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talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

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Tag Archives: 17th Ave SW

May The Road Rise Up To Meet You #yyc

17 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by dianasschwenk in Out and About

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

#yyc, 17th Ave SW, Alberta, Calgary, community, Diana Schwenk, St. Patrick's Day, Tourist in my own city

This hard-working Leprechaun and lovely gentleman and lady graciously allowed me to snap their picture on 17th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

(traditional Gaelic blessing)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! ❤

Diana xo

Come on another walk with me?

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, Out and About

≈ 57 Comments

Tags

17th Ave SW, 4th Street SW, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, Elbow River, happy, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, living in the moment, moody, photos, Spring, walk

IMG_20150327_133450 (2)

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”
― Pablo Neruda

I had so much fun sharing A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words with you that I would like to invite you along on another walk, so to speak.

Forecasters had called for a sunny day on Friday, with temperatures possibly rising to 20c/68f. Although it was warm enough for me to go out wearing only a jean jacket over my jeans and t-shirt, the sun was losing its battle with the clouds.

A moody sky with a sliver of a chance for sun

A moody sky at noon with a sliver of a chance for sun

I don’t remember why, but my mood was dark. It seemed to be reflected in the sky as I headed out. Walking usually lifts my spirits, so with my BlackBerry in hand, I set out to capture photos of places I hadn’t shared here yet.

On the corner of 17th Ave and 4th Str SW

On the corner of 17th Ave and 4th Str SW

If I had a nickel for every time I saw a tourist pose with, and in the same stance as, this piece of art – well, I’d have a lot of nickels!

St. Mary's Cathedral

St. Mary’s Cathedral

I crossed over 4th Street and turned south toward St. Mary’s Cathedral. Up the road, just a little past the FCJ Centre is a bridge that crosses the Elbow River and leads to pathways that follow the river. Back before Michaela was born, I used to ride my bike all through there. Calgary has an amazing pathway system, you can get most anywhere by bike.

Backyards along the way border the Elbow River

Backyards along the way border the Elbow River

I love the reflection of the house and trees in the water. If you click on the image, you can see that damage from the 2013 flood still remains along the riverbank.

I wouldn't sit on this bench!

I wouldn’t sit on this bench!

Last week I showed you my thinking spot. That photo prompted Don over at Candid Impressions to write Thinking Spots.

Don I thought of you when I shot this bench – I wouldn’t recommend sitting on it though – see how the bank is completely eroded under it?

The pathways are shared by geese and people alike

The pathways are shared by geese and people alike

It’s like they don’t even notice people. These geese didn’t even flinch or glance at me when I passed. I continued on toward the bridge (top right)

IMG_20150327_131523

View from the bridge

This was my view from the bridge. When I stopped to shoot this picture, a woman walked past me. I soon caught up to her (I’m a fast walker) and said a cheerful ‘hello’ as I passed her.

Westways B&B

Westways B&B

I’ve lived in this city 25 years and have never noticed this Bed and Breakfast before.  I took a few shots and settled on this one to share with you. My Smartphone doesn’t do it justice, the B&B and its property are so pretty. While I stood there, the woman I’d passed earlier walked by and said, “See you in a bit!” We both laughed.

Recycling, compost and trash bins

Recycling, compost and trash bins

On my way back home, I saw these bins and immediately thought of Mark’s post, Binished Fusiness.  Mark, this is what our bins look like. Blue for recyclables, green for compost and black for trash.

One of my writing spots (13th Ave & 8th Str. SW)

One of my writing spots (13th Ave & 8th Str. SW)

On Sunday, notebook and pen in tow, I headed to my outdoor office (above) to write my Tuesday post for my other blog. Often, writing in long hand helps the words flow better or maybe it’s just my age and it’s somehow more familiar to me, comforting, reminding me of an earlier time.

A Rickshaw on 17th Ave

A Rickshaw on 17th Ave

I also saw my first rickshaw of the year that day – like budding trees, rickshaws are evidence that spring is here!

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed your second tour of my city. It’s been fun having you along!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Walking does me a heap of good. How do you snap yourself out of a dark mood? Which of the above pictures do you like best?

Two serious fires in Calgary on Saturday

11 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories, Out and About

≈ 52 Comments

Tags

17th Ave SW, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, coffee klatsch, community, Diana Schwenk, fire, Hump Day Chronicles, walk

On Saturday I walked down to the Scotia Centre on Stephen Avenue to meet my friend Helga for coffee. On 4th Street, just before the 9th Avenue overpass, I entered into, what I assumed to be, a huge dust cloud.

It was a windy day, so I surmised the dirt from the construction site on my left was getting caught up by the wind and blown over the street.

Other than that, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, so after our little coffee klatsch, Helga and I  walked east on Stephen Avenue.

That’s when Helga noticed it. A plume of smoke was rising in the south. We decided to check it out.

As soon as we turned south onto McLeod Trail, we knew something was up. All four lanes of the one-way street were backed up with traffic – it was a parking lot!

