Some kinda Awe-summm?

I guess I must be since both Meg and Wendy gave me this award (although I think they really need to get out more...heh!). But, seriously, thanks, ladies...you're both uber-awe-summm!

I was hoping to get this post out yesterday, but we were out all day, and then I had computer/internet connection problems (big surprise...I've had more than my fair share of computer problems this past year).

So, here are the rules of this award:

1. List Seven Things That Make You Awe-Summm!
2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers you read religiously.
3. Tag those seven bloggers.

1. It goes against every fiber of my Chinese culture to brag about myself. Honestly, we are so anti-bragging, that we'll lapse into what my good friend, and former employer, Rod, calls "false modesty". I assure you this will hurt me more than it hurts you. ;>

1) I'm awe-summm for even attempting this (patting self on back).
2) I live in an awe-summm time and place where I don't generally fear for my life on a daily basis, and we have indoor plumbing with fresh water flowing from our taps.
3) I did pretty awe-summm portraits once upon a time (or so others have told me).
4) I'm the most awe-summm procrastinator I know.
5) I'm quite awe-summm for not over-using the word "awesome".
6) I've awe-summmly killed an awe-summm half-hour of my life working on this.
7) I am truly only awe-summ because I have a bunch of awe-summ friends, both in life and in cyberspace!!

2. & 3. It was hard to choose because I love all my bloggy friends...and fear not, it'll be YOUR turn next time! In alphabetical order (because I'm awe-summmly anal) ~
Amber - because she is totally multi-talented and enjoys playing games
Carrie-Gigi - because she unfailingly visits my (and many other folks') blogs to spread love and cheer
Diane - because I envy her lifestyle, her artistic eye, and her awe-summm blog
Epicure68 - because she's my dearest sister
Firefly Mom - because she's a Firefly Fan and has the best sense of humor
Heather - because she is super nice and a loyal reader with a sweetie-pie daughter
Suzanne - because she is a seriously talented artist with a terrific blog

How's your week been going? I have too many things on my to-do list and not enough hours in the day.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Dim the lights, here come the vacation photos

...don't fall alseep! ;)

I was going to post these in chronological order, but really, there's no reason to. Hope you'll like our photos of our Vancouver trip!

This is a view of Tower Trail, leading down to Tower Beach (a clothing optional beach next to Wreck Beach, a nude beach, which is, interestingly, right by my alma mater, The University of British Columbia). I wasn't on this hike, deciding to peruse the UBC bookstore instead.A photo of me and one of my most favorite people in the entire world, my sister - we're outside of Salmon House on the Hill, North Vancouver, after a delicious dinner:We took a walk to Chinatown one day (approximately an 8 mile jaunt from my parents' house). This is a photo of the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens where I used to work as a docent:Also in Chinatown is this fairly new Shanghai Alley which has posters detailing the varied history of Chinese immigrants to this area, both the shameful prejudice and happier times:The new gateway to Chinatown, made to resemble the one in San Francisco, CA. And speaking of things Chinese, here's a sampling of food we had while dining at one of the many, many Chinese restaurants in Vancouver. Sorry to gross some of you out with the chicken head. The plate in the back has one of the kids' favorite dishes: jellyfish.It'd been a while since dh and I had tripe, and the boys don't remember eating it at all, so my parents ordered it at dim sum one day (this is actually both tripe and beef tendon):Dh dropped me and my sis at Deep Cove to shop and chat while he and the boys went hiking on Dog Mountain (Mt Seymour). What a vista!This next pic was taking on Robson street and is for my cupcake-loving blogpals. You'll have to click on the photo to enlarge, but the cute pink awning says "Cupcakes"! I just wish I was allowed to venture in...One of British Columbia's many stunning coastal forests:At Granville Island Public Market, in addition to serious crowds, you can also find a number of interesting food items...such as dinosaurs...LOL!No visit to Vancouver is complete without a walk at Stanley Park. Here we are near Third Beach:For those of you Battlestar Galactica fans (the recent show, not the one from the 70s), tell me if you recognize this scene, and if those are Cylon skin jobs or real humans (hah!):For ds#1, a trip to Vancouver just would not be complete without a photo (or 10) of banana slugs. I'll spare you most of them, but thought that those of you who like this sort of stuff might want to check out the giants we find out on the West Coast. Dh held a quarter next to it for size comparison.And that's it for my July vacation. How was your month and did you do anything exciting? I'll be slowly making my way around your blogs again, so see you there!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Random Tuesday...thoughts and stuff

With any luck, by the time you read this, I should have arrived in Vancouver without getting too sick on the airplanes. Doing my annual visit-the-folks trip is always fun and stressful at the same time.

Wanted to leave you with a few pretty pictures of our harvests. This is our gai lan (Asian green; related to broccoli, I believe) that we blanched and froze:Just look at the cute (and tasty) flowers on it!We also harvested a large black trash bag full of basil - regular Italian, plus lime and lemon basils. I washed them, and you can see the boys' hands in this photo as they picked all the leaves off the stems.Dh did most of the actual processing work making the pesto, using up a whole bottle of olive oil (we like the Spectrum Organic ones), and about 6 lemons. Yum!! Here it is, in its blurry glory (darn shaky hands):What have you harvested or processed in the past week or two? I know some of you have already made luscious jams from various berries!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Thankful Thursday late, Happy 4th early, and two, count 'em, two giveaways!

I'm thankful for our wild fruits! Remember the wild blackberries and the black raspberries the kids picked? Here they are served in a simple syrup over Alden's Organic Vanilla Ice Cream:I'm also thankful for our regular veggies. Nothing says summer more than fried squash (until the watermelons come on anyway). These are crook neck squash; we'll have the regular summer squash later in the month. Pre-cooked:Cooked:I'd like to wish all my American friends a very happy Fourth of July! For fun, sing the Star Spangled Banner at the top of your lungs in a public place. I just might do that. I love the U.S. national anthem much more than the Canadian national anthem. :)

And to celebrate the momentous occasion of the birth of the country, you might want to enter some cool giveaways:

The first is from Professional SAHM - where you can win a Joy Carpet.

The second giveaway is from Mudpies and Mary Janes where you can win a Wii Sports Active.

What fun plans do you have for the holiday weekend, or regular weekend if you're not in the U.S.?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

There are berries, and then there are berries

Had just finished reading Cake's latest blog post about differentiating between wild black raspberries and wild blackberries when my boys came back from their walk with the dog and handed me a handful of both! So, I took some photos to share the difference.

From the back, you can already see minor differences between the two. The one on the left is the black raspberry and the one on the right is the blackberry:Aside from the fact that black raspberries ripen about a month or so earlier than blackberries (we have, obviously, a few early blackberries), once you pick them, you can see their difference from the inside. The black raspberries are hollow inside:Blackberries retain vestiges of the stem:Hey, this qualifies as a Random Tuesday fact! ;)

Have you been harvesting wild, or otherwise, berries too?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams