Sheena and Co.

Sheena Santa is one of the best friends I made in my years in Winnipeg. We met at the same CG course back in '97 and had a goodly number of years having perfume fights in The Bay, partying at Die Maschine, and being generally troublesome.

File Photo circa 1998.

So when I was out for my friend Jasons wedding I made sure to find the time to catch up on old times and see how she's doing. Happily married and with a few wee ones, she's done pretty alright for herself. Shown below with a more grown-up look and her daughter Tegan.
I also finally had the chance to meet her husband Hugo (shown with their son Kieran) and he is every bit the gentleman and all-around nice guy that Sheena deserves. They make a very sweet couple and it was great to see an old friend and a selection of nice new faces.
Well done you two, keep up the good work :)

Manitoba Mammals

We found ourselves with a few hours to spare in Manitoba this fall and took a quick day trip out to my parents place in Pinawa. While we were there we had a quick 'game drive' of local wildlife as it had been quite awhile since we'd been in that neck of the woods in fall.

Starting off with something easy, white-tailed deer are everywhere in town and remarkably fearless so I was able to walk up to this one in a neighbors yard and get some nice pictures. They are not quite in their summer coats anymore but not in their fully shaggy donkey look that they adopt in the winter.
We did a small search in a few likely places and were able to turn up a pair of black bears. The first was very far in the bush and too obscured to photograph, but this little yearling was grazing on fallen acorns at Seven Sisters Falls and was willing to pose briefly for this picture.
These guys are a bit of a cheat as they are not remotely native to Canada, but there is an alpaca farm near Whitemouth and we stopped for a look on our way by. They are presumably being raised for their wool and there were several dozen of them in the enclosure.

For Sarah

Never thought that writing my first blog post would be this. This is for Sarah: my cousin and my friend. I thought others would enjoy seeing these photos which are my favorites of her.

Like me, Sarah loved The Lion King when she was smaller. See it is on her shirt when she is little and in the water. Though she liked Pocohontas too when that came out her stuffed Simba was usually along for the ride. This is at White Rock, BC. We are looking for clams and other weird sea creatures.
We were belting out on each song in Rock Band. This is in my Aunts basement Xmas 2008. I can't remember what we are playing here. It might have been Soundgarden but could have equally been any track. We played most of the early evening. I remember I gave Sarah my Green Day Insomniac tour shirt the year before. I think she wore it out. She was more artistic than musical but you can't tell from the riot we are having here. She looks really intense on the guitar.
At the last minute at Geordie and I's wedding we decided we wanted flower girls. Sarah and her sister Carolyn stepped in the day of no rehearsal or anything! Great thing was the blue on her dress matched our blue colour scheme. No intention or anything. I love her hair in this photo. She is so pretty. I also have a picture of her barefoot and tearing it up on the dance floor at the same event. So cute!
What else to say.....? I will miss you and love you forever Sarah. You have the entire universe to decorate and I can't wait to see your work.

Winnipeg Friendlies

Since I was in passing through Winnipeg anyways, I made sure to make it a long weekend for an extra day to visit some friends in my old stomping grounds. Ian and Victoria have been good buddies of mine since my olden days at Digital Chameleon some 8 years ago. We met up for some drinks at a pub and then wandered down to a game shop to chat and visit with Ian's assitant.
My good friend Colin was next on the list and we had some Indian food and then hit a few pubs for a beer or two in an endless quest to find a place that wasn't just setting up for loud and obnoxious music. I met Colin back in my gamer days maybe a decade ago and it was nice to check in with him and all his latest endeavors.
Rounding out the end of the night I was able to meet up with Wil who was flying out to Portugal the following morning. We grabbed a quick drink and a snack before calling it a night as he was busy most of the day and we didn't meet up until around midnight. Like Colin I've known Wil for ages since my gamer days and it was good to hear where he's at too.
Fine human beings one and all, if you are one of the above you have every right to be proud of yourselves :)

Louis Riel

Louis Riel was a metis Canadian and a key player in the creation of the province of Manitoba. He was gutsy enough to stand up to the federal government on several occassions, two of which ended in bloodshed, the last of which ended in his execution. Winnipeg features 2 memorials to this renegade/freedom fighter with very different feelings. This first one by the legislature shows him as a proud statesman.
Less discussed than his vision for Manitoba is his later mental imbalance and time spent in an insane asylum. Riel claimed to have spoken with angels and been given orders by God which are typically warning signs for most of us.
The second statue of him in Saint Boniface reflects more of this aspect with a man tormented and at odds with himself. I greatly enjoy both statues, finding his story to be a fascinating bit of Canadian history and I am glad to see him recognized as an important part of Manitoba culture.
Rebel of visionary, genius or madman, I think we can all agree that Riel was 20 feet tall and made of brass.

Jason & Veronica's Reception

I went back to Winnipeg for a long weekend near the end of August for the wedding reception of my good friends Jason and Veronica. They had gotten married on holiday in Italy earlier in the summer and then had a reception for family and friends after the fact.
Jason was my best man at our wedding and I couldn't pass on the chance to be there for his special day as he was there for ours. It was also very nice to meet his parents and get caught up with some old Winnipeg friends at the same time.
The whole evening was very enjoyable and the food was outstanding; plus, having a heavy Polish influence it was also unending with a full dinner, dessert and then a second full dinner around 10pm just to make sure nobody left in a state of being other than totally stuffed.
It was a great time through and through and I wish the new happy couple all the best in their years together :)