Showing posts with label Vancouver neighbourhoods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver neighbourhoods. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2021

Signs of Spring & Cooking Q & A

I had to pick something up in the neighbourhood on Saturday evening. 

I walked to my destination and back and took these photos along the way. 

The air was nice and warm so the walk was lovely. 

Afterward I met a friend for a coffee. Of course we followed the procedures which are in place.

Crocuses are always the first signal of spring season.





I love this little outside cafe area.

This building with the bricks and bay windows has always been a favourite of mine.

The public murals on buildings (right side) is always a beautiful sight. Can you see the pussy willows?

I love the lace like effect of the branches and the brick building in background.

A beautiful sunset but I didn't have the best view of it for photo taking.

This building is a church I attended before they sold it and turned it into condos.

 

Tonight the weather was much different. It was very windy and cold. 

But I think spring is around the corner (she says hopefully).

 Joining in with Our World Tuesday 

 and

 I'm also joining in with Tuesday 4 Meme which is hosted by Annie at Cottage by the Sea and in memory of Toni Taddeo.

This week's theme is cooking.

 

1.  What is the most valuable kitchen utensil you have or one you use often and could not live without?

My most valuable kitchen utensil is probably my blender stick. I use it often but so far it is best at whipping up instant puddings and whipping cream.  I actually bought it to make blended soups but have only used it once for that purpose, lol. I also use it to whip potatoes into mashed but I prefer using a potato masher and doing it manually. 

2. Do you have any fancy gadgets like air fryers, etc in your kitchen? How are they working out for you?

I do not own an air fryer though I'd like one. My brother and his wife enjoy using theirs. I do have some appliances (juicers, food processor, Kitchen Aid mixer. George Foreman Grill and Vitamix blending machine). I  don't really use the juicers anymore because the Vitamix does it all. I love the Kitchen Aid for mixing up bread or dough for cinnamon buns or pizzas. I don't use the food processor that much except to shred cheese. I don't find it does a great job of it.  I love a George Foreman Grill but mine has seen better days. I still use it now and then. I forgot to mention the Instant Pot (IP) until someone mentioned it in the comments. I do like my IP because it softens tough meats and makes cooking beans much quicker. I also forgot to mention the rice cooker which get called into action several times a week so it has more than paid for itself.

3. Do you have any step or labor saving ideas that make cooking and meal preparation easier?

The only thing I do from time to time is advance preparation of vegetables and meats or fowl. If you chop up vegetables ahead of time and or prepare the meat a day ahead, it makes cooking much more fun. However, you still have to do the dishes. I prefer doing dishes by hand rather than loading and unloading the dishwasher.

4. What is your favorite recipe of all time? Would you share it with us?

I don't have a favourite recipe that was handed down to me. I cook mostly everything from my childhood or that we ate in my family. It is all by 'feel' rather than recipe. If I want to try a dish mom never made, I google it and try the recipe with the fewest ingredients. I'm not afraid to omit ingredients or substitute ingredients within reason (using common sense). I'm a lazy cook at heart. It needs to be easy or I won't  try it since cooking has never been my favourite thing. If I try a new recipe I will often post it on my blog so I can search for it later.

 

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Trendy Saturday Night Out

The area where I live has become a trendy hot spot for dining and drinking. People come from quite far to partake in one of the many busy restaurants and/or the multitude of craft beer places in the general neighbourhood.  The craft beer places are in the same general neighbourhood but on the way to the city. I am travelling in the opposite direction to the southern edge of the part of town known as Mount Pleasant and on the fringes of the area known as Riley Park. This is where there are many coffee shops, dessert places, boutique shops and a plethora of eateries.  I'll share some of them with you in this post. These are only a fraction of those that are available on this busy street called Main Street. Main Street is the centre street in the city. If you go west of Main Street you are in the western part of town and if you go east you are in the eastern part of the city.


I was surprised to see just how busy it has become. Years ago when I first lived in the area (multiple homes ago), this area was definitely not the place to be. Once 6 p.m. rolled around everything shut down and was very quiet. Over the years many new business people moved into the area revitalizing it with trendy eateries and shopping places. Formerly it was known as antique row but today there are very few antique places to be found. The millennials have no interest in antiques it seems. Many of the long established antique stores have vanished or they have reduced their floor space and moved on to other neighborhoods.

