What's been going on around here?

The garden is looking pretty good these days but a lot of the flowers are finished. We had to cut most of the hydrangeas because they were turning brown and all went crispy on top from the unrelenting heat.

The Daisies finally made their appearance they are also done now so the only real colour we have in the garden right now are some orange Day Lilies and whatever we have planted in our pots. It's been a bit difficult keeping everybody happy in the extreme heat we've been experiencing, plants and people, but I think we are all learning to adapt.

A couple of weeks ago we had the strangest thunder and lightening storm that lasted for hours and hours. I forgot that I had snapped some photos of the incredible sky that evening but found the photos when I was clearing off my camera this morning.

Late last night I heard a commotion in the front yard and was treated to a view of the critters we share our property with. This is a Momma and 3 or 4 babies you can just make out in the photo. I watched them scamper around the front yard and into the back yard for about an hour last night. They didn't seem to take any notice of me. I find them fascinating! I wonder how much longer they will all be together? The babies are almost as big as their Momma. I love the way they talk to each other with little chirping noises.

Superman starts his new job tomorrow and there is less than 6 weeks until our wedding. I'll update soon and show you what I've been up to on the wedding front. Lots to do but it's coming together. I am ready to start uploading some of the details as we get closer to the date.

Stay tuned, and if you are reading this, thanks for sticking around even though I haven't had much to say lately.

I plan?

The wedding invitations have been sent to the printers and I am all aflutter. This weekend has been full of wedding thoughts and plans. I am meeting some resistance with Superman but as he told me this morning, "Don't stop telling me about things but don''t take it the wrong way if I act weird." I actually get that. It's all a little strange and I know he's on board but when I mention things like vows and wedding cakes he gets a little jittery. I am still finding it cute at the moment but hoping he comes around. Soon.
So many details and so little time now. We are down to double digits here, last week started the 100 day countdown! Food, cake, lighting, dress, suit, rentals and Dear God let the sun shine.
Please forgive me if I act confused from time to time.
Wish me luck my friends. i might just need it.

Can you feel it?

I'm here. Have been taking a little break but I am fine.
The sun is shinning, it's the Friday of a long weekend and we have some dear friends coming into town this weekend! Tomorrow night we are finally going to have that house warming party we've been talking about since we moved in and I can't wait.
Jessie and I bought a bunch of flowers and did some planting last weekend. I have never really done that before and it was really fun. I picked up a gardening bible and we have been spending a good amount of time trying to learn about the plants that are already here and how to care for the ones we bought. So much to know. I found a handyman on Craigslist and he is working on fixing our bbq and the back porch light so we should be ready to rock by tomorrow. Tonight we are off to The Superstore for party goodies and yummy food and SM has a band practice here at the house. Is it too early to start drinking? I know it is but I can't wait till the end of the day.
I got pretty sick last week and I have been such a good girl, just taking it easy and trying to feel better.
It's been a long hard winter and Spring has already brought some sad times but I am so open to the joy that is coming, I think we all are.
Our wedding plans are ticking right along. I have the invitations being designed right now, the dress is also being designed and my caterer is popping by this weekend to have a look at the yard and facilities. I still have tons to do but have enlisted the help of Lorna as my Maid Of Honour to help me get it all done. I need help with all the little details for sure.
I'm looking forward. I am excited by the prospects. Bring it on.

How Blue?

Yesterday I went to see my Mom and we had an early Mother's Day. It was so nice, we started talking about wedding plans and such and I told her I wanted old glass on my tables and the next thing you know we had uncovered her fabulous blue glass collection. There is a little bit of everything there from old Bromo Seltzer bottles and perfume bottles, old Noxema jars hand blown balls and squares, birds, eggs and tall vases. I have always loved this glass and I think it will look so pretty on the tables in the yard with blooms popping out everywhere.

My Mom collects a few different kinds of glass. She has pink glass and red glass and milk glass it looks so pretty all over her house. She knows just how to group it together and it never looks cluttered and dusty. The blue glass was all tucked away though and I think it was time to dust it off and let it shine. I felt bad just leaving it all there for my Mom to figure out what to do with it all until we need it in September. She'll probably enjoy looking at it for a couple of days before she tucks it away

She also pulled up this little couple who may just have to be spruced up for another go around. They haven't done a lick of work since 1961 and they look like they are ready to party.

We also looked at her guestbook and all the cards they were given and who gave them what wedding gifts. Then looked at the original bill for her wedding invitations and napkins, 75 invitations= $14.00 and some change. All things being relative it felt like lot of money back then I think.

I need to focus on what is ahead and happier times but it's nice to remember the past and how it all started.

Thanks Mom.

So, I need to plan a wedding. It's good!

What to do?

