sleep it off.

so today was not what one would call a banner day. unless the banner says 'welcome to a really kinda crappy sunday'. and not just because of the weather.
i seemed to make or take missteps all along my route today. some because i'm a guy who lets people know what's what and have conversations that are pretty organic and can hit a lot of bases - not always smart, another as my passes in the cowboys hockey game today were just enough off the target that it rendered them useless and for whatever reason - they probably will tell me that my card was compromised or something, my bank card will not work and for this reason, since i didn't have enough cash on me, i didn't get to see true grit.
bummer.
so home now where i'll, hopefully, find something other than the oscars on and if not, i'll read and call it a night early - i'm hoping a decent sleep will help me find a better tomorrow.

i love you.

g. xo

whiteout.

my deck tells me it snowed last night.
yup.
i was driving in it last night as well as the garbs, mishi and i made our way over to north vancouver for burgers at browns social house (not brown's but browns...marv newland told me years ago when he was doing work for earls restraunts and asked who the earls were and they responded that it was a person not multiple guys named earl...he then asked why there was no apostrophe and they told him that the general public was confused by those in names of business'. so starbucks, earls, browns, etc. have no apostrophes. weird.)
anyway...
i know browns may not appeal, initially to some of you but they really do make a good burger. you should try it - we, mishi and i, discovered the goodness of their burgers when we went with issy to a browns in richmond.
today we're suppose to go to bellingham but i'm not sure if we're gonna go today or wait a few weeks until the snowy roads and such are gone. i sure could use some trader joe's goodness though and a burrito at casa que pasa.
i'm gonna let mishi make the call.

g. xo

a long north van/deep cove fucks up story

i don't know all the details but...
ie creative - cheryl and mike - were commissioned to make a big stainless steel sculpture for the city of north vancouver. i believe it was to be erected at cates park in deep cove then, as the sculpture was nearing completion, a concerned citizen complained that the sculpture looked too much like a bong. and then the shit hit the fan. so, fast forward to now, and the sculpture has no real home but has found a temporary one on granville island - you should go see it. it looks awesome!
good work kids!

g. xo

lisa g. wears a little silver number in honor of the new sculpture.

cheryl chats with senor tornack.

the sculpture looks wicked...

huh?

he who can not be named on the blog thought i should post this...i agree. so...

g. xo

(prior to) spring cleaning

i found this photo that was taken by mishi when we were coming back from california with larry.

i have lots of tin ikea boxes that i keep things in. things such as keepsakes, papers, business cards, junk, crap, old birthday cards people have made me, photos, etc...and every once in a while i go through them and get rid of things that have passed their due date. i have done the same with lots of things i have in issy's basement - what once was a very large pile of boxes at her place has gotten smaller and smaller over time. today it was time for me to go through some of the tin boxes here and throw out some crap, and pass along some things to others who may be able to use a bull dog clip or note book i never wrote anything into....ever. and papers are now finding their way to the recycling bin downstairs. i also have a bunch of mixed cds i had made for road trips in larry years ago and i think i'll leave those on the island for the art kids to shuffle through.
i used to be more of a hoarder of the past now i'm getting better at letting it go. i like the feeling of letting it go.

g. xo

lots of crap.

the boxes that store the crap.

i did find four of my teeth that were removed when i had to make room for moving my teeth around when i got braces in 1979-80 i think.

that cubs patch is a winner.

listen.

to this.

g. xo

speaking of hair.

mishi reminded me last night that she had taken that photo - the one on my desk - and that it was when i had decided to chemically straighten my hair and, actually, did it twice so it was kinda fucked...and dyed a red color as well...nice.
and speaking of hair - above is a picture of the future star of 'lawn boy' sully. - the mocumentary i'm making with the help of so many cool kids - too many to list here but i will one day...i love sully. pairing him with the garbs may be one of my greatest triumphs.

