Author Archive: Robin Rivers
Robin Rivers is Our Big Earth’s Publisher and Sr. Partner. Able to survive on coffee alone. Often can be found leaping tall buildings with the help of great friends. Predisposed to odd hats and the color orange. In love with imagination, her kids and that crazy guy who married her.
Mom-P-Inc. – Blog Love for The Organized Business Mom
Good morning. It’s Sunday and that usually means we kick into Mom Entrepreneur mode around here with guest columnists like Emma Payton of Payton Hughes Consulting. Emma has offered up some fantastic business advice to OBE readers and now it’s time to return the love as she’s kicked off her own blogging project that is [...]
Mom's Book Shelf – A Discussion on All That Matters
I have to say that I now have a whole new appreciation for Vancouver and its evolution as a city, as well as the unbelievable conditions under which people come to this country and endure with the hopes of a better life thanks to Wayson Choy. His novel, All That Matters, was February’s book of [...]
The OBE Business & Community Directories Are Here!
Wow, what a great sunny day. Have you seen the Comox Glacier yet? It’s truly breathtaking. With all of this gorgeousness going on, we are excited to unveil the latest OBE tool for folks in the Comox Valley and beyond to easily find the restaurants, organizations, service providers and destinations that make this region such [...]
Kids Crafts – Making Magic with Apothecary Boxes
Good Morning. Oh how we are having fun making cool new stuff for our magical world. After the fairy bowls, we definitely decided that the Land of Purple Unicorn Fairies (LOPUF), as it has now been deemed, definitely needs some storage with lids. This isn’t heavy-duty, big storage. But, more a need to have cool places [...]
Getting Kids Into The Olympic Spirit at Home
Editor’s Note: Good afternoon. If you missed this morning’s interview with Canadian cookbook Wise Women Shannon Loeber and Mary Edwards talking about their sexy take on food, folklore and sparking that magic (we’re giving away copies), check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to get our families into the spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic [...]
Kids Crafts – Making Fun Fairy Bowls
As our “magical world” project continues this year, we are still super focused on the fairy forest part of that imaginary adventure. The tiny person is so excited about creating the bits and pieces that line the path to her castle and lead the way along the path into the fairy forest, that we found [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Marvelous Mushrooms
Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to drop back in here this afternoon when we get the discussion going about Kindergarten options in the Comox Valley. Now, it’s time for a fun Sunday Morning Walk: One of the biggest challenges of making it through the permagray this time of year, is figuring out what can distract you [...]
The Love List of Kids Valentines Books
Editor’s Note: If you missed out on the morning post introducing February’s author of the month, Wayson Choy, you can read it HERE. Now here’s Robin with a list of kid-approved Valentine’s Day books: Love is in the air, and there’s nothing like a silly, fun, sweet children’s story to make Valentine’s Day great fun for [...]
Mom's Book Shelf – Wayson Choy's All That Matters
I am so excited to announce February’s featured author and book of the month – mostly because I can’t wait to get started on a new novel and sink my teeth into a book that’s been on my shelf for ages. As Chinese New Year nears, I wanted to take the time to examine Chinese-Canadian [...]
Get Apple-licious Pies to Support LUSH
Food security is one of those topics that nobody really wants to talk about – mostly because about the time we need to be worrying about it, other really scary events are going on. So, let’s trade the picture of natural disaster for homemade pie. That’s what you can pick up at Edible Island and [...]
Taking Care of Local Families – YANA's Annual Dinner & Auction
It’s that time of year again when we have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the hearts of families throughout the region through one very special Comox Valley organization that takes care of those families in their darkest times and when the need is the greatest – You Are Not Alone, better known as YANA. If [...]
A Discussion of Zoe Whittall's Holding Still for As Long As Possible
Good morning. It’s been a month since we introduced our first Mom’s Book Shelf novel of the year – Zoe Whittall’s Holding Still for As Long As Possible. Today’s space is all about getting in your thoughts and opinions about the book – if you had the chance to read it – or the issues [...]
Homeschooling – A Look At Theme-based Learning
It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a chance to talk about homeschooling here on OBE. For the last year or so, we’ve been mulling around our educational options for the tiny person and it wasn’t until this month, actually, that we solidly moved forward with our plans to home-school. It’s not that I [...]
