a month well lived

Since we got back from our island getaway time, we have had a full calendar of fun times!

The weekend of our return we had a play day with Nolan, Tanya and Jer, and Mark had the boys over as Joe was in town again! Yay! We love to see him (tho Tom looks less than thrilled, hehe) I got a better pic of the boys, only Joe went and gave me the finger so I'll save that one for facebook! lol


The long weekend was full o' fun! Our community block party had a decent turnout given the rainy day. We enjoyed some catch up time and meeting a couple of new neighbours in the co-op, and then left early for dinner at Dad's before we went to the hockey game! I was lucky to be given 2 tix for the Women's Gold Cup game at GM Place, and Mark enjoyed the best seats he's ever sat in at a game. I enjoyed the game as well as the energy of a live game is far more exciting when you are in the arena surrounded by the cheers. This pic was when Canada scored the tying goal to make it 1 all...unfortunately they did not win. But it was a really great game to watch. :)

On the final day of the of the "Velo-City: Vancouver & the Bicycle Revolution" exhibit at the MOV, I did one final tour with Tanya, Nolan, Mark and Sasha. I really enjoyed giving tours of this exhibit and will miss it now that its gone. Throughout the exhibit there were 15 individuals profiled that were gatekeepers to the many sub-cultures that Propeller Design (the guest curators) identified in putting together the ideas. Actually they found 42 sub-cultures within bicycle culture which I found fascinating. There were over 60 bikes on display as well!

Below you'll see Nolan is standing next to the Varna Diablo which Sam Whittingham (one of my fave profiled folks) has broken many records for self-propelled land speed. And fastest speed for a crash at 130 km skidding out for over 300 meters! The Diablo was actually taken from the exhibit in July for a couple of weeks as Sam was off to Detroit to attempt another record breaker - mission accomplished! (those scratches on the paint job near Nolan's hand were from that exciting journey) He also designs and builds beautiful bikes which you can see at Naked Bicycles and Design. The Cherry Bomb was another of his bikes on display and it had beautiful beech wood rims. He learned how to mold wood from a guitar maker on one of the gulf islands. When he took his bikes away after the exhibit he was on his way to do some more record breaking - mission accomplished again!

The chalk wall is the end of the exhibit where the curators wanted everyone to leave their impressions...most of it was bike related. hehe. Sasha and Nolan had a blast running around and exploring. The 'Revolution Gallery' featured videos made by bike lovers near and far. Now I can fill you in on a behind-the-scenes moment: the video room was a pain in the butt to deal with when opening the museum in the morning. All the DVD players were stacked within one of the benches, and there were 8 remotes used for the whole exhibit, 5 of which were for the video room. But it was beyond tricky to get all the tv's to start all the movies at the same time. most often one dvd would not cooperate...and then you had to start all over. With the openings and closings of this exhibit I've learned a lot about exhibit design and functionality, which is one of my fave things about working at the museum! (Really stoked about the next exhibit called Ravishing Beasts!) Some pics of our play time around Vanier park. Mark was awesome and distracted the wee ones for a while so Tanya and I could brainstorm a bit, then we caught up to them at the beach.



The next weekend Mark and I had another date night, this time to see my friend Tara in a play at the Firehall Arts theatre. "Good Boy and True" was quite a gripping story about a rich jock at a private school, a video tape, a girl from a public school who was used to help 'prove' he wasn't gay, and how his best friend, the school and his family dealt with the fallout of his actions. There were many social issues I found myself reflecting on after that play, but one more than others. The play took place in the 80's when video tapes were not necessarily easy to produce and share with others...in comparison to the reality in schools today which has many students with phone cameras able to record everything, and post it online, in moments. I would be interested to see a similar story set in our more technological modern times.

