British Columbia

Well here I am in British Columbia. I have come to stay with my father for a week while his wife is away in the UK. The flight went well but it was freezing. I will take some socks in my hand luggage on the way back. I flew with Westjet so I had a stop over in Calgary. Lisa came to meet me for dinner. Kath had sent a small parcel to deliver to her also, plus Detta had bought Lisa and Peter some mugs while we were in England as a wedding gift. They are creamy coloured and one has pink polka dots and the other has green.

It was great to see my Dad, he looks much the same as the last time I saw him. They live in a lovely house in Chilliwack. And he has a very friendly dog called Molly. We have been talking non-stop since I have arrived.

First Day of School

They are all off. Detta is in her last year of primary school. She was really looking forward to returning to school but then so were Miles and Donovan.

A few wedding photos

Kath came by this evening. They brought the wedding pictures over which they took. Here are a few I like.

Trip to Kincardine

Last week we popped up to Kincardine for a couple of days. We had one day at the Boiler Beach and then it rained for two days. Alex, Detta's friend from Toronto came with us. And we stayed at my friend Karen's house. They have a flat in the basement where Hugh, the boys and I stayed and the girls slept in Katie's old room.

It was a great day at the beach. The weather was cool, but that didn't stop us. There was no way I was going in the water but everyone else did, though not for too long. We ended up playing on the beach for ages. We started to divert the water run off but it took a long time. Everyone took long walks up and down the beach. It was very nice.

It is always amazing how the beach changes from year to year. This year the water level is really high. The old boiler, hence Boiler Beach, is actually in the water. I haven't seen that for a couple of years. It is so full of sand that there are plants growing out of it now. When I was little it was much further out in the water. I also saw sand pipers this year. They haven't been around the past few years but then there may have been too many people on the beach before. The beach was practically empty when we arrived but by later afternoon there must have at least 20 people.

We ran into Kim. I can't believe how grown up Deanie has become. All the kids got on great together. We came home Sunday and then Donovan wasn't feeling well so I stayed at home with him on Monday.

Post Wedding 2

Well I haven't received any more photos of the wedding. But it was great. To continue on where I left off:

We forgot the Chinese boxes for the candy at home so all of us drove home. At least the tire didn't go flat again. Once there we feed the children some Jamaican patties to tide them over. Then we headed back to Newcastle for the reception. I ended up driving to Whitby before getting on the 401 to miss the Friday afternoon traffic out of Toronto.

The reception went well, there were some really big fans to keep the air moving around. Detta sat with a bunch of teens for the meal. I think she really liked that. We sat with the boys, Margo and as it turned out the minister and her husband, Laura and Ted and another woman from the church. They were not very communicative with us. At least I had Margo to talk to. Hugh tried to engage Ted but from what I heard later it was a one way street. Anne gave the boys this great pad with lots of different activities. This kept the two of them very busy for most of the dinner.

The dinner was lovely though I missed all the desserts which may be a good thing. I had taken Miles and Donovan outside for a bit of a run around. I think the boys enjoyed being dressed up in their shirts and ties. They kept pretending they were spies. Donovan looked like one of those rockers from AC/DC, he was wearing shorts with soaks and running shoes!Then the speeches, there were lots of them. The best man may have offered us more information than we would have liked. And then the tables were moved back and Lisa and Peter had their first dance. Hugh and I then set up the candy buffet. We had lots of helpers. It looked great.
Then all the dancing started. Donovan was dancing like crazy, he danced with all the family. All the family was dancing. The music was very good and kept everyone moving. The candy buffet was off to a slow start. I don't think people really knew what to do. But then by the time we left I had refilled all the candy I had left.

We headed home about 10ish. Miles was starting to feel very short of breath. The reception hall was not air conditioned and it had become very warm and stuffy. Of course we had forgotten Miles' epipen (someone else also had one) and puffer. Hugh came back to the reception so he could clear away all candy buffet. It sounds like everyone had a good time. Hugh arrived back at the reception just in time to have a sausage in a bun.

