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villagevibe December 2006 : News and views from the heart of Fernwood

Cornerstone Opens Denise was followed by Rob Flemming, MLA, Victoria-Hillside, who brought greetings n Monday, October 30th the many from his fellow MLA and Leader of the Official Opposition, Carole James. Rob’s comments varied Faces of Fernwood gathered echoed those of Denise, and he added his to celebrate the official opening of the Cornerstone Building. The crowd, aged one personal delight in being a Fernwood resident and supporter of the Cornerstone project from to ninety-one, packed the Cornerstone Café to its inception. overflowing to applaud the completion of both “Now I have somewhere to come and have a the Café and the market-based affordable family coffee and read the paper on Saturday morning housing units. right in my own neighbourhood,” Rob said.

The flags were flying in recognition of our Councilors Helen Hughes and Dean Fortin supporters in all three levels of government, but brought greetings and congratulations from city none flew more proudly than Fernwood’s own hall and Dean commended Fernwood NRG for multi-hued banner. taking the initiative around housing. “We all Denise Savoie, MP for Victoria, began know that affordable housing is an issue in this the formal comments. Denise applauded the innovative and extensive effort made by all who city,” he said. He held the Cornerstone building up as an example of what can be done – in a very worked together to reclaim the Cornerstone. short time – when neighbours come together.

She acknowledged the contribution of the Henry Kampoff brought congratulations Cornerstone project to building community, bringing new life to the center of Fernwood and from Capital Region Housing Trust, a key funder of the market-based affordable housing addressing important housing needs. renovations.

Denise’s appreciation of the Cornerstone All of the speakers praised the many project was further apparent in her comments in the House of Commons on Friday, November 3rd volunteers who gave thousands of hours to the Cornerstone over the past year, and Fernwood in which she announced to parliament her pride in both the Cornerstone and our neighbourhood. NRG board and staff. Roberta Martell and >> by Trish Richards

O

Lenore Rankin got special mention as the the pivotal force behind this groundbreaking project.

In a joint effort, Councilor Hughes and Roberta cut the ribbon to officially open access to the front door of the family housing units. Then guests toured the upstairs apartments, enjoyed their first Cornerstone Café coffee – the “Fernwood NRG To Go” house blend – and gathered to share their excitement. Apartment tours lasted into the afternoon as neighbours continued to drop by the building to take a look and add their good wishes.

– continued on page 4

in this issue The Power of Presence Page 3 Feature: Changing our thinking: changing the world Page 4 Fine Fernwood Furniture Page 7

get involved, it’s community day Family programming for the community (participant directed and facilitated)

Also… join Stone Soup. On the last Monday of the month

runs every Monday morning 9:30-11:30. Forecasted events are: Christmas

we share a vegetable soup lunch (made from participant

crafting, baking preparing for the upcoming ‘festive winter party’.

contributions) and make plans for the month ahead.

editorial :

Take the Time

At a recent conference in Vancouver entitled “Muslims in Western Societies,” I attended a workshop on borders. Workshop participants discussed the implications of national boundaries on the lives of those who need to move for work, the idea of nationalism as a tool of exclusion, and how national borders reinforce an “us and them” mentality both outside and within the boundaries of nations.

Part of the workshop was spent discussing how to get beyond this “us and them” as an organizing principle of life in general. When we meet someone,

why do we often identify that person in a particular way based on how they look or speak, and then interact accordingly?

As a group we actually came up with a solution, or at least an answer.

An answer, I would say, echoed in the pages of this Village Vibe. The answer is simple: take the time. Take the time to connect in a meaningful way with others. Take the time to ask the right questions, to listen attentively. Slow down and take the time to know yourself, to reflect, to connect with the Earth, to make lovingly hand-

declaration of principles and values

crafted furniture, to plant a garden, to share a meal with friends and family.

These platitudes might read like airy fairy new age hippie mumbo jumbo.

