Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie lives a handful of blocks away from me. Guess how she gets to her lesson now that we have fair weather?

Bike!

Needless to say, seeing the next generation of little lady cyclists just makes my day.

Lady Who Lunches.

I love sunny days!

Pashley and I have been ambling around town getting caught up with friends, and today it was lunch in Churchill Square. I am so digging the food stalls and sunny weather.

We decided to check out the Farm Food Bar. BBQ Beef Wrap!

Look at this little Miss Sarah in the making.

These Broadway Boulevard-styled table and chairs are a hit. Mix and remix as you please. New people all the time.

It was also nice to know that I'm not the only lady biking out to lunch.

Purse in my basket makes my phone and camera very easy to grab.

And finally, it's sandal season!

But it sure was hot, so I stopped for a bubble tea on the way home.

I am looking forward to these compounded days of being a lady who lunches. Leisurely cruising, catching up with friends, hot eats, cool treats... bike treats you right!

(What I mean to say is that constant treats is only possible because of my biking)

Edmonton Transit Appreciation Night.

You guys all know I love public transit. Living in a place like Edmonton (where the weather can be brutal a lot of the time) it's important to have public transit to support active living. Good transit access in tandem with cycling can make for a lot of car-free days.

It's such a treat to attend the transit appreciation evening. This year they have changed it from a formal banquet at the conference centre to a more casual buffet BBQ at Fort Edmonton Park. Truth be told, I was looking forward to this party for months. I love going down to Fort Edmonton!

And not just because we live up the hill from it.

Biking down is really easy. Downhill into the river valley is so much fun!

And the climb back up is surprisingly okay.

It only took about 10 minutes from our garage to lock up at the air hangar where the BBQ was happening.

We were greeted by happy chefs!

Signed the anti-racism pledge.

After supper we went and rode the No. 80 Street Car around the park a few times. I love the street cars and their operators.

The park was semi-open for party guests and their families - which was fantastic! Because of the casual family vibe of the party, tons of people brought their young kids and babies. It was oh-so-much-fun. Especially since the carousel was in operation.

I got to ride twice!

What a fabulous time. There were awards given to drivers for their exemplary performance on the job, and also acknowledgement and appreciation of retirees.

Without transit near my house I wouldn't be able to manage such an active lifestyle. I credit living near the train and walking all the time as one of the reasons I really enjoyed my first 3 months with Dexter in the summer of 2009. We went everywhere without having to haul around the stupid car seat (I find clicking it in and out of the car is so annoying). I just put Dexter in his stroller and off we would go.

I think public transit is an integral part of active city life - and I'm always eager to celebrate the hard working people who make it all happen.

City Market - June 25th Edition.

Oh my. I love the City Market!

Now that my weekends are free of teaching I am wholly devoted to enjoying Saturday mornings (or early afternoon, depending on when I wake up) at the downtown farmer's market. It's the perfect place to have a spot of breakfast or lunch. Ideal for being outdoors, even if the weather is a bit unpredictable and crummy. Lots of regular indoor browsing and shopping nearby. Tons of new vendors I haven't seen before. Meeting new friends and old. The list of attractions goes on and on.

Though the whole dog show thing is quite unavoidable. Years ago we would take Dougal all the time and there would be people who stopped us every now and then to comment on him, but now it seems the market is a place to research breeds! For the past two years I've always been taking the train because I have gone with Dexter, and Dougal is not permitted on transit. Now that we have the bucket bike and Don can come too (instead of knocking on doors every single weekend), it's easier to bring the canine.

So today, more than any other day, we met tons of strangers because they were curious about Dougal or thought he was cute. I hope Dougal doesn't get a huge ego from all this attention.

I was mesmerized by this gigantic Irish Wolf Hound. How majestic! I believe the owner said this dog weighs in at over 200 pounds.

And uh... here is the one-eyed border terrier coming in at 22 pounds.

We got to watch some swing dancing demonstrations.

Grabbed some Eva Sweet for brunch while Chris tended to Dougal's snuggle needs.

Pick up some fruits and veggies amidst hellos with friends.

At one point it started raining again, so we inched our way over to the Kuhlmann's tent for shelter.

More cute dog.

This pretty girl had a vintage ride that I admired. Later on I ran into her while she was waiting for a friend and I found out she actually got her bike at EBC's Bikeworks for $40 and fixed it up herself. I am a big fan of double metal panniers. So convenient and also retro looking.

The next time it rained I decided it was time to get some warm drinks at Credo.

And then we all split up. Sable and I went to the Garneau to watch Midnight in Paris with Raffaella.

It was funny, all three of us were on Dahon foldies. Long live small bikes!

Friday on Foot.

These days (so rainy) I'll jump at any chance for a sunny ride, but various complications with pick ups and drop offs (Dexter stuff) led to a day on foot, with a car pool on either end.

We decided to see the Warhol at the AGA.

Then had lunch in Churchill Square.

The Works festival is currently happening, as is the Jazz festival. This means downtown is super lively these days - yay!

We didn't even need to pick a restaurant, just bought some street food.

Sable was taking on auntie duty for the rest of the day.

I had an afternoon tea date with Chrissy!

We went to the Duchess.

Hola.

On my walk back towards the east side of downtown I ran into my Pashley sister, Catrin!

I loved this outdoor installation in front of the Peter Robertson Gallery.

I stopped off on Victoria promenade to read for a while, then continued on foot up to 105 Street for What the Truck.

I finally got to see Ashley's Linus. It's the one I want! 8-Speed Mixte in Avacado (it's actually called Sage, but I love referring to it as Avacado).

Yay to DJ Marc Carnes and Thomas Scott!

On our way to our movie we decided to stop off at Bistro Praha for a drink.

I was still hungry so I had Schnitzel too.

Then we walked to the theatre to see Super 8.

Afterwards Don groaned when I asked to have our photo shoot with my mom. But I like to take pictures with mom's picture!

And on the way home we were treated to such a pretty sunset.

Thanks, Edmonton - your downtown is really fun on foot. And today when I woke up my leg muscles felt a light burn. Walking and biking use different muscle groups so I suppose its beneficial to do a lot of both!

Art in the Garden.

I was super lucky to get an invite from friends, to go see Art in the Garden, featuring beautiful dresses made of plants and flowers at the First Choice Tree Nursery and Garden Centre! The whole thing is a fundraiser for the Mazankowski Institute here in Edmonton - You can visit the dresses until July 10th.

While we were on our way out there, we were faced with ominous skies.

But upon arrival we were greeted by pretty flowers.

It was a really neat event. Besides the flower-fashion creations there were various artisans stationed all over the place.

Here are some of the dresses!

I ate cake on sticks.

And took cover from the rain while watching a clay artist make little replicas of real houses.

They were really adorable!

There were pretty glass hearts and decorations everywhere.

We tried elderflower cocktails.

And my new favourite flower - the decorative cabbage!

Even though it started to hail and pour, all you needed was an umbrella to enjoy the displays. In fact, three of us got along quite well under 1 big umbrella. Don't let the rain get you down!