Post Wedding

Well it is the day after the wedding. Lisa looked beautiful and Peter very happy. I have so much to write, I think it may take a few days. Here at my desk I have a lovely bunch of flowers to look at for the next few days. I ended up with several of the table setting which I have taken apart and put in different vases.
The day started out early, Detta and I headed off to have our hair done. Mine was very quick, as it is short. The hair stylist thought it would be easier to straighten Detta's hair and then give it a trim. I thought so too but one and half hours later, I was thinking this was not so good an idea. Detta was in tears, I had to get a towel so she could wipe her eyes. Her hair has not been combed through properly, though she does brush it. I was on the phone to Hugh, to get everything in the van and be ready to go. On the way home I bought the children McDonalds for lunch. So Detta and I had 30 minutes to get dressed and ready to go plus Detta had to eat her lunch. Finally we were on our way.

There were a few stops on route mind you. The first was to buy petrol as we were under a quarter tank. Then just before the 401, we had our second. The kids all started shouting, 'there's a wasp in the candy'. Hugh and I didn't get it at first but we stopped. Yes there was a wasp inside the candy container. How it got in there I don't know. All the candy was in its own bags, nothing was loose. But the wasp flew away. Finally on the 401.

Then as we were just heading through Oshawa in the fast lane, this suv was really trying to overtake us. I mentioned to Hugh that this driver was going back and forth behind, all I thought was another crazy driver. Finally Miles says, 'I think that driver is trying to say something'. Hugh had a look and sure enough the other driver was pointing at the back of our van (not so crazy after all). So we pulled over in a safe spot and Hugh hopped out to have a look. Sure enough our back passenger tire was going flat. So we exited off the 401 and drove looking for a petrol station. There were none around and we drove past the next exit off the 401. Finally I saw a petrol station and we got some air. In the mean time I called Anne to let her know we had a half flat tire and could possibly be late for the wedding. Then we headed off. By Bowmanville, the van didn't seem right, so we stopped again to check the air pressure. All was okay, thank goodness.

Away we went to Bethany. Finally we made it to the church. I missed the turning, I can't believe I got lost in Bethany (looking later there was no street sign!!). Anne actually only arrived just before us. The church was very small. Detta, Miles and Donovan sat with their cousins in the second row but there was no room for Hugh and I so we sat in the front row. No one else was sitting in the front row and to top it off, the table and chair with the documents for the bride and groom to sign were right in front of us. The best part about our location is we had the occassional cool breeze.

OMG - THE VASE

I can't believe it!! I was packing the vases for the candy buffet in a box and as I lifted one of them out to reorganise, it hit the top of the tallest vase!! The centre piece of the candy buffet. A piece about 4 inches long came off the top!!! I am devastated. And of course this had to happen at 8:25 pm. As I stood speechless, well maybe a few profanities, Hugh said 'get on your bike'.

Well I jumped in the car, in the middle of a huge rainstorm, at least the thunder had already passed. I raced up to Homesense (I just drove quickly), the electricity was out in the middle of Ajax. At least the stores still had power. I found an inexpensive vase and bought it. Then I quickly went over to Pier Imports and found another one, bought it. And one more stop was to be Bouclairs but the electricity was out so I gave it a miss.

It took longer to drive home. DOES NO ONE KNOW HOW TO USE STOP LIGHTS WHEN THEY AREN'T WORKING????? Well not too many here know. IT BECOMES A FOUR-WAY STOP!!! PLEASSSSEEEEE!!!!

Flower Arranging

Today after heading into the kitchen I realised I had forgotten to make the brownies for the rehearsal party. So at 7:30 I started mixing up a batch of brownies, no walnuts though. Then after they were finished I made a second batch. I headed out to Joan's about 9:30 and they were still hot in the boxes.
When I arrived at Joan's, Kath was there with Peter's Mum, Margaret and her sisters, Anne and Lisa. Names like this will make it easier for me to remember their names. They were all preparing the flowers to put in the vases which were spread around Joan's dining and living rooms. Anne arrived just in time for tea and brought some lovely squares with her. Lisa and I ended up going out and getting boxes from No Frills to carry the flower arrangements to the hall. I think Andrew is going to pick them up tomorrow. Joan has put most of the flowers in the arrangements but there is still filler, the bonbons and candy to put in. Detta and I are going to pop over tonight and help.

Oh I forgot, Hugh and I had a trial run of the candy buffet last night. We set the vases out and started filling them with candy. We are supposed to make candy skewers but I think that may be removed. I may just fill the dishes with jelly beans. And then there is also red twizzlers to put in. It is going to look really good.

