Thursday Art Date With Rain -- "Cups"

Rain's visual suggestions for today's art prompt

include, not surprisingly, many beautiful 

teacups and coffee cups.

But in my city of Edmonton, Alberta,

"cups" mean ONLY ONE THING, baby -- 

THE OILERS' FIVE STANLEY CUPS!

Now, of course, all these Cup victories were won

back in the Oilers' GLORY DAYS of the 1980s.

It's been one long 30+ year DROUGHT since then.

But that does not deter Edmonton's PRIDE 

from being displayed all over the city in the form of

huge, oversized Stanley Cup replica statues.

So here are my photos of them 

in fulfilment of today's art prompt --

These next replicas are found outside

the Oilers dressing room in Rogers Place arena.

Opposing teams have to walk by the display

to reach their dressing room --

just for the INTIMIDATION FACTOR.

There is NOTHING that

Edmonton wants MORE

than to add a SIXTH Cup

to this lineup some day.

Maybe in the 2022-23 Season?

LET'S HOPE!

[Photos #1-2 and #7 courtesy of the Internet;

Photos #3-5 © Debra She Who Seeks 2022;

Photo #6 © Debra She Who Seeks 2012]

I Love Big Boots And I Cannot Lie

For the best full effect of this post, play the video while reading, LOL!

They don't call Alberta the "Texas of Canada" for nothing, you know. We've got an oil-based economy, a ranching/rodeo/cowboy history, more than our fair share of rednecks/right-wing extremists/bigots of all stripes, and the boast that everything is bigger here. Yeehaw!

So one of the forms this Texas-itis takes in Edmonton is the presence of several great big cowboy boot statues, often bearing the Oilers hockey colours and team logo. Here's the smallest of the giant boots, probably about 6 feet high --

This next one is the medium-sized giant boot, maybe 12 feet high. It enjoys wheels and mobility for some mysterious reason. Perhaps it's taken to hockey games or put in parades or something.

And the next is the biggest giant boot of all! You can see how big it is with the parked cars for comparison. Probably about 30 feet high, I'd guesstimate. It's been here in Edmonton forever. The store behind it used to be a cowboy boot retailer, but now it's a biker shop. And yes, its neon decorative stitching lights up at night!

I dedicate this post to Shirley of BootsandBraids because she luuuuuuuvs cowboy boots!

Anyone else out there in Blogland wear cowboy boots? Confess all in the comments.

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, August 2022]

"Less Putin, More Poutine"

Having a recent craving for the food of My Rare One's people, we went out for lunch last week at Uncle Ed's Ukrainian Restaurant. I've previously mentioned how Edmonton is full of fundraisers right now to aid war-torn Ukraine, so this Special at Uncle Ed's caught my eye --

How could I NOT order it?

As you may know, classic poutine (Canada's contribution to the world of haute cuisine) consists of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. Uncle Ed's ode to Canadian/Ukrainian solidarity consists of perogies, cheese curds, diced ham and gravy.

Behold the Special in all its glory!

It tasted okay, but perogies go better with sour cream than gravy, I must say. However, the cheese curds were right at home!

I topped off lunch with a plateful of delicious blueberry dessert perogies in warm brown sugar cream sauce. OMG so good!

It's not every day you can strike a small blow for freedom with your stomach, so thank you, Uncle Ed's!

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, July 2022]

Hurry Hard!

"I fecking love curling," says longtime blogging buddy Jackiesue of West, by Goddess, Texas so this post is for her! Enjoy all the curling going on right now at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Jackiesue! 

And incidentally, everyone, Jackiesue (formerly known as YellowDog Granny) is now called YellerDawg Granny (what a great pun, LOL!) and she has a brand new blog called Rabid Yellow Dog Democrat that is found here! Spread the news!

And now, back to the Roaring Game.

Curling is, of course, HUGE in Canada and always has been. Curling and hockey are how Canadians have traditionally endured our long cold winters. From our largest cities right down to our smallest villages, they all have curling rinks. When I was a kid, there was even a place in Saskatchewan called Broomhill which consisted of nothing but a curling rink.

Jasper Place Curling Club in Edmonton recently had a beautiful mural painted on the side of its building by Jill Stanton, a local artist who does bright, cheerful murals all over Canada and the USA (see more of her work here). The mural celebrates the history of curling brooms. I know that modern push brooms are so much more efficient, but I miss hearing that unique "slap, slap, slap" sweeping sound of old-style corn brooms on the ice.

