Home and Back

A couple of weeks ago I went home for Mike Taylor's wedding. For those of you who don't know who that is, well he was kate's ex-boyfriend. They were together for three years before they both went their own separate ways.

Connie, Mike's new wife had asked Kate to be her Maid of Honour as the other person she asked wasn't going to be able to make it to the wedding. Kate accepted and Stuart (Kate's Fiancee) came along for the trip. I was asked to be the photographer.

We arrived in Thunder Bay at around 10pm on the 16th. I was so tired and had a massive headache by the time we got there that I went straight home with my Dad. I caught up on all the goings on with him and waited for my mother to come home from work.

Saturday I was up early and went with my sister Kathryn to visit Dziadziu at the hospital. Just before I arrived home they moved him to the Palliative care unit at St. Joe's. He was not doing well when I arrived. He tried to speak but neither of us could tell what it was that he wanted. I felt so awful not being able to understand him. We didn't stay long because Kathryn had to go to work and I had to take pictures of Connie getting her hair done.

As we were driving home I called Kate to find out what was happening. By this point it was 9am. Kate informed me that she was picking Connie up at 9 and taking her for her appointment. When I informed Kate that it was nine she realized that Stu's phone was wrong! So I borrowed my Mom's car and picked up Connie and brought her to a Spa for You. Crisis averted!

As Connie was getting her make-up done Mike arrived to bring Connie's friend Eh tu who is from South Africa. Eh Tu (Not sure how you spell her name) came with us for brunch at Applebees. After brunch we headed back to my house so Kate and I could get dressed before our hair appointments at Michaels. We JUST made it to our appointment. I had this great updo which lasted two days a real first for my hair!

Then we were off to the church where we would help Connie get her dress on. I took a series of photos there and then got pictures of Mike with Jason before the ceremony started. There were only 17 people at the wedding so it was a small intimate ceremony.

As we were getting out of the church to head to Vickers Park for more pictures it started to rain! :P I have the greatest luck I tell you! Luckily it stopped and we ended up getting some really cute shots of everyone.

From Vickers Park Jason and I headed to the Vahalla where the dinner was going to be. Since it was a small group it was not an official reception. The dinner was due to start for a while so Jason, Me, John (Bride's brother) and Aaron (friend of the bride) sat in the Vahalla bar and chatted. We had a lot of fun chatting and getting to know one another. I had a really great time with them so I invited them to Toronto some week-end to hang out at one of our group's dinner nights. I hope they take me up on it. They live nearby so it wouldn't be too long a drive for them.

Dinner was fabulous! The food absolutely amazing. It's been a long time since I had dinner in the diningroom. Susan, Kathy and Mark were all still there and it was great to see them all!

The night ended off with coffee at Strawberries, like the good old days and a promise to meet at the Hoito for breakfast the next morning.

The rest of the week-end turned into me editing pictures of the wedding and visiting Dziadziu. I didn't manage to squeeze much more in. I did help Babcia make perogies and got to bring some back with me.

I left Wednesday afternoon without saying goodbye to Dziadziu which upset me. I'm so worried that is the last time I'll see him and I didn't even say good-bye.

Some changes ensued when I returned to the big T.O. Greg and I decided to not share an apartment after all. It just wasn't working out timing wise and I felt like I needed to do this on my own. Now I have to get on finding a place. I have a short list but nothing more.

Last Friday was our bi-weekly dinner night which was Russian themed. I think I've decided I don't care for Russian cooking. This isn't to say that everyone couldn't cook just that I really don't like Russian dishes. Jordan made Borsch which I grew up with and have NO love for. Stuart made a dish that he couldn't remember the name of which was pastry with three layers. One layer had mushrooms (or fungus as I affectionately call it), second had rice and egg and the third was chicken. Everyone loved it but as it had mushrooms I'm afraid I had to decline. Kate made fried eggplant with sourcream, chives and paprika. Everyone had a good time though. The next dinner night is Halloween themed and Joe and Lisa will be hosting.

I'm really homesick for the fall landscapes of home right now. I went through my fall photos collection and brought a whole group of them to work and framed them on my desk. So I can look at the fall shot of the sleeping giant and the orange and yellow reflection of leaves in Hazelwood lake. I miss that beautiful cool fall weather of home. It's too hot in this city! :P