Thank you Jack.

I've been sitting on this for a while, not sure what to say that hasn't been said

Cancer is a horrible disease, and I, for one, can't wait to see it obliterated from our planet.  I see no purpose to it's existence, other than perhaps to prevent humans from overpopulation.

I mourn Jack's absence… not because he's gone - I would never want anyone to suffer and hang around this existence for our benefit, but what he did for ME. What he WOULD have done for me. The everyday Canadian.  Proving politics doesn't have to be about greed, money, power or influence, but bettering the lives of the people you serve.

Thank you Jack.  Thank you Olivia Chow for sharing your lives, and your commitment to social wellbeing, with us.

His last letter to Canadians - inspiring, touching, and so…Jack.

http://buzz.roots.com/2011/08/jack-layton-1950-2011.html

Edmonton Folk Music Festival 2011

Well, it's over for another year.

Woke up Monday morning thinking "lets get going to hear some music", only to realize, it was done. fini, no more.

BUT! If you were at the 'fest Friday night, there was a giant hi-res panorama, (called a giga-pan because of the astounding number of pixels), photo taken, and you MIGHT just be able to pick yourself out in the crowd.

I *found* us! WOW.  This is amazing.

See if you can find yourself on the "hill".

Walkabout Pub Redux

Woa. Am I in the same place as 2 months ago?

Really big changes. On the night we visited, a Thursday a few weeks ago, front of house staff friendly & cheerful, and new staff in the kitchen…

Again, the gator bites were super tasty - apparently gator tenderloin costs $70 a pound up here! Tried the garlic shrimp skewers, cooked rather nicely and tasty too.

We had a cobb salad that was fresh, green, and huge. And finally, the pepper crusted kangaroo burger with a twist. The twist was a couple of slices of beet and an egg - not your everyday filling. Don't let the beet scare you - I was told it was a very nice taste combination.

Learned from Ben the manager, that getting unique meat from their game supplier (like ostrich and gator) in Edmonton is more challenging than getting ostrich in Calgary…http://bit.ly/pUmRv0

I understand that quality staff are hard to come by, and I'm glad the owner and management have taken serious action to correct the problems that were going on at Walkabout Pub.  And, I'd suggest if you are good at what you do, and love doing it, go talk to them.

Go visit, and check out Walkabout pub for yourself. Oh, and wing night is Wednesday…

She's Married!

Well, well, well. The wedding day finally arrived, and the lovely Janice and her beau Christoph tied the knot on her father's acreage outside of Edmonton.

Edmonton has had such lousy weather, checking the forecast daily - hourly sometimes in anticipation was habit forming. Happily, after the last storm, complete with hail Friday afternoon/evening, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and a nice breeze to keep the mosquitoes occupied, and not a cloud in the sky.

It simply couldn't have been a better day for such a beautiful outdoor event.

Folks from all over joined the festivities. Family and friends from Canada, Switzerland, USA…

Greeted by the bride's niece and her friend, they provided us with biodegradable confetti, and a fan - welcome as both added breeze and a sun shade! (Sun? What was THAT?!)

Beautiful 20 minute ceremony performed by a lovely JP, and vows the couple wrote that weren't weepy, or the least bit saccharine.  Thoughtful things that 20 years of maturity brings.

There's something to be said for being 40 year olds in love…and never married. A viewpoint from both sides of the 20 years. Feeling like you're still a giddy 20, but having the wisdom of 20 more years having seen it, done it, gotten more than our share of t-shirts.

I for one say that these two have been a joyous match, from reconnecting through Facebook of all things, after meeting 20 years previously, to a whirlwind courtship and marriage 9 months later - as if they'd never parted.

I am immensely delighted that they have found something in each other to keep the world going 'round, and for them both, wish them all the joys, and happiness life can possibly manage to give them with the least amount of rough roads to travel on their journey together.

Have I told you about Sweet Potato Aloo Gobi?

Ohhhhh my.  This is one recipe I'm so glad Julie Van Rosendaal shared with us all on her blog. I checked with her to confirm I could cross-post it here, and she said sure. This lady needs a cape.  Check it out on Dinner With Julie here.  So healthy, so tasty - roasted veggies - how can this be a bad thing?! If I'd thought of it tonight, I have twice the amount of yam I need for my Enchilada recipe, I could have bought some cauliflower.

Last time I made this, the S.O.'s whole house smelled of delicious spices for THREE days! It helps that one of the ladies my S.O. works with is East Indian and provided him with some very nice Garam masala.

I do eat out with the folks at work at Indian restaurants - lots of gluten-free choices at the buffet! Sometimes I'll admit I eat a little too much…

I don't like curry…much. I'll start by saying I worked for an English gentleman who used to feed us lunch. To do so, he would purchase slightly "over-ripe" cuts of meat, put them in a pressure cooker with some really unpleasant commercial curry powder, and proceed to feed it to us.

I love my pressure cooker, but I can't stand spoiled meat.  Pressure cooking with curry powder does NOT disguise the vile taste or smell of spoiled, rotting flesh.

It was a delight to find a recipe this easy, and even more tasty.

You should try it.

Get going. Yes, right now, just - do it!