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, February 2022]

You know, I almost got frostbite taking these photos of the mural in -30 windchill with my gloves off to work the camera. Sheesh, the things I do for this blog! Here's a photo of the entire mural taken by some other smarter photographer in the summer --

Her Royal Highness the Cat wants it to be known that she enjoys curling too!

Snow Rollers

Have you ever seen the natural, but relatively rare, winter phenomenon called snow rollers? I'd never even heard of snow rollers until I moved to Alberta and I'd never seen them -- until recently!

Snow rollers are snowballs which form naturally on the ground when winter meteorological conditions are "just right." They require a mild outdoor temperature around 0ºC and a light 'n fluffy snowfall of wet (not dry) snow, combined with a strong enough wind at ground level to get the snow moving. Here's a video of some quite spectacular snow rollers in rural Alberta --

Last week, snow rollers formed one afternoon on My Rare One's street! They weren't huge but they were AWESOME!

Here I am, helpfully pointing them out to you! (It looks like I'm wearing sandals but no -- those are removable snow gripper ice cleats that go over shoes or boots for better traction when walking.)

These baby snow rollers were on My Rare One's driveway behind my car. Those are my footprints.

They are so light and fluffy -- insubstantial really -- not hard-packed at all.

A quick squeeze and they disappear!

[Photos © My Rare One, January 2022]

GAYbourhood Pride

Earlier this month, Bill Lisleman of A Few Clowns Short 

sent me this photo that his daughter took of 

a house in her neighbourhood --

Other people photographed this 

stunning Pride display as well 

and it quickly went VIRAL!

 

You can read all about the 

house and its owners here.

So this inspired me to roam around 

MY city of Edmonton, Alberta to see

what kind of Pride displays I could find!

This Progress Pride Flag crosswalk

is located downtown a block from my place

by MacEwan University -- 

Also a block from my place, these Pride Murals

were just painted on a building at NorQuest College.

This one celebrates the transformative journey

of transgender people --

This one honours indigenous two-spirit people --

"Let Pride be your umbrella!"

I snapped these Pride Balloons

at my local Save-On Foods supermarket --

Lots of stores and restaurants around the city

hang Pride flags in their windows, but some

go the extra mile such as this paint store --

Here's a nice window display at a bank 

on Whyte Avenue (one of Edmonton's trendiest 

shopping, bar and restaurant scenes) --

The bank right across the street from it, 

not to be outdone, wrapped its 

entire building in all the Pride colours --

So colourful! I love it!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, everyone, that's a wrap on another year's

TRANSLESBIGAYAPALOOZA!

here at She Who Seeks blog.

Thanks for coming along on the ride with me!

[Photos #2 to #10 inclusive © Debra She Who Seeks, June 2021]

Polar Vortex Haute Couture

As you can see from this screencap I took last week of a local Edmonton TV weather forecast, virtually all of Western Canada has been under an "extreme cold warning" along with parts of British Columbia and Ontario. Oh yes, it's the beloved annual Polar Vortex when frigid Arctic air descends from the Far North, overstays its welcome and makes all our lives miserable.

This year the Polar Vortex lasted over two weeks. Daytime highs in the -20 to -30 C range. Nighttime lows in the -30 to -40 C range. Then add windchill that makes it feel 10 to 15 degrees colder than the actual temperature. 

Good times!

Unlike my recent Tarot Haute Couture post, there is nothing magical, ethereal or whimsical about Polar Vortex Haute Couture. It's all about warmth, baby, and staying alive. That's what counts.

For some unknown masochistic reason, My Rare One takes a one-hour walk every day to achieve a goal of 5000 steps. A daily walk outside, no matter the weather. 

Here she is last week --

Quite apart from her down-filled parka, two pairs of pants and thermal winter hiking boots, My Rare One keeps her head cozy warm by wearing a big fur Russky hat overtop of a baseball cap (so its brim will shield her eyes from the wind), with the rest of her face swaddled in a huge knitted infinity scarf. I believe there are earmuffs under there as well. No frostbite for her!

You can see the very chic Russky hat more clearly in this next photo. Doesn't it look like there's a raccoon or some other animal perched on her head?

Oh and what about ME, you ask?

Do I accompany her on these walks? 

Are you serious?

Thankfully, the Polar Vortex should be gone by tomorrow and we'll be back to seasonal temperatures again. In other words, nothing below -20 C. YAY! It will be so nice out that I won't even need to plug in my car block heater anymore to keep the engine from freezing!

[Selfies © My Rare One, February 2021]

Edmonton's Avengers Jeep

How awesome is this, LOL?

I want this vehicle!

And the guy who owns it lives

right here in my city!

