Pride Parade 2013 -Rainbows and Bubbles ... Sunset Beach .... and a few too many Butts ....

When? Sunday morning. 10 AM.

Where? Vancouver

Why? Pride Parade

Who? Nikkie and me

How? Sky Train

Yes, I know I hate sky train ... I have many reasons to hate sky train. The latest one was meeting a shopping cart during rush hour, taking up enough space for 4-5 standers (depending on size.) Which meant blocking off half of one exit/entrance door (depending on whether you're coming or going, and to tell the truth half the time I know not which one I am attempting) and having only the width of one person getting to and from it. Which meant backpacks and purses and God knows what else vying for the space your head is in while passersby pass by. At least I managed to get a senior's booster seat .... however, I digress ....

It was a great weather day for the parade, a bit cloudy and not hot at all - at least until we got to the beach after the parade was over. The pictures below aren't in order - I wasn't as careful as I should have been when I loaded them up, and the beginning ones ended up at the end, and the end ones ended up at the beginning. But if you weren't there, you probably wouldn't even know unless I mentioned it. Oh.

The parade did begin with the  Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team . Last year we were standing a bit too much away to see all the cool stuff they did - and this year we went too far down the street and also ended up standing a bit too far away. Oh well. C'est la vie and all that jazz.

 

Two hours of colour and joy followed, even though it was slightly marred by the Chinese woman sitting on a camp chair in front of me, who kept moving it backwards so it would land on my poor feet. This would be the summer I finally persuaded my toes to wear flip flops.

And now to meet the stars of the Parade - which included political parties and gals (?) with big hair ...

... and big smiles and fancy dresses ...

... to almost no dress at all ....

... bubbles ...

... tall people with flowers on their heads ...

Anglicans? Yes indeedy. Church of England. We've come a long way, baby!

Fin - a Canuck's mascot.

Of course you can play. Why shouldn't you?

Tina Turner showed up with her two body guards. Somehow I remember her looking a bit prettier than this ...

Not sure who this cool cat was ...

Here come the Trojan people! And they certainly weren't discrimination - everyone from ~10 year old boys standing beside us to the old Chinese couple sitting in front of us got their share of condoms ...

Sonic radio float was hidden in a big bunch of grapes? Balloons? Maybe they are blueberries ... and everyone was hoping to have a berry good time...

The cat people were really into their kitty groove ....

A rainbow of ladies ... maybe ... who knows for sure?

Happy to say JR FM sent Gloria (their new Dodge Ram) to the parade. Last year there was no sign of them - I though that was pretty sad.

Dikes on Bikes - so much fun!

I have no idea who this white thing is supposed to be, but he/she/it was pretty full of air - and seemed to be deflating by the second.

The  Knights of Malta were out in full regalia ... but there didn't seem to be enough of them to carry all the provincial flags. Newfoundland's was sort of hidden away.

Pretty ..... dress ....

The three Grand Marshalls of the parade were:
Brandon Timmerman is an extraordinary youth who founded a Pride organization in Brockville, Ontario – a conservative small town with a population of 22,000, surrounded by military towns – at the age of 16. Brandon is the face of the next generation of the Pride Movement, youth empowered and inspired by the legacy of Pride to create meaningful change in their Communities.

Zdravko Cimbaljevic is the founding father of Montenegro’s modern LGBTQ movement. After he came out, local papers commemorated the occasion by announcing Zdravko as the “first out gay man” in Montenegro. Zdravko has since founded and served as executive director of the LGBT Forum Progress promoting LGBT rights in Montenegro.

.

and The moms of PFLAG Vancouver were selected as Grand Marshals because their unwavering support for their queer children, inspired over a decade of service supporting one of the greatest allies of our community: our parents. Susan Harman, Karin Lind, and Aideen McKenna are three of PFLAG Vancouver’s amazing moms who have contributed over a decade of service to the parents, family, and friends of Vancouver’s LGBTQ Community.

I hope he enjoys his masturbation lubrication cream, as he almost jumped out of his chair to get some .... he wasn't long shoving it out of sight when he realized what it was, though!