g. xo

body of contentness

..i have a picture on my desk - or near my desk pinned-up, of a younger me. a picture taken around 1999 or maybe later but not much...rae, who i work with, was looking at the picture and was trying to figure out who it was and i told him it was me. again, a younger me. he then got a very confused look on his face, maybe more of disbelief. that it could be me in that picture.
i told him it was just me before i got old and fat...and he said i wasn't fat and said i had the body of contentment. huh?
such is me getting old. and i have to say, most times i don't care - looking older, grey hair, etc...but other times, i hate it. i hate being fatter, i hate the ever enlarging bald spot on my head - it really doesn't matter but it does in a weird way. i hate working out, eating less and still being the same. i used to not care one way or the other if i had my picture taken, now, if i can avoid it - almost at any cost, i do. and if i catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror it's sometimes enough to ruin my day.
i ain't kidding. i am not a handsome man.
i was never a hot tamale, but now am just a chunky burrito of a man. thank god for my stellar personality. or something.
and so i look at the picture of me taken at the loft in gastown and long for those, slightly, more carefree days. much less money and responsibility, but slightly thinner, better looking and content. or something.
maybe i'm just having a bad day...but i do hate the older version of me some days. so much more serious. or something. i guess this is what nearing fifty is. maybe my life is just shifting and i need to be more age appropriate in my approach. less kaws, more rrsp's.
i lay in bed lots of nights and ponder my mortality - who doesn't i suppose. i see friends losing parents and know i'm not ready for that. i hope, sometimes, that i go before my closest friends do, not because i hate life and want it over - i'm much, much, less that way in recent years...but i just can't imagine my life without them around. what the hell would i do...?
anyhow. it's wed. ...middle of the week and i'm slightly bummed out today. no biggie.
life will move along and my head will get more bald and grey.

g. xo

up with...

it's a done deal. it's on the wall...finally. and with the help of my pal suzanne down at opus art and framing. you'll have to come over to see it at the yard but for now here's a shot of it all framed up at opus yesterday.

nice.

g. xo

some good cone action.

the garbs sent me this link to a video that has a few cone sightings. good stuff...

g. xo

a moment on my lips..

nice cake photo taken by jessica.

good lord we had some good food last night...cam and jess brought a fine selection of meats and cheeses, garvie made a wicked coconut cake and fancy, penne dean and deluca mac and cheese (up at seven thirty a.m. cuting veggies as she also had to work sunday...trooper), 'he who can not be named on the blog' regailed us with a mushroom risotto that was awesome, mishi mixed us a great salad with fennel and such and i whipped-up a green chili (poblano) beef chili. nice action. the garbs ate.
it was good...

thanks to all...

g. xo

random shots of the food action.



the beef and peppers before they became part of the stew.


the cake. nice cake. tasty.

droppin' like flies.

sometimes the moon and stars just don't line-up...i am having a few folks over for a pot luck tonight and as the hours get closer the folks get fewer and fewer - and by no one's fault. someone's mom came to town, another in in calgary and is gonna be sitting in the cold watching a hockey game, sickness has claimed another, conflicting plans claiming two others - there's gonna be a lot of food here tonight for a handful of folks. i almost feel like sending out some 'care' packages to those who can't come and enjoy the great garvie coconut cake and fancy mac and cheese - dean and deluca style. and some of my new recipe green chili beef stew. on the positive side - i'll have lots of food for the week ahead when i come home from work.

ailsa's cake that will be topped with a nice icing and coconut!

yesterday ailsa and went for a nice - if windy and cold - walk around kits point and then decided as the wind picked up that looking at shoes on west fourth, where were also ran into 'he who can not be named on the blog' in the capers courtyard, was a better idea. after a coffee with him we all walked down to granville island and had a visit with mishi and then garvie and i went to the market - not busy at all on a beautiful saturday afternoon - and got all the goods for our dinner last night and the stuff for tonight's meals.




bomber hockey was good last night, a little late, but good. blair and i have taken to a tradition of having a beer before the game and since we've adopted that little goodness we've been undefeated - lots of ties but still, undefeated. why mess with a good thing.



today is prep and cleaning and other domestic duties before the folks get here. good times.

have fun today.

g. xo

good lord that was beef-tastic!

here are a few pics from today's meal...some nice slaw, joel's plate of goodness and my beef brisket sandwich.
if i do say so myself - it was pretty fuckin' great.

g. xo

you outta know.

a kiss is just a kiss....but i'll tell you what. if you find something on the staples web site and it's much cheaper than the in-store price, go to the store and ask for that price - even if it says it's an on-line deal only. i just went to staples to buy a thingy, i asked the guy in the aisle if he thought i could get it for the lesser on-line price. he said no. i asked again at the counter and the woman said no problema. nice. i'm no cheapskate but come on...

scott falls in love at work.

