the folks from the south come north

mina called last week and let me know the orrs were gonna be in town (the long time friends who now live in mexico and who i stayed with in feb. when i got away from the games...) and that we should have a bbq....now this sort of thing usually takes place at she and brent's...not this year. this year we dined on the new deck...the third bbq this week...goodness gracious....i do love getting the grill going though - but next week or so it's just gonna be me and garvie i think....
i got all my lawns done today so tomorrow is an actual day off...monday too....nice.

night night.

g. xo


hello...i welcome to your deck.

the garbs and mina hoss-down...


mina really gets down...


the garbs.

the boys love the hats...

better late than....

wow...that was a busy day - and long (starting at 4:45 am...) and i just realized i forgot to do something today...it is july 30th after all....

happy birthday shauna...yup. today was her birthday...and i almost forgot to wish her a happy one...so there ya go. happy birthday you.

g. xo

eight forty five

you know what happens when you go to bed at 8:45 p.m? you wake-up at 4:45 a.m.

yup. you sure do. luckily i have laundry that needs doin', a couple of things i need to pick-up at the pickle, some garbage to take out and some banking i can get done...

wtf?

g. xo

better.

i've had a rough couple of days...but once the bbq gets turned on it all gets a little better. tonight k-win, lisa, shauna and mike came by for some grub and it was great. k-win and shauna made wicked salads and i made up some mini-burgers and ribs...the usual for the deck recently. i didn't take many pics but k-win and shauna had their cameras so i expect some pics to come through the interweb to my mailbox so i'll share whatever they send...


i also picked my first tomato and we cut it up and had a little taste each - and it was pretty fuckin' good...even better since i grew it myself...and considering what i didn't do correctly with my plants - almost everything...
ok. i need to sleep...

night night.

g. xo

all the kids love bbq!

hard time.

this life. it's hard.
there are moments of such great dismay and disappointment that i just don't get it...i try very hard, i really do, to make it all go as well as i can make it but...holy fuck. you know, you just wanna go to work and have a reasonable time there, get shit done, maybe fall in love (not at work..) - hope that all goes well or that it has it's own issues but none that are deal breakers and that you can talk it out...that you get along with your co-workers, your loved ones, etc...
but a lot of days it's just not that way...sadly. it's much, much harder. and my brain gets rattled and confused and fucked and i just want to sell everything and move to mexico or hope or the desert...all pretty decent choices.
the last few days have been killers - mentally and physically....i'll make it but, i need some sleep. i'm trying to pack in a bunch of stuff this week so i'll have more free time later on but it's taking its toll on me. dinners with friends who just happen to be in town, dinners with friends that i've been trying to see for months, hockey, etc...i need a head massage.
i feel like a beaten man....

hopefully the afternoon is better...

g. xo

she's a tangerine, made in california...

look at this beauty. i have always wanted a waring blender...
ever since i heard the warren zevon song poor poor pitiful me
many years ago...many...

She really worked me over good
She was a credit to her gender
She put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a Waring blender

so now i have one - or at least it's on its way to me via
point roberts by way of new york...

nice. i'm excited...

g. xo

happy birthday dan!

it's our man dan's birthday today...still cute as a button!

happy birthday to you, dan! happy birthday to you...!

g. xo

the road.

i just started in on cormac mccarthy's 'the road' today...i'm 125 pages in so far...

good lord.

g. xo

redness three ways...

i noticed this morning, as i was pruning more of the rampant tomato bushes i have out there, that i actually had, buried under the brush, a few strawberries - ripe and ready. two of them. quite a harvest. so i picked them and since garvie was nowhere to be found this fine morning, took them down to mishi and we ate like champs. one strawberry each. that i grew. there. nice.
i also noticed a tomato turning red. the first one. i'll take a picture when it gets better, but i'm pretty excited i must tell you - ever since i pruned the sasquatch bushes back i've been afraid nothing would happen..well, it just may be. next year i will be adhering to katherine's rules of tomato growing but this year i'm just left to hope and pray - not to god of course...he has little to do with my growing and success at growing tomatoes...truly.



