http://www.heatherconnblogs.com spoutin' about by the sea Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:05:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en                                  Annabel Lyon                                                       -- Heather Conn photo It shocked me this week to discover that BC Ferries has banned the sale of Annabel Lyon's award-winning book The Golden Mean on its ferries. That's outrageous!   The novel, which tells of Aristotle serving as tutor to Alexander the Great, has a cibachrome photographic image on ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/bc-ferries-censorship/ A few weeks ago, after adding power steering fluid to my old Honda Accord, I noticed the plastic receptable under the hood where the windshield wiper fluid goes. I thought: "Might as well fill that up too while I'm at it."   I went into our garage and looked to the open ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/car-maintenance/ For weeks I've been hearing about the grey whale that's hanging around not far offshore, here on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. Last Sunday, it spent the whole day off Roberts Creek Beach, close to where I live, but I was away. People I know have seen it off Snickett Park in Sechelt; I ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/i-got-to-watch-a-grey-whale/                                                                                                                        -- Heather Conn photos  Art and Aleta Giroux with grandchildren Lindsay (holding pug Molly) and Fraser   What a weekend it was. By day, hiking took us about a kilometre uphill through classic west-coast rainforest of mossy cedars, magnificient firs, creek beds . . .and plenty of bear scat.  At dusk, we dined on delectable grilled sockeye ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/tzoonie-narrows/                                                        -- Heather Conn photo I feel honoured to give recognition to one of my writing clients, Micheal Oswald, 28, who recently won a 2010 Writers Award and trophy from the Special Olympics on the Sunshine Coast (SOSC).   Michael, a Special Olympics athlete and volunteer,  received the trophy at a Special Olympics awards banquet ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/mike-oswald/                                                                                 Front row, from left: Barb, Bob, Heather                                                                                 Back row: Sandra, Robyn; missing: Eva  After nine days of deep transformational inner work, tears, and a sense of renewed joy, I completed a powerful workshop last month called The Journey Within.   The experience, offered free through the employment centre in Sechelt, BC, far surpassed my expectations. A local ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/a-journey-within/ A friend of mine, who's working on the reality show Conviction Kitchen in Vancouver, invited my husband and me to a free "friends and relatives" dinner on location last week. All we had to do was pay for our drinks, tip our servers, and be willing to be interviewed on ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/conviction-kitchen/ As a long-time writer and editor, I am horrified by common abuses of the English language and punctuation, like the far-too-common error of spelling the possessive form of "its" with an apostrophe. Yet, I also find great humor in unintentional typos or mistranslations, especially when travelling. Here are some of my favorites from ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/typo/ Author Gillian Kydd (right) and yours truly at the July 17 Gumboot Cafe readings                                                                                                                           -- George Smith photo From the traffic mayhem of eyelash mites to erotic prose and historical fiction, nine Roberts Creek writers read an eclectic mix of creative prose July 17 at a fun launch/benefit.   Think globally. Read locally!, a special ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/nine-creeker-readers-nine-jailed-journalists/                                                                                                                        -- Heather Conn photos I was delighted last week to spot two offbeat, local examples of public street art, otherwise known as "yarn bombing." While walking down Cowrie Street, the main drag in Sechelt, BC, I saw a different hand-knit woolly cover stretched over two brown-and-yellow metal posts. These fuzzy, striped sleeves ... http://www.heatherconnblogs.com/public-art/