Going Rural

2008-02-13T18:00:00.011-06:00

The blog may be over but you can still check out All Citizens' photos on flickr or become a fan on facebook...

2008-01-05T16:22:00.002-06:00

It's a new year folks. This blog has slowed to a painful crawl. I'm going to make this the last post.

When I started this blog it was about the journey here; about two city dwellers navigating their way through a new space and finding a way to make it work. And here Tyler and I are, we own a home, we started a quirky business, Tyler built a teeny tiny A-frame and we were able to do so coming here with NOTHING. No savings, no down payments...it's pretty magical really. Will we stay? Who knows. It certainly hasn't been easy, but it has been rewarding.

No regrets.

2007-12-08T17:33:00.001-06:00

Our newest ad in the Bruno newsletter got accidentally cropped so that it reads "hop locally this holiday season" instead of "shop locally"!

2007-11-02T23:42:00.000-06:00

READ FROM THE VERY BEGINNING < click link & scroll down

2007-10-20T12:27:00.000-06:00

The other night someone tried to break into the new a-frame shed that Tyler built us. There's paint missing where they tried to kick it in, the door jamb is a mess.

Highly disappointing.

2007-10-07T18:43:00.002-06:00

We attended the Thanksgiving Cabaret at the Bruno Community Hall last night. It was sponsored by the Bruno Axemen with live music provided by The Barley Boys.

No, we didn't dance.

2007-10-02T15:57:00.001-06:00

I did a live interview about All Citizens today on CBC radio's Blue Sky. The "live" part of the equation made me very nervous but I seem to have survived and am thankful for their support.

2007-09-15T15:50:00.001-06:00

Found in All Citizens.

2007-09-06T15:13:00.001-06:00

In my mailbox.

2007-08-29T11:38:00.000-06:00

2007-08-22T16:12:00.001-06:00

Under normal conditions I would have written a long post last week about the Bruno Cherry Festival. Tyler and I decided this year to participate as vendors and move our espresso machine on site. We thought there would be busy moments but didn't expect non stop customers. We were wrong. Around 2000 people attended. We weren't used to being busy so we weren't physically or mentally prepared! There was no time to actually take in the festival, save for stuffing myself with cherry pie as fast as I could, and not a single photo was taken. I am instead posting a photo from last year. Luckily we were able to listen to author Yann Martel's talk which kicked off the festival on Friday night (we were vendors Saturday and Sunday). Tyler even played music while everyone enjoyed cherry cheesecake afterwards. We look forward to next year!

2007-08-20T13:48:00.001-06:00

I restitched this panorama of Main Street, Bruno, using a newer photo of our shop with our new bigger & better sign. Click to view it larger.

2007-08-16T14:16:00.001-06:00

I have a new favourite restaurant! Sadly it's located over an hour's drive away but my goodness is it ever good. Jennifer Willems opened New Ground Café in Birch Hills just over a year and a half ago (if I remember correctly). She moved into a new space on Bellamy Ave. this past May and it is beautiful! Jennifer makes just about everything with foods she buys locally and her menu changes daily according to what's available and inspiring. The small town of Birch Hills is located just south east of Prince Albert. It's well worth a detour if you're even remotely in the vicinity. Be sure to call first and make a reservation: 306-749-2529.

When we were there for dinner on Monday night these were the options:

1."bison meatloaf on golden flax bannock with warm roasted beet salad and feta"

2."roasted beet and fennel pizza with baby romaine and sour cherry hemp oil vinaigrette"

3."home, home on the free range chicken dinner"

I had the pizza, delicious! Tyler and my mother (who was visiting from Edmonton) tried the bison and both quite enjoyed it. Jennifer's bannock is truly great. I wish I had thought to take photos of the food. For dessert there was spice cake and cheesecake and organic fair trade coffee. What more can I say, it was an all around positive experience and I'm very glad to have discovered it.

2007-07-31T19:28:00.001-06:00

Tyler's building us an A-frame storage shed.

2007-07-25T12:00:00.001-06:00

2007-07-19T15:17:00.000-06:00

Thank you CBC Radio 3.

2007-07-14T18:45:00.001-06:00

The Prairie Ursuline Centre was recently sold. The former tenants have now moved out and the art gallery is no more. We will greatly miss Sister Maureen and her trusty dog Sparky. They brought a great deal to Bruno.

2007-07-14T11:28:00.001-06:00

I witnessed an amazing thing yesterday. I have no photos to show for it since, while I had remembered to bring my camera, I had forgotten to put a memory card inside. Some things are better left to the imagination...

Tyler and I were driving on a side street in Humboldt when we came upon an elderly man in the middle of the road. He was wearing a white bicycle helmet. He had a small broom in his hand. On the ground were two baby birds. With a gentle sweeping motion he was using his broom to encourage the birds to move off the road into the grass. The birds were clearly hesitant, one wasn't moving at all. He didn't appear to be touching them but was instead slowly and deliberately sweeping the air beside them. We drove around.

I wonder if he always travels with a broom.

