Moving forward again ... finally...

With hopes of hosting some family in our place over Christmas, we started pushing for progress back in August. We're down to the short strokes - likely NOT having a fully finished front unit finished in the next 2 weeks but seeing the finish line perhaps in January. This is a full year later than what I would have guessed last summer. Completely stripping an 83 year old building is more expensive and trying than I would ever imagined. It is also one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I have done.

So... here goes just a few teaser pictures. I've also done a few updates to the related Minestead page at http://www.minestead.com/. Yup, that is a shameless plug to get some traffic to the website. Seriously though, if you know people who will be visiting Crowsnest Pass and you want them to come away with the best impression - I think Minestead will be a great option (once it is finished of course...).

The first picture is just a close up of the reclaimed wood that surrounds the window we added beside the kitchen area.

The next picture shows a new couch we brought down this trip. We spent a moment sipping cappuccinos in that couch and really, for the first time, getting a real idea of what this wacky dream is turning into.

I think this couch photo is kind of symbolic. We have spent so much time dealing with so much crap relating to construction or just dealing with problems. The couch is the first time we're starting to actually imagine using and enjoying the space - and hopefully being able to provide a vacation rental space that will leave our guests with an experience they won't forget.

This last picture gives an idea of where so much of our money and time has gone over the last year.

Later this week we should have an electrician in to hook up a bunch of lights and fan. No word on when we'll see a plumber to install our new water tank and all the kitchen/bathroom fixtures.

I hope next time I'm posting on here you'll get to see a new kitchen and bathroom... which will mean we're basically completed in the front.

Hope you like...

Brief Thought...

Problem: Bellevue's old downtown is a ghost town. Buildings have been sitting for years with plywood covered windows, peeling paint and no commercial tennants. Bigger problem is that these buildings are probably being neglected leading to serious damage.

The commercial zoning of these buildings in an area with no demand for retail space makes these buildings virtually impossible to sell - nobody can get money from a bank no matter how cheap the space is.
Is there a type of zoning that will allow people to officially live in the fronts of these spaces while still leaving the opportunity for business use in the future? If the bulk of these old buildings were rezoned to allow residential use in the storefronts could the municipality tell people, "yup, you can live in there but you have to restore your building to a heritage standard - essentially forcing people to restore the fronts in exchange for zoning that would make living in.... and convince banks to allow financing of"
Imagine just a couple of the old store fronts fixed up. Signs of light and life at night in just a couple storefronts. Nice heritage colors. Next thing we have turned Bellevue's old downtown back into a beautiful spot where maybe a little shop or 2 and a cafe would want to be. A beautiful, authentic little piece of paridise in the mountains. Sounds better than letting these buildings and the history they represent fall into disrepair.
There are people out there with dreams of finding their own personal mountain paradise. These people want to live idealistic lives. They want to be a part of a community. They want to be a part of something funky and fun. Bellevue's old downtown could be alive with color, light, life, personality, celebration of history, ideas. I know there are people who will find this crazy. Please let what I'm doing in my old building give some idea of the possibilities we have in Bellevue. This old forgotten downtown could help attract new types of residents, inspire new ideas, bring more visitors who will export better impressions of the Pass. This place used to be a coal mine. It is now a gold mine of possibilities.

That Thing

So yesterday I drove down to Bellevue to paint in interior of the "middle suite" in the building. Of course, I ran into a snow storm - the 5th one I have driven through in the last 5 weeks of back and forthing to the Pass. If anyone out there is a son or daughter of Mother Nature, could you please take out the garbage, do the dishes or clean your room - your mom is in a bad mood!
One of the benefits of doing a 5 hour round trip on a regular basis is that you become very relaxed and tend to do some soul searching (or you think about business) - this time it was soul searching.
What is it about Crowsnest Pass, I was thinking. Well as strange as it sounds because I tell anyone who will listen that the scenery is amazing, there are these forgotten parts of history, the mountaing biking is great etc.. The one thing that really has put Crowsnest Pass over the top is the people. For Andrea and I we first met "locals" when we became instant friends with Steve and Jessica at Stone's Throw - through them we met more people and through them even more. The people, especially those who have made a conscious life-choice to move to the Pass seem to have a few great things in common - I will make a list because I don't put much thought into my posts and this is as close to organized as I can get.

1. Non-materialistic: people know there is more to life than a bigger house, larger vehicle, a better this or fancier that. This is so refreshing.
2. Lifestyle seekers: there are people who want to live in an outdoorsy town because it is cool or represents some sort of status and there are those who absolutely love the outdoors and want to immerse their lives in it - I think we all know which applies to those in the Pass.
3. Passion for Community: I have yet to meet people with so much interest in their municipal politics. This is where I put a positive spin on how "locals" see it. I know everyone I chat with has serious misgivings about the current state of municipal politics in Crowsnest - partly because things are a mess and partly because people actually notice its a mess and care enough to talk about it. The attitude in most towns is "who cares about politics." Sure there are political issues but the point is that the people really care!
4. Willingness to Help: Be it trailbuilding, volunteering with events or helping when someone's (in this case, mine) building has been damaged in a storm - many of the people I have met are extremely generous with lending a hand. I was going to start listing people who I have noticed lending a hand but it includes too many people whos names I don't recall.
5. That "je ne sais qua". Jeez people are great to chat with, are welcoming, generous, funny - all combined - it is great people.

The relevance of this stuff comes full circle for me. When I was 8, my parents moved the family from South Africa to Canada. My dad at the time was 38, my mom 40. While my parents absolutely love Canada and appreciate the great lives we have all had here, I know they have one regret about the move. They left behind a group of friends who all had that "something special" kind of friendship. As a small child I could even tell. Groups of families 4x4ing in the mountains of Lesotho or hiking or going to nature reserves - me and my parents were surrounded by like minded people. Since moving to Canada, I know my parents missed it and so did I - not feeling much of a connection with people (or not often at least). So here I am. I'm 38; the same age as when my dad left those friends and that place behind. I'm realizing I have found that place where people like me feel at home.

I am now going to grab a power tool and make some noise - far too "feely" for me.