Sointula
The dearth of posts the last few days is due to travel and patchy internet connections. Rachel and I spent the long weekend on Lasqueti with her mother, her sister and her sister's partner. In between chores (my big job was reaming out the gutters), we ate royally, chatted, read, relaxed. No surprise, I love island life.
And now R and I are on Malcolm Island, a small isle off the northeast coast of Vancouver I. We're staying at a lovely little cottage, just outside the town of Sointula. Sointula was originally, a hundred-odd years ago, a socialist utopia founded by immigrant Finns. Rachel's great-grandparents were among the first colonists and her great-grandmother is the subject of her award-nominated book, Hannus. When R launched Hannus in Vancouver, I invited my friend John Howarth (retired railroad engineer and poetry enthusiast) to come. He did, and brought along his daughter and two of her friends, who happened to be visiting Vancouver from Sointula. They of course were taken with R's book and invited her to come and read. So here we are, with the reading set for tonight. There will be at least one person present who knew Ida Hannus/Peippo/Strom personally.
Sointula is gorgeous. Our cottage has a view across Broughton Strait/Cormorant Channel of Cormorant Island and the mountains (still snowy on top) of north Vancouver Island. We're going to check out some trails around the island today. We're shopping for potential homes (R's doing her teaching certificate and is starting to look for a job for this fall), and I have to say, I think I could live here quite easily.
And now R and I are on Malcolm Island, a small isle off the northeast coast of Vancouver I. We're staying at a lovely little cottage, just outside the town of Sointula. Sointula was originally, a hundred-odd years ago, a socialist utopia founded by immigrant Finns. Rachel's great-grandparents were among the first colonists and her great-grandmother is the subject of her award-nominated book, Hannus. When R launched Hannus in Vancouver, I invited my friend John Howarth (retired railroad engineer and poetry enthusiast) to come. He did, and brought along his daughter and two of her friends, who happened to be visiting Vancouver from Sointula. They of course were taken with R's book and invited her to come and read. So here we are, with the reading set for tonight. There will be at least one person present who knew Ida Hannus/Peippo/Strom personally.
Sointula is gorgeous. Our cottage has a view across Broughton Strait/Cormorant Channel of Cormorant Island and the mountains (still snowy on top) of north Vancouver Island. We're going to check out some trails around the island today. We're shopping for potential homes (R's doing her teaching certificate and is starting to look for a job for this fall), and I have to say, I think I could live here quite easily.
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