Going up?

It was late in the afternoon, I was alone, it was already dark and the Friday afternoon traffic was crazy. I parked the car and made my way into the building when I found myself looking at this cool old elevator, I needed to move a table up one floor. I'd never been in this building before and I have never operated one of these funky old elevators and there was no one else around.
I realized pretty quickly you just read the signs. Keep the gate closed. Stop. Bypass. Up. Down. Press the button and it does what it's supposed to, let go of the button and it stops moving. It all just worked the way it was supposed to.
I find comfort in that.

Are we there yet?

This is the view at twilight of Lorna and George's new neighbourhood. Lorna and I spent Wednesday on The Sunshine Coast doing some business and getting her new house inspected. It was a lovely day and I managed to snap a few shots of the view outside their new home. Gorgeous!

Last night me and my workout girls had a special night of Christmas crafting. This is a photo of my friend Bear's studio. Bear teaches art to kids and right now they are working on these amazing Arctic Hares. They are not finished yet but I just love the way they look all together. Each one has a different expression and body posture and each one is as beautiful as the next. I think they are amazing!

This is the craft we did. The tallest one is about a foot and a half tall. We were supposed to get three each done in three different sizes but it ended up taking way longer than we thought to get even one done. I really enjoyed doing them and I think they are quite beautiful. It's been a long time since I curled paper with a pencil and got covered in glue. I loved it! I don't consider myself to be a crafty person but maybe I should try to be a little more creative with my hands. It's very rewarding and a good way to spend time.
Thanks to Bear for putting up with us all!
Thanks for the comments on the blog. I think I will keep it as is for the time being, maybe jazz up the layout or change the template. I'm just glad people give a hoot and are interested in reading it. I find it quite a thrill actually.
Have a great Friday ya'll!!

Is it bedtime?

I had a great weekend but now all I want to do is sleep. We had a very close friend come into town looking for a "lost weekend" and boy, did we find one for him. Friday night was spent jamming and catching up.He's a stellar bass player and SM and I played in a band with him for almost 7 years and various projects after that. We also shared a house with him for at least as long before him and his lady moved away to Cobble Hill to immerse themselves in the Bluegrass. So we pulled an all nighter on Friday, came home, got some sleep and a late afternoon nap and then off to The Wise Hall for their 50th birthday party. The place was loaded with old friends seldom seen and it was great to be in our old stomping grounds and catch up with folks. After the dance we headed back to J and D's place and started to listen to old recordings that we had made back in the day. We had done a fair bit of recording in different studios and it was a gas to listen to where we were musically when we were so much younger. Eye opening actually.
All in all it made me realize what a long strange musical journey it's been and how important the people I have shared it with are to me. It never ends either. I am still meeting people who inspire me musically and it amazes me how deep my friendships run when they have the musical connection. I don't think this will ever change for me and I look forward to seeing where it all goes.
I am thinking of changing my blog name and format. I find the having to ask a question thing annoying and the title was funny but now it just kind of bugs me. I might be due for an overhaul.
Stay tuned.

Baby

Here's a picture of little Natasha. She's all tuckered out.

How much is that doggy in the window?

I saw this little dog when I was doing business at The Fashion Exchange the other day. The dog is dyed pink. It's fur is actually pink and she's wearing a little pink cardigan, probably cashmere. When her owner saw me pull my camera out she hurriedly put the little fur trimmed parka on the dog. I mean, why am I telling you, you can see how well dressed this dog is. I'm shooting this photo through a glass door.
What do you think that little dog is thinking?

The little bitch has nicer clothes than me.

What's for dinner?

Tonight we had a dinner party. I made my famous chicken stew with dumplings and it did not disappoint. That meal is always a hit and such a satisfying thing to serve. People always love it and it makes me feel like a rock star in the kitchen. I think one of the best parts is how great it makes the house smell or in our case the apartment and down the hallway. I wanted them to smell the chicken stew as they got off the elevator and walked down the hall towards our door. The first words out of their mouths was, "Something smells goooood." That's my favourite part.
We celebrated a birth and a birthday and we got to hold the baby a little too. She is two weeks old and so tiny and precious. I LOVE holding babies.
By the way, that's a romaine heart, cucumber spears, delicious juicy red pear slices and craisins with a cherry balsamic dressing in the photo above.

