"How To Drive A Stick Shift Automobile"

August 1, 2006

As most of you know, Lavonda the Honda is an automatic transimission, and even though I understand how you're supposed to drive a manual transmission, I've never practiced...and there's no way in hell anyone is going to lend me their car to practice on the hills of San Francisco.

Anyway, recently, our good friend (and Will's college buddy) Kareem, submitted a 7 minute+ video entry of "How to Drive A Stick Shift Automobile", which has been picked as a finalist in the AnswerBag Video AnswerBash contest. AnswerBag is this funny site where you can either: a) ask a question, or b) answer a question. It's really that simple. And this contest has narrowed down to five finalists who have answered a question with a video entry.

If you have some time and are interested in checking out an entertaining video, help a brother out and vote for Kareem's entry here.

Did I also mention that Kareem is holding a little contest himself with some monetary incentive? He is. And he's offering up $100 to ten random folks who "digg" his post...read more about it here.

What is digging? According to the Digg website: What is Digg?

Digg is a user driven social content website. Ok, so what the heck does that mean? Well, everything on digg is submitted by the digg user community (that would be you). After you submit content, other digg users read your submission and digg what they like best. If your story rocks and receives enough diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the millions of digg visitors to see.
What can you do as a digg user? Lots. Every digg user can digg (help promote), bury (help remove spam), and comment on stories... you can even digg and bury comments you like or dislike. Digg also allows you to track your friends' activity throughout the site — want to share a video or news story with a friend? Digg it!

And for all you folks who have been enjoying the delicious food blogspots of Geneve's Kitchen, one more connection is that Geneve is Kareem's girlfriend. Help Kareem out, so that Geneve can keep cooking! We all win!

BTW, anyone wanna lend me their stick shift car so that I can practice? Bueller? Bueller?

Weekend Re-Cap: Frisbee in Dublin...Not the One In Ireland

July 31, 2006

It's Monday, and as usual, I'm tired, and cranky at work. Only today, I've got extreme lactic acid build-up due to running around all weekend chasing a frisbee on the plush fields of the Dublin Sports Complex in schweaty Dublin, CA. And to top it all off, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is visiting Genentech today and holding some kind of biotech/stem cell research summit with top biotech leaders to "to highlight Britain’s favourable regulatory regime and government incentives available to investors". As such, it's wreaking all sorts of havoc on parking at work and there's far too many people in suits on campus today. Apparently, Tony Blair has an 80-vehicle motorcade...sheesh!

FRIDAY

On Friday afternoon, it became very evident that I was in dire need of a good old fashioned happy hour. So, after consulting the wise and bar-knowlegeable Woody, it was decided that we would head down to SOMA to Bacar for their infamous happy hour, which includes $1 oysters and half-priced cocktails and beer until 6:30 pm.

(I stole this picture from Bacar's website)

So, I met up with Will and his co-workers Vitaly and Dan, around 5:30 pm at Bacar, where were joined shortly by Ashley, Key and Abe.

We were all on the same page and were dying for some oysters, so we kept ordering massive platters of the following types of oysters until the 6:30 deadline:

calm cove, washington (sea water salty, firm with a long finish)
malpeque, prince edward island (briney with a long sweet finish)
effingham, british columbia (delicate & sweet with a crisp finish)
steamboat, washington (citrus flavors, firm & salty-sweet)
discovery bay, washington (delicate & fruity with a salty finish)
marin myagi, california (full flavor, briney with a long finish)

Between the 7 of us, we also managed to try the majority of the specialty cocktails on their cocktail list, (which at half price, makes it really reasonable because these drinks were damn good)...

blackberry margarita (herradura anejo tequila, lime, lemon & blackberry puree)
summer smoke margarita (1800 silver tequila, del maguey crema mezcal, lime, agave syrup & black salt)
kiss my cactus (oronoco rum with a slight hint of vanilla, fresh prickly pearpuree, lime juice & mint)
orange rhum-ba (st theresa 1796 solera rum, st theresa orange rhum liqueur, sugar cane syrup & rum marinated sugar cane stalk)
the bitter buddah (hangar one citron “buddah’s hand” vodka, squeezed lemon, aperol & candied buddah hand lemon garnish)
love (ketel one vodka, framboise, fresh lemon & a sugared rim)
peach tango (skyy 90 vodka, creme de peche, brut rosé sparking wine & a twist of lemon)
raspberry gimlet (no 209 gin, fresh rapberries, fresh lime & lime zest)

I personally tried the Kiss My Cactus and the Raspberry Gimlet...yummy! These were fantastic drinks for a sunny afternoon happy hour. Of course, I was sans-digi cam, as we had decided on happy hour after I had left for work, so there's no sweet pics of all our oysters. The cocktails were really attractive as well, so either I'll have to go back to happy hour with my camera (oooh, twist my rubber arm...) or you'll have to join me to see what all this talk is about!

