Sob sniffle sniffle...pout
Well...after giving me a laugh on a regular basis, the folks at You Knit What?? have decided to call it quits...Seems like blogging was taking over their lives and becoming a chore. It's too bad, because they had some of the nastiest knitting I'd even seen on their site.
Seems that there is an addiction to bad knitting though...You Knit What - Part 2 and You Crocheted What? both sprung up from the death of You Knit What??
I hope the end of the blog means Knittykitty and Punk Rock Knitter will have more time for knitting (non-fug knitting of course!)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Bard on the Beach part 2 - Measure for Measure
Oh we're getting ourselves soooo cultured! Last night was the second night of Bard on the Beach for us and we were treated to pre-war (World War II that is) Vienna for Measure for Measure. It was the same cast as the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream...Actors in supporting roles in one show tend to have main roles in the other.
There were some interesting characters in the audience. There was a large group of high school thespians...behaving in high school thespian manner...They were at the start of the line and entertained us with their hack sacks on a string, teenage chatter and teenage romance...I'm sure some of those romances started in the line up and were over before they opened the gates and let us in!
There was the fake and bake guy who was trying to look about 25 even though he was close to fifty who yelled and everyone that he was in line and they better get behind him. He even yelled at the Front of House Manager when he came out to put the "line-up-behind-this-sign" sign out...silly FOH guy stopped and talked to some other people before he came and put the sign up and that was unacceptable...because he was AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE!
And then there was the "why-do-the-rules-apply-to-us-because-
they-shouldn't-because-we're-clearly-better-than-all-those-people-
who-waited-in-line" couple. When the FOH guy opened the gates to let the line up in they came out of no where and tried to skip the line. They were told very nicely to please go to the end of the line as people had been waiting much longer than they had. The woman then told the FOH guy that SHE HAD A TICKET. To which he indicated so did all the people in the line up. They walked away, muttering about HOW RUDE it was to make THEM stand in line with ALL THOSE PEOPLE. We saw them inside too...they tried to leave the tent by a set of stairs marked DO NOT ENTER. Clearly rules only apply to common people ;)
So...the show...it was good. It wasn't as good as A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it was still good. I'm probably biased too...I loved reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, but Measure for Measure was far from one of my favourite Shakespearean works.
There were some interesting characters in the audience. There was a large group of high school thespians...behaving in high school thespian manner...They were at the start of the line and entertained us with their hack sacks on a string, teenage chatter and teenage romance...I'm sure some of those romances started in the line up and were over before they opened the gates and let us in!
There was the fake and bake guy who was trying to look about 25 even though he was close to fifty who yelled and everyone that he was in line and they better get behind him. He even yelled at the Front of House Manager when he came out to put the "line-up-behind-this-sign" sign out...silly FOH guy stopped and talked to some other people before he came and put the sign up and that was unacceptable...because he was AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE!
And then there was the "why-do-the-rules-apply-to-us-because-
they-shouldn't-because-we're-clearly-better-than-all-those-people-
who-waited-in-line" couple. When the FOH guy opened the gates to let the line up in they came out of no where and tried to skip the line. They were told very nicely to please go to the end of the line as people had been waiting much longer than they had. The woman then told the FOH guy that SHE HAD A TICKET. To which he indicated so did all the people in the line up. They walked away, muttering about HOW RUDE it was to make THEM stand in line with ALL THOSE PEOPLE. We saw them inside too...they tried to leave the tent by a set of stairs marked DO NOT ENTER. Clearly rules only apply to common people ;)
So...the show...it was good. It wasn't as good as A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it was still good. I'm probably biased too...I loved reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, but Measure for Measure was far from one of my favourite Shakespearean works.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
The Time Traveler's Wife
WHOA!
So, this had to have been one of the most captivating books I've read in a very long time! I think the last time I devoured a book like that, I was reading The Lovely Bones.
I literally could not put it down. I started reading it on the bus ride to work, which is only about 15 minutes and I picked up an old bad habit I have...reading while walking down the street.
