"BC History Along the Highways and Waterways" by Ted Stone

Wayne loves to write, I love to read. It makes for a good match. I like reading about BC to learn more about the area. There are lots of book stores and stores that sell books in Powell River to feed my habit. One is Coles Books (shameless plug - they also carry Wayne's Coastal BC Stories). They always have a bargain table and I never pass it up. Here's one of the treasures I found.

British Columbia History Along the Highways and Waterways by Ted Stone is "a traveler's guide to the facinating facts, intriguing incidents and lively legends of Vancouver Island and the British Columbia coast." You can find it used at Amazon.ca or Amazon.com if you can't find it in your local bookstore.

The book is divided by regions: 1) Victoria and the South Island, 2) Vancouver and the Lower Fraser River, 3) Vancouver Island from Victoria to Cape Scott and 4) Coastal BC and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Each chapter begins with a brief history of the area and there are short vignettes about a historical fact, interesting person, place name or legend. Each describes a location you can reach by car (highway) or boat (waterway).

For the casual history buff, this is a great book and reference. So, if you are traveling to Coastal BC or are new to the area, it's one book to add to your collection. Have you read any books lately about British Columbia? I'd like to hear about them. Please add a comment with some of your favorites. -- Margy

Crockpot Swedish Cabbage Rolls

We've had some cool weather here in Bellingham, so I decided to make a crockpot meal that would warm us up a bit, Swedish Cabbage Rolls.

I used one of my old recipe books, Crockery Cookery by Mable Hoffman (Bantam Books, 1975).

Swedish Cabbage Rolls

12 large cabbage leaves
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Immerse cabbage leaves in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes or until limp. Drain and remove the heavy center rib.

Combine egg, milk, onion, salt, pepper, raw ground beef, and cooked rice. Place about 1/4 cup of the mixture in the center of each leaf. Fold in the sides and roll ends over the meat to make a package. Place the finished cabbage rolls in a crockpot coated inside with vegetable spray
.

Combine the tomato sauce, lemon juice, sugar and Worcestershire Sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Makes 6 servings.

Margy's adaptations: I added 1/2 teaspoon thyme to the meat mixture and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning to the tomato sauce mixture. That may not be very "Swedish," but I like the taste.


Do you have any favourite crock-pot recipes?

I'd love to give them a try. I have a feeling this might be a long, cold winter. -- Margy

The Eclipse Bookstore in Old Fairhaven

On a recent trip to to the States, I headed to Historic Fairhaven just south of downtown Bellingham.

There are lots of great restaurants, shops, bookstores, and in the summer months the farmer's market.

My destination this time was the Eclipse Bookstore at 1104 11th Street (360-647-8165). It's one of my favourite used bookstores in the whole wide world!


The Eclipse Bookstore has an amazing amount and variety of books covering the two floors of the establishment. Because it's a used bookstore, the prices are very reasonable.

It takes tiptoes to see the volumes on the top shelves, but the easiest way to get to the bottom of things is to pull up a piece of carpet and settle yourself down on the floor.



David, the proprietor, has arranged the books neatly on shelves by topic. Just ask and he will lead you to the section you desire. As you can see, there are so many books, some are in stacks next to the shelves patiently waiting their turn to get a coveted spot (if someone doesn't buy them first).

You can't see all that the Eclipse Bookstore has to offer in one visit. Visit often and take your time to really enjoy the experience.

I headed over to one of my regular spots, Canadian books. And I got a huge surprise.

Up the Strait by Wayne J. Lutz at the Eclipse Bookstore.

There in one of the stacks I found Wayne's book Up the Strait. I'm not sure how it made its way to this store (if only books could talk).

Up the Strait is a great book for boating enthusiasts. Here's some information if you'd like to take a look for yourself.

Up the Strait

Coastal BC Stories

It's cruising time again. Jump in the boat and head up the Strait of Georgia with us to magnificent anchorages and exciting adventures. Drop your hook in world famous Desolation Sound, discover hidden coves, and meet some of the locals. Read Up the Strait by Wayne Lutz and then join us for the cruise of a lifetime. You may never want to leave.