After happy hour ended, Will, Abe, Key, Ashley and I headed into the Mission, and to our favorite Yo-Yo Sushi for dinner. Ashley's bro, David, and my co-worker, Bao, also joined us for some great rolls, large Asahi beers, and sake. Seriously, this place is great, it's a mom-and-pop run place (the sweet little Korean woman Jessica is a doll), you can always get a table for a large group, and they give you freebies (edamame, tempura, potstickers, mochi ice cream) that makes you feel special (even though I'm sure they do this for most other people).

By 10 pm, we were satiated, and it was time to get home, despite Ashley's pleas for more good times. Will and I had to be in Dublin, CA (about a 45 minute drive east of the city) for a tournament early in the morning, so we definitely needed to stop having good times and get home to get our stuff ready and for some zzz's....

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

It was the first weekend that I had not gone to see the babies in San Jose, so I was already missing them, but the agenda was frisbee, frisbee, and more frisbee. The tournament was the Ana Hammond Memorial, which was a tournament that was resurrected (the old SF Revolution tournament) by our teammate Henrik, to honor Ana, who had passed away suddenly during a tournament in Davis in early April. There were 14 teams competing in two pools of 7 teams.

We had a small-ish squad for the weekend, especially Saturday, where we only had 4/5 women and 7 healthy men. We played 4 pool play games in a row and managed to end the day undefeated, though with our last game being a good battle. By the time we got home and ate dinner, I was ready to crawl into bed by 9 pm, although a little Sudoku kept me awake for a little longer.

On Sunday, we were blessed with a morning bye and didn't have our first game until 10:45 am (sleep in...yay!). The women's side was blessed with the arrival of 3 more reinforcements while the men only got one. We won two more pool play games, won the semi-final game, and then faced a tough game in the finals against Mischief. It's no lie that our team was pretty well gassed by the finals game. We had a really tight game, but a long-disputed call forced the hard cap and we lost 9-7. No one likes to lose, especially our team, but it was a good lesson for us and thankfully, it is still early in the season. Regardless, everyone played really well, especially with our low numbers and the fact that we haven't practiced since June.

On another note, a fairly physical play that consisted of a Mischief player's elbow meeting up with Will's head resulted in a nicely bloodied gash in his right eyelid. Kelli managed to use a butterfly bandage for some temporary help until the end of the game. Some of us went for dinner after the finals, and coincidentally, Chuck's girlfriend, Sarah, was in attendance. Sarah, if you don't know, is an ER doctor and had her suture kit on hand. She was able to successfully suture two stitches into Will's eyelid from the back of their Scion. (I think this is now two friends of Chuck's that Sarah has had to suture in the last month...) I think Sarah's wonderful suture job will prevent any permanent damage to Will's beautiful face.

For some pictures, our cap, Patrick, spent some time on the sidelines to rest his injured knee and hone in his photog skills, check out his pictures here.

So, our frisbee hiatus is over, with two more tournaments in the next two weekends (Portland next weekend and Chico the weekend after).

Now if only I could move without something hurting...

Weekend Recap: Sweltering Heat & Red Ginger Kitchen

July 24, 2006

SATURDAY

Hello heat stroke! It's been an interesting week(end), with the insanely hot temperatures and the resulting state panic about power outages. I headed down to San Jose on Saturday morning for a day with my family (new babies!).

Before I got to Angie's house, I stopped at Classic Car Wash, which is a great place to get your car beautified and waxed. They really do a fantastic job there. Unfortunately, it meant 40 minutes of standing outside in the 108 degree weather...thank goodness for bottles of water!

So, with Lavonda the Honda looking all spiffy and shiny, I made a quick stop to pick up sandwiches at Erik's Deli Cafe (the Abbot's Habit sandwich is yummy!) and then over to the house. Three big fans and a portable air-conditioning unit were in full function, and it was still pretty muggy. After lunch, Angie and I headed over to the Good Sam NICU to see baby Simon, who is still experiencing bradycardia events, most probably due to his acid reflux, common among premature babies...poor baby!

