Frodo

Frodo is my cuddly cat. He purrs and purrs that even my mom hears him while I am talking on the telephone. That is one of the reason I have adopted him. I picked him up at the Rockwood vetinary and we fell in love instantly when I picked Frodo up and he began to purr. The worker there introduced Frodo by saying that he was a nice cat. He is white with black and gray patches on him and he is the world's best fetcher in the history of cat retrieving. I don't know if any other cat plays fetch like a dog but Frodo sure does. My friend Tim says, "I swear that cat is half human." Frodo always wants to play fetch especially when I am on the telephone. He had an athletes ball where you squeeze it to gain strength in your fingers. Frodo just fell in love with it and now it is down in size to a tiny little ball but he stills insist on playing with it.
He likes my routine in the morning. I get up, turn the coffee maker on and have a bath where he sits and watches me. He likes to watch the water drain out of the bath tub. I often put words to his expressions..."But mommy, where does the water go?" He is very careful not to get wet. It was a cinch to get him not to play with the Christmas tree. My friend, Nella said to spray him. I transformed a Windex bottle into a squirt gun. Once he started to play with the ornaments on the tree, we squirted him but unfortunately, I think there was some Windex left in the bottle because Frodo had his eye half shut. But he never touched the tree again and we did wash his eye out with a warm face towel.
Nella slept over once and she said my cat would pounce on her at any moment. "Frodo is a nice cat and wouldn't hurt a fly," I said. Five minutes later...pounce. Nella made a b-line for the door and I kept Frodo in my room...aw tranquility with his master. There never was a peep out of him the whole night. He was content to sleep with his master.
When it is time to clean the apartment, Frodo stops to watch me and he has this guilty look on his face as if to say, "but mommy, I want to help. I can lick the dishes clean."" Very funny Frodo. You're a cat and you have paws not hands," I say to him. He waits patiently until the whole apartment is clean but I must admit, he is scared of the vacuum cleaner and insists on hiding underneath my bed.
I feel guilty leaving him alone and I always reassure him that I will be back. Once I stayed in my apartment for four days and Frodo just couldn't get enough of me. He was so used to me that when I tried to go out, he had this sad look on his face, so that I felt sentimental and I didn't go out.
My sister and her husband got a Christmas present for Frodo. It was a ball of catnip. He literally atacked the ball and wouldn't let go of it. My brother-in-law asked if he is supposed to do that because by then, my sister and my brother-in-law jaws fell open. I said it was like a drug and he would be there for a while. My brother-in-law was hesistant to leave Frodo alone in case he choked on the fuzzy stuff on the ball, so I retrieved the ball from him, Frodo's now favorite toy and put it on top of the fridge. I felt it was mean to take away his new toy but if it could save his life, it was worth it. I didn't get anything for Frodo for Christmas but he didn't mind as long as I was there to cuddle with him.
Frodo is my faithful companion and i love him like a baby. Right now, I couldn't imagine a world without him.

Books

Frodo is my cat. I got him when he was a little fella at the Rockwood Veterinarian. A lady who happen to work there, picked him out for me. I said I wanted a male kitten since I had a male cat in the past and he was pretty friendly. Frodo started purring in my arms and it was love at first sight. The lady said to me, "this is a nice cat." And Frodo was.
The name comes from a hobbit in the "Lord of the Rings." I am surprised that so many people do not know of Tolkien and the "Lord of the Rings." For those of you who do not know what a hobbit is, it's a small creature, not really human but they live on the friar in little dwelling places built in the sides of hills. They very much keep to themselves except for Frodo and a couple of other hobbits. They went exploring. And that's basically what fantasy is about; traveling to unknown lands.
I think people are afraid they'll lose themselves in fantasy and never come back. That only happens in fairy tales like "Inkheart." A lot can be said for fantasy. Indeed we did a whole subject on it in grade twelve English which was probably my favorite subject in high school. I was the only student to have completed the book; "The Once and Future King." That was because I was addicted from an early age to reading excessively. I loved the nights at my sister's house where I could go and close the door and enter the world of Harry Potter.
A couple of times, we went to Chapters and I came out with "Gone With the Wind." My sister exclaimed, "you just had to buy the thickest book in the whole store!" I think it is even thicker than "War and Peace." There was a television episode on the cartoon "Peanuts," and Charlie Brown had to read "War and Peace" during his summer holiday's but didn't manage to get through it. He judged the appearance of the book rather than it's content. I read that book two and a half times.
My all time favorite books are, "The Chronicles of Narnia." Everybody who knows me, knows this about me. I talk about it obsessively and know when the next movie is coming out. It is "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," and it comes out at Christmas 2010.
Fantasy to me, is like traveling. You pick a book, and in it, you travel to a new world. Robert Jordon, the author of "The Wheel of Time," series is good for that. He creates an imaginative world where you discover knew laws and a hierchy of citizens as the main characters travel all over their world. It is a very addictive series and almost as popular as Harry Potter. I see people reading Robert Jordon and Harry Potter on the town buses. Unfortunately, Robert Jordon passed away, so another person is finishing his books. If you want to read a large book, then I suggest a Robert Jordon book. Some of his books, are even thicker than "Gone With the Wind."
I am the type of person that has to read the book before I see the movie. I am in the middle of rereading Harry Potter because things I saw in the movie did not necessarily happen in the book. That's Hollywood for you. I have, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," one of many of the Chronicles of Narnia, and I've noticed the movie makers have added a little humor to the movie that wasn't in the book and I can point that out to friends who watch the movie with me.
I don't confine my reading to fantasy. I read some non-fiction here and there just to add variety. But I must say, I have a weakness for the imagination and where it will lead you.

