orbital-vancouver's photostream

My nephew Jordan Akelaitis was called up to play for the Vancouver Giants Saturday night! He played a solid, smart, consistent game and we're super stoked for him and very proud!

What do you get when you combine a 3-lb pork shoulder roasted for 5 hours (to make an amazing pozole), some delicious craft beers and then bourbon from New York City's oldest operating whiskey distillery? HAPPINESS!

Pork shoulder graciously supplied by Windsor Quality Meats on Main Street in Vancouver.

Bourbon and beer graciously supplied by my brother.

Posole lovingly made by Andrea.

Cups designed and hand-made by Susheela Kundargi at Claytek Studio at Stamp's Landing, False Creek, Vancouver.

Barb Akelaitis, of Rocks Bejewelled in Campbell River, makes some stunning custom jewelry and this is one of her pieces.

"The lovely blue stone is Larimar and the accent stone is a Laboratory grown spinal called Aquamarine. The stone is wrapped in Sterling Silver wire in the technique used by the Egyptians.
More about the Stone: Larimar is a relatively new find that occurs one place on earth on the island of Hispanola in the Caribbean Sea. Larimar was originally discovered in 1916 by a Spanish priest who reported the discovery but no mining was done. In 1974 a Peace Corp volunteer, Norman Rilling and the Dominican Miguel Mendez, rediscovered the stone on the beaches of Barahona. Geologists determined that Larimar is a rare form of blue pectolite. Named for Mr. Mendez's daughter "Larissa" and the Spanish word for sea " Mar", Larimar contains the blue hues of the Caribbean Sea. It is a stunning stone. The availability of the stone is unknown, therefore it is considered rare. Care for this stone as it will appreciate in price."

Many streams flow through the Snowden demonstration forest and this is one of them, at the bottom, far end of Lost Frog.

After a juicy government grant many of the structures (and trails and features) in Snowden were replaced, updated and improved. Here, a bridge traverses one of the many ponds in the forest.