Happy Hallowe'en!

Okay, so it's not quite Random Photo Friday but I figured today would be a good day for some random Hallowe'en photos, even if it is only Thursday. Besides, I really have little else to report from the past couple of weeks.

For starters, I can honestly say that this is by far the most spooktacularly gruesome Halloween costume (and make-up) I have ever seen!

Soooo gruesome!

Nothing like a skewer through the forehead

It's so vividly disturbing and kudos to this guy for artistically going above and beyond on the gore factor with this get-up. It's like road kill, I don't want to look yet I can't help myself scanning every bloodied, stomach-churning shred of it.

There were some really amazing costumes and I love it that people really get into the whole thing, which is typical of the 'community' feel to Commercial Drive.

(In England we never really celebrated Halloween, not so much as adults anyway. If anything we dressed up for New Years Eve instead. Halloween was always more of a kids’ thing but never as big as it is in North America, although it has definitely grown in popularity over the past 10 years or so. That said, I do remember going to college dressed as a St. Trinian’s schoolgirl back in ..... a while ago.)

Living near Main Street the past 4 years, we definitely noticed a lot of houses fabulously decked out with webs, spiders, ghosts hanging from trees, garden paths lined with skulls and gravestones, not to mention some pretty freaky pumpkin carvings! (I’m so utterly useless when it comes to carving pumpkins - definitely missing that artistic gene.) Kitsilano folks don’t seem to get nearly as involved, too busy doing yoga, I guess!

Here are a few other pics from Saturday night.

Zombie guy during a Thriller flash mob.

So hungry his stomach was growling.

Lorne and I didn’t get dressed up this year, although everybody seemed to get a real kick out of our one token costume piece:

We had a bit of a domestic!

We bought these things from The Spoonman on our first visit to Portland and have worn them a few times since. It’s hilarious watching people do a complete double-take as we pass by, especially at a bar.

We’ve done some great Halloween costumes in the past, though I think my all-time favourite is the nurse costume I made (in the pre-Lorne days) - needless to say I was very popular among the male species in that outfit, they seemed to be drawn to the ‘Nurse Nasty’ idea. (Go figure!).

This won't hurt a bit...muaahaahaaa.

Another of my favourites is from the year we got married (2004) when we went out as The Newlydeads. We joined in the Parade of Lost Souls that night and so many people wanted to take our photograph, it was great! Gotta love the Salvation Army, although it actually felt a little odd/mean to be completely destroying someone’s wedding dress and filling it with dead leaves, spider and rats - but even I have to admit, the dress looked better like this than it did off the rack. (Nevertheless, as with anything I buy second-hand, I wondered what its previous story was; how old was it, who wore it, are they still married, what’s the story of their lives?)

The Newlydeads

 

And, before I wrap up this Halloween theme, here are a couple more costumes – from the past and present….

GI Jane - in all my camo camping gear

Dominatrix and Pimp.

Eh bien, voilà - today I went for zeee French look - Merde! Il est où mon vin rouge? Too bad you can't see the big green sparkley skull broach I'm wearing just below my right shoulder - (you can get ANYTHING at dollar stores!)

Oooh la la!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Random Photo Friday: It makes your eyes go wibbly-wobbly

I actually wanted to call today's random photo post Trompe L'Oeil because

a) it sounds more interesting, and

b) I believed it to be French for optical illusion as in 'fooling the eye'.

Turns out, however, that trompe l'oeil and optical illusion are not quite the same thing. (Eh bien, on apprend tous les jours.) The former is described by Wikipedia as: "an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that depicted objects exist in three dimensions." Many examples of which we saw in the interior false-dome/fresco ceilings of the gazillion palaces and churches/cathedrals we visited during our recent trip to Germany (darn, I still have to post my photos from that).

  

Optical illusions, on the other hand, can use color, light and patterns to create images that can be deceptive or misleading to our brains. Information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain, creating a perception that, in reality, does not match the true image. Optical illusions occur because our brain is trying to interpret what we see and make sense of the world around us - tricking our brains into seeing things which may or may not be real.

Anyhow, I thought I'd share a couple of photos which, as the photographer, I know to be one thing however, when I take a closer look, they make my eyes go all wibbly-wobbly and even I start to interpret the image in other ways.

Let's start with this one, a rather Orwellian institutional-looking building near the waterfront in San Francisco.

Does the wall of windows on the right
seem to move for you too?

How about now?