Yet taking the time is not this at all. It is radical ethical practice. The Western

Taking the time is radical ethical practice. world – with its globalized capitalist economy based on monetarily inspired definitions of success and progress which require a go, go, go mentality to the point that many of us are all thumbs on blackberries, rushing here and there

Our classroom is a large Garry Oak meadow

We are committed to ensuring neighbourhood control or ownership of neighbourhood institutions and assets; We are committed to using our resources prudently and to becoming financially self-reliant; We are committed to the creation and support of neighbourhood employment;

We are committed to taking action in response to neighbourhood issues, ideas, and initiatives; We are committed to governing our organization and serving our neighbourhood democratically with a maximum of openness, inclusivity and kindness; We are committed to developing the skills, capacity, self-worth, and excellence of our neighbours and ourselves; We are committed to focusing on the future while preserving our neighbourhood’s heritage and diversity; We are committed to creating neighbourhood places that are vibrant, beautiful, healthy, and alive; and, most of all, We are committed to having fun!

Carole James, MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill Community Office carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca Tel: 952-4211

can only begin to live differently by doing so. As the articles scattered throughout this Vibe remind us, alternative paces and practices are not only possible, but indeed also necessary for ensuring the survival of this planet and all its fragile beings.

The Art of Mentoring

We are committed to creating a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighbourhood;

We are committed to engaging the dreams, resources, and talents of our neighbours and to fostering new links between them;

– requires that we spend more time earning to consume than investing in relationships. Slowing down, pacing life differently, is a simple and radical practical refusal – if only sometimes for one moment in a day – of capitalist time. We

>> by Morgan Obendorfer We gathered together upon the Circle Rock Summit peering through Jim’s tiny binoculars towards the radio tower at Mount Douglas. The children exchanged lively broken messages with their classmates several kilometers in the distance using our new longrange walkie talkies. Each week, a small group of us trek up to the rocky outcrop at Summit Park as a part of our Wilderness Skills program at Oak and Orca Bioregional School. On this day, part of our school community had embarked on a bike field trip to Mt. Doug. From the lookout, the other group passed around a tiny pocket telescope, searching for us tiny specks, waving our jackets in the air from the peak at Summit Park.

I have been involved for the better part of a year as a mentor at Oak and Orca Bioregional School, where I was hired to design and implement a wilderness program for children. This has been a tremendous learning experience, abundant with many timeless and teachable moments. Over many months, as a group we have established a number of core routines such as the Thanksgiving address, sensory meditations and the secret spot exercise. We have had many inspirational discussions on subjects such as our ancestors, the ancestors of this land and some of the principles of deep ecology. We’ve talked about the importance of storytelling and reclaiming the traditions and stories of the original peoples of this island. Through our games and activities we seek a better understanding of place and an increased appreciation for the wonder of nature.

Page 2 | News and views from the heart of Fernwood | December 2006

Our classroom is a large Garry Oak meadow, which comes to life in the Springtime with camus and all kinds of other beautiful wildflowers. Watching the changing seasons, we are reminded of the cycles of life. We dream of a totem pole being erected in this park where we gather each week to give thanks. One of our exercises is called a Songline, where we explore the landscape and come up with names to identify special spots. In this way we can track our movements as a group. For example, we might descend from the Circle Rock Summit, down the Life Path, over the Rainwater Pond to the Sacred Shelter Tree.

It is rewarding to hold space for these children, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to pattern their minds on nature. Urban life is full of straight lines and right angles. The concrete, the cars and all the noise pollution can contribute to an overall disconnect from pure wild nature. How often do we slow down to notice the bird language or to pick some blackberries? The wilderness is a place where walls come down. Here we can move beyond many layers of pretense to experience a greater sense of authenticity and humility. I witness this every week through the children.

When I reflect on my own childhood, some of the most prominent memories are of playing hide-andseek in the woods. I remember the feeling of waiting motionless, my senses alert, smelling the leaves and the Earth and feeling the moist bark of a tree. These moments are very precious. They are moments when we find ourselves in unmediated contact with Nature, our ultimate teacher. It has been said that the secret to establishing a deep relationship with the Earth is to get to know one place very well. In the same way, it is said that if one gets to know a single tree intimately, all other trees will recognize them. There is a great secret in this for anyone who can hear it.

May we all remember the ways of the wild and strive to protect the pure awareness of our children.

To get more information about Oak and Orca Bioregional School, please visit: www.oak-and-orca.ca

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views from the street :

How do you celebrate

the season?

Cora & Hailey Fisher ‘We get into the spirit of things by decorating....lots of decorating. We visit my sister’s family, so there are a bunch of children about. And we all give and receive lots of hugs, lots and lots of hugs!’

