by Lara Gladych –
Who do you turn to when you have a question? Is it Google or Siri, maybe Alexa? At Seaside Magazine we are fortunate to know local experts in all the fields (or we’ll know someone who knows someone), so next time you have a question, Ask Seaside! Each month I’ll take your quandaries and
queries and do the research for you. Send your questions to
news@seasidemagazine.ca.
Q: My mother-in-law bought me (yet another) ugly sweater for Christmas. Help! I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I will never wear it, and it seems such a waste. What’s the etiquette? Can I ask if she has the receipt and return it? Is there a way to signal that I’d rather she didn’t get me anything than another piece of clothing that’s just not my style?
A: “My mother bought me clothes for years that I would never wear, so I simply stated that if she chose to buy me a gift of any kind, please make it an experience or a perishable. I told her I have more that enough stuff.” ~ Shai, House of Lily Koi
A: “This year, keep the sweater and find a home for it – surely you know someone who might like it – but gently let your mother-in-law know that you really like to buy your own clothes. Perhaps you could go shopping together, or suggest that you would love a gift certificate to your favourite shop where you could choose something from her that you would appreciate and wear a lot. I am sure that she goes through all kinds of stress choosing your sweater and would be relieved to be able to leave the choice to you. As long as you continue to accept the ugly sweaters, you will continue to receive them!”
~ Muffet, Muffet & Louisa
Q: Lately I see a lot of social media posts from people selling eggs from their farms. These eggs seem to come in a beautiful array of colours – everything from the palest green to rich brown to beige! This is way different than what I buy in the grocery store – where do all the colours come from?
A: My good friend Ashley raises her own chickens and ducks. To begin with, she told me that the colour of a bird’s eggs is, coincidentally, the same colour as that of their inner ear (or earlobe). White eggs tend to be produced by chickens that have light earlobes, whereas coloured eggs tend to be produced by those with similarly coloured earlobes. The colour and speckling (or lack thereof) of a bird’s eggs come down to genetics. All eggs start off white in the reproductive system, and are then coated in one of two pigments (for either blue/green or red/brown) as they pass through the reproductive tract. Incidentally, coloured eggs are no healthier than white eggs!
Q: My favourite pair of tall leather boots have a crack in the sole. They weren’t really expensive but I love them and there’s nothing wrong with the leather uppers. Can I get them resoled? Where? And will it end up costing nearly as much as buying a new pair?!
A: “The ability and cost to resole your boots will depend upon what the current sole is made of, and you’re looking at a minimum of $100. Only about eight out of 10 shoes made these days can be resoled. In order to properly resole them, both boots would have to be done. Whether to have them resoled will be up to you; since you said they weren’t an expensive pair, you will have to decide if the cost is worth it. As for where, any quality shoe repair can do that for you. We recommend the shoe repair place in Hillside Mall, and we now have a local shoe repair in Sidney on Third street.” ~ Christina, Waterlily Shoes
** Email news@seasidemagazine.ca with a question for Lara and Seaside Magazine and be entered to win the Kuraidori Precision Cooker found on page 9, courtesy of Sidney Home Hardware!
