Snapshot Wedding Summary: Part 1 (Victoria)

A few weeks have passed, and the dust has settled, so now seems as good a time as any for a little wedding-trip narration.

It was a balmy 25°C as we left Regina, heading in to a much more temperate 15°C in Victoria. In Calgary, we were told we most likely would not catch our connector from Vancouver to Victoria. By the end of our layover there, they finally told us "there is no way you'll catch it." So, we did what we thought to be the responsible thing - we canceled our hotel reservation for that night, and told our ride (my sister Candyce) that we weren't going to make it to Victoria today. However, half way through the Calgary to Vancouver flight, a stewardess came over the system saying, "I have some great news for you Victoria-bound passengers! The Victoria flight has stated that they will wait for you, so you are going to Victoria tonight!"

OK... So, now what? We landed in Vancouver, were quickly zipped off by golf cart to our Victoria gate, and found our seats on a small little aircraft (37-seater) filled with tired passengers who had been waiting for us for an hour... Sorry folks. 15 minutes later we were in Victoria. Since our ride-givers were probably asleep, we took a shuttle to the hotel, which thankfully hadn't given our room away. Success!

The rest of our Victoria time was smooth. We got to do some wall-climbing with Candyce and Nathan on Friday. That was a blast. I hadn't climbed in a while, but I like it. I used to teach wall climbing at camp, so it was good to get up on a wall again. The wedding day was really neat. We took pictures in the early afternoon before the wedding. We were marveling at the vegetation in Victoria. So many big, old trees and lushness! Quite different from the horizon-based beauty of Saskatchewan. I felt sorry for my poor brother, Brett. He had a mild case of something that felt like H1N1. So, he didn't enjoy the picture taking quite as much as everyone else...

After pictures, we hung out and ate food until the wedding. (That is Candyce in her wedding dress, which is safely concealed by a towel, lest some rebellious bit of food plan a staining revolt.) The wedding ceremony was very rich. It was filled with liturgy and music (a choir hand-picked by Nathan, the groom, sang the ceremony music - very spectacular!). Jenn and I helped with serving communion. It was unexpectedly an emotional experience for me to serve communion, to look each person in the eye and say, "The blood of Christ shed for you." It was the response of especially the elderly that was most striking. There was a sense of security and the knowing that comes from lifelong experience that resounded when an older man or woman would nod and say, "Amen."

The reception was fun. It was like a family reunion for my dad's side. It was neat to introduce Jenn to them as my wife, since she hadn't met most of them. The next morning we all got together again for a brunch at my uncle Larry's, who lives on the Island.

That afternoon, Jenn and got to see something very cool (to us). The Luthor Mansion -- that is, Hatley Castle, but it poses as the Luthor Mansion, the residence of Lex Luthor, in the CW show, Smallville. At least, the Hatley Castle poses as the exterior of the Mansion, since the interior scenes are taken elsewhere, like Burnaby or somewhere. Hatley Castle was built by a wealthy family back at the turn of the 20th century. It now functions as a small university. It is in Victoria, a mere 20 minute drive from our hotel, so how could we not go take a look! The funny thing is, in Smallville, the Mansion is supposed to be in Kansas. Kansas has no ocean (obviously), but if you stand on the landing in front of the castle and look away from it, this is your view:

Obviously some skillful camera work is put to use in Smallville to convince the audience that this old castle really is nestled in the woods of Smallville, Kansas.

Our time in Victoria was a lot of fun. Lots of time with family, and lots of time to sight-see. Candyce and Nathan put a beautiful wedding together, and it was truly wonderful to be part of it. Candyce and Nathan are in Europe now, on a whole spectrum of adventures, which you can follow if you like, at "The Adventures of Nathan and Candyce."

Our trip to the Island was especially memorable for Jenn, since she had never been that far west before. She wasted no time in getting her feet wet!

That concludes the Victoria chapter of our week of weddings. On to Montreal!

Tying Knots from Coast to Coast!

In a week and a few short days, we'll be off on a wedding extravaganza week! My sister is getting married in Victoria, BC, on June 20, and then Jenn's sister is getting married six days later in Montreal! So, there will be lots of flying for us in the next little while... We're looking forward to lots of visiting, and involvement -- ushering, serving communion, groomsmaning/bridesmaiding, reception games, and most likely the millions of forgotten/overlooked/near-emergency/gotta-get-it-done-right-now odd jobs on the morning of weddings.

Most of all, it will be nice to have some good time with both of our families.

. . . . . And I look forward to watching movies on the plane.