Rae Proudlove & Liam Proudlove-Dunn

Roberto, Andres & Leonardo Sanchez

‘We always have a Christmas tree with lots of decorations and candy canes on it, Christmas lights, music and games. Presents for everyone. I always get Liam a Christmas book, some story that captures the spirit of the season. I tell him about Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice. For me the season is really about the whole essence of renewal, rebirth, hope and light.’

‘We are from Equador. We celebrate Christmas with lots of food and unity of friends and family. We play games together and we have lots of music and dancing to all the wonderful Latin rhythms. On New Years we make Dummies out of sawdust that we call the old people. Then we burn them in a huge bonfire in the middle of the street at midnight in a big community celebration.’

The Power of Presence >> by Mara Moon Human beings have such a deep capacity for feeling. The end of the year holiday season can be one of the most emotionally evocative times for all of us. Often we feel stress and angst as well as a natural longing for love, happiness, and goodness.

We may begin the season with the goal of gifting differently this year – supporting local sustainable economies, perhaps making homemade presents, and/or planning meaningful family time. Then, somewhere along the way, the “marketing machine” takes over, rendering us on “automatic consumption pilot.” We buy and stress far more than we intended, over-indulge, or spend long hours in different rooms from our family members glued to screens of one kind or another, possibly giving our decision-making power over to others to determine our needs, wants and desires.

In fact, with the amount of advertising, expectations, memories, and interpersonal dynamics, frenetic energies

may bombard us from every direction. We may find ourselves feeling ungrounded or out of control, and making unhealthy decisions. We may feel quite isolated and disconnected. Our personal actions may seem of no major relevance, purpose, or consequence.

However, in truth, our simplest thoughts and actions – the choices we make each day, and how we perceive and relate to the world – can be profoundly significant and

Our simplest thoughts and actions can be profoundly significant have an incredible impact on the lives of those around us, as well as on the entire planet and its destiny. The earth is interwoven by an invisible connection between people, animals, plants, the air, the water, and the soil.

What we may deem insignificant actions on our part, whether positive or negative, can actually greatly impact

the environment and people seemingly separate from our personal realm of existence.

Staying conscious of the interconnection of all things can help us stay awake to the implications of our choices in terms of the broader karmic effects we may be creating.

Is it possible to transform the holidays from a stressful and expensive experience to a joyful spiritual awakening?

Why not!

By taking a little time to examine our personal values, we can then shape our plans and strategies around our core truth. We can infuse this time with meaning, passing our values along, particularly to everwatching children who never cease learning from us. For example, perhaps we value respect, empathy, intimacy, genuineness, empowerment, healing or sustainability.

Thinking imaginatively, what are the gifts, experiences, traditions, activities or art that we can create to express our values? By identifying, experiencing, and sharing what is important to us (rather than just responding to what we are observing, or confronting), the holidays can be an opportunity to deeply explore our own inner workings, our relationships, our realities and our world. When facing challenge, there is no better time to commit to attaining personal equilibrium and empowerment.

– continued on page 4

Congratulations Fernwood, on the opening of the Cornerstone Project. Your efforts are an inspiration to me in Ottawa!

"The Cornerstone project shows what a community working together can achieve. I am proud to have it in my riding. This type of project could be a reality across Canada with a national green housing strategy."

Denise Savoie, Nov. 2, 2006, House of Commons, Ottawa

Denise Savoie, Member of Parliament for Victoria * 363-3600 * 970 Blanshard St. www.denisesavoie.ca

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YOU ARE INVITED TO….

A

COMMNUNITY DAY

FESTIVE WINTER PARTY DECEMBER 18 TH 9:30-11:30 PHOTOS WITH ST.NICHOLAS STORYTIME COOKIES DECORATING COFFEE, TEA & YUMMY SNACKS

December 2006 | www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca | Page 3

feature :

Changing our thinking: So, we are left to our own devices. Riddled with debt, clinging to an imaginary belief in ‘the invisible hand of the market’ straining harder and working smarter to play ‘The Game of Success’ as the number of ‘winners’ decreases and the number of ‘losers’ increases. Obesity skyrockets as food is one of the few things we can control – beside the obvious concerns about GMOs, Monsanto, diminishing diversity of natural seed stocks, the excessive use of Bovine Growth Hormone, antibiotics in food, and pesticide residue.