For this next photograph I was originally attracted to the patterns and tones crafted by the slow deterioration of the paint and the rotting wood beneath it. But when I looked at it later, I noticed the grubby (once-white) stucco between the two wooden panels creates an interesting optical illusion - looking like a spray-painted rusty pipe or a narrow tree trunk, that could appear to be in front of, or behind, the panels.  (And I didn't even change anything in the saturation or contrast on this image.)

As it happens, it's lucky I captured the above image when I did since the whole building (a roller-skating store at the corner of West 11th and Main St. in Vancouver) was recently painted a very LOUD and garishly putrid pink, as seen on their website. 

The image below is another from San Francisco - at Pier 39 no less. On the one hand I know I was looking down onto this merchant's parasol, but every couple of seconds, I feel like I'm actually under the parasol, looking up. If it wasn't for the small white topper poking up, I'd have a hard time determining which way it should be.

This next one, taken in Trinidad, Cuba, is a gentler optical illusion, but I like this photpgraph so I decided to include it anyway. Question is, do you see a 2-tone post/chimney in front of a 2-tone wall, or is the wall  in fact sitting just to the right of the post?

Trinidad, Cuba

Feeling all wibbly-wobbly yet?

When I finally get around to sharing some of the photos from Germany, I'll be sure to include the incredible trompe l'oeil artwork that decorated the ceilings of just about every palace, castle and cathedral we visited.

Random Photo Friday: Build it and they will come?

It's not one of my favourite photos per se, but it is one that I feel depicts much of the relentless construction madness that's been devouring Vancouver for the past 10 years. I'm not sure when it'll ever end but when it does, you can bet your line of credit dollar, it's gonna be fuuuuugly.

Old buildings pending their imminent demise. Sad eyes reflect hi-rise cranes

marking the territory of yet MORE featureless condo towers 'coming soon to
a tiny lot near you'. Hideously small, totally non-functional and ridiculously
overpriced. Go nuts! (You probably will.)

If I were to start on my rant about the utter insanity of this City's obsession with condo towers, fake wealth and hormonal mortgage whores, this post would never end. Besides, there's a man with a blog who explains it all far better than I ever could. Let me introduce you to Garth Turner, Lord of eloquence, sarcasm and utterly brutal honesty and irony. I love him to bits!

You could easily be forgiven for thinking we have a problem of sink holes in Vancouver. And you don't have to be sucking on the ever-prevalent BC Bud to find yourself scratching your head wondering, "WTF? I swear there was a diner here yesterday?". Buildings seemingly get sucked underground overnight in this city. Next thing you know, there's just a massive hole filled with rain and re-bar where a funky shop/apartment building/photography store/restaurant/or other Mom 'n' Pop business used to be. And then you notice the cranes, more than 150ft high, signalling the increased height of the intended replacement - an over-sized monstrosity that'll suck up even more of the rapidly diminishing views that once made Vancouver so beautiful. Towers upon ugly, featureless towers, some of them already showing signs of mould and efflorescence, even before they've peeled the sticky plastic off the ill-fitted windows.

When Vancouver won the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics the housing-market quickly started to go nuts, escalating waaaaay beyond reality and sky-rocketed far beyond the financial means of your average city-dweller. People were convinced they should buy up property right away because once the world came to Vancouver and saw just how freakin' fabulous it is here, they'd for sure all want to live here, so buy, buy, buy. Build, build, build.....then buy again and build some more. And keep building....frantically building....never stop building. Tear shit down and build on it. Tear up the parking lots and build on them. Uproots trees for more condos and better views. Build, I tell you - BUILD! And, just when you think there's nothing left to build, build another umpteen towers of useless shoeboxes until there's absolutely nothing left and no-one can breathe. And then wait....and wait.....for the droves upon droves upon millions of people they said would be emigrating here. Keep watching, they're bound to turn up at some point....right? Okay, so maybe you should stop holding your breath, but keep your eyes peeled. Any minute now they'll arrive in their millions, charging off the planes, trains, ships and automobiles packed with all their worldly goods, just salivating at the thought of snapping up a million dollar closet-sized condo in some 30-storey tower where they can go stir crazy and stare at ALL the other surrounding towers while they figure out how the hell they're going to pay their next month's mortgage....or you simply tap up the bank of Mum & Dad to bail your sad-ass out. Or, better still, just move back home and have mummy wipe your ass for you.

