Salt Spring Sketches: A Gypsy Creates Her Own Bliss by the Sea

She confesses to an addiction to adventure.  She acknowledges that she often doesn’t appreciate the consequences of her spontaneous decisions.  And she is currently off on another escapade—this time sailing via California to Mexico for six months. She’s leased her house for 18 months and has no idea where she’ll live when she gets back from Mexico.  But she’s confident that things will fall into place – “somehow, they always do.” Suzanne Ambers, counsellor, massage therapist, spa consultant, and self-described gypsy, is always up for something different, particularly if it involves travel to new places.  And the sea. “Every day unfolds differently,” she says. “”I’ve lived out of a suitcase all over the world. I raised two sons in a float home and I was plunked down by the universe on Salt Spring, somewhere I never imagined I would live.” Open to opportunity, some would say. But for Suzanne, it’s more like heeding your heart, or maybe listening to the psychic friend…
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Local Elections - First Week Polling Results

We've been running our local elections online poll now for one week, with the elections now less than two weeks away. Leading into tonights candidate debates at ArtSpring, we wanted to update everyone on how the polls are shaping up. As people participate in the polls and make decisions about their candidates we've seen an excellent response . As of the writing of this story, 464 people have participated in the School Trustee poll, 455 in the Islands Trustee poll, and 407 in the CRD director poll. Our goal was 500 participants before the election and we're likely to reach and exceed this goal. 500+ voters represents apx. 5% of the 10,000 or so permanent residents of Salt Spring and we believe having this many participants will begin to give good insights into the potential outcome of the election on the 19th. If you're going to tonights candidate debate, and haven't made up your mind, be sure to log your vote once you make your candidate commitment. Here are the individua…
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Support the Arts on Salt Spring

There's an opportunity for you to help fund the Salt Spring Arts Education Centre, a place for workshops and classes to happen on our faire isle. And it won't cost you anything! All you have to do is go to the Aviva Community Fund website and vote for the idea! You can vote every day, a total of 15 times. Start NOW. This could happen if we all participate. Voting in this round is only open until Nov. 9, so don't put it off! http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf11181
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Salt Spring 'Introvert' Island

Last week we ran a survey asking residents of Salt Spring if they considered themselves to be *mostly* introverted or extroverted. The results are bit a surprising. Our survey closed automatically when we hit 100 responses and of those 100 responses, 79 people identified themselves as *mostly* introverted. Speaking with a colleague via email about this who has a background in Jungian psychology, he shared that in general it is understood that about 40% of the population identify as introverts and that the dominant culture, at least in North America, is extrovertedly oriented. Is it possible that 79% of islanders are mostly introverted at double the average in North America? Is this just another thing that makes Salt Spring special? Should we have gone out and surveyed at a party where all the extroverts are? Should we become the destination for introverts everywhere, or do we need to import some more extroverts to balance this place out?
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One of the country’s best-kept secrets

A Weekend on: Salt Spring Island by Neal Webster Turnage featured in American Way Magazine One of 225 Canadian Gulf Islands, charming Salt Spring is just a hop, skip and a ferry ride from Vancouver — and one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Despite the fact that the scenery is spectacular, the epicurean possibilities world-class, the cultural highlights significant, and the hotels and inns delightfully rustic to dangerously decadent, Canada’s Salt Spring Island still somehow manages to stay off most travelers’ radars. Maybe it’s because it sleeps in the shadows of its more-celebrated seaside neighbors, Vancouver and Victoria. Or maybe it’s because it’s reachable only by seaplane or ferry. Either way, all this means for you is that the island is an insider’s secret — and we’re here to share it with you.... read the full article on the American Way Magazine site.
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The Library’s 2011 Annual Giving Campaign

A new library is finally being built! That new home will meet our community’s needs for decades to come. This project is currently both on budget and on schedule for an opening in the Fall of 2012. Until then, library services continue to be provided at the library’s temporary home at 118 Jackson Avenue. And now it’s time to begin thinking about what goes into that new building. All proceeds from the 2011 Annual Giving Campaign have been earmarked for expanding the collection and broadening the range of services provided. Many areas of special interest in both the fiction and non-fiction collections must be strengthened. Both the teen and children’s collections now have room to grow as do the library’s DVD and audio book collections. The library also hopes to provide, both in the new building and “from home”, access to more on-line full text articles and research materials. Click Here to Donate Now Will you join us this year in the effort to expand our collections, our pro…
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  • - November 2, 2011

Salt Spring Local Elections Poll

Our local elections are coming up on November 19th and just as we did with the federal elections, we're running an informal poll for the Capital Regional District Director and Islands and School Board Trustees. We have another opportunity here to see how Salt Spring might be voting for this years candidates. When you cast your vote you will be able to see results in real-time. You can also monitor results by clicking on the "View Results" link to the right of the "Vote" button on each poll. NOTE: Salt Spring Exchange online election polls are not intended to be scientific and may not reflect actual results. Instead, they are a way for our readers to share their views with fellow site users. Respondents are not randomly selected, but select themselves to vote on a specific question. In addition, while Salt Spring Exchange online polls are designed to allow only one vote per user, savvy users may find ways around this limitation. Who are you voting for CRD Director? Who …
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Are you introverted or extroverted?

