21 August 13

At the Ocean Beach farmers' market. I bought a Hendrix shirt for Jeff, some soap, a new pair of shades, and some African food for dinner. Other than that I spent the day lazing around reading, and doing a bit of shopping. (I found super cool jazzy pants for less than $20!)

20 August 13

Spent the day at California Adventure, which felt less crowded than the Magic Kingdom the day before. Plus there were more options for older people (both the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain were closed at the other park) and the food is better.
We separated for dinner — Ken & Mom and I had small plates at a wine bar, and the others left the park to go for burgers. We watched the moon rise and after the sun went down we went to stake out our spot for World of Colour. They'd definitely changed some things since I saw it two years ago, and it was amazing. I just wish people would put their videocameras down for a minute and actually enjoy the thing, you know?
See more photos from this day here.

19 August 13

Maddie, freestyle drawing in Disneyland. She wasn't even posing; we found her like this.
Michael joined us for our two days in the park; I drove up in the morning with him and Maddie, listening to music and eating snacks. Disneyland is always so much more crowded than I remember it being, and even though Big Thunder Mountain was closed (one of my favourites) we still had a good time, followed up by an excellent dinner at Catal. Exhausted, we walked back to the Holiday Inn, where the shower was crappy but the beds were comfy.
Some more photos from this day here.

18 August 13

The pier in Ocean Beach. I wandered around the storefronts and beaches a bit in the morning, taking photos with my film SLR. In the afternoon we drove into Balboa Park to go to a museum or two (we ended up only having time/funds for the Natural History Museum), and do some admiring of the gardens & architecture.
Few more photos from this day here.

17 August 13

Having a downtown airport means a lot of air traffic passes low over other parts of the city. There's not too much late at night, thankfully, but it was LOUD when they flew over the cottage.
Went to the beach and read my book and got a patchy sunburn. Ate vegan Mexican food at Ranchos.

16 August 13

Got my head shaved, checked out some tide pools, ate tacos, played drinking games, admired the sunset.

15 August 13

Alice and I were super early for our flight, but the flight itself was not too bad. Also it's been awhile since I've flown out of Vancouver and I forgot how nice it is. They have a dispenser at the water fountain just for filling your water bottle with delicious tap water! Mom & Jimm picked us up at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and unfortunately we got stuck in rush hour traffic so it over two hours to get back to San Diego.

We went down to the water and had a gleeful time watching the dogs play on the beach, and afterwards we were joined by Maddie & Michael, and went to a fantastic sushi/tapas bar called The Joint.
Couple more photos from this day here.

14 August 13

Managed to pack for a 10-day trip using only my backpack and my small suitcase — a personal victory. Alice stayed the night so we could get to the airport easier in the morning, and we had a delicious dinner of Thai food with all the roommates.

13 August 13

Stomachache.

12 August 13

Jeff's aunt and uncle from Switzerland were visiting, so we had dinner with them and Yvonne at the Mill. It was quite nice, actually, and Peter (Jeff's uncle) secretly paid for dinner when no one was looking. Unfortunately I left the remaining half of my wild mushroom & roasted garlic pizza sitting in its takeout box on the table.

11 August 13

Jeff & I stayed in the Billy Barker hotel while we were in Quesnel, because with Joanne moved into Tony's now, there's not really enough room for us to stay there. Not complaining though — it meant we got to sleep in a bed that's not a twin and watch tv naked.
Couple photos from the drive home here.

10 August 13

This is the only picture I took all day and it is terrible because I was very self-conscious with all Tony's lawyer friends in the yard. His birthday bbq was pretty great though; plenty of good food, and I spent most of the time keeping things tidy and making drinks for people. After everyone left, Jeff, Tony, Joanne, & I tasted all the fancy sakes we'd bought that people mostly ignored.

09 August 13

It was a long drive to Quesnel, but we got an early start and brought our own lunch (which we ate in beautiful Skihist Provincial Park, as seen above). Thus we made excellent time, even with taking all our usual stops. We met Tony & Joanne downtown for Greek food, and before going to the hotel (where we drank wine and watched tv in our underwear) we went down to the footbridge to take some photos of the Fraser, which can be seen here.