“Man, am I ever glad we’re not in a car,” I mumbled.

When we hit 17th Avenue, we could finally see the source of the fire. A 48-unit condo, still under construction, was engulfed in flames.

Onlookers watched and snapped photos.

“I bet the working crew left the lights on,” said a gruff looking man to Helga. “I’ve seen that start fires at construction sites many a time.”

“I was on Scotsman Hill shooting photos when I saw the fire, so I came down to check it out,” said another man. “I think the propane tanks they use while tarring the roof exploded.”

Later that day, while watching the news,  I learned that the apartment building next door had been evacuated after tenants heard a series of explosions.

Last I heard, authorities still don’t know the actual cause of the fire and are asking the public to share any aerial photographs or videos they may have shot.

View from Stephen Avenue.
View from Stephen Avenue.
View from McLeod Trail.
View from McLeod Trail.
Onlookers watch the fire.
Onlookers watch the fire.
The top floor is completely gutted.
The top floor is completely gutted.
View from 15th Avenue SW.
View from 15th Avenue SW.
The smoke was thick and black on 15th Ave.
The smoke was thick and black on 15th Ave.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Earlier that same day, just after midnight Alpha House, a refuge for people with alcohol and drug dependencies, evacuated their building when a fire broke out. Sadly one man died.

related articles: Investigators looking to the public for clues in cause of huge condo fire and Man dies in fire at Calgary Alpha House

Entertaining Angels

05 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, In My Opinion, My Stories, Out and About

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

17th Ave SW, blessed, Calgary, Diana Schwenk, friends, grateful, Homelessness, humbled, Hump Day Chronicles, Jesus, John the Baptist, judging, sacred ground, Tomkins Park, Truth

It was the first sunny day after way-too-many  days of rain in a row. I was so excited to get out there and soak in my much-needed hit of vitamin D.

After running a bunch of errands, I met up with my BFF for coffee in the park. This a favourite pastime of ours. We like to make up stories of the people we see and let me tell ya, 17th Ave is the perfect place to observe people!

Our people-watching, coffee-drinking bench - summer 2012

Our people-watching, coffee-drinking bench – summer 2012

So we were sitting there talking about our families and other current goings-on when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a homeless man approach us. I’d spied him with his friends earlier but they were a ways off and now he was approaching us.

I’m going to steer away from this story for a moment to say that I had spent 20 years of my life working for an organization that cares for the homeless and I’d learned a lot from them about what’s really important in this world. I’m not a stranger to the sector. I’m not afraid of people who are experiencing homelessness. And I’m not proud of the rest of this story, in fact, I’m a little ashamed because I know better.

Ok, back to my story… I just really wasn’t wanting an encounter with a homeless person at that moment. I think I mumbled something like, ‘Oh here we go’  under my breath. I was annoyed. Me and my BFF were having a good conversation. We hadn’t seen each other in a few days and I didn’t feel like getting pan-handled!

So, this man approaches us with his hand out (not to receive change, but offered as in a handshake) and I’m thinking to myself, “I am NOT shaking your hand!” He said something that I didn’t quite catch and then followed up with, “Jesus will be coming soon and He loves you and I LOVE YOU TOO!”

Ok, this is me steering away from the story again for a moment. Some of you know that I am a Christian. You may also know that I have been embarrassed about the way Christians are perceived at times so it’s not something I just come out with when I first meet someone. More on that in this post, if you’re interested

His words cut through all the crap I was thinking like a hot knife through butter. I extended my hand to him and told him Jesus and me, we both loved him too. We chatted a bit more and then he was off to the next bench to bring his message of love to someone else.

Now I know that not all my readers are Christians and that’s OK. That’s not what this story is about for me. It’s about judging people by appearance and making up my mind, before he even spoke, about how this encounter would play out.

If you are familiar with the Bible at all, you would have read about John the Baptist. John lived in the wilderness and to the casual observer he would have given the impression that he was a lunatic. In today’s world we may even say he is mentally ill. I mean seriously, he ate locusts, ranted and raved to passers-by about their hypocrisy and I’m guessing he may not have smelled so good. John however, is the man who Christians the world over recognize as the one chosen to prepare the way for Jesus.

Shame on me for judging another human being in the park before he even spoke a word. In my heart I judged him, yet in his heart he wanted only to bless me – and that he did.

Ok back to the story one last time. As he walked away I couldn’t help feeling that I was on sacred ground – that I had been reminded of an important truth. And I was grateful. I turned to look at my BFF – yanno – to share this special moment with her and was surprised to see her laughing!

“What’s so funny??”

“Didn’t you hear he what he said when he first came over?”

“No, I didn’t quite catch it, what did he say?”

“He said,” she managed to spit out in spite of her giggling fit, “He said…as he was reaching his hand out to you…It’s ‘Be Nice to Old People Day’!”

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. ~ Hebrews 13:2

Related articles
  • Not Appropriate: Homeless Jesus (simonebrosig.wordpress.com)

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