Latest Secret Zumba Night

What's "Secret Zumba Night"? It's a chance to go out and do whatever a momma pleases without feeling like she has to share the details with other members of the family. Yesterday afternoon, my secret zumba activity included a brisk walk up to the local dinner/bar, The Tipper, which I meant to visit ever since we moved to this neighborhood. There were three people sitting at the bar watching the hockey game, and it was weird after all these months of no hockey to hear that familiar hockey tv background noise. I sat in a booth, ordered a glass of wine, chips and salsa and read the Vancouver Sun front to back. The vibe at the Tipper is relaxed, there are colorful paintings of East Vancouver scenery displayed along the walls, and the menu seems to offer good old diner fare. I'll be sure to go back and try out Sunday brunch. Eggs Benny..yum.

A Permanent Farmer's Market?

I stumbled upon Gillian Glover's blog, This City Life, the other day and really enjoyed it. As a former Vancouver City Planning Commissioner, she writes about urban planning, and how urbanites interact with their city. In one of her posts I found this photograph. Can you believe this beautiful building used to be Vancouver's first Farmer's Market? Yup. This very cool building was situated in False Creek at the bottom of Main Street and opened it's doors for the very first time on August 15th, 1908. This spectacular building had 2 bell towers, a wooden promenade and a restaurant serviced by the Fraser Valley farmers who brought their goods by train. (Train! Where, oh, where have all the trains gone?) Clearly, permanent farmer's markets are not a new thing, many Canadian cities have them and now it might just be our turn again!  The Vancouver Farmer's Market Society is currently working on a business plan for establishing a permanent farmer's market.


What great news! It's not that I don't like the outdoor markets which have become a huge success since the first market opened at Trout Lake Park in 1995, but it's exactly that, they are very popular and now it's practically impossible to accommodate the vendors, the public, the dogs, the wagons, the strollers and the musicians. Did the original group of 7 market enthusiasts ever think that their $9000 start-up fund and their relentless lobbying with the city would come to this? A permanent market?

Gillian asks, of course, exactly was I was thinking: What's the difference between a permanent farmer's market and the market on Granville Island? She states:

"According to the Business Plan Lead, Darren Stott, “The intention is to only have or mostly have direct sales at the New City Market, very unlike Granville Island. This means only people who grew it, baked it or made it can sell it at our market. Also, the model we are proposing for the market is to have additional profitable generating functions that offset the extra costs of operating out of a building, such as office leasing, event space leasing, restaurant space leasing and meeting room rentals. We believe with the right location, these can not only generate revenue to keep stall rental fees down for example, but also compliment the food hub.”

No location has been determined, although there is hope it will be close to the original 1908 farmer's market. Construction is planned for 2013!


 

The Hidden Cottages

As I was walking back from Clark Park one morning, I took this photograph of two small cottages and wondered, is this how Cedar Cottage got it's name?

A quick internet search and presto! According to the Vancouver Street Stories, it was named because the first settlers of this neighborhood built small cedar cottages along the rough roads and forests. It's funny, because just the other day, I mentioned to a neighbor that it would be fun to apply for a small neighborhood fund to have a historic plaque added to Commercial street to commemorate the rich history of this working class neighborhood. Turns out Vancouver Street Stories have already placed one at Brewer's Park on Victoria and 26th which talks mostly about the Cedar Cottage Neighborhood House which started in the 1950's when 5 dads wanted to get their boys out of gangs and off the street. This youth group offered sports leagues, and school and family support on the the grounds on Lord Selkirk School and was later moved to it's current location near Brewer's Park.

While reading more about Vancouver Street Stories, I learned a few more tidbits about Cedar Cottage.

Maybe you already knew that in the 1880's Vancouver was home to 50 wild salmon streams, but did you know several major ones ran through Kensington-Cedar Cottage, such as China Creek and Brewer’s Creek, making it an ideal place to build a brewery at Knight and Kingsway? (Wouldn't be cool if there was still a micro brewery on that same corner selling China Creek Cider and Cedar Cottage Beer?)

Did you know that there was a theater on Commercial Street?

Spend some time on the Vancouver Public Library Special Collections Historical Photographs website for many other beautiful photos of the past.

