Boulevard Magazine - April 2013 Issue by Boulevard Magazine

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blvdmag.ca APRIL 2013

 Local asparagus  the regional cycling plan  where to recycle what  the 100-mile fashion designer  a green Hot Property

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CuStOmer teStImONIal: Craig Gibson, Lake Cowichan, British Columbia As a designer of exceptional homes I understand the value of using the best of materials and manpower. This intimate knowledge helped me and my wife when it came time to research floats for our cottage on Cowichan Lake. Recollections from my sailing exploits and the hundreds of marina’s I have tied up to gave me insight into what materials survive the elements the best. As a good sailing buddy once asked me “ Why do we put the things we love the most in the harshest environment on earth?” That question had a lot to do with the decision my wife and I decided upon. We decided to go with a concrete float because of durability, longevity and stability but we also liked the fact that with concrete we were not introducing toxic chemicals from treated lumber into the lake. The lake our family and friends swim in and the lake our communities’ drinking water comes from. The next step was researching manufacturers. It made sense to look locally but there were only a couple of manufacturers doing concrete floats.

The people at Surefloat were very helpful and showed us the entire manufacturing process. Surefloat’s plant has been around for a long time and their personnel were very knowledgeable so we felt comfortable in ordering a float. The float was 10 ft. by 20 ft. and it was going to be light terracotta in colour. We liked it so much that first year we ordered another the following year. When the second float arrived the Surefloat team simply through bolted them together and boom we doubled the size of our float. They explained to us that the floats have been engineered to bolt together many different ways so if we wanted to expand they would be happy to sell us another. You never know! As we enter our 4th summer on the float all we had to do was wash off the winter, add a few chairs, put up our shade, grab a refreshment and enjoy the warmth of our concrete float. Best thing we ever did! Craig & Marjorie Gibson Craig Gibson Design

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CONTENTS April 2013 Issue 04, Volume XXIl

april 46

24 FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

david black’s bold gamble By Craig McInnes

30 Bridget Savard: The 100-mile fashion designer By Lia Crowe 36 CYCLING VISION 2038 A guide to the CRD’s grand cycling plan By David Leach COLUMNS 20 HAWTHORN Flummoxed by recycling By Tom Hawthorn 22

STATE OF THE ARTS Healing the past through art By Alisa Gordaneer

CONTRIBUTORS

30 60

18 EDITOR’S LETTER 19

LETTERS

42 Social Capital Where to recycle almost everything By Anna Kemp 46

HOT PROPERTIES Going green on the Saanich Peninsula By Carolyn Heiman BEFORE AND AFTER A basement transformed By Sarah MacNeill

FRONT ROW Andy Wooldridge; Stile Antico; John Pizzarelli; Jim Laird and more By Robert Moyes FOOD & WINE Celebrate asparagus season By Anne Mullens and Sharon McLean HEALTH & WELLNESS Edible oils that pack a healthy punch By Pamela Durkin

91 PERSONAL FINANCE Save $$ going green By Tess van Straaten 94 TECHNOLOGIA Zapping the power vampires By Darryl Gittins 96

WRY EYE Love those invasive species By Barbara Julian

SECRETS & LIVES Yasuko Thanh, writer By Shannon Moneo

76 TRAVEL FAR Cruising the Mekong By Joanne Blain 80 TRAVEL FAR A family-friendly ecogetaway in Costa Rica By Valerie Rolfe

On our cover: Local asparagus is a sweet spring treat.

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Editor Kate Lautens Fashion Editor Lia Crowe Production Coordinator Pip Knott Advertising Vicki Clark Pat Brindle Corlie Sleen Geoff Wilcox Marketplace Programs Scott Simmons Business Manager Janet Dessureault Editorial/Administrative Assistant Kayleigh von Wittgenstein Contributing Writers Cinda Chavich, Darryl Gittins, Pamela Durkin, Alisa Gordaneer, Tom Hawthorn, Carolyn Heiman, Anna Kemp, Lauren Kramer, Sarah MacNeill, Sharon McLean, Shannon Moneo, Katherine Palmer Gordon, Robert Moyes, Tess van Straaten Contributing Photographers Dean Azim, Vince Klassen, Gary McKinstry, Leanna Rathkelly

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blvdmag.ca

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kate lautens is

the new editor of Boulevard Magazine. She is the kind of person who spots misplaced apostrophes in billboards, dangling participles in newspapers and unnecessary quotations on signs, driving everyone (except writers and editors) crazy. She lives near Elk Lake with her partner, who must put up with her hoarder tendencies (lovingly passed along from her journalist father) when it comes to books and magazines. After working at Trafford Publishing and then at the University of Victoria on their on-demand press, she is thrilled to finally be able to put her writing degree from the University of Victoria to good use at Boulevard. David Leach is the director of professional writing at the University of Victoria. His freelance travel writing has appeared in explore, Canadian Geographic, British Columbia, and Mountain Biking UK magazines. He keeps a “quiver” of six bikes in his garage, although his wife suspects he is hiding even more. He writes this month about the region’s cycling plan. Craig McInnes is a columnist and a member of the editorial board at The Vancouver Sun. McInnes worked for 18 years at the Globe and Mail in Toronto before moving west. He has been writing about politics, the environment, energy and fascinating people for more than three decades. This month he jumped at the chance to talk to David Black in his landmark Victoria waterfront mansion about his refreshing approach to the battle over pipelines and tankers on the BC coast.

NEW SPRING ARRIVALS FROM

Anne Mullens joined Boulevard in March 2009 as associate editor and then a year later became the magazine’s managing editor, where she raised editorial standards and ensured engaging content. With university degrees in science and journalism, Anne’s 30-year journalism career has primarily focused on health and science writing, for which she has won more than a dozen national awards. This issue of Boulevard is the last one she will oversee, as she is going back to writing and health care consulting. “It has been so much fun working with the talented team at Boulevard. I have learned so much,” she says. She pens the asparagus story this month and we intend to have more of her writing in Boulevard in the future. We thank her for her contributions and wish her good luck in the years ahead.

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In the fall of 2008, while at a fundraiser, I happened to be introduced to John Simmons, who had recently bought Boulevard magazine. I was a freelance health consultant and writer then, working for a variety of North American magazines. We chatted about everything magazines: advertising and editorial standards, engaging editorial content, even paper stock and binding styles. It was the beginning of a series of conversations that eventually saw me join the magazine in March 2009. It’s been four great years now, full of creative challenges and rewards. Each month as all the pieces come together, it is the epitome of teamwork under pressure, everyone doing their key bit to bring this glossy set of glued pages to your hands. I always liken the various offerings each month to putting out a satisfying buffet dinner for an eclectic mix of guests. This month’s green-themed book is a good example of what I mean. We have the meaty, substantive features — in this case a profile of David Black and his refinery plan by Craig McInnes, and a spicy info stew on the CRD’s cycling master plan by David Leach. We have the columnist appetizers and wholesome “how-to” side dishes, such as this month’s roundup of where to recycle anything, the practical wisdom of Technologia and Personal Finance, and the snapshot of new healthy oils in Health & Wellness. Then come the desserts: the yummy homes of Hot Properties and the fashion, travel, food, and wine offerings; the eclectic fruit salad of Front Row. I know I’m risking pushing this metaphor too far, but I always think of Wry Eye as the finishing piece of sweet, light chocolate, and Secrets & Lives as the Port and Stilton close. Of course, the beautiful presentation, pulled together by our marvelous art director Sarah Reid, makes everything in the buffet look scrumptious. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to host this party for the last four years. But I have decided it is time for me to move on. I am going back to consulting and writing. (I do promise to have some of my writing appear here in the months ahead — if they’ll have me.) I am leaving the magazine in the wonderful hands of a great team, now led editorially by Kate Lautens, whose skills I have been very impressed with. Before I go, though, a final thank you to you, Boulevard readers, for the honour of sharing your valuable time. It has been lovely to have you at this party. I hope you’ve enjoyed the meal. Anne Mullens, Managing Editor

YOUR LETTERS Those nibbles weren’t pike I’m always happy to see informational articles on fish like sturgeon (February, Travel Near). However, Joanne Blain may have unknowingly given readers the wrong impression that pike are in the Fraser River system. Decades ago the Province of BC spent considerable time and funds to intercept possible pike transfer from the Peace River drainage (Summit Lake) north of Prince George. Pike carry disease and parasites which devastate members of the salmon family. The public should know that potentially harmful pike are not in the Fraser watershed and should not, in any form, be introduced to it. My background includes having been a regional fisheries biologist for Northern BC Region and subsequently Manager for Recreational Fisheries, including fishing regulations. Gerry Taylor

Loved the digestible heart info Pamela Durkin’s article “Live Heartily” in your February issue was an absolute delight to read. The content, along with its presentation made it extra interesting and easily digestible. It was totally practical, too. I’m looking forward to laughing and exercising more! Thanks for including articles like these in your magazine. I hope you’ll have more in the future. Eleni Tzotzis

In a class by itself? Why, thank you! I found the February issue of your magazine a real treat to read; very informative and highly entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the articles on heart health and Victoria’s heritage properties. Both were well researched and well presented; good information for all ages. Keep up the good work. Your magazine is in a class by itself in the city. Hugh Williams

Readers Weigh in OnLine

Neil Tran: Your new design kicks *ss! Nice work from the B to the L to the V and the D. Matthew Conrad: YES! Sean Holman: Nice redesign guys! Ross Charles: bravo! beautiful! @Skyheather99 @BoulevardMag Love the new masthead and satin paper stock on your March issue! @davidtapp @BoulevardMag your article on @metalab was inspiring. Especially for young people such as myself working in this city. @ReMarkableYYJ Loving the purple velvet sofa in home spread "Marrakesh expression" march issue @BoulevardMag! Fab home. @Cindy_Mui Thanks @BoulevardMag! Love the new cover and feature on #metalab. Have a great weekend

We welcome your letters: editor@blvdmag.ca or visit us on Facebook, and on Twitter @BoulevardMag. 19

photo by vince klassen

By Tom Hawthorn

Oh, the complexities of taking out the garbage The older I get the less capable I become. You cruise through the early years of life mastering one task after another. You learn to spell your name, to tie your shoes, to drive a car, to separate whites from colours. At some point, you stop learning because you are master of your universe. Then, in midlife, the day arrives when you realize you no longer know how to do something you feel you’ve been doing forever. It started when you got your first VCR, the blinking red “12:00” a steady reminder of your unexpected incompetence. At some point you wind up with three remotes and are no longer capable of changing channels on the television. The computer is a daily threat at uncovering your uselessness. I recently discovered I no longer know how to take out the trash. The City of Victoria has changed the rules for residential garbage collection. We got new trash bins, one green and one grey, as well as a little pail called a kitchen catcher. We also got a pamphlet: “Your garbage day is about to get a lot greener ...” I know how to have green garbage. Just let it fester for a few weeks. COMPOSTING TOOK SOME ADJUSTMENT It turns out we are now expected to separate kitchen wastes from regular, old-fashioned garbage. We’re already ardent recyclers, placing tins and plastics, newspapers and bottles in blue boxes for fortnightly pickup. (Oh, all those wine bottles? We, uh, entertain a lot.) We’ve also been composting for years. Admittedly, this at 20

first demanded some adjustment on my part. I’m a lifelong city dweller, so the only composting I’d ever witnessed was performed by carrot-juice sipping urban health faddists who preserved curled carrot shavings for later disposal. It struck me as oddball behaviour not unlike a hermit hoarding nail clippings. Now I happily preserve rutabaga cuttings for future use as fertilizer. We have been a wasteful culture. There’s a fantastic picnic scene from Mad Men, the television series portraying the harddrinking, chain-smoking culture of a 1960s Madison Avenue advertising agency. In a rare foray outdoors, ad man Don Draper and family enjoy a picnic in a bucolic setting. When it’s time to go, Don casually chucks aside an empty beer can, while wife Betty pulls up the picnic blanket, leaving the grass littered with a paper maelstrom. It is shocking to contemporary sensibilities. The desire to reduce waste is behind the recent changes in garbage sorting. That’s a good thing. But I no longer know what to do with refuse. CONFRONTED WITH SOLOMONIC DECISIONS The kitchen catcher is supposed to hold leftovers for the Green Bin. They take solidified fats, but not liquefied fats. They take paper food packaging, but not lined bags like those used for pet food. They take paper plates, but not butter wrappers. They take bones, but not rubber bands. Good for the Green Bin: Meat, fish, poultry, bread. (I’ve been to weddings with less on the menu.) Bad for the Green Bin: Diapers, dryer lint, dental floss, vacuum bag contents, makeup remover pads (used), cigarette butts (extinguished), cookie bags (emptied, with the tiniest crumbs gathered by a licked finger at a desperate moment). These all go in the Grey Bin. It seems simple enough until one is confronted with Solomonic decisions while juggling an armful of dirty dishes and cleaning a room that looks like Hell’s Kitchen after a Gordon Ramsay temper tantrum. Plate scrapings? Into the kitchen catcher for future transfer to Green Bin. Twist ties? Grey Bin. Chicken carcass? Green Bin? The liquid-y residue at the bottom of the roasting pan? The bacon grease in the fry pan? The leftover gravy? Uh… Now I am confronted in my own kitchen with the same anxiety I feel at the annual Vancouver Island MusicFest held in Courtenay each summer. You face six open barrels each labelled for a specific kind of garbage. A volunteer stands ready to assist, which is like having a policeman in the car with you when you’re running five minutes late for an appointment. I’m trying to do right with the new bins. I’d hate it if the garbage police refused my refuse. But most days I feel like I’m committing crimes against landfill. Tom Hawthorn is a freelance author, newspaper and magazine writer who lives in Victoria. 21

state of the arts

by alisa gordaneer

Lasting legacy:

UVic’s collections redefine the art gallery as we know it

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I like to think of art galleries as places of respite from the world outside, places where people can see new things, spark new ideas, ponder challenging and intriguing concepts, or just admire something beautiful in the midst of their hectic or troubling day. Now, my idea of what a gallery can do is being broadened by an upcoming exhibit at the Legacy Gallery, the downtown space that’s now the home of the University of Victoria Art Collections. Located at the corner of Broad and Yates streets, it offers a different sort of space, where art, community and learning all come together. The Legacy, which replaced the on-campus Maltwood Gallery in the fall of 2011, combines gallery space with facilities for art history, research and classroom learning in an inviting downtown location open to all, for free. As such, the gallery now embodies how I think art should exist in the world — as an interactive, accessible experience that allows viewers to engage, appreciate or admire in as much (or as little) depth as they feel comfortable with. And since it’s a showcase for UVic’s extensive art collection (27,000 pieces and counting), it offers almost endless possibility for artistic interpretations and presentations. From work by faculty of fine arts instructors, to the extensive collection of British Columbia art bequeathed to the university by the late Michael Williams (whose legacy also includes the gallery itself), to work by visiting artists, the space, under curator Caroline Riedel, has already become one of the most vibrant art centres in the city. That could be because, as director Mary Jo Hughes explains, the new space has become much more integrated with various disciplines at UVic, and is bringing the university’s collections, its other faculties, and the community together.

