Dairy Queen was giving away free mini Blizzards today and Maëlle Ricker was there signing autographs WITH her gold medal. Remember her kicking all that a$$ at the Olympics? Here’s the video of her winning the Snowboard Cross race in February. I got to the event around 11:20 (I took an early lunch – I promise. The event was only 2 blocks away from my office.) and there was just the right amount of people there. That steadily increased as it grew closer to the noon mark.

There were plenty of treats for everyone who arrived – little cups of ice cream and some cookies. And a gold medal.

I know! It was just sitting there! She had it sitting there beside her as she cheerfully signed autograph after autograph and then picked it up for photos. Like this:

Then something weird happened. A person came up to me and asked me if I was a member of the press. I am sad to report I said, “No.” and I was a bit unfriendly about it, too. Why did I do that? What a weird response. And it turned out she was a PR person for the event company putting on this event. GAH. Dudes, I am the worst shmoozer ever.

Meanwhile, Maëlle joked around with the people that came to see her.

She is a far better shmoozer than I am.

Sooooooooo….I picked up my roll of film today and got a big goose egg. Blacks Photography gave me a new roll of film, though. I guess it’s the pity policy, but the woman at the cash register assured me it’s the policy of the film company. So, even though the only 2 photos I have of Malcolm’s birthday are on my blog here, I don’t feel discouraged by my lack of film skills at all. I’ve got a free roll of film to figure things out with.

After that errand, I went to London Drugs to pick up some food for the kitties and then decided to head over to the cathedral to see what I could take photos of over there. I hadn’t been in some time, so I thought I’d check it out. I got there just in time to see the bride!

I stumbled on a wedding at about 1:30 on a Monday. Odd, but seizing the moment, I took a few photos. There were two professional photographers hovering around – with huge lenses and lots of gear. I tried to blend in to get a photo, just because it was happening right in front of me. But then it seemed a little weird that that a wedding photographer would have 2 grocery bags full of cat food with her, so I thought I’d better move along before anyone asked.

And that’s my story.

Also, my story today? I got a PILE of plants for the garden today from Cathy Mechanic. She’s moving into a new place and gave me all types of potted plants! We moved them tonight at around 10 pm. I’m all sweaty and hot. Mike was really happy to help move gigantic plants about. But in the end, this weekend I’ll be planting all weekend long. With sedges! And lilies! I have to admit, over the last few months, I’ve totally lost interest in the garden – whacking down weeds is not much fun. But now I can fill some pieces in with plants! Huzzah! I feel I’m in the mood to take care of the outdoors again.

We’re on our way out for late birthday sushi because today is Malcolm‘s 30-something birthday. And for an added challenge, I’m shooting with our toy camera. I’ll be bringing the wide angle lens and the fisheye lens for a good time. Can I change lenses in the middle of a roll of film? Good question. I’ll find out tonight.

I’m shooting film today because I think I may do the next 12X12 photo marathon like we did last winter. I thought I should at least pretend to practice this time. So here we go!

I found this licence place on a car in the BCIT parking lot downtown – located at 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver.

Just an aside – that’s a good parking lot because 1) it’s $14 for the day = a good price for an entire day in these parts and 2) it’s well lit and very clean. And by clean, I mean it doesn’t smell like a toilet. For realz.

But I laughed when I saw this because it was only a few hours after Mike found out he got a new job that he’ll start on Monday morning. Thank goodness. The last few months have been pretty worrisome, but I don’t like to talk about that here. This is the place I get to talk about my favourite things, and I’m glad to have my blog to remind me to remember the good things.

Anyway, tonight we drank iced tea and watched a show called Monkey Thieves on the Oasis Channel.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..

I was invited to my friend’s place this evening. She has a beautiful flat roofed house up the street from us with this view of the Strait of Georgia. The North Shore is directly opposite Sharon’s house and you can see all the way up to Deep Cove and this leads up to Indian Arm. That’s where we’ve gone kayaking in the past. The tankers make me a little bit nervous now, and to be honest, a few months ago I wouldn’t have even noticed they were there. Sharon told me that one tanker (bottom left) has been sitting there for about 2 weeks.

