I drew this at the end of last year after observing Nelson’s magnetic draw for unusual and very creative people. Ie. what might be considered “freakish” in the downtown core of conservative metropolitan areas is actually more the “norm” here. It’s a mecca for artists of all mediums – and other folks who just want to live around that dynamic, joyful energy.
Nelson Odyssey 4
or how we spent our spring vacation…
a Nelson moment…
Kootenayblurb from Nelson!
Well NOW we’ve done it…
It’s June 11th as I post this – on May 27th we finally made the big move – relocating to Nelson. If it’s true that a picture says a thousand words, then I’ll depend on my little video “Nelson Odyssey 4” to speak volumes.
Three days after we arrived I started working at one of Nelson’s oldest retail establishments, a funky heritage brick building called “Ellison’s Market”. Meanwhile Lee’s been hard at work sourcing trades people to do the upgrades on our “new” home. In our spare time (to save a few bucks) we’ve spent many hours tearing out ceiling tiles, ripping up carpeting and stripping wallpaper in preparation for the big electrical and plumbing jobs needing to be completed in the coming months. We’ve also had the amazing good luck of a 4 month house-sit (while we have the other house reno’d) at the beautiful home of a great couple of Nelson-ites we met through a Vancouver friend.
And yes, from what we’ve experienced so far, Nelson’s an incredibly beautiful town, full of some really lovely folks. Plus the weather’s been truly gorgeous – warm and sunny – though by all accounts an unusually dry June for the Kootenays. So we’ll try not to complain when the rain returns — all this greenery could use a little watering.
O.k. here’s something I just had to share. I’ve heard many times about the two sides of Nelson – the “redneck” and the “granola”. Well, on my walk to work this morning – literally within seconds of each encounter – I think I experienced a good whiff of both. First I overheard this exchange between two guys having a smoke along Baker St.: “HEY – LAST WEEK I GOT TO SHOOT A 22 AT A GUY IN A BULLET-PROOF VEST!!!” “WOW! SO COOL!!!” Then, literally seconds later, in that same block, I noticed what looked at first glance to be Tibetan prayer flags – but turned out to be several pieces of stringed-together, hand-made coloured paper on a store front, each page containing a word in the sentence “ALWAYS BE YOURSELF. EVERYONE ELSE IS TAKEN.”
Yeah.
Nelson Odyssey 3 & Escape from Martha Stewart
“To dare is to …
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.”
-Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
the end of “limbo”
It’s been said that moving is somewhere at the top of the list of “stressors” in life (o.k. North American life, that is – I’m thinking the list is a “little” different elsewhere), so this year we decided to test that hypothesis. Yeah right, like we had a choice, once we launched into Project-Moving-To-Nelson.
First, between Oct. 2012 and March 2013 looking at 2 dozen houses in Nelson before finding one we fell in love with. Second, selling the Vancouver place…. we really had no idea what that second part entailed until we launched into it: ie. staging this place all Martha-Stewart-like (with the generous guidance of our very helpful friend and neighbour Claudia, whose impeccable taste made up for our lack of same) AND THEN putting loads of paraphernalia in storage to complete that minimalist, Better-Homes-and- Gardens fakery.
And then the tricky part: loading into the car and relocating ourselves, the dog and very geriatric cat and as much of our foofahraw as possible for each and every open house and each and every viewing in between (ie. almost every day). Joey the dog and Bob the cat were real troopers – wonderful company who seemed to enjoy the adventure of it all. Bob even tried his hand at sharing the driving.
Anyway, this was pretty much the story of our lives between March 21st and April 26th when the “SOLD” sign finally went up. Hallelujah. Now we’ll find new things to angst about (that one was getting stale) as we embark on all the details of the move. Hopefully more interesting, less mundane things to report next time… once we’ve turned this page!
breaking the news
The news of our impending move to Nelson was met with – uh, well – quite a wild hodgepodge of reactions from friends and family. While all were surprised and many taken aback, some expressed support laced with gentle concern, others were warmly enthusiastic, while still others showed open disdain or worse – complete avoidance of the topic. It’s been a wild roller-coaster ride of emotions for us in this “breaking the news” phase of our life-changing decision, but we’re staying the course. I’m often grateful for my love of cartooning – so cathartic, especially at times like these. OH – and I just read that the slogan of Kootenay Lake Tourism is:
“Far Out. For Real.”
I can dig it.
Strathcona
Hi out there…
Not much to say right now – perhaps weird for someone who’s just started a blog – so thought I’d start out with one of my cartoons.
Using “kootenayblurb” as a name is a little premature, since though the plan is to shift my life to the Kootenays in 2013, I currently reside in the wet coast metropolis of Vancouver.
kootenayblurb 