Jenn Galloway is the mastermind behind A Day In The Life Photography. She has a lengthy background in photography and her photos really speak for themselves. If that were not enough, her website is first in Google when searching for Medicine Hat Photography websites, which speaks volumes.

Taylor and I had photos taken by Jenn in early August at the Echo Dale Farm. She had initially asked us what we wanted to do, and we replied to let her do her thing. She lead us around the farm, taking photos on the veranda of the house, on a grassy knoll with the wind catching Taylor’s scarf and against the barn. We then went to the nearby beach and pond, taking photos on the sand, on the small bridge and in the wooded area, on a merry-go-round and teeter totter, and on the docks. All in all, Jenn switched out between her 8GB memory cards a few times, and took a crazy amount of photos – probably around 2000 or something.

The way she gets into the moment with taking photos sets her apart from other photographers that I have seen. She talks to the audience and makes them laugh effortlessly (good for people who cannot sincerely fake-smile like me), walks around and acts on a sudden epiphany, and becomes even more enthusiastic, and she interacts with the audience about what they may want.

Taylor and I unfortunately had to reschedule twice due to weather concerns, but it was definitely worth the wait to be outside; however, A Day In The Life Photography also has a studio located in downtown Medicine Hat for a more controlled atmosphere.

Visit Jenn’s website at http://adayinthelifephotography.ca

Sean Ashby is a Toronto-based (formerly of Vancouver, formerly of Hamilton) singer, songwriter, composer, producer , guitarist , programmer and engineer. He has won several awards including: two 4 times platinum U.S. records and one diamond record in Canada for work with Sarah McLachlan.

He will be playing Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 9:30PM at The Ottoman Lounge which is located at 502 South Railway St. SE.

Don’t miss this show everyone! Thanks for supporting the live music.

Sean Ashby @ MySpace
Sean Ashby’s Official Website

Echo Dale is a recreational park located about 15-20 minutes outside Medicine Hat that entertains thousands of people each summer. The park sports a large outdoor swimming hole that neighbours both a pond and the South Saskatchewan River, as well as a farm that, during summer, offers tours and a petting zoo. There is a walking and biking path runs around the swimming hole, pond, farm and leads out of Echo Dale to a starting point located at the Gas City Campground.

The swimming hole is surrounded half by a sandy beach and half by grass with Volleyball nets located near the shore and a few picnic tables. The Ajax Building offers food, drink, changerooms, washroom services and is located near the parking lot.

The nearby pond has paddleboats for rent, many picnic tables and barbecue pits, and fish for fishing.

The Echo Dale Farm is a restored farm that acts as a reflection into what rural life was like in the 1900’s. There is a farm house, a barn, blacksmith shop, a mine, and animals that are kept there during the summer. More information about the farm can be found on the Echo Dale Farm Society website. The website is no longer operational.

Echo Dale can be located by heading down Highway #3 towards Lethbridge and taking a right by the Spitz sunflower seed factory, then just follow the signs. It is definitely the place to head if you are looking for some fun in the sun.

Value Village is a second hand store that has many locations across the country, but Medicine Hat’s seems to be separated from the others I have visited in terms of items that can be found.

The store is first and foremost a center for donated and used clothing for all shapes, sizes and ages, but along with that, they also sell housewares, tools, electronic media (televisions, radios, computer monitors), seasonal items (Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations), footwear, and other random assortments that float in and out of the store like chairs and couches, exercise equipment, benches, desks. Some of their seasonal items are not second-hand like their Halloween costume selection.

Value Village Logo

Some rarer and interesting items I have seen in the store include a Burka, designer belts and purses, original print books, very nice picture frames, digital cameras, collectibles of all kinds, original series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pillow case (currently in use by me), Vaughn had also found some other Ninja Turtle pillow cases which he briefly used – We are totally rad. Most of the collectibles and more expensive items are located at the front of the store in a glass cabinet – It’s interesting to see expensive or collectible items that people tossed unknowingly.

Donations can be made, which can be left around the back facade, but also probably imports clothing and objects for resale from bigger centers.

Discounts are commonplace within the store. Some days will see days with a certain % off, other days will see progressive % off days (10% increments with every passing hour).

Value Village can be located at 1368 Trans Canada Way SE.

The Post is a non-profit, second-hand store located in Downtown Medicine Hat that primarily focuses on clothing and furniture. All proceeds that are made go to Metal Health organizations and The Post is primarily staffed by volunteers, some with health conditions who are getting experience to get back on their feet and perhaps find their way into the work-field. They usually have a wide selection of clothing for all ages and sizes and at least a dozen couches, chairs or tables at any time.

Other objects that can be found include lamps, footwear, sporting and fitness equipment, sometimes video games, board games, televisions and computer monitors and much more. They also offer a small section of VHS, DVD and CDs.

Some cool finds I have seen in the store include a bow and arrow set (which I accidentally broke and then fixed) and a couple archaic Sega Genesis games in their original factory sealed packaging which Vaughn bought (and were worth 3 or 4 times the amount he paid, I think).

Donations can be made in front of the store, which can be identified by the usual overflowing bins by the doorway.

The Post can be found at 410 South Railway Street SE.

Kingsway Avenue and South Railway Street are two of the key streets in Medicine Hat, the former of which connects Dunmore Road to the latter, and leads to Downtown Medicine Hat. Many businesses of all types can be located along the way, many of which are staples in not only the Medicine Hat community, but Alberta as a whole.

