That?

Is awesome.

Glad you're enjoying the coconut oil!

Thinking of you walking down to the market with your knives and your backpack, and people setting up a sharpening van, and you being dusty, makes me picture where you live as something straight out of the book Return of the Native, and I think of Diggory Venn, the reddleman specifically. He was always covered from head to toe in red chalk dust, and could probably have used some coconut oil.

Where exactly do you live? It sounds enchanting.

Yeah, I'm having a hard time just getting past "very nice couple who come over from another island once a year". Awesome.

I think it says something about a place when a woman with wet hair and an axe handle sticking out of her bag can walk down the road, stick out her thumb, and get a ride.

Maybe he was a serial killer who wanted to talk shop.

I envy you your island. Very much I do.

It's not unlike how i imagine your island should be.
Do we have any good grinders and smiths out here?
i want the job of taking care of the baby cats every other season but i'll learn to do it if necessary, in exchange for fresh fish or pie, maybe books.
It's obvious taz and ico will have the coconut oil import concession.

I live on Galiano Island (aka Gigglyano due to its most well-known export), and it is indeed enchanting. From my first visit at 17 I knew I'd live here one day. Last year, circumstances aligned and it all came together; moving here was one of the best things I've ever done.

(It turned out that the couple who picked me up were friends of my uncle, though we'd never met. We had a good laugh about the possibilities of the situation.)

D_W, if you and the missus are ever on the left coast, let me know. Seriously.

i wanna go! i wanna go!
i don't think i can go to Greece anymore (pressing family stuff) but i think i could do the current continent.
i've barely done any of the left coast. What i have has been enchanting.

Really? You'd be most welcome, dear eth. Email in profile. I was actually toying with suggesting a meetup on the island this summer (as mentioned in a thread many moons ago), but didn't think there'd be enough people both willing and able to come.

What's the weather like?

I don't believe the left coast exists, so I can't come.

I can't speak to able without more details, but I'd definitely be willing.

I don't believe the left coast exists, so I can't come.

Must... not... make... obvious... joke...!!! Strength... weakening...

What's the weather like?

Wet as hell half the year (gumboots are our winter dancin' shoes) and dry as hell the other half. We're entering the dry as hell season, which means long, sunny days and no campfires or smoking in the woods. Last fall was so dry that operating small engines (e.g., weedwhackers) was prohibited, lest a spark set fire to the whole damned island. Since they'd just had a huge forest fire on the North End, that was understandable. The fact that over 100 hectares of forest burned without touching a single house says something about the population density, especially at that end of the island.

I can't speak to able without more details, but I'd definitely be willing.

That's right--you mentioned that last time I brought it up. Well, I'll post the idea and we'll see if it flies.

Is it buggy? Is it sweltering?
Do we have to milk things or tend "crops"?

Any word on the killer fungus this year? We've always wanted to go hiking on Vancouver Island but are somewhat wary these days. Are you hearing much about it there?

Do you have an itinerant tinkerer, and a town crier and stuff as well?

Well for some of my friends I'm testing the "you hafta either chop wood or put out" rule, but that's more for the humour (although I have had some very flattering responses, my favourite of which is "I don't chop wood", and my second favourite, "Can't I do both?") It's hot (around 28-34C), but dry so not sweltering, and there's always the ocean to go to and jump in. As for chores, we can negotiate that ;) Seriously, one of the people I used to visit here turned every visit into a guilt-fuelled work camp, so the worst I plan on asking anyone to do is pick vegetables for dinner and maybe do dishes and help clean up once in a while.

AFAIK, the killer fungus still hasn't reached us. And any town crier would soon be exhausted (see population density, above), but go to one of the two pubs and you'll soon find out all you need to know and more.

Meetup suggestion posted.

That Wikipedia link needs updating. Under 'Government' it should say "elizard rules".

Cool. You know, I have always been fascinated by small islands (the ones with people). I imagine living there would definitely be a "Northern Exposure" type of experience (maybe not quite as quirky, but more in a you must live with the quirks you find sort of way, you really really must). Right now, for instance, I might as well live on an island as social as I'm being (helping my parents with ED grandkids and rental property, back in my hometown). And when I've lived in a city I've really never been any social butterfly.

But I think I prefer having the amenities, and there's something to being anonymous among a crowd that also appeals to me. I think if I had to live on an island I'd freak out after a while.

Or maybe you guys do freak out and that's when you take the ferry into Vancouver for the weekend?

I've always thought islands were so freakin' cool and Galiano looks to be one of the coolest. The mister may, one day, have the opportunity to work on Vancouver Island and we've talked about retiring there but we may have to rethink that.

I might be up for a meet-up, depending on timing, so I'll check out the other thread.