Aug 7th: Epic Closing Parties!

One of the best parts of being in a show is celebrating after the closing performance.  And if there is any company that knows how to celebrate it's Shadows and Dreams.  I won't go into the details of the party (because a promise is a promise), but suffice it to say that it was EPIC.  Thank you to everyone in the show for a fantastic run and a hilarious party.  And special thanks to Barbara Hershey - for NOT being a bimbo!

Aug 6th: Fabulous, Familial and Freshl!

It's a trifecta of awesome today. One might also call it the hat trick of awesome, or the Holy Triumvirate of Awesome.  Basically there was just a lot of awesome so let's get down to it, shall we?

FABULOUS:  I can't let today go by without giving props to the ladies of Les Petites Taquines for their fantastic production of When I Was, Qui Je Suis.  I've always known that these ladies could dance, but their show totally blew my mind.  You should be very proud girls - you rock my socks!  I can't wait for your next show.

FAMILIAL:  As I mentioned in an earlier post - Mom's are just awesome.  I still think my Mom is the top Mom, but I have to give a shout out to any mother who will invest lots of time in effort into making homemade little gifts to the castmates of her son, not just once, not even twice, but three times.  I am now the proud owner of two handwoven baskets, a handwoven tea cup and saucer, and a handwoven little dress.  I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing I think these crafts are not to mention the fact that she made them for everyone in a huge cast on multiple occasions.  I'll do my best to post a photo later just so you have a better idea of how adorable and amazing these things are.

FRESH: Anyone who can actually grow and harvest their own produce is extremely impressive to me, because frankly I could kill a cactus in no time flat.  So, anyone who is willing to share the fruits (or herbs, or vegetables) of their labour is friggin' amazing!  Fortunately for me, I was welcomed this morning with a little goodie bag of fresh vegetables from a friends garden including some kale, swiss chard, cilantro, parsley, a cucumber and a yellow zucchini.  I'm not going to lie - I was slightly hesitant to take it because I knew that I would be leaving town for ten full days on Tuesday and I wasn't sure if I could get through it all, but I was determined to make it work.  

I only had a short period of time in which to have dinner tonight before heading off to the dance show, so I had originally planned on having some old (and possibly expired) leftovers. But then fate stepped in! My landlords came downstairs to offer me some free Barbecue, just as a thank-you for always being so nice, and understanding.  I opened the package to find a couple of drum sticks and a few kebabs that smelled delectable!  Well - I figured this was as good a time as any to dig into those fresh veggies.  I used the chard, kale, herbs and some of the cucumber to make myself a little salad with just a little bit of balsamic for dressing, and it was SO good.  

It was a perfect summer homecooked meal that I didn't have to make. Sorry leftovers!  But there was no way that you were ever going to taste as good as the love from my friends and neighbours.  

Aug 5th: Birthday Dates and Being Classy!

It's awesome coming home really late after a full day of celebrating birthdays and having a great date night.  The day started with celebrating the birthday of my long-time high school friend AJ (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one still calling her that).  The celebration was merely just dropping off an iced caramel latte at her workplace and catching up for the brief 10 minutes that she could step away from her work, but I'm still glad I was able to celebrate with her at all.

Then the rest of the day was dedicated to celebrating the birth of Luke Timmermans.  A little shopping for new shirts, a little ice cream, a brief trip to the game store, and then we topped it off with an amazing night out!  And I must say, any excuse to dress up and go on a nice actual date is awesome.  Especially when it involves going to a quaint little town built around a theatre festival.

Luke and I were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy a dinner buffet and performance at Chemainus Theatre Festival.  Now, if you haven't been to Chemainus, the best way I can describe it is that it's kind of built like a ski village, except that the theatre is the mountain.  It's a great little getaway spot for those who want to get out of town and enjoy a great evening out - and did we ever!  We ate a lot of fantastic food, indulged in a chocolate fountain for dessert, and even had the privilege of watching good friends perform in a great production of Fiddler On The Roof.  I don't think either of us could have asked for a better date night.  So here's to birthday celebrations, and a great excuse to dress up and be classy!

Aug 4th: Home Sweet Home #2!