Cedar Cottage Brewery at Knight and Kingsway- Vancouver Street Stories

Theater on Commercial Street 1913- Vancouver Public Library Historical Photos Database

Cedar Cottage Station 1913-Vancouver Public Library Historical Photos Database

The World Cycles

It's about time I write a bit about "The World Cycles" on our street. Danu opened his bike shop just after we moved in a few years ago. He's super friendly and you can tell he's really passionate about bikes. Not only does he offer top-notch service, he has a fantastic collection of old Schwinns, newer bikes for all different uses, and any other bits and pieces you might need.  On any sunny day, there is a constant stream of people whizzing down the hill in front of our house, testing out his vintage bikes. You'd be hard-pressed to see one of them without a giant smile on their face.
Danu rides the ride, if you can say that. He commutes from Lynn Valley on his retro-fitted electric Schwinn to save his legs for mountain biking on his days off. (lol) As for me, I already had a pretty good old Rocky Mountain, but I wanted that cruiser feel, so Danu set me up with a set of wide handlebars and voila! This season, I'm going to add on some "paniers" for my farmer's market yummies, and a nice seat for the boy. Trust me, it's worth a little detour on your wheels to come check out The World Cycles.

Urban Hens spotted in Cedar Cottage

Urban Hens on Stainsbury Street

Yes, the rumor is true and it looks like our neighbors have taken advantage of Vancouver's Urban Chicken bylaws.

My first experience with urban farming was in high school. My friend Christy and I went to the PNE and brought home a handful of chicks in a cardboard box on the Dunbar bus. We got a lot of curious looks as the chicks were pecking their tiny beaks through the air holes. Once home, she kept them in her yard until they grew into chickens, then, one unannounced day, her dad chopped their heads off on his work bench. I was gladly not there for that. He mixed them in the freezer with the store-bought ones... you get the picture. Later, she also raised a turkey named Pecker, but I don't know what happened to him....

Seems from the city website that raising your hens is a serious commitment. Did you know that they can live up to 14 years or longer, just like a cat or a dog? Apparently, chickens get lonely and like to hang out in a small pack of 3 or four depending on their age and personality. Who knew?

Once you've built your coop according to special specifications so that they are well kept, healthy, ventilated and able to socialize, you must ensure their safety from other curious creatures such as birds, squirrels, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, rats and people.

Urban hens are strictly kept for their eggs. No roosters allowed. No backyard slaughtering parties. Get used to having eggs bennies every day as hens start to lay eggs around 6 months, peaking at around 18 months and slowly decreasing with age.

Just like any pet, hens need to taken care of daily; food, water, cleaning, supervised free time, grooming, medication and a whole lot of other tasks. What about vacations? Can't send them to hen daycare, so you must have a chicken lover neighbor who is willing to come visit while you are away.

Wanna give it a try?  Seems novel eh? You could be riding the skytrain on your morning commute with a belly full of yummy no mile free range eggs. Of course if you're from most parts of the rest of the world, it ain't such a fancy deal. But heck, if you've got the space... and the clucks for it... go for it!

Urban Hens in Araruama, Brazil at my father-in-law's.

Hidden Treasure on Commercial Street

I must have walked by this building a thousand times with baby, husband, neighbors and friends, and we've all commented on the charm on the building. You know, the one on the top of Commercial Street and 22nd avenue, kiddy-corner to Lord Selkirk School. It has no big sign only a non-assuming plaque with a name. As for the PLEA in the title, we assumed it had to do with the law; ex-convicts or the wrongly accused or something like that. I tried to remember the name every time I went by and always forgot. Finally a few days ago, I took a picture of it and looked it up.

It's a hidden treasure.

Watch "An Angel and a Good Man" to find out more!

As for the PLEA? It's a FAQ as stated on their website:


"PLEA was an acronym for Pacific Legal Education Association.  This was the name of the sponsoring non-profit that participated in our first contract to deliver Youth Justice Services in Vancouver in 1983.  "PLEA" and its philosophy of providing individualized one-to-one services quickly became well known for success with young people and programs expanded significantly.  Because legal education was no longer part of what the society provided, but the PLEA name was so well regarded, the acronym was dropped in 2005 and the legal name of the society was changed to PLEA Community Services Society of BC."