08 August 13

Spent the evening packing clothes for our weekend trip to Quesnel, and preparing lunch & snacks for the long drive: sandwiches, kale chips, trail mix, chocolate.

07 August 13

06 August 13

Got a sunburn during the 20-30 minutes I had my shirt off at the beach, because I neglected to get someone to help me sunscreen my back. DAMN YOU NORTHERN BLOOD!

05 August 13

Aaron borrowed his brother's boat and was kind enough to take myself, Liang, Steph, Ryan, and their friend Chris out to Wreck Beach from the dock in Port Moody. It was a blast; I grinned so much my face hurt. I was feeling slightly sick from the beer & sea by the time we got back, but I ate a bit of the salmon dinner Jeff made for us and we watched The Wire, so all in all it was a good day.
A few more photos here.

04 August 13

Jeff and I went to Costco in the early part of the day and that was enough to turn me into a recluse for the rest of it. Made guacamole, ate it with nachos for dinner. Listened to Night Vale. Made a new road mix for the trip up to Quesnel.

03 August 13

Met up with my girl for food, drinks, and company at Tap & Barrel. Afterwards we walked downtown and went for a pitcher of sangria at the Mill, where we said hello to Jeff before heading off to meet her friend Aaron at his apartment downtown. After that I met up with Jeff at the end of his shift and we bussed home together.

02 August 13

Annoying work day. Craved authentic Mexican food, which is not the easiest to find here. I made a grilled cheese with avocado & salsa. It did not satisfy my craving.

01 August 13

31 July 13

Vancouver broke its record for most days without rain: not a drop for the entire month of July. As a reward, around midnight a thunderstorm rolled in. I lay in bed watching the lightning, and when it finally started to rain, it had been so long since I heard the sound that it took a moment to realize what it was.

30 July 13

29 July 13

28 July 13

Wound up at the Mill again, having dinner with my parents and Alice and Raffi. Also discovered an old friend, Danny, from SFU & my old job at Urban Behavior working there as a server, so he joined us for a drink after his shift.

27 July 13

I rode my bike to Coal Harbour and spent the afternoon on the patio at the Mill drinking beer, reading, and taking photos of patrons' dogs for a VanCity Buzz article about dog-friendly patios. In the evening, Sarah and I went to Malloreigh's for the four-course vegan dinner she and the folks of Plate Invaders had organized. It was beautiful sitting out in the yard with glasses of wine, eating delicious food as the evening light faded to night. Above is the second course — stuffed zucchini blossoms with an heirloom tomato stew — but there are photos and descriptions of all dishes on my flickr of course, if you care to look.

26 July 13

Ew.

25 July 13

Three-ingredient cookoff at Mal's! It was very creative and well-attended. I made a hot-sauce glazed tempeh with smokey grilled corn purée, but the winner was Kristina's entry (above): a cucumber roll with fennel & jicama slaw, and a roasted fennel ponzu remoulade. As always, check out the blog for the rest of the entries, and category winners.

24 July 13

23 July 13

Had to wear long sleeves again, to keep my new ink from getting filthy at work. It was so hot and terrible.

22 July 13

June in her studio, choosing tunes for our tattoo session. I managed two hours... once she started going hard in the wrist area it was REALLY painful and I had to give up. We went to The Whip afterwards for food & beer, and Jeff was kind enough to pick me up so I didn't adrenaline crash on the bus home. We watched The Wire until it was time for me to wash all the goo and blood off my arm, and then I slept in a long-sleeved shirt to keep it clean & it was the worst.

21 July 13

Last shot of my phoenix on its own before starting my sleeve work with June.

20 July 13

Jeff and I went on an afternoon hike in Belcarra, up from the main picnic area to Jug Island Beach at the top of the park, on Indian Arm. We had plans to hang out at White Pine and go for a swim afterwards, but by the time we finished our hike we were way too hungry. We hit up an Irish pub for wings & sandwiches before heading home to shower off the sweat and watch The Wire.
Couple more photos from this day here.

19 July 13

18 July 13

Jeff went to the nursery while I was at work and brought me home a bunch of new succulents! I was very excited and after dinner I spent my evening repotting them in the backyard.