shoes really do make the outfit, don't they

Please check out this incredible shoe museum.

menagerie

menagerie, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Brugge, Belgium

IMGP5744, originally uploaded by smoooch.

accidents happen

The whole series is of "accidents" is totally hilarious. Of course you will find a way to have a stuffed lion with an arm in it's mouth. And Patricia Waller is a crafty genius. While having a crocheted chicken would make a great centerpiece at Thanksgiving, I'm not sure about the decapitation in yarn.

Or maybe it would.

At that view, the world seemed like a different place.

the world seemed like a different place, originally uploaded by smoooch.

childhood memory

Whenever anyone mentions the phrase "running around like a chicken without its head" I instantly remember an early childhood experience.

I was a little girl, maybe 3-4 years old. My parents used to take me down to Olds where my grandparents had a farm. In the shelter belt tree line, they had a small wooden shed equipped with hooks and a small chopping block. This was where they beheaded the chickens. One of my earliest memories is standing in the white and freshly fallen snow. My hand knit mitts probably damp and frosty from playing in it. I had a one piece snowsuit. I think it was red and it had some sort of fluff trimmed hood and zipped up with a thick zipper and I had these little snow boots that were silver. I was standing there in the snow white snow in my little snowsuit and boots watching with slight curiosity and probably a little horror as my grandfather decisively swung the ax and hung the chickens to drain from the hooks. As I try and remember this early experience, I think back and see the trees standing tall and dark against the snow, the blur of adults around, standing there cold like my mittens against the site of a chicken or two running in circles without its head, the others caught and draining. White snow spashed red like my snowsuit.

my mom taught me how to cook

Mom also taught me:

how to sew, and thus I made curtains last night
to keep my room clean and I still do to this day
to save my money for a rainy day and pay my bills on time and now having savings rocks
tough lessons so I would be resilient and responsible for myself
the value of myself that exists beyond anything I may do or accomplish

Thanks Mom. You've taught me so much more and mean so much more than I could write here, so instead, I'll share the soup recipe I made for lunch today. I steamed some broccoli to add to it after it was finished since I didn't have any cilantro. Oh, yeah, you helped to develop my ability to think creatively.

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Taken from La Dolce Vegan, pg 106

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 celery stalk, cubed
1-2 sm potatoes, cubed
1 sm yam/sweet potato cubed
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dried red lentil
1 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tep ground black pepper
1- 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, saute onion in oil until translucent. add garlic and celery and saute for another 5 minutes. Add yams, potatoes, stock, lentils, curry paste, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir in coconut milk and with a hand blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth. Return to pot, stir in cilantro and serve. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

fat fatter fatest

gold shares or groceries

My family recently inherited some money from my Great Great Uncle Alf.

I guess iy goes that my Great Great Great Grandfather immigrated to America after doing his duty with old hand in the jacket Napoleon's and his army in France. His son, my Great Great Grandfather was Alf's father. As a wee bairn, poor Alf was forced to travel across the American west in a wagon train with his parents (his dad was the wagon master) and older siblings (Grapes of Wrath comes to mind here). The family finally settled in Colorado where my Great Grandmother, Joyce and her twin sister, Josephine (clever names for twins), were born. Of course my Great Grandmother eventually married and gave birth to my mother's father and they moved to Canada when my grandfather a year old.

Old Uncle Alf homesteaded in Alaska and prospected for gold. As far as we know he never found much and apparently he also married a local lass when she was only 15. He did, however, leave his homestead. About 20 years ago his nephew (Josephine's son) started to work on proving that the family were entitled to Alf's estate. Now, all these years later it is settled.

Much more effort was spent splitting up the inheritance but at the end of the day I received $800 from this incredible part of my ancestry. I mean this dates back to the 1800's.

When my mother gave it to me she wrote, "So - no strings attached - enjoy - buy gold shares or groceries."

What do you call a woman with no arms and one leg?

, originally uploaded by kk+.

Peggy.

She seemed so nice until she saw you had wasted the ribbon.

sunset on Tuesday, originally uploaded by smoooch.

For an explanation, see this post.

let's do lunch (or breakfast, or take out, of dinner , or hell.. maybe we'll just stay in)

Eggs Benny baby, originally uploaded by smoooch.

