Finally some good weather

May and June were not particularly nice months in Calgary. But the weather in July has turned, and it's been boooooo-tiful. I live in my parents basement and now I do the work day grind, so I don't get out much. And I really don't do anything to creative these days. But, here is a little update on life.

We made pizza on the BBQ. Felt very summery. Roasted eggplant (that I picked off 'cause that s$%t is gross, goat cheese, artichoke hearts, carmelized onions, and Calgary's own Spolumbo's sausages. Mmmmm. Also.... still don't know how to do captions.

We also went on a hike in the Ghost, which is the foothill area just to the NW of Calgary. A really different area than the full mountains. Really beautiful, with none of the crowds. We hiked up to a lookout, then got rained on and went back down.

We took Mr. Poopy with us, so here a bunch of doggy photos:

Yep. He's the cutest puppy in the world. And he had a blast. He didn't pee until we got back home and he could go in his alley. Dog's just like the rest of us, would rather use his own toilet.

Today we went to Nanton, which is about an hour south of Calgary. There are blacksmiths there, lots of antiques and a big model railway which was too expensive so we didn't go it. I went with these fine folks, my favorite peeps in the world.

Yep. I assume that when I get used to long working days where your work actually matters to people and your supervisor actually remembers you are alive I will have more energy to do creative things. We will see.

fruits of labor

Greens anyone?

for the past two nights we have enjoyed sauteed greens. Kale, chard, beet greens, herbs and shallot greens (they have bite) fresh from the garden, sauteed in olive oil, butter with garlic.

fresh kale and swiss chard

Each leaf had to be individually washed

Because this is an organic garden (eye roll) my kale and chard are full of bug bites and bugs... and dirt. So it is quite the pain to wash each leaf individually. But it is so worth it. Fresh, tastes so much better. You can really tell the difference. I pick the greens no more then an hour before dinner.

Washed and chopped

I planted my beets way too close together. When I thin the beets I keep the sweet stems and tops for salads and such.

getting fried up

And the blackberries are starting to become ripe.

Wold blackberries

Unlike the store bought variety, these are quite small, full of seeds and packed with flavor. Pretty soon I will be making gooseberry and blackberry jam :)


Tonight we will have beet greens and fresh peas in a salad.

Arcly's Garden

I went to Ottawa for the long weekend and came home to an amazing sight .... PEAS!!! By the end of the week we should have enough for dinner. It is shocking how much a garden can do in just a few days. I also now have tomatoes and cucumbers growing. 

One of the first peas of the season

I decided to extend my garden just a tad. Also, Mrs. Wong (my friend Janet's mom) suggested I make a few paths in my garden so that I compact the soil as little as possible. Mrs. Wong also has some interesting trellises made from branches. I decided to give it a try and LOVE the results.

The front view of the garden.

My first cucumber, hiding behind some leaves

This weekend I saw some really neat twig trellises. I had to give it a try

tomatoes