Summer Mini-List

Alright, so I have some grand plans this summer, and there is even some talk of going to Atlantic City to see Foreigner! Woo! This is, of course, not enough for me (queue Adam inquiring “is anything ever enough for you?”). I have decided to make a summer mini-list, since I am in the habit of letting my summers slip away from me and going “oh I wish I had _____________” at the end of it. So here is my awesome list for summer activities. Check out my past mini-list for Southern Alberta (which is sadly uncompleted but ah well).

1. Go to Banff
2. Spend a weekend in the mountains
3. Go to Bragg Creek
4. Take a road trip out to B.C.
5. Go to Waterton Park (and get out of the car – ps I heart you Adam)
6. Go to Cochrane and get ice cream!
7. Visit Adam’s parents at Ghost Lake twice or more
8. Raft/float-y boat on the Bow
9. Walk in Carburn Park
10. Have a picnic
11. Eat special brownies with Gwen (omg hah – and bring my mom pffft)
12. Try deep fried cheesecake at Montana’s
13. Go to Edmonton
14. Drive along the Cowboy Trail

I am officially

…back to being a Calgary resident. My move is complete (aside from the bed in the living room and none of my stuff being in my bedroom, but minor details).

I also have finally caught up with three weeks ago and created an account on Twitter.com under the highly creative username 1002things. Feel free to add me to follow status updates and I will hopefully be adding the twitter application to the sidebar on the blog.

Not much else going on, there’s just too much to do!!!

It’s about time! Ontario Trip!

Long, long overdue, but I am finally in the position to blog about my whirlwind trip to Ontario. Exams are over, and let me tell you, I could use another whirlwind trip right about now, but that will have to wait until my month long excursion out East in June and July.
So anyways, details of my trip. I should say, right off the bat, I crossed a few things of my list on this trip! I flew somewhere on my own(#317), I went back to Niagara Falls(#166), and I actually, incredibly, I didn’t think I could do it but did and enjoyed it at that sat in the window seat of an airplane(#270).

Adam was nice enough to drive me to Calgary so I could catch my flight, which left at 12:35am on Saturday April 5th. I took some Gravol and tried to sleep, but I woke up feeling sick. I don’t think Gravol and I get along to well, but ah well. The flight was quick and painless and I didn’t freak out. The best part was the flight was only half full, so the middle seat was empty (I was sitting in the aisle). I arrived at Pearson at sometime around 6am, and was ready to go. J (of J and Cal) was there to pick me up, on time which I LOVE in a person I must say, and we headed right to get coffee. I was then given the grand tour of the Loblaw offices, home of Superstore and the super adorable Galen Weston Jr., which was actually quit interesting. The place is totally done out, with cafeteria and gym and tennis courts. It’s crazy. I was also given a “sample” dog toy to give to my old man cat to replace the one he vomited on one too many times.

We drove around the GTA for a bit, heading in the general direction of Guelph, where Cal and J live. I was taken on the scenic route through Aberfoyle, which is the CUTEST town EVER! I would marry that town if I were a single eligible town. We drove around Guelph for a bit, and then decided it was time for breakfast, which of course meant all-you-can-eat buffet at the Golden Griddle (we do not have these, nor all you can eat breakfast of any type, in Calgary). It was soooo good and I got to eat waffles! Best breakfast food ever! We then arrived at their GIANT FREAKING MONSTER OF A HOUSE, and I got to see their kiddos, who are just the cutest things on the face of the planet (other than Aberfoyle). Cal’s friend Adam was staying at their house too for a visit, so I was introduced to him. Then I was shown to my room, which was amazing, Simple, yet so comfortable, with chocolate brown comforter, crisp white sheets and the softest mattress ever. I was given a tour of the house, with the help of their daughter Sydnie, which took like 4 hours because the house is so big.

I decided to grab some sleep when Cal went out for a bit, since I was exhausted from my flight. I woke up around 12 and got ready for the day and we headed off to Toronto and other adventures! I was given a nice tour of Guelph, and I must say the place has amazing architecture. The stunning Our Lady Immaculate Church (inset) dominates the skyline, and for good reason. The church is beautiful, and I think is one of my favourite parts of the trip. The amount of fabulous architecture just puts Western Canada to shame. Our Lady Immaculate, while the most outwardly stunning, was not the only gorgeous church in the city, or simple building for that matter. Guelph seems to relish in the preservation of old buildings, it seems every other house is a restored century-old work of art.

We did some shopping at the giant, crazy big Eaton Centre (pictured, inset) that was just filled to the brims with people and then some sightseeing. We grabbed some yummy light lunch, which we ate in a park near city hall in downtown Toronto. The downtown of that city is just fabulous. Even on a Saturday afternoon it was bustling and busy and just PACKED with things to look at. The people are nice and the blending of old and new buildings is phenomenal. I adored it down there. We couldn’t stay long, though, since we needed to head to Niagara Falls!!!