How hard could it be to track him down

and make him an offer he can't refuse?

Oh dear, that sounds threatening, LOL.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

My Rare One and I spent four days last week volunteering at the Festival of Trees here in Edmonton, which raises about a million bucks annually to buy extra medical equipment for our University Hospital. Many other Canadian cities also hold these Festivals for similar purposes and they are all a terrific way to get in the Christmas spirit!

The Festival of Trees is Christmas on steroids, full of beautiful and/or whimsically decorated trees, gingerbread houses, seasonal things to buy, seasonal things to eat, a non-stop entertainment stage featuring every kids' choir and dance school in the city, galas for the adults in the evening, activities galore for the kids. And of course Santa, Santa, SANTA!

I worked on the volunteer reception team, signing in volunteers for their shifts, handing out name tags, blinky pins, Santa hats and bottles of water, giving each volunteer a quick orientation and doing some of the paperwork necessary for them and the database to work smoothly. Approximately two thousand Edmonton volunteers are necessary to create and run the Festival every year.

My Rare One helped the team which wrangles the Festival mascot "Dr. Deer." No, she didn't have to wear the mascot suit. But I know she wanted to!

Inside the mascot suit is a succession of young, healthy teenagers. The wranglers have to make sure the teen is well hydrated beforehand by drinking lots of water, then get him or her into the suit (they cannot dress themselves), make sure the suit's interior head fan is working and put frozen ice-packs in strategically placed inner pockets. Wearing that suit is hot as hell. After each teen's short shift walking around the Festival, interacting with adoring kids, posing for photos, etc., they come out of the suit dripping with sweat. The wranglers then have to get the next volunteer in "the other suit" (the dry one kept in reserve) and then air out and dry the wet suit for the volunteer after that to wear. It's an endless cycle!

But I guess the discomfort is worth it for the volunteers -- Dr. Deer is the STAR of the Festival! Second only to Santa himself, of course. Being Dr. Deer is one of the most coveted volunteer positions.

If there's a Festival of Trees in your city, I urge you to go to it and spend a few bucks to support a worthy cause, all while having a megaton of Christmas fun!

[Photos taken by My Rare One, Nov 29 to Dec 2, 2018]

Who Doesn't Love Bologna?

No, not the city in Italy -- the sandwich meat!

Gawd, I ate a river of baloney (as we pronounced it) when I was a kid in Manitoba because, of course, baloney was at that time a cheap meat source for the poor. It's been a long time now since I've had to subsist on baloney, but I still get a craving for it maybe once a year. Once I've had some, though, I'm good to go without it again for at least another twelve months, LOL!

Baloney also occupies a special place in the traditional diet of folks from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's 10th province. Newfoundlanders are known for loving their baloney and this has become part of their stereotypical image.

Lots of Newfoundlanders work in Alberta's oilfields. Many fly in and out, but some do permanently settle here. They are part of our cultural fabric in Alberta now. By way of example, My Rare One and I went out to breakfast last week here in Edmonton and right there on the menu was a listing for "eggs, hashbrowns, NEWFIE STEAK and toast."

So, of course, I had to order some. Behold my breakfast plate --

A big ol' slab of baloney cut right off the CHUB! That's pretty ritzy, man. WE only ever got a fried SLICE of it from the package. And while this baloney was warm, it was not fried to a delectable crisp like my Mom would have made it (with a little slit cut in the side so it wouldn't curl up in the pan).

Still, it's got to be said --

Trying a Couple of New Things

For the first 3 weeks of May, My Rare One and I are enrolled in the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association's (ELLA's) daytime classes for retired people at the University of Alberta. I'm trying a couple of new things and actually enjoying myself quite a bit!

First of all -- Qigong and Tai Chi (Wu Style):

I love the poetic names of some of the moves -- "White crane spreads its wings" -- "Step back repulse monkey" -- "Part the wild horse mane" -- "Fair lady work at shuttle" -- "Step back ride the tiger." Learning and remembering the actual moves, though, is an entirely different matter! Half the time I'm just waving my hands around and making stuff up as I go along, LOL!

Secondly, I've joined the ELLA Community Chorus:

I love to sing, although I haven't actually been in a choir since I was a child. I did spend many years singing informally with other women in my Women's Drumming and Goddess Chanting Circle, which I miss now that it's over. So I'm very excited to be singing in a group setting again. Plus the teacher is taking us through some important voice lessons and warm-ups that are helpful to me.

I think I'll try to keep on with these activities once ELLA is over. There's lots of opportunities and places to do both in Edmonton.