Every free moment I had, I picked up the book - breaks, lunch time and the walk back to the bus stop after work. I read it all the way back from the airport and almost missed my stop...twice...and then I came home and read until Alex got here...and then I stayed up until 2:00.
I read quickly, but not usually that fast. I mean, the book has 500+ pages!
BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! I think I'll have to reread parts of it...if not all of it, but it was so good.
I won't say too much about it because I don't really want to spoil it...I knew one little thing about it and it wasn't even a detail about the book and I think it made it different to read for me and possibly I read it anticipating something...and I wasn't even sure what it was that I was anticipating. But that's probably why I read it sooooooo quickly!
By the way...if you hadn't already figured it out, I completely recommend this book!
So, this had to have been one of the most captivating books I've read in a very long time! I think the last time I devoured a book like that, I was reading The Lovely Bones.
I literally could not put it down. I started reading it on the bus ride to work, which is only about 15 minutes and I picked up an old bad habit I have...reading while walking down the street.
Every free moment I had, I picked up the book - breaks, lunch time and the walk back to the bus stop after work. I read it all the way back from the airport and almost missed my stop...twice...and then I came home and read until Alex got here...and then I stayed up until 2:00.
I read quickly, but not usually that fast. I mean, the book has 500+ pages!
BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! I think I'll have to reread parts of it...if not all of it, but it was so good.
I won't say too much about it because I don't really want to spoil it...I knew one little thing about it and it wasn't even a detail about the book and I think it made it different to read for me and possibly I read it anticipating something...and I wasn't even sure what it was that I was anticipating. But that's probably why I read it sooooooo quickly!
By the way...if you hadn't already figured it out, I completely recommend this book!
Friday, August 04, 2006
that sad house feeling...
When Edna and Hiromi left, it was sad...that sad feeling when an old friend goes away after spending a great vacation with you and you don't know when you might see them again.
Sarah and I were talking about it and we both thought these goodbyes were easier than the Pax Lodge goodbyes because we didn't stand in a circle and sing the Pax Lodge song before they left.
The third verse (Wherever we wander, Wherever we roam, Pax Lodge will always be our home. A place where strangers soon are friends, I'll meet you there, where the rainbow ends) always got me even if I had the best intentions of *NOT* crying and had somehow managed to hold it together to that point.
How true that verse is. I felt so completely at home when last October I walked back through the glass doors into the building that was my home for so long. But Pax Lodge isn't just the building where we all met and became friends. Pax Lodge is memories, friendships and feeling that comes with Pax Lodge girls. The last few weeks we established the Canadian Annex of Pax Lodge in the blue house and it was great.
It's not something that's easy to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it and it's not easy to recreate. When you have women living, working, and playing together from completely difference cultures, backgrounds, countries and frames of reference, something special has to happen. I'm glad that Alex got to meet five of those great women and maybe now he understands a bit better about Pax Lodge and the place it holds in my life still.
And saying goodbye to Sarah today I realized it wasn't any easier saying goodbye without that song, because if I was listening to the voices in my head, well they were singing the song...only the last verse, but that's the one that matters...and I was just doing a very good job of ignoring the voices when I said goodbye to Edna and Hiromi.
After I'd said my goodbyes to Sarah and Pauline, I took my time coming home...I knew what was waiting for me and I didn't really want that. The house is empty and has the feeling that it has been abandoned. I don't even have the usual after guests go chores to do because Sarah and Pauline were such marvellous guests the dishes have all been done, the bed is stripped and the linens and towels are all clean and folded.
So no distractions. The first thing I saw when I came in the house was the yellow rose in a beautiful glass swan vase that Pauline gave me just as she left the house. And I felt that sad, lonely feeling.
And the house is empty...until Alex comes home from work. I'm going to nurse my A&W Rootbeer float which was the treat Sarah and I had last night and read The Time Traveler's Wife until Alex gets home (I think that book is contributing to the melancholy of their goodbye...I highly recommend it though. I started it this morning and I'm already half way through and it's over 500 pages...I think I'll be up until the sun comes up again reading it again tonight!)
sigh....
come back and visit us again soon!! We're already making plans (okay, so maybe they're a long long way off, but they're still plans) to head to Mexico, Japan, London and Ireland....
