New Garden photos

Jerry at the garden on Sunday night. The tall plants in front of him are amaranth. It's a grain that will have a burgundy flower.















Our harvest. This is the 2nd big summer harvest. We already had 2 big early summer harvests (raddish, peas). I didn't know zucchini could get so big! We had to pull up the onions and shallots because the zucchini plants were crowding them out. Many of the beets have ground squirrel nibbles out of them. I'm not too upset about that since they're not touching the carrots but Jerry rather likes beets. The corn cob was a test to see if they were forming well. The rows were even and the corn was tasty but not overly sweet. A bit of salt and butter would do the trick.


Does anyone recognize this flower? It's in one of the gardens a few plots down from us. I'm not sure who has it. It comes in both light pink and the darker magenta. I think it's really pretty.








Evening sky. According to Jerry, this is a typical sky for a Chinook. I've never seen the sky look like this and he told me it's because the weather's been very strange for the past several years. The sky under the clouds is clear and this is the northern edge of the Chinook arch.

Weekend Trip

On the weekend we went to Castle Mountain to pick berries.


This is a huckleberry. It's sweet and I prefer it a bit over a Saskatoon (which looks very similar).








There was a pair of grouse on the mountain with us.









Here I am with my berry bag (and bear spray). Note the very terrible tan line on my arms.








We ended up finding a whole lot of raspberries, some thimbleberries and a few huckleberries. I'm going to freeze them and we can turn them into tarts during the winter. Yum! The weather was nice and it was a relaxing, low-key weekend

Snowboard pictures

This is Libby





























This is Libby's underside (the part that slides on the snow)

Yay for sales!

Hi Everyone,

I got an amazing deal on my snowboard. Everything was used/consignment but for entry level, I didn't need more than that.

Snowboard with bindings: $62.50
Boots: $12.50
Hoodie: $12.50
Touque: $6.00
Snowboard Bag: $15.00

Everything was 70% off. A new board, without bindings start out in the $350 area for entry level. My board was on consignment and Jerry thinks that when the store declared bankuptcy, they were unable to contact the owner. Mine is a Lib Tech and looks very pretty. Apparently, it's also a really great board. I showed him the 3 boards that were the right height and he got really excited when he saw this board.

So, now all I need is a helmet. They get another shipment in on Friday so I'll look to see what else comes in. Basically, each week one of the chain stores shuts down and the extra stock goes to their main location downtown. They have both new and used sporting equipment but I will go new for the helmet. Although they are designed for multiple impact, I don't want to risk anything when it comes to safety.

So, super excited - I was expecting to spend 2-3 times that amount on equipment.

Have a great day!

Camping on the long weekend

Hello Everyone!

I just booked a back country campsite in Kananaskis (a region along the edge of the Rockies) for the Labour Day weekend. We plan on doing a lot of fishing (but will have lots of food since I don't plan on actually catching anything), relaxing and maybe a bit of light hiking (depending on how Jerry feels). He's talked about this area a lot so I'm rather excited to see what it's like.

This weekend, we're going to Lethbridge to see his family. There's a party on Saturday night so while we're in the area, I hope to walk around the railway bridge area (I think it's the longest in Canada) and maybe do some fishing. Definitely a take-it-easy weekend.

I'm hoping to buy a snowboard & equipment tonight. There's a store going out of business and they have their stock down to 70% off. At that price, I can get an entry board & equipment for about the equivalent of 5 rentals. So, I should come out on top by the end of winter. So, I'm hoping they still have stuff in my size. This will be my last big purchase until Christmas and budget will be very happy with that.

Have a great day!

I passed my exam!

Hi Everyone,

I wrote my Payroll Fundamentals 1 exam this morning and passed. It was rather a squeak through - I got exactly the minimum amount I needed for the exam. Luckily, I had a great mark on the midterm so I estimate I got around 70% overall on the course. The material was dry and 75% of it was not relevant to my current work. It was really hard to get into, especially with the beautiful summer weather.

My next course is accounting and I have until the beginning of December to complete it. It's through Athabasca University and the text book is hard cover. This means it's easy to take with me while fishing!

