Wanderlust and Words

Wintershines Taster Event, Feb. 2  The Wintershines Taster Event from 6-8 pm , Feb. 2, will feature 10 local distilleries and wineries and 10 local food vendors. Wine & Chocolate, Feb. 10  Find out the best ways to pair wine and chocolate at Saskatoon Co-op Liquor on Feb. 10. All’s Fair in Love and Trade, Feb. 11  Fair Trade Saskatoon is hosting All’s Fair in Love and Trade from 8-11 pm , Feb. 11, at The Refinery. There’ll be music by Vesti and friends, luscious desserts, and fair trade wine. You can also shop at the Ten Thousand Villages display. Garden of Early Delights, Feb. 25  On Feb. 25, Christ Church Anglican is offering an evening of fine dining and music inspired by Renaissance artists and composers . The evening will feature Renée de Moissac on the organ, Prairie Wynd Consort on recorders, and members of Saskatoon’s Ecumenical Choir and Friends, with period instruments crafted by local luthier Weldon Gray. Saskatoon Food Forest Initiat...

I spent a very happy week at the beginning of November with good friends, Karen and Scott. They have been renting a house near Mirepoix, France, for several years now so they were able to show me some of the loveliest nearby sights. Countryside The rolling hills turn to steep mountain passes the further south you travel. There are traces of the Resistance movement, wineries, fast-flowing river valleys, and pretty little villages. Mirepoix  Mirepoix ’s square is surrounded by beautiful old half-timbered buildings. Plane trees line the streets and there is a huge market every Monday. Alet-les-Bains Alet-les-Bains is a small village with a pretty park by the river, narrow streets and alleyways, old half-timbered buildings, and a few remaining traces of the medieval Jewish ghetto. See Also  Sunny Day in Quillan  Market Day in Limoux  Perpignan à Noël

I’m spending a day in Hastings , on the south coast of Great Britain, before heading on to my next housesitting gig. It’s been a cool, grey day, but I’ve enjoyed exploring the city. It was market day – what luck! I also discovered a small arcade and a very appropriately named bakery. I wandered on to the Old Town with its winding streets and alleys and old buildings. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 was the start of the Norman conquest of Great Britain. William the Conqueror built a castle, probably on the earthworks of the earlier Saxon castle. The castle ruins still hover over the town. The promenade runs for miles along the pebbly beach with old-fashioned hotels and guesthouses all along the promenade. The pier is new as the old one burnt down in 2010. At one point, the sun tried to break through – but not for long!

Food & Sustainability, Feb. 1  Join Grant Wood, Dr. Phil Loring, and Dr. Michael Schwandt for a panel discussion on sustainability and food from 5-6:30 pm , Feb. 1, at Louis’ on campus. Complimentary food featuring local ingredients will be provided. RSVP online . Fermentation Basics, Feb. 2  The Mayfair Library is hosting a fermentation basics workshop from 6:30-8 pm , Feb. 2. Whisky Tasting, Feb. 2  In Canada, you can’t sell whisky until it’s been aged for a minimum of 3 years. But that doesn’t mean you can’t taste it. Join John from Black Fox Farm & Distillery in a tasting of their triticale, oat, and wheat whiskies from 7:30-9 pm , Feb. 2. February Courses at The Local Kitchen  Check out the line-up of classes at The Local Kitchen in February : The Black Forest with Chef Jenni, Plant-based Dining with Justin O’Reilly, and Warming Vegetarian Meals with Caitlin Ilse. Prairie Pasta Prairie Pasta is selling fresh pasta at the Saskatoon Farme...

I rode a double decker bus from Poole to Swanage , eager to take a long, long walk along the seafront. It was wonderful – fresh air, green fields, breaking waves, dogs on the beach and paragliders in the air. At the northern end of the bay are Old Harry Rocks , limestone formations commemorating either the devil who had a nap on the rocks or a local pirate. Swanage has been a popular seaside resort since Victorian times. If you go, be sure to visit Chococo for some handmade chocolates. A short distance inland from Swanage is Corfe Castle. A small village of stone cottages and old pubs surrounds the remains of Corfe Castle .  The castle is huge and appears even taller as it’s set on top of a large mound. In 875AD, King Alfred, the Saxon king, defeated the Danes in a decisive naval battle in Swanage Bay, sinking 120 Viking ships. He built a wooden castle at Corfe to prevent any further attacks. William the Conqueror replaced the wooden stron...

Life  The Monuments Men , Robert M. Edsel Art was part of the madness of the Second World War – stealing it, collecting it, trying to retrieve it City Creatures: Animal Encounters in the Chicago Wilderness , Gavin Van Horn  Essays, poetry, and art illustrating the many ways in which human and animal lives are connected Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California , Frances Dinkelspiel  The title says it all. It saddens me to see people becoming so obsessed and greedy over something as relatively unimportant as wine Aging  Sixty: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning? , Ian Brown Ian Brown keeps a diary exploring what it means to be 60 – physically, intellectually, and psychologically A Year of Marvellous Ways , Sarah Winman Love and death, old age and grieving – an 89-year-old woman living alone by a Cornish creek (fiction) The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper , Phaedra Patrick...