I feel guilty sometimes that I don’t spend enough time with my mom. We’ve settled into a comfortable routine of going about with our lives that we don’t necessarily spend time together.

I try to remedy this occasionally by going places or doing things with her that I think she might enjoy.

It’s been hits and misses. My mom always seems to have something going on although I’m not exactly sure what she does with her time.

A couple of Saturdays ago we spent the afternoon at Queen Elizabeth Park. This was my first time at the park too so it was quite exciting.

The Park is located at the highest spot in the city, has amazing views of the downtown from the plaza and it’s one of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen.� It’s the second most visited park in the city, I can’t believe it took me almost seven years to go.

It has beautifully laid out picturesque quarry (think sunken) gardens and arboretum. The plaza has fountains and beautiful sculptures. It’s not surprising that many people choose to have their wedding or take their wedding pictures at the park.

There were literally dozens of wedding parties in the park the day we visited, made our time even more festive.

This was definitely a hit with my mom, she loved it!

Some beautiful and fun brides.

Some beautiful and fun flowers.

Birds at the Conservatory

The Bloedel Floral Conservatory was our final stop.

I’m glad I was able to take my mom someplace where she had no complaints or reservations.

She looked around pleased with all she saw and announced gladly, “It’s so lovely here; you really should have your wedding here”

I replied “Mama, I’m not having a wedding”

She gestures toward the older Russian bride in the black gown and says “That’s what she said”.

That made me laugh.

More photos from the flickr set

I think it’s understandable that one of my biggest fears is that I’ll get some type of cancer.

It’s actually my second biggest fear, right behind being buried alive.

Although there are no official conclusions, research has linked Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in plastic bottles and many other household products to the development of breast cancer.

So last year when Health Canada announced the ban on bottles that contain bisphenol A (BPA) I patted myself on the back a little because I stopped drinking out of plastic bottles a long time ago and switched to metal water bottles as an eco-friendly alternative.

We even went from bottled-water delivery to a bottle-less water filtration system at the office.

Last week, water bottle manufacturer SIGG released a statement that their aluminum bottles made before August 2008 has a water-based epoxy liner which contains a trace amount of BPA. What????

I have a bunch of SIGG bottles from before August 2008. I’ve been using them for years now!

I even blogged about them two years ago!

Last year, when the whole ‘BPA is evil’ debate was ongoing I found this reassurance on the SIGG website: “We understand the controversy and concern surrounding BPA leaching from plastic water bottles and can assure you that SIGG bottles are leach-free and 100% safe.”

I really should have read through the lines, because it didn’t really say their bottles were BPA free. SIGG does not disclose what’s in their liners for ‘proprietary’� reasons.

The website Treehugger did a post last year on whether the lining in SIGG bottles were safe, they had this quote from SIGG CEO

“Very thorough migration testing in laboratories around the world is conducted regularly and has consistently shown SIGG aluminum bottles to have no presence of lead, phthalates, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Bysphenol A (BPA), Bysphenol B (BPB) or any other chemicals which scientists have deemed as potentially harmful”

All I wanted was to have safe, portable water and be environmentally responsible while I’m at it. I’d like to err on the side of caution and not drink water from a BPA lined bottle.

Now, I know it’s a giant leap to think I could get cancer from drinking from a bottle coated with BPA, but I also don’t know that I won’t, which is why I try to the best of my ability that I don’t.

I’ve been using these bottles heavily for over three years.

I feel betrayed by SIGG, if I’d known that SIGG bottles were lined with the hormone disrupting BPA, I wouldn’t have bought or used them. Let’s not forgot that SIGG bottles aren’t exactly cheap.

Another thing that bothers is that the company claims it’s been using a new BPA free liner since August 2008, so why did it take them a whole year to release this statement? I could have stopped drinking from their BPA lined bottles a year ago.

SIGG is offering to replace the old bottles for anyone who requests it, I think I’ll take my replacements and sell them on eBay or better yet donate them.

If you or someone you know owns a pre August 2008 SIGG metal water bottle and would like a replacement send an email to liners@mysigg.com or info@mysigg.com for more information

Some online retailers have replacement programs too.

Meanwhile, I’m switching to glass bottles!

All too soon summer’s almost gone. In a couple of days we’ll have that one last long weekend, then the leaves will start turning a golden hue. The leaves have started turning in some places, my friend E. just got back from the north (northern BC, Yukon and Alaska) and tells me that fall has reached them already.

I’m not one of those people who romanticize the notion of what could have been. I had a lot of plans and hopes for the summer. Some came to be, others we’ll have to table for next summer. There are� a few sunny days yet to get into a little bit of trouble before the darkness and rain besiege us. But this isn’t a post about what could have been; this is a post to celebrate an amazing season that’s passed.

