I am very pleased to report that I successfully finished the ABC Along! It was a year-long photography project where you posted for each letter of the alphabet. Easier said than done! I had a bit of trouble staying on time when we got around L, M, N, O, P… but I officially finished in time! I don’t know if there is going to be an ABC-Along 2009, but I don’t think I’ll be participating. I’ve give it a break for a year so that my answers will be unique next time I participate. Maybe I should find a different photo-meme to participate in. Anyway, in case you are interested to know what each of my choices were, here is a list:

• A is for… AFI, Alpaca, Animals, Anna, Apple (I didn’t realize were were supposed to pick 1 or 2)
• B is for… Blue!
• C is for… Craig (& Chico)
• D is for… Dad
• E is for… Evan
• F is for… my neighbours (last name begins with F)
• G is for… The Golden Rule
• H is for… Henry
• I is for… I (Me, Myself, & I)
• J is for… Jewellery
• K is for… Knitting
• L is for… LOVE
• M is for… Mom
• N is for… News (RSS Feed Reader)
• O is for… Online
• P is for… Punk Rock
• Q is for… Quest (books)
• R is for… Rachel
• S is for… Scrapbooking
• T is for… Tea
• U is for… Unity (parents marriage)
• V is for… Vancouver
• W is for… Writing
• X is for… Xmas Trees
• Y is for… YVR
• Z is for… ZED not ZEE

Z is for… ZED not ZEE

Because we say the letter Z as “Zed” in Canada… here are some Canadian Mounties!

This photo was taken during the Remembrance Day parade in Downtown on November 11, 2008.

Y is for… YVR

YVR is the airport code for Vancouver International Airport. It’s probably silly to like an airport so much, but I just love how much time they’ve spent on decorating the arrivals. Not to mention that they have free wireless internet, duty free, and multiple Starbucks’.

Arrivals walkways above Departure Gates

Bill Reid’s sculpture (in the Departures level prior to security). It is entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii and is actually now featured on the Canadian $20 bill. Visit the Bill Reid Foundation for an explanation of the sculpture.

Landscaping near the Departure Gates:

International Arrivals:

USA Arrivals:

X is for… Xmas Trees!

Mom and I went to lunch last week, and then went for a walk to the Four Seasons Hotel to see their tree display. The idea is that different companies or organizations adopt a tree and decorate it. They are then displayed in the entrances of the Four Seasons, and the lobby area. Then visitors and passers-by can put a donation in the box and vote for their favourite tree. Of course, there is a prize incentive for the donators/voters but we didn’t even know about the voting until walking around and looking at all the creative trees.

Decorated by a Boys & Girls Club in Vancouver

The WISH Tree.

For Chan and her Assistant Chief Knight! (There are little firetrucks ornaments too!)

Very creative & all the toys in the bathtub (not visible) were being donated afterwards!

This is what we voted for as our favourite: Santa’s Workshop by WorkSafeBC. It had a cute little sign that said “365 Accident Free Days”.

W is for… Writing

I love writing and have tons of journals, but there is no way I’m showing you them! They’re private. I got started in grade 5 when we were asked to keep a summer journal. Then we handed it in and we could either ask that the teacher not read any of it, or dog-ear the pages we didn’t want her to read. I love blank drawing books for journals, that way I can paste things in that interest me. They become more of a scrapbook.

Also on the topic of writing, I love creative writing. One day I’d love to be a published author… but I just have trouble getting all my ideas down on paper.

But because this is supposed to be a Photography-Along, here is a sample of my handwriting / printing:

V is for… Vancouver

These I took in the summer walking across the Cambie Street bridge:

Read the rest of this entry »

U is for… Unity

This summer my parents celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. I got them a gift from my sister and I to celebrate the occasion. It was accompanied by a nice bottle of champagne as well.

The ingraving has my parents’ names on both champagne flutes, and their wedding date: July 3rd, 1983 – 2008 on one, then “25 Years Together” on the other.

T is for… Tea (of course!)

Here is my “tea for one” teapot.

I also have a number of lovely mugs (since I’m much more of a mug-girl) however, they are all safely packed away in boxes because there is no room in the kitchen cupboards for my stuff. Also (don’t tell my dad) but he doesn’t have the best track record with delicate items. The teapot above, he actually smashed it shortly after I brought it home from England from my favourite tea shoppe, Whittard of Chelsea. He bought me a new one online, because it was an accident, and it cost him $25 for the teapot and another $25 in shipping! So now I have two cups and two saucers, and one tea pot. It’s actually a perfect Tea for Two set now!

As for tea I like to drink, I’m mostly an orange pekoe kinda girl… my staple is Tetley. Although when I branch out (read: have time to brew loose tea), I tend to go with black-blends. One of my favourites is the Secret Garden Secret from a lovely little tea house in Kerrisdale (an area in Vancouver). They describe this tea as: “One of our bestsellers! Vanilla and a secret sweet ingredient. Fruity.” I absolutely love it! Nice and creamy too. I like fruity black teas, but I’m not a fan of Earl Grey’s. Don’t know, too wood-smoky for me I think.

S is for… Scrapbooking

I love scrapbooking! So far I have four scrapbooks (excuse the skewed angles of the photos, I was trying to avoid glare on the plastic coverings):

TICKETS

JAPAN EXCHANGE TRIP

MONTREAL EXCHANGE

GRADUATION

My fifth scrapbook is planned to document the Publishing Program and my friends from it.

R is for… Rachel