Although I'm kind of jonesin' for a vacation right about now (no surprise, I always want to go on vacation), life in the city is just picking up. This is the best time of year. People stay out late during the week and there's always something some sort of outdoor event happening. We clearly are making up for the long winter.

Pride Parade and Al Fresco (the 104 Street Block Party) fell on the same Saturday again this year and just like last year it was gorgeous out. And because good things happen in triplicate, I had the pleasure of being on auntie duty. After a coordinated hand-off of Dexter at the market, I had a brief shopping trip, and then I found John, Glen, Wade and Phil who had found a choice spot to watch the parade.

Phil, waiting patiently for the parade to begin.

John, also waiting patiently for the parade.

After a bit of a wait the parade finally got started. They had moved the route to 102nd Avenue this year, which allowed for unobstructed views from both sides of the street. It seemed a bit more lively this year, with more floats, music and coordinated costumes.



Dexter certainly liked the parade. He danced and cheered and even took a turn wearing some parade swag. Sarah was busy teaching and Don was riding in the parade, but he stopped to say hello to his little boy. So, if you saw him stop to say hello to a cute little kid, it wasn't a case of politicians kissing random babies.



Dexter's pick for best in show was clearly this balloon. He played with it all afternoon.


Once the Pride Parade was done, we skipped the festivities in Churchill Square and headed back to the apartment to drop off my market wares. I was about to take Dexter back home on the LRT but he decided that he was cool and mature enough to sleep over at auntie's. No complaints from me. If only all kids went down for a nap that easy.

Fast forward a couple hours, and Sarah, Don, Dexter and I met up to walk downtown to check out the block party. Much of the parade crowd had lingered in the area. We first came across a crowd watching the salsa dancers in Beaver Hill Park.




And yes, hipster culture was well represented. Edmonton's most socially conscious and stylish were out in full force. I particularly liked this bevy of boys who had gathered at the mid-way point of all the block party action. These guys have got it all.


Don't get me wrong. I love them all (I jest all in good fun, mocking these fellows with malicious intent would be a case of calling the kettle black or thowing a stone from my glass house, since the gentleman reminds me frequently that I too am easily categorized as a hipster with my maxi dresses, long hair tied up in a loose bun and my SLR in my purse. But I was an early adopter baby!). These guys are basically a spread from one of my favourite tumblr blogs, convoy.

The gentleman had attended TEDx earlier in the day, along with a large crowd of intellectually keen individuals, but it wrapped up just in time for us to grab some supper together. We grabbed some sandwiches from the Elm Cafe booth and then chatted with our fellow "urban-types" over the fence at the wine tent.



That is, when they weren't ignoring us to look aloof or discuss important worldly matters.

Growing up with seven siblings we never had need for a dog (there was always a younger sibling following you around), but the gentleman is definitely a dog man. Because he's Caucasian and upper middle-class, of course he has allergies (including dogs), but his parents found a way around that and fulfilled the puppy dreams of their sons. They grew up with the soft-coated (and apparently hypo-allergenic) Wheaton Terrier. The gentleman's parental units got another little puppy about a year ago and I've slowly been introduced to what life would be like with a dog.

Now that the downtown Farmer's Market is open again on 104th Street, we've started taking Finnigan our for a stroll on Saturdays. The market is a bit of a dog and pony show. If you don't bring a dog with you or pick up a treat for your dog at home (or imaginary pet) you are essentially shunned and you can never come back. At least that's what it feels like sometimes. Oh the dogs that come out on display. Some are tiny and fit into purses, others are these enormous majestic beasts that would rival Falkor (of Never-Ending Story fame) in size or the bullheaded mastiff from Sherlock Holme's Adventure of the Copper Beaches. Finnigan is best compared to Dug from UP! (and yes, I see myself as the small scout).

Finnigan, or as we like to cal him on market day, Miss Marple. It's his bar name.

My knowledge of puppy development is non-existent, but Finnigan seems to be going through a toddler phase. A toddler who is super excited to be around other kids. You know the type, that overly friendly type who doesn't really know when the other kids don't want to play with him. But he's never going to learn if he doesn't play with the other kids, which is how the urban dog share was born. Hurrah for part-time pet ownership. You get all the perks and don't have to deal with the late night pee-breaks.

Finnigan was overly delighted to see Max, beloved puppy of famed politco blogger Daveberta and his lovely ladyfriend Kyla

After meeting up with Dave and little Max, the five of us walked to the market as fast as Max's little legs could carry him. There wasn't much time for photos once we got there, as I took control of the leash while the gentleman busied him collecting our market items. Again, as a novice dogsitter I sort of felt like the mother of the bad kid who was constantly having to reign in her overly rambunctious child. I wanted to tell people, "Really, I swear he's not like this at home."


Luckily all pseudo love-attacks on other dogs were forgiven because everybody loves a puppy. The gentleman especially, who made sure to show Max a little love as well.

He's probably instructing Max to turn against his owners.

A fine selection of mustard.