Dr Peter - still remembered and honored in the community.

Guess he forgot the rest of his drawers ... but his balloons are pretty.

I like their street signs ...

and a little OOMPAH PAH

with a big buzz ...

ah .... a pipe band - and no cutouts in the kilts either, thank goodness ...

I don't know what this is, where it was, or how I got the pic .... but whatever it may be, here it is!

From an old police car ....

... to the super new ones ... who wouldn't want to be a cop and drive a machine like this? Huh?

Or even this? Let's hope you never see this one parked in your neighbourhood.

Caught the tail end of a lion dance ...

Check out the cool shoes!

Sunday September 22 is the Aids walk .... in case you're wondering ...

 

 I was so excited to see Lily Tomlin that I didn't realize Cher was her companion until I uploaded the pictures. Duh.

Soft kitty, Warm kitty, little ball of fur

Happy kitty, sleepy kitty .... purr purr purr ...

I was hoping to fly back east in September, but after seeing the West Jet plane .... I'm staying right here. On the ground. Where I belong.

Little blue pill, anyone?

And Howard didn't want to go to the parade .... No, he doesn't have a fetish .. but he likes boobs.

Medicinal, my foot. I don't think all the people smoking around this float had arthritis ....

Quite a few cheeky fellows in this parade ...

The Green Party - well done!

Just clowning around, I guess.

And here is the United Church. Really. Change is good indeed, donkey (Shrek's coming up shortly.)

I think you're fabulous too - especially since you are reading my blog!

Here comes the dragon ...

And here are two little flower children ...

I don't think so, but thanks for the invite.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips would certainly hurt me ...

Just hang in there, buddy ....

Way to go!!!!

Got to love the Raging Grannies ...

Starbucks, anyone? I don't like their coffee much, but their bathrooms have come in handy at times!

 

A good old Penny Farthing -

Yeah, me too.

Holy Float, Batman!

 

Cool what a bit of paint can do .... I bet they're glad it wasn't raining ...

And in keeping with the theme of rainbows and bubbles .... a kidney.

An

Marilyn Monroe!

When the tail end of the parade passed by, Nikkie and I headed to Sunset Beach for the festival ... and lunch. It was getting pretty darn hot by then, but we forced ourselves (or I forced Nikkie) to stand in line at the Beavertail  food truck, because they sold fries ... and POUTINE, which unfortunately looked tastier than it was. Lack of seasoning on fries and gravy .... but I ate most of it anyway.

 

Nikkie enjoyed her standard fare - catsup with a side order of fries ...

We walked on the beach for a little while, enjoying the view of beautiful English bay.

And thought we'd wander through the festival for a bit - but it was so crowded ... and hot .... and noisy ....

... we decided to walk the seawall to BC Place, where we could hop on a sky train and head for home.

Met a memorial to Terry Fox on the way ...

After a thousand miles or so, we did reach the sky train, and managed to get a seat after a while. Steve picked us up at the sky train station, as I was pretty sure my feet and legs would not manage another step, let alone the hill between King George Boulevard and our house of 133rd Street.

And look what was waiting for me at the end of the line - a husband with a Jigg's Dinner, that he cooked (all by himself, he pointed out bitterly) outdoors on his Coleman Stove.

And was it good? It was bloody delicious, that's what it was. Especially the pease pudding. In fact, I think there's some left in the fridge ....and it's not even 9 days old yet ....

August 3 - White Rock - From Shells to SandWiches, from Beach to Big Big Big Hills ....

Okay. It's August, and I know I promised myself I would have fun in August, even if it killed me. This was nearing the end of a July where I either spent most days working, and remaining days in a coma. 

I didn't realize that my first day of fun would almost kill me. But it was fun until that part.

Nikkie, Chris and Lizzie and I bussed to White Rock, to the Spirit of the Sea Festival. We had gone there last year, and even though there wasn't much Spirit to be found then, the kids had fun playing at the beach. So aboard the bus we went, me flashing my brand new 2-zone bus pass, which is about the most expensive thing in my thrift store purse.

