Burrito West Blog

Last night Peter and I went to see District 9. We went to the 10pm show which is notable because we're old and go to bed early.... so this would be putting us well past our bedtime. But sometimes you just have to live large, so we did it.

We were heading to the ticket clerk person to buy our tickets and two kids intercept us in line and ask if we're going to see District 9. They had tickets already but couldn't get in because it's rated 18A or something which means young whippersnappers under 18 have to be accompanied by an adult so the adult will know exactly what caused the inevitable scarring and trauma that will manifest itself in strange ways later in life. Or maybe so the adult can cover the eyes of the young'un during the really scary bits. I would be no help in that case since I am too busy covering my own eyes.

Anyway, they wanted us to pretend to be their parents. Oy. That hurts. They were... I dunno, 15 or 16. They gestured to the ticket collecting dude saying he wouldn't let them in and I'm like, that guy who is standing right there watching us have this conversation about pretending to be your parents? So, we did not pretend to be their parents - they opted to find people while not directly in the gaze of the guy they had to get past. I was halfway through creating an elaborate tale of teenage pregnancy (twice!) too - I'll have to find another occasion to use that.

In the end we saw the kids in the theatre, so they made it. And are probably now ruined, their young minds warped from witnessing such scenes of horror without a guardian nearby. Oh wait, no, that's me.

Actually, District 9 is very good. As long as you don't mind very tense movies. Like - Battlestar Galactica (LOVE) was tense. Always, for the whole series - it's about the imminent extinction of mankind, after all. It's kind of exhausting. District 9 is also tense. And since it's about refugee camps, it is not very cheery. But still good. Although there is a lot of blood spatter on the camera lens. Just to warn you.

I know, I've totally sold you on it with that review, haven't I? Just make sure - if there are teenagers next to you - that you protect them from the film when necessary.

Due to complicated circumstances, I got to open my Christmas present from my mom on Sunday. =) She put together the awesomest crafty package ever. Including a huge skein of Fleece Artist yarn which is made in Nova Scotia - I have often coveted their yarn but haven't had a chance to get some.
















This skein is wool/kid/nylon/silk blend. 750m of it! It's very fabulous, let me assure you. Also, she sent a skein of black hand-dyed sock yarn by "Heidi's by Hand", made in New Brunswick. She got all this yarn at a magical-sounding place called London Wul Fibre Arts which is a store, gallery, sheep/goat/angora rabbit farm, dye studio - you name it! Love to see crafty businesses doing well back in the Maritimes.










As if getting a box full of hand-crafted yarn wasn't enough, mom also found two craft books I'd never seen that are both totally my style: "Luxury Yarn One Skein Wonders" and "Glamorous Beaded Jewelry".

I need to quit my job, I've got a lot of crafting to do.

Thanks mom!!!

Things I love right now:

1) Vancouver's new rapid transit line. I take it to and from work and it's AWESOME. It's a 7-9min walk to the station from my apt, then a 5 min train ride in total comfort (trains are fun!) and I exit the station right at my office building. That's 15 minutes door to door commute time. That makes me very happy. Seeing the trains packed with people who are excited to see the new line also makes me happy.

2) I'm in love with a new cat. His name is Maru. He lives far away but has his own blog so I can see what he's up to. He's ridiculously adorable, as seen in this hilarious video and this one which makes me laugh so hard I cry. (Don't tell my cats.)

3) my new big bright blue bag which I bought at Target on clearance for $4.

4) having avacado rolls for lunch (as close to real sushi as I get)

5) My bell pepper plants (3 of them) have all flowered and are growing actual peppers! Fingers crossed I get to harvest something! I started these from seed very late and have never grown anything so it will be quite magical if I get to eat anything from them!

6) The community garden across the street where someone is growing corn in their little plot. There's something very pleasingly odd about seeing stalks of corn in the middle of the city.

I have to confess that I engaged in a bit of consumerism whilst in Portland.

Before going I stumbled across a clothing company called Nau with a serious sustainability bent that makes a variety of eco clothing lines, including jackets made from recycled plastic. I was intrigued. One jacket in particular caught my eye. It's 100% recycled and recyclable. Here's what they say: "Created from recycled post-consumer and post-industrial polyester waste, the jacket employs cradle-to-cradle ECOCIRCLE® technology, so that at the end of its long life it can be sent back to us and be recycled once again into polyester fibers for reuse." That is the kind of design ethic I'd like to support!

Also, the jacket was different and beautiful. And versatile. The sleeves come off to turn it into a vest. It can be worn as a dress. There are cords running up and down it so you can scrunch the jacket up to make it shorter. It has a hidden pocket. The adjustable collar brunches up like ruffles. It's water and wind resistant, breathable, and quick to dry.