Painting truths That collaboration is demonstrated clearly in “To Reunite, To Honour, To Witness,” a show that opens early next month. The exhibit is of a collection of drawings found among the items once owned by Robert Aller, a Port Alberni artist who volunteered as an art teacher at the Alberni Indian Residential School in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When Aller died, “any art-related material was left to us,” says Hughes, explaining that Aller’s collection contained numerous drawings done by elementary and high school students. They were the kinds of things kids draw — animals, flowers, portraits, scenes of daily life, even First Nations motifs. But few had any idea of the significance of the artworks until UVic anthropology professor Andrea Walsh began researching the collection with one of her classes. It turned out the drawings had been created by students at the residential school, and as such, they represent more than a collection of artwork, but a piece of British Columbia history that needs to come to light. The paintings, says Walsh, are unique because they were done by children, and as such, are rare — kids’ art isn’t usually saved for posterity. “It is a miracle that they were kept,” says Walsh, adding that they are valuable because they demonstrate truths, rather than factual representations, about what the schools were like. “We worked to understand the role of paintings in this current era of reconciliation,” says Walsh. “This brought me to working with members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and [its] efforts to acknowledge art as a form of witness to the legacy of the schools.” An honourable installation Walsh and Robina Thomas, a UVic social work professor, worked to find the people who had created the artworks as children. Some preferred to keep their work private, or for research only, but others were enthusiastic about sharing their experience with Legacy Gallery audiences. Thomas says she gained an understanding through her own family history of attendance at Kuper Island Residential School. “I wanted to understand this elusive story that seemed to follow me everywhere,” she adds. The research “has become a lifelong commitment to understanding and sharing. I believe this is a story that must be told.” Ordinarily, the process of installing an art show is a matter of arranging the pieces on the gallery’s floor, then hanging them on the walls. But this show demands a more ceremonial approach. There will be a series of events, starting with a ceremonial feast, to honour the stories behind the artwork. “The work has to be drummed in,” Hughes says. “Because each drawing represents a child, it has to be brought in by the women, the mothers.” It’s not the usual approach. But it’s one that expands our understanding of what and how a gallery should be; one that helps us learn more about our collective history. “To Reunite, To Honour, To Witness” will open in early May, and will be on display for the summer. See legacygallery.ca.

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Betting on black? Is David Black’s refinery scheme a grand plan or a risky gamble?  by CRAIG McINNES

photography by gary mckinstry

rom where I sit in the quietly elegant study of Riffington, David Black’s waterfront estate, the view is a wonderfully Victorian mixture of bedrock, moss and ferns fanning out of professionally tended grounds. When I close my notebook and admire the garden, he calls me to another window. “It’s nicer from this side,” he says. “You can see the pond there and you can see the ocean in the distance.” The sea ebbs and flows through our interview, both in the presence of the sheltered bay outside, where Black anchors Esperanza, his vintage 25-metre ketch, and through the prospect of an oil tanker disgorging its toxic cargo in the waters off BC’s coast. That prospect, raised by Enbridge Inc.’s proposal to build a pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands to load bitumen — a particularly nasty form of crude oil — onto tankers in Kitimat, led Black to a plan that is either visionary or folly. The line between the two is never drawn cleanly without the hindsight of history, but critics didn’t wait that long

before ridiculing Black’s idea to pin what would be the largest investment seen to date in this province to the tail of a controversial pipeline. If it is folly, it is folly on a grand scale. Black’s vision to build a $16-billion refinery near Kitimat would provide jobs and financial benefits for BC and reduce the environmental impact of a spill. “Nobody thinks there is going to be a tanker incident, but if there were, bitumen is a real problem,” he says. Gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, while still problematic, will evaporate over time and are easier to clean up. REFINING IS RISKY, LOW-MARGIN The refinery would be one of the 10 largest in the world, taking the bitumen from the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline — or via another pipeline or even by rail — and converting it into gasoline, diesel and other refined products to be loaded onto tankers bound for China and other points east. Industry experts scoffed. No one has built a refinery in Canada in almost three decades, and for good reason, they said. Refining is a risky, low-margin business. No export market for refined products exists. And if it were such a good idea, an oilman would have proposed it, not some outsider with his

nose stuck in newspapers for 40 years. Energy analyst Roger McKnight of Oshawa-based En-Pro International Inc., told Postmedia News that major oil companies have been shutting down refineries in Canada, not opening new ones and that the Chinese are primarily interested in raw crude to process themselves. “It doesn’t take them 10 years to build a refinery (in China); they can have it up and running in two years,” McKnight said. “Why pay a refinery to refine the stuff when you could always do it yourself and you could probably do it at a lower cost?” Environmental groups attacked from the other side, arguing that the only safe way to handle bitumen, the heavy oil from Alberta’s oil sands, is to leave it in the ground. They oppose any attempt to make the pipeline more palatable. “This doesn’t change anything,” Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Union of BC Indian Chiefs president, told the Times Colonist. “We are still faced with the spectre of a very high-risk pipeline going through rugged terrain and being sponsored by a company that has an absolutely atrocious safety record.” NO WIDE-EYED IDEALIST Writing off Black’s proposal as naïve might seem simple. But David Black is no wide-eyed idealist. Sure, the man has no experience in the oil

business, but through his company, Black Press Ltd., and other private holdings, he built a chain of more than 150 newspapers in Canada and the United States from a single, small newspaper in the Interior. He works the details in an industry where until recently, when advertisers started moving online and to the kind of flyers that Black’s weeklies deliver across Victoria, the business plan barely budged for more than a century. He developed a reputation for cutting costs and creating efficiencies by putting together regional clusters that share printing plants and stories.

Where others see obstacles, he sees opportunities.ees opportunity.

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Black continues to expand in a business widely written off as an anachronism in the age of the Internet and social media, under conditions that have sent other investors scuttling for the exits, trailing billions in losses. Not Black. “We’ve got about six acquisitions on the go,” he says. In the manner of visionaries, where others see obstacles, he sees opportunity. When I sit down with Black several months after he thrust himself into the pipeline brawl, the only folly he is ready to concede is on the other side of the Rockies. “Some of these producers are frankly nuts,” he says, showing some of the irritation that pushed him into becoming a refinery promoter and that has driven him forward on his quest, which for many months was a solitary enterprise until others started joining him last month. Spurned by Alberta’s oil industry, he is using his own experts and company, Kitimat Clean Inc., to drive it forward. ALBERTA OIL TONE-DEAF to BC “They just want to put their bitumen in tankers and ship it overseas. I am weary of telling them it’s not going to happen. First Nations on the coast are unanimously against bitumen and tankers and I can’t understand how some of these big Alberta companies are tone-deaf to what the mood of the people right across BC is,” Black says. He is also frustrated with what he sees as the faulty logic of environmentalists. On a global scale, his refinery and the pipeline will benefit the environment, he argues. China needs oil, it will get it somewhere and that source won’t be subject to Canada’s stringent emissions standards. Black, who turns 67 this month, started looking into the refinery when most Canadians of his age are already retired. Since his wife Annabeth died of cancer in 2006, he has put more of his time into business. Now, he says, he is

thinking more of his children and future generations in his latest venture, because he believes BC needs the pipeline and refinery for the jobs that go with them: jobs to replace the decimated forest industry in the hinterland and jobs for young people in cities earning low wages, who will never be able to afford a house. And he can see the Enbridge proposal swirling down the drain. Black’s business case starts with billions invested in landlocked oil that is worthless without a market. It gets fleshed out with the fastest-growing market for oil on the planet in China, a country that aspires to a Western standard of living and currently has just 20 cars for every thousand people, compared to 400 per thousand in Canada. “I LIVE on the SEA, I AM a SAILOR” In between the energy-hungry market and the landlocked oil deposits lies the deep-water port of Kitimat, where lower construction costs, bitumen from Alberta and a glut of natural gas create what Black says is a competitive advantage for a refinery over any other site in Canada or the Pacific Rim, even with higher Canadian labour costs. “I live on the sea, I’m a sailor, I worry about this as much as anybody; but in this case, it doesn’t affect global warming at all, whether you do this or not,” says Black, who describes himself as a quiet environmentalist. “If you live in BC for a while, we’re all like that. This place rubs off on you that way.” Until recently, Black has been on a lonely voyage. He tours communities, lunches with politicians and talks to First Nations seeking public support. In March, he announced he has lined up financing for not just the refinery but a pipeline and tankers as well. He said he is close to landing that crucial first customer who will give his plan more credibility. And he is putting more of his own money into getting the wheels in motion for an environmental assessment. It’s a big selling job, but Black is an impressive salesman. He rates his own chances of success at 90 per cent. “You know me, I’m a business guy who’s won his spurs over about a 40-year career and made a lot of money, and this is maybe the strongest business case I’ve ever seen. People in the industry who say there’s no business case for this are just flat wrong.” Craig McInnes is a member of the editorial board of The Vancouver Sun. He writes a regular column about BC’s political scene and a blog that looks at the science and politics of climate change. He lives in Victoria.

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All in the details Bridget Savard designs with clean lines and a fresh feel  by lia crowe

photography by dean azim

n a grey, wet day, I enter the bright, white space of designer Bridget Savard’s new salon on the fourth floor of the Central Building in Trounce Alley. Looking around, I see stacks of beautiful fabrics, long pins, special snips, and every colour of thread. An antique dining table sits in the middle of the room, its legs propped up by stacks of fashion magazines to get it to the perfect height for cutting. An old French Vogue peeks out. “I had a vision of a design salon, an inviting place to meet with clients and a bigger space to design my collections,” Savard explains as she hems a pair of pants, her hand swinging and diving with well-practiced precision. A machine could do this, but that is not the point. “It’s all about getting the tension right. It takes longer but looks better,” says Savard, 38, who offers alterations and does custom work, such as bridal and special-occasion pieces, as well as designing and manufacturing her clothing line, Bridget Savard Designs.

She knows bodies and how they move I met Savard years ago when I was searching for local designers to use in fashion shoots and have been following her ever since. I realized quickly some serious talent was there: the clothes looked good on the hanger, the fabric was great, the shapes modern and well-constructed. The clincher was when I put the clothing on my models, they looked amazing. Working with her over the years I

have observed how she seems to know bodies, understands how things will fit just by looking at someone and how to design clothing that will look good. Savard’s hound’s-tooth pants, which I wore on the cover of Boulevard’s January issue, remain one of my favourite pieces. The huge zipper up the back of one leg regularly draws the question from other women, “where did you get those pants?” “We have customers aged 25 to 81 who wear her designs, love them and seek them out,” says Kathleen Wilson, owner of Scala Boutique, which carries Savard’s line. Savard’s relationship with the sewing machine started in Grade 7, and after high school she completed a 36-month fashion design diploma at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. She then worked for close to 10 years in a tailoring shop, Stitch It, first doing alterations, then advancing to open and manage a branch of the shop in Victoria in 1998, making it the most successful branch of the chain in Canada. working in kuwait was pivotal In 2005 Savard seized an opportunity to teach art at a high school in Kuwait. After three phone interviews and three weeks to close up her life in Victoria, Savard, seven boxes and two cats arrived in Kuwait City. She ended up staying two years. “How did the years in the Middle East inform your work today?” I ask. “The women there are very strong, they are the heads of households, and I saw how they embraced their figures large and small, celebrating their femininity rather than playing it down,” says Savard, adding that the wealth of fabric in marketplaces called souks amplified her love of material. She also says that because Middle Eastern women love to dress up and don’t fear different looks, the clothes she designs now are “for confident women, not girls.” As she talks, I’m reminded of Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, in which he illustrates a crucial element that leads to success: at least 10,000 hours spent steeped in one field. Savard must already be in the five digits, so her skill level starts to make sense. Opening this salon could be the moment of her big leap forward.

ss g” dre n i R d e n h i ss u “Di a mo c r s ’ a d m r s ava in our d e r u t fe a

the clothes she designs are

“for confident women, not girls.” 33

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Michelle Munkittrik, a long-time client of Savard’s, says “she’s understated, soft-spoken but a total genius.” For Munkittrik’s wedding, Savard made the groom’s jacket and altered an ill-fitting dress for Munkittrik. “I don’t know how she did it; she made it fit perfectly.” Savard, a self-described introvert, says she spends a lot of time alone, daydreaming about what she wants to see in a style and how to wear it. “My designs are clean, a little different but very wearable,” she explains. “Sometimes I start with a great pair of shoes or the fabric. I allow myself a lot of time to ponder because the sewing part can be faster.” Well constructed and fresh Not having massive fabric souks here in Victoria, Savard finds her fabric in Vancouver or Toronto. “I try to stick to natural fibres because they tend to wear better over time — wools in the winter, and linens and cottons in the summer. But I don’t limit myself — sometimes a synthetic fabric is the right thing for a particular piece.” For me, Bridget Savard is about good design, inspired ideas, unique lines and details. As with any designer I light up for, the collections are precise, the pieces wellconstructed and fresh. I also find a mastery of skill present that elevates all of her work. Scala’s Kathleen Wilson says Savard is her only Victoria-based designer because she exceeds requirements every single season. “Bridget’s fall 2012 collection was an excellent example of her ability to create a small but complete capsule for what the season stood for,” says Wilson. Her chocolate-brown skirts with half-peplum waists ($198) and gorgeous plaid jackets ($228) with her smart white wrap shirt ($168) were the perfect outfit for Scala’s clientele of lawyers, doctors, and businesswomen. “She is destined for more. I am grateful to have her in my shop and in my life,” says Wilson. Lia Crowe is Boulevard’s fashion editor.

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PCMP  By David Leach

My Ride!

The Capital Region has a big plan to green our streets

Close your eyes and try to time travel to Greater Victoria in 2038. Twenty-five years from now, will we live in a lush “ecotopia,” where visitors and retirees amble down roomy boulevards while flocks of

cyclists pedal to work, their happy chatter drowning out the hum of the few remaining cars (all electric)? Or will a ceiling of smog smother the sun, as gridlocked commuters in the Colwood Crawl and Malahat Mash

Where Do We Want to Be The goals of the Master Plan? Get our city fit. Reduce carbon emissions. And elevate Victoria into the global pantheon of transportation utopias, along with:

Amsterdam The Dutch set the gold standard for weaving cycling into the casual fabric of daily life. And they pedal in wooden shoes!

Copenhagen

the People Behind the Plan The 50-page PCMP (Google “CRD PCMP”) and its multiple appendices is the sum of a year-long equation, led by the CRD and Portland-based Alta Design + Planning, that included a 20-person Citizens’ Advisory Council, a 17-brained Technical Advisory Committee, local consultants at Urban Systems, pubic open houses, and longtime cycling advocate (and former Victoria councillor) John Luton. “Both the extensive public consultation process and the broad reach of communities consulted helped to shape a better plan,” Luton says.

The Danish capital has become a verb (“Copenhagenize”) for turning carcentred streets into people-first “public commons.”

Portland North America’s mecca of indie cool and active transportation can boast about more than just craft beers, hip beards and fixed gears.

float away on a rising ocean? Okay, maybe the predictions in the Capital Regional District’s Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan (aka, the PCMP) aren’t that apocalyptic. Still, the hefty

consultants’ report — released in 2011 and integrated this spring into the region’s overall transportation plan — offers a stark choice about our future. Behind door No. 1: Status quo for our clogged civic arteries.

Behind door No. 2: Bragging rights as Canada’s greenest city, backed by new infrastructure that promotes walking, cycling and other forms of “active transportation.”

By the Numbers If the Master Plan flies, how will planners measure its success 25 years from now?

8 to 80 775 km

ages who feel fine travelling our streets on two wheels

of cycling network (a quarter now complete)

25 %

bike use in densely populated districts (up from 9 per cent)

15 %

region-wide cycling commuters (up from 3 per cent)

15 % 0

Cost of the PCMP vision? $275 million+ — if all parts are accepted.

pedestrian travel (up from 10 per cent) Number of vitriolic letters to the editor insisting that cyclists be licensed, wear body armour and sumo suits, get tarred and feathered, etc.

What’s The Buzzword? Cycling advocates and urban engineers can sound like they’re speaking Klingon. Here are a few translations to understand the plan:

 Complete Streets

 PIC

A policy (recently added in Oak Bay) that considers the needs of all users: drivers, public transit, cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, soupedup scooters, etc.

Primary Inter-Community network, a web of bike-laned roads and signed side streets that will let you pedal from Sidney to Sooke — “PIC-nicking” en route at Willows Beach — or simply cycle-commute downtown, without taking your life in your handlebars at a killer intersection.

 Multi-modal and trans-modal A reminder that every driver, cyclist, and straphanger is also a pedestrian at some point — and often requires help to smooth the transitions between different “modes” of travel.

 Bikeway Typologies A classification scale that estimates how many cyclists will feel comfortable enough to use a roadway (1 = all, 2 = most, 3 = few), based on location (residential to highway) and separation from traffic (separated to shared).

By the Numbers This summer, some locals balked at news that the PCMP’s price tag could top $275 million. Skeptics wanted to know: What bang do we get for these bucks?

