Bunkle need a new hat...

Yes, that time has come...

I knew when I bought the Bunkle that the roof needed replacing. Much to my amazement, it withstood an extremely windy, rainy winter very well (maybe because I was lying awake in bed praying to the roof gods during each storm), but I don't feel like more worries this winter, so I've started getting quotes. Ouch. Really. Part of the issue is that there are three layers of shingles (original cedar then two layers of composite) that have to be removed, board has to be installed, etc etc. I need new gutters, too. Whee.
So - looks like we will be in the $10,000 - $13,000 range. So - I'd like to make this into a fundraising blog - donations to the Give the Bunkle a New Hat campaign gratefully received.... ;-) Seriously, it's funny how money somehow becomes slightly ...meaningless... when you deal with house repairs. You just learn to suck it up and move on somehow.

One of the outstanding issues is what to do with the 'awning' over the back door, pictured above. It was obviously an afterthought when it was built - but fits in with the generally poorly thought out additions on the back of the place (which have given the place it's name, if you hadn't guessed). It is rotting, and pretty much could be removed it I gave it a good yank. My gut call is to just get rid of it, but I have no idea what else I'm going to put up in its place. I thought about redoing the roof line a bit at that edge to hang over the door, but I'm not so sure. One day I suspect I will extend the house out slightly at the back, so i don't want to invest a bunch into something that will likely be changed in the not impossibly distant future. Ideas? Anyone? Please??!

And here is a picture of my fully-berried mountain ash ....which is what you see when you're on the back deck.

Navigating the zombies...

My weirdly thwarted-at-every-corner day yesterday ended on a high note thankfully. My brother and I ventured to Vancouver's netherworld to see Dan Mangan at a new place called The Chapel. On the corner of Dunlevy & Cordova, The Chapel sits pretty much smack in the middle of Vancouver's drug addled/homeless/crack-whore riddled heart. I had tried to get tickets earlier in the day to no avail, so we decided to get there a bit before doors opened to line up ... and quickly made the decision that standing around really wasn't an option...so we hid in the jeep a couple of blocks away. It really is a pretty sad sight down there now - people really do look like zombies, moving along their uneven, jerky, stiff, sightless paths to who knows where. The city's addicted/homeless/disenfranchised problem grows and grows - but that is an entirely different, far more depressing blog than I want this to be...so I will temporarily put that thought/issue on the back burner (and I know, in doing so, aren't I just acting like everyone else? Sigh...) Anyway, scooting fast from our parked car (and in front of the car that one particularly drug addled woman had just been invited to slide into) we quickly made our way to the doors.

The Chapel is an old funeral home that has been renovated into a really nice gallery/music space. I really hope it makes it - Vancouver doesn't really have "listening rooms" for live music, and that is what this place is. It holds about 150, and last night it was completely packed, and much to my delight for most of the evening the group was QUIET. Really quiet. Pin drop quiet. So quiet that I would invite them to my club when I open it.

There were a couple of opening acts - James Lamb & the Liabilities, and Said the Whale. Both were good, but James Lamb was the attention grabber - some nice songwriting, great harmonies, and the no-fail combo of cello and accordion. Dan Mangan played solo, and was great. It was a label release party for the rerelease of his album Postcards & Daydreaming (which by the way has been on high rotation on my mp3 player for months), and I really hope it gets some attention. I know he has been touring internationally, and as per usual is getting more attention abroad than here. He's got all the components - strong songwriting, a unique voice, good stage presence and a unique but accessible sound. And he's only 24. Keep your eyes and ears out for him, he's worth a listen (or for something non-acoustic and less likely to make your eyes tear up, try this).

An embarassment of riches

It was all music, all the time this weekend. Think I have recovered - unfortunately.

Friday night was The Polyphonic Spree. Just the kind of think I like - more people than should be packed on the stage at any one time (24 I believe...) and all playing full tilt, a rich assault of vocals mixed with more instruments than you can count, and an intense, near evangelical energy. And great outfits to boot.

