19 Years!

It's our 19th anniversary! No exotic destination this year--we watched half a bad movie, but that experience was mitigated by a very good meal--and the company! 

Next year--fingers crossed--we'll celebrate our 20th anniversary someplace far from here. 

Thanks for sharing a lovely day, Squishy McMonkey. 
 

25 Years of Wedded Bliss for Jeff and Susan

Earlier this evening, two of my oldest friends, Jeff and Susan, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary (following an eight-year engagement)! Sylvia and I were delighted to attend the celebration, reconnecting with some old friends over a scrumptious catered Ukrainian dinner. 

We were delighted to see that our old friends Michael and Naomi showed up for the party, too. 

Squeaky chicken party favours for the win!

Two happy couples!

Three happy couples! (Context: I met Susan, Jeff, and Michael back in 1987 via the University of Alberta Star Trek Club.) 

We also got to meet Susan's lovely Aunt Mary, who we picked up on the way to the event. Plenty of Jeff and Susan's loved ones were there, and we reconnected with Korch, who Sylvia and I met independently before we'd actually met each other. It's a small world after all . . .  

Thanks, Jeff and Susan, for inviting us to this lovely affair, and Sylvia and I both hope that you'll enjoy many, many more loving and happy years together. 

16 Amazing Years

Today marks 16 years since Sylvia and I married. Huzzah! It's been an incredible ride. Love you, monkey! 
 

All the Way to Eleven

A Decade of Delight

Ten years ago today, I married Sylvia and she married me. It's been a pretty amazing decade so far; I feel immense gratitude for our time together, and even ten years on, we're still excited to see each other at the end of each work day. I'm fortunate indeed. I love you, Sylvia! 

Things to Look Forward to in 2017

From about the time that UK citizens voted to leave the EU through the election of Donald Trump as US President to the end of the year, I was pretty down in the dumps about 2016. The resurgence of right-wing nationalism around the globe is a pretty daunting thing, especially when people of my generation have enjoyed the long period of relative peace that characterized a good chunk of our adult lives.

Given the new global reality, it's almost certain that 2017 will be just as bad, if not more so, than 2016. So to gird myself for the next twelve months, here are some events I'm actually looking forward to this year:

• Celebrating the 75th birthdays of both Mom and Dad.
• Celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary with Sylvia. 
• Seeing the August 2017 total solar eclipse in the continental USA. 
• Gaming & Guinness XII. 
• Star Trek's return to television. 
• The return of Twin Peaks! 
• Voice acting lessons.
• Celebrating Canada's sesquicentennial, in particular by enjoying free access to the National Parks. 
• More adventures in the world of Spirit of '77. 
• Board game nights.
• Finishing the last of our "house things" with Sylvia. 
• Paying down more of our mortgage. 
• Weekends in the theatre room with Sylvia. 
• Finishing a couple of personal projects and starting new ones. 
• Visiting friends. 

Things don't seem quite so bad when you realize there's still lots of cool stuff to live for. 

Number 9

Sylvia and I married each other 9 years ago today; 8 years ago today we posed for this photo at Germaine's Luau on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. This image represents the tiniest fraction of the great memories we've built together, and I look forward to many more!