Go Vote For Kaylee

Steph and Dave have backed a game on Kickstarter, this is something that they do quite regularly, Jason too though he normally sticks to video/computer games. This one looks like it is going to be a cool Dungeons and Dragons style table top game, featuring animals/pets.

The game company is running a contest on Facebook for people's pets. Steph and Dave have submitted Kaylee and are hoping she will get picked to be featured in the final game art. Please vote for her, they are picking one dog and one cat based on the number of 'likes' that a comment on the post gets.

GO TO THE POST HERE, scroll down until you see Steph's comment about Kaylee, and her adorable puppy picture - in a basket! Then click like, or love. I don't know when the contest is over so you should go do it now!

It is fun to scroll through and see everyone's pet submissions, I also clicked on a cat that I thought was cute and fluffy since that isn't Kaylee's competition. Thanks for your help, let's make Steph's dog boardgame famous!

Steph Won!

Steph sent me a text last night to say she had received a Platinum Award at The Wedding Awards! Steph and Dave have been attending this yearly gala in Ottawa since 2014, and she has won before. I couldn't find details about her 2018 win, except that it was also a Platinum Award, for best Live Moment - pretty sure the image was of a horse going after a brides bouquet. This year, she won for best Unique Photo. Here is the winning shot:

Award Winning Wedding Photo - 2020

by Stephanie Koning of Stephanie Beach Photography

Instagram: @sbeachphoto

So beautiful, such a cool shot too. (I think it was done using a crystal.) When I was with her in Virginia she had just gotten a few more interesting crystal shapes that she planned to experiment which, so I am interested to see how those images turn out. As always, you can follow along with her career using the link to her blog that I have posted over on the right, her Facebook page or Instagram.

Pixeled PacMan

Did our first pregnancy ultrasound this morning. Had to drink a whole pile of water first, was very uncomfortable. This is so the bladder pushes the uterus up more making it easier to see. However, after taking a few pictures it was determined that they couldn't see enough so had to switch from the stomach wand to a trans-vaginal (it is what it sounds like, they use a stick.) The nice thing about this is that they let me pee first.

After the technician had finished, she called in Jason and we got to look at the pictures. As I mentioned before, this was a dating ultrasound. So it doesn't give a lot of information. We could see the yoke sack, because that part is the first thing that is around giving nutrients to the embryo. The placenta will form later. The embryo looked like a little circle with a pie piece cut out (like the PacMan character.) We could also see a few flashing pixels that the technician thought was probably the heartbeat but it would need to be further evaluated to confirm.

They wouldn't let us have or take a picture!! Not until the 12-week ultrasound, it is their policy. I was pretty disappointed but it was still really cool to see - still in shock that this is happening.

Cartouche Has Returned To Me

Item Lost: My Cartouche Deck
Time Lost: Some time in Rrunuv Bayit, maybe end of 2015
Last Place I Remember: With other decks of cards on the white bookcases
Place Found: In an old plastic storage shelf which a bunch of sunglasses

Since we moved into Casa Verde a few boxes and plastic multi-drawer storage containers have been kept in our office, waiting for me to unpack them. These are filled with old jewelry, pens, sentimental items and such. They have been driving Jason crazy so I finally decided to go through them all.

I was able to whittle what I wanted to keep down to about a shoe box worth of things that have important memories attached to them, a small bag of office supplies to take into work, and apparently over 100 tampons. We donated a lot of things, including two different point-and-shoot cameras that we came across.

I think the most important thing I found was my Cartouche cards! I mentioned missing them a few months ago. So glad they weren't lost forever, going to start using them again. Let's see what the future holds!

In Like A Lion

Today I am very tired (no sleep last night) and my muscles are achy (start of my period). I was complaining a bit about all of this to R at work and she said, "March is in like a lion." I have never heard the expression used for a person and how they are feeling (but I like it!) It is definitely a weather thing, "In like a lion, out like a lamb" or something like that.

