Watch this Youtube clip. Curling at its best! I have never seen a shot like this before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iEnf3brmYs
This afternoon Canada and Sweden are playing in a qualification match to determine who will be in the finals tomorrow.
It will be exciting!
Does this sound like a perfect retirement option? These buildings are located a very short walk from the Senior Centre.
Kiwanis Garden Village is one of three housing developments in West Vancouver. Four buildings make up Kiwanis Garden Village, which is owned and operated by Kiwanis Senior Housing and Community Service Society of West Vancouver.
Following the earlier completion of Kiwanis Manor and Kiwanis Court, the Cypress and Terrace buildings were added in 2014. Tying in these new residences to the existing buildings required extensive re-landscaping; 304 units were built around a central community garden featuring plots, edible plants, an outdoor amenity patio, and a central seating area. The buildings were designed with sustainability in the forefront; durable, low maintenance building materials were used. Wood was chosen as the primary material due to its durability, cost-effectiveness, and climate-change neutrality.
The buildings in the project also feature extra insulation, triple pane low-E windows, energy efficient light fixtures, and low flow water fixtures. To reduce the need for electricity, the design takes advantage of daylight by using larger windows and full-glazed amenity rooms. Sunshades mitigate solar penetration on south facing units and a heat-recovery ventilation system reduces energy needed for heating.
Source: https://glotmansimpson.com/project/kiwanis-garden-village/
On Tuesday April 4th, we had our first official meeting of the Aging Gracefully group at the Senior Center. There were 17 people in attendance.
Paula Cline opened the meeting with a delightful overview of what we hope to accomplish and introduced our speaker, Dr. Deborah O'Conner,
Deborah O’Conner, who is a Professor at the School of Social Work at UBC, presented our group with her modified version of Palmore’s Facts on Aging Quiz. This sparked a lively discussion around how the normal aging process affects our daily lives. Once we have a basic understanding of what normally happens to our bodies and minds as we age, we can more readily determine when we need additional help or services before a crisis emerges.
Three main themes of the afternoon were:
In future sessions, Aging Gracefully hopes to delve deeper into many of these ideas. In May, we will hear from Sgt. Mark McLean, WVPD, and Jeff Palmer, Block Watch Coordinator, on how to recognize and thwart scams. In June we will hear from experts on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).
Stephen Leacock has played a small but significant role in my life. I think he might have been on one of my reading lists in high school. But, it was when I took my first (night) course at a university in the Stephen Leacock building on the McGill campus, my life changed. I was over-awed by the building and the course and the realization that one could spend their life with debate and discussion about literature - at least it was a possibility. One that was not fulfilled for many years.
Over all those years, Leacock’s vision of the perfect small town has stayed with me. From time to time, I have thought I might find a version of it in the Okanagan. Lately, I have discovered it right here in Ambleside.
We have the banks - many banks along with many money exchanges. Our shops can be a little off the wall - the large corner woman’s shop that sells only pajamas and maybe the odd bathing suit. Beside that one is/was a shop that sold only organic fertilizer and designer wall paper. (Covid may have put him/her out of business). And, just steps way, is our own exclusive pot shop. Our new delightful mayor is just quirky enough and friendly enough with all the shopkeepers.
As I sit on a park bench by our newly re-opened Ferry Building, I can envision a steam boat (or party boat) picking up the town’s elite from the wharf to take them for an excursion up to Indian Arm for their annual picnic on the August Bank Holiday.
We have our very own Mariposa.
Back in the day, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town was one of the short stories that was required reading in high schools all over Canada.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is considered the masterpiece of Stephen Leacock. Originally published in 1912, it is a set of fictional tales occurring in the little hamlet of Mariposa, on the coast of Lake Wissanotti. Mariposa is not an actual place. This composition has continued to thrive for its global appeal. Many of the characters, however patterned on locals of Orillia, are country town cliches. Their inadequacies and weaknesses are depicted in a funny yet sympathetic way.
Quoting Leacock: "Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels."
It is 2 degrees and raining this morning in Ambleside. Alexa tells me to expect more of the same with a high of only 7 degrees but shows me that the rain may ease around lunch time. This is day thirteen and the last day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is often celebrated with a picnic in the park.
As the thirteenth day of this holiday lands on a Sunday this year when many people are not working, normally every picnic table in the area would be claimed early in the day. Unfortunately this day may turn out to be the coldest and wettest of the season.
However there may be a few traditionalists that brave the winter conditions and have their picnic around noon if the rain slows or they can find a covered picnic area.
The idea of concluding the celebration of Spring with a picnic each year is enticing. This could be the official start of the picnic season as the days are noticeably getting longer and hopefully warmer.
The seawall and the beach are great places to bring down your lunch or dinner or, even your breakfast bagel and coffee, to enjoy in the fresh air, especially when it is sunny. From now until mid October we can look forward to many good picnic days.
It looks like we are going to have a new outdoor cross fit type gym next to the skate board park at the beach. Our mayor has negotiated a deal with Larco (Park Royal developers) to create this facility on Ambleside Beach in the same area that occupied the outdoor swimming pool many years ago.
Sometime ago this old pool area was redeveloped as a skate board park which is very popular in good weather. I have wondered from time to time if the park board could install park benches with seating on both sides. This way people could watch their children using the skate park while others who wanted to enjoy their takeout food from the Boat Shed nearby could enjoy the water views.
Sometime ago, as well, another outdoor gym was installed in this area. It can be found in the weeds just east of the entrance to the Ambleside par 3 golf course. It looks a little sad and neglected. Perhaps the Park Board (if we have one) could establish a running/walking circuit between the old one and the new one. This would give runners a break from the hard surface of the seawall and a chance to break their run with a few more chin-ups.
The third meeting of Aging Gracefully was held on Tuesday, June 6th at the Senior Activity Centre in West Vancouver, BC. Our speaker, Paul...
