The Big News And A Trip To Sandy Beach

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Alberta, Calgary, changing seasons, construction, daughters, Diana Schwenk, family, growing up, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, kids, love, Relationships, Sandy Beach, summer, Tourist in my own city, Urban Living, wedding

Lately, when my daughter visits she writes something on my whiteboard and I write something back..

THEY SHOWED UP LATE ON FRIDAY NIGHT.  Michaela had to work that day so she and Josh, Michaela’s boyfriend, didn’t hit the road until dinner time.

Wainwright is a good 5-hour drive to Calgary. They were understandably tired when they finally got here.

THE BIG NEWS

They had big news for me. They were going to tell me together on this visit. But Michaela couldn’t keep it in that long. She called me a few days earlier to tell me.

Even when she was a little girl, Michaela could not wait to share things. If she bought a present or made a gift for me, she could not wait for Christmas, or Mother’s Day, or my birthday to give it to me. It drove her nuts and she would beg me to let her give it to me early.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the big news…

THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

Yup, that’s right, my little girl is getting married. They’ve already picked a date; May 9th.

And while they were here they bought their shoes for the big day.

For Him

For Her

 I’m not even kidding!

The colour scheme for the wedding is BLACK, RED and Silver.

And yes she will be wearing a traditional white dress.

And oh they WILL BE getting red laces for Josh’s shoes.

When I asked about Michaela’s white laces, she said it’s ok because she’s wearing a white dress and would I please wear a red dress…

No problem – heck, can I wear converse too? It’s actually a cute idea!

Here we were talking about their wedding and I was struck with the realization that my little girl wasn’t a little girl anymore.

~

A TRIP TO SANDY BEACH

It was so hot in my little apartment and I suggested we drive to Sandy Beach, a spot Michaela and I used to visit when she was a little girl. I figured we could find a cool, shady spot to relax and talk or read. 

So with blanket and books in hand we headed out.

Stormy sky – Sandy Beach

Sitting on the shore – Sandy Beach

Rocks on a bench. I know, I found it odd too…

The whole park is still under construction because of last year’s flood.

Rafter lazily floating by…

Ominous sky

Well the plan was a good one, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.

We were there for only 30 minutes when the winds picked up and the sky began to ever so lightly drizzle rain on us.

We packed up our gear and headed to My Favourite Ice Cream Shop.

Ahh, such great memories of sitting outside eating ice cream with my little girl…

As soon as we got our ice cream it began to rain hard – so much for sitting on the bench!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Is it hard for you to wait for a specific day to share news or give a gift?

What do you think of wearing converse shoes with a wedding dress?

What’s your favourite ice cream flavor? 

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So…Yesterday, I Went To A Birthday Party…

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#IAmDowntown, #OCanadayyc, Alberta, Birthday, Calgary, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian, celebrate, Diana Schwenk, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, Tourist in my own city, Urban Living

*** WARNING. THIS POST IS A TAD LONGER THAN MY USUAL POSTS. BUT DON’T WORRY, I’VE INCLUDED A LOT OF PHOTOS TO DISTRACT YOU***

One, two, three, almost 4 Canadians…

“Sure,” they said, when I asked to take their picture. He told me he’s been in Calgary since 1992. “Awesome! I’ve been here since 1990,” I said.

Oops, look at me jumping into the middle of a story. Sorry about that!

Yesterday I went downtown to celebrate a birthday. Canada’s birthday, to be exact. She’s 147 and she’s looking ‘not too shabby.’

Anyway I asked this lovely family if I could take their picture because they looked so…

…well they looked so Canadian.

It was a gorgeous  sunny day, about 24c when I headed downtown. I cut through Central Memorial Park and saw this.

One of the war memorials in Central Memorial Park

I’ve always just assumed, by the clothing worn by this horseman, that this statue was in memory of those who served in WWI. Yesterday, I decided to walk up to the plaque and read it.

Would you look at that! It says, “In memory of the brave men of the province of Alberta who in the South African war of 1899-1900 gave their lives for their country’s honour.”

Hey Bulldog! Seems we’re loosely connected outside of the blogosphere 🙂

Bulldog isn’t the only blogger I was reminded of yesterday. This post seems to be following in the magical styles of Andrea who gives clear directions to would-be travelers when she visits other countries; minus the whole clarity thing she employs. And Ann who shares photos that complement the themes of her posts; minus the whole stay on theme bit she uses.

Stephen Avenue, downtown Calgary

Leaving Central Memorial Park, I walked 4 blocks north and turned east onto Stephen Avenue. This is what I saw. Canadians everywhere, in every direction!

It’s not very clear, but if you click on the above picture and squint at the bottom right hand corner, you can almost see the table with cowboy hats for sale. And that’s because starting on Friday we’ll be welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists who will be coming to the 102nd Annual Calgary Stampede and Exhibition!

