I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

It's been so long since I posted anything on the blog that I may not even have mentioned that I was planning to go to Wisconsin for our daughter's wedding!  Even though they reduced their guest list dramatically and changed their venue, we decided that due to the pandemic it was safest if I was the only one to cross the border. 

Katrina and Charlie decided to take advantage of the closures caused by the pandemic and hold their wedding at the historic Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee.

Charlie's sister was their officiant and delivered a moving ceremony filled with words of wisdom gathered from relatives who were unable to attend.

Charlie and Katrina of course made it personal, from their entrance song of "I do, I do, I do, I do, I do" by Abba to their vows.  Charlie even counted the hours from their date at the Riverside Theatre where they decided that they were boyfriend and girlfriend: 48,567 hours from that moment to becoming a married couple!

They vowed to support and strenthen each other, and affirmed that they have chosen to love each other above all else.

Photography in a dim theatre was challenging and I was a nervous wreck about being their photographer.  I haven't done much with my camera in over a year and even though I fumbled with the settings and my new flash attachment I was able to get some nice images that captured the day.

We made sure to get photos that depicted not only their love and affection for each other, but their love of Milwaukee.  Katrina was thrilled they got to pose with the Miller High Life "Girl in the Moon" in the theatre lobby.  

Picking photography locations on the fly, we wandered the opulent halls and everyone pitched in with ideas to make it happen.

And, of course, sometimes the best photos are the ones that capture the memories of those moments when everyone is having a good time!

Too soon our small party of eleven people was kicked out onto Wisconsin Avenue. Perfect opportunity for the bride and groom to pose for some outdoor shots!

 But it's not a Riverside wedding unless you mosey over and take some by the riverside, right?

It's the small things that are important in a marriage...like putting up with each other's family members shouting out instructions to you during your wedding photo shoot.

Katrina's Maid of Honor, Libby, is also a hobbyist photographer and was full of great ideas, which was lucky for me because my only idea was "let's go down by the river"!

And it also gave me someone to turn the camera over to so I could join my lovely daughter.

Charlie was very excited about posing under the Riverside Theatre marquee.

And Libby came to the rescue again with yet another great photo idea before they all piled into their van and headed to the restaurant.  Yes, they had a van down by the river!

My mother and I met them at Maxie's, where the bar was open and everyone was happy to mingle in our private room with their masks off.

Toasts were made...

...and a few tears were shed.

But don't worry, we had lots of fun, those tears were the joyful kind!

Before arriving at the newlyweds' home we stopped at a park in Waukesha to pose a little more.

Nothing like a few drinks with lunch to get everyone in the mood to goof around in front of the camera!

Throughout the day I had the opportunity to see Katrina and Charlie support each other, and I know their marriage will be strong because they truly understand that it's a partnership that takes work and commitment.

We missed those who couldn't be with us on this joyful day...

...but the most important thing is that Charlie and Katrina are happy together and we couldn't be happier for them!

When returning from anywhere outside the Atlantic Provinces all returning Newfoundland residents must self-isolate for 14 days.  Residents and those with a special work permit are the only ones allowed across our provincial border.  Travel to the U.S. is limited to air travel only still.  I'm on day 9 and I've spent most of 4 days fiddling with the images from the wedding alone!  Five more days to fill and a girl can only paint so many rocks in a day, so I'll post again about what it was like to travel to another country during the pandemic.

Knee High to a Duck

I've been spending a lot of time with small fries lately, and knee high to a duck or not they sure are a large amount of fun!

I'm an only child and my two children have not produced any grandchildren...so I've been enjoying other people's grandchildren instead.  You never know what they will request to help out with.  I would never have thought they would ask to put napkin rings on napkins when I opened up the package from Wayfair when Cole and Ava stopped by for a visit one day.

Cole and Ava ready to let their owls fly

Then they asked me to help them make owls out of my craft supplies.  Afterward when they wanted to "fly" them from the upstairs landing I said have at it!

The next time I saw them was at their Nanny and Poppy's house where a tour of the garden took a detour into the woods.

Well you know that quickly turned into a berry hunting adventure, right?

Nanny wanted some portraits taken, so our adventure ended up being very photogenic for a walk in the woods.

Now every time I see Ava she wants to go for a walk and pick berries! Today her little cousin Nik tagged along and brought his Mickey Mouse bubble maker.

I don't know who was more delighted by the bubbles, the little ones or me!  And of course we had to stop and eat a few crackerberries (bunchberries).  Hopefully the plants didn't mind the bubble bath they got while the picking was going on.

I say yes more than I say no to their requests.  I highly recommend it next time you're with a youngster, it will make you feel knee high to a duck yourself.

Gardening and Guests

Not only the inside of the house got a makeover, I was busy giving the outside a new look as well.

Load her up!

Three different times I filled her up, and I started with making my own planter.

I got a few planter boxes for the deck and filled them with herbs.

It's dangerous to show up at our house these days - if you stay more than 10 minutes you will absolutely be put to work.

Once my Aunt got things started it would only be laziness keeping me from completing the job so I  dug in and got 'er done. Thatched sod, rocks and clay, every gardener's nightmare!

A few rocks refused to be conquered.  They don't call Newfoundland "The Rock" for nothing.

But a few of those massive boulders I was determined to get out of my way.

The first bed came together rather quickly, but of course my ambitions run a little higher so the project still isn't complete.

Now that everything was spiffy it was time for the guests to arrive. Griffins and Leonards arrived for a feed!

We requested no gifts, but got them anyway.  Including a painting made from one of the photographs I took out in St. Kyran's last summer of the church.  Priceless, right?

Some of the guests enjoyed the deck, and even a few dogs came over to visit.

I made sure to plan a menu that was hassle free so I had time to enjoy our party.  I even got a free hairstyle done while I was sitting around.

Which somehow morphed into an experimental fork bun...

We may not have gotten the curtains up in time, but no one seemed to mind.

And our youngest guest was pleased that I picked up sidewalk chalk and set her loose on the deck!

I'll get to work now going back through my adventures since we've been here, and then the adventure that I'm on right now out in St. Kyran's!