Tiny package for small home

Avocados are one of my favourite fruits and this week they've taken on an even more special meaning. They represent the size of the little baby I'm carrying inside. Yes, we're pregnant - 16 weeks along now! For those who are doing the math this basically means that we had a great celebration over New Year's and wasted no time between our wedding and the new pro-creation stage. 


Both Brendon and I are really excited and we can't wait to welcome the little muchkin into our lives and our small home. Our mind is racing with things we need to figure out over the next few months like, "Where will be put the baby...and it's stuff?" and "Can we have a home birth?", but for now we're trying to focus on the same things that everyone seems to be occupied with these days (no, not hockey) - gardening. 


While earlier posts would have you believe that we were complete disasters at this, we've had some recent successes that make me hope that I do in fact have a nurturing side. (I always knew Brendon did.) That grass that we planted back in October - while still shabby, is starting to fill in. 


This shot from above makes you realize that there is still much to be desired but...

When you take a look at it lying down on your stomach... it looks fabulous!

I've started growing sunflowers in our bay window and too my glee, they've begun to sprout!

Brendon finished our first landscaped scene, he planted baboo intermixed with some beautiful black grasses, and then build a rock garden in front of the planter box. This is on our laneway side and so is our first contribution to beautifying the road.

Lastly, I took a trip to a suburban gardener last weekend. Mike, a retired man and passionate gardener started using his front and back yard to grow perrenials. He sells them from his home four times a year. I loved the concept of someone using their own garden is such an innovative way and couldn't resist getting out to see him. I wasn't disappointed and left with 2 blueberry plants, some rubharb and a bunch of grasses. 

Guilt

I grew up Catholic so I’m familiar with guilt. But over the last two decades I’ve managed to un-school myself from living up to an unrealistic ideal. Unfortunately its been creeping back up recently for something I had not predicted – our landscaping.

We started this process back in November when we seeded the grass. I should remind you that only in Vancouver can you plant things as Winter is coming and still expect them to grow. While we don’t have a luscious green garden, we do have the beginnings of a lawn - be it patchy and balding... But other than that we have nothing. No shrubs, no trees, no rooftop garden, no grasses, no fruiting plants and no flowers. As a result we also don’t have birds or bees or any of the other fabulous critters that make up a healthy eco-system, not to mention an inspiring melodic backdrop while sipping coffee.

Instead we have a big wide patio full of paving stones and a wide stone path taking over even more potential green space. We also have a lot of (very high quality) dirt. This is my nightmare. I knew that we would lose green space when we build the house but I thought that we’d replace it quickly enough that nature would be reintroduced on the ground floor as well as on our roof.

My guilt is probably compounded by the fact that at the David Suzuki Foundation we do a lot of research on the value that nature provides for people like us living is cities. Access to nature, whether though sitting in a garden, walking through a park or even just being able to see greenery from a window has profound impacts on our health. Greener environments:

• Nurture psychologically and physically healthier populations,
• Reduce stress levels and improve well-being overall,
• Enhance recovery from surgery,
• Enable higher levels of physical activity,
•  Improve immune system functioning,
• Reduce rates of childhood obesity,
• Help diabetics achieve healthier blood glucose levels,
• Improve independent living skills in seniors, and
• Facilitate pollinators like birds and bees that are responsible for 1/3 of the food we see in the fridge. 

…and that’s just to name a few.

So I have good reason to feel guilty! But now especially, as the crocuses begin to bloom in Vancouver, Brendon and I have got to figure out how we can bring nature back to this beautiful piece of land. We miss it and we owe it to ourselves and Mother Nature to bring it back. 

Winter and Family

We’ve just come through the season of family. Every second year Brendon and I make the trek out East to Ottawa to spend time with my family. I come from a big crew - three younger sisters plus mom and dad. This year we were able to get three of the daughters together while the one remaining spent her fourth Christmas in Taiwan. We rented a cabin in Quebec about an hour away from Ottawa and miles away from the frantic energy that literally consumes many holiday festivities. With only one relatively small sister fight (somehow pulling hair is still a choice weapon at 33) the whole experience can be considered a great success.

With our souls’ a little replenished from our immersion in nature and family, we took off to Val David in the Laurentians to visit friends. As many of our closest peeps have begun to have kids it’s amazing how quickly and often our conversations begin to turn towards family, and not just of the nuclear sort but the importance and conundrum of grandparents.

Some of our friends with children have moved across the country to buy homes close to their parents. Others make the weekend trips to visit family regularly so their kids get to grow-up with grandparents. But one of our friends did what we did...though in typical Quebec-country style.

Monique and Ian have built a home in his parent’s backyard which consists of a couple of acres of beautiful boreal forest. Their two children now have a short nature walk to their grandparent’s house. Their own home is a beautiful combination of modern architecture and rustic cottage appeal. They’ve salvaged and bargained for everything inside the home. From the kitchen cabinets made from the drawers of an old dresser to the interior siding of the living room covered in the wood from an old barn. It’s inspiring seeing other couples making similar choices to ourselves, choosing not only to build their own eco-friendly homes but to do so near family as well.

I wish we could say we had pictures to share, but we got so distracted by our excitement that we forgot to take even one. I’m hoping Ian and Monique will see this post and send us lovely photos so we can share. Instead, here are four of our wedding photos hot off the presses!

Brendon and Akua get hitched.