Problem is - they're still building - building upon ugly building - one on top of another on top of another....but no-one's coming. No-one can bloody afford to move here. The people who live here can hardly afford to be here...and yet still they build. And keep on mindlessly building. I'm not convinced this over-zealous and unnecessary insanity will ever end. But there's no-one left to live in these place. Anyone who'd buy has already bought and will likely struggle to make the hefty profit they drooled over. Many people have actually left the city/Lower Mainland because of crappy salaries that in no way meet the ludicrous cost of living here. Supply is visibly out-weighing demand (and affordability) and yet more and more places are going up while literally thousands of units remain empty. Welcome to the reality of Vancouver. The best Shitty on Earth.

So for me the photo above shows the broken spirit and neglected old glass of a once-vibrant building now on its death row countdown, and staring its far uglier successor(s) in the face. Sad but true.

Giving Thanks - especially for emergency veterinary care

Well, our Thanksgiving Weekend certainly went a little pear shaped but it's safe to say we are particularly thankful for the outstanding veterinary care and medical expertise that nursed our little Ella through a serious respiratory crisis this weekend. I'll explain more in a moment, but - even though we ended up having to cancel our own Thanksgiving dinner, planned for holiday Monday with my sister, her boyfriend Mike, Bronwyn and River - we nevertheless had a big dinner on Saturday evening courtesy of our friends, Steve and Heidi, at their new house in Port Moody.


Thanksgiving dinner #1 courtesy of friends, Steve (head of table)
and Heidi (taking the pic), their two girls, Charlee & Andi,
our other good friend Steve (left) and - on the right - me and Lorne. 

Thankfully our hosts didn't constantly bicker and snipe at one-other quite as much this time (our previous visit started to get downright uncomfortable), and their young daughters were just as ignorant and disobedient as usual, so not much change there either. I can't say I've ever once seen them pay a scrap of attention to what their parents say/ask. Similarly, I've never witnessed the parents actually follow through with their own requests or commands either. (Prime candidates for JoJo and an episode of Supernanny.) I sound horribly judgemental and I don't mean to be, but we've had some very stressful meetings with those guys and a lot of it caused by their terrible bickering, cross-parenting and horribly misbehaved kids who have to dominate everything. We were never like that as kids (we wouldn't have dared for a start) and my own nieces and nephews are much better behaved too and actually respect what their parents say.


Delirium Tremens - delicious as a drink
and it also kicks things up a notch
if used in gravy.

Still, it was a fun night all the same and a delicious meal. Not being a turkey eater, I thoroughly enjoyed the spicy vegetarian sausage in mushroom & onion gravy that I brought for myself, especially because I'd poured generous sploshes of secret ingredient into the gravy....namely, Delirium Tremens, a rather  fabulous (8.7% alcohol) Belgian beer. As well as a few drops of ye olde, all-important Lea & Perrin's Worcester Sauce - pronounced Wuster, I might add not Wor-chest-er-shire! That stuff's also great in veggie shepherd's pie.

Personally, (while I know there are a gazillion worse places to live in the world) being stuck way out in the 'burbs has always held zero appeal for me, I can't bear the thought of having to drive everywhere, even to get a carton of milk. Where the closest stores are all your staple big-box monstrosities, the restaurants are tediously generic chains (Cactus Club, Earls, Whitespot and Tim-Sh*tty-Hortons). More importantly, I certainly can't imagine paying over $700,000 for the 'privilege' - in fact, the mere idea of it all sends shivers down my spine. I feel like I'd be giving up on life. If I'm going to pay stupid money just to have a slightly bigger place in the soul-destroying 'burbs then I'd rather emigrate and spend it on a cute farmhouse in the South of France. We pay through the nose to live in Vancouver (and believe me, it does grate on us at times) but we have everything we need right on our doorstep - beaches, parks, shops/restaurants/bars that are independently owned, not just your average widespread chain, plus the added luxury of regular transit, to the point I almost never use the car. If I'm not on the bus then I'm usually walking to wherever I need to go.

That said a family of four would be extremely hard-pressed to ever afford a place in Vancouver, never mind have more than 600 sq.ft. to squish themselves into (which would still cost half a million). And forget the idea of any garden with it - that easily pushes into the $1Million + category, even for a mouldy, rat-infested, condemned teardown. Steve and Heidi's place really is quite nice and is exactly what they've been looking for in a 'family home' - even if it is the kind of suburban nightmare that makes me want to run screaming. Different strokes for different folks n' all that.

