Last Legs

Vancouver Photographs - Going for a Walk on an Overcast Day.

Cute Overload

Kitten likes to play hide and seek in the bathroom.

I see you Kitten!

Let's play again!

He likes to be close to me. So if the sewing machine is in his spot on my desk he will just get right on top of it and make himself comfortable.

He will even fall asleep there.

Him and his new friend, Charlie.  

Feisty

–adjective, feist·i·er, feist·i·est.

1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky: The champion is faced with a feisty challenger.

2. ill-tempered; pugnacious.

3. troublesome; difficult: feisty legal problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food, Photography, and Fun Things To Do.

This is the lettuce portion of my garden. Behind the lettuce you can also see fennel, peas, lemon balm, chives, thyme, parsley, and nasturtiums. I am trying to create a sort of herb section of the garden back there in the corner near the fence. After this picture was taken I planted some bergamot, too! I would like to get a larger container for the lemon balm. Maybe a foot and a half across. If anyone has one, please leave it at my garden for me! Thanks!

Above is a photo of my first harvest! I went back the next day (yesterday) and picked another batch just as big. It tastes wonderful.

The day I picked the first batch I found out it was my friend's birthday (he is kind of secretive) so I decided to bake him a cake - inspired by my Mother's Day cake, and my friend Jocelyn's sugar icing idea - so I got out all the ingredients and was pretty fricken excited about surprising him at work. Something went terribly wrong. It could have been the oven was acting funny, or perhaps I didn't whip the eggs enough. I was pretty sad so I decided to try again (even though I had washed all the dishes and put all the ingredients away) and it also turned out like crap. So after wasting 6 eggs and a bunch of sugar and flour I took him my delicious greens instead.

In happier food news, I made a delicious beet greens, mushroom, tomato, and shrimp dish with a lemon dill sauce, served over millet. I made the same thing again last night and used Enoki mushrooms!

My friend Priscilla is doing a show for the Fringe Festival in September and I took the photo that she will be using in the program guide:

 And finally, a couple of events/activities that you might want to/should participate in:

The 30 Days Project - Create something for 30 days straight and share it with people. Registration ends today, project begins tomorrow. FREE!

Craft Party / Etsy Meetup - Come hang out with other crafters and craft. June 18, 2-5pm. FREE!
 
Ricky Powell Slide Show - "The legendary street photographer is coming to Fortune Sound Club on June 2, and he’ll be doing a little show and tell session." FREE!

Swap-O-Rama-Rama - "Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing and craft supply swap in which a community explores reuse and creativity through the recycling of used clothing." $5/$6

Talent Time - "Talent Time is a live monthly comedy / variety / chat show & cable access television program featuring the country's greatest comedians, musical artists and novelty acts. Past guests include: Miniature Mariachis, Comic Hypnotists, Celebrity Impersonators, Extreme Wrestlers, Airbands, Drag Queens, Magicians, Laughing Meditation Demonstrations and Tribute Bands." $8

 

Walks and Food

 

I've gone on two long walks with my friend Sam recently. Once we went around Stanley Park and it was awesome because there was so much wild life around. Starfish, seals, herons, and raccoons (below).

On the second walk we followed the other side of the Seawall towards Kits and we saw a beautiful old boat of which I asked Sam "Do you think I could take it and put it up in my living room?"  

On this same walk we passed by a duck couple hanging out at the pool, which is about 25 feet from the actual ocean. This made me smile so much but I'm not sure I captured the hilarity it on camera.  The pool was completely empty aside from them.

 

They just seemed like they knew they had it made. It seemed like though they knew the ocean was so close, they decided to hang out at the pool, because it was off bounds to humans and they wanted to impress some sort of authority or "ha" on us humans. On the other hand, it is possible that they were merely confused.

 
 
Along with walking I have been doing a lot of cooking. I plucked some chive flowers from the community garden and put them in a jar with vinegar to make pretty pink chive vinegar. It will sit for a while in a dark cool spot (my cupboard) and will slowly infuse. I will update with pictures.

 

I baked myself a piece of halibut marinated in a delicious lemon/sesame/cilantro sauce that I made from scratch. It was delicious, served with a potato salad made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Then I made green bell peppers stuffed with alphabet pasta, mint, green onions, tomatoes and lemon juice.

