Wanderlust and Words

Three cheers for Saskatoon Sous Chef – providing groceries to Saskatoon’s downtown core One of the liveliest corners in downtown Edmonton is the Sobey’s supermarket on the corner of 104th Street. It’s a convenient place to pick up lunch on a work day or to buy a few groceries on the way home from work. Unfortunately, Saskatoon no longer has a grocery store downtown and that’s a shame, particularly for the growing number of downtown residents. Saskatoon Sous Chef , conveniently located below the King George Hotel lofts and just down the street from the lofts in the old Bay building, is trying to fill the gap. In addition to their wide range of salads and appetizers, Sous Chef offers meals in a bag, soup and Indian curries. They also carry ice cream from Prairie Sun Orchard, fruit yogurts from Hounjet Family Orchard and bread from Earth Bound Bakery. Not to mention coffee, jam and various other goodies (including gooey goat cheese brownies). Saskatoon’s first grocery stores Saskatoo...

cultivate hunches, make mistakes, write everything down, have multiple hobbies, visit coffee shops, share, recycle, re-invent In Where Good Ideas Come From , Steven Johnson says that collaboration rather than isolated competition is at the heart of innovation. Providing examples from different centuries and different sectors, the book outlines seven key elements of innovation and provides readers with plenty of practical suggestions that they can implement in their own lives. The Adjacent Possible Johnson says that innovation does not involve giant leaps into the unknown. Instead, we explore the adjacent possible, the circle of possibility that surrounds our current reality. “The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore those boundaries. . . . Think of it as a house that magically expands with each door you open. You begin in a room with four doors, each leading to a new room that you haven’t visited yet. Those four rooms are...

“For total enjoyment, you need to know the story – the people, the land, the process.” Starting over It was 2000, the start of a new century, and Keith Watt had just turned 50. He had been a journalist, primarily for CBC Radio, for 25 years. “I realized that I had just enough time to try another career,” says Keith. “I have never regretted it for an instant.” Keith and his wife, Barbara Reid, settled on the 25 acres of oceanfront property they owned on Pender Island , just off the coast of Vancouver Island. As Keith looked across the water one day, he saw the sun glinting off rows of newly-trellised grapes. And he realized that grapes were one of the few crops that would thrive on the steep, rocky slopes of his property. The best of both worlds Construction of the terraced vineyards on the south-facing slope of Mount Menzies on North Pender Island and the planting of 5000 grapevines began in 2001. Five years later, Morning Bay Winery harvested its first estate-grown wines. They ce...

Straightforward instructions and explanations for business Facebook started out as a social networking utility for university students, but it’s proving to be a convenient business marketing tool. It’s cheap and you can expand your audience quickly. But there’s an art to using Facebook effectively. Facebook is social; it’s about engaging in conversation and drawing people to you with interesting content. And you’re competing with an ever-growing, ever-changing newsfeed. Facebook is fast, fun and interactive. Five Stars The Facebook Marketing Book by Dan and Alison Zarrella has just been released by O’Reilly Books (hard copies available from Amazon , electronic downloads from O’Reilly ). It’s incredibly well written in simple language that still manages to convey a great deal of information. And it’s useful for small businesses with a limited budget as well as larger organizations that can afford to customize the software. Here are some of the basic pointers that I found helpful. ...

Brew North by Ian Coutts is a fascinating look at the history of beer in Canada. I particularly enjoyed the archival photos and beer labels. Here are some tidbits from Canada’s brewing history:           In 2007, Canadians drank 71.67 litres per capita with the Yukon leading the way at 139.75 litres per person, followed by Alberta at 98.54      The first criminal trial and hanging in Upper Canada was held at Finkle’s Tavern, which opened near Bath, Ontario, in 1793.      Two skeletons at the bar were props for Charles McKiernan’s tall tales (told in rhyme) at Joe Beef’s Canteen in Montreal. Customers shared the bar with a variety of animals, including a succession of beer-drinking bears.      Empty beer bottles were originally stored in crates filled with straw, a favourite spot for mice to nest. And the bottles were dark green, so it was hard to tell if the bottle was already occupied whe...

“The public is composed of numerous groups whose cry to us writers is: ‘Comfort me. ‘Amuse me.’ ‘Touch my sympathies.’ ‘Make me sad.’ ‘Make me dream.’ ‘Make me laugh.’ ‘Make me shiver.’ ‘ Make me weep.’ ‘Make me think.’” (Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant) Nancy Duarte owns an award-winning presentation design firm . Her first book, slide:ology , examined visual presentation techniques. Her second book, Resonate , demonstrates how we can apply storytelling techniques to our writing and presentations to help us share information more effectively. Why stories are important “The structure and significance of stories transforms information from static and flat to dynamic and alive. Stories reshape information into meaning.” People love stories – from a James Bond movie full of action and adventure to the latest gossip. Unfortunately, we often fail to apply storytelling techniques to our business writing – and that’s a shame. Resonate is aimed primarily at applying storytelling...

“a sense of love in all the food” Past the bus terminal and behind a plain exterior, Caffe Sola is one of Saskatoon’s best-kept secrets. The smell of fresh-baked cakes and rich soups greets you as you open the door. Take your time reading the daily specials on the blackboard and investigating the savoury tarts, cakes and cookies in the display case. It will be a tough decision, but you can always take some home with you. And the staff will happily recommend their favourites. Dinner for friends “The café is small enough that I can cook as if friends were coming to the house for dinner,” says Sarah Robbins. Sarah shops every other day, and the daily menu changes based on what is seasonal and what catches her attention. Eighty percent of the dishes are vegetarian, and Sarah is trying to include more vegan dishes. There are some gluten-free dishes. Sarah uses as many local, organic ingredients as possible, and everything is made from scratch. Start your day with a muffin or pastry f...

Reading is an abiding pleasure in my life. I particularly enjoyed the following books in 2010. Travel Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village is an account of Sarah Erdman’s two years in the Ivory Coast with the Peace Corps. It’s not easy to be immersed in a foreign culture, and her clear-sighted descriptions of village life and her efforts in establishing a well baby clinic are exceptional. I’ll Never Be French (no matter what I do) by Mark Greenside is an account of buying a house in Brittany and learning to talk French. Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons: Travels in Sicily on a Vespa by Matthew Fort is a discovery and celebration of the foods and dishes that are unique to each Sicilian community he visits. In Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes , Elizabeth Bard recounts how she fell in love with French food as well as a Frenchman. The Spice Necklace: A Food-Lover’s Caribbean Adventure is a sequel to Canadian Ann Vanderhoof’s earlier book, A...