The reunion...

was amazing. It was over a month ago, but I've been too lazy, or busy, or something and haven't been blogging in a while! Here are 3 of us from the previous picture... Janet, you should have been in that other picture, where were you?
It was a colossal party. Seriously, one that will go down in the books. It was the first time in a looong time that I crawled home at 5:30 in the morning! It's been so long that I didn't actually realise that it would take me a full week to recover. Ha ha! It was well worth it!

Grad '89!

It's my high school reunion this weekend.... oh it's going to be a walk down memory lane, that's for sure! I can't wait to see how people have changed, what they wound up doing with their lives and just having fun like we used to in the old days. Our 10 year was a great time, it was like we all reverted instantaneously to what we were like in high school... it was hilarious! I'll post next week with the party wrap up!

Busy busy!

Wow! I haven't posted in a while! I guess I've been busy dong summer-y stuff and frankly, hot and unmotivated. We're having a very hot sticky summer here in Van this year. I like it hot, but not humid. We've had a bit of a reprieve this past couple of weeks, but the hot is coming back next week for round two. Oh how I wish I had AC!Here are a couple of things that I'm a bit sad about...

and


I loved them both... I was going to write about Michael Jacksons death weeks ago but I was so sick to death of it all by the media junk that I just let it rest. I loved Michael Jackson from the time I was a little girl. The Jackson Five concert at BC Place was the very first show I'd ever been to. I was 11, and I went with my mom and two sisters. It was great. I got a baseball style shirt with baby blue sleeves and the Jackson Five on the front. Loved it, wish I still had it! Thriller was one of those albums that truly was the soundtrack to my teen years. Prince and George Michael are another couple that spring to mind, but Thriller was the best. The dancing, the white glove, the red coat! He was so cool back then, and so cute! It's a shame how it all ended up, but he was obviously an unhappy camper.

John Hughes was another icon who I think wrote the best teen movies ever. Period. Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, even Uncle Buck! I loved Uncle Buck, but I think that was because of my love of John Candy, who also died too young. The teen movies of today won't have the staying power that these films had. It's a shame he stopped making movies, but he was one of those guys that had his priorities straight. He had obviously made a gazillion dollars over the years, so he decided to get away from the crappy Hollywood life to raise his family. He stood up to say that he thought the beast that is Hollywood killed his friend John Candy and he couldn't be part of that machine any longer. Hopefully his movies will be seen by teens in the years to come and achieve the "classic" status they deserve.

Farmers Market Finds and a hosed down Henry

We have a lovely little farmers market just a couple of blocks from the apartment every Saturday morning, and it's just getting better and better! I bought these beautiful orange beets just because they're beautiful, I don't even like to eat beets! I will try cooking them though and see if I like them. I love the greens, so that's half of it anyways! The yellow things are called Lemon Cucumber. They are so fresh and clean and delicious! Unlike any regular cuke I've ever tasted. The Easter Egg Radishes are also so lovely and tasty. Crisp and peppery, a must in any salad! It was so hot that day that I gave the boy a good spray down with the hose. He loves it!

Have your cake...

and eat it too! Or, should I say pie! Lemon Meringue to be precise. We've had our fill of cake at my nephews birthday, so we decided it may be unconventional, but why not have a lemon meringue birthday pie! It is to die for. Home made by my mom. What could be better?
The bottom picture was the Sat. night pre-birthday celebration. Warren bought a couple of beautiful crabs and we had quite the feast! I think I consumed my full years quota of butter in one sitting, but so worth it.

Car Free Vancouver

It was Car Free Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, and was it ever cool! 4 streets in 4 different neighborhoods shut down to car traffic for the day, so we decided the most colourful would definitely be on Commercial Drive. There were drum circles, a roller rink, food kiosks, a music stage, a healing garden and all sorts of street performance artists. For those not in the know, Commercial Drive used to be Vancouver's "Little Italy", and it still has that flavour, but it's also kind of the bohemian/hippie district with a neighborhood of all types, from yuppies to hippies. My parents almost bought a house there in the 1970's, but chose West Vancouver instead (which is Commercial Drives polar opposite!) I would have been a lot cooler if I grew up near The Drive I think! Oh, not that I'm not cool... hee hee.