So what went wrong with Ella? Our poor little love had a horribly rough time of it this past weekend but is thankfully on the mend. Sheesh, just when we thought we'd finally be free of veterinary visits and having to dish up a daily cocktail of medications...at least for a few more years anyways. (Not that we resent it, let me be clear on that. We will always do whatever is within our powers to help our furry little family in whatever way we can.)

It all started about ten or so nights ago when Ella woke us up in the middle of the night coughing and choking. We gently petted and comforted her until she calmed down enough for the coughing to subside.

Naturally we thought the most likely culprit was a hairball so the very next day we gave her malt hairball remedy (which she won't lick off our finger and wasn't at all impressed with having syringed down her mouth....man, she has an incredibly strong and defiant jaw-clamping instinct). But for several nights in a row, the same coughing fit happened again. We bought malt tablets (which had been pretty successful with Mishka) and tried that. Still the nightly coughing spasm continued, then it happened more than just once a night. By Thursday we became increasingly concerned when it happened 3 times in one night and again the next morning. A hairball would surely have passed by now. Had she eaten something she shouldn't, that's got stuck? We started to seriously think a visit to the vet might be in order, though we also didn't want to be worrying too much (perhaps years of having senior cats in various states of physical decline has made us a little over-cautious in this regard?).

By Saturday morning - after several more coughing/wheezing fits during the night plus a couple more that morning - there was no denying it, she needed to see a vet - ASAP. We couldn't risk things getting any worse and especially not on a long weekend, since that would leave 24hr Animal Emergency as our only veterinary option. We managed to get a 3pm appointment to see Dr. Kramer at  our regular vet - the first time we've taken Ella there - and she even threw up during the car ride, maybe due to the stress from coughing.

Dr. Kramer's seen us many-a-time before and generally under pretty grave circumstances. Her gentle examination of Ella revealed a healthy heart but slight crackly sound in her chest. Two subsequent x-rays indicated over-inflated lungs, a slightly flattened diaphragm and a noticeably accentuated outline of the bronchiolar tree, including 'donut' patterns - all typical signs of respiratory distress, most likely asthma.

Given our limited knowledge of Ella's previous health history (having only adopted her in May) Dr. Kramer also ran a blood test to check for FIV, Feline Leukemia and any signs of infection - or it could also be parasites or heartworm. She also administered a steroid shot (prednisolone) that would last 24hrs and would settle Ella's breathing down and be a good indicator of whether asthma really is the problem. The injection definitely helped. Even though Ella was somewhat subdued after her ordeal, she wasn't coughing and didn't cough that night.

Waiting for news on the lab results felt like a far too familiar and well-trodden pathway. While Lorne was able to stay more optimistic, I couldn't help inwardly fearing the worst. Thankfully, when Dr. Kramer emailed us Sunday morning, she confirmed the lab-work came back and the results looked good. (And breathe........) She suggested we make a follow-up appointment for Tuesday to discuss treatment options. Unfortunately we didn't get that far before poor Ella started to have coughing fits again - with increased frequency and intensity.

By Monday morning she was in very rough shape, coughing far too much and too often, lying under the bed all hunched over and showing laboured breathing. We clearly had no choice but to take her down to Animal Emergency. Without even showering, I threw some clothes on, stuffed Ella in her carrier and drove down to the ER. Lorne stayed home to prep the veggies for the Thanksgiving meal we'd planned - Vicky and co. would be coming over at 3:30pm.

It was crazy-busy at Animal ER, I had to park a couple of blocks away. They operate a triage system just like a human ER, so I was both glad and alarmed when they immediately bumped Ella to the front of the queue. They took her into the back, gave her a sedative to calm her down (from the stress of the respiratory difficulties) and put her on oxygen right away.

I waited....and waited.... and waited. Animal Emergency is a tough place to hang out, especially when you're a crazy animal-lover like me. So many puking dogs, an elderly beagle that couldn't/wouldn't walk, a cat with a yukky eye infection and a golden lab that literally had tyre tracks on his side from the car that hit him just 10mins earlier. Even the phone was ringing off the hook. But perhaps the toughest was the when a young woman with (what I imagine was) quite severe cerebral palsy drove in on her mobility scooter transporting her adorable little poodle/bichon frisee. I got chatting with her while I waited for Ella. Turns out her dog was 13 and the past two days he'd started crying out in pain, didn't want to move, stopped eating and generally didn't want much of anything. This coming right after she'd also had to put her 14-year old cat to sleep just three days earlier. Horribly sad. (Heck we lost a cat a year the past few years and found that difficult enough, never mind the thought of two within a week.) Her poor little dog was heartbroken at the loss, they'd been inseparable and had spent years always snuggling and sleeping cuddled up together. Now she feared the worst for him and, to be honest, it wasn't looking good :-( I almost cried. My heart went out to her, and to her little bundle of fluff.

