Well, today I want to talk about food. The first thing I noticed about the fruit I buy in the stores here is: It tastes really good! I guess they don't have to pick it while it's still green for shipping to the middle of the continent (Winnipeg, in case you've forgotten). I can't count the number of times I bought fruit in Winnipeg, dragged it home with my mouth watering, bitten into it and it's as hard as a piece of wood and about as tasty. Also, so much of the produce here comes from hot houses, so they have tasty food ALL YEAR ROUND!
I haven't been able to weigh myself since I arrived because my stuff is still in transit from Winnipeg, but I think I must have gained weight. Between the good-tasting fruit and the eating in restaurants, I seem to be always eating. I have been to a couple of really great restaurants.
The Raincity Grill, of course, (where my daughter manages). But also The Boat House on Beach and Fish House in Stanley Park and I bought the new cookbook by the chef at the Fish House called: Halibut. Guess what it's about. You might think a cookbook about just one type of fish would be boring. You'd be wrong! It includes many recipes from different Vancouver chefs. I tried one of the easy ones - Baked Halibut with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. Yummy. There are a few that call for ingredients I've never heard of, much less cooked with. It'll be a cold day in Hades when I try some of them. For instance, Steamed Halibut Custard, which calls for frozen banana leaves and kaffir leaves! What in the name of all that is sacred to Julia Child are kaffir leaves! Anyway, I look forward to many new adventures in eating. It's halibut season!
Speaking of food, the other day I was in a bar having a glass of red wine (doctor's orders) and doing Sudoku while sipping my wine. At the next table there was a young mother, a young man and what looked like a couple-weeks-old baby. They had cocktails and ordered dinner with a glass of wine each. The baby began to cry quite vociferously and mommy breast-fed her. Gives new meaning to the phrase, "nursing a drink in a bar." I think it's illegal for minors to be drinking in bars, isn't it? Of course, you never know. Here in la la land anything goes.
One more thing about food before I leave the topic. I want all you Winnipeggers to know Vancouverites have been keeping a secret from you - the best veggie burgers in the world are to be found at Milestones restaurants. They taste just like grilled beef. Without all that grease. I think they are actually good for me! Today I had lunch in my favourite restaurant with friends B. and L., Milestones. I could not convince my long-suffering daughter that my friends had chosen the restaurant. She announced to all and sundry that they were, "...enabling my mother's addiction, don't you know."
Of course, there are no Milestones restaurants in Manitoba. Just another reason why all my friends have to come and visit me. Today was the second sunny day in a row. Poo poo to all ye naysayers that call it the "Wet Coast." But that's another post.
Tata for now. I just received word my stuff is here and will be delivered tomorrow. Halleluia!
Weather forecast for tonight: dark. With continued dark till morning. ~George Carlin
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Hockey, Magenta Wig, Rainbows and Handcuffs
And I thought Winnipeg was a hockey town! I was sitting here reading at about 11:00 pm when I suddenly heard many people in cars go zooming by sounding their horns. I knew it was because either the Canucks won their first game against Anaheim or there were way too many weddings held on a Friday night! Sure enough, I checked the NHL website and they won 2-1 in the second overtime period. All the buses here have their route designators programmed to read: GO, CANUCKS, GO. Who knew Vancouver was such a jock town! I suspect they will keep me awake all night with the honking so I figured I might as well write a new blog entry.
Today I went to a doctor's office to see whether she was taking new patients. Well, I still don't know because she only works on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They're going to get back to me on that one. But on the walk back down Davie Street I saw a very interesting sight. Something I don't think I ever would have seen in Winnipeg.
It was only about 5:30 in the evening and I saw a man wearing a long, bright magenta wig walking in high heels. Magenta! - way over the top. I'm just saying. I really think it was much too early - the clubs probably weren't even open yet - and the poor fella was struggling to balance on the heels. I almost offered to give him lessons in walking in heels. But my daughter said, "Mom, don't you dare!" in a long-suffering voice.