A Raw Food Q & A with the Crew from Zen Zero
As my adventures in the necessary retooling of my diet evolves, I’ve been digging deeply into all kinds of eating options that have anecdotal evidence of helping overcome disease, fatigue and general malaise. The one that keeps resurfacing for me is raw foods. But, honestly, the only thing I’ve seen in the past when I [...]
Winter 2010 NeighbourWood Walks Registration
Editor’s note: This morning’s post on making felt fortune cookies to celebrate the combo of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day (both Feb. 14 this year) was so much fun. You can check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to finally get back outside as we get down to the business of registering for our [...]
Craft – Chinese New Year + Valentines = Felt Fortune Cookies
I was completely stumped this year when we started going through the craft books and websites looking for Valentine’s Day crafts. The sense was that there are some cute ones out there, but neither of us really wanted a pile of paper hearts, or to spend the time peeling and grating crayons to make a [...]
The Fit Family – Building In A Routine for All of Us
I have to admit that working out these days is like pulling teeth – for a couple of reasons. Still trying to figure it all out, it looks like I have a combination of adrenal fatigue and thyroid issues wreaking havoc on both my energy and my stamina. I’ve given up on the regular doctors and [...]
Books to Teach Kids About Chinese New Year
Editor’s Note: If you missed out on Rebecca’s morning post giving us a look inside the Waldorf classroom, you can read it HERE. Now, here’s Robin reviewing a cool collection of children’s books that help kids learn about Chinese culture and Chinese New Year. Have a great afternoon. Here’s Robin: I get sort of droopy [...]
Mom-P-Inc. – Discovering Community Literacy
When you say the word “literacy” the images of libraries and academia often come to mind. It takes you down a mental path of helping kids learn to read and guiding adults through the challenges of needing to be able to interpret for themselves written words in order to manage the day-to-day tasks. To me, [...]
Kids Food Crafts – Painting with Jello
It has been so crazy dreary around the Comox Valley the last couple of weeks that we have been super dug in at the craft table and looking for ways to combine all sorts of things like food and paper into good fun. Jello isn’t something we regularly eat around here. But, it is super [...]
Roll with Local Veg and Cabbage Rolls this January
Good morning. While I was wandering the aisles at the grocery store the other day I had a very uncomfortable moment of consciousness when I looked down into my grocery basket and saw very little fresh food. It’s that time of year – the dead of Winter – when it seems like the possibilities for [...]
Fit Family – A Forced Reset of Family Priorities
I never find it a good thing when you head to the doctor, get some blood work done, and they call you for a follow up that starts with “Come on in today.” That’s what happened to me in mid-December. I knew I wasn’t feeling good. I thought it was general malaise, some un-checked emotional [...]
Books for Girls – Red is Best & Bella's Tree
I cannot tell you how many times we have woken up in the last few weeks, our daughter launching herself onto the couch to check for snow outside, only to be bummed out at the perma-gray with no white stuff in sight. “We live in a rainforest kiddo”, I gently remind her each time she [...]
Crafts to Build Fine Motor Skills – Hand Sewing For Kids
They say knitting is the new yoga and sewing is the greatest happy pill out there. If a needle and thread can sooth the savage beast, fork a whole pile over to me and the 4-year-old. Both of us are searching for that quiet, peaceful truth these days! And, lately, it seems that those wives tales [...]
Mom's Book Shelf – Zoe Whittall's Holding Still for As Long As Possible
One of my major resolutions for the new year is to spend more time reading for myself, something that went by the wayside far too long ago. I tried very hard to get back into it last year, was even blessed enough to be invited to be part of an incredible book group filled with [...]
Dispose of Your Christmas Tree for Charity
Good Morning and Happy 2010. Now that the holidays are wrapping up, it’s time to find a green, easy and community-minded way to dispose of your Christmas Tree. The three Comox Valley municipalities and the Comox Valley Regional District are offering you some great options for doing just that, and giving back in the process. [...]
New Year's Skating Traditions & Cheer
On this eve of the new decade, we here at OBE HQ are perpetually socially challenged in terms of where to get in a great party and take the kiddo. There are some cool things going on tonight around the Valley like the Family New Year’s Carnival Featuring Bobs and Lolo up at Mt. Washington. [...]
Year In Review – Hottest Family Food Fun of 2009
It has been an excellent year for eating (especially eating local) here at Our Big Earth. We’ve loved learning lots of new and delicious recipes that are perfect for that family meal and really enjoyed learning how to create new and different dishes from a multitude of yummy ingredients. Our recipe book is getting better [...]
