Saskatoon... part deux!

There was an actual reason for us to visit Saskatoon last weekend - although the free dinner was almost worth the trip on it's own. Saskatoon was hosting a water sports festival called Wake-Ride, and as part of the festival bands were booked to play during the evening hours. On Friday night Foam Lake (a fantastic band from Saskatoon, and our new best friends http://foamlakeband.com/), The Dudes and Broken Social Scene played. A pretty great line-up, and well worth the 5 hour drive.

The show was very intimate (to say the least) so the view was good from everywhere, but our new best friends from Foam Lake invited us to watch Broken Social Scene from back stage. It was pretty amazing to see such a great band play from such close range. That, the dragonflies and the friendly people of Saskatoon made it a perfect night.

Saskatoon... Welcome to the Promised Land!

My dear husband and I took a quick trip the Saskatoon this past weekend. This was my first visit to Saskatoon and I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the city is. Rows and rows of well-kept historic houses, a lovely downtown located beside an even more lovely river valley, capped off with a miniature Whyte Ave-type street called Broadway.

One of the first things I noticed when we arrived was Saskatoon's lack of blood sucking mosquitos. After weeks of being eaten alive in Edmonton it came as a welcome reprieve - but I couldn't understand how Saskatoon had been spared from the little vampires. Until the moment when I looked to the sky and saw an army of giant blue dragonflies - zipping around and eating all the mosquitos! It was fantastic! I started asking local people where all their dragonflies came from and I was told by one person that the City of Saskatoon actually farms dragonflies for the purpose of mosquito control. What? Really? Brilliant! It's so smart, so simple and so eco-friendly. Once I confirm this as truth I will be in contact with my own municipality and urge them to do the same.

I've strayed from my original point though. On Broadway there is a restaurant / pub called Lydia's. We went in hoping for a burger and a beer and what we got was a beer that came with a FREE burger and fries. Crazy! No mosquitos AND a free dinner? Saskatoon - I love you!

A Fond Farewell... Living Vicariously

Will and Kate left Canada earlier today after spending over a week in our fair land, and three of those days in our very province! While they were in Alberta I could feel their Royal presence, and how I longed to meet them. What would I say? How about, "It's so lovely to have you visit, I really hope you have enjoyed your stay." Or maybe something more like "I love your wardrobe Kate, and if I wasn't already married I would buy a copy of your wedding dress."

Anyway, that's not the real story. The real story is that while I was not lucky enough to enjoy a Royal encounter myself, my husband was. It happened yesterday at the airport in Calgary. While he was there he got wind that the Royals would soon be landing after their private day spent in the mountains. With some stealthy maneuvering (how he got past security will not be revealed here) he was able to position himself in the same area as the news reporters and cameras. From there he had the perfect view of Will and Kate as their helicopter landed and they set about their meet-and-greets with the various dignitaries who were on hand. Like everyone else my dear husband was watching with intrigue mixed with apprehension wondering if Kate's lightweight yellow skirt would be swept by the wind and reveal her Royal undies.

Then, as their limo turned to whisk them away to their next Royal engagement it happened. In a short, yet meaningful moment my husband caught Kate's eye through the window of the limo and gave her a smile and a wave, which was then returned by Her Royal Highness. Sigh. At least I can live vicariously through him!

There she is, sending her beautiful smile and a wave to my dear husband.

Art House Co-op sketchbook

I finally got the email from the Art House Co-op yesterday - my sketchbook has been scanned! I worked on my sketchbook until the very last day I could, so I didn't have time to scan my drawings before sending them away. Since then my little sketchbook has been touring the States - it was in San Fransisco in June and is heading to Chicago in July. I know this sounds nerdy- but I think people have maybe even been looking at my book - because the cover looks like it's had wear. Could the wear have been caused by people sliding my book off the shelf?? Maybe! Either that or the book that sits in front of mine is popular keeps getting pulled off the shelf, scuffing the cover of mine in the process. Ha! Ha!

I've been wanting to do more image transfers on my pottery, but haven't been able to because I haven't had my drawings - until now. Yay! Here's the link to my Art House Co-op profile and from there you can view the entire sketchbook:

http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/deniseahlefeldt/artwork