A Full August

Olive Oil ice cream from Salt and Straw.  My absolute favourite.

Dave and I have been having a great summer, but sadly we are getting close to the end.  Our August has been a fun month though.  We went to Portland for an early anniversary getaway, where we perused Powell’s for hours, ate some great food and tried several new beers.  I think that city will always be one of our favourites.

Upright Brewing, having a taster while checking out the equipment.  Truly amazing craft beer.

The next weekend was the Galiano Wine & Beer festival, which is an annual event for us and our friends.  We take the early ferry to Galiano Island (between the mainland and Vancouver Island), enjoy a pancake breakfast, farmer’s market, a sit out in the sun and then a 3 hour wine and beer festival before catching the ferry back.  This year was a great one, and to our surprise, we even saw some whales swimming off into the sunset on our ferry ride back.  

Random street piano playing outside our local Bean Around the World.

We have been using our BBQ a bit more and have sat and had dinner on our patio, which for some reason we often forget exists come dinner time.  The one thing we have yet to do is go to the beach here in the city, but this week our small group is going down to Spanish Banks for snacks and hanging out.

There was one unexpected addition to our summer (and something to add to my 10 new things list) was playing softball with my work team, the Batmen.  Desperate for girl players, I finally bought a left handed glove off Craigslist for $15 to help them out, only to realize that I can play baseball either hand and I was more comfortable with my right.  Who knew!  I still remembered how to catch and bat and did an okay job.

The rules were certainly different from what we played in public school.  I played back catcher most of the time (it’s the easiest place to start) and eventually Dave joined the team when they were short on guys.  He did a great job considering he (and I) hadn’t played in probably 20 years.  Here are some pictures so there is proof!

The Batmen!

Summer may be nearing an end, but we still have some fun things planned.  Our one year anniversary is Monday and we are going back for dinner to Bridges where we held our wedding.  Then, in two weeks, we celebrate Dave’s old roommates wedding in Vernon (close to Kelowna).  One last chance to enjoy summer fruit and the wine region of BC before the rain comes.  I won’t lie though, I am looking forward to cooler weather, layers, apples and cooking heartier meals, but I’ll certainly enjoy these last sunny days while we have them.

Friday Night Farnia

Friday night and boy did I need the weekend.  It was a long day at work, but I had pizza and ice cream to look forward to.  Dave and I had been talking about going to Pizza Farnia for a long time.  They are one of the top pizza places in the city and didn’t disappoint.  It’s just a small hole in the wall on the Downtown East Side, but it was packed and had a line up.

We got the special which had basil, zucchini, prosciutto, peppers and cheese.  It was delightful. They also had a chilli olive oil and a oregano olive oil for dipping the crust in.  Yum!

We wrapped up the night with a trip to Earnest Ice Cream.  The line was out the door but it was worth it for their Salted Caramel ice cream.  Dave got the Mint Chip.  They also have London Fog which was a close second, but it was a salty caramelly kind of night.

We found a hill to sit on at a school yard and were the envy of everyone who walked by. Seconds after this photo was taken a dog got right up in our faces.  His owner asked if it was Earnest Ice Cream, we said yes, and he said that was his dogs favourite.  Then a group of woman and kids walked by and asked us what flavours were on for the day.  They were jealous too.

I love a good Friday night date night with Dave, and what a lovely ending watching the sun go down.  Tomorrow we are off to the Galiano Wine & Beer Festival.  A tradition of fun with our friends, which starts with catching the bus at 6:50am to make the ferry on time, so off to bed I go!  I hope your weekend had as good of a start as ours.

PS – Here is a super lame attempt to look sexy with my ice cream on the hood of Dave’s Pontiac Sunfire.  Smoken!