Hopefully clever comments about life in Vancouver, B.C. as lived by a French girl from Montreal
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Good progress
My walker web site for The Weekend to End Cancer shows a total amount raised of $450, which is fabulous after only one month of fundraising. I know some donations are also on their way through the mail (please remember that a mailed donation will take between 4-6 weeks before it shows up on the site). Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. I know February is not the best month to ask people for money, it's RRSP time, tax time, paying for last Christmas time... I really appreciate all the help and support I have received. Lots of messages of encouragement as well!
On a lighter note, have you watched the Oscars tonight (I think it's still going on, I only watched a bit when I was visiting Lara and Charles this afternoon). Have you seen Renee Zellweger? I saw her this Fall in Bridget Jones, she looked wonderful. Now, she has black hair and lost so much weight that her face looks like it's made of plastic... Or maybe it is made of plastic... What a shame. It's a real nonsense what movie stars have to do these days to stay employed. Diets, plastic surgery, most of them don't even look comfortable walking the red carpet. Must have been this year's trend of tight flute dresses. Or should it be called the reverse martini dresses? Either way, not my thing. I'm more comfortable in pants and sometimes skirts in the Summer.
I had the pleasure of getting a pass for the pre-screening of Millions last Thursday. Tucker had a focus group to attend for work, Lara was studying for her mid-terms, and Anna was busy tearing off ugly wallpaper left behind by the last tenant, so I went by myself. It's a great movie, very touching and funny. The movie is about two brothers who move to a new house with their father after their mom dies. The house is next to the railway and one day, off one of the passing trains, falls a bag filled with money. The youngest boy thinks this money is from God and tries to give it away to the poor (he's big into Saints and their stories), while the oldest boy, a sharp mind for numbers, thinks of different schemes to invest the money without involving their father. Oh, and in the story, England is a few days away from switching to Euros and Pounds will be worth nothing once the switch is done... Millions comes out in theaters March 11, it's worth seeing.
Tonight, I rented Ararat, from Atom Egoyan. Not funny, that's for sure. Very somber and dramatic. The movie is about characters searching for the meaning, meaning of a mother's suffering, meaning of a father's death, meaning of life and meaning of art. A film about a film on the Armenian genocide, about a young Armenian boy struggling with his identity and his history... When the film was released a couple of years ago, it generated a lot of interest and a lot of controversy. I'm not a historian so I'll leave the political and historical interpretation of the movie to others. Not my favorite movie.
to celebrate two years together with Tucker. Well, that wasn't initially the reason behind this outing, but since the dates coincided, why not? :-) Two years, lots of fun, that's for sure, and more to come with the trip to Europe. Time flies...
The concert tonight was to see James Ehnes, the very talented young violinist from Manitoba. James playes a Violin Concerto from a British composer, William Walton. I had never heard the concerto before and this was definitely NOT a piece for beginners. Very technical but also very approachable. The second part of the concert was the VSO playing Tchaikovsky Symphonie No.6 "Pathetique", also a beautiful piece that walks through many emotions: sadness, exaltation, despair...
At the end of the concert, I bought a recent recording from James Ehnes and he signed it. Did you know that he was nominated for two Juno awards, with two different recordings? I hope he wins!
Well, not matter what they say out East about Vancouver, it's not always raining here. No kidding! I think it's just a way from preventing everyone to move out here. I guess I'm blowing our cover...
Saturday was as nice of a February day as you could get. Tucker and I woke up late, we had breakfast and then parted ways, to get some chores done. Then, after lunch, Tucker came to pick me up and we drove to the West End. We stopped at Starbucks and each picked up a thermal mug (and a latte, to test the mugs, obviously). Then, we headed to Stanley Park and walked the entire seawall around the park, a good 10km walk. It was beautiful, the sky was clear, boats were out, there was a cold breeze but the sun made it quite warm. Mind you, the last hour, we were in the shade and did find it a bit cool. But it was great to renew with Vancouver's great park. We stopped on the way around, walked on the beach, took pictures, saw many ducks and Canada geese and swans even in Lost Lagoon (I'll ask Tucker to put the pictures on his blog so you can see them). It was six when we were back at the car, a bit frozen but really happy. Then, we went to the Liquor Store to pick up some beer and snacks at the IGA, then headed home. On Friday night, we rented two movies: Masters and Commanders with Russel Crowe, that we watched on Friday night, and The Iron Giant, with the voice of Vince Diesel as the giant, that we watched last night. Both movies were really good.
Today, we had a family brunch for Tiffany's and Jenn's birthday. The entire clan was out! After the brunch, we stopped at RONA to pick up some flower boxes, potting soil, seeding soil and seeds. I bought herbs (basil, chives, thyme and parsley) and flowers (Nasturtium Alaska, also called capucines, geranium, and blue and white swan river daisies). I planted my seeds in a Lee Valley Tools self-watering seed starter. I bought one of these for Annie a couple of years back and I think she was quite successful with it.
Unfortunately, I will have to go back to RONA. I also bought Lavender seeds but the packet was empty and the hooks for the flower boxes don't fit my balcony railing. Of well, minor details. Hard to believe I'm talking about plants and seeds in February, but this is the West Coast baby!