Life is coming at me these days. Not that I feel like I'm not handling it but I wonder how and when it's going to catch up to me and take a bite out of my ass.

T's health has taken a turn for the worse and I'm starting to think of time with her in terms of "the last time..." , the last time we'll share a meal or go somewhere together even though it has only been medical appointments for the last while. Yesterday was to be my day with her but she asked me not to come and her husband came home from work to care for her. He gets 3 weeks of compassion leave. Three weeks. That's all I can say about that.

I started boot camp again yesterday. I was nervous because I felt like I had really lost the plot over Christmas and was feeling achy and out of shape. Surprisingly I was able to keep up just fine and although I feel pretty sore today it also feels familiar and good.

Because we are in such a rush to get ready for our move I decided to go on the advice of my moving company and rent plastic stackable crates to move with instead of trying to find boxes. I used a company called Say No To Boxes and these guys are fantastic! They have package rates based on the size of the home you are moving out of. I chose a one bedroom package because you get to keep the crates for a whole month. That means we can start taking crates over to the new house and emptying them in the next two weeks meaning there is so much less for the movers to deal with. I got 15 75 litre crates a wardrobe box and a huge coffin like container for lighter big things. The nice guy who delivered them also brought me packing paper a big roll of bubble wrap and labels for the crates and a brand new Sharpie. All of the crates are just stacked in the corner of the apartment until I use them and as I fill them they get stacked on a wheeled dolly that comes with the whole deal and soon we'll start moving all our shit from this pile to the new pile. The last time we moved I used rolls and rolls of packing tape and by the time it was all said and done my hands were raw from all of the layers of skin the tape had pulled off. I figure all the time saved by the movers will offset the cost of renting the crates. I hope I'm right.

All that being said am still trying to figure out what's going to happen with our wedding. That's where my obsession also lays and really it's all about figuring out how to do it without spending a lot of money. Right now I'm just doing research. It keeps me busy in my head.

Yes, there's stuff going on with work too. I'll let you know how that's going when the time is right.

Tomorrow I am off to The Sunshine Coast with our store manager for a bonus day and lunch with Lorna at her new place. I hope the sunsssssssssssshines. Ha! that happened by accident but I think I'll leave it.

When???

We finally did it!

We nailed down a date to tie the knot. Bear with me here...

We decided to do it in September because it's my favourite month of the year, the flowers are in bloom and the weather is usually pretty great, also, my Mom and Dad were married on September 9, 1961. The only problem is we would have to pick from the first two weekends in September because it can really cool down a lot in late September (do I sound like I'm planning an outdoor wedding?? I know. WTF??) Anyway, the first weekend in September is a long weekend and people like to go away on long weekends so the second weekend felt like a better idea. Guess what? It's also my birthday! Is that crazy?? I have never heard of anybody getting married on their birthday. Have you? Why the heck not?

We will be married on September 12, 2009. There. I said it.

Now comes the planning,

Lord help me.

My way?

Why can't we sleep? I woke up at about 4am this morning and tossed and turned and then finally got up at about 7, checked my Facebook and guess what, a bunch of comments about people having lousy sleeps. I sometimes wonder if there is something in the air, or maybe it's the moon?? Now I'm drinking coffee and eating corn muffins that I baked last night.

I know, I don't have too much to say these days. My friend T is getting sicker and to be honest we (those who love her) are all dealing with this fact the best way we can. I think my friend Robin described it best when she said "we are all feeling undone". I feel undone. I can't really talk about it here, it's too much.

This Saturday I am going to a wedding show with my newly engaged Sister-in-law. I always scoffed at wedding trade shows but I think this one may be right up my aisle. Indie I Do. Check it out!

Speaking of weddings, my goal this week is to set a date. I know I have already left some things too late to plan our wedding for this summer. I am hoping it won't matter as I am not having a traditional wedding but honestly a lot of stuff is already fully booked for this year in the wedding world. All the more reason to make it an "alternative" wedding.

It will be a wedding though, as opposed to an alternative to a wedding like we've had for the last 20 years.
I am mostly interested in getting married without spending bucket loads of money. That would be pretty alternative.

Who loves the sun?

Wednesday morning Lorna and I made our way over to Granville Island and took a brisk walk

on the seawall. It was so beautiful. This is my favourite time of year and the weather has been so perfect this week.

Note to self: maybe this is a good time of year to get married???

After our walk we grabbed a bite to eat and sat outside n the little public harbour area to eat it. The crowds of people were more seniors than anything else what with the kiddies back in school. Granville Island has a real issue, as far as I am concerned, with birds. Dirty, unhealthy, moochie pigeons, seagulls and even geese sometimes. They are aggressive, they shit everywhere and they will try to dive bomb you with poop if you're not careful. The worst part is they have no fear of people so they come right up to you begging for food. The most persistent pigeon yesterday only had one foot and came limping over looking for food over and over again. It was pretty creepy. The thing that gets me is how many people sit there and feed them. How can they think that they are doing those birds any favours? These birds are not healthy and are missing out on the nature that surrounds them. It makes me sad.

