Happy Father’s Day, Dad

Closing in on 90, my dad is one of the most unique and authentic people I’ve ever known. Bush pilot, mountain climber, farmer, lineman, bus driver, bank loans officer, lifelong learner. When I was about 7, I was doing a book report for school. I asked my mother what was the name of the type of hat men in Egypt wore. She said, “Ask Dad.” I did. “Fez,” he said. I thought he was the smartest man in the world. It’s about 50 years later, and I still think so. Happy Father’s Day, Dad! I know this is a little belated, but I wa busy trying to learn more stuff. I know you’d approve.

Karin 🙂

 

A drop of golden sun

Okay, so here’s something a really good friend will do. Years ago, Rick, Jim and I went to Austria and, yes, we signed up for the Sound of Music tour. And when I say ‘we’ signed up, I mean I signed us up. One of our (my) most prized mementos of the experience was a tiny green bottle of holy water I picked up for a donation at the beautiful church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married in the movie. The Basilika Mondsee is breathtaking; somehow smaller than it seemed in the movie, but still quite spectacular. The little green bottle featured handwriting, possibly by the hand of some nun, and a little picture of the Basilika. Fast forward to hauling our Christmas decorations out of the attic last year, only to realize that it had been cold enough to freeze and break the little green bottle. Very sad. My friend Heather announced a couple of months ago that she was going to Austria with her husband Rob and their kids. And that they had signed up for the SOM tour, too! (And yes, ‘they’ really means ‘she’). I told her about the church, not wanting to give away any of the jaw-dropping first impact it would have, but that as a photographer, she would not be able to walk away without dozens of images. And, I said, if they still have the little basket at the back of the church, remember to make a donation and get your little bottle of Weihwasser! She comes home, we meet for lunch, and look what she hands over! Now with a commercial label, the holy water comes in a tiny Jaegermeister bottle, no less. But our Christmas tree this year will be festooned once more with the sound of music. That’s a good friend.

Used to live here

Have a look at this CBC story about two silver-backed Grizzly bears who decided to carry out a little terrorist attack. I lived in Atlin with my family when we first moved to Canada in 1969. This is really unusual behaviour for bears. I remember taking a canoe out with my girlfriend on the Atlin Lake for an overnight on the beach. No one around for miles, it was about as isolated as you can get. We had sleeping bags, set up a campfire on a pebble beach, and watched the northern lights. Sometime during the night, we heard a snuffling and crunching on the stones. She felt something nose around at the bottom of her sleeping bag. Then it was quiet. We never were sure what it was. The Patron Saint of Stupid 11-Year-Olds must have been watching over us.

Good to be home

After a month away basking in our new baby granddaughter’s first weeks of life, it is good to be back home in Saskatoon. Bittersweet, but good. And apparently others think Saskatoon is a pretty wonderful place to visit. You can vote if you think so, too! Thomas Piller with Global News shared this item:

USA Today has chosen Saskatoon, as well as 19 other locations in the country, in a contest to select the top 10 Canadian destinations. Torn between wanting to win and keeping Saskatoon to ourselves, I’m also voting for Whitehorse (where my parents live) and Tofino, where my parents and brother lived in the 1950s (and where I evidently first came into the world, in a manner of speaking.)

Tourism Saskatoon officials announced Tuesday the city was nominated as a contender for the Best Destination in Canada.

“Having Saskatoon nominated as one of the 20 best travel destinations in Canada, shows that our city is truly making a name for itself as a great place to explore,” Tourism Saskatoon media director Aviva Kohen said in a press release.

“Getting named as one of the top 10 in USA Today would be a true honour and help us continue to grow the travel industry in Saskatoon.”

People can vote online once a day for the duration of USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards contest. It runs until 10 a.m. CT on June 19.

The winners will be announced on June 23.

Saskatoon is the only nominee from Saskatchewan. Photo above submitted by Valerie Heart.