Health Update Thirteen Years In The Making & How I Barely Survived It All

Posted on May 2, 2026 by Gabriel


I have no idea how I survived the past decade… I mean, look at those photos. Thirteen-years of health issues all put together like that, it’s remarkable I’m still able to perform day-to-day activities like a mostly functional human being. And those are just the ones I could find photos of… damn.

Despite its myriad of shortcomings, I’m alive thanks to the modern miracle that is the Canadian health care system — I know, there’s really no such thing, it’s all Provincial systems patchworked together, but they’re all Canadian provinces so we’ll go with that.

And I’m not broke or in debt because of any of it… well, no more than I would have been. That would be the miracle part of the System. Basically the last thirteen-years of health issues all started with a completely unintentional prescription drug overdose waaaaaay back in the first six-months of 2013 that eventually killed off almost all my kidney functions.

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Posted in Baby Quintin, CSN:AFU Aboot Me, Health, Little Victor, Medical, Parenthood, Photography, Self Portraits, The Review, Vankleek Hill, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hawkesbury buries it’s only remaining waterfront in tonnes of sharp rocks because the Little City just can’t have nice things

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Gabriel


…just found out the best chip-stand in the region is finally open — actually, Grenville’s ‘Jos Patate’ has been open since March 26, but I just crossed the bridge into Quebec on Tuesday to check the chip stand situation out.

Over the past few years, one of the most relaxing times of my week has been to head over to Jos, grab a #1 (two steamed hotdogs, all dressed, in a box, with a bottle of water), and drive down to the Ottawa River on the Hawkesbury side for a late supper and listen to ‘As It Happens’ on CBC Radio One as the water flows by, the seagulls fly overhead waiting for handouts, and the ducks float by.

But I’ve been going down to Hawkesbury’s Chenail Island to take my two sons down to the little patch of green so they can run in the park, dip their toes and feet into the water of the Ottawa River, and just cool off in general while watching the geese, ducks, and other birds raise their kids as well for almost sixteen years now.

Unfortunately, someone on Hawkesbury’s local Council has recently decided to put down a foot-high, eight-foot wide barrier of six-inch stone between the water and the parking and play areas all the way around the Island. So now the Geese have to waddle across near-razor sharp stone to get to the grass, one of their food sources, and the ducks have completely lost a place to wander.

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Posted in Eastern Ontario, Family, Hawkesbury, Parenting, Photography, The Review, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photos From Vankleek Hill’s 2018 ‘Festival of Flavours’

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Gabriel

Copyright ImageVankleek Hill's Festival of Flavours

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Photos from Vankleek Hill’s ‘2018 Festival of Flavours‘

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Posted in Arbor Gallery, Champlain Township, Eastern Ontario, Photography, Photos, The Review, Vankleek Hill, Vankleek Hill Photos | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Susan Jephcott’s “Onà:ke, Canoes, etc.” show at the AGCC

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Gabriel

Copyright ImageSusan Jephcott

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Photos from Susan Jephcott‘s “Onà:ke, Canoes, etc.” show at Vankleek Hill’s Arbor Gallery & Cultural Centre

“The canoe is an international symbol of communication. It was invented before the wheel! The oldest canoe is currently in Holland, it’s 8,000 years old. The exhibit is all about canoes, communcation and transcends to man and his invasion of the Earth; destroying the planet.”

“I was asked to be part of this show, I believe it was called ‘150 Reasons to be Canadian’ [as part of the Canada 150 celebrations]. It grouped 150 local artists and was run by the Prescott-Russell Arts Council (CAPRAC). I tend to react right away, so out of my head came the image of a canoe. Then I thought: ‘This isn’t really a celebration, it was an invasion of someone’s country and a lot of people died’.”

“I did a big red canoe representing the Europeans, because they turn red in the sun, and I had some semi-religious figures in the background. Underneath, I had a snaller purple canie that represented the ‘Haudenosaunee’, the local Iroquois…”

“That’s what got the ball rolling! Since last summer, I’ve been wrapped up in canoes!”

“I would like [people who see the exhibit] to have respect for the planet and encourage every person to try and make it a better place in their own little way. One person can’t do it all, but maybe all of us together can do it… improve the environment and relationships with any and all cultures.”

–Susan Jephcott, from an interview in ‘The Review‘; August 29, 2018.

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Posted in Arbor Gallery, Art, Champlain Township, The Review, Vankleek Hill, Vankleek Hill Adventures | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A conversation with Heather Dubreuil… stitching art together with needle and thread

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Gabriel

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Heather Dubreuil’s solo show, ‘Cityscapes: Collages in Cloth & Stitch’, opened at the Arbor Gallery on Sunday, and she was kind enough to sit down for an interview.

Heather, who has been living and working in Hudson, Quebec, for almost three decades, works primarily with textiles. She takes her own photos of cityscapes and landscapes, and recreates the scenes in quilt form by cutting and dying fabric in her home studio, which is then stitched back together into a multi-layered, textured linear art.

Heather learned how to knit and crochet when she was very young, and spent most of her childhood making her own clothes. Now she uses the skylines of Montreal and New York City as her primary sources of inspiration.

According to Shanna Steals, who is curating Heather’s show, “we are invited to view what would appear as modern perspectives of repetitive architecture but through the lens of a long tradition of women’s work, stitching. With each line that is sewn and each square of fabric that is collaged together, Heather uses the technique of quilting to piece together parts of our mechanical landscape as well as our heritage.”

Heather and I also discussed the role of social media in getting her work to an audience, her love of Montreal, Quebec art politics, her mentors, and the process she went through to get her first shows.

…just a quick note: any audio problems are my fault — I mumble. I’d like to personally thank Heather for taking part in our continuing series of artist interviews.

Heather’s solo show at the Arbor Gallery continues until August 17.

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The ‘Vankleek Hill May Show’ is dead, long live the ‘VKH Victoria Day Weekend Arts Festival’… or something TBD later.

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Gabriel

copyright banner vkhart photo header

We’re doing just fine, thanks.

…there’s a rumour going around that Vankleek Hill’s ‘May Show’ has been cancelled this year. But it really hasn’t.

Vankleek Hill’s ‘May Show Arts Festival’ started in the early 1980’s — this would have been its thirty-second year. It was a weekend arts exhibition featuring the work of thirteen local artists, including Elizabeth Skelly, Susan Jephcott, John Ikeda, ian hepburn, Michelle Landriault, and Jean Clermont.

The Arts Festival brought in thousands of visitors from all over Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, from Ottawa to Montreal and Cornwall, and it gradually grew into a street festival.

Eventually the May Show spun off into several other events, including craft shows and food festivals, that each contribute to Vankleek Hill’s identity as a ‘Festival Village’, by bringing in thousands more tourists.

While it is true that Phil Arbor — who has worked incredibly hard over the years to keep the show going — has had to cancel the Street Festival parts of the weekend over sponsorship issues, there are still many events happening in Vankleek Hill that weekend.

It’s not a tragedy, but it is an ending… of sorts. Even though no one actually owns the name, we will probably not use the ‘May Show’ brand this year, but Vankleek Hill’s ‘Arts and History Festival’ will continue on Victoria Day Weekend.

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