What’s that I am hearing? I continued east to follow the music and came upon these two guys…

These two guys were rocking the original Spider Man theme – it was amazing!

When they were done playing is the exact moment I spotted that very Canadian family in my first photo. So now that you’re caught up, let’s just move along, shall we? 😀

Olympic Plaza is located at the end of Stephen Avenue

A whole gaggle of Canadians were gathered at Olympic Plaza and asked by the emcee to sing Happy Birthday to Canada.

How bossy!

She also told us to tweet out about the goings on using #IamDowntown or #OCanadayyc so I tweeted this picture out.

I am so compliant.

Hey! Stop laughing!

I didn’t stick around at Olympic Plaza, deciding instead to head north again into the East Village.

Two Canadians on bikes in the East Village

Look at all those Canadian flags on the roof of that building!

5 Canadians heading west on the River Walk

I turned west and stalked walked behind this family. I snapped this picture because I’ve just always thought that photos of people walking away were cool.

I’ve seen family portraits like that, they’re awesome – you should do a family shot like that – seriously!

Why are you still here??

An electronic Canadian flag

Centre Street Bridge, Calgary Alberta

I stopped to shoot this picture because I was remembering that last year at this time, the Bow River was so high that it almost covered that arch. As a matter of fact, the place I stood to take this picture was under water last year. If you click to enlarge the photo you’ll see that there is also vehicle traffic at a lower level below the arch.

Along the River Walk

Oh Look! Another Canadian Family!

They’ve been in Calgary since 1990. They’re originally from Newfoundland, and although I’ve never been to Newfoundland, I have met many Newfoundlanders and they are, by far, in my humble opinion, the friendliest people on earth!

See that little girl in the front? Did you notice her totally awesome over-the-shoulder-hand-bag? Well, when I told the family I was a blogger and asked to take their picture, she immediately insisted on putting my business card in her purse when I offered it. ❤

As I was walking away, I asked myself, “What kind of Nut Job asks complete strangers if she can take their picture?” Oh well…it’s not like I’m going to change that about myself any time soon. 🙂

Just a Canadian girl sitting by the river with her Canadian dad

I took a picture of this Canadian, who was taking a picture of another Canadian

Another flock of Canadians…

Everywhere I went, every direction I looked, every time I turned around, I saw one or more Canadians.

Was there a convention in town or something? 🙂

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

If you’re a Canadian, how did you spend Canada Day?

And if you’re not a Canadian, how did you spend Canada Day?

Calgary’s Lilac Festival 2014

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4th Street SW, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, community, Diana Schwenk, Hump Day Chronicles, Lilac Festival, living in the moment, Static Shift, Tourist in my own city, Urban Living

One of the plusses of being an urbanite is the easy access I have to a host of activities that happen in downtown Calgary in the spring and summer.

On Sunday I walked to the Lilac Festival, an event that I attend every year and why not, it’s only 4 blocks away!

City life can be dangerous as in the case above. Some common criminal made off with the letter R and caused many a person to raise their brow!

Um, I’m not in the market for one of those, but thanks to this sign on the way to the festival, I was totally ‘In The Know’  about its availability.

Yup, that’s right. Spring has sprung in the land of ice and snow.

Ahh… that’s more like it – the smell of those blossoms were intoxicating. I haven’t seen any lilacs yet this season, but this tree sufficed. I am ELATED that spring has found its way to Calgary and we’re almost at the festival!

4th Street is closed to traffic making room for all them pedestrians.

It was a great day weather-wise for this festival, not too hot, not too cold. (18c degrees or as my American friends would say, 65f).  I was able to get my phone out of my front pocket to take pictures when I reached this opening in the crowd.

Just a moment earlier we were all pressed together like sardines in a can and I think somebody touched my bum!

I decided to keep my phone in my hand after this shot.

An awkward shot, but this is the only way I could get close to Los Morenos.

There is something seductive about Latin music. You can’t help but sway to the rhythm.

I was trying to get a candid shot of this space cadet, but he saw me and struck a pose.

So much for my stealth and discretion. I guess I can cross International Spy off my list of ambitions!

The day before, I had made arrangements with my friend Adele, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, to meet on the corner of 4th Street and 23rd Ave at 4:30. Her nephew’s friends, members of the band Static Shift, were scheduled to play.

Brady Mitchell, Isaiah Stonehouse and Keone Friesen make up Static Shift.

Adele’s sister, Ellen told me that they recently opened for Collin James – what a privilege that must have been for them.

And what a wickedly cool band.

They sound like Led Zeppelin with a twist of Blues. 

Their music took me back to when I was 16 and listening to records very much like the original music Static Shift played on Sunday.

Static Shift closed their set with a hauntingly beautiful tune which they dedicated to their previous drummer who tragically died in a horse-related accident. It was very moving and a great way to close The 2014 Lilac Festival.

One thing that I’m sure of is that these guys are gonna make it big!

You must check out their website here! 

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

So what did you do on the weekend?