Tuesday, July 21, 2009

What I've Been Doing


So I've been absent online for a bit because I have been puppy sitting this little guy. This is Dexter, my best friend's new puppy, whom I've mentioned before is Indy's little brother. He's 10 weeks old tomorrow.

Indy was not as young when we got him so the learning curve has been sharp. I can't take my eyes of Dex for a second or he chews anything and everything! The trick is having lots of toys on hand to distract him with and Indy's been good about sharing.

Aside from chewing, Dex likes to engage Indy endlessly in what I call "Doggie WWF". Sometimes he forgets Indy isn't a chew toy and gets him good with his razor sharp puppy teeth. I've learned that Indy is eminently patient. He hasn't barked or snarled or shown any aggressive behaviour the whole time, no matter what Dex is doing to him. Indy is such a sweet and gentle dog.

My son wanted to take me out for lunch so I could have a break from refereeing the dogs so we hopped the sky train and sea bus and headed over to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. This is just one of the many cruise shops that visit our port every year. I always enjoy looking at them and thinking about where I would like to go someday.

The Vancouver skyline. This new facility on the waterfront in the foreground is a new convention center. (Thanks Di for correcting me! I mistook it for a soccer stadium they had talked about building way back when.) I didn't realize it had gone up so fast-it's been awhile since I've seen Vancouver from the water.

This area of the port is pretty busy with small charters taking off and landing all the time. I've ridden in a small plane once and I don't think I will ever do it again. I like to fly, but I am not keen on small aircraft.

Paddle boat cruises trolling along...

A sulphur mill....



The Lions twin peaks in North Vancouver. (Not the best shot ever, but hey, it was sunny and we were on the seabus so the pic was taken through the smudgy glass.)


Our final destination, Lonsdale Quay. (That's pronounced "key" in case you were wondering, not "kway".) This is a terrible shot of the quay, except for the sign. Looking at this pic, it looks like a high rise construction zone, but I promise you, it's not. The quay is a shopping area with restaurants and it has places you can sit and enjoy being on the waterfront. Sometimes there are buskers set up to entertain you while you enjoy lunch or a quick gelato.


And speaking of lunch, here's ours! Fish & chips, clam chowder and coleslaw. YUM! The eating area has glass garage doors that they open when the quay is open for business. There's a lovely breeze that blows in from the water and it's so nice to have lunch there.

After lunch we wandered through to shop. There was this little kiosk that cracked me up. I named it the "one stop Deity shop" because they had everything from prayer flags, to Buddhas, to Sacred heart of Mary prayer cards, to Jesus bracelets and Ganesha bumper stickers and some other religions I wasn't too familiar with. It was too funny and I wish I had taken a picture of it.

I bought a little set of prayer flags, about the size of ATCs. I am going to hang them in my back yard. I have several sets (including one that I got when I saw the Dalai Lama when he last visited here in 2004) and I keep meaning to hang them. I mentioned this to my son and he said "But if you hang them in the yard, they will just get faded and worn out." *laughs* I had to explain that that was the whole point-that they aren't hemmed so that they will fray as they blow and the prayers will be carried on the wind. Try explaining the symbolism of the impermanence of life to an 18 year old!

Anyway, we had a good time hanging out together and it's nice that he enjoys taking his mum on a "date" once in awhile. I am blessed with a great kid.

Next post: BIG NEWS!

2 comments:

Di said...

Great shots of our city. We truly live in an awesome place. (BTW that is the new convention center, the soccer place has not started) It will be exciting to see the world come to visit in Feb. So nice of your son to take you for lunch. What a great day

Sherry said...

Love seeing these photos (that puppy has the most adorable little face!). I smiled at you saying Quay is pronounced "key" -- we have Queen's Quay here in Toronto and even many Torontonians pronounce it "kway"...duh!! hee!! :)

As for the fish and chip lunch (lunch? that looks like a buffet) -- that is right down my alley -- with the clam chowder and the cole slaw -- oh yeah!!! :)