The taming of the prairies

Grasswood, the name of one of the areas outside the "city."

Where lonely people live on "acreages."

Look a mailbox! Must be getting into town real soon.
That's good because I need to buy a rake, a pound of sugar, and a puffed-sleeve dress at the general store. 

We're in the city! Look, we're driving down Street Boulevard!

Traffic at this 4-way stop is THE WORST. Definitely avoid it during traffic hour.
Well, that's city life for you.

Boomtown Pt 2

The pumpkin is pureed and draining, so now it's time to power through. You won't want to miss the grand finale, so stick with me!

Inbred and bored - is this a realistic portrayal of children at the time?
Now, debate!

Mud house? Oh it's just packed in mud. I'll take it.

A nod to the germaphobe Japanese settlers. Really should be less of a nod and more of a bow with your hands forming a triangle and your forehead touching the ground, though. 

Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Your life is terrible.
And I read inside your mud house that your husband left you for some slutty widow.

Fast forward to 2005 and let's give thanks to your settler ancestors.
Now line up for your BBQ!

Boomtown! Saskaboom? Saskabush!

Boomtown! Saskatoon, 1910.
Saskaboom! Saskatoon, 2009.
Saskabush! A website with no content, or maybe just if you're on chrome. But more importantly, the here and now, 2011.

Yesterday afternoon I took a trip to the Western Development Museum with my roommate. Thanks UBC student card! I got myself $1.75 off the regular admission price.

When you walk into the museum, they've set up a replica of the old Boomtown, probably the way it looked back in 1910, complete with bleached blonde ladies of the night and their portly male patrons. They were all called, "settlers."

it's blurry for your own good

We didn't realize we were coming in on the last day of their Christmas Tree festival, so the place was pretty packed (for Saskatoon), but lucky for us, it meant that with the extended business hours, we would have longer than the anticipated 45 minutes to spend there! We were very glad. At the end of the recreated street, there was a man with an orange tan and heavy stage make-up singing, "O Holy Night" and a woman in a beaded black wrap (AND THAT'S ALL!) using the instrumental breaks in her songs to talk to the audience of 8 senior citizens in 60 fold-up chairs. I didn't take any pictures of the performers though since I'm genuine and welcoming and not rude.

 The museum reminded me a bit of Taiwan Storyland, although obviously, lamer. 

Let's look at some photos!

A smithy! He is a real person. Or, an excellent robot.

In the general store, the local setllers would come to discuss...

Probably how terrible their lives were.

Children ran the post office.

No child labour laws in the days of Dr. Quinn!

Old-timey candies shaped as mice. And LSD. 

The mice look more appetizing if you drop the acid first.

Tinned goods and bananas. Bananas help you plow better.

Medicine including  baby laxatives. Probably just made of bananas.

How exciting! One of the original RCMP, before they were even known as the RCMP!
He's hard at work, about to arrest some outlaw - oh wait, let's read the provided description - 

 

Fair enough.

This, I actually did like. ANNE SHIRLEY COULD HAVE SMASHED
HER SLATE OVER GILBERT BLYTHE'S HEAD IN A CLASSROOM LIKE THIS!

I went inside expecting to see some long braids coming out from underneath round caps and was severely disappointed. All they had was an abacus. Time WASTED.

Not trains, not cars, but TRACTORS! The true heroes of the prairies!

Blogger is making me upset and I'm getting bored so you probably are too. I'm going to go puree a pumpkin now.

It's Christmas!

In one month. Ha ha, fooled you, right? You thought it was Christmas RIGHT NOW!

Well I heard that Mariah Carey song on the radio for the first time this year earlier this week, and I went to the Boomtown Museum today where I saw the most charming nativity scene of my life, which inspired me to share it here on the internets:

Baby Jebus was born in a well-ventilated room

Close up of his peeps on the left.

Don't forget the asses! Ha-HAAAA!

Really though, they couldn't just turn the horses around? What's up with that? I learned that when a horse presents its rear to you, that it's disrespecting you! Don't let them basashi disrespect you, foo'! 

So the nativity scene... meh I guess you had to be there.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A Jaunty Tune

I apologize in advance for the poor quality pictures in this post and all future posts, but when you come across something that needs to be documented, like this bronze statue on Broadway Ave, and all you've got is your phone, you just make it work!

We are celebrating the arts here!

Jaunty!

Jaunty-est! 

Even jauntier from the other side, in a crop top, hot shorts, headband, and ankle boots. When I'm immortalized in bronze, I hope I get to choose what outfit I'm wearing. Hot shorts beats cowboy hat for sure.

Well played

You're right, it's not all landfills and parking lots here. There are also some nice spots that I discovered around town. Here are a few:

mini arboretum at the art gallery 

University Bridge - 

Anytime you see a picture of the "city" of Saskatoon, it usually has this bridge in it,  

although I doubt any of you have ever seen a shot of Saskatoon.

historic Berry Barn, right?

And Saskatoon's all-time Number One amazingest spot:

...And cut by Sir John A MacDonald. Lucky stone!

I bet Calgary has a stone laid by Pierre Elliot Trudeau, rockstar of Canadian politics. Damn Calgary gets all the good stuff. Did you know that Calgary is Saskatoon's arch nemesis? 

The Berry Barn

The madre is gone now, but I will continue to post about her visit. As you may have seen on facebook, I took her to a place that advertised itself as the best in Saskatoon hospitality. This place was The Berry Barn. 

A barn! Or is it...

It was on a nice spot by the South Saskatchewan River, and to get there we drove by many farms, other Berry Barn-esque businesses, and the landfill.

"Any open houses in the area?" -Mother Wang

I actually live pretty close to the landfill. Handy if I need to find a bunch of seagulls to lasso to my giant peach!

Classy Shopping

Webster's dictionary defines the word classy as an adjective meaning, "without class." True story.

I have been frequenting some extremely classy retail establishments since moving to the Bush. 

Yesterday, after a hard morning's work, I treated myself with a trip to Giant Tiger, a very classy Canadian chain, to which I had never been before. What a treat!

Canada is known for its giant tigers.

Fluorescent lighting and plastic hangers, my fave!

Then this afternoon I really went all out and went to the king of classy, Walmart.

Good job, Walmart!

interior of Walmart

Yes, Walmart sells "fresh" produce! Yes, I bought 2 Walmart-brand chicken breasts from the meat section! I am living it up and having adventures!

Partay time!

Tequila, it's the place to be when you're in the S-K-T! And for those after hours munchies, hit up the Tim Horton's! These two fine establishments share a parking lot!