$100 million Of the total estimate, nearly $100 million would add separated bike lanes when Sooke, Grant and West Coast Roads are upgraded.

$100 million The PCMP also offers a short list of 60 “priority projects” that would add 200 kilometres to the cycling network and tally $100 million, including separated bike lanes on Douglas Street, Shelbourne Street, Admirals Road and Sooke Road.

$70 million + $44.5 million + $3,451 The District of Juan de Fuca would be the biggest beneficiary of the plan ($70 million), with Saanich a distant second ($44.5 million), and the Tsawout First Nations in the fiscal caboose ($3,451) for a few hundred metres of bike lane along Stautw Road in Central Saanich.

Regional ratepayers won’t cough up for it all, as the Master Plan will help leverage external funds from the gas tax, the province, feds, ICBC, and developers — and will be spent over the next 25 years. “Nobody’s going to do this all tomorrow,” says Luton. “But if we don’t take some of that federal money, Toronto will get it.” 38

CLIENT: MD ESTHETICS PUBLICATION: BOULEVARD

Is There an App for That? Along with street infrastructure, the PCMP highlights other ideas to tempt Victorians out of their cars, including:  A smartphone app to help with connections between park-and-ride, BC Transit, walking trails, and cycling routes.  End-point “trip enhancement” facilities, like bike lockers, showers and public washrooms.  A Sunday Parkway (or “Cyclovia”) where road traffic is temporarily reserved for bikes and pedestrians — popular from Ottawa to Bogotá.  A CRD co-ordinator to track the Master Plan’s gains and an outreach staffer to educate about active transportation.  A police crackdown on bike theft, so emerging from a shop to find a jimmied U-lock is a misery of the past.  “Safe School Routes” so the next generation of students doesn’t need to be chauffeured to class.  More cycling and pedestrian counts, so funding applications and project decisions can be supported by hard data.  A bike-sharing system, like in Paris, London and Tel Aviv (and not as indebted as Bixi’s big owe in Montreal). While nothing in this blue-sky blueprint is binding, its detailed standards ought to improve the integration of walking and cycling routes with roadway upgrades. As for the grander ambitions of the PCMP? Those depend on Greater Victoria’s multifarious municipalities working together — like pedalling up-hill on a bicycle built for 13.

Proposed: 329 km of separated bike lanes, up from zero, at a cost of $2,000 per metre.

Walk This Way Pedestrian travel is more a local concern than a regional issue, so walkers (of the non-zombie variety) get only passing mention in the PCMP, with suggestions for better links to transit stops and uniform signage to help navigate a “regional trails network” that can better connect our 13 municipalities. “The plan is trying to equip local engineering staff with the same song sheet,” notes John Luton, “so when they’re building things or putting up signs, they’re using a language that’s consistent across the region.”

Separate But Equal Getting shoulder-brushed by a delivery truck can scare casual cyclists back into their own armoured vehicles. That’s why a major trend in urban planning (and a big push in the PCMP) is for separated on-street routes rather than painted bike lanes. Stats show that new cycling infrastructure increases bike usage, as a safety halo attracts the crashconscious yet active-inclined majority who don’t wear Spandex 24/7. Even basic bike lanes, however, spark strife in many city halls, from Toronto (where SUV-mad Mayor Ford erased the paint on Jarvis Street) to Vancouver (whose pedal-stomping mayor introduced barriered boulevards). The CRD Master Plan proposes 329 kilometres of separated lanes (up from zero), including all the way to Port Renfrew and priority routes down Fort, Shelbourne, Douglas, McKenzie and Admirals. But safety comes at a cost: as much as $2,000 per metre to create buffered track versus as low as $40 to paint simple lines. In the years to come, the biggest battles will be over every klick of these new, improved lanes. 39

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Beyond the Stigma:

AIDS Vancouver Island Supports Those Who Need It Most

completing the loop:

AVI’s street College grAds leArn to gIVe BACk When Ellen first came to Street College, she was heavily intoxicated, self-medicating to cope with a history of trauma and an abusive partner. Only a few months later, she had ended her abusive relationship, connected with social supports, and significantly reduced her substance abuse. Street College helped Ellen make effective strides toward a better life — and allowed her to pass on her knowledge to others just like her.

132

Street cOllege pArticipAntS Since 2011

Victoria’s most marginalized citizens — those living on the street, using illicit drugs and struggling with multiple health and mental health challenges — can find both information and skills at Street College, one of AIDS Vancouver Island’s most successful programs. Funded in part by the Victoria Foundation, it empowers individuals to make positive choices about their health and successfully access public health systems.  OVerWhelming FeedbAck Participants in the six-week Drug Use Related Stigma sessions offered overwhelmingly positive feedback and wanted to

continue their engagement with the program and the skill sets it offered. Thus, the Drug User Leadership course was born, which helped participants use creative writing as a way to engage with their own personal stories. The leadership course also offered a chance for participants to learn about peer mentorship and group facilitation and apply these new skills. Now, the graduates of the Stigma course are learning how to teach it themselves — something they would never have imagined just a few short months ago. Besides advancing participant skills, AVI also sees this as a way to free up staff time for continued curriculum development. An outpouring of positive feedback has come from participants like Ellen, who says the weekly classes offered a consistent, safe environment where she could be herself. Now living in supportive housing, she volunteers at two local social service agencies and is also a graduate of the leadership course, coming full circle to pass her newfound wisdom onto those who need it most.

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AFFecting chAnge, one MeAl At A tIMe For 28 years, AIDS Vancouver Island has offered support and prevention information for those infected with, or affected by, HIV and Hepatitis C. Executive director Katrina Jensen is grateful for the Victoria Foundation’s support and knows what a crucial resource AVI is to its clients. “HIV is still a very stigmatized disease,” she says, but stresses that medicine has come a long way since AIDS was first diagnosed. “It’s really important to remember that HIV is no longer a death sentence — we have really effective treatments, but it’s still a very, very challenging disease. To have the support of your peers and an environment where you’re accepted is really critical to your health.”  A WArm meAl AVI helps provide this accepting environment with the support of hard-working volunteers like Brian Johnston. Each week, Johnston donates his time to AVI’s hot lunch program. For many of the participants, this is their only hot meal of the day, provided for free by volunteers like Johnston who plan, serve and clean up meals five days a week.

“It’s a real highlight of the week to come down here and help these people,” he says. “Like many gay people, I lost a lot of friends to AIDS, so it was time to give back.” Johnston says he gets more back than he could ever give. “I think it’s the continuity of

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Where to recycle almost everything  by ANNA KEMP Fruit trees burst into blossom, birds flirt shamelessly and daffodils pop up everywhere. Spring is in the air and I’ve got only one thing on my mind: finally getting rid of the junk crammed in the garage. Spring cleaning rituals help us to let go of the old, both

symbolically and literally. But with all the stuff we accumulate in our modern lives, we can’t just throw open the door and sweep everything out. We have a responsibility to our communities and to the environment to recycle (and reuse) as much as possible.

Fortunately, the Victoria area has embraced this responsibility and we have recycling options for almost everything, as well as new municipal programs for kitchen waste (see details below). Nobody wants to waste time either, so here is a complete spring recycling primer:

 Upcycling, or make art, not waste

 Kicking it to the curb (blue boxes) Entirely funded by Hartland Landfill tipping fees and revenues, Victoria’s Curbside Recycling Program (aka the blue box program) diverts over 19,000 tonnes annually from the local landfill off West Saanich Road, northwest of the city. Though the blue box program has become pretty comprehensive, now accepting hard plastics, Tetra Pak juice boxes and milk cartons, items to omit include plastic bags, broken dishes and light bulbs. See the CRD site for a complete list of what’s accepted and to find out your pickup day at crd.bc.ca/waste/recycle.

Upcycling is a catchy ’90’s term for converting waste materials into something more valuable. The term and concept of upcycling has become popular amongst many artists and crafters who share images of their work online. Type “upcycling Victoria” into a search bar and find links to countless images of creatively re-purposed objects. Perhaps you will find inspiration for new ways to use junk. Some of my recent favourites include a letter box fashioned from an old computer tower, a bicycle mounted on a bathroom wall as a towel rack and shelves made of old hardcover books. Check out the old jeans turned into a funky diaper bag, or the boots made into a planter at recycle2shop.com.

 Other common household and industrial items Check out the easy-to-navigate CRD site myrecyclopedia.ca or the RCBC recycling hotline (1-800-667-4321) for a comprehensive list of which products are recyclable and where to take them. Hartland has a full-service recycling facility and takes a wide variety of items. (Some are free to recycle, others you must pay to drop off.) See crd.bc.ca/waste/ hartland/recyclingarea.htm for a list of what they accept.  Electronics: Many electronic retailers (including Staples and Future Shop) accept old electronic items for recycling. Encorp ReturnIt also offers a number of drop-off stations for electronics including some Salvation Army thrift stores and bottle depots (return-it.ca/ electronics/locations/capital-regional-district).  Metals: For most metal items and some other household items, Malahat Metal Recycling offers free curbside pickup. Contact them before you head to the dump and you may save yourself a trip (malahatmetals.com).  Car Batteries: Visit recyclemybattery.ca for a list of places to drop them for free.  Paint: Used paint can be dropped off for free at Hartland and if it can be resold, taken to the Hartland Re-store. Ellice Recycle, Alpine Disposal and Recycling, and Oak Bay Municipal Depot (Oak Bay residents only) also take paint.  Motor Oil: Take waste motor oil to Fountain Tire, Hartland Recycling Facility, Oak Bay Municipal Depot (Oak Bay residents only), Derrick’s Automotive Services or Gurton’s Garage Ltd. If in doubt, call the disposal location nearest you. If they don’t accept an item, they can probably direct you to the right place.

 Growing your own black gold Backyard composting diverts kitchen and garden waste from your garbage, turning it into a rich fertilizer for your garden. Whether you buy a prefabricated composter or digester or build your own, a variety of design options suit different living situations. For example, worm bins, which use worms to digest your kitchen scraps, are a compact and odour-free option for apartment dwellers.

(biodegradables)

The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre sells composters, runs workshops and provides information about composting and organic gardening (compost.bc.ca). Recently, the City of Victoria launched its kitchen scraps program, with Esquimalt and Saanich to follow next year. Since Hartland will no longer accept biodegradable waste in 2015, these programs will

divert those veggie bits, bones, meat, fish, dairy products, grains and soiled paper products. For more information about what can go into the new green bins, visit victoria.ca/greenbin. By 2015, almost all the region will be served by either municipal or private biodegradable waste collection services. Visit crd. bc.ca for more information about services in your neighbourhood.

Check the return policies  (packaging) London Drugs deserves a mention as the first major retailer to accept and recycle any packaging associated with products it sells, from chocolatebar wrappers to electronics. Most grocery stores accept grocery bags and beverage containers and a number of local stores also take back packaging and used items like batteries or printer cartridges. Asking retailers if they provide recycling services may encourage them to do so if they don’t already.

 Let the depot come to you (acrylic, polycarbonate, PVC, foil composite packaging, Styrofoam and some other foam compounds) Pacific Mobile Depots sets up monthly mobile recycling stations in many Victoria neighbourhoods. They charge reasonable rates and accept common waste materials not collected by the city, like Styrofoam cups, packaging and meat trays, plastic film, and foil potato chip bags. They also offer a pickup service Tuesday to Saturday for a minimum charge. See pacificmobiledepots.com for more information. 44

 Another person’s treasure (clothes, furniture and other usable items) You can advertise to sell or give away all manner of things online on sites such as usedvictoria.com and craigslist.com. Organizing a garage sale can create a fun family or neighbourhood event. Thrift stores that accept donations include Women in Need, the Salvation Army, Beacon Community Services, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria, Victoria Hospice and the Single Parent Resource Centre. Value Village is a commercial operation but works with the Canadian Diabetes Association, essentially buying donated items from them. Some of these organizations will pick up from your home. Be sure to call first to make sure they accept the items you want to donate.

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HOT PROPERTIES

A winning bung a low mel ds

wi t h

ď § by carolyn heiman

photography by leanna rathkelly

The couple admired the white oak floors at the Brentwood Bay Lodge and adopted its wide-planked look for their home.

en ng grelivi

he remarkable thing about a lovely compact home at the top of the Saanich Peninsula is that it easily exceeds the requirements for being an industry award-winning new “green” residence — yet no one had that as a goal when construction started. “We originally just set about building a nice comfortable house,” says Peter, a local retired physician. But he and his wife Olivia are more than a little chuffed that the bungalow — once tested — would achieve an outstanding EnerGuide rating along with recognition and awards in the building industry. (See the sidebar on page 51 for how their designations work.) At 86, the home’s rating is well into the “excellent” range of 80-100 for new homes as measured by Natural Resources Canada’s EnerGuide, which calculates how energy efficient your home is. It also won gold in 2012 for the best custom home under 2,500 square feet in the Victoria CARE awards and was also selected by the BC chapter of the Canadian Home Builders Association as a province-wide finalist in the industry’s Built Green/R-2000 awards. (R-2000 is a voluntary, governmentadministered standard that promotes energy-efficient and cost-effective building practices.)

Clear efficiency Top-of-the-line Euroline windows helped the house reach its platinum rating.

Builder Gordon Hemsworth, president of Hemsworth Master Builders Inc., notes: “We didn’t win, but then again we were up against some special net-zero projects with some big sponsors behind them. It makes us feel great to know though, that most every home we build is at that elite level.” He adds that a platinum rating is not too hard to achieve when insulated concrete forms are used, but is a tougher achievement in a wood-frame house such as Peter and Olivia’s, which has an excellent exterior air barrier and top-of-the-line Euroline windows, coupled with a heat pump and heatrecovery ventilation. 48

LESS SPENT on HYDRO, MORE COSINESS “We simply approached it as we do every other custom home,” said Hemsworth, explaining the intricacies of practical design relating to passive solar gains, high-efficiency equipment, selection of materials (including highquality windows and doors) and attention to details on the building envelope. Peter and Olivia, meanwhile, like the hydro bills, which average $110 a month, including all power, heating/ ventilation, and hot water. They especially like the cosiness of the home, which is near the water, giving them

lovely views but without the chill factor of most waterside residences. Deciding to build a home did not come easily to the couple. They worried about whether they fully understood the cost and logistics of building new, and going into retirement, they didn’t want financial surprises. They had their eye on a parcel of land and had made many trips to the municipal hall to better understand what might be involved and get a sense of potential pitfalls. While leaving the hall once, they saw a builder’s truck in the parking lot and Olivia walked up to the driver to ask randomly: “You’re a builder. You must know how much it

Crisp and tidy Clean lines are ideal for an in-line kitchen seen from main floor vantage points.

UTOPIA.

No longer a state of mind.

costs to build a house?” It was Hemsworth to whom she posed the question. When they found that he had worked with a house designer whose work they admired, it seemed the universe was unfolding as it should. Three meetings later, with collaborative work from designer Ron McNeil and Hemsworth, a design was finalized. They were ready to build a home intended to last them well into their retirement. The home is just under 2,500 square feet (plus a two-car garage) “because we didn’t need or want anything bigger,” says Peter. He adds that it came in on time and on budget, around $200 per square foot.

C O U N T E R T O P S

F O R

T H E

W E S T

731 Summit Ave Victoria, BC | 250.472.1200

877.FLOFORM | floform.com

ut of

sness

ing

Pine fresh iving

An investment made years ago in quality pine furnishings continues to please and makes this home greener.

A SHARP EYE on the DETAILS Over their years of marriage the couple had purchased quality furnishings, including a custom sofa and chairs from Gabriel Ross and many fine pine pieces. They didn’t want to buy all new furnishings. Considerable attention was therefore made to designing the home around what they had — a choice that fits with green principles. This included a grand piano that now fits comfortably in an oversized foyer with a contoured ceiling, part of the living space and easily visible from all the public parts of the house. When it came to the finishing touches, Peter and Olivia had the interest and time to whittle down myriad choices for plumbing, kitchen and other trims as well as getting a range of quotes. They’re confident that they saved a significant amount of money by being thorough. They found quotes in some parts of construction — particularly kitchens and counter tops — varied widely. As well, the personal attention to detail ensured that they got exactly what they wanted, right down to picking the slab of granite that would be used in the kitchen and bathrooms.

