$14.75: Jug of Grasshopper at Garneau Pub

I’m riding the LRT home from work on Friday night, and I’m thirsting for a beer to fuel me up for a weekend of chores, writing, and music listening. I usually stop by the Garneau Pub (85 Ave & 109 St.) during the early evening. Run by two classy Greek guys (and some real professional waitresses who dig Iron Maiden) this no-frills pub is a great place to sip some Alberta’s finest wheat ale and forget the follies of the week. I walk away hiccupping continuously, The Tragically Hip stuck in my head. 

$7: Two Bags of Carrots from Peas on Earth

On Saturday mornings it’s a ritual to guilt myself into getting out of bed and scribbling out an album review or starting on a new song. However, before I get down to work, I throw an ill-gotten copy of the new Constantines album onto my iPod and head down to the farmer’s market to pick up some choice groceries. While there isn’t much in the way of great produce this time of year, I can always count on Peas on Earth for carrots. Operating a full-scale organic farm in St. Albert since 2000, this family business run by Ruby and Eric Chen has been supplying Edmonton with some of its best locally grown organic produce for years. I’m confident tonight’s rice noodle stirfry will be 100 per cent better. 

$22: Various Gear from Avenue
Guitars

Later that afternoon, I walk over to Avenue Guitars and find the place totally packed. Pros, joes, and hacks alike are crowded into the store’s makeshift aisles, sifting through new instruments like a gang of magpies on a bag of hot garbage. This blistering fervor is evidence that spring is officially upon us. Livening up my own amateur acoustic mangling at home is my mission, so I wander to the back counter to pick out some quality picks and a capo (a clamping tool for changing the pitch of a guitar). The beauty of hobby investments like this is that for a small price, it will provide me with innumerable hours of self-produced entertainment. Hell yeah. 

$3: Coffee and Newspaper at Stanley A. Milner Library

On Sunday afternoons I usually take a break from my computer to spend some time at the prestigious downtown branch of the Edmonton Public Library. With my shades on and a Sunday edition of the Journal in hand, I take the #6 bus downtown from the university, stopping at the Second Cup adjacent to the library entrance on my way in. After grabbing a medium cup of the darkest brew, I wander past the security guards and the metal detectors in search of the latest issue of the U.K. music magazine The Wire. I spend the afternoon availing myself of the seemingly endless resources offered by the most important public service in Edmonton—oddly enough, the cheapest thing I did all weekend.

 
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