gregor.

so our man gregor did something that i see all the time but i missed that it was in the paper.
way to go juice boy.

and i hear critial mass was a bit over the top friday as well. the comments section is a good read. i care less and less about it as i just stay out of downtown on that friday and re-schedule whatever i have to do to other parts of town...still driving to do my job but in different areas of town. someone i know who rides alot is certain that in less than six months, something bad is gonna happen at critical mass. i tend to agree it's at a breaking point.

be safe.

g.

victoria rocks.

at least at the bus stops.

g. xo

ailsa meets floyd, larry rocks the island and cam and jess hoss-down

it was a weekend to be sure. ailsa and i had decided to go and see my dad and janine over at their new homestead in sannich - just outside victoria - and see what was what. ailsa had gone over friday to hang-out with her long-time pal tara and do a little catch-up and i'd follow saturday morning. which i did. and i have to say, as a guy who hates the whole ferry experience - it was pretty good. painless both sides. the ferry runs every hour tsawwassen to victoria but over at the other end - horsebay to naniamo - it runs every two hours so...you miss it there and you're fucked...so...overall, ferry action, pretty good.


i meet up with garvie at tara's and then we headed into town and had some coffee - at a shop that was, seemingly, designed by a few folks who had spent a lot of time at places like stumptown coffee in portland. it kinda freaked me out initially - as did the girl who sat down right next to us and laughed out loud as she read her book - but the coffee was good so a-ok.


we walked around and hung out - there was a street fair going on (johnston st. days) and then we headed out to the new homestead. got lost - my fault - and then, after some map checking, got it sorted out. (thanks ailsa.) it also turns out that cells phones don't have much of a chance out there in the hinterland. which is a little frustrating when you're trying to call and get directions...
floyd and janine have a great new place...a three bedroom place with a great rolling backyard and deck that is huge and well suited to hanging out. their friend mark is handling a lot of the reno duties and floyd and janine are doing a lot themselves as well. they have a parade of contractors coming through daily and hope to have it all sorted by october. it'll be a great place. quiet, a beach very close by, good neighbours.



ailsa and i headed home in the morning, as i had to cut a few lawns and then we had to get ready for some bbq action - cam and jessica were coming over for some snacks. mini-burgers, halibut, grilled zucchini, fried onions and potatoes, great salad with some of my tomatoes, home made ketchup, corn on the cob, etc...nice. it was nice to have them over...a little chilly on the deck but great. i sent them home with a nice, grown by me, zucchini squash and some home made ketchup jess seemed to like.
so good times.



now back to regularly scheduled programming.

g. xo

some more pics from the weekend.

i love watching people take pictures of each other.





nice snacks at floyd and janine's.

mark - their good friend/ex-neighbour who is handling the reno duties.

ailsa makes the scene at floyd and janine's.

ailsa and janine.

floyd discovers udder guys ice cream.

bbq action last night.

need a new SUV ?

i know it's unlikely but ya never know...so...
today when my insurance agent came by to deliver me my new papers for larry, she mentioned she was selling her 2001 Infiniti QX4 SUV - hers is black not the color of the one above....i don't know a lot about such things but, it's a good lookin' vehicle. it reminds me a little of my old nissan pathfinder - i really liked that thing.
anyhow..if you know anyone who would like a well kept Infinity....14,000 bux. i can get you or them in touch with nicole. and if you need insurance delivered to your door, she's the answer.

g. xo

issy's makin' it, i'm takin' it and new caffination.

issy's been cooking up a jam storm lately and i have been the lucky recipient of some great jam-action. if you're by the house ask to try some...you won't be disappointed.

and speaking of not being disappointed..how could these be bad? not fuckin' likely. soft caffeine goodness. i'm gonna be gettin' me some of these...

g. xo

i had no fucking idea

i did not know that. craigslist r n' r is a dump but this is pretty good.

g. xo

don't say this doesn't mean business...

