Wordless Wednesday - Happy Birthday Madiba

Today Nelson Mandela turns 94.......A man who changed the world.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Mandela

 Happy Birthday Tata Madiba 

and 

Thank You for showing the way of 

forgiveness, integrity, fortitude and hope.

My Purse

This excerpt from the late Nora Ephron - celebrated film maker/screen writer (of my all time top ten movie Sleepless in Seattle) struck me as both funny and poignant, as all good writing should.....it gets you laughing and then hits you square between the eyes with the truth.  

I did not get the purse gene and in not doing so I somehow feel I have let down the sisterhood.....those women who stand in line outside Coach stores to get a good deal or the latest purse......those women who have closets full of purses for all occasions, all outfits, all seasons.....those women who can spot a brand name vs a knock-off at 50 feet.

I know many of those women, I love some of them, some are close friends but I so do not get them on this topic.

This is my purse......all purpose black, capacious enough to hold a solid amount of rubbish...$25 at Target.  I do have one other purse - its red and I never use it - it's too much work to transfer all the crap into it.  I know..... I know....I see the sad shake of your head.....

Does it help at all that I have a cute red Fossil wallet?  Well it was cute before the uncapped pen in my purse attacked it.....one of 12 pens/pencils that commune in my bag lest the desire to write my memoirs strike me far from my desk.......sigh

SO here's Nora to expose the dark truth.....

"I hate my purse.  I absolutely hate it.  If you're one of those women who think there's something great about purses, don't even bother reading this because there will be nothing here for you.  This is for women who hate their purses, who are bad at purses, who understand that their purses are reflections of negligent housekeeping, hopeless disorganization, a chronic inability to throw anything away, and an ongoing failure to handle the obligations of a demanding and difficult accessory (the obligation, for example, that it should in some way match what you're wearing.)  This is for women whose purses are a morass of loose Tic Tacs, solitary Advils, lipsticks without tops, ChapSticks of unknown vintage, little bits of tobacco even though there has been no smoking going on for at least ten years, tampons that have come loose from their wrappings, English coins from a trip to London last October, boarding passes from long-forgotten airplane trips, hotel keys from God-knows what hotel, leaky ballpoint pens, Kleenexes that either have or have not been used but there's no way to be sure one way or another, scratched eyeglasses, an old tea bag, several crumpled personal checks that have come loose from the checkbook and are covered with smudge marks, and an unprotected toothbrush that looks as if it has been used to polish silver....


This is for those of you who understand, in short, that your purse is, in some absolutely horrible way, you.


Because here's what happens with a purse.  You start small.  You start pledging yourself to neatness.  You start vowing that This Time It Will Be Different.  You start with the things you absolutely need - your wallet and a few cosmetics you have actually put into a brand-new shiny cosmetic bag, the kind used by your friends who are competent enough to manage more than one purse at a time.  But within seconds, your purse has accumulated the debris of a lifetime.  The cosmetics have somehow fallen out of the shiny cosmetic bag (okay, you forgot to zip it up), the coins have fallen from the wallet (okay, you forgot to fasten the coin compartment), the credit cards are somewhere in the abyss (okay, you forgot to put your Visa card back into your wallet after you bought the sunblock that is now oozing into the lining because you forgot to put the top back onto it after you applied it to your hands while driving seventy miles an hour down the highway)...And there's half a bottle of water, along with several snacks you saved from an airplane trip just in case you ever found yourself starving and unaccountably craving a piece of cheese that tastes like plastic."  -- 

Nora Ephron in her book, I Feel Bad About My Neck

A Man .........

...of many Years  - 45 to be precise but who's counting?

...of many Talents 

As this photo of his gifts tells you he is a master carpenter, amazing chef, budding photographer and world class roboman....to name a few things. Such a gifted and talented man who shares his wisdom with so many.

...much beloved as a Dad

He does such a great job with these two monkeys, guiding, disciplining, teaching, watching movies, biking, discussing, loving......

...who loves good food

So many amazing meals he has made for us, not to mention the bread he bakes, the complicated recipes he tries and aces everytime...... he enjoyed his crab tonight in the sunshine.

...who loves and is loved by his family

He so appreciates the joy of family and does much to love us all and we all love him back....to the moon and back actually.....

...who knows how to have fun

No family occasion is ever complete without a moment or two (or too many) of silly Byres Behaviour......His mother promised me he would grow up one day!

...who loves Steveston

He (and we) never miss an opportunity to wander in our village, to support local businesses and artisans.....we know how lucky we are to live here.

...whom I dearly love.  

Happy Birthday Allan!

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.........