Burgers

There are 2.5 million people living in the Lower Mainland area. On Saturday, July 18, about 40,000 of them ate a hamburger.

28,000 were satisfied with their burger.

1,845 said to themselves, "Hey, you know, this is a pretty decent burger."

218 said, "Wow, this is a fine burger."

3, eating The Four Finest Burgers in Vancouver, just moaned a lot.

The four burgers were from fresh, lean (but not extra lean) ground beef secured from one of the finest Italian delis. They were served on bakery fresh sesame seed buns.

Three of the four were topped with fresh sautéed mushrooms, bacon, and Swiss cheese. Their buns were spread with a custom preparation of mayonnaise infused with caramelised onion.

These are two of the three burgers.


Now stop that. You're dribbling. You'll get saliva on your keyboard.

The burgers were barbecued with fresh corn and asparagus. They were accompanied by a 2006 Merlot from the Platinum Reserve series of the Cedar Creek winery, considered one of the finest makers of reds in the region.

The fourth burger was unceremoniously coated in plain ketchup and accompanied by baked beans from a can. I don't want to taint my reputation by claiming a relationship with this individual of low taste, but I can show her picture.

Monkey cupcakes

On Wednesday I let Sarah stay home from Boys and Girls Club to enjoy a rainy, lazy, summer day and to have a sleep-in. (She had stayed up late reading her Harry Potter book Tuesday night.)

In the afternoon we made cupcakes and Sarah decorated them with Nilla Wafers and M&Ms to make monkeys. She is getting pretty good with the decorating bag!

Viva Me!

In the absence of our Oppressors, on their, uh, trip to Portland, I hereby Seize Control of the Nelson State and install myself as President-for-Life, effective immediately.

Sweeping changes are to be imposed upon our glorious State:

• Children's shows and Cartoons (except ironic ones) shall no longer foul the living room with their hyperactive voices and continual battling.
• Spices and flavours more complex than greasy, salty and sweet will be Cooked, Served, and Eaten with Relish.
• Vegetables, including Asparagus, will become Staple Foods of the State.
• Long Hairs on Floors and Surfaces and among Laundry Items are hereby Abolished from the State.
• School papers, toy parts, food crumbs, and dirty socks may No Longer be Left Lying About, upon punishment of, uh, Something Scary and Full of Doom.
  
• Depeche Mode is hereby declared the Official Band of the State, and their music shall be heard often.
• The State is hereby declared a Spanking Head-Free Zone.
  

Comrades, Victory is with us. Thus ends the first communiqué from the New Order. (Speaking of which, they'll be played often too.)

Father's Day Outing

Today I convinced the other two screen potatoes to venture out of our cave and into the outdoors for a Father's Day outing. After a typically full Sunday morning breakfast of eggs, sausages and pancakes, we bused to Granville Island to visit the market. Sarah was our photographer for much of the trip.



Margo and Sarah hadn't been to the market since our last visit from Portland, about five years ago. Actually, our first stop was the kids' play area, but even Sarah conceded that jumping into a pool of plastic balls was for littler kids, so we browsed the aisles of the market. Margo stopped to get us some sausage and prosciutto from one stall, but otherwise we pretty much kept our money. Then we went for a sit and a sip at the Granville Island Brewery taproom.





After a chance to get our blood sugar levels back up, we returned to the market and boarded the AquaBus for a journey east to the end of False Creek, getting off at the Science World stop.



Apparently Sarah spotted a ... monster in the dark waters of the Creek. (See this for the origin ...)



As it happened, a dragon boat race was going on as we approached, so after disembarking, we watched it for a bit.



Next, we boarded the SkyTrain to nearly its last stop, to get an early dinner at Central City Brewing in Surrey, one of my favourite brewpubs. Here Sarah is enjoying her Shirley Temple cocktail.



Yes, little girl, enjoy your dessert. Enjoy it, for it is to be your LAST. For I am CRUSHING YOUR HEAD!



What's that? You cannot crush me! For I am ... ack ... ack ...



On the way back, Sarah was nice enough to drive us home.



I didn't tip though. It was Father's Day after all.

How to spank your dad

1.WALK TO YOUR DAD SO YOU BARLY TOUCHING HIM
2.TAKE A STEP BACK
3.PULL YOUR HAND BACK
4.WAIT TILL HE BENDS OVER
5.SPANK!

Bike race pace

On Hats off day in Burnaby there was a big parade and a bike race. I was in the 8 to 12 group. There also was a 5 to 7 bike race. The 5 to 7 bike race started out by a dash to there bike race. Then they got on there bikes [and helmets!] and rode the short course [1 lap].Soon it was my turn we got ready then we ran one lap around the course and dashed to our bikes. We rode up the hill then down then up then down then up and we turned into the finish line. We all got medals and goody bags. I could hardly breath! Luckily there was a juice box inside my goody bag and I had a drink.
Then me and my dad rode our bikes home and mom took the bus.

THE END
[just kidding]

Hats Off Day

Today was Hats Off Day, a community celebration in our North Burnaby neighbourhood.

Sarah and I left the house early (she even sacrificed precious cartoon-watching time!) to see the parade at its 9am start, first from inside a coffee shop, then at the curb. Sarah took photos during the parade; I stood back on the sidewalk so I didn't block the view too much with my tall self. I later found she'd taken about 600 pictures, about one every 10 seconds of the parade! (Later we'll edit what she took and perhaps post some.)

Much of Hastings Street, our neighbourhood's thoroughfare, was closed to traffic for the parade and much of the rest of the day.



We wandered and visited some shops (including a comic book store!). Later we met up with Margo. Then it was time for Sarah to queue up for her bike race, Il Girolino di Burnaby.

The race began with a dash around part of the closed-off street on the way to retrieve bikes.



Then there were a few laps around the course on bikes. At the end Sarah was quite tired.