Sunday, July 3, 2011

Summer In The City...

On days like this, I am so happy to be living in my little tree house by the sea. I can feel the ocean breezes and listen to the seagulls telling each other jokes. And then they laugh and laugh.  This part of Vancouver has always been my favourite neighbourhood.  It very much has a seaside flavour to it.  In the 1960s Kitsilano was taken over by the "hippies" and they preseved all of the older buildings, so that developers could not come in and tear them down in order to build highrises.

When I was a little girl, my Uncle Fred and Aunt Coleta lived in this house, which is close to where I live now.  In the evenings after dinner, Uncle Fred and Aunt Coleta would take me for walks through the neighbourhood and we would always end up at my favourite ice cream stand on Kitsilano Beach.  Uncle Fred would always ask me what flavour I would like, and I always said vanilla.  It's still my favourite.  The ice cream stand is no longer there, but thankfully the house still is, and it has been restored to its original grandeur.  I always thought the house was very grand when I was a little girl, and I still do.

The houses in Kitsilano are famous for their English Country gardens, and most of them don't stop at the front yard. On my walk yesterday, I chuckled at this wonderful clematis growing around a telephone pole. Most of the intersections have circular traffic calmers, and folks have gardening contests to see which traffic calmer can have the most beautiful garden. You will see everything from wild grasses to hollyhocks and roses at every intersection.  They give the whole neighbourhood a feeling of being in a wonderful park.

We can sometimes have long, wet, dreary winters here in Vancouver, but when summer hits, its hits with a bang.  There is fairly low humidity, so the air feels comfortable.  It's the best place to be.

Now I am going to sit in my Adirondack chairs and have a Long Island iced tea, and listen to the seagulls telling jokes.

Cheers!

15 comments:

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

Hi honey I sure have missed you. Love this beautiful home that your Aunt and Uncle lived in. I loved reading about your memories with them.
The beaches have been calling me so much in the last few months. I so wish I still lived on the coast. Of course it was not anything as beautiful as where you live.
Enjoy your week honey
Love
Maggie

Leslie: said...

Looking forward to coming into town for a visit to sit out on your patio and join you for an *iced* tea.

Anonymous said...

A wonderful post. Thanks for taking us round your neighbourhood. Would have liked to have seen some photos of those "traffic calmers" that you described. Sounds beautiful.

Andrew said...

I'm leaving next week for a nine day course at UBC. I'm looking forward to it. The last time I was in Vancouver was much too long ago. I love that city.

Elisabeth said...

It is an inspirational house, Jo, and very grand to my adult mind, too. I can almost taste that tea. Thanks.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Everything I hear about Vancouver, especially Kitsilano, is something more to love. I adore English country gardens, the more overgrown the better, and sea breezes and gulls. Do you actually have laughing gulls? The tiny island of Asateague, Virginia, has them and they are amazing. It's impossible to hear them and not laugh, too. I didn't know they lived anywhere but there.

Deedee said...

You are right, Jo- being close to the sea is such a gift! Enjoy your weekend, and I hope the weather is fine!

Pamela Kieffer said...

I love your posts. What a glorious place Vancouver must be. What fun it would be living in your Aunt's old house. Pam K.

mrsnesbitt said...

The seagulls here tell jokes too! lol!

PinkPanthress said...

I love these old style houses. We have lots of them here, with people who do their best to renovate them, without using too much modern stuff.

Also, love the Clematis around that telephone pole. Here, where I live, they would cut it off from the pole. :(

Do you mean a roundabout when you write circular traffic calmers? I am confused.
Though, if so. We have plants & flowers in ours, too, but the City does that, not the residents. It's paid for, through your taxes here...

the walking man said...

I think you should find the children of those hippies that did such a wonderful job of preservation and send them over this way! Love you aunt and uncles old house.

Katy said...

How wonderful. Those houses and gardens look beautiful.

Tom said...

Mmmmm, sounds wonderful. We spent the wknd in Marblehead, Mass., which sounds a bit similar -- old preserved homes, historic buildings, salt air and sea breezes. Difference is ... we go for a weekend, you get yours all the time. Good for you!

Marguerite said...

Your patio looks so inviting and I wish that i could join you for a Long Island iced tea, Jo! And your aunt and uncle's home is just gorgeous, as well as the Clematis! Cheers!

Anonymous said...

beautiful pictures.