Part of the Vancouver Experience

It all started with the need for an electric kettle to make my morning cup(s) of hot tea. I had no idea where to go, and while looking online, I found a reasonably priced kettle at Hudson's Bay. This would have been on, probably, our first few days in the condo. How do I get there was my next problem? Okay, I walk down Granville to Georgia, that's how. I discovered there are six floors and housewares are on maybe the fifth floor? I haven't revisited that floor since, so don't quote me on that. Then I needed this and that, and before you know it, I am a Hudson's Bay girl. Every time I buy something there they ask me if I have a Bay card to which I respond, "no" but I sure should have.

This wall on the floor with the highfalutin clothes is incredible.

Can you imagine how long it took someone to attach all that, what looks like, crepe paper, to the walls? Below is so Canadian...

All part of the Vancouver experience, a phrase Bruce used the other day when I told him that I'd only just written a blog post saying the fog had lifted and hot dog...here it came again.

This time it was short lived, to which I say, hallelujah! It is crazy spooky feeling.

Socializing and primping took up a bunch of last week. Bruce's boss Steve was in town, so we met at the Yaletown location of Earls for dinner where they have this cute light display.

The following night was a repeat, however, this time Alec, the new Director of Construction, joined us. He is but a baby to us, however, he's full of confidence; in a management position that is half the battle isn't it?

He and his wife are still living in Calgary, however, they plan to move here in March with their brand new baby, providing they can find a place to live. Housing...part of every conversation here.

As to the primping, Bruce pointed out that it had been a very long time since last I had my hair highlighted, so I made an appointment with Enid. I told you she picked that name from a map, didn't I? This girl from Taiwan, looking at a map of the United States, saw Enid, Montana, and said that's what I'll call myself. No one has colored my hair, aside from Monica, for like ten years, making me  slightly nervous, especially when she did the foil like this...

One of the great take-aways from this experience is that I am constantly learning that there is more than one way to skin a cat. My hair looks good, or so the girls told me on Friday night when we went to a holiday party at Jenn's house in South Vancouver. I also revisited Cynthia because the calluses on the bottom of my feet were beginning to hurt like crazy. I've yet to visit a nail salon in Orlando that has bench seating, but as it it turns out, it works just fine. They even have those crazy massage things built into the back of the bench. Am I the only one who doesn't like them? They always hurt me rather than make me relax! I also like how they have painted fake nails with every color they offer. So much easier to envision, and they make it even easier by numbering them.

Night driving is no fun for Bruce so we took a cab to Jenn's house where we were the oldest folks in the house by a long shot!

If you look closely at Lindy, seated on the floor by the tree, she has a little Santa clip in her hair....okay, got it? Two weeks ago they had a get together at the office and Lindy put one in Bruce's hair! Not his thing, he brought it home and gave it to me. I promptly began wearing it, for fun as well as keeping the hair off my face, and you cannot believe how all of a sudden, strangers began talking to me most everywhere I went. I've chatted with more folks in the last two weeks than in the previous three months all because of that little Santa hat. I finally found out that she bought it at Dollorama, a store I'd only just gone to earlier in the week. Three for a dollar! What a bargain!

I wish it weren't the back of her head, but this is Emily and her boyfriend, both vegans who are putting a list of restaurants together for when Matt is here. Emily did the Seattle job with Bruce.

Here is Jenn, the designer on Bruce's first Earls project in Tyson's Corner.

Bruce is talking to Akirya, the new kitchen designer in this photograph.

Marty and Zarita are pictured on the right. We had dinner at Marty and Wendy's beautiful home in October, and I guess I must have said something about being a blogger because Marty told me he reads it on occasion. He also mentioned that he was disappointed that I did not document the fact that he smoked up the whole house trying to cook Yorkshire pudding for us. Now I have! That was a super fun night, and that made it all the more memorable. :)

More young folk!

Max, pictured at the bottom right is from England and went to University in Leeds. After school he was a bit lost, moving a long way from home he landing in Vancouver to start over.  A familiar story really. Another fellow we met traveled a similar path, only he arrived from Australia. The main thing everyone shares is their love for Vancouver. Max claims the weather is perfect here--not too hot in the summer, nor too cold in the winter. Maybe not perfect, but it is pretty good. Rain boots though, you have to have rain boots!

And it does get dark mighty early in the winter. I had no clue when we put up our tree how much joy it was going to bring me, providing such cheery light on the dark days. I took this photo at 4:00 today.

Not many packages this year because we are going to focus instead on experiences for Matt and Tom who arrive tomorrow evening about this time.

Just in time for the first day of winter. I wonder how cold it will get?

....all part of the Vancouver experience.

yours truly,

Gail