2007-06-13T20:05:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to write a post about the village of Meacham for ages now. According to the 2006 census Meacham has a population of 70 people. It's located approx. 60 km east of Saskatoon. It is home to a professional theatre as well as an art gallery / craft shop. Did you get that? There are only 70 residents and yet it sustains a thriving arts community. They have regular auctions too and they are AWESOME. It blows my mind. The Hand Wave Gallery was created by June Jacobs in 1982 and was relocated to Meacham in 1986. It represents and sells the works of 75 Saskatchewan artists. Dancing Sky Theatre was created in 1993 by Angus and Louisa Ferguson. Since its inception it has produced a successful series of dinner and theatre events. Their performances have not only entertained audiences in their own space "Harvest Hall" (which seats 100 and was completely packed both times we went) but productions have also toured around the province, including shows mounted at The Globe Theatre in Regina. They even have solar panels that power their amps and mics! Their most recent production was The Red Truck written by James O'Shea. There was a real truck on stage! It was thoroughly entertaining and made for a fantastic evening out in rural Saskatchewan (one that could easily rival the offerings in a large city).

2007-06-11T15:41:00.000-06:00

I haven't really been in the bloggin' mood lately. I swore I wasn't going to post about every new item that makes it's way into our store but I just received a package so brimming with cuteness I couldn't resist! Does it get any cuter than this? These finger puppets and pins are made by Ashley Spires, the mind behind Chicken Tika Creations.

2007-05-20T17:14:00.000-06:00

I was lying on the couch today looking out into our yard when bang!, a bird flew into the window. I slowly crept up to the cill and there it was sitting on our cement patio. I closed the blinds to prevent another accident. The bird was totally still. Tyler thought he was either dead or dying but I refused to believe it. Not this bird, not when it looked like it had flown straight off of the birthday card I had received earlier in the day. It has to be a bad omen for a beautiful bird to die before one's eyes on one's birthday, right? I sat by the window and spied through the blinds for what seemed like an hour. First I noticed him breathing. Then slowly he started to move his head. I swear the thing looked right at me.

I waited.

And then he flew away.

2007-05-18T15:33:00.001-06:00

This blog sort of got sidetracked with the opening of our shop. From now on information regarding new items for sale in the store will be posted on the All Citizens website and I'll get back to posting about rural life here. What better way to get back to the nitty-gritty than a photo of a dirt/tar/asphalt covered Tyler? He quit his carpentry job in Saskatoon and started helping a local carpenter part time. His first day was 12 hours of shingling. I took this photo right after he walked in the door in between snorts of uncontrollable laughter.

2007-05-13T14:24:00.000-06:00

We've gotten in some new items by local artists including summer knits by Ross Nicholson, woodwork by Marcel Prefontaine and vinyl bags by Rosie Lines.

2007-05-08T13:17:00.002-06:00

We've added a new member to our family: Terrence the dog! He came from the Humane Society in Meadow Lake and he is incredibly friendly. Our cat isn't too impressed but slowly seems to be warming up to him (i.e. on occasion allowing Terrence to cross his path without swatting him). It also happens to be this blog's 1st birthday. We've been in Saskatchewan for a year! Hard to believe we came out here with nothing but a truck, a tiny uhaul trailer and Booboo, Booboo. We’ve gained a house with a store and a yard and a dog. Yup.

2007-05-04T19:23:00.001-06:00

The mayor kindly congratulated us on the opening of our shop in the Bruno newsletter.

Business has been good. New faces appear every day. Young children drop their bikes out front and come in by themselves for their sugar fix (our caramel hot cocoa is quite popular). In an attempt to attract even larger packs of children we will soon be serving ice cream cones. Tomorrow is the town wide garage sale, a day which starts with a pancake breakfast at the senior citizens centre. Tyler is taking the day off work (his carpentry job). We are STOKED.

2007-04-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

I thought I would post some before & after pics of both the shop and the dreaded sink / laundry room which was the cause of so many delays. Many thanks to Corey from the Tongue N Groove for the stackable washer and dryer and to my father for driving it here all the way from Lethbridge.

2007-04-24T21:00:00.000-06:00

So far business has been slow but we expected as much. I'm trying to provide customers with as much information as possible, which includes posting reviews and biographical information about artists and their work. We're going to be advertising in the Bruno Times starting in May and we're still planning our official grand opening bonanza. We've also signed up for high speed rural wireless internet which will help facilitate the creation of an online store. No more painfully slow dial up, yes!! I'm celebrating too soon since we're told it will take a couple weeks to get someone out here to install it. To qualify for wireless internet out here you have to be able to see the Bruno grain elevator from your roof.

2007-04-23T13:06:00.000-06:00

Susanna's also quite the sewer. She makes wall hangings as well as quilts, all by hand. By the time we got to the quilts my camera batteries were dead so this is the end of the story for now. We'll most certainly be going back.

2007-04-23T12:51:00.000-06:00

Susanna also likes to do collage work. She showed us a partition which she had covered with nature images as well as several small totem poles she decorated with picture clippings and other small items.

2007-04-23T12:19:00.000-06:00

This particular wall hanging was made using a piece of wood given to Susanna (she simply HAD to do something with it, it was so beautiful!) and parts of a porcupine which her son had noticed on the side of the road and knew instantly his mother would want. The mouth is made from porcupine claws and hanging off the bottom (not pictured) are quills. The nose is some sort of pig bone and I can't remember where the feathers came from...

2007-04-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

Susanna also made hanging pieces using hoops, reminiscent of dream catchers, but using animal fur and other natural objects (and unnatural ones like googly eyes) to create faces inside.

