cupcakes

As you might have guessed, this post is about cupcakes but not only that, it's dedicated to Mac over at YOTD (see Followers). Everytime I pass by this store at 1168 Denman Street in Vancouver I am reminded of Mac, one of my favourite fellow bloggers! The sign above is just outside the store, called Cupcakes, and entices people to enter inside to see what treats await. (Note: I took this photo this past Saturday, while the rest were taken on Sunday. Saturday had been the intended day for taking all of these photos but yummies of a different kind were crowded around the tables in front of the store. Perhaps in hindsight I should have taken them then. It might have made for a much more interesting series of photos!).

I love the owl motif in the shop's window. There are even a couple of small tables with chairs outside for customers to enjoy their treats over conversation. Below are a couple of view inside the store. There are six locations in the Vancouver area. The one on Denman Street is just one of them. This location is handy to English Bay Beach where one can take their favourites to watch the activity at the beach, take in the sun, and of course, enjoy the cupcakes! If you live in the area and you love cupcakes, check this one out. Try their samples if you've not had cupcakes before, and even if you have!!! Enjoy!!! - V.

beauty

Aside from architecture, flora and fauna and many other matters of interest, if you haven't caught on by now, men and their beauty really grabs my attention. This is particularly so with fit, athletic guys! So, we've all heard the expression that "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!" So what determines whether one person is beautiful and another less so? Is it just the overall physical appearance? Or is it the colour or style of his hair? Perhaps its the eyes? Well, for me its all that and of course, the beauty that is inside, the inner soul. Nothing seems to put proper words to that! Feel free to comment. You might even recognize some of these guys. Meantime, here are a few examples to grab your interest and perhaps fire up your soul and inspire comment. Enjoy the experience!!! - V.

waterfowl and other fauna

Saturday I decided to take another route to Stanley Park, one I hadn't taken in some time, and this is likely why I was able to see something new and unusual. You see the Great Blue Heron in the top photo with the gaggle of Canada Geese looking on but this is not unusual. There are plenty of herons to see about the park and area. What is unusual (for me at any rate) is in the next photo, a goose not at all like the geese around it. You can see this bird to the far left of the photo below.

Then I got a closer look and here it is. It took a bit to consult one of my bird books at home before I realized that it was a cross between a Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifons) and a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis, of which there are several subspecies). You can see traits of the former in its bill, head and neck plus its webbed feet (pinkish-orange). Details of the latter species of goose can be seen in the body and the plumage there. It appears to be an immature bird and will likely have its adult plumage by April of next year. Below are a few more photos of this bird. I've been interested in birds and their habitat since I was very young, so forgive my excitement!

Swans are another interesting bird. There are a number of them in Stanley Park (Lost Lagoon). They have a robust feature to them, strong neck and big webbed feet! The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), native to Europe, is the one species to be found in the park. There there is the Douglas' Squirrel, native to this part of British Columbia. I have a special love for this little creature as well. So, if you happen to be in Stanley Park, take in the wonders of its flora and fauna when you do visit. You won't be disappointed! - V.

buildings and other stuff

One of my other major interests is architecture and how things are built and put together, so excuse the occasional diversion into this realm of interest. So, the above photo shows a row of high-rise condos on West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. The photo is looking east and upward. The street corner is about two blocks east of where West Pender Street meets West Georgia Street.

There is a building under construction on the north side of West Pender Street in the block one block east of West Georgia Street. In the case of Saturday cement was being pored as seen in the photo above. In the photo below this is a view of high-rise condos along West Georgia Street about a block north of where West Pender Street meets West Georgia. Note the changing colour in the leaves of the maple trees along the sidewalk! - V.

today - Saturday

Today, I slept in till almost 10 am before deciding to get up. Other than the weekend, I am up at about 5 am to get ready for work, so being able to sleep in is a treat. I did the earlier post after breakfast and before heading off to Vancouver for the afternoon. Since I've got the pager and am on call, I didn't want to stray too far in the event I had to answer any important calls or have to head off to the work site to handle a situation. As things are, it's been a rather quiet day on the work front, so that's a good thing.

I took a number of photos, so I'll have some to post as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera. There are not as many as last Saturday, so it'll be easier work editing them as well. I took in parts of Stanley Park and English Bay Beach this time round.

I bought some groceries before heading back home from Vancouver. Some of the items are for supper. The fruit, such as bananas, pears and nectarines, are to last through the week. A lot of what I purchase is on sale to stretch the dollars to the best advantage.

Right now I am cooking up a stew with chicken drumsticks, a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, garlic (all diced) plus sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a mix of herbs to taste. I also added some water and white wine, in this case chardonnay from the pays d'oc of southern France. I'm topping up the wine as it cooks at a low heat, and if it's good enough to drink, it's good enough for the pot! I'll have some this evening before bedtime but it'll be a lot better tomorrow and certainly Monday after the flavours have had a chance to mingle.

