Saturday, December 27, 2008
Janina's Birthday in Powell River Oct 2008
My post-modern conglomeration family celebrates Janina's birthday: the Barbour-Butkus-Macdonald-Stajic clan with a Kelly and a Davison thrown in. (Minus minor members.) Is this the norm yet?
The Tumbling Farm Experience Oct 2008
On our trip back to BC Tony and I headed to the Okanagan for a few days with Kiran to visit the Tumbachs and Bovenzis... and we were received in style! The view from God's Mountain above Okanagan lake where we were treated to a gourmet, 5-course dinner from entirely local produce (except for the olives and olive oil). Wow and yum.
Amani, Rosebud and Moses triple-team Tony.
And then we butchered ducks. Celina put us straight to work on Monday morning, no holds barred: As a carnivore, it was a sobering experience well worth having. Especially seeing the reality of the best case scenario - duckies living in luxury, happily quacking away and toddling down to the pond and considering the other end of the spectrum.
...our valiant men carry out the slaughter...
...plucking away...
I think I'll spare you the evisceration - Kiran, Theresa and Celina, I'll email you the gorey bits...
Amani, Rosebud and Moses triple-team Tony.
And then we butchered ducks. Celina put us straight to work on Monday morning, no holds barred: As a carnivore, it was a sobering experience well worth having. Especially seeing the reality of the best case scenario - duckies living in luxury, happily quacking away and toddling down to the pond and considering the other end of the spectrum.
...our valiant men carry out the slaughter...
...plucking away...
I think I'll spare you the evisceration - Kiran, Theresa and Celina, I'll email you the gorey bits...
Ross visit Sep 2008
Rosco visited! All the way from Tasmania. And helped us take care of the beer and sausage situation. This is in Schalander, our local pub. Much fine whiskey was drunk.
Amsterdam Dad & Alison Sep 2008
My Dad and Alison did a house exchange in Amsterdam for a month and Tony and I went to visit for a long weekend. The train takes 2 hours from Duesseldorf.
Kate in Klog.
mmm, cheese...
More obsession with the Netherlands: any country with so much water is OK by me.
There are drawbacks, though. Something crazy like... 6 cars per month roll into the canals in Amsterdam when people park them carelessly or forget to use the e-brake. Here you can see the little railings put up by the city in an attempt to keep cars on land.
crazy leaning wobbly buildings
Kate in Klog.
mmm, cheese...
More obsession with the Netherlands: any country with so much water is OK by me.
There are drawbacks, though. Something crazy like... 6 cars per month roll into the canals in Amsterdam when people park them carelessly or forget to use the e-brake. Here you can see the little railings put up by the city in an attempt to keep cars on land.
crazy leaning wobbly buildings
Friday, December 26, 2008
Valken Cup Sailing June 2008
On my 30th birthday weekend we went to a sailing/ridiculousness competition with German (sorry: Schwabian) friends Sasha & Silke. Probably one of the best birthdays ever. Aside from the hangover after the whole island found out on Friday night that I was turning 30 and started force feeding me beer and scare concoctions out of IV tubes at the opening ceremonies. It was held on the Heeger Meer in Friesland in the Netherlands. Now, why do the Netherlands rock, you may ask...?
...because this is your back yard.
The theme for this year's Valken Cup was the Olympics, so we decided our team would represent the 'Valkland islands'. Our mascots were sheep
(check out the real Falkland island flag here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Falkland_Islands.svg).
Our motto was: "Use Steroids and Bribe the Committee", which we did and won points for. Our props where syringes, stuffed sheep and edible money. We wrote a song in English, German and Dutch that I sang and Sasha played on his trumpet for our Opening Night entrance.
The whole thing was hilarious: I never knew Germans could be so silly.
Here are some of the other teams at the opening ceremony. First the senior citizens' team who wouldn't move or sail faster than their walkers would allow them the whole weekend. They doled out headache remedies on doilied trays at breakfast and had costume changes, no doubt all lifted from grandma's closet.
Then the East German team, complete with the old East German national anthem and communist discourse the whole weekend.
Then the synchronized swimmers.
Then Pinkie the mascot who was on the organizing committee, who we had to find all over the lake and on islands to win points. This is shortly after his swim.
Skipper Silke and First Mate Tony.
The Valkland Island Crew after our Grande Finale cartwheel dip in the lake (yes, we even managed to prevent Tony from drowning all weekend!)
We camped on a little island in the middle of the (massive) lake. Over two days we competed for best theme, costumes, team spirit, sailing skill, and treasure hunting prowess. The boats are called 'Valk's, hence Valken Cup.
On the last day we had a few hours after the competition and Tony and I took the boat out for a spin on the crowded lake.
...because this is your back yard.
The theme for this year's Valken Cup was the Olympics, so we decided our team would represent the 'Valkland islands'. Our mascots were sheep
(check out the real Falkland island flag here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Falkland_Islands.svg).
Our motto was: "Use Steroids and Bribe the Committee", which we did and won points for. Our props where syringes, stuffed sheep and edible money. We wrote a song in English, German and Dutch that I sang and Sasha played on his trumpet for our Opening Night entrance.
The whole thing was hilarious: I never knew Germans could be so silly.
Here are some of the other teams at the opening ceremony. First the senior citizens' team who wouldn't move or sail faster than their walkers would allow them the whole weekend. They doled out headache remedies on doilied trays at breakfast and had costume changes, no doubt all lifted from grandma's closet.
Then the East German team, complete with the old East German national anthem and communist discourse the whole weekend.
Then the synchronized swimmers.
Then Pinkie the mascot who was on the organizing committee, who we had to find all over the lake and on islands to win points. This is shortly after his swim.
Skipper Silke and First Mate Tony.
The Valkland Island Crew after our Grande Finale cartwheel dip in the lake (yes, we even managed to prevent Tony from drowning all weekend!)
We camped on a little island in the middle of the (massive) lake. Over two days we competed for best theme, costumes, team spirit, sailing skill, and treasure hunting prowess. The boats are called 'Valk's, hence Valken Cup.
On the last day we had a few hours after the competition and Tony and I took the boat out for a spin on the crowded lake.
Kelsey Visit May 2008
MY BRO CAME TO VISIT!!! YEAH! ...and my camera died after about 2 days. Kels! Email me some more shots of the cycling for the blog.
I introduced Kelsey and Graeme to Duesseldorf's Alt beer.
The Roman ruins in Kaiserswerth north of Duesseldorf. Hour and a half cycle to warm up for the bike trip down the Rhein.
At Signal Iduna Stadium in Dortmund - largest in Germany with 80,000 seats.
The beginning of the bike trip - crossing the Rhein on a little ferry.
I introduced Kelsey and Graeme to Duesseldorf's Alt beer.
The Roman ruins in Kaiserswerth north of Duesseldorf. Hour and a half cycle to warm up for the bike trip down the Rhein.
At Signal Iduna Stadium in Dortmund - largest in Germany with 80,000 seats.
The beginning of the bike trip - crossing the Rhein on a little ferry.
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