Summer Recap

We really love ice cream.  This is a roundup of some of the places we tried this summer!

Of course we had to take Little Forager to his first Stampede!

This year marked our third Ribfest in Riverside Park.  This was one of the first things we went out to do when we moved to Kamloops, and now we always make a point of going.  It's become almost like a little Kamloops-iversary celebration for us.  Misty Mountain is our personal favourite of all the ribbers, since we really like beef ribs, and they have the best sauce.

Little Forager has grown up so much already.  It is hard to believe that his first birthday is coming up in a few months.  This summer we discovered that the absolutely loves swings.

He's already so big, but still looks small in this huge room in the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Later that summer we got a chance to visit Mr. Forager's family on their ranch in Saskatchewan.  Little Forager absolutely loved meeting the horses.

It was great to have some time with them since we are not able to make the long trip out there as much as we would like.

Stretching our legs during the ride home.

This year I actually had some success with growing beets!  This has been a goal of mine that for some reason has never been realized.  This mix of different types of beets from Westcoast Seeds was a huge hit for me this year!

We made our first (and last) visit to the Golden Ears Fruit Stand.  We were sorry to learn that it was closing down due to the highway expansion.

This summer was the most incredible year for fruit.  Many people were blessed with overabundance and felt the need to share with us.  We did not turn it down!  I also picked up a steam juicer from the fruit stand that was closing down and made a whole lot of grape juice from free grapes!  I am now excited to try to juice many other types of fruit.  It has become one of my favourite ways to process fruit!

We are now ready to welcome fall and all it entails!

Weekend Getaway to Calgary

This past weekend we made a trip through the Rocky Mountains to Calgary.  The main reason for the trip was my cousin's wedding in Red Deer, so we tacked a few vacation days on either side of the weekend and made it a bit of a bigger trip.  We have family in Calgary - and many places there that we like to visit.  Red Deer is close enough so we thought we would make our base in Calgary and commute to the wedding festivities.

We always love driving through the rockies.  Even when the weather isn't amazing the view is spectacular.  When we passed through it was cloudy and thunderstorms threatened.  Looking up at the shrouded peaks makes me feel so small!  I often think about how the early explores must have felt when they first caught sight of these massive rocks.  It is easy to forget that before our roads were paved people had to make their way through here on foot or horseback.  They had to brave the weather, and find their own path. 

After the wedding we made sure to stop at the HUGE Bass Pro in Airdrie.  Little Forager found the fish in their aquarium captivating. 

I am really excited because our reason for going there was to see if there was a reasonably priced reel that I could add to my vintage fishing rod.  At first I was so excited to have my own rod, and I loved the fact that it was vintage (and green!), but it turns out the reel is broken, so for now I have been sharing with Mr. Forager.  This is not our favourite arrangement, so I am happy to say that we found one, and it looks like now we can finally go fishing without taking turns.

As I said, the main reason we come to Calgary is our family.  It is hard to be far from them, but we make our way out there whenever we can.  These two are major inspirations for my gardening efforts!  They have taught me so much and are ready for any questions I might have. 

Little Forager loved story time with his Grand Nana.

While we are primarily there for family, the fact that these amazing doughnuts from Jelly Modern Doughnuts are only available in Calgary doesn't hurt.

Or this hibiscus sorbet from Village Ice Cream.