Celebrating winter, friendships, and birthdays

I have been back in Edmonton about 6 weeks now, and have managed to spend three weekends on out of town excursions with friends. 

I posted an item earlier about my weekend to Jasper with Lisa and Louie.  It seems the lure of the mountains was strong enough to draw me back for another weekend at the Jasper Park Lodge -- this time with Lorraine and Bin, with whom I celebrated Bin's birthday, my birthday, and the Easter long weekend.

I also caught up with Roxanne, Diane, and Andrea on a girls' spa weekend escape to Red Deer, where we stayed at a guest ranch and celebrated Roxy's milestone birthday (I won't say which one !). 

Here is some evidence of our shenanigans !




Birthday girl stoking the fire.

Flannel pjs, a blazing fire, a hot beverage, and the company of giggly friends
-- what a way to spend a wintery weekend!

Karaoke Queens.
I got high score with Karma Chameleon. 
The deer did pretty well, too.

Sparkly evidence of our trip to the spa !



We woke up the next morning to find beautiful horses staring through our kitchen window. 
Our hosts were away at Cowboy Church.  Uh huh - there is actually a church for cowboys !

Saying hello to our new neigh-bours.



 






The artist at work ! - Painting Easter Eggs at Jasper Park Lodge.

Was it weird that we were the only people there without kids, and managed to make the most mess ? Heck, no ! 
Do you like my earth-after-global-warming egg ?

Lorraine's tulip egg.

Exploring the frozen floor of Maligne Canyon.



Other worldly !



Entering an ice cave, beneath a frozen waterfall.  How cool is that ?!

Looking out from inside the ice cave.

Yup - they actually climbed this.

A sign that spring is on the way.



Beautiful Lac Beauvert.



Fancy birthday dinner.

Fine food, wine, and friends -- What more could a girl want on her birthday ?

Cape Town: Wine and More Wine

While in Cape Town, Lorraine and I joined a day tour to the Stellenbosch vineyards.  I think we sampled between 30-35 wines (I lost count).  South Africa is known from its Pinotage, but I was partial to the ports. Along with the wines, we sampled local cheeses, chocolate, and cuisine.  Yummy !
At one particularly sophisticated vineyard, they piped baroque music to the vines to promote their growth.  Talk about cultured grapes !
All in all, a fine day was had by all !

Our merry crew ! 

This was at a vineyard in the Constantia region.  Oh, did I not mention that we toured not one, but two, wine regions?

Canadian Dinner, 2012

My colleague, Bonolo, invited me to cook a 'Canadian' meal for her friends and family. I mulled over this prospect for a couple of weeks, as the date was shifted to accommodate more guests, and consulted with friends and family over Facebook to determine what would constitute a 'Canadian' meal.

If I were at home, I would serve visitors from overseas something like bison meat, or smoked salmon -- items that are not found here.  If  I were serving dinner to my fellow Canadian friends, it would likely be take-out sushi or a pre-cooked lasagne from M&Ms (just being honest, guys) -- again, not options here (and not what one would typically consider to be 'Canadian').

So, what constitutes a 'Canadian' meal in a foreign land ?

Ready to be served...(it's dark because the power is out)

The Menu

Green Salad                             (because Canadians like multiple courses?)

Shepherd's Pie                         (to represent the English/Irish tradition, Alberta beef, 

                                                  and PEI potatoes)

Chicken curry and rice            (to represent more of Canada's multi-cultural heritage)

Macaroni and Cheese             (in tribute to Canadian cheddar cheese... and because 

                                                 I honestly didn't know how many people I was cooking for, 

                                                 if I had enough food, 

                                                 and if there would be kids present who would like mac'n cheese 

                                                 as much as I did as a kid -- and still do);

and for dessert, 

Apple cobbler, served with ice cream and maple syrup 

                                              (apples, to represent a Canadian fall harvest 

                                               -- if it was fall in Canada like it is here --

                                              and the ice cream as a vehicle to serve the maple syrup.)

Self-serve, buffet style.  That's Bonolo's home made ginger beer in the jugs.

 The Dinner

Bonolo picked me up at 4:00 pm so I could get things ready before her guests arrived.  They were expected to arrive by 5:00 pm.  Dinner got off to a bit of a late start as some guests were late arriving and a power failure slowed the heating time.  Once the evening got underway with formal welcomes and introductions, we were a table of 8 -- three married couples (all expecting a second or third child), another single colleague, Tebogo, and myself.  Three little kids (one dressed as spider man) and their aunties / nannies milled about on the periphery, but didn't join us at the table.  

Waiting for the others to arrive, by candle light (black out).  Do you like the centre piece ?

The Verdict

Mixed reviews.  Diners commented that the Shepherd's Pie constituted a full, balanced meal, on its own; no comments on the curry and rice, but it was all eaten; there was a lot of leftover macaroni (kids had already been fed, and it had dried out while being reheated); I was asked for my apple cobbler recipe; and people seemed to really enjoy the maple syrup.

What's next on the 'Eat Like a Canuck' menu ?  Canadian brunch - with Dad's pancake recipe and more fresh maple syrup, recently delivered by a fellow volunteer.    
Where ?  My beautiful new house, with indoor and outdoor dining areas.  
When ?  Once my new house-mate has had a chance to settle in.   
For Whom ?  For everyone who has been helpful to me here -- the list is growing !
Why ? Because entertaining is fun -- even in the dark !

Cake

I baked a cake.

Melissa, one of the WUSC/Uniterra field staff, and a valued support to me here, gave me the starter batter for a Herman Friendship Cake. If you have heard of that before, then you will know that it is yeast-based, and has to be fed every few days until it is ready for you to bake. I fed it sugar, milk, and flour at day 5, and once again, at day 10. I then took 3 cups from the mixture -- 2 to pass and 1 to keep -- and added my own special ingredients to the remaining mixture. The recipe called for bananas and coconut. I didn't have bananas and coconut, so I substituted pineapple and chopped nuts.

I shared the cake with my housemates and work colleagues -- it would have been a waste to have kept it all to myself. I then passed on the 2 portions of batter to Rebeccah and Bonolo from my office.

Friendship cake is a bit like knowledge and skills transfer. You are given the raw ingredients (information or a skill). You add to it, and nurture it, over time. If you don't, it becomes stagnant and dies. Then, you add your own flavorings (i.e., incorporate your own perspective and experiences), based on your resources at hand. You produce something that can be shared with others. Not only can you share the finished product, but you can also pass on the starter batter and recipe (i.e., techniques and tools) for others to adapt for their own purposes, and pass on, in turn.

One thing I like about WUSC/Uniterra's approach to capacity building is that there is an expectation that any training provided to us or our partner organizations is applied and shared. Not hoarded. Not set aside on the shelf. But shared with and passed on to others. Like Friendship Cake.

I know that may be a simplistic way to explain knowledge transfer and capacity building, but that's what I was thinking about, as I baked a cake.

Settling In

Traditional lunch with WUSC staff and fellow newly arrived volunteer. Yummy selection of oxtail stew or seswaa (pounded beef), served with morogo (stewed greens, tomatoes and onions) with peanut sauce and papa (cornmeal or sorghum mash).

The WUSC Field staff have been a wonderful support throughout my orientation process.