I love the sign in the photo below. On one side it says 'good food'. On the other side it says 'eat".


 I've never eaten at the restaurant but they had a long line of people waiting for a table.
Perhaps you can see them in the photo below.
 What you cannot see is that there were a lot more people waiting in patio seating to the left of the sidewalk.

Notice the outside benches along the right side of the sidewalk
They are there because the restaurants all along this block are exceptionally busy.


The burger place in the photo below has great burgers and fries.

I haven't tried this place for years since I try not to eat so many burgers or fries. It looks like they have a great lunch special.

I was pleased to see the used book store was open late. 
There is another one across the street that closes earlier (around 6 p.m.).
The sushi restaurant next door to the bookstore is quite good though I haven't been there for a long time.
 Many restaurants I stopped going to since I retired due to needing to manage diabetes. Nowadays I stick to a handful of restaurants when I need a bite to eat and make many of my meals at home so I know what is in the dish
There is a second sushi restaurant adjacent to the first one.  It doesn't seem quite as busy but they offer brown rice and other healthy options. Many of the Japanese restaurants in town do likewise.


I love the sign at the Thai Restaurant. It glows so prettily in the dark. Again I haven't been to this restaurant for years but it was good each time I went.  They have always had a great word of mouth reputation and the reviews on line are excellent also.  
A lot of out of towners seem to hit this spot when they come to the city and want Thai food.


For my dinner I ended up at a diner and had a marvellous Greek dinner of Roasted Lamb, something I never make at home. 
Unfortunately I didn't take a good photo of the diner or even of my meal but it was very tasty.



Earlier in the day I ran some errands in the area called South Main. It is where the community library is located. I picked up a few movies there and returned a book that was coming due.  
The weather was gorgeous and the light very beautiful. 
The newish library and Community Centre on the ground level with apartments above.
 
I love old brick buildings like this. We have so few of them left in the City. We never had so many to start with.

The steeple on the building in the photo below belongs to what used to be a church I attended for about a year. Sadly, the congregation sold the building which was converted to condos and they bought land in another municipality.



 I did not follow the congregation out of town because I lived and worked in Vancouver and the new location wasn't convenient.
Many long established churches left the city due to dwindling attendance and the high cost of everything.  
Fortunately the trend seems to be reversing and there are a lot of new churches being founded in the area and across the city. Most of them are worshiping in diverse places such as spaces above coffee shops, in shopping malls and cinemas due to lack of their own building.
Personally I don't mind worshiping in these different types of spaces as long as there is a place to gather.
It makes it a bit less convenient though for office administration, nurseries and programs.


The high rise in the photo below is the first one to be built in the neighbourhood.  It likely won't be the last.
In fact just a few days ago the council just approved 3 high rise buildings (one development) about 10 blocks away. Again the development was hotly contested because it cuts off the sight lines to downtown and the mountains  which up to now have been protected views.  Vancouver has basically run out of land and has to build upward.  Those involved with the planning say that the mountains will still be visible from this side of town.  Others are concerned this is the beginning of high rises everywhere. The city has reached the point where the only solution is to build high rises.  It just keeps on growing and there are not enough homes for everyone.


The builders started building the high rise in earnest in about October 2017. They made good progress but there is still quite  lot to be done. The development takes up a good half block of the city and incorporates a low rise and a high rise plus a lot of amenities for all the residents.  I've seen the renderings for the complex and it looks great but I always withhold my full judgement until I see the finished product. All the apartments in the complex sold out many years ago already while the debate about building was still going on.


 Last but not least, I intended to make several pizzas when my cousin visited last weekend.
Instead I took her out for a wonderful Greek Souvakia dinner which she really enjoyed.

I made the pizzas for my brother and I instead.

Ham and pineapple pizza

My pizza above ended up being almost a triangle shape after baking. Despite trying to make it round it kept shrinking.
I divided pizza dough meant for 2 pizzas into 4 so I had to stretch the dough quite thin.  I prefer thin crust anyway.
I only have one round pan so the other pizza is a long one.
At my diabetic workshop the other day one of the ladies said she wanted to offload her pizza paraphernalia
which included a pizza stone and I'm not sure what else.
I said I would take it so I hope she remembers to bring it next time.

