PEOPLE... do dogs count?

This week has been a new adventure in a happy addition to Project 851. You may have seen this cutie pie around in some other posts but it’s now official she’s my girl!! — Welcome to your new home there Koko Channel (smile). She’s survived sun, rain and snow so far this week.

Never having owned a dog makes this an extra special adventure for me, it’s quite different from dog sitting for friends, and not quite what I planned. Careful what you wish for as they say, as I did say I wanted a dog and actually coveted Koda when she belonged to my neighbours. Sometimes the best things in life just find you, like this bratty bow wow and this crazy project that is sucking the life out of me — think I better wish for some soul rejuvenating magic to sneak up on me. Oh wait maybe that’s what I got this week hahaha.

Here are a few other things that happened at the Project in the hardscape, studio space and garage.

Here are a few things that didn’t happen this week… (yes the 2 year TELUS saga continues)

and yes on occasion my brain feels like this… (makin’ me dizzy)

Thanks goodness for the people working here and my new best friend!! Makes me feel more like this.

COMMUNITY...and the beat goes on

This neighbourhood community is magic!! Wether it’s coming together to question why our street lights are being changed or bringing awareness to an American company being paid to do consultation for the city of Vancouver in our neighbourhood — I know let’s not even go there (thanks old civic regime). This is not a negative rant but rather a positive focus on how this community for over 40 years continues to work together to defend the peoples right to less traffic and putting a roadway onto National where it was designed to be years ago. In 2015 the city agreed to slow traffic on Prior — 9,000 cars a day travel down this road which disconnects the neighbourhood from the park. How can you not be happy when a questionable process results in an opportunity to visit your neighbours: (right?)

What I love about this awareness session most is that it happened without effort. It was quite literally a spontaneous turnout. Gotta love that.

Similarly, we have something presently going down regarding our street lamps. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

This weeks post relates to those building blocks of community and what lies beneath the old streets. Enjoy the nod at Project 851.

PROGRESS... time for some before and afters

As we approach the home stretch let’s look as some progress shots. Celebrating coming closer and closer to a space of aging in place!

Big House/Pink House:

Garden suite —

The Grande Dame —

Octopus:

3 Bedroom…2 Bedroom…Studio…

ART... Women's march and viva la Nellie Yip Quong

That Eastside Culture Crawl (ECCS) just keeps giving. I came across the pinafore project that Elisa and Jen were working on ,while touring studios in November, and was impressed with their community art project to celebrate Nellie Yip Quong. Here we are in January doing exactly that!

Who is Nellie?, you may be asking yourself. 851 Union was built in 1898 so it’s safe to say Nellie lived just a few blocks away on Pender St with her husband Charlie when this house was standing. If you’ve checked out the hyperlink (tapped onto the highlight of Nellies name in the paragraph above) the knowledge starts unfolding. Nellie was an activist/feminist and a woman ahead of her time (1882 - 1949). No doubt the more one finds out about Nellie the more inspired and impressed we become: she was justly designated a Person of National Historic Significance, even if it took almost 60 years after she passed for that to happen.

Elisa and Jen helped celebrate Nellie through their community art project which culminated with a group of us wearing our pinafores at the Women’s march on Saturday January 19th, 2019. We met in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery at the new open plaza and listened to stories of inspiring women and marched on in support of the work that still needs to be done.

Nellie’s grand daughter, Starlet, wanted to join in with the march but unfortunately was held back with health issues. We were happy to represent and celebrate her along with Nellie at the march. Hope you enjoy this video shedding light on a bit of Strathcona history.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-WRZNHxKRF8