Valentine's Day rocked this year. We had a nice feast, the stuffed chicken was rebaptized chicken boats 'cause I didn't hammer the chicken breasts enough to have the surface required to roll the chicken around the stuffing, Tucker bought me flowers (a beautiful assortment of irises) and chocolate-dipped strawberries, the wine was a bit weak but tasty, and the chocolate mousse was very rich! Nice thing that there were leftovers also, excellent lunch options for the following day.
Life Before Man, from Margaret Atwood. Long time ago Margaret Atwood. Interestingly, the book is still very modern and it's only here and there, when reading about some 70's decor or style, that you realize this story was written over 25 years ago. The book ends on August 18, 1978, which would have been my fourth birthday. I wonder what life is about when you are four. I can't remember much about my early childhood, sometime images and places, but nothing with a clear timestamp. I remember dad showing me something scary he picked up in the ocean (a lobster?). I remember a small kitchen and a new baby (Annie?).
I wonder if I collected stuff, picked up things I would come across in my exploration of the world. Somehow, this is something I still do. If Tucker and I go on a hike and stop by a river to sit down and watch the water rush by, I always end up with some rocks in my pockets. Not because they were semi-precious stones or out of scientific interest, more because I like how they feel in my hands. Soft rocks that the water has polished, warm rocks that stored the energy from the Sun, brittle rocks that crumble in little pieces when you roll them between your fingers. I've collected seashells from a couple of walks on the beach, driftwood as well, but mostly rocks. Tucker and I seem to share a common interest about rocks, although I have to watch him... He likes to pick up rocks to skip them ;)
Last November, I had taken some cooking classes to learn some fundamental techniques and recipes. When I signed up, I knew I was going to miss the last class, on desserts. I asked them if I could take it during another series and today is when I finally tested a few sweet recipes. We made a traditional apple tart (crust, apple compote and thinly sliced apples on the top), crepes and creme brulee. We even used a blowtorch to create the thick caramelized crust of sugar. Yum.
I have my menu all prepared for Valentine's day: smoked salmon mousse on cucumber slices and spicy cheese bouchees, chicken breasts stuffed Mediterranean style, green beans, orzo pasta or rice, and chocolate mousse for dessert. I think it'll be good :-)
I'm so excited!! Today, Tucker and I booked our plane tickets for Europe. Now that we have a destination and dates, it feels a lot more real. We found this great deal on AirTransat for direct flights to Amsterdam. So, the first week will be spent around Amsterdam, then off to Paris for a week and then, we will travel to Cologne (Germany) for the European Grand Prix and some countryside touring. And back to Amsterdam to catch the flight back home. We're leaving Friday May 13 ;) Now, we have to start planning hostels, cars and trains, and lists of what we want to see and what we want to do. Not to have a really complex and full schedule (this IS a vacation after all), but it's good to travel with a few objectives.
Woohoo! This will be my second trip to Europe (my first one was with Annie and her friend Tatiana, where we visited Vienna and Prague) and Tucker's first. I don't know who between the two is more excited!
Maybe it's because of the cool weather outside (OK, cool by Vancouver standards), maybe it's because I have my kitchen back, maybe it's because I now have a fridge full of food, but I've had a sudden urge to cook for the past few days. Try recipes. Prepare dinners with leftovers for lunch. Some experiments have been quite successful, others, a bit suspicious. Last night, I prepared some beet-carrot-ginger soup, very tasty and a bright color! It would have needed an additional cup of stock or water, when I pureed it, it was a bit thick. Then, I prepared some Dahl, an Indian lentil puree that is lovely as a dip for naan bread. Unfortunately, I burnt some of the spices I was adding to the lentils and the burnt taste is lingering around in the final dish. I need a bit more practice on that one.
Next Monday, I'm cooking a Valentine's Day dinner for Tucker. He's either going to be a very lucky guy, or a very brave one! I'm trying a couple of new recipes on him :-)
Two car rentals in one week! Last night was my coworker Anna's birthday (well, her b-day is actually today, but we celebrated yesterday) and I got myself a set of wheels to meet with her and her friends. First, off to Surrey, where Anna has just moved in to a really spacious and nice basement suite. Much better than where she used to live and surprisingly, almost all organized and unpacked, even though her move was quite recent. Then, two of her friends, Jamie and Kimber, came to join us and we drove out to Abbotsford, where the party was being hosted. To give you an idea of distances, Surrey is about 20-some km outside of Vancouver and Abbotsford, 30 km from Surrey.
It was a fun evening, dinner at Lou's pub and then cake and coffee and drinks at Lindsay's (Anna's friend). Lindsay has a very friendly pitbull-mastiff cross that loved to play and get his back scratched. She also has a cat that's the same color as the dog. Apparently, they get along :-)
Anna will be my walking and tent buddy for The Weekend to End Cancer. Starting next week, we're starting to sell snacks at work to help raise funds for both our campaigns. Since we can do this over a seven-month period, we think we can add $600-700 ($300-350 each) to our fundraising efforts. Go team go!
And I got to drive a car for the first time in a while! Actually, I did drive the Caravan in Montreal between my parent's and Dina and Steve's place, but that's so close, it doesn't count.
Tonight, I had a lovely dinner with Lindsay and her family. I always enjoy visiting them, we talk about books, gossip about work, play with the dog (only one dog left now, Shadow passed away late last year)... Lucas made some fresh bread that we ate with corn-cheddar chowder. I even got to take a loaf back home with me :-)
I'm glad that I am able to keep in touch with Lindsay. She's very grounded and is a great listener. A good friend.
