Canadian Apple Pie

We have been back in Hague, Saskatchewan for two weeks now. I’m trying to get a nice groove up here for a daily routine. I’m trying not to schedule myself so that I’m super busy but I want to blend in fun with some exercise. For years I started my day with going to the gym before work. I’d get down to Energy Fitness between 5:30am and 6. Do some cardio on the rotating stairs, the elliptical or treadmill. Some days I’d add weights or do abs. I have started out a bit slower up here and need to be more creative as this tiny town does not have a gym.

I started walking about 12noon for an hour the first week. I could walk and talk to my mom on the phone. I try to get about 3 miles by going up the streets and down the back alleys. The back alleys are my favorites! I love looking in folks’ backyards to see their stuff. Some folks have extra cars or gardens but most have raspberries, apples or cherry trees. I find it easy to pick a snack along the way. Sometimes I see people out and say Hi or give them a friendly smile. I like to walk into a the towns few stores too. They have a small grocery store called The Big Way, a nice hardware store that has everything from dishwashers to puzzles to bird seed or paint. They have a pharmacy that has the cheapest creating cards for only $2! I have been into the small post office three times but I got kicked out one time at 12 noon because they close for lunch. I met a sweet lady at the Affinity Credit Union Bank that cashed in $281 in rolled coin for me one day. Pretty much, with 8 streets in the town, I really have gotten around and investigated this town!

Week 2, I started to walk the alleys and run the streets to up my exercise anty. Things were going great. I’m met a Jerry who lives on the next street over one morning. Sometimes I see Darryl (Larry's brother) or his daughters Selena and Chantelle when I go up their street. I wave to all the city workers that I come across too. I generally have a really good time. Plus I’m getting in my cardio for the day. Fact is that I have to exercise and watch what I eat or I can easily pack on extra pounds.

Larry is naturally very lean. He works hard physically building houses and seems to consume thousands and thousands of calories but Never puts on weight. It’s a hard thing to watch. Plus the calories he takes in are mainly things I avoid except on special occasions. He loves pastries, donuts, cheese and most of all Pies. He actually expects his mom to make Him pie if they invite him for a meal. He gets super disappointed if there in no pie and is a pouty face. He’s a spoiled skinny kid. He’s easy to dislike!

Yesterday I had the most interesting time on my walk that I couldn’t wait to come back and share with Larry. I started my walk down past the school. By this time my mom has answered the phone and we are talking. I have my alarm set for one hour and I walk and talk until it goes off. I use my earbuds so I can walk with my hands. Hahaha! I did my first loop around the cemetery and took a new ally that I have missed on my last walks. I was listening to my mom’s story when I saw a nice gray-haired woman in the back of her fence. I was prepared for my usual Hi and I took one earbud out so if she had more to say, I could reply. She was super friendly and explained she was digging up some potatoes for dinner because her son was coming over later. I made a bit more small talk and took out my other earbud. I figured that my mom would hear what was going on and hang up. I would call her back.

The funny thing was that I stood there and talked with Tina for about 30 minutes! She asked who I was as this is a super small town. I told her I was Larry’s fiance and how we met. I was enjoying her and she seemed to be enjoying talking to me. She told me that she had gotten some apples from her neighbors tree and made an apple pie for her son’s dinner. This is the best part!!!! She invited me in to her home to have Apple Pie and Coffee!!!! OMG!!! All I could think about is telling Larry that I got PIE!!!! Of course, I said yes! We went inside and continued our conversation. I told her how long I had been in town and who I knew. I explained that Larry and I had talked about going to the Town Hall on Saturday because I saw it was Marie Neuborg’s 90th birthday. I saw the ad on the Town bulletin board. Larry said he would know people if we went down. I found out that Marie was Tina’s older sister!

This is a slice of small town living here in Hague, Saskatwchan. The even funnier thing was that my mom stayed on the phone and listened to our conversation for those 30 minutes. She said she was very interested in listening but when she heard me say I was going to have pie, she figured I wouldn’t get back on the phone to finish our conversation.