Saturday and Sunday were spend at Jericho Beach Park for the 30th Vancouver Folk Fest. It's one of my favorite things. I've been to a lot of folk fests in Ontario, and loved all of them - but Vancouver's is remarkable both for it's size and for it's accessibility. 40 minutes and I'm there. How great is that. And the beauty of the setting is second to none. The first shot here is of the evening stage (about 10,000 people are on site at that point), just as the sun is going down. Doesn't really capture it but oh well.

The evening concerts are great, but it is the daytime workshop stages I love. The crowds are small, the artists are interesting - it's all good. I went with my FF companion of the last two years, A. (shown relaxing below), and we spend a couple of lazy, hot days taking our chairs from stage to stage depending on what's going on where. We know it well enough now that you know what the flavour of each stage is going to be (stage 2 for instance is "the Folk Fest Nazi stage" because it is sheltered under trees, and comfortable site that attracts those intolerant both to sun and to many other things. Lord knows I'm intolerant of audience behaviour, but these guys make me look amateur). Navigating the fest is a bit of a skill, but we've got it down now.

Anyway, it's a great place to get exposed to new music, and a great place to see musicians really playing - in the true sense of the word. It is also the perfect place to meet that really hairy, bearded, impossibly thin man of indeterminate age wearing a pair of overalls - and nothing else. Or to make friends with one of the many, many lesbian couples. And their children. Or the transgendered. Or young men that wear sarongs. Or bells on their feet. Or both. Or to see interpretive dancing. I know, I know, I sound judgemental. And I shouldn't be - with our matching lawn chairs and cowboy hats, A. and I are pretty good targets ourselves I'm sure. But my 'observations' come with an incredible amount of affection, trust me - it's what makes the fest the fest and I wouldn't change a thing. OK, might make the overall wearing guy put on underwear. Or a shirt.

Couple of artists I quite liked - Rae Spoon, a self described transgendered banjo player raised by evangelists in the prairies (now THAT's gotta be an easy life). He also plays with a guy called Rodney Decroo in a band calls The Trucker's Memorial
Great sense of humour (highlighted by Rae's comment that they thought of calling their album Amber Alert ...take a look at the picture of the two of them and you'll figure out why), and a great 'old country' voice.

Totally different kind of artist also caught my attention this time, though I've seen her before - Ndidi Onukwulu - young bluesy singer from Toronto with a pretty elfin face that kind of reminds me of my youngest niece, which may be part of her appeal for me, who knows....anyway, take a listen, or a look, and enjoy.

The new arrival...

She may be small now, but we're hoping for 8 feet tall by the time she grows up.

Feelin' hot...

HOT this week - one day saw a high of 37C (no humidity thankfully) which needless to say is a little more than most Vancouverites are comfortable with. I just kept remembering my trip back to TO recently, where the temperature was about 38C and very humid, and tried to accept that really the heat we are seeing just isn't that bad. I should add that I didn't see the cats at all during the day yesterday - they spent their time in the cool basement room (aka my closet), which conveniently has a 'cat walkway' down one side and under the window. They were both flopped out when I came down to take this, but sir Thom woke up. Judging by this picture he only has two legs.

Lots of work has been done on the Bunkle this week and I hope to have some snaps soon - my super handy pal J and his super sexy new mitre saw came to visit one evening (on the hottest day I might add) and we got baseboards and door trim installed in the red den - woohoo! Have also spent the better part of three days getting the garden into some semblance of order. A lawn's worth of sod was removed from the front flowerbeds by my nephew, and I am hoping to go get some plants today. Feels good to start working on the exterior after so many months of concentrating on getting the interior semi-livable. Progress!

This is the face..

...of a cat that has just suffered the indignity of a (brace yourself...) rectal exam. And I might add he went through it without a peep, kick, howl...his eyes may have gotten a bit wider, but with Thomas it is hard to tell.