Brackett Field Airport, La Verne California

Brackett Tower

Brackett Field Airport is an excellent destination airport for a lot of reasons. First, it is strategically placed in the Los Angeles basin, but out of the LAX airspace. The weather is typically sunny, with some coastal low clouds and fog. Summer can have hazy (smoggy) skies. Brackett has ILS, VOR and GPS-A approaches for low visibility conditions.

There are lots of things to do within walking distance of the airport. If you are hungry, Norm’s Hanger Coffee Shop is on the field for breakfast and lunch (7-3) every day. Every seat has a runway view. Feel like Mexican food? Walk along McKinley Ave. to the end of the runway and turn left on Fairplex. On the right is El Merendero No. 1. You can get breakfast (chorizo and eggs for me, huevos rancheros for Wayne), lunch and dinner. It's a little walk, but WELL worth it.

El Merendero No. 1 - Yum!

Activities within walking distance include Bonelli Regional Park. Exit the transient ramp, turn right and follow the access road that leads to the East Shore RV Park. Walk through the RV park to get to the other sections of Bonelli Park. Things to do include: picnicking, hiking, boating, fishing, swimming, and just being lazy under a tree. You pass over the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds on final to Runway 26 R/L. The County Fair is each September and there’s lots of other events year-round. Also on final you cross the Pomona Raceway, home of NHRA racing. During race weekends, you can see some “heavy metal” in transient parking as well. The University of La Verne and downtown La Verne are just north of the airport and within extended walking distance.

Mt. San Antonio College flightline.

Want to spend the night? The Sheraton Fairplex just down the street will pick you up (walking distance if you are energetic). Like to camp, there are sites at Bonelli’s East Shore RV Park.

Need fuel or maintenance? Self-serve fuel is at the transient ramp. NAI Aircraft Services is a full service maintenance and repair shop. Howard Aviation provides maintenance and avionics services. Brackett is also the home base for the Mt. San Antonio College Aeronautics Program fleet and the Mt. San Antonio College

Wayne has two aviation related books, Up the Airway about flying along the Pacific Coast and across Canada, and Flying the Pacific Northwest about destination airports. Go to www.PowellRiverBooks.com for details for click the links for print and Kindle versions on Amazon.com. -- Margy

Envelope Funnel to Pour Spices

Cut a triangular piece of envelope and snip off the corner.

I can't say this is an original idea, but it came to me without an Internet search until after the fact. Of course, Martha Stewart (and many others) had the same brainstorm.

I needed to pour cinnamon from a large spice jar into a smaller one. What to do? 

In the past, I've tried to make a funnel by wrapping a piece of paper into a cone, but it always comes apart during the middle of the pour and makes a mess on the counter.

Put the paper funnel in the mouth of a jar.

Today I went through a lot of junk mail and I remembered I had a lot of envelopes in the paper recycle basket.I retrieved a large envelope, cut off a triangular portion, and then cut off the tip to create a paper cone to create an impromptu funnel.

Because the mouth of my spice jar was small, I had to hold the funnel in place. With a larger mouthed jar, the funnel would be able stand up on its own.

Pouring cinnamon through the funnel.

So, I held the funnel in place and poured away.

If I hadn't been trying to take a photograph with one hand it would have been a perfect process. No muss, no fuss.

Maybe my brainstorm means that like minds run in similar directions. Whatever the case, it made a formerly messy task into a neat and tidy one. -- Margy

I'll take a Boomer Burger ...

and make it extra rare, please. As this picture shows, everyone loves a Boomer Burger, at this classic drive-in in Bellingham. Wayne and I headed over to Boomer's Drive-in to get a burger, waffle fries and hard ice cream shake and here is what we saw in the next vehicle.


Drive up to Boomer's, check out the menu and turn on your car's lights. The waitress will come to you to get your order and deliver it on a tray right to your car's window. Now that's a flash from the past. You can also eat indoors next to a warming fire. Obviously, this dog's human did just that. But that didn't deter this precocious pet from trying to get a burger of his own.

GO DOGGIE!!