Word Gets Around Skateboarding

I have no idea about the world of skateboarding. I have vague childhood memories of kids with feathered hair and K-mart boards with red roller skates wheels. The first time I saw a half pipe, I was super impressed, I must have been 5 or 6 years old. Later,  in high school, my younger brother picked up the sport, and his scab collection was impressive indeed, not to mention one or 2 broken bones. Some guys I knew, watched Tony Hawk videos and groaned a lot when skaters took a face plant on the sidewalk. Like it's funny to get kicked in the groin.

Then some people got mad about the destruction of public property and pestered city officials to "deter" skateboarding and build skate parks. Architects took Anti-Skate Detailing 101 to graduate. The benches are splinter-less, yes, and I don't see skaters anymore. Where did they go?

Despite clearly being an outsider, I still enjoy that long "wheely" sound which comes down our street every once in a while. Skaters probably favor it for it's nice long, slightly inclined downhill slope. When the weather's nice, a bunch of skaters gather across the street at Akwell's and film some maneuver on a ledge over and over again. Other skaters stand around and watch. It's a favorite spot. It's like it's the only off-skate park ledge left in town, and the word got around. They come often on warm nights. Seeing them again yesterday felt like the good weather was going to stay.

Dirty Lanes

I love Vancouver lanes. It's amazing what you can find. It might be partly because my mother lives on the West side and she has to walk her dog several times a day that she can find almost anything in her lane. She has this weird knack for it. If I say, oh, I wish I had a coffee table, the next day, she finds a coffee table. It works for toys, books, furniture or plants. It's limitless. Her last find was a bag of mystery bulbs.  She planted them and now we have daffodils!

On my side of town, I don't usually find such treasures, it's dirtier, rougher. But I still find surprises. Here's what I found yesterday while trying to avoid the traffic on Kingsway.

Rainy Day Art

Rainy afternoons are great for painting. I took a picture of the construction bins outside of Gloria Cafe and had fun with my acrylics.

Green Lettuce Restaurant

It's been difficult to find good take-out/delivery in Kensington-Cedar Cottage, but we scored when we called the Green Lettuce. Try not to get turned off by the unappetizing website , or overwhelmed by the 100+ items on the menu, or the fact that it's an Indian-Chinese restaurant. (it's the first time, I've heard this combination). We ordered as we would when eating Chinese, a dish per person plus rice. It was fresh and super delicious. They will also vary the spiciness just to your liking. YUM! Add a comment to this post if you know of any other restaurants in the area worth trying out.

Spa Dog! New business on the block

What do you do when you used to live on an Ontario farm surrounded by animals and find yourself stuck in an office job in Vancouver? You open Spa Dog! I met Hilary this morning, she's been open for 6 days now and she was very excited to show off her new shop. She sourced a lot of pieces for her decor from thrift stores and admitted she got addicted to it and had a lot of fun putting everything together! She was happy to tell me all about her organic doggy grooming services and pet care products even after I told her I didn't own a dog.

No fear. There are gazillion dog owners in the neighborhood and the proximity to Trout Lake makes this little shop a nice addition to the neighborhood. Fancy giving a trim and a blow-out to your pooch after a nice roll in the mud? Stop on by.

I have to admit I was a bit sad when I saw that the new business was going to be dog spa and not a sushi restaurant, especially when there is a cat hotel on the same block... but Hilary made a really good impression on me. She really cares about the impact of her business on animals and on nature. Wishing you a warm welcome and many shampoos to come!

East Van Sesame Street

I'm sure it's because of the lack of reasonably priced condos bigger than a closet situated on a quiet street that the complexes in our neighborhood are full of babies and kids. Brix 1, Brix 2, The Works, and Stories are packed. Every time a childless family moves away, a family replaces them. There are 40 units in our complex and I can count 16 kids. That's a lot! My neighbors and I joke that we live on Sesame Street (partly because we face the street and have no yard). It's also not uncommon to find parents still in pajamas, coffee in hand, sitting on the front steps and watching kids play on the sidewalk.