I have heard that the Gay Pride parade is a sight to behold. I guess that's something to look forward to. One of my friends, D., who had participated in the parade said, "Did you see the parade last summer? I was in it." So I told him that I had missed it but I was looking forward to the next one. I told him I could point to him in the parade and say: "I know him!" He batted his eyelashes and said, "You might want to say - I know HER." Well, that certainly put me in my place.
I guess I would have to conclude Vancouver is a city for people of all stripes and persuasions. All the colours of the rainbow, you might say. Until I came to the West End I thought a rainbow was something you found in a children's book. When I first saw all the rainbows in the windows of businesses I thought: How nice, so many businesses welcome children! Duh! But my daughter clued me in pretty quickly. You can learn so much from your children.
In this metropolis, there is never a dull moment. On the same walk I also saw two police officers arresting a man. He was wearing handcuffs and they were patting him down for weapons. People watching in this city is like watching a reality TV show! Oh, Prairie Crocus, I think you are in the big city now.
Bye for now. I will keep you posted on my experiences.
People always ask me, 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, no, I was an accountant. ~Ellen DeGeneres
Today I went to a doctor's office to see whether she was taking new patients. Well, I still don't know because she only works on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They're going to get back to me on that one. But on the walk back down Davie Street I saw a very interesting sight. Something I don't think I ever would have seen in Winnipeg.
It was only about 5:30 in the evening and I saw a man wearing a long, bright magenta wig walking in high heels. Magenta! - way over the top. I'm just saying. I really think it was much too early - the clubs probably weren't even open yet - and the poor fella was struggling to balance on the heels. I almost offered to give him lessons in walking in heels. But my daughter said, "Mom, don't you dare!" in a long-suffering voice.
I have heard that the Gay Pride parade is a sight to behold. I guess that's something to look forward to. One of my friends, D., who had participated in the parade said, "Did you see the parade last summer? I was in it." So I told him that I had missed it but I was looking forward to the next one. I told him I could point to him in the parade and say: "I know him!" He batted his eyelashes and said, "You might want to say - I know HER." Well, that certainly put me in my place.
I guess I would have to conclude Vancouver is a city for people of all stripes and persuasions. All the colours of the rainbow, you might say. Until I came to the West End I thought a rainbow was something you found in a children's book. When I first saw all the rainbows in the windows of businesses I thought: How nice, so many businesses welcome children! Duh! But my daughter clued me in pretty quickly. You can learn so much from your children.
In this metropolis, there is never a dull moment. On the same walk I also saw two police officers arresting a man. He was wearing handcuffs and they were patting him down for weapons. People watching in this city is like watching a reality TV show! Oh, Prairie Crocus, I think you are in the big city now.
Bye for now. I will keep you posted on my experiences.
People always ask me, 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, no, I was an accountant. ~Ellen DeGeneres
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wet Coast, Ikea, Dumpster Diving, Pad Thai
New beginnings! A new chapter in my life here on the "wet coast." I sit here listening to the rain on the window. Yes, it really did rain all day today. My daughter laughed at me when I wanted to take an umbrella. It's just one more thing to leave behind. Apparently only the tourists take umbrellas when it rains. She said, "You'll get used to it!"
My stuff is still in transit so my living room looks very bare. I do have a bed and dresser which I and my daughter and son-in-law put together. It only took us two days! My daughter threatened to leave town if I ever buy any more furniture from IKEA. Why do they use such cheap screws? As soon as you try to tighten them they get stripped. There was much gnashing of teeth and a few choice words.
There is a whole new culture to learn here. I try to watch other people to see how things are done. The other day I saw an old lady put on all her makeup on a moving bus! I'm sure you can imagine how it turned out. I hope I never get that eccentric.
I am, however, turning into a Vancouverite. A couple of days ago, just as I was leaving through the back door of the apartment block with my arms full of garbage and recyclables my cell phone rang. I should mention here that on my daughter's advice I have decided not to have a land line, just a cell phone. So, there I am, chatting away on my cell standing by the garbage skip and the recycling bins and along come two men. One of the more interesting and colourful jobs here is dumpster diving. One can make quite a good living from soft drink cans and bottles; grocery stores give top dollar (five cents a can) for these items.
