Derek’s Six Best Breakfast Hot-Spots
“Everyone runs around trying to find a place where they still serve breakfast because eating breakfast, even if it's 5 o'clock in the afternoon, is a sign that the day has just begun and good things can still happen. Having lunch is like throwing in the towel.”Jonathan Goldstein, Lenny Bruce is Dead I think one of my
Derek’s Cross-country Skiing and Snowshoeing Antics
As far as low-impact, family friendly outdoor winter activities are concerned, there are few that are as accessible while potentially also exhilarating as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. These two activities can be as benign or as extreme as you want them to be. Based on my previous blog post about outdoor winter activities you will
Must-See Calgary: “I have half a day to explore”
Where should I go and what should I see? If you find yourself with half a day at your disposal to discover Calgary, I can provide you with a travel pack full of destinations that you can check off your proverbial to-see list. While there is a lot to see and experience in the outlying neighbourhoods,
Putting the “Public” back into “Public Library”
A focus on the City of Calgary’s Public Library Rejuvenation Projects If you get the opportunity to visit Calgary’s new Central Library you’ll soon dispel any of those dated, stereotypical notions that libraries, themselves, should be archived! The Calgary Public Library is doing a phenomenal job to reinvent itself and attract the public interest. You need only
Derek’s go-to Calgary coffee hide-outs
Sometimes we all need that little place of retreat. Whether to work remotely, find comfort in a warm beverage and a freshly baked indulgence, or just to escape for a brief period from the busyness of our daily routine and demands. While our winter conditions here in Canada don’t provide opportunity to do this outdoors
Are there boundaries to urban wildlife?
A perspective on Coyotes in Calgary Communities Christa, my wife, loves city wildlife. As a Grade 3 teacher she soaks up any opportunity to engage and share stories with her hungry bunch of learners about the natural inhabitants surrounding us. Where do they live? What is their lifecycle? What do they eat? What are their habits?
Derek’s Dismal Winter Pastime Misfortunes
We’ve heard the adage “If you build it, they will come”. Might the same principle apply to other things, like “if you speak it, it will happen”? The winter of 2017/8 was a particularly cold one in Calgary, if my memory serves me right. We saw few – if any – Chinooks. These “warm” mountain winds traditionally blow
Derek’s 2018 Favourite Wall Art and Graffiti in Downtown Calgary
During a return visit to South Africa in 2016 we were treated to a graffiti tour in the Braamfontein area near Downtown Johannesburg by a dear friend. This 90-minute walking tour, conducted by a recognized expert and student of graffiti, was a unique and memorable experience. She pointed out the nuances and distinctive elements of
Derek’s Coffee Bean Dilemma: to grind or to mill
Tea was our go-to hot drink of choice in my childhood years growing up in South Africa in the 70’s and 80’s. In those days the heated discussions were always between those connoisseurs who were authentic loose-leaf tea drinkers versus the convenient tea bag users. The latter were considered to be the lesser mortals. Let’s
Derek’s 2018 Asian Food Favourites in Calgary’s Northeast
Every now and again our westernised palates just need a change from our traditional diet. Calgary is such a diverse melting pot of varied nationalities that we are far from starved for access to great “foreign food”. Here is our 2018 high-five list of our favourite Asian food restaurant destinations in Calgary’s northeast quadrant