I waited two hours at ER, while they kept Ella on oxygen and took a couple more x-rays (as seen above). The vet asked whether, in my opinion, anything looked different compared to those taken 2 days earlier. While I'm no expert, I'd definitely say her bronchioles looked a little more accentuated. She felt Ella was doing better but nevertheless wanted to keep her a few more hours, possibly even hospitalize her overnight. In the meantime they'd email her x-rays to a clinic in the US for secondary evaluation to rule out anything more serious. They suggested I wait at home and phone in later - or they'd call me.

It was about 1:15pm when I got home and Lorne had prepped most everything for dinner.....but we both determined, quite reluctantly, that it would probably be better to postpone. Bugger, because we were so looking forward to Vicky, Mike and the kids coming over - it's been ages - but with Ella still at ER and, even if we did get to bring her home, she'd need quiet, calm and perhaps a little solitude after this whole ordeal. I was quite bummed out having to cancel, but what could we do? Our plans had been completely side-swiped - we certainly didn't see this one coming. So we postponed until next Sunday - which left Lorne and I a LOT of vegetables to eat over the next couple of days.


Well this should be fun
trying to get Ella on this.

By 4pm (and a lot of nail-biting on my part) we were told we could collect Ella and bring her home. They were happy with her progress and didn't feel the need to hospitalize her after all. They discharged her with two sets of oral medications: Prednisolone (an oral corticosteroid) and Terbutaline (a bronchodilator). They'd rather get her onto an inhaler (you can get inhalers for cats? Yes, apparently something like this, by AereoKat) but they were out of stock.

For the first time in (just) 6 months, we're back to the old familiar, twice-daily routine of rattling pill bottles and stuffing medications into Pill Pockets (amen for Greenies Pill Pockets!!!!)

So top of our list of things we're truly thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend are:

• Our Ella-Bella-Boo is still very much alive and doing well
• Emergency veterinary clinics and the incredible staff who work there
• Access to expert medical attention 
• Advances in medications for cats
• Pill Pockets to dispense said medications without losing an eye or finger
• Having the financial means to be able to treat our beloved furry family and truly take care for them. It doesn't come cheap, that's for sure - we quickly devoured $1,000 this past weekend - but I can't imagine how heartbreaking it must be for those who have to legitimately decide between food on the table or veterinary bills.
• The support and understanding of my sister, Victoria, when we had to cancel dinner :-(

I'm pleased to report the medications are working well - Ella's been cough-free since Monday and is doing really well. We're booked to follow up with Dr. Goldberg this Saturday so we can figure out a short, medium and long-term plan for her asthma, ideally a mix of inhaler and perhaps homeopathy.

Dr. Kramer left a phone message on Tuesday to check in on Ella, having heard that we ended up at ER with her after all. Part of me just wishes she could have sent us home with an extra syringe of prednisolone when we saw her on Saturday, just to get her through the long-weekend, especially since she knew the dose she'd given her would only last 24hrs. Perhaps we could have saved ourselves - and Ella - this whole ER trauma and serious respiratory distress (not to mention the additional $500). That said, the more forgiving side of me feels that we couldn't really have predicted just how quickly this asthma attack would take hold and escalate to such a dangerous level.

I believe Ella might be down a life now. I'm incredibly thankful for all the help that saw her pull through this traumatic turn of events and we intend to make her eight remaining lives long and wonderful.

Random Photo Friday: Vibrance and Decay

Darn, I can't think of a particularly creative name for today's Random Photograph, though it's one of my new favourites. I'm a big fan of pattern and texture - especially peely-paint and old, damaged, disregarded things.

A few weeks ago, Lorne and I were driving out of the alley behind our apartment and, as we passed the aged and crumbling makeshift garage at the back of one of the houses just behind our building, I noticed how the last drops of 'golden hour' sunlight picked out every colour and detail of the green ivy leaves against their somewhat decrepit, faded-paint backdrop. I made a mental note to capture a photograph at the next available opportunity - i.e. right moment, right weather, right time of day. Not as easy as it sounds.

