Jer’s Continuing Adventures…

We made it to Canmore after an easy drive yesterday afternoon.

Our last night in Lethbridge was a very enjoyable one. Michael and Janice were over and John cooked a lovely salmon. Much conversation ensued over wine and whiskey. They introduced me to a lovely Irish whiskey called Red Breast. Many were the jokes about “wanting more Red Breast” or “loving the taste of that Black Bush”! I enjoyed it so much, I went by a liquor store in the morning and picked up a bottle to bring home.

The next day we said our goodbyes and headed for the University for Gordon’s talk. Te University is one of Arthur Erikson’s best (and largest) designs. It’s an amazing place to walk around in. The talk went very well and I think people got something from it. It was a little subversive, according to the director, and I think that’s something students need to learn.

After the talk and saying goodbye to Michael and Janice, who had attended the talk, we got on the road. It was an easy drive out to Canmore, with a stop at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. It really impressed me how the tribes had figured out how to use the landscape to feed themselves. They had built lanes on the bluff to drive herds of bison off the cliff. Smart! And the building that housed the interpretive centre is very interesting. Part monolithic, and most of it is underground, yet it works really well on many levels. The architect was Robert LeBlonde and I will do some research on him, he must have done some other interesting buildings.

Today we’ll hit Tappen and visit my cousin Kirsten, maybe to stay overnight. It depends on what time of day we get there. See you on the road!

As the sun sets over the coulees (what a cool word!) we’re about to sit down to another tasty meal in the Savill house. Back in a bit…

Urp! Just finished another tasty meal at the Savill house. Michael and Janice, another Hornby connection, came over for dinner and it’s been a great evening of good food, and good conversation. And John and Dawn are wonderful hosts. Thanks for the introduction to Red Breast Irish Whiskey, its yummy!

Yesterday was a good day of final prep for Gordon’s opening at the Trianon Gallery, a visit to the local swimming pool and a nap. In the afternoon the wandering lads called. Kurt and Lyle were in town! Dawn invited them over for a drink before we went out for dinner. Of course, after a couple drinks, we all just decided to have dinner here. Yum!

Round about 8:00 Gordon, John and I left to do the final prep at the gallery before the opening. It was a good opening, lots of folks came, and there was real interest in the works, not just the free food and cheap drinks. The crowd stayed strong late in to the night. I got bored around midnight and headed for bed. Gordon and a good crew ended up at a local pub, playing pool and talking until 4:00 am.

In the morning, I was amazed that John and Gordon were out for a good walk in the coulees for an hour before I got up. Tough old birds! It was cool to take a more casual day without anything to do at the gallery.In the afternoon John took us for a walk in the coulees under the trestle bridge, and then he drove us around to see some of the local architecture he’s built. Lethbridge has some real gems tucked away here and there!

One more day and we’re heading back over the mountains. Gordon is giving a talk at the University at noon tomorrow, and then we hit the road for home. We are planning a stopover in Salmon Arm to visit with Kirsten and Chris (Kirsten is my cousin) and a stop in Enderby to check out some of my Da’s childhood haunts.

As much fun as it’s been, I’m looking forward to getting beck to the quiet life on Hornby. Soon!

Well, here we are in Lethbridge.

It’s been an awesome day! The morning started out with going to John Savill’s house for breakfast. John is the architect who owns the gallery my Da has his show at. John is a very nice fellow, and his house is beautiful! It overlooks the river valley at the edge of Lethbridge. 270 degrees of view from the living room.

After a simple breakfast we went to the gallery, which is in this cool old brick building. The gallery/architect’s office is upstairs in what used to be a dancehall. The brick walls and hardwood floors are stunning. With big windows at one end there is lots of natural light. We unloaded and started the process of setting up the show. I’m not a curator so it was mostly my Da humming and hawing about what goes where. Once a decision was made, I leapt up with the drill gun and made it happen. It was kind of cool to see. It really echoes the design process with regards to placing elements in a space and the tensions of whitespace.

John took us out for lunch at the restaurant downstairs, very tasty! A few more hours of hanging art and we were done. Well, except for the lighting. And sweeping.

We’ve been having a fantastic evening with John and Dawn at their house. Their kids were in on the conversation, and Fred Greene came by to help with dessert. Fred has been coming to Hornby for years and riding. Imagine my surprise to recognize a regular customer from the bike shop! After a few beers, and some tasty food, some folks were discussing art, some were jamming on the acoustic guitars, and I was here writing this blog post. Ahhhh, it’s a good life!