A Place to Bark

If I was independently wealthy, I would be throwing money at this wonderful shelter. Bernie Berlin is an artist and animal lover. She's been running the shelter since 2001, and she takes in numerous dogs and cats from other shelters and puppies rescued from puppy mills. She is a true inspiration, and I wish there were more people like her in the world!
Check out her website, it's linked to the right at "A Place to Bark".
This photo is one I grabbed from her Facebook photos. It's a litter she has recently rescued probably from a puppy mill. The caption below was "Spay and neuter your pets!"
Really, why wouldn't you? You can buy those neuticles now if you're worried your dog (or husband) might develop an insecurity about the lack of balls, right?
Hee...

Childhood Crush #2

Han Solo was definitely the man for me when I was 8. He was so macho and so cute, plus he had the best sidekick ever! I know that Chewbaka wasn't a dog, but what the heck was he? I know technically he was a Wookie, but that just means nothing to me... I'm not a Star Wars aficionado, that's for certain.
We watched the newest Indiana Jones movie tonight, which is what got me thinking about my childhood love for Harrison Ford. Sigh...

April showers...

I'm not sure what this tree is called, but isn't it beautiful? If anyone knows, let me know! I'm thinking maybe a Magnolia of some sort... It's still so cold, good thing I'm going to Jamaica in two weeks! So excited!

La Connor

We went to the tulip festival in La Connor, Washington last weekend. It's such a lovely spot, and the tulips were just beautiful! Overwhelming colour that made my heart sing!
The first field we found was a joint called "Tulip Town." There was a big parking lot with free parking, but $5 each to get in? Plus, there was this poster on the way in so we were so out of there... I don't need any propoganda with my tulips, thank you very much! We drove down the street for a while and found a free field to wander through, and no religious message to be seen, yay!
We had lunch in La Connor, which is a lovely little seaside town, then Trader Joe's for groceries. I didn't know you can bring groceries over the border and not have to pay duties! Trader Joe's is amazing. The prices, the quality of the products... I'm going to start working a trip in every couple of months... even with our dollar being a bit down, still worth it!

Doing the Pigeon

It's nesting season, and the wildlife is trying to get in... That's if you can call pigeons wild. I think they must be one of the most well adapted birds in the world. Rats with wings, right?
To be honest, I kind of like pigeons. I like their tenacity, their brute survival skills... We left a window open overnight at the studio last Tuesday (by accident),and my employee phones me in a panic to tell me there were 2 pigeons flying around the studio. My reply was what did she want me to do about it? Cheeky, I know. She managed to herd them out the window, but it reminded me of a story from a few years back. The guy across the hall left his window open over the weekend, and when he came in on Monday, he found a nest with eggs in it. The pigeons had found a Jaycloth in his studio and shredded it to make a nest. They were gone when he got there, and he had no choice but to throw the eggs away. It was so sad, but was HE going to sit on the nest?

This guys likes pigeons too...

Childhood Crush #1 ... Fred Astaire.

Oh Fred. I remember from the time I was a very little girl I have always loved him! I've always loved to dance, but never realized how much until I was in my 20's. I took about 2 years of West Coast Swing, it was such a ball! One day I would absolutely love to learn how to tap dance. I envision heaps of humiliation and falling on my ass, but it looks like so much fun! And I could pretend I was dancing cheek to cheek with my Fred...

Easter Cupcakes!

yumyumyumyumyumyumyum!
These cupcakes were so delish! Yes, they were made from a cake mix... every now and then I like a good old fashioned Betty Crocker and I'm not ashamed!

A day at the beach.