It wasn't until last Saturday, at around 4pm, after a shamefully lazy day indoors, I decided to go for a walk along West 4th Ave., leaving the building out of the back way so I could throw some garbage in the dumpster. Plodding up the alley, I once again passed by this scene - having almost forgotten - and the light was just perfect! Of course I didn't have my SLR with me, so this is captured with my Iphone 4. Plus there was a car parked right near it and a big, fat stripey spider had built its enormous web stretching from the trunk of the car over and across to the upper vines of ivy, thus hovering mid-air, right where I wanted to kneel and get a shot. But I knew the afternoon light was quickly fading on that spot so there wouldn't be time to run upstairs and grab my Nikon....and zoom lens (so I could stand well clear of the web).

It took a little careful limboing on my part to get in there without upsetting or attracting the 8-legged beasty (moreso because I'm ridiculously arachnophobic) but I'm so glad I did because I love the way the light not only enhances the colours - and fading paintwork - of this scene, but it also picks out the more subtle details of light and shadow, pattern, texture and the integration of decay and rot, counter-balanced with the vibrant new growth of the three little leaves peeping curiously around the split siding. 

If the weather's right this weekend, I might just have to try again with my Nikon.

Getting all Yelp-tastic

Us Brits are renowned for our stiff upper lip, taking things on the chin and not wanting to make a fuss, but we're also known as "whinging pommes" and when we feel we've been wronged, especially by poor service or bad attitude, we sure like to whinge about it - to anyone who'll listen!...though often we don't mention anything at the time. We'll eat a bad meal at a restaurant, feel cheated, grumble amongst ourselves, scoff at the bill and yet still chirp up with a polite "it was fine, thanks" if asked if everything was ok. We like to complain, we're just not always good at dealing with it at the time.

I speak from personal experience, including having been a Tour Guide for british tourists who feigned everything was going splendidly during their holiday, only to find myself ambushed by a sit-in at Reception the last night of the holiday, when it came time to settle the bill for any extras. Suddenly there'd be tales of woe from just about everyone, bitching and snarling, grumbling and growling - "The leaflet said 'All inclusive' wine and beer, how was I supposed to know that doesn't include premium scotch?" or "I didn't have hot water when I showered this morning, I want a full refund for my entire stay!" (oh yes, I kid you not.) or "the snack-bar food was dreadful but we ate it (every day) anyway. We're not paying for any of it and you're not going to make us." And many....many...similar tales of woe. Admittedly, as their Tour Guide in the Maldive Islands, it was hard to be too sympathetic to some of the namby-pamby whining because seriously, they had chosen to vacation in what was otherwise a 3rd world destination (and believe me, as gorgeous as it was, it wasn't nearly the exclusive top-notch 'ooooh, celebrities stay here' destination that it has become these days). The limitations on fresh, fruit veg and general abundance of choices in the menu might be down to the fact a) you're in a 3rd world country b) in the middle of the frikkin' Indian Ocean, where all they have are beaten up small boats (dohnis) to spend hours, navigating among a myriad of treacherous coral reefs etc., going from one place to another and c) many of those items aren't even available on any of the actual Maldive Islands anywhere - location, location, location! You can hardly fly baguettes in from Paris and any shipped-in fresh fruit/veg would surely spoil after days in-transit from wherevertheheckacrosstheocean.

Ah yes, I remember it well. And the irony was that, of my German, Austrian and Swiss clients - normally known for being demanding, having high expectations and insisting on Alles being in Ordnung, they were the ones who were easiest to please. As one of them even told me (after listening to a Brit bitch and snarl at me about the rain or something), "You know, if I'd wanted a holiday where everything is perfect and top-notch, I could quite easily have just spent one week in my front garden and one week in the back!" That, for me, summed it up perfectly.

As for the French guests I looked after.....they could be terribly fiesty (once surrounding me like a pack of hungry hounds around a fox after enduring a particularly rough boat crossing from the airport to the resort) but once they screamed, shouted and gesticulated it out of their system, everything was fine. They didn't harbour an unspoken grudge and secretly plot their evil vengeance like many of the Brits I encountered.