ď § Two shades of green There are two green building rating systems operating in Canada. They measure and evaluate energy efficiency and environmental attributes of buildings. One is LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is administered by the Canada Green Building Council, which is a not-forprofit, national organization that works to advance green

building and sustainable community development practices in the industry. The other is BuiltGreen, which is a third party certification program. Both use rating systems that assess building site selection, design and construction, as well as building operations and workspace quality. Both certifications require testing and documentation from the

applicant. BuiltGreen BC offers certification for new single family homes and row homes. Membership in Built Greenâ&#x201E;˘ is open to all members of participating Home Buildersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Associations (HBAs), including builders, renovators, product suppliers or manufacturers, service providers, community developers and municipalities.

Halfshutter covers The tilt-andopen windows demanded special consideration for coverings.

River rock tile produces a high impact look with minimal coverage.

Reaching new heigh ts Vaulted ceilings and a glass wall adds spaciousness to a compact home.

Considerable attention was made to designing the home around what furnishings they already had — a choice that fits with green principles. Design and planning: McNeil Building Designs Ltd.; Contractor/builder: Hemsworth Master Builders; Interior design: Owners; Interior/exterior painting: Dupont Painting; Cabinetry: Award Winning Kitchens and Baths; Counters: Eurocraft Granite and Quartz; Flooring: Heritage Floors, Hourigan’s Carpets; Appliances: Sears Canada; Plumbing fixtures: Westburne Kitchen and Bath Classics; Windows/patio doors: Euroline Windows; Front/ interior doors: Slegg Lumber; Lighting: Mclaren Lighting; Electrical: D. Blogg Electric; Tiling: Thackery Tile Installations; Heating/Ventilation/AC: Island Energy (heat pump, heat recovery, ventilation); Fireplace: South Island Fireplace, K2 Stone, J. Dias Masonry; Landscaping: Owners; Roof/Siding: RC Roofing; Patio/Driveway: Abbotsford Pavers; Garage doors: Woodcraft Doors; CentralVac: Grovac Installations; Floral design: Brown’s the Florist.

Carolyn Heiman explores beautiful Island homes each month for Boulevard. If you know of a gorgeous home you’d like to see profiled she can be contacted at cheiman@shaw.ca.

Sea breeze shelter Cozy blankets help warm up the outdoor space for spring use.

Cheap chic Instead of expensive outdoor lighting, simple tea lights sheltered from the ocean breeze by the common brown bag can lend a warm welcome to an outdoor room.

design matters

af ter b e f or e an d

after

one of a kind Custom wooden bar stools were made by the coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former neighbour â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a recent design school graduate.

beam me up

cork it

Cork flooring is an understated and comfortable finish for a secondary suite.

A reclaimed beam became a structural post and its natural material blends well with other finishes in the suite.

beforehave a & aft you ’d like to shareer Email us B ef o r eAnd at blvdm Af ter@ ag.ca

before

 by sarah macneill asement suite can mean low ceilings, low light and low-budget

finishes, but not at Sheena Pennie and Tim Kane’s guest suite on Stormtide Way. Named “Daybreak at Stormtide,” its east-facing views of Mount Baker and San Juan Island bring basement suite status to new heights. When the owners moved in to their Broadmead home from Ottawa in May 2012, the basement was 800 square feet of clutter-filled, unfinished space: a storage area, at best. Enter Venezuelan-born, Italian-educated, Canadian-residing interior designer, Tonia D’Introno, who — with the help of her design-savvy clients’ solid vision — turned a drab, uninviting interior into a bright, functional and welcoming suite with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, living area and large bathroom where guests can shower with an Olympic mountain backdrop. “Tonia listened very carefully [to our vision],” says Pennie. “It took very little time to decide on the perfect layout.” Effective communication and collaboration between designer, trades, client and contractor created a finished space that reflects a seamless creative effort. It was on time and on budget, despite having to jackhammer out the entire original concrete floor. The project was completed in September 2012, and future guests of “Daybreak at Stormtide” are in for a lovely West Coast retreat indeed.

Designer Q&A Q: Is there a particular design style or era you are most influenced by? A: I’m influenced by mid-century modernism. I love the Desert Modern style that emerged out of post-war Palm Springs. But when we see something that is designed well, it can be from any era.

brigh t idea

Formerly boarded-up, framed-in windows were exposed to bring in natural light.

Q: How would you compare studying design in Rome, Italy — where you earned a Master’s Degree in Interior Design — to studying design in North America? A: Design school in Italy was very philosophical. There is more focus on the emotional and logical reasoning behind design. Design in Italy is everywhere, it’s part of your everyday life and seems to have deeper meaning — it’s just part of the culture. In North America sometimes design feels like something forced, there is so much consumerism and everything is so disposable. In Italy they teach you to design for style and function, for today and for 50 years from now. Q: What’s your dream project? A: A boutique hotel. Every room would be slightly different.

Interior Design: Tonia D’Introno Contractor: Martin Schenk, Eagle Pacific Developments Cabinetry: Westshore Cabinets Countertops: King Granite

Bath/kitchen fixtures: EMCO Lighting: Pine Lighting Flooring: End of the Roll Tile: Tiles for Less Paint: The Paint Doctor 55

CAMOSUN

4440 Chatterton Way Victoria mleck@shaw.ca 250.413.7171 margaretleck.com

Sunny, south west facing corner suite overlooks a landscaped courtyard, putting green and waterfalls. Breathtaking views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the snow-capped Olympic Mountains can be viewed from the floor to ceiling windows of this 2 bdrm, 2 1/2 bath plus DEN suite. Bright, spacious, open floor plan is great for entertaining. Dream kitchen with custom maple cabinets, granite counter tops, and windows to enjoy the view. Master bdrm/ensuite is separated from the 2nd bdrm/ensuite for maximum privacy. $1,200,000 MLS #318497

Spectacular Harbour Front Residence with 9’ ceilings. Floor to ceiling windows capturing a panoramic inner harbour view. Covered 240 sq. ft. balcony to enjoy outdoor living all year. Gourmet kitchen for the chef in the family. Open plan perfect for entertaining. 2 master suites for optimum privacy. Separate room with a view for a library, office, TV/family room or dining room that will fit whatever your individual needs are! SHOAL POINT a place you would be proud to call home! $1,150,000 MLS #319327

Bright south-facing 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite, uniquely zoned live/work, gives you the option to enjoy a pied-a-terre in Victoria or to operate a home-based non-retail business with a private courtyard entry. Shoal Point is surrounded by mature landscaping, easy access to the Inner Harbour, James Bay’s parks, seaside walkways, and downtown shopping. Secured underground parking, 24 hr monitored security, concierge. Guest suites. It’s rentable too! $525,900 MLS #319235

SHOAL POINT is one of Victoria’s premiere properties and a world class building offering beautiful waterfront living. Walk to the city, stroll along the waterfront, dine out nearby or stay at home and enjoy world class amenities including: 25M lap pool, hot tub, exercise room, putting green, concierge, 24 hr secured entry, guest suites, car wash, work shop and much more! All surrounded by beautiful mature landscaping and waterfalls. Shoal Point, a place you’ll be proud to call home.

This 1008 sqft condo is perfect for the professional couple or students! The 2 bdrms & 2 bathrooms are separated by the living area, making it easy for a shared lifestyle. 9ft ceilings, engineered Cherry wood floors, living room with electric fireplace, Master bdrm with walk-in closet & 4 pc ensuite, in-suite laundry. Secured parking & storage locker. Small pets & rentals ok. $354,900 MLS#313331

Once in a lifetime waterfront at MILL BAY! Easy access beach front! Easterly views of the ocean, Saanich Peninsula, Mt. Baker & Salt Spring Island. Only 20-30 minutes from Victoria, conveniently located to local shopping at Mill Bay Center and exclusive private schools: Brentwood College & Shawnigan Lake School. Charming two storey BEACH HOUSE right on the beach, separate 17x11 studio for the Artist or Writer. The main home can be enjoyed as is, or build your dream home! A gardeners delight property with established landscaping and pond. Minutes to the new Marina, or tie up your boat on the buoy directly in front. Enjoy all the endless possibilities of living on your own irreplaceable private property with 205 ft. of easy access WATERFRONT. $949,000 MLS#305224

Dallas Sells Victoria/Oak Bay PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION

“My goal is to find your dream home and ensure that the decision you make stands as a wise investment over the long term.”

OAK BAY

MOUNT DOUG

OAK BAY

WATER & MOUNTAIN VIEWS!

SONGHEES WATERVIEWS

DOCKSIDE GREEN

Bordering Uplands on a beautifully tree lined street, this home has views of ocean, islands & mountains from upper rooms & balcony. Family room addition off of renovated kitchen, high ceilings, flowing layout, charm & character maintained. Minutes from Willows Beach & Estevan Village. $849,000

Fully furnished corner suite at the Astoria. 2 balconies, bamboo floors, S/S appliances. Secure steel & concrete bldg. near the Inner Harbour, Empress, restaurants, museums. Excellent investment to live or rent. Beautifully appointed. $475,000

The fabulous open floor plan is great for entertaining. Heated tile floors in kitchen, bathrooms & entrance. Kitchen features granite & quartz counters, S/S appliances, & gas range. Deck with hot tub has absolute privacy overlooking Feltham Park. Mortgage helper downstairs. $829,900

3rd floor south facing end suite. Nine ft ceilings, upgraded bathrooms, new designer kitchen in 2007 with Bosch appliances. Spacious layout, two-sided gas fireplace in living to family rm. Two parking spots, steel & concrete bldg with excellent maintenance & mgmt. Walk to downtown along the seawall. $734,900

This turn of the century character home boasts 5 bedrooms up and, with some updating, could be beautifully restored. Price includes separate building lot attached. $1,425,000

Enjoy the urban lifestyle of this chic condo! Walk to work downtown from this luxurious 2 bdrm, 2 bath + den corner suite. Upgraded granite counters, bamboo floors, stainless appliances, in-suite laundry. Secure underground parking, pets & rentals OK. $459,900

Dallas Chapple RE/MAX Camosun • Tel: 250.744.3301 • Toll Free: 1.877.652.4880 www.dallaschapple.com • Email: dallas@dallaschapple.com

FEELS LIKE A MALIBU BEACHFRONT LIFESTYLE HOME! Breathtaking Ocean & Mt. Baker views are yours from this exquisite 5100 sq. ft. custom home. Stroll from your ocean side patio, with gas fire pit, onto miles of sandy beach. Situated on a quiet lane, with elegant privacy gates, & intercom controlled entry. 10΄ ceilings. Gourmet kitchen, Viking 6 burner Gas stove, dual ovens & warming oven. 2 dishwashers 2 fridges. 3 ensuite bedrooms. 5185 Agate Lane, Cordova Bay $2,678,000.00

SUPERB PARKER AVE. WATERFRONT. Recently refurbished Pamela Charlesworth home will impress even the most discerning buyer. Gleaming Brazilian hardwood floors, soaring vaulted ceilings, & sweeping views of the Ocean to San Juan Island and Mt. Baker’s glowing glacier beyond. Fabulous new kitchen. 4 bedroom, master with commanding views. Private .33 acre lot with patio hot tub, to enjoy the views. Dbl car garage. 5255 Parker Ave., Cordova Bay $1,850,000.00

STUNNING OCEANFRONT. 2.3 acre, 7302 sq. ft. home custom built. Soaring ceilings, marble, hardwood floors. 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, kitchen with eating island, pantry, 6 burner stove and granite countertops. Spa-like ensuite baths. Studio suite. Balcony with spectacular view. Close to golf. 425 La Fortune Rd. $2,675,000

UPLANDS CHARACTER HOME. 6100 sq. ft. residence beautifully updated. 6 bedroom (master with F.P.), 4 baths. Bright kitchen with granite countertops and stainless appliances, formal living room with fireplace, conservatory, games room, secluded garden with hot tub. Nanny area and double garage. 3380 Upper Tce., $1,790,000

CONTEMPORARY OCEANFRONT. Stunning architect designed oceanfront home. Unique open floor plan with 9΄ ceilings, & gracious curves and angles. Masterfully updated kitchen with granite counter tops, stainless appliances, & eating bar. Large solarium windows in dining room. Chic living with F.P. & oversized built-ins. 2 spacious bdrms with ens. Loft/office up. Multiple decks. Private street. 317 Bessborough Close. $849,000

PROUDLY SERVING VICTORIA FOR 30 YEARS PHONE 250.744.3301 • EMAIL lynne@lynnesager.com WEBSITE www.lynnesager.com Get the results that you desire. Call Lynne for professional representation, when you wish to sell your home.

FRONT ROW  by robert moyes

ART OUT OF THE BOX

Andy Wooldridge’s paintings, including The Canal Turn, above, will be on display at the Winchester Gallery April 9-27.

Now in his 60s, painter Andy Wooldridge has lived here nearly three decades and still retains his south-of-England accent. His distinctive land- and building-scapes — think Cézanne rendered with hard edges and an almost theatrical artificiality — aren’t much more than cubes and rectangles placed on a colour field, with maybe a conical tree for company. Simple as they may seem, they are constructed with painstaking skill and a painterly imagination that is the mark of a fully engaged artist. “I work incredibly hard on my little daubs … and you can use that as a quote if you like,” declares Wooldridge, who often sounds like some bloke on Coronation Street. Until, that is, he goes into technical and highly precise detail about how his seemingly naïve paintings are the result of two or three weeks of paring down to a stylized core. Wooldridge started out painting from life before spending a decade exploring semi-abstraction. Then he merged the two approaches into his present style. After citing Italian masters Giorgio de Chirico and Giorgio Morandi as main influences, he’s quick to add he strives not to be derivative. “I’m taking something representational and reducing it to an essence,” he explains. His paintings have lots of pictorial finesse, but the real art is in the underlying tensions: flattened perspective, oil paint scraped down with a razor till it’s billiard-ball smooth, hints of surrealism. “Mimicry is just craft,” says Wooldridge, who strives to work each picture till it moves farther and farther away from reality and finds something a bit metaphysical. “I want the work to be arresting,” he says. “There should be a tension between attraction and unease — I really want the viewer to really feel something.” Running from April 9-27 at 2260 Oak Bay Avenue. For information, see winchestergalleriesltd.com.

The Stile Antico choir makes its Western Canadian debut this month.

V i c t o r i a S y m p h o n y 1 2 /1 3

april & may muSic! april 26, 27 & 28 Cirque de la Symphonie vs pops

a chinatown celebration march 15

april 22

Dvorˇák Symphony No. 5

Tam Plays Butterfly Lovers Concerto

legacy series

A CHORAL RENAISSANCE The Early Music Society of the Islands has pulled off some impressive coups over the years, but nothing quite like the Western Canadian debut of Stile Antico. A 13-member choir from England specializing in Renaissance music, they are emerging superstars who have won prestigious awards throughout Europe (in between several world tours). “They’re the most expensive act we’ve ever booked and we’re really taking a risk,” admits EMSI artistic director James Young. “Stile Antico are comparable to the Tallis Scholars, only more exciting because they are fresher and have the vitality of younger voices,” he adds. “It’s no surprise they are taking the world of early music by storm.” Their upcoming performance, Passion and Resurrection, draws from their recent, well-reviewed CD and has a timely Easter theme. They will present an array of English, Spanish, and Franco-Flemish pieces by such revered composers as William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Tomás Luis de Victoria, and Orlande de Lassus. Renaissance choral music isn’t on most people’s iPod playlists — but maybe it should be. With warm, intricately wrought vocal lines overlapping seamlessly as they soar heavenwards, this is music with an unsurpassed power of transcendence. And as technically superb as their recordings are, it’s in live performance that the beauty and sonic magnificence of Renaissance polyphony can best be appreciated. Performing April 13, 8 pm, at Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora. For tickets, call 250-386-6121.

terence tam

a special concert

james ehnes

may 11 & 12 Ehnes Plays Sibelius

signature series

VictoriaSymphony.ca | 250.385.6515

S E A S O N M E DI A S P O N S OR S

The Belfry's latest charmer proves love and music go together at any age.

