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. 

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.

Going To Be A Long Month

The following notice arrived in my email, outlining a 12-week shelter-in-place plan. I am having a hard time considering this isolation lasting for the month of April, let alone longer...

The City of Toronto has implemented the following measures that will be in effect for up to 12 weeks:
-- All individuals with COVID-19 are ordered by the Medical Officer of Health to stay home, under the Health Protection and Promotion Act for 14 days
-- All individuals who have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 are also ordered to stay home by the Medical Officer of Health for 14 days
-- Anyone who is not ill or has not travelled, is strongly directed to stay home except for the following reasons:
- accessing healthcare or medication
- shop for groceries once per week
- walk their dogs and/or get daily exercise while maintaining physical distancing
-- People returning from international travel must stay home, already a federal order
-- Anyone over the age of 70, as the province announced this week, is strongly encouraged to stay home as much as possible
-- Only essential businesses remain open, and those businesses maximize physical distancing and infection prevention and control practices, and limit in-person access to those businesses, as much as possible

Angry With Panic Buying

So, the coronavirus has been causing general worry and panic across the world lately. With good reason, at the moment Canada has a bit less then 150 cases, with one death. Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the situation as a pandemic stating that, "There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives."

However, the response by the general public has been a bit frustrating. People are rushing to stores to stockpile supplies, most commonly water and toilet paper. This was partially magnified by officials urging Canadians to have supplies to stay indoors under self-quarantine for 2-weeks. The issue is that, people often don't know how much they need to get through that time period so overbuy to ensure they are covered.

Buying of water is strange because there is no threat to our water supply, it is safe and will be ongoing. However, a few times the instructions stated that households should have water for 2-weeks as well. I think in this case it is for places that don't have drinking water in their taps (certain buildings or communities sadly have to purchase potable water.) And for those households they should have enough on hand to make sure they don't need to go get more mid-way through a 2-week self-quarantine.

The clearing out of toilet paper has been confusing me. Then I came across an article today (lots actually, but I liked the one from CNBC the best) that explained it is a mental thing, illogical in general but psychologically makes sense.

“Fear is contagious,” says Steven Taylor, a professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and author of the Psychology of Pandemics. “We pick up cues by looking to other people—it’s how stampedes happen in stadiums—so if you’re in a shopping centre and you see some people around you acting in a frightened way and stocking up, that’s going to have a fear contagion effect that causes other people to start over-purchasing.” - Maclean's article

So everyone doing it is leading everyone to do it. And when we are stressed and scared our reasoning skills are weaker. We also shop to sooth, and during a time of uncertainty there is great desire to be in control. In fact, the large packaging and that when it comes to physical size for price it is good value makes people even more drawn to toilet paper purchasing as a way to regain a sense of control.

Fine, no harm done, do what you need to do to feel calmer and better about the current situation... unfortunately, right now, that isn't the case. Panic buying like this can turn into a selfish act as those in need or who are more vulnerable can't access things because others chose to horde them. I don't like the 'looking after number one' mentality when it reaches this point. It must be the socialist in me that thinks we need to work together as a community in this type of situation. Teamwork* will save us, toilet paper won't.

* Even if that teamwork means we collectively try to work more from home, stay indoors and limit attending large gatherings

Oh, It Really Happens

Ok, this will be quick because it is late but I wanted to post about it right away. First, a bit of back story, I am a little late to the game, but I have recently discovered The Baroness von Sketch Show, which is hilarious (and Canadian.) Over the past few weeks I have watched pretty much all of their clips on YouTube, including this one about 'Land Acknowledgement:'

I thought it was very ridiculous and totally feel like the woman in the audience, "Oh, should we go?" Because I don't feel like this type of acknowledgement actually DOES anything. But at the same time, I hadn't ever seen one happen. ERin had mentioned that they are done ahead of government related meetings, events, and conferences. But for me that makes sense, she is often working on projects that have direct impact on aboriginal groups and making this type of speech hopefully starts conversations off in a positive direction - seeing that she is often involved in land claims/disputes.

