#pc: halifax

[battle-of-alberta]

World Watercolour Month: 23. Local

surfingthesealand replied to your post

Aren't donairs a Nova Scotia thing?

well i was doing this anyway so Here we Are : ) Hmm, it's almost as if there is a cultural exchange and overlap between us or something, as I have mentioned many times before.

Yes, donairs first appeared in Halifax in the early 70s and made it out to Edmonton by the early 80s. A lot of their popularity in Edmonton is owed to the large east coast population here, but there's also something very blue-collar and messy about donairs that really appeals to people from both provinces.

Edmonton also has more donair shops than Calgary, Halifax, or even Toronto because of their popularity here, and you can get a donair at most pizza or burger joints too on top of that. With great numbers comes great variety in order to stand out, the kind of innovation that often makes Haligonians squirm when they encounter "Edmonton Style" donairs.

[There's a whole article comparing the two donair cultures here.]

[acetechne]

Hally D1

[sams-scribbles]

Inktober Day 1 - Maritime

Hey y'all!

I know I haven't been around much lately (Grad school continues to eat My Entire Life) but I'm back with my first day of Inktober!

That's right I'm throwing my hat in the ring once again to Inktober! I've never been able to finish the month but I've always learned and grown every year that I've done it so maybe this will finally be the year!

I tend to draw late at night/right before bed so I may continue posting them all the next day like this or late at night.

Shoutout to @allbeendonebefore @randomoranges @quatschmachen for creating the lovely Halifax OC

And @rhinocio I hope I got the outfit right, I googled a couple refs for "Maritime dancing outfits" but I don't know how accurate google images is!

[thisnameisquitequeer]

Hally (Halifax) x Emma (Ottawa). V controversial pairing politically maybe. AU where they are lost on Candy Island and need to find "True Love" to escape.

I know next to nothing about Halifax except that she is v pretty and I’m a lil gay for her but I’ll try.

Being here in this spot was the last thing that Hally would have wanted; the locals said that candy island was a place that you could never escape once you found it.

She looked over in annoyance at the woman who was frantically trying to get some cell phone service instead of help her, “is that really the most important thing for you to do right now?” The woman looked back at her “you don’t understand, I’m supposed to be having dinner with the prime minister, if i don’t atleast tell them I’m sick or something my career is over–you can’t just NOT show up to dinner with the prime minister”

Hally rolled her eyes, “well if this dinner was so damn important to you, you shouldn’t have tried to drive my boat–now we’re stuck here because you beached it”

Candy Island AU pt 1

[quatschmachen]

Jam

2020 arc continues

 XXX

 Edith looked over her coffee cup towards the two men.

Her mind drifted to a previous conversation which had resulted in the situation before her. She had been visiting Hally, and it had turned out Élyse had been visiting at the same time. It had turned into an impromptu ladies night with too much wine, terrible romance movies (where they kept yelling at the TV, due to the implausible plots) and catching up on gossip. It was late in the night, after the third bag of munchies had been opened as they were lolling on top of Hally’s bed painting their nails, that Élyse had begun to complain about her brother. Honestly, Edith had been surprised it had taken Élyse so long to get upon this subject. “He is being not himself,” she began as she picked up a potato chip out of the bowl with a pair of chopsticks, in order not to screw up her freshly painted nails, “These past few years he has been…” she waved the potato chip in the air in an attempt to convey the meaning of not right, “Weird.”

Hally, who was bent over, tongue slightly poking out, foot resting on a chair as she painted her nails, muttered, “Isn’t he always weird?”

“This is weird weird,” Élyse popped another chip into her mouth and chewed thinking of what to say, swallowing, she added, “After the big 375 it was as if he got lost? He’s just been drifting around doing the actions of life, but not actually participating in life.” “Well that does happen,” Hally commented, “there are times when things seem purposeless… but then again usually a good vacation puts me into a better mood.”

Élyse snorted, “I thought that would help him, but even after sending him on a well-planned vacation, he came back tanned, with a smile on his face, but two weeks later he was back to drifting around like some lost log. It’s been annoying. He keeps drifting over to my place without even asking about my plans. Very unpleasant to show up to my place with a friend only to have his mopey face sitting on the couch flipping through the TV channels.”

“Maybe he needs a new hobby?” Edith had fatefully piped up, “Ed seems to have really taken to gardening, and his pet chickens. He and Calvin also keep up with local community classes, and baseball.”

Élyse had looked at Edith thoughtfully, “You did mention that their relationship was going irritatingly well.”

“I get hives looking at them,” Edith admitted, “I feel like I am looking at a Mormon Advert but for the perfect Gay love.”

“But didn’t Ed go through a rough patch in the past?” It was tone that was musing, something that Edith did not realize would cause trouble in her near future.

“Yes, but he seems to have really gotten better. Hate to admit it, but I have never seen him happier.” Edith put the finishing touch on her nails, and then looked over to Élyse, noticing the thoughtful expression upon her face.

“So you mean, he is actually connecting with his city? In a healthy manner?”

“Well, he is acting so well adjusted I am starting to suspect Calvin has secretly replaced him with a Stepford Wife robot.”

“Hmm… it’s been a long time since Étienne has fully connected with his own city,” Élyse had sighed, “Edith… do you think if Étienne visited your brother he might be inspired to change his life?”

Edith snorted, “Do you really think that’s a good idea, Élyse? I thought they had had a fight and weren’t socializing.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way…” Élyse had shot Edith a thoughtful look, as if trying to figure out how much she understood about the relationship between Étienne and Edward. “They do get along whenever I see them at meetings, it’s just perhaps they lost touch a little?”

“Élyse for the past few years you have been the one showing up to meetings in my city, when before Étienne seemed to always appear, even if it was an assignment specifically assigned to you,” Edith responded bluntly giving her an exasperated look.

“I think they just need to fuck,” Hally had contributed, stretching after having accomplished the painting of her toenails.

Edith had nearly choked on the chip she had just managed to swallow, and Élyse let out a long-suffering sigh.

“You always suggest fucking as the solution to everything, Hally!” Élyse managed to say in a tired manner.

“Well, it usually works for me!” Hally wiggled her eyebrows suggestively in Élyse’s direction, “Maybe if you weren’t so in love with pastries, I would show you the light.”

“Ed is with Calvin though?” Edith had said tentatively, she did her best to know as little as possible concerning Edward’s sex life. Her life was a lot better that way.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean they are strictly monogamous,” Hally had responded in a sing song voice as she stood up, walking in a penguin like manner to grab her drink.