This feels like a good post to include a gratuitous Africa photo:

The Man Lion

Kruger National Park, South Africa, January 2018

Photo by Jason, no edits

But She Did A Photo Diary

Some people said I was cheating by referring people over to Mom's blog after our Inca Trail trip two years ago. The thing is, she writes her blog like a travel diary with tons of photos - her travel posts are just way better than mine. The day-to-day based approach really goes into detail about the trip and her photos are excellent. Always Standing tends to be random and when I travel I still post about it but not consistently or in a way that would give readers a good sense of the trip.

So, I will still be posting about Africa as I think of things or if I notice a good picture that I want to share. However, for those that haven't been checking out Vicarious Travelling on the regular, or during our big Africa Trip, please go read the posts from January. The archive is on the right hand side of the site (she has a different set up from Always Standing) and it is easy to navigate. All the posts from our trip are titled starting with Gate 1, South Africa, (gate 1 was the tour company that the Groupon was from). You can find her first African post HERE.

Also, Vicarious Travelling can always be accessed from the link called Mom's Travel Blog in the Lovely Links section of the left-side column of Always Standing. This is also where you can find a link to Two's Instagram for readers that want to check that but don't have an instagram account. And if you are reading this in the mobile version on your tablet or cell phone and the side columns aren't visible, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on View Web Version to access the aforementioned links.

He's Basically Ansel Adams

Looking through the photos from Iceland that we took with the 'good' camera (our recently purchased, mirrorless Fujifilm X-T20.) Jason and I try to figure out which of us took which ones. We figure out pretty quickly that the first one was taken by Jason, and he starts admiring it:

Jason: This is why we paid the money to get a nice camera - great shot. The parking lot against those mountains. I really knocked it out of the park here - it is obviously a commentary on the invasion of man into nature, the comparison of rock against machine. The cars, the snow. So good.

Photographic Masterpiece

Taken by Jason, with the Fujifilm

Iceland, 2017

I am sure National Geographic will be calling any minute now. (Though he has a level horizon, so can I really judge?) 

Unbelievable!

My mom saw a water cyclone, or Waterspout at The Cottage. She told me about it on the phone the other day but I was excited to see on on her blog yesterday that the photos she took turned out. Check it out over at Vicarious Travelling.

Hospital Tales And Watching Whales - Saturday In The Azores

My Saturday started really early with multiple trips to the toilet to pee. I recognised the symptoms of a bladder infection (UTI) right away. I decided to go to the hospital to get antibiotics, told Jason, left him in bed to sleep, and headed over the hills on the short 15 minute drive to the main city. This also gave me a chance to practise driving standard again during a time when there were no cars on the road (literally none, I saw a total of three the entire time, both there and back.) 

Since it was the middle of the night, the hospital was fairly quiet and they moved me through quite quickly. When I first got there they said that it would cost 170 Euros to see a doctor, more if there were tests. (They did end up doing blood work.) Jason called our travel insurance from the hotel and by the time I was leaving the hospital payment information had been faxed and it didn't cost me anything.

After a bit of sleep and breakfast we went back to Ponta Delgada for our Whale Watching trip, stopping first at a pharmacy to fill my three prescriptions. We did have to pay for the medication, but it wasn't a lot and I am pretty sure we can claim it when we get home. For someone who enjoys hospitals, this was not at all the issue it might have been for other travellers (though I did not enjoy the IV going in so they could take blood.) The only unfortunate thing was another night without enough sleep. 

The whale trip was rescheduled to start half an hour later because the boat hadn't returned from the morning trip. We were told that the captain had taken them far out to see blue whales and that we would likely get a sighting too. Jason was so excited, he was practically bouncing in his chair as we sat on the marina patio having ice cream and waiting for the boat to come in. 