I'm conducting a highly un-scientific poll on a subject I've been curious about regarding the dominant nature of island residents. I've been wondering if those who are attracted to living on Salt Spring have a stronger tendency towards introversion or extroversion? In the way I understand this, I would think of introverted people as those who get their energy from spending time alone to recharge and restore themselves, while extroverts would get their energy and relax by being with others in more social settings. There is much more to these labels, but let's find out. What would you say is the dominant nature of Salt Springers?
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Salt Spring Sketches: Flight Of The False Creek Six

The Lagoons is one of the most attractive condo developments in Vancouver - a small number of beautiful suites on False Creek, clustered around a well designed water feature and looking out at downtown and the North Shore mountains beyond. The famous Vancouver seawall meanders by; full of walkers and joggers whatever the weather, and the amenities and excitement of Granville Island are but a stone’s throw away. Over the past few years, six residents of The Lagoons have found a yet more idyllic place to live – Salt Spring. Although they had struggled together through meetings of their strata board, and shared their preferences in good literature at the monthly book club, none knew of the others’ plans to relocate. Some never contemplated a move, and none imagined ever being neighbours again. Yet, somehow, they all found a way to the island, and to reconnect. One was returning to a place he’d lived before, two came for love, and the magic familiar to all islanders captu…
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Jana's Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

PUMPKIN CHIFFON CAKE Recipe just in time for Thanksgiving, by Jana of Jana's Bake Shop, excerpted from her out-of-this-world delicious book Flour Power. "Imagine that Cinderella ate this cake on her wedding day." 2¼  cups (10oz/285gr) all-purpose flour 1 cup (7oz/200gr) sugar 2 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. ground ginger ½ tsp. allspice ½ tsp. nutmeg ½ cup (4oz/125ml) vegetable oil 5 eggs, separated ¾ cup (6oz/170gr) pumpkin puree 1 Tbs. orange zest 1/3 cup (3oz/100ml) orange juice 6 egg whites ½ cup (3½oz/100gr) sugar Directions:  Pre-heat oven 325.  1, ungreased 10” tube pan. In medium sized bowl whisk together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk oil, yolks, pumpkin puree, zest and juice. Stir wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined set aside. Pour egg whites into a clean, deep, mixing bowl. By hand:  Using a balloon whisk, begin beating egg whites until soft peaks form.  At this stage start adding your sugar, just a little at a time and…
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Post Card To Follow: Terry Oliver's Mail Adventure In Paris

My elderly mother-in-law used to regard going to the local post office in the village where she lived, to buy a stamp, as her day’s outing. The rest of the family thought this was very amusing, including me. Yesterday, I finally bought a stamp. One full month after arriving in Paris, I’ve discovered where the local post office is. Until you find yourself in a place as appealing as Paris, you forget that people back home are not satisfied with an email. Something more is expected of you. Like a postcard at least. I stopped sending postcards years ago, along with Xmas cards. It’s a lost art – like letter writing, only more difficult. Many stages are involved. First, you must find a suitable card – the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe will not do – far too insulting. We had visited many museums and art galleries before choosing an acceptable card which reflected our friend’s artistic leanings and our own impeccable good taste. Often this involved nearly as much time in th…
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Salt Spring Sketches: It Was Always Their House Even When It Wasn’t

She was ready for one more adventure. He wasn’t so certain. They had, after all, lived comfortably in Calgary for 29 years.  Neither had any inclination to move.  Yet, one morning as she looked out her window at her flourishing and beautiful garden, Liesbeth Leatherbarrow had an epiphany. “I have always planned on living until 100,” she said. “I loved all that I saw that morning, but the thought of looking at and walking up the same path for the next 45 years struck me as limiting. Everything looked beautiful but I knew in that moment I was ready for one more adventure.” Her husband of 33 years found her epiphany intriguing but, being a cautious and deliberative man, Bob Leatherbarrow needed time to mull over the idea and do some research. “I was confident, but Bob had to think,” Liesbeth points out. “It sounded to him like a spontaneous, romantic idea. In 2007, Bob began checking out various locales—from Provence in France to Nova Scotia, Cowichan, Maple Bay—to …
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Salt Spring Sketches - It's Really About The Hair

Everyone we told said we were crazy. Giving up our fabulous condo in Yaletown, leaving the myriad of amenities offered by Canada’s greenest city, starting again on a tiny island whose population barely equaled that of one Vancouver neighbourhood. “Why?” they asked. “You are urbanites. You love vibrant, bustling downtowns.” And they were right, sort of. My husband and I had always lived in urban centres, some smaller than others, but always in the midst of the action. And we’d always loved the hustle bustle of cities.

I’d grown up in Toronto, received my journalism degree in the heart of the city before leaving for Calgary as a young reporter at the Calgary Herald. My career in journalism (teaching and writing) took me to other large cities: Edmonton (to write radio ad copy), Ottawa (to edit a church publication), back to Calgary (to teach journalism), Vancouver (as a journalism instructor), Wilmington, DE (as a communications executive) and a…

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51% of Saanich North and the Islands Vote to Scrap the HST

Final results of the HST vote are in. Saanich North and the Islands 51.35% voted yes to scrap it, 48.65% voted no to keep it. Question Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) and reinstating the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) in conjunction with the GST (Goods and Services Tax)? Yes/No The final results are: % of valid votes voting Yes 54.73% % of valid votes voting No 45.27% Electoral District Yes Votes Yes % No Votes No % Total Valid Votes Abbotsford-Mission 8214 45.37% 9892 54.63% 18106 Abbotsford South 7573 43.28% 9925 56.72% 17498 Abbotsford West 7740 48.54% 8207 51.46% 15947 Alberni-Pacific Rim 10665 63.90% 6024 36.10% 16689 Boundary-Similkameen 9679 59.48% 6593 40.52% 16272 Burnaby-Deer Lake 11097 62.62% 6625 37.38% 17722 Burnaby-Edmonds 11827 64.55% 6494 35.45% 18321 Burnaby-Lougheed 11426 58.77% 8016 41.23% 19442 Burnaby North 12956 60.34% 8516 39.66% 21472 Cariboo-Chilcotin 6361 56.90% 4818 43.10…
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