Date Night

Know what happens when Grandma is in town? Date night for my husband and I!

The River Cafe, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The dear woman flew in and it was non-stop go, go, go. But, there was one night that worked for my husband and I to go out.

The wild, the crazy . . . Monday Night.

Yes indeed, that was our night to paint the town red. Well, I wore a red skirt anyway, but there was no town-painting going on. Unless you call picking up a centre channel speaker first as saucy, then wowza, we were on a roll!

Where do a romantic fiction writer and her husband go on date night you might ask? After much back and forth, and several online searches, including in the car as we were on our way to pick up that speaker, we decided on The River Cafe on Prince's Island in Calgary.

Exquisite. 

I had never been, but all the rumors are true; this place is wonderful!! Lovely space, beyond delicious food, affable service and the restaurant is on an island. . . this was an awesome date night!

I can't even remember the last time I had been to a restaurant like this; you know, fancy. ;) I don't know what it is about great food and great company that melts away the chaos and frantic of life, but it does and it did. Those two hours were exquisite, just like the food. I stopped moving long enough to simply enjoy and be present. As much as I like to write characters who figure their life out, I'm still working on that beautiful balance of fitting in everything I love to do, and well. ;)

And just so you know, the pork tasted like candy. I'm serious, it was incredible.

What are some of your favorite places to go, date night, or otherwise?

Happy Reading, Happy Writing, Happy Date Night!

Tall, Dark and Brooding

Yesterday I was driving in the northwestern quadrant of Calgary and first saw, then smelled, one of my FAVORITE things. For those of you who are local, you might have guessed it. Those EPIC rain storms that rolled through.

Look south and it was patches of blue sky peeking from behind rather mundane pale gray clouds, look north and it was all tall, dark, brooding clouds full of presence and energy. That's what I'm talking about, whew, I love storms like that. All that pent up energy you can feel through your whole body, the depth and texture of those layers and layers of clouds, the sweet smell of rain like someone squeezed a particularly enchanting cologne and you inhale as deep as you can just to smell more of it . . . that was me in the car with my window down just enough to catch that incredible scent.

That rain turned to snow, but I got the preview. Aw man, now I want to write a storm scene . . .

Happy Weekend!