What Are Grain Elevators For, Exactly?

I am a huge fan of the show Corner Gas and while working at my current job have watched every single episode of the show’s six seasons at least four times each. Don’t judge! It’s an easy show to watch! YouTube has all the episodes available, commercial free! The show is set in a prairie farming community in Saskatchewan, and follows a motley crew of characters that I just can't get enough of.

Anyways, in the episode I’m watching right now, one of the characters is showing a bunch of pictures she’s taken, and all the pictures happen to be of grain elevators. It occurred to me that while I’ve seen many grain elevators while living in and driving through Alberta, and vaguely know how they work, I really have no idea EXACTLY what they do.

After some research I found that I actually did know pretty much what grain elevators do and how they do it, but thought I’d write about it anyways, in case some city folk are unaware. 

Grain elevators, first put into use in New York state in the early 1840s, are basically just huge storage bins for wheat and other grains. The design of grain elevators, which is pretty standard and very recognizable for anyone who has lived anywhere near farming communities, is very specific, and ensures that while keeping the grain safe and contained, it also makes for easy removal and eventual transport. The height of the elevators allows for considerable amounts of storage capabilities, and the more grain, the better they work, as the weight of the grain presses down and literally forces itself out of the metal spouts that lead into whatever transport vessels are being used.

On a side note, I used to always think it would be fun to jump into the unseen depths of grain, but my mom quickly warned me that doing such would cause me to suffocate and die. Yikes! So, no grain diving for me then. 

Review: The Clever Rabbit

For the last issue of the Voice for Animals (v4a.org) newsletter published January 21st, 2013I wrote a review of the vegan/vegetarian restaurant The Clever Rabbit. Below is the article, with some pictures. 

Brunch at The Clever Rabbit

My friends know me as a creature of habit. I tend to walk the same routes, listen to the same music, watch the same shows, and eat the same food. But, awhile back I heard of a new vegan/vegetarian eatery that had been opened by a set of animal-loving sisters, called The Clever Rabbit. Ever since then I’d been curious to see what they had to offer. I convinced two close friends of mine to accompany me for brunch, both for the companionship and also so that I could get a larger sampling of opinions! Beforehand, I made sure to check out thecleverrabbit.ca in the hopes of inspecting the menu and was in luck. I like to be prepared.

On a crisp Sunday morning our trio made its way to The Clever Rabbit’s accessible location on 124 street and 107th avenue, where our eagle-eyed driver spotted a place to park just a block away. After a brisk walk, we entered the welcoming restaurant, picking ourselves a cozy window seat in the just-the-right-size café. Just as we were getting comfy our charming server, whose smile literally chased away the winter cold, delivered us menus and took our drink orders. As I already knew what I wanted to eat I sipped my earl grey tea in peace while the other two perused the menu’s offerings. Eventually, we decided to start off with homemade tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were perfect and flaky, with just the right amount of salting, and the salsa was fresh and chunky – just the way I like it. It was difficult to share!

For the main course, my one friend chose to do the vegan version of a traditional breakfast, and ordered the tofu scramble with a side of vegan sausage. The dish came out looking amazing – brightly colored tomatoes and broccoli, heavenly looking “eggs”, with two sausages and two crisp pieces of toast. I couldn’t help but second guess my own choice. My other friend, who has some strict dietary concerns, chose the granola and yogurt, opting for the non-dairy coconut version. Another lovely dish, mixed with fresh 

berries and kiwi and so pretty it was a shame to watch him take the first spoonful. And not only was it judged delicious, it also sat well with my friend’s stomach. 

And my own midday meal? For that I decided to go with the lentil loaf with almond gravy, which was raved about in a review posted on the Clever Rabbit’s website. It did not disappoint. The loaf was delicious, moist and filling, and the gravy was, well, gravy (as in, an extra bonus). I savored every bite, as well as every slurp of the accompanying soup du jour, a peanut-y squash soup that was rich and creamy and tasted like autumn.

With whimsical rabbit figurines decorating the tables, a couch for the leisurely visitor, bright and open front windows and attentive but not oppressive staff, The Clever Rabbit has what they call “great atmosphere.” And it also has great food, which means I’ll be going back as soon as I can to start working my way through everything else on the menu. AND, to indulge in one of the incredible looking vegan donuts displayed in a baker’s case right next to the register. Next time, I’ll be sure to leave some room for dessert!

The Clever Rabbit is located at 10722 - 124th street. They have a fabulous Valentine's Day menu for February 14th (only a couple weeks away, you romantics out there) - check out the event posted on on Facebook page at facebook.com/CleverRabbit.

Was Madame Tussaud a Real Person?

I’ve been tormented by mentionings of the over-played and over-photographed Katy Perry the last couple of days. She’s been popping up in all my favourite places, and all because a new wax statue of her was placed on exhibition in the Las Vegas branch of Madam Tussauds  Museum.

The plague of Perry aside, I find the wax museum an interesting enough concept. My bestie and I visited there when we were in Vegas a few years ago – it was a fun excursion, and kept us out of the desert heat for a couple of hours. Some of the figures were obviously more similar to their living counterparts than others, and D and I were both too cowardly to enter the “scary” section, but it was worth whatever we paid as an entry fee to pose for bizarre photos with our favourite celebrities.  Speaking of favourite celebrities, I bet this particular figure has been kissed a lot.