So, how has your weekend been so far? I'm off to Metrotown briefly in the afternoon on Sunday before returning home to bake some flatbread. Then after supper it's early to bed to get ready for the work week. How soon the weekends fly by so more news later!!! - V.

the other day - Friday

Yesterday (Friday) was a hectic day at work with the supervisor off sick and those filling in not being used to working the daytime shift. This meant a lot of extra work for me to do, aside from the usual. Ever tried doing two or three things at the same time, like preparing a courier item online, while leaving a message on someone's voicemail and having visitors waiting to be greeted??? It can be done but it's stressful. It's these times when we see how much we are capable of doing!

The commute in to work and back is usually rather routine, nothing exciting, but Friday's trip home on the train had an interesting diversion. As usual for the trip home, I commute by taking a SkyTrain into Waterfront station, cross the platform to an awaiting train all to get a seat. That wouldn't be the case at the station nearby work since everyone is crammed in like sardines at that point. It's a little extra time but worth it.

Anyway, homeward bound at good-looking guy got on at station or two after I got on at Waterfront. He was standing until we got to Broadway station. Then a person beside me got up and he filled that space. I took to time to have a look at him occasionally. It's either that or spend time looking out at the scenery going by as the train moves on to the east away from Vancouver. He looked to be in his early 20s, about six foot tall (give or take an inch or two either way), had short blondish hair, lovely blue eyes, had a trim athletic physique wearing khaki-coloured shorts (the ones with the bulky pockets), a dark blue, short-sleeved t-shirt and a white baseball cap. The guy sat there with his legs spread open, his left thigh against my right, with neither one of us attempting to move back. I spent time looking at his hands, the back of his head and neck, as he was leaning forward at one point. That was also when I noticed his blue eyes! And he did take the time to take a peak at me as well! If I had my business cards ready at the time, I would have given him one with the prospect of getting this modeling photography started. He'd have made a perfect model, well, one that I'd take the time to photography anyway!!! Sadly, he got off at Metrotown!

So, how was your day? Anything exciting happen to you or come your way??? - V.

Saturday in Vancouver

Saturday afternoon I had made plans to go into Vancouver but rather than head over to the Spanish Banks as originally decided, I ended up heading over to Davie Street and then English Bay Beach from there. When I arrived, there was a street market in progress on Davie Street with plenty of activity in the works. There was a stage set-up on Davie near Burrard Street with people seated in front. The stage is off to the left and not pictured in the photo above. I struggled to get a photo with enough sunlight in it since the sun is rather low on the horizon this time of year. After all, we are above the 49th parallel. There were even a couple of guys handing out condoms in front of the Priape store. All they were wearing was underwear (Jim), some flip-flops and a smile! The restaurants and taverns had lots of activity too. Booths were set up and sidewalk seating was extended out into the street. From there is was off to the other end of Davie Street to check out the annual flower plantings.

So at the other end of the street I saw another surprise aside from the annuals. The cloud pattern in the sky caught my interest, so some of the photos you see will have these clouds in them, such as the one above of English Bay Beach with the fan palms in sillouette.

And before heading out to the beach we can also pay a visit to one of the many local Starbucks locations in town. This one is at Denman and Davie Streets.

I believe I caught the flowers at the right time since they are due to be pulled and replaced by spring tulip bulbs at any time. I love the colours and textures!

There are many fan palms along Beach Avenue above English Bay Beach as you can see in the above photo. From the railing on the left you can see the beach below. Then this cloud pattern caught my interest again forming a background to the crowns of the fan palms. What do you think???

The above photo shows Sunset Beach (plus the clouds). There are a few fan palms there too plus some annual plants for added interest.

Before I left Vancouver's West End for home I spent some time at the beach (English Bay Beach) to observe the sunset. The image above shows the rays of the sun shining through the cloud cover with Vancouver Island far off to the west. Then the photo below shows a larger view of the sunset with people in sillouette. Enjoy the photos! There will be more over time and not just images of hot guys, though I'm sure you appreciate them too!!! - V.

Scott Herman - hot and sexy in Undergear

My friend, model and fitness trainer, Scott Herman, on whom I've done a number of posts, has done a recent photo shoot with Undergear and appears in their fall catalogue. Here are a few interesting shots showing off their underwear (and his muscled physique of course!) for our inspiration and pleasure! Check out Undergear for more in their autumn catalogue and also have a look at Scott's website if you're interested in building that body of yours to physical perfection (or resemblance there of). Scott's link is in the sidebar to the right! - V.

Chris Cuba

Chris Cuba, also know as Chris Campanioni, is 24 years old living in New York City, New York in the U.S.A. His photos appeared in a recent issue of the Australian gay magazine called DNA. These are just some of them. Have a closer look! - V.