Homophobia in Saskatchewan

Sometimes I just can’t figure out Saskatchewan. What is it with my fellow residents that makes so many of them comfortable supporting political positions and politicians that would make most Canadians cringe? Who are these people and what rock do they hide under day to day?

I am embarrassed by the latest Bard Trost rant against Tourism Minister Diane Ablonczy’s decision to provide $400,000 of Federal funds to the gay pride parade in Toronto. We aren’t sure if Ablonczy was actually disciplined for the decision or if Brad along with several other of the knuckle draggers in the Conservative/Reform Caucus just made it all up, to “look good” to his power base in Saskatoon. That is yet to be seen. I don’t know, perhaps Brad was concerned that Saskatoon’s own Gay Pride festivities only got a measly $9,000.

No, that can’t be it.

Maurice Vellacott, another of Saskatoon’s right wing loopy MPs is a bit uncharacteristically, more subdued on this issue. These days, instead of ranting from his pulpit, he speaks more or less in code about family values etc.

My own MP, Tom (A Team) Lukiwski has been surprisingly silent on this issue. I did notice that he once again snubbed the Regina Gay Pride bunch this year by refusing to attend their celebrations but, none of us really hears much from Tom anyway. He has become almost invisible except through the leaflets, his own kind of sophomoric rant, that he keeps sending to households at our own expense.

There is no word about whether Brad and the other twelve Saskatchewan lightweight Conservative/Reform MPs think the government should return the $18 million in Federal tax dollars generated by the Toronto festivities to the pride community. But don’t hold your breath on that one.

I don't know why they dumped Larry Spenser, he'd fit right it.

It must be the season for homophobia in Saskatchewan. While the Conservative/Reform Federal MPS work to embarrass most of us, I like to think most of us anyway, the Provincial Government is trying to find ways to pander to their own “conservative” members.

Justice Minister Don Morgan wants to see if legislation can be changed to allow Marriage Commissioners the right to refuse to perform any marriage between two people of the same sex. He says the government doesn’t want to force any commissioner to perform a marriage which goes against their values. To me that raised a few of questions.

• What does that say about the core values held by some of Saskatchewan’s marriage commissioners?

• Why do we tolerate people with these kinds of values performing marriages in the first place?

• Why would any self respecting gay couple, or anyone else for that matter, want to be married by a bigot?

Can you figure it out? If you do, let me know.

New Waterford Boy Makes Good

Well it was a great trip but, it is good to be home. I quite honestly was getting a bit tired of pub food.

While on our travels I did check up on Canadian news from time to time.

• Michael Ignatieff gets everyone in the media talking about election again and then as expected wimps out, again.
• Harper and his buddies are back into the attack ads.
• The RCMP withheld damning e-mail in the inquiry into the Robert Dziekanski tasering.

Not much new there but, I was encouraged by the fact that the NDP got themselves elected in Nova Scotia. On hearing that I said, "I wouldn't be at all surprised if my old buddy Frank is the appointed as the new Labour Minister" Frank is an old NABET buddy of mine from Cape Breton. I haven't seen him for 10 years or more when we shared a scotch or two in Halifax.

On return, I got a call from Nova Scotia and talked to Frank first hand. Oh, excuse me, The Honourable Frank Corbett, Deputy Premier of Nova Scotia.

Well done Frank.

Airbus A380

This monster was at the gate in Toronto when we passed through the airport on Monday. Double decker and VERY big. Who else but Emerites Airline could afford one

All images on this site will enlarge if you click on them.

I won't be posting to this blog very much until we are back in Canada. To follow our travels see the link to your left or click here to go to that site.

Who are They and Where do the Come From?

I am always curious about what brings visitors to this blog. Some visitors are friends just checking in but others are drawn in by search engines when what ever they are looking for finds me. Curiously enough one of my posting with the title "Slogans Important" seems to bring me more visitors that any other. It is a mystery to me.

Another thing I find funny is that very few people leave comments so I am never sure why they turned up or what they think.

I have posted the map to give you an idea where the visitors drop in from.

Wascana Evening

We walked around Wascana Lake yesterday evening around sundown. Our last training session before flying out Monday Morning.
The place was full of duck families close to the shoreline on the north-west side of the lake. Later on the way around we saw scores of goslings, yellow and brown waddling around under the watchful eye of their goose parents.
We were also surprised to see a couple of beaver. One we got within a couple of feet of. So close you could hear it chewing away at the tree shoots it was having for a meal. It was so nonchalant, our presence didn't seem to bother it one bit. It just chewed away nonplussed by our intrusion into its summer evening.