Primarily veggie and cheese pizza but part of it has ham (at the top).
The pizzas were both pronounced "very good".


Thank you for stopping by.
I'm linking up with 

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Yesterday Spring Seemed So Close

Yesterday was filled with sadness and joy all in one day.

I first heard the news about my Kenya friend losing her child. Mother and family are going through an incredibly rough time right now; financially and emotionally and for the mom, physically too. See my blog post here if you have a moment.

Much later I went out for a walk.

The day was gloriously warm and sunny. A rarity in Vancouver over the winter months.

There were some early signs of Spring. 

I'm not sure what these blossoms are but they caught my eye.


The last time I took a photo of this fountain it was frozen solid. Yesterday it flowed freely.

Some rose hips were evident. I haven't noticed this bush here before.
A palm tree on someone's balcony beckons me to African shores.

I smiled as this senior cycled by on his tricycle.
A helicopter in flight. Can you spot it?


It seems like this kind of warm weather seems to happen around this time every year, give or take a week. Whether it remains is yet to be seen. At any rate, the real Spring is not so very far away from now.

As the sun was disappearing, it brought lovely pastel colours to the skies.


I like the look of the bare leaves like lace against the sky. The transit wires give added interest


I managed to take a shot of the half moon before the light got too low



I captured these pansies just before I stopped at the final store.  They are on the corner of two main city streets that get a lot of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. So you can see that pedestrians have been using the planter as an ashtray. What a shame!


 It was the end of my picture taking as night fell (just after 5 p.m.).

You can see the twin (mountain) peaks of the Lions way in back of mountains and the towers of downtown.
 Though it was sunny yesterday, today was a bit misty and foggy at higher levels.
In the east they are having winter storms.

I hope you are warm wherever you are in the world.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday

Thank you to hosts:

 
Arija
Gattina
 Lady Fi
Sylvia
Sandy
Jennifer
 
Our World Tuesday Graphic

Friday, March 28, 2014

Cross in the Night Sky



On a recent walk to the local library I captured these photos of a church cross.

These were the best night photos I could capture on a cell phone. One day I might have a good camera to capture the illuminated cross at night much better. For now these will have to do.
The cross reminds me of the price God paid for my soul. It also reminds me of the two greatest commandments set out in Matthew 22: 37-40

37 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

These form the basis of my love for helping people in general and my love for missions in Africa.
It explains why I help people like Elvis who is hoping to finish medical studies in Kenya this summer. There has been a hiccup in his studies due to recent striking and rioting at universities in Kenya but with God it may still be possible to finish university. It has been a long road for Elvis.

Although I do help Elvis and write about him and others in Africa, from time to time on my blog, sometimes others think the ministry is for me alone.  The good news is that anyone can help if they would like to help.

Please know the Kenyan mission is for anyone and everyone.  That is, anyone that wants to help.

If you feel so inclined please contact me and I can let you know how to send funds to Kenya. If you don't want to help or cannot help, that is fine too. I'm not here to try and pressure anyone. The decision is yours alone. If you are a believer, you can always pray. That would be awesome.

I am here to help raise awareness for those that wish to help on the mission field to Kenya. Once trained Elvis will have a much better opportunity to help himself and his family as well as bring health and healing to those who need medical care.


If you wish to learn more, please read about Elvis at the sidebar (top right of my blog).

Have a wonderful weekend.

Skywatch Friday

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A Good Week

It's been a busy, fun and tiring week with my niece.  We went to see two movies, "Despicable Me 2" and "Man of Steel".  Both of these movies couldn't be more different from the other but they were both entertaining in their own ways.  We laughed at the little minions in Despicable Me 2 and my niece almost split a gut laughing hysterically when the minions sang "YMCA" by the Village People. My niece and I love superheros of all kinds, including Superman. I thought the movie might be too serious and not entertaining enough for her.  She did get very wrapped up in the movie plot, shaking her fists at the villains who tried to kill Kal-El (the name Superman was given at birth by his parents on the planet Krypton).

