Jill Browne, from home and away

Friday, March 18, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Woo ee, date night.

Or so they say!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

It was indeed St. Patrick’s Day.

I didn’t do a darn thing about it.

Didn’t wear green, didn’t drink green beer, didn’t put on a silly hat that says, “Kiss me, I’m Irish”.

Didn’t eat Irish stew, didn’t try dancing without moving my arms, didn’t dye my hair red and stay out of the sun.

Oh wait. I had broccoli.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The poor weather was good luck for us: we got parking on the street in Kensington.

Let me repeat: we got parking on the street in Kensington.

I actually avoid Kensington, even though it’s one of Calgary’s more interesting commercial spots, because of the parking. Yes, I am a bit more picky. A lot more picky about parking than anyone else in the world. I don’t care. If parking isn’t easy, why go?

So, poor weather = good parking.

Moving on to the actual food experience, I would go to Wake Bistro again. We sat in a table by the window with a view to the goings-on outside, such as they were.

I had the bacon, eggs, special breakfast, all great, and with an added touch of homemade mango jam. Tasty.

I’d go back.

Had a little stroll in the rain for a few minutes, over to Pages. Bought books.

Admired the green velvet cupcakes in the window of Cravings the cupcake place. Well, green cupcakes. Not something you see every day but perhaps inevitable on March 16. St. Patrick’s Eve.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ate at Mango Shiva on a Saturday night before the theatre recently. This is a restaurant right downtown, on Stephen Avenue Mall.

The food, very good. Reasonable price, especially compared to some of the other restaurants in the downtown area.

But it took a long time between visits from the server. He was attentive and polite when he was with us.

We almost ran to the theatre!

My advice: by all means, go, it’s a good meal. Just watch the time.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I’ve been going to Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) for years and years with two friends.

The plays are always thought-provoking.

Saw one of this year’s new playRites plays, by Mieko Ouchi. It was a kind of Raymond Chandler detective story with a distinctly Canadian element. Good play. One element went right over my head but didn’t detract.

Nisei Blue, watch for it

I haven’t been to Theatre Calgary in a while. I suppose I could but typically I’ve found ATP satisfies my theatre-going needs.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Would have been a good day to take in a cheap movie if I had only thought of it in time!

Now that I have NetFlix it’s easier to see a movie at home, but NetFlix in Canada has a lot of gaps.

How long are video rental stores and even movie theatres going to last?

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Even though the tall buildings on the north side of the Calgary Tower are crowding out some of the view, it’s still a great ride to sit at the top of the tower and eat your dinner while looking out the window watching Calgary and southern Alberta go by.

I haven’t been up there in a while and the restaurant has changed management since my last time, so I can’t comment on the food.

When I had my last ride, I found it intriguing to look to the southeast, at the Stampede grounds, Victoria Park, and at the almost Victorian-looking brick buildings here and there.

Of course, the star of the show is the view to the southwest and those gorgeous Rocky Mountains.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

If you fly into Calgary on Air Canada, you often find yourself at the “A” end of the terminal. There’s a bronze statue of a cowboy’s head, huge, you can’t miss it.

That’s Sam Livingston. He was one of Calgary’s pioneers, originally from Ireland.

He had a farm in a sheltered part of the Elbow River Valley. The microclimate was pretty good there.

The farm is underwater now. We call it the Glennmore Reservoir.

You can stand at Sam’s house, moved to Heritage Park on the high ground above the reservoir, and look down at where the farm was.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Maybe I just need to stop being friends with people on the west coast.

One has already got heirloom tomato plants sprouting in her outdoor greenhouse.

Another is blogging about daffodils and such like.

We aren’t.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Primal Grounds, 3003 – 37 Street SW

Looks like it might have started life as a Dairy Queen. Run by a lady who makes soup and sells it at the Kingsland Farmers’ Market.

We didn’t want soup, we wanted breakfast, and we weren’t disappointed. The choice was limited; this isn’t primarily a breakfast place. Limited but excellent: the breakfast bagel was a meal and a half, fresh and nice.

Great latte as the name suggests.

I always thought it would be cool to have a coffee shop in the Provincial Court building and call it Reasonable and Probable Grounds. Another one in the old Court of Appeal building, called Grounds for Appeal of course.