a bud day is a good day

friday was a special day.  i went to the temple with my friend mei lin.  i went through for dad's aunt della.  she was grampa's older sister.  dad says that they were next to each other in age.  i never met my great aunt della but i could barely speak her name without feeling like i was going to burst into tears.  it was special to be a small part of joining our family together.

i drove us there in mei lin's car. she doesn't like to drive on highways and my car isn't highway ready right now, so together we solve both issues.  she brought us steam buns to eat on the way.  they were so yummy. after we got out of the temple it was dark.  it was that kind of soft spring night--cool and sweet smelling.  there was a surround sound chorus of frogs.  we walked slowly, breathing deeply, savoring the moment.

saturday was a special day.  i had a breakfast date with budster downtown.  fatima is a mom now, and it's an obvious statement to say it's changed her.  but this particular way is that she is now an earlybird and that is a little reflected in the time of our reservation at chambar--8:15am.  i got up at 6:45 and got ready fast and grabbed my camera before heading out the door.  there is something about being up and out on a sunny saturday that promises adventure.  i was at the skytrain around 7:15.  it was deserted.  i had time to take some shots.  i love mornings like this. they're full of promise.

 this is my head waiting for the train with anticipation.

 foot shadows...

 this me and my fellow early morning travelers.

 i transferred trains at waterfront.  on the escalator down to the platform i enjoyed this poster.  what will you DO? good question.

i got off at stadium station (fatima's favourite).  i stopped on this bench to text her and see where she was on her journey from surrey.

  m: where u.

  m: i'm at your station

  f: commercial the reso is under my name if u r there

  m: shud i go there or wait fer yah at da platform

  f: just go there

   m: bossy...

 chamber was literally and physically (wink wink jay) next door to the station.  i snapchatted sarah outside and then felt ready to go in.  i got seated and was just taking some shots when bestbudofmyheart walked into my frame and sat down.

our waitress was so cute. she had the cutest french accent and it went well with her lovely personality.  plus she confessed at the end of our time together that she loved my hair and so...obvs i like her. fatima got an americano coffee and i got the juice of the day which was pineapple, ginger apple or sumthin.  delish.  i think her skin looks so rich and beautiful in this shot.

 buddah doesn't drop a beat when i spend a lot of time taking shots of her while we talk.  she's what we call 'normalized'  you can be 'normalized' too.  i'll help you.

 our starter waffles.  i got pistachio white chocolate rosewater sauce.

 bud got milk chocolate lavender.  i think i liked hers better.  but we shared.  we even layered dips according to my instructions.  see those little chippits?  fatty and i were talking and she was pushing her plate away and suddenly mid sentence i'm all, hey eat those.  she laughed and said she knew i was going to say something about her leaving those, and dutifully ate them.

 i got :Brochette de Porc, aka: Barbequed bacon, mortadella, spicy andouille, saucisson de Paris, fried eggs, tomatillo & pineapple salsa, spiced potatoes.  scrambled instead of fried.  pineapple salsa?  yes please!

 the fat one got Gaufre au Saumon aka:Gravlax spring salmon, savory waffle, yuzu dill hollandaise, poached eggs, pea tips.  yep.

 when we left we were met with this man, a profanity written on his forehead.  i changed it to be more truthful.

 fats is so street.

 me not so much.  lol.  i think this pic is hilar.  it's going to be the cover of our album, buds.

 we wandered to the downtown and stopped to see the coi in the telus garden building.

bud shadows.

 the best shot of her life.

 we spent some time at pacific center, resisting the magnetic pull of the guy we met at the mall map who was going to the apple store.  we spent some time picking out earrings for fat's sis in law, and generally giving the jewelry section a thorough once over h&m.  that was fun.

we were thirtsy so we stopped at the food fair and got mojito smoothies with mint and almond milk.

then we made our way to the old navy flagship store. flag ship status is very important to fatima.  don't joke about it.  i tried on some tops almost all of which caused me to giggle to myself in the changeroom because of how short they were.  wide and short. there are some weird shapes in tops fashion right now.  then we went to the top floor of the oldnavyflagshipstore and scoured the onesie section for samah.  that was fun.

then i had some bathroom adventures/emergencies that may or may not have led me to try and pry the female products disposal bin off of the stall wall.  but all was right in the end.

winners downtown does not have plus sizes.  boo to them.  i found some good sporty sandals for my trip though and a beach bag, so yay, for that. i actually found the bag after i purchased the shoes.  i turned around and there they were staring at me.  i caressed the muted baby blue whale one lovingly and was going to leave it behind but last minute i turned back, grabbed it off the hook, strode down the cashier line and pushed it on the the counter where fatima was paying for something.  get this for me! i demanded.  uhhhh... do i know you?  groaned fatima.  all on one bill? asked the cashier.  as i plunked five twonies onto fatty's small brown palm.  decision made.

next we decided to do some people watching.  plus we were ready for lunch.  so we walked the gamut of food trucks down robson until we decided on mr. shawarma.  it was basically the spicy to go box that got our attention.  "i wonder if you can get it with falafel" mused fatima the vegetarian.  i sidled up to the counter to ask.  "can you get the spicy to go box with falafel?" i asked. "yep." said the really talkative guy "yes you can" said the more chatty lady.  "that's what she wants." i nodded my head towards budtothe7thpower.  then i asked if lamb or chicken was better.  neither of them wanted to commit. so fats told me to get the lamb because i don't get to eat lamb often.  so that's what i did.  we ate it on a bench and talked and talked as buds like us do.  they were so yummy.  they had fries, and rice, and all the sauces and pickle and pickled turnip.

 then we sat on the steps a while in the sun and talked and watched people.

w parted ways around 3ish. a good bud day accomplished.