Being Jewish in Calgary

 There is not a large, thriving Jewish population in Calgary. That became abundantly clear last year during the frustrating Hunt for Hanukkah Candles, where when I finally found some (thank you Michaels) I went ahead about bought enough for all three years. Last year I also made my own matzah, having given up on even searching for it.

This year i decided to do better research. After all, there are three different synagogues in the city, AND a JCC - although they are all within about three miles of each other in a part of the city far, far from mine.  The research turned up solid gold: there is one Safeway grocery store, down in the neighborhood of other Jewishy things, that not only carries Matzah but actually has a Kosher food section!  

caveat: Terry did not take this picture and does not sanction its presence on the blog

Our pilgrimage took place this weekend. Upon entering the store we were met with this Wall O' Matzah,  and it only got better, with matzah meal for the matzah ball soup, or soup kits, or pre-made balls in broth in glass jars. Three kinds of horseradish.  Gefilte fish. They even had a full range of Passover candy.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

The Buy Nothing Group

 One major silver lining of COVID is the development of local Buy Nothing groups. Through ours, I have rid our house of outgrown kids' clothes, snowshoes, cookware, toys and games. We have acquired other cookware, food items, a white board just when ours died, and - most importantly - school supplies the night they became necessary.

When Alex mentioned in the late afternoon that she needed two balloons for science class the next day, I took a deep breath. We're trying to limit our trips to stores, and we don't have any balloons. In comes the Buy Nothing group. I asked if anyone had balloons. A few people did. One of whom said she was running out to the wine store and would drop off the balloons while she was out. Jokingly, I asked her to drop off some wine as well. 

Later in the evening she writes back that she had dropped them off in a bag at our doorstep. I go out to pick it up. In the bag, in addition to the balloons, is a bottle of wine. My heart is so overfull.

Sunshine

To finish the trifecta of "SkiBig3" we headed to Sunshine Village on Sunday.  The weather was nearly the exact same as the day before, so perfectly cold, although the sun never came out and the wind howled (although the wind may have only seemed stronger due to nothing blocking it).

We'd noted the warnings about getting there early for parking, and pulled into a spot at right about the middle of the lot at 8:00am. Upon the sage guidance of the gentleman directing traffic, the first folks ready with their gear (Terry and Zoltan) went to (1) buy the kids' tickets as the adults had ours from Costco and (2) get into line for the gondola up to the lifts. 

I'll just say it took 1.5 hours from getting into line to getting off the gondola at the top and leave it there.  Although, needless to say, we were pretty grumpy.  Later in the day we rationalized that waiting for 1.5 hours, then basically not at all, is actually a better deal than waiting between 10-30 minutes for every run. 

In the wake of Norquay's surprises we had done quite a bit of research on Sunshine and had a solid game plan. We started with a recommended green run that was this big bowl and the snow was beautiful powder and it was so much fun!  The lift was short and the runs shorter but the longest we waited in line was 5 minutes.  And the trails are barely trails - there is so much open expanse it's pretty close to "well, everything over that way will be green, everything over that way is blue. Just get down to the bottom however you feel." The guides Sunshine puts out are spot on - we read one that tracked what it called "light blues" and for the runs we did it ran perfectly true.  We got up and down each run so quickly that our legs were on fire by 2pm and we decided to call it a day.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Mt. Norquay

We have a mission to try the main ski mountains in the area this year, to choose the contenders for next year's season pass (only one will win this contest!) To that end, we booked an airbnb in Canmore and had plans/reservations at Norquay and Sunshine.

Saturday was Norquay. From the trail maps things looked beautifully simply laid out - one lift appeared to have trails that were mostly black; one had mostly blue, one mostly green, etc.  We generally start off on green. The lift had five different lines that converge right at the end. We waiting in line 15-30 minutes for each run. After a few runs we decided to try the blue. We followed the route marked "easiest run" - so presumably the easiest blue route down. It was pretty challenging.  It was even more of a surprise because we had tried all the green runs on the "green" lift and none of them were what I'd call a "dark green" - so it was a significant jump.

One thing I found fascinating is the dedication to moguls that seemed to dominate the majority of runs - there was even a green run of moguls - something I had never seen before.  Zoltan enjoyed trying them out and getting a feel for what it's like, and I am sure he'll enjoy moguls even more as he progresses.

All in all, the skiing wasn't very fun and we cut the day short.