So, Jerry got doored on Wednesday. "Doored" means he was riding along and a driver opened his car door into him. He remembers hearing "click" and woke up on the ground. The end result was a bruised lung (well, at least there weren't broken ribs) and he was told "no sports" by the clinic and to go back to work. Yep, I rather like the intelligence of a clinic when they tell someone to back to work when their work involves riding a bike. He's sore but the main problem he has is his breathing if he overexerts himself. I pampered him this weekend by bringing up breakfast for him on Saturday (study break for me) and bringing lunch on Sunday (I was attending a church service near his house). He looked a bit better on Sunday so I'm hoping he takes it easy so he makes a full recovery. And, Jerry will need to fight in order for the driver to get charged, even though what he did was illegal. So, to all my friends & family who drive, please look before you open your door when you're parallel parked - this is a very common accident for cyclists and it can be surprising how far out your car door extends into the lane.

And, I got a hair cut on the weekend. I had dyed my hair late last year to a dark brown. This was to cover up any remaining blonde. Unfortunately, the colour was slightly darker than my natural colour. I've been growing it out and I finally reached the point of the two colours driving me crazy. So, I'm back to a short hair cut and almost all of the colour is natural. There are a few tips on the top that have about 1/2 cm of colour but that'll be cut off at my next trim. After that, I'll be all natural again and can grow it out. Jerry was curious to see what I would look like with long hair so I'm indulging him to about shoulder length. With my body frame, anything longer than that looks too heavy. When he saw me on Sunday, he said it looked nice (I did warn him I needed to cut off the dyed hair).

I have some tlc to do on Charlotte this week. I need to replace her free wheel (the cear on the back wheel. When you have more than one gear, it's called a "cassette"), replace her chain (because of the new free wheel), and a couple other tweaks.

We have some yellow beans in the garden! And we had a couple carrots at eating size! We pulled out the remaining radishes. Did you know they get a very pretty white/pink flower on them. They would be ideal to put in an edible flower bed.

It was a hot weekend (30s) and to suppose to be like this for the next couple days. Last night was the first time I had to pull out my fan in 2 years. So far the furry family is handling it fine.

Have a great day!

Waterton trip

Saskatoon berries - yum!










Butterfly on an Aster









Crypt Lake. The glacier is in Montana and the lake is very cold. We didn't have time to hike around it but in all honesty, the trail didn't look very nice (basically walking on a big gravel pile)






Jerry setting up our tent. It's a three person tent and it was more than big enough for us. Because of bears, you don't keep your backpack in you tent (scents such as toothpaste, deodorant, sun screen). And I carried it in since I have a backpack and Jerry only has a day pack. He's use to a lot more rustic camping and usually uses a bivouac sac instead of a tent. He also knew if he wanted me to go camping, we needed a tent. Because even though tent fabric won't keep a bear out, I can trick myself into believing it can.


Deer checking out our campsite early Saturday morning.









Mount Galwey (I think) reflecting on Crandell Lake. Our campsite is on the left (in comparison to the picture) side of the lake.








Me in the tunnel that leads to Crypt Lake. Note the canister of bear spray on my right hip.









Common Red Paintbrush. This is one of my favourite mountain flowers. It comes in white, red, pink and orange.










Wildflowers along Crypt Lake trail.







So, I had a lot of fun at Waterton. We ended up camping at Crandell Lake (amazing location) and I was the only girl (with 5 guys). Good weather - a bit of rain & hail Saturday morning but it only lasted about 1/2 hour. I went scrambling for the first time on Mount Crandell on Sunday. It was a bit scary but Jerry was able to get me down when I reached a point in climbing where I couldn't get myself down. He directed me where to place my hands and feet and I got down safely. I plan to take some mountain climbing classes this winter to help me improve. It was very beautiful and I had fun.