The next weekend we got some more community fun time in at our co-op bbq social. A lovely day outside, and some rock band fun for all ages inside. The pinata is always a hit of course :)

After that party I went out and partied some more! Yahoo! Time for another ladies nite! This time we played pool while listening to some live tunes at the Fairview Pub. Wicked fun...and we all won a game so you can't get any more fair than that, hehe :D

It has been waaaaaaaaay too long since I have played pool...and now i'm itching to play again! Not nearly the shark I used to be (thanks to lessons from a pro at a sports bar I worked at) but still just love to play! I believe our next ladies night will have some more pool table action. lol

We'll have fun no matter what we do ;)

One of the best things to do on a sunny weekend morning (especially when feeling a little on the run down side, ahem) is simply explore our neighbourhood. This time on her scooter...for about 2 blocks. then we 'shared' the job of carrying it. Well, you can't roll down hill on it now can you? lol I'm thinkin' about starting a flicker site for her or something. She really likes taking pictures (and I only post the occasional random few), and this one of her scooter butterflies I just love for some reason. What do you think?


After a brunchy lunch and naptime, we jumped in the co-op car and went for a visit to Maplewood farms. Handy dandy pass my tourism privilege pass. We've decided we need to take advantage of it a little more. Next trip to the farm will be after Lulu (seen here being patted by Sasha) will have her baby calf in about a month or so.


For those who've been asking for health update on Sasha here we go: mid August Sasha had another follow up with the eye doctor. Her vision seems to have improved a bit, and we're gonna keep patching the left eye a couple of hours each morning to work the muscles in her right eye. The next follow up is in December.

This month Sasha had a visit with our family doctor regarding Sasha still having her poops in her panties (this is when all of you folks that don't care about poopy stories can scroll down a bit, haha) after 10 months of potty training. The pees she mastered long ago and rarely has accidents in the wet form. But the struggle to find the right way to help her master the poop end of things has been very tiring at times. A book sent home from daycare about a boy who went to the doctor to help him with the same problem proved to be useful in getting her through her own appointment with no anxiety. Also helped that we got to see the dr. as soon as we walked in the office (usually at least a 1/2 hour wait...) As I suspected it is not likely a physical problem, but rather the she is using her stubborn powers to resist for some reason. A power struggle, fun. At the end of the visit we had a new plan that Sasha seemed keen on. And a week or so later, she actually seems to slowly be taking control of things...i believe we're almost there!

Aside from that challenge, she is in another growth spurt, has had a bit of a cold lately, but otherwise is happy healthy and well. Some days she works really hard at trying to be a crank (literally. she said to me one day "I'm choosing to be a brat right now" oh really?), and she has different ways of pushing buttons for me and Mark. So far we have done a pretty good job of presenting a united front as parents and her barrier pushing seems to be abating a bit. Until the next barrier pushing stage kicks in...heh.

Things continue to go well at her daycare. She loves her teachers and here is her first class picture of sorts with her and all the over-3's. pretty big group and wonderful place for her to play all day while we work. Slowly getting to know some of the parents as well, and the after her dr's appointment there was a big family potluck at the daycare at the end of the day.

For every potluck this month we were able to bring foods made with things from our garden which is very awesome! We learned from trial and error approach to gardening of last year, and this year we had a bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and herbs aplenty. Also got a couple of peppers and squash. Green thumbs are slowly developing and we're gonna try doing some fall planting of hearty winter stuff soon.

The last weekend of the month was a party of Mark's bday weekend...we had yet another date night on the friday (record 3 in one month!) to see a comedy show, and some live music from the Yukonfest at the Railway Club. The Media Club was host to a Comedyfest show and one of the comedians was a friend Charlie Demers who I met through peace activism channels years back. I've become a fan of his show on CityTV called the List which features 3 other Canadian comics as well. aside from Charlie the other comic who had me crying laughing so hard was Maria Bamford. Hilarious!
After the laughs we heard a couple of different bands at one of our fave music venues and then enjoyed a nice walk home from the Railway. Happy 16+30 babe! :)

The rest of his bday weekend included a game night with the boys, but playing board games so I could play too ;P
Before the guys arrived we had a visit from Heath, and check out the rollerblades he delivered to Sasha from Aunty Karli...and the totally cute teddy bear knee pads. Within 5 minutes she was shuffling around on her own saying 'no thanks, i don't need help'. One of these days she'll get to use them out and about, for now she's mastering the floor here at home. She loves them!