Sarah and I were talking about it and we both thought these goodbyes were easier than the Pax Lodge goodbyes because we didn't stand in a circle and sing the Pax Lodge song before they left.
The third verse (Wherever we wander, Wherever we roam, Pax Lodge will always be our home. A place where strangers soon are friends, I'll meet you there, where the rainbow ends) always got me even if I had the best intentions of *NOT* crying and had somehow managed to hold it together to that point.
How true that verse is. I felt so completely at home when last October I walked back through the glass doors into the building that was my home for so long. But Pax Lodge isn't just the building where we all met and became friends. Pax Lodge is memories, friendships and feeling that comes with Pax Lodge girls. The last few weeks we established the Canadian Annex of Pax Lodge in the blue house and it was great.
It's not something that's easy to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it and it's not easy to recreate. When you have women living, working, and playing together from completely difference cultures, backgrounds, countries and frames of reference, something special has to happen. I'm glad that Alex got to meet five of those great women and maybe now he understands a bit better about Pax Lodge and the place it holds in my life still.
And saying goodbye to Sarah today I realized it wasn't any easier saying goodbye without that song, because if I was listening to the voices in my head, well they were singing the song...only the last verse, but that's the one that matters...and I was just doing a very good job of ignoring the voices when I said goodbye to Edna and Hiromi.
After I'd said my goodbyes to Sarah and Pauline, I took my time coming home...I knew what was waiting for me and I didn't really want that. The house is empty and has the feeling that it has been abandoned. I don't even have the usual after guests go chores to do because Sarah and Pauline were such marvellous guests the dishes have all been done, the bed is stripped and the linens and towels are all clean and folded.
So no distractions. The first thing I saw when I came in the house was the yellow rose in a beautiful glass swan vase that Pauline gave me just as she left the house. And I felt that sad, lonely feeling.
And the house is empty...until Alex comes home from work. I'm going to nurse my A&W Rootbeer float which was the treat Sarah and I had last night and read The Time Traveler's Wife until Alex gets home (I think that book is contributing to the melancholy of their goodbye...I highly recommend it though. I started it this morning and I'm already half way through and it's over 500 pages...I think I'll be up until the sun comes up again reading it again tonight!)
sigh....
come back and visit us again soon!! We're already making plans (okay, so maybe they're a long long way off, but they're still plans) to head to Mexico, Japan, London and Ireland....
as quickly as it started, it's almost all over
I got up this morning and the house already felt different. Sarah and Pauline don't leave until later tonight, but the house already had that sad feeling houses get when guests leave. I know I should feel lucky, but I'm dreading the empty house...it was nice to come home after work to other people (or have other people arrive not long after me), but now that they're returning to their real worlds, so must I. sniffle
And I do feel lucky! I've seen Sarah twice in the last nine months after not seeing her for almost four years. It's been like no time has passed, due in part to the old fashioned art of letter writing, but more so due to the new fandangled innovations of email and, in recent months, blogs.
Edna was here less than a year ago and she came back (I guess weddings do that!) and I hadn't seen Hiromi or Vanessa in almost five years...so it was good...but I already feel sad that they're gone (or going soon) :(
Anyway...here they all are...and now I'm going to go feel sorry for myself....bye ladies...I'll miss you!
dancing queens - Edna and Vanessa
Hiromi, Alex and Sarah
Sarah, Shannon, Pauline and Edna
oh Edna!
And I do feel lucky! I've seen Sarah twice in the last nine months after not seeing her for almost four years. It's been like no time has passed, due in part to the old fashioned art of letter writing, but more so due to the new fandangled innovations of email and, in recent months, blogs.
