Tag Archives: Canada

The Adventures of a Shutterbug

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I’ve always loved taking photos. I took one course in high school and one in college, and enjoyed snapping away. However, I despised developing in claustrophobia-inducing darkrooms. Fortunately, digital has put an end to all that. I’ve also received an injection of new motivation recently. I was fortunate enough to get an iPhone 6 for Christmas. Now, I have an easy-to-carry lens with me wherever I go and no excuse not to take photos.

Back in August, I went to Cultus Lake Adventure Park and took this photo:

Cultus Lake photo

It’s one of the many rides I went on that day. I even braved the rollercoaster for what may have been the first and last time. The amusement park is a photographer’s dream, as there is an array of colours, lights, and the interesting juxtaposition of man-made whirling machines and the serene natural surroundings.

I garnered some very kind votes from friends, family, coworkers, and strangers, but lost out to a photo of a cute child. My niece and/or nephew will have to star in some future photo contest entries!

The Woman in the Window

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In luscious black-and-white, the screen flickers and takes us back to a world filled with crimes, intrigues, and elegant men and women with dark pasts. Film Noir. I’m a die hard fan and have been for years. Thus, I was delighted to win tickets to the screening of my choice during The Cinematheque‘s recent Film Noir series. I chose The Woman in the Window. It’s not as well-known as some other Noir classics, but I had to see it.

The primary reason was the lead actor, Edward G. Robinson. I feel about Robinson the way many people felt about Lady Gaga after she sang The Sound of Music classics at The Oscars. Why, exactly, had this woman with a fantastic voice been wasting her time singing songs like “Poker Face” all these years? Robinson played so many gangster roles throughout his career that it’s easy to think his abilities as an actor were limited to these parts, but a few performances showed audiences that he was capable of so much more. The Woman in the Window was one of the films that demonstrated his ability to convey pathos, inner turmoil, and utter despair. Yet, he displayed a subtle, restrained sense of humour at other points in this movie, as well. He goes from being a rather staid, middle-aged professor to a man bewitched by beauty and capable of acts that we, the audience, couldn’t have conceived of him doing moments earlier.

I would encourage all of you to seek out this film, if not for Robinson’s performance, but for the ending. I’m not one for giving away key plot points, but let’s just say there are two endings to this film. The first is the real ending. The ending that the film would have had if it were made today. Instead, it concludes with the censors’ ending. Even in Film Noir, bad guys don’t get off scot free and bad deeds don’t go unpunished. The world was always portrayed as a generally good place, even when it was really in the midst of World War II.

Well, this latest win brings my total to $225 for 2015. Look for my next installment when I describe the experience of being a finalist in a photo contest and going on my first rollercoaster ride.

Okanagan Spring Brewmaster’s Dinner, Part Two

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Brewmaster's Dinner

For those of you who missed last week’s post on Win #4, I will provide you with a brief recap of what happened. The rest of you can skip gleefully past the next paragraph and get ready to learn what my husband thought of five Okanagan Spring beers.

I was delighted to win two tickets to the Okanagan Spring Brewmaster’s Dinner at Mamie Taylor‘s courtesy of Miss 604. However there was a problem. I don’t drink beer. I have tried many times to cultivate a love for Canada’s national beverage, but I have failed. However, I have somewhat redeemed myself by marrying a devotee of the brew. Thus, if you’re here for the beer, here are some excerpts from the on-the-spot reviews I got Ryan to record:

Beer #1: Okanagan Spring Pale Ale

“This is a particularly nice beer…It’s a nice, well-balanced, mellow beer..really approachable. I could pretty much drink this all day, and possibly I will.”

Beer #2: Okanagan Spring Sonder Hefeweizen

“This is a wheat beer…and if you like wheat beers, I think you’ll like this one. It’s got a very strong vanilla overtone, which is quite interesting for a wheat beer. Generally, this is like kinda your ideal summer beer.”

Beer #3: Okanagan Spring Cloudy Amber Ale

“I like it a lot, ’cause it’s beer..well, it’s got kind of a nice, mellow amber ale-ness. Basically, an amber ale should have a nice, strong beer flavour, a nice balance of hops, and beer-ness  and it’s got all of that. This is a perfectly, decent amber ale.

Beer #4: Okanagan Spring Porter

“To be honest, my tastebuds are kind of shot by the previous four beers, but if you like porter, I think you’ll like this porter.”