Anywhere but nowhere I want to go

Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of bed or maybe I didn't consume enough coffee. For whatever the reason, I was taking bus right, left and centre and never ended up to where I wanted to go. My destination was "Len's Mill;" a craft store with a bunch of useful items for your home. It's a great place to Christmas shop but I happen to get on the wrong bus which led me to the other end of town in Nella's neighbourhood. Should I or shouldn't I visit Nellla today? She would probably be in her nice cosy bed. I didn't want to disturb her. I know that I don't like surprised visits. But maybe I would shake off the sleep from her eyes and add a little sunshine to her day. What I really wanted was for her and I to go to "Len's Mill," together.
My friend Shelly or an acquaintance got on the bus, spoke to the bus driver and declared that I was definitely on the wrong bus. The logical thing to do was get on the right bus which was the York bus. As the bus started to move out of downtown, I realized that it was going in the wrong direction. I thought that the road must be closed, so I stayed on thinking I would get to my destination within one of these hours. But no...the bus was headed down Gordon Street and I asked the bus driver if it was the Gordon Street bus. "Sure is," he replied. I was headed either for the grocery store or the university library. I got off at the university but I I missed my stop closest to the university and had to walk a short distance craving a coffee. Believe it or not, they sell coffee in the library and you can even bring your lunch while working on projects if you want. Times have changed since I was a student at the university. Despite the long lineup for the use of the computers, it is a really good place to hang out and be creative. I feel young enough to be a student but I refused to put the like into my vocabulary. We all have those periods of time where all we want to be is cool. Wear what everybody else is wearing to keep up with the latest fashions. Now that I am forty, I wear whatever looks nice. You could say that I have my own fashion and definitely my own tastes.
I am a bit frustrated that I didn't get everything done today. I had Larry on my mind. Larry, a friend, is in the hospital and hardly coherent. He is in bad shape and I do hope he get's better. He is the kind of person I thought, who didn't require the hospital; one who was resilient. But I guess everybody needs there down time and some more than others. Anybody could go into the hospital, they just don't realize it. It is a psychiatric hospital, which having been admitted there myself in the past, I've lost friends; friends that I thought would understand. But let's face it. People get scared when they hear the word mental illness and either panic or start to run. What most people don't realize, is that if you face a mid-life crisis, where are you going to go?
I wanted to do all these things today, but really ended up doing two; visiting Larry and writing in my blog. I guess all is not a total loss. I visited Larry yesterday, and he seemed to be in his own little world. He doesn't want to eat or get off his bed, which is very uncharacteristic of Larry because he loves doing things and he loves food. This is not the Larry I know. It is almost like talking to a diffeerent person. But I have to tell myself, that people are helping him in the hospital and that is a good thing. Christmas will be different this year with Larry in the hospital but my friends and I will have to be patient and adjus.