Across Canada on a Unicycle

A few weeks back while on my way to Vancouver, heading down hill from Manning Park, I blogged about seeing a unicyclist heading up. It seemed like an impossible task but, there he was with a backpack on his back, pedaling up that hill. It was an amazing sight.

I wanted to stop and get a photo but traffic was tight behind me and there was really no place to turn around so a few km down the road I gave up the idea and continued west. (Just for the record I swiped the photo to the left from Philip's website)

I thought he was just another eccentric, half mad westcoaster, but it seems I was wrong. Philip Schleihauf is from Ottawa and is riding his unicycle 5000 km across Canada from town to town camping, couch surfing and resting in hostels while he spreads awareness and raises money for Invisible Children.

Invisible Children is an organization dedicated to helping end the longest running war in Africa. Their main focus is freeing the child soldiers who make up 90% of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). These kids are abducted by the army at a young age and are forced to observe, endure, and commit acts of unimaginable violence. Philip is accepting donations to help with the overhead costs of the trip. All proceeds will go to the Invisible Children organization.

He has a website which he is updating as he goes. This is one tough kid and a great cause. I will make a donation and hope you will too.

Amazingly, there seem to be two people unicycling across Canada right now. The other guy, Dave Cox seems to be doing the trek to promote unicycles.

It is spring but it sure ain't summer.

It continues to be a funny spring. We think it has really arrived and then it dips to zero, or below. Or, perhaps it is always like this. We are all so fed up with the cold we just really want it to be warm.

A great deal of it is fed by the garden stores that bring in truck loads of herbs, flowers and tomatoes that subsequently freeze in people's gardens.

I am not sure if that is a statement about optimism or greed.

No matter what I have some herbs in, a few onions are trying hard to poke up through the soil and we have a few things we are still putting out during the day and bringing back in in the evening.

Before I moved to Saskatchewan I always thought that after the long May weekend gardeners were safe. I've learned better.

In Training

We are in training, we have to do something if we are going to manage the 25 km a day we'll have to walk along Hadrian's Wall. Only three more weeks left to get ready. So, today we drove out to Nicolle Flats and walked around the marsh. It is a good 10 km hike.

There were lots of ducks a few geese and about 20 pelicans. I love watching them. They look clumsy but just look at them them soar for a while and you'll change your mind.

The prairie crocus are out on the south side of the lake. In some places there are one or two and in others hundreds. I am always amazed at how they manage to push up through the heavy, winter matted prairie grass.

Horoscope Speaks to me

I am spending a lot of time these days preparing for a trip we are taking to visit Edinburgh and then to walk Hadrian's Wall. I do spend a great deal of time on the internet looking for good restaurants, castles, stone circles, looking for pictures and plotting our trip on Google Earth. Some might even argue that I spend too much time researching the trip.

Well I don't usually read my horoscope but after all it was the Globe and Mail and I was having a slow start to my morning. But there it was under Virgo. Speaking to me.

Social activities and travel plans seem to be taking up most of your time at the moment and there is nothing wrong with that. If a friend or relative dares to suggest you are neglecting your domestic duties tell them to mind their own business.

I looked around our messy house, re-read my horoscope, sat down at the computer and opened Google Earth.

What About That Seal Hunt?

The seal hunt flap with the EU has certainly got the Inuit and Newfoundlanders riled up and Harper, seeing an opportunity to win back their hearts, is “vigorously” pursuing the matter with legislators in Europe. After all, clubbing baby seals to death is as Canadian as...I don’t know...shooting gophers?

It is one of those issues that most Canadians don’t talk very much about. It isn’t that most of us don’t have an opinion but no one really wants weigh in about an issue that they are not sure about. I have never seen a poll about the issue but I would bet that most Canadians, not unlike the Europeans, would rather see it put to a stop.

I am never sure how I feel about the issue.

· On the one hand I am prepared to accept that the seal hunt brings a much needed source of income to those who eke out a living in Newfoundland’s small outports. Stop the spring hunt and there isn’t really much of an alternative when it comes to putting bread and butter on the table. Everyone can’t go to work in Fort Mac.

· On the other hand, I think it is time to move on. I have lived my life so far without much need for seal skin really. The last thing I can remember having that was made of seal skin was an Ookpik from EXPO 67.