“What does that mean?” Edith responded sharply.

Picking up her wine, Hally casually swirled it, a mischievous smirk upon her lips as she glanced over to the two of them sitting on her bed, “Well, I can confirm Calvin is a really good lay.”

“EWWWWWWW!!” Edith had shrieked, “I do not need to know this! You didn’t!”

Casually taking a sip of her wine, Hally responded, “Why not? It was a great threesome.”

“I think I’m gonna puke,” came the overdramatic response of Edith.

“Hey I am not going into full details here,” Hally laughed, “I just wanted to defend my position. They aren’t truly monogamous, well in the traditional sense.”

Élyse had been carefully observing the back and forth, an ever more thoughtful expression upon her face, as if an idea had finally taken root.

The idea of which had resulted in a lot of careful planning between Edith and Élyse (the only reason why Edith had gone along with this stupid plan was because Élyse had promised her a pastry tour of Montreal as a reward), and some careful conversations with Calvin.

At first she had been lost as to how to broach the subject. Her relationship with Calvin was friendly, but she had never been the best of friends with him. She knew him well enough that while usually upon first impressions people underestimated his sharp skills of observance, that he was never a man to be trifled with. Ever since he had moved to Edmonton however, their friendship had gradually grown to be closer, enough that every now and then he would come to her place and hang out, catching up with her.

This had been such a moment, as he casually petted her white fluffy cat, whose blue eyes had half closed in pleasure, as he sprawled across her white couch. She was sitting on her dark purple wing-backed chair, feet propped up on the matching ottoman, drinking her tea, wondering how to broach the subject.

“So you think Ed would actually give up baseball for lacrosse?” she asked in response to his conversation.

“Well, I need to discuss it with him, but baseball is getting kind of old for me,” Calvin responded.

“Hmm… talking about old news…”  Edith had decided there was not ever going to be a good time to broach this subject, “I was wondering if you would be willing to do a favour for me?”

“What type of favour?” Calvin had slowed down his petting of Xerxes, his expression curious but cautious.

“Well, it is a favour for Élyse mainly,” she confessed, thinking it better to shift the blame upon the actual target, “She wants to somehow get her stupid brother to visit Edmonton.”

“Ahh…” his response had not seemed favourable at first, a thoughtful expression upon his face, “Why Edmonton?”

“She thinks that seeing how well Ed is adjusting to participating in his city will inspire Étienne to stop being a listless log?”

“Listless log?” Calvin laughed, “What type of expression is that?”

Edith had simply shrugged, “It is how Élyse has described him… apparently, he has not really been connecting with anything for the past few years, especially after the big 375. She implies he has been rather directionless.”

“Isn’t that his usual norm?”

“Well, according to Élyse this is more than usual?”

“Hmm… what would this visit entail?”

“Showing off the chickens? I don’t know, you can make the plan, I was only asked to broach the subject.”

Calvin had frowned, thinking about it, finally responding, “I want to talk to Élyse.”

“Sure.” And with that, the plan had suddenly steamrolled into the situation of today.

She had been shocked when she had first laid eyes upon Étienne when he had entered the meeting room, the concern of Élyse apparent. Étienne did not seem his usual self; even though he was acting normal, there was definitely something off about him.  He was gaunt, as if his entire city was not able to provide food to give him his usual more filled-out complexion, his hair had grown longer, but it was in a manner that indicated he had given up trying to tame it. Even how he was dressed, yes it was professional, but it was not to his usual standard. When he presented in the meeting it was as if any ounce of bravado and confidence was such a forced act that she had a hard time believing that the other people in the room were being convinced by him.

Over the years, as much as she hated to admit it, she had looked up to Étienne, the way he seemed to effortlessly handle various situations. To see him acting so… off bothered her. She noticed that Edward had been shooting him some concerned glances as well, which definitely meant something was wrong. It had bothered her as she had gone home, bothered her as she chatted to her friends, and bothered her as she entered for the second day of meetings.  She hoped that if perhaps she laid into him some of his spark would return to defend himself. Instead she had been watching him slowly crumble in front of her, his defense tired as if even he could not be bothered to believe in himself anymore. It did not make her feel better about the situation at all.

It was the morning coffee break, after she had seemed to strip him of any bravado (she was not doing this for pleasure, she had to defend her own interests as well,) when Étienne had turned towards her brother, expression tired, his hand slightly shaking as reached out to pick up his coffee.  

Except he missed completely, his fingers instead of wrapping around his coffee cup banged right into it, causing it to tip the contents across the table and onto his lap, dripping onto the floor in a cascading waterfall and into his partially open suitcase. As he comprehended the situation, his expression changed from shock to one of ‘please kill me now’ as he leapt up, quickly moving his suitcase out of the line of fire, as well as moving any of the files on the table away from impending doom.

Edward had also leapt to action, going towards the kitchenette in the corner and grabbing the roll of paper towels, dashing forward and mopping up the table, floor, and finally, once the major crisis had been averted, dabbing Étienne’s shirt.

“Are you alright? You aren’t burnt, are you?” the question was low, and thankfully many of the other people of the meeting had already left the room for their various break needs to even witness this embarrassing scene.

Étienne had briefly closed his eyes as if trying to call upon God for strength to continue, before his hand moved up to remove the paper towel from Ed’s hand, “I’m fine. However I fear I will be spending the rest of today a monument to my disaster.” Here he made a futile gesture to his white shirt which had the brown coffee splatter across it.

Ed had stood back, considering him, “I think I can help with the shirt at least…” he had glanced at her, “Do you mind finishing the clean up while I get Étienne back into form?”

Deciding that this was preferable as well as feeling mildly guilty, Edith had simply nodded in acquiescence.

XXXXX

“Where are you taking me?” Étienne asked as Ed firmly grabbed his hand leading him out of the conference room.

“My office, idiot, I think I have a suit jacket at least that can cover up the worst of this,” he responded as he guided them to the elevator.

“Office?”

“Of course I have an office? Where else do you think I get work done? A bush?” the last part was asked lightly, a teasing note that apparently was lost upon the other man.

“No.” Étienne responded feeling a little stung. “I just… haven’t had an official office in years…”

The elevator dinged, and they got in. It was empty, and as the doors closed, Ed finally let go of Étienne’s hand, however he did not move it far, their fingers still brushing as he turned to look at the other man carefully.

“You telecommute?”