I was curious, though: was Madam Tussaud an actual living person at one time? Or is the name just that – a name? So, I did an online search and yes, indeed she was real. Her name was Anna Maria Grosholtz (the Tussaud name came later via marriage) and she was from Strasbourg, which sounds like it should be in Germany or Austria or somewhere similar but is actually in France . Her mom cleaned house for a doctor who made wax figures (as part of his medical studies? no idea), and he was the one that taught her how to do it.

I kind of like that idea of an older physician taking interest in the intelligent daughter of his housekeeper, spending his spare time patiently teaching the young girl his craft. I’m preferring to ignore the vague possibility that he was just a creepy pedophile with unsavory intentions and instead am thinking of him as kindly and freethinking – after all, this was in the late 1700s and not many educated men were interested in teaching a woman. That is, anything above the blanket.

Anyways, Anna Maria started out by creating a model of Voltaire when she was just 16, and from there went on to take a macabre interest making masks from the decapitated heads of people executed during the French revolution. Yuck. Eventually she set up her first real shop on Baker Street – famous for another one of its (although fictional) residents, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Another thing I really like is that Madame Tussaud got to die in her sleep at the ripe old age of 80-something. Not too shabby. 

How Much Fat is in the Food at Earls?

So, I've been trying to reform my negligent self-care habits lately - not as a new years resolution (who keeps those) but just as a response to a bit of a wake up call my body gave me earlier this month. It has been about ten days now that I've cut out junk food (so long Ruffles Chips and Philly Onion Dip), excessive Diet Coke (though I still allow myself some), and bread (except for today, when I indulged in a sub from Subway).

Things have been going alright so far, but there's been one hiccup in things. It seems that my friends and I all favor our socialization over a meal of some sorts and this has already cost me an outing with my bestie this week. Its so difficult to go to a restaurant and plan to eat well. One of the restaurants D and I love is Earls, so just out of curiosity, I looked up the nutritional information of their menu items on their website. Firstly, it's awesome that they have it all posted - since visiting the Earls site I've tried the websites of a couple of other restaurants and they didn't have ANY nutritional information available.  But secondly, and sadly, what I found on the Earls site was incredibly alarming. I mean, I know that when you go out to eat the food is likely not going to be very good for you, especially in massive chains like Earls where healthy isn't a focus; that's why when D and I go there we don't especially concern ourselves with BEING healthy. 

With the aim of being candid, here is what I usually get when I go to Earls:

Wedge of Garlic Bread                         578.14 calories/27.8 grams of fat
Cajun Cheddar Chicken Sandwich       692.00 calories/40.4 grams of fat
Fries                                                      775.63 calories/41.8 grams of fat
Side of Mayo                                        110 calories/10 grams of fat

Ugh. I would normally want to avoid knowing the total but I love using computer calculators so I'm going to add it all up.  2155.77 calories/120 grams of fat. I just Googled what the average persons daily intake of calories and fat should be: 1800 calories/50 grams of fat.  So I was blowing my whole daily intake in one meal! Yowzers. 

I realize counting calories and other people's diets aren't very interesting topics, I totally get that. I just couldn't get over HOW bad the food was. I think I'm going to save my next Earls trip for a special occasion - and NOT weigh myself the next day!

I'm also going to make more of an effort to do things with my friends that aren't based on some kind of food outing - well, starting the day after tomorrow, or else I'd miss a hilarious and amazing brunch date with two of my favourite people.

What are Some Fun Date Ideas?

Ever since Cole and I started dating the amount of TV I watch has skyrocketed. He was pretty much raised by television, so having it on for hours and hours every day is just natural to him, whereas before we moved in together I didn't even OWN a TV. So, in order to keep us from being completely sedentary and in the hopes of preventing us from getting stuck in a rut, I thought it would be fun to initiate a "TV-free day" every week. Or, at least a TV-free HALF day, during which we would do something fun that gets us off the couch and maybe even out of the apartment.

What I thought would be a good way to keep things spontaneous but still helps us out if we ended up blanking on what we should do with our TV-free time is if we wrote down an assortment of random activities on little slips of paper and put those slips of paper in a hat, or bag, or some other such receptacle. Then, at the appropriate time, we can simply draw out one idea and do whatever it says on the paper. Yesterday I wrote down about sixty ideas, and while some of them I came up with on my own, I did need a little help in the creativity department. So, I searched the internet for what other people thought made for a great date. 

Some of the ideas for "things to do with your mate" were obviously posted by crazy people and/or teenagers, and were completely ridiculous for a couple who has been together for over a year now. But I found that if I was persistent and scrolled past the idiot ideas I did occasionally come across a thought or suggestion that tickled my fancy. In case you were curious, here are some of the activities that I threw in the hat: 

take a midnight walk	take family pictures with Butters
fool around on guitars together	go to a g-rated movie
go for a meal at a restaurant chosen from the phone book based on its name alone	slow-dance together
film a nature documentary	feed the geese
play Scrabble	have a hangman or tic tac toe tournament
make bucket lists	visit Mamaw and Ed

Naturally, I ALSO think it would be fun to document our experiences, so every week there should be a post in this blog that doesn't exactly follow the usual question-and-answer structure, but I hope whoever reads this will enjoy the posts nonetheless. And of course, feel free to offer up any of your own recommendations for things you like to do with your own significant others.