The Heart of Saturday/Night

I know it’s Tuesday and I still haven’t even started writing about last Saturday (which was a big day). I’m actually typing this while I’m on a plane to Whitehorse. It’s a smallish plane, and it is currently a bit bumpy. If you know me, you understand that in my world, a bit of bumpiness is akin to being dangled over the edge of the Lion's Gate Bridge by my shoelaces. In other words, this is not my happy place. I equate turbulence with other life traumas like dirty dishes, going to the dentist, attempting to draw and falling from the top of a cliff.

In any event, I’m gonna soldier on in the interest of posting this tonight, and pretend that this is merely a gravel road. Here's the view (through a super dirty airplane window. Um. Air Canada - haven't you heard of Windex????) (though I kind of DO like the look of the clouds and sky through the dirt. It's painterly, don't you think?)

Saturday was a lovely brilliant day that began with the matinee performance of Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon. If you don’t know who he is, I can tell you that he’s the theatre equivalent of a rock star. Lepage is famous for his masterful staging and his ability to transform everyday objects and sets into brave new worlds. He’s kind of like a magician wrapped up in a narrative (without the sawed off lady and the top hat). I’ve had the privilege of seeing lots of his shows, sometimes simply because I was in the right place at the right time. I love the way he embraces technology while still honouring the narrative. It is truly awe inspiring.

After the show, we decided to check out the French bistro called Jules. They suggested that we come back for the dinner menu, so we decided to go for a drink and a snicky snack at a local hidden gem. Salt Tasting Room features one giant picnic table running the length of the room and it’s a tasting bar, which means that you can choose from a long list of charcuterie and fancy cheeses on a chalk board. We were kind of in heaven. The boys ordered whiskey and Lori and I had a wine flight. We asked our server to put together our tasting plate and it was divine.

Though you really have to wonder what Mister Man is sayin' here.... but clearly it musta been amusing.

Then it was off for dins, and while Shayne and I didn’t luck out on the steak frites, everything else was delicious (and by everything else, I mean what Lori and Mister Man had on THEIR plates).

The highlight of the day was wandering up to Granville Street to see the public art which has been installed for the YOU-KNOW-WHATs. There was a great deal of excitement and electricity in the air as people wandered around taking photos of the sculpture. Mister Man likened it to Christmas eve when the air is alive with anticipation.

We got lured into a hilarious show by a street performer, and Lori was actually pulled from the audience to be his right hand man – er woman. Though she kept shooting us “HELP ME” glances, I think she had fun.

Oh, except for this moment when the performer jokingly almost slammed her hand onto a spike covered by nothing more than a flimsy Styrofoam cup. Yup. That's fear alright!

Granville Street sure isn’t what it used to be.

And before the clock struck twelve, we headed back across the water to get ready for Sunday's Super Bowl Snack Food Smack Down. But THAT'S another story.