Halloween In Quarantine

Disclaimer: Ok, so we aren't really in Quarantine at the moment or even doing extreme self-isolation, but it rhymes better with Halloween than "pandemic" or "covid" does.

Happy Halloween!

Jason and I on Oct 31, 2020

Selfie taken with Jason's Phone

I think this is the first year at Casa Verde that we haven't given out candy! We normally get between 50 and 100 trick-or-treaters, it is hard to keep track because Jason messes with my system of counting (he gives more than one piece of candy, and eats it while handing out, so who knows what our real numbers are.) This year we here highly discouraged from doing the traditional Halloween celebration in Toronto because we are a 'hot zone' with substantial increase in Covid cases recently. So our blinds were pulled, and lights turned off, super sad!

So, why are we dressed up this year? Well, we did a on-video, in-costume, mini-raid (20 instead of 40 players) on WoW. Our costumes were put together about 15 minutes before it started, since I do still have a dress up box with various bits and pieces; which is now also home to Jason's cowboy hat I made him buy for the Calgary Stampede.

There was still fun for kids, I am part of a local neighbourhood parents group on Facebook and a women in the area arranged for a physically distanced parade, scavenger hunt (we were an 'eye ball house' check out photo), and ghost message game in a nearby park. All the kids in the parade got a treat bag (I sent her a bit of money towards making them). 

The activity sheets were posted on Facebook and we printed off the one for the park to try it out. It was quite the challenge! Jason and I spent over an hour wandering around the park to do it, we had to find 100 little ghosts and then colour in squares on a grid to learn the message. We found 95 of them and discovered that the answer to "What does a ghost say?" is "Boo!" I took a picture of Jason working on it, he took over the colouring part right away, and my job was to hold the pencil crayons. It might have been designed for kids, but I had a great time!

JBR - Beer Was Beer, Fish Was Fish

Beer: Lakeside Kolsh, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co, Kenora 

Name: Lakeside is one of Kenora’s first neighbourhoods with many of its homes situated on the shores of Lake of the Woods, spattered with small beaches, boathouses & docks. 

Details: Brewed using an old-world technique which produces a crisp, clean ale with lager characteristics. It is a delicate & subtle beer with a hint of malt & fruit in the nose. 

Fancy Numbers: 5% ABV, 6 IBU, 3 SRM

Date Tried: Thursday October 22, 2020 

Location: The Cornerstone Restaurant, Kenora, Ontario 

Meal: Good dinner but too much food! I had the local fish, Lake of the Woods Walleye - it tasted like fish.
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Not great, just like any other beer. Tastes a bit like Molson, which is not a compliment" 

Editor's note: Huge glass though, he was pretty tipsy by the end of it (I drove us back to the hotel after.)

Avery And Maya

We did not get to see my brother and his family for long enough - the trouble with driving is that it takes so long to get out to Alberta (and so long to get back) that is doesn't leave much time for actually visiting. The kids were awesome and hilarious, I can't believe we haven't seen them since Palm Springs this past November. Here is my favourite quote from this visit...

Avery: Maya hates me.
Me: No, that can't be true. You're her brother, she loves you.

Avery: Uh-uh, she doesn't like me.

Maya: I like you!

Avery: No, Maya wouldn't like me if I ate her.

Me: Umm, I guess that is true?

Maya: Yeah, if Avery eats me, I will kill him.

Jason: confused I don't think you can kill him if he has eaten you.

Me: confused that Jason is trying to add logic into any of this

JBR - Fahr Beer Pilsner

Beer: Pils, Fahr Beer, Turner Valley, Alberta

Details: This Black Forrest style Pilsner is unique to North America. Fuller bodied with less hop and bitterness, this beer stands out amongst other Northern German Pilsners more commonly found in Canada. This beer is filtered for clarity, has 5.0% alc./vol. and has a crisp finish. The Pils maintains flavours of crackers, floral notes, and a slight lingering bitterness to cut through the initial sweetness of the malt used. 

Awards: 2020 World Beer Awards Canada Gold Winner for Best Classic Pilsener Style Lager Beer

Recommended By: Sutik a few days earlier, he told us it was a really good microbrewery

Date Tried: Sunday October 18, 2020 

Location: Sky Bistro, on the summit of Sulphur Mountain, at the top of the Banff Gondola

Meal: A light dinner that was really delicious - Jason had the gnocchi and I had a mushroom and asparagus dish.
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Very clean, crisp, high quality. You can taste the German in it." 

Why it tasted German: The founder of Fahr Beer is Jochen Fahr, who was born and raised in Ebringen, Germany. The brewery also follows Reinheitsgebot, the “German Purity Law.” 

Editor's note: Was hoping a drink would help Jason on the gondola decent, he really isn't a fan of heights - it didn't, I think he was even worse going down than up. 

JBR - Lager With A Scary Story

Beer: Ghost Bride 

Type: Lager

Date Tried: Saturday October 17, 2020 

Location: Vermillion Room, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel

Meal: An amazing steak dinner!
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "I don't know, fine." 

