38:365 - 20 years ago, today

Anna: Twenty years ago today, my husband and I were married.

We were all of 19 years old. Philippe was living in BC. Having injured himself half way through basic training, he was in "X Platoon," waiting until he was recovered enough to start over. I was living in Manitoba. He had only a week available to come out to Manitoba and, with his parents and sister out of the country, we decided to simply elope. It was Easter weekend, and he arrived late Thursday night. With both Good Friday and Easter Monday being government holidays, we couldn't get our marriage license until the Tuesday. Manitoba law required a minimum 2 days between getting the license and the ceremony, so the earliest we could have the ceremony was on the Wednesday. His brother was our best man, my best friend was my maid of honour. A friend of his brother's took a few photos, and that's all there was at the ceremony. That Friday, Philippe flew back to BC, and we didn't see each other again until July. With the rest of his family able to come back to Canada for a short visit, and Philippe still in X Platoon, we were able to have a get together at my parents' farm, where this photo was taken by my sister. He then returned to BC, and we didn't see each other again until the following September, when I finally moved out to join him. Although we had our weekends together, we didn't actually live under the same roof until after he graduated and we moved to Victoria, BC, where he was posted.

Because of the circumstances of our marriage, predictions of its success were less than positive. Many assumed I was pregnant, and far more predicted a divorce in the near future. Many of those who predicted the failure of our marriage are now divorced themselves.

So here we are today, twenty years later. We've been through a lot over the years, both good and bad. Such is life, and it's so much better for having gone through it together.










note: this photo was taken by our elder daughter, who is 15 years old, not 19 1/2, using her Canon G2

37:365 It's Spring... isn't it???

Anna: Yesterday was so bright and sunny, with the snow almost gone. This morning, we wake up to this...



This is off our 3rd floor balcony. As you can tell, it's been coming down for a while.















As I was taking the pictures, it started snowing noticeably heavier and was blowing straight at me.














The last time I took a picture of this tree, it was covered with snow, most of which had melted away in the next day or two. Time to start over!

And time for me to wipe the snow flakes off my lens.

Philippe: Our fourth floor opens up to a nice view of the river valley; not today though, since I can't *see* the river valley :P.

36:365 Downtown and Getting Artsy

Anna: The girls and I headed downtown today and had to use one of the parkades, so we made a point of parking at the top level for the view. The blue building is my favorite - it's just a marvelous shade.


















Philippe: Every once in a while, the artsy-fartsy in me just screams to be let out.. Then, when I do, it sees the results and usually says "k.. I'll go back in now..."

:D

P.

35-365 - Chip (Again) and Facade?

Philippe: Caught Chip again.. I think he's following me :P

Anna: You may need to click on the image and see it full size to see what's funny about it. This is a building near where we live. It appears to have been completely renovated and is empty - the windows still have the stickers on them. All 3 sides that we could see have windows, doors and balconies like this.

Now, doors without balconies at the lower level is funny enough on their own. Note, however, the size of the doors. It's more obvious on that lowest balcony. The doors are cut short, and end a couple of feet above the balcony floor. I'm guessing that the doors and balconies are just a facade, and not intended to ever be used.

I don't know how many times we've walked past this place before noticing this. *L*

Extras - Still there, and Look up... waaayyy up.

Anna: My youngest daughter and I headed out today for a walk so she could do some climbing, and I got a few more pictures to share.


Almost a full month ago, I posted pictures of some of the "homes" in the valley. This one is still there, right along the main path down to the valley - with a lot more garbage around the entrance then before, as well as along the path itself. I'm really surprised this hasn't been cleared out by now. Not only that, but...












... there's now another shelter nearby. It makes me wonder. We saw the cleaning crews are out at street level, picking up the accumulated garbage revealed by the melting snow. Maybe they just haven't started down the paths yet.











This is one of several areas my daughter likes to climb. She's that blue and red speck near the top, under the two trees in a V shape. *sigh* I wish I could climb up there with her! Sometimes it's hard to gracefully surrender the things of youth.

34:365 - Company

Anna: Yet another picture of the cat! *L* One of her funny habits is that, whenever my husband goes anywhere near a bed, she immediately comes running. She loves nothing more than to crawl under the covers with him, just like this, and keep him company during his naps.

33-365: peek-a-boo and pretty

Philippe: Anna is a favourite cat-tree.. :).

Anna: We were in Walmart yesterday and I headed over to the fabrics and crafts section. In the bargain bin I found this gorgeous, heavy bronze fabric. It was less than $2 a meter, so I bought 10 meters of it. It turned out to have only 14 meters on the bolt, so the saleswoman just measured off 4 meters and left the rest on the bolt for me. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but there's enough there than I can do quite a bit.