5 Favourite 2016 Margy Meanders Posts

Come along on a year-end tour
of the five most popular
2016 Margy Meanders posts.

My Margy Meanders blog is where I share posts about general topics. It's a relatively new blog, and I'm pleased that it's gaining in popularity thanks to you my faithful readers.  Looking back at 2016, here are some of the most popular posts.

Landing at Jefferson County Airport near Port Townsend.

Flying Day Trip to Port Townsend, WA -- When Wayne and I come to Bellingham we love to get our Piper Arrow 997 out of the hangar and take her on adventures. A favourite day trip destination is Jefferson County Airport near Port Townsend, Washington. There's a great place to eat on the field called the Spruce Goose Cafe.  When we have more time and good weather, we like to go camping in our plane on Orcas Island, Chehalis, and Siletz Bay in Oregon. We hope to get back to them again 2017.

Cinnamon Spiced Apple Spritzer

Cinnamon Spiced Apple Spritzer -- This year I did more canning and preserving than ever before. Some of my successes were dill pickles, sweet relish, and grape and plum jam. When I canned apples gleaned from a tree in the backcountry, I had lots of syrup left over. Not wanting to waste anything, I created a refreshing spritzer to cool off after all that hot work canning. Then on a snowy day this winter, I used some of the syrup from a jar of the apples to make a cinnamon apple snow cone.

Border between Canadian Zero Avenue and US Boundary Road.

Border Songs by Jim Lynch -- Wayne and I are both avid readers. Even though most of the books we read are Kindle e-books, I like to purchase used books of local interest. Powell River thrifts stores have great selections. When I'm in the States, I go to Cozy Corner Books in Ferndale. Chris, the owner, is great and the prices are amazing. Border Songs is the story of a US Border Patrol agent along Washington's border with BC. Knowing both sides made it a very fun read for me.

Soup's on!

Fresh Tomato-Tortilla Soup -- I grew tomatoes this year in my floating garden next to the cabin. I had some trouble with bacterial spots, so I made frozen tomato sauce with what I could save from my crop. After eating a thick tomato based Tortilla Soup at the Costa del Sol in Powell River, I tried making some of my own. My homemade sauce was the perfect consistency, and the flavour was fresh and amazing. I only wish I had frozen more. Next year I'll try canning some for extra.

55-gallon barrels become large garden pots.

Something from Nothing: Inexpensive Large Garden Planters -- I grow lots of plants around our cabin's various decks in containers. This year I experimented with two blueberry plants and the grew so large I needed large pots so their roots could expand and produce more berries. Pots are so expensive I decided to make some of my own from 45-gallon plastic barrels we had in storage. With a little bit of paint, they made attractive additions to our float cabin home.


We hope you enjoyed the tour. You can read more about our off-the-grid lifestyle and adventures in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories series of books and e-books. Go to PowellRiverBooks.com for more information and ordering details.

Want to see a review from my Powell River Books blog? Check out my 2016 Top Ten Float Cabin Living Posts. Hope your 2016 was as eventful as ours. Give us an update in the comments below. -- Margy