Blogs on Canadian Living

Green Living Blog: How to make composting smell-free

Kat — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:25:58 +0000

After reading this post, don’t forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today’s winner is Rachel Draper of Barrie, Ont.

Last year our community implemented a green bin program for kitchen waste (along with a two-bag limit for garbage), so we were excited to begin reducing our contributions to the overflowing landfill.

However, we quickly began to struggle with (more…)

The Foodie-file: Do monkeys drink coffee?

Christine Picheca — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:49:58 +0000

While visiting Vancouver this past weekend I received a press release for the hottest coffee spot on the west coast, 49th Parallel Café. They are carrying a new coffee, Devon Estate Selection 795 Arabica from Indian that is hand picked and chewed by monkeys. Coffee cherries are chewed and then stored for hours in a monkey’s mouth. Later, they eat the juice and spit out the coffee beans to be manually collected, flash-processed and thankfully washed. (more…)

Take part in a sisters makeover courtesy of Canadian Living

Helen — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:34:13 +0000

We’re looking for two sisters to be part of an upcoming Canadian Living Magazine makeover feature.

How about you and your sis? Or maybe you know two sisters who would make great candidates for a whole health makeover.

When we find the perfect candidates, this is what will happen:

This isn’t about dabbing on a little makeup and calling it a day, it’s a whole lifestyle makeover. Canadian Living assembled a team of experts that will assess and revamp all aspects of fitness, nutrition, happiness and other health-related matters for an entire year. What a great way to get in shape, eat better and get happy (not to mention be in the magazine)!

Sound tempting? Email our health editor Pauline Anderson at panderson@canadianliving.com, using SISTERS MAKEOVER as the subject line, and tell her in 150 words (more is fine) why you and your sis need a makeover.

Mom blog: Because I Said So! Root canals and raccoons

Jacquelyn — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:30:57 +0000

Isn’t this pretty? I am trying today to focus on pretty, sparkly, pleasant things because yesterday I capped off seven days of increasing tooth and jaw pain with an emergency pulpectomy, which felt as horrible as the word sounds. This morning I am off the painkillers, hitting the ibuprophen, taking four horse-pill clindamycin HCL 300mg, my body aches, my jaw aches, and the Mastercard couldn’t hobble through Sobey’s last night for my “soft diet” needs. Oh woe is this mum.
On the happy side, we have a beautiful day here, my driveway is a blanket of electric green bud casings from the maple tree, which thrills Luka to no end, and the lilac trees are just starting to blossom. On the challenging side, the raccoons have figured out how to bypass a two-by-four and snowboard wedged between the garage door and the 400-pound basketball base and weighed down by two cast-iron Christmas tree stands. Which means we’ll be enjoying the wonderful long weekend by cleaning out the garage.

Made your weekend plans yet?
Have anything you’d like to share concerning:
a) garage cleaning and organizing?
b) planning for a garage sale?
c) how to fix scooters?
d) best incentives for kids to pitch in and help?
e) best refreshments for garage cleaning?
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
See you tomorrow!

Green Living Blog: Eco-friendly renos

Kat — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:35:54 +0000

Today’s winner is Elizabeth DaSilva.

The attached picture is of our home in Newfoundland. We completely gutted the house and went from the old two-storey to a one-storey. The reason it fits into your Green Challenge is that we did the work ourselves – thank goodness my partner is very handy – and we took the two-storey down piece by piece and reused what we were able to reuse in the rebuilding of the smaller home. (more…)

Green Living Blog: Back to hankies?

Kat — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:35:55 +0000

Today’s winner is Debbie Haentjens.

Almost 28 years have gone by since the day my husband and I married. And it was shortly after our wedding day when I came to the realization that my husband was a hankie user. I thought it a bit of an oddity in the beginning as I had never used hankies in my childhood. I had been a long-time tissue user accustomed to reaching for a tissue from a box that was perched on top of the toilet tank.

For many years I accepted my husband’s hankie usage and faithfully laundered and hung out the hankies on the clothesline to dry, while I continued to reach for that old familiar tissue. Until one day, (more…)

The Foodie-file: Goatgonzola and more cheese from Carmelis

Christine Picheca — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:19:19 +0000

More on Carmelis’s goat cheese. Carmelis is a farmstead operation, they raise there own goats without hormones, milk everyday and make cheese everyday. The diversity of product they are making is impressive. They are producing creamy flavoured goat cheese; Camembert style and rind washed cheese; blue cheeses like the goatgonzola and piccolo; as well as aged raw milk cheese. They had recently introduced goat Gruyere to the line up when I was there. Here are pictures of Carmelis’s delicious cheese. (more…)

Mom blog: Because I Said So! WFMW faster, lower-fat sandwiches

Jacquelyn — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:51:31 +0000

Yes, it is time for Works for Me Wednesday, a blog carnival where bloggers offer tips and tricks that work for them. It is hosted by Shannon, so when you’ve read my offering, check out the several hundred bloggers’ tips there!

Shannon’s tip today is that she is on a diet—she calls it Changing and Reducing my Appetite Protocol—and has replaced her favourite Miracle Whip with a fat free version of her fave salad dressing and spreads that on her sandwiches.

We’re on the same wavelength, but in my never-ending crusade to avoid washing utensils (dishes, cups, clothing, cars, floors, etc.) and to save time, I’ve been using Hellman’s salad spritzers on my sandwich greens—1 calorie per spritz, 0.1 g fat per spritz, no dirty knife, super fast and tons of flavours (Caesar, balsamic, Italian, Asian, raspberry, red wine). So far, there is no downside. How weird. IT WORKS FOR ME!

The Foodie-file: Carmelis Goat Cheese

Christine Picheca — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:59:02 +0000

When I was visiting the Okanagan, I had a chance to visit Ofri Barmor at Carmelis Goat Cheese farm. Her family raises goats and is making delicious goat cheeses that are a hit of the west coast. Everywhere I went chef’s were using Carmelis’s cheese and it was for sale all over Vancouver. Barmor and her family had only just arrived in Canada from Isreal, the year of the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire. The fire has become part of the folklore of the region. Many of the farmers I went to visit had incredible stories of survival and community that rose out of the ashes, the Barmor’s proudly share their story with their visitors . They finished building the farm and the herd of 60 goat’s arrived August 12th, 2003. On August 16th the devastating fire wiped out the mountain. They had not been part of the community long and had no connections. Barmor tells her guests the story of being told they needed to leave their farm, “In Israel, if there is a terrorist attack you don’t get an evacuation notice” . (more…)

Mom blog: Because I Said So! Mum’s Day presents

Jacquelyn — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:38:17 +0000

I often say at the end of a posting, pics to come tomorrow, and then like the “I’ll call you! We’ll get together for drinks!” that never happens, so do my photos. But those days are gone. We now have a little light table and two lights, and for the first time in a long time, I’m feeling prepared for something other than disaster!

Here goes:
I love having lots of fun, weird things at my desk to fiddle with and study while on hold, or waiting for a file, or so I don’t have to constantly doodle. Luka knows that, hence his “bought” present this year (as seen above), complete with a lime slice and strawberry stuck inside. He decorated his flowerpot with the mystery seeds with a series of Js so it would be “just for you and no one at your office can steal it.” (Such a suspicious mind! I’ve never even heard of theft at my three-day-a-week office, let alone brought home any stories.) (more…)