On Becoming Useful

It's been over a year since I changed jobs and work schedules. I had ambitious plans to use my new "free time" for all kinds of good:

• to volunteer
• to take courses
• to socialize more
• to explore
• to somehow be 'more'

I'm not there yet. There've been some small accomplishments, but I haven't moved the earth. 

In the first months of the new schedule, deep in an Edmonton winter, I organized and deep cleaned many of our cupboards. 

In late winter and early spring I set up indoor grow lights and started a bunch of veg seeds. I spent the spring, summer and fall caring for resulting plants and figuring out what to do with their produce. 

We hosted a few 'Sunday Fundays' in our back yard, social events with a few friends, some good eats and great company.

We've managed to go out, with others, to live music more than a handful of times over the last year. 

I made a photo book for #1 son, a couple years later than I'd planned, to celebrate his first 25 years.

I finally got around to volunteering before Christmas, but just for a couple of hours one week. Not quite the impact I was hoping to make. 

And I managed to sign up for a one day Ladies Learning Code workshop in January. Also not quite the influx of new knowledge I'd envisioned. 

On days like today, where I have a whole day and nothing planned, I feel useless. Restless. Bored. And yet, I could fill the day with laundry, errands, cooking. Or I could turn on my scanner and actually tackle the huge, daunting task of scanning the rest of the paper prints piled high on my credenza. 

I think I'm not there yet because I haven't found the right thing. The thing that I can get all crazy passionate about. That I'd be willing to spend as much time with as I do with photography, gardening and finding new recipes for the Instant Pot. What's THE THING? How will I find it? Where is it hiding?

Is it growing food for the family, as environmentally friendly as I can, going to move the earth? 

Is reducing the amount of stuff we buy, the amount of trash we produce, the amount of food we waste, going to move the earth? 

Is finding a volunteer opportunity helping someone new to Edmonton or Canada feel at home here going to move the earth? Or teaching others to grow their own food? Or teaching kids about the wonder of species in their own backyards? 

Do I need to move the earth, or do I only need to move myself, a little bit forward, a little step each day?

It's time to replace watching Food TV with real world food experiences.

A short while ago I pointed out to my DH that it had been years since we'd been out for a nice dinner that wasn't part of a fundraiser. Sure there had been plenty of burgers and beers at chain restaurants, lots of fun casual meals with great conversation and lots of great, home cooked dinners with friends that love food. But something was missing:  opportunities to get 'all gussied up', to enjoy good conversation,  great food  and great service - where someone wasn't on the hook for the prep or clean up.

There are probably a handful of reasons that we haven't been out. We are firmly entrenched in suburbia, where chain restaurants serving burgers are the norm. The DH is a very good cook, and has oft been heard to say "Mine's better" when reviewing food. It's hard to part with your disposable income when you can do better, for less, in the comfort of your own home. And we've been pretty removed from the restaurant scene here in Edmonton for quite a while - years of uber busy kid sport schedules kept the calendar full and took priority over keeping informed on what's hot and what's not.

But as our calendars have freed up from those sport commitments our social commitments have shrunk, not grown. We find ourselves chilling, day after day, watching HGTV or the Food Channel, drooling over beautiful food or sumptuous vacation properties. Armchair foodies rather than the real thing. Sad and pathetic homebodies! ;-)

I'm not much of a fan of winter and do confess that I would rather be somewhere other than Edmonton for about six months a year. But, since I do live here, I've decided it's incumbent on me to find reasons/people/places/activities here that will help me like Edmonton more, not just hate it less. I  prefer to support local businesses whenever possible, and believe fresh local food is better for all involved.

Enter Avenue Magazine's Edmonton's Best Restaurants 2014, and agreement from friends Richard and Sheri to see if we could try them all! Well, at least the top 5 on the Best Overall list!

First up for us: Tavern 1903. I'd been intrigued by Tavern 1903 since reading Baconhound's review from Sept. 2013. I love it's downtown location in a reclaimed historic building. I firmly believe that if Edmonton is to thrive, we need a vibrant downtown: a vibrant and thriving city needs a thriving core.  I've enjoyed great meals at The Hardware Grill. I was intrigued by the Mozzarella Bar. So Tavern 1903 seemed a logical first choice.

We started slowly, ordering appetizers only, not sure if we'd continue having more of the amazing looking appetizers or move on to entrees. We'd heard great things about the Korean Fried Cauliflower, and also tried the Spinalis Rib Eye Roll, the Hickory Smoked Ribs and the Smoked Fior di Latte Mozzarella. Every single bite was delightful. The KFC was as good as we'd heard. I'm not sure if it or the mozzarella was more of a surprise for me - I'm actually not fond of cauliflower and I don't, usually, eat cheese. But these two dishes were superb. The combination of flavors and textures was both complex and yet subtle - no one flavor overpowered the others. Presentation was impeccable.The appetizers did their job and whetted our interest. We soon ordered entrees.

My friend Richard ordered the shortribs, the DH had the flat iron steak, and Sheri and I decided to share a full sized salad and - get this - Chicken and Waffles! I've heard tell of chicken and waffles but have never run across them on a menu. Curiosity got the best of me! The salad was crunchy and fresh, brilliantly dressed with the right amount of blue cheese and yummy bacon. And the chicken and waffles were another unexpected big win. Succulent chicken, crispy coating, savory waffle and a slightly sweet sauce. YUM.

We finished the meal with Jack Daniels Chocolate Cake and Maple-Bacon Cider Donuts. Now, I'm a chocoholic - never met a chocolate anything that I didn't love. And this cake was no exception. It was a beautiful rich chocolate delectation. BUT those donuts - oh my - those donuts might be the best dessert I've ever, ever had. Ever.

Service was impeccable. The food was beautifully presented. Portion sizes are generous. Pricing reasonable.

Overall, Tavern 1903 may be the best dining experience I've had in the last several years, locally and when travelling. I think one of the biggest indicators of how good it was was that the 'chef's' at the table quickly quit thinking about whether they could make the dish, and simply enjoyed them. It's been a while since we've still been talking about how good the meal was the next day!

Critter Cam

When we first moved out here, deer and coyotes and other critters were a common sight. Sadly, that isn't the case any longer - after all the field full of food is now paved. But, despite all of the construction in (destruction of) the farm fields around us, there continues to be wildlife activity in our yard.

I'd seen those wonderful time lapse productions that Parks Canada puts together from trail cameras in the mountain parks, as well as someones web cam over a bird nest, and figured I should do the same thing! My 2011 Christmas gift from the dh was a Moultrie Trail Camera, and I've been having fun with it ever since. Now that Spike has annihilated one of the two platform bird feeders, I think I've finally found the perfect spot for it, with a view of the remaining feeder and much of the yard.

I'll be updating this gallery over the winter months, with new images of the nightly activities out here. Spike is a regular, making an almost daily (nightly) appearance. He climbs into the feeder after dark, leaves at or near sunrise, and spends his days either under the deck or in a box in the back of our shed!

Last night we also had at least one visit by a coyote.

but judging by how much barking and guarding Kelso did, there were more. I've seen deer tracks this year as well, but not close to the house yet. The deer need about a foot of snow under the feeder in order to be able to eat out of it ;-)