We got here in good time today!

Leaving Osoyoos at about 0700 this morning, after a hearty (not) breakfast at Timmy’s, we had beautiful clear weather on the road. As  a matter of fact, we haven’t seen any weather the whole trip so far. Knock on wood, the return leg is just as nice. The closest we saw to snow was about 500 feet of compact snow at the top of Bonanza Pass.

Though I really wanted to have some famous Doukhobor borscht in Grand Forks, on Kim’s recommendation, there weren’t any places open that served it at 0900. So we had basic diner breakfast at Yaky Jacquie’s. She lived up to her name…

The rest of the day became a long, windy drive through quaint little mountain towns and high passes. The nicest little town we came through was Greenwood. Beautiful downtwon with historic brick buildings and you can tell the locals take real pride in the place. Definitely worth a stop next time I’m through this area.

This trip has been a bit of a stroll down memory lane for me. A few years ago I sold all my stuff, gave up the yoga studio, packed a trailer and pedaled my bike from Victoria to Nelson over about a month and a half. A lot of that ride I did through this part of BC. I had stopped in Midway, rode over the mountain into Cristina Lake, Castlegar, spun through Greenwood. All places we drove through today. Made me want to do another big ride, only this time with company. Soon…

Reaching Alberta the land became VERY flat! The big surprise was the huge amounts of wind farms we saw on the western side of Alberta. Almost from horizon to horizon, these silent giants stood, waving their arms with a terrible momentum. Kind of eerie in a way, and seeing the first one poke it’s head over the last of the hills really messed with the perceived scale. Neat!

Now for a day of setting up a show for me Da, and getting some computer work done during down time, before we head back on Tuesday.

After a lovely morning with Kim I met me Pa at noon and we got on the road.

“Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way!”

On the road to Lethbridge, Alberta. We were aiming to get to Princeton before stopping. When we got there it was only 1600 so we pushed on to Osoyoos before dark. After eating some decent food at the local pub we’re sitting in the motel chillaxin’.

The drive to here has been clear and sunny. The roads are clear and the car is holding up well, despite being loaded down with art. The coolest thing I’ve seen so far is a big bald eagle sitting on a branch down in a creek gully, with a crow on the snow barely 6 feet away. Neat! Earlier a huge hawk flew low over us on his way to find dinner in a farmer’s field.

Up early tomorrow. We’re planning to get to Grand Forks and eat there. Thanks, Kim, for the tip for good Doukhobor grub in that area. Looking forward to some good borscht!

My amazing daughter is 18. Holy crap! Where did the years go? Now Kaetlyn is a strong young woman on the verge of university and stepping in to an adventure of her own. Good luck, my girl! Love always.
Happy Birthday, Kaet!

In other ventures, I’m driving with my Dad to Lethbridge to help him set up a show there. A couple days driving over the mountains, set up a show, do a talk, pack up and drive home. We should be back in a couple weeks. I’m super stoked to visit some of his childhood haunts near Enderby on the return leg.

Yummmmmmm…

I’ve been inspired over the last few days to put some extra effort in to my food, even if I’m cooking for meselfs. Prawns and Scallops sauteed with dried Tomatoes and Chilies over Pesto Pasta one night, Ground Venison cooked with fried egg and Garlic over toast the next. And tonight, Doug and Rachelle brought a fantastic Wild Mushroom Soup to go with the Venison Sausage over Risotto I prepared. So good! And thanks to them, we finished off with fresh grapes and some killer Christmas Fruit Cake. I’m practically in a food coma. It doesn’t hurt having the very tasty cider that Steve & Carrie made. Thanks Steve! It is so much fun and surprisingly easy to make good food with the right ingredients. What’s next?

In other news, my Dad and I have started working on databasing his artwork. It’s my first real experience of studio photography and I think I like it. Unlike shooting nature where the challenge is composition and light, studio shooting is more about getting the technical stuff right. With the right light set up and everything in fixed positions, I can concentrate on learning the subtle differences between f11 and f13 at .5 second. Fascinating stuff! And I get to see many years of my Dad’s work and hear him talk about what they mean to him. I’m looking forward to more tomorrow.

Life continues to surprise and delight!

