Formerly a Shell Gas Station located at King Edward and Main Street in Vancouver:

A magnet found in Army & Navy department store:

A recycling box found in the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library:

I’ve mentioned Elvis the hound dog before, and he is quite well trained when he wants to be. Here is a great video we got of him taking commands for a piece of salmon skin. Craig is dog-sitting while his aunt (Elvis’ mom) is out of town in Las Vegas!

I’m not quite sure what kind of hound Elvis is, he’s a mix definitely, and I think he might have some coonhound in him. I love his floppy ears!

That got your attention didn’t it? On Monday, we partook in the 3rd annual picking of wild blackberries. Craig and I grab some buckets, put on long pants and sleeves, and trek out into the wild. Okay, so it’s not really the wild, it’s 44 acres of children’s camp / farmland and it is riddled with wild blackberries.

Elvis (pictured right) joined us of course. He loves running in the trails and fields; he’s lived on the property (with the owners) since he was a puppy. He also chased and tracked a rabbit while we were in the trails. He’s much too loud and not nearly quick enough to catch a rabbit, but he had fun just the same. (Isn’t Elvis, the hound dog, aptly named? If you say no, I might just have to sing at you!)

We still had lots of company; the horses, the bugs, and the birds:

Now answer me this, what is the difference between blackberries with these pointy leaves (see photo left) and these round leaves (see photo right). The blackberries don’t taste any different, and the grow right next to each other, so why the different leaves?

We collected nearly seven cups of blackberries, so I made Blackberry Crumb Bars which we really enjoyed last year. They’re really good heated up a la mode. I prefer them to making pie (like I did two summers ago) because I find the filling is too juicy with fresh blackberries. We also had enough left over to just eat plain.

Although we were practically stormed out for Illuminares, we still made it down to Trout Lake and John Hendry Park to check out the festival. Not many of the lanterns were lit, but before dusk I managed to get some photos of them. View all my photos from the evening in my Vancouver set on Flickr.

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Wednesday marked the first night of the HSBC Celebration of Light. For a while there, we didn’t think the firworks were going to happen. But I am proud to say that some Vancouver/Canadian businesses pulled through and the Celebration of Light is lighting up the summer night sky once again.

For those unfamiliar with the event, this is an annual fireworks competition with which is free to watch from public parks and beaches. Music simulcast begins at 10:00 p.m. on a specific station (Shore 104 FM in 2009). The estimated annual attendance is 1.4 million people. The main viewing area is English Bay, with the fireworks-launch-barge anchored 300 metres off shore. English Bay is in the heart of downtown and also has speakers set up to broadcast the music to the audience. Other prime viewing points include Kits Beach, Vanier Park, and Jericho Beach (where I usually go).

July 22, 2009 was Canada night, sponsored by London Drugs. The theme was “There’s No Place Like Home” with music from The Wizard of Oz.

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Don’t worry knitters, this isn’t a post about eyelash yarn; it’s Whiskers on Wednesday for crying out loud!

Please note: actual results may vary… scratches, bites, and or hisses may ensue. Use at your own risk.
The FURminator is a registered patent. The Zoom Groom is made by Kong.

We love going to the Twilight Drive-In located in Aldergrove, BC. It is very near to the camp and a great deal ($11.50 per person for 3 movies). The movies start at dusk, and go till 3 or 4 in the morning! The first movie is usually something family-friendly, or PG13, the second movie is usually the “main feature”, and the third is usually a horror movie or unknown/turkey. We never stay for the third one because it’s already nearly 2am at that point! When we can, we’ll bring an “overheight” vehicle (trucks, vans, SUVs) and back into the parking spot. Then we’ll put blankets and foamies and pillows in the back and lie down.

We’ve already been twice this summer! In June we saw Night at the Museum 2, which pleasantly surprised me as I don’t normally care for Ben Stiller, and Angels & Demons, which I enjoyed (although not as much as the book!) Last weekend we saw Star Trek and Transformers 2. I was quite entertained throughout Star Trek, which surprised me because the television series never captured my attention. Maybe it was the young(er) cute guys, or the fact that they made it more of an adventure movie that happened to take place in space. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, we’d already seen before because Craig really wanted to see it the day it came out (Wednesday June 24). I didn’t mind seeing it again because the drive-in is lots of fun.

I have to share this video I took during the intermission. It’s great!

Yesterday was Canada Day, and while it was as eventful as last year, I still had a good time. I went for a walk in my red dress, got lots of compliments, some hoots and hollers. And I went shutterbug-happy; I took photos of every red / red and white item I saw. Here’s a collage of the best of them:

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Today was officially Car Free Day Vancouver. It is celebrated in several communities in Vancouver by shutting down the streets to motor traffic and basically having a great big block party. There is music, food, entertainment, bicycling, demonstrations, and various vendors.

The Main Street festival is only six blocks from my new apartment, so we walked over to check it out. I took a lot of photos and even ran out of memory on my camera taking videos!

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Here are the bands that I went to go see on Saturday night at Pub340 for St. Paddy’s Day Drunkfest (no joke, that’s what the show was called).

Opening was Love for Money; this was the first time I heard them, and I really liked them!

Co-headlining was Los Furios; a ska punk band that is just so much fun to dance and sing along with. I’ve seen them before and I really enjoy them. They used to let the female sing a lot more, but I prefer their style with her not on vocals prominently.

And playing till three in the morning for their CD release party: The Dreadnoughts, a Celtic punk band with members from various locations across Canada who have now settled in Vancouver. Awesome guys, fantastic music to dance to!