2007-04-23T11:31:00.000-06:00

Now it's time to discuss Susanna Bauer's artwork. She had it on display throughout her home. Her love of nature came through in everything she made. She enjoyed creating tiny scenes using found objects from nature and toys. Some were narrative and some were abstract arrangments. If there were feathers involved she would reminisce about the bird they came from. If they were narrative she would make sure we were clear on the story she was trying to convey.

2007-04-23T11:07:00.000-06:00

One of the last rooms we visited in Susanna's basement was the bark room (my name for it). It blew my mind.

2007-04-23T10:44:00.000-06:00

Another room led to another demonstration. This time we learned how women used to wrap their babies before taking them outside.

2007-04-22T21:02:00.000-06:00

Did I mention Susanna has a love for exotic birds? She's also experienced in the art of taxerdermy and in the next room we got to appreciate both.

2007-04-22T17:21:00.000-06:00

Susanna had antiques and collectibles of all kinds in every nook and cranny.

2007-04-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

The next portion of our tour included a demonstration on how to make butter!!

2007-04-22T17:05:00.000-06:00

The next room was pretty much empty, save for the life sized papier maché mannequin sporting an outfit that looked to me from the 1980's. There were a few old pictures on the wall and a vase full of peacock feathers. Susanna had given home to many an exotic bird during her life, including a peacock. She had saved all the feathers and had them incorporated into various displays. She had also "preserved" some of her other birds, you'll meet them later.

2007-04-22T16:20:00.000-06:00

The next display was what Susanna called her "Taj Mahal". She had used one wall to create a castle-like facade using small stones she had found. A small wooden door opened to display a fake fireplace. Red curogated cardboard made up the the roofs of the towers on either side of the door, a detail Susanna herself pointed out (she takes great pride in her resourcefullness). Inside the towers were displays of old bottles, mainly old liquor bottles. Also on display was a collection of large ceramic jugs. The mosaic of rocks spanned over to the neighboring left wall.

2007-04-22T16:10:00.000-06:00

I think I'll begin with the museum portion of Susanna's home, which was spread throughout several rooms in her basement. One of the first "exhibits" is a facade of an old pioneer house with antique tools and other odds and ends hanging or otherwise displayed in front of it. Don't mind the extension cord, she said it's not usually there.

2007-04-22T15:55:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to post about Susanna Bauer for a while now. I felt totally overwhemed with the task of editing down the over 150 photos I took while visiting her home in Middle Lake. Where do I even begin? We met when her grandson called us before our shop was open and said that his grandmother had read about what we were doing (in the Humboldt journal) and wanted to meet us. We invited them both over. Susanna is in her 90s and has used her home as a museum/gallery for many years. She's also an artist and works in various mediums. About a month or so after our first meeting we drove out to Middle Lake to see her home and couldn't believe our eyes once we were inside. In order to properly explain it all I'm going to have to post several entries...

2007-04-21T14:14:00.002-06:00

Items from local artists are slowly making their way to the shop.
So far we have:

-thirty-one, a chapbook of poetry by Ryan Land
-cherry magnets (Bruno is home to The Cherry Festival, after all) designed by Marcel Prefontaine and cast by Pacific Mountain Scale Shop.
-pottery by Bergit Pulvermacher

2007-04-20T12:20:00.001-06:00

We received more mail yesterday. There was a package full of earrings made by Amy Meyers, who I grew up with in Lethbridge, Alberta and who's currently getting her MA in choreography at Laban in London, England. There was also a parcel from Meesoo Lee, an artist living in Vancouver. Inside were buttons made from used scratch and win tickets as well as everlasting scratch and win bookmarks (I don't know if you can tell in the photo but the bookmarks are laminated tickets which haven't been scratched). Thanks guys!

With so many great items arriving my next goal is to create an online store.

2007-04-19T09:56:00.000-06:00

2007-04-18T20:53:00.000-06:00

We're Open! I'll post more when I'm not so tired. For some reason blogger isn't letting me upload a photo right now....

2007-04-11T23:02:00.000-06:00

We received a surprisingly substantial parcel in the mail today. It was from Adrienne and Zach at Smiling Cow Studio and was full of beautiful hand-crafted porcelain mugs. Adrienne and Zach are planning a move similar to ours from B.C. to Saskatchewan and we wish them all the luck in the world. Hopefully we'll meet on the prairies some day.

2007-04-10T13:14:00.000-06:00

We recently received a bunch of DVD copies of the short film Cardboard Cutout by Adrian to sell in our shop.

"Carl is an introverted and withdrawn man who works in a cardboard factory. Carl only communicates with Mike, a petty thief and co-worker. When Mike coerces Carl into participating in a break-and-enter, ‘cardboard’ takes on a whole new meaning."

Thanks Adrian!

2007-04-01T14:47:00.000-06:00

While I was away in Edmonton we received a package in the mail containing a splendid selection of robot themed block prints by Vancouver artist Cole Johnston. Thanks Cole!

2007-03-30T14:15:00.000-06:00

We've been waiting 4 months for this piece of paper.

2007-03-29T13:35:00.003-06:00

It’s been almost a year. I’m feeling introspective.

We knew the move out here was risky. Moving to a new town and getting settled is always difficult. Buying a new home usually ends up costing more than one expects. The same goes with starting a business.

We were setting ourselves up for trouble.

And trouble we’ve had...

