It's been great in some ways to help me save money because there is no where to spend it, and at the same frustrating to get basic things done like get your hair cut. How do people do it on the island? Well, there are a lot of women and men with long hair here, they find friends to help them for the most part or get it done when they get to the "mainland".
It's been a good lesson for me about what's important to me, what matters most, and it's sometimes not what I had thought. I encourage you to get away and have this kind of experience, even for a short period, or at least imagine it in your mind. What would be really important for you to have, what is a want, what is a real need? If you only had one suitcase to bring for several months what would be in it? If you were on an island like this, what would you miss most?
Everyone is different. For me, as soon as I got to the ferry terminal at Nanaimo, on my way for my quick getaway to Vancouver for a few days, I saw a Starbucks and had to get a latte. I wanted it. I did not need it of course, but it nourished me in so many ways. I have a lot of good memories at coffee shops. This is where I meet friends, go for a break during a busy day, and where wrote a lot of my book.
We eat with so many senses besides our taste buds, and it nourishes us in countless ways. Many times here, I've had presenters and guests tell me that they love my food, that they can feel the love and care I put into the food, they can taste the difference. And this makes me very happy, that I can transmit love to others through my food, thereby nourishing their bodies and souls, and in turn nourishing me. That's one of the intangible but important things that I need. It's in my emotional suitcase, the one that I brought with me and didn't have to pay extra for to check-in.
A few more photos to share, mostly of food, one of a cooking class on Japanese cuisine that I held in our kitchen..
Photo descriptors of the food, all vegetarian, and mostly vegan and gluten-free, with as much from the garden as possible, including the flowers, which are edible:
-Carrot-walnut cake with cream frosting, chocolate drizzle
-Cauliflower and pomegranate
-Garden veg with sesame dressing
-Garlic scape-zucchini bake
-Making garam masala for curry
-Rice-lentil pilaf
-Spinach mountains
-Pasta bake
-Yaki manju with red bean
-Cooking class on Japanese cuisine as part of the farm-to-table program
-Rhubarb-berry crisp
-Watermelon feta salad
-Green beans and rainbow chard
-Butter with lemon and garden herbs and blossoms
-Cilantro hot sauce
-Roasted beet salad
-Shepherd's pie
-Indian curry with yellow daikon and red beet pickles
-Coconut cake
