Tag Archives: Halifax Farmer’s Market

July 12, 2011

The Weekend in Pictures

By Canadian Bald Guy

As I said yesterday, this past weekend was absolutely amazing and about as close to perfect as it could be.  Did anything monumental happen?  No.  Did we do a bunch of crazy things?  Nope.

All we did was enjoy each other.  That’s it.

And yes…we took a crap-load of pics.  It’s a big-time post today.  Not quite as big as our love…but it’s big.

#thatswhatshesaid

I arrived on Thursday night as I had Friday off. We didn't take any pics on Friday...we just chillaxed after she got off of work. On Saturday morning, as is normally the case, we head out to the Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market. The only difference on this day was that it was a torrential downpour outside. You'd think it could affect our day...but you'd think wrong.

We were looking for a gift to buy a friend for her birthday when I stumbled upon something probably only found in the Maritimes...chocolate lobster. She didn't buy it, but I'm certainly still interested in a huge chunk of chocolate shaped like the greatest seafood on earth.

One of the local artists that is really grabbing the attention of Sunshine and I makes the most incredible cakes. This is simply a vanilla cake with the most amazing icing on top. Yes...that "sushi" is actually icing. A couple of weeks ago they showed one with a burger and fries on the top. Really, really impressive stuff.

We made our way over to the Harbourview Weekend Market (or as I call it...the "crazy market"). This guy was just standing there staring into the abyss so I knew I had to take a picture. As soon as I got in front of him, he began to vibrate and shake. It freaked me out a bit...especially when I noticed he appeared to be looking right at me.

I'm sure that the Harbourview Weekend Market is probably the only place in the city where you can get a used tire right alongside some fresh produce. I'm sure that's not a safety food violation of any kind...is it?

Again...just an example of why I call this place the "crazy market". Hamburger Helper and lip enhancers in the same bin. Well...why not?

Did I mention it was pouring rain on Saturday? Yeah...we were walking all over the city trying to find a great gift for our friend's birthday. When stopping for a quick break, I decided to take a pic of the outside from the inside. This is just a glimpse of how wet it was. But y'know what? We didn't care. We just kept moving on...laughing, loving, enjoying.

I felt REALLY bad as I took this pic (well...kinda). Somebody spent the money to have their wedding on a yacht docked on the Halifax waterfront and it was a torrential rainstorm. I mean, I know they had tarps up and such...but the water was going sideways. Oh well...I'm sure they made the most of everything.

I had no idea that female mannequins had nipples. Apparently Sunshine did. Heh...

We got up around 5am on Sunday morning so we could enjoy the sunrise at Point Pleasant Park. It was a beautiful, clear day...couldn't ask for a better way to start the day.

This has quickly turned into one of my favorite pictures of us. Pure joy.

It took a bit longer than expected (almost 6am), but the sun finally decided to make an appearance. I'm glad it did because it then meant we could start off on our 4.2km treck around the park. We did it in just over 30 minutes, which I was pleased with (Sunshine does that in her sleep!). Still...it was a perfect morning for exercise.

I just wanted to prove that yes we were, in fact, awake at sunrise. And yes...we were actually smiling at 5:30am on a Sunday morning. Honestly, it was TOTALLY worth getting up for.

We went home for breakfast, got showered, and head out to Peggy's Cove for a visit. This place is one of the most incredible and beautiful locations in all of Canada, and we happened to be there on the perfect day. It was sunny and warm, but the wind was enough that the waves were crashing on the rocks. Awesomesauce!

The last time we were here, it was cloudy and cold…so it was nice to be able to experience this on a really nice day.  On the flip side, though, the last time we were here a stranger came up to us and offered to take our picture.  She was just a random professional photographer who loved us being in love.  And this was the result…

Sunshine & CBG: Peggy's Cove 2009

Anyways…back to THIS trip!!

I sometimes wonder if I could ever truly take "great" pictures. I think this comes close to qualifying. I was really wanting to capture a splash or two. You need a LOT of patience, though, because you never know which wave is going to cause the biggest splash.

Sunshine & CBG: Peggy's Cove 2011 (not quite the quality of a professional photographer, but none too shabby)

Am I biased to think that Sunshine looks absolutely beautiful here? I mean...it's a good pic, right? It's not just me?

I think I could blow this up, place it in a frame on my wall, and people would ask where I bought it. At least I think that's what would happen. It could just be water splashing in the air. Wadda I know??

It's not the best inuksuk I've ever seen, but it's still pretty good.

It was the off season for lobster in this part of the province. From what we heard, it's always lobster season somewhere in the Maritimes...but because nobody wants to over-fish the stocks, they rotate so the lobster can re-populate. There were a LOT of lobster traps lying around...but it only added to the authenticity of this tiny little village.

Just another picture of more lobster traps. I got some pretty great shots in Peggy's Cove...looking forward to adding them to my 365 Photo Project.