AN AGELESS LOVE STORY If all goes well, a world premiere musical at the Belfry should have audiences tapping their toes and reaching for a Kleenex at more or less the same time. Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a romance featuring an 86-year-old widow named Nora who has lived in an old folks home for some time. Nora now has dementia and is considered a candidate for an extended care facility. Not only is she reluctant to move, Nora has recently fallen in love with Murray, a pianist a decade her junior. Singing alongside her new beau, she has rediscovered her passion for music, for love, and for life itself. Written by theatre veteran Bruce Ruddell, most famous for the musical Beyond Eden, this new work sees him reunited with Bill Henderson, the versatile frontman of rock group Chilliwack, as music director. “Bill’s music is great,” says Belfry artistic director Michael Shamata. “Aside from standards, there are originals that sound like standards, and some songs that have a funkier edge.” According to Shamata, the play captures moments of genuine magic as it delves into the sometimes-harsh realities of being an old person. Sweetheart also explores the quest for finding the place in the world where you truly belong. “At its core, Sweetheart is about being that age and having it collide with romance,” adds Shamata. “It’s like you’ve got a Valentine … and a packet of Depends in your purse.” Running from April 16-May 19 at 1291 Gladstone Avenue. For tickets, call 250-385-6815.

CLASSIC COMEDY Jim Leard is one of Victoria’s funniest and most gifted theatre professionals, but few in the city get to appreciate his work. For 30 years his bread-andbutter job has involved touring his Story Theatre shows to elementary schools, mostly nationally but sometimes as far afield as Florida and even Singapore. He’s acted regularly in A-list TV shows shot in Vancouver, including The X-Files and DaVinci’s Inquest. And for a few seasons he was a member of The Five White Guys, a deliriously rude sketch comedy troupe based out of the Belfry Theatre. His new project involves “staged readings” of short pieces by classic humourists such as James Thurber and Stephen Leacock. “There will be a narrator, plus actors playing roles … it’s really chamber theatre,” says Leard. “Each piece will be less than five minutes.” The Thurber works come from his New Yorker writings in the 1930s and ‘40s, while the Leacock portion will be familiar to anyone who’s read Literary Lapses. There will be contemporary contributions as well: local comic Kirsten Van Ritzen will read from her Comedy Diva Diaries, and Times Colonist scribe Adrian Chamberlain will share one of his droll adventures with Ollie the Pug. “This is essentially taking the Story Theatre framework and moving it into the adult market,” explains Leard. “If there’s enough interest we’ll be doing more later on.” Performing April 6, 8 pm, at the Intrepid Club, #2-1609 Blanshard (at Fisgard). For tickets, call 250-383-4140.

A mix of classics and contemporary comedies make up Jim Leard’s adult show, April 6 at the Intrepid Club.

A COMPLETE PERFORMER As the son of legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli didn’t have to search very hard to find his path in life. With 23 albums as a leader, this guitarist/vocalist has long been a beloved jazz star. Although best known as an interpreter of the Great American Songbook, Pizzarelli brings contemporary panache to the stage. “He respects the tradition, but he’s not a ‘museum act’ and isn’t afraid to make the music his own,” says Monte Prior, a long-time jazz aficionado who is entering his second term as president of the Victoria Jazz Society (VJS). “John loves traditional jazz-pop but has legitimate jazz chops and a flair for improvisation,” Prior adds. “Technically, he’s as virtuosic as just about any guitarist out there.” Prior, who’s seen Pizzarelli four times, is obviously a big fan. Just how much of one became apparent when, during negotiations, there was a $2,000 gap between what Pizzarelli’s agent was asking for and what the VJS was willing to pay. Prior didn’t hesitate to reach into his own wallet to cover the difference. “It’s been way too long since Pizzarelli has performed a full concert here with his band,” says Prior with a shrug. “I know a lot of people who wanted to see him again.” Performing April 28, 7:30 pm, at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall. For tickets to the show (or the free, informal jazz workshop held the day of), call 250-388-4423.

Jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli returns to Victoria April 28 at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall. 63

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BETTER LIVING: Time for some home renovations? A dark comedy by George F. Walker about a Toronto family trying to survive in an increasingly frightening world. You’ll wonder “what next?” at every plot turn of this action-packed farce. April 24-May 11, 8 pm nightly + matinees May 4 & 11 at 2 pm, Langham Court Theatre, 805 Langham Court-off Rockland Ave, 250.384.2142, langhamtheatre.ca. Earth Week Festival: Creatively United For the Planet presents a free, fun-filled earth celebration featuring musicians, art displays, workshops, a costume party, and family activities galore. April 20, 11 am-9:30 pm, and April 21, 12-6 pm, St. Ann’s Academy, 835 Humboldt Street, creativelyunitedfortheplanet.com.

LUSH: This art show featuring three award-winning abstract artists will be held at the magnificent new gallery Qualicum Artworx. Running April 12-26. Opening April 12, 7-10 pm, Qualicum Artworx, 701 Primrose St., Qualicum Beach, artworxgallery.com. UVic BFA Exhibit: UVic’s annual BFA visual arts exhibit, this year titled “Work,” features pieces by more than 40 UVic visual arts students. April 20-27, UVic Visual Arts bldg, 250.721.6222, finearts.uvic.ca. Cirque and the symphony: The magic of cirque comes together with classic masterpieces and contemporary music in “Cirque de la Symphonie.” April 26 and 27 at 8 pm and April 28 at 2 pm, Royal Theatre, 250.385.6515, victoriasymphony.ca. Oak Bay Artists’ Spring Studio Tour: Visit local fine artists in their home studios during this free, self-guided Spring Studio Tour. Handmade jewelry, paintings, hand-painted porcelain, printmaking, and more will be exhibited and for sale. Tour map available on website. April 20-21, 12-4:30pm, Oak Bay, 250.595.7946, recreation.oakbay.ca. The Electrifying tosca: Pacific Opera Victoria presents Puccini’s iconic tale of tyranny and love. April 4, 6, 10, 12 at 8 pm; matinee April 14 at 2:30 pm, Royal Theatre, 250-385-0222, pov.bc.ca. Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra: Yariv Aloni conducts 65 expressive musicians: Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (first movement), Eehjoon Kwon, Violin; Grondahl’s Trombone Concerto, Liam Caveney, Trombone; Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D. April 21, 2:30 pm, University Centre Farquhar Auditorium, 250.360.1121, gvyo.org. Creating Con[text]: This exhibit activates works of art in the University of Victoria’s Michael Williams Bequest Collection through the oral history research of Dr. Carolyn Butler Palmer and her graduate students. March 13-June 15, Wed-Sat, 10 am-4 pm, Small Gallery, Legacy Art Gallery, 630 Yates Street, 250.721.6265, uvac.uvic.ca.

Visit our website, blvdmag.ca, to submit arts event details online. Listings for the May issue must be received by April 8 to be considered for inclusion.

FOOD & WINE

ď § By anne mullens

Ready in a SNAP! Asparagus should be washed well to remove sand. The easiest way to remove the woody bottoms, however, is to simply grip the stalk with a hand at either end and bend it until it snaps. It will always break right at the point where the stalk becomes woody. Freeze and save those woody ends for a great vegetable stock. See this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soup recipe.

From tip to stem, cooked or raw, local asparagus is a sweet spring treat Arguably, one of the finest tastes of spring is a plate of fresh steamed local asparagus topped with a cheddar sauce, or salted and grilled with a lemon aioli dip. But for Cowichan Bay asparagus farmer Joaquin (Jaco) Pedrosa, nothing beats the taste of a crisp asparagus spear picked straight from the field. “I eat it like a cow, right from the ground,” laughs Pedrosa. “It is so sweet. For me, that is the best!” Pedrosa knows asparagus. His ancestors have farmed the spring delicacy for more than 200 years in Spain, where the vegetable has been grown and eaten since Roman times. Pedrosa, who owned a masonry company in Victoria, jumped at the chance to own an asparagus operation when Vancouver Island’s biggest asparagus farm came up for sale a few

WHITE

years ago. Now called Pedrosa Asparagus Farm, the 7.5 acre sandy, rich plot is located off Cowichan Bay Road on a quiet cul de sac, a few kilometres off the Trans Canada Highway. It is where you will find him most days of the asparagus season in late April through May tending and nurturing the vibrant green stalks. “They grow better when you speak Spanish to them,” he jokes through a thick Spanish accent. And grow they do, as much at 10 cm in a single sunny spring day. Pedrosa and about six pickers will roam the field each morning, harvesting stalks that are about 20 cm tall with a quick cut to the stem about 2 cm below the earth. They cool them quickly so the tips do not continue to bloom. Pedrosa only sells what has been picked that day, guaranteeing ultimate freshness. Restaurant and hotel chefs snap up his product, as do discerning home gourmands. Line ups often form at the gate, and he sells out frequently. “People

OR GREEN? In Europe, white asparagus is more popular than green. It is produced by hilling up manure-rich earth over the newly forming spears so that they are deprived of light. The labour-intensive process makes stalks with a tender, mild and delicate flavour that is prized in Europe. The stalks must be cleaned and peeled carefully to ensure the removal of any disease-causing organisms from the soil. “I think they are unhealthy,” says Pedrosa. “So I do not do it. Why would I make something unhealthy?”

say, ‘No! I have driven all the way from Comox!’ But what can I do? If you phone ahead, we will put some aside for you so you don’t make the trip for nothing.” Fresh, local asparagus is worth lining up for. Full of folate, potassium and Vitamin C, and high in fibre, the local product has a sweeter, more distinctive taste than asparagus that has been grown and shipped from Mexico or Peru. Tasting the local version you immediately understand why it has been considered a delicacy for some 3,000 years. The asparagus growing season is just four to six weeks on Vancouver Island. It can start as early as mid-April, if the weather has been warm enough for soil temperatures to reach 12°C, or as late as mid-May if the weather has been cold and damp. So watch the temperatures and if we have a string of sunny, warm days this month, get your order in to Pedrosa or watch local specialty grocery stores and markets for Pedrosa Farm’s product. What follows are some facts and tips about one of the world’s oldest cultivated vegetables and a few ways to use it.

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“ [asparaGus] WHERE TO GET PEDROSA ASPAR AGUS Pedrosa Asparagus Farm is at 1550 Robson Lane, off Cowichan Bay Road, about 2 km from the Trans Canada Highway. The farm sells daily from 11 am to 1 pm during asparagus season and sells out fast. Call the day before to place your order so you won’t be disappointed with sold out signs: 250-733-0700. You can also find Pedrosa Asparagus at a few Victoria specialty locations during the season, particularly at Aubergine, Niagara Grocery and Sun Wing Greenhouses on Oldfield Road.

grow better when you speak Spanish to them,”

jokes Joaquin (Jaco) Pedrosa

Do you have SNP marker rs4481887? It has long been known that some people, about two to three hours after eating asparagus, smell a distinctive odor in their urine. Babe Ruth is alleged to have avoided the vegetable on that basis alone. In 2011, the personal genome mapping company 23andme published a report that surveyed 5,000 people, primarily of European descent, whose genome they had scanned. They found that 63 per cent of respondents smelled asparagus after eating it, zeroing in on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic marker rs4481887. What is still to be determined is whether that genetic difference is primarily due to excreting a more malodorous compound or a greater nasal ability to detect it. Or maybe both? Stay tuned.

Cold asparagus soup  When you snap off the woody ends of asparagus during asparagus season, save them in a container in the freezer. Then at the end of the season, make this soup. Serves 4.

2 cups asparagus woody ends 3 cups chicken stock ½ small onion; chopped 1 cup chopped asparagus spears without woody ends; cut into 3 cm pieces 1 leek, white part only; chopped 1 tbsp butter ½ lemon; juiced 1 tbsp minced taragon or summer savory (optional) ¾ cup buttermilk ¼ tsp ground white pepper Salt to taste Garnish with croutons and steamed asparagus spears

FROM ANCIENT APHRODISIAC TO BRITISH NATIONAL VEGGIE? 

Native to the Mediterranean region, asparagus is one of the world’s oldest known cultivated vegetables, appearing on Egyptian friezes as early as 3,000 years ago.  Ancient Greeks and Romans used it both as a food delicacy and as a medicine. A recipe for asparagus appears in the earliest known collection of recipes from the third century AD.  A known diuretic, asparagus has also been considered to be an aphrodisiac given its phallic appearance. That belief reached its zenith during the Middle Ages, when under “the Doctrine of the Signatures” it was widely believed that God had given each plant on earth a sign to show its uses.



Asparagus festivals are held each year all over Europe, especially in Germany where many cities have celebrations during asparagus season, called spargelzeit.  Britain’s main asparagus festival occurs each April 23, on St. George’s Day, the patron saint of England. Held in the Vale of Evesham, northwest of Oxford, people dress up as asparagus and run through the streets with the first cut stalks, sometimes escorting it in motorcades all the way to Buckingham Palace.  In recent years, a campaign has started in the UK to make asparagus the national symbol for England, much as the leek is for Wales.

1. Put woody ends and onion in a soup pot with chicken stock, cover and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cook for one hour. Discard solids. 2. Melt butter over medium heat, add chopped leek, and sauté until translucent. 3. Return soup base to stove over medium heat, add leeks, and bring to simmer. 4. Add remaining asparagus and cook until just done, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add tarragon, lemon, pepper, and salt. Allow to cool. 5. Puree soup in a blender, food processor or with a hand blender. Add buttermilk, taste, and adjust seasonings. 6. Refrigerate for about four hours before serving.

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Asparagus Tapenade Salted water 2 cups chopped asparagus ¼ cup pine nuts 2 large cloves garlic ½ cup fresh basil ½ tsp kosher salt 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tsps fresh thyme ¼ tsp fresh pepper ½ lemon, juiced ½ tbsp capers (optional) Salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse, snap ends and then cut asparagus into pieces. Add asparagus to a pan of salted boiling water. Let water return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. 2. Cook asparagus until just soft and still bright green, about three or four minutes. Drain well.

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Asparagus season can make sommeliers hide in their cellars because chemicals in the vegetable — thiols, mercaptans, and an amino acid called methionine — can make wine taste vegetal, bitter and just generally off. No other ingredient causes such angst, but pairings are possible. Sauvignon Blanc is the best choice. The pronounced aroma profile of the wine not only stands up to the assertive asparagus, but is also enhanced by it. Sauvignon Blanc is found all over the world, but most likely originates in the Loire Valley, France. Fabulous steely examples come from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, too. In Bordeaux it is often blended with Semillon to give a softer palate. New Zealand has built its reputation on Sauvignon Blanc, setting the standard for vibrant, exuberant versions. For lightly steamed asparagus dishes, the subtly of Loire wines work well. Try the 2010 Laporte, Les Duchesse from Pouilly Fume AC ($29.99 at BCLDB) with grass, citrus and mineral notes. This wine pairs with the tapenade above, too. Roasting or grilling asparagus adds a little char and helps to tame the flavours. Try the 2011 Astrolabe from Marlborough, New Zealand ($23.99 at BCLDB). It’s a bright, crisp wine with lime, elderflower and gooseberry notes. Adding a creamy sauce or making a creamed asparagus soup adds weight and takes the pungency down a notch. The 2010 Grand Bateau, Bordeaux Blanc AC ($19.99 at BCLDB) includes 25 per cent Semillon and offers exotic fruit and white flowers with hints of oak. Non-Sauvignon fans can try an unoaked Chardonnay, a Riesling or a Pinot Grigio. Save heavy reds for another dish.

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4. Blend garlic, oil, salt, and basil in food processor, then add toasted pine nuts and cooked asparagus. Pulse until roughly chopped but blended. Hand stir in lemon juice and capers, if desired. Transfer to clean container and refrigerate until fully chilled. Serve with crackers, vegetables, or toasted French bread.

