a week

sunset as seen reflected on a picture in my room.

sunrise...

i've been home a week.  it was a lazy sort of week.  some days i wore pajamas most of the day and the one thing i accomplished was buying groceries.  i watched a lot of netflix too.  i didn't go out for new year's eve.  but new years day heather and i have a tradition, and that is meeting and going for a walk or something.  this year i drove to her place around noon and she opened her presents then we rushed out the door to get to deep cove in time for the polar bear swim.  we thought we were late but the dipping doesn't start until 2 so after parking up a hill in a school parking lot and walking down to the beach we still had about an hour to go.  there was a big bon fire and a band and some middle aged hippies dancing.  heather had to go to the washroom of course.  i said i'd wait for her on the beach.  there was some miscommunication and she ended up in a different place than me, but it's ok because we were each in places well suited to us but not to the other.  there isn't much of a beach at deep cove and the tide was way up.  i was sitting on a boulder in the middle of the beach right at the water's edge.  like sometimes i had to left up my feet so waves didn't soak my runners.  soon the crazy swimmers were all packed around me.  like literally right up to me and all around.  their body heat warmed me--that kind of closeness.  people were in their crazy get ups and crazy moods.  i took it all in and documented it as best as i could.  pics to follow--maybeperhapsperhapsnotwe'llsee.  the funny thing is una was there.  that's not funny.  i knew she probably would be.  it's her family tradition to go to the deep cove polar bear swim.  i texted her but by the time she came down by the water i was totally and completely surrounded by swimmers.  but when i was taking pics i saw her brother.  so i looked through the pics i had taken and sure enough, i had taken a pic of her!

after it was over heather and i found each other again.  i was so cold after sitting on a cold rock for over an hour and being splashed by the revelers.  my face was even too frozen to speak properly at first and my flesh even in my upper inner thighs was bloodless and cold.  we walked back to the car which warmed us up.  i think it's the biggest walk my foot has had and i felt it a little bit.

we went back to heather's and warmed up with ginger drink and blankets.  then we went to the white spot for dinner because h had some gift cards. 

the next day my reason for getting dressed was choir practice.  before choir practice we met up with dana who sometimes plays the organ and other times sings alto.  dana banana, as she says to correct our day-na pronunciation.  we met at a greek restaurant and shared a greek platter and an extra calamari plate.  it was all very very yummy.  there was the greek potatoes, lamb chops, spanokopita, mousaka, beef slouvaki, and dolmades.  oh my gosh, i'm hungry.  i'm afraid i stuffed myself too much so that later singing in choir was a little uncomfy.

on sunday choir practice i was sitting next to sister gurney who sings soprano.  we were both in the middle.  anyways afterwards she said the nicest thing to me.  she said that she loved singing beside me and that it was so nice.  i was like, are you sure you weren't hearing evelyn?  and she was adamant that it was me!  now she always wants to sit beside me! isn't that the sweetest?  it gives my singing confidence a boost, let me tell you.

thursday's reason for clothes and make-up was a spontaneous get together with pask and lindsay.  we went to the movies and saw spider man.  ok.  i loved spider man--into the spiderverse.  i had no idea about it, or even that it was animated--so everything was a surprise.  it was funny and new and fresh and sarcastic and trippy.  loved it.  it was so nice to chill with my girls again too.  lindsay and i had some good chats to and from the theatre.  she drove me.

friday was date night with sarah and kyle who were over to get a van, and jordan and tracy.  i was given the task of finding a place to eat in richmond.  it was a lot of pressure because i don't know richmond eats that well.  but i did some research and gave some options.  the one picked was silkway halal which features the food of northern/muslim chinese.  i liked it and found it yummy and interesting.  we each ordered something and shared it.  sarah and kyle ordered cumin lamb fried rice--yum, and this yummy beef that came with wraps and fresh slivers of cucumber.  originally they ordered something similar but with sesame pockets but some girls across from us got the last order!  jordan and tracy ordered curry shrimp fried rice (i know 2 fried rices! but they were both good and different ok!) and deep fried spicy chicken--yum.  i ordered braised chicken with hand pulled noodles that were almost as wide as lasagna noodles.  so yum.  and i ordered hand made fresh lamb dumplings which were delish and juicy.  we also had spring rolls.  so it was a delicious time and the portions were wall family size and we had lots left over to take home. 

at this dinner i was telling them how i saw spider man and jordan declared "you have always liked spiderman!" i was like, "i'll watch it but i'm not all let's go to spider man!" and then he said i told him how much i liked the previous toby maguire ones and even quoted the famous spider man quote.  and got all emotional.  "and cried?" i asked, "and bore my testimony about it?"  yes laughed jordan.  i don't recall.

we decided to go for shaved ice for dessert and i was all yassssssss because we know that shaved ice is my jam.  we went to sulmida, a place i've had my heart and mind on for quite some time.  we all ordered the mango cheesecake shaved ice, which at a korean place is called bingsu, but then jordan and tracy changed theirs to chocolate lava toast which looked diVINE.  shaved ice really fulfills all my hopes and dreams in one dessert.  let it always exist and let me always have access to it.