A Fun Saturday: Doors Open Richmond.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to blog about this earlier thereby giving any of you who didn't know about the opportunity a better chance to come out this weekend. But I did want to post tonight about the places we went so that if you are inspired you can still come out tomorrow.

This weekend is Doors Open Richmond. An annual festival where many of Richmond B.C.'s cultural and heritage sites are free and open to the public to check out. Please visit the website HERE if you want to see a list of the over 40 places that are participating in this year's event.

There were lots of places that I wanted to check out with Babe but with a little one in tow you really have to limit the amount of time you spend trucking all over the place. So I decided that this year we would visit some of the many houses of worship along Number 5 Road.

I drive past them weekly and I'm always curious about what they look like on the inside and I know that many are open to everyone all the time or at least have visitor hours but I was uncomfortable just showing up so Doors Open Richmond was the perfect opportunity to visit.

We first went to the Thrangu Monastery. We were allowed to take photos inside so that's why I have more from this place. Babe loved it. When we arrived they were in prayer and Babe seemed soothed by the soft, rhythmic chanting. There are 10 monks in residence at the monastery and according to the pamphlet it is the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

Next we went to the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre where we were greeted by the most well-mannered and eloquent little boy I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They had a room set up with informative displays on aspects of Muslim faith from art, food and calligraphy to the true meaning of jihad and reasons for the hijab. They also had an tour of the facility which Babe and I only made it partially through because she was determined to run amuck.

After the islamic centre we walked next door to the Gurdwara Nanak Niwas, the Indian Cultural Centre. We briefly toured the facility which was in the middle of hosting a sikh wedding. Babe and I loved seeing all the women in their beautiful traditional clothing and we even got to sneak a peek at the bride and groom! Afterwards lunch was being served downstairs which looked and smelled amazing. However we had plans to meet my mom for lunch so instead Babe just snacked on some watermelon and grooved to the music. There were so many people and things that I wanted to photograph but I didn't want to intrude on the wedding. I wish we had time tomorrow to go and check out the other Gurdwara tomorrow.

Finally we stopped in at the Ling Yen Mountain (Buddhist) Temple. By this time we were in a bit of a hurry to meet my mom but Babe, now a little tired and hungry still enjoyed it. She was awed by the big gold Buddha and she was in love with the volunteers after they gave her a couple of baby-sized buddhist bracelets. The courtyard is beautiful and walking along the outdoor halls and listening to the wind chimes was really relaxing. Afterwards we went in the back garden and I took off my shoes and walked along the pebble pathways for a little foot massage while Babe played with the rocks.

Minoru Chapel is also open to visitors this weekend but we didn't get a chance to go. We walk by it all the time and the outside is so pretty I'd love to see the inside. But that will have to wait until next time.

So if you still don't have anything planned for Sunday (May 5th) maybe head out to Richmond and check out some of the many Doors Open locations. Otherwise I hope you enjoyed the photos from our tour of some of the many places of worship in Richmond and keep them in mind the next time you are out this way.

The Conservatory.

Just a short post before bed. 

I recently took Babe to one of my favorite Vancouver places to take kids on a rainy day - The Bloedel Conservatory atop Queen Elizabeth Park. It's a great place to go for a walk and pretend to be on an adventure in a tropical rainforest. I used to nanny two toddlers and on rainy days we would walk up there and do a few laps inside. They called it "going to the jungle". It's cheap, educational, warm and pretty. It's small so you can just drop in for a few minutes or walk the same paths over and over - whichever works.

Anyway Babe loves plants and animals and since the Conservatory is filled to the brim with tropical plants and is also home to many birds, I knew she would like it. 

It was actually a sunny day, we just had some time to kill while we were in the neighbourhood. 

Here are a few pics of the trip. Babe was amazed. We even found a small parrot feather on the ground. You probably aren't supposed to take those but it's in Babe's baby album now. Sorry Bloedel staff.

The top of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Bamboo.

More beautiful flowers than I could ever post here.

The Trip To The Tulips.

So I decided to head south of the border with my parents to go and see the tulip fields in La Conner, Washington. We planned to go on the Easter long weekend because my mom had extra days off of work and the weather was finally supposed to be nice. The plan was to see the flowers, shop at the outlets for a bit and maybe pick up a jogging stroller.

