Dwindling Friend Supply

So, Cassie has moved to New York to do what the New Yorkers do-- eat excellent cheese, and possibly get famous-- so that means my friend count is down by nearly 40%. These pictures are from our recent farewell. We're at our favorite "french" bakery, a place that might as well be called Bourgeoisie's but is in fact called Kelly's. It is there that Cassie and I used to chat for hours amidst the aging hippies, pregnant yuppies, and delicious pastries. Sadly, this is no more. I'm trying to just pour my heart (and more importantly, some sauces and jams) into my canning hobby, but I can't help but feel a little blue. I guess I can start courting my friendship with Rach with new ferocity.

She took this picture of me as we were enjoying luncheon at the Indian Food Buffet.
I bet you are thinking that the Indian Buffet is not conducive to romance. I bet you think that a visit to the Indian buffet is only good for inducing hours of painful gas. Gentle Reader, you are partially correct, but despite my intestinal rumblings, I can still muster a twinkle in my eye!
And once the twinkle subsides, pictured here is the exact moment of painful gas onset.

Oh Canada, pt. 1

It is eye! I have been home from the Fredenburg Family Great White North Car Adventure for about a week now. I meant to post sooner, but I needed some time to recuperate from all the strenuous sitting and competitive tea and toast consumption, not to mention the fact that I probably lost 30% of my hearing from listening to Canadian NPR broadcasts too loud. "Don't stop the rock!" I have been known to say, just 3 decibels above a whisper. This relatively mild-mannered and pleasant trip was definitely the wildest time in my life.

Take, for example, our 2 camping experiences. After driving the lenghth of Vancouver Island, we got to Port Hardy and the cupboard was bare-- our hotel reservation was basically deleted. Mom was fuming-- her lips were slightly pursed! We decided, at 3am, to camp. 2 and 1 half hours to sleep-- not bad really, considering that I am usually awake at 6:30am to start brainstorming felt village patterns anyway! Here I am looking chipper in the tent. I offered to construct a tent myself out of yarn scraps and leaf litter, but my parents insisted on getting the real thing from some outdoors store instead. Amateurs.

Camping trip #2 had a little more planning involved. This time, we camped by the mosquito and gnat ridden shores of Lake Anahim, which was otherwise beautiful. And as it turns out, West Nile is totally not as bad as the media hype makes it out to be. More on this later. If you can't wait till later, check out my photos