We boarded quickly and were on our way to many hours at sea looking for whales. Jason did get a glimpse of a blue whale, as we saw one surface a few times. We also got great views of a sperm whale that hung out near the boat for a long time. We do have a great video of the friendly sperm whale, including a dive that involved a tail flip. However, I can't figure out how to load it up onto the blog so instead I am included a photo from Jason that is reminiscent of my mom's famous seal shots:

"Whales" by Jason 

Atlantic in April 2017 near The Azores 

The captain would have kept us out on the water longer but a couple on board had a flight to catch. We could see the 'blows' of other whales in the distance, as it was our four hour hour trip ended up being almost six and a half. Jason struggled a bit to not get seasick and stayed outside the whole time. For the last little while I headed into the enclosed area to have a nap. Sadly my sleeping made me miss seeing some dolphins that Jason said showed up off to the side of the boat at one point, but the nap was still nice. 

We All Age

Here is an updated photo from Ter, her son very seriously proclaiming his age:

It is important to note that he isn't usually a serious little guy. He is full of laughter and smiles! Just the cutest.

Both photos are taken by Teri or Greg, they like to have fun planning and executing little photo shoots at home.

Wedding Photos For Your Monday!

Had a great surprise this weekend - Steph has finished our Wedding Photos!! You can see her post about them on the Stephanie Beach Photography blog.

In the text of the post, she included her 'Deceleration of Legality' speech that she gave during our ceremony - it was so lovely and while she mentions that she messed up while giving it at the wedding, I didn't notice. She also describes the events really well and the photos are ordered chronologically to really explain what the whole wedding weekend was like. I enjoyed my mom's description of her experience that she posted on her blog, but since Steph was with me the whole time, her details are closer to how I remember the event - a great read!

Obviously the photos are amazing, and those included in the post are just a small sample of the full set that she has given Jason and I. This was a wonderful wedding present from Steph and Dave and we are beyond thankful.

I have mentioned before that Steph and I always prefer different photos, so I am going to be posting a bunch on Always Standing that weren't included in her blog post to show you my favourites (Basically they are all good and I just want to share more of them!!.) Here is one:

Bridesmaids And Smiles - Before City Hall

Our Wedding - Paperwork Day - September 23, 2016

By Stephanie Beach Photography

Steph On Dave

Steph has been participating in the Rising Tide Society's InstaTideChallenge this week. It has been nice to get a little glimpse into her daily life as a professional photographer through her Instagram feed, which normally features her work and nothing about her as the worker.

Today she posted the following photo of Dave, with a beautiful passage she wrote about his role in their two-person team, how he supports her, and the awesome love and life that they share. Having known Dave for almost as long as I have known with Steph, I am also good friends with him. This is such a beautiful tribute to the incredible person that he is. He is the only partner who could be close to good enough to my Steph and their love is one for the ages.

Check out the image and her comment below from Instagram:

Words and photo below:

Copyright 2016 - Stephanie Beach Photography

Today is the final day of the risingtidesociety InstaTideChallenge where we celebrate another creative who inspires us. Ottawa is absolutely filled with amazing talents who inspire me on a regular basis, but I felt I should give credit to the other half our my husband-and-wife team, the tall guy with the bow-tie as I often describe him on wedding days – my husband and second shooter Dave.

He is always looking for new, super creative ways to capture our couples and their moments, never too tired to get one more shot and never complains when I want to stay longer on wedding days to ensure we get everything covered. He’s forever in my corner rooting me on and supporting me as I follow this amazing dream of mine. And although photography was something he initially picked up through me, he has definitely created his own voice through it and has a unique style all his own. I often find myself culling through our images and thinking how lovely the shots are and pleasantly surprised by the new angles and compositions he worked with.

This is a behind the scenes shot I grabbed during one of our favourite weddings that I think sums up Dave’s style pretty nicely – adventurous and creative. He is willing to do just about anything to get the shot he has in mind, including scaling walls.

Above all else, he is an absolute delight to work with, not only because he is my husband and I love him to pieces, but he is so sweet and thoughtful with our clients and their friends and families. I simply couldn’t ask for a better partner in this journey and his creativity truly inspires me every day.

Grandma At Ipperwash

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A Sunday post about my Dad, named after a song that he loved.

I realized that I didn't talk about the black and white photographs included on the In Memoriam Page of the wedding program when I posted about it last week. Aunty Laura emailed me recently that she liked that we had included the two photos of my grandmother. It was important for me to have her on that page as well, since it was sad that she couldn't be there for our wedding.

