Victorian Travels, Jeanne's Cake, The Bard Rides Again

I just got back from a visit to the Victorian Ouseys. It was Gary's birthday on Thursday, so I went to celebrate with him. I stayed one day in the clubhouse near Gary and one day with niece Lyn. I took with me a Jeanne's cake from Winnipeg. My friend P. just happened to be arriving the day before from Winnipeg, so he hand-carried the birthday cake. Thanks to him, we had a taste of the finest cake in the world. Yummmmmmm. See pictures above for the brunch we had on Saturday.

Yesterday, I went to Bard on The Beach. They do Shakespeare's plays in a tent. I have been told that it is the only Shakespearean festival in Canada that is self-supporting. I think I can see why. The play was "Taming of the Shrew" and it was terrific. It was set in the wild, wild West. I wasn't sure it would really work, but it did. It had gunfights and Mexican characters, tumbleweeds and a message delivered by Pony Express. Argueably the funniest part was when a man rode in on a horse and the actors followed the sound of a horse's hooves around as it "rode" through a series of speakers behind the audience.

The character of Petruchio was introduced like Clint Eastwood in "the man with no name" of spaghetti western fame with his signature music. Sporting a six-shooter, a stetson and a striped serape, he strutted around the stage. It was perfect. His sidekick, Grumio, looked just like Gabby Hayes in one of the old westerns we boomers remember fondly.

They even dealt with the modern sensibilities of the audience by having the character of Katharine played with complexity and irony, so that her "transformation" into a dutiful wife became a realization that she could manipulate her husband into doing what she wanted by helping him save face. Without changing a word of Will's dialogue, they conveyed her cooperation and his recognition of her need for validation by having them both kneel to each other at the end. A happy, funny and most enjoyable play.

As I was leaving the theatre I saw a young girl of about six or seven telling her mother about her favourite part. A new generation of Shakespeare fans is in creation!

Oh, Will, the Prairie Crocus loves you. I think I will be watching some of my Shakespearean faves on DVD. I'm so looking forward to the next Bard On The Beach play.

I am wealthy in my friends. ~William Shakespeare "Timon of Athens"

Movie Reviews, Canada Line Construction, Sharp Things

Yesterday I O.D.ed on movies. Well, I had to, really, because, yesterday afternoon the power was turned off in the block. No computer, TV, or stove. Even the elevator wasn't working. And I wasn't climbing up seven storeys every time I wanted to get to my apartment. That's just begging for a heart attack. So, as you can see I really was FORCED to go see several movies.

So I left at 11:30 am and got home at 9:30 pm. First I went to see "Ocean's 13." It was fun. Some hilarious moments. The usual banter between George and Brad. And they're not too bad to look at, either. My favourite part was: every time "The Amazing Yen" spoke, he spoke Japanese and every one of the others acted as if they understood Japanese. Very droll. I give it four stars out of five.

Then, best of all, a movie called, "Paris, Je t'aime." It was a whole series of shorts, different directors, different genres. Some in French, some partly in English; some about native Frenchmen, some about immigrants. The glue that held them together was the setting, one of the neighbourhoods of Paris. Many of them had surprises or twists, so unexpected. One of the most unusual was with Elijah Wood, set at night, in Paris, involving vampires. Double-twist ending. Not a word of dialogue! One segment was about a middle-aged American woman speaking French very badly (so bad, even us Anglos got the joke) on her first trip to Paris. I won't spoil the ending, but after leading us all down the path of the cliche, it surprised us with a longing so strong it makes one's throat hurt. Five stars for this one.

Then I went to another theatre to see "Once," a movie from Ireland recommended by some good friends. It was very good, too. About a young street musician who composed some lovely songs and was trying to make it in the music biz. It was lovely, and just like real life, relationships were confused and messy. Four and a half stars.

These movie reviews are really only the introduction to what I really wanted to write about in this blog.

Those who live in Vancouver will know that Cambie Street, a pretty major street here, is all torn up and goes down to one lane each direction in some parts. They are building an addition to the Skytrain, called the "Canada Line." The completion date is before the Summer Olympics in 2010. They want to have a line that goes from the airport to downtown.

But, the disruptions of the businesses along Cambie Street have been in the paper and letters have been written to the editors; it's a real controversy. I travelled on a bus down Cambie Street to get to one of the theatres and it's sad to see so many store fronts empty. Some of the small business owners have been driven out by this construction. Customers have been staying away from this area in droves.

I saw a poster put up on a pole asking for people to call or email their councillors and the mayors in support of all the business people suffering from the loss of customers.

Several handwritten messages added to the poster outlined the controversy perfectly. The first writer expressed disdain for the poster. He claims that one of the vendors across from the poster sells "street knives", and urges people not to support that vendor's right to compensation. The next writer wrote very sarcastically that "oh, yes, since one business sells 'sharp things', we should all make sure everyone suffers." The next graffiti artist wrote about the first writer that he was, "a typical ignorant, racist, hic Canadian." The fourth writer complained that he was the ignorant one, because he didn't even know how to spell and left the "k" off "hick." Well, lah di dah. Anonymity brings out the worst in people, doesn't it? And how quickly opinionated people get totally off topic. The arguements devolved into name-calling. Some people seem to be more interested in promoting their own point of view than in listening to anyone else's.