After the afternoon visit with baby Simon, we headed back to the house, with a brief stop at 7-11 for some slurpees (3 out of the 6 slurpee choices were broken...ha!). I spent the rest of the day on Charlotte duty, which was easy as can be. Terrina was also in the sweaty house and was on Olivia duty, so it worked out great.

Bath for Charlotte...

I like Jack's method for staying cool.


Charlotte was a heat machine, I might have sweated through my clothes ten times over (...ew...), but I just loved holding her. By the time I got back to SF around midnight, it was finally cooling off...

SUNDAY

I wish I could say that I was more productive and active on Sunday, but to be honest, it was too damn hot to have any ambitious ideas. I managed to fold some laundry, and tidy up a bit. Other than that, Will and I were easily swayed to watch cheesy movies on the Comedy Channel (did you know that Jake Gyllenhaal was in "Bubble Boy"???) and I did a bunch of Sudoku puzzles (so damn addictive!).

On Sunday night, Abe had invited a bunch of us (Abe, me, Will, Kenny, Key, Katharine) for dinner in El Granada, just north of Half Moon Bay, to a new restaurant called Red Ginger. Abe knew two of the owners through his job at Electronic Arts, and he had designed the website for the restaurant. Also, Kenny was taking off for a month or so back in Ottawa, so it was a good excuse for dinner before he took off.

It took quite a while to get to El Granada, with the hot weather spurring lots of folks to hit the beaches, and the closed Hwy 1 at Devil's Slide causing all sorts of traffic disasters on Hwy 92.

Black Currantini (made with Japanese Soju vodka)

The menu looked delicious and we all shared some appetizers to start:

- Five Spice Ribs: half-rack, all natural, kurubuta baby back ribs char-glazed with five spice honey soy bbq sauce

- Chicken potstickers: stuffed with free-range chicken, served with zesty apricot sauce

- Tuna Tartare: sushi-grade yellowfin tuna, with crystallized ginger and avocado, served with crispy wontons

- Crispy Imperial Spring rolls: filled with chicken, crab and vegetables, served with nuoc charn dipping sauce & daikon pickles.

The appetizers were delicious. I loved the imperial rolls and of course, the tuna tartare was as good as you get anywhere else. The five-spiced ribs were tender and came off the bone, with the spices giving a nice kick. I didn't have any potstickers, but everyone else really loved them.

For entrees, here's the breakdown of what everyone had:

Bea - Grilled lambchops with wasabi-mashed potatoes

Kenny - Chicken Tonkatsu, panko-crusted free-range Fulton Valley chicken breast with stir-fried pea shoots

Will - Grilled Strip Steak with tempura vegetables

Key - Coconut Caramel Pork, gently simmered for 3 hours in ginger-coconut sauce, with quail eggs

Abe & Katharine - Green Curry Greens with Chicken (sorry, no pic!)

We had also ordered the gingery greens on the side, which included chinese broccoli, yu choi, oyster mushrooms and fresh waterchestnuts, lightly stir-fried with ginger and soy. This was a fantastic side to all of our meals, especially because my lamb and Will's steak didn't have many veggies.

Most of us were pretty stuffed, but an ordering snafu resulted in our table getting 5 desserts (the executive chef was so nice, but maybe that's because of Abe???)

Crispy banana-marshmallow wonton with chocolate fondue (the clear dessert winner!)

Chocolate baked Alaska, charred soft meringue with chocolate ice cream & chocolate brownie with creme anglaise.

We also tried the ginger creme brulee and the pineapple carpaccio. Yum! I could barely try each one, as there was no more room in my belly. Luckily, the boys were able to finish off the desserts.

Abe & Will's after-dinner unfiltered sake drink

Overall, the dinner was wonderful. Red Ginger suffers from the usual new-restaurant growing pains of gaps in service and they're still trying to get to the well-oiled-machine state. The food is good, so I'd definitely recommend this place.

However, I would suggest that you try going after they reopen Devil's Slide on Hwy 1, because despite leaving the restaurant at 10 pm, we were on the road in stop-and-go traffic trying to get to the Hwy 92 turn-off. It took us 1.5 hours to get home...sheesh!

Biotech Chicks

July 20, 2006

On Tuesday night, I was invited to a dinner by my co-worker, Bao. This dinner is a monthly meeting of "cool chicks who happen to work in biotech"...wow!...someone thinks I'm cool!

