A stupid amount of shrimp

One great thing about vacation time is food. And in this case, a stupid amount of food. Over at a friend's place during this vacation, we decided it was time for a little seafood. In this case, shrimp. We went to a local fish market (yes, an amazing thing in the middle of a landlocked province like Saskatchewan) and picked up two trays of shrimp kabobs.

Roasted over the grill, and laid over rice, it was indeed a stupid amount of shrimp. Each tray contained 25 shrimp. It was filling to say the least. And cheap. Normally a meal like this would come to 17 bucks at a place like Red Lobster, complete with extra trimmings. For each plate, of which, we came out with two plates of 25 shrimp and rice. We paid a total of 19 bucks. For everything.

Five minutes per tray on the grill and it was all done, then the rice added. What a meal.

Later, great home made French onion soup.

Until the cheese hardens...

...keep 'em flyin'.

Painted Sky

I find this entertaining, I blog more on holiday than I do when I'm at home. But I also manage to take more photos on holiday, too. These are great sky pictures that came out awesome. Painted sky, nothing more needs to be said. Enjoy.





Until the sky falls...

...keep 'em flyin'!

Rollin' along

Okay, been a while since I posted. And been a while since I posted anything regarding the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Since my last update, the Riders have improved to 6 and 0. An amazing start to the 2008 season, considering the number of injuries they have suffered. DJ Flick, Wesston Dressler, Andy Fantuz, Matt Domingez, Darian Durant. The list goes on. But still, with the number of injuries, they manage to find ways to win. The last win came thanks to a lucky break, as Calgary, on the last play of the game, missed a field goal to give the Riders a 22-21 victory. The rematch is this week in Regina.

The weeks to come will prove interesting. One game against the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskis have resurged and seemed to have rallied themselves around injured receives Jason Tucker. Tucker suffered a neck injury against the Hamilton Tiger-cats.

Back to back games are on the horizon for the Riders against the hapless Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who have struggled out of the gate, sitting tied for last in the entire league with the Ti-Cats at 1 and 5. There's a good opportunity for the Riders to pick up two wins to improve to at least 8 and 2. I doubt the Riders will lose at home to Calgary, so the front half of the season could look to become 9 and 1. Only Edmonton looks like they could hand the Riders a loss at this point.

Until the first loss for the Riders...

...keep 'em flyin'!

Buildin'

One of the joys of gaming happens to be the building that comes along with it. In many games, you can create your own content, and add a bit of your own flavour to the world you play a game in. One such game is Neverwinter Nights from Bioware. Based on the pen and paper game, Dungeons and Dragons, Neverwinter Nights is set in a fantasy world. There is a single player campaign, plus you can go online to find what are called persistent worlds. These are servers that are constantly up, and constantly maintained. I currently play on one called Legacy of the North. It's a nice server with a decent population of players.

And I am on the building team.

I take a bit of pride in the things I build. Each thing that is added to the server is seen by the players, and I can sit back and say "hey, I made that, and people really like it." So it is true with the current area I finished. I like making social areas where players can gather to just talk. And I've currently finished a halfling village. Think of the Shire from Lord of the Rings. Filled with little people, it's a fun little place to go and have fun.

For me, building happens to be a relaxing past time, and an enjoyable hobby. It's a digital way of making model railroads and villages.

Until I find the one ring...

...keep 'em flyin'.

2-0

The defending Grey Cup Champions are perfect to start off the 2008 season. But it didn't come without some loss. Marcus Crandell went down with a hamstring injury, DJ Flick was carted off with a broken ankle, and defensive back Leron Mitchell was also carted off.

Third string quarterback Darian Durant stepped into the role of ground general and utilizing running back Wes Cates, pulled a victory out of the jaws of defeat. The B.C. Lions could have easily rolled over on the Riders, but the Rider defense stiffen at the right time, and the Rider offense stepped up and managed to capture a 26 to 16 victory.

Two things are important.

Saskatchewan is 2 and 0 to begin the season. British Columbia is now 0 and 2. Both teams are very good, and on paper, from last year's stats, B.C. is the better team. What kind of analasys is Wally Buono is going have to do to improve? On the other side, Saskatchewan also has to take a close look at itself. With the extent of injuries, are they going to be able to handle the Hamilton Tiger-Cats next week? Especially after Hamilton came off an impressive win over the Toronto Argos.

Until next week...

...keep 'em flyin'!

Farmer's Market

Summer is always great. There's the lake, the parks, warm weather (sometimes unbearable and hot) and even the summer thunderstorms can be great. Even if they do wake me up in the middle of the night. But one of the things I look forward to are the Farmer's Markets.

The farmer's market in Outlook in open, every Friday, and runs until September. And, oh there are so many things which you can buy. Farmer's markets are great. There's food, crafts and so much more. I even managed to pick up some items while there on Friday. Some incredible pasta and focaccia bread. That was supper for me.

Just take a look at the picture. I could describe it, but looking at it is so much better.

Until the next farmer's market...

...keep 'em flyin'!

Back in the saddle

It's been over a month since I posted anything, but what a better way to come back than with this.

The 2008 Canadian Football Season is underway, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are large and in charge. There were a lot of questions about this team in the offseason. Trading Fred Perry, the teams leader on defense, to Edmonton. Trading Kerry Joseph, the CFL MVP and the number one quarterback to the Toronto Argonauts. The release of versitile player Corey Holmes. And, of course, the departure of Kent Austin, winner of a Grey Cup in his rookie season as head coach.

All of that was answered last night with the Riders' home opener against division rivals the Edmonton Eskimos. All eyes were on Marcus Crandell. Could he be the pivot to lead the Riders? Would he be able to step up and answer the critics? Well, it's only one game, but he did enough last night to at least silence the critics for a while.

The game started close, with the Riders and Eskimos exchanging the lead until the last quarter. Crandell tossed some excellent passes to Rider veteran DJ Flick, and Grey Cup MVP James Johnson picked up right where he left off in 2007, picking off Edmonton pivot Ricky Ray once.

At the half, the score was a close 9 to 7 affair with the edge going to the Riders. Second half, the Riders blew open the doors. With strikes to Wes Cates, who had 85 yards rushing, Andy Fantuz and a touchdown strike to Rider rookie Adarius Bowman, the final ended up much more convincing than the game showed. The Riders won 34-13.

Here's hoping that the other 17 games go just as well for the Riders as they are one step on the road to defending the 2007 Grey Cup.

Until next time...

...keep 'em flyin'.