The next day Sasha and I met Mark at Word on the Street when he finished his volunteer time, and Sasha her nap. Got a great colouring book featuring all of the Fish of BC which was created by my friend Robi. we got to see Sarah's large variety of comic materials, and got a nice overall dose of all things word related before heading to a bday dinner at Dad's. Two times blessed with a great meal at Dad & Liz's in one month! very nice!

The topper of the month for me was being given the opportunity to attend an event from Educating the Heart conference put on by the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace & Education. A morning session of panels entitled "Educating the Heart: Creativity and Well-Being and Heart-Mind Education" featuring His Holiness and a variety of other wise folks. Each of the panel members only a had a few moments to summarize their perspectives on things, so it was not an in depth dialogue. But the breadth of perspective and bits of wisdom provided me with some great food for thought. I really enjoyed the guys who founded the Blue Man group, and my favorite voice of the morning was Sir Ken Robinson. Still too many thoughts stewing around to share anything concrete...but it was a morning which further inspired my determination to take the dialogue on public education further...take it national! follow through with my project and see what comes of it.

I also spent time with Mike who is my CPEN cohort and always good to get my mind thinking in philosophical ways. Between breakfast and lunch with Mike, and a morning of listening to panels at the Orpheum (oh yah, I got to enter the Orpheum again...I love the inside of this theatre - gorgeous!) my head was swimming by about 2 when I got home. promptly flaked out for the rest of the afternoon. Catching up on the sleep I didn't get the night before between my racing mind and my little one tossing and turning beside me. Always nice when an opporunity for a nap comes along to get the bodyclock back in order. hehe.

What a month! After a summer off I had green team meetings for work and home, and this month there were lots of hours for me at work, but all my memories of this month will be from lots of community, friends and family, velo love, hockey, a farm, live music, theatre and comedy, and the Dalai Lama...wonderfull times!! :D

What's up with the doc?

is coming to a town near you in 2010!

The documentary project I've been working on for the past two years (which I've mentioned many times since meeting Tanya on the picket lines where the ideas for the documentary began) is now getting ready to hit the road, and you my dear friends and family (and random Canadians that visit this blog now and then) have a chance to have your say and help "Educate Me!?" in the process. :)

Next year Mark, Sasha and I will begin a road trip journey around Canada and back again to sit with people coast to coast at their kitchen tables and hear what they have to say about public education. My quest is to find out what it would take for all Canadian parents to simply say with enthusiasm "I can't wait for my child to go to our community school!" Is such a thing possible in our nation of diversity?
After two years of development (plenty of soul searching, research, seeking of feedback, submitting of ideas, writing writing and more writing...and even more editing) the project has evolved and now I know we're on the right path with it. The family road trip, and the circles of people who invite me into their homes, will provide the basis for the documentary which follows our family journey.

The footage collected during the casual conversations across the country on what education is for, how people feel about the system as it is now, and what potential they feel there is for the future, along with other material will also be used for a follow up series which explores the big political and cultural issues I hope to unravel with this project.

While it may be true that there are many hard obstacles to overcome for an education system everyone can be happy with, I know we are capable of achieving this lofty goal one day. But we need new frames to the debate, and we need to become comfortable with thinking outside the simple 'school as a building' box.

I believe the time has come for all Canadians to really participate in a more meaningful dialogue. I know the thirst for a deeper discussion is out there, and I want to build on the process that lead to the development of the Charter for Public Education, a journey into communities province wide to listen to a vision of what public education can be, and an experience that changed my life. My path since then has me following my desire to carry this dialogue further and further. Beyond the amazing debates that exist within and between stakeholders, which influence change at a snails pace when all come from different sides. For genuine progress to occur, and to get the most bang for our buck in tough economic times, we need to get beyond what the talking heads have to say...now its your turn!