I should add that the vet's attendant was giving him a kiss on the forehead at the same time. God knows what the poor cat thought was happening - are they skewering me then planning to eat me head first?...

And please, no crude comments about how some people would pay for that kind of treatment.

So - next time you or someone you know is whining about the possibility of having a doctor's digit ... inserted....just remember, think about your size/size of a finger, and a cats size/size of a finger...if a cat can take it without complaining....

(and for those curious why Thomas had to go through that - let's just say he is having a few "issues down there" - hopefully nothing much, keep your fingers crossed)

If you ever need to find music for my....

...wedding, funeral, coronation, make sure it is something by Michael Nyman.

My favorite is Fish Beach, which I have linked below - one of many great moments from the Drowning by Numbers soundtrack. I always thought it was called "sheep 'n tides" because it is the music I associate with the game - which is explained below...

"Sheep and Tides - Nine sheep are tethered to stakes, (next to chairs on which teacups are placed) beside the sea, and bets are laid on the combined sensitivity of any line of three sheep - read vertically, horizontally or diagonally - being the first to react to the exact moment of the tide turn. The sheep sudden movement jolts the chairs, pulls on the stakes and rattles the teacups.... Since there are usually three tide turns every 24 hours, it is normal practice to take the best of three results. Reliable clocks, calendars and timetables are used to determine the accuracy of the sheep forecast."

Makes sense to me...



Fish Beach

"It was Peter Greenaway who first drew my attention to the brief but stunning melody with which Mozart closes the exposition of the slow movement of the Sinfonia Conertante for violin, viola and orchestra...Peter's first and major instruction to me concerning the score for Drowning by Numbers (was) that it should be based on Mozart's movement...." Michael Nyman.

Drowning by Numbers is one of my favorite films, and the marriage of the incredible visuals to this stunning soundtrack is one of the many reasons why.

Listen & enjoy.

Flashback...

Watch out world, I've just found an easy (and seemingly safe) way to provide music links...uh oh!

I downloaded a bunch of stuff from my pal & fellow horse-year gemini, musical sounding-board and e-music addict, R. in Toronto while I was there - one thing in his list was Soul Mining by The The - something I haven't heard in years, and an album which couches some pretty dark sentiments and political vitriol under poppy 80s beats. I can't bring myself to listen to a lot of the stuff I loved in the 80s, but this album manages to stand up.

The Twilight Hour

I may download another track (Giant) at a later date, but have to run and get some cat food right now....priorities and all that ;-)

A second home/another life

Back from the big smoke. Had a great last few days - no work, all friends. I didn't see everyone I would have liked to, but that is the nature of these short business jaunts. I'm just lucky that at least three times a year I have a chance to go back to reconnect with pals and a city that is pretty much my second home (special thanks to R & MM for making THEIR home feel like my second city-home yet again...they are incredibly tolerant ;-)

I spent some time at A.'s place outside Cobourg, and had a chance to see how the youngest members of her herd are doing: Francesca the foal, who is huge for two months and has an attitude to match her size; Foster, the yearling (and full brother to Francesca) who as you can see is as sweet as they come; Fenella (another full sister) being ridden by A., and the stunning hell-on-wheels Petra, who I took a snap of being ridden by her trainer as well & am including just to prove parts of Ontario are incredibly beautiful to any west-coast doubters. I should note that any of these gorgeous horses *can be yours!* (well, with the exception of Fenella who A. would really prefer to keep as her own riding horse). If I was ridiculously wealthy, they would all be mine (well, almost all of them...)

It amazes me how instantly I get back into Toronto life. Things are so familiar that I just flip back into being my Toronto self, with my Toronto pals and Toronto activities. It made me wonder what life would be like if I had stayed. If different choices had been made, by me and by those around me. I don't regret moving back to Vancouver, don't get me wrong - I love being back. Love it. But sometimes you have to think about the what ifs for awhile.