Homicides and suicides, genocide and gang violence are pandemic. Vie – the root word of violence, meaning life force – tries to be heard above the stifling oppression of ‘nowhere to turn, nothing to do’. Our days are freed-up for us, division of labour surgically amputating our need to provide for ourselves.

Any and all products and services are commodities, and that which can’t be bought is thrown aside – “Smiles are Free!” but no one smiles.

Around the world, people have abandoned their land bases and moved to the density of cities to pursue jobs with which to purchase the necessities that they have just surrendered. With decreasing job availability, job security, and a diminishing potential for personal meaning making, the average individual is locked in golden handcuffs: working to live and living to work.

>> by Roberta Martell

W

e are living in a post cold-war era. Markets have globalized, and the ensuing corporate corruption can be chalked up to an insurmountable concentration of power

“Smiles are Free!” but no one smiles.

through the religion of free-market capitalism at all costs. We are all well aware of branding, logos and the power of image and messaging. Addicted

The successful transition into the new millennium with a minimum of

to the beta waves of cheap entertainment, individuals have a diminished

global trauma, has left a ‘now what’? void in terms of purpose except

capacity or desire to have an intelligent discourse about the issues of modern

perhaps to ‘fuck & shop’ as the title of Mark Ravenhill’s play suggests.

life. Environmental degradation and the awareness of its impacts are

Individuals are faced with a growing challenge to create a life that aligns

becoming better understood. The World Wide Web is allowing for quick and

with their inner callings, rather than blindly conforming to expectations

diverse dissemination of peoples’ thoughts and feelings and it is also widely

which are externally imposed by rigid social demands. In essence, we

accessible (within the ‘developed’ world) for both postings and information

have broken away from the dissolving moorings of prescriptive social

gathering; it is non-edited and emergent. At the same time, it is becoming a

contracts, which, while providing security and a reference point, have

‘black market’ model for information transmission outside the framework

also kept us chained in place and dependant. We are now free to

of organizational manipulation (governments, spin, corporations and

leave the safety of the shore, and navigate a new course by deductively

marketing), which defies all attempts at regulation and censorship.

reckoning against personal maps of integrity, intention and passion.

“Unless we cope with the ways in which modern society oppresses the individual, we shall lose the creative spark that renews both societies and men. Unless we foster versatile, innovative and self-renewing men and women, all the ingenious social arrangements in the world will not help us.

Finally, we shall renew neither ourselves, or our society, nor a troubled world unless we share a vision of something worth saving. John Gardner

Cornerstone

| from page 1

Visitors were treated to beautifully finished suites, sun beaming in through the large and wonderful windows.

Enlarged photos of the upstairs as it was when Fernwood NRG purchased the building were posted throughout

the suites, giving a clear sense of the incredible transformation that all our hard work had brought.

None were more delighted with the apartments than the three families who were settled in by the following day.

A fourth family will be moving into the last suite by December 1st. And the

Café? As I write, the tables are filled with people enjoying “Fernwood NRG To Go” and the company of their friends.

The vision that was sparked two years ago by Fernwood NRG’s desire to “do something about that building on the Square” has become a reality!

Page 4 | News and views from the heart of Fernwood | December 2006

Presence

| from page 3

In order to get and stay grounded, different approaches may include: connecting with the natural world, meditation, prayer, yoga, dance, exercise, gratitude lists, visualizations, journaling, deep breathing, and whatever else keeps us sane and reverent.

In 2006, alternative holiday traditions are increasingly replacing previous materialistic ones. People are embracing the values of

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changing the world But how do we move beyond the crumbling man-made façade? How do we get to the free and unbounded reality of the world, a little worse for wear, perhaps, but otherwise just as we left it when we headed for the promise of ease? We are choking on an era of industrial resource extraction, shifting unsteadily into a post fossil-fuel economy and graduating from the headiness of amassing information into a century where the new paradigm will be one of personal meaning making. And, as world power becomes more concentrated, with fewer people holding the keys to positional and financial power, what chance do most of the 6 billion people on this planet have to become meaningfully involved in changing the world? All of us do. Each of us does, with his or her own actions!