I'm not going to sugar-coat the fact that long-distance relationships can be tough, but sometimes I think a lot of good can come from them.  In my case it has given me a chance to be with someone I love while still having lots of time to focus on a lot of the other things that I love.  And it has also given me the ability to have a second city to call home.  Though I guess in my case I have a few cities to call home (as I still consider Ancaster and even Montreal to be like homes to me), now I have the privilege of adding Victoria to that list. All thanks to a Mr. Luke Timmermans.  And I couldn't have asked for a better second West Coast home.  While the trip over might be a long one it is an absolutely beautiful one when you are on the ferry traveling between the islands.  If you're lucky (which I have been) it can even double as a whale watching tour.  There were no orcas on this trip but I was fortunate enough to enjoy a gorgeous sunset.  And of course what waited for me at the ferry terminal was pretty awesome too!  Here's to enjoying a second home and the journey it takes to get there!

  

Aug 3rd: Some music to heal the soul!

I have a confession to make.  On Monday while at the beach doing work (which was awesome), I had a bit of a mini-breakdown while listening to my iPod.  I was listening to my Vancouver playlist, which includes local artists like Adaline, Dan Mangan, The Left, and Sheree Plett - who I used to go see live quite frequently.  With theatre being such a huge focus these past few months, I really have not been able to go to any concerts since the early spring - which in my mind was REALLY sad and needed to be fixed asap!  Fortunately almost immediately after my breakdown, Sheree Plett mentioned on facebook that she was going to be performing at Kits Beach this evening before the fireworks!  One of my favourite artists, performing live, at the beach, before the fireworks display, which I was already planning on attending??? YES PLEASE!

Needless to say, Sheree did not disappoint.  I even had the privilege of running into some other friends at the concert.  And of course because I was already planning on sticking around for the fire in the sky, I stayed to hear the other performances and ended up being blown away by The Matinee, who are now one of my favourite local bands, for many reasons, including the following:

•  Stand-up Electric Bass
•  Banjo
•  Drum Circle
•  Stomping
•  Style
•  Talent and Passion - always a winning combination

These guys were awesome and I can't wait to add their songs to my Vancouver playlist. Suffice it to say, that I definitely feel better after attending tonight's concert.  Now I just need to make sure I don't go too long until I see the next one!

Aug 2nd: Wait ... I like sports?

Tonight I had the privilege of going somewhere I haven't been in at least a decade - THE BALLPARK! My friend Tina invited me out to see the Vancouver Canadians play at Nat Bailey Stadium and I was so happy to take her up on her offer.  Not only was it a great chance to catch up with her, but it was just a great way to spend a summer evening.  Everyone was so happy to be there, baseballs were flying everywhere, hot dogs were being eaten, a sushi race took place, and the sky became filled with phalic/sperm-like balloons after singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame!"  And it was just a great game of baseball!  We missed the first run in the 2nd inning because we were getting our hot dogs and after a number of innings of nothing happening we were starting to get concerned that we would leave the game missing the one major thing that happened all game.  Sure enough, by the 8th inning the game became more exciting when the umpire made a bad call, quickly followed by the batter hitting a line drive down centre that brought our guy on second all the way home.  I'll admit, there was some squealing, but I just couldn't contain the excitement.  By the end of the game, the Canadians had won 3-1 against Spokane.  I know I'm no athlete and have never really been into sports (unless of course my brothers were playing in a game) - but tonight was an interesting revelation that perhaps the sports gene I never thought I had, isn't as absent as I think it is.  I really couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my night.  I'm sure I'll be making it out to Nat Bailey again at some point to catch more games.  But I think I would love my next sports outing to be a BC Lions game - ideally playing the Ti-Cats if I can manage it.  Now that's a cat fight I would LOVE to witness!

Aug. 1: Just another day at the office!

On today's statutory holiday I spent the day working because I will be taking the day off on Friday.  Fortunately for today I was relocated to what I am claiming as my new office.  Behold!

I hadn't yet had a day at the beach this summer (proven by the fact that my skin tone matches my dress - though has since become a little darker and frecklier).  So I decided to take the opportunity to make up for lost time.  When the stat holiday came around and I knew I still had stuff I needed to do, I planned my day around things I could do somewhere other than a basement office with very little natural light.  And you know what - it was actually one of the more productive days I've had this summer.  Instead of being mopey being in an office by myself wishing I could enjoy the sun, I actually got to enjoy the sun and managed to accomplish a few things in the process.  Not bad for a hard day's work!

To those who wonder why I am not eager to move back to Ontario anytime soon, I hope this post might shed a little light on my reasoning.  I still love you, but doing the things I love in an environment like this is kind of hard to give up!