Before the oven:

After:

I also made fettuccine for the first time with my pasta maker:
 

Overall, I think the pasta was too thick, and it stuck together a bit when I tried to put it in the pot. I will make it thinner next time and try to figure out a way to keep it from sticking. I also tried drying some of it:

 

Tonight I made thin crust pizza:

 

Gray is Okay - New Flickr Group Project

 

I started a Flickr Group today called Gray is Okay. It is a photography pool for the things in life that the online world tends to forget about. It is for things that are real, and not necessarily pretty. This project was inspired by the following things:

 

1. It stuck with me when, after being dumped recently, someone pointed out that you can’t judge people’s (ie. ex-boyfriend’s) lives based on the pictures they post on Facebook, because people post birthday parties and barbeques, not changing a flat tire in the pouring rain, or putting their cat down.

 

2. I read an article on “Marthettes,” women who have beautiful crafty lives of perfection, and who share these lives on their stunning, pastel-infused blogs, which the article suggests average women like myself will read and inevitably compare ourselves to, leading us to feel inadequate. The article made me think two things.

 

a) I will be the first to admit that I can often feel low after reading a string of these blogs.

 

b) The reality is that what these women choose to show on their blogs is only half of their lives. No one lives a 100% peaches and cream life. And quite frankly, if they do, I feel sorry for them. I often find inspiration and beauty in things that are ugly or awkward. Which leads me to number 3…

 

3. Nan Goldin.

 

In a world where life is easy to document, I think that it’s a shame that it seems to be people’s goal to post only what is appealing to look at.

 

So this is me encouraging you to post photographs of your failed baking, spilled red wine on a white carpet, your skinned knee after a fall, and the three weeks of dishes that have piled up after a loved one has died.

 

When life is shitty  s l o w  d o w n  a little, and take note of it. Snap a picture. It might give you some perspective.

 

So the purpose of this photo pool, if not only for a place to put these images, is to hopefully glean something from these shitty experiences.  And maybe if a snapshot is taken, it can be looked at after the fact, and inspire something greater. When observing something shitty after it has happened, you might find some beauty in it.

 

Please include a description of what is going on in each photograph.

 

At the time the Flickr group is only viewable by members. I am working on getting this changed. There seems to be a problem with Flickr's privacy settings. Thanks for your patience.

Observations in the Hood

 

 

Observations and Gardening Resources

  

I went for a walk today and this is what I found:

 

A garden in a blue toilet against a pink wall. Need I say more?

A cat that wanted to play.

A pretty clothesline.  

Fence.  
 
 ...

I was really surprised with all the little gardens I saw that people were getting ready to plant in. If you are getting ready to plant here are some resources that you might find handy.

The Salt Spring Island Seed Bank- A non profit organization, they do a wonderful job of cataloguing heritage seeds. A $20 active membership provides access to the seeds of the Sanctuary. You can choose up to five varieties from our databases. If you send them records of how they do, you will be entitled to choose another five varieties the next time around. As long as you continue to maintain varieties and let them know about them, your initial membership fee keeps you as an active member.

Free Compost - Every May, Vancouver residents may pick up one cubic metre of compost for free at the Vancouver Landfill. For other sources of compost and sources of mulch, call the Regional Compost hot line at 604.736.2250.

The City will sell you a rain barrel at about half the price ($75). Rain barrels are special containers offered by the City of Vancouver. The barrels are half-cylinder designs that sit flush against a wall. Two faucets on each barrel accommodate hoses and watering cans. Approximately 107 cm high and 54 cm wide, each barrel holds up to 341 litres of water, and weighs about 20.5 kg. They’re made from dark green recycled plastic and are child-proof. Other features include a screen to remove debris, and an overflow pipe.

Same goes for composts. These are only $25. Reduce your household waste and help the environment by composting at home. Turn uncooked vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, tea bags, and yard trimmings (leaves, grass, weeds, etc) into a nutrient-rich soil conditioner. The City offers backyard composters through a special program for its residents. A composter measures about 85 centimetres at the base, and is 85 centimetres high. The body consists of two snap-together pieces for easy transportation, and it comes with a detailed instruction manual.

West Coast Seeds - A really great place to buy seeds and their website is very informative.

Stamps, Society 6

I bought a page of these beautiful stamps the other day.

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I've signed up to a website called Society 6, which sells prints of artist's work. Currently 7 different pieces of my artwork are available to buy as prints (including the one above with the fox). Go have a peek.
 

Observations

Olympic Observations:

 

 

Today's observations:

It looks like someone (black) wrote "Stay the Fuck Out of the Yard" and then someone else (green) added "Please. You could get hurt. Have a nice day." And the smiley faces. 

 

Fun Observations:

Whenever I wear these shoes they make people smile.