I Love

Riding my bike. DH and DS had my bike fixed up for me as a "surprise" from Jr and I have been getting so much use out of it. I know I can file this one under Duh, but a bike is so much speedier than walking! I had forgotten how much. I love that it's a kind of transport that is so relatively inexpensive (therefore very accessible), healthy for your body, good for the environment, relaxing and fun. I am in love with my bike. I'm considering a trail-a-bike for Jr. It's expensive, but we'd save lots of it back from not paying as much gas and maintenance on the car by driving less and I can probably resell it when he's biking independently.

I also love my new sandals from MEC. Comfortable and sturdy enough for my long jaunts.

Cocoa Camino's Chili & Spice Hot Chocolate. Seriously spicy. Yum.



Old cemeteries. I love the history and seeing the different kinds of artwork. I once found an old tombstone in Scotland with an hourglass, skull and scarab on it from the 17th century. I am going to drop in on some of the local tours here this summer.



Photo by flickr user corriegirl

Edmonton Cemetery Tour $5/person
Enjoy a guided tour of Edmonton’s first and
oldest cemetery, located on 118th Street
and 107th Avenue. This site contains the
City’s oldest and most architecturally diverse
monuments, and many of the City’s original
settlers and founders are buried here. Dress
for the weather, and wear comfortable walking
shoes. Insect repellent is recommended. Pre-
register or drop in.

324049 July 8 (WED) 7 – 8:30 pm
324050 July 22 (WED) 7 – 8:30 pm
324051 July 29 (WED) 7 – 8:30 pm
324052 Aug 5 (WED) 7 – 8:30 pm
324053 Aug 19 (WED) 7 – 8:30 pm

Beechmount Cemetery $5/person
Established in 1914, Beechmount Cemetery
was the first cemetery started by the City of
Edmonton rather than by a private company.
With its tree-lined roadways, impressive salute
to veterans and many monuments representing
a variety of languages and religious
backgrounds, this cemetery provides a strong
sense of Edmonton’s multicultural community.
Located at 12420-104 Street. Dress for the
weather, wear comfortable walking shoes, and
bring insect repellent.
324054 July 14 (TUE) 7 – 8:30 pm
324055 Aug 11 (TUE) 7 – 8:30 pm

Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
$5/person
Enjoy a tour of this hill-top graveyard. Offering
a commanding view of the southside and
downtown, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, located at
5420-106 Street, contains many prominent
members of the town of Strathcona and
helps tell the story of this turn-of-the-century
boomtown. Dress for the weather, and wear
comfortable walking shoes. Insect repellent is
recommended. Pre-register or drop in.
324056 July 16 (THU) 7 – 8:30 pm
324057 July 30 (THU) 7 – 8:30 pm
324058 Aug 13 (THU) 7 – 8:30 pm
324059 Aug 20 (THU) 7 – 8:30 pm

I love that it's finally Spring. I've been outside so much, walking and riding my bike. This morning we were at John Janzen and it was nice to explore the trails and pond without all the snow. We also saw across the river valley trail that Fort Edmonton is getting ready for the season. We watched workers move a streetcar from a flatbed truck onto the streetcar tracks with a crane and Jr was excited to see the Fort's train station.

Dragons, Corn Mazes, Sunken Ships and Festivals

We went earlier this week to check out the new Dragons:Between Science and Fiction exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum and it was well worth the trip. I plan on going to see it again before it leaves in September. Right when you walk in there is a huge globe with fascinating metal sculptures of dragon representations from different parts of the world. Other highlights for me were a dancing baby dragon skeleton (weird and slightly creepy, but cute too), some carved wooden furniture and just reading a lot about the history of dragons. The exhibit is very well done, lots to see and the gallery created a good atmosphere for the exhibit.

Upstairs in one of the smaller galleries they also have an exhibit about a ship that sunk a couple of years after the Titanic- the Empress of Ireland. It's story is far less well known, likely because it sunk right around the time WWI started so the story was overshadowed. There are photos of the ship, stories from survivors, items retreived from the sunken ship and videos of what the ship looks like now on the bottom of the ocean. I was pleased to see they had a little toy boat table in the display as well so Blackbird Jr played while I was able to read more about the exhibit.

There are a couple of cool things coming soon to the city as well- one is the green festival my friend K told me about. It'll be at the Devonian Gardens and I've been meaning to go there for a while.

And, in honour of the Indy, check out this year's corn maze design! We will definitely be trying to navigate our way through it sometime this summer.



We've also been to the Street Performer's Festival twice this week and both times my favourite performer was Captain Arr. He does a show in the children's area that is well worth seeing. The second time we saw him both Mr Blackbird and the son of a friend got a chance to participate in the show as well. They have another children's magic show called Blizzard the Wizard but Blackbird Jr was pretty freaked when he put a box on his clown's head and stuck knives in it.. maybe save that one for the older kids.

Tiny Terrariums

Love this. From cottageliving.com.



A terrarium is simply a glass enclosure used for growing plants indoors. Swing by your local nursery on the way home and pick up a few small plants and supplies. This project can be done in an afternoon and is nearly maintenance free. Its habit of thriving on neglect makes a closed terrarium hard to kill and easy to love.

Instructions (including a list of "no fail" plants) can be found here.

Very Cool Alternative to Wrapping Paper

Love this!

Reusable Alternative to Wrapping Paper

Thrifty Wallet Buddy

I freaking love this. Wallet Buddy It's a little thing you print out and cut out, then wrap around your debit/credit card. Brilliant.



As someone who keeps meaning to cross-stitch "Create, Not Buy" as a reminder (I also tell myself "it's not a deal if you don't need it") to curb my consumerism, this could really be a helpful reminder.

Low Impact Woodland Home

I love this.





site link

Local Sites for Services and Used Goods

I like buying things used because I'm cheap it means things are re-used and not put into landfills. And because I'm cheap.

Kijiji Edmonton

Used Edmonton

Craigslist Edmonton

Ebay Canada You used to be able to search for items in Edmonton only, but last I checked you were no longer able to do that on the Ebay website. However, you can use Edmonton as a word to search for in your searches. You can get good deals on large items if bought locally through Ebay because shipping costs are prohibitive for other buyers farther away.

Buy Sell.com This is the website of a publication you can purchase in the stores. Because people have to pay higher costs for the ads and photos, there are few photos and you need to buy a subscription or membership to access the newest ads.

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace Programs

Leave No Trace is an national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.

Leave No Trace

I listened to someone from this organization speak on the radio about a biking trip through the mountains that sounded amazing.. he said pretty much anyone in reasonable fitness who can ride a bike could participate. Maybe something worth looking into for the future.