Well, this evening at the Nutcracker, which Jason and I went to with ERin and Matt actually, they did a land acknowledgement ahead of the performance! It also mentioned the desire to make The National Ballet of Canada a more diverse company, which is a great goal. A quick flip through the program, which had photos of all the dancers, showed that they have a ways to go on this.

A longer version of the land acknowledge given verbally at the start of the performance was included in the program, it says:

The National Ballet of Canada acknowledges out creative home on the sacred and traditional territories of the Anishinabek, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat. We acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit and the Williams Treaty signed with multiple Mississausgas and Chippewa bands. We support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

The National Ballet recognizes the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples and that Toronto (Tkaronto) - which means "where there are trees standing in the water" - continues to be home to many Indigenous nations. Toronto has also been called "the Dish With One Spoon" which means all were and are invited and able to share, including the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty, taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with and that there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace.

The National Ballet is grateful to have the opportunity to work, dance and create on these lands and we thank the past, present and future caretakers of this land for their stewardship. We take this as a moment to reflect on our own activities and how the National Ballet can be part of a community of sharing as we take steps to ensure our practice, artists, staff, volunteers, Board members, patrons and audiences are open to engaging all people who live in these territories today and in the future. To this end, the National Ballet is now developing action places to support this direction.

I am interested to see what these action plans include, hopefully more than just words said or written. Also, how long have they been working on these plans? Not to pick on The National Ballet, but words can only go so far and I hope they don't spend too much time saying things and hurry up with these supposed 'action plans' that are mentioned.

Quotes From Alberta

As I mentioned before, Jason and I went to Alberta this weekend. We flew out Friday evening and came back overnight Monday to Tuesday. It was a quick visit but I got to see my GeoConnection girls, their spouses, Mike, Aimee and the babies. Here are some quotes from the trip that I found amusing:

----

Pointing out the car windshield...
Jason: Oh God! How cold is Edmonton? Is that a penguin?!?
Me: Huh? What?
Jason: That black and white bird that is waddling.
Me: Oh! That is a magpie, they are like my favourite! I don't understand how everywhere has them except Ontario.

----

(Said at various different times) Coming out from the changes rooms at the resort spa, wearing the hooded plaid bathrobes provided:
ERin: Ooo, I feel like I am at Hogwarts
Matt: Totally lookin' like a boxer here
Anne: Reminds me of Dementors
Sutik: Is this some sort of Illuminati thing?

----

Me: Are you just the cutest thing ever?!
Maya: I'm Maya!

Happy Weed Day

The day has come - Cannabis is legal in Canada. This has been a long time coming and I totally agree with all the arguments for legalization. At the moment there are still quantity restrictions and edible products won't be allowed for another couple of years, but we are totally moving in the right direction with this.

My one concern comes with driving under the influence. Impaired driving has always terrified me, growing up in a small town it was a huge issue that took many lives. While the breathalyzer is far from perfect it has provided a quick and convenient tool to assess alcohol impairment. It is harder to determine what is going on when someone is driving high. At the moment there isn't a federally approved fluid screening device that can be used roadside for cannabis.

On top of the testing challenges, right now, there's no set limit on the amount of cannabis that you can have legally in your blood or urine when driving. Driving high has always been illegal, and covered under Impaired Driving, but it doesn't get charged as much, even though drugs now show up more often than alcohol in blood tests of drivers killed in crashes. So scary.

I am excited to see the start of legalized cannabis but please - don't drive high!

Doctor Numbers

Flying home today and I still keep thinking about the intercom call for a doctor that happened on our flight down. It seems like such a strange policy. And for sure it is some type of policy because airlines have procedures for everything. I decided I wanted to look at the numbers:

Cooling My Feminist Jets
So, I had been very happy/surprised that it was a female doctor answering the call. Turns out, not that rare. There is probably still a wage gap, and possibly still a 'senior position' gap, but the gender gap for Canadian doctors has shrunk considerably. 41% are female; 59% are male. Two thirds (64%) of family physicians under age 35 are female.

