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Prairie Skies

clyde

On a recent trip to Grande Prairie (north! very north!) in our neighboring province of Alberta, I had a chance to snap these pics of the utterly flabbergastingly beautiful sky. Here the wee Scotsman makes a breathless observation: ‘one province over’ means a ten hour drive from where I live, and about five to seven degrees of latitude! It’s just utterly amazing the continental nature of Canada, when compared to the United Kingdom, or Europa even. Massive provinces, with enough geography and regional dialectic in them to have made for at least a millenium of warring city states and kingdoms. … Continue reading Prairie Skies

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Fix the Truck 3- Mower vs…

clyde

… oh, so many things! My truck restoration patrons were correct- there was rather a lot of things in the tall grass! The most notable was some of that spray in insulation, which atomized nicely with the sturdy mower blade (not pictured), and – – a spray can full of white paint. Surprise. In case anyone wants to know, this is what happens when a mower takes on an aerosol paint can. It mows along happily, and then a sudden, grinding growl occurs for a fraction of a second… and before the noise is registered completely, a rather final pop! … Continue reading Fix the Truck 3- Mower vs…

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Gluten-Free Loaves

clyde

Hullo again, all! Gluten-free is not a do-or-die sort of situation for me, but it does most assuredly improve my life and health, to such a degree that, where I used to sometimes eat wheat, I now only have it if I cannot possibly wriggle out of it- social eating situation sort of thing. As a result, I’ve spent rather a lot of time trying to master gluten-free recipes that mimic as closely as possible the sorts of food that the rest of the western world eats. I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks in recipe form, and … Continue reading Gluten-Free Loaves

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Fix the Truck 2- Waiting on Tyres

clyde

Fix the Truck returns with this interesting three part-saga, in which our protagonist: starts to set up rails for his flatbed puts on the tyres engages in a lawn-mower stress test with household objects Today’s episode: Reclaimed Wood Sidewalls I have purchased my tyres, and are waiting for them to arrive. As part of this entire DIY aspect of truck restoration, I will be attaching them to my alternate rims manually… as part of my general prudence, I will be fetching a balance for them at the shops. However, in the meantime, I have taken the day to start the … Continue reading Fix the Truck 2- Waiting on Tyres

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Fire, Fire, Everywhere…

clyde

In many parts of the world, especially in this part of the world in which I find myself, summer season has become fire season. This is a regrettable state of affairs. People are talking in British Columbia about banning travel in the ‘back country’, or wilderness. This is part of the beauty of this still rugged, largely undeveloped province- its vast empty forests and mountains. However, it seems that many of the fires on the fire map are human caused, and since lightning caused fires are also a significant threat, there is a certain point to limiting the potential for … Continue reading Fire, Fire, Everywhere…

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French Crystal Bowl- at a Garage Sale

clyde

I had to share this lovely, absurdly-well priced vintage Durand Family Crystal Bowl that I found this weekend. This local area has a lot of very well-established old families, that wind up with rather a lot of great items over the years. Many of these are sold on people’s lawns, for not very much cash. I wasn’t sure about this little lovely, but picked it up on a whim. Turns out, it Suffice it to say, this beauty comes from before the Durands (the French crystalware company that acquired Mikasa) sold out to Lifetime Brands and the whole thing went … Continue reading French Crystal Bowl- at a Garage Sale

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Inverse Dolmathes!

clyde

This is the story of a strange, culinary journey, which begins with a trip to Greece I took several (many) years previous: Suffice it to say, I wanted to travel to see Macedon, Thessalonika and Thessaly, for reasons of historical tourism including, but not limited to, Alexander and Alaric. It is beautiful in both areas of Greece, and I can thoroughly recommend that one visit it at some point in time! (If you do, be sure to read some histories such as The Last Centuries of Byzantium by David Nicholl and Latins and Greeks for more scholarly fare. Also, check … Continue reading Inverse Dolmathes!