A message from Dad sent to Richard who sent it to us...

I say Thank God. It sure is hard to be grateful. To my daughter Deborah,Son -in - law Hal and their son David, my deepest gratitude for having me. To Cathy, my daughter, my deepest gratitude for her Skill and background in Carpentry and Learning.

My beautiful sister is on her way home tomorrow, she writes........

My part here is done for now, so I must leave this beautiful Island and get back to my life in Prince George. I have two wonderful girls there who I miss and need to hug. I have a good job that has given me the opportunity to devote this time to build for dad, so I must return and pay my dues. Also, I have a sweet little home that has waited patiently for me to tend to its maintenance needs, and I am now inspired to fix it up since my sister introduced me to Feng Shui and the art of “clutter clearing”. 

It has been a transformative experience doing this work on the cabin. There are many pictures posted on this blog of me smiling joyfully, triumphantly, proudly, contentedly, and honorably. But there were days, not photographed, when I cried defiantly, selfishly, defeated, from an aged mind and a tired body. I am coming to terms with my own aging process and I am feeling the need to change the way I work. In my life I have always worked alongside strong men. To be equal, I have learned to deny and work past my weaknesses - which kept me employed but not content, and certainly not balanced.  On this cabin renovation, I have been given some timely opportunities to deal with my need to slow down, take it easy, listen to my body, and hear my soul speak. 

My sister has been a wonderful support. She has fed me fabulously healthy food to keep me strong. She has listened to me cry and complain and come back to reason. She has kept the hot water bottles hot and the tea brewing. Debby, my sister, is my best friend. I always miss her when we are apart. I will miss Hal for his unending generosity and blazing warm fires. And I will miss David, my nephew, who has been nothing less than angelic during this turbulent time of change.

Thank you all for your help in this “journey of faith”.  Thank you for giving our family this opportunity to work together and help each other. Bye for now...

Sincerely,  

Cathy

The spiritual art of carpentry......

Not only has Cathy laid the foundational blocks of love, peace and joy under the bathroom addition but she is guided by a flame of integrity deep in her heart.  She keep her tools clean, her space tidy, says prayers of gratitude to the living things around her, and lights a candle to embolden her resolve to get the work done well.

Below are lots of photos from the past few days:

Here is Mel, electrician extraordinaire, installing the electrical panel in the cabin, and standing with David (wearing a new hat - Quadra Island Electric - from Mel).

Below is a photo of Jim, our godsend plumber and Cathy's "helper," as he calls himself.

Jim donated an entire days labour to our cabin project -- he shingled the new roof -- isn't it gorgeous!!!!

Cathy uses her reciprocal (saws-all) saw to cut through the nails holding the old window in place.

Me pretending to help take the window out.

Cathy actually taking the window out of the wall.

Jim and David sipping on strawberry/banana protein shakes.

Cathy uses her air gun.

The gang!

Cathy, up high using a very heavy very noisy air nailer to secure the plywood onto the side of the bathroom.

Squeezing silicone onto the sides of the new window.

Installing the new window.

~ the artists ~

I have experienced immense joy watching 

these two work together on the cabin addition. I am consistently aware of, astounded by, and grateful for, the intelligence and courage it takes to build things - IN THE POURING RAIN WITH POWER TOOLS!!!!!

We forgot......

to tell you about the hydro guys!  They were fabulous.  They came to the house last week and between all sorts of gymnastic feats on ladders, they turned the 'ON' switch on so that now we have all the power we need in the cabin.

Sorry for the delay in writing.....

Well, a few things have happened over the past several days that have amounted to a couple of changes. First, we had to reduce our crew of carpenters from two to one: David McLean is no longer with us, but I, Cathy, will continue to work on the cabin until mid January (when I must unfortunately return to work in Prince George - brrrr). Second, the foundation we originally built has been removed and a new one is now in place. (photo of completed foundation in next posting)

Re-doing the foundation was my decision after several sleepless nights. I could not rest knowing we had laid the original blocks on top of a buried deer. Three years ago a little deer decided to lay down and die at the bottom of Deb and Hal’s property. Debby didn’t quite know what to do with a dead deer so she drug it up to the cabin and buried it by the steps. She buried it right where we now needed to plant the foundation*. David McLean didn’t think it would be a problem so we just moved a bit of dirt and set the deck blocks down. Then we carried on and built the walls. But that deer would not let me sleep. All I could see were it’s bones crushing under the weight of the addition, and then the building sinking.