Here in Saskatchewan Tyler and I have faced some very real fears. I can still clearly recall nights spent home alone in Dana with Tyler working miles away. Whether it was a windstorm, lightning storm, howling coyotes or neighbors brandishing chainsaws, I felt vulnerable in a way I never did living in the city. Perhaps some of those fears were imagined but it certainly didn’t help that the nearest police station and hospital were two towns away. There were no stores, no businesses at all, and I had no way of leaving. Tyler’s 100 km commute from Bruno to Saskatoon during the long harsh winter left him fearing for his life on many an occasion. Most recently we’ve faced suffocating credit card debt in the face of trying to live on a single low wage income for far longer than expected.

Today, we went to the bank, consolidated all our debt and turned our once brag-worthy initial investment of $6500 into a 10-year mortgage of $14000 (perhaps still brag-worthy to Vancouverites).

All the hard work and stress at least feels like it’s moving us forward. We’re homeowners! We’re going to be business owners! Now we can pay off all of our credit cards and we can afford to buy some inventory for the café. The mortgage will take about a week to process, then we can order some coffee beans and other goodies AND THEN we’ll be opening our doors… yes, FINALLY.

2007-03-29T13:13:00.000-06:00

This photo has been declared Image of the Day by CBC Radio 3. Yippee!!

2007-03-26T19:33:00.000-06:00

Not Quite Every Building on 500 Main Street, Bruno

This is just a test. I stitched together several different photos (with a nod to Stan Douglas' Every Building on 100 West Hastings [in turn nodding to Ed Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip]). I'm going to be doing both sides of the street in full.

And yes, our shop sign needs to be much bigger.

2007-03-24T18:23:00.001-06:00

I took this photo of Rupert shortly before leaving for Edmonton. He used to take full advantage of the ladder we had leaning against the back of our house in order to sun himself. While I was away the weather warmed up and Rupert suddenly disappeared. Was he out chasing field mice (is that what strays do?)? Not only has Rupert disappeared but all the stray cats that used to roam the alley seem to also be gone. Did someone round them all up and escort them out of town (or worse)?

I miss Rupert.

2007-03-16T13:28:00.002-06:00

After just over a month long stay in Edmonton I arrived back in Bruno on Wednesday. I managed to reschedule our health inspection for the day after I arrived (originally it had been set for February 13th). We passed with only a couple small recommendations: buy a thermometer for our fridge and shatterproof covers for the fluorescent lights. We'll get a certificate in the mail in the next week or so at which point we're free to open. I have to admit the months of delays have left me a little exhausted (our plan had been to open in December and now it's midway through March!!!) but this is good and I imagine we'll open our doors within the next two weeks.

2007-02-17T21:48:00.000-06:00

I have unexpectedly found myself in Edmonton for an undetermined amount of time...I'll post again when I return to Bruno!

2007-02-07T17:46:00.001-06:00

I bet you'll never see this at your local supermarket.

2007-02-05T11:23:00.004-06:00

Both of my parents are from California and because of this, while growing up, mexican dishes were always in regular rotation. For me quesadillas/burritos are a dinner staple as much as pasta. I'll whip one up for lunch quicker than I would a sandwich. Where am I going with this?

Living in a small rural town has taken a lot of adjustment. One of the biggest adjustments (for me) revolves around grocery shopping. I've never been much of a cook, but in Vancouver it didn't matter since Amy's Kitchen was always there to save me. We used to live blocks from a large health food store. Organic fruits and vegetables were always plentiful and when I felt lazy there was always Annie's Mac and Cheese! No more! Imagine my horror when I discovered that I couldn't even buy refried beans locally. Tyler works in Saskatoon where one can easily find a large grocery store but after a ten hour shift with over an hour commute each way the last thing he's doing is grocery shopping. We make do with what's available in Bruno. I knew my days of snacking on Barbara's Jalapeno Cheese Puffs were over, but refried beans I could not live without. When the owner of one of the local grocery stores asked if I needed help finding anything I said I needed refried beans. After asking me what on earth I would use them for he went ahead and ordered some! I purchased my first can the other day.

I have a lot to learn here. The local grocery stores don't have a lot of produce to choose from. At first glance this might seem backwards to the casual observer but the reason behind it and the lack of a farmer's market in a farming community is that everyone in town has their own garden. From what I've heard people here usually have more vegetables than they know what to do with. After canning and/or freezing everyone's set for the winter. Tyler and I have our very own yard for the first time and this summer we'll be able to plant our first garden. Learning the art of canning might be next. I see a deep freeze in our future...

Refried beans - a prairie obscurity. Who knew?

2007-02-03T14:59:00.002-06:00

The other morning we woke up to the sound of the motor that runs the fan on our furnace seizing...and then not working at all.

This is the second time that this has happened to us this winter. The first time it happened Tyler and I came home to the smell of burning plastic. We eventually realized the smell was caused by vinyl floor burning around a vent that was piping hot since the heat around it wasn't actually being circulated. We turned off the heat and called the local electrician. He installed a used motor which he thought was in good enough condition to last us the winter but said if anything goes wrong he would install a new one and not charge us any labour fee (we had requested he install a new motor). Well, it's -30 outside and we've once again had to turn off our heat and guess what? The Bruno electrician is on vacation in Hawaii. We made several frantic calls and found a place in Humboldt that had the right motor in stock. We assumed we would also have to get someone to drive in from there to install it. The first guy we talked to was snowed in, another wasn't able to come till next week. Finally we found out that there was a second electrician living in Bruno! He agreed to come over immediately and we were able to turn our heat back on by 3pm. Phew! At least the whole furnace didn't go (it is from 1959 after all).