I was tagged for a restaurant MeMe by Christine in Dallas:

The rules:

1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you.
Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas(ish) Texas, United States)
Iliana (Dallas (ish), Texas, United States)
Christine (Dallas, Texas, United States)
Jill (Vancouver, BC)

2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.
3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

These are my favorite places to eat:

Yogi's on Commercial Drive-
Their potato pratha and raita is like crack to me. They also have this fruit salad with papaya, banana, and potatoes in a tamarind dressing that is unbelievable. You'd never know how those 3 items could taste so good together. Really peaceful ambiance, dimmed lighting, not fancy and on the weekends there is a Sitar player which is slightly annoying in a Beatles circa 1969 sort of way. The pots of Chai are pretty good too. Dinner for 2 with Gulab Jamon will run about $25. Lots of vegan choices too.

Slickety Jim's Chat & Chew on Main Street
Very cool dineresque atmosphere. Kooky decor abound. Looks like it was decorated in a flash trip to the local thrift store with a stop over in the lost in found box of the local library, but it all works. Staff are clearly actors/artists/painters/dancers looking for a little side money waiting tables. Always busy and always worth it. Kooky menu, for example:
Salad of the Renaissance- a soft, delicate poached pear guided by a most subtle and divine goat feta as they laze about a garden of wild greens, mingling with fresh herbs and sun dried black olives with implied subtleties that only a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette can provide.
Or my favorite: a scrambled egg, veggie sausage and peppers wrapped in a warm tortilla with cheddar with a side of hash browns called "Society Made Me What I Am".

The Clove- Commercial Drive
I'm big on ambiance and aesthetics. This place always has a unique and understated display of fresh cut flowers. Their table water is filtered and seasoned with fresh mint and lime. I could go there just for the water. The food is amazing. A mash of Asian/ Indian. My favorite is the Thai Beef salad- Lean strips of beef marinated with lime and ginger served on a bed of greens. Tandoori Chicken and Paneer fritters are running a close second for my taste buds.

At home with the How it all Vegan Cookbook
There is an amazing selection of fresh food in Vancouver. A prolifery of them reside on Commercial Drive. Then there's Capers and Granville Island too. Sometimes I just want to cook up a little something at home. And so know one is confused, I live in the Commercial Drive area and I am not Vegan.
note: Sarah Kramer is a local Victoria gal who runs a tattoo parlor and has co written the cookbooks, "How it all Vegan", "In a Garden of Vegan" and independently wrote "La Dolce Vegan". These are killer and highly recommended cookbooks. Lots of other cool ideas are in the books on natural cleansers, DIY's, etc..Another killer local cookbook is Rebar, based on the legendary vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, BC. (I swear BC was colonized by hippies and tree huggers.)

(another note: If I had a restaurant, it would have a cool web page and it would publish a cookbook. Doing this Meme I was surprised that my favorite hangouts don't have web look sees. Dang)

last but not least and proof of my non-vegan status:

Szechuan Chongqing on 12th and Commercial
They have the best szechuan beef, szechuan green beans, broccoli with garlic sauce and probably a whole lot more yummy yummy but that's all I ever order because I am addicted. They're 4 blocks from my house and I order in at least twice a month. It's always enough for lunch the next day. So good!!

Ps. The photo is from breakfast at Cafe Du Soleil (on the Drive, where else). A little tiny 12 table place with a patio out front. All vegetarian and some vegan. Everyday you can get hash browns made with baby potatoes, yams, onions and peppers. Every so often you'll see a grocery clerk from the store across the street hustle something over. In the summer they have these mint and raspberry smoothies that will make you gratful to be alive. I can't get enough of their eggs benny (sans the ham)with free range eggs course. Michael and I often share the side banana bluberry pancake and they warm up the syrup.

Salivation has begun.

I'm tagging daisies@pluckthepetal.com and Nakedjen for this Meme.

My mother told me bread was a kind of addiction.

thought process

Catherine, my sister, is a compulsive ribbon hoarder. If you give her a gift she goes to great lengths (no pun intended) to save the length of ribbon. You can actually hear her heart beat faster if you pull out a pair of scissors and threaten to cut the ribbon. She is somewhat compelled to save the lives of wrapping paper as well, but not to the same extent.

I'm at her house right now and she just handed me a neatly bundled package of organza:

"But Jill, look, this is a ribbon that I received 7 years ago on a box of chocolates someone gave me in Ottawa. Isn't exquisite."

She is wrapping up a few little(and very small)items for someone. She stops and asks me,

"Do you think I should use this ribbon? (As she fondles a piece of mauve ribbon I used on a gift I gave to my father last Christmas.) It kind of matches the gift don't you think? What about this, does it match the color of the soap? No, maybe not."

I go back to what I'm doing and she continues on, almost pretty much to herself.

"What about this, is that colorful enough? Hmm."

