Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

Just west of Calgary is this very new provincial park. We had never been until last weekend. I can say that I really appreciate the beauty that the prairies and foothills possess. The multitude of grasses. The expansive sky. The trembling aspen. The Rocky Mountain frame.

Calgary Reads Big Book Sale

This is our family's fourth time attending the frenetic Calgary Reads Big Book Sale in the 7 years living in Calgary and I think it will need to become an annual tradition. I met my family there after work. They spent the day downtown already for the Children's Festival.

I have to be very careful not to binge purchase as there are so many books I would love to have on my book shelves. I even put 2 selected books back making my count 11. All were $3 each except my collectible Tolstoy volume which was $8.



For me:

• Something Beautiful for God: The Classic Account of Mother Teresa's Journey into Compassion (Malcolm Muggeridge)
• Thoughts and Meditations (Kahlil Gibran)
• Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe (Alistair McGrath)
• Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination (Eugene H Peterson)
• Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God who Speaks (Brad Jersak)
• Becoming Human (Jean Vanier)
• The Imitation fo Christ (Thomas À Kempis)
• Stories and Legends (Leo Tolstoy)
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Jean-Dominique Bauby)
• Life After God (Douglas Coupland)
• I Am America (and So Can You!) (Stephen Colbert)

I'm sure you can discern my penchant for books on Christian Spirituality.

My family got in on the action too. Blaise was wiped out from the day so he only had the energy to hunt down three books. He is by far the family's most prolific reader. I think he passed me in number of books read before he turned 8. My son carefully picked out 2 books by Jean Little, a reknown Canadian author and one by Gary Paulson, author of a book he recently read and loved called Hatchet.



Acadia is also careful. She's into Bible stories (like her papa) and dogs (not like her papa or her mama).



Amber cost us the least. I think she should have gotten more books. She uses the library better than me.

ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships 2015

A couple weekends ago, Calgary hosted an international speed skating tournament. World class competitors - I think all of them were at Sochi 2014 - competed in 4 different races each and scored points. The champions were the ones with the least points. You can find the results here.



Blaise and I decided to attend to see what the sport was all about. It was hosted at the Olympic Oval on the University of Calgary campus where the 1988 Winter Games speed skating events were held. The facility still looks wonderful and there is a nice torch reminding visitors of the site's heritage.



We were late arriving, so we missed the opening women and men's races of 500 m. I heard from a coworker who was also there that these were the most exciting races. In fact, the Canadian athletes performed best in these. So we ended up watching all the long 3000 m women's races and the 5000 m men's races. While it was certainly fun to cheer on the athletes, see how they paced their various laps, and witness a couple athletes catch up to their single opponent - it wasn't too gripping to see people skate round and round in ovals.



I was particularly impressed with two things: skill and power.



Generally, we cheered. I took photos. We had a snack. Blaise and I sat in three different locations as there were lots of empty seats. Blaise remarked that we got to sit in some really good seats and that if it were the olympics we would have had to pay way more money! He's right. We only paid $25 total - olympic tickets could have been in the hundreds of dollars to see the same skaters skate.





The fans were often more interesting than the races. Not surprisingly the majority of the crowd was identifiably Dutch because of the blinding orange jackets, hats, scarves, dresses, pants, and jumpsuits. They were loud, but the old Norwegian men were way louder. These guys sported lovely traditionl knitted sweaters and funny caps covered in pins.

The one cultural group I thought was a bit odd were the quiet Russians. I thought how odd it was to be waving a Russian flag despite the current Russian aggression in Ukraine. But hey, there were a couple Americans there too. With flags.



24 men and 24 women raced in pairs in 4 rounds over 2 days.



We cheered on Canadians Denny Morrison (7th), Ted-Jan Bloemen (16th), Ivanie Blondin (6th), and Kali Crist (8th).





This guy won for the men: Dutch skater Sven Kramer. I guess he has some serious cred.

Bow Building (night)

A couple nights ago we ascended Calgary's tallest building, the Bow. It is situated on Centre Street and on the 5-6 Avenue block East. A friend of ours works there and he got us access passes so we could enjoy the privileged view.



What struck me most aside from the views is the Bow's commitment to design. As you enter from the south, a massive mesh sculpture of a head invites you to wonder. Each of the three floors we visited had remarkable interior design, grand staircases, plants, and of course massive windows and the criss-cross lattice for which the building is recognized.



The Bow was completed just over 2 years ago. It stands 58 stories tall and was considered one of the top ten design architectural projects of 2012 by Azure Magazine. In fact Calgary got 2 nods that year, the other being the lovely Peace Bridge. The wonder of the Bow is that it is shaped like a celery stalk prism.



Due South we look down on the Calgary Tower.



Looking NorthEast.