2007-01-30T20:24:00.000-06:00

We just received some beautiful prints and a book in the mail from Scott Malin. Thanks Scott! Scott is also a musician, you can check him out playing bass with Great Aunt Ida and The Secret Three, two great Canadian bands.

2007-01-29T18:26:00.002-06:00

This is our temporary sign for the store. Eventually we'll make a much bigger one. We bought the wooden letters at a craft store. When Tyler first put it together the "Z" was missing so he made one out of styrofoam. The first time he put it up some of the letters quickly blew off . Somehow he managed to find them in the snow, in the dark. When he took it down to repair it the remaining letters fell off...except for the foam Z! Now he has the letters attached by both nails and glue. It's windy out here.

2007-01-29T17:35:00.001-06:00

This new t-shirt design (available in our shop) references a sign in Bruno. The sign was one of the first things I noticed when we arrived here last May.

2007-01-27T12:14:00.002-06:00

I would have posted this information sooner but I've been sick with some sort of crazy stomach flu. We've been approved! Finally! In the end all we had to do was hang a curtain separating our washroom from the rest of our house. A curtain! The floor plan says it was stamped on January 5th but we didn't get it until a few days ago. In the same envelope was my FoodSafe certificate for a course I took on the 17th. It says that it’s been approved "subject to letter". The letter states, "the four seats noted for waiting are not to be used for seating unless a public washroom is provided". Whatever! The next step is the actual inspection. Tyler wants to refinish the floors first; hopefully he can get it done quickly.

2007-01-21T11:17:00.000-06:00

Rupert and I had a stare down the other day.

2007-01-20T13:45:00.001-06:00

We're still waiting to hear from the Saskatoon Health Region. In the meantime I've taken a part time job in Bruno helping cast railway model kits out of resin for the good folks at Pacific Mountain Scale Shops. I have never worked with resin before. I steered clear of the sculpture department at Emily Carr when I was in school. This will be an interesting learning experience (hopefully I can keep up). Check out the cute little port-a-potties in the top photo!

2007-01-19T15:25:00.000-06:00

I received a surprise package for the shop yesterday that contained several copies of the CD Let the Record Show by Ghostrain (Luke Gustafson). I had never heard of Ghostrain before but Tyler and I gave it a listen and we really liked it! The CD is very nicely packaged in a silkscreened gatefold. Our favorite track was "Heart Ache: 4 Miles". Thanks Luke!

2007-01-14T18:27:00.002-06:00

Rupert is back! He survived. I haven't been able to get a photo of him because all of our windows are now either covered in frost or blocked by large snowdrifts. He clearly has a warm place to sleep somewhere because he definitely wasn't in the shelter we built him during the blizzard. Tyler revamped the entryway so that it curves right around the corner of our house in hopes of keeping snow from blowing inside. Yesterday when Tyler left for work at 5:30am he noticed Rupert came out of his shelter (with Tyler was at a safe distance) and drowsily began stretching. He still won't come inside our house even though it's -30. He's a mysterious creature.

2007-01-14T17:38:00.000-06:00

Some more blizzard footage (this time of our backyard). Tyler made a futile attempt at shoveling snow. His aim was to make a path so that Rupert could get to his shelter if he needed to. Rupert was nowhere in sight and within hours the path Tyler cleared was completely covered.

2007-01-11T19:05:00.000-06:00

Here's some video footage I took of the blizzard. I shot it out of our storefront door which looks onto Main Street, Bruno.

2007-01-10T18:59:00.001-06:00

We experienced a completely insane blizzard today. The photos don't do it justice. I must say I'm terribly worried about Rupert. I tried to coax him in the other day but he refused to come closer than 10 feet of me. As soon as I closed the door he ran up to eat the food I left and then he was off again.

2007-01-10T18:55:00.000-06:00

I recently purchased this wooden mailbox from local craftsman Alois Helgert. It's another item we will hopefully be selling in the shop, when we open...

2007-01-06T12:46:00.000-06:00

This is the final floor plan we sent to the supervisor of "safe communities" at the Saskatoon Health Region. She's the one stopping us from opening. We need her to stamp it and officially reject it on paper before we take further action.

2007-01-05T11:39:00.000-06:00

Our espresso equipment arrived. Normally I would be ecstatic but now it's an event tinged with sadness. I think I'll go over there right now and make myself a sad little latté.

2007-01-02T17:54:00.001-06:00

The holidays are over and it's back to business! We recently received a couple of very generous packages from Vancouver full of items for the shop. Jason McLean, artist extraordinaire, sent several of his own books as well as generously gathering together books by other Vancouver artists such as Mark Delong, Mark Connery, Owen Plummer, Aaron Rosner, J. Kennedy & Jonathan Petersen, The Lions, Andrew Dick, S.P. Ehman, Jaret Penner and many others. We also received an animation on DVD by Barry Doupe and music by Nil Bells and Tim Olive & Fritz Welch. We've been told there's more on the way. Wow. Thanks Jason.

As far as the bathroom fiasco...we have a plan. Stay tuned!