I glance over and she is comparing another saved scrap of threaded confection against the choice of plain brown paper bag wrap. A decison is made and she carefully ties the bow and clips the ends into sharp pointy spears.

But, in all honesty, it's a charming and heartwarming trait to have. True to our frugal Scottish farm roots too. Catherine, has always been one to see the value of something another would carelessly toss:

"Wait! I can use that."

PS. She just opened a drawer and gasped, "Shoot! More ribbon." I laughed as they they all have be folded and secured and bagged.

little green house

IMGP4855, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Since I have been home:

I have:

worked nearly everyday
woken up early
slept late
done the laundry twice
bought groceries 3 times
inherited an unknown sum of money
cleaned the kitchen
done the dishes
made dinner
mailed my postcards from Europe
eaten out
felt happy
gone to the gym
rented a car
bought flowers
seen my sister
talked to my mother
had a coffee in my favorite cafe
printed photographs
felt sad

I have not:
had a picnic in the park
walked 18km in one day
had a blister on my foot
slept in a room with more than one other person
carried a pot of jam around with me
taken numerous photographs in one day
attempted to communicate without using English
gotten lost
talked to my father
felt in awe
gone to a museum

IMGP5596, originally uploaded by smoooch.

and their thighs slap dixie

, originally uploaded by MaggieMason.

press

prada soldiers 3, originally uploaded by smoooch.

It's a pretty old photo I took when I went to NYC the first time. I still love it. Do you? And apparently someone else does since it's been grabbed for a online NYC website. It's getting some coverage. It'll be great if I sell prints.

good vs. bad

Look, I'm going to be blunt. Driving cars is bad for the environment. Transit is better. We all know this and we all (or maybe most of us) need a car from time to time. Laundry soap is a bitch to carry home.

If you live in Vancouver and a bunch of other cities you can have access to a car sharing program called Zip Cars OR you can have access to a car through the Co-Operative Auto Network. Now why would you choose one over the other and which one should you choose? Well, I'll be blunt. The Co-Operative Auto Network is the one you should choose and here's why. The Co-Op is, well, a co-op. That means the profits go back into the company. The Zip Car is a caplitalist venture. That means the profits are making someone rich. (Rumor has it the Zip Car people phoned up the Co-op and asked them how they did it and then started up Zip. Fuckers.)

Zip Cars

Extra Value Plan:
One-time $25 application fee.
Pre-pay $50/$75/$125/$250 (your monthly commitment) and get that much in driving.
Once your stash is used up, you pay as you go at discounted rates.
From $8.78/hour and $62.10/day (any 24-hour period), depending on the car model.

Occasional Driving Plan:
One-time $25 application fee.
Annual fee of $55. No deposit. No monthly commitment.
From $9.75/hour and $69/day (any 24-hour period), depending on the car model.

Perks:
Free Gas
Free Parking
Free Insurance
150 free km

Co-operative Auto Network (3 price points):

Full member Shares ($500, paid one time, refundable if you leave the Co-Op)
Associate Shares ($250, paid one time, refundable if you leave the Co-Op)

"All three price points charge $2.00 per hour (to a maximum of $24 daily) plus applicable admin and kilometre charges, which are:

• Higher Usage: $40.00 monthly admin fee and 18¢ for every kilometre driven.
• Moderate Usage: $15.00 monthly admin fee and 28¢ for every kilometre driven.
• Lower Usage: $6.25 monthly admin fee and 38¢ for every kilometre driven.

A special Excursion Rate may apply for trips of more than 72 hours.

Any trip lasting longer than 72 hours (3 days) MAY use a different pricing. It will be charged $40 daily (cars) or $50 daily (trucks and minivans) OR regular rates - whichever is MORE. The $40/$50 includes all fuel and kilometre charges. It is a minimum charge designed to mitigate any losses the co-op may sustain when a vehicle is out of the fleet for extended periods. Any day or portion over the 72-hour period will be charged $40/$50 per day."

Perks:
-Free Gas
-Free Parking
-Free Insurance/ maintenance
-Discounted car rental from 3 different car-rental agencies
-Discount on YMCA memberships
-eligible to sign up for extended health and dental benefits through Pacific Blue Cross
-eligible for the Employer Pass Program, which provides a 15% discount off monthly FareCards
-BCAA

I personally think the choice is crystal clear.

the lizard king

IMGP5029, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Why is that when you tell people you went to Paris, they ask if you went to Jim Morrison's grave? Wouln't someone ask about the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre instead? Well, if you're curious.. here it is.