It's almost enough to make a person become quite cynical. But, no, not for the Prairie Crocus. The Old Prairie Dog would have got up on his soapbox about this and probably would have written a few letters and emails himself.

I won't be indifferent. I really do feel sorry for the people whose businesses have gone under. Some of those people had their life savings invested in a business and through no fault of their own they have nothing. I believe they should be compensated or helped in some way. And that's my rant for the day.

Bye, bye for now. Gotta go for a walk on the beach.

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
~Elie Wiesel

Hangovers, Roast Duck, Fathers

The All-Time Greatest Description of a Hangover:
"Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way...The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he'd somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by the secret police. He felt bad." ~ Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim. (lol - I'm nominating that last line for the greatest understatment of all time.)

I didn't write that, but I wish I had. It's from Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler.

Cures for hangovers:
Japan: Wear a gauze surgical mask soaked in sake. (Yuck. How long can you hold your breath?)
Hungary: Drink sparrow droppings in brandy. (I'll have my brandy straight up - no sparrow droppings for this Prairie Crocus. Hair of the dog, okay, but I draw the line at droppings of the sparrow.)
Ancient Greece: Draw blood through self-flagellation, allowing the alcohol to seep out. (By the time of the hangover, the alcohol has already "seeped out." And correct me if I'm wrong here, but doesn't the drinking that causes a hangover qualify as self-flagellation?)
And my favourite from those fun-loving Ancient Libyans: Mix seawater into your wine. That way, you can't get too much wine into your system before the seawater induces vomiting.

Let that be the final word from this great book on Alcohol.

Last night Margot, Joel and I had a wonderful dinner. Margot cooked duck in a raspberry sauce. It was delicious. Margot got creative with the rotini and tossed in a few pecans along with some olive oil. (Yummy. It's been cristened - Rotini a la Margot.)We also had Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, French onion soup (insipid due to its lack of salt and weak beef stock. My fault.)Lemony Biscotti and Mango Sorbet. We managed to consume a couple of bottles of wine over the course of the afternoon and evening - hence the preoccupation with hangovers.

Yes, I did have a slight hangover this morning. Not as bad as the one in the above description, although if I'm being honest I'd have to admit I've had one that bad once or twice.

This will be a busy week for me. I have a Red Hat Society Meeting on Tuesday, my Walk and Talk Bereavement Group on Wed., and on Thursday I go to Victoria for a few days to help my brother-in-law celebrate his birthday.

Happy Fathers' Day to all the fathers out there. Don't forget to kiss your kids!
Tata...PEACE.

NORA: What hit me?
NICK: That last martini.
The Thin Man, 1934

Prairie Dog Rides Again

I had a quick peek at the Prairie Dog Blog and it's still getting hits. It's over 15 000 now! This Thursday, June 14, Dennis would have been sixty. One of the things I plan to do to mark the day is to reread some of his blog entries. I almost hear his voice talking whenever I do that - his writing was so much like his speaking. Those of you reading this blog: if you knew Dennis, take a little time to reread some of his entries. He will be with you again. There's a hyperlink right on this blog.

Saturday, June 16 will be the 18 month anniversary of his death. Margot and Joel and I plan to spend time together. We are going to cook dinner here at my apartment together and Margot is happily planning the menu. We are having three courses and dessert. We'll have the salad course after the main course, just the way he liked to eat it. I have a recipe for Lemony Biscotti that I am going to try. He loved to eat and he loved a glass or two of good wine. We will definitely drink a toast in his honour. And make his favourite toast: To good food, good wine and good friends (and loved ones).

Take care, and TATA ....and Peace.

Triathlon, Near Tragedy, Indecent Exposure

This morning I was awakened at 7:30 by a such a clatter, I threw open the window to see what was the matter. (That sounds vaguely familiar.) There was no traffic on Davie Street. There was a crew putting up portable fencing and yelling at each other. It was my introduction to a fairly frequent(in the summer, at least)Vancouver activity known as the dreaded URBAN RACE.

This time it was the World Cup Triathlon. Swim a whole bunch of miles, bike another whole bunch of miles and run a last, exhausting six miles. Why, I asked myself, had I not heard about this? It was not very well published. I rubbed the sleepy dust out of my eyes and since I was already up I decided to go early for my workout.

The first problem was I could not get to the other side of Davie Street to walk to my fitness club. I had to beg one of the workers to let me through. After I promised him my first-born son (ha! fooled him, like that's gonna happen at my age)he let me through. Muttering grumpily under my breath I stomped to my club.

After a workout, in a better mood with all the endorphins flowing, I headed home. Again I was stopped by the portable fence. So I stopped into a bakery and had a coffee and a chocolate croissant(still warm from the oven)while I watched the competitors zip by on their bikes. My, they go at quite a speed. Zip, zap and they were out of sight. A few minutes later, another group of six or eight whiz by.

