Ev & Stu's Wedding

At last, the day everyone has been waiting for...Ev & Stu tied the knot on Saturday, August 23rd. First of all, she could not have asked for a better day.  The sun was shining so bright that you forgot about the rainy weekends past.  Our day started at 8am as we got our hair styled at Marc Anthony and got ready at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville.  Just when we thought we were on the ball, time slipped away from us and ended up being half an hour late for the ceremony.  I bet Stuart was getting nervous but once the bus pulled up to the church, we all got in our places. It's showtime.  I got teary eyed as Ev walked down the aisle.  She looked so beautiful, so happy.  After the ceremony we all crammed on the coach which took the bridal party to the Distillery for pictures and took the UK visitors on a tour of TO.  After pictures we went inside the Fermenting Cellar and it took my breath away.  To see everything come together, to see all the details, to see all of Ev's hard work come alive. It was perfect. Everything was perfect.  Congratulations to Ev & Stu. Looking forward to a lifetime of WNDs with you both.

Pool Party

Norm and I usually have a knapsack packed away in the car that includes towels, flip flops and bathing suits for those emergency situations.  This weekend it came in handy as we were at my brother's place and we made a last minute decision to go to Petticoat Creek.  It was packed but that's expected on a long weekend and a sunny one at that.  Swimming and sunbathing were followed by a stop at DQ. Who can resist a Skor Blizzard or a strawberry sundae? The next day the fun continued at a pool party we were invited to.  It's always nice to know someone with a pool and even better when it's family because you can go there unannounced. Norm had a diving competition with the kids, making sure that all the plants and flowers surrounding the pool got a nice spray of pool water. Summer days by the pool...awesome. 

Handwash only

And so the saying goes "when it rains, it pours". It has been a couple of weeks now since we've noticed our washing machine leaking and now it's so loud that we need to turn the TV on full volume and talk to each other in sign language.  Our appliances came with our condo so we have determined that it is approximately 10 years old which is more than what I would ask for from a washing machine.  So off we went to do our research on different types of washers but because we needed a condo sized washer, it narrowed it down to only a few.  Otherwise I would go for the Whirlpool Duet. And if you're wondering about front loader vs top loader, do your research on the particular brand you are buying.  There are a lot of forums that complain about mold and mildew so when I asked the salesperson at Sears, he said all you have to do to avoid mold and mildew is to keep the washer door open to let the air circulate after each load. Other recommendations were to wash the washing machine with vinegar, bleach, or other home remedies.  Nonsense! So needless to say, we bought a simple old fashion top loader that will hopefully last another 10 years. I'll save my vinegar for when I eat chi-charon.