This "old" blog is old!
Time for a new one!
I'm jumping ship because apparently in 4 years I've exhausted this blog's photo capacity. Clearly, you're wanting to continue following along with my adventures, so click on the link below to whisk you to my new home, Sarah's Adventures!
http://sarah-ball.blogspot.ca/
Sarah's Adventures
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Photographs
I was juuust about to start another post, but apparently I've exceeded the 1G photo limit. Let's see what I can do, because I have some gems from the vault!
All About August!
Honestly, I don't remember much abotu August - so I'm glad I kept a tidy journal and took plenty of photographs! Here goes:
At the start of August, I finally got my hands on the custom tea set that I'd comissioned for my friend Callyn's nuptuals - in 2010. To make up for the extreme delay, I took her out for a wedding tea party at The Urban Tea Merchant. I've really loved their high tea service, and I was glad to share it with a friend. Seeing as it was August and quite warm, we opted for fruity iced teas. Nom.
Trés delicieux! |
I'm up where they keep the spotlights! behind me is the Orpheum's stage. |
Clearly, I've got a man that loves me, because he played hookey for Monday and Tuesday! Our adventure was a two-day trip from Deep Cove, up the Indian Arm and to a campsite about 18km away at Granite Falls.
We met about a dozen seals along the way. On the way in we paddled with the tide, so the 3.5hr paddle went smoothly....It took us a while longer to get home (against the tide, with plenty of waves) |
In order to lure Mike to the Dark side (aka, wilderness camping), I ensured that we would have a spectacular 1st anniversary meal: Jamaican chicken jambalaya, wedding cake, and champagne! Delish! |
Our campsite at Granite Falls. After wiping off the sweat from the journey, I was thrilled with our location. |
I woke up early, but let Mike sleep in the next day while I cooked oatmeal for breakfast. |
Made the requisite stop for lunch at Anna Mae's for a 1/2 sized hot lunch, and a full sized slice-o-pie. Mennonite slice-o-heaven, if you ask me! |
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- Cymbeline (Shakespeare, set a few hundred yrs ago in the woods)
- The Matchmaker (the precursor to Hello! Dolly)
- As You Like It (Shakespeare, set in 1900's colonized South America)
- Wanderlust (a musical adaptation of Robert Service's poems)
- 42nd Street (a musical about becoming "A Staaar")
- The Best Brothers (a new Canadian work. Sad & hilarious)
- Henry V (Shakespeare. Reminding us of the discord between English and French speaking Canada)
- The Pirates of Penzance (an english Opera, with silly, silly pirates!)
- A Word or Two (one-man show written by and starring Christopher Plummer)
Its name in lights! Where's my name!? |
The poor fellow hung at the end of the first half of Henry V was left haning there for 10 minutes into the intermission! Poor guy. They hauled him up into the ceiling, and everyone cheered! |
L-R: Isabella, her mum Catherine, Marilyn (Jaimi's babe) and me! Fun fact: Isabella, Catherine and me all have the same birthday!! |
The gaggle of gals! (and their little girls) It was a quick brunch, but it was really, really fun to hear their stories. |
The swan was cute, but also great marketing as swans are iconic to the Avon river which runs through Stratford. |
Not one to mind eating alone, I found dinnertime to be great for catching up on my travel writing and reviews of each show. |
And seeing as how it was the Stratford Festival's 60th Season, I made sure to stop by the special exhibition featuring costumes and memorabilia from the first (and subsequent) seasons)
headdress and reconstruction of the original dressing table from Richard III |
I can't even remember what show this is from, but I love this costume. |
Last remaining bulk piece of the original theatre tent. The other bits were given away as souveniers (glued a to a special card) upon donation/patronage |
I took a tour of the Festival Theatre, too. (I'm wearing my Bard on the Beach Volunteer jacket!) |
Dear fellow Nurses and Hostellers;
I'm looking for a little help, and in return
I can give you -
FREE
Rheo Thompson
Chocolate*
a helping hand means being available on
SATURDAY, at about 3:30pm,
meeting Mr CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, and having
him sign a book for me while I am
otherwise unavailable.
*I'm offering chocolate, but offers are negotiable (i.e, kinship and beers!)