The drive there was a bit long, but I got my first glimpses of Lake Ontario in two years as we were stuck in a traffic jam. We followed the water most of the way down, going over several large bridges, and passing through Hamilton and St. Catharines along the way. We arrive at Niagara Falls as the sun was setting which made for a gorgeous, breath taking view of the falls. I was there so many years ago, I forgot the power of the falls. Just amazing. The mist was insane, I ended up soaking wet, which was awesome considering it was hovering around -1 in Niagara Falls that day. Still incredible, even if it gets me soaking wet! And the Canadian side totally kicks American ass. I said to J that all future wars should just be settled on the basis of who has the most kick-ass waterfall. We walked (or hiked?) up the hill to grab some dinner, and ended up at TGIF (something most of Canada does not have). The food was okay, nothing to get excited about. We wandered through the giant casino to warm up and keep dry, and then made our way back to the falls, watching the be lit up by giant multi-coloured lights (soo tacky!). We drove back to Guelph, still damp, and it was very very late. We ended up sitting around having a few drinks and eating some pizza.

Sunday I woke up and hung out with the kiddos for a bit. Cal was hosting a party over the weekend, and headed into Toronto early to get ready, but I was allowed to relax. Most of the morning was spent in the basement playing with the kids who have turned the giant basement into their play area. Soon, it was time to head on in to Toronto to help prepare for her soiree and such things. I ended up doing door for most of the night, which was fine by me because I didn’t know many people there, but I did get in some dancing and talked to several nice people over the course of the evening. The drive back at 1am was not fun, knowing the next day I had a flight to catch. But of course I didn’t go to bed right away, because there was cold pizza and conversation to be had.

Monday morning I was up fairly early, ready to go make good with my water whom I failed to visit. We drove around the GTA some more, landing in Oakville (where my dearest Irma lives, but I did not see sadly). I spent some time with Lake Ontario, but it was effin’ freezing, and I had a plane to catch at Pearson. How people can not want to live near giant bodies of water, I don’t know, it’s so wonderful and beautiful (even when the first kilometer is muddy brown!)

I got to the airport with some time to spare, but not much. I had a window seat and was sort of nervous. The flight was also looking to be packed, which it was. Luckily, a skinny little girl sat beside me, so it was a wonderful flight. I got a little picture crazy being in the window seat, but oh well. The flight was quite good and I managed not to freak out like I thought I would. We hit some just wicked turbulence over Lake Huron (I think?) and it felt like driving down a dirt road, just terrible. It was sort of fun though, despite my fear of flying. I spent the rest of the flight watching South Park and hoping Adam remembered to come to Calgary to pick me up from the airport

You can check out all of my pictures from the trip (almost 200!!!) in the new folder on my photobucket account!

Picture of the Week – A Preview

Just a wee preview of my Ontario adventure from earlier this month. Tomorrow or Wednesday will feature full details.

Crossed Off! – #292

I did it. 100 days without fast food. It was actually really easy, doesn’t even feel like I did anything haha. Ah well, something off my list. This was the 15th thing I accomplished! I still have to post about my trip to Ontario, but it will have to wait until I am done my last exam on Tuesday. I am moving back to Calgary on Saturday, woohoo!

Booking Social Change

Time for the monthly installation of book reviews that I do as part of my 2008 Resolutions. These ones are coming a bit late (okay so much entirely late it’s not even funny), as I did not want to log down the site with a bunch of posts, since I crossed a few things off my list and am embarked on my trip to Ontario as well. Oh yeah, and then there was work and school and being sick and all of that. Anyways…The books I read this month were Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit written b Jeannette Winterson, and Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society by Inga Musico (for full disclosure, Inga=my personal hero).

Green Grass, Running Water is a book I read in my first year of University for a Humanities course that I was taking. This was one of the first books I had to read for that class that I actually enjoyed. It’s been three years since I enjoyed the novel, so I figured I would put it to good use and take it all in once again. I adore this book, but I must say it makes me feel awful when I read it. This book is based largely on Native American traditions and uses well known Christian “stories” as well. I’m not too well schooled on the bible, which is fine by me, but I’m even worse when it comes to things like traditional Native creation myths, which in my mind hold much more importance than silly Christian stories that are used to justify things like slavery or the dominance of males. I have read a book about traditional Native story telling and on several occasions had the privilege of hearing them told by practiced story tellers. This book still leaves me lost at certain points, which I suppose on one hand is probably an intentional act on King’s part, and in reality it’s my own fault for not being aware of these stories. Aside from this, the story is wonderfully written. It combines a traditional story telling method with your more Western “normal” form of novel-writing. The characters are well developed and likable (except the ones you hate). The plot comes in the form of a slow moving build up that combines the Native story telling aspects with the lives of the characters who manifest in a much more “novel” manner. I guess what it comes down to is an uncomfortable clash of “Western” and “Native” culture, which is simply a reflection of “North America” today. It’s an absolutely brilliant book and, as with most literature, reading it again allowed me to see new aspects of the book I hadn’t seen the first time, and I suppose with three more years of University and life in general, comes a deeper understanding overall. I highly suggest this book, but if you do decide to read it (which you should), keep an open mind and don’t automatically put it down because the story telling in parts is different than you are accustomed too. The point is to express story in two different forms. And coming from experience, it might be a good idea to go and get somewhat familiar with Native creation stories and traditional Native story-telling, as it will make the book much more enjoyable and will reinforce some of the points the book makes through it’s method.