and speaking of red...i went to kits beach today. i thought that since i live so close now, or again, i should really see what's what down there...and really, not much is going on. some hacky sackers (yawn...)...some two piece swimsuit action and a lot of guys who shouldn't have their shirts off - me included in that. some of the two piecers should re-consider as well but who am i to say...rock what ya got i guess...it wasn't too hot down there today and there was a nice breeze coming off of the water so, all in all...pretty good...
megan's on her way over here with lena...and we're gonna bbq like champs...who's lena? well, that's kind of a long story...but simply, kinda - and try and keep up...lena used to be married to a guy i used to ride off road with - many years ago (20 years ago maybe...), they divorced and lena moved to montreal. she also knows marcy and through her association with marcy, and me dating marcy, started reading this blog and has done so for a long time...she's also given me advice on my back issues as she's a super duper pilates teacher and all around fit woman. she's also an artist who work is generally by way of video and photographs. anyhow...she met megan at a studio here and they figured out we all know each other and now she's coming to dinner...and i'm pleased as punch to see her face to face after about 15 years of not. i'm sure she'll give me a better run down of how we know each other...
ok...i've gotta get cookin'...

g. xo

the call.

the call came late last night.
i had been out most of the day - running errands, avoiding calls from unknown callers, getting shit done. the usual. it seemed like i had seen nearly every street in this town - and i do mean it when i call it a town. you know what i mean, i know you do. we all pass the same people over and over and wonder - about them, who they are, why are they always outside meinhardt. that sort of thing.
i knew they'd find me eventually. they knew i was here somewhere, as it so happened after my full day, which included time in west van and richmond, i was at home - not hiding but alone and comfortable in the knowledge i was inside. away from the masses. i must have fallen asleep on the couch as what i heard next woke me from my slumber. the phone. my land line, crackling away. i looked at the call display, it was them. on their way back from dinner i suspected, looking for me and answers, as before.
i answered -
'hello'
'garn?'
'yes'
i could here the sound of the skytrain in the background.
'who does that song...? doh doh doo do do do, runnin' back to saskatoon?'
'the guess who'
'the guess who?'
'yes'
'ok, i'll let you go....'
'ok'

it was time for bed. another call may come but i won't answer. but if another question comes, the answer will probably be ELO.

g. xo

the man who stares at lawns.

last weekend was a buzz-fest with twelve lawns cut...this weekend - three. no wait. two and a half. technically. i barely got my socks dirty. but, some lawns is better than no lawns.
so after i drove around checking the trap line - looking at lawns essentially, and finding i wasn't really needed this weekend, i came home and finished-up my latest chuck klosterman - fargo rock city - and then headed down to the pickle to see mishi and work the last couple of hours there (and i was a champ not a chump actually selling a couple rings after mishi had left to go to her cousin's 60th birthday party....) coolio.
i met up with megan after the pickle to take her picture for this on-going photo project i have going. i took her picture over on victoria drive near 26th ave. at a playground with a waterless swimming pool. her nephew connor came along and is now in some of the photos i took. he was great and as his reward we took him for a burrito and cake at topanga. he was a big fan of the cake. the best part was when we had finished the cake and he said, 'ok. we're done, let's go. pay the bill...' love it.


i had thoughts of riding down and watching the fireworks but now that i'm on the couch in think that's a long shot at best...

see ya tomorrow.

g. xo

and...

mishi gets dressed-up...

mmm.

g. xo

some stuff's too good not to pass on...

while i am not one to pass on internet time wasters or stories of the weak minded or truly retarded - retarded in the fuckin' idiot sense of the word not the actual mentally handicapped kind of course...but here are a couple good ones...one retarded and one pefect time waster that's also informative...sort of.

first - courtesy of cam..

this gem.

and then..a post that refers to this charming woman.


just goes to show ya how far a few cans of beer can get ya...

have fun today...i'll be at the taco shop at 1:15 for anyone who's trying to find me...

g. xo

ow! that smarts!

i often end-up in front of the net during hockey games, and sometimes i get hit by the puck. the other night one of blair's wicked slap shots nailed me...ouch! i haven't had a bruise like this for many years - so i'm kinda proud...

g. xo

cat rancher

this picture is only about eight years old but they're still as cute as ever.

my good pals - the propellor kids/the soapers - are going away and need someone to take care of their cats and place..
........