The Sea Wall, Stanely Park Island

My sister and I set off for an eight kilometre walk by the ocean in Stanley Park. She said she had walked it before but wanted to again. By the time we were finished, she said that she would walk it counter-clockwise next time. I didn't have my walking shoes on but my boots were pretty comfortable. As we walked each kilometre, the number of kilometres were displayed on rocks. We were getting pretty hungry and tired and we had already eaten our packed apples. So, we spotted a restaurant called the Tea Room. It was very elegant and we both ordered fish and chips. A birthday party was being celebrated at the next table. A gentlemen had a big birthday present cradled on his lap. They were drinking wine and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The service was excellent and the fish was fresh. I would say it was an upper class restaurant and it was an honour to eat there. Most people were drinking wine but I thought I would save money by not ordering wine. Besides, we usually had it at night and to my surprise, my sister insisted on getting the bill. A we were leaving, we picked up our coats at the coat room and to my surprise, a fellow, who looked like the owner of the restaurant, helped us in to our coats. I've never experience this service before. Our coats were soaking because we experienced rain and drizzle on our walk.
We came across some rocks and I decided to take two for Nella, a souvenir for her from Vancouver. I picked the prettiest two rocks I could find and I thought she would like them. As it turned out she did and named them after my sister and my brother-in-law. Nella has a thing for rocks and it seems that everybody bugs her for collecting rocks except me. Her dad says, "you've got rocks in your head." I thought that was so mean. I collect stuffed animals; mainly frogs and some could classify that as ridiculous but when it comes to frogs, I get obsessive. When the frogs happens to be Kermit, I do flip flops in my stomach. I noticed that there was a car ride for the little children at the Aquarium and who would be in it? No other that baby Kermit the Frog. I hardly said anything to my sister. I didn't want to sound child like but I wished that I was that young again to riding beside my best friend.
There were several beaches on the sea wall but someone said the water is not clean enough to swim in; not that I would go swimming in the middle of November but I would consider it if it was the summer. There must be places to go swimming in northern British Columbia. It was nice to be able to see the ocean. I've only seen the ocean once before and it was the Atlantic.

Who killed Kermit

Kermit and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. He always has a positive attitude. "It's not easy being green," but he sure manages well despite his appearance. I have a Kermit the Frog in my apartment. I am so dedicated to frogs that I have a collection of frogs mainly because I have a friend, Larry who keeps on sending a frog to me once and a while. I am frog, having a French Canadian last name but I don't speak a word of French. I hated the subject in elementary school, so I didn't take it in high school. My dad can speak French but he didn't manage to teach his children, although some of my siblings can speak it because they took French in university. I can speak a bit of German, which is somewhere in my genetic makeup. In Vancouver, I was watching Kermit sing "The Rainbow Connection," on YouTube. I am very honored in having been called Kermit the Frog as a nickname. My brother-in-law started to get a little worried about my obsession with Kermit, so he said, "you know he is not real, right?" I was jolted into reality and replied yes to his testing on my mental capacity.
So, back in Guelph, Ontario, my friend Nella and I, decided to set up the old Christmas Tree. The box holding the branches fell apart and so we had to grab a bunch of branches in our arms. We laid them on the couch when having finished this task, I realized that a web foot sticking out of the branches. And lo and behold, it was Kermit's. We suffocated Kermit! What a tragedy. I wanted to take a picture but had run out of film. As we sorted out the branches by size, Kermit regained consciousness and sat admiring us decorating the Christmas Tree. When we were almost done, I sat down and accidentally bumped into Kermit. He immediately sang his amphibian song and scared the dickens out of me. Kermit had got me back. I must of put the branches on Kermit; not Nella. The only thing missing was alcohol while decorating the Christmas Tree.
Nella and I, went to mass the next morning and I said hello to Father Ken at the end of mass. He was pouring wine in a bottle. I told him that I needed wine to decorate my Christmas Tree. Father Ken said he had never heard that one before and laughed. I told him about my trip to Vancouver. "It rained everyday except Sunday but I had a great time." The moral of the story is, don't mess around with Kermit!