Next I read Jeannette Winterson‘s Oranges are not the Only Fruit. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I’m glad they did. It deals with the author in a semi-autobiographical format, coming of age and expressing her sexuality in a highly Christian home and community. The characters are all so complex without the normal endless descriptions that arrive in books when authors try to create “complex” characters. The quick anecdotes that fill the stories introduce you to familiar, yet unique characters that seem to walk into the book out of reality. It is wonderfully written, but at times the British slang can be hard to follow. Overall it’s a brilliant book and I truly enjoyed reading it. It goes beyond the conventional coming of age story and the silly little love stories that so many books seem to be so fond of. I’m quite excited to read the rest of her books!

The third book I consumed was Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society. Oh. My. Goddess. I love this book. I adored her first book Cunt, but this just was guhhhhhhh (guhhhhh meaning me drooling in sick adoration of this book and Inga). I adore Inga. If you all could kindly remember, I met her a few months back after she lectured at my school (thank you Lethbridge Grad Students Association!). This book is a semi-autobiographical work about racism (and other bullshit) in America (and the world). It took me forever to read because after getting through a page I’d be too depressed or enraged to go on. Several times I was flipping out throughout my house wishing I had things that felt satisfying to throw. You must read this book. This book must become mandatory reading in junior highs. This book must become the new effin’ bible. I’m not even joking when I say this book changed my life (I hate cliches, but it’s so true here). Once again..guhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

Crossed Off – #329 Make Jam!

Jammin’! Jammin’! And I hope ya like a-jammin’ too! Hoo ya!

So, I crossed another thing off of my list, like a week and a half ago. I am finally getting around to blogging about it I guess. Stupid busy life. I also crossed a bunch of things off this weekend, while I was in Ontario. Oh, and I still have to post April’s book reviews. Wow. Behind schedule much? Maybe, just a little,…but only maybe.

Making jam was a complete surprise, crafted by Adam.

He bought all of the supplies and learned all about jam making, just to help me cross something off of my list. Such a cutie.

Jamming was fun, and god damn did the finish product taste good. And it was way less traumatic than I thought it was going to be. It was just simply fun and delicious! I will be jamming again.

Here is the recipe we followed!

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=jaPpxWlyrfw%5D

Crossed off – Remington Carriage Museum (and some other adventures)

So my lovah-lovah Adam planned a nice and semi-surprise trip for me on Sunday. It combined both my giant list and some of the mini-list for southern Alberta that I made a while back.

We made our way down to the Remington Carriage Museum, which is located in Cardston, quite near to the US/Canada border. The drive was quite nice, though it was a particularly shitty day out. We arrived at the museum around noon, and found there to be a quite expensive admission fee

($18 for us both – NO CARRIAGE RIDE INCLUDED!!) The museum itself is pretty boring, which is actually why I put it on my list. I wanted to completely mock it. But Adam was so totally into it, reading every sign and getting into it. It’s a bunch of old carriages! Jesus. It was fun though, and some of the carriages were nice to look at.

I totally feel gypped about the carriage ride though. After the museum, we ate some lunch in the car (so ghetto, but so fun), and then headed westward towards Waterton Lakes National Park. Let me tell you, the road between Cardston and Waterton Park is effin’ creepy. It just seems like a place tourists go to die. We did not end up stopping in Waterton since it was snowing and we couldn’t even tell if it was open or not.

There were nice views, despite the clouds, and we even saw some deer and a female elk hanging out. They were really close to the road, so we slowed down for both safety and gawking purposes. We also saw bunny tracks with was SUPER cute, as Adam is a huge fan of bunnies and rabbits and such things. After that we drove through Twin Butte, but the sign wasn’t big enough to warrant stopping to get a picture. So we drove right on through. I’m surprised by the amount of Butte places in Alberta and Montana. Seems every other town is named “Picture Butte” “Twin Butte” “Butte” or some other variation of a description ass.

There was one sign that did require a turn around. Spread Eagle Road. Priceless and then some. I of course, got out of the car in the foot of snow that was drifted around this farm’s driveway to get a picture. I was super excited about it, let me tell you what.

We then made our way to Pincher Creek, to get a picture with their giant pinchers, which I just find too hilarious for words. Seriously. Giant pinchers. They also had a “Hoe Hardware” which I hope to god sells sex toys.

Then we headed home, and onto thesurprise event which I will blog about later on.

I leave for Ontario tomorrow night, so there will be a lot to talk about. I crossed another thing off my list (not a surprise, it is listed under Completed if you need to know, but I will be making a blog entry about it. I also have my march book reviews coming up. Too much going on!!

Check out my photobucket for all of the pictures from the day.