first full weekend in March

It was a nice weekend, this past one.  Yep, simple as that.  End of blog entry.

No, sorry, just kidding.  It was a nice weekend, but I'll certainly blog at greater length than that!  And share photos.

That said, it wasn't an especially interesting weekend.  That is, we didn't do a lot out of the ordinary.  Still, the ordinary is rather enjoyable.  So it was that we were back at Maestro on Friday night.  A light meal, though - we weren't especially hungry.  Just guacamole

and then enmoladas to share. 

I am trying to do a mostly dry month, so I had a mocktail

made with non-alcoholic tequila. 

Nice little drink!  On the way home, we saw that the little cheesecake pop up

had a sign out, so we bought a few pieces for eating tonight when Van and Olive come over.  We otherwise got home from dinner early and enjoyed an evening of music and reading before bed.

Saturday morning was a good little walk for us on a sunny

but windy day.  We ended up at Amara, of course, and had breakfast. 

And then it was home to... nothing, really.  It was truly a day off, and I did very little.  We had plans for later, and until then, I was utterly, happily lazy.

Saturday night was supposed to be dinner downtown for Mitch's 65th birthday, but that got postponed, alas.  So, the three of us

pivoted and ended up going to see Hamnet (good film, Buckley was outstanding in it) and then on to dinner at Smitty's where, shockingly, I did NOT have the liver special.  A lobster roll for me instead. 

We all shared a salad and a dessert,

and because I had intended to raise a glass to Mitch, I let myself have a drink at dinner, a Toronto. 

A slow sipper through the meal.  Nice evening!

I took no photos yesterday, sorry.  But I did get some things done:  groceries bright and early, baked two banana bread loaves and two batches of scones, got some laundry through the machines.  Not a bad day.  Conrad and I finished it off sitting outside with a grazing board for dinner, watching some television on the iPad together.  I ended the day with the last of season 4 of Bridgerton, and that, friends, was the first full weekend in March.   

Sunday in Vancouver

Alright, then.  Weeks later, let's tackle the February Vancouver trip again.  

I did a lot of walking in Vancouver.  Up early in the morning, then setting out to stroll and take photos of local art

and scenery and buildings.  I would head to a nearby Starbucks first and fortify,

then get going.  On the Sunday morning of the trip, I headed (post-Starbucks) through Robson Plaza,

then down around the Vancouver Public Library,

past BC Place Stadium,

and on into Gastown

before returning to the hotel. 

A good walk.

I was able to relax a bit, then it was time to make myself pretty

and catch a bus to meet up with Remi

at Chez Celine.  Nice to get to a neighbourhood I pretty much have never visited before, and nicer still to catch up with a former grad school classmate and friend whom I hadn't seen in far far too long. 

We each had a breakfast sandwich with an all-too generous serving of fries,

and when the meal was done, we strolled in the neighbourhood before he got in his car to return home and I caught the bus back to the hotel.

I don't think I napped before dinner.  I am pretty sure I read a bit.  As dinnertime approached, I made myself pretty again (ha!), and took a leisurely amble, indirectly heading to the restaurant. 

Dahlia was where Mark had chosen for a family meal.  It seems that he and Linda go there regularly for the oysters and are known to the staff.  It's a handsome space in a hotel lobby. 

I did like the oysters,

and I thought the scallop crudo was also good. 

My chicken milanese was fine enough. 

The two Gibsons I had were great. 

The service was alright.  Verdict:  Lovely space, maybe great for a cocktail and oysters at the bar.  But no matter.  Here's the embarrassing thing:  I had not seen Bella since before the pandemic.  No, nothing bad between us at all.  It was really happy seeing her at long last and catching up, sitting next to her at dinner.  We were missing Nigel (who is thriving in Bolivia, it seems) and Marie (who really should have been there, but ah well), but it was a nice family dinner just the same.

And that was Sunday!  Another fine day in Vancouver, and another full day ahead.... 