When Sasha starts school in 2 years, my life will become even more community focused. I know I will committ time to her school as an active PAC member, and maybe one day I'll let someone finally twist my arm and seek the votes of the people for a chance to put my education knowledge to use for our school district as a trustee. I've enough positive role models at all levels to feel comfortable with the ways I can be a helpful influence on Sasha's learning experience along the way.

Before I put all my focus on the local level though, I need to put a whole lot of energy into my compulsive need to find answers to the big picture issues that have parents everywhere debating education options for their children. Quality education is right for all of our children, so why do we even have to 'shop' for schools at all? I feel the answers lie in our lack of common ground on what 'quality' means, and wonder if our diverse nation can find any consensus on the matter.

So now we turn to the people, yourself included, and say "what do you think?". The small casual conversations we will film across Canada will be focused on trying to provide as many views as possible by having a diverse range of age and exprience at each table. The response I'm receiving so far has been amazingly encouraging, with people from many provinces and diverse backgrounds eager to participate. I'm more confident than ever that this will be a huge challenge, and also a rewarding one. The learning curve to get my documetary project idea this far has been enormous and now I feel ready for whatever unfolds as we take it to the next level.

A road trip I could never consider taking without your support of my ideas as this project has evolved. And a journey I could never do without taking my family along for the ride...our grandest adventure yet! We are still looking for people interested in participating in many provinces so please spread the word...and we look forward to seeing you along our way :D

Please visit www.educate-me.ca/thedoc.htm for more of the project overview, and feel free to share any thoughts, feedback, statements of support and other queries with me at kathy@educate-me.ca

More updates to come...for now, back to your regular blog viewing enjoyment with more pics and stories of Sasha and life in general in the posts to come. Hugs of gratitude for your support and encouragement! OOOOO

family time unplugged

We had an absolutely fabulous family adventure time on Saltspring and Mayne islands...10 days unplugged and loving it!! :D

The trip began with some drama when we hit bumper to bumper traffic on Knight st due to a car collision on the bridge. We were at 42nd when we hit the traffic and had about an hour to get our ferry reservation on time! ack!

After plenty of anxiety on my part (breathe Kathy breathe), and an attempt to try a different route, I calmed myself down as we inched along by trying to create a plan B in case we missed the ferry. Once I was satisfied we could still have a good day if we missed it, of course the traffic started to ease...and we made it to the terminal just in the nick of time! Missed our reservation...but not the ferry! Yeepa! then we just had to wait to get on the boat to finally stretch our legs from 1 1/2 hours in the car. Freedom begins!

The 3 hour ferry ride was full of running around and around and up and down and around a number of times and then some lunch in the sun on the deck. For some reason Sasha decided to sit on the bench across from us. Does that "I'm too cool for my parents thing" start so early?? hehe

We were very happy to land on the island and made our way to our campsite to set up, let Sasha snooze and relax a bit before doing some exploring.

We stayed at Mowhinna Creek which was a pretty good campground only 3 years old. The host was a retired fellow named Gary. His wife decided he needed to go back to work as he was making her crazy after he retired. So now he hosts the campground for summers and they winter at their home in Arizona where he can ride his harley in the desert. He was funny always zipping around on his golf cart. The funniest story involving Gary was the night that the guy camping next to us gave him a good scare by jumping out in front of him while wearing a dark hoody in the total dark of night. fyi, Gary drives around at night while holding a flashlight out front as his headlight. safe right? Tho it was a prank that Gary enjoyed in the end, while he was still startled he told Dude (not his name, but he was just one of those guys you would call 'dude') "you're lucky I didn't have a gun on me or I would have blown your head off you scared me so good!" Nice.

We did luck out with a playground right beside our site which Sasha made great use of! Mark and I would take turns doing chores (clean up after meals, etc) while the other played on the swings. And we had games we could all enjoy -wheeeee!

Sasha's pic of our table during breaky prep.
oh the joys of camping with a potty trainer ;)

On both islands we explored bays and waterfronts plenty. Fulford was our first place to explore on Saltspring...