While traveling down Kingsway Ave, some businesses that can be found are:

• Memory Lane Computers
• Community Employment Services
• Lavar Payne
• Gravity Sports
• Buy, Sell & Trade Pawn Shop (now Hope’s Pawn)
• Spa-Tacular Hot Tubs & Billiards
• Nifty 50’s Cafe
• Our Flower Shop
• License Bureau
• Dayzoff Pub
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Pizza 73

The Intersection after Pizza 73 marks the end of Kingsway Ave, and begins South Railway Street. Some businesses that can be found are:

• Carpet One
• Dominos Pizza
• Alberta Memorial Funeral Home
• Hideaway Studios
• December 2nd
• Norrish
• ACRO
• Mr. & Mrs. Pawn

The Monarch Theatre is premiering the fifth film of their summer series “Films Al Fresco” on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 9:00PM at the Kin Coulee Park Band Shell.

E.T. poster by The Monarch Theatre

Our movie on this evening will be Steven Spielberg’s unforgettable family film “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, and Drew Barrymore.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is Steven Spielberg’s warmhearted classic delight for both children and adults. It tells the story of an alien creature, E.T., mistakenly left behind on Earth. When a young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), finds E.T. and hides him in his home, both their worlds are changed forever. E.T. teaches Elliott and his two siblings (Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton), whose parents have recently separated, about caring and love while the children protect E.T. from the scary and sometimes sinister
world of grown-ups.

The movie is rated PG for language and mild thematic elements.

People are reminded to bring a blanket or lawn chairs, as there is no fixed seating available in the park. Come early to get the best spot!

As with all of the films in the “Films Al Fresco” series, this event is being held as a fundraiser for the Monarch Theatre Revitalization Project, and admission is by donation. The suggested donation is $5.00. Concessions (pop, Monarch popcorn, chips, candy, chocolate bars) will be available for sale on site, and all proceeds will benefit the Monarch Theatre.

The series is sponsored by CHAT 94.5 FM and MY96 FM.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is additionally sponsored by Rapscallion Design and The Patio Café.

Over the 5 or so years that Vaughn and I have lived in Medicine Hat, we have made a number of trips to the pawn shops of Medicine Hat. Two noteworthy shops include King of Trade and Mr. and Mrs. Pawn. I cannot count how much time (and money) I have spent in these places, let alone what Vaughn has spent.

King of Trade is an upscale second hand store in downtown Medicine Hat, and they have everything.

Their merchandise ranges from the typical stuff you would find in most pawn shops, like old board and video games, VHS and DVD movies, appliances and tools, to more extravagant items like full band instruments, including drums, guitars (acoustic and electric), some horns, amps, etc. Lots of televisions and cameras (both analog and digital), and a multitude of provincial, territorial and country flags.

Some other more rarer finds I have seen there have included a Sai, Templar Daggers, Scorpion Daggers, other types of swords/weapons, high end paintball guns and rare Nintendo and Super Nintendo games (usually purchased by Vaughn).

King of Trade is definitely the place to go if you are looking for cheap videos, flags, or any common thing you might find cheaper than anywhere else.

King of Trade is located at 645 3rd Street SE.

Mr. and Mrs. Pawn is a pawn shop located in downtown Medicine Hat that has more recently joined into one store (previously being two stores separated by a music store), and they have a wide array of this and that.

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

Buying, or even looking for a house in Medicine Hat used to be a daunting task for me, being a first time soon-to-be house owner and all. The total number of local Realty and Realtor sites mixed with directory listing sites for home buying is a mess! There’s so much visual clutter and not enough straight forward, easy to find listings for all houses in Medicine Hat. Searching through each one of hundreds of local Realtor sites is time consuming and usually not helpful at all. I wanted to find all houses for sale in Medicine Hat, no matter which seller.

That was until I found out and did a little research about MLS, which stands for Multiple Listing Service. It’s a convenient technology that allows Realtor and other listing sites to display all houses, condos, duplexes or whatever in your area with every search option imaginable from all Realty companies! Better yet, I found a website that uses this great technology in the most convenient way which even allows you to specify regions within which ever area you want using a Google-esque mapping function. This site is called REALTOR.ca.

To use REALTOR.ca the most effectively, jump directly to their advanced search page. If you want to use that great mapping functionality I was explaining, go to their find by map section (this link currently points to the middle point of Medicine Hat, you can move around or refine your search). Like I said, there’s tons of search options, some of which are pretty unique like searching for Open Houses, or the 10 different options under “Building Type”. Like I stated before, this includes all local Realty companies such as Club ‘100’ GMAC Real Estate, Royal LePage Community Realty, Maxwell Team Realty, Re/Max Medalta Real Estate, and Century 21 Brec.ca to name the biggest names. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

This new, fresh cafe located on 3rd street in downtown Medicine Hat is a welcome change from the regular hum drum of midday meals. Sean and I enjoyed lunch on their unique sheltered patio on Friday and we were not disappointed. Our server, Denai, was beyond helpful, even when we asked to switch tables. After informing us of the specials and quickly bringing us our drinks (which were served in glass coke bottles) our food was promptly delivered despite the lunch rush. For $8.95 each, Sean and I got more food than either of us could eat in one sitting and the quality was excellent.

The menu is quite large, including breakfast and lunch/dinner selections with standard dishes like soups, salads, sandwiches etc. In addition, all the meals appear to be within the $10-$15 range making for great value.

My only critique is the lack of music on the patio. As this is a new restaurant it may be a future addition but some tunes would have been nice to help drown out the inevitably loud road noise. But overall it was an excellent experience and I highly recommend The Patio Cafe for your next meal.