What About Specialists
Almost half of the over 83,000 Canadian doctors are specialists of other disciples, instead of Family Medicine. Students in medical school in Canada will experience many fields of medicine and decide on their specialty during 3rd or 4th year. After that choice, residency training can be anywhere from 2 years (Family Medicine) to 6 years (Neurosurgery). Most specialties are a 5 year program. So they have the medical base, but a specialist can really be pretty specialized, and there are 37 specialties available in Canada. Would a urologist be that much help to someone who fainted in a plane?

Seems Like A Long Shot
Based on the total population of Canada there is only about 1 doctor for every 500 people. The plane we were in seats 100. That is a 0.2% chance there would be a doctor on board. When looking at people who fly, mainly those who can afford to fly, than doctors would be more likely to be on board a plane while the general population less so - this increases the chance. Often planes would be larger than the jet we were one, increasing the passengers to maybe 200. Huge planes can have more than 600 seats (in a two-tiered class configuration. Actually 800 in single-class, but I have never seen that.) I still don't like the odds, or many I don't like the fact that they are relying on odds.

Improve Your Odds
If they had asked "Is there a doctor or nurse on board" that would really improve the chances of a generally trained health care professional. There are lots of different types of nurses, including those in advance nursing practice, like nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. There are 4 times as many nurses as doctors in Canada.

Source information:
Look at me citing things like a good girl who went to university and grad school!
- Canadian Institute For Health Information
- The Canadian Medical Association
- University of British Columbia Medical School
- AirBus Corporate Site, Aviation Blogs

Further Reading:
I am like my own Wikipedia article here. If you found this as fascinating as me, the likelihood of that might be small, then these are some interesting international articles on the same topic:
- July 2017 - ABC News (Australia) - Is there a doctor on board? What happens during a mid-air medical emergency
- March 2017 - The Telegraph (UK) - What really happens during a medical emergency at 35,000 feet
- January 2017 - Singapore Medical Journal - What to do during inflight medical emergencies? Practice pointers from a medical ethicist and an aviation medicine specialist
- April 2013 - Quartz (USA) - What it’s like to be the “doctor on board”, and why airlines shouldn’t be relying on them

So Many Babies

I am always slow to get out congratulations, and this past spring has seen a whole pile of babies. So here are the new humans in my life (not alphabetically, not chronologically, literally in no particular order):

Nic and Drew have expanded their beautiful family one further, bringing Canada a new little wombat. I have only met her once but Rosie is just the sweetest. They are all renting The Cottage next week so can show the new little one their 'Beach House'. (Photo Right)

Christopher keeps bringing us Canadian content and just a few weeks ago became the proud father of Elliott. He lives, with his lovely wife Heather, just a couple of doors down from James and Mike so Elliott will be able to spend lots of time with his cousins Ava and Aiden. And the grandparents are around the corner too - such a cool city family - it is the Toronto dream.

Canada Day celebrations were even more special than usual for Pat and Michelle, who spent the entire day in labour. Fitting date - as they have been known to host an epic pool party on it in the past. Liam arrived in the early hours of July 2. I am so happy for this little family and the many adventures they will have together. (Photo left)

I can't believe how much Henry looks like his dad Marc. Marc and Christine are up in Ottawa. Henry was born in March, quite a bit early I believe. But he is doing wonderfully, even if Marc is going to have him cheer for all the worst sports teams (Boston? Really?)

P and E also named their little boy Henry, who was born a few months ago. At the moment he is keeping a very quiet social media presence. I have had the chance to see him and can report that he is super cute.

Babies are going to keep on coming with Lauren due any minute and JennD expecting her second little one in the Fall.

The Cost Of Stamps

This is such a grouchy senior citizen post, but I can't believe the price of stamps now! If you just buy one stamp it is a dollar, when you get them in rolls or booklets it is $0.85. It is nice that they have the little P that means 'current domestic postage rate' so if it goes up you can still use it to mail a normal letter within Canada. But still, when did it get so expensive? How is this not a commodity market item?

I actually remember when it was $0.45 to mail a letter. I found a website that maps out all the postage increases from 1943 to now. It turns out the price I am remembering is from 1995, and for my entire elementary and high school life it was under $0.50. That milestone increase happened in 2005 so I was in university at the time and I guess I didn't notice. I am shocked at the cost now, it is just such a big jump.