Now, at this point you may be wondering why the first beer of the evening, the Okanagan Spring 1516 Bavarian Lager hasn’t received a review. That is because it was served as part of a michelada cocktail, so it wasn’t possible to assess its flavour on its own. However, Ryan very much enjoyed the cocktail.

When asked what his favourite beer of the night was, Ryan had difficulty picking a clear winner. He enjoyed everything he drank, but particularly liked the porter and the amber ale because they most closely aligned with the type of beers he particularly likes.

Win #4: Okanagan Spring Brewmaster’s Dinner, Part One

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Before the ImbibingThe first courseThe Second Course

I love food. I especially love free food. Perhaps now you can guess my motivation for entering Miss 604‘s contest to win two tickets to the Okanagan Spring Brewmaster’s Dinner at Mamie Taylor’s. I was delighted when I won this prize, however there was a problem. I don’t drink beer. I have tried many times to cultivate a love for Canada’s national beverage, but I have failed. However, I have somewhat redeemed myself by marrying a devotee of the brew. Thus, this is the first of two blog posts on our Thursday evening experience. If you love food, be prepared to revel in my very detailed descriptions of the delectable four courses we enjoyed. If you’re here for the beer, wait for part two, when some on-the-spot reviews on the five beers Ryan tasted that evening will be presented.

This was our first time at Mamie Taylor’s. The atmosphere is warm and the long tables lent themselves well to conversing with our dining companions. I’m not a fan of taxidermy, but I did like the rather whimsical wallpaper of animal targets on the bathroom wall. Vegetarians, however, would be less amused I’m sure. Mind you, Norman Bates would feel right at home.

Our first course (pictured above) was a tuna smokie, garnished with fennelkraut and dijonaise. I could never have imagined how flavourful and moist tuna could be. In fact, I never even knew such a thing as a tuna smokie existed. Our table mates also seemed equally amazed and delighted by this passed canapé. I have to give the bun its due as well. So many times I’ve enjoyed the meat of a burger or the filling of a sandwich, only to have been let down by the bread. This bun was a worthy home for the delectable tuna vessel it housed. Overall, a very impressive start to the meal.

The appetizer (also pictured above) that followed was cornmeal fried rock fish with cajun spices, orange, fennel, parsley, and old bay aioli. I can’t remember if I’ve ever had rock fish before, but I found the taste light and somewhat similar to sole. What made the dish special was the crispy cornmeal and the refreshing slaw that accompanied it. I’m not sure I would seek out rock fish for its own sake though, it didn’t have the depth of flavour that I so enjoy in other white fish.

Main CourseDessert

Do I have your attention?! Look at the beautifully presented, scrumptious offerings above! The main course was slow roasted porchetta accompanied by roasted apples, polenta, and an olive and herb puree. The crackling on the porchetta was like the most perfectly crisp bacon that melted in your mouth. Yes, it was rich. But no, I regret nothing! Diabetes, high blood pressure, muffin top, come what may, this was worth every calorie. The polenta was an incredible standout as well, especially given that I have been rather meh on polenta in the past. Again, oh so crispy, and excellently paired with the puree.

Finally, we arrived at dessert. I was well and truly sated before it arrived, but I was powerless to say ‘no’ once I saw this brown sugar cake. Alongside it was custard made with Okanagan Spring Porter. It had all the depth of flavour of a sticky toffee pudding, but the custard kicked it up a notch by bring beer notes to the party.

Now, having realized I have devoted well over 500 words to describing this meal to you, I strongly recommend that you put Mamie Taylor’s on your must-visit list. Chef Tobias Grignon knows how to put on a culinary show and I for one can’t wait to return for another delectable performance.

Contest note: This is my fourth win of the year, so I’m almost on track with my one-win-a-month goal. This prize, which I thank Miss 604 sincerely for winning, was worth approximately $100, making my total winnings to date approximately $203.

 

Win #3: A Night at The Fox Cabaret

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The Fox CabaretDisco Ball

 

On Saturday night, I kicked off the long weekend with another win. This time, I won four tickets to The Fox Cabaret‘s HEAVEN. In case you’re unfamiliar with the venue, it used to be a XXX movie theatre. Then, like most theatres of its kind, lost its clientele to the Internet. This particular theatre wasn’t torn down though. It was reinvented as a venue for art, entertainment, music, and performance.