2006-12-22T13:15:00.002-06:00

I really don't mean to harp on this subject but I need to explain the fact that the health inspectors who are keeping us from opening are making a judgment call rather than abiding by any clear set regulations. The first health inspector I spoke to (let's call her "AJ") initially told me we would not need to build a washroom in the store. We went ahead and ordered espresso equipment. She later tells me that what she meant by you don't need a washroom is that we don't need a customer washroom since we will only be selling take-out, but, we do need to build a STAFF washroom. I tell AJ we already have a washroom conveniently located directly adjacent to the store in the very same building. She says that it is her supervisor making these demands, gives me a completely unrealistic scenario about us selling our business separate from our living quarters, and suggests talking to the town office. I do everything I'm told, none of it matters. I ask to speak to her supervisor (let's call her "Nina"). Nina and I have a very unpleasant conversation. She takes the "rules are rules" tone and basically says it was my responsibility to read the handbooks sent to me in the mail. But I did read them. Most of the rules are in regards to CUSTOMER washrooms, which we are still being told we don't need. This is all that it has to say about STAFF washrooms "public eating establishments are required to provide conveniently located washroom facilities for employees." Our washroom is very conveniently located. The only information given specifically in regards to a take-out facility is listed under "Washroom Requirements in Malls" where it says you must provide "any washroom, public or staff, located anywhere in the mall". So a mall can have a staff washroom ANYWHERE in the building but we are not allowed to have our staff washroom (for the staff of us, well, mostly me) located in the same building two steps from our work environment. Nina said that her primary issue is that in two years she imagines we'll have hired 5 or 6 staff and that we won't want them "traipsing through our home”. For one thing, this is rural Saskatchewan, we'll be extremely lucky if our business does well enough to allow Tyler to stay and work at home rather than have to drive to Saskatoon for supplemental income. Secondly, there will be no "traipsing” through our home since the washroom is two steps away from the back door of the shop. Thirdly, if the issue ever arose, which it won't, I would gladly allow any staff to use our home washroom - this is Bruno - I would let customers use our home washroom if they needed to. Fourthly and finally, I would very happily promise to inform the health inspector if I did hire staff and then we could revisit this whole matter! My conversation with Nina went nowhere. It ended with me hanging up the phone in tears. It is a documented fact that people are leaving rural Saskatchewan in record numbers. I now understand why our shop had been sitting empty for years. I totally recognize the need for health codes but this particular issue affects no-one's health in any way, except for my mental health that is.

2006-12-21T16:05:00.001-06:00

Once again I've been saved by Bernadette the cowboy poet. When I met her last she asked a favour of me: she needed some metal rings for the decorative tatting she does. She asked that Tyler and I keep an eye out for them when we were next in the city. Tyler stopped by a craft store in Saskatoon and sure enough they were there so he bought some and today I gave her a call. I was in the depths of despair when she stopped by to pick them up. She came bearing a large bag of garden carrots! She then asked if I'd like to join her for coffee so we went next door to the café where we met up with two of her friends. These women are close in age to my grandmother , I was quite touched to be so warmly welcomed by them. Bernadette recited some of her poetry and had us all in stitches. Bruno is definitely a jewel of a town.

2006-12-21T13:45:00.002-06:00

Folks, I fear that I am soon going to lose my mind completely. I finally received the official letter from the town office. It reads:

"This letter is to inform you that the property you purchased at 517
Main Street, (Lot 9, Block 04, Plan G4013) is 25' x 132'. Therefore it
can never be subdivided. This can only be sold as a whole property as
per resolution #424/06 passed at the December 18th council meeting.

This property is zoned as commercial so we do not have any problem
with you opening The All Citizens Shop. We wish you luck in your
future endeavors."

Nice letter right?

Yes but before I had a chance to forward it to the health inspector I received an email from her stating that it doesn't matter what the town says. We are going to be forced to build a new washroom due to building codes. Building codes? But the BUILDING has a washroom! It's right next door to the only spot where a new washroom would go if we had scads of money to blow, which we don't. We have negative money. We have bills and loans and I have no job since the job I am trying very hard to create for myself is being blocked at every turn. We have an espresso machine on the way, one that we are now not allowed to use! The only reason we ordered said espresso machine is because when I first called the health inspector and asked if we would need a washroom in the store she said NO. I was clearly told that as long as we have only one table for customer seating we need no customer washroom. Now I’m being told that when I go to work in the front room of my home I am not allowed to use the washroom directly adjacent to my work space, instead I have to build a whole second washroom right next door! I apologize if I am repeating myself; my mind is fragile. I am going to lie down now and weep.

2006-12-18T16:02:00.002-06:00

Pictured above is the floor plan for our shop (you can click to enlarge it). We had to send it to a health inspector for approval. It was not approved. But why? First off, we've now been informed that we need three sinks instead of two. Secondly, and this is where my blood really begins to boil, we are now being told we need a staff washroom in the store (we don't need a customer washroom because we'll only be serving coffee to go and will have limited seating). The floor plan on the previous page shows where our current washroom is located. It’s a foot away (if that) from the only place where we could build one (the sink room). Building a new washroom is not something we can afford to do, not to mention the fact that if we did build one there I'm sure the health inspector would then make us move our double sink since I can't imagine them allowing us to wash our coffee equipment in the same room as our toilet. I’ve been told that the problem lies in the fact that we might one day sell our business separate from our home and that without a washroom it can't function as a business. First off, why not let whoever is crazy enough to buy it worry about that (as long as they're informed). Secondly forget the first thought since I can't imagine how the two could ever function separately. The store is essentially the front room of our home, which happens to be on Main Street. There is possibly one tiny loophole. I was told that if I can get the town office to back up my claims of business and home being inseparable then MAYBE we would be allowed to use our existing washroom. I went to the office and told the nice lady working there the scenario. She was very understanding and said she would bring it up at the town meeting tonight and ask that a motion be passed stating that 517 Main Street can only be sold as one unit and not as a separate business and home. An official letter will then be drafted. What planet am I on? I feel like I'm a character in a zany sitcom - one of those shows you roll your eyes at because they're so outlandish and unrealistic.

