Wide Open Spaces

There is one good thing about 'going back to school' at 39-43... a lot of what you have to prove, you've already learned. So, I used my personal life and home, 90 Forest Cove, to prove interior design skills. 2005

Essay from FF1 Q.2

    I really like the open plan interiors and chose such a plan both times we had a home built for us. It's possible for plans to be even more open than our present home but I need a balance of open spaces and privacy quarters.

    My personality needs wide open spaces as I can easily become claustrophobic. The first home we had built for us was 750 square feet. We sold it after 3 years and didn't experiment with many changes. The home we currently live in is 956 square feet of perfectly utilized, well planned out space. The home is a basic rectangle with half the home being semi- open space and the other half enclosed, private rooms. My brother was the builder of the home and I was allowed free reign in the designing process. 

    The wall behind the rocker and the Louis XIV chair is nearly a complete wall visually closing off the kitchen area from the living room. (See Q.1 Illustration). I need this bit of enclosure for my peace of mind. The original plan, for this home, called for a U- shaped kitchen. I spend two to four hours a day cooking or baking and I felt there wasn't a counter space large enough to accommodate tasks such as "rolling out dough" in this type of plan. I changed the kitchen to a peninsular design. I also love to entertain but prefer keeping well meaning helpers out of the kitchen work triangle. This design allows me to assign small tasks to someone standing on the opposite side of the counter. I also prefer to clean up immediately after cooking. When I entertain, I need to hide away the unwashed dishes and untidy work area so I can relax with my guests. For me, that requires things to be "out of sight" so they can be "out of mind." The dining area behind the stub wall (See Q.1 Illustration) is completely visible to anyone sitting on the sofa so I ensure that the table is cleaned off leaving only the ambient elements such as candlelight, table cloth and centerpiece. The empty wine bottle and wine glasses also remain on the table to imprint the memory of a good meal shared with good friends.

    One drawback to open plan interiors is the noise factor. When we first moved into this home I insisted on removing the door at the bottom of the lower level stairs. "Open things up!" That was my motto!

    The basement was unfinished and I thought it would be a great play space for my 3 year old and his baby brother. We didn't have a landscaped yard yet so playing outside was out of the question. I purchased a toy riding tractor, with trailer attached and lovingly presented it to my 3 year old boy. He adored it! After the first hour of listening to the plastic wheels tearing around on the concrete floor at Mario Andretti 'racing car' (real name withheld) speeds I thought I would lose my mind or my hearing. It wasn't long before the play are received an area carpet. This diminished the noise considerably. As we put up walls and sound absorbing ceiling tiles, the noise became "livable."

    Ten years later we removed the carpet and linoleum in the living/ dining/ kitchen "great room" upstairs. We laid hardwood flooring throughout the upper floor excluding the three enclosed rooms. Once again, we had to make a noise factor adjustment. The opening between the stub wall and the wicker rocker (See Q.1 Illustration) leads to a space that separates the kitchen counter and dining table and also serves as the pseudo hallway. The enclosed part of the hallway begins where the kitchen counter ends. This five and a half foot enclosed section leads straight to the master bedroom doorway.

    My (then) husband is a night shift worker- ergo- he sleeps during the daytime. When I have afternoon guest over for tea, he awakens because the noise travels from the living room sofa directly to the bedroom door. I now try seating everyone behind the wall, if possible. This seems easier to control than the raucous laughter.

    Even after encountering and managing these different problems I would still choose an open plan concept.

    One idea I would consider incorporating has been developed by a builder in our city. _______ Homes has enclosed the media room enabling sound proofing to be maximized. I really like the idea of a quiet setting coexisting with a loud, boisterous one because this meets the needs of 'husband, wife, children,' especially my teenaged boys, at this time.

    During the Christmas season, we entertained a family of five. They had three teenaged daughters and they added another friend to the mix. After dinner, the parents retired to the living room to enjoy the fireplace and conversation. The teenagers (seven of them), played games in our lower level media room. As the evening progressed some of the teens came upstairs to sit in front of the fire for a break from the activity downstairs. I suppose we were too noisy!

    In conclusion, I would choose the foibles that come with open plan living over a strictly enclosed- room plan any day. As a family of five living in a (partially) open concept home, we have learned much about respecting one another in this environment.

       I have included two newspaper articles showing different ways to divide a room without permanent walls. Note, in particular, the doors in the "Graced with space" article. I think this is a great solution to dividing space.

    "From prayer to Luxurious Lair" shows some preliminary drawings that are very nice indeed. The freestanding arches on the main floor are very commanding for all their openness. They definitely create a 'wall' bringing definition to each different space.

