CHINCHILLA

         Everything about this little nocturnal rodent from the Andes Mountains is adorable. They are active and playful creatures, require a variety of toys to keep them busy and need lots of room for playtime and exercise. It was around 7pm when I took this shot. Was it time to wake up?

RED SLIDE

Watercolors were something I've always wanted to try but never got to because I felt more comfortable and more in control with graphite on paper. After hearing about the Urban Sketchers and seeing some of their awesome on site sketches and watercolor work, that was enough for me to pick up my portable watercolor palette and give it a try. This is a playground from the George Mclean Park in Burnaby. Once upon a time, this was all that was needed to have fun!

SLOW DOWN

        I found this guy making his way down a branch of a small tree. Why was it going away from the leaves? Where was it going? What was it gonna do when it gets there? Probably finding shade, wanting a break from all that work...eating. 

FRIEND OR FOOD?

         Got this baby T-rex in a toy store on Granville Island. It just had a look on it's face. Naturally I had to photograph it. This is one of the few pics that survived the cut. Here it is present day, in a forest, staring at a lumpy green caterpillar, not really knowing whether to eat it or maybe just be a vegan.

TOFU TOWER

          I don't usually do this to my food, but tonight, I thought I'd fix it up a bit to make it more enticing to eat...then I thought of taking a picture of it...then i thought of adding some of the ingredients I used as background...then...well, here it is: Pan Fried Tofu with herbs and chili, sauteed white mushrooms with Mirin, baby Bok Choy with some honey and fresh grape tomatoes. Dinner is served!

CARROT COCONUT GINGER SOUP

         I had this soup at work a couple of weeks back and it was so good. I thought I'd google the recipe and do it from scratch from the veggie broth to making the puree without a blender, but with my juicer. haha. It turned out pretty good. Pat on the back to myself!

SMOKED MEAT SANDWHICH

    The Paint Nite event took place at Dunn's Famous Restaurant. Dinner was a Reuben Sandwich meal: Smoked meat, sauerkraut and melted Swiss Cheese on rye. It came with a side of coleslaw, half a Montreal Dill Pickle and poutine. I read that the meat is smoked for 17 days and steamed for 3 hours prior to serving. You will be asked by your server if you want the meat lean, medium or FATTY. It's kinda big so one order is good for two. This apparently is huge in Montreal. In the U.S. it is known as corned beef! It was quite juicy, sauerkraut wasn't overpowering and the meat wasn't salty as it might look. It was a pretty good sandwich. Now I regret not ordering FATTY.

PAINT NITE 1

                                               There was an instructor guiding us as we painted along. Her painting is titled: Fireflies. I call mine, "Sunny Side Up In The Sky With A Drop Of Heinz". It started at 630pm and ended at 830. I was kinda hungry but time flew quickly. Art has got to comes first! A glass of wine, some acrylics and some good company on a Wednesday night downtown at Paint Night. I had always wanted to try this! I'm not very good at following instructions but it's all about having fun. After all it is my painting!

GOOD FRIDAY SURPRISE

           I spent my Good Friday at work on graves with two chicks. This was one of them AND it lights up too!

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AT THE SUN YAT SEN GARDEN