I had wanted to go to The Fox ever since it reopened when I found out that the management team behind the Waldorf Hotel had taken it on. They’d impressed me with their sense of retro cool at that location and seemed to have succeeded at recapturing it again at The Fox. The main floor felt warm and cozy and it was fun to dance to the music I remembered loving in my teens (Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys, etc.).

The upstairs has a couple of small rooms. One allows you to look down upon the crush of dancers below. The other room is the old XXX movie theatre’s projection room. It has its own bar and vintage furnishings and is a lower key alternative to the dance floor action.

I would definitely recommend checking out The Fox. That said, I must admit that I felt rather out of its target demographic. I think the fact that I actually remember the tunes being played makes me a bit of a dinosaur; a bit depressing, given that I’m only in my late 30s. However, the evening did seem to belong to the hipster twenty somethings.

For a few brief moments on Saturday night, I flashed back to the height of my clubbing days in the 1990s. Smoky rooms filled with top-forty hits. Dancing with guys you’d cross the street to avoid in mid-daylight. Filthy bathrooms that you’d attempt to use without touching anything (these were the days before portable hand sanitizers). Then, getting home late at night, and having mum ask, “Have you been smoking?” No, I just smelled like an ashtray. I always spent the next morning washing everything and shampooing my hair multiple times to get the stench out.

I’m not nostalgic for those days. In fact, I think the hipsters have it better than we did. On the other hand, they have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to capture every moment. IMHO, that’s where we, Gen X/Gen Y, have the upper hand. What happened in the 90s stayed in the 90s. Millennials are immortalizing their mistakes forever.

Note: This prize was worth $48.36

 

Year in Review: 2014

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Moving Forward
Moving Forward

In the Christmas television classic, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, there’s a song that always rings true to me. It’s called, “Put One Foot in Front of the Other.” The crux of the lyrics is that change can come from just standing up and taking a few steps in a new direction. And, that’s what I tried to do in 2014 with my blog.

I continued to enter contests that would win me cash and prizes, but I also entered those that would challenge me. There were three examples of this.

The first involved taking photos of public art in Port Moody. I had hoped that one of my photos might be chosen and featured in the city’s 2015 calendar. Unfortunately, none of them were, but I learned a great deal in the process. I realized that I wasn’t aware that there was so much art in this city. Also, the act of going out and taking photos from multiple angles and trying to capture the best light was really enjoyable, as was the editing process later. Thus, photography has become an even more important part of my life than it was before, and learning Photoshop has certainly helped with that as well.

The second contest that challenged me was the DAVIDs Tea Contest, which I have blogged about at length and I invite you to reread my post here, if you haven’t already. All I’d like to add now to what I wrote before was that enjoyed stretching my creative muscles for this contest. I’m not a huge fan of puns and this naming challenge made me think outside of my comfort zone. That’s a really great exercise for a writer and something I resolved to do more of.

Consequently, we have reached the third contest: National Novel Writing Month. Again, I wrote about this at length here. Writing a 50,000+ word novel in a month is a huge task that I think I am still recovering from! Yet, I’m proud that I stuck it out. I’m happy I learned things through the research process and even waxed nostalgic about the early 1990s! In the end, I did win ten free ebooks from Kobo that added up to almost $50. I will really enjoy reading these in the coming winter months, especially as some focus on how to become a better writer.

So, that’s it. 2014. Not a year that I really enjoyed, but certainly one filled with lots of learning and adventure. I’m looking forward to 2015 and more opportunities to become a better writer, editor, and person. All the best to all of you!

*Total cash and prizes won in 2014: approximately $240.00

Rubens Travels Abroad

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I write this latest instalment high above the clouds. My long journey to Greece has begun. And so, incidentally, has Rubens. As I return to see my family and the bluest of blue seas, I have chocolates in tow. My suitcase is filled with the familiar red bags and various assortments to delight Eleni, Dimitri, Yianni, and many more. My hope is they will enjoy the chocolate almond bark, caramels, and fruit flavours all the way from Canada.

My quest for more contest wins will be curtailed for the next little while, as online surfing is going to have to give way to lots sun-drenched picnics, sandy toes, and new adventures. I’ve had a very lucky year so far and hope to bring you more tales of my winning ways in the autumn.