I there anything better than a long weekend? In the middle of the summer when it’s sunny and gorgeous and there are tons of amazing events going on? I didn’t think so! Luckily after complaining about being sick and sore I became miraculously healed by the power of the internet so I was able to go out and have fun!
Friday night was the Davie Street Pride Weekend Dance Party, which I wanted to go to but then these happened…
Hendrick’s gin + my own homemade mint lemonade of deliciousness (recipe at the end of this post) + club soda. This is LITRALLY my favourite thing I’ve ever had to drink, and after a couple few of them all I wanted to do was eat junk food and watch Tom Cruise movies. If that sounds like your kind of evening you should totally drink these!
I decided not to go to the farmer’s market this weekend and instead spent most of Saturday lazing around; I think we ran some errands and I must have eaten something but I can’t even remember now. I think it all got wipe out by the four-hour nap I took in the evening, oops. I woke up just in time to get down to the Sunset Beach Park to watch China’s entry in the Celebration of Light, which is a fireworks competition Vancouver holds every summer. Unfortunately Taylor chose not to bring his camera so the only pictures I have are from mine, and they all look like this:
Sorry, China. Okay I have some that are a teensy bit better.
Wow, look at that bokeh. OKAY DON’T WORRY I’m pretty sure Taylor IS bringing his camera on Wednesday night so I’ll have some better pictures to share of Spain’s entry later this week.
Sunday was everyone’s favourite day of the summer: Pride Parade Day! Okay confession time: I had NEVER been to the parade before. I KNOW IT’S CRAZY. I’ve always either been out of town, or lazy, or dating someone who hates parades. This year I was like FORGET IT I’M GOING and I got myself and Kichou all ready
Just kidding Kichou didn’t come. But I wore my rainbow striped tank top with my bright orange maxi skirt and later I put Kichou’s rainbow lei around my topknot and felt like the Mymble’s daughter in the play Moominpappa writes in Moominsummer Madness (if you didn’t get that reference you should just really go read all the Moomin books).
Happily for all of you Taylor DID bring his camera, and took hundreds and hundreds of pictures, many of which you can see here (begrudging warning: there are boobs, scantily dressed dudes and local politicians in that link).
This parrot was Taylor’s favourite costume.
A unicorn!
After the parade was over we went shoe shopping, then went home to cool off by eating a million pounds of watermelon before taking the dogs to the park and for a long walk around the seawall.
Since Sym is away this whole week we didn’t have our usually Sunday evening junk food & tv night, although she did call me to sing the “Make a Man Out of You” song from Mula (one of my personal favourites).
Mint Lemonade Recipe
1 cup sugar
24 mint leaves
5 cups water
3 cups fresh lemon juice (Martha Stewart seems to think you can get this much lemon juice from, like, 8 lemons, but it took me 20)
In a small saucepan over high heat combine sugar, 1 cup of water and mint leaves. bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat, allow to simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Strain out mint leaves and combine resulting mint sugar syrup with lemon juice and remaining 4 cups of water.
It always freaks me out that Donny Osmond is the singing voice for that dude in Mulan.
Definitely making that lemonade drink! I hate squeezing lemons/limes/etc. You always need way more than the recipe states, too!
I kind of have it down to a science now I’ve squeezed so many!
If the unicorn isn’t saying “COME AT ME BRO”, then no one in the history of always has ever said it.