Toronto Pride, with a little BSS and friends thrown in.

Our Pride weekend started Friday evening on Church Street, walking around and listening to music, drinking from our water bottles. Mike, Chris, the boy and I actually did more talking than anything - on the street and in a pub. It was a great time, as usual, chatting with great friends and watching people on the streets.

Saturday was the Broken Social Scene concert on Olympic Island...

Broken Social Scene | taken by emnovo

They were awesome. I can't word it better then other reviewers have already done.

Lisa Lobsinger of Broken Social Scene | taken by eric price

We couldn't actually see the stage from where we were, but on the way home, guess who we were sitting beside on the ferry?

Feist | taken by emnovo


Feist was great. She wasn't feeling well and it would have been hard to know. Her voice is fabulous and stood up against her flu.



Bloc Party

Also on the ferry back, sitting with Lisa, was the Bloc Party. Yup! We didn't realise it right away, but looked over and were surprised. I guess we'd figured the bands would be transported across the lake by water taxi or something.

Sunday was filled with a Beer Garden at the 519 Community Centre, walking around the street away from the parade, and dancing on the street at Wellesley and Church Streets. Lots of fun. I took lots of photos. Of course, shortly after the boy arrived downtown, he hurt himself trying to take a photo. He accidentally grabbed onto a hot pipe (not that kind...) and badly blistered his fingers. The trooper toughed it our for a while, but then we left to attend to the boo-boo with some gauze and ointment.

Needless to stay, going back to work this morning was rough. At least I stuck it out and even went to the running clinic tonight. We are at 3-min run/2-min walk, and go up to 4 minutes next week. Gawd help me.

Happy Pride 2006!

originally uploaded on flickr by mishka


I just added the huge copyright blurb because this image has been getting a lot of Google image search hits.

Vegan Cook-a-long

Just want to direct your attention over to the Vegan Cook-a-long Blog, started up by fellow vegan and Torontonian Carla. Each week, a member of the blog will choose a recipe, which we will all try and post about during the following week. The first recipe chosen was a tasty Broccoli Pesto, which I tossed with some whole wheat pasta, sun-dried tomatoes and more broccoli.

I can't wait to see what Michelle chooses for this week's challenge!

If you're interested in joining along, just do what it says here.

So, I got a little crazy

I have discovered YesAsia.



I ordered all 3 of these books, which are due to be shipped out to me on June 29th.

I'm going to go into the debt corner now and think about what I've done.

No Obligation Day 2006!

Well, not necessarily no obligation at all. I did have an early doctor's appointment. I got dumped by my other GP because he is focusing his HIV patients and then taking a leave of absence. Hmm. Anyway, I was referred to a young female doctor (yay!) who seems really nice. We talked about my seizures, and she was very stern about me not driving since I took myself off my meds last year. We also talked about some "female stuff" and my developing CTS. The best part was that she was not phased at all when I mentioned being vegan. She even said "Well, I'm not going to worry about your diet. You're vegan. You must be pretty healthy." I think she'll work out nicely.

I'll still miss my attractive gay male doctor, though.

The previous Smarties post might need a bit of explanation. Jennifer is one of my most favourite people in the world. To refer to her as a friend is a grave understatement. She is one of the most beautiful people I know, in every way. When we were crazy teenagers, Jennifer revealed a secret to me, and I hope she is okay with me sharing it. She had always wanted to eat a big bag of Smarties, pouring them into her mouth until it was full. One year for her birthday, I bought her a big bag. And we sat in her car, dumping huge, greedy quantities of Smarties in our mouths until we felt ill. It was so indulgently glorious. And one of my fondest memories of Jennifer... but only one of many.

Those were the pre-vegan days. Damn, I wish they made a dark chocolate version.

Jennifer was whisked away to Montreal when her partner got a job there. I miss you, Jen.

After my doctor's appointment, I made an overdue stop at Whole Foods and got a few things, and resisted many others. The vegan muffin was heavenly. Then I got my blood taken to check various things and headed over to Queen Street West for the Kit'n Kaboodle Show and Sale. Remember these dresses? Well guess what I saw the show. Yes. Seriously. At 25% off. My jaw dropped as I fondled the eyelets and crisp cotton. Sadly, even my horrible head-math skills told me that, even with 25%, the price was higher than I am able to spend on one dress. Le sigh. Momo's official website is here if you like to drool over these types of beauties.

I did allow myself a small purchase. I got these three awesomely Burtonesque handmade beads by Goblin & Crumb for $15 for all 3. I can't wait to make myself a necklace with the dolly head!



And, of course, passing by Toronto's Trinity Belwood Park, there was another Mr. Verg's Theatre of the Absurd sighting.

Jennifer, these are for you.

Eat up, sweetie. You deserve it.

Love you.

New shoes!

I just got a new pair of T-strap Mary Janes! Wheeeeeeee!!!!!

They're quite comfy, though I expect I'll need insoles for 'em.

Plastic shoes + summer + a girl who prefers no socks = PEEEEE-yew.

I'll just play her music and look at the photos...

2006-06-10 - mod club - amy millan 43
Originally uploaded by theplot.

Thanks to theplot on Flickr, I am at least able to pretend I went to the show....