The images are a young one showing my Grandma about to pick up my Dad as a baby and then the two of them again in the 1990s taking the Laser out. I know that the top image, with Grandma on the boat, was taken at Ipperwash, since she always vacationed with us there. We have seen that life jacket before! I believe that the other photo at the bottom of the page might have also been taken at Ipperwash, since it looks like they are at a beach and they used to go there when Dad and Aunty Laura were kids.

A Little Preview Of Our Photos

Steph has released the Sneak Peek of our photos on her blog! I haven't posted any photos yet of the wedding because I knew her's would be the best, so wanted to wait until I could direct people over to see them.

My mom has also written about both days of the wedding on her blog, and included a lot of photos. You can read about both Day One at City Hall and our wedding day on The Island and at The Pub.

Two's On Instagram

I don't really understand the platform, but she seems to like it.

Follow her HERE

Panda Wants Tessa To Stay Home

It is so hard to take a good photo of a black cat, I remember the challenge from the years of having Binx. Tessa got a beautiful one of Panda yesterday as she packed for the weekend Bachelorette (mine!) trip up to Collingwood.

Please Don't Go Mommy

Panda Prevents Packing 

Photo by Tessa

Basement Before & After - Storage Space

Casa Verde Basement - Storage Under The Stairs

House Inspection to Mid-Reno to Final Completion

(Jason in the first photo, all photos shown in Black and White)

Andrea Loves Robert Too

Big Smiles, All Day (Photo Detail)

Robert loves Andrea - Toronto Hunt Club

By Selina Whittaker Photography

A Warm House

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A Sunday post about my Dad, named after a song that he loved.

Jason and I had a housewarming party yesterday. It was nice to show people Casa Verde who had never seen it before and give others an update of the place now that it is no longer chaos.

I think Dad would have liked the house. I am having a hard time bringing his memory into the space and hope that hanging his photograph will help that. I can't decide if I want it in my bedroom again or put it in the living room this time.

I hope he would be impressed with all the work we are doing and the labour that comes from the challenge to be thrifty with our ever growing renovations. There are parts of Casa Verde that I know we would like: the main floor original hardwood floors, the beautiful staircase, moving the laundry upstairs, our cherry tree and garage in the backyard.

Also, I agree with Mom, I don't think he would ever be able to wrap his head around the value. The price would always bug him - I know we made a good purchase, but Toronto is crazy and I don't think he could get past the cost to truly enjoy Casa Verde.

Skating Rinks On My Teeth

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A Sunday post about my Dad, named after a song that he loved.

It was usually my dad that took me to the dentist, which was in Cambridge. We never switched it to a Paris one, I don’t know why. It was a long drive and we always went in the morning for the first appointment. I now automatically book the 8am slot for all my cleanings and dental work because I am so used to that being the norm. We then got dropped off at school and my Dad would go to work.

I remember at some point I went to get sealants put into my molars. The sealants were described to me as ‘skating rinks’ filling in the deep holes so that it would be easier to keep my teeth clean. Since this type of dental work is preventative and can be expensive I am surprised my Dad wanted me to get it done. I don’t think that Mike ended up having them later on – maybe it was a fad thing.

I was really really young so they must have been put into my baby teeth. The internet says that the ‘baby’ molars fall out between the ages of 10-13. That would mean people in middle school (which for me was at PDHS) were losing teeth, that seems really late in my mind. I must have had my molars filled in again when my adult teeth finished coming in. I remember the ‘skating rink’ explanation was given to me when I was child, not a pre-teen. So I got sealants twice!

They have worked well since I haven’t any cavities in my molars. I was told that they would only last for a few years (the internet says five years or more) but I actually still have one! I got x-rays done at the dentist last week and one showed up. It is going strong some 20 years later.

 They have this cool new thing too, where not only do they take the x-rays, but also little photos with a special stick. This tooth (coincidentally the one that has the bright white ‘skating rink’ on it) was photographed because it have a deep groove in the back that I am getting filled as a preventative measure. It won’t be done with sealant but a more permanent material.