For a business owner, collecting and remitting sales tax, both GST and PST, is annoying enough without discovering that you may have been inadvertently overpaying the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Paradise doesnt always look the way you expect it to. My husband Harvey and I were just looking for sun, sand and lots of RR. What we got instead was IV antibiotics, nebulizers and anti-inflammatory drugs at a very efficient private hospital in Cancun, Mexico. All I can say is thank God we have travel medical insurance! My beloved Harvey started getting a nagging dry cough and a tight chest five days into our two-week vacation. The morning of day six, he said Maybe we should go to the resort doctor about my cough.

One thing is for sure, a new financial institution in Kerrisdale is not your grandmother’s bank.

The hunt for a dream home is often focused on the physical: the type of house, the number of rooms, the neighbourhood it’s located in. But in truth, making the right choice involves all sorts of less visible but equally critical considerations – and key among them is the mortgage.

Is compound interest the eighth wonder of the world? According to Albert Einstein, who knew much about the effects of time, yes it is.

Eating ants and other insects could soon be recommended to protect against cancer, and it is believed that us Westerners will be eating them very soon. Experiments have shown that many insects including grasshoppers and crickets – contain high concentrations of antioxidants, found in orange juice or olive oil. Extracts of grasshoppers, silkworm and crickets have the highest amounts of antioxidants – some five times more than orange juice. These antioxidants help reduce chemical reactions in the body that produce cancer causing free radicals also linked to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Grasshoppers, ants and mealworms contain the highest levels of total polyphenols: micronutrients packed with antioxidants that help treat digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Beetles are the most commonly consumed insect, followed by caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets.

Many homes do not have space for guest rooms, play areas and home theatres that are possible in homes with substantial square footage, but they may not be missing out at all. While large homes remain popular, many people are embracing the benefits of smaller residences. Small homes help homeowners save money, require less maintenance, have smaller environmental impact and reduce the temptation to accumulate “stuff.”

Looking for a dessert that is lactose-free and gluten-free? Try this delicious mango coconut mousse! This is a really easy dessert to make that is perfectly presentable on its own, or it can be used as a filling in other recipes, like a gluten-free and lactose-free Pavlova. You just need to keep one thing in mind: use only the solid coconut cream or fat component of the coconut milk for this recipe. Place the entire unopened can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours to help the coconut cream solidify. This will make it easy to separate the coconut cream you need, from the liquid that you can use for some other recipe. In terms of managing time, place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator just before you start making the mango curd. That way, while your mango curd is setting in the refrigerator, so will the coconut cream!

A sweeping trend in health and wellness has recently set up shop in South Delta. Spa Bleu opened its doors last fall on 56th Street to offer flotation therapy – a treatment to relax, de-stress and feel free from pain.

While tree sellers conveniently stationed in store parking lots and artificial trees displayed in retailers have led fewer people to venture into the wilderness, the Christmas tree is still an important component of holiday celebrations. Germans who decorated trees inside of their homes are credited with starting Christian Christmas tree traditions during the 16th century. It took the popularity of England’s Queen Victoria and her German Prince Albert appearing around a decorated Christmas tree to eventually win over much of Europe, Canada and the United States.