I have been contemplating how I can help with the famine relief efforts in Somalia and the Horn of Africa and I want to do something big.

It seems we – I? – have been apathetic to the famines in Africa for at least as long as I’ve been alive. After all, we hear about the starving children in Africa at every meal when we leave some food on our plates. We heard about the children in Ethiopia when I was a kid and now 11.6 million people are affected by this latest drought in the area spanning Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. I don’t even think we can really grasp how many people that is! Some of the articles I’ve been reading lately have left me in tears and wondering how on earth I could ever do anything that will actually help anyone.

What if it were my own kids?! A friend of mine recently linked to a blog post on A Fresh Chapter called What If We Were the Ones Broke Down and Torn? and it hit me like a freight train: How would I look in the faces of my children and tell them, “I’m sorry kids; there is no food. Now go find something else to do to keep your mind off your hunger.” Big Mack and I have 5 little mouths to feed. I would be gutted if I ever had to live out that reality with them. ABSOLUTELY GUTTED!

Then I saw a friend post on her Facebook page that she’d donated a pay cheque to Unicef. And then another friend posted a link to the Canadian Red Cross Horn of Africa relief fund via Miss 604 and I’m still trying to figure out what I can do that might make a real impact. I could give $20, $50, even $100 and call it day… feel like I’d done something, wonder if it made even a dent and then move on, but I really want to do something bigger than that.

So I was thinking…

I have some money tied up in a condo in North Vancouver, and I could take some of that money and donate it… IF I could sell the condo, that is. The current condo market is tough though; there are a lot of available units to choose from. So I want to sweeten the pot so that, together with someone else out there who is looking for just the right home in North Vancouver, I can contribute to something that might make a difference.

So here’s what I’m offering: Buy my North Vancouver condo for the current listing price of $314,900 (I have reduced the price by $10k also) and I will donate $10,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Horn of Africa relief efforts in your name. That means you will not only purchase a lovely updated 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom condo in the trendy Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver, but you will receive a $10,000 charitable tax credit for 2011.

PLUS! If we can make this happen by September 16th, the Government of Canada has agreed to match the donation so that the Canadian Red Cross will actually receive $20,000!

Here are the particulars on the condo:

• Second floor corner unit is north-west facing – cool in summer and private with a large hedge surrounding the property. Morning sunlight in the dining room and 2nd bedroom.
• Bedrooms separated for privacy; largest floor plan in the building
• Kitchen completely updated in late 2006 with custom maple kitchen cabinets, stainless steel appliances including double oven and overhead microwave, stone countertops, Italian ceramic tile flooring
• Bathroom completely updated in late 2006 with soaker tub with custom enclosure and glass door, heat limiter on bath/shower, new everything
• Other updates included lighting fixtures in kitchen, dining room and sconces in living room
• Strata fees <$300/mo. includes heat, hot water, insurance, landscaping etc.
• Unit includes one parking stall in the secure underground parking, one storage locker and use of the secure bike lock-up
• Two blocks to Lonsdale Avenue; 6 blocks to Lonsdale Quay & Sea Bus with a Translink bus stop right outside the door

See full MLS listing here.

To arrange for a viewing, please contact my realtor, Ruth Hanson at 604-880-5936.

I want to sell my condo. But I REALLY want to donate this money. I want to do something significant. I have been the recipient of love and grace from so many friends and family who upheld me when I needed it, and now I want to do something that will really make a mark. I know no one will notice this money in reality, but maybe… just maybe this will make some kind of difference.

I can hope.

Photo: mollypop on Flickr

I’ve been on hiatus.

I haven’t been online much other than for work lately. In the last month I haven’t touched either of my blogs nor have I spent much time on Twitter or reading my feeds even. My Google Reader has over 1000 unread items and I haven’t had the energy or the inclination to read them lately.

I think I have officially experienced online burnout. There has been so much going on in my life that I haven’t had the time or the drive to document it. I wish had. It’s been an amazing month.