2006-12-17T14:47:00.001-06:00

Just to clarify, due to unforeseen circumstances involving a broken espresso machine and a sink, the shop is not yet open. The craft sale was a one day event I organized because we couldn't actually open but I wanted to somehow take advantage of the Christmas season. It was also a way to introduce myself to local crafters. In that regard it was a success! The espresso machine pictured above is on order and our opening is now slated for the beginning of January. I must admit I'm incredibly disappointed that we weren't able to open in December but we are new at this and everything has taken twice as long as we thought it would!

2006-12-13T17:02:00.001-06:00

We've decided to name the stray cat Rupert because he's a survivor (if you've never watched the TV show Survivor, season 7 in particular, the correlation will be lost on you). Thankfully the weather has warmed up. He still won't come near us.

2006-12-13T16:46:00.000-06:00

Items for our store have been making their way to Bruno from across Canada. Yesterday I received a package from Joanne at Joma Design in Toronto. Inside was a beautiful picasso stone necklace and a pair of black pearl and hematite earrings. Thanks Joanne!

2006-12-13T16:37:00.000-06:00

The Bruno Times offered us space to introduce the community to our soon to be opening shop (typo note: in the last sentence "your" should be "you're"). We went to the bank yesterday and managed to get a loan in order to buy a new espresso machine. Now it's just a matter of ordering it and getting the necessary plumbing done. Can we still open before Christmas? I hope so.

2006-12-11T11:34:00.001-06:00

The second-hand espresso machine we were counting on has fallen through. In lieu of actually opening I decided to organize a one day Christmas craft sale last Saturday. I invited local crafters to participate along with members of the Carlton Trail Agricultural Society (who sold delicious cherry products). Tyler, my father (visiting from Alberta)and I stayed up late on Friday making sure the shop was ready for the public. On Saturday I woke up at 5am to bake lemon loaf and apple cinnamon muffins (and cookies which I burnt in sleep deprived fog). Luckily my father made sure that there was hot coffee available throughout the day. The morning of the sale was a little slow but things livened up in the afternoon when Bernadette the cowboy poet showed up and brought her friends! Thanks to Monique, Bergit, Laurel, Marjorie, Kevin and Edie. As far as the espresso machine goes it looks like we'll have to invest in a new one, which will require a loan, so it's off to the bank.

2006-12-02T16:46:00.002-06:00

Tyler and I have discovered a stray cat living in the neighborhood. We're amazed it can survive in this weather. Tyler’s tried unsuccessfully to lure it inside. The poor thing is tremendously afraid of people. Instead we’ve built it a little outdoor shelter that right now consists of wood, cardboard, a cat carrier and a down vest we bought at value village. We've seen the cat go inside and we keep refilling the food dish, hopefully we’re helping the hapless little fellow!

2006-12-01T11:47:00.002-06:00

Roadblocks. Delays. We had originally planned to open our little shop today. Here are a of couple reasons why we're not:

1) We managed to find a used Wega Atlas espresso machine, which will save us a lot of money, something of which we are extremely grateful, BUT actually getting the machine here has become a bit of a challenge (it's presently in Edmonton).

2) We found out that in order to serve espresso drinks, even if we are only providing coffee to go, we must install a two-compartment sink in the store. There's currently a sink about two feet from where we will be installing one but since it's technically in our living quarters and not in the store it doesn't count. This is difficult because there's no plumber in Bruno and the one living nearest is apparently very busy, so we'll just have to wait!

I'm expecting, no, I'm desperately hoping that these issues will resolve themselves within a week or two.

2006-11-30T21:46:00.000-06:00

Still painting!

2006-11-23T23:13:00.001-06:00

Tyler and I borrowed a book about the history of Bruno from the library. It's called "Up To Now" and was published by The Bruno History Book Committee in 1984. There's loads of interesting information in it, including family histories on everyone who was living here! Most fascinating to us was the history of our building:

"The Krustus building was built in 1907 by Krustus as a blacksmith shop and was located at the rear of what was formerly the Red & White Store. He operated it regularly until 1909, and occasionally, between his farm work, for a few years longer.

It had a short vacant spell and then in 1914 it was taken over by the R.M. of Bayne and was moved up to the sidewalk to be used as an office. Frank Hamm, the secretary, had had his original office on his farm, but for a short time he had used a part of the emergency hospital for his work, until he moved to the Krustus place.