On Monday we went on a hike to Crypt Lake. It's noted as one of the best hikes in Canada and I agree. You reach it by ferry so there's only a small amount of people who go on it every day. It was a difficult hike - 8.5 km to the lake and an elevation gain of 2214 ft. I wish we would have had more time but I knew I had to compromise on taking the later ferry (I was ready to go but the sleepyheads I was with...) and returning on the early ferry (since we were heading back to Calgary that night). So, physically strenuous, great (proper) hiking trail, beautiful scenery. At one part, you need to hang onto a wire cable as you cross a 3' ledge and then climb up a ladder to a rock tunnel.

Ate lots of Saskatoon berries, tumbleberries and also a huckleberry. All were delicious.

Was very tired for most of this week, recovering. My ankle was a bit sore since we had to really push to get back from the lake in time for the ferry. The furry family was rather upset with me but I spent this weekend with them and they've forgiven me. I was planning to study all weekend (exam 1 week from Monday and I'm not ready) but I got a severe headache that made me pretty useless all of Saturday.

I don't get migrane headaches but the end result is pretty nasty. I think it was caused by a rapid change in air pressure because my head hurt above my hairline at the front of my head. As well, ibuprofin had no effect. And it wasn't until Saturday night, when feeling nausious that I decided I should go for a short walk (since fresh air usually helps). I added up my symptoms and realized what I needed to do. I had a long hot shower (since running water puts ions into the air) and turned on the ion releaser on my air purifiers. I felt better within an hour. Although my headache still continues, it's not down to a dull ache and no more nausa. I've also been consuming caffeine. Now, normally people don't take caffeine when they have a headache since it often causes one but I've noticed when I get this kind of headache, it really helps. I think it has to do with how it constricts your blood vessels. As for the ions, the science is still undecided but I've tried it and it helped me. It is very frustrating to get this type of headache since I basically have to wait for it to end. And, it's a very common thing in Calgary and southern Alberta. Stupid mountains and its effect on weather systems.

Well, I have some tidying to do around the apartment before bed. Have a great day!

PS - I didn't need to use my peeing device - there were outhouses. So, I'll have to wait until my next adventure...

I peed standing up!

Hello Everyone,

I know this above statement may seem odd but I'm rather excited. When I was getting my camping stuff last night, I was in the misc health section and saw Sani-fem Freshette Urinating Aid. And yep, it's a device that allows women to pee standing up. It's basically a slightly moulded cup that has a hole in it for a tube. You place the cup against your body and your pee will run down the tube. Because of it's shape, you only need to unzip a bit of your clothes.

So, I tried it this morning with great success. No dripping and I was able to aim so it went in the toilet (without dribbling everywhere else). I know, this topic is a bit crude to some people but for those who like being outdoors and hate the fuss of squatting, I've got to say this may be a solution. I'm bringing it with me for a full test this weekend.

So, this weekend... originally we were going to do a 10km difficult hike to a lake where there's a campsite. From there, there are a couple challenging scrambles. The problem? Well, the person planning the trip waited until the last minute to book campsites and there weren't any. (I'm still shaking my head at the idea of waiting until the last minute to book 4 campsites on a super busy weekend). We ended up getting 3 sites at Waterton (through my research and a bunch of calls to their Info Centre) and we're driving down early Saturday morning. The campsite is still back country but it's only 2 km to the parking lot, 6 km by highway or path to the townsite and 15 km by highway to Cameron Lake where people can go canoeing. It's also a central location for several scrambles. So, the campsite, although not as wilderness as originally planned, does have a lot going for it since it has activities everyone was interested in. And for me, I'm a bit relieved because this will be my first backcountry camping experience.

Jerry bought me bear spray, bear bangers and flares since it's peak bear season (and showed me how to use everything). We set up our tent last night to make sure everything is fine. I tried my new mattress and couldn't feel the stuff underneath that we used as a test. I was tempted just to buy a thin piece of foam but the blow up mattress was comfortable, very tiny when not in use and light. I was hoping to save money on this but I like a soft sleeping area.

Camping is expensive to start out. I didn't have anything other than a pack and a walking pole. At least this stuff is good quality and I'll be able to get years of use out of it (hopefully). And it will definitely save in the long run since it'll mean camping rather than hotel rooms and more freedom for adventures.

Have a great weekend and I'll let you know next week how everything goes.