We made our way back into the city and did some window shopping in Dartmouth Crossing. Once I saw these shorts in one of the stores, I simply HAD to take a picture. Luckily for me, Sunshine didn't mind posing at all.

Can we be serious for a minute? Yes? Okay...but only a minute!!

And now comes my attempt to try something new. We were at Pete’s Frootique and I saw lobster-flavored potato chips.  I mean…I couldn’t just NOT try them, right?

RIGHT??

Only in the Maritimes!!

Try to ignore the redness of the next two pics. It was still pretty sunny out and we had Sunshine's curtains drawn so we could watch a movie. ANYWAY...this is me about to taste some lobster-flavored potato chips.

Oh dear god in heaven...what the hell am I eating???

And that was the weekend, kids.

7 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in photography, tourism, Weekend in Pictures

June 14, 2011

Last Friday Night

By Canadian Bald Guy

Sunshine and I went into this past weekend with the hopes of reconnecting on a number of levels. I’m pretty sure I can say that the mission was accomplished. All in all, it was a great weekend where we, indeed, reconnected on a number of different levels.

We went out to enjoy the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market as we always do. And y’know what? It rarely gets old doing that with her. I just love walking through the artisans hand-in-hand…taking in the atmosphere…going up on the roof on a beautiful sunny day. It’s a non-verbal connection that we both feel.

Sunshine on the roof of the Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market: 06-11-11

I love experiencing new things with Sunshine. Something new experienced together was the “World Naked Bike Ride“, which is something we tried to see last summer but missed. We thought we may have missed it this year but we happened to catch a glimpse of the ride taking place and then did our best to get ahead of it just so we could take pictures. I mean, how often do you see 50+ naked people on bicycles all at once riding around?

Something else I got to do was stand next to a guy dressed as a stormtrooper…which, quite honestly, would have been fun enough for the geek inside of me to enjoy but I was more concerned with how my son would react.

I really think he’ll freak out (in a good way) at the sight of his father hangin’ with a “real life stormtrooper”. I’m hoping that his opinion of me elevates just a little bit.  I mean, c’mon…look at these!!

Gotta love the dude giving the stormtrooper some "bunny ears" behind him.

This is my "I'm getting attacked" pose. Okay...so maybe this was more for me than for my son.

The dudes from Maritime Heavy Armour

Actually, there were four guys there dressed up in different outfits from Maritime Heavy Armour who were there to help raise money to fight the battle against prostate cancer. Obviously, after just completing a very emotional Relay for Life just a couple of weeks ago, I’m all about giving these guys as much publicity as my little blog can muster. So if you’re interested in checking them out, please do so…you’ll find out info not only about them but about their fund-raising (they raised $300 the afternoon we saw them). You guys are doing a good job out there…making people smile and trying to raise funds for a good cause. Keep doing what you’re doing.

Hey…speaking of my son…he starts soccer tonight!  It’s the first organized sporting activity that he’s ever been signed-up for, so needless to say I can’t wait to go watch him every single time he’s out there.  I want to be “that dad”, y’know?  The guy who shows up for every game because he puts his son first. And right now, at a time where I could be working a TON of overtime, watching my son play soccer just seems so much more important than anything I’ve got going on at work.  I just can’t wait to be a “soccer dad”.

And now for the “depressing/not really that happy” part of today’s post…I gotta be honest and say that not everything going on in my life right now is all wine and roses. I realized over the weekend that my quest to finally accept myself as the good person that I am isn’t going the way I want it to.  I mean, I’m almost 39 years old and I still have moments where I feel like that 15-year-old kid who got picked on for wearing bad clothes, having bad hair, and suffering from really bad acne.

I have to admit it…I look in the mirror and absolutely hate what I see.  And what’s worse? I allow this reflection of myself to affect how I act around others.

I’m trying, though…I just need to figure out how to break down these walls I’ve built-up around myself over the years.  And I don’t think they’re walls that prevent others from getting in because I usually tell Sunshine more than I want to (I just don’t like holding things in when I’m with her).  No, the walls I’ve built are preventing ME from getting through to ME.

Sunshine has tried so very hard to help me see the man that she sees, and I feel like I constantly let her down because I just can’t see what she sees.

But I’m trying.

On the positive side of things, I tried chocolate soda over the weekend and didn’t hate it.  Seriously.

Oh…and Sunshine had some DQ, which is kinda eventful because it’ll be the last time all summer she’ll be having any. I’ll let her tell you why, though.

And finally, I have to admit that I absolutely love this new Katy Perry song/video. It’s catchy…it’s pop…it’s fun…it’s everything a guy my age SHOULDN’T enjoy, but I do.  Immensely.

