On October 9 we celebrated Sukkōt, a biblical feast commemorating the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness. My father and his wife have been observing what are traditionally Jewish holy days for a few years now. They were visiting us in Calgary when the Feast of Tabernacles began so my father rigged up a … [Read more…]
Flew into Victoria Int’l on Friday night after a delayed connection in Vancouver due to fog. The flight from Van was only 13 minutes. The delay was over an hour. I walked off the plane into a light mist and then to the bus stop where the bus rolls by once per hour. I had … [Read more…]
It’s been 1 year since I boarded a plane to visit two African countries and a community development organization in each one. Since that time, I’ve really let the ideas and realities of what is happening in these successful enterprises percolate. Here are the thoughts that have persisted. SOUTH AFRICA My first stop was Bhekulwandle, … [Read more…]
On February 4, almost 20 man scouts converged on Rob’s house and we sampled 17 very diverse beers, ales, porters, lagers, stouts, wits and bocks. Some of the guys were completely blown away by the strong bitter tastes of the IPAs. Others were impressed with the strong flavours of porter and stout. Most were pleased … [Read more…]
Despite my assertion that I didn’t have to be treated like a tourist, Carl decided that I must experience an evening in Durban – I think he just wanted an excuse to show off this super gorgeous city and get out for an evening. For this, I am very grateful. We headed out after 7 … [Read more…]
Just enjoying a little ostrich jerkey – product of South Africa – to supplement my lunch today in Bhekulwandle. Ingredients: raw ostrich meat, spices (salt, irradiated spices: nutmeg, black pepper, cloves), sugar, yeast extract, preservative: potassium sorbate, vinegar (with caramel colorant).
Now becoming a tradition, the Robiroost hosted a beer tasting as a New Years Eve party. It has been and is such an event that there seems to always be a contingent of attendees who don’t even like/drink beer. Happy to have them there. Everyone attending came from our Dragonfly Cohousing circle except a contingency … [Read more…]
Zaakistan reader and commenter Danny B, husband of the prolific blogging sensation Aimee at Simple Bites and Under the High Chair (how’s that for a qualifier Danny?), happened to be in Calgary for a conference and as I had promised months before, I organized a social event around tasting kindly beer. Amber, Jae, Anne, Heather, … [Read more…]
Tamer is a very good friend to have. I knew him briefly in Montreal and was pleased to discover that he and his family now lived local to us in Calgary. One of the things he has invited our family to has been lamb roastings. As he is from Egypt, one way of celebrating his … [Read more…]
Not realizing that the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company was in Squamish, I’ve actually missed sampling at the source several times before last summer. But, then I was informed… I visited the brewpub with my wife and sister on the first night of our visit to the painfully scenic town of Squamish. I got … [Read more…]