“No. I just don’t really bother with city business that much anymore,” came the soft admission, Étienne looking intensely at a corner, shoulders slumping even more as if admitting this was just placing another burden upon himself. So far it had not been the best of mornings for him, what from seeing Love’s Young Dream interact over breakfast, to the aggressive person on the bus who had elbowed him in the gut… to trying to avoid any in depth conversations with Ed… to being torn apart during the meeting… It was only 11:00 am and Étienne already wanted to return to bed.

“You mean you’re letting these intergenerational yahoos have free reign?” a light question, it seemed as if Calvin’s slang was rubbing off on Ed which somehow made Étienne feel even worse.

“Maybe I trust my people more than you?” a sharp response, one that indicated he did not want to talk about this subject anymore.

Ed’s fingers tentatively rubbed against Étienne’s, the touch comforting but also trying to gauge his feelings, he asked quietly “Or you trust Élyse to do all the work?”

Sparing a brief glance, he quickly looked away, hating how intensely Ed was looking at him. Stiffly looking forward, Étienne said, “That isn’t fair, Edward. There is no contract claiming that we need to dedicate our lives to boring city work.”

“Right. Sorry.” Edward shifted away slightly, his hand brushing up against Étienne’s as he moved it to adjust his shirt sleeve, fumbling with the buttons.  The gap between them was suddenly colder, and Étienne wished he had not been so sharp. “I guess I was used to you being more interested in the events of your city…”

“Maybe I wanted a change.”

Their conversation was cut short as the elevator opened, and Ed promptly stepped out leading Étienne over to his cubicle.

“I thought you said ‘office’?”  Étienne asked, looking around the small cubicle with curiosity. It was a cubicle that sat on that boundary between organized and a mess. Upon his desk was a work computer, sticky notes stuck all over the monitor reminding him of various tasks, the paper flowing onto the cloth cubicle siding, interspersed with various photographs. There was a cute one of the three chickens dressed up in little Oilers jerseys, another of him and Calvin leaning against Calvin’s truck, cowboy hats on, smiling at the person taking the photo, once more Calvin had his arm casually around Edward’s shoulder indicating how Perfect their relationship was. He looked away from the other photos, not wanting to see them, looking at the little black paper tower on Ed’s desk with various files placed on the levels.  Next to Ed’s computer lay a diagram, which looked as if it was showing trees lining some sort of pedestrian boulevard. Reading the scrawled writing, he made out the words “Lilac Lane?” before once more his attention was drawn towards Edward.

“What did you mean about office?”

“Well, I thought you would be separate? Closed door?”

“Ah. Well, I did have one like that but I found it too isolating. I prefer the cubicle, puts me on a more even ground and I get to be caught up on all the gossip,” he briefly smiled at Étienne, “How else could I keep up on the ongoing drama of Moab’s life?”

Ed had opened up a tall tan metal cabinet, which was housing an extra pair of shoes, the promised suit jacket, and a rather whimsical blue shirt with a repeating pineapple print upon it.

“Oh I forgot about this…” Ed pulled out the shirt, and looked over to Étienne, “This is from one of the theme days. The theme was tropical vacation… this should fit you.”

Étienne stared at the shirt for a moment, a look of distaste upon his face. Of course the print would be pineapples, he thought with sour memories. However the dampness of his shirt was bothering him, and with a sigh, he reluctantly he removed his shirt, placing it upon Ed’s desk, next to the open file and put the  pineapple shirt on. It fit rather well, the shoulders were a bit off but not so much that it caused a problem. Quickly he buttoned it up, wondering what else this day had in store for him.

“Wonderful, you look amazing, as if you are about to embark on a trip to Tofino,” Ed laughed, “Do you need the suit jacket as well?”

Making a face at Edward, Étienne grumbled, “Yes, I need to hide as much of this ugly print as possible.”

“Excuse me, this print is a Value Village two-dollar special!” came the mock offended tone as Ed grabbed the grey suit jacket, which did not match Étienne’s black pants at all. The end result was rather comic, but at least Étienne was not reeking of coffee anymore.

“What’s this Lilac Lane?” Étienne asked indicating the open file upon Ed’s desk.

“Oh? Well I want to have a place where people can view flowers in the spring, maybe make a flower festival?”

Raising an eyebrow, Étienne responded in a teasing tone, “Spring? Flowers? Edmonton?”

“Hey! Just because my flowers emerge a month after everyone else’s doesn’t mean they are worth any less for viewing,” Ed huffed, “They just take a little longer to develop and become more beautiful!”

Étienne’s response was cut short, when a head popped up from one of the nearby cubicles, revealing a spotty young redheaded man, whose lips were rather thick.

“Ed! How’s the meeting going?”

“Oh you know, Edith is about ready to murder me and Étienne here.”

The man looked over to Étienne as if he had just noticed him. His look was questioning and Edward hastily added, “He is representing Montreal interests concerning the transit, providing a different perspective.”

“You mean like he did with the NAIT line?” a skeptical tone.

Sensing that this might turn into a battle, Ed added, “Look Joe, we really need to get back to the meeting, I’ll catch you up later alright?”

“Sure. Maybe we can do coffee next week?”

“Sounds great, c’mon Étienne,” Ed said as they left his cubicle. As he was passing by some of the other cubicles various coworkers greeted him, trying to catch up, which Ed hastily explained they had to return to the meeting.

Silently Étienne observed these interactions contemplating how well liked Edward was. It was obvious that he had formed rather lasting friendships with his officemates. It felt like Edward was living in another universe in some ways. As they entered the meeting room, Étienne steeled himself.

XXXX

Edward had nearly forgotten Étienne’s soiled shirt in the cubicle, and they were already out of the elevator when he had told Étienne to ‘stay’ as he rushed back towards it in order to grab it.

Standing there, Étienne idly checked his phone, his mood lifting as he noticed Isa had texted him, it was rather cheeky and she was inquiring when he would visit her.

He texted back, pleasantly surprised when her response was rapid, and he spent some time teasingly flirting with her, until Ed appeared rather red in the face.

“Sorry about that, had to grab your shirt, let’s go… though I guess we missed the first bus home.”

It was probably a slip up, Étienne thought, as placed his phone into his pocket, calling the place home. Including Étienne into that idea of home. While the conversation with Isa had temporarily lifted his mood, it once more took a downturn as they entered Ed’s house, and he realized that he had not managed to dry out all the documents in his brief case.

He ended up laying them out across the kitchen table, painstakingly separating some of the sticky pages. Thankfully his tablet had been spared.

What made things worse was when Calvin entered and burst out laughing at Étienne’s shirt, asking when the Pineapple Express was due. Ed had appeared then and ordered them out of the kitchen so that he could make them dinner.