Watch This Space...

I'm in Toronto for a spell - work mostly, but a few days with friends too. It has been hot as hades here for the last 3 days, but is only mid 20s today (yesterday - with humidex - was feeling like 42C). I won't be back in Van til Tuesday, so won't be posting anything of interest until then.

Some sad news though - sounds like my favorite Vancouver music venue is on the verge of being sold. It has been rumoured for months and months, it's now happening. Rumour has it that it will close sometime in December. It breaks my heart. That balcony is absolutely the best view you can get in a club in this town. Sigh. If it was Jan World, I would open my own club - with very strict rules about who could enter, and whether or not you were allowed to talk/ laugh/ yell/clap off beat - which of course would depend on the band...except the clapping off beat. There is no excuse. Off beat clappers would be handcuffed. Or asked to leave.

I'm overtired and should stop. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends - some human, some equine. I'll be back soon.

Phew.

Life has been busy. Dad was in hospital for a week, but got out yesterday. Relief. And proof that my family can muddle its way through this sort of crisis, even if it isn't always in the most graceful way. We have all heard, smelled, and seen enough of the emergency ward to last a good long while. Dad seems to be on the mend, and that's what matters in the end. And to top a good day off, my painting arrived! Miss Mags claimed the box, making it a better than usual day for her too I suspect.

A new addition...

I received a photo of a painting that is on it's way to me now - another small work by Ontario artist JoEllen Brydon. It was a gift from my company, and JoEllen asked me what I'd like - so I said something with fields, trees, houses and horses. I'd say she's covered that off pretty well.













This the other piece of hers I own...


So what is it that appeals to me about her work? It's quite different than the other things you will find in my house -- an encaustic piece by this artist; a tiny etching by another- among many other things. It's something about the directness and unpretentiousness of her paintings. JoEllen paints stories from her childhood in rural Ontario - the larger paintings usually have text on them with brief stories about Jehovah's Witnesses visiting, or the time she rode a pony through an abandoned house, or the mysterious men that put up barns nearby, or car crashes that happened on the rural roads...nothing extraordinary, just moments of the every day. There are no pretensions. It might seem "cute" at first glance, but it's not. Whimsical? Sure. Heavy artist statement related to it? Likely not. But it's her life, big and small, that she paints. It makes me smile. And aren't I lucky.

Hanging out....

Yes, we have some things on the bunkle walls. Minor miracle! Such a joy to see the art I have had carefully wrapped for the last year (yes, year). Hung a couple of slightly cheesey mirrors in the red room, brings a lot more light and space into the place...and it means that if the cats walk on the back of the couch they can see other extremely handsome cats when they look into the mirrors. As long as they don't invite the other cats to come stay ...

Observer and Observed....

Meet the neighbour's cat. He is large. And somehow omnipresent - the back deck, the front stairs, and the little space above my shed are occupied by him pretty much at all times. He won't let me near him - I get hisses if I venture closer than 6 feet or so. He also managed to scare the life out of me once by leaping over my head from the top of the shed as I was getting the lawn mower. He's an interesting guy, and the cats and I like watching him. I suspect he is the Tony Soprano of the cat neighbourhood. I have seen him stare more than one unfortunate feline into a quivering ball of submission, then lumber sloooowly away, deed cleanly done. Last summer, I found pieces of squirrel in my backyard - one a cleanly severed tail, the other the entire back half, tail included. I have my suspicions.

Welcome to the hood.

Hot & houses

The warm spell continues - cats have flopped, and if I didn't look stupid lying down on the middle of the dining room floor, I would too. It has been somewhere in the mid 20s but slightly humid so feels about 30. The bunkle doesn't stay particularly cool either.