I like birds when they are doing their thing in nature but when they start relying on us for greasy french fries to live on they seem more like vermin to me.

Can you stand it?

I picked up my engagement ring today!! I absolutely LOVE it. What can I say?

Who knew?

It's been a pretty good weekend all in all. Especially since it started with sickness and cancelled plans. Superman's bug seemed to get a bit better on Saturday but I had a bit of the yucky feeling on Friday too so I think we made the right choice by staying home and taking it easy.

I was feeling better Friday night so I went and picked up Janice and we went down to The Railway Club to see a friends band. It didn't turn out to be such a great idea as the band went on super late. They were supposed to go on around 11 but didn't actually start until 12:30 or so. We only saw a bit of the show then had to leave.

Saturday ended up being a great day! I was feeling a bit down over our cancelled trip out of town so we decided to go shopping. Superman isn't really a shopper guy but he'll do it if the mood strikes him. I bought him a very nice pair of jeans and as we were wandering around the mall he mentioned that we might like to look at some rings. We got engaged at Christmas but we still hadn't found the right engagement ring for me. I am not one of those people who has spent a lot of time considering what, specifically I want when it comes to all this getting married stuff but I had an idea about the ring after looking a couple of times. I knew I didn't want a traditional ring with a diamond sticking up looking all dainty. I wear big, funky rings and I needed something that suited my hand. We popped into a couple of stores and in the third one we hit it on the head. We found the right ring at the right price and then...we bought it!!!!

It needs to be re-sized for me so I won't have it on my finger until Thursday,the wait may well kill me. Oh well, I have waited this long, a couple more days will be okay. We also picked out our wedding bands for a later purchase. We are both pretty excited, it was a great experience and a lot of fun thanks to the woman who walked us through it.

Thanks Esther! I will show you all a picture when I get it.

After shopping we had a few adult beverages, called a couple of friends and wandered across the street to see a kick ass blues band and eat some yummy food. We were in the bag by 10:30 or so, it was good fun.

Sunday I had my all girls BBQ to go to and it was yummy food, great company and lots of laughs.

Today being holiday Monday we decided to head downtown and wander around a bit, maybe see a movie. We stopped in at The Templeton, a really cool diner with really good food. Superman ordered a Strawberry milkshake that was delicious and I had a vanilla/cola fountain drink, so good. I loved this place and will be back for sure.

After lunch we walked up to the theatre to see The Dark Knight, compliments of Telus. For some reason they sent me a free movie pass with a popcorn and two drinks coupon. I'm not the biggest fan of Telus so I enjoyed having an afternoon out on their dime. We arrived at the theatre a little early so we played some racing games in the arcade, went to collect our HUGE drinks and popcorn and found ourselves the best seats in the house. Big screen, comfy seats and the movie was so good. I loved this movie, it's really dark and rather long but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Loved it! Heath Ledger is awesome as The Joker in this movie, it just makes his death more tragic, such a great performance.

We made our way home and I had a soak in the bath while I caught up with my Mom on the phone. Then I called my Big Brother for a chat, made some gorilla cheese samiches and sat down to chat with you.

All in all it was a pretty great weekend even though our original plans didn't work out. I really hope we get another chance to do the camping thing in the states with our friend. It might just have to be next summer. I hope they'll have us then.

How come you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?

I became an engaged woman around Christmas. I will spare you the romantic details but it was one of those "should we?" situations that ended in a "why not". It was a funny thing, Superman and I have been together for a mighty long time and we never really talked about marriage. I think the fact that we chose not to have children early on made marriage less of an issue for us. Now that we have decided to do it we have a million things to plan and organise. Or not. We've talked about quite a few ways we could do this but nothing really seems to stick and now it's looking like next summer makes more sense as far as planning and booking a place goes.

When I first realized it was going to happen I actually bought some bridal magazines! I never thought I would do that but I was getting kind of caught up in the whole"bride" thing and it was fun to think about. In reality I don't think I am, in any way a typical bride and Superman and I know that we are far from the typical soon to married couple. So, what kind of a wedding to people like us have?

I have no idea. This is what we know so far.

• Probably around 100 people.
• Close to home.
• Possible theme: Honky-Tonk
• We must have live music.
• We both want to perform, including Country -Married -Couple -Duets.
• We don't want to go into massive amounts of debt to do it.

That's about as far as we have come. I know none of this sounds very romantic but lets face it, wedding planning is just event planning and the overwhelming details can make a girl wonder...

What's wrong with being engaged for a couple of years?

Stay tuned right here for more details.