Chester Lake

 The fog was so thick I am pretty sure there should have been additional mountains in view.  The hike was a bit of a slog - the "snowshoe" path had significantly more elevation gain than the "cross country ski" track (which is also the summertime normal path). Terry didn't even bother to take photos with the nice camera.

The good news was the day was icky enough to keep folks at home, so even though we didn't arrive until around 11am there was plenty of parking.  It's a really popular snowshoe trail but the snowshoes were not needed as long as we stayed on the trail. It might have been icy but we had our ice cleats on from the beginning so we wouldn't know. There was one steep part that we "sledded" down on our behinds.

Guess we'll have to go back with better weather!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Lake Louise, negative 30 degrees

The kids have a 5 day weekend (one has a 6 day weekend but I put in a dentist appointment, bwa-ha-ha). So, Terry and I took off Thursday - the first day of this holiday - and we booked a ski day. Due to COVID and being working adults who have to ask for time off and coordinate with others in our respective offices to do so, we were loath to try to reschedule when the weather report threatened below-negative-thirty for the day.

I am definitely the chilly-Chelsea of the group. To be sure to stave off frostbite I wore: (top) wool base layer, fitted merino wool sweater, flannel shirt to divert the itchiness and a very heavy wool sweater, of course topped with a warm ski jacket; (bottom) wool base layer, Polartec fleece ski pants from 20 years ago when I last skied, and insulated ski pants. And alpaca wool socks. A balaclava with COVID-y mask underneath and my helmet and goggles, plus new Columbia mittens with their reflective technology (and hand warmers in the tip of each mitten) finished off the look. One important lesson we learned last week skiing - cotton masks soak and freeze. Go with synthetics when you are looking at severe weather.

We were trying out the farthest slope from home - Lake Louise, clocking in at exactly 2 hours away. Between being mid-week and the forecast, the place was empty. We got a sweet parking spot we'll never see again, just 2 rows over from the reserved section. When we arrived the lifts hadn't opened yet even though we got there an hour after the slope normally would have opened. We also got coupons for free hot cocoa for the kids as a reward for braving the weather.

By 10:30 the first lift opened, and by the time we re-geared and got out there it was a bit later. We knew there was a whole back mountain area and the resort was huge, so we weren't sure about things like where to leave water and lunches and such that we had been doing, if we were to bring any. So we took a tiny backpack with a Contigo of cocoa and a couple of snacks, and the various items of gear that got shed at different times. We planned to eat a hot meal at one of the cafes. And away we went.

This was our first ski outside Nakiska and ... wow. The runs were longer, there was no ice anywhere, and what felt like a million more options although that could be misleading because half the runs are black diamond, which nobody is ready for. The views are stunning. We were super bundled up although we had a few setbacks with fogging goggles, chilly toes that required hand warmers (and thus the ordeal of removing and then replacing ski boots). We actually managed a pretty normal day of skiing. On one run, the powder was so thick I worried not about slipping on ice - the normal east coast issue - but about a ski getting stuck in a thick mound of snow.  I estimate that all the time we spent going inside to warm up or drink a hot beverage would probably translate to lift lines in a future visit;  so the general experience of how many runs we could get in is relatively accurate, minus the slow start. there was literally no line at any time.

The downside, and this was huge:  to get from the back mountain to the front you can ski various runs or you can traverse a run called "ski-out" that appears to go sort of around the mountain and return to the base area. It is 2.5 miles. Nowhere is it explained that you will be walking on level or even uphill ground for about 1/3 of that trip - until you are already about 100 feet into the journey. It was hot and miserable and really ended the day on the wrong foot :-(

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Skiing

 We've been skiing the last 6 Saturdays, and have learned quite a bit. We learned that when Nakiska is packed with people and we leave when it closes, it can take longer to get home than if we had gone to Lake Louise. We learned that when it is -25 outside, there are no lines for any lifts and no traffic getting home.  Those who did not ski before December learned how to get down a Blue slope in reasonably good shape.

 Now that the 6 weeks of lessons we signed the kids up for are over, we have plans to try each of the other three major slopes in the area (thanks Costco for the discount lift tickets to exactly these three mountains!)  We also won't go quite so often. We'll have Saturdays we sleep in, and Saturdays we go  hiking - as well as Saturdays to ski. Now that the Superbowl is going on right this very minute, football crowds out no more Sundays - we'll have whole weekends we can decide what to do on a whim!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

How we spent the break

We solved puzzles - well, Terry and Alex worked on them.

We played games. There are always new games among the Hanukkah and Christmas gifts and this year was no different.  Throw, throw burrito is even more fun than it looked and as we were gifted the large/outdoor version, are very excited to take this camping with us in the summer.