Speaking of the bunkle (as I usually do), spent today doing the Heritage Vancouver annual house tour. Love going through houses and see how people have handled the challenges old houses bring. There was also an old commercial building on the tour that has been renovated into condos. Good to see the buildings are being maintained, but it confirmed my suspicion I just am not that...moderne. One bachelor condo (priced at $360K - and remember, this is right in the middle of crack-whoredom) was so open-concept that the shower was pretty much in the middle of the living space. It was a huge walk in thing that would comfortably shower you and four of your closest friends at the same time (and I'm not going to argue against that - ) but there is no door, no curtain, and when you exit the shower, you can wave at the guests sitting on your couch. As much as I hated refinishing my bathroom door, I couldn't live without it. They had added a story on to the top of the building as well and had a condo in progress on the tour - it was much larger and more livable and layout - and all windows and very sexy - but the problem for me was that it WAS all windows - where do you hang your art? Where do you put your bookcase? Maybe I'm just too practical. One nice thing was seeing some of the older homes and realizing that the bunkle, though tiny in size, is in a lot of ways a much more livable space that some of it's grander cousins. At least, a lot more livable for me, and that's all that matters in the end.

Other excitement this weekend: taking a class on making okonomiyaki and seeing the very lovely (in a refreshingly non-cloying way) Once

HELLO hello Hello! ....

Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind - or maybe everyone laughs at flowers. I picked up this bunch of germinis at the grocery store tonight ... when I tried to put them in the vase, they seemed like a crowd of rather perky but slightly dim party-goers constantly greeting each other - they just kept facing each other in a completely unruly arrangement no matter what I did. The photo makes them look far more dignified than they actually are.

Speaking of flowers, the Bunkle is blossoming up. This has been an incredible year for rhododendrons - the flowers are so lush it verges on obscene - and I have a nice red one outside. The deck is now graced by a lovely yellow calla lily thanks to Mum, and I have planted a big concrete planter outside - photos to come later. Provided my neglect doesn't kill them, they should make for a pretty show in a few weeks.

Larry, Curly and Lepage?

Busy day yesterday - painter finished the house, brothers took me for a birthday lunch, went to see The Andersen Project again as a birthday treat from brother M., then went to the opening of DOXA - a crazy sold out show of Edge of Eden, Living with Grizzlies. And weirdly, the Andersen Project (or the experience of seeing it this time...) and the Grizzly movie both raised some similar fluffy thought bubbles above my head.

Loved seeing the Andersen Project again - such a complex piece holds up to multiple viewings. The experience this time around was really different though...the first time it was with the shiney-eyed thrill, that almost-unable-to-breath feeling I get when my brain gets overwhelmed by - hate this cliched expression, sorry - artistic genius. I knew what was coming so could focus on some of the more subtle interplay the themes and stories that Lepage weaves together. And I was with my brother, who is my #1 choice of companion for things artistic, not only because we have similar tastes but because he is both open and thoughtful enough to take what you throw at him, sift through it and appreciate it... but the major difference? The audience. For some reason, this audience found a whoooole lotta humour in this play. Granted, there are some intentionally funny moments/dialogue, and some painful/funny moments, but there is a whole lot NOT to laugh at. Isolation, loss, weakness, disappointment, failure, fear, cruelty - not a laugh-riot. So, why the laughter? My brother and I mused a bit on that afterwards. My guess is most of the laughter was from a younger set - at least, you hope that's the case, that they are just too young to be affected or have a context. Or - and more horrifying - they just don't get it. And never will. Which scares me a bit...though maybe it shouldn't, I don't know. It just seems to me that you cannot be a compassionate member of society and NOT be affected. But I could be completely wrong.

