A Job Well Done

This is a tale of two jobs accomplished in the short course of an hour with one miraculous machine and a very competent operator.  The completion of both jobs probably saved Jim and me from an early grave.

The first was the trimming of cedar tree branches growing over our roof.  The glorious cedars living behind our home have gotten too zealous in their reach toward the east to greet the rising sun. Extending their boughs at least six feet into the area above our roof, while the branches were not touching our house, they did have the potential for causing damage during a windy winter storm. What to do?

Reaching from the roof to trim them was definitely not an option.  We don't go up on the roof under any circumstance at our age.  No ladder could safely reach sixty feet into the air.  Trimming from the ground with a pole trimmer posed the danger of one of us being impaled by a branch.  It seemed like an impossible task!

Luckily, there are companies that have both the equipment and talent to do this with the help of a lift. That, and a couple of different types of chain saws, made this a twenty minute job that was accomplished safely.  Plus the limbs were quickly disposed of by a team of workers feeding a chipper.

After a few additional moments, the lift was repositioned to the front of our house when the crew learned of our additional dilemma-the need to reach the top of a thirty foot flag pole to restring it in order to fly a flag.  In quick order, the young man operating the lift was able to determine the empty pulley at the top of the flag pole was still functional.  He sprayed the pulley with some oil to make it work better, before treading a loop of cord through it that we provided.  Securing this cord safely at the bottom, we now had the ability to install a proper flag rope with hooks for a flag.

The tree trimming company did not have to do this, but they did while the equipment was on site.  A team of young men helped two old people with a task they had worried over for eighteen months, and without asking for an additional dime.  Nevertheless, a tip was in order.  We were very happy with the entire experience.

A couple of days later, we pulled the flag rope through the pulley using the cord, fastened the flag on its hooks, and proudly raised our stars and strips.  With a light positioned to illuminate the flag at night, we had completed our quest to utilize the massive thirty foot pole in front of our house for what it was intended to be used for-a flag pole.

In the process, we gained the pleasure of meeting a very nice team of young men who did both jobs superbly.  We are grateful for both jobs, and for them.

   

White-crowned Sparrow

Sometimes a moment of pleasure arrives in the most unexpected way.  Occasionally, it is even a shared pleasure.

After mowing the grass, weeding, trimming shrubs and watering my plants today for a rather lengthy time, I was finishing up with a rinse of the sidewalk and driveway in the front of our house.  Washing away the scattered dirt that had accumulated from my labor with this final act was a sort of mindless task, and I was feeling tired.

A small puddle of water formed at the end of our driveway during the process.  I was musing over the amount of water I was using for this cleanup, and tossing around the idea of about a gallon of water being somewhat frivolously put into the ditch to just dribble away, when a white-crowned sparrow landed in my puddle.

First he seemed to merely want a drink of water.  We've had no rain for about a month of any measureable amount.  I felt instantly better.  One of my favorite birds, and the most vocal of those who visit our birdfeeder, was happy with this excess water.  Then to my amazement, he decided a bird bath was in order.  He spent several minutes sloshing around in the water while fluffing his wings and tail feathers.  What satisfaction I now owned while watching his moment of pure pleasure in utilizing my no longer "wasted" water. 

Sometimes I think God sends little messengers like these to thank us for our efforts.  "Well done," rang in my imagination.  Suddenly, fatigue was replaced with gratefulness on a Sunday afternoon.

I believe the universe sings to us, if only we listen.    

The Doll House

Building any house is an experience.  Such an endeavor requires planning, decisions and perseverance.  A doll house is no exception.  After our last visit to Victoria's Miniature World, we have become fascinated with the idea of building one of our own miniature Victorian houses.  The scale is one inch of the doll house is equivalent to one foot of its counterpart in real life.  This provides some interesting sizes for everything from doorknobs and nails to wiring and furniture.  Because of our affinity for San Francisco in general, and the "Painted Ladies" in particular, we chose a kit that reflected the Victorian time frame and design.  It will stand about 42 inches tall.  The bottom is about 32 inches deep by 42 inches wide.  There are over a thousand pieces.  Hobby Lobby was the purveyor of this marvel on June 1st.