I bumped in to Sara at the Ringside yesterday and she mentioned that Liz is here for the weekend. Well, says I, how about dinner at my place Sunday night? It’s on, says she. After a phone call in the arvo to confirm details it seems the Social Climbers are potlucking (if that isn’t a verb, it should be) at my place Sunday night.What a great group to hang out with!

Stoked about the bike shop. Getting repairs and orders these days, and with the improved weather I expect more to come. My dad just bought a new 2007 Kona Sutra which I’m assembling today. It’s a nice bike and, being a touring bike, will fit his style better than the aggressive racing road bike he has now. He’s getting in to a bunch of new stuff these days!

The shop is soon to open so I’m off.

Ride on!

Yum!

Slow on the updates this week. My humble apologies.

So, what’s been happening? Well, the supper club went very well I thought. We had 16 people for dinner! The house was rockin’! Everybody brought amazing dishes from Morrocco. The MacKenzies brought 3 dishes, Amanda and Rob had a very tasty stew, Sarah had an awesome hazelnut, chocolate mouse dessert thing goin’ on. Elaine and Wayne, Jules (no Ian), Doug and Rachelle (yummy rolls), Peter and Judith (more yummy rolls). I made my first ever batch of baklava, my favourite dessert. It won’t be my last…

Next up for the Supper Club is Tapas Night. My favourite way to eat.

There’s been lots of things happening at the Fire Department recently. We had 2 calls on Thursday, one of which I went on to transport someone to Denman, and a call on Friday night. Busy, busy. Things really started changing once I made Firefighter. New pager, new responsibilities. I was teaching Marc and John at practice. It kind of reawakened my interest in teaching again.

Speaking of teaching, my Dad has got himself a computer. I helped him get a new Macbook from Jerry at Big Island Computers in town. Now the notebook is here I’ve been giving my Dad lessons on the basics of using a computer. It’s an interesting position, teaching a man who has taught me so much. I think the both of us are learning a lot. And once he’s all dialed on it, I’m probably going to be teaching Mary. What a trip!

What a new beginning for a new year!

(I’ll get back to the title in a moment)

So there we were, helping Sasha and Amy pack up their house into 2 trucks and a station wagon (one of the trucks being mine), when it became time for Angel and I to hie to the ferry. The plan was to meet Ed and April (Angel’s folks) in Nanaimo, grab my keys for Big Green in Vancouver, say see ya to Angel as she was heading to Campbell River and I would mosey off to Departure Bay to catch a boat to Vancouver. Well, the best laid plans are occasionally waylaid by a recalcitrant vehicle. The old brown truck refused to start! Darn thing picked the vital moments when I didn’t have the time to deal with it, to start acting up. Well, that, added to not remembering the keys and a number of other small indications, led me to finally get it. “Jer, you’re not supposed to go to Vancouver this trip!” Alright, already, I hear ya!

So I saw Angel off at the ferry landing and went back to help Sasha and Amy complete their mission. For the rest of that day and the first half of the next we packed, cleaned, trashed and burned to get it ready for the renter. And to get all their stuff out of the place and up to storage on Hornby. And now back to the title of this post, When we were done, Sasha’s Dad’s big old Dodge pickup was stacked 8 feet high, with bikes, tarps, ladders and bags strapped and dangling all over it’s wooden sides. It really did look like Jed Clampett and the Beverly Hillbillies were on the move. And it worked! We made it to Hornby that day with everything intact. Now Sasha and Amy are off on their 6 month trip around the world, starting in the Honduras with Tig. Bon Voyage!

I missed the unloading as I had to open the shop on Thursday. The Jake cyclocross bike got it’s first taste of trails as I rode from Sasha’s to the shop. Definitely different than the MTB. While I was at the shop some nasty bug took me out. All I could do was come home and go to bed. I even missed my FireFighter Evaluation at the Fire Hall. Next week for sure. I’m up and around now and in recovery mode. More water, less meat, less dairy, less sugar. All good things on the road to healthy living.

Today is our one year anniversary, according to Angel! A whole year, wow! Lots of growth and discovery this year. Here’s to more learning in the next. To celebrate, we’re doing the only thing available, the movie at the Community Hall. Woohoo!

Final note, I’m going to town on Wednesday with my Dad to help him buy a computer. New era! He’s getting a Macbook and I can foresee many hours of teaching ahead of me. Trying to teach an old dog (and his wife) new tricks. It should be very interesting…