While we were at Drummond park (another of many playgrounds we played upon) a little boy who got a hold of my camera changed some settings on me...so the next pic I took of the llamas (named after the Beatles) was a black and white one that i liked. I didn't even know I could take black and white pics - thanks Matthew! Fulford is the original hippy harbour and it is colourful and full of character. Here we sampled some food at the Rock Salt cafe which made a very yummy roasted yam quesadilla.


A great highlight was the day we journeyed around visiting farms, bakeries and the Saltspring Cheese farm. All 3 of us were in heaven sampling their variety of cheeses and had fun exploring the property where you can learn the whole process they use for making their cheese. Hard choice to make for our picnic snacking treats purchase.

I played fetch wth this pooch while waiting for Sasha and Mark to finish playing with the chickens. One of three friendly dogs you'll meet.

We spent lots of time in Ganges as it was closest to our camp site. Playing at Centennial Park playground, the amazing farmers market, an afternoon swimming in the public pool (and having our first shower in days!), and ice cream were highlights of our many visits.



There was something interesting to see in this park every day (one day we saw a guy arrested, but then many of us at the playground became curious when they let him go and arrested him a few more times before we finally saw the cameras - "oh...they're filming!") and always someone for Sasha to play with. She is actually quite confident in walking up to other kids and saying "Hi, I'm Sasha. wanna play?" A little less so when there are LOTS of kids, especially if they are bigger. Then she hangs back a bit to take it all in before figuring out what she wants to do and how she wants to play. So very interesting to watch how she engages with people. Shy to start and then quick to become the leader of things.

The day we picked up treats from farms all over we had a picnic dinner on the beach and some swimming (well, Sasha walked in a fair ways and I enjoyed a nice swim myself) to finish the day off with a nice sunset. One of those 'its a rough life' moments ;)


Artistic expression is found everywhere on this island and one super place to visit is Hastings House. A great place to explore as they have a crazy variety of scupltures scattered throughout the property. Here is a sampling of my faves along with scenic beauty of the place.




my absolute fave is this one: "the gatherers"

On our last night we dined at the Tree House Cafe which is a space that has had many purposes, one of which was a much loved teahouse run by the grandmother of a woman I work with at the museum. I have enjoyed hearing her tales of what it was like to work their during her childhood summers on the island. Anyways, we played on the docks while waiting for a table and then had the treat of listening to Valdi tell stories and sing songs while enjoying another fine meal. Sasha loved him and got up and danced and thoroughly entertained the couple at the table beside us. I love that they have music every night through the summer and that you can just bring your own chair and sit outside to enjoy the music without dining in the restaurant! We need places like this everywhere!

Our last evening at our site was my ultimate moment of the whole trip. Every night Mark and I played scrabble and enjoyed reveling in the insane feeling of being surrounded by stars. So weird to camp without a fire every night, but after the first or second day I got used to it. Aside from one evening which was really cold (really...I had socks on and numerous layers on my body as well!) the weather was so beautiful we got by without flames just fine.

After getting Sasha to sleep, Mark and I were playing a final game when our neighbour to the other side of us (not the 'dude') began playing his guitar and singing some of the most beautiful music...it was perfect acoustic sound for the setting. We wrapped up the game, turned off the lamp and sat back to take in the stars one last time in the giant patch of sky we were under, while listening to his wonderful songs. At one point I saw a shooting star just as he was singing about dreams coming true and I said to Mark "this is such a ridiculously beautiful moment I can't believe it!"

how could we not have sweet dreams with an end to such a fabulous day as that? happy camper indeed!! :D
Sasha is a little blackberry monster and can spot a blackberry bush a mile away (almost literally). The campground of course had many bushes to graze upon, so the last day we had a blackberry pancake breaky before taking down the tent and packing up the car (beauty of no rain is no tarps!)

