Pistachio nuts add pizazz page 18 are not cheap LAST weekend was grad party time for a lot of Grade 12 stu- dents and their fami- ve lies, T have to admit, I was ‘unprepared for the magni- tude of “grad,” because I myself never graduated from high school, a tragedy my mother still bemoans. ; Just yesterday I was telling ‘her how proud J am of my oldest boy, who’s graduating this year. “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she priped, giving me the evil eye, “since none of my chil- dren actually graduated from high school.” _She’s cranky about grad -because her batch of kids, ~ “while all acceptably intelfi- gent, were fate bloomers _ from an academic point of - view.. We were much too busy pursing social interests - to apply ourselves to study. Asa resulz, none of us gradu- ited when we were supposed ~ to, leaving my mother with uninspired by school that he - simply quit in Grade 11 and went fishing. He did manage - to get his Grade 12 equiva- lent 'a couple of years later at : Columbia College (we called the joint “Surepass”), but See Bright page 2 GRAHAM HOOKEY TALKS MATH PROBLEMS PAGE 16 PUT A STATUE INTHE GARDEN, BAES LUNTER PAGE17 Serving the North Shore for 30 years @ Design theory takes hold in Western culture Marcie Good Contributing Writer WHY the North Shore — backed by mountains, surrounded by hilis, and facing the ocean — is such an attractive place to live is no mystery to Rhea Peake. It simply has the best feng shui in North America. Living here, the interior consultant says, is like sitting in an armchair: the mountains at your back and the ocean at your feet, looking out over a spectac- ular view. She likens the natural environment of the North Shore to what feng shui practi- tioners aim to create. in the home: comfortable spaces that give occu- pants a sense of balance and harmo- ny. They do this through the arrarigement of furniture, lighting, and choice of colours and fabric to allow chi, or energy, to flow freely. “West Vancouver has among the highest incomes’in Canada,” said Peake. “That's no accident.That’s feng shui.” But even the posh district has its potential pitfalls. When she first vis- ited Teresa Bockhold, a client who lives in Caulfeild, Peake shuddered as she descended down the steep driveway to the front door. . According to feng shui, (literally “wind and water”) energy could gush right-down the slope and through the house like a torrential flood, dragging everyone’s good fortune along with it. Upon entering a house, Peake claims she can “feel” if the energy is right. She saw that Bockhold, an interior designer herself, was already using some ele- ments of feng shui intuitively. Green walls and uphol- stery to symbolize trees, as well as the hardwood floors and earthenware tiles all helped to “ground” the energy flowing down the hillside and keep it in the house. But, as Bockhold recalls, she didn’t have it perfect. “Rhea came in and the first thing she said was: © Wide variety of crown, casing & baseboards © longest selection of cabinet phywoods in 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, & 3/4 i inch thicknesses. a * Speciclty marine plywoods FLOOR TILES Grade — IN feng shui, the far right corner of aroom represents romance. Home & Garden Kids’ pages Neighbourhoods Parenting ..... Table Hopping . Sports ....... shui se) peers NEWS photos Mike Wakefield | ~ TERESA Bockhoid (right), with consultant Rhea Peake, has used elements of feng shui in her West Vancouver home. ‘Are you looking for a third person in your mar- riage?” In the far right corner of the sitting room, the area designated for love and marriage, were three cushions. According to feng shui, objects in that space should emphasize eo twosomes. Bockhold NEWS phatos Mike Wakefield quickly made adjust- dlesticks, two gourds, two pomegranates, and a painting with two flowers in the spaces representing love and marriage. Pronounced “fung shway” — as in: “When some- cne does something fantastic in their home,” said Peake, “I say, ‘Shui to go!’” — the interior design theory originated centuries ago in China. It has begun to teke hold in mainstream Western culture, growing rapidly over the past decade. California's Western School of Feng Shui has enrolled more than 700 students since it began offering courses in 1996. Bookstores stack shelves of books on the subject and business owners say they are cashing in by harnessing energy in their offices. . 23 Years Norm has catered to the m North Shore's needs by keeping unique items in stock. & If he dcesn’t carry it he knows B how to find it for you! Wwe fhisper screen system ments, placing two can-. 8 Worm Einarson | Manager of Windsor Plywood The words “feng shui” may soon enter our lan- guage just as the all-encompassing terms “karma” or -yang.” eo But what exactly it is can be debated. Traditional feng shui combines clements from astroaomy, astrol- ogy, geology, mathematics and philosophy, and it is. widely used in Asian design and architecture. A Chinese expression — “first, luck; second, destiny; third, feng shui; fourth, virtues; and fifth, education” — shows how rooted it is in their culture. Chinese practitioners use compasses to suggest interior layouts, whereas Western followers use more of a feel-good approach. A bagua, an octagonal chart, shows nine areas in the home which represent areasof.. life, such’as: love and marriage, health, family, creativ- . ity and children, career and knowledge. © =... Bockhold says she became ‘interested in feng shui about a year ago. She was feeling consumed with her work as an interior desi her home and two children. Her dream was to spend more time painting, and yet she was constantly run- ning around trying to get things done. _— The answer involved removing “obstacles,” like the island in her kitchen she constantly had to dodge.“ to get to the fridge. She also cleared out the guest bedroom and set up a studio in the area for creativity See Control page 2 "309 Kennard Ave. _ North Vancouver . 985-4341. (At the 3rd Street & Low | J Level Road Intersection) 7 WINDSOR WOOD, SERRATABS ns | The new you zee #, now you don’ retractable scrocn doors from Windsor? Whisper rewvactable screens will make conventional door screens o thing of the past. The unique design allows the screen io retract and js virtually out of sight when not in use. E Lifetime Warranty ¢ Maximum Durebility * fhisper retractable screens can be custom fitted eae any door, er and with the demands of: ~