It is the same story with gas prices too, I started driving when it was in the mid-sixties. However, I can remember it being in the forties when I was younger. Now it is regularly well over a dollar. (I am such a grouchy old person.)

Flippy Floppys

There wasn't a dress code at the last BIA I worked in, however, my boss didn't really like open toed shoes/sandals so we agreed that we wouldn't wear them to work. I don't really think that flip flops are work appropriate, but it is a casual day today, with no meetings. Also, these ones are so much nicer than the usual $5 Old Navy style. I got them for Taylor's wedding, they are getting pretty worn out but I still love them.

Also, my awesome red pedicure is from Ottawa. We went out to get pedicures the day after Canada Day - such sore feet after waiting in lines, dealing with mud, and walking all over downtown. I didn't choose the colour to be patriotic, but lets pretend I did!

Two Domains For Always Standing

I never noticed but I think that Always Standing is officially a 'Dot C.A.', or Canadian domain. I always tell people to just Google it (since it tends to show up early in the search results) or refer to the web address with a '.com'. But, I just noticed that when I was typing it out with the '.com' at the end it flipped to '.ca' so I have both domains!

Answer in the Comments:
How do you get here; Google, bookmark, typing it in, other? 
What country code is at the end of the address in your browser?

We Keep Raising The Bar

I have posted before that Jason and I like to put time frames on things we buy, we also like to buy things cheaply. I usually prefer to find the lowest price possible with little regard for quality - Jason has more of a focus on value and getting something durable. We also try not to get anything really expensive, luckily besides the house and its renovations, we haven't had to make a lot of big purchases.

I am not looking forward to having to buy a new couch or living room set, it is going to be annoying and expensive. Until yesterday, the most expensive piece of furniture we had gotten together was our bed frame. Even the appliances we have had to buy recently have all been around that same price point. Well yesterday, that changed and our new largest item purchase is for something we won't even be using - a Murphy bed for guests, the Stanley Cabinet Bed. (We got it with a grey stain so it looks like this picture but isn't the same colour.)

I have been wanting a Murphy bed for the spare room (also laundry room) since we first moved in. However, they are expensive. I have done lots of research to find a good price but all of them have to be attached to the wall. Jason hasn't been a fan of the idea.

At the Home Show on Saturday we came across a booth selling cabinet beds - basically a pullout couch, in a chest of drawers. This meant it was movable, in case we want it in a different room later on down the road, and it didn't need to be installed into the wall. The problem with a product that is this specific is that not many companies make it and therefore they can charge a lot for it. There was a slightly cheaper imported brand but the Canadian-made version was solid wood instead of MDF (important to Jason). I found the imported ones looked oddly top-heavy because the drawer at the bottom was significant smaller than the cabinet above, also the model we chose was only slightly more than the import anyway.

We get it in 6 to 8 weeks and I hope it lives up to the price, I also hope that it stays as the most expensive thing we have bought for a long time - maybe until we buy a car! But if we ever need a living room set then I am going to have a tough time.

Will It Happen Here?

So, here we are. The day we all woke up and realized it hadn't been a terrible dream and that Donald Trump had won the election in the US. There is general sadness, numbness, and even fear all around me today.

The following was part of a Facebook Post a friend of mine, James, wrote, it gave me pause. I have copied it below and adjusted it slightly.

While Canada is a totally different country, a lot of things that happen in the United States seep Northward. You can almost pair up the waves politically: where Reagan/Bush brought Mulroney; Clinton and Chretien rose to power together; Bush won in 2001 followed by Harper a couple of years later; and then after 9 years of Harper and 6 years of seeing the amazing Obama in office, Canadians voted in Trudeau last year. They all line up. The idea that the next wave after Trudeau is something like Kevin O'Leary is downright scary.

Focus People

Sure, at an overarching level 'all lives matter' but that shouldn't be the global dialogue right now. I want to thank Anne for sharing this comic on her Facebook:

Black Lives Matter - An important growing movement in the US, with various Canadian counterparts, get informed.