The R.M. moved to Dana the following year and the place was purchased by Anton Fisher who had operated a harness shop in partnership with Mink, on Main Street. Fisher ran a harness shop in the building for several years, after which it served briefly as a dress shop for three or four years except for a short period when Ralph Gardwyne ran a second-hand shop in it. The Bruno Co-op purchased it in 1941 and when they moved to their present site in 1945, it was purchased by Nick Dirk who operated a Red and White store in it. It is presently Marion’s Ceramics and is owned and operated by Marion Lauer."

As far as we know, after the passing of Marion Lauer the building was purchased and used as a residential rental suite. Then we came along. We have met people in town who took ceramic classes from Marion and they have very fond memories of her.

2006-11-18T13:25:00.003-06:00

We found out recently that the St. Maurus church in Dana was sold. Tyler and I had desperately wanted to buy it when we were living there. We went so far as to write a proposal to the board members. We hoped to turn it into an artist's residency. It's quite beautiful inside with a kitchen and two bathrooms downstairs. In fact, it’s part of the reason why we came out here. When Tyler attended his cousin's wedding in Dana 9 years ago he went exploring early one morning and stumbled upon the St. Maurus. He tried the door and it was open. Inside it was immaculate. He noticed a choir balcony and went up to discover an organ. Tyler's grandparents had owned an organ when he was a kid. When he chanced on this organ in Dana he quite happily sat down and played. He was already greatly impressed by the beauty of his surroundings. It is a moment he’s never forgotten. We waited four months in Dana hoping the church would be ours (it had been empty all these years). Finally we gave up. Turns out that the board member who had long been refusing to let the church go was sick and died shortly after we moved to Bruno. The church was immediately sold. There was no way we could buy it so soon after buying our store. From what we hear it went for a very reasonable price. Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be but we are a little heartbroken nonetheless.

2006-11-15T22:55:00.001-06:00

When will the painting end? We started on Saturday and were immediately faced with a crisis. The heavily textured ceiling turned into a crumbling mess when introduced to the paint roller. We went out and purchased a specialized extra foamy roller and it did the trick but boy did the paint go fast. Now we've moved on to the walls & shelves. We're not sure about the colours we chose but can't afford to change our minds. When I used to dream about buying a house and fixing it up I always imagined it would be fun. It's not fun. Not yet.

2006-11-14T15:47:00.000-06:00

"Arts activities in rural Saskatchewan have become more crucial and influential than ever before."

I found a great essay online by Saskatchewan poet Barbara Klar titled Arts Energize Rural Saskatchewan.

2006-11-14T14:36:00.000-06:00

A very nice article about Going Rural and All Citizens was just posted on the CBC Radio 3 blog. Thanks John Paolozzi!

2006-11-08T16:19:00.001-06:00

Tyler removed the old carpet from inside the shop yesterday and now we're left with glue covered lino! We've tried several methods of removing the glue but none seem to work. Suggestions anyone?

2006-11-08T15:54:00.000-06:00

It won't stop snowing.

2006-11-06T18:26:00.000-06:00

Meet Sparky. Sparky lives with Sister Maureen at The Prairie Ursuline Centre. Tyler and I have come to like them both very much!

2006-11-04T14:19:00.000-06:00

I finally managed to launch All Citizens online. It's my first attempt at creating a website so getting the first page up took me quite a while, but I did it! I'll be adding more as we get closer to opening.

2006-11-03T10:56:00.002-06:00

We went to another auction. This one was in the evening and was thankfully held indoors. Our goal was to get a dehumidifier. Sadly, the bidding went up to $75, way beyond our budget. We consoled ourselves with new clothes. New clothes from an auction, you say? For some reason this auction included massive amounts of merchandise from, as far as we could discern, Costco. We're talking everything from bags of tomatoes and giant boxes of wagon wheels to multi-packs of toothpaste and shaving cream to clothing. Why? We have no idea. I bought a beaded cotton blouse for $2 and Tyler bought some work pants for $8. It was bizarre. An older lady bought a few boxes of ice cream sandwiches and started handing them out to children and for some reason decided to include me! I think the median age there was about 60. We again neglected to bring food but luckily they were serving a ham dinner with carrots, scalloped potatoes and bread so we ordered it without the ham and received a generous discount. We stayed for three hours. When we left they still had a surprisingly large mound of merchandise to go through. We’re discovering that auctions are a valued form entertainment out here.

2006-11-02T16:17:00.001-06:00

We went exploring through The Prairie Ursuline Centre the other day (we asked permission first). It's an extraordinary place.

2006-11-01T23:35:00.000-06:00

We've kept the heat down in the storefront since we aren't using it yet. The other day I went in and discovered that one of the windows had a layer of ice on it, on the inside! I have never seen such a thing. We've been meaning to cover it with that shrink wrap stuff that stops drafts...better hop to it.

2006-10-30T13:55:00.000-06:00

Our kitchen, outdated but functional!

2006-10-29T13:06:00.001-06:00

This is the Sagehill Development Corporation (as viewed from the back). The building used to house the local elementary school before it got amalgamated with the high school in another building. It's where I take self-employment workshops, all free thanks to Employment Insurance. The seminars run through lunch and they feed you!

2006-10-28T17:06:00.001-06:00

The above photo is to give our friends in Vancouver and Toronto a better idea of what $6500 (and repeated trips to thrift stores, auctions and garage sales) can get you in rural Saskatchewan. We're still working on the other rooms and the store. We have a five-year mortgage so we pay around $140 to the bank a month plus $60 taxes, that's $200 a month...