Tuesday, September 22, 2009

eight years

Eight years ago today, we got married in an old church in Vancouver on the first day of fall. We went to Tofino (my most favorite place on earth) this past weekend on our own (first time in 6 years) to celebrate.
We walked on the beach, through an amazing trail in the woods, ate super yummy food and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. Happy anniversary my love!

P.S.
No, that isn't our son in the back ground. This was the best picture we were able to take of ourselves whilst holding the camera in my hand. This boy appeared in the background. Anyone skilled at photoshop?















Saturday, September 12, 2009

The Ruby Slipper Project has a space!

Something as special as The Ruby Slipper Project needs a very special space. Thank you to those at O.U.R Ecovillage for making this possible. The space is amazing, the land, breathtaking, the group....well, you have to come and see for yourself.

There are two spaces left...what's holding you back from being a part of this amazing experience?




















Monday, September 7, 2009

the book of negroes

What kind of courage does it take to survive watching your parents die, stolen from your home, sold into slavery and sent to the New World?

I started reading this book two nights ago and I am hooked like a woman with PMS on chocolate. I originally bought it for my husband since I was already reading another book. He devoured it. He actually woke up early in the morning just to read. And now it is my turn.

I think if it hasn't been deemed this already, this is going to be the next great Canadian novel. I highly recommend you visit your local bookstore or library and start reading it. You won't be able to put it down.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

bookworm

Before I moved to the island, I was a full blown TV addict. I mean really. After my son was in bed (my little one wasn't here yet), I could easily sit down at 7:00pm and stay there until 11:00pm, just about every night. I had lots of reasons why I did it, but it wasn't healthy. When we moved here, we decided to leave the TV behind. It was definitely an adjustment.

We do have a very little TV that lives under the stairs. I still love movies and a few shows, I just rent them now and when they are done, the TV goes off. So instead of turning my brain to mush from shows I didn't even really like, I started reading. Now, I've become a voracious reader, as soon as one book is done, I pick up a new one. It's very satisfying.

So I thought I'd share a few of my favorites including what I'm reading right now. I have to admit, I am a bit of a lazy reader. If the first couple of chapters don't grab me, I move on. So if you are like that too, you'll love these:

The Birth House by Amy McKay is an amazing story of a young woman growing up in turn of the century Nova Scotia. She learns to be a midwife during a time when birth was becoming medicalized in hospitals. She is brave, smart and deeply interesting. She has women come to her home to give birth, hence the name. I was hooked by the first line.






Outlander is an older book that a good friend gave to me. It was a bit harder to get into, but I was encouraged to keep going. Once I did, I couldn't stop. A story of a young married couple in Scotland in the 40's. The husband is researching his family history. The wife, goes to a stone circle and is transported, without her husband's knowing back to the 1700's and meets the very man her husband was researching. It is an epic tale, full of love, romance, violence and intrigue. This is a good fireside book.

I just finished reading this last night. If you are into history, as you may begin to see that I am, this is a remarkable tale. It is a story the first woman settler on the Miramichi in the 1700's. At the age of 20 she leaves her home in England with the Jamaican butler and sails to the West Indies, hoping to start a new life for herself. After a harrowing crossing, she finds herself on a plantation, pregnant with her partner perished from Yellow Fever. From there she sails to the east coast of Canada and lives on the doorstep of history. Married and widowed three times, mother to 10 children, clever and strong with the skills of a midwife and an ongoing love affair with a First Nations man, this story is packed with everything that makes a good book. Based on the life of her great, great, great grandmother, Sally Armstrong delivers a fantastic story. I highly recommend it.

I'll post tomorrow and share what I'm reading now, it is so good I highly suggest to go to the bookstore or library and start reading it.

Who knew a TV addict could turn around and become a bookworm?