New Years Tea, 2026
It’s that time of year again, and we’re off for Afternoon Tea, somewhere. That was the first of our challenges: where. Don’t get me wrong, going to Banff is wonderful and it’s a tradition …
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Banff
36 posts tagged with this topic.
Chasing the Holiday Train
I follow trains, not sure if you knew that… Every year, through November and into December, CPKC (formerly Canadian Pacific) runs the Holiday Train, a short set of cars decorated with lights that get a little more …
Banff Christmas Market with Cathy and Nat
As Stuart McLean once said (heavily paraphrased): In most major cities across Canada, people are drawn to the expansive showcase windows of the largest retailers, such as the Eaton’s, Simpson’s, and The …
Enter the Kitten
I took Mom out to Banff today to see the fall colours. Well, at least the colours that are there, already. It’s hard judging when Banff will be in autumn glory, as what we see in Calgary isn’t necessarily …
Happy Birthday, Monkey!
I find the end of August creeps up on us far too quickly and suddenly, it’s your birthday and I’m not even sure what happened to summer. Such as it is this year, and we’re in Banff. It wasn’t even …
A Sleigh Ride in Banff
Just prior to Christmas, Jean (Alex’s stepmom and Granny to the kids) declared that she wanted to do an old-fashioned sleigh ride with the girls in Banff sometime in the new year, and could she make those …
New Year's Tea
I’ll just come out and say it: I didn’t want to do New Year’s Tea this year. Yes, it’s our tradition, yes we try to do it even under strange circumstances (heck, we made our own during COVID). I …
Still waiting for fall
It’s mid-September here in Alberta, which means one of two things: it’s either fall, or we’ve had an epic snowstorm. And since we haven’t had the latter, it must mean the former. Or rather, it …
New Year's Tea, 2023
Traditions are just meaningful habits. - Me Another year, another tea. I mean, that could be the post, but there’s a few things worth mentioning… First, Anarchy and Chaos – sorry, I mean Monkey and …
New Years Tea 2022
If there’s one tradition we’ve tried to stick to, it’s New Years Tea. We very much know this is an indulgence, one we are very privileged to be able to afford and enjoy. It’s a once-a-year thing, …
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A birthday hike
Well, Monkey, you’re seven. Like, seven. I’m having trouble really saying that. It’s just weird that you’re so much older than I always feel like you should be. You’re growing up a little more every day, and flit between …
New Year's (Eve) Tea
By tradition, our family does afternoon (or high) tea on 1 January, and thus far it has always been at a Fairmont hotel (which, frankly, does excellent afternoon tea). This year, almost exactly one year ago today, we had …
Evans Hunt Sick Day 2013
They say that when you put enough people in close proximity for long periods of time, their biological rhythms come into synchronicity. People start thinking the same, they pick up each other’s habits and nervous ticks …
New Year's Tea, 2013
Every year, so far able to be said to be “like clockwork”, we have Afternoon Tea on New Year’s Day. So far, every time has been at a Fairmont hotel (three times at the Banff Springs, once at the Hotel …
New Year's Tea, 2011
I gotta tell ya, kids, 2010 was a pretty wild year. I know a lot of people who keep telling me that the years “just fly by” and before you know it, another year’s gone. The year past was definitely a change …
Four fun-filled days
I sit here at my kitchen table, rubbing the weariness from my eyes. Not the things you’d normally hear from me, mind you — I haven’t been working too hard as of late (as you know, my big project is done). No, this is …
New Year's Tea
The New Year is always a reason for change. It’s always a reason to do something differently than you’ve done before. It’s a time when people hold to ages-old traditions, and make efforts to start new ones. It’s a time …
Christmas shopping in Banff
Alex and I started off the morning with omelettes and The Vinyl Cafe on CBC Radio 2. We had decided to venture out to Banff for the day to do some Christmas shopping (well, mostly me — Alex is done and I simply haven’t …
Surprise birthday weekend in Revelstoke
This weekend, it was my turn to be surprised. And surprises came in droves. Sunday was my 34th birthday. I find it a little hard to believe that I’m actually that old. I always figured when I was in my 30s, I’d be more …