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A host of flavourful

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After a season of hearty soups and stews, our palates in spring seem to crave the lighter, vibrant tastes salads offer. But salads’ bold, fresh flavours can be enhanced by a variety of delicious and surprisingly healthy oils, including the following: MACADAMIA NUT OIL Highly touted in the best-selling book The Hamptons Diet by Dr. Fred Pescatore, macadamia nut oil is richer in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats than olive oil and is reputed to aid weight loss. Initial research seems to confirm the hype — several small studies have shown that the oil can lower cholesterol, support cell regeneration and aid in fat metabolism. The best news — the oil’s buttery, decadent taste belies its healthy profile. It marries well with buttermilk and garden herbs to make creamy dressings for coleslaw or potato and pasta salads. In addition, the oil’s high smoke point makes it versatile enough to use for stir-frying, baking or grilling. 72

AVOCADO OIL Smooth and rich, but with a light, delicate taste, avocado oil enhances the natural flavours of foods without overwhelming them. Like macadamia nut oil, avocado oil has a high smoke point, meaning its fatty acids resist degradation even at temperatures high enough to sear meat or fry vegetables. The good news doesn’t end there: not only is avocado oil rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, it also contains beta-sitosterol, a natural plant compound that not only prevents absorption of bad LDL cholesterol, but promotes good HDL cholesterol and lowers the risk of prostate cancer. The oil’s light taste makes it an extremely versatile ingredient, perfect in zesty vinaigrettes, creamy dips and homemade mayonnaise. Store the oil in a cool, dark place but do not refrigerate it or it will solidify. Look for avocado oil from New Zealand as this variety reportedly has the highest levels of beta-sitosterol.

PUMPKIN SEED OIL Wolfgang Puck is not the only culinary wonder to come from the Austrian state of Styria. The region is also famous for producing what many chefs call “green gold” — the world’s finest pumpkin seed oil. Valued for its deep hue, unique nutty taste and incomparable nutritional profile, the oil originates from a type of pumpkin that is cultivated just for its seeds. The oil contains an impressive array of antioxidants — including beta carotene — that have been found to prevent enlargement of the prostate gland and reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. The oil’s assertive, nutty flavour pairs wonderfully with cold meats, strong cheeses and slightly bitter greens. Or enjoy it as the Austrians do, mixed in a simple dish of new potatoes, onions, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Once opened, pumpkin seed oil requires refrigeration and cannot be heated. (Styrian pumpkin seed oil is available at Aubergine Specialty Foods and Maria’s Deli & European Imports. North American pumpkin seed oil is widely available.)

AN E XOTIC M EKONG R IVER C RUISE A DVENTURE VIETNAM, CAMBODIA & THE RICHES OF THE MEKONG

ARGAN OIL This exotic and expensive oil from the fruits of the Moroccan argan tree is garnering attention from top chefs around the globe. Hand-produced by a co-operative of Berber women in Morocco, the oil is a beautiful dark amber colour with a punchy, nutty flavour and a soupçon of fruity overtones. The oil is rich in monounsaturated and omega-6 fatty acids with ample amounts of Vitamin E and other antioxidant compounds. In addition to its culinary uses, it is becoming popular as an anti-aging skin-care ingredient due to its purported healing and regenerative abilities. In Morocco, argan oil is used as a finishing touch for tagines, mixed with lemon juice or yogurt for salads, and even drizzled over soups and freshly baked bread. It’s delicious in salads that call for the use of heady spices like cumin, cloves and cardamom. In addition, a traditional dish of crushed almonds, honey and argan oil makes a nut butter so delicious you’ll relegate peanut butter to the kids’ meals. (Available at Blair Mart Mediterranean Foods, 924 Pandora Ave.)

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CAMELINA OIL This newcomer to the Canadian culinary scene is actually an ancient seed oil with origins in Northern Europe. Its current renaissance — thanks to a trio of progressive farmers who cultivate the camelina sativa plant in Saskatchewan — is justified. The yellow-hued oil, predominant in omega-3 fatty acids, also contains hefty amounts of cardio-protective monounsaturated fat and a particularly potent form of Vitamin E called gamma tocopherol. Emerging studies suggest this nutrient reduces the risk for certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s. Gamma tocopherol also renders camelina oil extremely stable. Unlike flax and other omega-3 rich oils, camelina oil is not prone to rancidity (it has a shelf life of 18 months), requires no refrigeration and can be heated up to 475ºF without degrading. The best news — the oil’s fresh green taste, reminiscent of petite peas — is as impressive as its health benefits. Perfect in vinaigrettes and cream-based dressings, the oil also enhances seafood, stir-fries, marinades, and more. (Three Farmers camelina oil is available locally at Lifestyle Markets.)

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HEMP OIL Its distinctive nutty flavour and impressive essential fatty-acid profile make this oil a winner for both gourmands and health nuts. In his book Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, Vancouver biochemist Udo Erasmus notes, “hemp oil is at the head of the good fat line since it contains 80 per cent essential fatty-acids in an optimal balance for health that no other food source has.” This Canadiansourced oil is also rich in gamma linolenic acid, which may be beneficial in the treatment of arthritis, diabetic neuropathy and inflammatory skin conditions. The oil’s assertive flavour pairs perfectly with sharp cheeses like goat and feta. It also blends nicely with citrus fruits to make zesty vinaigrettes. Hemp oil must be refrigerated and never used for cooking, as heat degrades its fatty acids. Once opened, a bottle of hemp oil will keep for two months.

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Mekong  By JOANNE BLAIN

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Secure Investment With Quarterly Payments My room was small but well-appointed, with a comfortable bed, a flat-screen TV with DVD player and a private balcony. The view from the window, however, was far from typical. A few dozen oxen were lazing in the shade or bending down to lap water from the river, so close that I could hear the bells clanking on their collars. It was day two of a week-long cruise that would take me and my fellow travellers 580 kilometres down the Mekong River from Siem Reap, Cambodia to My Tho, Vietnam, about an hour’s drive from Ho Chi Minh City. My room was on board the 124-passenger AmaLotus and the oxen were waiting to be hitched to carts to take us through the Cambodian countryside on our way to a Buddhist monastery, where a trio of orange-robed monks would toss jasmine buds over our heads to bless us. But even before the blessing, I was feeling fortunate that I had ignored my preconceptions about cruises and signed up for the trip. I had never travelled by boat and thought cruising could be summed up in three words: shuffleboard, buffets and boredom. By the end of day one, I had to eat those words, and not at a buffet. There was no shuffleboard court in sight, the food was varied and delectable and I didn’t have a chance to get bored — there was too much to do. I was travelling with a group of cruise veterans, most from Vancouver Island, and I soon learned what they already knew — the best part of cruising is what happens between point A and point B. Instead of schlepping to the airport to wait for a flight to your next destination, or getting lost in a rental car on unfamiliar highways, all we had to do was put up our feet, have a glass of wine and watch the murky waters of the wide Mekong River and the jungle-like countryside glide by.

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Unpack and stay a while We boarded the AmaLotus after several days in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, and Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the spectacular Angkor Wat. In my comfortable cabin, I did something I almost never do on trips — I unpacked. For someone used to changing hotels every couple of days, it was a luxury to hang my clothes in the closet, knowing they could stay there for a whole week. The nice thing about a river cruise, as opposed to one on a massive ocean liner, is the number of passengers — few enough that you can get to know many of your

An oxen-cart ride to a Buddhist monastery in the Cambodian countryside was one of many excursions along the way.

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fellow travellers, but enough that you never feel stuck talking to people with whom you have nothing in common. There was no assigned seating in the spacious dining room, so I made a point of trying to meet as many people as I could over lunches and dinners, which featured both familiar North American fare and Vietnamese and Cambodian specialties. That exploded another myth: that cruisers are couchpotato travellers more interested in creature comforts on board than exploring the ship’s ports of call. The other passengers were a thoughtful, well-travelled bunch who had visited places like China, Africa and Russia. On this trip, we crawled through caves, squelched along muddy village trails and even traipsed around an outdoor market in a downpour — much to the amusement of the market’s vendors, who stayed dry in their stalls while we failed to do the same in garish polka-dotted rain ponchos handed out by our guides. Our days were divided into morning and afternoon excursions by skiff or bus from the anchored boat to villages and cities along the Mekong, with a break for lunch back on board — and often a cold shower and a change of clothes to cope with the tropical heat (daily temperatures were usually in the mid-30s C with about 90 per cent humidity).

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We got a taste of traditional Cambodian rural life in Chong Koh village, where most adults eke out a living by handweaving silk and cotton handicrafts and the children were the deputized sales force (it worked — one passenger bought about a dozen scarves). In larger towns, we toured a candymaking operation, a bustling fish and produce market and a factory making straw sleeping mats. A few sites were heartbreaking, such as the Killing Fields and S-21 detention centre in Phnom Penh, where the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in the 1970s were made brutally real. Some of the places we visited — including a floating

Don’t let those wrinkles get you down...

some of the places we visted were accessible only by boat and clearly didn’t see a lot of tourists market in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia, a small rural island and a floating fish farm near Tan Chau, Vietnam — were accessible only by boat and clearly didn’t see a lot of tourists. Other villages we stopped at were accessible by road, but I knew I would much rather spend my days floating lazily down the ever-changing Mekong than bumping down the back roads of Cambodia and Vietnam in a bus or rented car. We spent one whole day on board the boat, travelling 120 kilometres down the Mekong and anchoring at the maritime border between Cambodia and Vietnam for a few hours while the crew completed immigration formalities. It was more languorous than tedious, offering the chance to catch up on reading, get a massage in the onboard spa or compare notes with other passengers over a drink in the top-floor lounge while the lush countryside, dotted with fishing villages and temples, rolled by. By the time we disembarked at My Tho for the bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City, we had a real sense of life outside the big cities of Vietnam and Cambodia, and I had learned why so many travellers are hooked on the luxurious ease of cruising.

If You Go My cruise was part of a 15-day trip organized by the Victoria, Sidney and Mt. Doug offices of Expedia Cruise Ship Centers. Cathay Pacific operates twice-daily non-stop flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong, with connecting flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

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Living la Vida Costa Rica Bumpy roads lead to to paradise

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ipping fresh mango juice on our wide, private porch at a Costa Rican eco resort, we are just seven kilometres from a 7,000-year-old volcano — close enough to see fiery boulders tumbling down the slope but far enough to feel safe. We watch ash columns rising from the crater’s mouth and listen to the swell of sounds from creatures in the forest canopy. Everyone has their own criteria for choosing a vacation destination, and

for my husband, two grown sons and me, it almost always involves outdoor adventure, a visit to an animal sanctuary, and an opportunity to connect with local culture. So when we discovered a Costa Rican retreat offering abundant wildlife in an ecosystem that included one of the country’s seven active volcanoes, we couldn’t resist. Costa Rica is one of the world’s leading destinations for eco tourism. No wonder, as the little Central American

country boasts more than 500,000 species in 12 climactic zones, including 68 volcanoes. Over 200 lodges and hotels are certified as sustainable by Costa Rica’s Institute of Tourism’s certification program. From the eco-luxury El Silencio Lodge and Spa to the three star Arenal Springs Hotel, travellers may stay in a range of eco-friendly accommodation — certified or not — from pampered to homey. We chose the Leaves and Lizards Arenal Volcano Cabin Retreat.

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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE based on the Frank Capra film

November 22 – December 23 Holiday Musical

A bumpy ride At Costa Rica’s international airport in the capital of San José, we meet Josemar, our 23-year-old driver, who will take us in a comfortable SUV for the bumpy 90-kilometre ride due northwest to the retreat. He greets us with a hearty “pura vida!” The widespread greeting and farewell loosely translates as “full of life,” “this is living,” or simply “cool” and is the mantra of Costa Rican culture.

Arenal Volcano, a 7,000-year-old crater, spouts ash columns and firey boulders in its namesake national park in Costa Rica.

MUNSCH TO SAY

based on the stories by Robert Munsch

July 20 – August 25 KidzPlay

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We bounce over potholes through small towns, valleys and winding hills. ‘Josie’ points out toucans in trees and Brahman cattle along the way. We pass through the touristy town of La Fortuna, climbing into the rural hills of San Carlos. Children, many in school uniforms, play in front of modest stone homes, waving at Josie as we go. He honks the horn in return before driving through the entrance to the forest and farm spread of Leaves and Lizards. The 12,000 hectares of Arenal Volcano National Park, in the country’s central north, is both a tourist magnet and terrain for hydroelectric, wind and geothermic energy. Spinning out from the park’s hub are an assortment of hotels and spas supporting hot springs, zip line and canopy tours, whitewater rafting, caving, and horseback riding. At Leaves and Lizards, six cabins nestle on a ridge with sweeping views of the volcano and forest canopy. Comfortable but not luxurious, Leaves and Lizards feels like summer camp — no phones, TV or air conditioning — but furnished with hand-built furniture, fans, reference books, and flashlights used for walking to the restaurant after dark. The dining room, where local fare of white fish ceviche and fried plantain alternated with lasagnas and burgers, doubles as an assembly hall where Oscar, the resident naturalist, gives presentations, often attended by lizards, bats and frogs. Meals are shared at long tables with other guests, and Lorita, the resident parrot.

Embracing pura vida After our first breakfast of gallo pinto (traditional rice, beans, cilantro, red pepper, garlic and onions), eggs, coffee, and mango, we try one of the region’s zip line parks. 82

photo credit Valerie Rolfe

The wide, covered decks with hammocks invite lounging.

Entrapped in a system of pulleys, harnesses and carabineers, we slip between trees, our breath coming in thrilled gasps. Next, we opt for a 15-kilometre kayak trip on the Rio Frio toward Nicaragua. In melting heat, with lithe Leo as our guide, we paddle alongside the low riverbank, where openmouthed caimans bask on rocks and logs. “Guys! Guys!” is Leo’s call that he has spotted something spectacular — white-faced monkeys, an egret or a pygmy kingfisher. Leo bellows a howler monkey imitation realistic enough to merit a throaty response from the forest. On a horseback excursion, Chito (Josie’s dad, and a real cowboy) and Enrique are our guides. I choose Stella, a sweet roan mare who carries me ably through the forest, on roads and mud paths, and across a river to a shady glen for lunch and a swim in a cool pool fed by a waterfall. On the way home, Enrique finds a tiny blue jeans frog and Chito lets our boys gallop ahead, dust billowing behind them. It’s time for our trip to the local animal sanctuary 30 minutes from the retreat. When we arrive at Proyecto Asis, a white-faced monkey has escaped from its cage and is enjoying relative freedom while playing hide and swing, inciting interest from scarlet macaws, toucans, a kinkajou and a peccary. Jessica, a spider monkey and former chained pet, notices the commotion, climbs over to us, holds our hands through the bars of her cage, and runs her long, narrow fingers through our hair. Magic. We exchange hugs and email addresses as we bid farewell to staff, guides and fellow travellers at Leaves and Lizards Retreat — summer camp has ended. We’d connected with the culture of the place, the people and animals, the values. Pura Vida, indeed.

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boulevard real estate

$8,488,000 Lisa Williams 250-514-1966 lisawilliams.ca

Boulevard magazine supports southern vancouver Island's top realtors representing the region's finest real estate. In our pages, we hope you will find your next home, whether it is in the listings of the Great Homes/Great Realtors or here in the Boulevard Luxury Real Estate listings. both of these monthly advertising features bring you the finest selection of homes and condominiums victoria has to offer. $7,900,000 Deedrie Ballard 250-744-3301 deedrieballard.com

$3,500,000 FINISH LIKE AN EXPERT “Contractors and do-it-yourselfers come to The Finishing Store for accurate information and quality products,” says owner George Linger. Whether you’re a pro or beginner, The Finishing Store staff help you become more knowledgeable. In fact, it’s their mission to turn clients into experts. “We get you the information so you can make decisions that are right for you,” George explains. “We want you to be sure that your purchase will suit your lifestyle and your budget.”

stevenson doell

law corporation

The sales associate you meet at the service desk will take you through the whole process. Whether you want to know the difference between an engineered floor and a laminated one, or need the latest specs on millwork, each of them can

Terry Stockus 250-477-1100 century21.ca

Magnificent gated estate on 2 acres w/gracious 11,000sqft residence, sports court & separate games/ entertainment bldg PLUS sep. 3461 sqft fully renovated guest house w/separate title. Enjoy spectacular views & privacy boasting seperate expansive office suite, movie theatre, amazing indoor pool, exercise room, dramatic living, dining & sitting rms, exotic HW flrs, high domed ceilings, expansive patios, boathouse, water features & tons of parking too!