Before catching our ferry to Mayne island we went for a visit to the Saltspring Vineyards for a tasting and Raven Street Market Cafe for lunch. "Eartha" who is the feminin symbol seen all over the winery, and on the labels of their bottles of delight, represents the woman who lead the charge to protect a tremendously large chunk of the island that had been slated for clearcutting. From the vineyard you can see the hillside where the company had began its clearcuts before the women rallied, organized, fundraised by doing a tasteful nude calendar and other tactics and stopped the clearcutting of those lands. I really like how they honour everything they love about the island on their label, and while your are enjoying the tasting every story and food sample served to enhance the flavour is connected to local foods and culture. Sasha was remarkably patient so we could savour the experience, and the woman hosting the tasting included her by serving her 'wine' in a glass of her own, making it a truly family friendly treat.

The Raven Street Market and Cafe was our favorite food of all our dining out experiences. Certainly the best of the 3 we tried for the childrens options. perfect balance and portion and all of our meals were thoroughly enjoyed! mmmmmmm

A quick ferry ride and we were soon on Mayne island to visit our friends Jonny, Kristen and Jacob. What a fantastic time!! So nice to catch up as we haven't seen them since our visit to see them 2 years ago while they were living on Cortes Island. If they keep moving around we figure we'll eventually see all the islands in no time, hehe.

We made the most of our time with Jonny in the first couple of days as he had to head back to Pender Island for work during our stay. (looks like that will be our next island to explore once they move there) You won't be surprised to hear that my favorite place we visited was their community garden which was huge, had a great labyrinth and best of all a cob building to admire! Fab-u-lous!!!

cute tree frog

Sasha and Jacob spent time playing every day. Around the house, exploring the bay where the seals live (on that big rock...tho they look like rocks from a distance too) and wandering for blackberries anywhere they can find them.


"ooby scooby go!" A quick vid to show what they did back and forth on the porch for ages.



One night their friend came over with his son and we enjoyed a game nite, with kids dancing and playing in the living room while we grown up kids played Cranium. Awesome fun. And the funniest moment of all was when Sasha came into the kitchen and said "I really like the Riley boy. Is it ok if he sleeps with me in my bed tonight?" OMG!!! I still cry laughing every time I think of it. Or maybe I'm crying thinking about what we're in for when she REALLY gets into boys...oy. ;P


We had one day of exploration just the three of us and we chose to visit the Japanese garden as there is also a playgound and waterfront to enjoy all in the same area. Every art piece, bench, and many of the plants and trees in the garden are in memory of the many Japanese people that were an important part of the islands beginnings. During the war they were all sent to internment camps when governments rounded up all Japanese residents and stripped them of their land, but the islanders have never forgotten their important contributions.





Right outside their door...deer and beautiful scenery












More pics of Sasha at play.




Our journey to Mayne island would not be complete without a little sightseeing of one special thing - COB!!

Almost every book I've read on natural building alternatives, especially cob (usually a mix of mud and straw) has referenced properties on this island. And one building in particular that I was super keen to see up close was the Hobbit house.

Kristen checked in with the woman who is currently renting it and she was kind enough to let us in so we could marvel at the inner beauty too. You can see pics of the inside here, as I didn't want to invade her privacy by sharing pics of her stuff with the world. It is really amazing just how much bigger it is on the inside than it looks from photos. I'm very, very much in love with the idea of molding a home of our own out of cob and other materials...one day! Along with the Hobbit cottage there were 2 other cob homes we went to look at for further inspiration. We will be sure to sign up for some cob building projects happening in Vancouver full of renewed eagerness to do some hands on learning! :)




After the tour we shared some hugs of gratitude with our friends and went on our way to the ferry for our journey home.

back to the city...


Full of fond memories of 10 days well lived and enjoyed...and a deeper connection to the beauty of gulf island life. From the strong local currency supported on Saltspring, fantastic markets and farms, the creative and laid back energy on both islands, splurging on quality meals in unique restaurants (we dined out a couple of times on Mayne too!), time with friends, and grand family aventure full of fun and learning about positive alternatives and enjoying the simple things in life within rich natural environments. Every time I come back to urban life after time unplugged I am full of a deeper thirst and appreciation for the slow life! ;)