Christmas lights and a festive day in the mountains

Dear Sarah--Day 326 of our daily drawing exchange

Hi Sarah!

Alas, I was too busy hosting to paint anything at the pottery party last night, but Fabio stepped up and painted a chips and dip platter. I’ll post a photo after I pick it up post-firing.

After clients in Calgary cancelled today, Dani and I filled the unexpected time with a trip up the Sulphur Mountain gondola in Banff (locals day - deep discount!!) and as soon as we set off on an exploratory walk at the top, we ran into a pine marten. His (her?) super cute face is hard to capture, but oh - it was pretty adorable peeking out from behind branches in a pine tree. It had just made a rapid exit from a can recycling bin - I’m not sure who was more surprised - us or the marten.

After that, snapped photos of mountains from all angles, had a hot drink back in the observation area, and then descended on the gondola before heading for the Banff Springs Hotel. While they have decorated the castle nicely, there isn’t a community tree display like we have here in Canmore at the Malcolm Hotel, so to be honest, we were a tad underwhelmed (and glad we hadn’t forked out the exorbitant parking fee, but opted instead for street parking and a short hike).

From there, we headed to the Banff Christmas Market at the historic train station where we were entertained by local musicians, doused in woodsmoke from various fire pits, and wandered happily among the many, many booths manned (womanned) by local artisans and vendors of tasty foods and beverages. Eventually, returned home for a quick nap, dinner, and then an evening of pool-playing at the Legion.

All in all, a delightful day. Oh, somewhere in there, Dani and I took a break for lunch and read novels procured the other day at the library. I picked up A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime and Croissants by Ann Claire, in part as a way to get back into the mystery/thriller frame of mind I’ll need to get back to work on our book. Very much looking forward to our next working session, btw - whenever that might come to pass.

Hope you enjoyed being immersed in cultural fun!
Nikki

Hi Nikki,

I was thinking about making Christmas cards for a few people, so I followed a tutorial on YouTube which turned out to be quite complicated. Results below. I know a good worker never blames her tools, but I have cheap watercolours, and the instructor has really expensive ones. Makes a difference. The lights are quite pretty, nonetheless.

Earlier in the day I went to the movie/play which was excellent. Two actors, 90 minutes, no break, on a small stage with the audience on all sides. Amazing. Jen and I were both blown away.

And right now, a neighbour whom I barely know is in my apartment using my phone because her landline (her only phone) was mistakenly shut off by Telus. And guess what? She’s on hold with someone in the Philippines. She has no cell phone and no computer and she’s very upset. I’m trying to be nice.

Until tomorrow.

XO Sarah