We would see the Rocky Mountains if it were day time.



Blaise's Teddy sports a guest badge.

30 Months of Co-Living

We are into the middle of our third year at the RobiRoost where we share a 5 bedroom house with another family of 4 (their last name also begins with Robi...). It was meant to be a single year of co-living in transition between our former homes and the anticipated cohousing project we were all a part of. When the project was delayed and then abandoned, both our families were left in a bit of a quandary and so we moved to a different house and continued our home sharing.

Our families live remarkably well together. We share essential tastes in food, drink, activities, movies, beliefs, and lifestyle. There is a mutual care and respect for each other. We trust each other. We play together. Look after each other's children for date nights. We built and then enjoyed a beer advent calendar (more on this soon). This arrangement has given us some relief from the disappointment of losing our cohousing dream as we have built in community.

My children will certainly have a defined memory of these surrogate siblings and parents. They get tucked in once a week by either Jasen or Heather. They play Lego and superhero and house and watch morning cartoons on the weekend with their housemates.



We decided to celebrate our big family Christmas by going out for some food and then walking around Commonwealth Park to see the holiday lights. It was nice to relax together in this way. For me it demonstrated that getting together is not as special as it used to be. We've crossed a familiarity barrier that few people cross beyond the nuclear family. It's uncharted territory. I joke with my work colleagues about having a sister-wife and brother husband because I haven't found an easier way to explain who they are.

This fine family has inspired, encouraged, nourished, shared, commiserated with, challenged and blessed ours. I hope we have been able to do the same for them as they have become very special to us.

Cheers to 30 months together!

Tool Shed Brewery & Beer for Life

A year ago, I tried my first Tool Shed beers: Star Cheek IPA, Red Rage Ale, and People Skills Cream Ale. I was immediately enamoured with the Star Cheek IPA which was a far more local, affordable, and high quality IPA compared to the west coast American IPAs I have learned to appreciate.

Graham and Jeff started out as home brewers and decided to take the plunge and start a brewery. They had to begin brewing in BC by renting Dead Frog's brewery because of the archaic brewing laws in Alberta. This year, the laws changed and they secured a spot in NE Calgary and have built a magnificent brewery.



To help raise capital and extend their appreciation to their original backers, they offer 100 Golden Growlers: Beer for life for $5,000. If you're interested in the terms of the agreement, you can contact them. Graham responded very quickly to my clarifying questions and invited me to come and meet him to chat about it.

The beer maxes out to 200L each year. They are happy to provide the beer in growlers, cans, kegs, etc. You can have several people attached to a single Golden Growler subscription and each will be able to access the benefits (sharing the 200L - about 600 beer - of course). Another benefit is exclusive access to test batches.



So, on October 23, Amber and I went on a date to visit the new brewery and get a tour by Jeff. He spent 45 minutes with us showing us the new digs and telling us about the plans. They had brewed their first batch that day, but he was happy to take the time. I signed up and handed over the money that would give me and 2 friends the benefit of beer for life.



The 100 Golden Growler members' photos will be featured on a wall. Each will be given a special 1.89 L growler and be invited to exclusive events. I'm excited for the first one where we will get to try the test batch of the Eggnog Milk Stout.

Spruce Meadows

Spruce Meadows is the premiere equestrian sport venue in Canada and it is just 30 minutes from where I live. If you saw Ian Miller compete on Big Ben in the 80s and 90s on TV, it was probably at Spruce Meadows. When Amber told me I had the morning to myself during my first week off these summer holidays because she was taking the kids to Spruce Meadows, I offered to take the kids because I've wanted to visit there for a long time. She gladly took the time to herself.





I don't know who we are watching or what competitions are on, it is just really neat. The riders look super spiffy. From the vantage point of being just on the other side of the fence from the horse jumping, I can tell there is a great deal of athleticism involved in taking the horse around the course and jumping with them over the barriers. Of course the horse does most of the work...





The grounds at Spruce Meadows are beautiful. I do not feel like I belong since it looks like most of the people there probably own jumping horses (there are not a lot of people there, in fact the place is rather desolate) and likely have cars and vacation homes to reflect this kind of wealth. It is not my culture, but I like the well kept gardens and the elaborate jumping courses.

We visit three venues. My kids lose interest in the horse jumping pretty quickly as it doesn't really change from competitor to competitor except for the odd bar being knocked down. All of the announcers have British accents (like in soccer) and one of them butchers nearly every rider and horse name - so that is pretty fun. All the riders are from Canada, USA, and Mexico.





We grab an ice cream and walk around a little. My kids play on the playground while I snap pictures. Oh, and except for the ice cream, the whole thing is free of charge. I even ask where I am supposed to pay the advertised $5 and no one can tell me.

A lovely way to spend a quiet day.