Edna was here less than a year ago and she came back (I guess weddings do that!) and I hadn't seen Hiromi or Vanessa in almost five years...so it was good...but I already feel sad that they're gone (or going soon) :(
Anyway...here they all are...and now I'm going to go feel sorry for myself....bye ladies...I'll miss you!
dancing queens - Edna and Vanessa
Hiromi, Alex and Sarah
Sarah, Shannon, Pauline and Edna
oh Edna!Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Sidney and goodbye to Edna
Now that all the wedding festivities are over, it's time to start saying goodbye :(
Hiromi left us on Sunday morning and I had to say goodbye to Edna this morning....But not before Edna wowed us with her guacamole...okay, so she didn't make it this morning, she make it last week, but oh my goodness was it ever YUMMY!!! We gave her a hard time because she said she only makes food with a microwave and we don't have one...but I guess you don't really need one to make guacamole!
Yesterday we went to Sidney to do some book browsing (those of you who know about my book and yarn addictions will be amazed to hear I went into a few bookstores and one yarn store and I bought NO books and NO yarn!)...we did take everyone to Rogers...somehow in their trip to Victoria on Sunday, they all missed the yummy chocolate store...mmmmm....
And now reality sets in again...
That's all.
Hiromi left us on Sunday morning and I had to say goodbye to Edna this morning....But not before Edna wowed us with her guacamole...okay, so she didn't make it this morning, she make it last week, but oh my goodness was it ever YUMMY!!! We gave her a hard time because she said she only makes food with a microwave and we don't have one...but I guess you don't really need one to make guacamole!
Yesterday we went to Sidney to do some book browsing (those of you who know about my book and yarn addictions will be amazed to hear I went into a few bookstores and one yarn store and I bought NO books and NO yarn!)...we did take everyone to Rogers...somehow in their trip to Victoria on Sunday, they all missed the yummy chocolate store...mmmmm....
And now reality sets in again...
That's all.
The Gift Opening
I think Canadian weddings must go on forever! This one certainly last three days! After leaving Hiromi at the airport to go home to Japan, we went back to Megan's grandparents' house for more of the spectacular view and more delicious food...mmmm....
ummm, Hans...that might be meant for Megan!
Then Edna, Hiromi and Sarah went into Victoria with Megan, Hans and the Danish contingent and Alex and I went to Cobble Hill to visit my grandma and hang out with some wildlife.
ummm, Hans...that might be meant for Megan!Then Edna, Hiromi and Sarah went into Victoria with Megan, Hans and the Danish contingent and Alex and I went to Cobble Hill to visit my grandma and hang out with some wildlife.
The Reception
After the beautiful wedding there was a reception at the same wonderful location as the rehearsal dinner. The reception had a lot of traditional Canadian elements to it as well as some very cool Danish traditions, like all the men kissing the bride when the groom left the tent and the women kissing the groom when the bride left and stomping on the floor (in this case banging on the underside of the table, cause it's hard to stomp on grass and make noise) to get the bride and groom to kiss UNDER the table.
Megan's grandpa and his barber shop quartet (okay, I know there are more than four of them, but that's what they called themselves) sang for us.
Hiromi did a traditional Japanese dance.
Pauline and Edna
the girls - Shannon, Sarah, Edna, Megan, Vanessa and Hiromi
the first dance
Danish tradition: As the couple dances their first dance, the guests form a circle and move in closer and closer to the bride and groom until they can't move. Then they kiss and the dance is over.
Another Danish tradition: After the first dance the men grab the groom and cut the toes of his socks off. It's symbolic and means the couple should never have to worry about things like the cost of a pair of socks.
putting Hans' shoes back on
Uh oh...Megan had to toss the bouquet three times before it landed with someone...the first time she threw it over the heads of all the single girls. The second time it landed short and someone stepped on it...the third time someone almost caught it...but fumbled...and in putting my arms up to protect my head, the bouquet somehow ended up in my hands...seriously, it was deflected off of someone else and landed on me...
Megan and Shannon
Yes...I am wearing an ugly sweatshirt...it was cold and some smart person left her sweater in Vancouver....
Megan's grandpa and his barber shop quartet (okay, I know there are more than four of them, but that's what they called themselves) sang for us.
Hiromi did a traditional Japanese dance.