In such a complex system, any small change in input results in huge changes in outcome. It’s what is popularly referred to as the ‘Butterfly Effect’. It means that even intractably large challenges can be influenced through simple changes. In terms of our current global conundrum, one of the simplest changes we can make is to change our thinking. Currently, the business model contains our most readily available language, myths and metaphors for evaluating success. But as Massey lecturer Robert Theobald

individuals need to understand their authority and ability to steer this ship

noted, our society is going to have to change how we define success in order

through individual action; the emergent navigation which is caused by

to survive. We’re going to have to start evaluating products and services not

billions of rudders, individuals charting their course and not relying on those

just by asking if they make money, but from a triple bottom line questioning

in positional power at the helm.

of social, economic and environmental sustainability. And as we do so, it becomes increasingly important to ask, “Who is benefiting from this?”

So. What is Stephen Harper doing to stop climate change? What is

While the traditional answer has been individuals or corporations, there is a

the Government doing to provide affordable housing? To revitalize

worldwide movement whereby non-profit organizations are turning the very

neighbourhoods? To increase citizens’ quality of life? The more powerful

business model on its head so it can be put into service of neighbourhoods!

question is what are WE doing? I’d say we’ve done a pretty good job of

The third sector of Enterprising Non-Profit organizations is emerging to

addressing these issues with the Cornerstone. As for the politicians, I

deal in a grassroots way with the challenges of sustainability and modern life

know they’re watching us here in Fernwood and have noticed that we aren’t

that are beyond public and private sector solutions.

waiting around for anyone to ‘lead’ us on these issues. Perhaps they are starting to understand ‘servant leadership’: where the people lead, the leaders

The emergence of this innovative third sector marks a change in our thinking

should follow. As Ghandi said, ‘There go my people and I must follow, for I

from passive consumers of, to worthwhile participants in and ultimately

am their leader’.

valid co-creators of the world around us. In a complex system such as society,

“Complex systems – such as a wildfire, a storm pattern, or a waterfall – are not ‘run’ by anyone in particular, but are instead controlled by countless individual interactions that occur inside the system. Every day, for instance, customers in hundreds of countries make decisions to buy or not to buy, and those decisions in turn affect the price of beans and stocks. In the same way, countless interactions in a natural system – eating or being eaten, for instance – weave together to define the community.” Janine Benyus

simple living, of living simply so that others may simply live. For example, rather than cutting a tree down, many are planting one.

There is also a growing emphasis on spending meaningful time with family and friends, perhaps videotaping interviews with elderly parents to share with future generations; crafting and baking gifts together; volunteering time for charities and non-profit organizations; or giving

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redeemable “coupons” for babysitting time, massages, movies, or restaurants.

Other meaningful gifts include: passing on valued possessions, our own artwork, or a collection of photos, poems or quotes; giving homegrown plants and herbs; knitting; investing in eco-friendly and practical gifts like energy saving lights or reusable coffee filters; or committing to a class, group, or adventure with a loved one.

An encouraging word to another

person about their special talent or interest can influence this person to develop their gift. Subsequently, that person’s creation(s) may touch the lives of countless others.

Expressing oneself with a poem or blog shared online can make a stranger reading it thousands of miles away feel less alone, knowing there is someone out there who can relate to how he or she feels.

Staying conscious of our connection to all things can help us value our choices

in terms of the impact they can have.

We are powerful enough that what we do and say reverberates through the lives of people we may never meet, affecting fate forever. Understanding that we are intimately connected with all things and understanding our power to affect our world can be the fuel we need to activate us toward truly living our time here on earth, including the festive time, consciously and purposefully.

December 2006 | www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca | Page 5

garden gleanings :

>> by Margaret Hantiuk There is no doubt as to the therapeutic benefits of gardening. For one thing, it is good physical exercise: the digging, weeding, pruning, planting and mowing. It is also good for stress relief. There’s something about being outdoors amongst all the greenery in the fresh air and sunshine with your hands in the dirt. As my mother used to say: “Plants don’t talk back”.

When my three children were little, they would play in the backyard while I furiously gardened. I remember that at my dear mother’s funeral not too long ago, my brother said in his eulogy: “We knew all was well with the world when we were in the sand box and our mother was in her garden”.

As we learn to grow plants successfully and the yard becomes a garden it also becomes a work of art, and as such, an outlet for our creativity and succor for the soul.

All of the colorful and fragrant flowers are a balm for the senses – we slow down and enjoy. Your family, whenever they come home, and visitors, when they come by, are treated to this wonderful gift as well. Even inside the house, looking out, a well-planned and tended garden offers many delights to the eye with blossoming trees and shrubs that attract birds and butterflies.

