Been Caught Stealing, Life Inside The Lorraine – e107

episode 107 season 3
Life Inside The Lorraine

Todays’ show is about The Lorraine, a building, #620 and has always been my favourite building in Calgary, I’ve always wanted to live here, only had the opportunity once years ago to visit it and it was…disappointing. BUT this article written by Heidi Klaassen for The Sprawl (an undefended local journalism platform) right here in Calgary wrote the story that I believed and still believe is why I love The lorraine…

Heidi Klaassen is a born and raised Calgary writer of fiction and non-fiction. She works for the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society and her eco-friendly label, Hekkal & Hyde. She lives in Calgary with her husband, sons and rescue chihuahuas.

Here’s the article as published in The Sprawl Been Caught Stealing, Life Inside the Lorraine that I’ve narrated and produced verbatim for Heidi.

When I reached out to Heidi about producing this article she’d written, she was thrilled and in turn reached out to The Sprawl for their permission – which they granted. Heidi is an author and is shopping her current novel around for promotion she also belongs to and works at the Alexandra’s Writers’ Centre who support local creative writing through learning and shared experience.

If you’re from the Calgary area and know this building, do you have any stories to share? When I mentioned I was in this building once, I was back in 2015 or so, I was there for a meeting and was so excited. When you enter in the Lobby true to Heidi’s story the floor is black and white checkered tiles, the wood and structure takes your mind back into a fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast with it’s opulent wood work. I was meeting an architect, and was so awe struck that I got to be in The lorraine that I can’t even remember what the meeting was about!

Upon closing I sure hope you loved this story as much as I did and thank you to Heidi for letting me share her story. Heidi has quite the talent, not only does she write – articles like this one, fiction and non-fiction novels but she also runs an incredible eco-friendly artisan bags shop on etsy, these are hand made (they say made by ‘two hands’).. bags, clutches, napkins and more…

I perused her site and found a couple of adorable items 

1) reusable snack bag – sandwich bag – hand printed with a rustic heart bag – this bag is shown with fish crackers toppling out of it, a modelled print fabric and is just perfect to slip into your handbag or your kiddo’s lunch price $13.

2) reversible fabric napkins – who doesn’t love a nice cotton napkin, I LOVE them, $48 dollars for a set of six in a variety of of prints and options polka-dots, flowers, abstract so many options to choose from

Well I think I’ve covered my theme in whole EAT – we will take a set of 6 reversible napkins please READ – this tasty article about the lorraine – CREATE as some of you know I love a good sewing project – between these handmade bags, napkins and clutches of Heidi’s we can check off all of the boxes.

Until next time, stay safe everyone…

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The show music is call ‘Girl’ by Text me Records and Leviathe

The cover art, storytelling and production is by me, Valerie Moss.

Interview: Rod Lechelt & the cheapest wine in NYC – e106s3

episode106 season 3
Cheapest bottle of Wine in NYC

Hey Everyone, it’s Valerie here, Todays show $14 Bottle of Rose in New York  I have a special guest, Rod Lechalt, we originally met when I was working on an audiobook production/radio show called Project DF he was one of my casted characters, take a listen…

He was so good I casted him for another part

…take a listen

And then we followed each others socials and I discovered we have similar interests like food and drinks so, we got to talking and here’s our interview, think EAT – great good around the world, CREATE – great memories about travel and a good storyteller, oh and he’s from Calgary, Alberta also like me, enjoy the show! This show was originally recorded in May of 2020, there is some light swearing which I do not beep

One thing you’ll notice right away from Rod is his love to tell a quick snippet story here and there like this one..

  1. As I mentioned at the top of the show this was originally aired in May of 2020 when covid was in full swing in our city…
  2. Michelin stars is a rating that was first introduced in 1926….
  3. Has this every happened to you – I’m sure it has…
  4. More Corona virus chat…
  5. I had not seen the video – I have however watched it – well part of it…
  6. Rod and his wife posed nude …..
  7. Sous Vide…
  8. Why do they call it Hell’s kitchen
  9. Le Pain Quotidien….oui oui

Wow what an interview, such a friendly guy hey? We had a great time, and since we originally recorded this episode in May there’s so much that has happened in the world and one of the major things for this episode is numerous places that Rod has visited on his food travels are no longer open or temporarily closed due to covid. So many great restaurants haven’t made it through this difficult time and with more and more people learning to cook at home this will likely continue.