Étienne had absconded to his room to change out of the offensive shirt and quickly shower in order to remove any remnants of coffee from his body. It was at this point that he realized he had forgotten to bring in any clothes to the washroom, so he hastily wrapped himself in a towel, and went to make the short, but also agonizingly long dash, to the guest bedroom, a route that passed by the living room, where Calvin was sitting.

The dirty clothes over one arm, Étienne’s steps were rapid, and as he passed by, he glanced over to Calvin, who had looked up, a mild look of surprise at his state, but the moment was brief.

Thankful to change into his other pair of pants, the ones he had brought for lounging around in, Étienne left his room and, not knowing where else to go, entered the living room. He was pleasantly surprised that Calvin had thoughtfully grabbed him a beer.

Settling down onto the couch opposite of Calvin he looked over to the TV, realizing it was the news. Dread took him as Calvin lowered the volume, the intention of conversation obvious.

“How was the transit meeting today? What happened to cause you to change shirts?”

“Ugh, it was horrible. Managed to spill coffee all over myself,” Étienne responded.

“I hate when that happens, usually it occurs at the very moment you want to look the most impressive.” Calvin sighed sympathetically. “Luckily I am an expert at getting stains out of clothing, so if you put your soiled clothes into the laundry basket I will clean it up.”

“You?” Étienne frowned.

Chuckling, Calvin said, “What, you think Ed is the perfect house husband? The last time he did laundry he managed to turn one of my shirts pink. I am not entirely sure if it was a mistake or on purpose…”

“So when did you become such an expert on stains?” his curiosity was piqued and he shifted his leg, moving up onto the couch as he looked more fully at Calvin.

“Well, rodeo riding is not kind to one’s clothing, I was forced to become an expert on stains, especially since Caroline informed me I was on my own for that.” This was said with no malice, instead a large grin was upon Calvin’s face as he said this.

“Sound’s like something Élyse would do,” Étienne responded with a small responding smile.

“Ah well, it made me more independent.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Ed popped his head in to inform them dinner was ready. As they entered the kitchen Étienne noticed that the papers had moved and were hung up on a string, clipped up with little clothing pins. The table was neatly laid and in the middle of it was a pot of beef stew and some crusty buns.

Sitting down, Étienne tucked in, the food managing to banish some of the yuckiness of the day, the conversation between them pleasant.

However, once more it drifted to Étienne’s hair.

“It’s looking wild,” Ed was insisting as Calvin cleared up the dishes. Ed had moved next to Étienne, his fingers tangling into the locks, “There are split ends everywhere, do you even use a conditioner?!”

“Ed, my hair is fine,” Étienne had gone rather stiff, not sure how to act in front of Calvin, who had turned to look at them, his expression inscrutable. Feeling Ed’s fingers tangling in his hair was bringing back too many memories which he had worked hard to supress.

“I think you ought to let him cut it, or at least trim it,” Calvin said as he casually wiped his hands on the red checked kitchen towel, “He is going to bother you the rest of the time you are here until you give in, trust me, I know.”

“His hair is looking too wild, isn’t it Calvin?”

Glancing between the two men, Calvin shrugged, “No opinion, I opt out of this test!”

“Incorrigible!” Ed responded, as he looked to Étienne, “Isn’t he? The worst.”

“I am only agreeing to you because you are currently holding my hair captive.” Étienne responded as he jokingly mouthed ‘please save me’ in Calvin’s direction.

“Oh right,” Ed released his grip and stood up, “So what do you say? Just a little trim…”

“Hmmm, well I trust when Calvin informs me you won’t let up, alright.” Étienne sighed giving an over exaggerated shrug of defeat. “Where do you want me?”

“Stay here!” Ed had dashed out of the kitchen.

Calvin sat back down into his seat, another beer in his hand. “Don’t be too worried, he is rather good at this.”

“I’m not worried.” Étienne responded, and he was surprised when he realized he wasn’t. He trusted Ed, knew that he would not end up with a terrible hair cut.

A few moments later, Ed returned with a cape which he placed around Étienne to capture his hair, a razor, a comb and some scissors.

“What do you want?”

“Hmmm… a trim. I am quite keen on keeping my hair longer,” Étienne responded.

“Your wish is my command!” Ed gently spritzed Étienne’s hair with some water, his fingers gently combing through the mass of curls, the comb laying neglected upon the table. The actions were soothing, and Étienne tried to remember how many times Ed had played with his hair, the moments coming back to him, and he realized they were too innumerable to count. He closed his eyes, pretending that the situation was different. The soft snips were constant, as he listened to the conversation between Ed and Calvin, as they discussed various topics, from the chickens to a future meeting that Calvin had to participate in down in Calgary.  

He was disappointed when he felt Ed fluff his hair, put the scissors down, and step away.

“Done!” sounding pleased with himself, Ed handed Étienne a mirror, and then held another up behind his head, lining them up so that Étienne could see the full effect.

His hair, which had looked neglected, now was neat. Perhaps the trim was a tad shorter than he would have preferred, but it looked rather good, and Étienne thought with mild amusement that he now looked like a well cared for poodle.

“It looks good, thank you,” Étienne set the mirror down, and as he stood up, he awkwardly worked to take the cape off, which resulted in him somehow dumping hair down his pants. “Urgh… now my legs are itchy.”

“You should have waited until I told you to stand up,” Ed responded as he swept the hair off the floor.

“I don’t have any clean pants,” Étienne sighed as he tried to beat some of the hair off of them.

“You can borrow some of mine,” Calvin responded, “I have some sweat pants which should fit.”

Before Étienne could respond, Calvin had left the room and returned with a pair of maroon sweatpants.

“Thanks,” taking them, Étienne left the room and changed. He then followed Calvin’s advice and placed his dirty clothing items into the laundry basket.  He glanced at the clock and realized it was still too early to go to bed, but he was not so keen to return to the kitchen. On a whim, he slipped on his shoes and stepped out into the backyard, lit up by the slowly setting sun. He wandered over to the chickens and squatted nearby, watching as they pecked and scratched the dirt.

Henrietta looked at him curiously and waddled up to him, wanting attention. Tentatively he reached out and stroked her back. Her eyes closed in contentment, and he found himself being bapped on the knee by Mary-Anne who also apparently wanted some attention. He shifted making sure he was balanced as he petted the two chickens who were making soft crooning sounds.

In the distance however, Esther stood apart, looking at him suspiciously. Étienne petted them until his legs began to lock up, and he reluctantly had to stand.

As he stretched, Esther waddled a little further from him.

