It was one of the final games for the season that the local ice hockey team would be playing a home game. We went to a few matches last season but had yet to go to a game this year. We didn’t want to pass on what could have been the last chance for us to support the Grizzlies!

We drank the local beer and helped build the pyramid of empty cups with other supporters and waited til (as per tradition) the Grizzlies would deliberately smash an opponent into the glass wall for all the cups to tumble down.. Sure enough, down they went and the crowd went wild!

There were banners up on the walls with such sayings as, “Hear them roar, watch them score” and “Holy Moly look at our Goalie.” It all seemed so cheesy but we had so much fun cheering along!

It was a nice night out with friends and I didn’t miss my chance of a souvenir puck to take home either

Today was an unexpected road trip to a town called Salmon Arm, about 100kms from Revelstoke. The boy and our friend Kelvin needed new SIN numbers and Wobbly (work mate, temporary housemate) and I came along for the ride. We borrowed our friend Ben’s Dodge Caravan to make the journey, and we are  glad it got us home safely as many strange noises came from the ol’ dodge while on the road. The smell inside the van was still distinctly  Skidder, Ben’s beautiful but smelly, smelly dog. We bought a car freshener to hang on the rear view mirror before starting out!

We had our lunch in a micro brewery called The Barley Station Brew Pub.  All but the boy, our designated driver, tried the sample pack of beer, a  glass of  each of the pubs different brews. It was a fun way to learn about beer. My favourite was the Bushwacker Brown Ale! We bought a growler of beer to take home with us.. got that to enjoy later tonight!

The rest of the time in town was spent exploring the thrift stores. Wobbly scored a Foosball table for $10, but the boys were sick of playing it after 5mins once it was home! I scored some reading material on where to road trip around Canada and the USA and The Best of Conway Twitty  on cassette tape to play in the car on the way home.. We certainly got our moneys worth there! Lots of laughter at the lyrics We also bought a baseball in preparation for Summertime activity! Now we are on a hunt for some mitts!

On the drive home we stopped in at the Dutchman Dairy for an ice cream and chat with the friendly farm animals that included a lovely donkey named Pedro!  I was able to pick up some cheese of a normal colour that I am hoping might hold a bit of taste like I’m used to! It’s been so long!

I also saw a few bald eagles flying over the road. My first up close sighting! Such big birds!! It was a great day out.. lots of laughs, food and topped off with a bit of Canadian nature which always makes me feel like I’ve had a good day!

I love experimenting with food and I love taxidermy. So last night was quite a treat when myself, the boy and a group of our friends headed to the Rod and Gun Club fundraising banquet. A Community Centre filled with tables and chairs and walls full of antlers and stuffed heads of various Canadian beasts, most of which we were about to taste for the first time!

Excitement grew as we saw labels at the banquet tables claiming Moose Balls and Elk Balls. Would I be having yet another Chevy Chase moment? Sadly they were just meatballs made of Moose meat and Elk meat. People thought I was weird to be disappointed!

Moose was wonderful however, that and the Bear were my favourites. I had already tried Bison in Banff and wasn’t convinced. On second tasting, still not a fan. Canadian Goose is one I won’t be trying again. It tasted very fishy. Definitely my least favourite.

White-tailed deer, duck, wild turkey, salmon and very little vegetables. All washed down with red wine

After such a big plate of meat, my night was filled with bad dreams involving grizzly bears and black bears and I awoke regularly throughout the night in sweats!

Maybe I should pass on the bear next time…  It’s a shame he tasted so good!

I have avery soft spot for Op Shops.. Or thrift stores as they  are called over here.

I love the way they make me feel and the exciting anticipation I feel when I walk into one.. I have to stop myself from running around.. I have to tell myself to slow down and enjoy the hunt instead!

From the preceding post, you can see I needed a mood lifter. And  although the boy himself is most definately one, when he suggested a walk into town, I immeadiately asked if we could swing past the thrift store! The answer.. “what for?”  Such a silly response when talking about oppys!

But anyhoo… LOOK!

Souvenier spoons! And from places I’ve been!! I have grand plans for them to end up in a travel inspired collage when I am nestled in my future home back in Australia!

The British Columbia one has Revelstoke engraved in the spoon part and the Niagra Falls one has a map of Canada in the same spot!

I’m still feeling giddy about them.. Is that weird?

A day to myself but it didn’t yield much success. I attempted the ‘realistic’ sculpy fairy I’ve been thinking about for nearly a year.

I had a sleep in thinking it would refresh me for creativity.. but alas no.    I got very frustrated, deserted the pathetic effort and went to the kitchen in search of food. I made an absolutely awful pesto pasta.. ate two bites and abandoned that as well.. now I’m hungry, and cranky, watching Party of Five re-runs (I don’t remember all the girls in that show being so annoying!) and awaiting the boy to come home from the hill and make everything better.

