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Snowbird of Paradise

Living and Learning in Alberta and California

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Category: Living and Learning

January 22, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Reading Thrillers During A Pandemic

Today I have three books ready to give away and before I do that I thought I would write a short review of each of them. Where I live, the libraries are currently closed as are most retail stores, but thankfully Indigo (aka Coles, aka Chapters) bookstore is available online. I sometimes also get books […]

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January 19, 2021January 19, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

From Riches to Rags

There are a lot of workers in Alberta who are without jobs right now. Aside from the cutbacks due to Covid-19, the resource industries are in decline. In January 2017 there were 297 active drilling rigs but by June 2020 there were only 11. (Government of Alberta) That number has gone up slightly since then, […]

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January 10, 2021January 9, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Hawrelak Park, Edmonton

Edmonton has lots of great parks and yesterday I visited one that is a popular site for festivals, walks, skiing, skating, and picnics. Hawrelak Park has hosted ice castles, Shakespeare festivals, Heritage Days, and the International Food Festival. It is named for a popular Mayor; William Hawrelak who was quite a character. He was mayor […]

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January 8, 2021January 8, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

What’s In Your Wallet?

Just suppose for a moment that you want to find out the price of a new car. Not a loan for a car; just a car, outright. But, when you ask, the dealership does not give you a dollar amount. Instead, they ask you first to tell them how much money you have saved, how […]

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December 27, 2020December 27, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Moonlight Becomes You

The moon seemed larger and brighter than usual this evening. Here are a few pictures and a little Bing Crosby.

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December 19, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

A Good Day For A Walk

After several days of bitterly cold weather, today was a balmy 4 C (39F). The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the North Saskatchewan River was white. It was a perfect day for a walk, and I took lots of pictures. Here are some of them.

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December 17, 2020December 16, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Crime and Consent

Everywhere we go in any city in the western world, we are being video-recorded. In stores, outside banks, at intersections, and anywhere near a doorbell camera or security camera. We have become so used to it that we don’t even think about it any more. Yesterday, though, I was given a reason to think about […]

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December 12, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Compromise, Sometimes

There is a word in the English language that is a kind of verbal Get Out Of Jail Free card. It is also quite delicious to say out loud. The word is ‘notwithstanding‘. It means ‘in spite of’ and is used when you want to recognize that something can be true regardless of the fact […]

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November 29, 2020November 27, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Amazing New Boots!!

The snow, ice, and cold weather have kept me indoors for a few weeks, so I started looking online for boots that would make walking safer. I have had a couple of bad falls, so I have become nervous about walking on sidewalks, especially since not everyone clears away the snow from in front of […]

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November 24, 2020November 23, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

They Meant Well

They meant well, but sometimes meaning well does not mean well-being. I was presented this week with two contradictory images. One was of a sculpture representing the work done by Catholic nuns in Alberta. It is called Service Through Christ and is by the artist Herman Poulin. The press release from Covenant Health says: “The […]

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November 20, 2020November 19, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Red Crouching Figures

A fascinating art work that appeared recently in Edmonton is called The Meeting by the artist Wang Shugang. It is made up of seven crouching figures in a circle. An eighth figure is placed alone across the street from The Meeting. At one time, one of these figures was holding a circular mirror but it […]

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November 13, 2020November 12, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Further Adventures in Cannabinoids

Yesterday, I visited a local cannabis dispensary in order to buy some CBD cream because cold weather has made the joints in my fingers very stiff and a little painful. I have osteoarthritis in my hands and it has become progressively more of a nuisance over the years. So, when I heard that someone I […]

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November 12, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Walking Figures

A new art installation has appeared less than a block from my home. It is called Walking Figures and it is by the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. I saw a television news item about the installation and one of the comments that stood out for me was that the figures represent our shared humanity and […]

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November 9, 2020November 9, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Killing Thyme

So, how are you filling your days now that it is winter and the election is over? Me, I’m just killing thyme. (Ba-dum-tss!) Before we had a huge snowfall and the temperature dropped to minus double digits, I managed to take the herbs out of our garden and put them in pots. My plan was […]

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November 7, 2020November 7, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Let’s Talk About Talk Radio

Like most people, I’ve been watching the US election results trickle in over the last few days. It is a very close competition in some states as I write this, and the media exaggerates this by referring to it as a race. So, it is exciting both because of the significance of the vote and […]

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November 5, 2020November 5, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Signs Of The Times

Here are a few photos of miscellaneous images in my world this week.

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October 29, 2020October 28, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Scary Stuff

Some of my neighbours have really scary stuff in front of their houses. Most of it has to do with Hallowe’en. But then there is this. What is it? And, more importantly, what the flaming heck is it doing in my residential neighbourhood? The canoe and the propane tanks make me think it is someone’s […]

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October 28, 2020October 27, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Wordless Wednesday 28 October 2020

October 26, 2020October 25, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Which Media Can You Trust?

Information is coming at us from all sides. We get news from traditional media, and news from non-traditional media. We get tidbits of stories from our friends and family in person, and we get them from strangers on Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/QAnon. Some sources clearly have a bias, some claim to have no bias, and some have a […]

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October 25, 2020October 25, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Living In Between

As we passed this sculpture today, I asked my son to guess what it was called. He said “Berlin,” which I thought was both funny and appropriate. It turns out, the sculpture is called Living In Between and it is the work of Agnieszka Koziarz. As we were looking at it, I read aloud the […]

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I am a snowbird who travels south for the winter. When I get there I have a bird of paradise plant on my patio.

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Recent Posts

  • Reading Thrillers During A Pandemic
  • From Riches to Rags
  • Rundle Park IceWay
  • Obscuring The Message
  • Wordless Wednesday 13 January 2021
  • Dwile flonking: another strange English tradition — Notes from the U.K.
  • Hawrelak Park, Edmonton
  • Engaging With Public Art
  • What’s In Your Wallet?
  • Capilano Park in Winter
  • Parts Of Me Leak Out
  • Wordless Wednesday 30 December 2020
  • Moonlight Becomes You
  • A Good Day For A Walk
  • Crime and Consent
  • Compromise, Sometimes
  • Sorry, Not Sorry
  • Rethinking My Rethinking
  • Wordless Wednesday 9 December 2020
  • Wordless Wednesday 2 December 2020

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