Searching for driftwood that will fit into my Cob House

 This morning I set out to walk Bennett bay beach to see if I can find any driftwood that would serve as lintels or posts in my cob house.

I came upon this just drift wood fort beside an amazing Arbutus tree.

Further down the beach there was another Arbutus tree overhanging the class. The root ball was completely exposed.

Walks and Ferry Rides

The last week I have been on Mayne Island.  I thought I was going to be milling wood, but that was not meant to be. And as usual, it was all for the best.

I had just had a very hectic end of the school year as I was clearing all my personal teaching resources out of the classroom and preparing it for the new teacher. I am taking next year off as I was granted a years long term leave.  

Thankfully my eldest daughter came over and helped take most of the books, puzzles etc to her place as my grandchildren are the perfect age for Letterland etc. I taught Kindergarten/Grade 1 and that is what they will be in next year. I love it!

So school ended on Friday, then I was into analyzing my research for my Masters thesis on Handclapping Games and the informal learning that happens as children engage in them.  I had a deadline as teachers from my school had kindly volunteered to come over on Sunday at 4:00 to view the videos and note their observations on a rubric I was to create. 

Here is a video off youtube, as I can't publish pictures of my students here.

Miracle of miracles, I got it all done and even had time to take a trip to Staples to get a HDMI cable so we could watch all the videos of the children playing on my big screen instead of off the laptop.

Monday was Canada Day and my grandchildren came over for their first ever sleepover at Grandma's. We had so much fun. First we walked down to the Fraser River, saw the train and threw rocks in to see them splash.

Then we saw some fishermen and they actually caught a fist as we watched them. I didn't know you could fish down there.

 Then we walked up to the Dairy Queen and had ice cream and icy water to cool down.

 When they had gone home I prepared to leave for the ferry and things got quite frantic as realtors phoned to show the apartment, and I was leaving, lol. Too much to go into but it was amazing I got to the ferry on time.

Once I hit Mayne Island I realized I really needed to slow down and relax. It was so fortuitous that Lou and I did not do the milling, how things changed and now I am onto plan B, (see Pams Cob House for more details :-))
I was able to just stop and read and reflect and take time. It was interesting how after two days I was thinking I ought to be doing something and I pulled a card that said, if you don't stop and rest now, you will be forced to in time. AHA.  I chose to listen and went for walks and enjoyed the sights and sounds of my little part of the island.
There are so many sweet little cabins and buildings on Mayne Island. Here is one I pass regularly on my walks.
                                   
Something very special for me is how close the Mayne Inn is to where I live, it really is my local, lol.

The patio at the Mayne Inn

I popped in there for supper after one of my walks and had some delicious fish and chips. I rarely have dessert, but is was such a hot day, how could I resist the lemon sorbet. It was as refreshing as it looks in the picture.

 

I did get lots done in the way of co-ordinating the building of the house.  Yesterday I had to head back to Maple Ridge for Doctor and Dentist appointments. Also I have a Pamela Sunshine gig on July 14th at Civic Square in Burnaby. So I headed off to the ferry and I was first in line. 

 

The ticket man was actually still doing some janitorial duties when I arrived. :-) Anyone who knows me well will be surprised to hear I was actually early!  I was second in line.

 

It was such a beautiful summer's day and the journey was like a holiday in itself. It always makes me think of my Mum and she just loved the ferry trip over to Victoria.

                           

Relaxing on deck in the sun is part of the beauty of living in BC.

                               

Sitting by Bennett Bay on Mayne Island

After a relaxing summer day in my trailer, reading and recharging my batteries, I decided to walk down to Bennett Bay. It's only a ten minute walk and I decided to visit the sandy side tonight.

It is such a lovely beach with driftwood logs lining the shore, bleached white in the sun. Also seaweed floats where the water  meets the sand. And the waves washing in are so relaxing.  

Folks are just setting out for an evening of kayaking. The waters of Bennett bay on Mayne island are fairly calm and the perfect place for kayaking.

This is something I hope to do one day. 

Seeing the kayakers is quite a coincidence as my masters cohort went kayaking at Deep Cove last night. Since transferring over to the thesis program I don't get to do all the fun things that go with the embodied movement course I am missing.  I miss the weekly classes and getting to talk with all the members of my cohort. Such interesting and generous people.  

Still I'm not complaining about being able to sit here on a log and take in this wonderful evening, breathe in the salty air and feel the summer breeze on my face. 

I am here on the island to put some plans in place for building my cob house. I feel so fortunate to have had a couple of days to unwind. 

Tomorrow I hope to connect with those who own logging trucks and wood mills  :-) .

A Stroll in Port Haney and My Song About Growing Up Here.

Last night the sun came out and invited me to go for a stroll. I live right on the Fraser Heritage walkway

I sauntered down to the Fraser river. The cloud formations were fantastic and the river looked beautiful

The beautiful Fraser River at Port Haney

The first thing I came upon after going through the underpass tunnel was an ironwork sculpture of flowers which is the worse for wear and tear. But it was heartwarming to see it because it was made by my ex-husband many years ago, when he was the artist in residence.

Metal Sculpture with horse shoes by Colin Southwell.

I walked across the tracks down to the wharf and enjoyed the river views.

 I walked back across the tracks and across River Road to the new pizza restaurant beside the old Billy Miner pub.