In the warmer months – with the simple addition of an outdoor table and chairs – the yard becomes a meeting room, for eating and celebrating. And, what is more heavenly than tasting freshly picked herbs, greens and veggies, and ripe berries and fruit from your own garden!

The garden also becomes the backdrop for the life of the family: birthdays, weddings, Christmas decor, Easter egg hunts, badminton, croquet and bocce games and family photos. When we create a garden we are partaking in one of the most ancient endeavors of humankind.

Your garden is also a gift to passersby. Plant some fragrant flowers and shrubs, and plan for interest in all seasons – it’s possible here. Your efforts have huge returns. Duncan garden designer, Suzanne Wilkenson says that any investment in your front yard dramatically increases ‘curb appeal’. Even just a well selected, planted, and maintained tree in your front yard translates into a house that sells faster and for thousands of dollars more. And, if you take the time to fix up your front yard, chances are that your neighbours will too. Next thing your whole block will be looking good, increasing not only the value of the homes but also the aesthetic appeal and good feeling of your street. I always have a good visit with my neighbours when I am out in my yard working and even people passing by linger and chat. This is how a neighbourhood is created.

As we tend our gardens, we become part of nature.

We get to know our little piece of earth: the soil, the

Gardening... a gift.

‘aspects’ of our yard (sunshine and shade, prevailing winds, hot and cold spots, etc), and the climate that surrounds it. We watch the temperature and the rainfall. We enjoy the breezes as they caress the trees and stir the yard. We become grounded and aware of the season’s passing: the exhilarating first snowdrops in the spring, the luxury of summer, the wistful beauty of fall, and the deep, dark and stormy days of winter.

We begin to understand the rhythms of nature and the feelings we experience as we pass through its cycles. We become close to the trees and shrubs in our yard and realize their grand beauty, their preciousness as shade bearers and as homes to many living things and their

tremendous job of creating fresh, oxygenated air for us all. We begin to know the delicate inter-relatedness of all living things, ourselves included. We witness the transformation of our little piece of paradise and we sense the deeper cycles of life, death and renewal.

We become stewards. We realize that if we apply pesticides and herbicides we can harm all living things in our garden: ourselves and our children, our pets, the birds, butterflies, and all the good bugs as well. So we begin to learn about natural ways to control pests, and as we slowly give up the idea of a ‘perfect’ garden we begin to be cocreators in the living miracle of a real, thriving oasis – in the middle of the city!

So … if you need a New Year’s resolution how about a garden? If you don’t have a yard, you can create a garden on your balcony, convince a neighbour to share a little plot of land, or contact Lifecycles and ask about their garden-matching program. If funds are limited, you can beg, borrow and steal seeds and twigs to start your garden.

The wonderful thing about perennials is that they have to be divided every few years to thrive, so most gardeners are only too happy to offer you something from their garden. With your efforts, Fernwood will become an even more beautifully green neighbourhood than it presently is and, as Princess Abkhazi stated, quoting the old Chinese proverb: “If you want to be happy for a year, get a pig, if you want to be happy for a lifetime, grow a garden.”

We knew all was well with the world when we were in the sandbox and our mother was in her garden.

Page 6 | News and views from the heart of Fernwood | December 2006

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faces of fernwood :

fernwood marketplace

Fine Fernwood furniture

Advertise Here

>> by Susan Salvati

Your ad could be here! $5.00 for three lines.

Now that the silhouettes of the trees around us are again visible, our neighbours are happily finding warmth at the Cornerstone Café. In the final days before the café opened, Fernwood NRG received a big hand from Ted Hodson, a multi-talented craftsman who has lived in Fernwood for two years. Ted’s true passion is making wooden furniture, and particularly Windsor chairs.

As we go down the stairs of his home into the basement, we pass shelves of cookbooks, vases and kitchen odds and ends, but quickly “start getting into the wood.” Everywhere there are piles of wood, “even a couple of logs,” and projects in varying stages of completion. We turn right and we are in Ted’s modest workshop, a tiny hobbit hole tucked under the stairs, made cozier by its pile of wood shavings. Looking around there are neat bunches of chair legs, spindles and the back bows of chairs, bent over a steam box as they would have been two hundred years ago. The hand tools are orderly stored along two of the four walls.