After the flowers, Joan, Anne and I headed out for Reitman's. We bought some clothes and used up our $25.00 vouchers. I bought a skirt, jeans and 2 blouses. Then we headed over to Pickle's which is now called Wimpy's. But the food is just as good. I had a roast beef dip (again). It was very good, the gravy was not too thick.

Anyways I must decide tonight if we are going to do the skewers or not. Then I need to press my dress lightly and find the boys trousers. Detta probably needs something so I better go and get my last minute preparations done. Tomorrow morning Detta and I go to the hairdresser and then pack the candy in the cooler. Oh yes it would be a good idea to pack the vases tonight.

Wedding Preparations

Today I headed into Toronto at 9ish. I wanted to be at the Bay on Queen when it opened. I wasn't far off but it was incredibly slow driving along Richmond, just past Jarvis, it went from 3 lanes to 1!! I found a gorgeous black dress from Jones of New York. It is very 'Little Black Dress', very Coco Chanel. I also bought this gorgeous silk skirt in black and beige. It is beautiful, that may be returned if I wear the black dress (not on sale). There wasn't much to choose from, all the spring/summer clothes were on sale which obviously had started several weeks ago and there wasn't very much in for the autumn collections. Very sparse. I then headed over to Reitman's in the Eaton Centre. I found a lovely jacket to wear with the dress (but I may return it).

I headed home from there, took Miles and Detta to McDonalds for lunch. Funnily enough I ran into the lady, Jeanette who I met when Detta and I were flying from Belfast to Heathrow. What are the chances of meeting someone, you met on a plane in the UK, in McDonalds!! Yes she does live in the same town as me.

After lunch, I insisted Detta stop watching television as we needed to dress shop for her. We went to the Laura outlet. A very nice saleslady helped us choose about 10 dresses for Detta to try on. We finally settled on two so I bought them both. They were marked down so I thought why not! I found a lovely white jacket with black buttons which will look excellent with the black dress. I think this jacket will look much nicer than the one from Reitman's. We then headed to Walmart for ribbon, but Detta found shoes she liked there. They will look nice with one of the dresses she choose. I also found some shoes, maybe not for the wedding but they look great. It did take me a while to find the second shoe but I did persist, on the floor looking between the racks did it.

We then stopped at Bulk Barn. I liked the gum drops Joan had, so I did like Joan and just picked out all the pink ones. I think I got them all. Then our last stop was the Dollar store for a couple of vases which we are putting our candy skewers in.

Now I am putting my labels on the chinese boxes and tying very small bows, all 120 of them. I have more than half the green ones done and Detta is putting the ribbons with labels on the pink ones. I will then tie all the bows. I need to buy more ribbon though, I need ribbon for 23 more green boxes. Detta and I were over at Joan's yesterday evening, we finished all the bonbons!!! YESSS!! Detta skewed all the candy and put them into little baggies for each table arrangement. Joan sorted the bonbons for the table arrangements also. Everything looks so pretty.

I keep downloading pictures from my camera but most of my trip to the UK is still on the camera. I just don't want to remove them yet. There are only 540 pictures on the camera.

Lisa's Wedding

Yesterday, Detta and I headed up to Kath's again. We didn't go quite as early this time. Today we started working on decorations for the sides of the pews in the church. It took some time to actually figure out what would look good. And then more time to work out the logistics of the whole thing, like tying it to the pews and having it hang properly. No this is not Lisa's wedding bouquet but one of the pew decorations though in this picture it is not completed.

For dinner, we went to the Village Inn in Bowmanville. It was very good. I have in the past few months rediscovered a meal, I loved as a child, roast beef sandwich au jus. It has different names in different restaurants but is basically a roast beef sandwich you can dip in a thin or thick beef gravy. The Village Inn had very thick gravy so I also dipped my most excellent fries in it also.

After dinner, we went to the movies. Anne and Lizzy met us there plus another friend of Kath's. We saw Julie & Julia. It was so good, Meryl Streep is such an excellent actress.

Today I headed back to Kath's. By lunch I had finished with the glue guns. So all the pew decorations are finished. Lisa and her mum can put the finishing touches on them when they go to the church on Wednesday. I got home and jumped in the pool with Donovan. It was so nice. I haven't spent that much time in our pool all summer. We are now going to have hot chocolate (I might add some coffee to mine for the caffeine).