May started with the BCAMA Vision 2009 conference, which I documented – my last blog entry until now. I went to the Third Day concert with friends, spent a weekend at the Unite in Worship Conference, spent the long weekend rehearsing and leading the music at my church and spent every spare moment at John Lawson Park with my husband and son or running the seawall from Ambleside to Dundarave and back. I also fit in my first Grouse Grind of the summer, did two concerts at Lynn Valley Days in North Vancouver – one playing my trumpet with the Lynn Valley Black Bear Band and one singing with a cover band called Lost & Found.

If the sheer pace of May wasn’t enough, here’s what’s been keeping me really preoccupied: we’re selling our home.

We bought our little condo from a friend of my sister in law 5 years ago, just before we got married. It has been our little slice of home here in North Vancouver and has served us well. I love this area and even launched Urban Shore to share my neighborhood with others but now the time has come to move on. My son is now 3 years old and needs more space than an 800 square foot 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 2nd floor apartment can provide.

We’ve cleaned and packed stuff we don’t use, hired a realtor that we met when we went to look at a great little townhouse in Burnaby – in Greentree Village, one of the neighborhoods we’re considering, and fixed up a few things that needed it… a little patch here, a little paint there. Our realtor, Ruth Hanson (from Prudential Sussex Realty) has been great; she’s the kind of woman who inspires confidence. She’s not overly ‘sales-y’, she’s sincere and knows what she’s doing. I think we’ve made a great decision, but we’ve been busy…

Last week Tuesday we moved out extra stuff we don’t use; Wednesday we had the carpets and furniture cleaned (why did we never do this for ourselves?! They look great!) and Friday Ruth had a photographer and a floor plan guy come through and do their thing.

We then signed the contracts with Ruth on Sunday and the condo then hit the back end of MLS on Monday. Monday mid-morning Ruth had the realtors from her office through; Tuesday was a realtor’s open and I hear several realtors and a couple of private parties came through; and Wednesday our listing went live on the public MLS site.

This coming Sunday is our first public open house from 2-4pm.

This has happened quickly. When we haven’t been cleaning, fixing, packing or viewing other places, we’ve been glued to MLS to find a new home. Here are a few of our photos:

Front of the property on West 3rd Street, North Vancouver

The kitchen we renovated with our favourite finishes

Our dining table; you can see the Italian porcelain tiles *sigh*

You can see all our photos in a great little slide show on Ruth Hanson’s website, or have a look at our public MLS listing for all the specs and details. Here’s the floor plan: 204 – 310 West 3rd Street (.PDF)

I wish I knew where we were going to end up.

I wish I could say we’ll be staying in North Vancouver, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for us. I love it here; it’s my home… but for only a little more than our place is worth here we can get at least another bedroom, another bathroom and a yard in some other places in the Lower Mainland. The places in our price range in North Vancouver are really small or more run down than we’d like, so as much as it will break my heart to leave, I promised my son we’d find him a place with a small yard.

We’re going to look at two places on Sunday: one in East Hill on the side of Burnaby Mountain, just off the Barnet Hwy and one in Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam. East Hill is more modest but closer to my life in North Vancouver, and it does have an indoor pool and clubhouse for the complex residents. Westwood plateau is way bigger – 2,600 square feet rather than 1,600 at East Hill – but it doesn’t come with the pool and is a little more expensive… not to mention 15 minutes farther away from my job. I’m actually not sure yet whether it has a yard at all, so it may be off the short list once we see it.

My home will always be in North Vancouver. I have no intentions of changing jobs, churches or daycares. I will keep going to band rehearsals and hanging out with my family there. So I’m really torn between a more modest place closer to my life or a bigger, nicer place a little farther away.

This kind of change is so stressful… I can only hope the perfect solution lands in my lap.

In the meantime, if you are looking for or know anyone who is looking for a 2 bedroom apartment condo in North Vancouver, feel free to contact my realtor to schedule a tour:

Ruth Hanson
Mobile: 604-880-5036
ruthhanson [at] shaw [dot] ca
www.ruthhanson.com