At Night in Downtown Vancouver

My brother-in-law was waiting around the corner after the symphony. He had the car and we were free to go to dinner wherever. My brother-in-law chose "Oysi Oysi", a Chinese restaurant. I have no idea what Oysi Oysi means but we were greeted by a a generous waitress who was entitled to a big tip but unfortunately her shift was over before our meal was ended. I didn't know what to order so my brother-in-law picked deep fried vegetables that were delicious, rice, and a soup...I think it was meso soup which my sister had the ingredients to. I noticed that my sister was eating with chopsticks. It would be hilarious for me to try since I am not that great with my hands having a form of mild cerebral palsy. I would probably pick up something and miss my mouth by a long shot.
I asked why my brother-in-law chose this restaurant. He said, "it was near to where I lived. " (My brother-in-law had to leave my sister for a month or so, find an apartment in Vancouver until they found a town house in which they could live in together). "I was hungry and looked for a nice restaurant. Everybody is nice here and they enjoy working her and they smile a lot too."
The waitress always kept our cups filled with Chinese tea that we had to stop her from pouring us more. We saw her go and a friend of the managers began to take over. He told us how he vacationed down south and how people recognized him and called to him, "Oysi, Oysi," whatever that means. If I find out what it means, I'll let you know. He told us how he would relax on the beaches with a good book. I wanted to talk to him about books, me being an avid reader but I was succumbed to shyness. I thanked him for the food and since the restaurant was closing, we decided to go. My brother-in-law generously paid for the dinner and we went on our way home.
My brother-in-law and my sister prefer the television to be on when we come back to their townhouse. I wasn't used to having the television on since I only get one channel and usually indulge myself in a book. But I got used to it on and that night there was a documentary on "Seabiscuit," a racing horse in the middle of the second world war. I have a fascination of horses and when I was little, I rode them. It was expensive for my parents though they found a way to pay for my lessons. I was captivated with the documentary. I have the book, "Seabiscuit," at home but never started it. Now it is on my list to read, since he was really a miraculous horse. My brother-in-law was upstairs probably doing work on his computer.
Seabiscuit made the headlines all the time. It seemed he never lost a race until a bold horse appeared and he won because the rider of Seabsicuit slowed down thinking he was still in the lead. As it turns out, he couldn't see the horse coming from behind since he was blind in the right eye. But the owner didn't mention this struggle to the doctor's because it would mean that he wouldn't be able to ride a horse anymore. The owner fell off quited a bit and had to spend some time in the hospital to recuperate. But he always got back in the saddle again. I didn't know my sister was that interested in horse riding but it was a miraculous story and I'm glad I was there to see.

At the Orpheum Theatre

You walk through the doors and you see red carpet everywhere; up the numerous staircases to the top balconies. There were volunteers on each floor to talk about the history of the building or to guide you to your seat. The chandeliers hang from the ceiling lighting this amazing theatre built around 1911. There was a display of all the famous people who came to this theatre and we checked it out but I didn't recognize anybody at first but then maybe just one or two. This beautiful architecture was once considered to be taken down by the city and used for a parking lot but many people fought this argument and won. I was ecstatic to see the grandiose of this beautiful building in downtown Vancouver.
I didn't pack any dress clothes, not expecting to go anywhere as elegant as the theatre but my sister provided me with a coat and a beautiful scarf. I had my long brown boots, so the coat hid my clothes and I didn't have the urge to go anywhere during the intermission so nobody discovered that I was under dressed. I wished that I had brought a dress for this night at the theatre. I had the same old earrings I wore all week long so I wouldn't forget anything but as it happened, I forgot my mitts at my sister's and my sister mailed them to me. The Ontario weather is so much colder than in British Columbia. We found out that pansies could thrive during the winter months.
We arrived early at the theatre and got tickets for the bargain price of $15.00/each. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra was playing Strauss; six songs, Opus 68 and Elgar symphony no 1 in A flat major, opus 55. I had never heard of these pieces being played before since I mainly concentrate myself to Baroque music. I am a lover of Bach originating from my studies of music at university. I am in love with the Brandenburg concerto's and happen to listen to the same music over and over again.
Sir Andrew Davis was the conductor and Celena Shafer was the vocalist. She sang six German song with great animation of her posture. My sister wondered what language she was singing in and I said German, having taken a German course in university. I once had a plan to study music in Austria and preparing myself for this grand endeavor by taking an introductory German course. Celena's singing was excellent. She said it took a toll on her voice with the range of notes; some very high and other's low. She had to be a soprano. I could sing in alto in the University of Guelph choir. I plan to join the choir in 2010.
The strings were excellent; something I wished to play but I had to come to terms that my hand would never stop shaking due to my mild cerebral palsy. I was greatly discouraged when I tried to play the violin, hoping that every thing would turn out OK but it didn't and I had to accept that and sell my violin. There were two large harps and they sounded beautiful in harmony with all the strings. I'm only sorry that didn't know the music, otherwise I could explained more about the music to my sister. When you hear the word Strauss, you think of waltzes but I didn't hear any waltzes but just and endless piece of music.