    Also note the denim blue armoire 'pop over' that I designed for my living room. Although, for demonstration sake, I didn't paint both sides in the illustration, the armoire is meant to have both sides identical. If I didn't have a stub wall there I would incorporate this armoire to hold a plasma television that could be pulled out on a swivel so it could be viewed in the living room or the dining room/ kitchen.

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Balanced Scale

 Balanced Scale- The date on my test is 2/21/05 (This essay is not to be used without the permission of the writer- Elfrieda Dueck) Student number DHE/61.526D

Oh, way back when I was a student in Rhodec International, I wrote a essay called... 

                                                         'Balanced Scale'

    "There was some degree of wonderment at the ample size of the Barcelona chair designed by Mies van der Rohe. Anyone who had met Mies, though, knew that the scale of the chair was simply a reflection of the designer- ample width, dressed up in a slim fitted, refined silhouette disguising the actual size.

    It is preposterous to think that each chair, that is designed, will be ergonomically pleasing to one and all. In my household alone, the height of the occupants ranges from 5'3" to 6'3". (I think my two sons were only six feet.) It is simply not possible for one piece of furniture to be equally comfortable for everyone.

    The best example of an "ideally" fitted seat can be found in the design of automobiles. I would call this type of design "ergonomics in motion." The average car seat (driver and passenger) has the ability to move frontward and backward within an approximate ten inch span. Most seats also have multiple settings to adjust the seat angle to attain the best possible position for each individual driver.

    For the last ten years I drove a car (Intrepid) that was not a good overall fit for me. I purchased it to accommodate the size of my family, (three growing boys). The seat was deep with a slight bump on the front which caused pressure on the back of my knee when I reached for the gas pedal. It was not possible to adjust the height of the seat. Recently, I attained a car that fits me perfectly (Avenger ES 1999). The height of the seat from the floor up is streamlined to the gas pedal, the back is a perfect scale and contour for my body proportions making the headrest useable for the first time in my life. The size of the car on the outside is in perfect balance with the inside- small, low and streamlined.

    Now, let's bring all this information into the home...                                                                       An office chair is the best parallel to the car seat. Both are designed for the high- concentration- related tasks. The office chair has multiple settings, again, to accommodate a wide range of body types. Even an office chair, though, must be chosen for the amount of space it will be used in to comfortably accommodate maneuvering.

    I have found the best solution for the living room is to offer a variety of seating that will accommodate both the petite person and the "Goliath" figure. My home is a small, open plan concept. The living room is 15' x 13'. In front of my window is a 7' Chippendale style sofa with gently sculpted rolled arms. The 3 inch cushions balance the graceful scale of the arms giving the visual impression of diminished size. Don't be fooled though. This sofa has comfortable accommodated a six foot, six inch, 380 lb. guest. On the opposite side of the room are two much smaller chairs with an occasional table between them. The height of the top of the chairs is the same as the sofa bringing balance to the overall look.

    The book shelves behind one of these chairs soar to the ceiling adding bulk to the smaller chair grouping, again, balancing the larger presence of the sofa. The drapery behind the sofa is a bold black and white stripe adding verticality to this wall balancing the tall, narrow, book cases. I added some cardboard binder sleeves to my bookshelf recently to bring orderliness to the overall look of the bookcases. I chose to buy them in the white colour so they would blend in to the bookcase and become, basically, invisible.

    The seats of both the Louis XIV chair and the wicker rocker are ample in width but the cushions have been kept to 3 inch foam mimicking the ones on the sofa.

    It is my goal to eventually purchase new chairs and relocate the wicker rocker and Louis XIV chair. My home is a work in process as most of life is. I have needed to work certain furniture pieces into my scheme as finances dictated. I believe this slight stricture will help me to aid (paying) clients to reach for their renovating dreams in a "one step at a time" fashion.

    I feel I have successfully created a room with good asymmetrical balance through careful arrangement of the furniture. The eclectic furnishings share a visually refined scale well suited to the diminished size of the room they occupy.

    My personal style has changed over the years and I had my furniture slip covered to reflect my more relaxed approach to life. Both the colour and the type of fabric have become more casual. My love of formal furniture has become a silhouette draped in more economical cotton and sturdier plaid.

    I believe Vitruvius' definition of architecture as consisting of order, arrangement, proportion, (a)symmetry, propriety and economy has been accomplished in this living space through the medium of furniture. In keeping the walls white I have created a clean palate for the furnishings to rest against. Each piece of furniture becomes a piece of sculpture representing a historical time. Through the choice of fabrics I have revealed my personal tastes and draped them over the existing silhouettes reinterpreting them to better reflect and accommodate my current lifestyle needs.

    The goal is not to eradicate history but rather to bring fusion to the old, the new, and the "you." 

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I don't believe my children have food or safety living in Winnipeg and I have reached out to pastors and the families they have married into. My writing will continue as I await answers that my sons Scott, Tyler, and Jordan and their children are well taken care of. Mom Elfrieda

Administer Justice

 What does it mean to administer justice? I would think it is the act of 'doing justice,' as in 

Micah 6:8 "He has shown thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord requires of thee but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."