February/March

Sunday after lunch here.  Let's get some blogging underway at long last.  Shall we?

Yes, I know that posting the rest of the Vancouver trip is still to come.  Lots of photos for those, and I don't quite feel like tackling them yet.  So I shan't.  Let me go back a week or so and instead report on the goings-on of the weekend that bridged February and March.

Van's sister, Cathy, and his brother-in-law, Bob, came to town for a visit.  Always good to see them again.  Funnily enough, I don't have any photos of them from the weekend.  We were mostly just enjoying the company instead.  But I did get a bunch of photos from our Friday evening.  That's when Conrad and I got all dolled up,

and we all went to Vibrato, Herb Alpert's jazz dinner club. 

It's not an inexpensive meal, but it is a good one, and the entertainment is great.  We were there for the earlier set, the doors opening at 5:30.  A cocktail, a good meal that for a few of us was a nice steak each,

and then settling in to enjoy Brenna Whitaker. 

Great voice, great stage presence and patter.  She recognized some folks in the crowd, and that included singer Claude McKnight, whom she persuaded to come on stage and do a song. 

Near the end of the set, we all shared a couple of desserts, and then it was out into the mild evening to head home.  A really terrific time, and Cathy and Bob enjoyed it immensely.

Saturday morning was the usual walk.  The tabebuias around Old Pasadena have been dropping flowers about, making for colourful "snowfall". 

We ended up at Amara, of course,

and then it was home to work on dinner.  I made us a nice little meal of a salad with burrata, halibut on pea puree, and a chocolate layer cake.  Not my best ever, but a nice enough dinner, I think.  We sat outside because it was a warm enough weekend,

and had a lovely evening of it.

On Sunday we came over to Van's to hold down the fort.  Bob had flown home earlier that day, and Van had taken Cathy to Ojai for a couple of days.  That meant we were on Olive duty through Tuesday, and it was a pleasure to take her out on walkies. 

All in all, a quiet end to the weekend and then an easy Monday working remotely.

I can't quite believe we're a week or more into March.  Time to get planning some things for April! 

still alive

Well, howdy!

Still alive here, but I've not been on the laptop in the evenings lately.  We've had Van's sister and brother-in-law here, and there was a television date night, and I've been doing more toward the Vietnam trip when I have made time to be online, and blah blah blah.  So I'm behind on what we've been up to, and I will get to work on that. I promise.

But for now, a hello, and here's me and Conrad on the pre-work walk this morning....

sushi date night

Thursday night is traditionally sushi night for me and Conrad.  We order the sushi from our favourite place, Mama M, pick it up, devour it at home.  But last night was such a lovely evening.  Warm but not too warm.  Well, too warm for the end of February, but my gosh, we'll take it.  I asked Conrad if he wanted to dine at home or out, and he (thank goodness!) opted for out.

So it was that we found ourselves at an outdoor table at Mama M,

chatting with the staff we have come to know, watching people walk by on the sidewalk on Holly.  A bottle of wine, a tasty meal.  It was a date night that he and I have needed - he's been dealing with shoulder pain for weeks, and that's put a damper on his enjoyment of life in general.  The shoulder is improving, though, and he had an appetite for raw fish, and away we went. 

Oh, and shishito peppers

and an avocado roll. 

Man, avocado rolls kick ass in California!

Can I just say that I love love love amaebi?  Raw sweet shrimp with fried shrimp heads.  SO GOOD!

OK, enough short entries.  I'll get Vancouver done by the end of the weekend.  I think! 

oh, and hey...

... while I'm posting short blog entries until I get my act together to do a proper one:  I swam yesterday.

And it was as awful as you might imagine.

Sigh. 

lasagna (and sorry)

Howdy!

I've been up to my ears with some things related to a trip to Vietnam planned for later this year, and I've been neglecting this blog (yet again).  I still have Vancouver to finish off, but before I dive back into the Vietnam stuff, how about a photo from the lasagna I made a few days ago.  It was tasty!!

Back soon!