We had such a nice day at Spanish Banks today... the sun was out, it was still pretty cold, but so rejuvinating! Henry is down for the count... he ran and ran and ran!
There were tons of people out kite sufing. Looked too cold for me, but they were having a blast! I'm off to Toronto for the One of a Kind show this week. Booth L-25 if you're there!

Mac & Cheese Masterpiece

This was our dinner last Friday night.... we don't eat any pasta or bread during the week, so the weekends are usually carborific! I don't really have a recipe per se... I just cook the pasta and make the cheese sauce in what I think is a good quantity. I use Velveeta (I know, I know!) and old white cheddar, probably a 60/40 ratio respectively... add a little milk, cayenne, paprika and and dry mustard.
I then cut up a tomato into small bits and mix it in, pour the whole kit and caboodle into the baking dish, sprinkle it with fine bread crumds and drizzled butter and throw it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Say what you will about Velveeta, but it makes the perfect mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. When I want comfort food... nothing else will do!

Oh Napoleon

I have a confession to make.
I dance like this in the privacy of my own home... frequently. I just laughed my ass off the first time I saw this!
This movie is just so funny on so many levels. The chickens talons, the tator tots, the sweet jumps... what's not to love? And this dance was just the icing on the cake. I needs to get me some Napoleon Dynamite boots and I'm all set!

Oh Sherrie

This video takes me right back to Grade 7. Jay Clennan had given me a gold necklace with a green stone in it and asked me to "go around". Oh my gosh, I said yes, of course! We went and saw Footloose with a bunch of kids who were also "going around". Well, a couple of these couples were practically doing it in the theatre, and it freaked my little 12 year old self out, so on Monday I sent Jay Clennan his necklace back in a piece of loose leaf paper in Science class and broke it off with him. Mom, you would have been proud!

Bad Dog and it's %&*$ snowing in March!

So yesterday I went out to get a few groceries. I came home and didn't put the plywood back over where our gate used to be (it fell off from the cold during the great freeze of Xmas 2008)and was boiling hot from the walk up the hill, so I left the door open. Big. Mistake.

I put the groceries on the counter, then noticed the floor needed sweeping so I went to get the broom. I had cooked some chicken before I went out and was putting it in a bowl to put in the fridge when I thought "Henry might like a little treat", so I went to call him and *nothing*.

I looked in the bathroom. Nothing. I looked in the bedroom. Nothing. Holy crap, I'm starting to panic now. Started yelling for him to come and get a treat. Nothing. Then I ran outside and saw the gate and went shrieking his name down the path to the street. People must have thought I was nutso.

There he was, standing in the middle of the sidewalk where he normally goes to do his business (he goes on the grass, not the sidewalk silly!)just staring at me. I was so mad, and so relieved. I was shaking for 1/2 an hour after that!

The thing is, I've never thought he would take off like that, it's quite bizarre! I'm thinking it was the broom that set him off. He's scared of it, but I thought he'd gotten better, the poor little freak! I'm so glad he's OK, but I'm still a little mad at him. Hello, he wouldn't last very long out there in the SNOW! In March! Spring??? Where are you???

Wasp's Nest

I found this wasp's nest on the Pink Dogwood tree last fall when all of the leaves fell off of it. I'm always amazed by how strong these nests are, yet so fragile at the same time. Remember, they're made out of paper! And in rainy Vancouver I'm surprised they'd survive at all.

Keeping on the scary theme...

I bought this scary little armless porcelain doll from an Australian Etsy seller. Don't ask me what I'm going to do with it, it's just waiting for a shadowbox project fo some sort. The reason I bought it was that it reminded me of my childhood doll, Baby Ron, only Baby Ron had arms. He didn't have fingers or toes though, I apparently chewed them off when I was teething. THAT certainly wouldn't be allowed today, I could have choked and died!!!!!!! Ah, gotta love the 1970's. I also gouged his eyes out with a pen when I got a little older, so suffice it to say, he looks at freaky and scary as this doll now. I'll post a pic of him one day, I still have him boxed away somewhere.
If you want to see the Etsy shop where I bought the doll, click on the post title.