Food

My sister is a spectacular cook. She can always make meals lickety split with such a variety. All that she cooked, I savoured and wondered how she cooked them. She told me how to cooke a few things, like poached eggs and mashed yams I figured out for myself. She cooked a delicious dish of rice without ing a rice cooker. She gave this away to her daughter. The rice was puffy and fresh. I still had my rice cooker so I knew that I could cook a fairly descent meal. We had red wine every night in Vancouver to accentuate the flavour of the food.
When I was back in Ontario, it came time to putting up the Christmas tree. I had everthing prepared but I had no wine. I went to mass with my friend and after mass I saw Father pouring wine back into the bottle. I asked if I could have some because I needed it while decorating my Christmas tree. Father laughed and said, "I've never heard that one before."
But my facination with cooking started on the plane ride out to Vancouver, having watched almost all of"Julie and Julia." The characters in the movie were devoted to coooking up a storm. I must admit though, I didn't care for boiling live lobsters since I'm an animal lover. At the aquuarium, my sister asked me when I first started loving animals. I guess it was when I was four, when my mother sang a song which was in "Marry Poppins; Feed the Bird's." I din't have much trouble with eating meat, except when I discovered how veal was made...so cruel and unfeeling man can be-separating calves from their babies. We must seem like monsters to the animal world.
We watched a cooking show that required coconut juice straight from the coconut. The girls in the show, had to do a test to cook a meal how a chef would cook. They had trouble breaking open the coconut though. They trieed everything from a hammer to their shoe but gradually got the thing open. They were panicking because the chef was going to be there any minute and evaluate them. I thought the chef was going to be strict with them but he miracoulsly gave the them an eight out of ten.
Cooking is like an art. You put ingredients together and voila!!!!You've created a masterpiece. I think after years of battling an eating disorder, I finally view food in a different light and am eager to get cooking. I even cooked fof my friend and she thought is was similar to a Thanksgiving meal. I wouldn't say I've gone that far but it is deffinately an improvement.

University of British Columbia

The university is just one bus ride from my sister's town house. I noticed there was a window in the ceiling of my sister's townhouse. She said that was to let in as much light as possible since most days are cloudy with drizzle. My sister gave me my own room which I thought was very nice because each night I was there, I had some down time and could read my Harry Potter book or do som praying that I would normally do at home as part of my routine.
My nephew is thinking of attending UBC for engineering. He will live at home and commute. My sister and I felt it would be neat to check out the university. There are enormous homes that surround the university and they are right near the ocean; probably doctors and lawyers live here. The lanscaping is truely amazing but we couldn't see the ocean from this view point.
We went to the main centre of the university and found a lot of restaurants and students were working on laptops. A student's art was on display which we thought was intriging because the artist took thousands of pictures of a city and arranged them in a way like a puzzled after he did all his photo's. One he completed one photo, he would cut the photo into little rectangulars peices and paste them together to be presentedd in a lanscape of the city. Lord knows how long this would take. It was such labourus work. But we found it interesting and my sister talked to the artist for a while. He was taking art history as well as taking photographs for his art. I always felt I had no fee time after my subjects in university but I find that the more you have to do, the more time you make for extrcurricular activities.
Another nephew attends the University of Geulph and he finds time to ride his bike to Guelph lake and run marathons. These young adults are just full of energy.
As we were taking the bus back, it became more and more packed as we got into the city. My sister had to stand all the way home which was a half an hour ride. Night was closing in on us and we saw inside retail stores and looked at the items that they were selling. My sister said her son shopped here and would come home with his friends on a visit. I think I was counting the Starbucks as we passed by. It is a coffee city.