My poster. Alas, no takers. |
the local shops have plenty of Bieber Fever merch. |
"Name That 'Stache Game." This game should be sold in Vancouver for sure. |
An entire display devoted to tea sets!! |
Maybe rather than "Bathroom-Neo," this toy should be called "Benny Hangs Himself in the Shower." |
Paino's around town. All are painted with "Play me, I'm yours" |
Eatin' lunch on the Avon river's man-made island. |
A view of the Avon. The Festival theatre is just beyond the trees on the right. |
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
What Would Martha Do?
So I had friends over last night - nothing crazy. I ordered in Memphis Blues BBQ and we played some board games. Thing were going well until about 930 when what I would think the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to a dinner party host, happened to me.
I got sick.
But it wasn't the "I've got a bit of a headache and I'm feeling quite tired" kind of sick. It was the "excuse me while I evacuate everything I've eaten all day and take a few minutes to lie down on the bathroom floor" kind of sick.
It would have been my own fault - and I certainly wouldn't be so innocent - if I'd done it to myself with too much punch. But I'm 100% sure this was brought on by food. I'm 80% sure it's because I was nibbling on the fresh raspberries I bought yesterday morning from Granville Island without washing them (the other options were a spinach bagel or a bowl of mini-wheats), too.
So there I was, laying on the bathroom floor feeling terrible x2 for leaving my guests not only alone, but feeling obliged to take care of me. Don't get me wrong - when you're sick like that it's nice to have company - but I hated thinking that my guests were out there a) running to 7-eleven for Pepto, and b) tidying up the remains of supper!
What would Martha have done? Even if she HAD somehow allowed herself to get food poisioning on an evening she was hosting friends, what would she do to manage the whole situation? Is there etiquette with this sort of thing?
Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Send thank you notes.
2. Host another game night to make up for it.
3. Never get food-bourne illness ever again.
The good news is that even though I brought the Pepto back up, after I woke up on the cold bathroom floor shivering, I tucked myself into bed and slept really, really well. Chammomile tea for breakfast, and I have plans for a long day involving pajamas. Good prognosis.
I got sick.
But it wasn't the "I've got a bit of a headache and I'm feeling quite tired" kind of sick. It was the "excuse me while I evacuate everything I've eaten all day and take a few minutes to lie down on the bathroom floor" kind of sick.
It would have been my own fault - and I certainly wouldn't be so innocent - if I'd done it to myself with too much punch. But I'm 100% sure this was brought on by food. I'm 80% sure it's because I was nibbling on the fresh raspberries I bought yesterday morning from Granville Island without washing them (the other options were a spinach bagel or a bowl of mini-wheats), too.
So there I was, laying on the bathroom floor feeling terrible x2 for leaving my guests not only alone, but feeling obliged to take care of me. Don't get me wrong - when you're sick like that it's nice to have company - but I hated thinking that my guests were out there a) running to 7-eleven for Pepto, and b) tidying up the remains of supper!
What would Martha have done? Even if she HAD somehow allowed herself to get food poisioning on an evening she was hosting friends, what would she do to manage the whole situation? Is there etiquette with this sort of thing?
Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Send thank you notes.
2. Host another game night to make up for it.
3. Never get food-bourne illness ever again.
The good news is that even though I brought the Pepto back up, after I woke up on the cold bathroom floor shivering, I tucked myself into bed and slept really, really well. Chammomile tea for breakfast, and I have plans for a long day involving pajamas. Good prognosis.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Way Back in July....
Back in July, Mike and I took an adventurous road trip through Alberta and southern BC. I came home with a few hundred photos, a sunburn, a green Coach bag from one of those Hurtin' Albert'n outlet malls, and miniature cowboy hat for puttin' on the Christmas tree this year. Why don't I tell you all about it!?
Our first stop was an unplanned roadside detour to Craigellachie - the location of the last spike on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Stop number two (Still day one of road trip) was after we entered Glacier National Park.We'd been hiking plenty around Vancouver (lately, we'd done the Chief and Moutn Seymour), and Michael picked out the Hermit Trail as another one we might try...
I nearly lost my sunglasses, too. Just as we were metres from the bottom of the trail, I realized they were no longer in my pocket. My first thought was "well, if I've left them up there near the top, they can stay there." Luckily, I remembered that 'nature called' only about 50m away and they'd only recently fallen out.
We were aiming for Lake Louise on Day one, and we drove on to meet it. Our photos are from the next day because it started to rain miserably. Mountains really aren't as nice in the rain.