Year In Review – Favorite Family Nature Locales for 2009
Oh my goodness 2009 has been a fantastic year for weather, exploring and general outdoor adventures. The Comox Valley and Vancouver Island are absolute perfection when it comes to hanging in the outdoors and making family time nature time. We’ve explored a lot of cool places, taken more than 150 kids and their parents on [...]
The Best Children's Books of 2009
One thing that never seems to give in our house is the love of a great story. We pound through tons of books and if anyone knows what she likes best, it’s the 4-year-old. We’ve had such a great time discovering some seriously great new reads this year to spend afternoons curled up on the [...]
A Year for Joy
I sat here for an hour trying to come up with a clever headline that captured the emotion of this year without sounding like a broken record or a trite cliche. Joy ended up the only word that constantly came to mind. Perhaps most people, including myself, wouldn’t consider joy the appropriate sentiment based on [...]
Year In Review – Family Health in 2009
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s post, check out Assistant Editor Bevin Clempson’s tips for reducing holiday waste HERE. Now, it’s time for a trip in the way back machine to check out 365 days of preventative health care with Dr. Amy Wells: If there is one thing that has dominated family life this [...]
Warmth & Joy from Our Home to Yours
May your Christmas be merry and bright. Wishing you all the Happiest of Holidays, Robin, Ken and the Our Big Earth crew
Thanks to Your Generosity, People In Crisis Have More This Holiday
Good afternoon. Last night, Our Big Earth and a huge crew of community friends and partners came together to read Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol and raise money for people in crisis. The evening was intimate and warm, with tasty treats courtesy of Fran Yates and Thrifty Foods as well as tons of holiday cheer [...]
Year In Review – Your Favorite Comox Valley Farm of 2009
Happy Wednesday. This year has been packed full of Comox Valley food here on Our Big Earth as we hosted the first Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge and connected families to some of the incredible farmers, ranchers and food producers that make this region such a special and unique place to live. The [...]
Fun Last-Minute Gift Ideas for the Time Challenged
Oh my. Dec. 22. Where has the time gone? Many of us have the best of intentions to get everything done well in advance of the big day. But, there always seems to be that one special person or those last little bits that, well, sneak up on us and we realize we haven’t finished [...]
Year in Review – Best Crafts of 2009
Good Morning. As I looked back through some of the creative projects we took on this year, it was great to check out how much fun we had learning about and discovering nature through creativity. There was lots of painting and gluing for sure. But, I’m wondering which project you all liked the best this [...]
Favorite Stories to Celebrate the Winter Solistice
Editor’s Note: Good afternoon. If you missed out on the morning post, you can check out Rebecca’s post on Waldorf Kindergarten classrooms HERE. Now, we’ve got four of my favorite books to celebrate the solstice with your kids through stories. Although we are just short of a week away from celebrating Christmas, one of my [...]
Holiday Traditions – A Community Reading of Dickens A Christmas Carol
Editor’s Note: If you missed Marcie Dumais’ column on turning old traditions into something all your own, check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to tell you a bit about Our Big Earth’s last community event for 2009. We hope you’ll join us for a wonderful evening of fun for a great cause. Our Big [...]
Holiday Traditions – Where To Check Out the Lights
Editor’s Note: This morning we had a fun post about getting organized and creating some cute projects for 2010 courtesy of crafting goddess Vanessa Falle. You can check it out HERE. Now, time for more holiday traditions. Today, where to find some of the best light displays in the Comox Valley. If there’s one thing [...]
Holiday Traditions – Our Favorite Spot to Cut Down the Tree
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s post, we got green and shopped local with recommendations for some of the hottest natural stocking stuffers for this year. Check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to get into the holiday spirit with the fun family tradition of cutting down the Christmas tree. We have a favorite [...]
Monday Morning Moms – Green Stocking Stuffers
Usually, right around Dec. 15 every year, I realize that Christmas is in 10 days and I have nothing for anyone. I vowed that would not be the case this season and actually got the bulk of the Santa Clausing wrapped up this weekend. The big stuff is, for me, the easiest to knock off [...]
Independent Education – Beachcombers Community School
We are science geeks in our house. There’s no denying it, we dig bones and organs and bugs. If we had our way, our days would be spent exploring the tide pools any time of year. I’ve long been concerned about what school would be like for the tiny person. We’ve been contemplating homeschooling for [...]
