Dunrobin renos almost complete

While I haven't posted anything for a while, it doesn't mean we haven't been busy in Dunrobin.  The painting has almost been completed, the new floors looking fantastic in the living room and dining room.  Simon has done a great job on the bathroom, which will be finished in a couple of days once the granite top arrives.

Back on Gabriola, work on my house plans advances, and Elisha has promised me that I will receive them soon, which means we are still on track for getting building permits for a February build start.

And in with the new...

Out with the old...

With the painting almost complete, we are moving on to the floor - most of the parquet flooring in the living room and dining room has been removed.  Simon and I have been brainstorming what we might make out of all this parquet flooring - some sort of Christmas crafty sort of thing - in our spare time.  I have had an ad on Kijiji offering it for free, but haven't had any takers.

Kevin is installing the floor, and I am hopeful that I can keep a section of the dining room floor intact that has an interesting pattern on it, with the idea of using it to make a table.  Simon will be building a firebox, so that I can remove all of the logs to the left of the fireplace.  This, combined with cleaning the stone, will make the fireplace even more of a "feature".

The bathroom floor is in poor shape, so we may have to remove it and replace it with a new plywood underlay.  Once that is done, however, it should be fairly quick to install the vinyl flooring I have.

Once these floors are completed I will be able to put my house back in order.  All of the walls are bare, and so I will have to pick a few select pictures to put on the walls.  The curtains have all been laundered or dry-cleaned, and now need ironing before they can be rehung.

I really like the idea of living in a completely new home - something I have never done before.  

Equanimity

e·qua·nim·i·ty

ˌekwəˈnimədē/

noun

1. mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

   "she accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity"

   synonyms:

   composure, calm, level-headedness, self-possession, coolheadedness, presence of mind.

For the past two weeks I have been moving full speed ahead on preparing my home for staging and selling.  It has been complete chaos, as I have been getting the ceilings painted throughout the house, as well as the walls in the three bedrooms, bathroom and dining room, as well as the stairs to the basement and the basement trim.  I am also removing the flooring in the bathroom, living and dining room in preparation for new hardwood floors and new bathroom flooring.

After another typical crazy day yesterday, last night when I got home I filled the bathtub and added some eucalyptus bubble bath, lit a beeswax candle, poured myself a glass of wine, and turned on some mellow music by Deva Premal and Mittra. The house may be turned upside down, but lying in my tub with the lights out and just the warm glow of the beeswax candle, I felt total calmness and relaxation flow over me, truly equanimity in the midst of a storm.

The tao of staging...

1. Tao (in Chinese philosophy) is the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behaviours, that is in harmony with the natural order. The interpretation of Tao in the Tao-te-Ching developed into the philosophical region of Taoism. My stager Anne came through the house and has given me instructions for decluttering and guidelines for highlighting the features of my house. Every time I leave the house now I seem to have another box or piece of furniture that is going to someone. I am excited to have the painting and renovations completed soon so we can get to the fun part of decorating and showcasing my home, which will be happening in a couple of weeks, just in time for Christmas entertaining. While I was sad to lose the vibrant blue walls of my dining room, and cool green tones of my bathroom, I have complete faith in Anne's expertise and knowledge of how to stage a home As we went through each room of my home, I realized how many beautiful objects I have that reflect the story of my life and travels, including: a picture of སྒྲོལ་མ-Tara, a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. I found this at Watt Dhammamonkhol in Bangkok during my meditation retreat to Thailand in 2001.  Phra Virinyang founded this buddhist monastery, and also developed the nine-month meditation course I took at the Dunrobin Thai temple in 2001.   Here is a picture of the huge Buddha that he had sculpted by some Italian artists from a massive chunk of jade that he located in British Columbia while meditating.  It was partly for this reason that he decided to establish various meditation centres across Canada to provide a venue for teaching meditation in English, including the one located in Dunrobin, where he sent several monks to meditate on world peace.  Previously, he had offered his course in Thailand, including teaching meditation to the King of Thailand, and had been looking for a suitable place to teach in English. This magnificent Buddha statue at Wat Dhammamongkol was sculpted from a single 32 ton block of jade found in a Canadian river in BC