Day two had us continue on through Banff. Honestly, after seeing Lake Louise, we weren't as impressed with Banff. Mostly, it was because the entire town was crawling with tourists. I much preferred the peacefullness of Lake Louise (still had plenty of tourists, but not nearly as bustling)
At the end of day 2, we checked into our hostel in Cangary for the Big Shoe - the Stampede! As an aside - the hostel was in an excellent location. We were within walking distance of the Stampede grounds. The real downside of it, though, was their lack of a/c. Add to that only one small window, a second storey room, and 6 people trying to sleep and you and up with sleeping quarters so stifiling you may as well just call them awake-ing quarters. But our roomies were nice, anyway....
But after three nights at the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," it was time to move on. We stopped at the outlet mall between Calgary and Edmonton, and paid a visit to the most countrified, Albertan shop I'd ever seen - Bass Pro. I tried to take plenty of photos, but there was just so much going on! Check out their website for more. I was tempted by the giant mailbox in the shape of an open-mouhed fish. eew, and awesome at the same time...
That evening, we stayed with Michael's good friend Mark. He showed us around town, and we found a great deal to see an Edmonton Eskimos game for $30!! (through Boston Pizza. Included a free beer at the restaurant, a ride to and from the game, and our seats!)
We also visited some friends we show make efforts to see more - Greg and Meg! One evening, we all went for the most beautiful, wonderful steak dinner at Lux. If you ever end up in Edmonton and want a steak, go to Lux. Order a steak and the Truffled Lobster Mac 'n Cheese. You will die of deliciousness. We nearly had a brawl between the 5 of us for the last few morsels of the Mac.
Leaving Edmonton, we moved on to the "see the awesomeness that is All-Natural Western Canada" portion of the road-trip. Stop number one was the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site. It was interesting, but it didn't have nearly the wow factor that some of our other stops gave us.
The jump has plenty of cultural heritage and I'm glad we visited. I wondered more than once about how important HSIBJ is to the survival of the Plains Aboriginal Peoples. About 150 years ago, they could not longer use the jump, mostly because European settlers killed off the Buffalo herds in droves. But really, the jump is still an important source of sustinence for them, and in almost the same way! Read about how the jump was originally operated here. Read especially about the drive lanes. But now, the drive lanes herd tourists, and there are little paths with markers (rather than fences), like cairns telling us not to tread off the path at all. We look at the site, and give them money! The only real difference now is that (luckily) we don't have to die at the end of it. Legend is that any buffalo that was driven to HSIBJ had ot die, or else they might tell other herds about it and so they couldn't be duped into getting herded over the cliff. Nowadays, they'd much rather we tell our friends to come visit it, too!
The rest of the trip has us drive through Fernie...
...Trail (where we stopped for meatballs), Cranbrook, Castlegar, Penticton, Christina Lake....
...Grand Forks, Midway.....
Osoyoos....
...and made a stop in Kamloops to visit the fam before we returned home at last. I was so ready to get back into my own bed, and my own shower again. It was absolutely a memorable trip!!
Later in July, I used up my voucher for a walk-on role in a local production of RENT, by Fighting Chance Productions. I was allowed to hang out backstage with the cast until my triumpant return to the stage as a participant in the AIDS/HIV therapy group. We gave hugs, I said my name out loud, and then we sung a little. Easily the best part was arriving just before showtime, being told that I would be on stage long enough to be a part of a song, and realizing that I knew all of the words already! (they told me I could just mouth the words, but I killed it, FYI). The cast was warm and welcoming (beyond the fact that I'd brought them homemade brownies!), and I made friends with one cast member who is also a nurse. I couldn't believe it! Now, he said that this was his first show, but he also went to UBC for it's opera program, so he's not a newbie. At any rate, I had a fabulous time! (And thanks to Mike and Christa for sitting through the entire show just to see me on stage for 3 minutes!)
Our first stop was an unplanned roadside detour to Craigellachie - the location of the last spike on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Michael is attampting to steal the last spike. Though unsuccessful, I applaude his efforts. |
At the top! It had been bright and sunny (and hot!) all the way up until just about the time we took this photo... |
I nearly lost my sunglasses, too. Just as we were metres from the bottom of the trail, I realized they were no longer in my pocket. My first thought was "well, if I've left them up there near the top, they can stay there." Luckily, I remembered that 'nature called' only about 50m away and they'd only recently fallen out.
