~ ANNE! ~

Single malt of the quarter: Scapa. I thought Highland Park was the only thing distilled in Orkney, but I was wrong. And very nice it is, too (though a lot smoother than most malts that come from islands).

That's right, Remkes and I are sticking to our carefully considered plan of a new bottle of scotch every three months or so. And neither rain nor sleet could keep us from the Chateau Louis liquor store.

But man, the weather certainly railed against us. The darkness started rolling in around 4 pm and then the massive sheets of rain started. I love Alberta summer storms, but not when I am attempting to ride through them on a bicycle...

Left to my own devices I probably would have given up, not being a hard-core cyclist by any stretch of the imagination. However, Remkes had already braved the weather and arrived at my office, and he brought a waterproof jacket with him. So I could hardly wimp out at that point. However, I did talk him into breaking for tea until the worst was over.

In other news, France didn't win the World Cup. Sniff. I cheered for France solely because the team contains the best-named man in the world, Zinedine Zidane. How great is that name? Not a bad football player, either. However, he certainly ended his career on a bizarre note with that red-carded head-butt. It was really too bad, and a very strange thing to do during your last international football game ever, even if it was a reaction to a racial slur from those nasty Italians.

Speaking of Europeans, my German housemates will both be gone for a week or so. It will be a very quiet house. Hannes has gone to visit his girlfriend in the States, and Rene is off to Germany for three weeks. Also my brother is in Spain and Shannon's off to Oz. sigh. My feet are getting itchy...

So it's a good thing Edmonton's so nice in the summer. I have been playing soccer (with Math United again), learning to rollerblade, and hitting all the festivals I can find. Steph and I went to the Street Performers festival on the weekend and last week was The Works. And Shakespeare in the Park is running now, so my sis and I are going to see Taming of the Shrew on the weekend.

On the downside, thanks to soccer I now have a silly-looking farmers' tan...