You can feel the excitement in the air…

As patios open up again, and outdoor dining becomes the norm and not the exception. I know that Albertans are a hardy bunch, and it used to make me laugh before I moved here, that someone would meet me at the airport wearing shorts – in January!

Whether you’re on a busy street sitting outside a pub and enjoying your time with friends, or at home in your back garden on your patio with the family, I’m sure we all appreciate and look forward to these long summer nights: the smell of barbecue in the air from our neighbours if not our own, salads, long cold drinks, and maybe even later, drinks around the fire pit (just remember – white drinks before the meal and brown drinks after it!).

On a different note, have you noticed how lavender is back in fashion and trending right now? It’s funny, and I can remember remarking after buying a red car that I didn’t see many red cars on the road – until I bought one, and then I saw them everywhere!

Well I wrote the article on lavender in our April issue in time for this year’s blooms, and hadn’t seen much lavender around in Alberta recently, growing in gardens or used in drinks and fragrant dishes – and now it’s like a stalker! I go to a café for a meeting, and it’s in pots and vases all around my table; I see sandwich boards when I’m walking down the streets near me, and posters in cafés and shop windows, all declaring they now have lavender lemonade and lavender cocktails, and lavender lattes too!

I’m always watching, so I’m no stranger to trendspotting and now I’m wondering what’s coming next? In this issue we have a feature on cherries, again after being invited to the cherry harvest down south last summer, and we have an article on moonshine – will it be a summer of moonshine and cherries?

Wishing a very happy Father’s Day this month to all who are a father or have a father to celebrate with.

Cheers, Linda, Editor-in-Chief