I realize as I am standing there that the two men are waiting for me to put my recyclables in the bins so they can get the cans and bottles. They were very polite, not pressuring me at all, just waiting for me to finish my phone call. One stood there leaning on the garbage skip looking as if he had all the time in the world. Well, the call got very involved and I started to laugh as I realized what was happening, so I just opened my arms and said, "Here you are," and the men took the garbage. They separated the cans and bottles out and put the other stuff in the right place. One said to me, "Have a great day." This is the standard greeting here. Back in Winnipeg and everywhere else it is Have a nice day, but here in the Land of Superlatives it's Have a great day and Perfect!
Note to myself: Don't go out to take out garbage after dark. Not all the street people are as nice as those two guys. It really is disconcerting to see all the street people here. It will take some getting used to. Such a desperate life.
My daughter and son-in-law and I had lunch with niece Lyn and her son Adam who were in town from Victoria to attend an information meeting about BCIT. He plans to take a software applications program there this fall. It was very lovely to see them and we had tasty Pad Thai at the Fish House in Stanley Park.
To all my friends and relations: Welcome to my new blog. I hope to keep you all informed of the process of adjusting to my new surroundings. I hope to add things to my blog as I go, just as Dennis had on the Prairie Dog Blog. Things like a hit counter and the time and local weather.
Tata and TAKE CARE and PEACE
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive. Mel Brooks
My stuff is still in transit so my living room looks very bare. I do have a bed and dresser which I and my daughter and son-in-law put together. It only took us two days! My daughter threatened to leave town if I ever buy any more furniture from IKEA. Why do they use such cheap screws? As soon as you try to tighten them they get stripped. There was much gnashing of teeth and a few choice words.
There is a whole new culture to learn here. I try to watch other people to see how things are done. The other day I saw an old lady put on all her makeup on a moving bus! I'm sure you can imagine how it turned out. I hope I never get that eccentric.
I am, however, turning into a Vancouverite. A couple of days ago, just as I was leaving through the back door of the apartment block with my arms full of garbage and recyclables my cell phone rang. I should mention here that on my daughter's advice I have decided not to have a land line, just a cell phone. So, there I am, chatting away on my cell standing by the garbage skip and the recycling bins and along come two men. One of the more interesting and colourful jobs here is dumpster diving. One can make quite a good living from soft drink cans and bottles; grocery stores give top dollar (five cents a can) for these items.
I realize as I am standing there that the two men are waiting for me to put my recyclables in the bins so they can get the cans and bottles. They were very polite, not pressuring me at all, just waiting for me to finish my phone call. One stood there leaning on the garbage skip looking as if he had all the time in the world. Well, the call got very involved and I started to laugh as I realized what was happening, so I just opened my arms and said, "Here you are," and the men took the garbage. They separated the cans and bottles out and put the other stuff in the right place. One said to me, "Have a great day." This is the standard greeting here. Back in Winnipeg and everywhere else it is Have a nice day, but here in the Land of Superlatives it's Have a great day and Perfect!
Note to myself: Don't go out to take out garbage after dark. Not all the street people are as nice as those two guys. It really is disconcerting to see all the street people here. It will take some getting used to. Such a desperate life.
My daughter and son-in-law and I had lunch with niece Lyn and her son Adam who were in town from Victoria to attend an information meeting about BCIT. He plans to take a software applications program there this fall. It was very lovely to see them and we had tasty Pad Thai at the Fish House in Stanley Park.
To all my friends and relations: Welcome to my new blog. I hope to keep you all informed of the process of adjusting to my new surroundings. I hope to add things to my blog as I go, just as Dennis had on the Prairie Dog Blog. Things like a hit counter and the time and local weather.
Tata and TAKE CARE and PEACE
Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive. Mel Brooks
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