Pauline and Edna
the girls - Shannon, Sarah, Edna, Megan, Vanessa and Hiromi
the first dance
Danish tradition: As the couple dances their first dance, the guests form a circle and move in closer and closer to the bride and groom until they can't move. Then they kiss and the dance is over.
Another Danish tradition: After the first dance the men grab the groom and cut the toes of his socks off. It's symbolic and means the couple should never have to worry about things like the cost of a pair of socks.
putting Hans' shoes back on
Uh oh...Megan had to toss the bouquet three times before it landed with someone...the first time she threw it over the heads of all the single girls. The second time it landed short and someone stepped on it...the third time someone almost caught it...but fumbled...and in putting my arms up to protect my head, the bouquet somehow ended up in my hands...seriously, it was deflected off of someone else and landed on me...
Megan and ShannonYes...I am wearing an ugly sweatshirt...it was cold and some smart person left her sweater in Vancouver....
The WEDDING!
The wedding...
Well...it was beautiful...but more on that in a minute.
Megan and Hans met at Pax Lodge when I was working there. Hans came to Pax Lodge as a session participant and Megan was one of the House Assistants. After the session, Hans and his friend Jens stayed for a while and Heather and I went away to the Netherlands and when we returned...well...Megan was glowing! And that led to Megan visiting Hans and Hans visiting Megan and eventually Megan moving to Denmark. I feel lucky because I've been able to see Megan and Hans almost every time they've come back to Vancouver to visit and being at their wedding was just great! They are so very obviously happy together!
So anyway, the wedding was beautiful. It was in this pretty little church in Saanichton. The ceremony was just the right length. It was wonderful!
the kiss
signing the registry with Rene and Morgan
the bride and groom
attacked by Danish bubbles
look at those happy faces!
Well...it was beautiful...but more on that in a minute.
Megan and Hans met at Pax Lodge when I was working there. Hans came to Pax Lodge as a session participant and Megan was one of the House Assistants. After the session, Hans and his friend Jens stayed for a while and Heather and I went away to the Netherlands and when we returned...well...Megan was glowing! And that led to Megan visiting Hans and Hans visiting Megan and eventually Megan moving to Denmark. I feel lucky because I've been able to see Megan and Hans almost every time they've come back to Vancouver to visit and being at their wedding was just great! They are so very obviously happy together!
So anyway, the wedding was beautiful. It was in this pretty little church in Saanichton. The ceremony was just the right length. It was wonderful!
the kiss
signing the registry with Rene and Morgan
the bride and groom
attacked by Danish bubbles
look at those happy faces!Rehearsal dinner
Megan and Hans invited all of their out of town guests to their rehearsal dinner. It was held at her grandparents' place, which was also where the reception was going to be on Saturday. We had a lovely evening meeting their friends and families. Besides the International Contingent from Pax Lodge, there was a very large Danish contingent too. The evening was great, the view spectacular, the hot dogs, corn and strawberry shortcake scrumptious and the company the best!
speeches
Hans and the Pax Lodge girls - Sarah, Hiromi, Megan, Shannon and Edna
the view
After dinner we went back to the hotel, with Alex as our taxi driver. Edna, Alex and I, trip #2, stopped at the Island favourite grocery store, Thriftys, and in case we hadn't already eaten enough picked up a huge and very decadent chocolate mint cake. Hiromi's birthday was Monday, but with all the excitement of the weekend, we decided to celebrate with her on Friday night. She was VERY surprised!
happy birthday Hiromi!
speeches
Hans and the Pax Lodge girls - Sarah, Hiromi, Megan, Shannon and Edna
the viewAfter dinner we went back to the hotel, with Alex as our taxi driver. Edna, Alex and I, trip #2, stopped at the Island favourite grocery store, Thriftys, and in case we hadn't already eaten enough picked up a huge and very decadent chocolate mint cake. Hiromi's birthday was Monday, but with all the excitement of the weekend, we decided to celebrate with her on Friday night. She was VERY surprised!
happy birthday Hiromi!
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