The 90th birthday party was a great time on Saturday, with the best news being Poppy showcasing an alert mind, looking happy and healthy. At one point he caught a robin building a nest on the other side of the yard, so far away even I couldn’t see it. It’s good to know he’s still got it! Due to the planning and tidying for my pending half-week in Calgary I wasn’t able to make it up until 1:30 when everyone else was already there and well into some yardwork. I did, however, make it in time to help with the cooking. Mark put together some homemade burgers and potato salad while Paul created a mango marinade for chicken breasts. I built a salad of baby spinach, fuji apples, blue cheese, walnuts, radishes, red peppers, and celery with an apple cider vinaigrette that I’d first made last Monday for my lunch and *loved*. You have to be a blue cheese fan, though. I also tried my hand at a green chile sauce for the burgers that seemed to go best coupled with some slices of asiago cheese. Burgers so good even I had two!
Yesterday was tidying and cleaning again, getting my life in order and preparing my plans. The bad news is I still haven’t found a hotel for my personal days in Calgary, with all the local establishments wanting to charge at least $125 a night, far more than I’m willing to pay. I tried Priceline but have heretofore been declined on my cheap offers. In the meantime I’ve loaded up my GPS with Alberta maps and geocaches within Banff National Park. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to tour a bit and track down some caches at the same time.
How was your weekend?