Monday, September 26, 2011

PM friends!











We had the distinct please of having 2 sets of Puerto Morelos friends - Mick and Bev and Rob and Joanne - with us for lunch and an afternoon here in Parksville.










Joanne enjoying a moment by the fire.......















Miki, Bev and Joanne..........













Rob, Miki, Bev, Mick and Jo - so great to have the gang together in our home. Rob and Jo leave to head to PM via the U.S. and Mexico.











Bev and Mick were here for 3 days and then back to Ontario, but will be in PM for 9 weeks starting in January. See you all soon in Mexico!!
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Sunday, September 25, 2011

kitties and beaches








Chiik sleeping on the window seat.......such a handsome boy he has become....













and 17 year old Sitges, who still looks like a kitten......










and 17 year old Dax on the couch......















Chiik loves boxes...any kind.....anywhere.....












and sometimes Chiik and Dax can sleep next to each other quite amicably........











On Vanessa's birthday, we took a walk on the boardwalk to enjoy the water and beach.....










tide was half in, half out, and tho it was partly cloudy, it was a lovely walk.......














A lone seagull took possession of the Big Stump which the kids love to climb on.
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Wedding weekend








OK, now that I have spilled the beans about the wedding, I can share with you that we had the "rehearsal dinner" the night before with Hilde, and all had a fabulous meal at the Bayside Hotel.










After the wedding, the Brides took us to the Pacific Shores restaurant for a wonderful lunch.





It was a lovely lunch, with great views of the bay. 

The fish tanks at Pacific Shores are nothing short of amazing......

Here is a fish in the channel that joins the tanks together.......

and the second tank, full of salt water local fish and sea creatures......

Then it was off to the Englishman River Falls.....here we are on the bridge......

overlooking the falls........

followed by tea at the Cuckoo restaurant......

The Englishman River walkway was awesome....a lovely end to a perfect wedding day. 
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A Parksville wedding!






Our dear friends Linda and Roma, having been together for 22 years, decided it was time to tie the knot, and called us to say they were eloping - TO PARKSVILLE!!!!! - and would we stand up for them. We did better than that - we found a lesbian minister, Hilde, who did the job on the beautiful Parksville beach.










They chose a spot on a grassy knoll overlooking the ocean, which we decorated with some flowers from home, some shells to represent the sea, and some pine cones to represent the forest.













The lovely rings were exchanged......












...one for each of the brides......












and the ceremony was sealed with a kiss! People walking along the boardwalk broke into spontaneous applause!!!!










Hilde presented the newly married couple to the world!!!












and they exchanged gifts - a hand blown glass heart for Hilde (and one each for us!!) and a very special rock from Hilde to the brides, which she had brought all the way from Ontario.









Hilde wore one of her wonderful rainbow sashes for the ceremony, hand made for her by a dear friend.











This was a legal wedding so we all signed the proper forms.....





.










...no going back now......















....the witnesses and Hilde also signed.......












and the Parksville beach bore witness to a lovely wedding of such dear friends....











....the rose garden at the knoll.......











and the view from the knoll to the beach. Every time we walk on the boardwalk, we will smile fondly remembering this very special wedding by the sea.











Oh, and did we mention Minister Hilde arrived on her motorcycle......












....and left on it in a rosy glow of love and laughter!!!
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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Camping...no, not me....!!!








Ter and Lar are still crazy enough to like camping - even with 3 dogs...!!!! They took their foster dog Maxx to his new forever home in the Okanagan and then back in Parksville decided to have another night of fun under the stars.....








They set up at Rathtrevor and invited us over for dinner - Larry's famous rosemary prawns, no less - so we had a great dinner, wine around the fire, lots of laughs - and then got to go home to our warm house and comfy bed.








Camping with dogs is not for the faint hearted.....you have to take fencing to keep them on the site, all the beds and toys and food and stuff - and all the people paraphanalia......yikes!! Then of course they all sleep in the tent together.......
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Happy Birthday Terri!









Lar, Michele and Bill joined us in celebrating Terri's birthday on the 12th!










We had a grand dinner with this wonderful dessert (thanks, Michele!) of cheeses and fruit - NO gluten!!!













Ter and Lar...................












Miki and Bill.........














Oh, and of course Bailey was invited and was the star of the show again. She and Chiik had a cautious encounter, but the 2 older cats slept through it all. Wonderful celebration with dear friends!
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