Markets and Blackouts

Good evening, sports-fans,

Please don't let the salutations fool you; tonight's post is not solely about sports.  I will say however, for a guy who likes his liquor, Khabibulin sure knows how to stop a puck.  Granted, the Vancouver Canucks only gave him a 28 shots to deal with, but still, there's a reason we signed him in the first place.

This evening I think I'll dwell on my weekend trip to the St. Lawrence Market and my unsuccessful attempt at watching an Oilers game.

Saturday morning I ended up making the trek down to the St. Lawrence Market on Front Street and Jarvis.  It may not be the Strathcona Market or the Downtown Farmer's Market in Edmonton, but it has its own little quirks and eccentricities that I'm sure I will come to love.  I went to get some fresh fruits and vegetables that I can't find at the local grocery store.  If the place were closer (a 40-min walk is not all that fun early on a Saturday morning) I would go for my meat, but as it stands, I have yet to try the fresh cuts of beef, pork, or poultry.  I wish I had taken pictures, but you can actually see the beef hanging from hooks in a meat locker located on the upper level of the market.

I say I went to get produce, but in reality, I went for the crepes.  There's a wonderful little place that sells the best crepes I have ever tasted.  I don't have an adventurous palette when it comes to my choice of toppings, so I stuck with chocolate and bananas.  Simple, yet exquisite.  

All in all, St. Lawrence makes me sort of homesick for Saturday mornings with my parents on a farmer's market run.  For one thing, I don't have the disposable income required to put down $50 on peas (or mangoes, which is growing to be the thing I buy the most of when I go to the market).  For another, Saturday mornings were always so simply familial and familiar.  I would stop at Happy Camel to chat with Jacquie and acquire hummus and pitas.  Then it was over to one of the larger stands to get zucchini and peppers.  Then, as always, I would find Dad and we'd buy copious amounts of peas from the Hutterites then wander the aisles browsing, testing, and taking it all in.  It was a good way to start a weekend and nice way to spend time alone with my parents.  Bonding.

Enough nostalgia, though.  Sunday evening I finally, FINALLY, was able to secure the TV room in the basement of Grad House for my own purposes.  I was set.  I brought some reading with me to get me through the commercials (and to make it seem like I was actually being productive).  I waited for the two girls watching "The Simpsons" to depart the room, and attacked.  I fired that baby up, searched through the Guide and found it: Sportsnet!  Hallelujah... well, not so much.  Regional Blackout.  A Blackout. I hate that.  I always thought the reasoning behind a blackout was that the locals would have to buy tickets to go and see the game rather than sit at home and watch it.  All it did was stop me from watching my home team from two provinces away.  An utter disappointment, but I guess we can't all win.

Well, that ends this post for the evening.  I realize now that these are getting quite lengthy and it's hard to keep people's attention.  I will strive to be more concise or break these up into manageable little tidbits.

Until next time, folks!

Cait