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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Nosey Parker Post

Diary of a Flutter.Kat

 Here is my Nosey Parker post! So for anyone curious about where I live, this is the post for you.  

If you want to play along as well, just head on over to Kat's blog and join the party!

Here goes...

1) Tell us about your home:

I live in small town Westlock, Alberta, Canada. 
Westlock is home of the Canadian Tractor Museum.  I have lived in Westlock for almost 3 years, and in the area nearly all my life, and I have never been there. 
One of the exhibits.

It's the prairies.  The ocean is far away, the mountains are at least 5 hours away, the US border is at least 8 hours away.  But my family is only a hop, skip, and a jump away.  I like that.
On the Rotary Trail

Westlock was founded in 1913, so it's not even really that old.  It is built around the railroad that has been hauling grain out of our town since, well, since it became a town.  Even now, the railway is pretty big here in town.

2)What are the houses like in your area.

Most places around here are detached houses, and there are not so many apartments.  I think I could count on one hand the amount of apartment buildings around here.  And even those are no more than 5 stories high.  Yup, small town.  There is an old part of town and a new part.  We live in the middle part.  The old houses are almost doll sized and the new houses can be quite large.  Our own house has three bedrooms, an office, kitchen, living room, dining room (or our living area), and one and half baths.  Don't know if that is average around here or not.


3) What are some of your favourite places to visit or favourite things to do in & about your town/city.

One of our fave summer things to do here is bike the Rotary Trail.  It is a paved trail that winds through town, sometimes on the residential streets, but mostly a separate paved path.
Part of the Trail leading to the Storm Pond
We also live near to so many other beautiful places to visit.  
We have the Klondike Ferry up past Vega,
Beautiful beaches, 3 within an hours drive,
And Edmonton is less than an hours drive away,
And of course our own yard is the funnest sometimes.

4)  How do most people travel around your town/city? E.g. subway, bus, bike, what are the most popular styles of car.

Most people travel by car, bike, or walking.  We don't have a bus system here, except for the seniors.  Pickup trucks and SUVs are most popular here.  It's farming country and lots of people travel on the gravel roads, and in the winter, you don't want to get stuck in the drifts on those roads.

 My hubby did that once.  He always wore shorts to work under coveralls.  When he got stuck, he had no coveralls and had to walk/run to the neighbour in his shorts.  After that, he always carried coveralls, toque, mitts, and extra boots in the car.
The snow on our deck last January.

Vans are also fairly common for families.  We've got ourselves a van.
Sometimes, we even clean it!

5) Is there a type of food that would be quintessential to where you live?
No quintessential food here.  At least not in Westlock... Unless it's fresh produce from the Hutterites in the summer.
However, we, that is my family, have Dutch heritage and so we have some things in my home community of Neerlandia that are essentials.

Hagelslag.
Sunday Soup... not always pea soup, but Honig packs are best.
Pepermunts... and droppjes, but we don't like those personally.
There are lots of Dutch foods that we see as essential.  I mean, what would we do without hagelslaag for our bread?  Or pepermunts for eating in church? 

A little picture heavy, but hey, those are always the most interesting, no?

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you'll join the nosey party.

7 comments:

  1. Really interesting Deanna!
    That chocolate spread looks yummy heheh :)
    And what a beautiful part of the world you live in! Thanks for sharing!!

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  2. What a fun post! Didn't Kat have a great idea with Nosey Parker?!?

    It looks quite beautiful where you are...and now I have to search for some of that hagelslaag....

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  3. Visiting from Kat`s - I loved learning a little about where you lived and the Dutch connection is really interesting~

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  4. I loved reading about you and hadn't realised there was a Dutch community in Canada! I love Spekulatius biscuits which are Dutch I think if I can get hold of them at Christmas!

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  5. Deanna, love the way you write! And my best friend when I was little had Dutch parents. I loved going to her house for those chocolate sprinkles! Great post, thanks.

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  6. Your town seems idyllic! Funny story about your husband...live and learn:)

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  7. Great to see your area! It looks very pleasant, and I have to say I've never been through that part of Alberta. North and south but not the middle. I have a story about getting stuck in a snowdrift on a back prairie road. See my blog post from February 28/11 for all the details...

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