So what's my point? Well, a couple of years ago, after terrible service at a suburban nail spa (not my personal choice - it was for a friend's 40th) and a funky downtown hair salon, whose seriously overgrown ego was in desperate need of a trim, I started posting my feedback on such places/experiences on the canadian version of Yelp - which, in the words of Wikipedia, is a website that provides specialized search capabilities and provides information about businesses in a given area using address or postal code information. Each paid business listing contains a filtered 5-point rating, filtered reviews from other site visitors, and details such as the business' address, hours, accessibility and parking.

While I haven't explored every facet of Yelp, it's certainly become an online social forum for finding a bounty of information on places, services etc. - where reviewers can merrily spill the good, the bad and the ugly on just about anything.

Maybe it's because I've been both a whiner and the whinee (especially having worked in the hospitality and service industries), that I generally have two things in mind when I post on Yelp:

1. give credit where credit's due
2. forewarned is forearmed

I'm always pleased to write a glowing review and help boost the reputation of a place where I feel I've had great service, delicious food or just a positive experience overall. Similarly, I think it only fair to comment when things have been less-than-stellar so that other people can be spared the same fiasco and also to make those places really think about the level of service they offer.

What's the old adage? “A satisfied customer will tell one friend, an unhappy customer will tell everybody.” Well, when you post a review on Yelp, for better or worse, you're still telling everybody!

Anyway, here's where you'll find my reviews, most of which have only been posted in the past six months or so, though I've been contributing on a regular basis lately.

I try to be succinct and humourous (though I don't always manage the former), fair and informative. (Oh, and I try not to post when I have PMS. Hehe.) Obviously there's also a certain amount of personal taste and preferences in anyone's review - we can't ALL like the same things, that'd just be tedious. Plus, as a vegetarian my postings are limited to the non-meat corner of the menu. And while I haven't written copious amounts (yet), I'm actually quite enjoying writing these things, well I'm just enjoying writing more in general.

What's more, in response to some of my reviews, I've actually been contacted by the place I've posted about and been offered amends or apologies. Such as, in the case of my review and subsequent update about Rain Hair Salon, being thanked for my update and offered a discount next time I go in, should I wish to return to the stylist I had a 'misunderstanding' with earlier this year. (I.e. She accidentally misunderstood that 2 inches off the length of my hair didn't secretly mean 2" plus another 5" just for shits 'n' giggles.)

Interestingly enough, Wikipedia also adds the following about some of the reviews posted on Yelp: Throughout much of its history, Yelp Inc. has been the focus of criticism from some of its business clients who have alleged that Yelp Inc. manipulates its website, user reviews based on that business' participation in Yelp's advertising programs. Yelp Inc. denies this and has expressed dissatisfaction with business owners who have solicited reviews from friends and associates or paid for "fake" reviews

Indeed, I can definitely say that a couple of the reviews for Vancouver's new bar/eatery "The August Jack" (which opened just a few short months ago) definitely seem to be case-in-point for the above. They're just drooling with an awkward abundance of enthusiasm that seems a little too over-the-top, if you know what I mean. And trust me, I pass the place frequently enough to notice that, of its sparse clientele, no-one is dancing on the cheesy chairs or tables gushing about how incredibly wonderful it all is. Or maybe I just haven't timed it right.

I wonder who'll be next on my list......

Random Photo Friday: Fall

It's not one of my best pics but I thought I'd throw this one out there anyway as my first Friday Photo since we're now definitely into Fall. I love the blaze of golden leaves and the sun streaming in from a much lower position in the sky, such as it is this time of year.


Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver

I've always been a big fan of Autumn and its refreshingly crisp mornings - especially on a sunny day. It's also the time of year that, every year without fail, makes me terribly nostalgic and homesick for England...well, Europe in general....though it's definitely a beautiful time of year in England. Especially when coupled with the smokey notes of old stoney houses with a fire going, or even leaf piles burning out back. It's also one of my favourite times to go horseback riding, for all those same smells and many wonderful memories of cantering through the woods and across the fields of Northamptonshire in the couple of years before I emigrated. (Horses and riding gear - another of my most favourite smells in the world.)

Blaze of Glory - West 11th Ave at Ontario Street, Vancouver

While we don't see a huge amount of the changing leaves here, for which places like Montreal and Vermont are so famous, we nevertheless get a few vibrant displays of magnificent fall colours, such as we did outside the house where we lived the past 4 years. People would literally stop in their tracks to admire the striking display of reds and take lots of photographs. See what I mean?