It was a beautiful day at White Rock, and this year the place was buzzing. While Nikkie and Lizzie coloured pictures at a kids' tent, Chris and I went looking for an ATM, as most of my money was in my bank account. Good planning? Not. We passed some cool places though ....

A lot of people don't like burritos, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind the other part every now and then ....

... and we found some really pretty steps. No, we didn't climb them. Can't you see how many there are?

Lizzie the Pirate caught up with us here ...

We probably would have had some ice-cream, but this young chap seemed to be eating it all.

 

But Lizzie did enjoy a cow ride, while Chris tried to poke out its poor eyeball. Strange I didn't see him doing that when I took the pic ...

And then we found the coolest store on the street - 55~55 Marine ... 

 

 And there must be 5555 kinds of shells here - at least.

So, as we wandered down the street, we passed these words -

That is very scary. Most of my friends would become a drink of some sort, probably wine.

Also scary are these eyes - I'm not sure what animal they came from, but I imagine they can see far out to sea.

Noon snack was a bag of mini donuts and a can of Mountain Dew, the most sugary soft drink on the market. This was to make up for the sugary bits that fell off the donuts.

And I finally got my big pineapple drink - $7 and two years of seeing and wanting. Was it worth it?

Nah. I didn't realize they were foamy, but this one was. Foamy and not very pineapple tasting, actually. But the cherry was good. And of course the container could go in the food bin.

My advice? Save your $7 and buy a Margarita somewhere.

After we walked around the festival tents, we headed to the beach, after waiting for about 100 train cars to pass by on the track.

We saw a big turtle on the sand, which was pretty cool ...

... and two little sand artists ....

... who kept walking away. Note the immense amount of sand ... and tidal pools ....

And here is the big white rock that sits on the White Rock Beach.

 Chef Lizzie offered me a sand-wich .... but I graciously declined.

However, Fish and Chips sounded good, so we cleaned all the sand from between our toes and headed to Moby Dick's for some grub.

I wouldn't want to dust this place, let me tell you!

But there was lots of cool wall decor. And really good Chicken Strips, so I'm told. I had fish, which was a bit under seasoned, but everyone agreed the fries were excellent.

After lunch, we started looking for a bus stop that didn't have a sign saying NO BUSES TODAY, SUCKER. Well, not really, but words to that effect.

And that's when we realized there was no beach left. Hmmm. Wonder where it went? I was amazed at how quickly the tide rolled in, and I imagine the turtle on the beach was also quite surprised.

The Canada Geese didn't seem to mind though.

And lookee here. Blackberry season is about to begin! Very exciting - looks like I'll be out and about with my bucket in the very near future! How quickly a year flies by ...

But there were no buses within easy reach. The nearest stop was way up hill .... way way way up hill .... up hills that were so hilly there were steps built in, and a hand rail to help haul one's body up. Chris and Lizzie kept running up (remember the donuts and the Mountain Dew?) and Chris would run back and ask me if I was dying. Each time I assured him I was, but he didn't seem too concerned.

The looking down view wasn't nearly as steep through the eye of the camera, believe me. This was so uphill that if you stopped walking you were likely to lose your balance and tip backward. No kidding.

But there was a bit of sustenance on the way.

More uphill ....

And over this one ... and one more ... and finally a bus stop.

I'm sure my legs would still be hurting if I hadn't kept on walking for the next two days ... we'll have to see what tomorrow will bring, as I'm heading back to work in the morning. Poor me.

Since I'm Too Lazy, Sick, and Tired to Write a New Post .....

 ... check out what I was doing a year ago today!
 Hot Weather and Spicy Food

Another Itty Bitty Bite - But I'm Damn Well Not Biting This ....

Below is the reason I'm glad I didn't get a food blogger job.

We ordered Chinese Food, and I told Steve to make sure he got a veggie chop suey for Nikkie - she likes the broccoli, and some of the rest of us like the other veggies. There was no veggie chop suey on the take-out menu, but there was a Chef Special one .... Make sure you ask if it's veggie ....

