Some random Edmonton things that've been happening

- Shopping at one of those health stores. So in Edmonton, I'd say the Whole Foods
Equivalent is a store called Planet Organic. It's expensive... for most things. But they have some interesting stuff that makes it worth it. Too bad there's no Trader Joes equivalent because that was an awesome Wholefood-like store but seemingly cheaper.

You don't really need organic stuff to make quinoa dishes or a sweet potato fake Mac and cheese, except for nutritional yeast, which is a new ingredient for me. Benefits over using cheese is that nutritional yeast simply has a longer shelf life and has many uses, and can work out to be cheaper than buying cheese on demand. Vegan food recipe blogs can be quite fun even for an omnivore like me. And I like I am buying new things!

- Consuming almond milk and spaghetti squash. I've been buying a ton of almond milk because the stupid Costcos in ALL of Alberta do not stock the cases of Natura soy milk. That stuff tastes great and can sit on a shelf unfridgetated. So I tried the non-fridge substitute of almond milk. It tastes so-so by itself but when mixed in with smoothies it's totally delicious (or non-distinguishable).

- Curling. So it's actually a legit high school sport here and I gave it a go last week with a fellowship group. It's both funner and harder than it looks on TV. I guess it's like golf in a sense, probably one of the most boring sports to watch. I fell down a lot and don't have the broom thing quite down but in the end my balance and throw got better lol.

- Apparently, this week's weather is warmer than Toronto!

That's about it. I'm still really hoping to check out some local music with a friend here (cheap or free) and there is also another festival coming up, this time on Whyte. Getting my mind off work is great.... My eyes and body hurt! :s here's to a fun and relaxing weekend.

DEEP FREEZE: a wild west byzantine winter festival

I recently attended my first Edmonton festival!! Now, Edmonton is supposed to be known as the festival city, but quite frankly until I got here I had never heard of that tag line. People I talk to aren't particularly gung-ho about it, but it's still something fun. And since a friend's boyfriend was in town, I apparently got to play hostess! Even though I'm a newbie. :D

Art by Leanne Schnierer. One of my favourites at the gallery.

Deep Freeze is very arts-themed. There was an art gallery showing, but being the poor non-art type I ended up finding a more "local" art gallery which had cool local artists making stuff like hand-made beauty products, screen prints, silk bags, and things like that.  I actually really liked the screen prints and realize I don't particularly love art that are pictures of people's faces. I don't know why. I like anonymity in art? Haha.

Good ol' photography rocks too. By Tom Picard. My favourite pieces always seem a bit desolate.

At a local coffee shop called The Carrot, there were live performers and I really liked the one group playing that had a cello-ist. I admit I am a totally lover of the cello, so that just made it 10x better. From the brochure the guy's name is Paul Cournoyer and he supposedly has a presence in the music scene...so maybe it's time to start browsing Vue Weekly and see when I can catch some nice cello-ing. Unfortunately, I don't know who the guitarist was. But together, they were showcasing francophone cultural music. So not all the music was French but some songs were half-half. :P

The place was bustling and the mismatched chairs and furniture made the volunteer-powered coffee shop feel like an awesome place to be. And any place serving london fogs is kind of already a win in my books...

Another highlight was the "clown" show...which turned out to be performing artists from Quebec -- a lady and guy duo called Bande Artistique that had a bit of singing, insane juggling, cool magical acts and course... laughter! I guess there's a French theme going on, that's because Jan 12 is Francophone Cultural Day! But whoever put the info page in the brochure only put it in French so I can't really type up more here, without having to resort to Google!

I can't remember if they had a chainsaw, but they definitely had juggling knives...yikes.

What's a winter festival without ye olde snow sculptures?

The SUPER COOL random history-of-a-neighbourhood part: Arts on the Ave is a community-themed initiative to make the 118th Avenue area (from 75 - 106 street)  a better place. Apparently it used to be quite a dump, with crime, drugs, and all sorts of problems. Now I see store fronts with signs saying "I believe in 118" and it just seems so real and genuine it warms your heart. (Of course there's an XXX store too, with a "please use back door" sign...it must be weird to live at the house adjacent to that.) 

I wish I had time for all the other stuff that was offered, because I know there were wagon rides, fireworks, curling/skating, Aboriginal dancing and more according to the snazzy brochure I nicked. Oh well. All in all...there are other cool avenues asides from Whyte! I probably would've not discovered the wonderful 118th (aka Alberta) Ave had it not been for Deep Freeze! (I also want to go back and browse for some local art.... hehe.)

Flying always brings out the crazies

Oh boy. It's been a while since I flew WestJet, but I now have $3 Westjet Dollars! Three whole Westjet dollars!! That can be used on handy things like paying for a second bag should the need ever arise, or for paying for advance seat selection. But why pay for that when you can just check in early online and choose a seat? Most people are cheap and as long as you're amongst the first to check in, I'm sure you can get a decent spot.*

Anyway, on my connection from Calgary to Edmonton, I'm sitting by the window seat and a really large man sits down beside me. Not obese or anything, just...big and tall and complaining the entire time about being stuck in the middle. As in sighing every 5 minutes, going "oh my god...", "are you seriousssss", etc. Seriously?

First, it's the holidays (flew on New Years :(). Of course flights are full. That's why you choose seats in advance. At least you have two ladies beside you, or you'd be really squished. There are, of course, other airlines. I'm pretty sure Air Canada's planes are slightly bigger, but I could be wrong. Or you can always bus it from Calgary to Edmonton with Red Arrow.

Second, it's a one hour flight. But this man managed to be more annoying than the babies that were on the four hour Toronto-Calgary flight. (I actually had a baby beside me, who was pretty quiet, but the other 3 or so babies weren't, haha. But if parents are doing whatever they can and aren't jerks, I don't blame them at all. A grown man-child however...) -- I can't even imagine him on an international flight.

Third...there is such a thing as deodorant. Yeah...

That said, the plane did take like an extra half hour or more to take off for some reason, which probably only make things worse. :P If they know delays are coming, I'd rather wait in the airport. Not like there really was much to see in Calgary International but still!