A Lurve Story

Posted on September 19, 2007 by Jorge

Yes, You Heard Right!

Welcome to the fourth wedding of the summer. This was our last wedding of the year, and it was a great do.

My fishing buddy/wilderness mentor/practical joke nemesis got hitched to his gorgeous bride at the end of August in a beautiful ceremony in the mysterious place known as Black Creek Pioneer Village.



Phung and the ladies getting ready to make a grand entrance.
Photo by David Lucas.
Click to enlarge…



And the Band Plays On…

The ambiance inside the church was warm on account of it being an old structure, full of wood and memory. Also it was a pleasant contrast to the weather, which was beginning to turn towards a wetter disposition.

Brad’s Great Uncle was the Officiant, due to the inconvenience of their original choice becoming suddenly unavailable. The priest had a great sense of humour, and after they had quieted down the string instruments, they proceeded to become an official couple.



The magical moment where two became one…
Photo by David Lucas.
Click to enlarge…



Rainy Day Sunshine

After the wedding was done, the couple signed the registry and went off for pictures. Unfortunately, the sky was crying for joy at this point, and the wedding party had to make their way out into the wet fray.

Someone had the foresight to bring a plethora of umbrellas, so they were relatively dry during their brief journey to to the photo destination.



Good thing they had Spartan Phalanx Training™…
Photo by David Lucas.
Click to enlarge…



A Warm Reception

The reception was great, with a delicious buffet spread and great company. There was a lot of family there, leaving us friends on the outlying tables. It was actually a great way to see the whole thing.

The tables were also covered with all kinds of origami stylez. Stars, frogs, canoes and other objects were scattered about. These different objects represented aspects of the bride and groom.



Our table had a little fun with the centrepiece…
Click to enlarge…


I went up to do a quick word for Brad and Phung that ended up turning into something a little bit longer than I would have liked. In any case, I meant every word, and am glad that they understand how I feel about them.



How lucky am I? I snagged the bride for some fancy footwork as the aunties look upon our moves with approval…
Click to enlarge…



Rockin’ Out

A live band played a few sets in between the play list chosen by the happy couple. Lots of people were slow to start, but once they got going, it was a lot of fun.

This made it hard to leave. Even though we had left Little J with Mrs. J’s mom for the night, we were pretty tuckered out. A full night’s sleep is hard to come by at the best of times, so we ducked out at around midnight or so, taking the opportunity to get some pics with the stars of the show.



We did thirty seven takes. These were the best ones…
Click to enlarge…


It was a great day, and I’m very happy for the two of them. Congrats, guys!



Epilogue

Several weeks later, they held a friends-only party up North. Unfortunately, due to Karate-related commitments, we couldn’t go, but I hear it was a blast. How many people can claim two receptions?

Awesome.

🙂


This time Brad was more than ready for the rain…
Click to enlarge…


Filed under: Anecdotes, Friends, Special Events | 2 Comments »

One Three Ton Challenge

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Jorge

Getting Our Feet Wet

Earlier this year, our basement gave us a wonderful present in the form of several litres of water which took up residence in our carpet.

While generous of our basement to do this, we really don’t like that sort of gift. Unfortunately, there was no gift receipt, so we had to get rid of the water using a friend’s dehumdifier and a bunch of fans.

We determined that the problem was because of the weirdo-thaw we had at the time, and matters weren’t helped by the strange layout of the asphalt in our backyard.

It sloped towards the house, and ended at the gate to the front of the house, due to some previous owner paving on top of the asphalt that was already there, causing a lip to form, which acts as a dam.

So Mrs. J and I decided to landscape…



Bin busy…
Click to enlarge…



Don’t Like It? JunkIt!

Over the summer, I took time here and there to wield a sledgehammer against the forces of asphalt, cracking it and prying it up in large chunks.

Since there was so much of it – and since it’s not environmentally friendly to dump it – I asked around my circle about disposal companies.

Since Mrs. J and Little J were heading out to Mrs. J’s Grandpa’s cottage over the long weekend, I called JunkIt to rent a five-cubic-yard bin for hauling concrete and stone.

I figured that it would be a good time for me to take care of the asphalt on my own. It was much cheaper than getting other people to do it. It would also be great exercise.



The spade broke on the last ten square feet…
Click to enlarge…



Hauling Ash

So that’s how I spent the majority of my long weekend.

I discovered that the “rugged” plastic wheelbarrow was beginning to crack under the strain of the rubble I was filling it with, so I moved the pile one shovelful at a time.

It certainly was time consuming, but now the section of backyard beside the house is now asphalt-free!

And was it a good workout?

Hell yeah! Everything is so much lighter after you move around heavy debris!

Next year we will be making a nice path and a garden along the side of the house, along with an enclosure for the garbage/recycling bins. Perhaps even a nice sandbox for Little J.

Mrs. J was kind enough to snap these photos of the result of my weekend Labour (go figure it was Labour Day weekend)…



A job well done…
Click to enlarge…





UPDATE: One of the fine folks from Junk It just left a comment informing us that the capacity of this bin is much higher than I thought. Awesome.

Filed under: Anecdotes, General Dialogue | 12 Comments »