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The Reclining Woman of Vancouver

Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains and the “reclining woman.” You can see her head at the far left of the picture, her chest, then her hands resting gently on her stomach.

When I go to Vancouver, I like to find a log and sit on the beach at Spanish Banks. I look across Burrard Inlet to the North Shore Mountains. To me, a born and raised Vancouverite, this is the quintessential view of the city.

The cluster of downtown buildings to the east is dwarfed against the mountains and sky. But it isn’t the freighters anchored in the inlet, I see, nor the swimmers or boaters that make the view. If you stare across the inlet, you can see the figure of a reclining woman, apparently asleep, her hands resting on her stomach. Grouse and Seymour mountains form her head and shoulders and the long slope eastward of the mountains form her lower torso and legs.

The city below the reclining woman is small and insignificant.

You may think I’m crazy. I admit, not everyone sees her. But others see her, as this article in the Jericho Sailing Centre’s newsletter attests. I consulted my old copy of Pauline Johnson’s (Tekahionwake) beautiful book, Legends of Vancouver.1 There is no mention of the reclining woman.

You have to look awhile to see the reclining woman, but once you find her shape, she will be with you always.

Breathing the city in her dreams

Looking across at her, it is easy to conjure the idea that she is breathing the city in her dreams. Those of us who live here are the shimmering images she sees in her slumber. The light sparkling on the blue water, reflecting off the glass towers, bridges and vast treed landscape. She is the sleeping watch woman, an image of grandeur, beauty and safe haven. The city and its residents are a mirage on the edge of the ocean.

She is always there. Despite how much Vancouver changes ‒ the traffic, congestion, construction, ethnicity and culture ‒ she gives the place a sense of permanence.

Jennifer and I moved to Pender nearly eight years ago. We kept an apartment in the city for a couple of years. We then sold it and moved our second residence to Victoria. When we left Vancouver, I had no idea how much I’d miss it.

Changing neighbourhoods, still the same

I love the neighbourhoods. The expansive Kitsilano, which, despite the burgeoning condos and luxury homes, still retains its gentle tree-lined streets and clusters of shops. The sky is wide above the maples and poplars along the boulevards. The neighbourhoods are a pleasing mishmash of tidy houses beside ramshackle ones with overgrown gardens.

Main Street, from Terminal, northwards is becoming an exciting hive of craft breweries, coffee shops and bakeries.

This past weekend, we stayed with friends in a new Olympic Village penthouse. It looked north across False Creek to the Georgia Viaduct, Rogers Arena, home of the NHL Canucks, B.C. Place, home of the CFL Lions and Science World at the end of the inlet. The area used to be a warren of warehouses and factories, almost a relic of the old logging days. It’s unrecognizable to me, now, but it’s thrilling to see the rejuvenation.

As we drove around, it was as if I suffered bouts of amnesia. A part of Broadway looked different and I couldn’t remember what used to be there. Other streets were familiar enough, but I missed important turn-offs, forgot routes and directions that used to be second nature.

Trying not to forget

The city tries to remember where it came from. Names for new buildings memorialize the ones that came before. A new development at Fourth and Bayswater is called the Black Swan, after the iconic used record store that occupied the corner for decades. I spent many a leisurely Saturday, there, flipping through LPs and listening to the latest music. A similar development at the corner of Sixteenth Avenue and Arbutus Street is called The Ridge, after the great second run movie theatre, where I first saw Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.

It’s no great surprise to me that the city is slipping away from what I remember it to be. Pender Island is my home now, and Vancouver is on its same relentless journey of change without me.

That’s why I like to sit at Spanish Banks and pan the North Shore mountains. I watch the reclining woman breathing gently in her slumber, dreaming of what used to be and what is to become, dreaming of the golden city by the ocean. As long as I can see her, I can still recognize my city.

