Good Food & Good Music

So I'm on vacation and it feels like things are just as busy as they were when I wasn't. Not complaining-just an observation. Thursday, we attended the second Al Fresco dinner of 2012. I had my first taste of elk.

The secret location this time around was at the Roundhouse. There's this big metal structure (I think it's supposed to be art) in the courtyard area and we sat right underneath it. It was a really nice evening.

Saturday, through a stroke of luck, I got a free ticket to the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival out on Deer Lake. I arrived around 4:30 pm and it was smokin' hot out. Really, too hot for me, but I had a good reason to be there.

Jimmie Vaughn, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughn played. He's really every bit as good as his brother. At one point, he played an entire song with his guitar behind his head, backwards. Crazy!

THIS was the real reason I went though. I adore the Indigo Girls and though I've been a fan for years, I've never seen them in concert!

They are so incredibly talented and gave a great concert. Every time they finished a set, we'd clap and they'd say "Thanks Y'all!" So charming! When they play here again, I am most certainly getting tickets. They're touring the US soon, playing with local symphonies in several cities. I imagine that's going to be fantastic. I wish they were coming here.

Sadly, the Olympics are over. I watched hours and hours of events while it was on. I didn't manage to make it through the closing ceremony though. That was ridiculously long. I fell asleep during the part with Russell Brand. They re-aired it in the evening, so I picked up where I'd left off, but by the time 7 pm rolled around, it wasn't even close to being done and Breaking Bad was coming on, so I gave up. I think any ceremony longer than 3 hours is too long. 

Now there's the 2 week changeover for the Paralympics. The opening ceremony is on the 29th. I am hoping we get good coverage, but if not, the Paralympic website will be live streaming events. I plan to watch as much as I can and cheer for team Canada!

Oh and one more thing before I sign off-I haven't forgotten about the giveaway. I'll be contacting the winner later today!

Papergirl Vancouver 2012

So Tuesday night was the opening of the Papergirl Vancouver exhibit. I got to the Roundhouse at 5:30 pm and was immediately busy in the kitchen prepping food for the reception. I did manage to snap a few photos though.

Everything was hung on a line, like last year. This year there were over 700 piece of art donated and 136 contributing artists, so space was at a premium. It was nice to see the venue filled right up with art.

Here's Penn with one of her pieces.

The turn out was really good. I think there were at least double, if not more the amount of people who attended last year. It was great having so many people turn up for the opening.

Easels were set up for people to make art if they felt like it. This girl spent a fair bit of time working on a dragon.

It was a pretty busy night and I wasn't feeling very good, (understatement of the year) so the whole thing was a bit of a blur to me.

Here's my pal Carol with that secret package I posted the other day. She was pretty surprised when I handed it to her. I'll show you tomorrow what was inside!

Tonight I am going to an Al Fresco dinner with my husband. It's the first one of 2012 and the location is a good one. We always have a wonderful time and it will be nice to catch up with people we've gotten to know through these dinners. The diversity of people who attend is always interesting.

 Tomorrow the Olympic opening ceremonies happen! WOOHOO! I've already been watching the Canadian Women's Soccer, which has been wonderful, even though we lost to Japan, 2-1. Our ladies played a pretty defensive game and made some great saves. Kudos to Melissa Tancredi for scoring the first goal of Olympic competition! I hollered and I am sure they heard me in London!

Saturday, my holidays begin! I can't wait! I think I've definitely earned a break.