I went to a lot of festivals this summer, probably more than I’ve ever attended in my entire life. I rediscovered the city a little and managed not to run across the border every weekend.

I can’t believe Pride was almost a month ago, the BC Day long weekend signifies the peak of summer for me. It’s packed with events,� always sunny, hot� and it hardly ever rains.

Now on to Pride; I’ve finally gotten around to sorting through the thousands of pictures I took.

I’ve heard a lot of people complain that the Pride parade has gotten too corporate, which is ironic because the purpose of the parade is to foster acceptance and tolerance. Although I chuckled when I saw the Winners float.

This year a record 600,000 people lined the streets to watch the parade and it seemed like half of us had DSLR cameras, which is great because Pride is all about the photo ops.

This was by far my favourite costume

I can only imagine the time and effort that goes into producing an ensemble like that.

Folks couldn’t get enough shots of this cute little girl, her t-shirt said “I may be gay” and she was so sweet.

One of the Parade’s Grand Marshals was gay rights activists Cleve Jones, he was friends with Harvey Milk and Emile Hirsch portrays him in the 2008 movie Milk

The Mayor and the City of Vancouver painted the town pink.

This PFLAG granny has been doing these parades for the past eleven years.

Speaking of going corporate, here’s a dude from the Holiday Inn

Jack Layton and all the other political parties represented, except for the Conservatives.

And this, folks, is partly why I come to Pride every year!

Here are the rest of the photos from my flickr set, this includes the boobs and (simulated) S&M shots I can’t show here.

I took the day off yesterday.

I haven’t taken a day off in a while, nor had a good vacation in over a year.

I had a staycation last year, which wasn’t bad because everyone seemed to be having one of those then.

Taking a day off is a little different from being on vacation, taking a day off is like a glimpse into what life would be if I were independently wealthy and didn’t have to wake up each morning to go to work.

I’d have more time to hang out with this little dude before he gets older and thinks I’m uncool. Soon I’ll have to bribe him with video games just to get him to hang out with me.

I’d have more time to play in the rocks.

I met a mother and daughter at the grocery store, it was early in the day still and there was an air of leisure in the store, no one seemed in a hurry to be elsewhere.

The mother and her young daughter couldn’t agree on which kind of apples to get, they argued playfully.

I envied them a little, for a minute I wanted to be a part of their little playful clique.

I couldn’t help it, I smiled at them and suggested the jazz apples – her daughter would like them I say.

I walk away smiling… I’m think of limitless possibilities for my limited time off.

There was so much to be done, I could go shopping, hiking, a movie or a lunch date maybe…

I’m rejuvenated… we go to the beach in the afternoon

The water is cold but it’s a sunny day; I bring along a ton of reading materials and pretend I’m going to spend the rest of my life at the beach.

We watch the kids play and secretly wish they remain kids forever.

But everything had its end, soon enough it was time to pack up and go home and await the grind.

Back at work today, I felt a little refreshed, I needed that break and I’m glad I took the day off but I couldn’t help but look out the window every once in a while and wonder what it’ll be like if I didn’t have to be here.

So I’ve probably mentioned it before (only about a hundred times!) that get most of my pantry staples from the Italian store. I’ve developed amazing skills at reading product labels in Italian, maybe a trip to Italy is due?

I buy these gluten free crackers regularly; it’s become quite the staple.

According to the Celiac Association of Canada 1 in 133 people have celiac disease and only a very small percentage of Celiacs have been officially diagnosed.

I don’t think I have celiac disease although I’ve never been tested. I also know people who’ve noticed tremendous health improvements after eliminating gluten products from their diets, also many doctors recommend gluten free diets for children with autism.

But those aren’t the reasons why I love these crackers. I actually picked them up by mistake while reaching for their wheat counterpart. I saw ‘Senza Glutine’ on the package and decided to give them a try since I’ve sometimes toyed with the idea of going gluten-free.

The crackers are made with maize, rice and potato starch. These are super flaky and taste lighter than regular crackers. It’s quite different and delicious, the corn and the rice gives it a nice crunchy light flavour that goes well with everything. It’s a cross between chips and crackers. They’re pretty delicate though, they break very easily.

It doesn’t have the weird after taste that wheat crackers normally do. They’re so addictive I start snacking on them right out of the store, good thing there’re fourteen in a pack. I sometimes have to hide them from myself. There are four crackers in individually wrapped portion sizes. It’s quite handy for lunch packs and snacks.

Galbusera is an Italian manufacturer of healthy bakery products. Their products are made in Cosio Valtellino in the Lombardy region.

From what I’ve gleaned, products from the “ZeroGrano” line are all gluten-free. I haven’t tried the other products from that line. The ‘Frollino’ (shortbread) looks delicious, maybe I’ll try those next.

The company also has a No-added-sugar and a cholesterol-free line.