So I picked up Bao after the gym and we headed down to SOMA for dinner, where we battled the crowds heading to AT&T park for the Giants game at the same time...yikes! We were going to Town's End at the intersection of Townsend and Embarcadero for dinner. Apparently, the dinner coordinator, Elyse, had mistakenly made the reservation at Town's End, thinking that she was calling Town Hall...a slight difference, but a new restaurant to try nonetheless.

For dinner, it was me, Bao, Elyse, Steph and Meg, most of whom work at Genentech and come from various parts of life. It was a great way to meet "cool" chicks who do have some things in common, and branch out. One of the common complaints/statements I've heard and believe about SF is that it is very clique-ey, so this was a nice chance to meet people outside of work, frisbee, etc. etc.

Now, about Town's End, the location is interesting, but the actual restaurant design is a little simple, Bao thought it looked a bit like a hotel family restaurant. But, looks can be deceiving, as the food was another matter. As timing would have it, Town's End features a $15.50 prix fixe menu on Tuesdays, where you get three courses: soup or salad, choice of any main dish, and any dessert. Wow! The price of the prix fixe goes up on Wed-Sat, but I'm not sure how much, one review site said $22.50 (a good deal still!)

We shared a nice pinot noir from Russian River Valley (J label). I chose a house salad to start, which was pretty standard. For the entree, I chose the beef short ribs, marinated in red wine and brown sugar and served with baked elbow macaroni with aged sharp white cheddar. The dish was generous in proportions and the short ribs were so tender and delicious. The mac n' cheese was rich but delicious, filling enough to knock out the heartiest of eaters. I couldn't finish the main dish...yowza! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so you'll just have to imagine how good this was.

I was too stuffed for dessert, but they offered to give me one to go. To be honest, I don't even remember what I picked, I think I said something like "give me something that travels well". It may have been the cherry tart.

Regardless, the meal was good and a tremendous deal at $15.50. Apparently, the brunch is also very good. I would recommend this place for a good meal for small $$ and to go on a night that does not coincide with a Giants ball game.

I also had a really nice time meeting some new people, who really were "cool chicks in biotech". I hope to make more of their monthly dinners...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Baby Charlotte, Brunch, Golf, Bowling

July 17, 2006

What a great weekend it was, the weather was great and I didn't have a jam-packed schedule...perfect!

SATURDAY

I headed down to San Jose after a nice morning sleep-in and brekkie (brown sugar and honey sausages with an egg scramble with cherry tomatoes, red onion and cheddar). I was excited to hang out with brand new baby Charlotte at my sister's house, home from the NICU for a week. Baby Simon is still hanging out in the NICU, he had a circumcision a few days ago and had a couple more apnea spells...poor baby!

As soon as I got to the house, I immediately went to go play with Olivia, to reinforce that Auntie Bea still loves her as much as ever. For the rest of the day, I had Charlotte and Olivia pretty much to myself, as Jack ran errands and then when Angie and Jack went to the hospital to see the baby Simon. Charlotte was typical of premature babies, she slept most of the day and was an angel...so easy! I hope she stays that way!

I stayed until pretty late in the evening, and headed back to the city around 11 pm. On my way home, I stopped into Sadie's Flying Elephant bar in Potrero Hill, where Will, Kenny, JonZ, Emily and Woody were hanging out for some post-sushi drinks. Not to long after, we all headed home for some much-need zzzz's....

SUNDAY

Sunday morning offered another glorious sleep-in. Will and I then headed to Slow Club in Potrero Hill to meet up with Katharine and Key for Sunday brunch. This is a great place to come, regardless of when or why. I've enjoyed happy hours, dinners, brunches and private parties. It's a nice industrial space that manages to be cozy with the warm lighting and friendly staff. During the height of the dot-com boom, it was a definite "in" place to be, and it's managed to eek out a nice loyal neighborhood existence.

For brunch:

Bea - grilled chicken salad organic mixed greens, grilled apples, shaved red onion,walnuts, goat cheese & red wine vinaigrette...and a biscuit too.

Will & Kat - chicken ranchero with broken eggs, tortillas, jack cheese, sour cream & ranchero sauce,served with home fries & black beans

Key - slow basic two eggs, home fries, bacon or sausage & a biscuit

The grilled chicken salad was a delight, with huge chunks of fresh goat cheese, lightly marinated chicken, and fantastic apples. It was a good portion and just hit the spot. I also indulged in a fresh and warm biscuit with strawberry jam...yum!