But no "sweet sets"....

I have lived in Toronto since 1999, growing up in a suburb of the GTA and frequently traveling into the Big City since the age of 14.

Today, I feel like a true Torontonian. Today, at Yonge and Bloor, I had my first Zanta sighting.

Never heard of Zanta? You can watch the documentary.

Or see Zanta on Flickr.

Boo.

I discovered that our guests today were not going to be staying all night, which meant I could go to the Amy Millan concert tonight at The Mod Club afterall! This morning, I checked Ticketmaster's website and it didn't say the show was sold out... Yay!

But, you do see where I am going with this, right?

Got me all dolled up, met up with Mike and Chris, headed over to Little Italy, only to find out the show is "so sold out" (says the bitchy ticket girl at the front door). So, the boys and I said our disappointed good-byes and I hopped on the first streetcar back home, cursing that Ticketmaster website.

Boo.

At least I got a glimpse of the Broken Social Scene boys hanging around outside the door... and I have the BSS/Feist/Bloc Party Olympic Island show to look forward to in a coupla weeks...

*sigh*

Guess I'll go bead. And dye my hair. And await Carla's review of the show...

Have you the wing?

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Mod-Asana. Finally, a peek!

I am very close to being done. It always feels a little bittersweet when the end of a knitting project approaches. You spend so much time working on the piece, nurturing it from mere string to dimension object, that it can be hard to let go - even though you look forward to the joy and satisfaction of accomplishment. Okay, so I am getting all emotional over a knitted tube top, but I think you all can understand the sentiment.

This is what I am hoping to end up with, but a little more 3-dimensional.
The tube goes all the way around the top, as opposed to the tabbed back that the original instructions make. I think the original is a neat idea, but I want to wear this top out - not just to a yoga class.

Here is a longer, and not so pretty, shot of the top, showing the slit in the bottom ribbing. My circular needles are very short, making it difficult to keep track of the stitches when I originally joined the round of the ribbing. I had to rip the stitches twice because both times I realized I was knitting a möbius strip (half the stitches were knitting up, and the other half were knitting down). So, I decided to knit the bottom ribbing flat and join at the bodice, creating a bottom slit. Also, just to jazz things up a bit (oooh, I'm so car-ay-ZAY!) I incorporated random purls within the back 40 stitches to make a bumpy texture.

Oh, that little strip of red on the left side of the photo - that was going to be a drop-stitch tank top that I got bored with, so I am unknitting it and incorporating the yarn into my tube top. I really hate ripping stitches and winding balls!

The scary thing is that I can't try this on while it is attached to the needles, and I have never really taken any sort of measurment. It may end up too big or too small, but I really haven't taken the time to figure out how it will fit!

Fava beans

I brought a can of mixed favas and chickpeas to work today for lunch. I have never eaten canned fava beans before. Are they supposed to smell kinda olivey?

Maybes

From everything I've read, exercise is supposed to make you feel good, yeah? Why is it, then, that I feel so bad? Not physically - my muscles feel quite good - but emotionally. I wish I could blame it on PMS, but it's the wrong time for that. It feels like a general feeling of depression, which I've experienced several times before, but I would have hoped that all the running/walking sessions I've had in the past week would negate any unexplained depression. Hmm. Maybe I'm just having a bad couple of days.

I had my second Begin to Run class last night, and I am still feeling the awesome effects of heavy breathing in my lungs. They feel so clear and strong, and my breathing feels purposeful. Maybe if I picture all that happy and positive oxygen flowing through my bloodstream I will visualize myself into a better mood.

The group-exercise thing still was an issue for shy little me, but halfway through the outing part of the class (the first part is instruction... this week was about shoes and foot types *snore*) I began talking to one of the girls and we continued to talk for the rest of the walk/run. She approached me, of course, on account o'the shyness. She had missed last week's class and was just starting out last night. I have to admit, talking to her made the exercise go by more quickly. Maybe there *is* something to this group support.

On the crafty front, I will be meeting with a shop owner on Thursday about selling earrings in her shop! Hooray! Sadly, I ran out of head pins and am unable to make more of the styles that I like, which means my stock might be limited unless I can get to the bead supply store today. Maybe if I run out of time, I will try the craft department at Walmart at Scarborough Town Centre, which I have easy access to. UGH.

In more crafty news, I am about 3/4 of the way through my super-modified Asana, which I diligently work on during my commutes. Since I am a not a perfectionist when it comes to knitting, I have used about 3 different types of yarn to knit the bodice - starting out with a thicker cotton, then moving on to a different brand of cotton, then on to a mercerized cotton. There are definite shifts in tone and texture with each switch, but I'm okay with that. Maybe I'll actually get around to taking a photo of my progress soon.

Lastly, I was hoping someone could help me out with some running advice. I do my homework runs in the mornings because I can't stand the thought of doing them after work (Monday night classes aside). The problem I am finding is with energy. Does anyone know if I ate something carby before bed, would that energy still be available 7-8 hours later when I go out to run? Right now, I have a few almonds and some chocolate smilk (and some cold coffee made the night before) right before I go out, but I feel that I need more and I simply will not get out of bed a half hour earlier just to eat something. Anyone? Anyone?