Pam and I are off for a month (August 1st - September 1st) to ride our bikes down to California and we are looking for someone to house sit and take care of our two cats. We are offering a couple hundred bucks for the trouble and a good bottle of wine or two. Also, we have a fabulous roof-top garden for relaxing on summer evenings and don't forget the outdoor shower option (what a salesman I am!).

If you know of anyone who would fit the bill, please let me know.

Much obliged,

Toby

..........

if you know of a responsible person or persons let me know and i'll pass it on...

g. xo

fawn rocks the deck...

....as did katherine and corie...
fawn asked me last week when she got to have some deck time and we decided that tonight would be the night. at the end of my day at work, katherine called and after our little bit of work business - and i asked her if she wanted to join fawn and i on the deck for some halibut tacos...corie and i had made our way down to granville island at lunch and i had bought all the goods for making the tacos - halibut, avacados, onions, peppers, limes, totillas, etc. etc...good stuff...and while we were there we had a nice chicken/bacon burger and coffees made up by jj bean lyndsay...pretty good lunchtime action...
and then the tacos tonight...
fawn brought some great salads and lemonade - always welcome - and once katherine arrived we hossed-down on the halibut...then tornack called and made his way over for the cold version of the same dinner...and beer. it's been a good week or so for the deck dinners...
ok..bed time...

g. xo

highlighters for christ.

say it ain't so. marketing pens that are great for use with bibles...? what the fuck leroy?
joel asked me to find refills for this pen/highlighter/pencil thingy...so far i've come up short, so i'm praying tomorrow i have better luck...

godspeed.

g. xo

last of the good thoughts..

i made a playlist the other week that was made using the genius thingy in itunes...anyhow, i used bowie's 'teenage wildlife' as the starting/reference point and it came-up with a pretty good list. and then i realized, 'scary monsters', the album that that song comes from, is probably the last good david bowie record. ever.
too bad. or just right.
the gems really are the non fm airplay songs...i know, i know, it's always that way right - well, not always. and i now that's such an elitist thing to say but, in this case it's true...sure, 'ashes to ashes' is on that album as well but, the longer tracks are great.
give it a go.

g. xo

more tomato obsession...katherine weighs in...

thank god!

k-win asked for it so here it is...katherine's take on tomatoes...

.........

Just read your blog. As I seem to visit many gardens with unpruned tomato plants, perhaps a little explanation of tomato pruning is necessary. However I am no expert, I just geek out on garden research the way some people geek out on ps3 or bike research.

Here's the deal. When you plant one tomato plant, your goal is to grow one strong healthy stalk with leaves and flowers. (This stalk will probably near one inch diameter) This is especially true of indeterminate varieties, the kind that just keep growing and growing, which are the kind that mostly get planted. Determinant varieties, like bush tomatoes and most smaller grape tomatoes don't get so out of hand and you don't have to be as vigilant.

The problem is that the tomato plant is a persistent and willful being. Every time the plant grows a leaf arm it also tries to shoot out a "sucker" stalk in the crotch of the main stalk and the leaf arm. This sucker looks innocuous at first, but if left unchecked will grow to compete with the main stalk of the plant, complete with leaves and flowers and perhaps some small green tomatoes. The tomato plant is so keen to grow healthy stalks and leaves that it will produce these at the expense of fruit production. The gardener needs to trick the plant by eliminating these competing stalks and keeping all plant food flowing up the main stalk to encourage the development of the juicy red tomatoes.