It is one of several issues that I just don’t feel comfortable with, like allowing trophy hunters, foreign or domestic to kill polar bears or big horn sheep. There is an economic impact inherent in stopping any of those practices but isn’t it time to phase this stuff out. We aren’t really a society of hunter-gatherers any more. The seal hunt’s days are numbered like the corner store, the family farm or door to door milk delivery.

Seal hunters, like the rest of us, want a roof over their heads and the ability to feed their families. They want to feel like equal partners in confederation, not just the tag end. Perhaps Harper, and to be fair previous governments as well, should have concentrated a bit more on regional economic development. As usual Ottawa is too late into the game.

Avocet

I'm not a birdwatcher except that I do enjoy watching them at my feeder over winter and always enjoy seeing something rare or colourful.

Wascana Lake is always busy in the spring with the Canada geese returning to their old breeding grounds to harass the walkers for another season. They arrive by the hundreds along with the ducks and the other water birds.

This time of year they are also joined by some shore birds. Those long legged things, along the water's edge. I have been particularly impressed by the American Avocet, larger than the rest of the shore birds, it is colourful and has a very long curved beak not to mention its blue legs.

For a better look at it, left click on the image and it will enlarge.

Is Brad Moonlighting?

Have you noticed how much Broil King BBQ's new pitchman looks so much like a slightly younger Brad Wall.

I almost drove off the road when I saw him on a billboard in Medicine Hat. This clearly could be Brad at a fund raiser, talking about the Saskatchewan Party with evangelical zeal. No question about it.

I wonder if Broil King really thought it through. I don't know about you but, it kind of puts me off my steak.

I Broil King wants to woo the right wing crowd a better choice might be newly appointed senator Mike Duffy. He looks like a man who really enjoys a steak. Or two.

What about this Swine Flu?

I find a few things bit unnerving about this swine flu thing.

To start with, if it is spread by tourists bringing this flu back from Mexico and considering that it seems everyone here in Saskatchewan but me, and a few other floor hockey players goes to Mexico every year. We most likely are at peril.I am becoming very suspicious of anyone with the sniffles and a tan.

To be honest, I am not sure if the World Health Orginization (WHO) is just being very cautious and covering their asses or if we really are on the edge of a pandemic. In any case, no matter what warning are out there, nothing much will be done to prepare until it is too late. I am willing to bet that 99% of employers are not doing anything special to prepare for a pandemic should one occur.

Pandemic is a very frightening word, or at least it should be.

What about the food distribution for example? If a pandemic occurs and there are not enough truck drivers around willing or able to get our food to stores, we are in big trouble. How much do you have in the cupboard? Don't forget, most stores only have enough stock of the shelves for a very short time. We'll probably all have to learn how to cook lentils. Not to mention driving out to the country and lining up outside some grannery with our bags.

Another thing, although we have been assured that this sickness is not spread from pigs to humans through our food supply Canadian pork inspections have been increased. That doesn't give me confidence. No wonder the pork producers are a bit ticked.

Perhaps this is nothing to really worry about but even so, I am washing my hands more that usual, keeping an eye out for Mexicans and giving people with tans a wide berth..

Lady Bug Rescue.

Most people clear their lawns of leaves each fall without fail. My neighbours are out there with rakes and other tools, making a real project out of it. They are all keen to get at it. Those piles of leaves are carted away before you know it. Except at my place, it doesn't quite ever happen that way.

I never quite seem to get to it. I am not sure if its because I am nostalgic or what. It has been a long time since we all raked the leaves up into big piles and burned them. I fondly remember those chilly fall nights hazy with leave smoke as we walked home.

I'm not really sure why I never get to it. Leaf blower exhaust and piles of orange bags just doesn't quite do it for me besides, it it is too damn cold and I have other things to do.

So I leave it for the spring.

This weekend I got to it. I have been raking up all of last years leaves that haven't cooperated and blown onto my neighbours lawns. I'm having fun. It is good to get the fresh air after a cold winter and it gets me an early jump on my tan.

What I always forget about are the lady bugs. I have never lived anywhere where lady bugs seem to thrive quite the way they do here. There are thousands living in those piles of leaves. I had been gathering the leaves up and dumping them in the dumpster in the alley when I notices that hundreds of lady bugs were climbing out of the leaves and were crawling around the top layer.

I just couldn't send lady bugs to the dump. That was what prompted the rescue. We gently gathered them up by the hundreds and put them back in bushes, the garden and what leaves were left. We made several trips.