i'll tell you this too..the team we, the bombers hockey club played last night, the north shore blazers - who actually had someone come and watch them play who put up a 'go blazers go' sign (come on it's beer league...), well, they're douchebags. i don't think, in recent memory, that i've played a doucier team. just sayin'.
i had a decent breakfast at deacon's corner the other morning with lisa from storm salon - i had to go and fix something i kinda fucked up...sort of..but not really. all good. i'm not a huge fan of the spice jingus they put in their hash browns but otherwise - tasty goodness.

the beginnings of the two bbq sauces i made for today's lunch.

today's thursday lunch is beef brisket done in a beer and beef stock bath with garlic and onions - it smells wicked.


hopefully it'll taste good. i'm making a buttermilk coleslaw as well. a couple of buns with that business and it'll be nap time at the old BOC.


there's a new mower in my future - it's a toss-up. a honda - great but very expensive, husqvara - nice number but i don't know much about them or my old stand by the craftsman. it may be a purchase made in portland when garvie and i go down next month. i'm looking to buy a new enclosed trailer as well...lawn order gets more and more legit.


and here's a shining light out to senor craig northey who has a sore ankle that hopefully is well on its way to repair...take it easy bomber brother.
ok. i've gotta go make some slaw.

g. xo

stay still...

in an effort to make her rich and famous and...well, that's enough for now, i present to you my pal, suzanne kay's web site. she's the maker of some pretty fine paintings. yes she is. she's also my go-to at opus framing and art at the corner of hastings and cambie - across from la taqueria - sort of. i was down visiting her today at lunch - she helped me with the ordering and figuring of the new frame for my kaws kate moss silkscreen. along with her painting she also has pictures of her knit works as well..good stuff.

g. xo

when it all goes....

this morning i had to download a bunch of pictures into the old iphoto and, on the new imac, the sd card slot is on the side of the computer right next to, like 3mm away from, the slot for the dvd/cd drive. as i reached, without looking - somthing i have done many times since owning this new machine - i accidently shoved it in the dvd/cd slot.
pure genius.
and as i tried to get it out - as i could still see part of it...i managed to shove it in even farther. nice work. strong effort. so...off to the old interweb i went. and after some reading about paper clips and cut business cards, etc. , i settled on a thin wooden tongue depresser type of number with tesa tape - a double sided glazer's tape on it (i did for the record try the paper clip method and it sucekd...) and i was a winner about 30 seconds after shoving the wood into the slot. (pardon?) so...if this ever happens to you - and it won't i'm sure...that's how you get an sd card out of the dvd/cd slot.
you're welcome.

g. xo

haapy valentine's day!

happy valentine's day garvie! (she gave me the card above ...nice!)

g.
xoxo

tom and doug.

last night after work, instead of going home and getting all tarted-up, i decided to go directly downtown and see what the line-up was like outside the VAG for the We:Vancouver show. and it wasn't bad. so after a short wait for them to open the doors - which i passed playing angry birds - i went in and waited for the garbs and mishi to show-up (which was only a few minutes). i quickly found byron dauncey - who has a piece in the show - who was looking sharp in an electric orange shirt and then tobe from propellor who's always cute as a button and pam who was looking awesome in a full black number. i couldn't find nic but i'm sure he looked dashing.

i hate to say it but i found very little that i was stoked by but i think that's often the case with large group shows. oh well. and after we viewed the we:vancouver action, we went upstairs to see the ken lum show that was also opening the same night....i think...i'm a fan of graphics based art but have to admit the lum pieces left me kinda cold. i've sen his work here and there for years and maybe it's the...oh, nevermind. what do i know...(well, i do know i can go get a sign made at galaxy signs in burnaby pretty fast ....)

and i do know that i love the 'east van' sign all lit-up at clarke and great northern way but, he just took something that already was and made it bigger. is that art? or is that just making a big sign out of something someone else made? i dunno.
anyway....

it was nice to go but as the crowd got larger i had to/we had to get the hell out of there...mishi had someone tell her that she couldn't leave yet because tom cruise and douglas coupland were going to be there soon...to which mishi said, 'i don't care if they're going to be here. i'm going home.'
awesome.
i felt the same way.

and really, i needed to get my beauty sleep. this week during dinner at ailsa's place, fiona told me i looked like i was in my twenties since i shaved off my beard - which had a lot of grey in it. and that i 'looked like time had passed me by'....huh? and then she explained that time had kept going but i looked young still...nice. thanks fiona. so the more sleep i get the more i can keep my boyish looks...maybe.
have a great saturday.

g. xo