PINK SATURDAY IN JULY!

I haven't been around for a while. I've had a lovely summer so far; I've been to Disneyland, CA in June, and last week I had company in the form of my sister from St Louis, and her hubby, who helped to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday. You can see photos if you're interested by scrolling down below in previous posts.

Yesterday I went by bus to Granville Island, a wonderful, spectacular market for fresh veggies, fruit, meat, fish, flowers and anything your heart could desire to make your culinary taste buds pant in anticipation!

On the way there, I took these 2 photos of the beautiful flowers that are growing so lushly at this time of the year. Vancouver is a delight for the eyes on a summer day!

There is nothing like a pink rose, is there?

To see other delightful pink things, please visit the pink link in my sidebar.

Beverly hosts this amazing event each Saturday.

Enjoy!

Photo diet Day 2

Day 2 of the Photo Diet!

3 people advised me to cut out BREAD. Wah! That is, I must cut out bread in order to lose weight, which is the whole purpose of this diet. So today I forced myself to fry a free range egg for breakfast, and I added 1 1/2 strips of free range bacon along with 2 strawberries and one cup of black tea with cream and sugar. It was actually delicious, and I didn't need a mid-morning snack.
I went to Granville Island to buy fresh fruit and veggies, and I had a raisin crumpet and a cup of black tea with cream and sugar for lunch. I ate this scrumptious thing while looking at the boats in the harbour and listening to a guy yodeling with his guitar. I can't quite cut out all starch all at once!
My batteries died after this photo so I couldn't take a picture of the sinful item I had for dessert; a waffle cone with chocolate gelatto ice-cream. Yummy.

For supper I made fresh green beans, new potatoes with butter, and salmon and spinach in phylo pastry, which I bought from the markets at Granville Island. I could cheerfully live in that place! For dessert I had a tiny piece of dark chocolate and a cup of International coffee.
Today I drank 3 tall glasses of water. I also worked in the back yard, doing hand clipping around my flower beds, and I began the task of scrubbing the vinyl siding. This will work off calories and build muscle in my upper arms!

Photo diet

My sister, Leona, has come up with a new way to try and lose weight.

We're going to take a photo of each meal and snack we have each day, for one week.

It's already made a difference for me; I've stopped nibbling, because I'm too embarrassed to take pictures of that much food. Tee...hee...

The picture above shows my typical breakfast. I cannot make a hot breakfast for myself; I can only gag down one piece of whole wheat toast and one piping hot cup of black tea with cream and sugar. In this case, the toast has home made BC strawberry jam. Yummy.

For lunch today I had a toasted whole wheat sandwich (it's really 12 grain bread) with peanut butter and chopped up banana inside. I ate a handful of fresh green peas from the Farmer's Market, and a small Mini-go yogurt. I also had a small piece of dark chocolate for dessert.

After walking for half an hour to the library in Burnaby, (took the Skytrain back home) I had a snack of grapes, water and alas, cheesies which I'd bought at the $ store for only 50 cents.

Supper was simple; cheese bread from the local bakery, and corn/chicken chowder soup. I had a cup of plain tea for dessert, and one small piece of dark chocolate.

What do you think so far, Leona?

It doesn't seem like much. I'm lacking milk and way more water. Eeeks.

Maybe that's why my body is storing so much fat! It thinks it's starving!
I also had a snack after the walk in the evening, consisting of a rice cake and a cup of fruity tea (no cream or sugar). And I must confess that I did have a slice of cheese bread toast and a 1/2 cup of skim milk for a bed time snack.

Leona thinks I should cut out the BREAD. I agree. I've heard that works wonders.

Sadly, my bathroom scale broke, so I don't have any idea what I weigh.

HAPPY CANADA DAY! Our day in pictures!

Boarding our paddlewheeler, "The Native", on July 1, 2009,

Canada's 142nd birthday, and my Dad's 80th birthday.

This was our parent's treat to us!

The 3 of us.

My Dad.

Colin, Marlene, Dan.

James, Robert, and Robert, underneath the Port Mann Bridge!

Robert with Stewart Goodin, our fantastic trip narrator.

Enjoying a delicious lunch onboard!

One of the lovely houses along the Fraser River's edge.

Happy 80th, Dad!

Our new Captain!

Dad with his youngest grandson, James.

Dad with a middle grandson, Paul.

Dad and Mom, dis-embarking at Fort Langley, where we had all of half an hour to browse!

A unique sight!

(please click on all photos to get a fantastic huge view!)

A sundae on the house!

A stunning shot of the Skytrain bridge over the Fraser River.

A Captain of a different sort!

The man with eyebrows

Favourite photos of our trip

These were taken on Saturday June 13, 2009. This was our first action packed day in the wonderful world of Disneyland! The theme for '09 is "Celebration!" If you have a birthday in 2009 and if you sign up on Disney's site before you arrive in CA, you will get a free pass into Disneyland. If you already have a pass, like I did, you will get a gift card worth $69 to spend in their gift shops. I spent mine in 15 minutes flat!

The Blue Bayou

While riding "Pirates of the Caribbean" in Disneyland, we'd always longed to be one of the people eating in the "Blue Bayou", the fancy restaurant by the water's edge, just past the trees with Spanish moss, and the flickering fireflies. We inquired if we could place reservations, and lo and behold, we could do so, days in advance! We'd wanted to eat dinner there on my birthday but they were fully booked, so we arrived at 1:30 on Tuesday afternoon, June 16, at the mysterious, lamp lit Blue Bayou restaurant in the heart of New Orleans Square.

We were not disappointed. Because we arrived early, we were able to secure a table beside the river's edge. It was a magical moment and better than I could imagine. Linda and I ordered the "Monte Christo", an amazing egg bread sandwich, filled with ham and cheese and deep fried. It came with scalloped potatoes and green and white beans. It was the best thing I've ever put in my mouth; yes, even better than chocolate!
(If you click on each photo, you will see a large photo; you can really see our food well if you click on the above picture!)
Robert had gumbo soup, and jambalaya. He said it was superb.

My flash was too bright, but otherwise you wouldn't be able to see my plateful of food. I also had a delicious salad with it, and there was a raspberry dip for the top of the meal.

Mmm....yummy!