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It may seem odd, but I have a newfound appreciation for weekends now that I’m not at work. When I hear Andrew’s key in the lock on Friday afternoon I feel an instant sense of relief knowing that there will be two of us to interpret Nolan’s needs and tend to them. There are only so many hours of I can walk around the condo and neighbourhood streets narrating my actions to an infant before I start to go nutty.
Now that Nolan is approaching six weeks old, we’re also looking for ways to reclaim our “old life” or, more accurately, bits and pieces of it. On Saturday, we packed up the stroller and walked to the farmer’s market at Trout Lake. Nolan was so well-behaved that we even dared to stop for lunch at a local cafe. Little Nest is an easy place for getting back into dining out but it still felt like an accomplishment for us: such is life these days. Next up: I attempt to read something other than a passage in a baby book.
Today Alyssa and I went for a walk around the Stanley Park seawall. The weather started out a bit cloudy but ended up being nice and sunny for the last half of our walk. We walk just over half of the seawall and rewarded ourselves with lunch on the patio at Milestones followed by some ice cream from Marble Slab.
On Saturday night we planned to head to Trout Lake for Illuminares. However, thunder and lightning got in the way. Staying home did give us a chance to watch the Celebration of Light from our balcony. South Africa’s fireworks talent was on display. They were overshadowed by the lightning display put on by Mother Nature over English Bay.
Here are some incredible shots from http://www.flickr.com/photos/shiftybatter/
I’ve lived in Vancouver for three years now and it is very much my home. However, when I am doing certain things I still often think about how ‘Vancouver’ they are. It is like I step out of the moment and think that what I am doing could only happen in Vancouver.
This weekend was one of those times.
Saturday morning started with a dim sum brunch at Tong’s on Main Street. The dim sum is pretty good and the prices are unbelievable. Four of us left stuffed for about $30. I particularly like their sui mai and Alyssa is a big fan of the egg tarts.
The Vancouver experiences kept coming Saturday afternoon and evening with a trip to Spanish Banks. Having the beach in the middle of your city is one of the special things about Vancouver. We packed up the kids (Matthew, Haley and Sheridan) and met our friends Kate and Drew for a picnic. We played some frisbee in the wind, a game of Apples to Apples and generally enjoyed the setting. Ocean, mountains and a sunset.
My weekend was topped off by a run around Stanley Park. Well, some of it. We joined bikers, rollerbladers, tourists and other runners for an active start to our Sunday. It really is an incredible place to go for a run or walk. We said over and over how we should visit Stanley Park more often.
Dim sum, running and the beach. Very Vancouver.
Alyssa’s brother Sheridan is in town from Saskatchewan for the week and tonight we had Haley and Matthew over tonight for a barbecue. When we were in the valley for Canada Day Kate and Drew introduced us to a wonderful new butcher – Hopcott Farms.
Hopscott Farms is located in Pitt Meadows. They butcher their beef on premises and can trace all of it from birth to their store. They source their meat from a network of family owned farms in the Lower Mainland. We bought two rib-eyes. The women behind the counter said you could put them in the middle of a fire and they would still be tender. She was right. The meat was fantastic. We also bought some chicken breasts so we’ll have another couple of meals to enjoy before our next visit.
Our BBQ also gave me a good opportunity to break out one of the books from our Literary Trousseau – Everyday Gourmet Grilling by Ted Reader. I made the Kansas City rub and the Memphis BBQ sauce. The rub was fantastic. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The BBQ sauce didn’t turn out as well. Too much vinegar. However, after some good thinking from Alyssa and Haley it turned out okay.
I look forward to future bbqs that use meat from Hopcott and recipes from Tom Reader.
Yesterday I conquered the Grouse Grind for the first time with Alyssa and Haley. I say conquered because that what it felt like. It was definitely a grind, especially the second half when things got really steep. For those of you unfamiliar with the Grind, here are a few stats:
- Length: 2.9 km
- Elevation change from bottom to top – 2,800 feet
- Total stairs: 2,830
I think stairs is used in a very liberal sense. Some of the stairs are rocks. Some are fallen trees. Many may have actually been stairs at one point they no longer resemble what I would consider a stair.
The hike up was pretty grueling. The first quarter seemed to last forever. When I saw I quarter mark I was sure it was supposed to read 1/2. Lots of people turned around at that point.
After a break and some water we continued up. The second quarter went by a lot faster than the first. But the second half was tough. Things got steeper and the terrain a little more difficult. And it started to rain.
My time wasn’t great – 75 minutes – but it felt great to finish the Grind. The rain robbed me of the spectacular view from the top of Grouse so I guess I’ll have to try again another day.
Uh, wait a minute. Do I have to go? Really? Are you sure I have to get up?
This conversation is replayed a couple mornings each week as I try to convince Andrew that we should hit the snooze button instead of throwing on our trainers and hitting the street. But Andrew is a goody-two (running) shoes so up we get.
This week was the half-way point in our Sun Run training program. To mark the occasion, our running group did a 5 kilometer race. Long-legs Andrew beat me by four minutes coming in at 30 minutes while I crossed the finish line at 34 minutes. Guess a positive attitude and dedication to training really do pay off. Onwards to 10k!
I cannot see, I have not brought my specs with me…
Turning 30 wasn’t a big deal but as I approach 31 I have been feeling anxious and more self-conscious of ‘looking old’. I think it has something to do with being a 31 year-old bride in a wedding industry aimed at 23-year olds but I digress.
After several offhand comments about how much younger I look without my glasses, I began to wonder if I needed a less harsh pair of glasses. Usually I hem and haw about getting new frames but this time was different. Andrew and I were getting cereal at Costco and I stopped by the optical counter, tried on a couple of pairs of frames and made the purchase.
Without further adieu, my new, more demure glasses.
And in case you can’t remember what my previous specs looked like, here I am teaching Gavin the fine art of the self-portrait. I still like these frames and I’ll continue to rotate them with my new pair.
Once again I am jumping on the television bandwagon several seasons late. This time it is with Heroes, to which I must shamefacedly confess watching the twenty-three episodes of season one over the course of a week.
It made me think: what power would I want? Andrew was quite enthralled by Matt Parkman’s ability to read people’s thoughts and I was in awe of Charlie’s power to remember everything she read. But it would probably be more helpful if I had the ability to finish home improvement projects or blog daily or even just operate my sewing machine.
Is this the face of a heroine? Only time will tell.
I didn’t want Alyssa to get all the glory so I decided to try and get in better shape myself. Bootcamp at 5:30AM isn’t my style so I’ve used a combination of this and, surprisingly, this.
So far the results have been pretty good.
Here is a picture of me today…
… And here is me in July. I’ve still got a long way to go but so far so good.
