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Showing posts from April, 2014

Food Wars on the Island

Our smallish Canadian city (12,000 souls) is a battleground for the grocery big stores: Costco, Walmart, Superstore, and Sobey's (via Thrifty's, that used to be a Vancouver Island chain in the not-distant-past). Safeway will be closing May 2014. Read more HERE Safeway recently opted out, or was opted out when Sobey's failed to follow through on the purchase.  Target (or Tar-jay as I hear it called by the 30somethings who shop there) also has a grocery section, but it is nothing much, mostly American brands we've seen on TV for years and already know are poison. We have another large store in town called Quality Foods, and in 2012 (I think) it won a national grocery store award.  However, over the last couple of years QF has been receiving  injections of support from the rival SaveOnFoods cartel (aka Jimmy Pattison).  The irony is that QFcame in and set up in the same mall location that had been vacated by SaveOnFoods.  A greater irony is that another rumor ha

The "Swedish" Bike Helmet

I am in the market for a bike helmet because recently I broke down and bought a bike.  I have been considering doing that for a very long time. True, I walk 5 miles a day and if I need to go to town I can either drive or catch a ride with my hubby.  However, I do want to do my bit for the environment, and bicycling is every so much more eco-friendly than driving a vehicle that runs on fuel (probably more friendly than driving an electric car as well when you consider that the electrical energy is often STILL produced by burning coal).   I need an adult carrier/basket like THIS So, I chose a bike that is easy for me to get my legs over -- I needed a lower type bar than many I have tried.  I also didn't particularly want to have gears to bother with, that is how old-fashioned I am.  And I like handlebars that are curved in the old school way, as well.  So, here is a picture of me on my new bike (which also has a chain guard that extends over the entire chain-- how