Four Things

Erin AH filled this out on her Facebook and I thought I would transplant it over the the blog, also I am heading to Ottawa tomorrow to visit her so that is exciting and fitting:

Four places I've lived: 
1. Cambridge, ON (1984-1985)
2. Paris, ON (1985-2003)
3. Ottawa, ON (2003-2010)
4. Toronto, ON (2010-now)

Four things I love to watch on TV or Netflix: 
1. The Daily Show
2. Orange Is The New Black
3. Archer
4. Property Brothers

Four names I go by:
1. Chris
2. Christine
3. Aunt Chris
4. Tita Chris

Four places I have visited: 
1. San Diego, CA
2. Yekaterinburg, Russia
3. Tangier, Morocco
4. Corner Brook, NL

Four things I love to eat: 
1. Bread
2. Watermelon
3. Pasta
4. Spaghetti Squash

Four favorite drinks:
1. Chocolate Milk
2. Pink Lemonade
3. Coke Zero
4. Gin and Tonic

Four people I would like to see respond:
1. Mom, maybe even on her blog
2. Steph
3. The T's (Taylor and Teri)
4. People who don't usually leave comments

Copy and paste this into the comments for this post and fill in your responses. Have some fun!

Gender Neutral At 150

Today is Canada Day, as a country we are 149 years old. I can't believe that I will be around for the 150th anniversary next year. It is going to be big! I was in Grade 2 when we celebrated Canada's 125th anniversary, I remember the logo - I think I had a t-shirt with it.

If Bill C-210 passes its third reading and trip to The Senate we will have a change to our national anthem! It would make the English version gender neutral by replacing "thy sons" to "of us." The French version is very different, much more religious and violent.

Staying with the English version for now - I am surprised that it is moving to gender neutral lyrics before secular - since we will still be asking "God keep our land." I also think it is interesting in the Wiki article that Toronto City Council voted 12 to 7 (this was before amalgamation) to suggest a change to the Canadian Government. They wanted a change from "our home and native land" to "our home and cherished land" to better represent our large immigrant population. I like that change too! We should do all three at once - no "sons," no "God," and no "native."

I remember being part of Brownies or Girl Guides when a small movement towards religious differences was announced. I looked it up and in 1994, when I was 10, The World Association approved revisions to the Canadian Girl Guide promise and law. I remember the asterix section being added to our little printed cue cards:

Promise
I promise to do my best,
To be true to myself, my God/faith* and Canada;
I will help others,
And accept the Guiding Law.
* Choose the word God or the word faith according to your personal convictions.

She Found Me Again

Last year Nic went to the movies and thought I looked like Cinderella, now she thinks I am an astronaut. I appreciate the job promotion and the fact that all it takes is eyes and eyebrows to have my likeness.

Great First Nations Video

A follow up to yesterday's post on National Aboriginal Day, someone shared a great video on Facebook:

.

Wab Kinew on First Nation's Stereotypes

Tulips Don't Even Deserve A Day

Another thing that happens on June 21st? National Aboriginal Day. I didn't add this into the previous post about the first day of summer and my Dad's birthday. Dad didn't have a particularly nice or empathetic view of indigenous populations in Canada and/or the USA. So, I thought it best to separate the posts because my father's racism was nuanced, complex, frustrating, and confusing.

But since it somehow came to my attention today that it was National Aboriginal Day in Canada, I wanted to make a post that recognized the culture and history of this vital population group.

A long time ago I saw a comedian, Don Kelly, at an Ottawa comedy club. As an aboriginal, part of his routine riffed on his heritage, It stuck with me for years, but I remember his funniest line:

"A  black friend of mine was complaining that Black History Month is in February, the coldest month of the year, the shortest month of the year. Hey, we get National Aboriginal Day, DAY! Tulips get a fucking week." --- Don Kelly

Most people know how I feel about tulips - I am not a fan. But in contrast to that, I really like and value Canada's indigenous population. Their contributions should be celebrated nationally, and it should definitely be a longer celebration than a single day.