Pique vs. Swiss Chard

Pique managed to rouse herself from a nap and jumped up onto the dining room chair. Her nose must have told her something.

A little nibble....

A little sniff....

The cat always wins.

The Coquitlam Farmer's Market

I have lately become more aware of food systems and food security (especially through work). It is really important to support local growers, and with this in mind, we decided to get some groceries at the Coquitlam Farmer's Market today.

The market is located in the parking lots of the Coquitlam Recreation Centre, and continues until the end of October. There are a lot of produce growers, a few bakeries, a handful of meat sellers, and quite a number of crafts/arts stalls.

I am a huge fan of Gary's Kettlecorn. It is the best popcorn I've tasted: sweet, slightly salty, and most of all, tasting a lot like corn.

Here are our spoils: cauliflower, organic swiss chard and carrots, beats, heirloom tomatoes.

Apples

Green figs, cleverly stored in an egg carton. The inside is beautiful, almost like a pink sea anemone.

East is East - Main St.

Located at the corner of Main St. and 28th Avenue, East is East is centrally located right in the middle of the Main St. bustle. This location offers both a take out option (with a take out window), and a sit-in restaurant experience. The cuisine is Middle Eastern/Indian/Silk Road inspired, and is quite popular with the locals.

Stepping inside the restaurant is an unexpected experience. The walls are hung with darkly colourful Afghan carpets; cushions are placed all along both walls, and the seating is close to the ground, behind low, wooden tables. It was like entering an Arabian Nights fantasy. The only off note was the heavy aroma of burning incense which was smoky and overly sweet.

Upon our arrival for lunch, we were warmly greeted, and were immediately brought glasses of water and a sample of chai in a tiny while espresso cup. The chai was wonderful - sweet, milky, and with an intense spiciness that was unusual. It may be the best chai in the city (sharing the honor with Granville Island Tea Co., perhaps). Of course, the little sample made us want more, so we ordered a whole cup of the beautiful chai.

Both of us ordered the roti wrap. Shane ordered the Peas and Paneer wrap, which came with a side of salad and a portion of the dhal soup. I had the Afghan Nomad, a curried lamb wrap. The Peas and Paneer roti was good and mildly spiced. The lamb was absolutely tender and well seasoned with just enough spice. The rice with raisins gave a wonderful sweet accompaniment to the lamb. The side soup was hearty, and had an unexpected hint of tangy flavour. It was very good. The only misstep was the lack of dressing on the salad, although the greens and beets tasted fresh.

To be honest, I was not expecting to like this place, but the food and decor lured me into its charms. Top that with a world shattering spicy chai, and the restaurant had me in its embrace.

Main St. and Wool

Yesterday we went up to Main St. I grew up in that neighbourhood and we lived right on Main and 12th in a crappy, infested apartment for two years a few years back, so it holds a special place in my heart. However, these days, the main purpose of visiting the area is the wool shops. My favorite wool place is Three Bags Full, between 28th and 29th Avenues. It's a cozy place with a great selection of wool (including Cascade 220 and all sorts of Noro).

I bought quite a large quantity of Drops Alpaca - 4 balls of ruddy cinnamon, and 10 balls of a medium gray. My plan is to one day knit the Still Light Tunic, a wonderful, simple tunic with front pockets. It looks easy, and best of all, really comfortable to wear.

Veera is a genius for making up this pattern. It's beautiful!

Everything in Moderation

Hi folks - I've been awfully lazy with the blog lately. But I will try to do better. Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures of Pique, doing what she does best.

A note on commenting on this blog: I've had a lot of SPAM posts - weird proverbs and comments in foreign languages, so I've put a moderating function on the blog. If you try to comment and your comment doesn't show up right away, it is in my inbox awaiting approval. I normally don't like to do this kind of thing, but it's gotten to a point where it's become necessary.

Thanks. Keep reading and more to come. Promise.

About Dreaming and Inception

One of the best movies I've seen in a while has been Inception, the new Christopher Nolan movie about a group of corporate thieves who enter into other people's dreams in order to steal company secrets. The plot is more or less incidental, but it does set the stage for a really fascinating exploration of dreaming, thought, and consciousness. What's great about the movie (aside from being lots of fun) is that it opens up a whole new world of possibilities within the human mind. Because we know so little about our brains, it makes you wonder 'what if?' and 'why not?'.

The whole premise of the movie is based on the knowledge of knowing when you are dreaming. Think about it--when we dream, what we see in the dream is what is accepted as reality. Even though a few things may be strange about a dream, you don't notice it at the time, and simply absorb it into the present dream consciousness. However, there does exist the much documented experience of dreaming while knowing you are dreaming, called Lucid Dreaming.

When you know you are dreaming, then you are able to control your dreams-- for example you can see someone who you haven't seen in years, do things that are impossible in real life, like fly or move through walls. Nightmares can be turned into healing experiences.... The possibilities are endless. The difficult part is that it takes quite a bit of training to have regular lucid dreams, although some people have them naturally on occasion.

Where to start?

Stephen LaBerge is one of the scientists who pioneered the study of Lucid Dreaming, and any one who is interested should check out his books. His website, the Lucidity Institute, gives lengthy excerpts from his books and other information. He gives practical advice on how to start lucid dreaming and gives tips on dream techniques. The first step is of course to remember your dreams, because if you don't remember you've had a lucid dream, then what use is it? The trickier next step is to realize that you are actually dreaming in the dream, and there are reality testing methods that can help you do this.

Of course, Lucid dreaming is very different from the dream states in Inception. There is no such thing as group dreaming, and research has shown that dream time more or less corresponds to the actual time passed in waking life. There are many other differences, besides.

It is a movie, after all.

A Bear for Baby...

Over the weekend, we went to a little baby's first birthday. It was really interesting to see the Korean tradition of the 'dol' celebration, and see people I hadn't seen in years.

For the occasion, I made a purple bear, from the book The Happy Hooker. This was my third go at this pattern, and it was quite a bit easier this time around.

I hope baby Charlotte loves this little cub and gives it a good home!