Day 137 (May 17, 2010): Old Strathcona History

We live in a community that is rich in history and it actually has been documented quite well.  We decided to learn more about the history of our community today.  We read the "history" section on the community webiste: http://www.oldstrathcona.ca/  It is so cool to read about it.  The decisions that were made regarding our community in the past still impact us today.  This community was built based on the railroad; the very railroad that our community garden borders today.  Our garden is even named after it, "the Stratcona Rail Community Garden".

This was a great website for me. I really enjoyed the history lesson of the place that I live in. I was suprised to know that Whyte ave was named after one of the officials from the railway company. I am really glad that in the 70's the community stood up and said no to the building of a major highway through old strathcona. That made me proud. Everyone should check it out.

Day 136 (May 16th, 2010): United Cycle Stanley Cup

I found this picture on the internet, it shows how big the cup is....

Today Mel and I went to the Stanley Cup here in old Strathcona and read the diffenent names on it. It has the winning teams and the palyer names since the 79-80 seasons and all the teams from the remaining years. It was donated by United cycle and required over 400 man hours to build. It is 12 and one half foot tall.  It is pretty cool.

Day 135 (May 15, 2010): Garden Work Bee

Today Mel and I participated in the first work bee of the year for the garden and it went really well. Mel is the big garden head (the Chair of the group) so she was there for a few hours and I came to help out with the removal of a whole bunch of chemicals and garbage from the area that other workers gathered. We took all the debris to the Eco Station on 99th street. Mel also dug holes to bury compost and cleaned out the shed. Mel had a great day outside while I was sweating like a mad man.  The temperature was in the 20's.

Day 134 (May 14, 2010): Hosting Pub Night

Today Mel and I hosted pub night at our local community league.  It is usually from about 7pm to 1am but we tried a different theme this time.  We did a TGIF theme from 5pm - 10pm.  Mel bought some more hearty snacks (cheese, pepperoni, crackers etc)   than the usual because it was over supper time and there was beer, wine, liquor, and pop already there with some wicked chips. Mel also bought some apple juice for the kids because there was a baby sitter there.  The turnout was really good. I was actually surprised at the amount of people who showed up. Mel and I invited a few friends (thanks guys for making our debut as pub night hosts a hit!) and she also sent out an email to the  people in our community garden and some of them showed up too. It was really nice to see that many people show up for the event. We had some wonderful conversations and as usual met some new neighbours and friends.

Day 133 (May 13, 2010): Used Book Store

Today we went to the Old Strathcona Book store.  It is a used book store in our neighbourhood.  The thing I like about it is that you can sell them your old books for store credits towards new books.  I'm sure that this is the way it works at other used book stores but I used to always go to places like Chapters and Coles where you couldn't do that.  They have quite a good selection of books which makes it possible to find something you would enjoy. 

By the way, I got home really late last night and I completely forgot to blog about this so I guess "we lose" the 30 day blog challenge:(  Oh well.  It has encouraged me to try blogging more often.

Day 132 (May 12, 2010): I love you in another language

Today we learned to say "I love you" in another language.  This idea was given to us by my friend Jen. Thanks Jen!  We used this website to find the translations:
 http://www.links2love.com/i_love_you_languages.htm

I found it interesting that I already knew a few of them. I also found it interesting to see the similar ones from different languages.  We decided to learn this one:  Danish - "Jeg Elsker Dig"   It is really interesting to see the way that language evolves.....I think that in another life I would like to be a linguist!

Day 131 (May 11, 2010): 3 favourite things in our community

Today we decided to do a community photo project.  We each took the camera at different times of the day and took photos of our 3 favourite things in our community.  Not surprisingly, since we are married and have some of the same interests, two of the places that we chose were the same and the one of Ken's that was different was my 4th choice and just about made the cut.

Mel's 3 favourite things in Old Strathcona, Edmonton, Alberta:

The River Valley....unfortunately this picture doesn't accurately show what I love about the River Valley.  Mostly this picture shows downtown but I would have had to go downtown to take a picture of our side of the valley.  What I love about the river valley is that by walking only 10 minutes down my street I enter an amazing part of nature.  The valley is filled with parks, trails, wildlife, earthy smells and NATURE.  We have picnics, BBQs, football games, walks and hikes in the valley.  We love to spend time there. It is a place for us to connect with nature and each other.  When you enter the river valley even the temperature of the air changes.  Instead of the air being dry, dusty and warm like a big city it is moist and cool. 

Our Community Garden.  It doesn't look like much at this time of year.   People just started planting this weekend.  You should see it in the summer.  It is lush and green.  It is a place for me to relax and get my hands in the dirt.  Similar to the River Valley, it is a place to connect with nature in the middle of the concrete jungle.  We also have made a lot of friends by being a part of our community garden.

The Farmers Market.  I love the atmosphere of the market on Saturdays.  The hussle and bussle is invigorating to me. Ken hates it because it is too crowded and crazy for him, lol.  Besides the fact, that I like the fresh produce and cool crafts, I really like the feel of the place as well as discovering new things and new vendors from time to time.  Also, since it is a 5 minute walk from our house I see some of our neighbours and gardening friends there.  It is a very social place.

Ken's 3 favourite things in Old Strathcona, Edmonton, AB:

Our Community Garden: I chose this one because I enjoy what we get from it.  I have a love/hate relationship with the garden.  I hate doing the work but I love the results.

The River Valley: I enjoy spending time here because it is a visual escape from the scabby city! LOL

The Community League: this is a picture of the outdoor rink. I enjoy spending time here in the winter skating.

Here is another picture of our community league.  I also like coming to pub night, eventhough I don't drink alcohol.  It is a social place that is not like a "bar" atmosphere.