Maybe I should stick with my whimsical Dark Crystal-inspired fairys instead…

It was a beautiful bluebird day last weekend and the boy and I enjoyed a BBQ 5620 feet above sea level. Our good friends Kari and Ryan spent the afternoon with us in the sun and snow as we munched on cheddar Smokies, washed down with Old Milwaukee beer. We found a quiet spot away from the main run, nestled in the trees and looked out over our little mountain town as para gliders jumped from behind us and gently coasted down the mountain. So relaxing and so much fun! There will be a couple more of these as the sun continues to shine our Winter Wonderland turns into spring loveliness

Had a rare day with the boy off the mountain today. And it was lovely.

We began the day making m&m brownies. As you can tell by the boy’s shirt, m&ms are quite popular at our place . A quarter never fails to go into the lolly machine at our local market after shopping and a handful is always enjoyed on the walk home. Our little ritual.

While the brownies were cooling on the baking rack, the boy and I mucked around a bit on the guiter and acoustic bass respectively.

Now don’t get the wrong idea! I don’t have the musical ability or the voice I always wished I did  with such a talented father. My sense of rythmn is a little off as the boy has discovered whilst trying to teach me a bass line to play along with a tune he’s recently made up.. I need to state at this time how incredibly talented the boy is on guitar although he denies it.. to the point of being annoying!

So I am practicing.. even when he’s not around.. and my fingers hurt.. and after commenting on the funny look on his face when he plays the bass in particular, I have realised my own face contorts while concentrating on what I am doing. It is a different look of concentration to my snowboarding face however which involves a poking out toungue. This one scares the boy because he’s worried I’ll bite it off accidently!

Finished the day eating homemade pizza leftovers and knitting a beanie with the new wool I picked up at Walmart a couple of weeks ago. (I came home that day with my wool and a variety puzzle book.. the boy said it looked like his grandma had been shopping!)

Was glad for the brownies when our friends Jesse and Simone popped over unexpectadly for a pot of tea tonight! Went down a treat!

I am in my second winter working as a Lift Operator for Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada. Although I am getting eager for the sunshine, know I am going to miss the snow desperately one day.

I’ll miss watching perfect little snowflakes fall. The feeling of walking through it up to your thighs.. I’ll miss snowboarding everyday.. rugging up.. snuggling in bed while the snow falls outside..

I thought it was time to show you some pics from a regular day at work.. These ones were taken yesterday at ‘The Ripper Chair’. This lift is the most fun to work at because it takes a good 10 minute snowboard on freshly groomed untouched runs to arrive and to start her up! No one else snowboarding on the hill but me and a fellow lifty.. this is the best bit! The alternative is a 5 minute sled/snowmobile ride which is less fun.. I’m glad no one sees the terrified look on my face and white knuckled hands as I hold on for dear life on the back of those machines! Especially on an icy day!! eeekk!! (Don’t worry mum! I always try to get out of that option if I can!)

I’ll post about some other Mountain Moments before the season ends, which sadly is approaching quite quickly…

In the last couple of years I have taken on the mantra of  “I can do anything!” And with that in mind last year I began to tackle my fear of the kitchen. Again, Ottawa was my muse and the comforting environment for me to begin my culinary adventures.

The adventure continued in Medicine Hat when I cooked the evening meals for the boy whilst I was unemployed for a few weeks.. and here in Revelstoke, I achieved the big one! I cooked the Turkey for the Christmas Dinner!!

Tonight I delivered another dish worthy of the cookbook I am going to write one of these days!

MEDITERRANEAN TUNA PASTA

Serves 4 (very hungry people from the amount we ended up with!!)

2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 clovesgarlic, minced
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried italian herb seasoning
1/4 tsp (1 mL) hot pepperflakes
1 pkg (300 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup (50 mL) oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped
2 tbsp (25 mL) drained rinsed capers
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
2 cans (each 170 g) tuna, drained
4 cups (1 L) penne rigate (12 oz/375 g)
Grated parmesancheese (optional)

Preparation:

I went to the thrift store yesterday and bought me some forks!! Along with a pair of pliers from the $2 store. Last night I got very frustrated with how difficult it is to bend forks..  My pliers were not big enough, the element on the stove not hot enough and my Uri Geller-cutlery bending mental abilities not strong enough.

So I left a pile of sad looking forks haphazardly piled on my desk. I woke this morning with new vigor and set to work on another fork!

Success!!

Not the most attractive fork, but definitely the most malleable in the bunch! Next time I shall equip myself with bigger pliers and have a fork insect with much prettier ‘wings’.

Like these ones…