Here’s a recap of the places we chatted about:

The Three chimneys, Isle of Sky in Scotland

Meaning of Michelin Stars

Ad hoc + addendum Restaurant, California

The French laundry, Yountville California

Hayden block, Calgary Alberta

Mandy Lee, The art of Escapism Cooking Book – A Survival Story, a Lady and pups Cookbook

Momofuko Group, David Chang, New York

Ugly Delicious, Netflix Show,

Global News, Imagine Segment

Cooked, Netflix Show

Flour, Water, Salt Yeast, Book

L’entrecote de paris, Paris France

The Final Table, Netflix Series, Calgary Chef

4th spot kitchen and bar, Calgary Alberta

Captain’s Boil, Calgary Alberta

Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan New York

Le Pain Quotidien, Manhattan New York

Mendicino County, California Highways

Fetzer Winery, Old River Road, Hopland CA

The Canada 150 Project Podcast

One thing I have to confess is we each recorded our sides of the conversation on our own mic as well as over zoom…I however when it came to editing this show late in 2020 could not find my side of the recording…so the editing and processing was a bit of a feat with the online audio.

Until next time, I’m Valerie from Valerie’s Variety Podcast in Studio 17

Rod’s Instagram

Other shows similar to this one:

https://valeriemoss.ca/?s=vegas, Vegas Baby!

https://valeriemoss.ca/2019/10/29/review-without-papers-inglewood/, …when the moon hits your eye like a BIG pizza Pie…

Cheapest Wine in NYC with Rod Lechelt
Follow Me:

Website @ ValerieMoss.ca

Instagram @ValerieJMoss

Facebook @VSMoss

YouTube @ValerieJMoss

Pinterest @VJMoss

The show music is call ‘Girl’ by Text me Records and Leviathe

The cover art, storytelling and production is by me, Valerie Moss.

Stay Tuned for the next season, season 3 on Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss from Studio 17

Book Review: Limbo by Marko Pandza – e105s3

episode105 season3
Book Review and sneak Peak into this incredible horror story, Limbo by Marko Pandza

Limbo Book Review

Hey there, it’s me, Valerie Moss, todays is a follow up show to yesterdays interview with Marko Panza and his book Limbo, we’re going to review the book and get a sneak peak at chapter 1. Now that you met the author let’s meet Grim the Reaper and his love Dora and see what other readers have to say about the book.

Again, this isn’t a family friendly episode, soooo….there’s swear words that I do not beep and other scary language.

Here’s the retail…

First when you get his book, it’s not the average paperback size it’s slightly large, the cover is ominous with a dark figure, and white orb surrounding it – you can’t really tell if it’s walking away or towards to you, colour greyscale. Also the print is a dark black, on white paper again not your typical paperback colour.

Marko has laid the book out in a today time slot, the present and then a yesteryear time slot, way in the past, however in limbo you aren’t really sure about the timing of anything.

Those of you who like to get into a good scary story, not like a mystery more like a horror, this book will put your detective skills to the test and those that like a movie director like Tim Burton and or Rob Zombie, this will lend itself nicely.

When he goes back and forth in time, and introduces you to these two worlds the living and the dead…

Marko has a way of perpetuating your ideas of the characters in the book, like Dora she is so sure of herself it even scares her assistant, poor RAMBO who’s always yelling you root for him and people do the strangest things to him…the people in limbo are being watched by….. well I can’t give that part away.

The love story portion of this book, probably hits home to almost anyone who reads it because…it’s sort of envious if you were Jekle and your partner was Hyde.

The redest of red hair and smashing of canvas paintings always struck me as an interesting side story that I was intrigued by. Here’s a glimpse of Dora

One of the places in the book that has sat with me is when Caitlin and Grim are walking…

They stopped talking and continued their slow walk, Caitlin periodically swallowing the threat of nausea. Grim was impressed to see her side-stepping knee-high piles of petrified chicken bones and mummified bread littering the path as if she were on a track, further evidence of her tenure in the Den. 

Here’s a few reviews on amazon:

1. I don’t usually read horror novels especially…

2. Truly gripping from start too finish, a perfect blend of humour….

3. Loved it, loved the imagery, loved the symbolism…..

And here’s my review as the producer we always read the book first then we get into the production of it. When I read this book, it was an instant page turner because of the two universes and the time shifting between current and past, love and hate the have’s and have-nots. It kept me wanting more and trying to figure out Grimm’s plan and his relationship with the cop.

Thanks for listening to the show today, links to Marko and is book Limbo are in my show notes and we will close this episode with a listen to chapter 8. Appetite in it’s entirety to tempt you further. Buy the book Limbo by Marko Pandza here

Book Review of Limbo…
Follow Me:

Website @ ValerieMoss.ca

Instagram @ValerieJMoss

Facebook @VSMoss

YouTube @ValerieJMoss

Pinterest @VJMoss

The show music is call ‘Girl’ by Text me Records and Leviathe

The cover art, storytelling and production is by me, Valerie Moss.

Stay Tuned for the next season, season 3 on Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss from Studio 17