So I am not a slacker after all. What I am actually doing by not getting to all this in the fall is creating lady bug habitat. Who knew I was so "green".

In the Main it was a Water Problem

After driving from Vancouver to Regina in a couple of days I was pretty beat when I pulled up outside my house Tuesday afternoon. I was immediately taken by the stream bubbling through my front yard. Now a spring suddenly appearing in your front yard, might be turned into a nifty landscaping feature but I thought I should check out all the possibilities before getting carried away with that idea.

I called the city.

Sure enough the water line had split and although we still had water in the house, something had to be done about that stream.

This morning an army of workers and a convoy of heavy equipment arrived in front of the house and in short time they were digging holes in the road and my yard. The city water crew had moved in and had the problem in hand.

Who knew the problem would go right back to the old issue of contracting out? Instead of having city crews install the water lines, the city sub contracted the work. The contractor cut costs by using plastic lines instead of copper and now one by one they are splitting and have to be replaced. The workers tell me that thousands will have to be replaced within the next few years, and they will. Where is the contractor, who knows. Probably doing it all over again in some new subdivision.

Complain all you like about city workers. They will at least do the job right.

City counselors? They will continue to contract out to the cheapest bidder. You figure it out.

Nellie's For Breakfast

If you are in Calgary and are looking for a basic, old fashioned, diner breakfast, in my experience, you can't beat Nellie's. You won't find some packaged deep fried potatoes passed off as hash browns here. The servings are substantial and the service is casual and friendly. They have the feel of old fashioned diners.

There are five Nellie's restaurants in Calgary, two within a couple of block of each other on 17th Avenue. I can vouch for both of those ones but I haven't tried the others.

A couple of eggs easy over, hash browns, toast and sausage along with some good coffee will take you easily to lunch, and beyond. So next time you are in Calgary, relax, settle in, read the paper and have a few cups of coffee. The staff are friendly and they don't seem to mind when you take your time. It is just a great way to start the day.

Five star breakfast everytime.

Slogans Important

Some would argue that there is nothing more important that a corporate or company slogan. Some work some don't. For example, Get in the habit, Capital Cab it doesn't work for me while who can forget that Wheaties has been the Breakfast of Champions for decades.

Wendy's says, See the spots, feel the hunger (Don't worry, I don't get it either) Burger King stresses that when you order one of their burgers, you can Have it your way. McDonald's wants you to know that they have Billions sold.

All very catchy but I think Vera's Burger Shack on Denman Street in Vancouver's wild west end may be on to something. It is a bit more out there with their slogan You can't beat Vera's meat. Somehow I am not sure Regina is ready for Vera.

It is Certainly Spring in Vancouver

Penticton to Vancouver is a good drive. I just love the pine and grass hills between The Okanagan and Keremeos. The only problem was that it rained off and on the whole trip.

On the way down from Manning Park, in an area of steep hills and twisty road I passed a guy, with a backpack on a unicycle, working his way up the hill. That was when I knew for sure that I was in B.C.

Vancouver as always, is lovely. I drove into town in a light rain but during the short work I made of my fish and chips and a beer in what used to be the overlooking English Bay Cafe, it cleared off.

As I walked by the edge of Stanley Park three bald eagles were circling the heron rookery by the tennis courts causing quite an uproar from the nesting herons. A couple of braver herons harassed them for a while and eventually the eagles got bored and headed of to hunt somewhere else.

In the park, the walkers and cyclists were out in force and the sea wall would have been crowded had there not been a brisk westerly breeze.

It is a tough town to beat in the spring.

Naramata Bench Tastings

This morning was beautiful in Banff. I tried to sleep in a bit and started a bit later than I normally would. I was on my way by 8:00

I love driving in the mountains. No matter how many time I make the trip, I am always blown away by the scenery. I tried to take my time, stopping often to take photographs.

I decided to drive to Penticton to visit a couple of vineyards I particularly like, even though the drive down the valley can be slow.

Kelowna traffic was the usual hassle. What was at some point a pretty little town has turned into miles and miles of strip malls and condos. It is a prime example of how success can spoil a good thing.

I really wanted to hunt up some of the wine we loved from the Naramata Bench the last time we were here.

A few summers ago we spent a few days at the B&B situated right on the edge of d'Angelo's Vineyards. It is a great spot. I remember sitting high up on the deck outside our room, sharing a bottle of something nice and watching the sun set over the lake.