Ted demonstrates how quickly what looks like a piece of kindling to me can become a spindle. He shows me a beautiful chair made of yew. These trees grow all over the island and can reach 500 years. However, they grow slowly and it takes 150 years for a yew tree to reach a ten-inch diameter. Ted uses salvaged wood, but has mixed feelings nonetheless. “I like it that I’m using all these yew logs, salvaged from a clearcut, but it’s far more sad that they were clearcut. Our grandchildren won’t see trees like these.” Ted is animated as he tells me about a huge yew tree at Government House: “I would love it if people would go and look at that tree.”

$1/additional line. Send an email to marketplace@ fernwoodneighbourhood.ca. Ads due the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue.

Isabel’s Housekeeping $15/hour. References available. 380-0741.

Room for Rent in Fernwood $350/$400 per month. 380-0323. Ask for Domingos (evenings).

Advertise Here Your ad could be here! $5.00 for three lines. $1/additional line. Send an email to marketplace@ fernwoodneighbourhood.ca. Ads due the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue.

custom pieces, it is not what he enjoys most. He prefers a more dynamic, immediate relationship that occurs when someone first encounters a piece of furniture that he has created and upon seeing it wants to have it. “There’s a great energy that happens and lasts forever.”

Ted is very interested in design and the implications of mechanized production versus something unique created by hand. “No piece of wood is ever perfect, and I’d hate it if it would (be). There are so many angles in chair making; there will always be a subtle imperfection.”

But this imperfection is precisely what he admires.

“When our eyes see a piece of furniture, I think it’s easier on the eye, unconsciously, ... to see the subtle imperfections either in the surface texture or the form versus mechanized, perfectly manufactured furniture.”

When I say I make furniture, people light up... they react in a heartfelt way.

Ted explains that his love for wood is a family tradition. His father would make furniture as a hobby, while his Great Grandpa had a sawmill and furnituremaking business. Ted recalls how as a child “we used to tap maple trees and I loved that relationship with using the wood or the sap or the firewood.” He remembers how peeking in to watch his father create he was “always so amazed.”

Yet, for Ted, it has been a slow turning to the making of furniture. He began about seven years ago. Trained as a mechanical designer, his natural inclination is toward creating things: “I love making useful stuff . . . things that have a function.” And while he used to make brazed bike frames, he never got the reaction that he gets now.

“When I say I make furniture, people light up . . . they react in a heartfelt way.” While he has done numerous

Together, we speculate on why this might be, that perhaps it comforts human beings to be reminded of a more natural state. Ted is also attracted to designs that are not jarring, that don’t take up a lot of visual space.

“Chairs exist really well in a room because you can see through them.”

As the time comes for me to leave it’s a little difficult to pull myself away from the beauty of the wood creations around me. The multicolored hues of the glossy oiled woods invite me to sit a while longer. Ted explains that “it’s not wealthy people buying furniture, it’s my neighbours; not millionaire patrons, people who save up for it even though it’s a bit of a stretch. I love that my friends can buy this furniture.” I’m hopeful that maybe someday soon I too can take one of these pieces home.

Furniture fundraiser Come on into the Cornerstone Café and see the chair that Ted built. Ted Hodson is donating one of his beautiful handmade chairs to our neighbourhood living room. Can you spot it? In support of the Cornerstone Café, Ted is offering our neighbourhood an opportunity to fill the Cafe with these creations. He is graciously offering his chairs at $250.00 each ($100.00 below his usual asking price.)

In addition to the logo, each chair will have a space for an inscription, dedicating the piece to an individual, group or business. This is a limited opportunity as there will be a total of forty chairs. With Christmas fast approaching they are sure to be popular. To place an order, come into the Cornerstone Café today, sign up and help make your neighbourhood space even cozier.

VillageVibe

December 2006 | www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca | Page 7

what’s on in Fernwood Dec 2006

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Fernwood NRG Holiday Closure

friendly” Resilient Victoria. Public

provided. Ongoing Tuesdays and

consultation December 5th (contact

Thursdays, FCC Gym, 7:00pm –

In observance of the Christmas and New

youth@lifecyclesproject.ca for details).

9:30pm, $4, or get a punchcard: $40/11

Year’s holidays, the community centre

Findings presented December 15th,

sessions. No wooden sticks.

at 1240 Gladstone Avenue will be closed

4pm – 5pm. Both events at Fernwood

Holistic Health & Healing

from Saturday, Dec. 23 until Monday

Community Centre.

