Suddenly September

I go back to ACAD on Tuesday...we've spent August trying to cram as much summer as possible into one month. June and July were such downers, but I did a lot, and the proof is in Instagram :-)

We went for a lot of country drives! This graffiti barn is out near Linden, Alberta. It never looks the same. Linden has a great little restaurant called Country Cousins, although it's not quite the same as what it used to be. It used to have a buffet loaded up with Mennonite home cooking, now it's just OK. The farmer's sausage is still wonder as are the homemade pies.

 I volunteered for the Calgary Folk Music Festival again! They really treat their volunteers wonderfully and it is such a good time. It takes 1500 volunteers to make the festival tick, and is a lot of hard work! But there's a free t-shirt, snacks, gelato, two meals a day, program and free music to sweeten the deal :-) The hot band this year seemed to be The Mexican Institute of Sound.

The festival takes place on Prince's Island Park, which was overcome by the flood back in June. 250 volunteers made it possible for the festival to happen. The whole island was underwater, the River Cafe was temporarily closed and it's amazing they were able to get it done in time. Some of the stage areas were closed, and Stage 2 was moved to nearby Eau Claire market. There was a fine sand everywhere due to the silt...but the river ran blue again by this time at the end of July.

 

We tried to go to the Royal Tyrell Museum on the August long weekend, but had to bail! This was the line up of cars just to make the turn off into the road to the parking lot. We had arrived there around 3pm, and thought that would be a good time to miss the crowds. Apparently not! Ah well...it was still a nice drive. We'll have to go again when all the kids are in school. One of the problems with Calgary is that you have so many people fleeing the city for long weekends - can't be helped, really. We were looking forward to it as the last time we were there was 2007.

Saw these groovy clouds around Red Deer! They were originally grey, but I love how Instagram turned them into waves. I really like Instagram as a creative medium...it's like this random result that I can use for drawings and paintings. In the 30 years or so that we have been travelling Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton I have never seen clouds like this.

Here's a view from the 10th Street Bridge last week. The water is still high. There's an island near the bridge where geese nested, but it's still underwater. It's hard to imagine just how devastating the flood was. It will be a long time before everything is "normal". The rusty looking structure is called Poppy Plaza and was intentionally made to look that way. It's next to Memorial Drive.

 Lastly, a new farmer's market opened up near us. Most of the farmer's markets in Calgary are far south, so it's always a chore to get to. This one is located at Symon's Valley Ranch, which used to be a restaurant and dance hall. It's been fixed up some with outdoor seating and lots of shops inside and out. It has only been open for a couple of months, so it will be cool to see how it grows as more people and vendors know about it :-) There were live geese and ducks there to see, and lots of seating, so it should be good. It's also literally out in the country too!

Gift Art...One of Two!

If you get to know me long enough, chances are that you will get a piece of art from me! This is a shadow box card that I made the day before my friend's birthday - this time inspiration struck before the occasion! Usually it arrives a little late. You're also seeing it here first!

Stampede 101

I think my fifteen year old self would be horrified to learn that twenty years into the future, I would be getting impatient with my future husband because we were not Stampeding as fast as possible last Friday. I say that because twenty years ago I lived in Edmonton! We were able to hit downtown on the train just as the parade was finishing on Friday. The grounds are a mere four blocks from city hall, but we ended up waiting forty five minutes, then eventually walking, because it was impossible to get on a south bound train.

The recent flooding could not stop the Stampede, and they did an amazing job of throwing resources at the grounds to get it all ship shape. This is a picture I took downtown on June 26th, while dropping off my items for the Western Arts and Crafts Showcase. Most of downtown was closed that week, and it was weirdly still! Calgary is an energetic, busy city, so the new slogan "Be Part of the Energy" is really true. Although I signed up for volunteering, often there were already enough volunteers. Ah well!	Click on any of the pics for a closer look!
	Our first objective was to find lunch! There were hardly any crowds or line ups despite it being the first day. I thought there would be more curiosity seekers. I had a big London Broil sandwich and my husband tried a deep fried Philly cheesesteak. The weather did look threatening after a sunny morning!
The Stampede show band was everywhere to entertain! There is so much to do at the Stampede - it's not just the rodeo or chuckwagons. There's the marketplace, Dream Home, Nashville North...we don't do rides any more, but there are lots of thrills.
	We moseyed over to the Indian Village to get bannock or fry bread - oh, so, so good! The Indian Village is a great place to see traditional dance and music as well as tipis.
The YYC Food Trucks were also there! I had a Murgh Madness from the Naaco truck. They serve up "Indian tacos" literally - Indian food meets convenience food! Unfortunately I didn't care for the Murgh Madness for $8 - the raisins were icy cold and there wasn't enough chutney, so it was just a big blob of chicken on a mini naan.
	Of course, the thing I wanted to see MOST at Stampede was my entries! My card took second place in card making. It's such a thrill! I have been trying for years to place in the top three, and it was definitely my year!