So of course I drove down to D’Angelo’s Winery and as luck would have it Sal D’Angelo was sitting outside on his ATV and he opened up the wine shop for me. When we stayed at the B&B he hadn’t yet put his wine on the market and I was keen to try it. Sal loves to talk about his wine and is a good story teller. He won a gold medal for his 2005 Merlot the first year he released it. I bought a few bottles of what he had on offer. Lovely stuff.

I then headed up the road to Hillside Estates. I quite like their wine and if you are visiting the area, stop in. The staff are very friendly and know their wine well. Br forewarned, it will be tough to leave without a bottle or two, or a case.

If you are biking on the old Kettle Valley Railway plan to stop at their restaurant for lunch. The trail goes right by their facility and they are happy to see cyclists. After a good lunch a couple of kilometers will bring you within a stone's throw of D'Angelo's. Stop in and chat with Sal.

Driving to Banff

I didn't really get off to the most auspicious start this morning, all things considered.

I am on my way to Vancouver for the Fair Vote Canada AGM. I thought I'd drive. I was almost to Grande Coolie when my check engine light came on. Considering that I'd had my car serviced yesterday I figured that was a bit much so, I turned around and went back to Regina to the dealer.

They said they'd order a new catalytic converter and reset everything and I was off again.

It was nice for a while, lots of birds flying north, the Canada Geese in their regimented orderly v's cutting through the sky. One leading then falling back to let a new leader take over and the snow geese all over the map flying in u's and w's mixing it up every which way. My sense is the Canada geese are more impressive to watch but the snow geese would be more fun to have a drink with.

The drive was good until Parkbeg then, much to my surprise, it started to snow. It was a heavy slushy, hard to drive in winter storm for over 100 km. Everyone managed to stay on the road and we all drive through it.

Calgary was sunny and warm. Banff is a bit cloudy and cooler.

That is all he wrote. Time for supper.

How does it Look Outside?

There was an article in the paper today suggesting that Canadians don’t have much faith in our weather forecasting.

Really?

Where I live, in Regina, the long range forecasts seldom actually match what those prevailing westerlies bring us, day in and day out. Of course, the meteorologists responsible for predicting our weather live in Winnipeg, a six hour drive to the east of us. They can't even take a look outside and give it their best shot, or perhaps they do.

My sense is that we’d have better luck if Environment Canada re-located those guys to Calgary. At least that would give them a 50-50 chance of getting it right.

That damn five day forecast changes radically day to day. I am not sure why I even look at it.

When they say predicting weather is a gamble, I thing they are right. I figure that every morning a few of the Environment Canada staff get together around a big felt covered table and bring out the five forecast dice. I imagine that each side has on it a different icon, the sun, rain, sunny with a bit of cloud, cloudy with a bit of sun, you know what I mean. Then they roll them and what ever comes up, goes on their site and gets sent to newspapers as the five day forecast.

At least that is the most logical explanation I could come up with.

Saturday Drive

Today you might say, was like our first real spring day. All the others days were just a tease, nice enough but not quite there.

In celebration we decided to drive to Weyburn for lunch. In many ways I guess it was like several Saskatchewan rural drives, particularly this time of year before things even start to green up and there are still large patches of snow around. It is almost surreal. There are no defining features, we could have been transported to a hundred other places on Saskatchewan highways and it would look the same.

We did get there on time for a late lunch and a walk around. It is a pretty enough town but we were a bit un-nerved by the sign for what appeared to be a machine shop. The sign is simply a huge assault rifle. I just didn't get it. I don't understand the connection between the sign and the business unless they sell assault rifles on the side or perhaps will create a sawed off shotgun out of the gun Dad used to hunt ducks with. Perhaps in these economic times they provide a service for people looking for another line of work....who knows.

I Have to Get Back to this Blog

I haven’t been spending much time working on this blog in recent days. I have posted a couple of things to Gord’s Kitchen but, that has been pretty well it.

Most of my time has been taken up working on a new cookbook project called “Ok, What‘s to Eat?”. It is basic cookbook designed for some one heading out on their own.. .I am very close to being done and at this point I would like to put it behind me.

I have also been distracted by preparations for out trip to Scotland and England in June. I have been tracking down things to do in Edinburgh and digging up photographs of Hadrian's Wall which we plan to walk.

It is good to have spring finally here although it has been slow to arrive after a dreadfully long winter.

Next week I am off to Vancouver for the Fair Vote Canada AGM. I am driving out and back. I have always liked the drive through the mountains and a few days on the left coast will be good.