Well, he didn't ask, he just ordered it. When our food arrived, and I opened the containers, this is what met my eye on one of them. The supposedly veggie one. I got a long-handed spoon, held my breath, and scooped all this 'stuff' off the top. To me it looked like entrails and other less delightful blobs.   

Oh well. Surprisingly enough, Nikkie ate the veggies that were left in the container. I myself could hardly bring myself to eat the Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls that were in the container below.

Yech. If anyone recognizes any of the above .... I'm still wondering what they are. Only please don't tell me while I'm eating my dinner.

July 7 - An Itty Bitty Catch-Up ...

You may know I like signs. I can't comment on ones that have spelling or punctuation errors any more, as I lately have been known to post such errors in my blogs, much to my detriment when I re-read them. I blame it on the number of birthdays I have celebrated (or not celebrated, whatever.)

However, I can't resist ones such as this -

I have bought strawberry plants, and enjoyed the big red juicy berries often - but I have never planted them in my cornflakes. I would think planting them in a strawberry patch has better results than planting them in a bowl of cornflakes.

Meanwhile, off we go to another slow day in June, a box of marked-down yarn in front of the store, and a dog.

Oops. A dog. Not a goat. That was another day.

Here we are, with a tail-wagging dog and and a ball of yarn winding its way down the sidewalk.

This master walked on by, not knowing his dog was happily dragging a ball of yarn along behind him. He brought the dog and a few metres of soggy yarn back to the store ... where Pauline and I were almost ROTFLOAOing. Needless to say, we donated the yarn to the four-legged beastie.

 

Sometimes it is indeed the little things that brighten up your day, isn't it?

July 6 - A Bit of May on Grouse Mountain - Zip a Dee Do Da ...

It's been so long. I'm sorry.

It seems I've lost my words. Don't know why, but probably a combination of many things. Since we moved, I've been either busy, or sick. When I've been sick, I did nothing. When I wasn't sick, I was doing everything that didn't get done while I was sick. Today I'm in between - hoping to get some stuff done before the day is gone, and hoping to get a few words posted.

Now, it hasn't all been desperate - there were quite a few cool things happenin' as well. On May 20, we went zip-lining at Grouse Mountain, and that was a very WOW thing, which would have made a terrific post if I had done it right away. Alas.

However - the two in pink are my zipping companions, Nikkie and Pauline. Don't know who the other people are - it was a crowded sky train ride to Canada Place and the Grouse Mountain Shuttle Bus.

BC Transit has come up with Pet Peeves of bus riders. I'm particularly sensitive to the one below - although these have all pissed me off at times. 

This is the view from the Gondola which soared us from the base of Grouse to the playground at top. The Gondola looks small when you're getting aboard, bigger when you're inside, but tiny when you look up at it from the ground. When you're this high up, it's best not to think that it's hanging from one arm from a washing line that stretches way up.

 Before we went zip lining, we had to eat, of course. Chicken, chips and Coke for one, Chips and Hot Chocolate for another, and Chips and water for me. (Chips and Hot Chocolate? Really, Pauline?)

We watched the Lumberjack show, which was a bit funny but also a bit lame. I really thought I took a video of this, but guess not. (Lots of time I take video when I think I'm taking a pic - so I end up with a 6 second video of a plate of food.)

It's a good job we ate first, actually, as we had to trek a bit to find the outfitting place to get our zip lining gear, which consisted of onesies with leg holes and shoulder straps and butt holders. Then we had to carry our heavy metal hanging-on-the-wire contraptions. The farther we carried them, the heavier they got, and the more apt there were to fall apart. However, since we were stocked well with carbs, we managed ... barely.

I didn't get pics of the actual zip lining, as we had to leave our cameras and phones in a locker, just in case we dropped them, in a fit of terror, I suppose. We each had a video camera attached to our helmets, and got a little device with 5 or 6 videos on it, so if you want to see what I saw as I zipped across, check out my helmet camera videos below. Marvel at the scenery, the heights, my bravery. I don't think they picked up my screams.