“Hey you,” Étienne said to her, “You are going to have to accept me at some point.” He was not sure why he had even said such a thing, but he was suddenly invested in making this chicken like him.

As he took a step forward, thinking of picking her up, he heard Calvin’s voice pipe up, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you—”

It was a warning too late, as Étienne’s hands neared Esther, she had fluffed up and pecked him hard before scurrying away.

Swearing, Étienne stood up and looked accusingly towards Calvin, who was squatting in a flower bed, hat on head, and weeding.

“How long have you been here?”

Calvin shrugged, “A while. Before you came out… I was curious was to what you were doing with the chickens… so I admit it, I spied. Don’t worry about your clothes, I popped them into the wash.”

“Oh…” Étienne flushed as he remembered the words he had said to Esther and hoped that Calvin would not put too much interest in them.

“Did you know that you can make jam out of just about anything?” Calvin asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You can make jam out of beetroots! At first when Ed suggested it I was skeptical, because, what the hell? Beetroots in jam?” Calvin was digging up another weed, and he paused as he took a moment to pull it out. “But it turned out I was pleasantly wrong. He even makes a mean beetroot chutney…”

“You speak of these jams as if I know them,” Étienne responded, “And I have not even sampled the chocolate cherry...”

“Really? Geez you are slow, there the jam was on the table in front of you like a prize and you didn’t even open it to take a dab?” Calvin rolled his eyes, “You better watch out or else I am going to eat it all.”

“Fine… you have convinced me… I am going to take a dab as you say,” Étienne responded, “See if what you say is true.”

“Hell, why would I lie to you, Étienne?” Calvin rubbed some sweat off his face, which only left a large smear of dirt on his cheek. “Though if I were smart, I would not rave about Ed’s cooking, you might just end up staying, due to being so fat you can’t even fit on an airplane!”

“I doubt that I will gain that much weight from three days, Calvin,” Étienne replied as he rolled his eyes. He walked back to the house, and entered it. He listened trying to figure out where Ed was, but as he entered the kitchen he found him there making lunch for the next day.

Glancing around the kitchen Étienne wondered where the jam would be kept, he decided it was probably easier to ask Ed, and he walked up to him.

Hearing his footsteps, Ed looked up from the stew he was ladling into a container, and softly said, “Hey.”

“Hey… do you know where the jam is? I want to try the chocolate cherry.”

A guilty look crossed Ed’s face, “Oh… I ate it all…”

“You… what?”

The guilt broke into a mischievous smirk, “As if, it’s in the cabinet over there…”

“You are bad Ed, you should know not to get between a man and his jam, otherwise there could be consequences!” Étienne warned as he opened the cupboard indicated and pulled out the jam.

“Oh? Like what?” Ed’s tone had turned mildly flirtatious, and Étienne chanced a glance at him. Ed was not even looking at him, instead he was screwing the lid on the containers and placing them into the lunch boxes.

“Waking up in bed covered in my hair?” Étienne threatened thinking of all the hair that had been swept up and placed in the garbage.

“Been there done that, need a better threat.” came the absentminded reply.

“I meant with my hair clippings not with me,” Étienne tried to clarify suddenly feeling embarrassed. He was having the weird feeling that they were having two entirely different conversations.

As he placed the boxes into the refrigerator, Ed looked over to Étienne, his expression confused. “Why your hair clippings… oh... ok... right. I suppose that would be weird, I mean, usually when I find hair in my bed it’s not from the garbage…”

“I think you are taking this threat too literally.” Étienne popped the lid off the jam, and then he dabbed his finger into it and popped it into his mouth, eyes closing briefly as bliss as the sweet and tangy taste hit his tongue. Calvin had been correct, this was the best goddam jam ever. No wonder he ate the stuff out of the jar.

“Well?” the question was tentative, and it took a moment for Étienne to figure out what the hell Ed was asking about.

Opening his eyes he looked over to him, “Delicious.” He scooped more out with his finger and sucked it, “This entire jar is mine now, not sharing at all.”

Flushing in pleasure at the compliment, Ed looked away, busying himself with folding the kitchen towel. “Thank you.”

“Hmm?”

“You complimenting the food mean you genuinely like it… it’s good to know I can make something that can please you.” He was still folding the towel, the movements slow, contemplative.

“Of course it’s genuine, what do I have to gain except more food?” Étienne teased, “It’s not as if I can get into your pants with any old compliment anymore.”

“Oh my god Étienne,” Ed laughed, “I am going to check the chickens, please don’t eat the entire jar in one go, you would get sick from all the sweetness.”

Licking his lips, Étienne responded, “I am an adult, I can do what I want to.”

“Well don’t expect me to be handing you a hot water bottle when your tummy aches,” Ed warned as he left the kitchen.

“I won’t,” Étienne responded too softly for Ed to hear. As he took another scoop of jam the feeling of emptiness returned. Ed and Calvin had a life, and assigned duties. He had no idea what was expected of him, what he should be doing. He was a guest, being taken care of, no need to contribute. Was it allowed for him to sit in the living room alone? Play a game of pool? Were they expecting him outside?

He moved and glanced out the kitchen window into the backyard, watching as Ed paused by Calvin, their conversation brief, before he moved to inspect the coop, make sure that the chickens were well watered and fed. An idyllic scene that did not include him, he thought. Where did he fit in? He had been oozing around his own city like a ghost, acting in repeated habits, but with a feeling of no longer being a part of it. Wherever he went the feeling lingered. He stood there watching them until he had finished the jar, his finger pressing against the glass scooping for any remaining parts of it. It was not intentional to finish the jar, his mind had been preoccupied. With a sigh, knowing that Ed would probably scold him, he placed it into the sink and washed his hands. Perhaps he could just go back to the guest bedroom and hide in there, pretend he had gone to bed early.

His thoughts were disrupted when the two men entered the house again, laughing over some story.

Calvin glanced into the kitchen, “Hey Et! We’re going to catch up on some TV, care to join?”

Not sure what else to say, he agreed. TV at least was low maintenance.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The NDP was the only party with a formal announcement on Saturday.

The party's leader, Gary Burrill, said the NDP would eliminate street checks in all forms, including the exception for suspicious activity, if the party forms government.

Burrill made the announcement during an event with Colter Simmonds, the party's candidate in the district of Preston, and community activist Quentrel Provo.

Both Simmonds and Provo noted that despite a ban on street checks announced by the provincial government in April 2019, each has been stopped multiple times since then by the police.

Simmonds said keeping the exception to stop people on the premise of suspicious activity is a loophole that continues to affect Black Nova Scotians. A 2019 report showed Black people in Halifax are six times as likely as white people to be street checked by police.