Around my Sister's Domain

One of the good things about being on vacation is that you can sleep in and I am one for sleeping in. The average time I would wake up is 9AM. But we still had enogh time to make coffee. I am guilty of drinking the most in the mornings. I don't feel human if I don't. I was suprized my brother-in-law said that he had three cups of coffee per day while I had over five. However, he does drink espresso and bought me some at the cafe on Grouse mountain.
I found out where the Catholic Book Store was via internet and to my astonishment, it was practically around the corner. I would love to have the internet at home but I can't afford it. I seemed glued to the internet every free second I was visiting my sister. But first we headed towards my brother-in-law's work. He is the boss of Omni and City TV in Vancouver, so he has quite a demanding job and feels exhausted when he gets home frome work. He showed us around his office and I found it to be like an executive office; quite big. We said hello to his co-workers and saw a man giving a speil on the latest news which was the retirement of Oprah Winpray in 2010. I was never a big fan of hers. I thought she got too much fame to begin with but I guess she has helped a lot of people including Dr. Phil. I don't have cable, so i don't know much about television but having it on in my sister's house, I could see the fascination for it. There was so much you could learn by watching documentries.
We watched a documentry on the horse; Sea Buiscuit, which was outstanding to learn about. His rider was blind in his right eye but never told anybody about it in case he was disqualified. He lost one race due to his ailment by one horse coming up along his right hand side. Obviously he couldn't see the horse approaching and he thought he had the race covered but the other horse dashed to the finish line before him and Sea Biscuit's owner had to endure the criticism of losing the race. There was no way he would be disqualified.
I think my sister's favorite shows were about cooking and boy, was my sister ever a good cook. She experiments with ingredients and always tries something new. "We'll turn you into a foodie yet," she said. A foodie, is one who likes food.
At the Catholic Book Store I found many appealing things but could only afford so much. I liked the statues of the saints but were expensive. The store had books, rosaries, statues and vestments for the priests. I thought I could go there on my next visit which would likely be the spring as long as my sister doesn't object. Catholic Book Store are found only in cities. It was just a stroke of luck that the book store happened to be so close.
My sister took me to have some lunch at a backery called Terra Backery. It was situated among construction and some construction workers had lunch there. I thought it was nice that they had a break like this, because everything was so fresh. I had a vegetarian sandwich with a cookiie for dessert. My sister is finding her way around the city and is fascinated with all the informaton she is taking in about the city. To me, it feels like a home away from home because Vancouver is a Canadian city and my sister lives there now. I like it better than Toronto because it is cleaner. Vancouver has a welcoming feel to it. Everybody was so nice there throughout my stay.

Aquarium

From my sister's house, we drove to the Vancouver Aquarium. It was sea life at his best mainly because the aquarium was so close to the Pacific Ocean. The guides were informative being graduates in marine biology and could answer all our questons. The most attractive sight was watching the beluga whales swim with their babies. The babies stayed close to their mothers. One was the grandmother of a baby beluga, who it's mother had just given birth a couple of months ago. The baby didn't have a name but the aguarium gave us an opportunity to suggest names online. My sister and I came up with an inuit name and sent it to the aquariums website. We would be egible for a gift certificate to the gift shop. We were alble to see the beluga's outdoors and in. I liked the way they're shaped, swimming around their pool.
The dolphins put on a show for us and before you knew it, they were jumping ten feet in front of you; their reward was a lot of fish. One dolphin could play ball and shot it right to the trainer. The trainer's were asking the dolphin's question and they replied with a shake up their heads up and down. They would talk to their trainers, waiting for a pat on the head. Each had a name and when called, responded. The amazing move was their ability to travel upright by their tail. Once they would dive for the ball, they would remarkably appear at the opposite end of their pool; faster than the speed of light. These creatures felt at home in the water and were delighted with human contact.
My sister and I stood in front of the bat exhibit and talked about how ugly they were and how they scared us. My sister's worst nightmare would be being attacked by a bator rather a bear. But they eat insects that are a danger to plant species. That is the only good thing about them and we settled to look at the otters. They were so cute, eating with their paws and being friends side by side, (there were two in their pool). I took a picture of these creatures along with the belugas and the dolphins.
We viewed a number of frogs; very colourful and what a variety. A certain group of species reintroduce a dangerous variety of frogs that killed other frog. You think they would think befor introducin this species to the ecological habitat.
The aquarium presented us with a 4D experience. What is actually a 4D experienc is that you feel what is happening around the habitat of whale, dolphins ect. My sister, claimed that she got kicked in the back. Maybe a shark was coming up close to her. At one point bubbles floated across the theatres and we got splashed with waters when the dolphins dived into the ocean. I thought it was hillarious. I don't know how my sister felt a kick. I don't think there was anyone behind her. So now we know what a 4D experience feels like.
The different types of corals were beautiful and we saw plenty of starfish. The tiny seahorses were amazing. If I had a lot of money, i would give to the world wildlife fund but I don't, so I gave two dollars to the aquarium.

