Calgary, and the transformation of Merry

So after I moved out of Martin and Jenny's place, I went to see my friend Ras who lives in the southeast of Calgary. I ended up staying at the house which he shares with his partner Olivia as well as Stephanie and Tyler, who own the house. They also have a three-legged dog named Tippy, who is a total sweetheart.

Initially, I was only supposed to stay for one night as Chris Reynolds, the wife of Garbage Warrior Michael Reynolds, was scheduled to stay in the spare room that I was occupying. Michael and Chris are on a speaking tour and one of their stops is Calgary. I will not get to see them, however, as I'm hoping to catch a talk by Mark Lakeman of City Repair Portland on the night before I head to Fort MacLeod for South Country Fair. Chris didn't end up coming over, however, and I stayed for a whole week.

Ras is another wonderful friend of mine whom I'd met through Zeitgeist Calgary. His overall knowledge and hands-on skills are overwhelming, and he promised to help me install a solar panel as well as some extra batteries in my camper so I would not run out of power as I had a few weeks prior at North Country Fair. He bought all the materials for me from his friend at a staggeringly low price, while I worked for four days doing landscaping so I could replenish my finances a bit. On the Saturday of that week we proceeded to install the panel and the batteries. We finished it up on Monday and now I'm fully equipped, with a 250 watt solar panel on the roof, three deep-cycle batteries, as well as an inverter which allows me to plug in appliances, my computer, and whatever else I need. It also allows me to run my fridge during the day, though I turn it off at night as the temperature usually cools down then.

Living in Steph and Ty's house was a great experience as well. All four of them are extremely welcoming and generous, and I tried to do what I could to be of service here and there. On my last night in their house we watched a video, played board games, and I expanded my mind-altering experiences *wink wink*

Also, if you're in Calgary and happen to drive by a Dog & Car wash on 16 ave (Highway 1), close to Encana stadium, take a look at their bushes, I was the one who prettied them up ;)