mishi has been making some luchedor pieces of late and one of the pieces she has been making are these wicked rings. all hand-made and they're weighty fuckers. they really do mean business. the garbs has one and now i do as well...you can check more of the goods out at hammered and pickled on granville island if you're down there...fuck you should go down there just because and say hi to the garbs and mishi anyways. i love my new ring...thanks mishi!
in other news...
i made another batch of ketchup last night - a more traditional number - and it's red and made from more ripe tomatoes from my deck. and it's pretty fuckin' tasty too....nice. i used approx. nine tomatoes to make the jingus and then pulled another eight or so ripe numbers off the vines last night as well...please come over and take a tomato home with you...
i'm heading over this weekend to see floyd and janine at their new hacienda in sannich - some call it victoria but i know better...they're sorta camping out as they do renos on the new place but it'll be good...see the place in all its glory before it's all brand new.
speaking of brand new...well, i'm not going to say anything yet but...a couple of my pals are movin' on up - except to the east side - and it's all pretty exciting. pics and story to follow soon i'm sure.
i've had a busy week giving things away on craigslist - man, people will come from far and wide for almost anything. i had a woman come from surrey for a punch bowl set - i don't even know where it came from....another woman come for a black glass bowl, and today i'm giving away some bauer hockey skate style roller blades...size 10 i think...i wear an 11 shoe so...
ok. back to it...

g. xo

floyd moves to the big city

floyd and janine have moved out of their nanoose bay hideaway and to victoria- more precisely, sannich. they bought a house that needs a little love so floyd has been doing some digging and crawling around and shit's gettin' done...i'm sure janine is getting her hands dirty as well. new floors, new kitchen, new fireplaces, etc...all good stuff. i'm going to head over there next saturday to have a little look-see with garvie.

g. xo

here are a few pics of floyd getting to it...

floyd with mia, janine's daughter's daughter...

mia helping floyd.

good times.

el diablo

i've grown the one-horned el diablo tomato.

g. xo

that is some cheap crap man....

ok.
so.
we went to the night market.
in richmond.
the garbs had hoped to see the ultraman he saw there before.
it wasn't there.
so we left.

there were literally hundreds, no more like a couple thousand people there...and i couldn't figure out why. i had been to the night market in chinatown and it was just a whole lot of cheap knock-off crap. richmond was just a bigger version of a place with tons of plastic knock-off shit. we had to park a long way away, walk there, and then....walk back. it's kinda entertaining, but...

then we drove and got burgers - well, the garbs and i had burgers and mishi had soup and risotto - at re-fuel. i wanted the garbs to try the burger there because i think they make a great burger...it was a good dinner.

now. relax. sleep.

night night.

g. xo


they have socks...

and bowls of food that are actually piggy banks....

and people love it....

it's the little things...

i can get jazzed-up. it's the truth - i know it's hard to believe but it's true. and i know that sometimes it's the little shit - the shit that shouldn't matter or that should just be dismissed.
my car door won't stay open. most doors, on cars, when you open them they stay open. mine, no matter what angle, closes on me. i fuckin' hate it. to the point where i may just sell it because of that.
today i was handed something by someone and while i was holding it, it broke. wicked. then when i went to the shop to make him a new one, it sucked. so i'll start again monday when i feel more like making something.
the ketchup i made sucks. what the fuck am i going to make with all these fuckin' tomatoes? one plant would have been enough. and really, my garden kinda sucks. better luck next year.
i hate that - and this is a dick thing to say and i know it so don't give me any grief about it - people from all over the lower mainland love to come into the city during the summer. i know we should all welcome people from all over into the city and be pals and ....whatever...i hate the dicks in their cameros cruising around looking for a fight and treating the city like their own personal toilet. and then they go back to surrey...or wherever.
certain parts of my building are looking so ghetto. marks on the walls, shit stuffed into parking stalls - junk, etc...renters who don't give a shit. welcome to the new van horne, just the westside version.
i keep losing sunglasses.
and now i've been talked into going to the richmond night market by the garbs...mishi's coming too...something i have less than zero interest in...but i'm going...why? because i love the garbs and he keeps asking to go...so we're going to go. even though the garbs won't cross the border with me, i'll take him to the night market...
ok. i need a shower and some drugs to get rid of this fuckin' massive headache i have....

have fun.

g. xo

garbs wakeroo and two wheeled war...

the garbs sent me this pic this morning...nice. it was entitled 'tgif'...yes indeed.

i also read this post this morning in the old r n' r on craigslist... scooter vs. bikes... might be fun to watch...i'm not condoning it, not really, but it would be interesting - though i don't believe it'll actually happen. there's a lot of talk on criagslist re: critical mass but not much real action...which is probably for the better...