Rain

I don't have the slightest idea of what we saw next, so I will choose to talk about rain in Vancouver. Firstly, it seems like it never stops. But the good old umbrella, seems to be an extra gadget that is cumbersome when you are carrying something else. So, I ditched the umbrella and headed out doors with my hood of my winter jacket protecting me from the rain. One get's so used to the rain here there are stores especially designed for umbrellas. We went into one such store on Grandville Island, and could choose from a variety of designs. It reminded me of a kite store. We didn't buy anything but we got an idea what kinds of umbrellas were ideal for the climate of British Columbia.The store clerk showed us a clear plastic umbrella. Not only could you see where you were going but you were pretty much covered from the rain. Needless to say, we didn't end up buying an umbrella but we had a good idea of gift buying for Christmas.
We had one day that it didn't rain but we chose to go to the art gallery; a place for viewing the paintings of French Canadian scenery. It felt out of place, since we were on the west coast and looking at art from the east. Kreigoff, was a painter that my dad is familiar with. He has a whole book about him at his home.
I did see works from the group of seven, which utterly amazes me. I enjoy taking in the icebergs and the landscapes surrounded by trees. They were probably painted in Algonquin Park, an extraordinary place for camping in Ontario. Now I am talking of Ontario when I should be talking about the sights and sounds of Vancouver. Overall, I soon got tired of the art gallery, so me and my sister met up with my brother-in-law, grabbed something to eat and I ventured on to the bookstore while my sister looked for more art at the art gallery. I was filled to the brim of information regarding the types of art and had to get some diversion.
I went into a huge Chapters situated in downtown Vancouver and I surrounded myself with thousands of books. I can never get tired in a bookstore. Chapters had three floors. I found that it was bigger than the world's biggest bookstore.

Voyage to Queen Elizabeth Park

It's another rainy day in Vancouver but that doesn't stop us from making the most out of the day. Our destination is Queen Elizabeth Park. One disadvantage is that it is all uphill. although I finished a hearty breakfast, I felt hungrier and hungrier as we ascended up the hill to the park. Maybe it's because the park has the highest lookout point in all of Vancouver. Luckily, I brought granola bars with me and with each breath I munched on them, regaining my energy for what I thought was a bit of a challenge. My sister was patient and stopped while I devoured my granola bars. I offered her some but she didn't seem as hungry.
As we got higher and higher, we saw more greenery. It is lush in Vancouver because of all the rain. The trees are over forty feet tall and they seemed to take in the dampness of the air as if it were for fuel for growth. What kind of people would want to cut these magnificent trees in this province? I am a tree person despite the fact that I took forestry in college. Cutting down trees didn't appeal to me. As on teacher pointed out, it was rape and pillaging the earth and I soon got tired of using the trees instead of conserving the trees.
Queen Elizabeth Park is actually an extinct volcano which is 153 metres above sea level. No wonder why I was tired. We wandered into the Bloedel Floral Conservatory growing 500 varieties of trees and plants; very well cared for. It was funny that my sister found little critters running throughout the conservatory while it was news for the floral guide. I just saw the plants move while these animals raced along the ground. When she reported that there were rats running around, the tour guide was astonished and felt it was nasty business since it was the first time she heard such a thing. I think we shocked her and perhaps she though it was another reason to shut down the conservatory. I didn't sign the comment book because of my hand tremor but I really was fascinated with the variety of plants and birds. It is a pity that they were going to close it down because it is such a nice environment. It was hard to keep it up I guess; to maintain it lush tropical feel. Birds flew every which way but the ones which stood out were the parrots. These big birds never cease to amaze me having a friendly feel to them. Their vocalization told us that they were content to live there and did not want the city to destroy their habitat.
As we went outdoors, it was still rainy but I could get a good view of the mountains from the lookout and so took some pictures. The clouds were lower than the normal. I wanted to get a clear view of the mountains but the weather wouldn't cooperated and I noticed that my sister was just about fed up with the rain. I've never been in a wetter climate. But I am reassured that there will be brighter days ahead.

