Family and Friends

No fewer than 26 of us sat down for Christmas lunch at 3pm on Christmas Day. Family and friends from the island, and some from further afield in Ottawa and Hudson's Hope. Where's Hudson's Hope? A mere 14 hours' drive away in Northern BC, where the temperature was -20 and the snow was already knee high. By comparison, Gabriola must have seemed almost tropical.

With 26 coming to lunch, food preparation was a collective effort and top marks must go to Robbie and Mary for a fabulous turkey, and to Jackie for the supreme effort of peeling 3lb of chestnuts!

Needless to say, Mrs H was proudly managing 'front of house' from her new kitchen, supported by a team of 'fantastic fifties' serving piping hot dishes to young and old. It's leftovers for a week now!

Mrs H & Mrs H prepare for battle. Is that a bottle of wine I see?

The Head Waiter checks out the place settings. When are the wine glasses being delivered?

.... and Mrs H shows off some of the leftovers!

A kitchen for Christmas

The task was straightforward enough.  Fly to Gabriola at the start of October. Demolish the wall round the old utility room, move a window or two, build a new wall and level the floor. The kitchen cabinets that had been ordered from Rona's Nanaimo store in September would be delivered in early November. The appliances (fridge/freezer, oven, dishwasher) had been ordered from Sears in Nanaimo and would also arrive in early November.  Once the cabinets were in, the countertops could be measured, fabricated and fitted. They would be ready by early December, so the whole project would be finished in plenty of time for Christmas.
 
"Simples", as Aleksander Orlov, founder of ComparetheMeerkat.com would say.

But this is Canada; Gabriola is an island, and Canada is not (as I have been told several times) quite like England. It's a bit bigger, and things therefore take a bit longer to happen, especially if they're happening on the other side of the country or (heaven forbid) in the USA.

My earlier posts charted the ups and downs of the demolition/construction phase. Kitchen cabinets which were due to leave the Westwood factory at Kelowna, BC on Monday 9th November actually left on Thursday 12th November and arrived on Gabriola the following day. In the dark and on a truck with no interior lights. It was Friday the 13th, so what should I expect? 

The appliances were also due on the 12th, which would have worked fine if (a) the kitchen walls had been finished, (b) the cabinets had been delivered on the 12th as planned and (c) the appliances had actually left the KitchenAid factory in Benton Harbor, somewhere east of Chicago, on time. In the event, none of the above applied so at least the progress (or lack of it) was consistent.

Kitchen cabinets couldn't be fitted until the walls were ready; the walls couldn't be finished until the new windows were in; the windows couldn't go in until it stopped raining - you probably get the picture.

So, the arrival of the cabinets at least signalled a step forward, even if it was followed by 3 steps back. The fridge/freezer and dishwasher arrived a week later than planned; the dishwasher was the wrong model and had to go back - and the oven was nowhere to be seen. "It should arrive on the 3rd December" said Sears. The same day that Mrs H would arrive from England. Hmmm - could be cutting things a bit fine?

Walls were finished and most cabinets fitted by the time the fridge and (first) dishwasher arrived. No ordinary fridge, you understand, but a 4ft wide x 8ft high monster that took four people an hour and a half to unload from the delivery truck and get up the steps into the kitchen. Had it not been for the threat of Mrs H's retribution, the delivery men would have deemed it impossible, left it on the truck and taken it away again.

In their wisdom, Rona advised against ordering the door panels for the appliances until they were actually here -just in case the specifications had changed. They hadn't - and when Rona said they should be ready for mid January, Mrs H suggested they might reconsider - in the nicest possible way, of course. "They will be leaving Kelowna on the 14th December and delivered to the Rona store for collection on the 15th" was the promise. They weren't.

December 3rd came and went, the oven was delivered, the dishwasher changed, and the countertops had been templated. Almost 30 feet of countertop and 20 feet of backsplash mocked up in wafer thin plywood had left Gabriola on the back of an open pick-up truck back to the Countryside Designs factory at Cobble Hill, near Victoria, where it would be magically transformed into midnight grey Corian countertops before being delivered back by mid December for installation. Congratulations Countryside Designs - you actually delivered AHEAD of target!!!

The final piece of the jigsaw was to be black, or grey, floor covering. No problem you  might think - except that no-one stocked anything that wasn't brown. We weren't too fussy what shade of grey, but we didn't want brown. After 3 days of searching, despair was setting in when we happened upon some black laminate flooring in Rona's store in Duncan. Not quite what we were looking for, but go for it!