All of a sudden I noticed an old lady standing right in the middle of the race course. She had white hair and wore a plaid poncho and was consulting a guide book as she crossed the intersection. I held my breath as I watched, knowing it was just a matter of time until the next group of bikers came barrelling down Davie. The Prairie Crocus saw, in slow motion, a bike collide with her,and in a domino effect more bikes and athletes one after another crashing into the tangled mess and bikes, tourist and athletes all tumbling over each other crashing into the fence? Would the race end in tragedy on the six o'clock news?

Well, no. She got across the intersection unscathed and wandered over to the beach oblivious to the near catastrophe. But she could have been hurt. To the race organizers: NOT ENOUGH P.R. I'm just saying.

About those triathlon athletes. There's not an ounce of fat on any of them. The men are very buff. They wear those skimpy little unitards that leave little to the imagination - anything less and they'd probably be arrested for indecent exposure.

And the women - well, let's just say some of them look like men. I hear that elite women athletes often stop having menstrual periods because they have no fat to store estrogen. Mother nature's way of saying, "You've gone too far." Seems just a tad extreme to me.

The story has a happy ending. The winner of the men's race was a Canadian, Victoria's Simon Whitfield http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/story/2007/06/10/whitfield-vancouver-triathlon.html And in two weeks - the VANCOUVER MARATHON! Whoopeee. I think I'll put in some earplugs and sleep all day.

So, it's good night from me and it's good night from me. Take care!

You don't suffer, kill yourself and take the risks I take just for money. I love bike racing.
Greg LeMond

Can You Eat Just One?

Just read Danielle's blog and tried the donut quiz. Here's the result.

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut

You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun. You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life... Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut. To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions.

What Donut Are You?

I didn't make it up, honest. Those who know me can decide how closely this describes me. Try it yourself. See what kind of donut you are. BTW Tim Horton's (not one of the choices in the quiz)rules!

Alcoholica Esoterica, Pork Roast, Harping On Musical Instruments

I've been reading a great book I bought on Granville Island. It's Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler. It combines two of my favourite things, liquor and trivia. I have learned so much about alcohol from this book. Did you know that rum was America's drink of choice until the American Revolution? That Empress Elizabeth of Austria had floor-length hair which she washed in shampoo made from egg yolks, pressed onions and 20 bottles! of the finest French brandy. Talk about conspicuous consumption. If you want to keep an opened bottle of champagne bubbly, stick an ordinary kitchen spoon, handle down, into the bottle. The author of the book claims he tested this "under strict scientific conditions(downing several bottles in one sitting, by making notations on a clipboard and at all times wearing safety goggles)." Can't you just picture it?

I wrote a limerick about one of history's most interesting boozers:
A magnanimous Peter the Great
Was so tall - he was six foot eight.
He rode round on a sleigh
Giving vodka away
And left Russia a drunken state.

I give the book five stars out of five and highly recommend you read it. Or would that be I recommend you read it while high.

My sister and her fiance came for dinner yesterday. The pork roast was very tasty. I cooked it in the crock pot and it took 10 hours; it cooked while I slept. I think it was enjoyed. My sis asked me for recipes. We washed it down with a nice beaujolais and some Bailey's with coffee.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. We saw a man pushing a makeshift dolly constructed of a shopping cart and a chair - he was transporting a harp down the sidewalk. Yes, I said a harp! I've seen people with guitars, bongo drums and harmonicas on the beach, but that was a first. I wondered if he had just bought it and was taking it home or if he was on his way to a concert in the park. I'll never know. I may be "harping" on this subject just a little too much.

Ooh, Prairie Crocus, you are such a bad punster. I learned from the best. Bye for now. Take care and peace.

Vodka is tasteless going down, but it is memorable coming up. ~ Garrison Keillor

Team Building, Karaoke, Sharp Knives

Update on Canadian Outback's Amazing Race. I googled it and it's a team-building seminar offered to businesses here in Vancouver. That's why I've seen so many of them during the day on buses around the city. I wonder if the Amazing Race people know about this use of the name. I won't be snitching - and don't you, either.

On Thursday my wonderful daughter and her amazing husband took myself and his parents out for dinner. We had a great time at Milestone's and then we went for a walk on the beach. (See pictures) Then everybody came back to my apartment (all 450 square feet of it) for dessert, coffee, tea and drinks. I made her favourite dessert, Sunburst Lemon Bars. Like a mini-lemon pie, only healthier. The Baloros and I made a tentative date for karaoke. Apparently they have a machine! Woo-hoo! My long-suffering daughter will be embarrassed. We just won't invite her. Anyway, I think good time was had by all.

I bought myself a set of good knives. They are fully forged Henckels. In case you wonder, that means the tang (the metal inside the handle) and the blade are all one piece. The things you can pick up by googling! (What did we do before google?) It also came with a sharpening tool. Now, if somebody can show me how to use it..... So now I am all set, just in time for hosting a dinner for my sister and her fiance. The menu: roast pork with chili and orange sauce, wild and white rice, green beans and carrots, and Sunburst Lemon Bars.

Bye for now. Love to all family and friends. Missing my friends in Winnipeg. P.S. Thanks Danielle for the suggestion.

If life gives us rocks, it's our choice whether to build a bridge or a wall. - Unknown