In addition to going to movies, we managed to make two trips to the beach front.  One on of our trips, we stopped at a foot reflexology place before going for dinner.  My niece told me the day before that she wanted a foot massage. I didn't take her seriously because I know she doesn't like to be touched and her feet are ticklish.  While I was having my feet done, she surprised me by also having her feet massaged in the next room, lol.  After that we went for fish and chips before heading to the beach to relax and make sure my niece was able to dip her feet in the water.



It was quite an experience for her to walk barefoot in the shifting sands with all kinds of dried, prickly seaweed, small stones and shells. Her balance is not good at the best of times and her foot muscles are not strong or used walking in the outdoors without shoes.  She was very proud of herself after managing to take a walk along the beach to the water and back.  I was proud of her too because she struggled to keep her balance  but she made it.  Afterward, her feet were very dusty from the sand.  To make her laugh I told her she had "ghost feet". She thought that was very funny. 

We stayed home on the weekend as our first few days out were not only very long but very hot.  We were both tired and needed a bit of recovery.  I spent Saturday getting the kitchen cleaned and preparing salads for the the day as well as preparing for a small birthday celebration we were to have on Sunday.




On Monday we went to Granville Island and had fun walking around & eating ice cream.  It was a hot day but under the bridge by the waterfront there always seems to be a nice breeze.

After spending a few hours walking around, we decided we should have a bite to eat because we wouldn't be home for some time.  We still had some sightseeing to do, a ferry boat ride and two buses to take before getting home!



The Inukshuk  is always a lovely sight against the waterfront.
This is the small water bus that we took to downtown. From there we caught a small bus along Beach Avenue and saw a lot of the waterfront from the window.  The little bus eventually connected to the bus we needed to come home on.  The bonus was that we had a great little tour of the beachfront.


Tuesday was our last day together and we went to a local park and had a mini picnic. While at the park, my nephew came by with a football and played catch with his sister. It was nice to watch them have fun together. After that we went for a nice long walk and ended with a small sundae before coming home to get her bags packed.  The week went by quickly but we enjoyed our short time together.

We ended the day with this beautiful sunset.

This is my submission to Our World Tuesday and Skywatch Friday

Monday, February 28, 2011

Snowy Vancouver

I live in Vancouver and we generally get lots and lots of rain over the winter. We get very little snow.


This year is very different. I heard it is due to El Nina. While I was away in Kenya in November, a Vancouver friend told me that snow had fallen shortly after I departed on my journey.  I think it was November 17th or thereabouts. That is extremely early snowfall for us in Vancouver.  The snow didn't last but it has snowed several times throughout the winter. Of course this is unusual too.


I was out this past Friday for a walk and we had another fantastic snowfall which I was able to capture as I had my digital camera with me.  You can't really tell from but there was quite a bit of snow on the ground after snowing for several hours.  We are expecting more snow this week.

I heard on the news that the local ski slopes will have great skiing well into April. I don't ski so that doesn't thrill me but I know it makes skiers happy and if the snow remains on the slopes that's fine with me.


I don't mind the snow so much especially if it isn't wet and mushy.  Wet and mushy snow makes a problem for proper footwear to keep your feet dry and warm.  Some people here wear colourful galoshes or rubber boots but I've never liked to wear them  myself and I don't think they can keep your feet warm unless you wear thick socks. 

If there is a lot of snow I do worry about the elderly people and the disabled.  Or anyone who has a harder time getting around even with a mobility aid. Walkers and wheelchairs can get stuck in the snow and make it harder for people to cope.

Another problem is that it should be warmer indoors than it is outside. At my place it is always cold and the electricity costs are very high. I do wear long sleeves plus a sweater, plus socks and wool lined slippers and then I still have to cover up.  Some of the newer homes in Vancouver are not made for cold weather that is for sure.

I stayed out until after dark and took this photo of the snow falling as I sat and looked up. I thought it was very pretty. I don't like cold weather and too much snow and ice for very long but I do think they make pretty pictures *wink.


One more for the road and the photo album, lol




I hope you enjoyed this short tour of my world.

Join in by clicking the bad above and seeing the fabulous photos from around the world. You might even post some of your own world.

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