Serious Skill

This looks like fun!

The Fence Sitters

At work the past week or so we have been building a garage in South Hill, Moose Jaw. Every day we are "supervised" by 5 - 7 little pairs of eyes that, at some time in the morning, peek over the fence from their daycare to see what is going on. Lots of questions. "What are you making?" "Is it a garage?" "Is it hard to make a garage?" "What's your name?" "Which one is the boss?" "My brother works at McDonald's." "Can you pick up my sandle? I dropped it over the fence!" Most of the time we hear happy sounds as the kids play on their lunch break and after school. However, over the last couple of days, we have heard some more curious exclamations from over the fence. One squeeky little voice continuously yells, "I hate you!" to which the worker continuously replies, "Stop being so high maintenance!"

What can we do as construction workers but listen and enjoy! It's hilarious to hear such little kids trying to understand the world. For kids whose day consists mostly of going to school and playing in the back yard, it must be exciting to watch a bobcat dig, a concrete truck pour, walls go up, and a building appear.

One particular day (yesterday), when there was an over-average number of little faces peering over the fence, Phil the roofer, who was shingling the roof, decided to turn the hose on the kids while watering down hot shingles, which caused an eruption of shouts and screams and giggles, and another occurrence of "I hate you!"

Kids in the workplace. They definitely make the day interesting!

A new internet home for online exegesis!

Back in March, a wonderful online resource for biblical Greek, zhubert.com, was shut down because of copyright issues with the German Bible Society. I was deeply disappointed because Zack Hubert had put together a great online study-help for reading the Greek New Testament and the Septuagint. It was an interactive library with mouse-over parsing, word searches, vocabulary lists, and more. When it went down, it was a loss of a great tool.

But just this past week I stumbled upon a new resource that is on its way to being just has helpful! The Greek & Hebrew Reader's Bible lacks the Septuagint, but it offers the Greek New Testament (based on Tischendorf's text) and the Hebrew Old Testament. Mouse-over parsing is active for most words (though not all), and there are many ways to filter the amount of information you need to assist you in reading.

As of yet, there isn't a way to perform word searches, or to create custom vocabulary lists, but, much like the Reader's Greek New Testament and Reader's Hebrew Old Testament books, words appearing x-amount of times or less are give beneath the text. The benefit of this website is that the reader can determine that frequency number between 10 and 100 times.

Overall, it looks to be a handy tool. I'm sure it will continue to grow and evolve over time. Three cheers for the Open Source movement!

A Nun and Her 'Habit'

After work today I stopped in at Superstore in Moose Jaw for a couple of things. On my way out, I saw a most curious sight: a nun purchasing lottery tickets. I found this to be very surprising, because, I suppose, gambling is usually frowned upon in moral circles, and a gambling nun sounds like an oxymoron. Perhaps if I would have asked her why she was buying them, she may have said, "To give the money to those who need it," or, "our chapel really needs a new paint job!" But I didn't ask her... Instead, when I got home, I looked up what Vatican II has to say about gambling.

According to Catholics United for the Faith, "Gambling is not intrinsically evil and can be a legitimate form of entertainment so long as it is kept within the confines of virtuous conduct. Given the tragic consequences of habitual or excessive gambling, one should exercise caution and vigilance in this area."

According to this statement, if the nun was gambling to improve the chapel or whatever else, this would be allowed: "Since bingo and other forms of gambling are not intrinsically evil, they maybe used as a means of raising money for parishes."

And even if she were gambling for only her own gain, she'd still be within her right, as long as she does so for entertainment, and exercises discretion and moderation.

So then, based on CUF's interpretation of Vatican II, it would seem that a nun can gamble as long as it doesn't become an unhealthy habit.

Life is Good in Caronport

Yesterday Jenn and I enjoyed a funny evening with my little sisters. We had a scrumptious meal of chicken tacos and super soggy salad (it was soggy, but it was super!), played some volleyball, had a roaring bonfire complete with marshmellows, smores, banana boats, and impromptu song composition (always a favorite on these sorts of nights). It struck both me and Jenn how much my three little sisters have grown up. All my life, or perhaps more accurately, all their lives, I've referred to these three as "the little girls." But that seems to be less and less accurate as time goes on. They are now funny, witty, skillful, intelligent, grown-up young woman. Who would have guessed this could happen in such a short time! The great thing is, even as everybody gets older and figures out what they want from life, we can still sit around a fire and sing about silly things like a smore named Jim who just wants to swim, or a songful salute to "counsellors and supporting staff" at camp. Life is good in Caronport.