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!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday – Camping at Miracle Beach Provincial Park

On May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Retirement, Camping Adventures, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery66 Comments

This was my home last weekend. Donna and Richard’s vehicle and set-up are behind me.

My stand-up board, “Nauti”…in kayak mode.

Donna and I split up the meal duties. This was breakfast the morning I was in charge: baked oatmeal and crispy bacon. Made only AFTER watching the sunrise on the beach, of course!

After breakfast it was time to go back to the beach, for a beautiful walk.

Sand dollars (living and dead) can be found all over the beach. RIP, Sand Dollar.

Time was carved out for a visit to Hammockville.

Trying out one of my homemade fire starters.

It worked very well. This was the start of a beautiful fire.

The morning we left was cloudy but dawn was still gorgeous.

These ~~assholes~~ sea lions woke me up with their barking at 4 am.

A deer couple came down to the shore to check out the ~~assholes~~ sea lions too.

Mergansers also wondering what the ~~assholes~~ sea lions are barking about.

~~Asshole~~ sea lions aside, it was a fabulous weekend at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. I’ll be back!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Cinco de Mayo Edition

On May 5, 2021May 3, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, Home Improvement, What's On Your Plate80 Comments

Way back in April, I had an entirely different post planned out for the May “What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge”. Last week however, it dawned on me that this month’s challenge falls on Cinco de Mayo (click on link to see what May 5 is all about and how to celebrate), so I decided my initial idea could keep. This month I am bringing you a Mexican-themed dish instead.

I was hoping to make it something to do with tacos….I do love me some tacos. I even ordered a tortilla press, so I could make my own from scratch (and gluten-free). However, it was not to be as my tortilla press did not come in on time. Es muy malo!

Instead, let me bring you my version of a deconstructed burrito…aka a burrito bowl.

It all started with a pork shoulder that had been taking up valuable freezer real estate for far too long, and now needed to be turned into something, STAT. When I bought it, I had been thinking of pulled pork but that obviously hadn’t happened. I came across this recipe, for carnitas…and with that, I was off to the races.

Finished carnitas, fresh out of the broiler

I wanted to make some of those tasty pickled onions to go with it, and that led me to this recipe. (And you better believe I will return to it for the Barbacoa 😉 ).

Well worth the walk to The Bulk Barn to pick up coriander seed and whole allspice, to make these pickled red onions.

And lastly, I had to find a recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice (my fave!). Here it is, and it turned out wonderfully. This is how it all came together on the plate:

My burrito bowl! With black beans, salsa, sour cream and guacamole added too.

Alas, no frosty margarita to accompany it, only a glass of white wine. This dish was delicious!

You may have noticed in the above photos that my balcony spruce-up for 2021 is now complete. My privacy screen is now up.

And my comfier cushions arrived too! Now all we need is a few more degrees of heat for optimal balcony enjoyment to commence. In the meantime, I just grab a sweater and a comforter. And splash hot sauce all over my burrito bowl. 🙂

Thanks so much to everyone who enjoyed and/or participated in last month’s inaugural blog challenge! My, that was fun! Hope you had as much fun as Donna and I did. Check out Donna’s post for this month, here!

As with last month, please let us know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post. And remember if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tag #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, from my hammock in the woods of Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park!

Rock on, and ¡Salud!

The WB

We Interrupt Our Regular Programming…

On February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, COVID-19, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors89 Comments

In lieu of the annual blog posts on Barbados that occur at this time every year, (there’s a global pandemic on, don’t you know) Widow Badass Industries brings you instead some views of the west coast of our local island paradise. Specifically: Ucluelet and Tofino. My daughter and I spent a couple of days there recently. And here’s what we saw and did.

Morning view of Tofino Inlet from Tofino Resort and Marina (highly recommend staying here).

We headed to Ucluelet first. My first visit. Won’t be my last! We decided to experience the Lighthouse Trail.