We (the kids) built gingerbread worlds - after making the gingerbread from scratch. It's a great recipe and remained delicious even after it started to go stale.

We skied, thanks to dad/Papa, who gifted the kids lessons for Hanukkah. Lynne and Terry skied for the first time in over 17 years!

We cooked, baked, read, watched movies. Kids went sledding. We had intentions to go ice skating but didn't make it out of the house that day. One of us listened to several entire podcast series.

The kids went five days without leaving the property (almost not going outside at all, but they did refill the bird feeder and take our trash).

We started the new year with a hike and a promise to get out way more often. Of course, the grumpy teenager ranted that a hike was the epitome of starting the year off on the wrong foot. It will be a delight to throw all this back at her when she is an adult - hahahahaha!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Saskatoons

 I made a saskatoon pie yesterday with berries we'd picked and frozen over the summer. We'd tried them fresh - tasted a few in the field - and made jam right after the picking. It was all OK but not worth the heat and the schlep to the berry field. Now I understand the hype. Pie is the saskatoon's forte, its area of excellence. Now we need to plan next year's picking and focus all our efforts on pies, just pies.

Wild Ice

Wild ice is the term used for ice skating on a pond, lake or other natural body of (frozen) water. Technically we have been on wild ice before, last year. But ... Lake Louise grooms a rink and the Bowness Park Lagoon is small and narrow.

Gap Lake is very popular - so popular, in fact, that there have been accidents and the local authorities asked people to stay away. We drove out to Johnson Lake and it was snowy and rough. We figured we'd just pop over to Two Jack Lake and check it out because it  is only 5 minutes down the road. Expectations were exceptionally low, and extraordinarily exceeded. 

Between the volume of cars in the parking lot and the specks of people dotting the surface of the lake, it looked pretty solid. We found parking, grabbed our skates, and headed for the shore. I am not going to lie, the clear ice freaked me out. I preferred not seeing all the way to the rocks at the bottom of the lake.  Terry showed me how to apprise the cracks of ice to tell how far the ice was solid. And of course note the hordes of people skating hither and thither, emphasizing the solidity. There were folks being pulled by their dogs, folks playing scrimmage hockey, pushing their children in strollers ... even a guy on a fat tire bike riding around. There was a whole lake of space!

It was super windy, to the extent that you could be pushed to dizzying speeds if you let the wind catch you. Alex, deeply into her teens, actually admitted to having fun!

The downside is that we have not skated this year at all, and we got cold, tired and achy. We saw a guy grilling out of his truck's bed and realized that was a great idea. Our plan for next time involves coming earlier and bringing some camping equipment to make a hot lunch. That way we can have a morning skate, some rest and regrouping, then a second run in the afternoon. Whenever next time will be ...

Boom Shaka-laka-laka

Saturday we were up and out the door to a well-recommended hiking trail - Boom Lake. It was our longest hike as a family - over 10km. Terry feared Zoltan's sluggishness would keep us from ever cresting that hill, but with the incentives we'd put into place the weekend before he was more than happy to keep trekking ahead. There also were no really huge climbs, so that helped too. We didn't want to throw too much into one experience!

At one point the trail narrows with snow-dusted evergreens on either side, which Alex called the enchanted forest. She's so grouchy and teenagery, and then comes out with things like this! Also, a lot of the snow was more like crystallized flakes. Neither Terry nor I had ever seen anything like it and we've certainly been around plenty of snow. 

When we got to the lake, it was time for lunch. A gray jay thought so as well, and we had to defend Alex's sandwich from it several times (the rest of us kept the sandwich in the bag in between bites). We had done a great job keeping Zoltan's blood sugar up and although it was the longest hike, it was also the least fraught. It felt weird telling my kid "you may not feel hungry, you may feel anxious or angry or grumpy. Just eat." when of course mostly we're supposed to be telling our kids to notice actual feelings of hunger before chowing down. But I digress.

After eating we wandered down towards the far end of the lake, where we could see waterfalls high up in the mountains. We knew that parts of the lake were avalanche territory so we didn't stray too far. The return was pretty uneventful except the trail was definitely getting busier and the parking lot was packed when we left (plenty of spots when we arrived). The one regret of not doing the hike later was that the sun started to peek out and the skies got a bit bluer, which is always nicer for the photos. But avoiding crowds is a worth goal.

