Stuff and things
By Monday, I was starting to get a little stir crazy. The weather in Edmonton had been frightful and we had had multiple storms and one storm warning. When there's a storm warning here, it's best to stay in because it might be a crazy storm or a tornado.
So by Monday, I was getting a little down, mostly due to the weather. I drove out to do an interview only to find that my interview subject was in the hospital and the family had forgotten to tell me. It wasn't a far drive, so it wasn't any skin off my teeth. I just hopped back in my car and came back home.
To get out of my house, I decided to go see "Julie and Julia", which I found very inspirational and uplifting. As one of the reviewers wrote, "It's nice to see a movie that isn't about a woman chasing a man or having a baby." The movie is really about the creative lives of two real-life women. And Julia Child had a fascinating life!
Following this, I went out for dinner and then went to my belly dance class. I'm in level 2 now, and it was a great decision to move up. The moves are more challenging, but I can definitely do them.
Tuesday was chef's tour day! I had to get up at an infernal time (6:00) to get ready and drive across town to meet the bus. The bus contained the organizers, about 38 chefs, the foodwriter from the Edmonton Journal, and yours truly. Our first stop was at Happy Acres, a U pick operation near Spruce Grove. The owner had the world's cutest miniature horse (I took LOTS of pictures). The horse acted more like a dog and followed us around. We took a tour of the garden and she fed the chefs ratatouille and crepes, coffee and mulled cider. From there, we drove to Sundog Organics, where we got another garden tour and a talk about organic farming. From Sundog we drove to Riverbend Farms, which is a huge operation. We took a wagon ride around the farm and then had a lunch featuring produce from a number of the farms. It was insane! I took pictures of the food, but the highlight for me was a carrot pie that tasted like pumpkin pie.
Following this and a talk with various other farmers, we drove to Prairie Gardens, where we toured the farm, walked through a corn maze and shot off a pumpkin cannon. (No word of a lie). All in all, it was a fantastic day and I learned a lot about some of the local farms in the area and some of the needs of chef. I came home incredibly exhausted. I lay on the couch and watched "Hannah and her sisters", which I absolutely loved. Then I went to bed early. I've been having incredibly vivid dreams and last night's included a bear, a mountain, skis and blueberries. Yikes.
So by Monday, I was getting a little down, mostly due to the weather. I drove out to do an interview only to find that my interview subject was in the hospital and the family had forgotten to tell me. It wasn't a far drive, so it wasn't any skin off my teeth. I just hopped back in my car and came back home.
To get out of my house, I decided to go see "Julie and Julia", which I found very inspirational and uplifting. As one of the reviewers wrote, "It's nice to see a movie that isn't about a woman chasing a man or having a baby." The movie is really about the creative lives of two real-life women. And Julia Child had a fascinating life!
Following this, I went out for dinner and then went to my belly dance class. I'm in level 2 now, and it was a great decision to move up. The moves are more challenging, but I can definitely do them.
Tuesday was chef's tour day! I had to get up at an infernal time (6:00) to get ready and drive across town to meet the bus. The bus contained the organizers, about 38 chefs, the foodwriter from the Edmonton Journal, and yours truly. Our first stop was at Happy Acres, a U pick operation near Spruce Grove. The owner had the world's cutest miniature horse (I took LOTS of pictures). The horse acted more like a dog and followed us around. We took a tour of the garden and she fed the chefs ratatouille and crepes, coffee and mulled cider. From there, we drove to Sundog Organics, where we got another garden tour and a talk about organic farming. From Sundog we drove to Riverbend Farms, which is a huge operation. We took a wagon ride around the farm and then had a lunch featuring produce from a number of the farms. It was insane! I took pictures of the food, but the highlight for me was a carrot pie that tasted like pumpkin pie.
Following this and a talk with various other farmers, we drove to Prairie Gardens, where we toured the farm, walked through a corn maze and shot off a pumpkin cannon. (No word of a lie). All in all, it was a fantastic day and I learned a lot about some of the local farms in the area and some of the needs of chef. I came home incredibly exhausted. I lay on the couch and watched "Hannah and her sisters", which I absolutely loved. Then I went to bed early. I've been having incredibly vivid dreams and last night's included a bear, a mountain, skis and blueberries. Yikes.