BC trees are like none I have ever seen in Canada. On the Lighthouse Trail.

Rock formations and islands in the misty distance.

On the way to Ucluelet, we passed a sign in Pacific Rim National Park that said “Rainforest Trail”. That was our next destination.

The Rainforest Trail did not disappoint.

When not staring at the trees, the chevron pattern on this platform caught my eye.

Tried to capture the sun rays in the woods.

After the Rainforest Trail, we had worked up an appetite so it was off to our favourite Tofino eating establishment, to refuel before our next adventure.

Every day is (Taco) Tuesday in Tofino, as far as I’m concerned.

After lunch, it was time to check out our favourite beach (Chesterman) and soak up the delicious sunshine we had been blessed with.

Pinch me. Is it really February…in Canada???

It was lovely to just sit in the sun and watch the surfers (and parasailers and windsurfers) enjoying the beautiful day and high waves.

Checking out the waves (and other surfers).

It was so pleasant out, we stayed there all afternoon and waited on the sunset. It did not disappoint.

Two surfers left; packing it in for the day.

And finally, the last of this day’s glorious light.

It wasn’t Barbados, but it was pretty damn fine all the same.

Rock on,

The WB

P.S. I posted multiple videos of this adventure on Instagram. Why not head over there and check them out? (Sound on!)

January on Vancouver Island – A Wordless Wednesday Post

On January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, Move to Vancouver Island, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors69 Comments

Some pictures telling the story of my first January on my new island home…

Love these lines and shadows. On the beach at Parksville.

More forest bathing. Photo by Donna Connolly

Donna on my favourite Departure Bay Log.

Outgoing Ferry, heading for Horseshoe Bay.

Incoming, heading for the Departure Bay Terminal.

Have never seen a kayak with an outrigger until now.

Enjoying a London Fog on the patio at Drip Social. Resting my soaking feet, after an adventurous walk along the shore at high tide. 🙂

New year; new hair. I had all my bleached locks cut off. Selfie taken in the bathroom.

And I got one of those fancy ring lights, for Zooming and FaceTiming and such. For such remains the reality of life. See the ~~blurring magic~~ ~~fakery trickery~~ difference good lighting makes?
I need to carry one around and shine it on me, always.
Ah, zee glah-mour! 😉

In case it makes my friends back in Ontario feel any better, snow is in the forecast for this coming Sunday and Monday.

Rock on,

The WB

Wordless Wednesday for Late December 2020

On December 23, 2020December 22, 2020 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors43 Comments

After my last post, aren’t you glad this one is wordless? 😉

Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and rock safely on!

The WB

Joanne Comes To Visit – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

On September 3, 2020September 12, 2020 By Widow BadassIn COVID-19, Good Times, I Got Married, Move to Vancouver Island, Roadtripping, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery70 Comments

About 3 weeks ago now, I had my first houseguest to my new Island home: my friend Joanne, of Following a Bold Plan fame. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Vancouver Island bloggers I know were practically jumping out of their skins with excitement in anticipation of her arrival (yours truly, included).

Within minutes of her aircraft landing, we met up with Erica/Erika of Behind The Scenery, and were exploring Island View Beach.

Happy smiles! This will be a theme throughout.

We spent a delightful 2 days in the Victoria area, with Erica and Chuck as our exemplary tour guides. Donna, of Retirement Reflections, joined us for a day of exploring beaches…

Once back at home base (Chez Badass West), we set up a loose schedule of hikes and explorations. Donna, living relatively close by, joined us for as many as she could. The weather called for 2 days of full rain, but we didn’t let that us stop us from getting out there.

Smiling and waving hi, from a damp hike at Englishman River Falls

Another smiley but damp hike, at The Notch in Nanoose Bay

Then Donna had some family obligations to attend to on the weekend, and we continued to hike and explore on our own.

