A Stolen Moment in Blogland




Again, today, I did not go to the gym - but it was a conscious decision based on the fact that it was just too gorgeous outside to be spending time inside, trudging along on a treadmill. I did 45 minutes on the Parkway trail instead. At the bottom of the walk, Robin met me and we waited for Clarence's train to go by, then drove downtown to meet him.

The three of us have spent the afternoon chatting and playing on the computer (Clarence is showing me the ropes wrt Gimp), and now we are about to barbecue. The men are having steak, but I've opted for a chicken breast, which I've had marinating all afternoon in soy sauce, orange juice, and garlic. There will be fresh asparagus and a big salad, all safely within the constraints of my Healthy Eating Regimen.

I noted on my walk that the cottonwoods have been "snowing", which probably explains a lot of my tiredness. Vancouver may not have been as culpable as I thought.

I also noted that among the graffiti in the underpass was this image of the artist who puts the hearts everywhere - or maybe it's just somebody's idea of her - but I think it's rather neat if one artist is referencing another here. Maybe, though, she of the hearts and she of the underpass graffiti are one and the same.

As a result of not going to the gym, I don't know how my weight is coming along, but I've decided that that's okay. I had lost a pound as of the last time I worked out, and if I don't check my weight until next week, I'll just get a nice little shock. I've actually been enjoying my programme. I get a little hungry sometimes, but not hungry enough to go raid the refrigerator.

My presence is required in the kitchen now, so off I go. I shall return as soon as I can sneak away.

Best Laid Plans

Today is Tuesday, the day when I go to the gym and weigh in, then blog about my BetterU progress. That's the plan, right? Right.

Not today. I ended up working, much to my surprise, so I didn't get to the gym and I didn't blog about it. I came home and fell asleep for a while, then got up and taught myself to make a 'movie', aka slide show and upload it to YouTube. Somehow, I had forgotten how, in the week or two since I did it before.

So not only am I running behind on my own posting schedule, but I haven't had a chance to visit anybody else. I'm bummed. I think I've caught whatever Reya had. The full moon cured her - maybe whatever it was bounced off the moon and hit me.

As I type, YouTube is still processing the movie, but I do believe I can post it now.



My trip to the gym and report thereon will just have to wait until tomorrow morning. I shall try not to answer my phone until I've gotten some exercise.

Another Bon Voyage

Yesterday, I boarded the Queen of Oak Bay and sailed to Horseshoe Bay (1 1/2 hours). Then I got on the Express bus to downtown Vancouver (1/2 hour), where I boarded yet another bus to get to my son's place in Burnaby (1/2 hour). We had a great visit that included lunch in a Mexican restaurant. That was a poetic touch, as we hadn't seen each other since before Robin and I left for Mexico in December. I was relieved to see that Bumble is living in a pleasant neighbourhood (he moved while we were away). We spent some time at his apartment, which has a great view of Vancouver,
then went for a walk down Hastings Street. I found a great mural, and Bumble says there are a lot of them farther along Hastings. Next time I'm over, I'll go mural hunting. Unfortunately, there was a pole in front of this mural, with an electrical box on it, so I couldn't photograph the whole mural - just a taste of it, along with its credit.

We strolled around the neighbourhood, seeing the sights, getting me my exercise. I had been feeling guilty because I'd got straight onto the ferry without going for a walk or to the gym, and then I'd had the delicious but fattening lunch. I needn't have worried. When I got home last night, I took off my pedometer. It had registered 15,305 steps. I felt, as I told my friend Jane this morning, as if I'd been hit by a brick. I am recovering, but slowly.

We were sitting at a picnic table, talking, watching kids kick a soccer ball around, when I panicked. I looked at my watch, read it wrong, thought I had to catch a bus right that minute in order to be in time for the 7 pm ferry home - so we ran for the bus stop, and I caught the bus right away. I was about ten minutes down the road when I realized I had read the clock wrong, and it was an hour earlier than I thought. Never mind, I said. This way I won't be rushing for the boat. When the boat was twenty minutes late leaving the dock - because there were stalled cars on the car deck - I rolled my eyes. That was another hour I could have had with Bumble. Again, never mind. I'll go back next month. We plan to stop for the night in Vancouver on the way to Wyoming in the Turtle.

After the first bus ride, I had half an hour to wait at Granville and Georgia in downtown Vancouver, so I entertained myself by taking a few photos. The



bus stop is right in front of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose windows were fun to photograph.



A block away is the art gallery. We considered visiting it yesterday, but we're both rather broke right now, so we decided to put that off for a while. It is a beautiful building, though, and there's an exhibition on that I would love to see before it goes.

I realize as I work here that I did take rather a lot of pictures yesterday, and if I keep posting them, I'll be here all day - and this post will be three blocks long. What I think I'll do is - some time in the next couple of days - I'll post a slideshow on YouTube and link it to another post. Not Theme Thursday, because that's Swing, and I can't figure out how to make that fit. Friday Photo Shoot-Out's theme is M - anything that begins with M. I suppose it would be cheating to post My Trip to Vancouver . I'll figure something out.



Meanwhile, though, this is the teaser. I enjoyed my visit, and I could feel the big city excitement, but I don't think I could live there. It was good to get off the boat in Nanaimo and be driven down our quiet streets. Vancouver is way too noisy - and it's just so shiny.