Thirty-One Years Apart

Somewhat uniquely, Althegal and I share the same birthday which is several days past now. Thirty-one years apart, we both arrived just under the midnight wire. Since she was still in Ontario after the wedding, we managed to squeeze in a quick birthday supper between arriving from Riverwood and her departing for Vancouver. I'm not sure anymore what we were finding so funny at the time, but it seems that we enjoyed a fine if all-too-quick time together. The birthday celebration was early and this is late, but Happy Birthday kid!

Another Magical Riverwood Weekend

For the second consecutive weekend, Cuppa and I travelled to Riverwood. Both weekends were wonderful for different reasons. The first, the wedding weekend, has already been discussed, so what about the second?

The foremost reason for this second trip was to collect and bring home wedding related stuff that was still up there. But we arrived to glorious weather and soon began to relax. Much of our relaxation took place in the newly made over planer mill. Below: B and I walk towards the mill.



When B and H bought the property a decade or so ago, Riverwood still boasted a functioning planer mill. Although it was soon gutted, the shell remained intact. Eventually, B began to work on his vision for the place. He poured concrete flooring, built the side wall, and screened the windows. The screens separate us from most of the forest insects most of the time, and it's quite a pleasant place to sit, sip, and see, and were doing some of that in the next photo.



There is a lovely, tranquil view in all directions from the old barn (next below) to the South Woods (two below).





We trundled down there both evenings of our too-short weekend and sat by the campfire toasting marshmallows and chatting. But the highlight was H reading some of her short stories to us. She is developing into a marvellous writer, and while not conventionally published yet, she has won several prestigious contests. Our imaginations fed upon her delicious prose as she read story after story by the glow of the fire under a star-filled sky far away from the urban light and haze.

Thanks guys. It was balm to the soul.

Rainbow Celebration

At least part of what adds the salt to life is that it's so darn unpredictable. For most of my life I could never have predicted that this very straight, once-upon-a-time-evangelical guy would attend a Gay wedding, and, in my wildest dreams, I certainly wouldn't have imagined being more than a casual bystander at such an event. However, August 23^rd found me as more than a distant observer as I helped to very happily and proudly escort my daughter-bride down the aisle to take part in a ceremony featuring two brides and no grooms.

Not only was it a Gay wedding but a [mostly] Jewish one too. And funky! The rabbi sported dreadlocks, and most of the wedding party, including moi, wore Converse sneakers, green and pink being the main colours of choice: mine being bright green. To mottlicize the crew even further so to speak, there were two people of African birth present: one black and one white. Another unique feature was the venue: very rural, complete with rustic buildings, far far far from the madding crowd.

While it was the most unique wedding that I have ever attended and surely ever will attend, it was perhaps the most magical and delightful one as well. The Jewish-style ceremony under a chuppah (canopy) which itself stood under the shade of a willow tree by the Crowe River was charming, memorable and endearing. There was singing and impromptu dancing during the actual ceremony and a horah shortly after.

Every word and deed was weighed and considered, even the chuppah on which was written words and wishes from many close friends. This extraordinarily meaningful ceremony included the traditional (in Jewish weddings) seven blessings. The rabbi gave the first two and the last two blessings; in between Cuppa, I and the other bride's mother were given the opportunity to say one. Mine was quite the task as the girls asked me to pronounce the blessing in both Hebrew and English. I certainly could have done much better with the Hebrew part of it, but everyone had kind words for my attempt regardless. Somehow saying "Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech ha-olam, yotzer ha-adam," with the proper Hebrew inflections proved not to be all that easy for this poor decrepit brain. Those words can be translated several ways, but this was the English equivalent that I was also asked to speak: "Ineffable Breath of Life, giving life to each human being."

I have been thinking over this past week and a bit of how meaningful the ceremony was. With few exceptions, we straight folk all get married, and while we all have greatly appreciated our fine ceremonies, there is a certain expectation and familiarity to the proceedings that we might be tempted to take at least somewhat for granted. But when the girls, with the help of their rabbi, had to pull together a Gay and Jewish ceremony with the occasional Christian thread, they truly had to think it through from the beginning to end. As a result, they composed something both beautiful and incredibly meaningful to both them and the witnesses. Somehow this non-standard union (so far) seemed to make everyone stop and think and perhaps appreciate it all a little bit more.

While I had never thought to be a thrilled participant at a Gay-Jewish-Country wedding, that’s what I was. How I have changed and how life has changed me! While I was once a sincere but naïve young man with all of the relevant answers about earth and heaven (or so I thought), I now admit to knowing little. But I go with the flow a lot better now and have learned to be much less judgemental and much more inclusive. And so I revelled in the beauty and wonder of this union between two loving young people, and I laughed and cried … and sang and danced.