Preserving Holiday Traditions with Sausage & Kraut
Tucked away in a kitchen cupboard is an old paper-bound cookbook. It’s nothing fancy, no spectacular photography, not even a professional print job. But, this book – The Wigilia – is one of my dearest possessions. When I was nine, my grandmother and I traded letters and tapes once a week for a month as [...]
Holiday Crafts – Easy Kids Cards
One thing I promise myself that we will do every year is send out homemade cards. When Ken and I were DINKS (Dual Income No Kids) we made the craziest Christmas cards ever like us hanging lights off of the Golden Gate Bridge, us as Star Wars characters, the list goes on. But, that would [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Finding Swans
The truest sign of Winter’s onset for our family is the return of the Trumpeter Swans. Right after Halloween we move from salmon and skeletons to full-on ornithologists looking for our friends headed South from Alaska for their balmy vacation from the Northern cold. They’ve become like the neighbors who only live in town half [...]
Classic Winter Children's Books for a Roaring Fire
Editor’s Note: If you missed our morning post, Gayle Bates gives us a peek into holiday traditions around the world and how to take part in some global giving HERE. Now, we’re checking out two Winter children’s book faves that are a part of OBE’s holiday events at the Filberg Lodge. Chestnuts roasting on the [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Spice Agent, Cumin
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s post, we had a great interview with the Comox Valley’s newest specialty baker Christa Herrling. Check it out HERE. Meanwhile, the Bitchin’ Kitchen crew are back today with a Spice Agent special report. Enjoy:
Decadent, Wheat-Free & Vegan in One New Bakery – Bake Sale
A long time ago in a land far far away there lived a girl with a blog called Comox Valley Kids and her friend Christa Herrling who wrote a fantastic weekly food column. This CVK woman knew from the beginning that Christa was a chef extraordinaire – particularly in the baked goods department. But, the [...]
Register Today for the OBE Heritage Holidays at Filberg Lodge
Editor’s Note: If you missed our morning post today, check out Bobby Herron’s take on why music lessons aren’t always the right path for your budding musician HERE. Now, it’s time for some holiday cheer and a fun, old skool Comox Valley event that is all about family, stories, treats and the traditions of the [...]
Hand Sanitizer – Not Every Germ Killer is Equal
While I was in Vancouver last week, one of the pervasive concerns amongst the crew – none of whom were Canadian except for me – was not getting sick. This was especially true for the moms in the group who, even though they were in professional mode and sans kids, found themselves seriously concerned about [...]
Sustainability Strategy – Begin with Caring for Most Vulnerable
Editor’s note: Earlier this week, journalist Colleen Dane gave readers an introduction to the Comox Valley Regional Sustainability Strategy with a look into how it will effect everyday things in our lives like the contents of our refrigerators – Check it out HERE. Today, Colleen is back with Part 2, digging in to how the [...]
Children's Books About The Dino Adventures of Cats & Dogs
Editor’s Notes: Good afternoon. If you missed out on the morning post from Rebecca on the tradition of advent, you can catch it over HERE. Now it’s time for a review of two very fun children’s books and a giveaway… We have moved into the comedy portion of our daily story routine these days. There’s [...]
Eat Local – Learn What's Available This Winter
Whoa weather, what have you done with the garden? My mother in-law’s magic green thumb meant we were still getting tomatoes, strawberries, even swiss chard and other loveliness out of the garden as late as last week. I though we might just have veggies all Winter this year. Alas, Mother Nature took a dump in [...]
Homemade Holidays – Easy Recycled Ornaments
As the holidays begin to descend upon us, the tiny person and I are very seriously focused on learning about traditions, honoring our own and creating some new ones this year. We’re also working hard at keeping with the whole idea of creating more and consuming less. And that has lead to great projects in the [...]
Monday Morning Moms – Holiday Sanity Savers
Oh my holy no, no, no… it cannot be a month until Christmas. Seriously, how is it possible that I reach this day every year and shudder at the reality that I am so far behind and there is no turning back? Now, it’s all just about getting it done as fast as possible, with as [...]
Mom-P-Inc. – Do What You Love
“I write because when I was an adolescent I looked in the mirror and no one was there. Can you believe it? Complete nothingness. And then, beside me, “others” assumed great importance.” – Rosario Castellanos I actually remember feeling that way, looking in the mirror and having no clue what I saw. It scared me [...]