This is actually the mandate for any believer trying to be part of the solutions of peace and morality in a world of problems.

I found a great definition of the administration of justice; this refers to the systems and processes through which laws are enforced and disputes are resolved. The goal or aim is to maintain order, protect rights and ensure fairness within society. 

If a dispute is between two people, it can be a very easy fix. One person goes to the other, confesses what they believe to be their sin or the others' sin... it can go like this... "I sinned against you" or "You sinned against me."

For instance, if somebody said they wrote my novel, it would be so ludicrous, because I actually went through all the systems and processes in publishing my novel in order to ensure my rights were protected. To 'get' a ISBN- International Standard Book Number, you must go through quite a process for that. The reason for this is, of course, to protect real writers from people who try to plagiarize my work. 

So, do you know what the process involves? 

Well, one of the first steps I had to do was submit the title of my novel to the correct authoritative office in the jurisdiction that the writings were to be released into. If those hired officials weren't 'in the know' about these rules, nothing would go forward. It is such a long process that most people never publish because of the processes and the cost.

The collection of information is important to governments because, ultimately, there is always a governing body that must answer to the maintaining of order in society.

To protect rights is paramount to ensure that a free society of opportunities is available to all who want to work and produce.

The tenacity that it takes to slog through the process is for the right to have my work available to be purchased... a way to try to earn a living.

I am not punning on the word 'Justice.' That is actually the surname of the man I am married to but, I assure you, all the work I did fifteen years before I ever met this man is definitely my personal work and I do not share my work with him. We work very independently. 

Learning

 Did anyone hate school?

I loved learning but I hated most of school.

I liked elementary school before the middle years. In grade 8, when I did my holocaust project, I felt 'way ahead' of that teenage year. Older, older than what thirteen or fourteen should feel like. 

So, I found one thread throughout the school years where I could find my interest- History.

History is a teacher in itself. Reading history, you can learn so much. 

Mistakes... that is what you can really learn, from history... where people made their mistakes; what reason mistakes were made; but the one thing that is always hard to truth out is... 

                                                                     Motive.

What is the motive for doing what you do?

-Is it safety for your loved ones?

-Is it to earn a decent living?

-Is it to find happiness? That is very elusive if not impossible to find.

So, as you travel along lifes' difficult highways, I suppose we all must learn ways to communicate in a way we all respect.

Only one son from 775 Fleming reached out via email but I am not even sure if he was the one who sent the email so I await further information. Liam wanted the photo back on.

Proof of Life

 

Proof of life...

So, I have still not heard from my sons and grandchildren so I am asking for proof of life. I believe they are in danger and do not have telephones to call. I have sent out more messages than I can count. If you know me and my children and I know the city of Winnipeg has a few churches I attended for a total of 40 years so please find a way to provide me with proof of life of Scott, Tyler, and Jordan, my sons. My grandchildren Liam and Tobias are also suffering in this situation.

Bank on it, bank on it

 It's been a while since I banked at the RBC Royal bank. Does anyone know if they keep a bank account open with $.89 cents in it? I still have my client card and my last statement. 

                                                                  ?

Just as an aside... Did you know that people have tried to say that I, Elfrieda, didn't write my novel... The Orchard Walk El Dueck.

What utter nonsense! I still have copies for sale. You can only buy them through me, personally. And... I ask you... who doesn't know that the only person who gets a 'working copy' stapled together for editing is the person who publishes the book. Of course, I still have mine.

Boundaries and Interviews and Boundaries

 So, here I am, in Dauphin, thankful that I will never again have to endure the countless interviews that I had in Winnipeg from 2014- 2022. Wow! That was a challenge.

Information about my one son is being removed at his request.

The construction sites are becoming a very dangerous place for a man whose eyesight is failing so the interview to see how things will be changed to give him his life back is a report I am really looking forward to receiving.

My oldest son, Scott, has a wonderful job in the field of 'electricians' and the glasses he is always needing are constantly changing. I've been waiting to see his son Tobias. 

Now, I don't know if my middle son, Tyler, is still doing electrical work or if his back has been injured beyond repair. I am very sure that a new career objective is going to be talked, and talked and talked about until solutions are forthcoming.

I think he may have had a few difficulties with 'boundaries.' I used to have terrible problems with boundaries until I got a few solid people in my life who told me I should be much more careful in whom I gave rides in my vehicle to and whom I invited for dinner and whom I invited to Bible study. 

'Boundaries' is one of my favourite books. I read it years before Riverwood Church brought it into the Bible study curriculum available for leaders... such a great learning tool. I think they brought in some of those books right after one of those leadership conferences I went to there.