"I think it basically says it's lip service and the community has been getting lip service on a lot of other issues, as well, for far too long," said Simmonds.

Along with the ban on all forms of street checks, Burrill said his party is committed to enacting all the recommendations in the 2019 report by University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley, extending them to the entire province and providing regular updates to the legislature.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[ethicallysourcedhumanmeat]

Interview tomorrow, informal, the only real questions I have are what are the hours (pt/ft and office hours) and if occasional remote work is an option.

I undersold my expected salary, its the lowest end of the avg entry level and I do technically have experience in QA (and dev work in general) but it was 15 years ago in PC gaming. I still asked for 11k a year more (or $2.2 an hour more) than I currently make.

I'm gonna put my hair in curl forms tonight after work and do my makeup in the morning and I think tonight I'll tidy up my shelf/collectibles and do my interview in my room. If this was a standard office job I stick to the living room bland and sterile but I feel like having my little collection display as my interview background will probably help me.

informal is good, its less stressful, I really need this job, even if it ends up the same pay i currently make as long as I can still get the kids to sports, as long as I'm not on my feet constantly, it will be a significant improvement.

Imposter syndrome is real but I know how to find bugs, I know how to test games, I am so good at getting things to fuck up tbh. My best case for this is I get what I ask for salary wise, 30hrs min logged a week with office hours self managed and remote options, maybe an allowance for parking.

like even with gas and parking I'll still be up probably 1000$ a month, my tax return will still cover tuition and I'm really really hoping I'll be able to go to school around my hours, plus I'll already be in halifax proper so my top option for vocal coaching is back in the running

and honestly kinda like the idea the kids can spend summers like I used to if they want, I used to go into Dal with mom when she worked there then hang out downtown once or twice a week when i was their ages

on top of that I think my age is lowkey an advantage, bc hiring managers see me as still young enough to be valuable (gross but true) but old enough to stick around and probably looking for a career. I know my current job hired me bc they assumed I'd be seeking management. and honestly I lowkey am. Getting at a smaller stakes location of a AAA studio while I go to school for music is a smart move, being able to move to audio when I finish is definitely a deciding factor.

like I do have a few connections in industry but relying on others to pull strings doesn't guarantee anything. neither does this but I am a hard worker and I think this will be a good move long term

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Monday 12 January 1835

8 ¾

11 40

No kiss F38° at 9 35 am rather thawing? fair but hazy apparently more snow fell during the night - breakfast at 9 ¾ in about ¾ hour – Mr Bradley came at 10 ½ and staid till near 1 – would rather go home at nights, but this matter not quite settled – will come again this day-week if the weather permit working out of doors – if not, will come the 1st fine enough day afterwards - in the meanwhile, after Thursday, will get on with plan of additions to the house – much talk about them – said I had done the north room, blue room and tent with great taste – but objected to the mahogany furniture in the tent room – said the north room was very striking and admired the imitation – studding of the blue room very much – advised my not being in a hurry to let Northgate and to turn it into an Inn – I said it was my intention so to do – he said land would be wanted for it- explained about Carrs’ having the Shibden lowland – explained likewise my idea of moving the Stag’s head to the new roadside – and that I had some thought of building a corn mill – he knows of no good engineer out of London – said the new Stag’s head should be done for £300 and let for £25 per annum hand not included – the mill building should pay 7 or 7 ½ pc. and the fitting up (wheel, millstones etc) 10 pc. but Mr Clay of Rastrick has built and fitted up two or 3 mills-   will ask what percentage he gets – Northgate house (he should think) would be made into a good Inn for £1000 and should let for £200 per annum without including the land - did not seem much inclined for a market - thought I might as much or more of the ground in another way - the land if let off now should be worth £6 per D.W. said that was just what I had asked for it - if I buy Godley do it unconditionally - all the land may be wanted for Northgate - sat talking to A- and sometime with my father and Marian till 1 50 – merely inquiring about the £100 borrowed of them on Thursday - £50 will do on Saturday and the other £50 next month but my father may be better satisfied to have the money sooner – said I had had Mr Bradley about his plan for additions to the house, and that he thought Northgate would make a good Inn, in which case the lowland would be wanted for it and that if I bought Godley I should buy unconditionally - then had John Bottomely till 2 10 about the drift in his land - it will all tumble in, if not speedily walled and covered - told him to tell Joseph Mann to come and speak to me about it tomorrow for Holt never came near me about it - JB- also called to say Hemingway would furnish a water trough at 7 1/2d per gallon -I said he had told me 7d. - I would wait till the drift was settled about -Marian came into A- and me at breakfast this morning with an anonymous letter from Halifax ½ sheet and directed to Captain Lister, Shibden Hall in an envelope to ‘Captain Lister Shibden Hall Halifax’ containing ‘extract from the Leeds Mercury of Saturday January 10th 1835, married’ then the paragraph (as vid. last p. but 1 NP) - and concluding with ‘we beg to congratulate the parties on their happy connection’ - Probably meant to annoy but if so, a failure - wrote the above of today till 2 40 – note this morning per post from Mr Bradley to say he would come – much dawdling in the afternoon – dinner at 6 ¼ - coffee – ½ hour with my father and Marian – just before dinner wrote 2 half sheets full to Lady Stuart - thaw again this morning - rain and thaw during the day and evening F39 ½° at 11 ½ pm.

[prorevenge]

Don't pay me what I'm due? Lose your clients

Obligatory on mobile, yada yada. This happened about 10 years ago, in the UK, while I was at university. All names have been changed.

Characters: me - it guy Jake - thieving instructor Halifax - health and fitness group

When I was at college, studying ICT and engineering I started getting into martial arts, as it was offered as an enrichment session for my college (Wednesday afternoons you had to do something unrelated to your course). I wanted to do more than just the one session offered by the college but as I was poor I couldn't afford to. The sensei of the gym, Jake, offered me free membership and training, if I could maintain the centres ICT. No problem I thought, it was 3 pcs, 2 websites, and some match recording gear.

A few months later the gym was approached by a local group, Halifax, who wanted to get more people and kids active during the summer holiday. Kevin approached me to do the databasing, attendance, and performance metrics. He offered to split the money Halifax was offering 50/50. I jumped at the chance, as it was about £100 and I needed stuff for uni.

The summer program went well, the software worked great, and everyone was happy. I went off to university in the understanding (I had verbal confirmation) that I would be continuing the program the next year while home.

