Surrender at Jethro's and Signs of Wonder

I took Friday off and had a staycation with my two boys.

As any good staycation would, ours started with breakfast.

With time and a sense of adventure we headed to a Triple D location

Jethros on Dunbar St in Vancouver.

Oh my goodness - during the 20 or so minute wait to get a table in this small and unassuming space we spied the food.........I am sure we made at least a couple diners feel some discomfort as our eyes nearly fell out of our heads at the size of the pancakes - whole frying pan sized - with all manner of options baked into them and then stacked......some with a Mont Blanc of whipped cream on top.  The calorie counter in my head headed straight into the red danger zone, sparked and blew up. Fortunately I was still somewhat coherent when the efficient but not very friendly waitress came by and we only ordered two breakfasts for the three of us.

Still David's "Hog Tied" bacon pancakes were daunting to behold

Ant though he and I worked diligently at the buttermilk pancakes while Allan had the "Cowboy" breakfast that included 3 eggs, 2 corn cakes, chilli, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage and a spicy grilled chorizo, we barely managed half of the order.

And we surrendered........ defeated.......and stuffed.....

 

  This seemed to be a trend as an endless flow of boxes landed on tables around us with the reheating instructions written on the top.

Not possible - but an experience......maybe best remembered for excess than taste.  Next time I would try one of the benny's.

________________________

Then after a toddle around all our favourite spots on a crowded Granville Island, Allan wanted to swing via an electronics store on Main Street.  We parked outside a non-descript grocery but as I waited in the car I saw these delightful sign taped to the window.  Look at them closely especially the hours of operation..... I got out to photograph them and had a brief chat to the owner - a delightful young man trying to be a good part of his community....I hope you enjoy this little gift from the universe today.......do something great in your community!

Fhoto Friday - A Boy at the Beach

The Beach (Iona Regional Park)

The boy

Silly fun with Mom

Whoops - too fast for Mom!

 

Skipping rocks

 

Going

Going

 

Gone

 

 

Community

I know its Wordless Wednesday but this little story touched my heart and I think it's worth sharing today.

We recently changed up our front entrance way at work and bought a large jar for fresh flowers.  We (and by "we" I mean my fabulous right hand wonder woman Jennifer) have been buying them from COSTCO when we get a chance.  For a few days now and again the vase has been empty.

One day a Mom brought some cut flowers in for us and arranged them.  That was a lovely gift.

Then the vase was empty for a few days.  We're (as in Jennifer is) going to COSTCO today so we were going to get new flowers.

I was here until 5:45pm on Monday (we close at 6pm) and I was in at 7:15am on Tuesday and immediately noticed an amazing display of arranged flowers.

We asked several people if anyone knew who had done it.....no one knew......

So I wrote a note.....

And today when I came in the mystery was solved......Jose the cleaner arranged the flowers.

We don't know Jose - he is contracted by our landlord and comes after we leave every night so it is VERY cool to me that we had this little exchange.

It's a story about community, about connection, about going above and beyond, about making our spaces beautiful......

Now to see how we can surprise and delight Jose the way he surprised and delighted us.

Audiculous

 Government sends a notice that we are being audited.

They send a self-addressed postage paid envelope for me to return the requested documents

 These are the requested documents

Hmmmmmmm.........

Veggies!!

It's been a while since I posted an update on our veggie patch. 

Possibly because through the unending dampness of June I despaired anything would survive.  I despaired I would survive.  Funny how we can get so dramatic about the weather!

But amazingly the sun returned and what a difference a little warmth and sun can make!! 

The veggies have taken off (and our collective weather-induced depression has lifted) and we have been madly trying to keep up with a) tending to them and b) eating them fast enough!

This is our fourth year of veggie gardening. 

We have learned a few things - some the hard way...... :)  Here to spare you some of our pain are some things we did, didn't do, should have done.....should have learned!

Start small and read a lot, consult a lot, share seeds,....... it got a lot more fun when our friends started veggie gardening too - we even had a meeting to plan and share resources...... we have come a long way!

After Year 1 we realised....

We need more space - Check - we built a new bed and a new area for tomato plants.

We cannot eat 8 lettuce plants worth of lettuce that are all ready at one!

Field cucumbers need fields - my nightmares of the backyard being overtaken were almost realised and it became a race between me and the cucumber plant for backyard domination.

Peppers take a long time to grow and produce

After Year 2/ Year 3

We hate kale - we tried, we really really tried, we wanted to eat a superfood and love it...but .... we don't.  Sad that we were SO good at growing it too.  Our friends and neighbours who embraced the kale were happy and a steady stream of people raided the veggie patch (thank goodness).

It takes a lot of water to manage the beds and pots - so we got a water barrel and thanks to this June it filled up in one day.  Nice to be using rain water to water with.

We tried potatoes in wooden boxes instead of tires - holymoly.......they loved that idea and went quite mad - they outpaced our maintenance and we missed the boat on mounding them so the crop will be interesting from a numbers perspective.

Too much lettuce again......but at least it's two different kinds.

Peppers - still slow.....we live in hope......

We have tried different kinds of onions and they look mighty fine at the moment.

We also have a carrot forest - we were a little over zealous with the seeds - who know what mutations will follow as they fight for space below the soil line.....yikes!! 

And now to keep it all alive through this heatwave........BC heatwave!

Here's to doing our bit to be sustainable........and eating local and loving kale inventing many ways to eat lettuce.

A Sunny Strawberry kinda Saturday

Our Saturday in photos

6 boxes of strawberries

Lots of local farm produce

 Strawberry processing station - 6 bags for the freezer, 5 strawberry crumbles and a big bowl for breakfast on Sunday

 Juicy and red all the way through  - warm from the fields

 You get all shapes and sizes when you pick them fresh from the field

 Strawberry Crumble - Step 1, 2 and 3 - I wasn't so sure but  fellow blog Mom Janice is usually spot on and I followed her linked recipe and they were delicious

Allan was inspired in the kitchen and made both bread and pizza dough and a BBQ chicken pizza for dinner - all so yummy

And a visit from a special friend Penelope.......and her very patient friend David who helped her learn how to scoot on the scooter......a wonderful moment to behold.

 

I did it!!

A Saturday that was good for my soul

Hoping it's the first of many this Summer.