Meanwhile, the prospect of buying nearly 50 drawer and cabinet handles at exhorbitant prices on Vancouver Island led to a mail order at around a third of the price from Michigan, USA which - by mid December, was in the midst of a series of winter snowstorms that seemingly prevented any packages being dispatched for more than a week. They finally arrived three days before Christmas.

Inexplicably, the appliance door panels were "missed off" the delivery from Kelowna on the 14th - but never fear, there was another delivery before Christmas and, by way of recompense, they would be delivered direct to Gabriola. Wrong again. Sure, they were on the truck that left Kelowna (a day late) on the 22nd - but by 4pm on the 23rd there was no sign of the truck arriving on Gabriola. A call to Rona determined that all three deliveries for Gabriola had been dumped at the Nanaimo warehouse without explanation. I suspect the driver had seen the length of the ferry line-up and determined it was either Gabriola or Christmas at home - but not both. Nevertheless, Rona called in a Gabriola courier service and the panels arrived on our doorstep just before 1pm Christmas Eve.

By 9pm Christmas Eve, there were panels on the fridge/freezer and handles on everything. The dishwasher panel would have been fitted Christmas morning, but for the fact that I didn't have the necessary Torx screwdriver. Bugger!

It was Boxing Day before the dishwasher was finally clad, but we had our kitchen for Christmas. Just as well, as we had 26 coming to Christmas Dinner ! 

What Christmas Means to Me . . . .

Snowflakes, family, presents, baked goods, Santa Claus AND the premier of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus!!!!

That's right folks, Rachel McAdams and I both have huge Hollywood movies opening Christmas Day.

Granted, Rachel McAdams is famous, rich and stars in her movie.

I am famous to my mom, not rich, and play a small role in mine.

Small, but key.  Well, maybe not even that.  But I will be 20ft big and playing in Cineplex Odeons around the country.  And my name is in the credits.

So this is my plug to get you to go watch the movie - keep an eye out for a British-sounding salesgirl who gets a flower from a Russian.  That's me!

And of course, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Getting Jolly for the Holidays

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us and there are many ways to celebrate the season in Vancouver.

If you want to make the most of your holidays with local delights, here's some activities I've unearthed for you.

1.  Vancouver Christmas Trolley

If you've watched my wee video, you've seen the fun that is singing Christmas carols via a karaoke machine with random people.  My advice?  Grab MANY friends and book the trolley for your private party.  Fill thermoses with Bailey's and hot chocolate, then gaze merrily at the Christmas lights of Stanley Park, VanDusen Gardens, and Canuck House all while singing badly.

2.  Lights at VanDusen Gardens

Perhaps the trolley isn't your thing, but lights are.  Head up to VanDusen Botanical Gardens for their amazing lights.  Really, these lights are amazing.  There is nothing much more I can say.  Except you can also get waffles, crepes, hot dogs, cocoa, chat with Santa, watch a musical light show, and listen to the choir sing 'Silent Night'.

3.  Bright Nights at Stanley Park

For kids, and big kids, Stanley Park puts on a fun light show complete with train ride through a lit up forest.  Proceeds go to the Firefighters' Burn Fund so it's a good cause. Buy your tickets online but still be prepared to stand in line, especially on weekends.  Your ticket also includes entry to the Children's Farm.  But if you don't care to see a turkey, you can always check out the raccoons running around the grounds.  Chestnuts roasting on an open fire are extra, but the hot firemen are included.

4.  Capilano Suspension Bridge

The good people at Capilano Suspension Bridge light the bridge, and surrounding area up, to create a magical winter wonderland.  Especially if snow covers the surrounding trees.  A truly beautiful experience.

5.  Canada Place Sails Light Show

Check out the free light show that plays on the sails of Canada Place timed to favorite Christmas carols.

6.  The Hyatt's Gingerbread Lane

Several Gingerbread creations line the lobby of the Hyatt.  Made by students from grade school right to pastry chefs, these edible concoctions are a fun way to spend a few moments and escape from the bustling streets of Vancouver.  I was especially blown away by the Cinderella's castle.  Oh, and you can vote on your favorite!

7.  The skating rink at Robson Square

A new addition this winter (but an old favorite from years past), Vancouverites can once again skate outdoors.  Rink is free, but skates will cost you ($3) - and it's covered so you can glide arm in arm with your sweetheart while the rain patters above you.