No contact, heard nothing. Saw the program was going ahead, so turned up to a session at one of the other venues, and saw the registers which had previously been made using my program. They were identical, with the exception of my logo, which had been replaced with Jakes. Even the small print at the bottom was the same.

I went to speak with the management of Halifax to ask why they were using my software without my permission. They said that Jake had told them that I'd decided to stop working with him, and had given him permission to take over the software. Obviously not true.

THE REVENGE

Knowing Jake would be away for a competition, I went to the gym one weekend, did a training session, then went into the office to do some maintenance, as I still had keys and access. Sure enough my program and his were both on there, and I looked at the back end. All that had been changed was the logos, my code complete with comments was still there. I took screenshots of these side to side, to prove he was using my software and passing it off as his own. I was planning on showing Halifax the proof, but then I saw it...

I noticed an paid invoice on his desk, from Halifax, showing a £400 payment for use of the software, with a note confirming it was the same as last year, as agreed. This meant that he had not only made the £400 this year, but had shortchanged me previously. For a poor university student living hand to mouth, the £300 total was a lot of money.

I considered the nuclear option, but decided against it. Instead I was clever. Knowing he would need the software at the end of the summer, to do the performance metrics, and would be doing the analysis at Halifax with their team, I struck. I added a second layer of passwording to the software, in order to use the analytics, and set it up to lock the software after 3 attempts. It would also show my logo and a message saying unauthorised use on the screen, and would provide my contact details.

On the last day of the program, I went to a cafe near the Halifax office and waited for the phone call. When it came I said I was nearby, and went across. I was shown into the meeting room, where I calmly entered the password, and showed Halifax the proof that he was using my software without my knowledge, and then watched as they turned to Jake and asked him to explain himself. He couldn't, so they told him to leave. I then fixed the software, and they paid me a one off fee to train their guys how to use the software and for them to use it for the summer program in perpetuity.

Went to the gym a few days later to drop off my keys and resign. He wasn't there. Apparently Jake not only lost the summer program, but lost several contracts witb Halifax and the local council as the program had some council backing. He was also facing a meeting with the higher ups of the sporting body, for misconduct.

I've never felt more satisfied

TLDR: guy hired me to do it, stiffed me on payment, so I got him fired and made him lose business.

(source) story by (/u/gghosty)

[battle-of-alberta]

How do you see your friends out in the East? (By which I mean the Atlantic provinces, including Newfoundland.)

(I'm aware Char doesn't appear in the Atlantic gang- I haven't settled on a design for the city at this point. Like I say I'm trying to limit the focus and number of characters I introduce mostly to sharpen the scope and also so these kinds of holes in the map aren't as obvious lol)

I took a bit of a sharper current events turn on this one just because I was thinking recently about how the relationship between our provinces has been put under a great deal of strain by the pandemic and has made a mental health crisis that already existed even worse. More on that under the cut.

Anyway I've never set foot in the Atlantic provinces (yet) but when money is less of an object I would love to head out there and maybe do some cycling and sightseeing so hmu when the time comes if there's places I should be checking out :3

(and yes after decades of having more donair joints than you can shake a stick at we finally had king donair open out here and edmontonians are like 'but the lettuce!!')

I'm not taking the position to argue that we should be lifting restrictions on behalf of mental health - on the contrary, I ask why we consider this type of work so essential that we are willing to sacrifice the lives of the workers in these camps time and time again rather than provide them with any meaningful support in order to keep them both mentally and physically safe.

(As an example, most workers were ineligible for vaccines due to their young ages even when their healthcare systems were pushed over the brink if not completely dismantled; this government that is constantly touting O&G workers as essential to the lifeblood of the province still won't save their homes from flooding or help protect their bodies from sickness, and god forbid there's solutions offered for the mental desolation and opioid crisis other than more isolation conditional on sobriety. I have a lot of mostly angry feelings about this, including but not limited to when it comes to the fear mongering surrounding the energy industry transitions.)

All of these problems we export back to the Atlantic when those workers return home or to visit family, and it's selfish and shortsighted of us not to aim for zero cases and instead this province is apparently trying to actively undermine that region's efforts towards it.

[acetechne]

You should draw your OC's kissing each other ... And I mean y'all's OCS (give me crack!)

here you go

bonus from since raccoon-chan made lucas cop out

[Drunk Drawing Requests]

[dogkisser]

This is a former - Prime Minister of Canada (Kim Campbell) who wrote this tweet today suggesting that Vladimir Putin has tapes of Donald Trump that Involve urine in some way - and that lifting of sanctions on some Russian businesses is helping keep those said “pee tapes” private - is that a hoot, or what? Canada is the best #canadaisthebest #canada #canadamemes #kimcampbell #progressiveconservatives #pc #politics #politicalmemes #halifax #novascotia #peetape #maga #donaldtrump #dogkisserinternationalheadquarters (at Dogkisser International Headquarters) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtNBAShnu0z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=109hdv9wj0zje

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 20 December 1836

7 ½

12 40

A pretty good kiss last night between one and two A- turned and said she wanted petting came to me and without a word and we soon managed it tolerably  - ready in an hour - wrote note to ‘Messrs. Parker and Adam solicitors Halifax’ to beg they would inform Mr. Wainhouse his account should be settled on the 8th of next month and to say that Mr. Graham should at any rate have £500 or £600 out of my rent payable on the 4th of next month -wrote also to Mr. Harper ‘John Harper Esquire St. Leonards’ York postpaid’ to ask how much had been paid and still remained to be paid on account of the Northgate hotel and at how much he estimated the alterations to complete the hall - A- going to Mr. Gilmores’ (to consult the registers) and George to take the note and put the letter into the PO. - fine morning F40 1/2° at 8 55 at which hour breakfast - A- did her French and we sat talking till 10 - then out - with Robert Mann + 3 at puddling the low pool - Mark Hepworth (cart and 2 horses) 1st thing this morning brought the large mountain ash from the old hedge-row between Hall croft and Calf croft up to the present entrance gates - and brought large thorn from near the large mountain ash fist thing this afternoon, and made up his day carting with Frank and John Booth stone from Mytholm quarry for walling up near the glen bridge - the gardener and his assistant (Robert M-‘s man) got up the mountain ash yesterday and the thorn this morning - till dinner at noon with Robert M- and c° at the pool - got up a stone or 2, and puddled up and finished the rocking - now nothing to do but bank up, and repair the old rock-work and puddling that divides the 2 pools and has given way a little so as rather to lose water - all afternoon Robert M- + 3 and the gardener and 1 with John B- and Mark to help at the carting getting the large mountain ash and large thorn up to the places on the embankment near the present entrance gates - earthed up the mountain ash - leave the thorn to be done tomorrow - meant to have gone to Cliff Hill to ask Mrs. AW to lend me two thousand till one May wanted it in ten days or a week  prevented by Mr. Parker’s coming and keeping me talk till near give too late - about soon after 4 just as we had set up the large mountain ash I espied Mr. Parker peeping in upon us - asked him to come and see what we had been doing - he was going to Lower brea to get the £30 (out of £70) arrears of rent still due to Miss Marian - wished Mr. P- to take the opportunity of repeating the message I sent the other day by Mr. Washington respecting the advance of rent - asked if Mr. P- had got my note of this morning - yes! conversation there upon - I explained - P- had lately been in London - very great depression there - Everybody on the lock just now - at last, however it appears that P- had in trust, in his name and that of another gentleman, £4000 lying in the bank - which could be had in the course of a week if terms could be agreed, and I would give a mortgage - 4p.c. might be thought too little  P- saw I would give no more - said I could get the money at that - begrudged the 4 ¼ pc. to Mr. Wainhouse and had thought of paying in his money giving 3 months notice - at last seemed that the terms would be left to P- and his cotrustee and that 4pc. might be taken and the money would be 18 years before it would be wanted - P- asked me to write down what I had proposed giving in mortgage - I tore off ½ sheet of letter paper I had in my rough book and as I stood wrote in pencil, and gave him, as follows                        