As a child I always loved 'splashing' through the layers of leaves carpeting the sidewalk, kicking them high, as my mum walked us along Bargate towards the nursery/daycare we simply called "Aunty Maureen's".  Sixteen years later, I did the very same thing all over again, walking along that very same street, past Aunty Maureen's and on to the college at Nun's Corner, which was then Grimsby College of Technology. (It's called Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education now, where my brother is doing a fantastic job as Programme Leader of the degree course, BA (Hons) Games Design. Go Graham!)

That said, I think this year is one of the very few times where I've actually felt a little melancholy at the approach of autumn, mainly because we've just enjoyed such an outstanding summer in Vancouver. The best since I moved here in fact. Hard to see it come to an end, knowing that it's not often we get a summer quite THAT beautiful!

Anyway, this was only meant to be a short post with one photo. But, since I've blathered on, I might as well add one more picture to the mix, just for good measure.

And now it's time for me to get out there and see if I can't find myself a nice pile of leaves to wade through. Old habits n'all.

Switching gears

Okay, so after the rather woeful whinge of my last post, I've decided (after a pretty sedentary and very rainy weekend) to switch gears. Rather than focussing on what I feel I'm not doing, I'm going to start including more of what I am doing. Heck it might even push me into actually doing more ;-)

Here are a couple of things I've decided upon:

1. I've been meaning to start a separate blog for showcasing my (favourite) photographs for the longest time but haven't done so yet and I've been shamefully remiss in even posting anything to my Flickr site. I don't know how this happened - or rather isn't happening - I just know that I need to pull my finger out and get back at it. I thought of a couple of ideas to make sure I post my photos more often:
• Set myself a weekly photo challenge - of taking/posting either a single or selection of themed photos. I should probably start with photos from last year's trip to England & Scotland for starters and then the pics from our recent holiday in Germany. Anyhoo I'll figure it out and I'll see if my sister, Vicky, wants to get in on the themed photo safari too. We both love photography but have quite different styles and preferred subject matter. I think we've only done one or two photo safaris together but they were both fun and it's always interesting to compare the different results and what catches her eye as opposed to mine. Must chat with her about this.
• Maybe I'll call it my Friday Flickr Foto and kill two birds with one stone, posting here and adding to Flickr.
• Post a photo that appeals to me, even if it's not my own.
2. I love making cards. For the past several years I've monopolized our spare bedroom with the crazy hoard of craft supplies that I've accumulated over the years for this hobby and yet, since Christmas last year, I've really only created cards when necessary and have even fallen behind sometimes - something I never normally do (I have a freakishly solid memory for dates, birthdays, anniversaries etc. so no excuse on that score). Of course, living in Vancouver, the advantage to this time of year is the start of the endlessly grey and rainy season, in all its stormy and torrential downpour glory. Perfectly conducive to being a homebody and putting my creative talents to good use. I need to chat with Vicky about this too - we should get back to doing the monthly craft nights we used to do with a couple of friends (until both moved out of town and one turned out to not be much of a friend at all). We should actually try for at least twice-monthly. Besides, we don't just have to make cards (I still have plenty left over from last year) but I've been meaning to try my hand at felt tree decorations and general gift-making for Christmas too. I love making things for family and friends just as much as I love to receive a hand-made gift or card, yet I always end up starting too late. On the one hand it's still too early to be thinking of Christmas, I know. But if I'm sending things home to England, I generally have to ship mid-late October so I might as well get on it - sooner the better and that way I'm not rushing last minute. (Haha, I always tell myself this, we'll see if it actually pans out this year! Don't hold your breath.) But while I'm on the subject of cards, there's no time like the present to actually show some of them here (albeit some are scans and don't look that great):

A co-worker asked if I could make a card for her best friend
who was leaving town and moving on to pastures new

Customized for Lorne's stepdad, Stan. 

For Vicky's 40th a few years ago.

Put a bird on it!  :-)

 

Mother's day....for my Mum. (Obviously)

Ooops - meant to send this to Graham & Stephie
when they got engaged last year.

 

And a few Christmas card samples - see how easy it is to integrate snippets from old cards, foil wrappers from ferrero rocher/almond rocca, as well as mulberry paper (torn out from an old Ikea shower curtain no less - too pretty to waste):


Spot the old foil wrappers?

These were so easy and the shiny blue paper helped.



Mulberry paper, glitter and sparkly bejewels.



Recycled cards, almond rocca wrapper and
a little creativity



A little embossing, stickers, fancy trim and you're done






The card I made for Lorne last Christmas