Does it have a HEMI?

Boy Howdy! I haven't seen the movie Stripes in many years and I forgot all about the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle. It's actually a GMC motorhome from the outside and an armoured assault vehicle when the going gets tough. That could really come in handy with all the bear sightings in B.C. lately.

I think the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle is really the star of Stripes. Sorry Bill Murray, you're just a little too much of a smart ass in this movie. I still love you though.

Who dropped the beets?

I dropped the beets. Then I had to clean them up. Stupid beets.

When will I learn?

We didn't quite make it to our favourite Thai restaurant on Friday night. We were lured into our local trendy bistro by the sight of a rare empty table and the memories of some past yummy meals. This particular evening ended up being a bit of a disappointment unfortunately. That's my meal in the photo above. You're looking at a roasted duck leg, red cabbage and duck spring rolls over a buttery spaghetti squash and some rapini on the side. When we arrived at the restaurant we were told we could have the available table as long as we left in time for the reservation that was coming in. They told us we had an hour and a half to eat. No problem.
It took over 45 minutes to get our meals and mine was cold. The duck tasted great, it was moist and flavourful and the spring rolls were delicious, I love pickled cabbage and it was perfect with the duck but, it was cold and a little oily. The spaghetti squash was pretty bland and the rapini was bitter. You know, nothing was really bad it just wasn't really as good as it should have been. Superman had an amazing seafood stew with a saffron base and little filo parcels with shrimp and salmon pate inside. His was hot and tasty.
After being told we only had time for a quick dessert (?) We ended the meal with a gorgonzola creme with stewed figs and pear and crustini. Delicious.
No, I didn't complain about my meal, it still tasted pretty good, I was hungry and I felt like we were just lucky to have a table, but...
The rest of the night kind of sucked because I ended up with a tummy ache and a case of the poops. Shitty.
Next time it's tried and true Thai.

Wanna Thai one on?

I am waiting to go out for dinner.

I had a pretty good day today. It started out with a workout that just felt HARD. My cold is gone but my chest is still "chesty" that along with the very cold air made me cough quite a bit during my workout . Not fun or pretty.

I ended my work day pretty close to where Superman's new office is so I decided to pay him a visit. I met his boss, super nice guy, great business and a really nice facility. Funny thing, when I was walking up to the building, I could see through his bosses window a beautiful framed face shot of the DC comics Superman cartoon, I thought, hmmm I thinks this is a good match. SM got off early so I drove him and I home and here I wait.

We are going to Sawasdee, an amazing Thai restaurant just a block away. I can't wait, but somehow I am still waiting.

SM is in the middle of a battle. Turks versus the Rebels. SM is addicted to a game called Medieval Total War 2 , he finds it hard to leave mid-battle.

If he waits to long he will have to pay...for an appetizer.

Who are calling a key-tard?

This made me happy. They are rubbery key covers that make your keys look like guitars. The package says "Keytars" and under that, "rock out with your lock out". Some for me and some for Superman.
Rawk On!

Guess What?

Superman and I spent yesterday remembering and watching war movies and documentaries. We were also nursing our colds and just generally taking it easy. I made chicken stew and we split a bottle of wine at dinner. We really just relaxed all day, in fact SM didn't even get out of his jammies. I also managed to get to the very bottom of the laundry basket. The very, very bottom is mostly filled with his single socks and my very best underwear. I do manage to stay fairly caught up with my laundry since I have the stacking washer and dryer right in the hall now. I mean I really have no excuse do I? Still, for some reason I rarely make it to the very bottom of the basket. I must try to do better.

This morning I woke up feeling "chesty" as we like to call it. My cold didn't last too long but my chest is definitely congested. I took one look outside and just didn't know if I should go to the park and workout with my bootcamp buddies. The thought of rolling around on the cold wet ground seemed too much to bear but after talking to Lorna I decided to go anyway and just come home if I felt poorly. Turns out I didn't feel too bad after I started working out and it was much milder and dryer than I thought it would be. I felt a bit shaky at times but I really put in a pretty good effort and just felt great about doing it when I was all done.

I guess it was the best thing for me because I don't feel like I have a cold anymore and my chest feels better too.

