Betsy Carstairs

I just received a very stressed call from a friend who lives in North Vancouver up Indian Arm. She went away on a lovely vacation to Europe only to come home to the news her boat had sunk. This year I took our boat out of the water when I went to New Zealand in January & am I glad I did. When you are not around & it is the rainy season in Vancouver should something like the bilge pump fail yo ...

I recently needed to replace or repair my home's drain tiles.I was not sure which was needed as I had had this done when I purchased my house 15 years ago so felt the system should be working...perhaps it just needed a tweeking? Sounds like a fairly easy task but noooooo nothing seems to be easy. Who to choose, how to find, & last but also very important how determine value for the team you h ...

What better way to jump start  the day than by attending Vancouver West Coast Leaf's yearly  Equality Breakfast celebrating 100 Years of International Women's Day. This year the speaker was Linda McQuaig. A excellent knowledgeable speaker on her topic of interest inequality of taxation in Canada. She talked about the massive transferr of wealth to the top elite through laws that show preferen ...

Yesterday was International Women's Day & what better way to celebrate than to go to dinner with friends & then attend The Unique Lives event featuring Ishrad Manji @ Vancouver's Performing Arts Centre. Ishrad  is a excellent speaker with a sense of humour & stories we could all relate to. She was born in Uganda  & immigrated with her family to Canada when she was 9. As a Muslim woman she sha ...

I have recently noticed that there are a variety of different domestic water heating systems available on the market as alternatives to conventional water heaters. What are the available types of water heaters, how do they work, and what are the advantages/disadvantages of the different systems? Other than the conventional tank style water heaters that are found in most homes, there are tank ...

Andy Rooney on 60 minutes should do a session on quoted prices in North America....not being what the "ticket "states. It is almost like false advertising! I have just returned from New Zealand & loved the fact that what was noted on the ticket was what you paid down under. Now that I am back home in Vancouver not so. I recently saw a bunch of flowers for sale  the tag said " 3 bunches for $1 ...

The Indian Arm area where I kayak & sell homes is off the grid ie if you want power you make it. Up The Arm these resourceful cabin owners often use generators so I have become interested in how each resident creates power.  When I was visiting in New Zealand & heard of  Mason Chamber's  hydro electricity plant built in 1892 I was intrigued. With the price of electricity in BC expected to jum ...

The Village on False Creek in Vanocuver or formerly known as The Athlete's Village for the 2010 WInter BC Olympics has had the spot light on it. Plummeting values from the overinflated hyped prices of the presale offering have left this prime realestate a ghost town. I went to Bob Rennie's grand opening last month held in The Salt building. Bob was there to weave his magic & introduce the pri ...

For 2011 taxation year, the B.C Homeowner Grant threshold is increased to $1.15 million – that means that approximately 95% of all homeowners will be eligible for the full grant. If your home is assessed higher then you will be eligible for a partial grant. The grant allows up to a $570 reduction and an extra $275 for those over the age of 65.So this will give properties with a value of up to ...

After a week treking in Able Tasman Porvincial Park I decided to treat myself to sampling some wines in that neighbourhood. I love Marlborough area wines so thought a day or 2 in Blenheim touring the wineries would be fun. This town is on the ocean & is the gateway to some amazing wineries. There are many day tours to the various wineries offering lunches with the tour of the winery & of cour ...