Back to Granville Island...

Beautiful handmade chocolates at Granville Island public market. I gave a strong hint to Mark that I like them...something like, "You could easily get a water-taxi in your lunch hour and come here and buy me that box of chocolates...if you wanted to".

We went to Granville Island today. The kids have some Christmas money from Nana Dianne so we made our way to Granville Island Kid's Market. We also took a look around the public market. This is not easy when we take River. He loves to bolt when we're in the market and so he spent most of his time on Mark's shoulders. I love walking around the market. Fresh food and beautiful displays. Not to mention lovely crafts. There is a stall selling wonderful fresh pasta, so we picked some up and made a delicious, quick dinner.

The lower part of Kid's Market is a kid's heaven of toy, puppet and costume stores. We checked out all the toys and chased River as he ran in and out of stores. Bronwyn wanted to go play in the "kid's play area"...which Mark and I refer to fondly as "the kid's pit of bacteria and disease". This is a bright plastic structure with tubes, balls and netting. Last time we went there we ALL got sick afterwards; a particularly nasty flu/cold thing. So...no...we didn't do that again. We usually try to avoid that whole area...the upstairs....it's the kind of place that would put you off having kids for life. Combine...weird photo studio (although I noticed that may have gone)...children's hair salon of torture, the pit of bacteria and disease I already mentioned, the dreaded shoe store (they love that), a freakish area for slot machines with loud, flashing lights and annoying noises, and a small cafe surrounded by distressed looking tables and chairs (where strung-out parents and hyper kids sit to eat crappy junk food...not pretty). Only the brave (or stupid) should enter. As one woman, with a look of desperation, put it, "I'll need a BIG glass of wine after this". We did go up there for a bit because Bronwyn wanted to go on the machines. It's a bit of a flashback for me of hours spent in the arcades along the seafront at Cleethorpes, place of mi birth (that beautiful resort on the East Lincolnshire coast - eh eh...). It's actually like a mini "Fantasy World"...an arcade building in Cleethorpes. I don't even know if it's still there.

Fantasy World, Cleethorpes....where your fantasies go to die...

Back to Granville Island...of course, there's loads to see at Granville Island, including this Rube Goldberg-ish kinetic sculpture outside the cement factory. It is fascinating to watch.

In fact there are installations and artwork displayed all around Granville Island. It is home to the Emily Carr University of Art and Design after all. Where Bronwyn says she'd like to go (if they had one for little kids) and it is always interesting and fun to tour the artwork and artisan workshops.

We were going to go to Mt Seymour...but I was in a slob-about mood. Granville Island is the most I felt like doing. Baseball cap, Lululemon pants, t-shirt and jacket. That is fast becoming my weekend uniform. The last time I made a bit of an effort to dress up was Christmas day. I actually ironed my clothes (the iron usually gathers dust in my house), styled my hair, and put on a bit more make-up than usual. When Bronwyn saw me she said, "Mummy, you look lovely!"....my ego instantly inflated and I exclaimed, delighted, "Thank you!" Then she added, "Yeah, you look like one of the young moms!". OUCH! As I bent down to pick up the pieces of my shattered ego, I stifled a sob and asked what she meant by young mums. She said, "You know, like one of the mum's that wear make-up". So it was a comment on the fact that I was wearing noticeable make-up (and I usually don't). And she was trying to complement me...I think. I will go with that explanation.