Three by Me for Under the Sea

I was unstoppable this morning and made three new ACEOs for the ACEO Challenge! They are also for sale on Etsy, from $5-10 plus shipping. They can also be made as prints upon request.

Alberta and Calgary Floods

I just wanted to pop in and say that we have not been affected at all by the flooding in Alberta. My husband and I feel so, so fortunate and grateful, and have made a contribution to the Red Cross and are hoping we can volunteer through YYC Helps when we are able. It is so Normal compared to the Not Normal that others are experiencing, and I feel a little guilty about this. On the upside, the roofers did a good job on the new roof back in February and we didn't have any leaks.

The creek near our house is very high though - this is Nose Creek, which meanders through the northwest today. Usually there's a couple feet of clearance on either side:

A couple of days of hard rain turned into major flooding throughout Southern Alberta - the official explanation is that a trapped weather system caused a "firehose of moisture" that didn't quit. It happened very fast - one day it was Banff and Canmore, the next Calgary, High River and the Siksika Nation, and then the day after that, the water was on its way to Medicine Hat. The Bow is a big river and it goes where it wants!

The cloudless, blue skies on the weekend contrasted with the oppressive grey cloud cover that hung over the city all last week. Weather in this area can change quickly, astonishingly quickly, so it was surprising to have days of poor weather beforehand.

But Calgarians tend to be natural optimists and most people have been able to return to their homes and many services are already back on their feet as I write this - the CBC studio, the C-train will run downtown tomorrow, and even the Stampede will go on. We didn't let the weather stop us from going to the Greek Festival either on Saturday. Since downtown was closed, we had to take the most roundabout way possible. There were a lot of empty roads. Calgary is a busy, energetic city, and to see such stillness is unusual! The festival turned into admission by donation and we enjoyed the chance to eat good food and think about something else for a brief time.

Sketch Art Supplies - A Calgary Gem!

As the deadline to register for the Stampede arts and crafts show looms (and I have one entry not yet finished) I was really feeling the pressure to get one of the entries framed. I buckled down and finished it up - yup - the tapestry I started on just less than a year ago. When my fibre teacher, Jane Kidd said that it was not uncommon for a person to make a tapestry a year, she was not kidding!

I can't wait to show it off, all framed. For now, though, I'll show you the place where it's being framed. When you spend a whole year on something, you just don't take it to Michaels (well, that and my new year's resolution!!). I washed it up and toted it over to Sketch Art Supplies, owned by my friend Ljubica, who graduated from ACAD in 2006. Ljubica is immensely knowledgeable and really takes the time to build one on one relationships. I trust her and her opinion absolutely!

Choosing the framing, especially when framing can make all the difference in winning, is no easy task. We spent an hour comparing different frames and suede mats, mostly because I couldn't decide between purple and two kinds of brown! There are so many colours in the tapestry that I had to try all the colours she had too. I splurged on museum glass and a suede mat. Not only do I want it to look its best, I want to preserve it well. It wasn't cheap either...but this is something I can put a price on :-)

Monday, Monday

There's no escaping Mondays. It's just not possible to outsmart that one day of the week. Laid out my work clothes, packed up the lunches, went to bed early, squinted at the calendar and said "Monday, you're not going to make my life miserable!"

And wouldn't you know it...

Ten minutes before I usually leave the house, I can't find my bus pass, which has my pass card along with it. I flail, upturning everything around the doorway while Muffin makes his "Want out!" screams. I dump my purse, my backpack...my husband tries to helpfully figure out when I last used it...finally I just have to cough up the $3 and mentally kick myself for losing a bus pass at the beginning of the month. And a $20 pass card.

I miss my connecting bus, so I have to take a regular bus. At least I got a seat. That's a positive.

Then work is an avalanche of requests - which I dutifully sort through and before I know it, it's lunchtime! I unwrap the sandwich that I bought at the Sobey's deli...and the bread is moldy. Unnghh...I gamely start eating the unmoldy half and then...ugh...ugh...this chicken salad sandwich still has bones in it! I throw it away and am thankful I packed a bigger lunch than usual. So gross!

The afternoon is suspiciously quiet...I just wait for something to sneak up at me at five minutes to four...but it never does! Have I finally escaped the Mondays?! I even get a seat on the way home.

But Monday was only resting! Digging around in my purse, I can't feel my keys...oh no! I unceremoniously dump my purse on the concrete step. Whew, there they are! For all the trouble Monday has caused me, it has one last surprise in store. We go out for 2 for 1 pizza at this awesome little Italian place. My mushroom, pepper and pepperoni pizza comes with...onions! Truly, a First World Problem! The waitress checks the order and apologizes and kindly gets another the correct order going. Perhaps Mondays are not so bad after all! :-)

Oh, and the bus pass and my pass card? I dumped out my gym bag and there it was! Monday, you just can't trust that day!