Children's Books About Magicians
Editor’s Note: If you missed the morning post on the amazing things kids say that make us rethink our perspective from Karen Pantuso-Swanson, you can read it HERE. This afternoon we have a book review and a giveaway. Have a great afternoon. There are some books that you and your kids are just generally going [...]
How to Create Emergency Kits & Plan for Natural Disasters
So, yeah, Mother Nature has been having some very serious personal issues with us folks on Vancouver Island for the last week or so. It’s nerve wracking at these sort of times when you look around your house and realize that you’ve got one match, a tiny tea light, no stored water and the pantry [...]
Is It A Cold or the Flu? Symptom Checker
Editor’s Note: If you missed the morning post by Marcie Dumais on helping kiddos learn the value of generosity, you can check it out HERE. This afternoon, we have some great information on the topic of cold Vs. flu. With the news this week that St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox is asking people who have [...]
Breaking News – Valley Flooding Forces Closures, Evacuations
Courtenay Mayor Greg Phelps declared a weather-related state of emergency and an evacuation alert was ordered for Cumberland residents living near Comox Lake this afternoon as torrential rains seriously impact the Comox Valley. The RCMP is advising limited or no traffic into Courtenay and schools were closed early today as well. The Fifth Street Bridge [...]
The Fit Family – In The Groove…Getting Motivated to Move
Editor’s Note: Whoa is it ever wet out there! This late Fall rain is absolutely crazy, definitely time for hats. If you missed it, be sure to check out our piece from this morning on scoring the coolest hats in town HERE. Now, it’s time for our fitness update. Stay dry! Getting fit is an [...]
An Early Welcome to SHIFT News
Good Evening. While we await the launch of our first SHIFT News piece by Comox Valley journalist Colleen Dane, I wanted to welcome you personally to the investigative journalism arm of Our Big Earth. This section replaces our Product Reviews. We will continue to check out products and pass along ones we love. But, they [...]
Children's Stories To Make Drifting Off To Sleep An Adventure
Editor’s Note: Good afternoon. If you missed out on this morning’s post, you can catch Dr. Elaine Kerr’s educational piece on childrens eye health HERE. Now, we have two children’s book reviews about stories that make the lack of light during Winter a bit more magical and a giveaway to go with it. Have a great [...]
A Time To Remember
Good Morning. May we all take a moment today and remember those who have gone before us and lost their lives in service to Canada. May this solemn day remind us all to cherish our lives and honor them. We remember. In Flanders Fields By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army In Flanders [...]
A Peek Inside A Celebration of Comox Valley Spirit
The day didn’t necessary start off on the brightest foot. Rain, rain, rain – that was the forecast for Sunday. But, with a 40X40 heated tent, happy spirits and a sense of creative flexibility we headed out for a day of celebrating our heritage. Thankfully, the sunshine made an appearance just about the time we [...]
Top Reasons Why Moms Actually Go to The Spa
Editor’s Note: Ah, Sunday… hope to see you out today at the Family Heritage Experience out at The Filberg. We’ve got great heritage activities, tours and a public art quilt. So, head on out. We’re there until 2 p.m. If you missed the morning post, be sure to check out our November Mom Entrepreneur profile [...]
Gather for a Family Heritage Experience
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s AMAZING nature journal, you’ve got to go check out Jocie’s fantastic post on identifying slugs HERE. It’s fantastic. This afternoon, we’d like to extend an invitation to families of all ages to join Our Big Earth and The Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park for the Family Heritage Experience. [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Olive Oil Wars
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s post, we reviewed the yumminess that is Kinaree Thai Cuisine in downtown Courtenay. Check out the goodness HERE. Meanwhile, Nadia G and the Bitchin’ Kitchen crew are back today with Olive Oil Wars. Enjoy:
The Fit Family – Creaky Bones & The Death of Procrastination
Editor’s Note: Happy Monday. If you missed our early post, check out our review of Roylco’s fossil rubbing plates HERE. Meanwhile, we are slugging through finding our workout groove: Oh how uninspiring we find ourselves these days. Ken and I both agree that we have mental blocks when it comes to long term fitness. But, [...]
Halloween Safety Tips for Families
The trick-or-treat festivities are just about upon us… and so is the weekend. Fright night or a Monday or a Wednesday, well, pretty chill. Saturday’s frightful activities might be a bit less tame than usual. So, in the name of good, clean, spooky fun, here are some hot tips from the Comox Valley’s own Street Smart [...]
