Old Butt ain't so Bad

This week has been a bit insane - new place, new car, new life!  Did I update about the house yet?  I got my second choice but it ended up being the right place for me.  The neighbourhood is nice and quiet, it feels homey and I have it to myself most of the time.  Actually, I have yet to meet one of my housemates (the owner).  That said, I routinely text him annoying questions about the house:  How do I turn on your TV?  Do you have a corkscrew?  Where can I find a Philips head screwdriver (you know, the star one)?  Do you recycle?  He keeps the place extremely clean and tidy (perhaps his army background playing itself out?).  It is painted in warm tones which makes it welcoming.  It does lack a bit of a woman's touch in terms of wall "art" though.  Case in point:

I think I'll refer to him as "sherman"

Vintage?

I can't really complain though as I have my own cozy space and my very own bathroom (eep!).  My favourite thing so far is my brand new stylin' bed decked out in my colour scheme:  grey and lilac with mustard accents.  Even my new desk is lilac.  

My first weekend alone in this house/town could have been tough but the lovely ShanWow made the trek down from Edmonton to help me explore.  We skyped with the equally lovely Hi-C and JSLPA and then headed out to the farmer's market.  That was the moment I decided I could really like Red Deer*.  If you circumnavigate the city then all you will find are box stores and big highways; they even have a district named "Gasoline Alley" *eye roll*.  However, if you venture into the meat of the city it is lovely - well-kept, quaint, and green.  The market is held outdoors and it is huge!  It could rival the St. Lawrence in T.O. and offers local produce, local honeys, preserves, baking and even organic, eco-friendly cleaning supplies in glass bottles (I may have caved on that).  Point: Old Butt.  The hospital also seems friendly and modern.  The bowling alley offers 5- and 10-pin lanes. That's right, we checked it out and showed them how it is done.  The weekend culminated with my first taste of Saskatoon berry jam - delish!

Fresh and local!  Artichokes! On the stalk!

Friendly Mennonite zucchini 

Zucchini or courgette?

Showing them how it is done.

Sorry for the photo quality - I have yet to replace my small camera so the blackberry takes its place and it was on the wrong setting.  In all fairness, ShanWow kicked my butt on the first game but we don't have a photo of that one.

Car Name Update:  I need some time to test out different names to get the right feel but here are the current submissions

Maximo
Carlos (Carlos the CAR haha....seems to me, SARS, that this could be the Latin edition of good ol' Carl)

Enrique

Mortimer "morty"

Everett

Sterling
Otto (the auto....I kind of love this)

Warren (since he is so well warrantied)

Thoughts?  Votes?

Plus - TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY.  ie.  the whole reason I moved out here.  FIRST DAY OF MY NEW JOB!

*The nickname "Old Butt", coined by myself, ShanWow and Hi-C, does not reflect the city itself.