When David McLean took a few days off to be with family I decided to dig up the foundation and release the deer. Pretty much every one knows there’s something not right about disturbing the dead, so Debby and I lit a candle at the burial site and said a prayer. At that moment I became aware of the dead tree roots underneath the foundation at the other end of the addition - given time, these too would decompose and shift the building. I knew then that I would have to dig up and remove some live and some dead roots as well, so our prayer expanded to include consideration of all that I was about to disturb - the deer, the roots, the rocks and dirt, and the worms. We offered thanks and asked to be kept mindful of all we were working with.

It was a very successful excavation. The deer was nicely decomposed down to dry bone and it was easy to remove. Underneath the other end of the foundation there were, in fact, several large roots that needed to be removed - which I did, believing that the trees will survive and still bear fruit. I dug down to solid ground, (below all the organic soil, as Carlos - pictured below - suggested), built three wooden forms,

filled them with cement, and then scribed into the concrete what I believe should be in the foundation of everything built: Love, Peace, and Joy.  For you Dad.

*Three years ago, when David (Peter's grandson) was in grade three, we noticed a dog coming into our backyard a couple times a day every day for about a week.  The dog barked and dug and pulled at something under the cabin - none of us thought anything about it until one day, we noticed a horrible smell permeating the air over half our property.  A couple of mornings later, David and I went outside to find a three quarter portion of a small dead deer, its other parts were strewn around the yard. The stench was putrid! We got the wheel barrel and hoisted the deer carcass onto a shovel and into the wheel barrel. (We took lots of photos and made a booklet for David to take to school to show his friends who stood around him in a circle ooohing and ahhhing over the gory shots.)  Together, David and I pushed the wheel barrel up to the cabin and, instead of digging a hole, I dumped the deer on top of the ground and proceeded to make a small hill by mounding soil on top of the deer.  Why?  Because I couldn't stand the smell and didn't have the whatever-it-took-at-the-time to continue sniffing the air while I dug a hole -- I just needed to get that carcass covered quick. *

Day 1 - The Carpenters Begin

Introducing my sister Cathy (Peter's daughter),

and David MacLean, our carpenters on this project.

Today, they leveled the ground, disturbing as few roots as possible, and leaving Hal's prized apple tree.  

They also laid the foundation and built the floor for the bathroom addition.

It was a wonderful day!!!!  All things a go.....on this journey of faith.

the beginning....

Welcome to our blog!  

Here is where we'll let you know about the construction of the cabin and share photos and stories about the process.  

First - below is a copy of the letter we sent out to Peter's family and friends with a slight change in payment requirements: creating a trust fund for this purpose was complicated and not feasible, therefore, our Credit Union suggested we create a chequing account under my name with the addition of "Peter Boles Cabin Renovation" in the memo line.  Sorry to the generous donors whose cheques we had to send back for reissue - many thanks for your prompt replies.

After that - photos and description.

Dear friends,

We are writing to you on behalf of Peter Boles.  You may know him as a spiritual director, retreat leader, a baseball team member, Mitraniketan Coop member, Queenswood volunteer, friend, or in some other context. At this particular stage of his life, Peter finds himself in the position of needing to move closer to family. This move is happening sooner than any of us anticipated. 

  We are aware that some of you may not know Peter outside of one particular context. He has always been a loyal, forthright, generous person with a tremendous sense of humour.  In 1967, during a time when single fatherhood was rare, he raised three children on his own for several years before marrying Sandy. In 1978 Peter left an established career in sales to move to Victoria, BC, where he joined a community of people involved in social justice. He was one of the co-founding members of Mitraniketan Housing Cooperative - an intentional community based on the principles of social justice which operates an emergency housing society that assists local and refugee families in crisis. Peter’s volunteer involvements over the years have included: Development and Peace (the development body of the Catholic Church), 10 days for World Development, solidarity work with Nicaragua, spiritual direction, retreat direction at Glenairley, Sorrento, Naramata and Rivendell, participation in cancer walks with his daughter Cathy, and the last 15 years as an avid player in senior’s baseball.