Between the adoration of hipsters (who liked Finnigan's beard) and small children (who liked his soft coat) and conversations with other dog owners about the breeding and one raggedy looking fellow about his two hunting dogs, we discovered that my favourite Grainy Garlic was available and picked up a jar to use in a potato salad the next day.

I'm a dog with low self-esteem. Spring Break!

We met another Wheaton who did not take all that kindly to Finnigan's overt friendliness. Rather, we met a Wheaton that lacked Finnigan's confidence (right, that's how yuppie pet owner's are supposed to talk about their animals right? Like overly proud parents?)


We ran into Lisa and Tom's roommate Marco (actually I was admiring his shoes first and then realized who the shoes belong to) and chatted for a bit before we headed home.


On our way out we spotted another massive standard poodle who schooled Finnigan in model dog behaviour.


Back at the apartment, the tired dog took a nap before we returned him to his rightful owners. Urban dog share success.

A couple of my friends are currently on the hunt for a new cohabitation space. The gentleman and I had invited them over for dinner on the weekend and over the course of the evening while eating our homemade BBQ pizza  and sipping on Pimm's Cups we started discussing the merits of living downtown. Since moving to Edmonton I've lived exclusively downtown. In fact, while I have lived in three different residences, they've all been within a five block stretch of 109th Street and Jasper Avenue. Certainly I've entertained some grand ideas of living in a storybook house in Glenora or a bungalow in Belgravia, but I'm prone to those sorts of flights of fancy. In most cases I am more than content to be a downtown apartment dweller.



I should describe my love of living downtown with sentiment that is a little bit stronger than just contentment, because although I like to look at listings in certain mature neighbbourhoods, more frequently I try to convince the gentlemen that we should purchase a particular 3-lot parcel that is a couple blocks away and build an ultra-mod multi-family dwelling with a green roof and maybe a little commercial unit on the ground floor. I'm full of awesome ideas like that. They come so fast and so furiously that now the gentleman cringes whenever I might start a sentence with, "You know what we should do?"

But I know he shares an appreciation for our downtown life. We're pretty lucky to live where we do. We're steps away from the LRT and within a couple blocks of two parks and the Legislature Grounds. The list of our nearby amenities accessible by foot are enviable. We have a couple grocery stores and the Farmer's Market is close proximity. There are many restaurants, bars and pubs nearby. Our apartment overlooks the multi-use trail, the streetcar, and is across the street from an elementary school.



People ask me if I feel safe downtown and I always answer yes. Sure, at times there are crowds of rowdy drunks blocking the sidewalks of Jasper late in the evenings on the weekends, but one block to the south things are quiet and serene. In many ways I prefer walking downtown late at night compared to some residential areas where all the streets are dark and you never really know what might be lurking between the cars parked streetside. Downtown there's usually someone else about, whether they are walking home from a late night movie or heading to the corner store on a midnight snack run. Sure, it's a downtown that doesn't have the same sort of 24 hour vibrancy that some other great cities might, but it's not a desolate wasteland either. In the five years that I've lived here I've seen downtown improve. And I'm happy to see that improvement continue, especially if it means helping two friends decide to live here too.  

I was having not the greatest of days last week so the gentleman offered to take me out for poutine at the new place across the bridge. But I know that the gent has some sort of irrational dislike of cheese curds, gravy and fried potato, so instead we went for Thai food, something that we both enjoy.

I left the beast (5DMkII at home) and photographed our outing with just my iPhone. I've had a hankering to shoot with film recently, so I'm planning to pick up some medium format film to use with the two cameras I borrowed from my dad when I moved away.  I also want to try shooting with a rangefinder, which I don't currently own, but it's not like I really need any more photographic toys. Still... I want to experiment more with my photography. I've been inspired recently by some pretty excellent photo blogs and it's made me want to fill my life with more pictures. All different kinds of pictures. I found that every where I've been going lately I've been looking at things as if I were to framing them for a photograph. And I've been trying to take those photos with what equipment I've had with me. And as convenient and simple shooting with an iPhone is, the photos don't offer the same kind of depth that I long for. But we're comparing completely different animals here. The iPhone camera works in a pinch, and when it's all that is available to me I make do.





And I appreciate the convenience of the pocket camera. Last week I received a last-minute invite to the U2 Concert and I wasn't sure how tight security would be and if I would be allowed to bring it in with me. I didn't feel like risking it, so iPhone it was. Because I was planning to spend the evening in my pajamas and not at a massive rock concert, my battery died before the light show really got started. Not that the iPhone would have been able to capture what I wanted to anyhow.

So, with cameras on the brain today I brought out the Bronica and Yashica to make sure all the parts were still operable. I thought I might have an expired roll someplace, but after a couple moves I have no idea where I might have stored them. But, I set up the cameras as if I was going to shoot a photo and then just captured the image in the viewfinder with my SLR. It was as close as I was going to get today to actually taking them out for a shoot. I think I will like shooting with film again. I think I will appreciate slowing down to set up a portrait and carefully considering all of my settings. Not that I don't think about my exposure now, it's just so easy to adjust on the fly. I want to be a bit more deliberate. If only I can be patient enough to wait out the development process.