Also in the neighbourhood? Lots of butterfly bushes like this one in our yard.

They smell nice – like honey and I’ve seen birds in there, but no butterflies spotted yet. I’m on the prowl for butterflies, though. Once I find them, you’ll be the first to see them.

Sometimes I forget how pretty the neighbourhood is where I live.

I must tell you, today was probably my second favourite lunch break of all time. ALL TIME! The only lunch break that I enjoyed more was that time I ran into Martin Brodeur, Scott Hamilton and Michelle Kwan during the Olympics. My buddy, Catherine, was with me both times. She seems to be my lucky lunch break pal.

I read on the twitter today that the CBC was hosting a big screen TV presentation of the Netherlands vs. Uruguay on Granville and Robson Street. Catherine and I headed up there and were pleasantly surprised. There were plenty of fans there – mostly wearing orange clothes – we did spot one guy wearing the Uruguay flag like cape. Spoiler alert: that was one sad Uruguayan fan after this game.

There were spots to sit on the ground on some astro-turf, so people picnicked and watched the game…

But we didn’t bring our lunch, so we opted for some savoury crepes on the patio, in the shade, with an excellent view of the humongous TV instead. Not a bad option at all. In fact, it was a glorious choice.

We even drank Orange drinks in support of the Dutchmen:

I am now cheering for the Netherlands – since all the teams I was cheering for up to now are no longer in the tournament. I know. That pretty much makes me a bandwagon jumper. I’m not too concerned about this, as I only watch soccer every 4 years. I decided to cheer for them after I saw Wesley Sneijder, The Man of the Match, slap his head repeatedly after turning his header into a goal in the game before this one. He’s terrific.

We all basked in the warm, summery weather while watching the big game. The CBC sponsored this event and I’m so glad for it.

See? I told you it was a great lunch break! I think the TV will be up tomorrow for the Spain VS. Germany game. However, tomorrow I’ll be down visiting an employer on Commercial Drive around lunch time – another hotbed of World Cup Fever in Vancouver. While I didn’t mean to make this meeting correspond with the big game, I could not have planned it better. If all goes well, I should have some rowdy Commercial Drive World Cup photos for you tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

Here are a few more photos of the crowd watching the game today if you like the colour orange.

I made a little trip to the Cauldron today because I heard it will be lit up again for Canada Day tomorrow. I seriously doubt I’ll be making any trips downtown to see it lit up. Call me a crabby old crabtree, but I’m not up for THAT public transit experience. No way, no how.

Anyway, I was surprised to see that they’ve added a fountain to the cauldron, and there’s no fencing or anything around it. I was able to walk right up to it. I believe it will be accessible tomorrow for the festivities as well. There were a couple of stages and rows and rows of chairs set up. Also in the general area? The CTV tents and a great big screen with the newscast on it.

There was a crew putting the final touches on the Cauldron and getting it ready to go. I could see the gas coming up out of the top of each post. It really looks nice in this convention area – it’s a paved park overlooking the North Shore Mountains and the Burrard Inlet. Also, from this angle, it looks pretty nice against the Cole Harbour glass buildings along and the old fashioned Marine Building.

I’m sure tomorrow’s festivities will be great.

Interesting fact: I read on miss604′s website that if you want to light the torch for a special occasion you most certainly can, for the low, low price of $10,000. Hey, it’s my birthday coming up. Hmmm…and it’s my 40th, so perhaps I could sell the car, take out a loan from the bank and light it up. An excellent investment! What? It stays lit for 24 hours. We could pitch our tent on the pavement and I wouldn’t have to worry about running water – it’s right there.

Welcome to Vancouver’s first Vuvuzela Mentorship Program! Our program offers an actual South African-born instructor with an authentic vuvuzela brought all the way from the far-away country.

Lianne will offer all courses in a nearby alley in order to prevent disrupting people on the main streets or nearby offices. Please note: we cannot guarantee that people won’t be disturbed. Just ask the window washer who yelled at us from across the building. Also, our office pals on the 3rd floor? They could totally hear us through all the closed windows.