Healing meditation based on Chinese

villagevibe Published by Fernwood NRG (Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group)

Five Elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water,

January 1, inclusively. The Cornerstone Café at 1301 Gladstone Avenue will be

Kids & Families

Wood, plus discussion of topics chosen

1240 Gladstone Street

closed on Dec. 25 but otherwise will be

Parent & Tot Playgroup

by group. Ongoing Mondays, FCC,

Victoria, BC V8T 1G6

open throughout the holiday.

Ongoing Tuesdays & Thursdays. FCC

10:00–11:30am, Free!

T 250.381.1552

Gym, 9:30am - 11:30am, $1 per family,

Falun Gong

F 250.381.1509

Make Yer Neighbourhood Nicer

snacks provided.

Peaceful meditation practice. Ongoing

villagevibe@fernwood

Mother Goose Circle Time

Wednesdays, FCC, 5:00pm – 7:00pm,

neighbourhood.ca

Total Plastics Recycling Day

Songs, rhymes & stories; Select

everyone welcome, Free!

www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca

Sat, Dec. 9, Back of FCC 10am - Noon.

Saturdays (Call 381-1552 to register

Fernwood Autumn Glow (55+)

(Every 2nd Sat of Month) Recycle

and for info) FCC Infant & Toddler

Gentle exercise, lunch & activities;

plastics of all kinds (Styrofoam packing,

Centre, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Free!

Ongoing Fridays, FCC, 11:00am, $5.50

soft plastics and bags, and ALL hard/

($2 for songbook)

for lunch.

rigid plastics) plus old electronics. By

Community Day Parent-Run

donation to cover transportation.

Family Group

Editor: Lisa Helps Contributors: Margaret Hantiuk Annalee Lepp

Family directed and facilitated program!

Music, Art, Theatre, and Entertainment

Special Events

Ongoing Mondays, 9:30 – 11:30am

‘Urinetown: The Musical’ at the

Mara Moon

Community Day Christmas Party

FCC Gym, Free!

Belfry Theatre

Morgan Obendorfer

With 15 actors and a four-piece

Trish Richards

band, this is “the biggest, and silliest

Susan Salvati

Decorating, Storytime, Carolling. Free!

Youth, Adults & Seniors

FCC Gym.

Drop-in Badminton

mounted,” featuring a story filled with

City of Victoria Residential Leaf

Ages 12 to Adult, everyone welcome.

greed, love, revolution and some very

Pick Up Autumn means it’s time to

Ongoing Tuesdays, 5:30pm to 6:45pm,

catchy numbers. Runs until Dec 10,

start raking! Residential leaf pick-up

FCC Gym, $2 per person or $5 for a

for tickets call 385-6815 or head to

from curbs and boulevards on Sundays.

family of 3!

www.belfry.bc.ca.

Lee Hamer

Pick up schedule for different areas of

Free Internet and Computer Access

Victoria Bluegrass Assoc. Jam

Canadian folksinger performs select

“Greater Fernwood” varies: check out

Complete your one-time registration and

Ongoing Tuesdays Orange Hall,

Weds at J.K. Do Forno Café in Fernwood

more detailed pick up schedule info at

then get online through the Community

7:30 – 10:30pm, $2 to play, free to listen.

Square. 6:30pm – 8:30pm, free!

http://www.victoria.ca/residents/prksrc_

Access Program. FCC Community

(Last Tuesday of month is open stage/

Live Music at Logan’s

prks_lfplpc_schdl.shtml.

Room, 9:15am to 8:30pm, Monday to

feature night; cost varies).

For listings, go to www.loganspub.com

Youth and Resilient Communities

Friday, except for 11:00am to 3:00pm on

Project A project designed to engage

Wednesdays. Free!

youth and community in setting a youth

Drop-in Floorhockey

vision and action plan for a “youth

Co-ed Adult (18+), all equipment

Monday Dec. 18, 9:30-11:30am, Photos with St. Nick, Solstice Cookie

Roberta Martell

production the Belfry has ever

For submission guidelines and for more info, go to

www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca/events

TUESDAYS Beer and Burger – 100% Premium Ground Beef Burger and a Pint $7.95 1302 Gladstone

412-2001

Book your holiday office party now!

Page 8 | News and views from the heart of Fernwood | December 2006

VillageVibe