OBE's Good, Bad and Ugly Homemade Halloween Treats
Good Morning. I have never aspired to be a genius in the kitchen, which by all accounts of my hearty Polish upbringing is so very wrong. There are a few things where I claim master title status – baked meat is right up there. I am a cole slaw champ. Potatoes 12 ways is my [...]
Comox Valley 2009 Halloween Hot Spots
Editor’s Note: Halloween is just around the corner. Time to bust out the decor and get spooky. If you missed this morning’s post, check out our crafty version of Dia de los Muertos skulls HERE. Now, on to the important stuff, where’s the candy and costume parades. Here’s what’s happening this Halloween weekend in the [...]
Kids Crafts – Day of the Dead Skulls
I love Halloween. But, one of my favorite celebrations every year is the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), honoring our ancestors, heritage and the renewal of life. This gorgeous celebration is one that we had the honor of participating in for years when we lived in California – learning [...]
Get Spooked (and Win Gear) with Nadia G
Take a deep breath and steady your nerves, it’s time for Bitchin’ Kitchen’s official Halloween Treasure Hunt and Giveaway. You can win a copy of the Bitchin’ Kitchen cookbook, cursed by Nadia G herself, a DVD of the original Saw film that kicked-off the franchise, and Our Big Earth will throw in a surprise gift [...]
Children's Books Full of Not So Scary Monsters & Witches
Some kids love Christmas. Some love Easter. Mine, she L-O-V-E-S Halloween. I love the wawawahhhhhhhh coming from her when describing vampires and ghouls. But, really when you ask the tiny person what kind of stories she wants to read right now, the terms mildly spooky, a little mysterious and a lot funny are on the [...]
What to Do About The Flu
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! There is some serious goo going around town right now. So, we thought we’d pass along some resources and info this afternoon. If you missed this morning’s story, Bevin gave us some great advice on some DIY ways to conserve heat this season. Check it out HERE. There’s a wild wave [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Single-Life Salmon
Ah, crazy rainy day…we are busy concocting some spooky decorations and reading spooky stories while Ken plots some time in Vancouver to finish up a project he’s been working on for a while. I had a freakishly early morning…which led me to Sarah’s yummy post on happy family pumpkin recipes…which led me to a batch [...]
The Fit Family – The Flu, Frustration & Funk
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in The Fit Family – the OBE year-long adventure from flab to fit. Robin and Ken are here today in diary style talking a bit about how the process is taking shape. They need a boost. You may want to send some love their way today. It’s ugly [...]
Product Review – Hot Winter Lip Protection
Good morning. Blustery weather is as hard on the face as it is on the head, and as soon as the weather goes from sunshine to big rainy whine, I am always happy that my trusty lip gloss saves the family’s collection of dry lips from inevitable degeneration. We always find that Winter weather seems [...]
Mom-P-Inc. – Integrity
As many mom bloggers do, I get A LOT of freebies offered and/or sent to OBE. I don’t go looking for them, phone people, send letters or ask for them. While there’s a huge business culture based on cashing in on these freebies, there’s one big reason we don’t take them (and it’s not because [...]
NeighbourWood Walking at the Courtenay Air Park
Happy Friday afternoon. Hopefully you all are just about done with your weeks and ready to enjoy a fun Fall weekend. We’ve got lots going on including the Cumberland Harvest Fair where we’ll be making binoculars and other coolness from 10 a.m. to Noon tomorrow. If you missed our morning post today, Deepa took a [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Deflate Your Mate
Happy downpour. If you missed our morning post, check out all the details on the new location for the Comox Valley Farmer’s Market Winter Market HERE. In honor of the OBE HQ weight loss extravaganza, the chilly weather and my uncontrollable urge to make a giant pan of baklava that no one else will be [...]
Taking The Farmers Market Indoors for Winter
I was only half joking yesterday when I updated my Facebook status to “It’s now officially toque season.” It’s COLD outside and it will take me a bit to adjust from the luxurious amount of gorgeous Fall sun that marked the end of September. When the toques, gloves and scarves come out, I tend to [...]
Spooky Crafts – Owl Luminara
Good Morning. Halloween is creeping up on us and here at OBE headquarters we have an annual tradition of coming up with something we can light on fire. Pumpkins shmumpkins. Yeah, they’re totally fun to carve and we love our ghoulish globs of orange madness. But, there’s something super eerie and a bit fun about [...]
