Stampede Parade 2011...

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Headed dt yesterday at 5:45... AM... got up at 4... AM!..  Work peep Cass and I headed down together... it was my first Stampede Parade...

...my iphone self portraiture is severely lacking... sorry Cass!..

We went to get shots of the float that our company designed... and fabricated... and that I PM'd...

We got there early an got a second row sidewalk seat... some people had stayed downtown all night to get a front row... the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were going to be opening the parade...

...for the fist two hours we were dt we just watched morning commuters heading to work...  ...we were close to a street corner so I got to get a few shots as people were stopped at the lights... ...click on the shot above and check out the bling on that chicks phone... amazing...

Then there was this cowboy... total mountain man cowboy... his truck look like it had been sprayed with something... some sort of dirt film... see the scraper marks and writing on his window... thats not frost!..

...of course cowboy boots everywhere!..

...and hats...

...unfortunately for the people who had spent the night on the sidewalk waiting to see the Royals they drove by faster than the fighter jets flew overhead to open the parade!.. 

...AND you could hardly see them!.. probably for safety reasons... I think everyone expected to see them in a horse drawn carriage... or chuck wagon... they could have at least used a pope mobile!..

...I got a few shots of the bands and parade participants... lots of horses... those photos all seem to start to look the same after the first few shots...

...this old guy who squeezed his little stool into the front row of the sidewalk was very impatient for the start of the parade... he would get up every few minutes and peer down the street!.. we were very close to the beginning of the parade route...

...this WOWED the crowd... it stopped and let out a big MOO!.. its horns were huge... he did a dainty circle and then continued on!.. The rider must have had to use a 10ft ladder to get up on top of that thing!..

...cowboys like vintage cars...

...and Locs!?.

Here she is!.. what a little beauty!  She won second place in the municipality entry category...

...side view...

After we took our shots we hightailed it up and out of downtown... the C Train back to Chinook Station where we had parked was PACKED... it's a good thing that we left early or I wound't have made it back to work...

A BIG thank you to Diane... who we met at the Parade... she gave us her seats so that we could get shots of the float!.. and she also took this shot of us!..  Thanks Diane!..

Yikes... thank eff I have an appointment to get my hair did next Saturday!.. look at them bangs!.. yikes!.. 

Now for some chill out weekend time... I can't believe its 1pm now and I'm still in my comfy clothes... I've been editing photos... emailing... chatting with friends... started the towels in the wash... packed up and turned on the dishwasher... ate some toast and had two cups of peppermint tea with honey... and mixed up a batch of that and tossed it in the fridge for iced tea later... fingers crossed that works out!.. 

What are you getting up to this weekend!?.

xo

Lacey 

Weekend Recap...

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Meant to blog all weekend... but I was out in the sunshine... and I know that the weekend isn't officially over but I'm about to change over the laundry and go hop in the tub... get my head ready for Monday!..

The weather was beauty all weekend...  Friday... neib Amy and I ran out and she picked up a pair of rollerblades... too bad someone didn't ask us if we needed assistance earlier... we were trying on the wrist guards backwards!.. Baaahahha... I have a few iphone photos of that adventure... 

We went to a trail that you get to from 52 Street SW and the train tracks below 90th Ave...  We went west... it was sorta sketchy... a few people were living on the side of the trail in the trees in a pile of sleeping bags...  And on the way back!?. a guy was stood up on the side of the trail taking a leak... AKWARD!.. Its an okay trail but I think next rollerblading trip we'll be checking out parts of Fish Creek Park...  do you know anywhere that's good for rollerblading in the SE?..

Friday evening one of my work peeps popped over for a BBQ... a huge pile of food got cooked... I was too busy cooking to get photos... only this shot of the Apple, Peach, Strawberry Crisp in progress...

I'm so glad I bottled as much as I did the past couple of Falls!.. Makes for and easy and delicious dessert... 

Most of the neibs were out for some fireworks... except for the contrary ones that came out to complain and threatened to call the police!.. there were some neighbourhood kids out with their parents just to watch the fireworks!.. 

Check out my running outfit... Saturday AM... of course I was up at the crack of dawn... Neib Amy and I headed out for another run... It was great!..  I always jump up on top of the toilet seat in the morning before heading out to work to check out my shoes with my outfit... We ran for almost an hour... there was a bit of walking and a super steep hill climb... 

...Today I'm a little achy from the lollerblading one day and then running the next... I planned to take it pretty easy today... and did... other than standing up for a couple of hours to bottle these beauties...

Ranier Cherries...

One sink full of cherries... the other filled with lemon water...

...my weapon of choice... oxo cherry pitter... after a few cherries I found that it seems best to pit from the bottom... so that they shoot out from where the stem connects...

These cherries are pretty... but not as sweet as Bing Cherries... I'll bottle a batch of those in August... once we're back here from our trip home...

10lbs of cherries ='s about 460 cherries... yeah... I counted...