I've been thinking about getting a kitty but I have to admit I just hate dealing with litter and don't really have the space for a litter box. If I could actually train the little feller to go on the toilet, now that would be awesome. Does anyone know anybody who ever managed to pull this off?

Remembrance Day, November 11, 2008

In Flanders’ Fields (1915)

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders’ Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders’ Fields.

Lest We Forget.

Blog-noxious anyone?

I have a cold.

I get a cold about once a year or so and this time I am fighting it with anything and everything I can think of because above all I need to go out this afternoon, see my friends and hear some fabulous live music. Since the first tickle I have bombarded the cold germs with Cold-FX immunity builder, zinc lozenges, pots of ginger tea with fresh ginger and honey and vitamin C, and of course, Advil Sinus to dull the symptoms.

Perhaps my very best weapon is #37 at my local Vietnamese Pho' house. It's a spicy satay noodle soup base with added chili by me and added chili oil by the chef when I mentioned I was fighting a cold. I wisely went without any makeup on because I would have melted it off with all the sweating I did.

I enjoyed my soup very much except for one thing, the large table of self important techno geeks who's conversation just annoyed me to no end. I think they must have been work mates and I believe it was some sort of dot com website that they were on about but I can't be sure. There was one guy who had a bright blue shirt on that said, "I'm Blogging this." yes they were bloggers of the aggressive obnoxious ilk and for some reason they pissed me off. Maybe it was because of the t-shirt, or the way the wearer would pull out his iPhone and start doing video blogs and "shout outs" in the middle of my lunch. He also thought it was funny to suggest that one of his workmates at the table was "the first homosexual blogger" and ask him what he thought about the Bill 8 defeat in California. The reply was, "It's not my country and I'm not gay!" I also learned that over 2000 people follow him on Twitter, some of them he described as "stalkers".

During my meal I was treated to arguments about who, at the table, bought the first iPhone and why Apple products are so much better than anything else, each one of them talking while working their phones furiously.

As they were pointing their phones at each other trying to get video fodder for their blogs I waited until I thought I might be in the background shot and slowly and deliberately flipped the bird.

I hope that makes it onto his blog.

I guess "I'm blogging this" too.

Update: Baby Name

Her name is Natasha! Named after her fathers grandmother.
Happy Birthday Natasha!

BABY

This little baby was born today at 11:45 am. She is our new little niece and we love her already. At the time of this picture she still didn't have a name because her parents were sure she was going to be a boy. She sure fooled them.

I had a strong feeling this morning that we would meet a new baby girl today.

Sometimes my feelings are right.

Welcome home baby girl.

Love, Auntie Barbie and Uncle Rupert

Have you seen this?

http://moderngeartv.blogspot.com/

Are you going my way?

This weekend was a lot of fun. My bootcamp group and I went to Whistler Saturday and had a nice little getaway. We left early Saturday morning and after arriving at the condo and settling in we did the unthinkable, we worked out.

We did some weight work and then we headed odd down to the village. We decided to walk the few kilometers down to Whistler Village .

By the time we reached the village it had started to sprinkle a bit so we took refuge in an Irish pub called the Dubh Linn Gate for a little snack and a couple of drinks.

The trip back to the condo was uphill, naturally but we took an alternate route along the river, it was so beautiful with all the fall colours and just a little bit of rain. By the time we made it back to the condo we were ready for some fun. We grabbed some wine and hit the hot tub and then back to our comfy accommodations for some yummy food and lots more drinks.

That's salmon cakes from Vij's witha coconut chutney, a tomato and cucumber salad, a Goan coconut curry with chicken, a spicy veggie curry with snow peas and green beans and lamb popsicles with a dijon and wine marinade that we grilled and served with a creamy potato dish and some nice Indian breads. It was all so amazing, each of us brought a dish and all together it was a LOT of yummy food. And yes, there was a lot of wine consumed and there may have been naked hot tubbing but I can't really talk about that. We had too much fun!

The next morning was pretty subdued, after coffee and packing up we drove back to the village for an amazing hotel brunch. The drive home was a little more subdued but the views were so pretty. I took a lot of pictures from through the windshield. Here's one of my favourites.

All in all I am so grateful for these great women that I can count on for support and encouragement as I continue on this journey towards a more healthy life and a fit body.

Also, my ass muscles hurt.