The Billy Miner Pizza Cafe

 It was great to see old friends sitting out on the patio enjoying their evening meal and I stopped and had a visit with Bernice and Don. I updated them with all the family news. They asked about Beth's concert in Vancouver. It is so nice to have all this history with the community here. Beth used to work at the Billy years ago, when Bernice and Don owned it. Great memories.
I went into the off sales for some cider. There is such a wonderful atmosphere in the Billy Miner Ale House, home to the Sunday Night Jam.

 

 

I am so lucky to be able to walk out my door and enjoy the walk to the Fraser River past the old heritage Haney House.

Haney House

I grew up in Haney, before it was Maple Ridge. I love this town, the place where I grew, playing in the forests and swimming in the Alouette on hot summer days.

Here is a song I wrote while living in England, I was homesick and thinking of all the things that were special to my childhood and youth here in Maple Ridge.  I am so grateful to have grown up here, in the rainforest of my childhood.

I Grew Up In Haney

I grew up in Haney with some friends of mine.

It was a lot smaller then and we had a good time.

From Haney Central up to Maple Ridge High

Well we just had to go.

And we painted the walkways from Junior to Senior

So we wouldn’t get caught in the rain.

And the Beatles were famous and hippies became us

And John F. Kennedy died.

I remember the day the five and dime burned down.

It was all over town, in no time at all.

And when the old Aggie Hall reached the end of the road.

Well we just had to go.

They built the craziest rooftop that you’ve ever seen.

On top of the new five and dime.

And a big skating rink we can use all year round.

Near where the Aggie Hall once stood so proud.

When I was a kid they built the outdoor pool.

And we would go swimming, come rain or come shine.

With a season ticket clutched in my hand.

Well I just had to go.

And the Alouette River so cool and so clear.

Invited us all to come in.

And the lovely big rocks down by Davidson’s pool.

Were perfect for laying back on.

Oh, I grew up in Haney with some friends of mine.

It was a lot smaller then and we had a good time.

Words and Music Pam Carr

My Daughter Beth Southwell Celebrates the Release of Her CD

On Saturday night, June 22nd, I went to the Firehall Arts Centre to see my daughter Beth perform the songs from her new CD.
This is her first solo CD and it was very exciting to see her perform surrounded by her amazingly talented friends and collaborators.  The first song of the night was Lake Ontario.


Beth is supported by Jesse Waldman on guitar, Michael Simpsonelli on drums, Michael Rush on bass, Monica Lee on viola and piano and Meghan Engel on violin, and back up vocalists Christie Rose and Bahiyyih Peters.
It was such an exciting night for me. We have been involved with music all our lives and Beth used to fall asleep at the music nights down at Alouette Arts in Maple Ridge when she was three.  Alouette Arts was where she first performed and where Two Tall Women first appeared. We are so blessed to have such a rich musical history.
Saturday night was so special because her whole family turned out and so many friends, new and old were there too.  You could feel the love in the theatre. The evenings production was stellar, with lighting and sound run by Craig and magnificent arrangements and performances that blew the audience away.
I am so grateful for my Beautiful Life.

Weekend On Mayne Island

I had a wonderful weekend away on Mayne Island.  I have a little trailer there and this property is where I am going to be building a cob house this summer.
The reason for me spending the past weekend there was to meet with Elliot who is helping with the foundations. We poured over the house plans spread across my picnic table and it was in interesting process unpacking the information hidden in the plans. :-)

I managed to fit in a ninety minute walk down to the Farm Gate Store and got some organic produce and some Avalon milk, which I am sure began it's life here in Maple Ridge.

The owners of this store actually built a cob house on their Deaconvale Farm with Cobworks. They are also on facebook. 

I had a lovely barbecue with friends on Saturday and then met with Rudi who is going to put a new tin roof on my shed and I am transforming it into a washroom for us to use as we are building the house this summer. Elliot has also agreed to build me an outside shower so we will have two showers, a bath (hopefully) and a swish new composting toilet I bought several months ago. We will be civilized as the work parties mix cob and raise the walls.

A plus to the weekend was getting some serious reading done towards my Masters thesis. I sat out on my deck in the sunshine and read all about qualitative research.
I am happy to be home now and looking forward to my day with my students. I have been granted a years long term leave from school and I am currently planning my travelling schedule.  It will be a year of travel and writing.

I had lots of time for meditating over the weekend and came up with a weekly schedule for blogging during my week off. Today is day 1. If things go according to plan I will be posting a blog on My Beautiful Life every Monday. :-) 

Re-discovering Old Affirmations

I was going through my Affirmations  journal and found these affirmations I wrote out many years ago. They have been so helpful to me and I thought I would share them here in case anyone else finds them timely and useful.

These affirmations are from Stuart Wilde. I was thinking of him recently and when I did a google search to see what he was up to I discovered he had died of a heart attack while driving in Ireland.

He was a great source of wisdom for me at a time when I was searching for answers in my life.

I am so grateful to him and the many other teachers who have magically entered my life. I read so many of his books I am not sure which ones these affirmations come from.
I offer them here with love and it is wonderful to think his words carry on supporting others even though he is no longer with us on the earthly plane.

"May the freshness of this new day vitalize and heal my body.  May there be balance and power in this day."

"I am what I am, and what I am has beauty and strength."

"In this day I express love to each person I meet, for I know that I am truly loveable."

and this is my all time favourite, I even made a t-shirt with this on.

"My expectations are truly limitless."