Stories

Off the Vine – The Age of Abstinence

January 2, 2025

Words Richard Hope Young people aren’t drinking anymore. The numbers tell a striking story. Today’s teenagers drink 20% less than millennials and 47% of Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) report no plans to start. By the time you are reading this, I will be one week into attempting not to drink for [...]

Off the Vine – The Age of Abstinence

West Coast Garden – A Winter Planter

January 2, 2025

Words & Photos Cynthia Philp West Coast gardeners are blessed in January. Yes, we may get a cold snap, or even a wollop of heavy snow, but our gardens continue to push through the season. There’s always something delightful to find outside – a hellebore or heath blossom, or tender shoots of bulbs pushing up

West Coast Garden – A Winter Planter

Disconnection in a Modern Lifestyle – and Returning to Wellness

January 2, 2025

Words Kelly Finerty With the cold winter months blanketing the Peninsula, most of us hibernate, drink a hot beverage and begin the process of hunkering down into a new fiscal year of work, family, retirement, and in many cases, isolation. “Wellness” is so much more than how the vessel carrying our spirit and soul is

Disconnection in a Modern Lifestyle – and Returning to Wellness

Meet Your Neighbours – Chase Varnes: In Tune with His Community

January 2, 2025

Words Jamila Douhaibi Photos Sarah Hartley Photography The Varnes family lives on 11 acres in Central Saanich. Their basset hound George was the first member I met, greeting me at the car as I pulled up in front of their gorgeous home. The decorated tree in their living room loomed high above us up into

Meet Your Neighbours – Chase Varnes: In Tune with His Community

Little Adventures – The Sibling Experience

January 2, 2025

Words Cassidy Nunn Photo Nunn Other Photography “Mama, we forgot baby sister!!” my four-and-a-half-year-old daughter shouts from her car seat in the back of the car, her eyes wide with panic. My eyes instantly shift to my rearview mirror to check on the second car seat in the back seat. It’s empty. I sigh. Of

Little Adventures – The Sibling Experience