So throughout the growth of your tomato plants, from the time you put them in the ground, you need to be checking your plants weekly (at a minimum) for the little sucker shoots between the main stalk and every leaf arm. Pinch them off before they get big with your thumb and forefinger and you will spare yourself the dilemma when they grow big and sprout flowers later on. When you get lots of flower arms you can even prune the leaf arms below the lowest flowers, so that you aren't wasting food and water down low.

Also, water your tomatoes like crazy, they need a ton of it. Some people taper the watering after there is lots of green fruit on the tree - I haven't yet got so sophisticated.

kf.

some illustrations...awesome. i needed these a long time ago. thanks katherine1 nice work.

trainwreck.

ok.
i'll give it up.
we have a couch here that used to be in our office but joel has decided that we need a fresh new couch - well, actually, it's an even older couch that's now in the office that he, apparently, had when he lived in kamloops. joel is 45 and hasn't lived in kamloops since he was in his 20's so....and the leather loveseat is in the alley awaiting pick-up by someone, it's on craigslist right now as we speak...the 'new' couch is a piece of shit that everyone here is scared to sit on. awesome.

the 'new' couch....

hockey tonight with the bombers. it's the last reg. season game of this spring season, and then it's the playoffs...good luck to us...
all around good guy rafferty came by my place yesterday for a visit...we had some stuff to discuss and in the end - though we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum (or maybe not that far apart but do have very different ideas about a few issues), - think we can still be pals...he's all book smart so when we get into issues and he's big wording me i feel defenceless. i like him though...
i'm hoping my tomato plants have survived their first full day of nakedness after i sheared the leaves off the poor little fellas over the weekend. issy is sure they won't die despite what i did, and i sure hope not after all the love i have given them...grow little morsels grow.

have a great monday evening.

g. xo

that's no creepy old man...

a re-post for those of you who may have missed it the first time...

..that's garbs' dad...
today when corie and i rode our bikes down to ethical bean to a: see tammy b: get a nice iced coffee, tammy mentioned that someone at the shop - ethical bean - had mentioned to her that they had found a blog on the internet that had a: her name on it and some info about her moving shops to jj bean and b: some pictures of a man in a hot tub. and did she know who he was...? well, she doesn't know who he is...but we do. i think it's great that someone was surfing the net, an ethical bean employee (mel) and she found garbs' dad's picture...awesome. bob's famous.

i love it.

g. xo

ok....relaxing sunday

ok.
so i have had to stop the pruning...i was going at it and before i knew it i had three plants all pruned-out. i may have fucked up but we'll see...
also, i decided today to try and connect my PS3 to the internet and i think because i'm not 12 i can't do it...what a fuckin' nightmare. if anyone can help with this that would be great....i have thrown in the towel on this. begrudgingly.
what shall i attempt now?

g. xo

relaxing is hard....

cutback.

ok.
so i've been obsessing over my tomatoes for a while now, but even moreso since the bbq when i was called out on my lack of pruning...so this morning i was looking out at the deck and the crazy tomatoes and knew i had to try something...and now, as an experiment, i have pruned one of the plants and will see what happens. it'll either bloom like a fucker - since now it's almost all flowers and fruit...or it will die...if it works i'll do the rest. it certainly looks more neat. i like it.

one i didn't touch...

the one i did...


yesterday while i was out mowin', i ran into a friend of mine who is a film guy, an editor but i believe he also has done some documentary stuff. he said he had been hoping to run into me as he had this idea about doing a documentary on me...when i stopped laughing - inside of course... - i told him (and some of you may already know about this but some of you may not so....) that i was actually shooting a mocumentary about lawn order in august/sept. - i hope - and that it was funny he wanted to do a real doc...especially since i'm very camera shy. nice. 'he who can not be named on the blog' also mentioned lately that he wanted to make a documentary on the making of my mocumentary...confused? i am...anyhow...funny stuff.
and if you're looking for a great coffee today, hop on down to the jj bean on main and see fantastico barista tammy who is there today manning the controls...she's leaving ethical bean and has started her switchover back to jj bean - she used to work there years ago and will be there full time in no time...
ok.
maybe i'll prune more....
maybe not.

