Finally ready...

Tomorrow it's off to Winnipeg - finally!  We have been anticipating/planning the surprise 50th anniversary party for my parents for such a long time now, it seems impossible that it's only a week away.  I really feel like I have planned a wedding, but it has had the added stress of trying to keep things secret.  So far, so good - I'm pretty sure no one has let the cat out of the bag.  Today I put the finishing touches on the last of the CD's to be played.  It's a compilation of the old crooners - Dean Martin, Andy Williams, etc.  Does it mean I'm getting old if I'm actually starting to enjoy the lounge lizards??  We plan to be on the road early, so I will post when we get to our first destination. 

In the nick of time

I just noticed it is 11:58 PM and I forgot to post for today!  Oh well, the time stamp on this one will actually be Sunday instead of Saturday.  Well, I made it a whole 6 days!

I've been really busy preparing for my parents' 50th anniversary next Saturday, not to mention packing for Monday's road trip.  Tonight I was making up trivia questions about my parents for a little "contest" that we're going to have to get the tables talking.  I used a wedding cake watermark and managed to put little cut-out faces of my parents on the top of the cake - how cute is that??

If they can put a man on the moon...

Why can't they make Windows Movie Maker more user-friendly?  I mean, I know I'm no techie, but SERIOUSLY, people.  Today I have been in front of the computer screen all day trying to put the finishing touches on my parents' 50th Anniversary slideshow.  I'd been doing reasonably well up to this point, given the fact that I have never used Movie Maker before and I was learning by trial and error.  I was actually quite proud of what I had accomplished so far.

Until today.

Today the Windows Movie Maker gods were out get me.  Every time I tried to edit the slightest little thing, the program crashed.  "Windows Movie Maker has encountered an error and needs to close".  Wait!  I forgot to save!  Then I got smart and started saving whenever I made a change - until the computer kept freezing EVERY time I tried to save.  So I would have to close the program and start again (and, of course, redo the editing I had JUST FINISHED.)

Oh, I know what you're thinking.  Why didn't she just scrap Movie Maker and use Animoto or some other equally chic program?  Well, you see, I'm not wanting to rely on internet access at the venue where I plan to show this slideshow.  Besides the fact that I've already invested way too much time and energy to just scrap the whole thing.  Not to mention I don't give up easily.

On the bright side, it's 26 degrees in the sun again in Vancouver today.  Even though I wasn't able to get out and enjoy it much, that little fact just makes me happy.

Oh, and by the way Windows Movie Maker - I WILL PREVAIL.

18 Karat Treasures

An afternoon of errands brought me to the South Granville neighborhood, where I saw a sign advertising 18 Karat's liquidation sale being run by Maynard's.  18 Karat was a design and retail company which specialized in home decor and furniture.  I visited their store once a long time ago, and I recalled that it was full of beautiful glass, kitchenware, furniture and other decor items.  Today was no exception; when I arrived at the store, I found it full of bargain-hunters admiring (and buying) the merchandise which was now 50 - 80% off the original price.  Although I had fun looking through all the offerings, I eventually came away with a set of Japanese-inspired terracotta cups - the kind that they use to serve tea at Japanese restaurants.  I have always wanted a set of those, so at 50% off, I couldn't pass them up.  I love the texture and colour of these, and they are even numbered (apparently you could buy a set of 18, although I managed to scoop the last 4 in this colour).

Summer Returns to Vancouver

There is nothing like 25 degrees and a cloudless sky to make you forget the nearly 2 months of awful or semi-awful weather that was threatening to turn into the Summer That Never Was  here in Vancouver.  This morning, Tannah had a grooming appointment, and since I had to drop her off by 9:00 am, I took advantage of the opportunity to grab a coffee and a scone and read the paper at the coffee shop next door to the groomer's in Kits. ( How cosmopolitan of me.)  It is such a rare luxury that I can do that, but I really appreciate the opportunity when it arises - today I was one of  "those" people - you know, the ones you see as you scramble on your way to work, leisurely sipping a latte at 7:30, maybe reading the paper or surfing the net, seemingly without a care in the world.  I always wonder - do these people not have jobs?  Why do they have so much time on their hands?  Why are they so stress-free?  And, more to the point, Why am I not one of them??

This afternoon, Tannah and I took a road-trip out to Steveston in the sunshine to meet up with a friend and her parents who are visiting from Scotland.  There is nothing quite like strolling along the wharf in Steveston on a hot summer day.  It is such a quaint little village and so picturesque in the sunshine.  The best part is - according to the weather reports, we are in for a full week of warm, sunny weather.

 

The Roof Opens 2011

So this is the first day of my new challenge - to post something everyday for National Blog Post Month.  Since I'm a teacher on summer holidays, I figure it shouldn't be too hard.  The only issue will be when we are traveling to Winnipeg later this month - my parents don't have internet access, so I will have to haunt the cafes of Winnipeg to keep this going.

For my first entry, I decided to highlight the new BC Place Stadium that is being built in Vancouver.  Not being a football fan and not really having paid much attention to the construction besides passing by the spider-like structure every day on my way to work, I must admit I did not really comprehend the magnitude of this project until yesterday, when Dave decided we should check out the public open house.

From the time that we emerged from the skytrain station, there were guides in hard hats with signs indicating the direction to go to get to the stadium.  Once there, railings similar to those you would see in a bank funneled people through the main entrance.  Inside, the first attraction was a scale model of the new stadium under glass.  You then entered right onto the "playing field" where a number of experts from the various companies involved in the project were on hand to answer questions and explain the construction process.

Not being well-versed in engineering or construction principles, it was a bit of a stretch for me to comprehend the explanations being given, but it was fascinating just the same.  I didn't realize what a state-of-the-art and innovative project the new stadium is.  The sheer size of it is mind-boggling.  One of the project managers said there were 1000 people working 24/7 on the project - that is truly incredible!  I imagine it will be the highlight of many careers to be involved in the management of such a ground-breaking project.

I also liked the fact that by renovating the old stadium, a lot of waste was avoided and a perfectly good concrete structure was not destroyed.  Even though it is already very expensive, the cost of building from scratch would have reportedly been twice as much!

The fact that the roof will let in natural light, and that it can be opened in fair weather (even in light rain, it would only affect those on the playing field and not the fans!) is another great feature of the new stadium.  The roof will open in 20 minutes and the fabric apparently folds up something like an umbrella.  Very cool.

In all, the event was worth the trip and quite eye-opening in terms of the significance of this structure to the community and to the construction industry itself.  BC Place is set to open on September 30, and I am sure that fans will be impressed!

If you would like see a slideshow of open house day, check out this link.  Enjoy!