1. the huge ostrich egg from South Africa, the country I was born in; the antique chest from Madagascar that used to sit in my parents' front hall for as long as I can remember; ཐང་ཀ་ - the gorgeous tangka meticulously painted by Tibetan buddist monks in Nepal, that I found in the night markets of Chang Mai, Thailand; the handwoven basket made from reeds from Lake Peten Itza near Flores, in northern Guatemala near Tikal; the simple handmade mahogany chest that I had commissioned in 1981 in Flores, near Tikal for which I paid a mere $15; momentos from my time in Antigua Guatemala including the hand-painted set of butterflies Seb gave me, a girl's face made out of a coconut shell, a woollen rug, and colourful huipiles made using backstop looms; several priceless quilts that were made by my mother Pamela. a coffee table we acquired while we were living in Judibana, Venezuela; a beaten-up yet still lovely red leather camel footstool purchased in Egypt in the 1950s, another piece that sat in my parents'  living room for more than fifty years; the vibrant orange and brown wall hanging from Zimbabwe; a meditation book from Z.; the hand-woven macrame wall hanging that I found in Colombia and gave as a gift to my mother after my 1975 road trip by jeep with Rafa and Luis to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador  and Peru, with the highlight being a visit to the stunningly beautiful and spiritual Machu Picchu. My mother gave the hanging back to me several years ago, a short while before she passed away;  Looney-Baloony various water colour paintings of sunflowers and hibiscus from my mother; a hand-turned bowl created by my father; Looney-Balooney, a paper mache creation that my six-year old son Sebastian made me for my 33rd birthday that we celebrated on the island of Montserrat in 1987; a dragon that Peter gave me on our first wedding anniversary in 1991 on which he, Sebastian and I sit perched, wearing the clothes we wore at our wedding, while I am holding Alex as a new-born baby, wrapped in the baby blanket made by his great-grandmother.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Elisha has been working with the draftsman to get my house plans finalized in preparation for applying for building permits.

1. 
   

Where will we stay when we visit you?

Descanso Bay

A few of my friends have expressed concern that my tiny house won't be large enough to accommodate guests. In actual fact, it can sleep six comfortably, and will have two full bathrooms, as well as an outdoor shower and sink.

My loft bedroom will have a queen bed, the yoga studio will have a queen murphy bed, and another two people can sleep in the living room.  I also have room for two in my camper truck, another two in my small tent, and 4-6 people in my large tent.

So I have definitely thought about friends and family in the design of this house.  In the future, I will build a small guest cottage.

Gabriola also has many delightful options including:

Descanso Bay Regional Park for year-round camping

Descanso Bay Regional Camping

Natural Pace Snooze 'n Sail

Two lovely B&Bs with kitchenettes where I have stayed are:

Thru the Grapevine Guest House hosted by Joan and Sam Manson

Twin Beaches B&B hosted by Josephine and Shaun Whelan

And about ten minutes from my place, there is also Page's Resort and Marina for camping and cabin rentals.

Turning furniture into a house for someone else

For quite some time I have thought about helping out with Habitat for Humanity on one of their builds.  I decided that 2016 is the year to do it, and have signed up for a build in Nicaragua in late January.  They still need a few more people to join the team, in case you are interested.

To participate, we need to do our own fundraising, so I have decided that I will put all of the money I get from selling my furniture, snowblower and other things towards my Nicaragua fund.  I already have commitments for over $1000.

I also sell beeswax candles, and from now until I leave in January, will be putting all money received (all money, not just the profits) towards my build fund.  Last weekend my yogi friends bought $320 worth of candles which was greatly appreciated as a good start to my fundraising.