Last year bottling was much easier because the Momma was here to help... once pitting was complete it was bottle washing and boiling time...

...made a light syrup for these...

...oh... if you bottle things... GET AN OVE GLOVE!.. it's the bees knees!.. I know... NERD!.. but it is so useful... you can get a good grip on the hot bottles... and not burn your hands off...

They turned out beautifully... the syrup has turned light pink and the cherries have all lightened up a little... 

...and because I'm a sucker for punishment... I just can't sit down and chill out at all... I tried this "healthy" recipe that I found on the BodyRock website...

If you look at the Portobello's to the far right I scooped out the brown part of the mushroom too... those ones were better than the ones with that brown left in after they were cooked...

I followed the recipe exactly... they were not bad at all...  though I still prefer some form of bread crust...

...oh... instead of using spray on the pan I used parchment... 

...next time... I'll leave off the fresh parsley... turns out I'm not a big fan...

...THEN... I made this pizza with a crust that Furs and I picked up at Superstore yesterday...

I'm not the biggest fan of tomato sauce... so I used pesto...

...then some garlic... diced tomatoes... and leeks...

...a few cut up chicken breasts... that had been BBQ'd... some pine nuts... I'll toast those in a frying pan next time before putting them on the pizza... and some parmesan cheese... then I threw the thing on the BBQ for about 8 minutes... really it was on there just until the bottom was done... I turned it once...

...OM NOM NOM... it was gooood!..

...now tub... then movies in bed!.. How was your long weekend!?

Oh... I almost forgot... BRING IT ON MONDAY!..

xo

Yay... Short Week!..

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Check out this shot from the roof of a building that a work peep and I were checking the plumb of last Friday... for my big project at work... I could have puked looking down from the top of this building... not a fan of heights!.. makes my knees wobbly...

...grabbed a few shots of the back garden this evening... it is just exploding... Furs and I are planning to make this back garden large this coming weekend...

...the blue corn flowers have taken over the bottom end of the garden completely...

...and the top end of the garden is being taken over... by the dusty miller... and the silver mound... thats a lavender squashed between the two...

The potted strawberries are doing okay-ish... they're so YUM! when they're warmed from the sun... I think they'd fair out better if they were planted in the ground... not sure if the rabbits would be more inclined to eat them if they were in the ground...

...the two front planters are in full bloom... lavender and lobelia...

...clematis is growing like crazy...

...gnome is buried behind lavender...

...moss is flowering...

AAANNNND check out these super fun treasures from Daiso!..  Neibs A&B were in BC... Amy picked me up some awesome things at Daiso...

...little brown paper muffin cups... BAAGGGHHHH... a whale shower puff with ears...  so cut it just kills me!..

...brought this notebook to work today... super profesh for meeting with clients!.. Ha.. I brought it to the meeting anyhow... because its so effen cute...

Then there are these tasty treats... Japanese Flower Candy... if you ever get the chance to try these DO IT!.. OM NOM NOM NOM...

...the packaging of this stuff is also pretty awesome...

...a sea cow eating a crying whale with ears!?. WTF!?.

BATHTUB WHALE!!.

...just watched three days worth of Coronation Street... I know... NERD CITY!.. I was sitting out on the front steps... its weird out this evening... its 28 degrees out but it doesn't feel super hot at all... now its chillin on the couch time... just ate an ice cream sandwich and a bowl of chippies... for supper... perhaps I should go and ingest some fruit... so don't feel like cooking...

...tomorrow... squats... lunges... jogging...

Oh Hai!... I've gone missing again...

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...but I'm back now... didn't go far... didn't really go anywhere... well again... I'm starting to sound like a broken record... was stupid busy at work... That's the last time I'm gonna say that... it must be irritating to read that over and over... for the most part just about everyone is stupid busy at work... so thats it... no more complaining from me about it...

Furs and I went camping with some of my work crew this past Friday night... ...the first annual Heavy camping trip...so I did kinda go somehwere... and it was kinda far... far being relative... and me not being a camper... but still it was like 2.5 - 3 hours away from our house... I think thats far if you're not a camper...

Map... check!..

...a quick stop in Longview along the way to visit Pam at her shop... and to get some road snacks from the Longview Jerky Shop... check!..

...back on the road with the convoy of campers...

...camping!...

Like I said I'm not much of a camper... say if we had a big motor home... and a quad I'd be up for camping all the time... I don't have patience for putting up a tent and then taking down a tent... though it was nice to get out of the city... nothing to hear but the river... birds... and crackling fire... well and hootin' and hollering of the work crew... myself included... no traffic noise though... that was nice...

Luckily today its raining... perhaps a bizarre thing to say... but when its raining out I don't feel bad that I'm indoors because I'm not missing out on any sunshine... I can get some work done in the house!.. and I can just laze around on the couch... when its sunny out I have to be outside... 

What do you use your rainy weekend days to do?..

xo