Learning Books About Salmon
I know I’m a bit salmon crazed this time of year. Heck, even the Fall NeighbourWood Walks are all about checking out animal migration and hot salmon spawn spots. (Come on out and join us on Thursdays. Get the details HERE) But, these upstream-swimming dudes are the cornerstone of the ecosystem and getting kids excited [...]
OBE Meets Pumpkin Patch
Good afternoon! If you missed the morning post, Wendy Johnstone offered some wonderful insight into aging with dignity. You can find her post HERE. The Our Big Earth crew had a fantastic time collecting pumpkins, checking out the spooky barn and chasing chickens yesterday as we headed out to Shamrock Farms for the annual OBE [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Coffee Wars
The Bitchin’ Kitchen crew is back this afternoon with Coffee Wars. Time for some LMAO action. Check out Nadia G. and her crew’s latest video HERE.
The Fit Family – Week 1, The Harsh Reality
Editor’s Note: During the week here at OBE, you’ll now be getting a morning AND an afternoon post with some fun new features and timely coverage of community events in which Our Big Earth is involved. Our morning post today was a product review on gorgeous wooden Waldorf rainbow stackers. Check out the review HERE. [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Salmon Run
Each Fall we make the same plans. About the time that the wool toques make their way out of storage and plastic pants become a regular feature in our daily wardrobes, we begin our journey down to the river banks of some very special waterways in the Comox Valley to make sure we don’t miss [...]
Fall NeighbourWood Walk Photos
Good afternoon and welcome to our first day in which you get a morning and an afternoon post. Yep, that’s right, OBE has now nearly doubled our content and we will be bringing you some exciting new features as we begin to even more frequently update the website. If you haven’t checked out Kendra’s sweet [...]
Register for OBE's Annual Pumpkin Patch Party
Good morning. When it comes to Fall, our favorite family adventure is one that always involves the pumpkin patch. While there really is all kinds of coolness in the orange farm field universe, we here at Our Big Earth have developed a soft spot in our heart for one Comox farm that puts some serious [...]
Family Voyage Project
When Meg Cursons first handed me the book Six String Nation, I nearly cried. Having claimed Canada as home well into my 30s, my sense of cultural identity had not settled in much of anything traditionally Canadian and I’d been feeling a like a bit of a loner in terms of discovering my sense of [...]
Canadiana In Books – Six String Nation
A nation that defines itself through music is one that can connect on so many levels. It can honor and sound off clearly about the tragedies, admire the drive and determination of individuals and communities and tell the stories of each of its citizens. That is what Jowi Taylor set out to do when he envisioned [...]
The Making of a Mom Entrepreneur – Letting Go
I have been hanging myself out to dry for a while, all because of an inability to let things go. I work hard on not being petty, keeping things in perspective and maintaining some sense of order (or simply the need to pick up pieces properly) when my quick-fire reactions lead to a giant flaming [...]
Blue Toque Sports Swap
For our family, it’s the season – you know, the one when hockey gear and dance shoes come out only to realize that – sometimes even for the adults – last year’s gear is not fitting like it used to. We are a hockey family – you’ll often catch dad or daughter in full gear [...]
Comox Valley Authors – The Grateful Mama
It was only a few weeks ago that I had the chance to meet local mom, blogger and teacher Karen Pantuso-Swanson in person. As we sat across the table from each other at Benino Gelato, I thought to myself “How amazing she is, taking such a huge chance on her life.” It’s a rarity – [...]
Farm to Family – Nature's Way Farm
It’s a tale that’s become the stuff of childhood legend in the Comox Valley. That moment when George Ehrler slips a slick glass pebble into a kid’s hand and something magical begins for them as they’ve just acquired their first dragon tear. The story of fairies and guardians, dragons and blueberries may live for tiny [...]
Halloween Crafts – "Stained Glass" Sun Catchers
As much as I insist on denying the loss of sunshine, it’s definitely Fall around these parts. A few weeks ago, the tiny person and I took a look around a house filled with Summer craft projects. We figured it was time to get going on something a bit more rustic, harvest-like and spooky – if [...]
Found-Object Food Jar Terrariums
Science in a jar is something that scores me some serious cool points in the scientist in training universe. That’s especially true when it means that we can head out for a walk around our local park – or even the backyard – with express permission to pick up, handle, pack away and take home [...]