Another Custom Brew: This beer was also a limited edition made specifically for the hotel by Big Rock Brewery.
Editor's note: We heard the story last night during the Ghost Tour of the hotel.

JBR - But It Was Special

Beer: Banff Spring Lager, Big Rock Brewery, Calgary, Alberta
Date Tried: Friday October 16, 2020 during the bar's 'Rush Hour' so it was only $6, I ordered it for him while he was in the washroom
Location: Rundle Lounge, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Nothing special." 

Why It Was Special: Even though Big Rock now has a bottle shop and dining hall in Liberty Village, Toronto and does brewing out of Vancouver and Etobicoke, as well as, Calgary - this beer was obviously a limited edition made specifically for the hotel.
Editor's note: My drink came in a monkey! A 'zero proof' cocktail that was very tasty.

RTW - Quick, Get Through Manitoba

RTW - Big drive out west from Toronto to Calgary/Banff/Edmonton and back. Covid means no flying or cutting through the USA, so Jason and I are taking the car and doing a road trip!

Date: Monday Oct 12, 2020 (Thanksgiving Day)

Starting Location: Cabin just north of Kenora

Ending Location: Basement Bachelor Apartment in Regina, Saskatchewan

Distance Driven: 791 km

Scenery: Farms, fairly flat, occasional river valley.

Animals: Tons of bald eagles, magpies, young coyote, big bunnies

Soundtrack: In the morning Peggy 99.1 (Winnipeg's Favourites) and then in the afternoon 96.1 Bob FM (80's...90's...and Whatever! out of Brandon, Manitoba)

Notes: We tried to limit our stops in Manitoba because they have stricter Covid rules than the rest of the western provinces, however we did need to get gas once. (And I peed on many country side roads.) I packed us a lunch, made sandwiches, roast beef for Jason and bologna with cheese singles for me. The last couple of nights we have been making Hello Fresh meals but are finished them now - for it was Kraft Dinner in the Airbnb in Regina.

RTW - Still In Ontario

RTW - Big drive out west from Toronto to Calgary/Banff/Edmonton and back. Covid means no flying or cutting through the USA, so Jason and I are taking the car and doing a road trip!

Date: Sunday Oct 11, 2020

Starting Location: Catfish Lake, near Wawa

Ending Location: Cabin just north of Kenora

Distance Driven: 976 km

Scenery: Big hills, farm land, lots of trees, Canadian shield rock, lakes.

Animals: Beautiful red fox, a bald eagle, deer, more fields of cows and such.

Soundtrack: In the morning a burnt CD with Neil Young's Harvest album on it, in the afternoon it was a Santana CD (a purchased one, he collaborated with a lot of different people.) Borrowed music from my Dad's old collection when I last visited my Mom.

Notes: It takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to get out of Ontario! Longest scheduled driving day, over 10 hours on the road. Passed a lot of nice waterfalls that we hope to stop and see on our way back. A time changed part way through helped us arrive at our Airbnb while it was still light out, but barely. Got to spend some time down at the water's edge before cooking dinner and heading to bed.

RTW - Ferry Ride!

 RTW - Big drive out west from Toronto to Calgary/Banff/Edmonton and back. Covid means no flying or cutting through the USA, so Jason and I are taking the car and doing a road trip!

Date: Saturday Oct 10, 2020

Starting Location: Jason's Parents

Ending Location: Catfish Lake, near Wawa

Distance Driven: 712 km

Scenery: Water, short trees, lakes, and large hills past Sault Ste Maire

Animals: A lot of agriculture - fields of cows, some with horses and occasionally sheep.

Soundtrack: Local radio stations, really local.

Notes: We took the Chi-Cheemaun, a big car ferry that goes from Tobermory at the top of the Bruce Peninsula, to Manitoulin Island, which is the world's largest freshwater island. I took this ferry once before with my family (I think in the opposite direction) and it has been the only time I have ever been motion sick, I remember being very very ill. Was fine this time though (and on any other ferry I have taken, which by now has been a lot.) The coolest part of the Chi-Cheemaun was definitely the car part, besides that it was a pretty normal ferry ride. You can see in the photo that the bow is hinged and lifted up so that we can drink into the hull area to park. We had to be there really early and it took up most of the morning. The Fall colours are beautiful!!

RTW - And So It Begins

 RTW - Big drive out west from Toronto to Calgary/Banff/Edmonton and back. Covid means no flying or cutting through the USA, so Jason and I are taking the car and doing a road trip!

Date: Friday Oct 9, 2020

Starting Location: Home, Toronto

End: Jason's Parents, near Wiarton, Ontario

Starting Odometer: 285,665

Distance Travelled: 214 km

Scenery: Dark

Animals: Clancy, the lovely doodle and Biscuit, the "happy mop" according to Jason.

Notes: We did a good job of packing so were able to be on the road soon after Jason finished work. We picked up prunes and sour keys from Kristen and Noah (they got them for us from Costco) and drove north to Jason's parents, we noticed that by 7pm it was starting to get dark.