Here are some photos of our overnight in Washington state.

The drive down was pretty good. Babe was a little fussy off and on but she did fairly well considering she was in the car for over an hour. It was a lot of extra work for me to sit in the back and entertain her the whole time but again, it wasn't a really long drive.

I was really excited to see the tulip fields but alas, when we got to our destination there were no tulips to be seen. Boo. I remember asking my dad to call ahead and make sure they were blooming before we came...but I guess that didn't happen. I could have sworn he said he had checked - hmmmmmm. Anyway it was disappointing since it was the main reason we came.

There were however a few daffodil fields in bloom which were very pretty. But I got bored of yellow after awhile. I was really hoping that the tulips would bloom overnight but they didn't.

My dad had reserved us a two-bedroom suite in a local hotel, the La Conner Channel Lodge so that we wouldn't have to do all the driving with Babe in one day. It was great to be able to stay over because after a few hours in town Babe was getting pretty fussy and turning around and driving home would have sucked.

The hotel was really cute. Built right on the channel you can watch boats pass all day and hear frogs and crickets at night. This was the view from our room:

Unfortunately the two-bedroom suite wasn't exactly what we had in mind. The main room had a beautiful king-sized bed in it - perfect for my parents. But...the second bedroom didn't exactly suit Babe and I. I had decided against bringing her bassinet all the way there for one night and I planned on just letting her sleep in the big hotel bed with me. But when I walked into the second bedroom it was clear that wasn't going to work so well. The second bedroom with its pint-sized ship bunks was clearly intended for children.

Thank goodness I'm fairly short because I was still able to fit. Babe couldn't sleep in the other bunk because I wouldn't be able to roll over and feed her in the night. So we pulled the comforter off the other bed and grabbed a bunch of extra towels and Babe's blankets and made a padded area for Babe on the wooden edge of my bed against the wall. Don't worry - no part of my child touched the questionably clean hotel bedspread, it was only used for padding. I don't trust those things.

The rest of the room was perfect though, nice big bathroom, jacuzzi tub, cute porch and a fireplace.

We did a little shopping around La Conner that day. I bought one of these cool light bulbs at an antique lighting store (the bulbs aren't antiques) and we took photos of Babe in funny places. We finished the day with a great dinner at the La Conner Seafood and Prime Rib House. I had the macadamia nut encrusted halibut and vanilla creme brulee for desert. It was yummy.

The next morning I had a massage that my dad had generously booked for me. I think it was just his sneaky way of getting more time alone with the baby but it was super relaxing anyway, and since it was in house all I had to do was walk downstairs.

We then headed to the tulip gardens nearby just so we could say we had seen some of the elusive flowers. Here's the little outdoor field that was planted outside Tulip Town. It wasn't the same as the real thing but it gave me an idea of how the area would look once the fields bloomed. There was still a lot of green - even at the gardens.

After Tulip Town we stopped at the RoozenGaarde so my dad could order bulbs for the fall and we could have lunch. It was so sunny and warm that my little winter baby finally had a chance to take off her socks and explore the grass, another first.

After that we raced to the outlets so us girls could shop for an hour while my dad napped in the car and then raced back across the border before traffic got too backed up.

Just a quick little overnighter with Babe. Hopefully the next time Babe and I cross the border it'll be to visit my friend K in Washington, D.C. or to take Babe for a sleepover at my friend R's summer getaway.

The Roses.

With my nanny contract on hiatus until the end of August I have been working at a floating home marina helping with the landscaping to fill in the gap.

I had the job of pruning a quarter mile worth of rose bushes. I thought the job would be fine since I love gardening and it isn't overly strenuous. But I had no idea how hard it would be to constantly bend at my big belly/no waist. The job took me a lot longer than I thought it would and I had to implement many different pruning positions to keep from the pain at bay.

I could only work for about three hours before moving onto a different job. And while I was pruning I would rotate 15 minutes bending over the roses followed by 15 minutes of sitting on the ground and trimming.

Before

You don't realize how even a mundane task can become a real challenge with no stomach muscles and a beach ball in your shirt. And the hot summer sun didn't help matters.

After

But I will say, no matter how long I stared at those roses they never lost their appeal.

Chillin' after a long day of pruning.