Magnificent Uplands Waterfront home. Luxurious & elegant, this home has been completely updated & is situated on a spectacular secluded bay. Main floor with living room, library, dining room, kitchen with & family room - all with access to the expansive heated patio w/ fireplace that spans the length of the home. The upper floor features the master suite incl. powder room, walk in closet, sitting area including fireplace & balcony to enjoy the views.

Built in 2004, this incredible 3 acre property is a family haven for those looking for the ultimate experience in lakefront living. Crafted by local artisans, the 4,100 sq.ft log home exudes tremendous pride of workmanship. The property is complete with Guest Cottage, suite above garage, RV parking, tennis/ paddleball court and so much more! 3,000 sq.ft of deck and patio space lends itself to fabulous summer entertaining! An extra 2-car garage with 1 bed suite above is ideal for the nanny or young adult.

BOULEVARD LUXURY REAL ESTATE

EXCEPTIONAL SANDY BEACHFRONT!

Stunning Oak Bay Estate

$2,785,000 Julie Rust 250-477-1100 julierust.ca

Magnificent 1908 Oak Bay Estate, 5 beds/ 6 baths situated on an expansive .78 Acres property high above the rest, in the Heart of Oak Bay. With almost 7000 Sqft, it has been completely renovated to the highest standards by Maximilian Huxley. Be one of the first to see this rare offering. Call Julie to View! www.2290woodlawn.com

$2,678,000 Lynne Sager 250-744-3301 lynnesager.com Camosun

$2,575,000 Leslee Farrell 250-388-5882 lesleefarrell.com

This executive luxury residence adjoins the Victoria Golf Club greens, enjoying spectacular ocean views to the Olympics & Mt. Baker! Masterfully designed, this gem of a home is ideal for a couple or smaller family, offering 3 bedrooms & den. The main flr is designed for entertaining, opening to an impressive patio. The upper flr offers a unique ocean view master suite with his & her closets + separate ensuite baths, fireplace & balcony! Included is a wine cellar & bonus garden house.

Estate sized 5 acre property located in the peninsula’s coveted Oldfield neighborhood. This 2001 custom built residence overlooks a gently sloping, west facing acreage, every room has been positioned to capture picturesque vistas beyond. Over 4400 sq. ft. of living space, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms with the master bedroom located $1,549,000 on the main level, an attached 3 car garage, a detached, over Magdalin Heron height two car garage with 250-656-0911 workshop, an outdoor solar heron@holmesrealty.com heated swimming pool and zoning allows for a suite.

Ocean & Mt. Baker views from this 5100 sq ft. custom home. Stroll from your ocean side patio with gas fire pit, miles of sandy beach. Situated on a quiet lane, with elegant privacy gates, & intercom controlled entry. Heated Travertine floors, welcome you to a modern open floor plan. 10ft. ceilings, gourmet kitchen, two dishwashers, two fridges, and three ensuite bedrooms.

Oak Bay Water Views

$1,875,000 Julie Rust 250-477-1100 julierust.ca

$1,500,000 Nancy Vieira 250-514-4750 www.nancyvieira.com

An amazing opportunity to live on Beach Drive in South Oak Bay. This 4 Bed+Den “move in ready” home was completely renovated in 2008 by Houston Homes. Features over 4200 Sqft, Beautiful Hardwood Floors & Quality Finishes, Stunning Master Bedroom with Unobstructed Ocean Views & almost a 13,000 sqft Oak Bay Property. Make this your home today!

www.360beachdrive.com

Very peaceful rural setting allows for enjoyable lifestyles, just large enough to be very private. Comfortable, inviting homes that are well suited to family living and entertaining. The design of the 13 acre farm allows for numerous ventures and activities. With the central location to big city centers (Victoria~Nanaimo 1 hour away); and local shopping only 5 minutes away. Beautiful setting with extensive landscaping to enjoy what each season brings. MLS# 309455

Hendra Moving & storage is locally owned & operated and has proudly served vancouver Island since 1982. our fully insured, friendly, reliable service has helped us to become an a+ bbb accredited business.

250.477.6514 hendramoving.com

$1,099,900 George Papaloukas 250-888-5335 sothebysrealty.ca

This new 4405 sq/ft, 5 bedroom home boasts quality workmanship and attention to detail - custom kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, quartz countertops, professional Electrolux appliances, 6 burner propane cook top, wall oven, Teak hardwood, heated tile floors and custom Pella windows with built in blinds, 3 fireplaces and pantry. Panoramic views of Victoria, the ocean and the mountains while sitting on the huge main level deck or in your sunken outdoor hot tub on the lower deck This home has it all!

$1,049,000 Jordy Harris 250-385-2033 jordyharris.com

Simply Beautiful Victorian Queen Ann style, legal triplex w/ designated Heritage status. Your main floor features a 2bedroom suite w/ gas f/p., in suite laundry & a garden area, plus funky bachelor’s suite. You will love the fabulous two level owner’s suite that’s been completely redone & features three $999,900 bdrms., formal living & dining rooms, eat-in kitchen w/ cork Kyle Kerr flooring, s/s appliances, its 250-590-1775 own laundry, a private roof homesalesvictoria.com top deck w/Ocean Views & barbecue area. Spectacular!!

Situated perfectly in North Saanich this 2005 built Custom Home is sure to please. Offering over 5300 sq ft w/ 8 beds, 5 baths, 2 kitchens, 2 propane f/p’s over 3 flrs, it has everything a large/extended family could want. Large master bedrm on main w/ 5 piece ensuite & heated flrs. Downstairs feats 2nd kitchen, 3 bedrooms, & theatre room. Two $999,900 double garages leave plenty of room for the toys, & a .99acre Kyle Kerr lot w/ a heated outdoor pool 250-590-1775 homesalesvictoria.com give you lots of space to play with them. Priced 82K below assesment for a quick sale.

Shawnigan Lake Waterfront. This south facing property means all day sun, even in winter! Custom built in 2010, with approximately 2900 sq.ft. on 3 levels. This home has 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, and a lower level walkout to the lake. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry, fir floors, and travertine tile within floor heating. Relax and enjoy the views of the lake from the deck, lakeside patio, or the new dock. This home is ready for you to move in and enjoy!

Gordon’s Beach Farm. Features a panoramic ocean view overlooking the Olympic Mountains, Juan de Fuca strait, and Sheringham Point Lighthouse. Relax and unwind on your 10 acre hobby farm located 10 minutes from the Village of Sooke, and one hour from Victoria. Easy stroll to many natural attractions including miles of rugged west coast beaches, ocean kayaking, windsurfing, incredible hiking, biking trails, and whale watching from shore.

$859,000 George Papaloukas 250-888-5335 sothebysrealty.ca

$850,000 Nancy Vieira 250-514-4750 nancyvieira.com

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Beautiful west facing, low bank waterfront in the desirable Ardmore area. Built in 1966, this .61 acre lot, has over 100 feet of stunning beach frontage. Nestled in a near perfect position, the home and property are situated to take advantage of the sun, views and sheltered bay. With incredible bones and a well laid out floorplan, it offers a great opportunity to renovate or build new to suit your lifestyle.

310.SHAW SHAW.cA

BOULEVARD LUXURY REAL ESTATE

Tucked away and very private on a Broadmead cul-d-sac, this home is ideal for the buyer wanting to downsize. One level living with the master on the main level and two bedrooms up. The kitchen has been well designed with built in appliances, pantry and open to the family room with feature fireplace. The eating area is surrounded by windows $755,000 and overlooks the fenced back Sharen Warde & Larry Sims garden, deck, patio and steps lead you down in the Park for 250-592-4422 your morning walk. wardesims.com

$748,000 Peter Veri 250-920-6850 peterveri@gmail.com

MLS# 319840

BEAUTIFUL BRAND NEW POWERSMART GOLD HOME!! This Saanich East home has been built to high standards by a quality builder and includes a 2-5-10 warranty and an efficient heat pump. With nearly 2700 sq. ft. of living space on an flat lot of almost 9000 sq. ft. this home includes $747,500 a 1 or 2 bedroom legal suite with separate hydro Manpreet Kandola meter, HWT, laundry, and 250-813-1705 sound-deadening insulation. manpreetkandola@gmail.com Amazing value, must see! Don’t miss this opportunity, call now!

$718,000 Cassie Kangas 250-477-7291 cassiekangas.com

$718,000 Ivan Delano P.R.E.C. 250-744-8506 ivandelano.com

This lovely 1930 home is full of character and light sits high atop the rocky hill on the quiet no through section of Tattersall Dr close to Cedar Hill Golf Course. This spacious home is perfect for your family with 6 bedrooms. The master bedroom on the main floor with ensuite and its own South facing deck where you can sit in privacy . 3 bathrooms , family room and an additional kitchen space are on 3 floors. There is another large deck for entertaining off the dining room perfect for bbqs!

$699,900 Dallas Chapple PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION.

Fall in Love with this well laid out 2 year old home in Flower District! The portico entry is the start to a delectable treat! The Chef’s kitchen with pantry, granite tops & eating bar which is open to great room. Upstairs to the decadent Master, complete with Spa-Like ensuite, walk-in closet, and mini-deck. Already, convinced? Separate laundry + plenty of space in 3 more bedrooms+1 BR inlaw. All in an energy efficient new-like home with heat-pump, HUGE 21X28 Garage. Central to amenities, schools, & Camosun College. Call Peter TODAY!

Beautiful NEW home on a private quiet cul-de-sac in a great neighbourhood, yet still in the middle of the city... Spacious Low maintenance Cottage style living with all the conveniences are featured in this custom built home with a great floor plan, lovely kitchen with bar eating area, dining space, living room with gas fireplace & a 3 piece bath off the generous den/office/ guest room. Upstairs you’ll find 3 more good bedrooms, laundry, 4 piece bath + a generous master with a walk-in closet & 5 piece bath w/heated floor.

Gorgeous water views of Finlayson Arm are yours from nearly every room in this home. Over 5 acres and 160 ft. of shoreline. Custom built in 2006, Asian cherry hardwood floors, fireplace in master ensuite, heated marble floors, granite counters. Large family or media room down plus 1 bdrm, office, & 4 pc bath. 3 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3,388 sq. ft. Over height 3 car garage. Formerly listed at $1.1M.

250-744-3301 dallaschapple.com Camosun

BOULEVARD LUXURY REAL ESTATE

$679,900 Ryan Bicknell 250-883-2715 200douglas.com

$598,000 Ian Lindsay 250-248-1071 ianlindsay.ca

$471,750 Tara Hearn 250-588-2852 tarahearn.com

A rare chance to own a stunning suite at 200 Douglas on the park... Beacon Hill Park. This 1240 sf SE 2 bdrm+den/2 bath corner suite is one of just 38 luxurious residences in a 6 storey reinforced concrete building. It boasts floorto-ceiling windows, over height ceilings, custom open kitchen, spa inspired bathrooms plus many more exceptional features all in a location that is second to none.

Lovely mini acreage located across from waterfront and minutes to Qualicum Village Centre. Walk the beaches, visit the nearby estuary or take it easy on your personal 2.47 acres. The West Coast design home offers flexibility. Private master suite upstairs, guest and 3rd bedroom on main. Comfortable living and dining rooms are great for entertaining. Bright kitchen opens to sunny south facing patio and deck area. Added bonus of office or guest suite above garage. Enjoy gardening, the beach and great West Coast living. Call today.

One of the finest remaining oceanfront lots at Silver Spray Oceanfront Estates! This fabulous Ocean Park Place address offers full southern exposure, exceptional views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and snow-capped Olympic Mountains, and a trail down to your own private rocky shore. Set in a small cove the shore is protected from crashing surf. This gently sloping, low bank estate lot is ideal for your luxurious oceanfront dreamhome.

$638,000 Ivan Delano P.R.E.C. 250-744-8506 ivandelano.com

$525,900 Margaret Leck 250-413-7171 margaretleck.com

$414,900 Peter Veri 250-920-6850 peterveri@gmail.com

NEW Beautiful Show home Ready & waiting for you to enjoy in this enclave of quality custom built residences. Rancher Style Living + Bonus Lower level with loads of extra room & Possibilities - Just outside Victoria and a 20 minute ferry away from Sidney & the Victoria Airport, you’ll find that there are world class schools, golf, boating, lakes near by and some of the best nature and hiking trails around. Executive living in a sub-urban location, worth a closer look, NO HST HERE

Bright south-facing 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite, uniquely zoned live/work, gives you the option to enjoy a pied-a-terre in Victoria or to operate a home-based non-retail business with a private courtyard entry. Shoal Point is surrounded by mature landscaping, easy access to the Inner Harbour, James Bay’s parks, seaside walkways, and downtown shopping. The excellent recreation facilities include a lap pool, steam room, sauna, fitness centre, putting green, bike and kayak storage.

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Come see this 2008 Upscale 3 BR 2 BA Townhouse in pet friendly gated complex. Chef’s kitchen with plenty of space, S/S appliances and granite tops. Inviting living room with gas fireplace opens to rear westerly patio, ready for Nat. Gas BBQ. Master with spa inspired ensuite with the added warmth of heated tile floor. All in an up and coming neighborhood that you’ll fall in love with. Seller offering cash-back incentive to qualified buyer. Call Peter Today!

We, the lawyers at Stevenson Doell Law Corporation, have experienced staff that specialize in Real Estate, Wills & Estates, Family Law & ICBC claims. For help, call Bob Doell, Brent Kitzke, Mary McManus, Heather Sweeney & Mark Walton at 250-388-7881.

250.388.7881

•South Facing 2 bed, 3 bath, den, water and mountain view $1,200,000 •Facing Fisherman’s Wharf 2 bed, 3 baths, den. NEW LISTING $1,150,000

Margaret Leck 250-413-7171 margaretleck.com

SHOAL POINT is one of Victoria’s premiere properties and a world class building with world class amenities including: 25M lap pool, hot tub, exercise room, putting green, concierge, 24 hr secured entry, guest suites, work shop and much more!

boulevARd ReAl estAte

estate Thinking of selling your home? Here’s a few reasons wHy a realtor Helps: • You’ll likely get a higher price and sell faster • Your home will get wider exposure • A Realtor knows how to market your home and show it at its best • A Realtor knows various financing options • A Realtor can write legally binding contracts tips for selling your Home: • Keep the garden tidy and the lawn trim • Paint or freshen the exterior and repair anything broken • Give the home a thorough cleaning and remove all clutter inside • Make kitchens and bathrooms especially clutter-free, bright and spotless • Air the home well

FINISH LIKE AN EXPERT “Contractors and do-it-yourselfers come to The Finishing Store for accurate information and quality products,” says owner George Linger. Whether you’re a pro or beginner, The Finishing Store staff help you become more knowledgeable. In fact, it’s their mission to turn clients into experts. “We get you the information so you can make decisions that are right for you,” George explains. “We want you to be sure that your purchase will suit your lifestyle and your budget.” The sales associate you meet at the service desk will take you through the whole process. Whether you want to know the difference between an engineered floor and a laminated one, or need the latest specs on millwork, each of them can answer your questions, find the products you want, and help you get them to your car. “Shop us,” George promises, “you’ll see that our prices are more than competitive, we have a wide selection, and once you leave our store you’ll feel like an expert.” 780 TOPAZ AVENUE VICTORIA, BC V8T 2M1 tel: 250-412-3842 www.finishingstore.com

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PERSONAL FINANCE

Going Green to Save Green:

Renos that Help the Environment & Make Financial Sense  By TESS VAN STRAATEN

eople who know me know that I love to save money. They also know that I’m constantly turning off lights, fishing recyclables out of the garbage at work, and toting reusable green shopping bags to the store to help the environment. I actually get excited over dual-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads. Why, you ask? They’re good for the environment and they can save you money. To take the water — and energy — savings even further, we decided to do an energy audit on our home. We wanted to know what green renos would get us the biggest bang for our buck. The audit, which took about two hours, involved blowing air through the house to see where it was escaping and testing the heating system, basement and attic for heat loss. As expected, our 1946 character home wasn’t very energy efficient. The oil furnace was so old we were afraid to turn it on and using the electric backup system was costing us hundreds of dollars a month. But it turned out a $3 tube of caulk could save us the most money. “Air sealing is the number one thing you can do, then insulation,” advises home energy assessor Kenton Preston of City Green, who did our energy audit. “It’s going to make the most difference because if you just went in and put in a new heating system first, you would still have leaks.”