Surviving

Hi There

I woke up at three o'clock this morning and, ufortunately, was unable to get together with Morpheus again. Ergo, Nikki Dee is benefitting by nonstop Elmo's Worlds being paraded before her eyes. She loves Elmo, but I wonder when even she will get bored. So far she's up to almost an hour and a half and is still mesmerized. So, I cope for now. With her limited vocabulary I often wonder why she loves Elmo so much, but, indeed, she does.

Meanwhile, I am thanking the divine for making somebody smart enough to invent personal video recorders, and I'm not suffering from much guilt either. Sometimes, ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.

Sincerely

AC

Outhouse Outtakes

Well, the girls' wedding finally transpired on the weekend, so perhaps life will return to normal. Maybe I'll even get back to posting a little more frequently that every ten days or so. But not yet.

I have a ton of wedding photos on my external hard drive, but that's still in the country with the ladies, so for now I'll just say hello and post a few photos of the Riverwood outhouse.

We do have indoor plumbing at Riverwood, but when hordes descend as they did on the weekend, it's nice for them and for the system to have an alternative. So, my BroIL and SonIL took some time to refurbish the place by redigging the hole that had filled in, and my SisIL redecorated the interior. The third picture below is the view from the door. Have you ever seen such an outhouse?

I trust you are all doing well without me out there in Blogdom. I'll be back again when I can.

Cuppa and I Collaborate

... in publishing a photo ... sort of ...

How's everyone doing out there? While I remain on a bit of a Blogger holiday, I am still keeping loose track of you guys through Google Reader and may post on occasion — such as now. One doesn't want to lose touch completely, eh.

I hadn't heard of Schmap until recently, but the site describes itself this way: "Exploring a Schmap Guide is a uniquely interactive experience: maps and guide content are dynamically integrated, allowing intuitive, real-time access to reviews and photo slideshows for places of interest."

The Schmap people wrote me some time ago to tell me that one of my Flickr pictures taken at the Desert Botanical Garden was being considered for their Phoenix Schmap site. Actually while I was the one who posted it on Flickr, I must confess that it was Cuppa who took the photo, which makes sense since that's me who you see staring up in wonder. But since I usually adjust my Flickr pictures even slightly, I'll, being the needy and immodest person that I am, still plump for some of the credit. Nonsense aside, here is the site where the picture is supposed to show up on the slideshow to the right. However, in case the slide changes faster than you can spot it (although it's supposed to stick), here is the photo. The Schmap version is also pretty tiny, so here's a version that is large enough to actually see.



The Phoenix Botanical Garden was the very first stop on our Arizona trip two years ago. We had the evening to spend in Phoenix before driving to Flagstaff the next day, so we followed Frommer's advice and visited these wonderful gardens near sunset, and that began a very wonderful week seeing the sights of Arizona. Here are a few more snaps from that evening. I'm sure that I posted most right after the trip, but what the heck!

Mama Mia! I'm Taking a Break

It happens from time to time; suddenly, I either run of things to say or the energy with which to say things. What with busy times coming up for about the next three or four weeks, blogging may continue to be a more off than on activity for me. I will attempt to visit you periodically, but I imagine that will also be somewhat less frequent.

Having said all of that, I have learned from past experience that the opportunity and/or mood to write sometimes strikes when I least expect it, and that could happen again. Regardless, I do expect that I will be posting less frequently for these next few weeks.

Before I go and hide in my little corner, however, let me tell you to go see Mama Mia if you haven't done so already. I think it's the type of film that most critics will pan and that most people, at least those of a certain maturity, will love. In our theatre lase night, most were clapping to the beat by the end of the show, and we all applauded when it was over. When was the last time you watched a movie where that happened? People left the cinema barely able to refrain from dancing.

I was thinking about what a bargain movies are. I know they're a lot more expensive than they used to be, but if you choose wisely, you can almost be guaranteed of decent entertainment. For twenty bucks, excluding the optional snacks that we gobbled up last night, Cuppa and I had a great time. Including snacks and more than we usually ingest, our total came to less than forty bucks for two. Compare that figure to the astronomical cost of many a concert or sporting event. Also by way of comparison, just last weekend, Cuppa and I stopped at a cafe for a light supper. Sans desert or drinks of any kind except for one glass of wine for Cuppa, dinner plus tax and gratuity set us back almost sixty bucks — for pretty average fare at that. The cost of even light dining out seems to be going through the roof, and I am having trouble dealing with the after-guilt. However, forty bucks for two hours of great entertainment, including optional and exorbitant snacks, seems to be a bargain by comparison.

Take my fiscal ramblings for what they're worth, but don't miss grabbing the next opportunity to see Mama Mia.