Grand Boulevard Residents Association

A LOCAL AUTHOR

Last week, I watched a online interview, put on by the Vancouver Public Library, of J.B.MacKinnon. He is our local journalist and author, who just published another great book, The Day the World Stops Shopping. Tzeporah Berman, an environmental activist who interviewed him, wrote This Crazy Time, Living Our Environmental Challenge, with Mark Leiren-Young, in 2011.

In case you don’t know him, Jamie MacKinnon and Alisa Smith co-wrote The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating, in 2007. This bestseller catalyzed the local foods movement, and inspired a Food Network TV series, co-hosted by MacKinnon, that aired in 30 countries. He also wrote Continue reading →

Hi Neighbour,

ICYMI, (In case you missed it) Coola and Grinder came out of hibernation last week on Thursday, after 170 days, starting on November 10, 2020, and ending on April 29, 2021! Can you believe it? That’s their longest hibernation in the 20 years that they’ve been residents of Grouse Mountain, “the Peak of Vancouver”. That beats the previous record of 153 days, in 2017.

Grizzly cubs are usually born in January, during hibernation. In May, 2001, Coola was found on a highway near Bella Coola, on the Coast, next to his mother, who had been killed by a large truck. He was rescued and taken to a vet, who found him to be in good health. At that time, Grinder was Continue reading →

Hi Neighbour,

How do you deal with Income Tax? Well, I’m no saint, in that department. When I was working, my employer took taxes off every paycheque. That was great for me, when I didn’t have any complications, like extra private (contract) work, where no income tax was deducted, or donations to charities, which mean a reduction in taxes.

In fact, my history of completing and submitting my Income Tax Returns is horrible! Without my accountant putting a fire under me to give her all the documents and setting aside the time for a meeting to verify and sign the documents, I would never have filed my returns. I had the attitude that my income tax was already being taken from me, so why worry? That was all very fine, until she Continue reading →

Early in 2021, I was recommended a book called Anxious People, published in 2020, by Fredrik Backman, a Swedish author. When I looked for it at the City Library, I had to put a hold on it, with a few people ahead of me. I also saw that there was an audiobook available. So I decided that I’d take out the audiobook, while I waited for the hard copy. That way, I could see if it was worth reading.

In the 1940s, when books were first being made into movies, often the commentary was around the idea of capturing the whole story or respecting the author’s intentions. Writing a screenplay involved scriptwriters (or screenwriters). To recreate the scenarios took a lot of time, especially, if they were stories of times gone by. Though parts of the story could be told in the visuals, the scriptwriter had to work with Continue reading →

NEIGHBOURHOOD TREATS

Favoured mode of transport to reach the treats? Bikes—with the cardboard in the spokes to make that farting engine sound. Taken with us on the mission, a block or two from home? Nothing but a voracious appetite for fresh fruit, whether plums, apples, pears, cherries or berries of one kind or another. We didn’t take our wooden or water guns, capes, stilts, cardboard wings or gymnastic dance routines (though some moves came in handy).

My younger brother was the ultimate outdoor playing partner because he was fast, daring and wild. He’d disappear for a while, every now and then—perhaps we’d argued or I’d rejected his next play idea, or… he was hungry for something sweet. When that happened, I never knew where he went. But half the time, he’d Continue reading →

Hi Neighbour,

I hope you enjoyed our Best Easter Sunday in years!  I was reveling in being outside on a bright, sunny and warm day!

So today, I’d like to introduce you to Homemade Kombucha. If you don’t know what that is, well, it’s tea, fermented to create a tasty, effervescent drink for 1/10 of the cost of store-bought kombucha. When I began making kombucha, a friend gave me a SCOBY, a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast, which is essential to the process. Email admin@gbrra.org to receive my extra one.

Here’s my recipe: Continue reading →

Hi Neighbour,

Do you know how we define a weed? It’s a plant growing where it’s not wanted. Not just any plant, I suppose. But definitely little plants that grow and multiply successfully, in spite of their small size. For that matter, some grasses could be called weeds. So, what one person calls a weed, might be another person’s treasure.

I remember looking at the crowd of bluebells at the back of my yard, under my walnut tree, and being thrilled to have them, so little and blue, standing tall with bright green leaves. Then, after a decade or so, there were splashes of light pink and white bluebells — huh?  But the blue bluebells were wonderful, especially when they turned up under my dark pink azalea bush, in the middle of the yard. I can’t remember how it worked out, but my azalea blossomed for only 2 weeks in May and the bluebells, that start peeking up in March, hung around ’til then, to create such a beautiful sight. What a great backdrop for photos of the kids and even of my grey and white angora cat!

In years past, my focus was on controlling Continue reading →

Hi Neighbour,

Now, that we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, after COVID-19, maybe some of you are thinking of how you’ll be able to take a holiday. Will you still have to spend 2 weeks in quarantine, in Canada or in the country you want to visit? Will you have the savings to pay for a holiday in 2021?

Well, I have a suggestion for planning a low-cost holiday, in Canada or elsewhere. I’ve arranged home exchanges in a few countries, alone or with a friend. At first, I went to the website https://homelink.ca to learn how it all works. There are about 20 representatives, worldwide, who handle exchanges in 60 countries. Membership is $150 for a year (actually, 14 months, now). The representative for Canada is Continue reading →