Namaste - on my way

Carol Anne drove me to Montreal and we have had an enjoyable day with Luc and his family.  The children are 5 and 3 - wonderfully active and expressive. They are fortunate to live in a part of the world where there is plenty - plenty of food, plenty of friends, plenty of love and plenty of freedom. I leave them in a few hours and head to India where children will also laugh but I expect they will not have the space and toys that children here have. Such are the differences in the world. I imagine I will still hear the joyful chorus of children's laughter.

Thanks again to all who have been sharing my world, our world, for the last month. And Anne who brought the blog to Facebook - huge thanks for making that technology available to so many people. 

Below are the last two images.  Carol Anne writing on the truck, in St Antoine and the truck with all the stops noted. Notice that little PEI is the only province where the town is not noted.  The island is a community.

If you enjoyed the blog - please let  me know - perhaps I will do it again. It certainly helped me to feel connected to you all. Love and blessings to all. -peg

What Is it like at Kingsbrae Gardens?

Here's to a sunny June. Seems everyone is ready for summer. June is so exciting in eastern Canada, because each day new flowers open in the garden. Kingsbrae is no different than Carol Anne's patch of colourful splendor - we watched the lupines come into flower during the three days that we worked on the finishing touches of the sculpture, including securing the lids on bottles that contained messages from across the country. Each day after our work, we wandered through the huge, diverse and beautiful garden - not a manicured predictable presentation, like Butchart, but more like a naturalized English garden. I hope these pictures make you curious enough to go visit the garden.

The other 16 sculptures are almost all there - ready to be judged around the 12th of June. I will miss that and a party with the other artists on the 13th, when winners will be announced.  I think there is also an open garden on the 15th of June, when the public will be welcomed to view this year's sculpture pieces. I'll have to watch the website! There are certainly some amazing works of art.

Previous winner - I think it was entitled 'the Holy Sturgeon Larry'

 
I left Cathy, her son, Tomas, and dear friends in St. Andrew's yesterday morning, and have been at Carol Anne's for a full day now. I'm feeling a bit sad that the adventure is over, but more rested and certainly well looked after.  Today we emptied and parked the truck, with it's dragonfly wing blue box, but not until Carol Anne had added St Antoine de Tilly to the list of Cross Canada stops. The picture didn't seem to have transferred so I'll add it tomorrow. Here are some scenes around St. Andrews.

Amazing play area near Kingsbrae - a community volunteer construction for children.

Lobster holding facility - likely another community project

Lake near the B&B where we stayed, in Shamcook

My life has changed focus.  Now I am preparing for a month in India and Nepal with my wonderful God-daughter. It is a very different adventure which will involve walking rather than driving. Today I sorted things into three piles:
1) things I will take to India;
2) stuff to take to my nephew's home in Montreal area, so I can take it to Victoria in July; and, finally,
3) pill bottles, tire chains, blankets and other things that will return when the truck is driven west - likely in the fall.

I am grateful to be able to redirect my focus. It's a bit strange to leave the sculpture - that glued bundle of plastic bottles that has filled my days for months - behind. I know that it adds colour and intrigue to the garden, and it is an honour to be part of this prestigious competition. Again, I am struck by the awareness that it is our work -  a community encouraged it's creation and fed into it's final touches, and technical assistance came from several people.

Flags from the provinces we passed through and visited on our way to St. Andrews

Mom and her youngest - notice how happy Cathy is

I am blessed by family, extended family and loving friends. Thank you. Cathy has been to the backbone of the trip across the country, driving, documenting the journey, ensuring my well-being, and just sharing the joy, laughter, frustrations and awe. I can't think of a way to say thanks to her.

We Made It! Kingsbrae Gardens

Cathy and I are tired. It’s been an incredible journey across Canada to Kingsbrae Gardens in New Brunswick. Actually, we drove Babe, the blue truck (ox), from Oak Bay, BC to Oak Bay NB! (More about that later). 

Meeting Bob at Kingsbrae

Checking out the site - rain had prevented the painting of the pad.

Unscrewing the support rod from the truck

Once the sculpture came out of the truck we needed to remove the short stem

Working blind to undo the nut

Thinking about keeping the plywood base

Realizing the base screws were under the sculpture - keeping the base was no longer an option

setting up the structural support

Kingsbrae worker cutting a steel rod to straighten the support rod

Securing the rod in place

Securing the base to the pad

Tightening the bowl to the stem

Undoing the support arms for the bowl

Through the window for tightening the bowl to the stem

Peggy's 'Butt'er Side

Ladders not perfect but they worked well enough on the uneven terrain

Cathy checking the inside of the bowl

Installed

Many of the other sculptures are now in place for the competition, waiting for the judgement day in mid-June. The colourful, 7-foot tall cocktail glass made from HIV medication and supplement bottles blows in the breezes at the top corner of the garden. Inside many of the bottles are unique messages of love, letters of hope and expressions of gratitude that were gathered as we traveled. 

In the Garden

Lunch time

Added to the scenery, it was the stops along the way that made the trip spectacular for us. And it was your friendship and open doors that made it economically possible. We interacted with over 20 communities, discussing my life of living positively with HIV and learning where priorities lie for others. As I mentioned above, our last stop, coincidentally, was Oak Bay, a picturesque coastal town between St. Andrews and St. Stephen.

In Oak Bay, we were reminded that volunteerism and determination are effective, even when funding is not available. We met a young counselor who chose insecurity over government work, because he knew that centres for wellness were needed in rural New Brunswick. Their programming is diverse, with the Centre’s 12-member Board planning events and programming to enrich the lives of people with mental health challenges. They are encouraging professionals to make referrals while they host pot luck dinners, drumming, meditations… Including positive people in programming will go a long way to reducing discrimination and stigma. It reminds me of the warm reception I received on Salt Spring Island (one of the small islands between Victoria and Vancouver), when I joined a cancer support group before our Southern Gulf Island AIDS Support group was created.

Empty Truck

We miss everyone - and know that the sculpture stands proudly in the garden because so many friends contributed their time and expertise to the project. We did it!