Jim started by reading the instructions.  Page after page of them.  It seems that the order of construction is one of the most important tasks to get right.  Just like in any construction (think  "recent kitchen remodel" here) we had to figure out what step would impact the next.  Overwhelming almost.  So we started slow.  Jim sorted the pieces and we began the job of painting the exterior walls.  This was a safe start because nothing at this point was being glued together.  BUT, we learned that even this step was not simple.  Each exterior wall had to be painted three times with a careful sanding in between.  This accomplished two things.  The paint adhered better and the finish feels silky smooth.

I started painting the exterior doors (in four colors) and stained a table from one of the furniture kits while the exterior paint dried.  Fun, but very precise, detailed painting to get it right.

By now (June 17th) we were so enthralled, we stacked up some of the walls on top of the foundation to visualize some progress.  The base was painted a grey color with texture added to mimic cement.  The whole project is located in the area just off our new kitchen that we call the "keeping room" after some British series we've seen on television.  There was not enough room in either of our hobby rooms in the house nor the shed for a project of this size.

By July 1st, we had first floor wood and tile flooring installed.  A neighbor, who stopped by and saw our creation, kindly donated a round rug to the mix.  Wow!  It really felt like progress.  Again we had to hold up some walls to get a feel for what was evolving.

Between then now on July 14th, Jim has completed the first floor electrical wiring and wall paper.  The floors are permanently fastened down with glue.  We also found a doll house store in Vancouver, B.C. that yielded more goodies.  We now have Victorian living room furniture, an antique camera, more carpet and wall paper, along with a dining room ensemble in hand.  (Not to mention a long list of other possibilities now added to our list of desired future acquisitions for the house along that line.)

We'll keep you posted as we make progress on this intriguing new hobby.

The Demise of a View

 

Last year on my birthday, and again this year, it seemed like we dined at the top of the world overlooking the breadth of Vancouver in a full 360-degree circle from atop the Empire Landmark Hotel in its revolving Cloud 9 Restaurant.  Next year, it will not exist.  At the end of September-the hotel, the restaurant, and the view will be gone.  The building is being demolished.  It will be replaced with condominiums.  Then, only a few will enjoy the spectacular vista this site afforded.

In just a year since our first visit, it seems that much of older Vancouver is being demolished for high-rise, high-priced buildings.  At $500 per square foot (as best as we can determine the going rate to be currently)-only the well endowed will enjoy the pleasure of downtown living in Vancouver.

Nevertheless,  is a lovely place.  The city streets are pleasant to walk.  The restaurants are plentiful and varied.  The cultural options, like museums and plays, are enticing.  As I said earlier, the trees and parks, such as Stanley Park, are divine.  If I won the lottery, I'd be first in line for the next new condominium.

In spite of the restaurant's impending final curtain, dinner was delicious.  Resigned to their ultimate fate, the staff were attentive.  Some will retire.  Others said they plan to move elsewhere.  Night after night, some have been there enjoying their clientele and the view for more than twenty years.  Like them, I will miss what I have enjoyed, if only for two.

There is another revolving restaurant in Vancouver.  This may prove to be yet another adventure if we continue the tradition of traveling to Vancouver in July.  It may be even dreamier than this and with the same magnificent sunset.  Only time will tell.

If it is, I'll share the experience with you.  

Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

Stanley Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia, is remarkable for its size (1,000 acres), its foliage and its extensive walking/jogging trails.  It is situated on a peninsula and nearly surrounded by English Bay and Vancouver Harbor.  A circular drive along its waterfront allows drivers, bikers, roller skaters, and walkers to mingle freely, and safely along specified pathways, in a serene environment at the edge of a major metropolitan city.  Like Hong Kong, Vancouver's skyscrapers rise like an impenetrable wall to the south.  Yet, Stanley Park gives the city's residents an escape to the forest.

Anyone living in the city would be hard pressed to avoid a daily stroll or ride along its paths.  The park feels safe and inviting.  Were it not for the $1000/square foot real estate price for entry into this city, I could live within walking distance of the park in a heartbeat.  Even the occasional tram or bus load of passing tourists, from the city or from the cruise ships anchored in Vancouver Harbor, don't detract from the allure of this place.  The movie industry also covets the mystique of this place.

Along the route of our travel through the park, we stopped for a view of Native North American art rendered in the form of totem poles.  These hold a particular fascination for Jimmy, who possesses an array of wood carving tools, and a desire to duplicate one of the totem poles.  Nearby this display are lawn bowling greens, and a broad expanse of grass that begs for a soccer match or a game of fetch with one's dog.