And last, but probably the most enchanting:

8.  Grouse Mountain

Screw the Grind, the best thing about this mountain is how it makes Christmas a truly wonderful white wonderland.  For the price of admission, you can escape the city (which is often raining and without snow) and find yourself atop a snowy haven.  You can ice skate (on a small pond but it's on the top of a mountain!), go for a sleigh ride, or snowshoe.  Top it all off with hot chocolate or wine by the blazing fire.  Even I loved going snowshoeing - it was so peaceful.  You can head up during the day, but I prefer the night when the stars are out and you don't even know a city lies before you.

I hope this inspires you to get out there and enjoy the holiday season before it's over!!

Simply French, Simply Fabulous

If you know me, and this blog, you know that I like croissants.  A LOT.  I also love cute cafes in which to write.  And I love anything French because I secretly wish I was an elegant French girl.

I was driving up 10th Ave the other day, and nearly got into an accident as an adorable cafe caught my eye.  Simply French is a newly opened cafe near the intersection of 10th and Alma.  Opened by the former owners of Truffles, the Drummonds know how to serve a good dessert.  And good pastry.  And good coffee.

Firstly, the cafe is really large, with high ceilings, chandeliers, and plug-ins for your laptop.  Secondly, it serves strong coffee.  Thirdly, the croissant was AMAZING.  Perfect and incredible.  In fact, the croissant is now number two on my list (one below a boulangerie in Paris and one above Mazzola's in Brooklyn).  Isobel Drummond bakes everything herself and let me tell you that she knows how to create a buttery perfection that is croissant.

I loved it in here so much.  The owners are so friendly and happy.  I sat in the window and wrote for hours undisturbed, letting the sky grow dark and the snow gently fall outside.  So cozy and elegant, I think next time I go I will try a Paris panini.  And wear a beret.

Je t'aime all things French.

Irish Heather and Eating Pigs

The Irish Heather, located in Gastown, is a busy hive of cosy dark interior, steamy food, and pints of Guinness.  What started as a pub overlooking a cobblestoned mews, it has now moved across the street and is linked in one building with the Salty Tongue, a delicious deli, and Shebeen a whiskey house.

Early this year, the Irish Heather started the Long Table Series which is described as "a series of meals matched to a beer/cider for low prices".  Twice a week, eaters show up to Shebeen for a drink and then are ushered into Salty Tongue where a 40ft table sits for all the guests.  The chef comes out to talk about the meal and then dinner is served, complete with a drink.  For, are you ready for this, $15!!!  Only $15!

I've gone to two now.  Once during the summer for veal that was delicious.  And then again last week for the very-much-in-demand roast suckling pig.

I definitely liked it better during the winter months, as when I came in the summer I nearly melted it was so hot.  Forty people at a table is a tad noisy and squished.  And as it's Vancouver, you don't really talk to the people next to you even though you are rubbing elbows.  Oh this city of pretention.

That aside, the food is yummy and at a great price!  Our roast pig was amazing and the serving portion was massive.  It came with braised cabbage and mashed potatoes plus a pint of cider.  We opted to have a sticky toffee pudding for dessert.  All in all, a fun event, a new way to experience food, and a great Irish meal.

Except for the braised cabbage which reared its ugly head a few hours later.  Ick.

Check out the blog to see upcoming menus and get out for a night of eating fun!

The Man in Red

As I was getting on the ferry the other day, two little girls had this conversation:

Girl 1:  Dad texted it to him.
Girl 2:  He texted him the list?
Girl 1:  Yes
Girl 2:  How do you know?
Girl 1:  He told me
Girl 2:  He told you he texted the list?
Girl 1:  (sighing) Yes, he texted the list!
Girl 2:  Are you sure?
Girl 1: (now exasperated) YES!
Girl 2:  How does dad know his number?


That's right folks, Santa's gone electronic.  I couldn't help but think of how technology has changed our lives, right down to how we get in touch with the man in red.  

When it comes to having Santa's number I almost said to them, "I think my mom has his number.  She used to call him when I was being bad."

True story - every time I did anything naughty and it was in the late part of the year (maybe starting in August) my mum would threaten to call Santa.  If that didn't work, she would get on the phone and tell him I was being bad.  I would go nuts!  I would also stop being bad.  The thought that my mum was actually talking to Santa Claus would scare all the naughty things out of me.  Note to self:  use when I am parent.

Everyone seems to have the story of when they stopped believing in Santa Claus.  For some it was traumatic, like a friend of mine who was told my his first grade teacher (and yes, his mother marched to school the next day to chew her out), for others it was perhaps a simply realization one year that their dad was the one eating the cookies and milk.