Our neighborhood is seriously under construction. There are two 2 bedroom condo complexes being built on Commercial Street ranging in the $550-560,000. Another coming behind Gloria Cafe on Stainsbury St. Next to the Works, the old Danica commercial building is turning into "East Van Boutique Condos". A huge complex on Victoria called the "Porter" with 192 units and 10 live-in artist studios is slowly pushing it's way out of the concrete pit. There is also the 8 new, 3 bedroom town houses across from the Trout Lake ice rink now priced at $738,000.  There are also quite a few new detached homes/duplexes/laneway houses being built all around.

It's seems it's all in time for spring. All in time for more pregnant couples living in their noisy Kitsilano closets to move our way! Come on over to Sesame Street, the more the merrier! We've got sidewalk chalk!

Take the Bus to The OutPost Cafe

Just recently discovered this wonderful spot for a coffee on Fraser and 25th! It's been hard to find decent coffee in Cedar Cottage aside from the Cedar Cottage Coffee House, and the "staff room" there rocks my world. What more can a mom ask for: strong caffeine, yummy candied ginger muffins and a place for my almost 2 year old to hang out and play with toys! I love the relaxed atmosphere with the high ceilings, and the stack of readables. I say no more line ups and crazy crowds at Little Nest. (Sorry, I love you Little Nest, but sometimes I need peace and quiet.)

YAY! I wish we had a place like this on Commercial Street. Come on! Someone! Anyone!

1606 East 15th Ave

Thomas Bell House

As promised, I am sharing some of my new findings about our neighborhood, Cedar Cottage. It turns out there is a man by the name of James C. Johnstone who makes his living as a house historian (cool job eh?) who has researched the history of over 800 homes in Vancouver. He is also Chair of the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives Society and of the Strathcona Residents' Association. He has researched one Cedar Cottage house on the corner of 15th avenue and Fleming and if you've ever walked around Clark Park you would definitely notice it, the Thomas Bell House.  In his blog "When an old house whispers.." Mr. Johnstone shares some really interesting findings and photographs about it.

This beautiful home was built sometimes around 1906 for retired sheet metal company owner, Thomas Bell just across from John Fleming's house, a Cedar Cottage land owner and house plasterer (hence Fleming Street-neat!). Thomas Bell, born in Ontario, lived there for a while with his family until 1918 when it was bought by the Peden family and then by the Scottish-born lithographer Frank C. Smith and his wife Margaret in 1919.


Frank and Margaret lived there until the later '40s. After his wife's death, Frank remarried, but willed the house to his housekeeper Pearl Dixon upon his death. (oh, scandal!?) She lived in the house from 1954 to 1960 and married Roderick G. Mackenzie. When Pearl died the house was willed to the Catholic Church and was run as a home for children. In 1974, the government took over and from 1985 to 1996 in was operating as a group home. Luckily, the Thomas Bell house survived possible demolition since then and the current owner has lovingly restored it.

That's Pearl in the yard and the Catholic Church in the back.

17th and Knight-ca 1908

Wow!  The Vancouver Archives is a great way to see what Cedar Cottage looked like  more than a 100 years ago!  Click on the links to see more photos. There's a neat photo of houses and cars in the 80's which to some of us feels like more than a 100 years ago!

Cedar Cottage east of Knight [Road (Street)] and 17th Avenue

Cedar Cottage southeast of Taylor [Road (Welwyn Street)] and Fleming Road [Street]

[Houses along East] 11th Avenue at Victoria [Drive]

Cedar Cottage October 1909-Vancouver Archives

Cedar Cottage- a bit of history

When I first decided to move to Cedar-Cottage Kensington in East Vancouver, I couldn't find any information about what it's like to live here. Up from "The Drive",  I live in Cedar Cottage which is located North of Kingsway to Broadway, between Clark and Knight Streets and Nanaimo Street.(Kensington is located south of Kingsway to 41st Avenue, between Fraser and Nanaimo Streets.) I live on Commercial street which is really neat. Neat how? I think it has to do with the history.

Almost anyone who gets lost because Victoria Drive curves all of a sudden near 18th avenue (curving streets confuse us Vancouver grid drivers) says: "Oh, what a neat street! I didn't know this was here!" It's surprising to see a wide tree-lined street with businesses, even though some seem abandoned and graffitied when you expect rows of houses. Right away you wonder why and what this street was like before.