Joanne snapping photos at Neck Point Park, Nanaimo

A visit to Nanaimo wouldn’t be complete without seeing Saysutshun. And being that it was Joanne and I, you know we were going to get into kayaks at some point!

Smiling behind our masks (can’t you tell?) on the ferry to Saysutshun (aka Newcastle Island), for some kayaking fun.

Joanne taking a break from paddling, to snap some shots.

The owner of the kayak/bike rental business on the island (Jeff) is a real character, as we found out. The lady who sold us the tickets to the ferry referred to him as “the man who owns no shirts”. Uh oh.

Laid back, super friendly Jeff is a throwback to the 1960s. We watched in amazement as he turned away at least 2 groups of customers who wanted to rent bikes from him. The first group was 2 guys who Jeff determined didn’t have enough time to experience the island by bike before they had to leave to pick up some friends at the Nanaimo airport. The second group was a family of 4 – Jeff opined after speaking with them that they would have more fun walking the trails than biking them, and thus that is what they did.

Ummm Jeff, can we have a word about your business practices please?

We were both so taken by this guy and his outsized personality. Wait, not out-sized but in fact perfectly sized for his out-sized physical self. See picture, below.

I asked if I could take his picture and put it on my blog.

Jeff: Sure you can! Uh, what’s a blog?

Next thing I knew, Jeff had his arm around me and Joanne was snapping our picture. Only after our 2 second encounter did I think: WTF did we just do?!?! There’s a pandemic going on!!!

Gentle readers, let this be a cautionary tale about how easily one’s guard can be let down…

So here we are many days later and I didn’t come down with The Covid, and I assume the same for Jeff. Dodged that bullet, thankfully. Why do I feel like a teenager who just “got away” with having unplanned and unprotected sex? What a world we live in now…

Jeff, our Hulk Hogan-ish purveyor of rental kayaks. He is best described as the love child of the famed wrestler and Tommy Chong. What the hell was I thinking???

On the (last) Monday of Joanne’s visit, we made good on a long-planned trip to visit Ann of The Unretired Life on Hornby Island. Donna and Erica were able to join us as well!

On Hornby Island, with our host Ann. Photo by Erica.

More smiles. Helliwell Provincial Park, Hornby Island

The next day was spent in a luxurious visit (also long planned) to the Grotto Spa at Tigh-Na-Mara, in Parksville. No pictures were taken due to spa policy but I did pick up a very pretty nail polish with my spa credit so here’s a photo of that. At $25/bottle, it had better be spectacular.

The photo doesn’t really do the microglitter justice. It is gorgeous. Message in a Bottle by Deborah Lippmann. The *Pandemic Nail Salon* approves of this purchase – see my IG posts for my adventures in doing my own dip nails. 🙂

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was the 2nd last day of Joanne’s visit, and our last hike…to Jack Point.

Donna, myself, and Joanne. Last hike (for this visit), at Jack Point – with Nanaimo in the background.

Refueled and rehydrated at Penny’s Palapa, a floating restaurant in the Nanaimo Harbour – a delightful après hike experience! Man, those were good margaritas and fish tacos…

For more photos of these adventures, please check out my IG account: @widowbadass.

So, why did I put The Gift That Keeps On Giving in the title of this post? Well, Joanne introduced me to her secret weapon for air travel and, as it turns out, drowning out noisy apartment neighbours – Bose noise-cancelling headphones! She let me try them on, and they work very well.

After only 3 hours of sleep the night before last (thanks to the Stompy McStompersons living above me and the Party Bros down below), I headed out to Best Buy to get my own pair. Thanks, Joanne! More about my “adventures” in apartment living in an upcoming post.

And they work great! Problem solved, for now…

Come back soon, Joanne! We all miss your smiling face (me, most of all)!

This last photo is just for Joanne 😉

Apropos of nothing, today is the anniversary of my wedding to JD. If he was still alive, we would be married 10 years today. Or would we (still be married)? Hmmmm…

Rock on,

Your friendly neighbourhood Widow Badass