Arriving In Vancouver

At the luggage carousel, my sister was waiting with open arms. I was so happy that I managed to go the right way in this new land. I introduced her to Naomi, explained about the cracker snack and then we headed to the sky train, especially designed for the Olympics. It felt like riding the monorail at the Metro Toronto zoo since removed because of accidents. I thought the zoo went downhill from the accident. The city cannot afford to feed the animals and when I visited there, the poor animals looked depressed. I really felt for them, me being an animal lover and I vowed never to go back to the zoo again. I would rather them close the zoon, than let the animals go downhill.
Once we got to my sister's town house, I was amazed at the architecture and wanted to take a picture but I was encouraged to take it when it was not raining. When was it not raining? I saw a glimpse of the sun once and right now it is Saturday. A slow drizzle to keep the trees green and the Vancouverites mumbling to themselves as to why this weather is happening. There are tonnes of umbrellas here, which makes me want to call it umbrella land. I've never been in a climate like this. It is supposed to be moderately warm throughout the year which means having a green Christmas.
The upside to this, is there is always a coffee shop around the corner. Starbucks is everywhere and the Vancouverites gravitate to them. Me on the other hand, seeks out a Blends where the price is descent and the coffee is extraordinary. So you are dealing with a coffee and holding an umbrella, which my sister seems to think is more dangerous then possessing a weapon. The reason is clear...if you slip and fall the person holding the coffee burns another person while poking his eye out with an the points of the umbrella. So, the moral is take time to savor the flavor of the coffee in the shop around the corner. As my brother-in-law would put it, a living room outside of your house.

A Helping Hand

It was my first time at an airport alone. Tim, a friend romantically from the past offered to drive me from Guelph to the airport but I felt isolated when he dropped me off at the airport. I needed help and guidance. So, I asked and asked tonnes of questions. I admit, I was a little bit nervous at the security. I took my coat off and they commented on how big the coat was as it was viewed in the machine. What the heck did that mean? Did they think I was smuggling something? I quickly remembered the scene in "French Kiss," when Kevin Klein said to Meg Ryan: "you would declare a stick of chewing gum." I laughed at the thought as I made it through security. It wasn't as bad as I thought.
I was reading the numbers off my ticket and wounded in the wrong section. Thankfully, a lady helped me and guided me to my flight 101 and I chose a seat and relaxed with my Harry Potter book which is a good conversation piece by the way. Everybody and his mother are indulging in the
books. How famous is J.K Rowling?
An hour went by, and I found myself boarding the plane. There didn't seem to be a lot of people waiting but when I got seated on the plane, I found it crowded. Every seat was taken up. My seat was in between a gentlemen and Naomi. She had introduced herself and helped me with any questions because I admitted to her that I hardly leave Guelph. As the plane took off, I was left with an exhilarating feeling of profound freedom. I was a tourist in a foreign land.
It was difficult to get a hold of my books and my headphones because I was crammed between two people. One man on the window seat didn't say boo but at least Naomi was friendly. I had to step on her seat in order to get my knapsack which contained my granola bars, headphones and of course my books which are so valuable to me as was the case in "Inkheart," where the lady guarded her books as if they were worth more than gold.
I finally found my headset and indulge in watching "Julie and Julia." It was a good movie that inspired to get a blog up and writing. I am a writer and I thought I should have some avenue to get my work out there. Having free coffee and free water was heaven for me. I just had to make sure my tremor was under control because of the amount of turbulence we had experienced. I didn't finish "Julie and Julia," because the plane was coming to a landing and the gentlemen, graciously opened his window so I could see the mountains and the ocean. We were coming in for a landing. Vancouver here I come.

The Idea

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Living in Ontario and being a Canadian, you would think I would take this great opportunity without the worry of having a passport, to explore my "home and native land." But I have seen more of the United States than Canada. Since I am in the middle of getting my passport; a bit of an ordeal, since every detail on your application has to be perfect; I searched for other opportunities to travel. My sister just happen to move recently to Vancouver. Waking up one day, I was faced with an explosion or a eureka moment in my head. "Why don't I go to Vancouver?" I rushed to the telephone without further delay and made the phone call my sister. I presented her with my ingenious idea and without realizing that she was on the other side of the country; a country that is vast; she indicated that it was 6:30 in the moment. I was jolted into reality and apologized profusely. Nevertheless, within two weeks I was on my way to the east coast and I could make it happen flying solo.

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