HAPPY MONK BLOG: An Approachable Manifesto: A loaf designed for the grocery shelf, but with honest-to-goodness artisan credentials. (May 24, 2023) [ See LinkTree in Proifile ]

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Morning coffee ritual, Saturday morning. Drinking Moving Coffee, eating Happy Monk Sprouted Einkorn Sourdough bread, and spending a lot of time setting up this photo. Thanks for the coffee tip, @jomosenpai, it’s really good!
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#coffeelover #coffee #pourovercoffee #pourover #coffeetime #coffeelover  #coffeecoffeecoffee #ceramiccoffeecup #ceramiccoffeemug #coffeeaddict #einkornsourdough #einkornbread #einkornsourdoughbread #einkornbaking

Morning coffee ritual, Saturday morning. Drinking Moving Coffee, eating Happy Monk Sprouted Einkorn Sourdough bread, and spending a lot of time setting up this photo. Thanks for the coffee tip, @jomosenpai, it’s really good!
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#coffeelover #coffee #pourovercoffee #pourover #coffeetime #coffeelover #coffeecoffeecoffee #ceramiccoffeecup #ceramiccoffeemug #coffeeaddict #einkornsourdough #einkornbread #einkornsourdoughbread #einkornbaking
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It’s been a long time since I baked with Einkorn flour, the most ancient of the ancient grains. It’s called “Farro Piccolo” in Italian, or ‘little farro’. A later variety of Einkorn is called “Farro Grande” (large farro)… otherwise known as Spelt. (Einkorn left, Spelt right) Here endeth the lesson. 
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#einkorn #einkorngrain #einkornbread #einkornbaking #tasteofeinkorn #spelt #speltgrain #speltflour #ancientgrain #ancientgrains #ancientgrainbaking #ancientgrainflours

It’s been a long time since I baked with Einkorn flour, the most ancient of the ancient grains. It’s called “Farro Piccolo” in Italian, or ‘little farro’. A later variety of Einkorn is called “Farro Grande” (large farro)… otherwise known as Spelt. (Einkorn left, Spelt right) Here endeth the lesson.

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#einkorn #einkorngrain #einkornbread #einkornbaking #tasteofeinkorn #spelt #speltgrain #speltflour #ancientgrain #ancientgrains #ancientgrainbaking #ancientgrainflours
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Happy Monk Tidings - February 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Sprouted Rye and Seed Bread; BLOG: The Shipping Forecast on BBC 4; SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: No bread next week! https://mailchi.mp/4ea4d30316bb/happy_monk_tidings_feb22_2023

Happy Monk Tidings - February 22, 2023 🍞 - BAKER`S CHOICE: Sprouted Rye and Seed Bread; BLOG: The Shipping Forecast on BBC 4; SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: No bread next week! https://mailchi.mp/4ea4d30316bb/happy_monk_tidings_feb22_2023 ...

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Happy Monk Tidings - February 15, 2023 🍞 - BAKER'S CHOICE: Cinnamon-Raisin Sourdough; BLOG: The Magic of the Grouse; VIDEO: How Bread Was Made in 1962; FINAL REMINDER: New Delivery Times/Prices - [Campaign URL]

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Luminous bannetons.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven  #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbakery #woodfiredbread #earthoven #earthenoven #bannetons #banneton

Luminous bannetons.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbaking #woodfiredbakery #woodfiredbread #earthoven #earthenoven #bannetons #banneton
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Sesame Sourdough bowling alley. 
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #sesamesourdough #sesame #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany

Sesame Sourdough bowling alley.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #sesamesourdough #sesame #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
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Happy Monk Tidings - November 30, 2022 🍞 - Bakers Choice: Cranberry-Pecan Sourdough; BLOG: Tassajara Wisdom/Perfect Loaf Mastery; REMINDER: Happy Monk holidays fast approaching! [ See LinkTree in Profile ]
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#theperfectloaf #perfectloaf #perfectloaf #maurizioleo #tassajarabreadbook #tassajarabread #tassajaracookbook

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#theperfectloaf #perfectloaf #perfectloaf #maurizioleo #tassajarabreadbook #tassajarabread #tassajaracookbook
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Just rockin’ the Olive Sourdough at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. Into Mildrith’s fire they go!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bakerslife #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #olives #olivebread #olivesourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland

Just rockin’ the Olive Sourdough at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. Into Mildrith’s fire they go!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bakerslife #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #olives #olivebread #olivesourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland
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  1. Tekahionwake’s Legends of Vancouver has been turned into a website that presents all of aboriginal legends of the city. You can read about Siwash Rock, the Lions Mountains (“The Two Sisters”) and many more stories.

1 thought on “The Reclining Woman of Vancouver

  1. Oh yes I can see her! I often played a game with the kids , finding shapes in the mountains and the clouds . Because of this we called Mt. Curry ” sorry Mountain” wen we lived in Pemberton. It was always changing with the snow cover coming and going.

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