It's one of the smartest garments I've come across in a while. I love good design. And items that serve multiple purposes.

And it just happened that a store in Portland carries their stuff. Happily, Peter and I stumbled on that store on our first day of wandering around the city, just by luck. The Lizard Lounge is a cool place - part store, part hang out: they have computers + internet for you to use, couches to relax on, and a ping pong table (which Peter and I availed ourselves of). They also had.... the jacket, in a colour I didn't even know it came in.

It's not a cheap jacket. But, perfect for the Pacific Northwest rainy weather. And so pretty. I rarely drop serious coin on fashion items. Never really. Did I love this jacket enough to be happy with it after paying so much?

Yes.

It took me a while to decide, but we went back and I got it and I've been in love with it ever since. It's quirky and perfect for the weather here, and so lightweight I can have it stuffed in my bag just in case. Yup, I'm in love. It's called the Chrysalis Dress:













Above, left to right ( collar down, collar up, sleeves off, dress)

Fabric detail:

Peter and just got back from a preview ride on the brand new Canada Line (which opens on Monday)! This is the new rapid transit line which runs north-south through the city, connecting downtown Vancouver to Richmond and the airport. It once had a sensible name - the RAV line (for Richmond-airport-Vancouver) but because the Federal Govt put in money, someone decided to give it a lame, undescriptive name. Oh well. Sometimes I slip up and call it RAV... Vancouverites generally know what I mean.

It was pretty awesome! Now Peter will zip to work super fast (biking to and from the station at either end), we can get to the airport in dignity (taking the bus there currently is a travesty), pop into Richmond for... I don't know why we'd go to Richmond, but we could and we'd get there really fast! I will also take the train to work, but it'll only be 3 stops for me, replacing a short bus ride - still, awesome!

The train is beautiful and spacious, the stations are lovely and crisp with tasteful tile everywhere.

Trains rule.

Have a bunch of things to share, just have to find time to sit and write blog posts.... in the meantime, check out this sweet t-shirt I got at the Seattle Urban Craft Uprising from a vendor called B Hive Designs. I love it!

Peter and I just got back from our week long trip down to Washington and Oregon. We've been hearing about how beautiful the Oregon coast is for several years now and so we decided to go check it out.

We stopped in Seattle first and I spent a bit of time at the Seattle Urban Craft Uprising (indie craft fair extraordinaire) which was packed full of amazing vendors. I hung out with Kim and other lovely Vancouver peeps who drove down for the event. Then I ran off with Peter to meet our friends from Wisconsin who now live in the Seattle area. They took us for a fabulous picnic on a secluded, beautiful beach in Edmonds and then let us crash at their lovely house for the night.

We said goodbye to our friends and drove down through Washington (stopping at Shipwreck Beads, an 80,000 sqft bead store) and into Oregon. Stopped in Astoria to check out their farmers market (got cheap cherries) and then headed to the coast. Had food in Seaside (very funny place), and made it to our campground with lots of time to spare before dark.

Yes, I said campground. Me. camping. In a tent. I was talked into this because the campground sites were on the other side of the dunes of a lovely enormous beach. (Nehalem) And in fact, it was an amazing lovely location. We set our tent up quickly, despite having never seen it before (borrowed it from Peter's family). Quite proud of ourselves we set about starting a fire and were also successful at that. This camping thing is easy. We had 3 nights in the campground which allowed us lots of time to just sit on the beach, go for long walks on the beach (it goes on forever), sit by campfires, and visit the local areas (including Cannon Beach which is another amazing, more populated place). It was very relaxing and just what we needed. Peter and I have a tendancy to run around doing too much when we're on vacation, we really wanted to go slow and relax this time.

After 3 nights of camping we were ready for civilization again so we drove along the most twisty back highway ever (so awesome) and then headed to Portland.

We hadn't booked anything on the trip other than the campsite so the first thing we did on arrival in Portland was visit the library for the wifi. We got 2 nights at the Hilton downtown for cheap on Priceline.com which we were pretty pleased with. We dropped off our bags and resisted the allure of the king sized bed and went out to see the town. Portland is a great town - I'd heard a lot about it because in urban planning circles Portland is one of the most progressive places in North America (along with Vancouver BC). It was much more relaxed than Vancouver, we really liked it. We spent 2 days there, just wandering around town, visiting the Japanese Gardens, the microbreweries, cafes. We even visited the local Arthur Murray dance studio to take a group class, which was neat.


General thoughts: the Oregon coastline is spectacular, it's true. It has beaches that go on and on and on - just lovely places, and a lot of the coast is park land. The little towns on the coast are fabulous, Portland is awesome, the people are super nice. And I miss Target and Panda Express's orange chicken.


Photo set for this trip is here.