Anyway, under the careful guidance of Lianne (shown above in the chicken hat and big glasses), you will be taught one-on-one in a lengthy 5 minute lesson. Below is an example of Lianne’s teaching skills.

First off, proper playing technique will be demonstrated. It’s not as easy as it looks. You play the vuvuzela by keeping your lips pressed together and buzzing. Some people compare it to playing the trumpet. But that doesn’t help if you’ve never played the trumpet before.

We don’t hand out red cards at our program – our instructor is a patient and terrific teacher. Not feeling confident?

Not to worry. Lianne will work with you until you feel secure in your blowing skills and you look like this when you play:

Or until your 5 minutes are up and/or people start yelling at you to please shut up – whichever comes first.

Please stay tuned for a video by our fine instructor.

Thank you for making us the number 1 Vuvuzela Mentorship Program in all of Vancouver – anything for World Cup Soccer!

I accidentally did an experiment on the hydrangea bushes out front. One I trimmed in the fall. I trimmed the dead wood down, but just to where some new shoots were starting. The other one, I trimmed it all the way down to the ground – just about 3 or 4 inches from the ground – dead wood or not. The bush shown above? The selectively trimmed one. It is just bursting with flower buds. We are going to have a jackpot crop this year. I’ll be taking buckets of them to work again, like I did a few years ago. Yay! I love hydrangea season!

Meanwhile, the hydrangea trimmed down to the ground? It’s got about 1/4 the amount of buds. I’ll remember that for next season.

How are the flowers on the cat poison chart?

It says low on the toxic chart if they ingest the flowers. I’ll be careful with them. We’ve got a couple of high shelves they don’t jump up on, so I’ll use those spots again. Also, what’s NOT poisonous to the kitties? Well, I found this list that shows the non-toxic plants for kitties. Thank goodness. I was starting to think everything was going to poison the little guys.

On another note, my buddy, Cynthia, just got back from Paris. She visited Versailles. Mike told me to google the Versailles garden, and man. It’s amazing. Why couldn’t I shave the front yard into something like that? I could create some winding paths to create something similar.

I think. On a much smaller scale, of course!

My sister will enjoy this story, I’m sure. A long time ago during a family trip to Hawaii, my sister was stung by a jellyfish. She felt her arm burning while swimming in the ocean, lifted it up only to find a single jellyfish tentacle draped over her forearm. She yelped, flung it off her arm and ran to the shore and cried on the beach. I think my dad brought meat tenderizer as a precaution, so he sprinkled it on the sting and she waited for the pain to subside. She still has the scar to this day. In fact, she showed it to my cousin when she was here last month.

So when I was asked if I wanted to try some jellyfish today at one of Bec’s farewell lunches (she has a few more coming up. This was part 1) I could not wait to try it. I would seek vengeance for my sister’s Hawaiian wound! What would it taste like? What would it look like? Where do you find jellyfish to eat, anyway? And who thought it would be a good idea to eat the gelatinous sea animal, anyway?

We found this delicacy at an enormous restaurant located in Chinatown called Floata Seafood Restaurant. It seats 1000 people. One thousand people can eat there all at once. They serve delicious dim sum – pork buns, dumplings, bok choy, taro root and jellyfish served with a slice of BBQed pork – with a yummy crunchy rind on the top. This is what it looked like before we dug in.

I wasn’t sure what to expect other than it was pickled, served very cold and was warned the texture was similar to chewing rubber bands. When I tried it, I found the texture to be more like slippery el dente noodles, and they were chilled and the seasoning tasted like spicy, roasted sesame seed oil. Charmaine, Catherine and I all dove in, but Bec wasn’t into the jellyfish. Good thing we ordered other things, though. See?

See all those Chinese characters? That’s what we had for lunch.

In a surprise move by the restaurant, they sat us up on what Catherine excitedly called “the stage!”. This is the spot where the bride and groom sit during a traditional Chinese wedding dinner.

There was no wedding or anything, they just needed to sit us someplace and we were the lucky ones who got to sit under the Phoenix:

and the Dragon:

According to Chinese tradition, these mythical animals are mates for life.

Just like us with our Australian buddies.