Surprise weekend at Bow Lake
Surprise weekends are a good thing. Especially if you have a good place to go. We have no standing rule that says we have to go anywhere, though. Although the “rules” (such as they are) suggest that staying …
Stuart McLean and Vinyl Cafe come to Banff
Not long after I met Alex, I was introduced to The Vinyl Cafe. This is a weekly show on CBC Radio, featuring the short stories of author and host Stuart McLean. It’s a wonderful show, and I try to listen to it as much as …
Brunch at Banff Park Lodge
I slept horribly. I’m not sure if it was from the hiking we’d done yesterday, or the troubling thoughts running through my mind as a result of last night. I’d felt like Alex and I had been abandoned for breakfast, as …
Pam and Sean/Muck's Banff wedding
The schedule had been for breakfast at 9:00. Cathy and Craig weren’t terribly happy about that (it is early, after all, especially after being out drinking most of the night), but were up and running before Alex and I. …
Thelton McMillan leaves Critical Mass
A couple of weeks ago, we received a note in our inboxes that Thelton McMillan, the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) had left Critical Mass. Needless to say, this had come as a bit of a shock to the staff, who …
Canada Day in Banff National Park
Our fair country has been around for 137 years, now, and it doesn’t look a day over 100 — we’ve still got all the problems we did back in ’67. Alex and I had a fairly action-packed day. We started off with a jaunt over …
Jazz Up Your Weekend at the Banff Centre
Alex and I have been seeing each other for a couple of months now, and we felt it secure enough to try something a little adventurous: a weekend away from the city. Exactly how we found out about it, I’m not sure (I …
Banff National Park and Lake Minnewanka
Despite the plethora of forest fires plaguing the B.C. interior, my family decided it was a good weekend to dive into the (mostly) green forests of Banff National Park. Now you’re probably wondering why on Earth I noted …
The Hell of my job
Not that I’m complaining. This week had been a stressful and depressing one. First off was the Technology department meeting for Critical Mass. The company’s been going through a structural overhaul. It’s not the first …
The Inaugural Run of the Steam Locomotive CPR Empress, CP 2816
Most of you know how hard it is sometimes to catch a train. Sometimes you’re running late, or the train’s early, or your watch stopped and you’re not really sure what time it is — any number of a dozen reasons why you’d …
Visiting Bragg Creek and Elbow Falls, Canada Day in Banff (Bamf!)
Everyone needs a break from time to time, and Critical Mass was more than willing to give us a little time to breathe. So in addition to the statutory holiday on Monday, they decided to give us Friday off as well. So of …
Janine and Dory's Wedding, White Water Rafting on the Kicking Horse River
I need a weekend from my weekend. Every so often, I get involved with a very busy Saturday and Sunday. Not necessarily physically demanding, but no less a drain on one’s energy level. I’m fortunate in that I don’t get …
Kathryn comes for a visit
It’s amazing how old friends can make you feel young. A week and four days ago, Kathryn, one of our closest friends, came out to visit us (Chris, Stuart, Therese, and myself). The five of us all went to OTHS, and though …
Touring Alberta, Calgary Stampede, Columbia Icefields, Lake Louise, Banff (Bamf!), Drumheller
Owing to a very hectic week, I really haven’t had a chance to get to this one. Hopefully my workload will drop a bit in the not-too-distant future so I can return to the simpler things in life … like writing …
A Whitewater Rafting Adventure on the Kicking Horse River
It all started when I received an email during my stay in Cincinnati. (This was a couple of weeks ago, obviously.) It was entitled “Kicking Horse Blazing Paddles”. It was a call for those interested in …
A Boys Night out in Calgary, Drumheller, Banff (Bamf!), and Star Wars
This weekend, I did something a little different than usual. I went to Calgary. Alone. Well, not totally alone. I went to visit Stuart, who I had only seen for a whopping six hours at Christmas. Ideally, I would have …
Weekend in Calgary, Banff (Bamf!)
This entry is long overdue — I should have issued this sometime last week. But it’s been one of those weeks where I’ve barely had time to check my email, let alone write any. It all started a few weeks ago, when I heard …