In 1888 , Arthur Wilson bought 16 acres of land near Knight and Kingsway which became known as the Cedar Cottage nurseries. He also purchased land around Trout Lake for farming. In 1891, the link between New Westminster and Vancouver brought more farmers and business to the area and especially around the tram stop at 18th avenue and Commercial Street. Lord Selkirk School, at 1750 East 22nd Avenue, was designed by W.T. Whiteway and built in 1908.  By 1910, there was a bank, 40 businesses, a school house, and a post office. You can still see the history of Cedar Cottage if you look carefully, although it's slowly disappearing. I was sad to see what seemed like a creepy farm house at 3845 Dumfries being completely gutted and squeezed by 3 new homes. It was the somewhat famed Wayside Inn, a place to rest before cars took over the Vancouver landscape in 1910-20's and slowly drew away business away from the neighborhood and toward False Creek and the city center.

There's always more to discover about the history of the area. The longer I live here, the more I hear things through the grapevine. I'll post more "insider" information as I come to learn it, but if you need general information, the City of Vancouver website posts good information about our neighborhood. Keep on reading!

Daycare Adventure

I was browsing in a consignment furniture store on Main Street yesterday and overheard the owner of the shop chatting with his buddy. It was more loud talk, you know, like you get the impression that they want you to hear everything they are saying. So I can't say that I was eavesdropping or even overheard, but just plain heard them talking about their kids and how they loved daycare because they get to do fun things that they don't get to do at home like painting. This got me thinking not so much about painting, 'cause Baby is doing great in the arts department, but more about his stimulation.

Part of 13 month old babies' programing is exploration and sometimes I get the feeling like he's thinking: "Mom, I love you, but could I see someone else for a change?" or "Mom, I've played this cup toy enough already, I got bored of it 3 months ago, and you keep giving it to me." Okay, so I'm probably projecting, but still, not that I would prefer to send him to daycare full time, I would however like to find ways to stimulate him. So just to get started with the daycare thing...

Okay, so I'm probably eons away from getting Baby into daycare because I didn't put his name down on "the list" sometimes after my high school graduation and before his conception, but I thought I just try looking for fun.

I Google-mapped (yes, Google-map is a verb.) " day cares Vancouver BC" and at first glance it seems the map is littered with little red dots! Whoo-hoo! Look at that! But, no. Scroll over the little red dots and what pops up? DOGGIE DAYCARES!!!!! Stupid me. So take those away and in Cedar Cottage-Kensington, it's pretty slim pickin's especially if you minus after school care and care for kids with disabilities. I count 1 or 2 possibilities.

Okay, so googling might not be the way to go. Maybe the Westcoast Child Care Resource Center can help. I'll give them a call. More on this Daycare Adventure soon!

Sun Run Train Week 4

Yay! Finally my lungs don't feel like they're on fire! And my legs can go a little farther without cramping! I've run around Trout Lake enough times now, so I'm starting to do the streets and backlanes of the neighborhood. I can't believe how many interesting things I see while I'm out puffing and pushing the stroller up hills! Here's a sampler:

Sun Run Training Photos

Baby and I completed Week 2 of the Sun Run training today! Yay! Do I feel different? Do my legs hurt less? I'm not sure yet, but I'm proud of myself for sticking to it so far! The weather has been pretty cloudy and it's hard to keep motivated, so after my run, I take pictures of neat things I see in the neighborhood. It helps to get me out!

We Won a New Playground!

In an earlier post, I talked about how the school up the street had a rotting, decrepit playground and how I wished Lord Selkirk Elementary could win a new cool place for kids to play and guess what?! WE WON! I was so happy to see in my inbox today that Lord Selkirk Elementary School is one of the 11 winners who will be sharing in the $1,000,000 Aviva Community Fund! I can't believe it! There were hundreds of well deserving ideas across Canada and several in Vancouver, and the judges selected us! I have to say that those who participated in organizing the candidacy and spreading the word in the neighborhood deserve a big applause. I'm glad my vote made a difference and I can't wait to take Baby!

 

Congratulations to the Lord Selkirk Elementary School-Celebrating 100 Years of Community in Cedar Cottage!