g. xo

um....i think it may end-up ketchup...

ok. so...
i came home and went at it. cut the tomatoes, added the ingredients and.... i think i've made some spicy orange tomato soup...we'll see what happens after it cooks a little and cools...but i think i fucked-up...tasty though. maybe it's just, yet, another sauce that's kinda ketchup-like...

i'll try again soon.

g. xo

looks good here....

and here...

and then....soup. thick soup but...

one short of a load....

shit. once again - it seems to happen sometimes...i got home and was all gung-ho to make my ketchup and after picking my tomatoes and setting them out....i realized i was one ingredient short - and i'm too lazy to go out and get it...so tomorrow is now ketchup day.
but the tomatoes look pretty great!

g. xo

a second chance to make a first impression.

one night i saw a band on saturday night live that i had heard of, that the kids were all talkin' about, the way the kids talk about bands they like a lot. so there they were, on the stage at rockafeller centre, performing, and i couldn't stop laughing, well, until i stopped in disbelief...because i realized they were completely serious in their over-the-topness. their seriousness. the drama was, well, dramatic. it's the only word i can come up with. well, that and pretentious. anyhow...it was a little much for this old guy...
now, today, for some reason i found myself listening to their new album and really enjoying it - sure, it can still be a little over the top but it's good...a toe-tapper.

the new arcade fire album - suburbs.
give it a listen, a second chance. i'm pretty sure i'll never want to see them again, but the album is pretty good...

g. xo

makin' it.

i have made a few bbq sauces this summer - maybe you've tried one of them...'garn's up to something', 'sweet jesus say seven' or the highly coveted 'nogales chocolate cherry surprise'...well, i'm now gonna try making my own ketchup. why the fuck not right..? now that i've made the bbq sauces from scratch and it's so satifying in so many ways, the thought of buying bbq sauce now seems so wrong...so, tonight, with tomatoes from my garden, my version of ketchup. (or at least a recipe i am using and abusing (adding my own little touches...)
come on over and try it....

g. xo

oops.

it was a bit of a deal today getting down first ave. towards downtown. a car had somehow punched a pick-up in the side and turned it over...nice work. i snapped a couple quick pics but it really doesn't tell the tale. it was nasty.


speaking of nasty...but in a very good way - the ethical bean coffee shop bought a donut maker and were giving it a trial run today. they've been trying to get the recipe right and i was there to try a sample - i actually brought three to the shop for andrew, paul and i to try. pretty tasty. first they get a fancy new toilet, now a donut maker....what's next? well, i'll tell you...they're gonna set-up a donut cam so you can watch them making the little morsels. stay tuned.

g. xo

bombers HQ in mexico

looks like we're branching out.

nice.

g.

i think dean, who sent me the two pics you see here, must be in mexico...and eating like a champ...

happy (belated) birthday bullski

don many years ago....with some guy i don't know...

yup.

it was the don bull's birthday yesterday - the man whose name sounds best said with both christan name and surname in the same sentence. don bull.

happy birthday baby.

g. xo

swedes and skateboards

after i tucked away the last of my lawns for the weekend and put in my last load of laundry i ventured out to granville island to see the kids at the pickle...who weren't there...they were playing hooky watching the championship game in the rogers' cup tennis thingy....who can blame 'em. so i did what i have done before when they're not open, i opened the pickle myself and had it all up and running by the time mishi made her way there a little later. mishi was wearing her sweden dress that she made for the olympic games to show her support of her fellow swedes...and as luck would have it a woman from california came by who was from california but was also a swede...she liked mishi's dress...nice action.
the garbs called and said he was gonna go hang with don-hoven so mishi was now on her own for dinner so we decided it was a margarita and quesadilla kind of night...in the meantime, because i had time to kill before she was to close the pickle, i went for a ride downtown and had a little look-see to see what was what in the big city...saw a little granville mall skateboarding, ate a little snack at whole paycheque and then went back to the island to get the goods for our dinner...so here i sit, waiting for mishi to arrive finishing up the end of my domestic duties, making guacamole and grilling corn....snack o-plenty!

good times...

g. xo

dudes givin' 'er on granville mall...how come no one rides in shorts anymore? gotta be fuckin' hot in jeans skatin'....