Helen's Web Page

I am a feisty, feminist, big beautiful woman (bbw as we are called on the net) who makes every effort to live life fully with joy and integrity. I am a person who is very involved in my community, working with others on a number of non-profit initiatives. I am surrounded by an amazing circle of friends who have helped me through some difficult times over the last few years. I know I am so lucky to live on Vancouver Island, which I consider one of the most beautiful places in the world. Check out my page on Vancouver Island.

I am a fat-acceptance advocate. This means I believe it is possible to be fat and healthy, and fat and fit. I believe that the pressure on large sized people to reshape themselves to societies standards is one of the main pressures on their health. I have given up diets forever. My goal in this area now is to remain healthy and active, and improve my fitness over time. Interested in learning more?

Music Touches my Soul

Music has been an important influence in my life. It feeds my soul, it challenges me to keep learning every day, it heals me when I am desolate, and it inspires me with its power and sensitivity. More about music in my life here.

The Home of My Spirit

Many years of searching led me out of uncertainty and confusion through the ecofeminist movement to Quakerism. Before that time I had no idea that Quakers, or The Religious Society of Friends as they call themselves, were still around. I found them to be very much alive. This is a faith which invited me to open my heart to the wisdom of a greater power, that encourages me to take responsibility for my beliefs, and which asks of me no obedience to anything but the love of that spirit speaking in my heart. I also found Quakerism to be a home for many things that I had known in my heart for years, and not known how to act on. This includes my rejection of violence as a solution for conflict, and my belief that prisons do not accomplish what we assume they are designed for. My spiritual journey.

Making kefir

I have done a lot of exploring of ideas about how to live a healthier life, and eat a healthier diet. I started wby reading Adele Davis and "Diet for a Small Planet" when I first moved out on my own and have continued through recent explorations of ideas from the Weston Price Foundation and the book "Nourishing Traditions". I have come to believe that one of the keys is preparing food myself rather than supporting the food processing industry.

One of the things I learned from "Nourishing Traditions" was about fermenting milk into "kefir", (a yoghut like product) to make it more digestible and to supply probiotics to my diet. I also use the kefir in grain based products to make them more digestible too. Check out my page on making kefir on your kitchen counter.

My Companion Animals

Ever since I can remember there were animals in my life. The ability to communicate with and bond with animals was a gift to my brother and I from my father, and his father. We are all animal people. More about my pets past and present here.

Helen the Computer Nerd

I was fascinated by the idea of computers from the very first. When I moved to a college town in my early twenties, the opportunity to take a computer class was irresistible. In those days, computers took up a whole, climate controlled room somewhere far away, and learning about them meant learning to write your own programs. I studied Fortran IV with Watfor and Watfive. We punched our programs on cards, and sent them by modem overnight to the computer in a nearby University town. More than twenty years later, here I am still playing with computers, often for my living. My comments on computing here.This is the link to my computer business page, Five Fingers Computer Services.

This sketch is by my friend, the artist Clare Singleton. She was amused by the number of post-it notes stuck to my monitor. See her website here.

Pens for the eccentric

I am a bit of an eccentric when it comes to writing instruments. I hate ball point pens. I find them sticky and the flow uneven. I find they make my handwriting even more inconsistent than it already is. I'm left handed, and I think perhaps that is part of the problem, I'm always pushing a pen instead of pulling it across the paper.

I find rollerballs more usable, but the real solution for me has been using fountain pens. I have been using them almost exclusively for quite a few years now, and will continue to do so. So, I often have ink on my fingers. Sometimes pens leak; sometimes I'm not quite careful enough when I refill a pen. However, for me, its all worth it for the smoothness of the writing experience as the nib of my pen glides across the paper on that thin layer of ink. It improves the flow of my penmanship and it reduces the tension in my hand and arm. It works for me. More info on pens here.

Resisting War

I work with a group which supports War Resisters who come to Canada because they cannot in good conscience participate in the war in Iraq. This principle of Conscientious Objection is an important one for me. I have known I was a pacifist since I was a teen, and this belief has been only confirmed by my experience with the Quakers. More about our local support campaign for War Resisters.