Find the heat leaks Using a thermal imaging camera, Preston was able to pinpoint where heat was escaping from our home. He also found all the energy wasters and gave us a list of priorities that included sealing, basement and attic insulation, a new high-

efficiency gas furnace, low-flow fixtures and new windows and doors. “Windows are one of the most popular things to do, but they’re not usually the best bang for your buck, unless you have the old aluminum, single glaze, 1970’s sliders,” Preston says. “Air isn’t “Air sealing is the lost through the window, it’s lost around them, so number one thing it’s something air sealing can usually fix.” you can do, then In our case, it made sense to replace most of insulation.” - Kenton the windows and change out an improperly fitted Preston, City Green old garage door to the basement in favour of energy-saving (and much prettier) French doors. It was our largest expense, costing just over $8,000. The new furnace ($5,400) was also a big ticket item — not to mention the $2,000 charge to get gas hooked up to our house. After For the latest making all the upgrades, the rebates check: total came in at almost $17,000. www.fortisbc.com/Rebates The cost was offset by a $1,000 gas rebate from Fortis www.bchydro.com/rebates-savings BC, energy smart appliance www.crd.bc.ca and lighting rebates through BC www.home-energy-advice.ca Hydro, and $3,600 in federal and provincial grants that have since been discontinued. After we made the changes, our house went from a federal EnerGuide rating of 57/100 to almost 70, which is on par with a typical new build. A highly energy efficient new home is in the 76 to 84 range. “If you’re around 70 it’s pretty good,” Preston says. “The average house is about 50 and I’ve had homes that are 15. In a snowstorm you’d have snow in the basement. There are still a lot 91

Helping you find your new front door TERRY STOCKUS

Century 21 Queenswood realty ltd.

WEST COAST WATERFRONT This magnificent James Grieve design captures the splendour of the English Cotswolds. The 1.8 acre gated manor comprising of 2 separate land parcels that have been combined since 2002 into an exquisite estate that is extremely rare. A 5300 sq. ft. Main House, 2000 sq. ft. Guest house, 2 Boathouses all with ocean views. Enjoy all day sun, decks and 280 feet of shoreline. The finest construction and finishing materials have been used, all executed by local artisans. Attention to detail is evident throughout the home. A truly special and rare west coast waterfront offering! . . . $5,400,000

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SHOWROOM: 3205 QUADRA, VICTORIA, BC

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RETAIL SALES & INSTALLATION

Century 21 Queenswood realty ltd. TERRY STOCKUS

terry.stockus@century21.ca 250.477.1100 www.terrystockus.com

of houses like that because people say they don’t go in the basement much, but that’s where all the heat is going.” Go Green from the start Forward-thinking builders give potential homebuyers a chance to go green from the start — and owners of older homes can easily borrow many of their strategies. The new Duet development in James Bay is using low VOC carpets, flooring, cabinets and paints, sensor lights in public spaces and drought-tolerant landscaping. “I think it’s really become the new norm,” says Duet builder Dave Chard of Chard Development. “Buyers really expect it now and everyone has stepped up their game to make sure we’re building to high environmental standards.” As far as we’ve come, we’re still far behind other West Coast cities like Portland, which offers property tax discounts for redirecting rainwater into your garden instead of letting it go down the storm drain. In California, the construction of netzero-energy homes will be mandatory by 2020. Sustainable homes already for sale in Orange County feature solar power, energy efficient features and even smog-eating roof tiles, with an estimated gas and electric bill of less than $10 a month. My utility bills didn’t drop quite that much. We’re saving about $700 a year, or almost $60 a month. The typical savings for switching to a high-efficiency furnace or heat pump is 10 to 30 per cent on your energy bills. If you bring your attic

up to R-50 insulation, you can save 15 to 25 per cent — not bad for an investment of less than $1,000 if you do the work yourself. Spring is a perfect time to Make the changes “Most people think of doing this stuff when we have our first cold snap, but spring is a really good time to tackle it because demand is down and you’ll really see the results in the summer,” Preston says. “When it’s -10 outside, it’s -10 in the attic but when it’s 70 degrees outside, it’s 150 degrees in your attic.” Other inexpensive fixes, like hooking up a rain barrel or installing a $150 dual-flush toilet or $50 low-flow shower head, will pay for themselves pretty quickly. But overall, going green is usually a longer-term investment. “It’s definitely more expensive to do it and the payback is not always immediate,” says Chard. “It’s a long-term gain but people will see the cost savings.” If you’re not sure where to start, Preston will soon be offering a home energy checkup, replacing the energy audit we had, for $175. It includes a priority to-do list, rough cost for each item, and a list of available grants. Saving money and making a difference? I can’t think of a better investment. Tess van Straaten is an award-winning journalist, television personality and fourth-generation Victoria native.

TECHNOLOGIA

 By Darryl Gittins

KILL THOSE

TECH POWER VAMPIRES ver wonder why the wheels and dials on your electrical meter are spinning wildly when everything is off in the house? Electric vampires are sucking back your energy budget like it was Kool-Aid. According to BC Hydro, electric space heaters and hot water tanks, followed by large kitchen appliances, are the biggest drains on the power supply. But many high tech devices now use power even when they are off, and according to BC Hydro, “Standby power can account for 10 per cent of an average household’s annual electricity consumption.” I went hunting for vampires in my house using my trusty “KILL A WATT” meter ($23 from newegg.ca), which measures the energy consumption of any device that you plug into it. You don’t need the meter though. To see if a device is wasting energy, just put your hand on it. If it’s giving off heat when it’s not doing anything useful, it’s wasting energy. (In the winter, heat energy isn’t actually wasted because it’s heating your house; not so in summer, though, when you have your windows open or your air conditioner on.) The worst offender in my house is my Shaw digital video recorder (DVR). It uses just about as much energy when it’s off as when it’s on, and you can’t turn it off because then it won’t record your shows. That’s poor design if you ask me. Mine uses 35 watts of power

continuously. What does that actually cost per unit per year?

A SIMPLE RATIO FOR POWER COST To save you doing a bunch of math, I worked out a simple ratio that gives a very close approximation of the annual cost of running a device continually: multiply the wattage consumption (usually printed on the device somewhere) by three quarters. For example, a 100 watt incandescent light bulb costs about $75 to run for a year, (100 x 0.75 = $75). To get the daily cost, divide by 365 days (20 cents a day). Using that calculation, my 35 watt DVR costs me about $26 a year to run. Multiple that by millions of households in BC and that is a lot of wasted energy. Armed with my meter and the ratio, I went hunting further. TVs are notorious power hogs but I was pleased to learn that my two-year-old 40” LCD TV used negligible power while on standby. Yours could be worse if it’s older. Nonetheless, I plugged everything (except the DVR) into a single surgeprotected power bar that has a power button. Now when I walk away, I press the power button, and everything is off — no more power leaching. Next I looked at those little power blocks for charging cameras and phones. Most of these didn’t actually draw any power when nothing was connected. The same was true for my laptop charger. They get warm (or even

hot) when they are charging a device, but when the device is disconnected, the power drain is negligible. However, I did find a couple of chargers that did draw power when nothing was connected, so check yours. If it gets warm when not in use, it’s wasting power, which can add up for you and for the provincial power supplies.

KEEP THE COMPUTER ON OR TURN IT OFF? In my home office things went off the rails. My computer pulls 160 watts (not including the monitor and other peripherals). According to my ratio, if I never shut it off, it’s going to cost me $120 a year. So should I shut it off when it’s not being used? Some considerations:  Modern computers go into a low power “standby” mode (about 5 watts) when idle. So if you work on the computer for eight hours a day and it’s on standby the rest of the day, the annual cost is probably closer to $50.  When you turn on a computer on and off repeatedly, all the parts get hot and cold, and this causes them to expand and shrink repeatedly. This results in “thermal shock” that can cause parts to wear out prematurely, and even cause connectors to come loose. When a computer goes into standby, the small amount of power it uses can actually help to keep everything warm, and this reduces the effect of the thermal shock.

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 A computer can resume very quickly from standby, which is very convenient compared to waiting for the system to start from scratch. As such, I never turn off my computer. I do turn off the other vagrant power gluttons on the system, including my speakers (5 watts), USB hub (0.5 watts), If it gets warm monitors (0.5 watts when not in use, it s each), printer (10 watts), and so on wasting power, which using another power bar. When I walk can really add up. away, I press the power button, and it’s all off. (Don’t plug your router into the power bar if you need it for Wi-Fi.) Lastly, by adding a simple tech feature to your heating system you can dramatically lower your heating costs. According to BC Hydro, “Heating accounts for approximately 50 per cent of the average household’s energy consumption.” A programmable thermostat is inexpensive ($50) and easy to install. Ours automatically turns down the heat at night and during the day when we are at work. The roughly 1,700,000 households in BC each use an average of 11,000 kWh of power annually. The proposed Site C dam will generate enough to supply about 450,000 homes. If we all slay just few of those electric vampires, I wonder if we would really need that dam?

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JOB #H123-13888 INSERTION DATE: NOVEMBER, 2012

Confessions of a

Horticultural Outlaw

By Barbara Julian ILLUSTRATION SHELLEY DAVIES

I hesitate to admit it, but I don’t hate Scotch broom. In fact, its bright yellow blaze on Victoria’s rocky hillsides has always been one of my favourite spring sights. I don’t pull it out. This makes me something of a pariah in the neighbourhood. It gets worse: I think grey squirrels are adorable. I love their clever, sensitive faces, their little hands, that fur you want to reach out and stroke, the jaunty plumey tail. I am sure the red cousins they are said to have supplanted are adorable too, but must liking the presence of one thing mean reviling another? Things change, even in nature. Especially in nature. That is something you learn from a garden. I am sure I would have liked the North American camels, sloths and mammoths too, and 70 other genera of large mammals — but those wonders went extinct after humanity arrived via the Siberian ice bridge some 13,000 years ago.

Compared to that loss, how cataclysmic is the replacement of red squirrel with grey? The holly and the Iv y, too But I have even worse secrets. Once the blaze of autumn colour dies down and the last tired leaves are blown from the trees, I love to see bright red berries of holly and cotoneaster cheering up the drab landscape. I admire the way the two holly trees in my backyard, male and female, blend in fruitfulness. Yes, too many little holly spikes poke up in the vicinity each spring, but it is not so hard to root them out. It’s worth it so as to have the genuine Christmas decoration each year. I wonder how stores have the nerve to sell a plastic version (or customers to buy it) when the real thing has been available ever since Medieval folk brought it in as a midwinter promise of spring. It takes time to break down in the compost, true, but not as long as it takes plastic, which is forever. Which brings us to ivy. The Christmas twins, the holly and the ivy, are now public enemies number one and number two — but not to me. I fail to pull, uproot, slash, poison and burn ivy as some kind of foreign invading terrorist. I figure if Mother Nature put it there she has her reasons, such as covering blank surfaces with photosynthesizing, air-cleansing life instead of leaving empty heat-radiating walls. Ivy does more for climate change than most, so: peace, Ivy. You can see my dilemma. As an agent of horticultural non-activism I have to keep my head down, be circumspect like the deer visiting my yard who I also fail to hate. In solidarity with the bees who love its pale delicate flowers, I even applaud blackberry, and the thicker the thicket the more thankful I am when I take out my secret horde from the freezer to enjoy an illicit taste of squelchy, juicy summer in the depths of winter. If the landscape accepts them so readily, then so shall I. All things great and small, but ... Ditto the crows and gulls whom I befriend, and the patient Canada geese gliding along our shorelines, heads held high above the trivial fickleness of human tastes in wildlife. Why do I confess all these ecological transgressions? Maybe I’m tired of hiding my vices like a squirrel her acorns, and then forgetting where I put them. By our vices we know ourselves. I notice that however many acorns the squirrels eat, there are always hundreds more which we can harvest for replanting … but nowhere to plant them. The world is filling up with buildings, disappearing under pavement. The “bad” animals and plants may yet be eradicated by sheer pressure of human habitation. If that happens I will miss my secret vices. But I have to admit that, should it disappear, one thing I will never, ever miss: bindweed.

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SECRETS & LIVES

By shannon moneo photo by casey bennett

 Your book’s title story, “Floating Like the Dead,” is about the D’Arcy Island leper colony. Why did you write about that? I heard about the leper colony from a friend. The fact that I didn’t know of its existence, yet grew up in Victoria, startled me. That, coupled with the fact that I tried to find more information and couldn’t. I wondered how such a dramatic part of our history hadn’t become part of the official record.

 How did winning the $10,000 Journey Prize in 2009 for that story change your life? I got an agent and a publication offer from McClelland & Stewart. I think people take you more seriously as a writer if you can add in your cover letter that you’ve won the Journey Prize. Maybe they’ll be more apt to look at your story as opposed to throwing you in the slush pile.  Have you had a lot of rejection? Oh my goodness, I have enough rejection letters to wallpaper this house. What kept me going? Maybe it’s some kind of crazy compulsion. Whether or not I was sending stuff, I would always write.  What are you working on now? I’m having fun with short stories and I’m also working on another novel. This one is loosely based on the Hanoi poisoning plot — around 1910 there was a plot to poison all soldiers at a French garrison. I have a complete outline. I’ve always written intuitively, but for a novel, that’s not efficient. You write 200 pages, only to discover that you should have started elsewhere.  You play guitar in a rockabilly band, the Jukebox Jezebels. Where did you learn to play and when do you perform? I probably learned most of my playing when I was busking in Vancouver, before my daughter Jet, 14 now, was born. I stopped busking when I was about five months pregnant. For awhile the Jukebox Jezebels were performing once a month but we’ve taken a break. We’ll be back.

YASUKO THANH, 41 VICTORIA AUTHOR AND MUSICIAN

 Are many of the stories in Floating Like the Dead autobiographical? Yes. “Her Vietnamese Boyfriend” is my German mother’s and Vietnamese father’s story. They were pen pals when she was working on a farm in Germany. In “The Peach Trees of Nhat Tan,” according to a family legend of my father’s, a potion was rubbed on a girl’s face after she had fallen into a vat

of oil, but it wasn’t as dramatic as my story. And I did bring down opium to Zipolite, Mexico.  Talk about your time in Vancouver, living on the street? I’ve been on my own since I was 15. I don’t look back and think that time was terrible. That’s a societal view and it’s difficult to judge that culture by our own standards. Many of the people I knew are either dead or in jail or stuff like that. I was living on the Downtown East Side. I was doing the starving artist thing. Having children changed me hugely.  As a writer, what’s more valuable to you, imagination or observation? I have no imagination. It’s all observation, I think. Taking real people and writing a fictional story is maybe more about what you’ve learned about the human race just by being alive.  What do your two daughters (Jet, 14, and Maisie, 8) think of your career? They say, ‘Momma, why do you always write such sad stories?’ I say, ‘That’s not my intention to be sad. I want people to read them and feel inspired to keep on living.’ The little one says: ‘I’ll write you a happy story and then you can put your name on it and you can sell it.’ I say, ‘That would be awesome.’  How did you juggle being a writer and a mother? It was very difficult. Whenever you’re writing, you feel guilty. Whenever you’re trying to be a good parent but not writing, you feel guilty. It’s a bit easier now that they’re in school. When they come home, it’s “mommy time.” I just stop work. At times, I’ve been too intense about the writing. The sky is not going to fall if I don’t complete 5,000 words today.  Tell us a secret about yourself. I really like to play with my daughter’s Barbies, Polly Pocket, Mr. Potato Head ... I didn’t have a lot of toys growing up. I’ll get right down on the carpet with her. We don’t watch TV. This interview has been condensed and edited.