Yes, we bought these shirts too!

Here is Valerie, talking about her soap-making and inspirations.

My “haul”, as the young ones say. Including the beautiful Ghanian basket. Soaps, bath bomb, candles, moon cake, soap holder, shirt and a bear bell (for my hiking pack).

Home again and ready to try out these products. Maybe using them will actually spur on some real Pacific rain??? We desperately need it.

Close-up of the unwrapped July Buck Moon soap. So gorgeous!

Closeup of detail of the moon cake. Sorry for the poor focus. Got too excited and threw it in the tub before checking the photo…LOL!

Dissolving moon cake in tub. These are the coolest things ever and I need to buy more. Post-soak, my skin feels amazing. See my Instagram post for the video (that WordPress refused to upload)!

Both shops (actually ALL shops mentioned in this post) offer online shopping. Please do go check them out if I’ve inspired you to do so. You won’t be disappointed. 🙂

Rock (and shop) on,

The WB

Addendum to Wordless Wednesday – Ucluelet Edition: A Secret Revealed!

On July 4, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty81 Comments

Finally! After what seems like forever, I can reveal the true purpose of my recent trip to Ucluelet. It wasn’t just for some R and R. It wasn’t just to get out of town. It wasn’t just for some pampering. It wasn’t to once again take in the majestic west coast of Vancouver Island. It wasn’t just to visit my fishy friends one more time, at the Ucluelet Aquarium. It wasn’t just to watch the sun go down. It was for THIS:

My daughter and my newly minted son-in-law’s intertwined hands, revealing their wedding rings.

Here’s some of what you didn’t see (but I was DYING to show you):

My Mother of the Bride dress with totally impractical shoes for a forest wedding (I ended up wearing them only to dinner). Good thing I packed my Birkenstocks as well!

I was so happy to have found these special earrings, at the Flying Fish in downtown Nanaimo. Cristy’s Jewelry Designs.

The beautiful, happy couple in their element: the rainforest and the Pacific west coast. Photo Credit: the talented Tofino photographer Marnie Recker.

I started amusing myself by taking sneak photos over my shoulder, during the photoshoot at Wickaninnish Beach. What a relaxed and happy day! I can’t stop smiling.

I don’t think anyone noticed what I was doing. Do you?

At some point my daughter plopped her flower crown on my head. Look who’s ~~tragically~~ hip now! Photo credit: Marnie Recker

I love the reflections of them in the wet sand. Photo credit: Marnie Recker

Back at the Black Rock Resort. About to enjoy some blackberry and white chocolate wedding cake, from Wild Poppy, a gluten-free bakery in Ladysmith. So delicious!

This ~~wedding~~ elopement was so low-key, relaxed and joyous. As all weddings should be. Besides myself, the groom’s mom and step-dad were also guests of the happy couple. And that was it. A perfect day in a perfect setting that perfectly suited this young couple and their values. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of the both of them. Congratulations to you both!!!!

Rock ever on,

The WB

Wordless Wednesday – Ucluelet Edition

On June 23, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery63 Comments

No need to sacrifice the view in the name of cleanliness or relaxation.

Sequoia candle. Indigenous women-owned and operated company.

Watching the sunset, moonrise from my deck.

Treatment room for my massage/facial package. 90 minutes of uninterrupted bliss.

Seaflora products used. Locally made in Sooke. Organic. Sustainably harvested by hand.

Kennedy Lake views. See you and Ucluelet again, in July!

Rock on,

The WB

One Year an Island Girl , Already

On May 28, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Badassery, Good Times, Move to Vancouver Island52 Comments

One year of waking up to seeing this view from my balcony while sipping my morning latte.

Dawn over the Salish Sea, with mainland mountains in the background.

One year of enjoying the freedom and…ahem…adventures that come with renting an apartment. Update: the Stompy McStompersons moved out at the end of February…and though others have since moved in, the noise from above is almost non-existent, in comparison! Heavenly….

Crazy M has been mostly quiet – so quiet that I wondered if perhaps she had finally been committed or incarcerated somewhere. But no…I have seen her driving in and out of the complex recently.

S (“Good Neighbour S”, I have dubbed him) continues to offer assistance and lets me know he is “on guard” and ever watchful of strange goings on in the building as well as Ye Olde Parking Lot. Speaking of…

About the only complaint I have currently is of meeting the same couple of old men in the hallway – enroute to the parking lot where they like to unfold lawn chairs in the shade of the arbutus trees, and take in the fresh air, daily. They continually apologize (4 times now!) for not wearing masks (as they are supposed to) when encountering me in the hallway.

Wearing as mask (as mandated, in apartment common areas) means never having to say you’re sorry, too.

Yes, I love renting. It is so freeing after being responsible for and renovating a large and historically significant building and all of the other shit I went through for the past 7 years.

One year of missing my family, and friends-that-feel-like-family… left behind in Ontario.

Surprise flower delivery this week from “The Boys” – my good friends Kenn and Jonathan – who moved into my old flat at my former building, back in Ontario.

One year of being able to spend more time with my daughter and her man.

One year of soaking in the stunning beauty of my new home (too many posts to link – feel free to explore on your own, by looking back at my posts of the last year!)

One year of hosting old friends and meeting new – formerly virtual – friends, in my new home.

One year of walking down to the beach (5 minutes away), and finding treasures like this:

Sand art, artist unknown. At Departure Bay in Nanaimo.

One year of getting used to a much more relaxed vibe amongst my fellow citizens of Vancouver Island.

Graffiti seen, on one of my walks to and from the local shopping plaza. I’ve heard BC called the Left Coast and the Wet Coast, but Leaf Coast is a new one to me. It fits actually. Just ask the Party Bros. 😉

Two things that stood out for me immediately upon moving here:

There are SO MANY LIQUOR STORES here. Seriously, there is one a 10 minute walk up the street from me, and another one a 5 minute walk down the street from me. And there is one on just about every shopping plaza on this island! They are open from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week. And they offer loyalty programs!
The pace of life is so much slower and nicer here. It’s like stepping back in time about 50 years. People actually stop to talk to you (yes, even in a pandemic)…from random strangers to clerks in stores. They make eye contact and engage you in genuine, unhurried conversation. Once the shock wears off it’s actually very, very pleasant.

So many things have changed for me since I retired and moved here. Yet despite it all, I have remained the same as ever. Steadfast, unchanging…

I love living here. It was the right move at the right time, for me.

Rock on,

The WB

p.s. next week brings the June edition of the What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge, on Wednesday June 2nd, hosted by Donna and yours truly. Mark your calendars. Can’t wait to see what what’s on your plate!