So how does Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies relate? The documentary follows Charlie Russell, who lives in a remote part of Russia for half the year raising orphan grizzly cubs to be self sufficient wild bears in a wilderness area that has been designated as a wildlife sanctuary. He's been doing it for years, and his approach is one of non-confrontational understanding and compassion - his point is that a bear will only become aggressive when he needs to in order to get something he needs/wants. It isn't random, there is always a reason. In his role as "mother" to these cubs, Russell routinely puts himself in-between his cubs and other bears that may (or may not) be thinking of taking a cub out as a snack. He talks calmly, walks firmly but not aggressively, and 9 times out of 10 the other bear accepts the situation and wanders off. The trust the bears have in him extends to mother bears actually dropping their cubs off with him to 'babysit' while they wander off for a couple of hours. You can question whether what he is doing is right or wrong, futile or not, but you can't question his intentions - what he does comes from a place of incredible respect, understanding and compassion. But maybe there are those out there that wouldn't see that facet of it, that might see what he does as a ridiculous waste of time, wouldn't see the bigger social implications of the sorts of respectful, considerate relationships he is trying to develop with the world around him. I guess those people can always skip the film and go see that new Lepage comedy...I hear it's a laugh riot.

Dirty little secrets

While work slowly but steadily progresses inside the Bunkle, nada has happened outside. It's a disgrace, but I have a whole raft of excuses (he dog ate my shovel; I refuse to discriminate against plants just because others call them 'weeds'....) Not sure what my neighbours (one of whom is a landscaper) think of me (well, actually I can guess - she has offered repeatedly to do something to my garden...). Luckily the other neighbour is a little old lady that has let her garden run even wilder than mine, so hopefully the horrified glances of passers by dwell there, not on the bunkle. I do like gardening, but have never had to deal with chaos quite this bad. The worst of it is at the back of the house, and I figured I would cut my gardening /weed pulling teeth out there. I removed two unnamed ratty looking shrubs, an incredible volume of chives, a lawn's worth of grass, and dandelions so large that I suspect they may actually be the origin of the species. Next comes the other side, which is an incredible forest of horse-tails, mixed with grass, dandelions, and lord knows what else. The mud-patch from yesterday's efforts still needs some (lots of) attention, but it's a start. I have no idea where to start with deciding what to plant back here. Those are supposed to be fun decisions though, right? It will be more fun once the garden is properly cleaned out. And would be more fun if my lower back didn't chronically twinge. Ahh well.

One day, one day, there will be fences and all sorts of other great stuff behind my place. One day.

Cylon Jan & the Green Room

Friend A. sent this along - an early bunkle shot of the place just at the beginning of floor refinishing fun & games - apparently it is best to sand when blindfolded? Anyway, point is really that this shows the now-gone (yay) green.....(and as for the rather special outfit, those of you that knew me in the mid-90s also knew those jeans...yikes)

Progress!

I am taking a week off and much is happening at the Bunkle. The big thing - PAINT in the livingroom and diningroom, which up to this point have been mint green circa 1994 ... you get a sense of it in this snap of Miss Mags - what you cannot see is that the ceiling is this colour as well - a nice 90s touch. Of course, I was too much of a dough brain to take a proper 'before' shot of the livingroom/diningroom (I do have some, but they are on my PC not on my Mac), but you get the idea. Should also mention that the diningroom has been half green, half white primer which covered up new drywall for the last 6 months. So - family gave me the best birthday gift possible - A PAINTER! He is great, tidy, fast, and that rare thing with trades, seemingly without tics or quirks. He pops by tomorrow morning to finish off, but I am thrilled with how it looks so far. He did two coats on the ceiling and one on the walls of two rooms in 5 hours. Would have taken me 2 days. The colour is very very similar to the bedroom, but a little less yellow - kind of a putty colour, should be a nice warm neutral backdrop. The photos don't do it justice. Once I get everything back in place and some pictures (yay, my art!) on the walls I will take some more. Should also mention that Thomas is thrilled by the reappearance of painters tape, and spends most of his time trying to gnarl it off the floor where I've used it to put down some paper on the floors. Takes all kinds.

I had some complaints about how dark my shots of the couch/Mags were, so here is a typical Maggie -no-eyes flash shot. More soon.....