home

So Friday night, Rebecca and her friend Susan picked me up around 6:45, and then we headed to sketchytown to pick up Hilary.

We wedged ourselves in the back between some stuff, and then it was off to the ferry terminal.

This is my anxiety face because it was basically the perilmobile back there.

We got to Gibsons in the night, and tried to find a camping spot. But the campsite was totally dodgy – there was a sign saying “Find a spot and we’ll see you in the morning!” because the office was already closed by the time we got there. But it was poorly lit and scary and we couldn’t find out where the camping happened. So then we tried a motel, but it was totally full because of some logging shut down thing, but they told us we could sleep in the parking lot if we wanted – FOR FREE – so that is what we did. And it was sort of by a dumpster, but I did not notice because I had my head near scary truck town.

In the morning I ate some free berries (aka blackberries) that were nearby and then we went to Tim Hortons for a coffee. I dressed in the bathroom because I am a classy lady, and then the coffee person asked me why I was in town because she could tell I was an outsider and also weird.

Then we went and set up the tent but I did not take pictures of it because I fail at life. But it looked like how the booth usually looks. And beside us was a lady who did tie dye also but she was apparently going on about how she doesn’t like to use soda ash because it is a chemical and dries stiff. P.S. Soda ash is what makes the dye bond to the fabric, so maybe if you ever see her don’t buy her stuff because I bet it’ll wash out.

There was a shuttle taking people up to the high school where they had a bunch of merchants and the competition pieces. One of the ladies who took the Textiles program at Cap won first place in the mixed media category, so that was pretty sweet. I didn’t take pictures of that, either. Sorry friends.

But I did get some of the merchant area. So much wool and loom and quilt goodness!

Hilary and I wanted to dive into the fibre pile. P.S. I am sorry about my dodgy camera. It is old and there is a hair stuck in it and I can’t afford a new one.

I saw this creepy head at the cashmere station and was concerned it was real. But I don’t think it is.

Um basically when I saw this in the hall I was like I NEED TO OWN THIS PAINTING. Sad day.

So afterward, we shoved everything back in the van and booked it to the ferry. We were worried we wouldn’t have enough time, but then we got there mega early and had to wait. I was a bit loopy and obnoxious, and a guy in a truck kept laughing at me. Good times.

Being there early meant we were FIRST, so when we made our triumphant arrival back to Horseshoe Bay they opened the front and I was like HOLY CRAP WE ARE GONNA DROWN but I guess it is normal for them to do that actually. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a ferry in a car… Usually I walk on. Also the last time I was on a ferry we drank secret rum so maybe I don’t remember things so well.

We ended up eating on the ferry, which was kind of sad because I really really wanted sushi. But it turns out Squamish is a town full of grannies who go to bed at 7 pm anyway, and sushi was probably not an option. So we drove straight to the camp site and got there also in the night. But good news! It was a real camp site, with signs and also SHOWERS. I like being clean.

I took this photo in the morning. Check out Hilary’s awesome roof tarping job! I am glad someone was brave enough to go up there cause it was definitely not going to be me.

There were some Kiwis on Tour who were “Sweet As” but I don’t know what they were as sweet as. They were still asleep so I couldn’t ask. Sorry! This will forever remain a mystery.

So then we went to the Whistler market, and set up. For once I had dollars because I sold two things in Gibsons, so Hilary and I checked out the other stuff in the market. I got this delicious Raspberry Apple baby pie for $3. SO GOOD.

The great thing about our tent is it provides lots of shade, so quite often cute doggies are like I WANNA LAY IN HERE while their humans do other things. How cute is this guy?

Then little Miss Talulah came to visit and made quick friends with Hilary, who showed her how to weave a thing. Talulah is going to grow up to be a wooler. She is awesome. Her mom, Tess,  makes sweet crocheted silver jewelery and I would totally buy it if I had one million of dollars. If you have dollars you should buy some so she can continue living the dream forever.

Going to Whistler always seems to involve food. I dunno guys. We shared a bag of popcorn from the kettle corn guy and it was pretty delightful.

Then we shoved all our worldy belongings back into the van and made the trek home. The weather was bizarre all day with the rain sun rain sun rain sun, so it got really blindingly bright. Hilary lent her sunglasses to Rebecca so we would not die a fiery crashing death in the van.

Once again we had the problem of “what to eat” for dinner and of course it was Sunday, so everything we wanted was closed in Squamish. We decided to stop at Nesters to pick up a few things, and then stopped at Shannon Falls to eat. I love how the gigantic van looks to tiny compared to the terrifying mountain rock.

We took the Lion’s Gate bridge on the way home, and that is a thing that always makes me happy.

Then today I took some of the stuff I got at the market and made sweet, sweet borscht. I got Russian blue potatoes, beets and the carrots at the market and they were all freakin’ delicious. I ended up not using the stupid turnip, though, because it was made of diamonds and I was not dedicated enough to cut it.

I gave Nova a carrot and it was like BEST DAY EVER om nom nom. He is so cute. Check out the emo hair! We also watched “What Not to Wear” together today and he lounged so hard and it was the cutest ever.

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I treated myself to this ginger ale while I cooked the soup and it was just the right level of spicy.

I don’t even know how “traditional” this is but basically I googled some recipes and just kinda hoped for the best. It has potatoes, beets, carrots, garlic, onions, chopped tomatoes, some tomato paste and soup stock (I used beef because that is what I had). If you want to make it just chuck that stuff in a pot and add heat. Oh also I cooked the onions, garlic, carrots and tomatoes in some butter in a pan first, and then added it. Also add dill, so much dill. Serve with sour cream and more dill. Delightful!