Viewing Outer Space

Many of you know my husband Wayne writes. He has eleven Coastal BC Stories about our off the grid float cabin home and  adventures in the Powell River region, but his true love is outer space and writing science fiction.

Wayne has always been a bit nerdy. (I say that in the kindest way.  Look at the popularity of  The Big Bang Theory about physicists, an astrophysicist, and a mechanical engineer to name a few.) His undergraduate degree is in physics, with systems management for a masters. He interned at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, but opted for a career in military aircraft maintenance and aeronautical education.

Portable Astroscan Telescope

Along the way, he's always maintained an interest in outer space. Telescopes large and small have been a way of life from his teens to the present. We even have one on permanent "display" in our float cabin kitchen, ready to deploy for nighttime or solar viewing.

Kitchen telescope storage.

Wayne's an avid reader. Most writers are. Monthly subscriptions of Sky and Telescope (U.S.)  and SkyNews (Canada) are devoured cover to cover. It's no wonder that the study of space would lead to imagining other possible worlds, universes, or entities. Wayne's science fiction reading (and writing) is in the hard science fiction category. Some of his favourite authors include Elizabeth Moon, Gregory Benford, and Robert J. Sawyer.

Telescopes set up on Texada Island, BC.

If you would like to read more about Wayne's alter ego, check out his science fiction website by clicking here, and watch for upcoming free e-book promotions to get a taste of his outer space hard science fiction offerings. -- Margy

Cabin Cooking: Taco Pie

Wayne is First Cook at the cabin, but as Second Cook I get to do meals that involve the oven vs. the BBQ. For a change of pace this week, I made Taco Pie from a recipe I found in a magazine. But as usual, I made some modifications.

TACO PIE MARGY STYLE

8 corn tortillas (use flour if you prefer)
1 chorizo sausage
1/2 pound hamburger
1 sweet pepper
1/2 large onion
1 small can diced tomatoes
1/2 can red kidney beans
1/2 package taco mix
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup salsa (optional)
1 cup grated cheese

If you are using pre-cooked chorizo, dice it before browning. If you are using fresh, remove it from the sausage casing before cooking. Lightly brown chorizo and hamburger in a skillet. Remove any excess fat.

Add diced onion and pepper. Saute until limp. Add tomatoes, salsa (for a little extra kick), and kidney beans.

Sprinkle half a package of dry taco mix over the mixture. Add enough water to make a thick mixture. Cook  until it blends together and starts to bubble.

Brush one side of 6 tortillas with margarine and warm briefly in the oven to soften. Spoon a small amount of the taco mixture on the bottom of a large oven proof pan. Arrange 5 of the tortillas around the edge and use one to cover the center. Make sure there's enough moisture under the tortillas, especially if you are using the corn variety. They can bake up hard if you don't.

Sprinkle half of the grated cheese over the tortillas. Fill the pie pan with the prepared mixture.

Brush one side of 2 tortillas with margarine and cut them into strips. These will brown and get crispy on the top. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees then sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Return to the over for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Top with sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. There you have it. It's a taco, it's a pie, it's Taco Pie (Margy Style). -- Margy

Storm's Coming

After three glorious days of warm sunshine,


a storm's coming ...


but not quite yet. -- Margy

Westview North Harbour

Dredging and float replacement in 2011.

Powell River, British Columbia, has two city harbours. The South Harbour is for working and visiting boats. The North Harbour is for long-term moorage.  Because we leave our chuck (ocean) boat in the water ready to go, we have a slip in the North Harbour.

Ready for opening day in 2011.

We've had four boats in the North Harbour. It started with a 17' Hourston we "retired" from lake duty, followed by Halcyon Days, our first coastal cruiser. We were stricken with "two-foot-itis" and leaped into Foghorn,  a Bayliner 3058, only to discover that we preferred a smaller boat after all.

We've been fortunate to find new owners for all of our former boats. Now we have settled into a smaller coastal cruiser, a Bayliner 2452. It 's big enough to not feel cramped, but small enough to easily maneuver and anchor.

We just brought her up to Powell River from her former home in Bellingham's Squalicum Harbor.

In 2011, Powell River completed a major renovation to both the South and North Harbours. Dave is the wharfinger and helps everyone get the most out of their stay.  Come visit us if you are cruising through the Strait of Georgia towards Desolation Sound. Powell River has lots of space for visitors, and there are plenty of nearby restaurants, shops and stores to meet your every need.  Don't have a boat? Come on down for a dock walk, or take a stroll on the nearby seawalk. Here's a nice video by mtcheam. -- Margy

TV Times

TV stand as designed by Ed.

Wayne and I have chosen not to use satellite service for television or Internet at the cabin, but we do enjoy movies or a TV series in the evenings. We've been using Wayne's Macbook, but the screen is so small.

Sometimes we are slow on the uptake. We decided to check out small TVs. To our surprise, we found a 24" model that uses only 30 watts. Hooked to the laptop

As built by John with removable feet.

There's no permanent place for the TV near our sofa. We started with a TV tray, but John came up with a better idea with a little help from his dad Ed (such a funny guy). John took the set home to do his woodwork magic.

When we watch TV, we put the stand in front of the sofa. The removable feet give the narrow base better balance.

The stand has hooks to store our headphones. They make listening easier, especially on nights when the rain is pounding on the tin roof. The bottom has a box for storing the feet.

John permanently mounted the TV to the top of the stand for easy storage. There is a 7 3/4 inch space between the stairs and the wall.

When the feet are removed, the stand slides right behind. Later, I plan to sew a cover to protect the TV when it's in storage mode. John's talents never cease to amaze me. -- Margy

Morning Glow

I don't often get up early enough for sunrise, but on a recent morning I was rewarded for my efforts.

The wind was absolutely calm, reflecting the rays of sunlight passing through a thin layer of clouds, breaking them into the colours of the spectrum. Ice crystals in the high clouds act like prisms to refract the sunlight, causing the rainbow-like display.

Two logs, tied to the cabin deck for future firewood, framed the solar reflection nicely. -- Margy

Margy's Mouse Motel

Spring is here and it's bringing out our mousie fiends (I mean friends). Wayne and I don't like to kill our animal neighbors, even mice. So we've decided on a catch and release program as ridiculous as it may sound.

Earlier I shared about using a Havahart live trap to capture and relocate mice. It works fine, but at one or two mice a night (we have two traps), it can take a long time to get rid of them.


I came up with the idea for Margy's Mouse Motel and Wayne put it into action. We used a large kindling storage barrel. Wayne put in dishes for water and two tins of food. To give them a culinary choice, one tin had bird seed and the other had cat food. Two old socks for beds, and the motel was ready for occupancy.


Ernie and Elvis were our first guests. Looks like they approve of the accommodations. Once our they were settled, we put a board over the top, leaving a small hole for air conditioning. Plus, this prevented our guests from checking out before paying their bills.  After Mary and Martha joined them the next evening, all four guests were given a complementary boat ride to Goat Island. Hopefully they'll enjoy the natural surroundings and never want to check back into Margy's Mouse Motel. -- Margy