Never Under Estimate the Power of a BJ at the Mall

Pardon? What is a BJ exactly?
My blog is part of the big, scary www. Would I ever write something about the BJ you are thinking of? Let me surprise you!


I am spending so much time recently at the mall, my fingers finding their own words on the keyboard to write about my temporary, fun BJ (bridge job). 

Having a temp job at the mall is so much more than just a job -
it's a learning experience. Plus, it is a fabulous tool for time management:

Today I get more stuff done in my two hours between homecoming and dinner preparations than my previous five hours at home alone.

Today I know the mall is more than just a place to drop your cash in exchange for goods.
The mall is a safe place for all things creative and active.
 E.g. for the Asian dance group or the New Moms stroller group.

 

Today I could totally hold my own and give you an appropriate answer if you tell me
 "I am friend zoned."
Yesterday I raised an eyebrow, I had no clue what you are talking about. Yesterday I laughed out loud, today I would feel sorry for you.

Oh I love hanging with the young ones. They have so many new fancy words for us!
Today I know you have been dumped or better: you have been down graded from being a potential boyfriend to a friend only.
Today's young women (or men) are cruel, wouldn't you agree?  Why couldn't they at least  tell you face to face to get lost? We did it, twenty years ago!

Today I know wrapping gifts can be as creative as you want it to be and you can become as wrapped up in the activity as you allow yourself!

 

    

 

                                                   

And last not least, I knew it, the mall is temptation written with a capital T. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over; the regular sales are continue to flourish and I need to be as frugal and tight fisted  not to cave in with all these wonderful goodies around!

I can't stress it enough: A BJ at the mall is a string of extraordinary experiences! 

THERE IS MORE TO STEVESTON THAN FISH

At times, life on top of our rock is too much fun and we need to get away for a change of scenery. We live near the mountains and the luscious green of the Golden Ears Provincial Park.

 Sometimes, our heart desires the fresh breeze of the ocean,

This is actually a very sad representation of a beach!

  the smell of freshly caught fish,

listening to seagulls  and eating fish 'n chips wrapped in old newspaper!

All this can be found in Steveston / Richmond,

a one hour drive west from our residence!

Right from the moment we parked our car, our spontaneous trip was sprinkled with wonderful, extraordinary moments:

The bi-monthly Farmers Market was on and imagine my surprise when I met my buddy Karen.

She is my all time favourite market lady with an incredible talent and recipe for making and selling her own lemonade. Check out her Kics site here!

We explored the many different shops

and ended up chatting with three,
 sweet, young female students, sharing our philosophies on life (no, no, don't get married yet, go and travel first!)

We found our fish and chips,

we ate, we walked to the tip of the inland (Garry Point Park) and were geographically challenged.

 We couldn't figure out where downtown Vancouver is;  in short, we needed someone to point us in the right direction.  

When it comes to talking to strangers I am no stranger in making first contact. Whom better to ask than the first couple you see sitting on a bench?

We approached, politely interrupted and posed the question!
The couple answered with their perfect Dutch accent- which really got us going! Yes, we still speak the lingo- we lived there for 12 years!
After 10 minutes Tilde and echtgenot (husband) Philip  invited us to their home for Koffie en gebak (coffee and cookies).

Is it the sea breeze, is it Steveston, is it Canada?
In Holland it took SIX  (!!!!!!) years to get invited into a Dutch home ( and no, we don't smell), here we were laughing and drinking the evening away after 10 minutes only!
Thank you Tilde and Philip for making our trip extraordinary!