I like to pause once a week and look back through my photos relive memorable moments, remember the forgotten ones, and reflect upon a busy week. Sharing them here helps me live in the moment...retroactively.
It has been a couple weeks since my last Zekely and I bet things will get back to weekly when the lockdown lifts. Only so much you can do when many of the regular adventures are off limits, the weather is cold, and you are on crutches. That's right...achilles tendinitis has me off my feet for hopefully not that long but it puts a real cramp in my swash buckling for now!
Let's see what noteworthy moments have transpired in the last couple weeklies.
Yes. It is still the dead of winter here. Nothing too crazy but consistently below freezing with a couple days of solid snow. I have had to whip out the snow blower once or twice but still nothing like years past. It warmed up today to above freezing and there are signs of spring eventually arriving. Sunlight after 5:30 PM is a good sign and the reopening of restaurants and bars has everyone feeling a little more normal.
While winter lingers, you really have to take advantage of it up north here in Canadia or else you get overly tired of a season that lingers as long as the others. One great way is to get outside and do some skating!
We have a couple miles of water in the middle of town that is actually a long lake. PERFECT for skating when the weather is cold for a while. Especially in a town that is abnormally void of outdoor skating rinks. I have lived in only a few cities but this one, of them all, should have at least one public outdoor pad. So, the community have done one better and congregated with shovels down on the lake like it should be. We had a chance to get out and skate on the paths for some super-fun exercise, fresh air and pure hoser birthright. So refreshing.
Speaking of restaurants reopening, many of my clients couldn't be happier. Whether it is the restaurant owners themselves or the proprietors of other establishments happy to enjoy a socially distanced reward of indoor dining, it is pretty much unanimous. Of course there are others who think we are reopening too early and the numbers will jump back up as a result.
Me? I am careful and wear a mask to protect others more than myself, and will boldly stay engaged in an effort to help the businesses rebuild. This it a shot of the inside of https://revival.house, preopening and dimly lit as we work to restore it to ready for guests. I had to take a shot anyhow as I enjoyed the light-framed windows and haunting ambiance. Beer was good too!
Speaking of beer, you know damn well there is gonna bee some great beers up in this piece no matter what state of lockdown there is. The government has deemed alcohol as essential, prompting anger in some who can't imagine the weight on the hospital system is the whole society was forced to quit cold turkey. Fine enough by me as I enjoy the occasional beer and can't imagine how shitty a lockdown would be if you slapped prohibition on top of it. I love my #beersaturday posting time and have some neat ones coming up for the masses this weekend!
I occasionally enjoy food as a side to my beer! This was our valentines day feast which I get into more detail here https://hive.blog/food/@zekepickleman/raja-fine-indian-cuisine-a-zeke-hive-review-c as I long for the old days when @tasteem made me a professional food blogger.
We have a fantastic India restaurant in town which I hadn't realized we hadn't enjoyed in a couple years. Veggie pakoras and samosas. Butter chicken, beef dansak, peas palao, veggie biriyani, and a couple papadums for good measure. I absolutely LOVE Indian food even though I discovered it well after college and recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet. Rich sauces don't get any better than this and a nice butter chicken is as approachable as any dish you could discover. Must have again soon!
I will leave you with a classic old shot from the Pickleman archives. Someone sent me this out of the blue to remind me of our college days. We dressed up as Scotsmen for Halloween at the pub. Well, I didn't have a beard so they jokingly referred to this as 3 Scotsmen and an angry stewardess. :)
This group of yahoos never lost the love of dressing up for Halloween and I break out pictures of those adventures usually only once a year. What will Halloween look like this year I wonder?
ENCORE!
Alright 1 more. I like working with the Multicultural Association Perth Huron (http://maph.ca) This is a fun shot of the crew mobilizing to shovel snow for newcomers and those in need. Lockdown and bad weather can slow some people down but not these guys. The video is pretty damn funny as they have international music playing and it is more like a fun dance for them. Their technique doesn't spell grizzled Canadian because they come from places that don't get snow but their spirit and kindness are 100% hoser.
Humbling and gratifying to help this group out.
Kids have been back at school a couple of weeks except for a couple snow days and we are back in orange/restrict protocol. This means most businesses are open but restricted to 25% of their normal indoor capacity. The premier is warning of jumping right into a lockdown if numbers rise again and many are growing weary of the restrictions. Here is hoping it will inspire them to be careful enough to keep the numbers on the downswing.
Thanks for checking in! See you next week!
I am honoured to curate for:
Thanks for the update my Pickleguy!
It is always cool to see life from another point of view.
I don't think I could live with so much snow.
The lake rink looked cool as hell though!
:)
The Doctor is in!
You get used to the snow but it really starts to get old in March when it is still around.
The rink was awesome because there were a bunch of squares cleared off for skating/hockey and someone shovelled paths in between them for a nice circuit.
We are opened up to 25%. Things are still a mess here but perhaps with warmer temps and people get outdoors, things will improve. Sure am hoping so anyways.
Yah hope and care is all we can do right about now. Still, with beer in the fridge and a warm home, we are surely white privileged right now!
I enjoy it no matter what but am looking forward to sliding back closer to normal so everyone else isn't so off center.