I also got pics and video both going up and down on the Chair Lifts, which Some One said were called gondolas - I know the difference now though. It's a sad day when one learns nothing

The views were amazing. We were up pretty high, but moving so slowly, it was quite relaxing. Except for Nikkie, that is. She was a tad nervous. However, if she had fallen out, we would have had no trouble finding her, as she was wearing neon green sneakers.

Zip line number one. Sitting down in my butt holder, holding onto the hand grips for dear life (even though I'm not zipping yet.)  Asking the cute youngster who was attaching my onsie to the line if he had done this before. He assuring me he had ... many times before. Big breath. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The second line was the one we were supposed to lie back and wave so the guy on the balcony with the camera could take our picture. My hands refused to let go of the harness. This was a short zip, but it ended with a big bang into a huge air bag. Not pleasant. This was also one where Nikkie didn't quite make it, and had to be rescued, as she kept skimming backward down the line. Our nice helper had to 'rappel' down the line and tow her in.

Watch this closely. At first it looks like just a scenic view of a bunch of trees - but you'll see a couple of bright dots getting closer and closer - these turn out to be Nikkie's sneakers, leading her to an imcomplete landing.

And that was how I celebrated Steve's 27th birthday, while he stayed home and babysat my grandkids and my husband. I'm pretty sure we had a lot more fun than he did - but I think he's forgiven me now.

Back Again .... Moving Again, Lots of Pain, Tons of Rain, and Stripes and Stars ...

I'm back - and I will try to be true and steady. Notice the word try. We are slowly surfacing from a pile of boxes, and finding our way through a maze of furniture, after the most disorganized move EVER. Because we were just moving 'up the road', and only had ... let me see ... six boxes, everything just sort of ended being flung into boxes, brought up the hill, unloaded into any available nook, cranny, and shelf so the boxes could be repacked and go through the whole rigamarole again. For example, I was a week before I found my pills, and I still don't know where my earphones are.

I know this seems like more than six boxes, but they do seem to have expanded since we moved.

But meanwhile, life did keep on happening. Shortly after we moved, I found Steve's message on my phone - Don't worry, I'm okay, but I'm in an ambulance on the way to hospital. Until then, the worst phone situation I was in was Neil's Oh gotta go, the cops are here.... click. 

Steve's work buddy had let the tail gate of the landscaping dump truck down on his little finger, and caused a lot of damage - crushed bone, nerves, tendons, veins ... you name it. 

If you are wondering what pain is like, talk to him.

However, he is healing, slowly but surely, but he really would rather be working. 

After a day of deluge a couple of weeks ago ... when I, of course, was waiting for a bus ...

we were gifted with a beautiful promise - a colourful arc of rainbow.

And last week, Steveston was invaded by American soldiers, hundreds of them.

Whatever happened, you may wonder. And why was I just standing and looking through the window at work, and doing absolutely nothing at all but wondering why the day was dragging?

You may think there was a terrorist situation happening down the street, where these ve-hicles were heading ...

... but you would have been wrong. They were shooting a new Godzilla movie, which will be released in 2014. And this Godzilla movie will be in 3D. And because they had the street in front of the store blocked off, we only had about 4 transactions all afternoon.

One thing we noticed, as we studied these soldiers that grouped in front of our window, was the flag patches on their arms had the stars part on the upper right hand corner instead of the left corner. Well, if I wonder something - I will ask. So the three of us opened the door and I asked the nearest group why the patches were 'wrong.' And one of them said when the soldiers are advancing into battle, they will lead with the stars ... if the stars were on the left it would seem as if they were retreating. Okay. Now you all know too. It's sort of like the arrow in FedEx sign ... ever notice it? I hadn't, until I read a thingie about subliminal advertising on Yahoo! news one day. 

I thanked the 'soldier' for the information, and offered help with knitting at any time. I'm not sure he'll take me up on the offer though.