Crazy Heart

Just been to see it.. good movie that one. I love Jeff Bridges and I must say, he has quite the voice and gee-tar prowess. I was impressed. Must download the soundtrack, some good old choons throughout. So, Canada won the hockey gold at the Olympics today.. I wish I liked hockey. Everybody who does seemed to be having the time of their lives today.

This is the view from our bathroom window. The window is quite small and I had to haul myself up onto the windowsill to take it but it didn't turn out too bad. Unfortunately I hadn't been forward-thinking enough to bring the camera for the drive to the cinema. I would have caught a stunning harvest moon if I had.. oh well

Looking Up

Power lines.. I didn't used to have any sort of feelings toward them. Then I thought they were a little hideous, and now I think they have their own kind of beauty in an urban setting. In a weird kinda way. I only feel this on grey and gloomy days however. I don't like if they impinge on photos taken in the sunshine.

Isn't music just grand

Really though, I just couldn't be doing without it. Before we got here I thought Vancouver would house a smorgasbord of different local and visiting music.. and in a way it does. But I am unsatisfied with the lack of hip hop. Our last chance to catch some would have been a fantastic night.. had we not lost the tickets.

So Vancouver, if you are reading this, sort yourself out.

.. and now for something completely different

What's the difference between a dog?


One of it's legs is both the same.

Don't think about it, just let it be funny. Oscar told me it and I thought it was hilarious... it took me about 3 months to be able to get it right. I'm quick, me. Aaaanyway, so I stumbled upon this multitude of stone monuments when I tried (and failed) to find the Olympic flame. 

They were all along the shore near BC Place. I have no idea who started it, but there were lots of people adding their own ones to it. I think they hearken back to the inukshuk.. but way smaller

Did you hear about the magic tractor?? 

It drove down the road and turned into a field

No Craic

I have no words for ye today.. very boring aren't I!? I will instead impart a lovely picture of raspberries.

Yummers

PS Goodbye Gary the cat (January 1st). We will all miss you terribly :(

Don't mention the war

So for today's shot, I had to include a picture form last night.. it was very exciting. The UK beat Germany, and China beat the USofA (who had a multitude of supporters in the crowded arena. One guy had painted his head and face totally white, and his left and right arms were painted blue and red respectively. He also held a flag the size of one that would be proud to hold stead outside the white house.

It was nice to have been a part of some of it finally, as everytime I venture downtown to "soak in the atmosphere", I get scared of the crowds and end up running home.

Curling

Thanks to the kindness of one Chlodagh McCarthy, I will be enjoying some Olympics action tonight. Oscar and I have snapped up a couple of tickets to see the heavy-hitters of the curling world battle it out. I used to think that curling was a bit old-fashioned. It always brought to mind images of old people playing shuffle board on cruise-liners... not that I actually saw this in reality (mainly on TV shows).

Since I've been in Canada though I've changed my prejudicial ice-sport mind. I wouldn't mind giving it a go actually... is there an Irish curling team? I could be it in 4 years!

Funday

I love Sundays. I used to dread them. The impending return to school looming, and the remaining homework that needed to get done. Now it's my first day off for 3 consecutive glorious days of offness... Tuesday now hold the crown of dread, but this time for returning to work.

We marked the occasion of Sunday by going against the grain. Instead of watching Canada's hockey game like the rest of the country, we went to see 'Valentine's Day' a week later than everybody else. If you haven't seen it, keep it that way. On the walk to the cinema, I took the opportunity to pay hommage to a photo I once saw which George Harrison took of him and his wife. Their trousers were distinctly larger at the bottoms though.

Eyeballs

Sore eyeballs.. I have them now. Just a fact I wanted to share. Due in part to being out "late" last night (I crawled into bed at 12am!!!!). I'm so oooold. But it was worth it to see the great Lost Fingers in action. The performance works on Granville Island was packed, with loads of French Canadians... and at least 2 Irish.

If there is one thing I love, it's bus-stop preaching. On one seat it read "Jesus died for you, Awwwww YES". Then 2 seats down there seemed to be a theological dispute between two permanent marker-toting bus riders. "Jesus wasn't real", "YES he was".

Lost Fingers

Tonight we are going to see a group called the Lost Fingers on Granville Island. I'm very excited to hear them do their rendition of Wham's "Careless Whisper". They are a Quebec-based group who pay hommage to Gypsy Jazz, and Django Reirhardt in particular, in their own very unique way. Check them out here to see what I mean.

Anyway...

There is a bit of an outdoor installation going on downtown for the Olympics. One of them is covered in lanterns made by kids. Pretty and colourful in the day, and pretty night-lights when it gets darker. 

I made a lantern from paper last summer.. in the shape of a house, chimney and everything..

then it rained.

Bizee Bee

Such a busy day in work today... so I'll just be posting a picture of 'the other side' of the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010. 

Daddy or chips, Daddy or chips, Daddy or chips..

Well boiled (boilt) eggs or steak and potatoes to be more precise.. I'm staaaarving, as I am most of the time. The age old problem of what to eat for dinner has reared its ugly head. Oscar has gobbled up the remaining pancakes from yesterday's Shrove Tuesday.. so I'm in it alone. Gah I hate having to make decisions on food!

This building is downtown in Vancouver.. I'm so hungry I think I may be capable of eating it. Look out girl on balcony!!!

Birthday Towel

So there I was in the post office, minding my own business. When all of a sudden I saw a wonderful gift for Christmas.. for a loved one. In amongst the pens, refill pads and sharpie pens there they were..

Cake Towels!!! I know, I could hardly believe it myself. If you enjoy staring at fake cakes, and then unrolling them to dry your wet face (like I do), you would have been in heaven! My birthday is coming up, that's all I'm saying.