  My husband Hal and I (Deb) have offered my Dad the small cabin on our property on Quadra Island. The cabin is basic: a 15 x 20 foot room with an unfinished loft. At present there is inadequate insulation, no plumbing and insufficient electricity. A renovation is necessary to make it livable for Peter. The lifestyle choices we have made, similar to Peter’s, means that we do not have the financial resources to prepare the cabin for him. We are appealing to people who know and love Peter to contribute to the renovation so that he can live independently but within proximity to care and assistance from his family.

  We find ourselves under some pressure to do this in the next few months.  He will be here for the  month of April so we need to have the cabin prepared for then and thereafter he will be transitioning between Quadra and the Co-op in Victoria.  Several other factors have encouraged us to proceed immediately. Peter’s granddaughter Lyndsy donated $5000 towards the renovation of the cabin. His daughter Cathy, a carpenter, arrives on Dec. 28^th and has offered to take three weeks off work in Prince George in order to assist the lead carpenter. An additional donation of $1000 has also been given along with the electrician’s offer to provide materials at cost.  

Following is a description of the work that needs to be done on the cabin. The cost is professionally estimated at $25,500.  If you would like to contribute please make your cheque payable to: Deborah Douglas, with the addition of "Peter Boles Cabin Renovation" written on the memo line, and send it to: Hal and Deb Douglas, P.O. Box 490, Heriot Bay, BC V0P 1H0

      Work to be done on the cabin:

hydro/electricity upgrade including a trench for new cable from house to cabin 

water and sewer systems brought to cabin 

a  5' x 10' addition built to incorporate a bathroom, and stairs to the loft

plumbing, fixtures and installation to provide hot water tank, shower, sink, and toilet

baseboard heating and gas fireplace (we have several power outages during the fall and winter so he needs to have an alternative heat source)

small kitchenette 

loft made functional: raise roof, insulate, install window, finish interior

       For those who are interested, a blog will be created to document the progress and construction on the cabin, and we will include photos and stories.  

       We believe Peter will very much enjoy living in this cabin on Quadra Island. The environment here is reminiscent of the hermitage style retreat setting he so loves at Glenairley, Rivendell and Nestucca. The island has a vital community of people, many of whom are social justice oriented, care deeply about the environment, provide weekly community lunches, a food bank, and free wood and book programs for those in need. Life on the island offers not only the quiet gentleness of nature but also a wide variety of social activities and community events.

       We trust that the cabin, nestled within the Quadra Island community and adjacent to family, will support Peter in the coming years.                        

We humbly thank you for consideration of this request.                                                                                                                                 Blessings to you. 

Yours sincerely,

Deb Douglas 

Kathi Bentall

any questions contact Deb or Hal at 250-285-2894 

or Kathi Bentall at 604-255-1295

Here is a photo of the cabin during summer: 

and here are some photos of the trench being dug -- the hydro cables are now underground as are the pipes for water and sewage.  In the first pic, the trench goes from our home (in front) to the cabin in the rear.

 

Another trench branches off from the main one around and through the backyard to the septic field. Below is a photo of our backyard with the deck at right and neighbours house on the left.

Below is another view of the cabin in the background. 

Mel (the electrician), Jim (the plumber), and Chris (the excavator) worked all day on Dec. 11th -- they did a fantastic job!  Chris was meticulous in leveling the soil -- our yard looked better after the trench than it did before it was dug up -- no more weeds in the driveway.

Dad (Peter) will be driving up from Victoria tomorrow afternoon with Olivia for Christmas. On Monday, December 28th we'll begin the construction of a bathroom on the cabin.  It'll be an exciting day and Peter will be here for it!