LAST FRIDAY NIGHT by Katy Perry

5 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in dating, fears, happiness, music, photography, relationships

April 19, 2011

The Weekend in Pictures

By Canadian Bald Guy

We started out the weekend, as we normally do, by going to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. On the way there, we made a quick pit-stop at a bank machine. While Sunshine was getting some cash, I just took a moment to appreciate the beautiful downtown area of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I am not the biggest fan of the city, but I do enjoy the downtown area.

We then made our way to a new favorite weekend hangout, the "Crazy Market". We only call it that because the vendors are some of the most unique people you will see in this city. This particular market is really just a glorified flea market, but Sunshine and I always seem to enjoy making our way through the craziness. http://www.facebook.com/harbourviewmarket

When you enter the Harbourview Weekend Market, you head to the left and walk through their grocery store (fresh produce...frozen entrees...lip enhancers...) and then you find yourself staring at The Book of Joe, the resident book store/clothing boutique/fridge magnet spot. You can check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/thebookofjoe.

In the same corner as the book store is Nakamal Cafe, which is a small organic coffee/tea shop run by a friend of Sunshine. He is a very polite and friendly guy with one heckuva kick-ass beard.

I dunno...I am sure other people can make this cupcake (Sunshine has made them before) but it is still quite impressive to me.

I am not the biggest hockey fan in the world, but I do think this Toronto Maple Leaf rubber duckie is kinda cool. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lil-Duckie-Bath-Boutique

There was an amazing location within this market (The Monkey Paw) that had "modern antiques" and was just a VERY cool spot. I mean, they had a 1 litre bottle of Pepsi Free (Back to the Future II, anyone?) that still had the pop inside of it. Anyway, this poster...I thought...was really something. Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s (and to a lesser extent still today), the most popular wrestlers in Mexico starred in movies. This one featured Blue Demon, who is considered one of the greatest Mexican Lucha Libre performers of all time.

In fact, they were filming a short video at the Monkey Paw for their Facebook page when Sunshine and I were there (we were standing directly behind him). Check it out (and see what we mean about “unique people”:

This was a very cool collection of old stuff (for lack of a better term) that was found at The Monkey Paw. If you look closely, you can see a bottle of OFF bug repellant...which looks to be at least 20 years old and STILL has the repellant in it!!

Ummm...how can you go wrong with having a statue of Jesus, a CHiPs action figure of Erik Estrada, and a stuffed weasel on your shelf???

For the second time in two visits, we made our way to Sams Seafood & Grill for Saturday brunch. Being totally honest, the service is very friendly but terrible...as once the food is on your table they forget you are even there. But the food is good, fast, and cheap!

I made Sunshine wait until 11am before eating. Why? Well...I just had to order The Twins!! Seriously, I do not care how poor quality the filet mignons actually are because they taste amazing and are tender and, quite frankly, taste like filet mignon!! And how can you go wrong with the price???

Seriously...does this NOT look like it is worth $8 to you??

Im not much of a drinker. In fact, Sunshine has never seen me drunk in two-and-a-half years. She tries, though. We ended up spending Saturday night drinking beer and watching Titanic (I am king of the world!!!). This picture would be of us about to enjoy some Twistee shots. I cannot say that I disliked them...at all.

I do NOT normally like anything other than beer. But after seeing these in the liquor store, Sunshine made an "impulse buy" and picked up these Twistee shots. Vanilla and butterscotch? Yeah...they work well together.

This is where Kiddo had her birthday party on Sunday. The premise is simple...you choose what you want to paint, you paint it, they cook it and make it all shiny, and then you have a nice piece of whatever that you made yourself. Seriously...the adults had more fun here than the kids did.

A view from inside the Clay Cafe in Halifax, Nova Scotia. http://www.claycafe.ca

This was a wall of painted tiles inside the party room at the http://www.ClayCafe.ca location in Halifax.

This was the wall of paints to choose from, with each tile showing you what the paint would look like with a few coats.

So here is where you can choose whatever pottery you want to paint. The prices are a bit on the high side, but really...they supply the paint and then cook & glaze them later to give them that really good dark & shiny appearance. There was definitely a lot to choose from.

Happy birthday Kiddo!!

And that was pretty much the weekend. Hope yours was a good one, too.

This weekend will be CRAZY fun as I’m heading to Halifax with Ankle Biter to spend Easter weekend with Sunshine and her two girls. Can’t wait!!!

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in photography, Weekend in Pictures

January 31, 2011

My Ten Long-Distance Relationship “Date Wishes” for 2011

By Canadian Bald Guy
Awhile back, Sunshine came up with a dual blog-post idea for the two of us.  She found it at another website that gave the suggestion as a way to help people in long-distance relationships.
Here is the idea…

  1. We each outline 10 things that we want to accomplish in the next year as a couple.
  2. Share our lists via our blogs.
  3. Get out there and make each other’s dreams come true!

