Living

The renovation completed on this Deep Cove home by North Vancouver’s CCI Renovations (with design by Marlene Bourque of High Design Studio), involved opening up and modernizing to take advantage of the view and increase functionality.

Tree fruit horticulturist Richard Hallman demonstrates pruning best practises at Fruit Tree Pruning 101, a workshop held at the Queen Mary Community Garden March 8.

Cherry blossoms are in full force in the Lower Mainland, just in time for the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, set for April 2 to 29, offering a host of activities inspired by the cherry tree. For full details, visit vcbf.ca.

North Vancouver resident Angela Santoro and Squamish resident Kay Protheroe are organizing the second annual Healthy Family Expo, which takes place Sunday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Vancouver Convention Centre East.

Spring has arrived and what better way to welcome the season than to display some beautiful flowers inside the home. I love finding new containers and ways to display flowers so when Michaels introduced miniature glass milk bottles, I was inspired.

Anvi Jhanji, 7, Queen Mary elementary Art teacher: Tom Harrington Favourite art: painting Favourite artist: Todd Clark Her teacher writes: Anvi puts much care and attention into making objects with her hands.

Great Houses of England & Wales , by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and Christopher Simon Sykes, Laurence King Publishers, 424 pages, $78.

Vital pursuit more than just a trend

More than 40 countries have prohibited physical punishment of children. That means that their children cannot be hit, swatted, smacked, belted, strapped, whopped or spanked by anyone. Canada is not one of those countries.

When I was a young boy in the earliest years of elementary school, my mother and I were effectively adopted by a kindly Italian grandmother who lived across the street from us.