Well, we did it. Last week we took off to Hawaii and tied the knot. Not quite in time to substantiate the amazing article written about us (as a married couple) in BC Business Magazine. But at least in time to give ourselves the best Christmas present ever - the title of husband and wife. :-)

You might imagine that being married to a photographer would have some perks - like photos. But sadly, I have none to share with you just yet. What I will tell you is that we did it our way. By ourselves, on the beautiful island of Kona. We did it on a deserted beach standing on a lava shelf. Sea turtles lay sprinkled lay in the sand around us warming themselves as the last few rays of sun set on the ocean horizon.

I was given a book soon afterwards by a colleague with advice for married couples. Here is a picture of one of my favourite pieces of advice for Newlyweds. It's from a girly magazine - written in 1949.

Not the most positive or life affirming advice but interesting nonetheless. Any thoughts for newlyweds living in a small home?

The grass is greener in Gregor's Vancouver

Gregor Robertson is hot! Yes, I'm talking about the Mayor of Vancouver and you're right - sex symbols and politics don't often go together. But man that guy is dreamy...

We are getting closer to our municipal elections and both parties (Vision Vancouver and the NPA) are hitting the campaign trail hard. I was at a debate tonight where the candidates talked out the Occupy movements, transportation issues and affordable housing. All of the topics brought out some great conversations and I can't help but share my bias that I found the one on affordable housing solutions the most interesting. So much so that (despite my soccer mom attire) I posed a question to the candidates. I asked them about their vision for innovative ownership models to help the working class break into the housing market. So often people talk about the housing form as the solution - row houses, basement suites, tiny condos, laneway houses... but if there is anything this build has taught us, it's that figuring our a creative ownership agreement is critical.

We had to look to Europe to develop ours between the inlaws and ourselves. In the UK you'll find rent-to-own schemes, shared equity models and land trust housing just to name a few. Anton wasn't able to give much of an answer. She reverted back to talking about the housing form and didn't want to touch financing. Gregor dove in and referred to an innovative project involving Habitat for Humanity as well as pointing to other cities where we can get inspiration. With housing prices so divorced from our salaries we really need to get creative about ownership and challenge the traditional mechanisms we currently have in place to finance, price and sell homes in the city.

And in other news. We have experienced our first landscaping failure.  Because we live in Vancouver we don't get the blanket of white stuff that covers our backyard and we can still plant things throughout the Fall...or so I thought. About four weeks ago I rented a grass seeder and a roller, bought some seed and got to work. It took me all weekend (with some help) to get the project done and when it was over I was pretty happy. Right away, one of the first things I noticed was the number of birds in our backyard. It was amazing. For a moment I felt like Snow White surrounded by her forest friends. Then I realized the truth. I had just laid out an incredible feast and the birds had hit the jackpot. One of my big mistakes was that I didn't cover the seed with a shallow layer of dirt so not only weren't the seeds protected from the birds, they got cold and never germinated. So, there has been no progress. We still have a dirt pile. This landscaping thing is hard.

Brendon and Akua experiment with TV

Have you ever listened to a recording of your own voice and cringed? It's like being confronted by an alter reality - suddenly you sound nothing like how you imagined yourself in your own head. Well, today I found out that it's even worse seeing yourself on TV.  

We were featured on the 6 o'clock news in a short segment on creative housing solutions. Take a look at the video below. What the hell is up with my posture and why does the hair on the back of my head look so bad! 

Now that you've gotten used to us on the big screen - we have news for you. We're going to be on a future episode of the Nature of Things on urban regeneration airing in February 2012. Yes, just last weekend we hosted the amazing father-daughter duo - David Suzuki and Sarika Cullis-Suzuki. This was a dream come true. 

Like so many of us, Brendon and I grew-up with David and the Nature of Things. From an early age we were fed the science of nature in a way that incited wonder and made us care when we saw it threatened. And then when I was 19 I picked up his book The Sacred Balance. It accompanied me on a 3 month cycle touring adventure through the Yukon. Its message was with me through the stark and imposing Tombstone range and along the rushing Donjek river. The book changed the way I saw the world and set me on the trajectory that I find myself today. It help me notice the profound connection we humans have with nature and first put words to a spiritual world view that I hadn't been able to articulate myself. 

Life always seems to come full circle. Sarika and David had both spent time up in the Yukon this summer and raved about the beauty in that place. It's a reminder to me to do as much as we can to preserve wild spaces like the North while we also find ways to nurture and expand nature in our own backyards. 

But I digress. 

Sarika, David, Brendon and I chatted for over 2hrs about everything from our energy efficient appliances to living in a very small home. But really, the theme that emerged stronger than any other was the importance of community and how intergenerational housing arrangements can support vibrant neighbourhoods and people just like us.

While we can't show you any finished products from the filming, I can share some pics with you.

David's beautiful daughter Sarika

Barb and Roger chatting with our guests.

Sorry. Couldn't resist how cute Steven looked. If we're like this with a cat, can you imagine how crazy we'll get with a kid!

The Inside Scoop

Well, you've been asking about it for a long time and we finally got to it. Here are pictures of our upper floor. From the photos you can see our bed nook and living room. You also get a glimpse of the balcony that overlooks our lane.

We've had a number of drive-bys lately with people creeping along the laneway and peering into our home. Our house has developed a reputation of its own and now its been booked for a weekend in October to be part of a heritage tour in the city. And tomorrow, we'll open our doors to a group of UBC students.

Whenever we're around we're happy to open our doors for a tour. But, its only fair to give you online followers the full tour as well. Brendon is working on the time lapse video that will take your from our crawl space, up to the garage, through our kitchen and over to our second floor loft. We'll have that up in the next few days.

For now though - check our our fence, finished just yesterday! For you viewing pleasure we've also included an awesome photo of Steven and a refresher on what our kitchen looks like.