It reminded me of another cake made into something else.. for one very special boy

"So many laws.. so little justice"

One day when I was waiting for the 25 bus to go home, a man started chatting to me. I was a bit weary at first (as I usually am with strangers at bus stops, or on the bus). This was however, exacerbated by the fact that he was wearing a crushed velvet smoking jacket and top hat. As he talked I realized that he was actually pretty smart and funny.

At one point he said "Oh yeah we can put a man on the moon, but we can't put tin foil in the microwave". At which point I wished I could have substituted his hat for a crown. 

This dog and trolley kinda reminded me of him... I have no idea why.

Happy Love Day

.. or whatever it's called. As you can see I'm not the most Valentine's inclined girl you could meet. I am of the "Oh it's just a big commercial joke of a day" mindset. Heart hardened from years of cardless Februarys... well, not quite. But you get the point.

I will be most likely spending this day of love on the couch with my hirsute man watching the unfurling antics of Dexter (my new favourite fictional killer). Which, by the way is a fantastic show and I am now addicted. Luckily I was a late bloomer and have not yet finished season 1.. I still have 3 more to look forward to. 

I love being behind everybody else.

Sick Bed

I'm sick today.. Save for a few hours in work (which now seem like a bit of a blur to be honest), this is what I am looking at now..

Scintillating I'm sure you'll agree.. Yes the sheets ARE from Ikea. 

Bring on the wellness that will allow me to go outside tomorrow...

Beautiful Parasite

Trees.. well they're great aren't they. Aside from providing the necessary gas tools for human respiration, they also make a nice natural umbrella to guard against rain and sun and the likes. Oscar loves them a lot too, and dreams about using them for creative purposes possible every hour of the day.... as I'm typing this I'm being shown a sketch of a knife block, on the "to be a made" list.

I just learned the other day that Orchids, (one of my favourite flowers), are in fact beautiful parasites. They have no real roots of their own, but instead feed off another living plant. I like when there are new signs of life sprouting from old, chopped down trees. It's doesn't seem parasitic though. More like the big tree is giving the little one a big pair of hand-me-down shoes to fill.

LeeRoy

aka B-Boy, Kong, Monkey Man, Snotser.. whatever you call him he'll still love you. He came into our lives when the last thing I wanted was another cat. He stayed with us and crept into our hearts.. the little bugger

You can't hold him any way but at your right shoulder... we've tried but he's like Zoolander. He'd probably love to be an ambi-turner too.

Aaaaaand I'm back

So.. LA.. a funny old town. It's so incredibly humongous, and we had a car to get around. I will summarize in words :

- It rained (torrential) 

- GPS (broke on the freeway IN to LA)

- Minor emotional breakdown (mine)

- Found hotel

- Realized there is NO free parking whatsoever in LA

- Was starving

- Ate crappy pizza

- Went back to car rental place near LAX to get new GPS whilst knackered.

- Another emotional breakdown

- Slept

- Woke up, met with Eimhin

- Went to awards (the award was unjustly given to "Robot Chicken")

- Laughed (hard at William Shattner)

- Slept

- Walked around Santa Monica in sunshine

-Saw Arnold Schwarzenegger in Old Navy (Man of the people.. surrounded by minders)

- Sat on the sand

- Ate

- Slept

- Hung out with Eimhin

- It Rained

- Came home

- The End

  And now, LA in pictures:

So that be it.. or a bit of it anyway! I finally got to use the Panoramic option on the camera. Very snazzy. The beach photo was my first attempt, and is not very well aligned. In my defense, I couldn't really see the viewfinder as the sun was really making things difficult.. that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

One More Sleep

This is a quicky.. I have to go to bed if there is any hope of me getting up at 4 in the morning in order to get to the airport and on time, for our early early flight.

I may not be able to post every day (or at all) as the laptop just cannot be crushed into my bag. I will however come back with a bust of photos for next week... and hopefully good ones.. not crappy flowers..

Ah no, that's harsh. They're not crappy, in fact I quite like them.. answers on a postcard as to what they are called.

LA Baby

In a very short while I will be in the ol' LA.. I'm quite excited at the prospect. The packing has reached fever pitch, and trying to remember everything.. what do we need document wise.. what do the cats need when we're gone.. etc etc

When I look up at lamps like this I always have a hope that I will bring my gaze down to be met by Mr. Tumnus.. I still wish I could go to Narnia..

Oh well, LA will just have to suffice!

Impulse Buying

Every time I have an impending journey, I start mentally packing way before the physical packing commences. I always try to pack light and unless I'm moving to another country, I always just bring carry-on luggage. Packing is an art form, anybody who says any different is lying or is a terrible packer. I pride myself on my space saving qualities. Rolling clothes to within an inch of their inanimate lives, bringing lots of mix an match separates, and wearing 1 pair of shoes and packing only 1 other pair. 

When it comes to toiletries I must be diligently up-to-date on airline rules and regulations. 100ml/88ml, whatever.. there must be NO wasting time at security.

On the search for the exact measurement toiletries today, I went for a quick peek at the Stanley Park Totem Poles. There are lots, but this one is my favourite. It's the only one there which is unpainted. Back in the day, every First Nations home would have featured one of these, either standing guard outside the front door or indoors. The mark the heritage of the family, and are very pretty (if somewhat imposing) to look at.

On with the packing...

Mmmmmmmexican

Well, a new month, a new set of pictures. I will be going away in about a week, so I may not have the capacity to upload pictures for about 5 days... If I don't I will certainly catch up and back-track when I reach Vancouver.. More on that later.

I love Mexican food, and am very pleased to be living near one of the best burrito joints in town. Their food is yummy delicious, the people are always very friendly, and the decor is warm and inviting. 

Budgies Burritos, I will take food in lieu of payment.. just so's ya know