We were aiming for Lake Louise on Day one, and we drove on to meet it. Our photos are from the next day because it started to rain miserably. Mountains really aren't as nice in the rain.
Cooling my feet in the glacial waters of Lake Louise. Contrary to how this photo looks, there were at least a hundred people milling about nearby. But it was a lovely spot to sit for a while. |
I managed to pursuade Michael to take a paddle upon the famous Moraine Lake, nearby. It was absolutely the most perfect day a girl could ask for. Clearest skies, snow-white glaciers, and that green, green water. This is where I got a sunburn, and it was worth it for sure. |
No biggie. Just Canadian wilderness at its most perfect. |
A good shot of the area surrounding Banff. |
We went to see the miniature pony show! |
In the cowbarn, I (literally) tried my hand at "Guess which cow is pregnant!" The cow back end is fake. They had me put cornstarch (or chalk?) on my arm and feel around for a bit. I guessed right. |
This poor miniature pony... We decided there were two options for him. #1 - Superhero. #2 - he's thoroughly embarrassed that he has to wear a skintight suit in public. He woudn't look at us. |
The rodeo! I love rodeo. We had nosebleed seats, but this time it was a bonus because it meant that we got to sit under the shade of the arena for those three hours. My favourie even - hands down - was the Junior Wild Pony Racing! And then once the event was over, an 8 year old boy on a miniature pony did the rounding-up!! Most adorable sport in the history of ever. |
We also spent some time in the sweatiest beer tent I've ever seen - Nashville North. But it was still awesome. |
This is one of my favourite pictures from the rodeo. I've got my face in a cutout board, and I feel as if I look like a Little Person giving it my all on that bull!! |
Riding a giant missile. Giddy up! |
But after three nights at the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," it was time to move on. We stopped at the outlet mall between Calgary and Edmonton, and paid a visit to the most countrified, Albertan shop I'd ever seen - Bass Pro. I tried to take plenty of photos, but there was just so much going on! Check out their website for more. I was tempted by the giant mailbox in the shape of an open-mouhed fish. eew, and awesome at the same time...
THREE taxidermied moose greeted us at the entrance. |
In this photo: three bears, a cougar, an airplane and three mountain sheep. And that was just in one corner of the enormous store... |
Did I mention the "ride" to the football game was a yellow school bus? |
On the last Edmonton day, the guys went out for beers, and Meg and I went for Pedis at "The Mall." We all rejoined later for a rainy dayfull of indoor waterslides! |
Leaving Edmonton, we moved on to the "see the awesomeness that is All-Natural Western Canada" portion of the road-trip. Stop number one was the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site. It was interesting, but it didn't have nearly the wow factor that some of our other stops gave us.
Honestly, I think the entire site is flavoured with tonge-in-cheek jokes. Their logo includes buffaloes jumping to their death. |
But it's a fantastic view of the plains! |
It appears I was also a casualty of the Jump. Ow. |
The rest of the trip has us drive through Fernie...
Big Ski Pole at the Fernie Ski Hill! |
It was raining and we needed gas badly. Rather than help me out in teh downpour, Mike decided to take a picture. Nice guy. |
Midway has a plaque to "Commemorate the Installation of Their Sewew System" |
We stayed in Osoyoos overnight and took a tour of the Nk'Mp winery. Delicious! |
Later in July, I used up my voucher for a walk-on role in a local production of RENT, by Fighting Chance Productions. I was allowed to hang out backstage with the cast until my triumpant return to the stage as a participant in the AIDS/HIV therapy group. We gave hugs, I said my name out loud, and then we sung a little. Easily the best part was arriving just before showtime, being told that I would be on stage long enough to be a part of a song, and realizing that I knew all of the words already! (they told me I could just mouth the words, but I killed it, FYI). The cast was warm and welcoming (beyond the fact that I'd brought them homemade brownies!), and I made friends with one cast member who is also a nurse. I couldn't believe it! Now, he said that this was his first show, but he also went to UBC for it's opera program, so he's not a newbie. At any rate, I had a fabulous time! (And thanks to Mike and Christa for sitting through the entire show just to see me on stage for 3 minutes!)
Me and the cast of RENT! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)