I said the Staups estate now let at £160+ but with the new building would be £175 Hardcastles included the field lately bought of Mr. Washington - P- said it was almost all building would I add the 2 fields above H-x -yes! I cared very little about them - thought very little about them - P- would write tonight and let me have an answer in a week - P- to make out the stone agreement for and with Womersley - will send Hainsworths’ agreement - heard at the Godley-road letting the other day, that Mr. Carr had bought the White Swan - how, said I, will he pay for it? oh! his friends have come forward - and he has not much money to raise - Mr. Rayner had mortgaged it heavily, and C- has taken the mortgage the Dysons have a good deal of money on it - I said I had told Mr. Harper to let it for me - to apply among his friends in London - if I got a good tenant, I did not care whether the house was let at first for any rent, or no rent - I could live without it - I had made up my mind not to incur a debt beyond what I could manage - I was determined not to get beyond my depth - the loosing the coal would be 2 years in hand yet - but I could manage well enough by and by - I thought to myself I will see how I can manage  take the four thousand or not as may be most convenient P- did not want me to pay off W- just  I said no I might perhaps wait a year and see how I went on  but I should give up as immediately as should give up as immediately as possible all jobs and works not absolutely necessary - A- returned about 5 from Mr. Gilmores’ - I came in soon afterwards - sometime in the cellar-passage - James and Abraham walling the sides - sometime talking to A- clear that Mr. Waterhouse as I at the time suspected came to sound me last summer about Mr. Carr’s having the Northgate hotel? dressed - wrote copy of Mr. SW-‘s valuation of tenant right in Conery ing - and sent it tonight to ‘Mr. Greenwood timber merchant Halifax’ - wrote the 1st 21 lines of today - dinner at 6 ½ - coffee upstairs - A- read French - letter tonight from Mr. Shepley Watson for Messrs. Gray and sons - 1 ½ p. to me - the 3p. to and for A- which I tore off and gave her - W- will be at the Stump X Inn about 11 ½ am on Thursday - if the lady could command the money - she would have great pleasure in doing it - once before made a similar application on a similar occasion and was refused - ‘hopes it will not be necessary for her to make another

SH:7/ML/E/19/0168

application which she fears in the present state of the money market will be attended with no better success …… as to the valuation of the property to be mortgaged we shall be perfectly satisfied with Mr. Washington’s opinion’ - my 1st impression was to write tomorrow morning saying that it had been my intention to shew my rent-book, - but that, if this was not sufficient, I should decline Mr. Washington’s being called in as valurer, was sorry for the trouble occasioned [occurred?] and begged to give up all thought of taking the £7000 - so that there would be no need of Mr. Watson’s coming over on Thursday - read tonights’ paper till 9 ½ - by that time I had got over my 1st impression and determined to let W- come - look over and arrange the title deeds - pay him for his trouble and then, if he was not at liberty to accept the security without SW-‘s being called in, to decline taking the money - from 9 ½ to 10 10 wrote all but the 1st 21 lines of today - very fine day 40 ½° now at 10 10 pm then till 11 ¾ looking over SW-‘s valuation of the estate

[fragmentaryremains]

It’s interesting looking at how food gets brought over here by different places and cultures. I’ve been reading Japanese Canadian Journey: The Nakagama Story after picking it up from my library system. It goes over the history of the aforementioned business, as well as the general history of Japanese Canadians in Southern Alberta. Given that Nakagamas began selling Japanese food, a portion of the book focuses on Japanese food and the efforts to bring items like tofu, udon noodles, and short-grain rice to Canada (fun fact: Nakagamas is the business responsible for bringing Nomura and Co.’s Kokuho rice into Canada and distributing it across the country).

I’m also reminded of the ask about soup, and how that shone the spotlight on recipes imported over by Ukranian immigrants. I imagine there’s also plenty of businesses in and around Edmonton that cater to that culture similar to Nakagamas. And of course there’s also the reverse. A group latching on to a particular food identity and making it their own, as we’ve seen with Burger Baron—and as the above article illustrates, perhaps donairs too.

All this to say, whether its rice, borscht, mushroom burgers or donairs, it’s interesting tracking food in a province that always seems to be attracting immigrants. Whether it’s people coming in willingly or being forced here by others, they always tend to bring a part of their old identity with them—and food is a major part of that.

World Watercolour Month: 23. Local

surfingthesealand replied to your post

Aren’t donairs a Nova Scotia thing?

well i was doing this anyway so Here we Are : ) Hmm, it’s almost as if there is a cultural exchange and overlap between us or something, as I have mentioned many times before.

Yes, donairs first appeared in Halifax in the early 70s and made it out to Edmonton by the early 80s. A lot of their popularity in Edmonton is owed to the large east coast population here, but there’s also something very blue-collar and messy about donairs that really appeals to people from both provinces.

Edmonton also has more donair shops than Calgary, Halifax, or even Toronto because of their popularity here, and you can get a donair at most pizza or burger joints too on top of that. With great numbers comes great variety in order to stand out, the kind of innovation that often makes Haligonians squirm when they encounter “Edmonton Style” donairs.

[There’s a whole article comparing the two donair cultures here.]