Flowers, Some Wildlife and a Marching Band or Five

This past Victoria long weekend we went to Victoria - it seemed appropriate - to meander the gardens and watch the Victoria day parade.  I got my spring flower fix. There's nothing so beautiful as a sun drenched flower.  And bonus, mother nature provided us with some company.

Those are turtles sunning themselves on that log.

Here they are up close and personal.  So great!

Not to be outdone baby ducks showed up.

Many of the flowering bushes were in bloom.  In my part of the world Rhododendrons are in season.

The colour of these flowers was extraordinary.

I also love them in white.

These purple gems were everywhere.  We've also got them growing at our house. Speaking of purple gems, my mother in law had these on her patio and I want them.

 Having been saturated in floral beauty it was time to turn my attention to the most energizing form of music on the planet - the march.  Victoria's Victoria day parade has such great marching bands. Most of them are high school students and they are local, from the mainland or from Washington and Oregon.  And holy smokes do they do a good job.  A spine tingling, toe tapping, goose bump raising good job.

I loved these guys because they were in kilts.  Such a great idea!

There's something about a feather in one's cap, no?

I love, love, love a drum line.  And this day I was not disappointed.  Also, how cool are these uniforms?

Every single one of these bands were mesmerizing.

Drum and tuba line - Squee!

I know very little about marching bands.  I can only imagine how much practice it takes to play an instrument and then play an instrument while precision marching.  The level of dedication of these musicians is phenomenal, not to mention the support teams that work like the dickens so they can practice, travel, look spiffy in their uniforms and perform.  It's actually exhausting just thinking about it.  And then I show up on a sunny day and get to be thoroughly entertained.  I am such a fan!

The icing on the marching band cake if you will, is the piper band.  I can't watch a piper band without getting chocked up.  I can't write about a piper band without getting choked up.  There is something so thrillingly dramatic about a bag pipe.  And more than one creates a haunting musical experience that reached right into my soul and squeezes.  Add drums to that and I'm lost.

My photo sucks - but you get the idea.  And to hammer it home, I'll leave you with a little tune these guys play that reduces me to a blubbering idiot of fanatical appreciation.

A Fiesta For Fifty

I was sitting at my son's school PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting when I found myself inadvertently criticizing the teacher appreciation lunch.  Once I shone a light on what was missing I was automatically in charge of the next one.  That's how it works, and I knew better, but I was tired.

So I agreed to organizing the school's teacher appreciation lunch.  And then because the budget was small, I thought "I wonder if I could cater it.".  Having been inspired by Ree Drummond and Nancy Fuller who cater for huge groups all the time, I thought "this might be fun".

It was!  it was a blast.  It was also nerve racking because I'd never fed fifty before and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  Fortunately I was not alone, and everyone bought into my ideas and was willing to help me make them a reality.  That's an awesome feeling and left me on an appreciation high for days.

Here's what we did:

I turned to fellow mom volunteer creative team Sara and Christine to implement my fiesta decoration ideas, with a little help from Party City and Sara's mom; who is essentially a party city unto herself. Sara combed Pinterest - that magical land of inspirational ideas -  and found this Mexican-esque table skirt.  Here's the link.

So perfect right?! 

Fabulous parent volunteers making the skirt

We used tried and true sombreros filled with tortilla chips as the center pieces

And hung  tissue paper pompoms from the ceiling.

 We had fiesta-themed music in the background; Gypsy Kings, Pittbull, Serena
Gomez; Lady Gaga; an amazing rendition of America from West Side Story done by the London Cello Orchestra, Sergio Mendez, Gloria Estefan and so many more.  Truthfully, my favourite part of this whole experience other than the outcome was sourcing this playlist.

To get everyone in a fiesta mood we offered mock Margaritas, in a marg glass with little lime wedges. Okay maybe that was my favourite part.

I wish I'd gotten a close up shot of these glasses.

 This is were Party City came in.  I sourced the sombreros and glassware from there.  They had such an amazing variety of fiesta themed products.  Alas my budget was very tight.

Everyone knows that it doesn't matter how pretty the glass is if the substance within is no good.  And our mock margaritas were very, very good.  I found this amazing recipe on the Colorado Lady's blog.  It was incredibly tasty, incredibly easy and fit in perfectly with the theme.

Sara even got one parent to carve a cactus from a watermelon.  The parents at my son's school are really fantastic.

And now what you've all been waiting for... the menu.  To quote Nancy Fuller - "fresh is best" and just about everything we served was homemade. Unfortunately in all the hubbub I completely forgot to take a photo of the spread.  You will just have to use your imagination and next year I'll assign a photographer.

We offered two kinds of tacos - soft and hard.  We served shredded chicken, taco seasoned ground beef and the most amazing meat on the planet - Morton's tri-tip. I buy it at the US Costco.  We also had Mexican red rice and refried beans - Thank you Yajaira!   And then everyone could dress their plate however they wanted.  We had homemade pico de gallo; homemade salsa; sharp cheddar, colby and jack cheeses, Homemade salsa verde; sour cream, olives, jalapenos, black beans, and this fantastic dressing that I took from Ree Drummond.  It's so good I could eat it like soup.

So there you have it.  A successful Tex Mex Fiesta for 50. Everyone enjoyed themselves but no one more than me.  What a coup!  I can't wait for next year.  I feel a Hawaiian Luau coming on.

Really, Life is Perfect

I get to do this:

The local outdoor pool opened and we were graced with sunny, 25 degree weather.    Because spring had just sprung, I had a hard time believing this was going to be fun. Marn insisted and sure enough we had a blast!

And eat this:

This my friends is sushi pizza with tuna sashimi.  It will blow your taste buds away.  If you live in my neck of the woods you can find it at Japolo in Burnaby.

And receive pictures like this:

The day after Marn and I went swimming she was off to Disneyland.  If you can't experience it yourself, having one of your friends head down to hang with the mouse is the next best thing. Especially when she texts you fun pictures like the one above.

I've decided no matter what your concerns, if your loved ones are healthy, you are safe and sound and there are fun experiences to be had - life is perfect.