I was hoping to visit with my family over Thanksgiving, but I had to postpone my visit until later in Autumn. For a few weeks I was thinking that the gentleman and I would have a quiet weekend at home filled with long naps, and that maybe we'd roast a chicken and some vegetables and maybe watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles. In reality, we were flooded with invites from friends new and old. It was a spectacular weekend with a feast every night.
Saturday evening began with a crab boil. Our gracious and generous hosts (Chris and Jill) had advised that we show up hungry. I tend to take that sort of advice quite seriously, particularly after receiving email reminders during the day reminding us a second time. Jill and Chris know how to put on a crab boil. They had transformed their dining room into a sort of crab-shack (an elegant one) and equipped each guest with all of the utensils and napkins necessary to address the pile of seafood and vegetables before us.
Part of the magic of the night came when it was time to cleanup. Once the glassware, utensils and butter warming dishes were cleared away, it was simple to just roll up the paper that covered the table for some really quick party cleanup.
Post dinner we retired to the deck with coffee and blankets for more conversation and a special accordion concert. We stayed outside for a few more hours, talking and laughing with our new friends.
We chatted while drinking wine and enjoying the set Thanksgiving menu. We arrived around 7:30 and most of the other diners were finishing their meals so we had the restaurant to ourselves. This ended in our favour since the kitchen brought us out extras of everything. I would definitely go back to try their regular menu (and check out the back patio in the summer) and maybe while I'm there go to the wool store next door.
Saturday evening began with a crab boil. Our gracious and generous hosts (Chris and Jill) had advised that we show up hungry. I tend to take that sort of advice quite seriously, particularly after receiving email reminders during the day reminding us a second time. Jill and Chris know how to put on a crab boil. They had transformed their dining room into a sort of crab-shack (an elegant one) and equipped each guest with all of the utensils and napkins necessary to address the pile of seafood and vegetables before us.
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| Jill starts bringing out the food. |
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| Jill brings out even more... |
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| more again... We are slightly daunted by what we have before us. |
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| The gentleman readies his bib. |
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| We ate and ate and ate, but there were still leftovers. |
Part of the magic of the night came when it was time to cleanup. Once the glassware, utensils and butter warming dishes were cleared away, it was simple to just roll up the paper that covered the table for some really quick party cleanup.
Post dinner we retired to the deck with coffee and blankets for more conversation and a special accordion concert. We stayed outside for a few more hours, talking and laughing with our new friends.
We woke up on Sunday morning to a beautiful autumn day. Perfect for brunch with the urban family and for a quick photoshoot for Sarah and Leanne's summer project (a cookbook that they will be selling at the Royal Bison Craft Fair at the end of November).
Leanne and Sarah have spent the summer compiling recipes and stories of meals where they acquired ingredients via bicycle... a sort of velo-fare type cookbook. They were in need of an image for the front cover and for their bio page, so after a satisfying brunch we hopped outside to photograph the ladies and their bicycles while the dudes went for a stroll.
After running some errands in the afternoon, the gentleman and I headed to Highlands Kitchen with John and Glen. I've been trying to go to Highlands Kitchen forever (back in the days it was called Bacon and then when it opened again as Culina Highlands) but somehow I had never made it out there. But all of my longing finally paid off when the gentleman made a spontaneous reservation on Saturday while he was at the Farmer's Market.
We chatted while drinking wine and enjoying the set Thanksgiving menu. We arrived around 7:30 and most of the other diners were finishing their meals so we had the restaurant to ourselves. This ended in our favour since the kitchen brought us out extras of everything. I would definitely go back to try their regular menu (and check out the back patio in the summer) and maybe while I'm there go to the wool store next door.
I woke up Monday with a sinus cold, so the Thanksgiving feast from the gentleman's family came to me by way of leftovers. The one up side of being forced to stay at home (my sneezing was deemed to be unappetizing), was that I was able to watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles, thus fulfilling my original Thanksgiving plans. I hope that I recover from this cold soon so I can get back in the pool to work off this weekend of feasting.
Over the summer I had been collecting bits of footage here and there with the intention of making a video encompassing all the exciting things I had been up to. But just as I was saying goodbye to summer, Mother Nature piped in and said, "Too Soon!" I should have known better and waited for the autumnal equinox. I thought the Symphony would be the last event I'd include in this summer retrospective, but then there were a couple visits to the outdoor pool and then a rooftop dinner party that lasted well past sunset. Spending an evening with friends on a warm evening while the sun disappeared below the horizon seemed like a fitting finale for summer.
And with that I present a recap of my summer in less than two minutes. The longer recap is below.
While I managed to blog about most of my summer, there are a few notable events still missing from my blog. I'll get to them eventually, but I might as well finish writing about topics that I've already introduced like Symphony Under the Sky.
So here's what happened during the rest of the weekend...
After braving the chilly Friday evening performance we were rewarded with a beautiful weekend outside with the Symphony. They were great company. On Saturday afternoon they entertained me with a matinee performance of Broadway favourites, followed by the Hollywood showcase in the evening. I was back again on Monday afternoon for the finale performance of Gershwin and the explosive 1812 Overture.
I always hope for a second summer in September, but it doesn't really seem like we ever get one. So when temperatures were close to 30 during the first part of the month I was eager to take advantage of it. I skipped what should have been time spent exercising at a lap pool with a few visits to the newly opened Queen Elizabeth Pool, swimming a few laps, but mostly I had a relaxing time in the water or reading an Agatha Christie murder mystery on the grassy deck.
It's easy to work up an appetite even when you're just treading water in the deep-end. After my stops at the pool I would be ravenous. During my search for food I did my best to find dining al fresco spots. Somehow the gentleman and I wrangled a pretty good invite for a rooftop picnic from dachshund owning Dave and Kyla. Given my love affair with rooftops I was all over that.
Spending an evening with friends on a warm evening while the sun disappeared below the horizon seemed like a fitting finale for summer. I'm definitely prepared for autumn now.
And with that I present a recap of my summer in less than two minutes. The longer recap is below.
While I managed to blog about most of my summer, there are a few notable events still missing from my blog. I'll get to them eventually, but I might as well finish writing about topics that I've already introduced like Symphony Under the Sky.
So here's what happened during the rest of the weekend...
After braving the chilly Friday evening performance we were rewarded with a beautiful weekend outside with the Symphony. They were great company. On Saturday afternoon they entertained me with a matinee performance of Broadway favourites, followed by the Hollywood showcase in the evening. I was back again on Monday afternoon for the finale performance of Gershwin and the explosive 1812 Overture.
I always hope for a second summer in September, but it doesn't really seem like we ever get one. So when temperatures were close to 30 during the first part of the month I was eager to take advantage of it. I skipped what should have been time spent exercising at a lap pool with a few visits to the newly opened Queen Elizabeth Pool, swimming a few laps, but mostly I had a relaxing time in the water or reading an Agatha Christie murder mystery on the grassy deck.
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| We walked past the reflecting pool in front of the Alberta Legislature on our way to Queen E. Pool. It was so hot out that we were tempted to stop our journey here. |
It's easy to work up an appetite even when you're just treading water in the deep-end. After my stops at the pool I would be ravenous. During my search for food I did my best to find dining al fresco spots. Somehow the gentleman and I wrangled a pretty good invite for a rooftop picnic from dachshund owning Dave and Kyla. Given my love affair with rooftops I was all over that.
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| Time for a golden hour rooftop picnic. An incredible vista. |
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| It is officially night! |
