Sunday, July 15, 2007

Want to go kayaking?

Just in case you care, my latest version of my bedroom curtains turned out fine. I don't love them, but they work.

I had a nearly perfect weekend - the only thing that would have made it better would have been having Friday off. Saturday, I met up with an old college friend (Jen) for coffee. We probably hadn't seen each other in 3 years, but it's been 7 since we spent any quality time together. We spent a couple of hours together catching up and before I left, I met her new girlfriend who seems very sweet. We completely intend to get together again. That night, I went kayaking for the first time. I now have a new love and can't wait to try it again. Since I had zero experience, I went in the front of a double kayak, so I didn't learn to steer with the rudder pedals and really want to try that. I've got to figure out when I can go again. We finished around sundown, about 9pm, so I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Rod and Fancy. My kind of day - social and active!

This morning, I climbed the Grouse Grind again and am amazingly impressed with my new time. I felt slow, although I only stopped to let people pass and to take a water break at the 1/4 marks, so I was shocked to discover my new record was 1 hour 21 minutes. Shaved 9 minutes off! My goal of breaking 1 hr 15 seems actually possible. Afterwards I drove to my parents to borrow their driveway and hose to wash my car. I wanted to save a whole $10 by not taking it to the drive thru carwash, but I think the amount of effort I expended and the quality of the wash I did has proven to me that the $10 I spend is well worth it.

ohhhh - I know what I wanted to blog about! I parallel parked for the first time since buying my car last August! And it worked on the first try! Woohoo!! (Of course, when I had to parallel park again later the same day, it didn't go as well, but I'm still basking in the joy of my first one.)

Darn it, only 15 minutes until Monday.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Point by point

Point 1. I made curtains for my bedroom on Saturday. It looked terrible. 288 inches of hemming times 2 and it sucked. Remade them over the last two days and I am going to go hang them up after I finish writing this. If they suck as well, I'm giving up.

Point 2. I made cushions for the chair to match the ones that came with the couch. They look great. And they should. $59 of fabric = 2 cushions!

Point 3. I swallowed a bug while running tonight. I hate that.

Point 4. I saw Transformers on Sunday with my sister. Highly recommend it. 4 stars, easy! But I would like to know why in the hell the only washroom at the Strawberry Hill cinema is at the far end and up the stairs! Practically a marathon when you are missing a movie you like.

I feel like I should have a Point 5, but it's too frickin' hot to think anymore.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Happy Belated Canada Day

Busy long weekend - especially since it started Thursday with my dad's birthday. Had supper at my parents and treated my dad to Pirates 3. Pretty good, definitely a fun movie, but it could have used tighter editing in the beginning. It did not need to be 168 mins long.

Friday, Rod, Fancy, Holly and I went to the Richmond Night Market. It's kind of a giant flea market, but with new goods instead of used, and fairway food. Fancy bought a Winnie the Pooh wallet and a scarf. Rodney bought lamb on a stick. :)

Saturday was a great day - Pitch n Putt in Stanley Park (I suck! Par 3 and I averaged 5 strokes per hole. My best was a 4) followed by a walk on the seawall. Dinner and drinks on the Milestones' patio, watching the sun set over English Bay. I don't associate Vancouver with the water for some insane reason (mountains, trees, yes, but I forget about the ocean *L*), so it was a big reminder to why this place is so beautiful.

Sunday was a productive day. Caulked the bathtub (way messier than I ever thought possible! I knew the caulking tube was old - from the Edmonton apt - but it had been properly sealed. The caulk itself was perfectly fine. Too bad the plastic making up the tube was not. As soon I started squeezing, the back seam burst open! I managed to get enough caulk to finish the tub, but I was covered in Gloss White). Painted behind the toilet (somehow got missed when the room was done originally and every time I had a bath, I could see it). Patched the kitchen ceiling from when we changed the light fixture (still need to paint it, maybe Thursday). Patched and painted the bedroom window from the damage caused by jamming a too big blind in a too small space. Fixed my desk drawer so now it doesn't open by itself. Finally hung all my paintings. I'm actually getting moved in around here. Most of the stuff left on the to-do list requires help. Finished off the night hanging out with Rod, Fancy and Holly at BPs.

Today I went for a walk on Bowen Island with my family. To my shock, the non-rain continued (I think it's called sunshine) and we went for a 3 hour stroll along Killarney Lake. I took my pack with about 20 lbs in it, just to make things slightly more challenging. Should have added more weight, since I really want to get used to my centre of gravity being off when I have a full pack.

There is a meme going around that I think sounds fun. If you are interested, I will make a picture post. Ask me to take a picture of something/anything (ok, within reason, it's got to be something I'm willing to post on the net) in my world and I will post it here.

So in the spirit of Canada's 140th birthday, I will end with some useless facts. Canada Day was originally called Dominion Day and the name wasn't officially changed until 1982. Red and White became our official colours in 1921, but we didn't get the maple leaf flag until 1965. Aren't you glad you know that now?