B island Moms share recipe f

THE few recipes I
carry around with me
I have acquired from
my Thormanby Island
pals.

These are the Island
Moms, women who are here
with their children joytully
coping without electricity
and husbands for the most
part (they rush over on
weekends).

I love these women,
because they have the desire
to Jeave the comforts of city
life to come to this island,
alone and isolated from alt
but the likes of me.

The Thormanby Island
Moms all have some won-
derful shortcut recipe that
suits cur old-fashioned
kitchen equipment.

One gal makes a spicy
hamburger soup in one pot
that would blow the socks
off an alcoholic Mexican.
Another grows cilantro and
tomatoes in her garden and
her salsa rocks.

Yer another can toss
together a salad almost
entirely from what she picks
up on her daily walk around
the island.

And every woman here
has a tip to share, a recipe to

mailbox

ofter that is delicious, yet
manageable, given our limit-
ed access to the amenities of
modern life

Today I visited with a
young Mom at the beach
and her baby, Lily. f could-
n't resist the pair of chem,
mother and daughter; they
seemed to be so completely
at case with beach lit

Lily toddled abour, haif
walking and crawling around
in the sand, digging for tiny
pebbles and shells.

She ventured to the
waters edge a couple of
times today, made a few
brave swats at the small
waves breaking, and laughed
hysterically to herself.

Of course, there was sand
in all the nooks and crannies
of her little body, bur Lil
didn’t seem to mind.

Occasionally she would
let out a wail, and her moth-

er would scoop her up into
her lap, ofter her a massive,
sandy breast, which Lil
cagerly took, and continue
gossiping with us older
moms.

I have spene my time as
an island mom.

My children were tod-
diers when we first came
to Thormanby, and they
have pretty well grown
up here, summer r after
summer.

They thrive on the sun-
shine, tresh air, and a simple
Jack of structure.

Our island life is quiet.

There are no telephones
or televisions.

We use oil lamps and
rainwater we catch off our
root:

The ocean water is com-
fortably warm for swim-
ming, the beach is soft and
sugary white, and there is
nowhere on the island a soul
has to go that cannot be
traveled in 15 minutes by
foot.

Cooking on this island is
somewhat of a challenge,
especially for me, a sclf-con-
fessed non-culinary

I've spent countless
evenings trying to throw
something together for din-

Whistle blower knew better

Dear Editor:

-In.a recent article in the
Vancouver Sun, North
Vancouver Noise Committee
member Harold Holmes

expressed concern about noise

“from industry along North

‘Vancouver's waterfront,

He. complained that CN,
one of the “worst offenders,"
was ignoring the recommen-
‘dations of an out-of- “date, il-
year old study into noise lev-

Holmes should do a

expressing his opinions.
The . facts’; are these: _For

_has‘been an active participant

on: the very same noise com-
: mittee. as Mr. Holmes.

fully‘aware that fed-

, regulations require rail-

ways to’ sound their whistles

when approaching a level
crossing, in order to protect
the safety of motorists and
pedestrians.

As for noise resulting from
our operations, CN works
closely with the city on these
issues. CN’s yard on the
North Shore supports one of
the busiest heavy industrial
areas in B.C.; an area that is
key to the economies of B.C.
and Canada.

To serve these industries
our operations are of such a
scale that they will never, in
my opinion, .be invisible to
residents who have chosen to
live in the area.

That being said we remain
open. to practical ideas that
would lead to improvement.

It would have been very
easy for Mr. Holmes to
approach CN with his ideas

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and concerns, and he would
have had a receptive audience.
He chose not to, and jeopar-
dized an otherwise construc-
tive relationship.

Mr, Holmes sets a bad
example in choosing sensa-
tionalism over rational discus-
sion, then exacerbates this by
allowing himself to be pho-
tographed “strolling along the
tracks.”

This is illegz) and danger-
ous, and, ironically, trespassers
create another situation where
our crews: must sound their
whistles in warnin Mr.
Holmes should know Better.
Gerry Spence
Assistant vice-president and
general manager
Pacific District
Canadian Nations!

Home Designs
Summer Sale

up to 50". ‘off Exeruthing in-store
10" off Tables & Shelving

feustom orders)
CLOSED MONDAYS

985-0101
103 East 2nd St. N.Van.

ADVERTISING CORRECTION

August 14, 15 & 16th
PLEASE NOTE:

Scratch and Save Card
exclusions fist copy is incorrect -
patio funiture, 8BQs and BBQ
accessories were omitted from
exclusions tisting. Copy should
sead: “Scratch and Save
discounts do net apply to; patio
furniture, BBQs and BBO
accessories.“

We si

valued cu: ers and regret
any inconvenience or confu-
sion this may have caused.

EATON’S

ner to feed what iooks like a
mob of starving children.

Who these faces belong
to, I do not know, nor do I
ask, as we island moms
understand that hunger on
our fitde island is the imme-
diate result of running and
jumping repeatedly off high
docks, rowing beat up boats
to and fro, and fishing for
shiners until it is almost
dark.

Some nights I whip up a
batch of my personal special-
ty, Kraft Dinner.

This is no ordinary feat,
as my children will tell you.

The discerning chef must
work to get the exact mea-
surements of butter and
milk, che noodles must be
cooked just so, and the
bowls filled to the brim in
order for complete success.

1am one of the lucky
women who were born with
a gift for making Kraft
Dinner.

I never mess it up,
unless, of course, [ am dis-
tracted by something really
important, like a dog wh>
has thrown up a pile of
gooey sand at my feet or a
ricnd who has stopped by
for a drink.

Other nights we roast
wieners and marshmallows
over a fire.

Then I bring out my old
guitar and we sing corny
songs as loud as we can
without hurting ourselves. I
like to start with The Happy
Wanderer, thanks to a Grade
6 teacher I know a verse in
German, which always gets

Friday, August 14, 1998 — North Shore News - 7

the gang going.

We croon through num-
bers like Good Night Irene,
and A Hundred Miles, and
always finish the music por-
tion of the evening with a

heart wrenching rendition of

Found a Peanut.

To cap off the night's
entertainment we tell scary
stories.

Some of these stories are
so scary that the odd kid has
to abandon a plan to sleep
with the rest of the gang in
the tent and sneak up to
share a cozy bunk with his
mom.

Of course island moms
can always be counted on to
be totally discreet about a
child’s terror-filled imagina-

r friendship

tion.

When all finally quiets
down for the evening, which
it does rather quickly as
exhausted children drift off
to sleep, the island moms sit
around the fire and talk in
quiet voices about lite.

We talk about childrea
and husbands, about aging
Parents and lost loves.

Occasionally we share a
sok song, and then, separat-
ing, we make our way home
to bed.

Its true, the few recipes I
carry with me I have learned
from the Island Moms.

And this island life has
provided me with the best
recipe of all: the recipe for
friendship.

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