After all that exertion, we had a few quiet hours at the hotel and off to our favorite Banff restaurant, Park Distillery. It was as delicious as always, and one funny note is that the table next to us turned while we were there. The first couple had been speaking French and when the second pair started talking, I understood them so my mind said "French." Until Terry leaned over and said "Hey, they're speaking Russian." Oh yeah, they are.

Wintery Banff

November and December being on different calendar pages, it didn't occur to me I was booking two weekends in a row when I looked at the kids' day off from school on December 4 (they have a Friday off every month, and half day Fridays the rest of the month). So the week after we went to Jasper, we went to Banff.

Last year for the holidays, my father bought us a gift certificate for afternoon tea at the Fairmont hotel - we could choose Banff or Lake Louise. We hadn't made it before everything shut down in March and we finally took this opportunity to go. So it was a nice lazy morning, the a drive straight to the hotel. Everything was very beautiful and fancy, the treats were delicious and the kids were finally introduced to scones with clotted cream and jam (a housemade strawberry and rose variety). The kids were delighted by the tea timers - three connected hourglasses, one set to run out after 3 minutes, one at 4 minutes and one at 5, so we could determine how steeped we wanted the tea. The hotel was being extraordinarily careful about spacing - the room has a series of picture windows overlooking the mountains with a table set at the center of each. There was one dining unit at each table by the window, and that was it. 

Sated and warmed, we head to our hotel for an early check in. As most of our stays since the pandemic, we opted for a condo style, with kitchenette and entrance from outside. One treat was the woodburning fireplace, which we employed each evening. We had a starter pile (and matches!) stacked beside the grate, woodsheds throughout the grounds, and kindling available at the front desk whenever we needed more. The kids had their own queen sized beds in the loft, and they delighted in dangling things off the balcony into the living room area. They were oddly uninterested in the outdoor hot tubs or even the heated/hot pool. The hotel was situated by Tunnel Mountain and had trails that ran right from the grounds. It was also near a campsite we were considering for the summer.

After a quick change into hiking gear, we took a short walk/hike to a trail we'd been meaning to check out. We were losing the light so didn't go as far we wanted, but the good news is that trails have not yet been closed generally so we can easily go back.

We saw a moose!

We dedicated Saturday of our Jasper long weekend to Moraine. Moraine Canyon is about 15 minutes outside Jasper, with Moraine Lake another 30 minutes past that.

We knew an ice hike to frozen falls would not be possible because of the lack of frozen-ness but had heard the loop around the canyon is still a nice hike. I am SO glad we decided to go anyway. There were actually several spots where we could climb down to the bottom of the canyon, some of which was dry and some had water in both free-flowing and frozen varieties. Not very concerned about bears this time of year, we downloaded trail maps to the kids' phones and let them loose. They were still very eager to collect steps and thus treats, so they left us in the dust, although they did sometimes double back to check on us and gain more steps. One of the most fun stops was in a cave that had what looked like ice stalagmites rising from the ground. The kids got behind it, and the glow from one of the phone flashlights through the ice looked ghostly. It was lovely. We also got to see waterfalls both frozen and running, and falls both far away and ones we walked right up to. 

After the hike and some lunch, we headed toward Moraine Lake. The hike we ended up choosing was called the Moose Lake Loop, and it leads from Moraine lake to Moose Lake. The signs that have been features in social media advising folks not to let moose lick their cars - we passed that sign and it gave us hope for a possible moose sighting. 

It was supposed to be a decent snowshoe, but we are learning that either this just isn't the year for snowshoes or trails generally get too packed down. Within the first 500 meters or so Zoltan had a total meltdown and removed his snowshoes. Alex soon followed. Even Terry eventually decided they weren't working for him and took his off. There was a woman and her son that were following the same trail at roughly the same pace - we'd stop for something and they would pass us, then a bit farther up vice versa. They saw two moose on the road on the way in, we must have just missed them. Awww!

Things definitely perked up once the family has shed their snowshoes and we got some beautiful views of mountains across the lake. On the drive back to the hotel we finally crossed the last Alberta wildlife off our bingo sheet - there were moose!  One in the road, and one off on the shoulder. They looked like a mom and baby. We got a couple of photos from my phone - we were not about to stop and have Terry go around back to get the good camera. 

For dinner we tried the DownStream. My smoked duck was extraordinary and was even more delicious as a sandwich the next day. All the other meals were decent but nothing to write home about. All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

The trip home the next day was uneventful, with a few photo/leg-stretch breaks but no hikes. I took lots of mediocre photos through the dirty windshield of stunning mountains, then a new set of stunning mountains. There is a reason this is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world.