g. xo

i'd say ok to that.

it's been a strange and somewhat weird 72 hours or so...there i was friday afternoon sitting eating a sandwich at meinhardt on south granville, just minding my own business when i heard someone say, "hey, you buyin?"....and i turn and look to see who's talking to me and it's issy...nice. she was coming into town to meet-up with mishi and give her some stuff she picked up for her in point roberts, and then to see her eye doctor...she was parked in the alley and when i told her she may get towed she said, "who fuckin' cares...?"...nice. that's our issy...love it.
thursday night saw me as poor a communicator as i can be and while i have nothing to add to that except to say, well, nothing, nevermind. i'm human and i tripped and am just trying to get back up. i've been better and will be again.
today was a big lawn order action day. last weekend's lack of lawn cutting made today's work a stacked affair with me having to play catch-up on my usual trap line as well as do some extra lawns as people had called and e.mailed with requests for cutting today...ok. so it all started in richmond this morning at the dog lawn - a lawn that's really like three lawns and ended in west vancouver 10 lawns later...good lord. ten lawns that in reality was like 12 or more. a big vitamin D kinda day...and i managed to get two knocked off last night as well for an even dozen for the weekend. tomorrow i'm gonna sleep in...maybe even until 8 am...and then do nothing. lately i've been having a craving for fish and chip so maybe tomorrow's dinner will be at 'finest at sea' on (g)arbutus street...
i'm getting more tomatoes but nothing red yet...k-win had a great idea...i think i may get katherine to write up a how-to for growing tomatoes...because i haven't got a fuckin' clue...my plants are huge but really not right...next year i'll get it right. i hope...i'm still hoping for a decent crop here from my amazon style plants.
marcy's come into town tonight for a day at the track and later an art opening and in between is gonna have dinner with me...
**edit**
it ended up a dinner with four of us and it was at my usual haunt, toppy's - as 'he who can not be named on the blog' calls it...and i have to say, and this is with some trepidation, that it could, maybe, have been the worst service/meal i have had there ever. perhaps. maybe. and i don't like to dis' that place - ever. but marcy, who hadn't been there in a long time said it was like being at a different restaurant. there were at least two staff members that, if i was the boss, would have been fired. fired. gone. adios. anyhow...so it was.
ok. i'm gonna finish up watching the runaways movie now - which thus far has been pretty forgettable...

ok. night night.

g. xo

gaslight

as one who likes to pass along the goods, and when the goods are really good, i like to pass them along even more...
now, i'm not saying that this album is groundbreaking, or amazing or...but i really like it. if you like rock n' roll, if you like late seventies springsteen, if you like a little passion - not too much - and you like songs that remind you of other songs (but the new songs are pretty good...) then you may like the new gaslight anthem album 'american slang'.
give it a go. the title cut is particularly good.

go!

g. xo

nice. so nice.

well, apparently i have a secret admirer at work...or maybe not.

g. xo

like seeing bigfoot and loch ness monster on the same day - in the same place.

for some 16 years, our man al has been working on his sunbeam alpine. yup, for longer than i've known al this car has been in the works. full-on restoration...and for the first time in a very, very long time the car saw the pavement as it was driven down to aircare. exciting. for al and for the rest of us who have heard of this car for so many years.

atta boy al.

g. xo

bombers' swag.

sure, we're having a tough spring league season...that's ok...we're still the bombers. and we're making new shirts, well, cam is...and if you'd like to support the bombers you can get one for yourself and wear it with pride all around town...let people know what the fuck is what.

let me know and we'll sort it out...i don't know how much they cost, but assume they cost the price of printed t-shirt...

g. xo

hot tub bob.

the garbs' dad wanted you all to know that he has the hot tub all warmed-up and ready to go. in case you were gonna be by and wanted to give it a go. just in case.

ok.

g. xo

when a half a loaf of bread isn't enough...

cheech....

meet chong.


i slept like a rock last night.

g. xo