The last week has been great! We've visited a lot of the free sites around Vancouver. We officially restarted our job search yesterday. We have enough money for about two months but are a little stressed out regardless. The structure below is Bloedel Conservatory. It was $7 each to get in so we skipped it. We'll save it for the winter. :)
It really is beautiful here. Every day since we've arrived there has been nothing but sun. We've visited Burnaby Mountain Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Simon Fraser University, the Science Centre, the Athlete's Village, and many other areas. Apparently Vancouver's nickname is Hollywood North because it has the biggest movie industry in Canada. We've seen several areas were Battlestar Galactica, Caprica and Stargate have been filmed. We're Sci-Fi fans so it was super exciting!
Seeing as we have limited funds and are in a basement, I'm thinking my posts for the next month or two will be mostly of things I see during walks. There are many plants I don't recognize and this will help me learn and introduce you to new ones as well. Take this spiny thing below for example. I have no idea what it is other than a holly of some kind...
Today we went to Queen Elizabeth Park (all the pictures, it's on a hill) and a Home Depot Garden Centre. The prices for plants like Japanese Maples are half what they are in London! You can buy a palm with a 1m (3ft) trunk for $85. I thought they'd be around $150. There are baby ones for only $10. It was difficult for me to resist, but I have to for now! I also want this huge Gunnera mericata below.
I also updated the background seeing as I no longer work at a greenhouse. Feedback would be appreciated! I took the photo of the Japanese Maple today and I think it works well. I had to darken the text a little because I noticed some readability issues. The page bar also looks a little out of place. I might need to make a new one. Please note I didn't make the paper texture. It can be found
here free for use. I'll leave you with a last photo of Queen Elizabeth Park and will upload some of our others over the next few days. I'll also try and comment more, I promise!
PS. I'm having trouble decided what I want to do with my life. Any thoughts? I'm thinking I should design vertical urban farms. It's a little niche at this point though, plus no capital to invest... :(
There is so much to see for free in Vancouver. Definitly head back up to Burnaby Mountain closer to June. The rose gardens there are stunning. Plus the views are to die for. Also make your way down to Rocky Point (Port Moody)when you can. Minikada Regional Park (Port Coquitlam/Coquitlam border) is worth the trip, especially if you don't mind a mild hike. Beautiful views, plants, bat colonys, heritage Hunting Lodge, the works. Oh my I could go on like this forever. There are some beautiful things to see!
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping an ear out in case I hear of any local work (engineering right?) I like the new background, but I find the new paper a little hard to read. If the lettering had more contrast it would be perfect.
Cheers,
Laura
Oh I forgot! Do the vertical farming thing! The future of Urban farming an all that!
ReplyDeleteCombining your engineering with some sort of farming/gardening would be ideal, eh??? It sure looks gorgeous up there! Glad you are having a lot of fun and seeing such awesome spots there before having to start the tedious work hunt.
ReplyDeleteI like your blog changes!
See ya around later...Julie
The garden is wonderful, and I think your new background is perfect. Good luck on the job search. I'm sure everything will work out just perfect.-- Randy
ReplyDeleteI like the new background and paper. But it's not as bright as the greenhouse one. Vancouver looks like a great place to visit. I can't believe you are asking strangers what to do with your life! I'd suggest a movie star or musician. Someone who makes a whole lot of money. Maybe a Wall Street banker or large comapnay CEO!
ReplyDelete~Randy
I like the background a lot. It reminds me of the Pacific NW a great deal. From Vancouver BC south to San Fran we are addicted to Japanese Maples. My favorite is called Koto-no-ito but I also like all of the Ghost Maples too. First Ghost I think is my favorite but cannot remember.
ReplyDeleteAs for what to do, I wish I could tell you. The urban farming isn't a bad idea, and supplying gourmet greens to restaurants isn't a horrible idea either if you can make some space up there for yourselves. I say the greens bit since my husband is a trained chef, winemaker, sommelier type and he loves good nutrition. There are lots of great restaurants in your new city too so maybe that can be worked in somehow to your vertical stuff. (The chefs there do enjoy using less common ingredients so that can make it more fun for you.)
Just a random thought from a stranger.
@Laura, thanks for all the places. I've been looking up free things to do and this helps for sure. I'd love to look into urban farming. I think I will. My degree is in structural engineering but only about 20% grads actually become engineers. Many go into business or other professions.
ReplyDelete@Julie, job hunts are frustrating. Fusing plants and engineering would be ideals. I would love to be a professional engineer but it gets a little boring at times...
@Randy, I love the background too!
@Randy (Chicken Boys), I think one of you has to change your name. I don't think I want to be involved with banking. I mean the really high paid ones are some of the best people you'd ever meet and all but.......
@Fucurinia, I've noticed tonnes of Japanese Maples here so I figured they'd be perfect. I would love to have a restaurant that uses fresh food, grown in our own vertical greenhouse. The logistics are a bit of an issue. I think I'll look into urban farm projects/concepts and see what local companies were involved.
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ReplyDeleteComment above deleted. No free advertising! You will be removed!
ReplyDeleteI really should get myself out there to see all of the free sites that the city has to offer. There is so much out there that we miss!
ReplyDeleteAs far as what to do with your life, remember that the average person will change careers 3 to 5 times during the span of their life. I've finally settled into my 4th and I'm only 32. All I can say is follow your heart when your head is in doubt. You'll be a much happier person for it. I haven't gotten to that point yet but I'm sure one day, I will!
Hey - you are in Vancouver - great! You MUST go to the Strathcona and Cottonwood Community Gardens - they are the largest community gardens and this year is the 25th anniversary. There isn't much info on the website http://strathconagardens.ca/, so e-mail me if you want more dets.
ReplyDeleteAlso, today there is a Community party in Cedar Cottage: http://cedarcottagegarden.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteOh, and one more - the Trout Lake Farmers Market is on Saturdays from 9-2PM It's awesome! http://www.eatlocal.org/markets.html
ReplyDelete@Thomas, you should really check this city out, it's wonderful! I just don't know what I want to do. I have so many interests it's hard for me to figure out what I'd be happiest doing...
ReplyDelete@Stevie, thanks for all the info. We went all those places this morning! I've very interested in the Strathcona Plots. I kind of just toured today instead of talking to anyone. :)