For thousands of years the park was inhabited by indigenous peoples.  Beginning in 1858, the land was re-occupied by British colonists in search of gold in the Fraser Canyon.  When the city of Vancouver was incorporated in 1886, the park was officially created.  This act preserved around half a million trees, hundreds of years old, with some standing as tall as two hundred and fifty feet!  The only danger the trees have faced in the last one hundred years have been three serious winter storms blowing in across English Bay that toppled many.  Wise-minded guardians of the park have replaced them.

Now take a stroll through Stanley Park with us...

    

Queen Elizabeth Park

We made a stop at Queen Elizabeth Park located along our route into downtown Vancouver today before checking into our hotel.  Like Butchart Gardens, this municipal park has been reclaimed from the overgrown hillsides of a rock quarry once used for building the city's first roadways in the early 1900s.  Before the arrival of Europeans, this site was an old growth forest, and home to gray wolves, elk and bears with a salmon stream running through it.  None of these creatures are found there today, nor is the old growth forest.

 
Finding ourselves with some time available for exploration, our quest was to see how this site compared with our favorite park in Victoria-Butchart Gardens.  The answer is, only to some degree.  The meticulous maintenance of Butchart Gardens with its wide variety of plants outshines this municipal park, but it is evident that Queen Elizabeth Park holds its own in popularity.  The paths were well populated with visitors.  There is no entrance fee which is a plus.

The paths wind up and down through several garden areas and through several stands of trees.  A small waterfall and some ponds adorn the park grounds creating several attractive photo sites.  There are expansive views of downtown Vancouver with its surrounding mountain ranges near the park's restaurant.  A few steps away is the Bloedel Floral Conservatory with its exotic plants, flowers and tropical birds.  We enjoyed a bronze statue of a photographer with his three subjects situated between these two buildings, then watched a child play in a water fountain nearby.  A bride and groom held our attention as their real life photographer took pictures of them in the lower gardens.

Notably, the surrounding blocks of homes near the park are being bought up and demolished.  New apartment buildings are rising in their footprints.  It is strange to pass block after block of boarded up homes awaiting their demise.  Even more amazing are the "Sold Out" signs pasted across each development's signage.  Vancouver is in demand.  Construction is booming both here and downtown.  Apartment or condominium living is becoming the norm.  In a very short period of time, the older homes with their tree adorned yards will be gone, just like the old growth forest of Queen Elizabeth Park.  

Climbing Mt. Erie

"On a clear day, you can see forever."  Sounds like the song or the movie doesn't it?

Well, in Anacortes (Washington) if you choose to drive up to the summit of Mt. Erie, and it happens to be a clear day, indeed you can see forever.  This was my first trip up the mountain, and we picked a fine and very clear day for this adventure.

The road is unpaved and rather narrow as it climbs through a thick forest with trails leading off into the trees for the more adventurous sort (and definitely those more physically fit than we are at this stage of our lives.)  However steadfastly I attempt to stave it off though, the longing to trek that lessor traveled path still has its draw.  In my youth I would have tackled those side trails without hesitation.

The reward of arriving at the top of Mt. Erie, no matter how one achieves the summit, is a 180-degree view to the south over Deception Pass, Whidbey Island and the Skagit Valley reaching to Mount Rainier, which is today visible in the distance on the horizon.  Above us, a sliver of the moon is visible even in the full light of this sunny afternoon.  From a viewpoint protected by a sturdy steel railing, the rocky ledge drops precipitously in front of us, and only the bravest of souls ventures beyond the railing to edge of the rocks.  That is not even an option for us, ensconced safely behind our steel boundary.  We read the warning sign about a young man that fell to his death from these same rocks.

The draw of height and a view must be a part of every human's genes.  One can easily imagine the earliest inhabitants of this region standing in the same position on this mountain in wonder of the world spread out below them.  How far did their journeys to the horizon reach?  Certainly not as far as our journeys together over the last ten years.  I suspect instead they gathered in the view of stars and the moon on midnight vigils from this vantage, dreaming the same hopes and aspirations for their lives as do we.

A view of this expanse, makes one realize how small we are in the overall scheme of things, and how fleeting our time in this wondrous world will be.

After our adventure on this day, we wandered back down into Anacortes for a fish and chip dinner at Bob's Chowder Bar.  Awesome!  And the best we've had in a long time.