So without comparing notes of any kind, here is my list of things (in no particular order ) that I would love to do with Sunshine in 2011:

  1. Go to the Halifax Farmer’s Market at least once every two months. This is one that we’ve been slipping a bit on lately.  I never liked going out to any kind of farmer’s market until I met Sunshine.  I mean, I went a few times with The Ex but it seemed more of a chore than anything else.  With Sunshine it’s a completely different feeling.  I actually WANT to go.  I actually LIKE walking around and seeing the local artisans and farmers and bakers and whoever else is there selling whatever it is they made.  I just like spending this time with Sunshine, too.
  2. Attend a local “Tweet-up” as a couple. Sunshine has been invited to a couple of these so far, and the last time I noticed on Twitter that an invite was given to her I ended up being included in the mix, too.  Because of our blogs, we have a lot of similar friends on Twitter so it’s only natural that we try to get out and meet some of these people in person to see if we’d actually like them or not.  Plus…it’d be nice to have more “couple” friends to share together.
  3. Spend a weekend in PEI. We’ve been talking about this one for awhile and I’m very hopeful that we can make this a reality this summer.  To walk along the Charlottetown waterfront on a beautiful sunny day would be very special.  Maybe take in some of the local “touristy” attractions would be fun, too (I’m a tourist at heart, after all).  I’m really wanting this one to actually happen.
  4. Walk along the waterfront in Halifax AND Saint John on sunny days. We’ve walked along the Halifax waterfront numerous times and each time it’s a different experience depending on what’s going on that particular weekend.  We went to Saint John on a “stay-cation” last spring but it ended up being foggy and wet and cold that day.  I know the Saint John waterfront can look great if it’s a sunny day…not to mention their farmer’s market was nice to walk through, as well.
  5. Attend one night of the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival. I’m not a jazz or blues fan, to be honest…but I’d love to be able to just sit back in some club, drink in hand, having a conversation with Sunshine about absolutely nothing in particular while some live music was playing in the back ground.  I find jazz music is best when in the background, anyway.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about this festival so maybe I’ll end up becoming a fan.
  6. Attend a live play or musical. I’ve always been a huge fan of live entertainment, having been part of my high school band AND its drama club (plus my years of being in front of crowds as a DJ or event MC).  Over the years, I’ve seen a few musicals (I actually got to see Les Miz in London!) and have attended a few plays (Blood Brothers was pretty awesome), but haven’t seen much lately.  I know there are a lot of small, local productions going on all the time.  So whether it’s in my city or hers, I’d like us to go out on a date and enjoy something like that together.  I think it’d be fun.  It’d be even more amazing if we could see a puppet musical about Dracula, but I think I’d settle for something else.
  7. Attend a concert together. God bless Sunshine…she stood in the rain with me for over five hours so we could see KISS together two summers ago.  And while I offered to drive 3 hours one night at the last second so we could see a Jann Arden concert together (she ended up going with a friend), there hasn’t been any concerts worth attending since 2009.  And really, that sucks.  I’d love for us to be able to sit in a coliseum and enjoy a concert from an artist that we both enjoy.  I heard U2 might be coming this summer, so maybe that’s the concert we can go to?
  8. Fly to Toronto for an extended weekend. While trying to figure out how to fly my daughter in to see me for our “winter visit”, I ended up looking at other possibilities. There’s a new airline that flies right into downtown Toronto for about half the price of the normal airlines.  We could fly into Toronto, jump on the GoTrain to my daughter’s city, then find a cheap hotel to stay in for a couple of nights…maybe even rent a car for a weekend.  It’ll cost a bit, but I think it’d be cheaper than my daughter flying down for two weeks…which normally costs a TON of money (it costs more once she’s here than her travel does!).  We could even drive to Ontario for a visit, for that matter…but if we did that it would have to be in the spring after the winter.  I dunno…it’s something we’re looking into.
  9. Go to at least five restaurants that neither one of us have ever been to. I know it’s hard to tell by just looking at me but I’m a big fan of food.  Mind you, only “specific” foods because I’m a fussy eater (just ask Sunshine).  But I would LOVE to go out and eat at places we’ve never been to before…trying new cuisine (Greek?  Jamaican?) and experiencing something new together.  I think five is a reasonable goal for the entire year.
  10. Go camping more than one night together…in the woods. This is more for Sunshine than anything else on this list.  She’s a big fan of camping out in the woods and I’m a guy who hates it…but I’m totally willing to give it a shot to show her how much I love her.  So I’m absolutely willing to go to Keji or some other provincial park or campground (maybe when we go to PEI?) and camp in a tent without the comforts of home for a weekend.  But NO MORE than two nights…y’know, if we’re keeping track of things here.

So…how does this compare to Sunshine’s list?  Head on over and check it out.  Maybe we’ll both be pleasantly surprised.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in love, relationships

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