I honestly can't remember when I stopped believing.  This is going to sound corny, but I don't think I ever really stopped.  Firstly, I did believe in Santa Claus for a long time.  Well past my elementary comrades.  I remember (and my mum will dispute this) one Christmas when I was about nine. We had driven to Alberta from Winnipeg for Christmas.  We took all of our presents to open at my grandma's.  When we got back, there was another present under the tree.  I was so excited about Santa's drop-off.  But seeing as the gift (a 'Get in Shape Girl' set - remember those?) was from my parents, they wanted me to know that they were giving it to me.

My dad showed me how impossible it was for Santa to get down the chimney as the flue was shut AND he had placed a big tile thing in front of the fireplace to keep the cold out.  I wasn't persuaded.  I knew Santa had figured out a way to get in.

My grandmother always believed in Santa.  She said he was the magic of Christmas.  So if you always believe in the magic of Christmas then you believe in Santa.  That sort of stuck with me.  And I am all about creating magic around Christmas.

The other day, my friend and I watched 'Elf'.  At the end, I sighed and said, "Part of me sort of wonders".

"Wonders what? "

 "If Santa is real."

Her reply?  "You can't swallow the idea of Jesus but you think it's possible that Santa exists??"

"Yes."

Call me crazy.  Call me a big kid.  Or call me a girl who always believes in the possibility of magic.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . . .

It's that time of the year again and I made a little video showing you how things are celebrated in the Rainy City.  Well, one of the many possible fun things to do in Vancouver over the holiday season.

Vancouver Trolley Company gets us into the season every year with their 'Christmas Karaoke' trolley that takes singing riders to Stanley Park to check out Bright Lights (but only the part outside of the train), and then to VanDusen Botanical Garden for their spectacular, and I mean SPECTACULAR, lights.

Check out the video that includes chestnuts roasting on an open fire, a choir singing merrily on high, and sparkly lights.  Oh, and perhaps thermoses full of hot chocolate and Bailey's :)



If you have trouble viewing it, go directly to the You Tube Channel

Santa arrives in Victoria - by ferryboat!

Santa looks just a little bit nervous as he navigates past an outgoing seaplane!

All lit up for Christmas

Each year, as Christmas approaches, we try to get away and see another city dressed in all its finery for the holiday season. Coming from Europe, there's no shortage of colourful destinations within reach - London, Paris, Lille, Bruges - all just a few hours away if you can make the effort. 

I suppose it's natural to compare new cities to those we know best. London at Christmas is a mix of colour, glitter and tradition - with many of the best known landmarks floodlit in natural light as a backdrop to the seasonal illuminations.

Some of our favourite Christmas lights are in Paris - where the Champs Elysees is bordered by lines of trees bedecked in brilliant white fairylights - indeed the whole area is illuminated in white, without a trace of colour to detract from the serenity of the city's floodlit landmarks.

Europe also boasts a series of month-long pre-Christmas markets, turning some of the lesser known cities into a mass of colour and activity to incite visitors from around the world. Among those we have visited, Bruges  remains one of our favourites.

This year, we spent a couple of days in BC's capital, Victoria - having carefully selected a hotel offering probably the most impressive views of the city and harbour, we were treated to a wonderful vista with many impressive landmarks reflected in the still waters of the inner harbour.  Our room at the Delta hotel offered a panoramic view of the whole harbour, stretching across to the Legislature building and the Fairmont Empress hotel, and buzzing with activity from boats and floatplanes alike.

As night fell, the city lit up - and from our window the reflections in the water were simply fantastic.

The Legislature building - very impressive in daylight - looked as though it had received the Disney treatment.
Personally, I think it would have looked much more impressive if it had been floodlit - less gaudy, and more in character with the building.

Down in the harbour, the little ferries were decorated for their evening ballet performance

- and one or two enterprising boat owners had joined in the same spirit

The Empress looked as grand as ever - pity someone abandoned that old bus outside!

It was still there the following day when afternoon tea was served.... very tastefully I may add.

Victoria is often likened to London. Take away the tourist buses, and it reveals a character all of its own. Look beyond the brightly lit facades and there are some of the finest historic buildings in Canada. But for me, Victoria's inner harbour is the jewel in the crown. The combination of floatplanes, yachts, ferries (large and small) and inquisitive seals makes it quite unique. Perhaps next year, the BC Legislature will go for a more serene appearance!