After brunch, Will and I headed home to relax. Later in the afternoon, we hopped in the car and headed over to Harding Park so that we could hit the links of the Fleming 9-hole course. It took a while to get on the course, after all, it was a weekend afternoon. The fog was starting to roll in, and it was a completely different feel from the sunny warmth of our house. We got to tee-off around 4:30 pm and were joined by another couple, Brendan and Laurie. Turns out that Laurie is from Calgary too...what??? Yup, we randomly get put with another twosome that consists of another Canadian...from Calgary!

The golf game was good, I was hitting really well with my irons and not hitting as many trees. Will was a putting maniac, I've never seen him sink so many one-putters or putts from off the green...it was sick! In the end, Will ended up with a 35 and I shot a 42 (par is 30). It was a much better showing than the last time we were out.

From the tees, we went to the lanes. It's just so convenient to drive right to Daly City from Harding Park, so we went to Serra Bowl for a couple games. Our next season of the Genentech Bowling League starts on Monday, so Will was itching to practice. We played 3 games , had some really bad frames, and I ended up with a 146-113-120 series. We were also really distracted by a tournament with scratch bowlers that was going on a few lanes over. Some dude bowled a 300 while we were there!

Anyway, I was beat after our activities and was happy to call it a day after dinner at home. Will still had a 11 pm hockey game...sucker!

NOPA!

July 12, 2006

Last night, I went for dinner with Adam, and his co-worker Wade, who were in town for another slew of meetings for work (The North Face) at the corporate headquarters in San Leandro. I had been dying to try a new restaurant called Nopa, located in an area referred to as the Western Addition, or more recently, the trendy NOPA (short for "North of the Panhandle"). Nopa has been getting rave reviews, with critics hailing it as the new Zuni Cafe. The hype touts Nopa as a hip, eclectic eatery, that stays open late (until 1 am...yay!), is popular with industry folks, and the converted space is warm, vibrant and welcoming, with vaulted ceilings, wood beams, magnificent windows.

Nopa's reservation policy is that they only take reservations for same-day dining and after 2 pm. I called at 2:30 pm and the first available time for a table of 3 was 8:45 pm. Yowza, SF folks are on the ball for reservations at this place!

As soon as we walked in, it was evident that we're not the only ones curious about Nopa. It was packed and the room smelled and looked great. The hostess and manager(s) were very kind, especially as we had to wait for a table, despite our 8:45 pm reservation. We went over to the bar and ordered some cocktails to start.

The cocktails:
Adam - "El Diablo" (Tequila, creme de cassis, lime juice, ginger beer)
Wade - Ketel One Martini, straight up with an olive
Bea - "Painted Lady" (Vodka, strawberry, cava, and something else, I can't remember!)

It was about a 35 minute wait for our table, which sucked, considering how hungry we were, but the staff was super polite and professional, so it was difficult to be mad.

After we were seated, the server and accompanying support staff were totally on the mark, with efficient service, helpful suggestions, and my water glass was always full. It was nice to see that all the entrees were under $20, which seems to be a rarity these days.

The appetizers:

As soon as we sat down, the server brought over a small taster of crostini, olive tapenade, and some sea salt to sprinkle for taste. It was really good, especially with the addition of the sea salt. I preferred this to the usual table bread that you get at restaurants, mostly because I'm usually starving and eat too much bread before my meal. In this case, the crostini and tapenade was a great teaser without filling me up too much.

Adam - Spicy Lamb Riblets, Coriander and Mint

The spicy lamb riblets were a tasty treat, with a nice little kick and a decent serving size. Adam enjoyed them quite heartily.

Wade - Baked Goat Cheese, Crostini, Frisee and Figs

This appetizer was another surefire winner. There was plenty of fluffy goat cheese, and when the server saw that we were getting low on the crunchy crostini, they brought us more without us even asking!

Bea - Wild Salmon Carpaccio, Arugula and California Olive Oil

What can I say? I'm a sucker for carpaccio, and if it's salmon---bring it on! The arugula reminded me of the carpaccio that I had a lot in Italy. There was a slight sprinkling of rock salt that added a nice taste as well.

The entrees:

Adam & Wade - Grilled Pork Chop, Grilled Peaches and Braised Rainbow Chard

Both Adam & Wade went for the server's suggestion regarding the pork. I saw it go by when we were waiting for our table, so I figured it would be a good bet. The grilled peaches were amazing, Adam was nice enough to give me a bite. The pork chop was tender, deliciously seasoned, and it was entertaining watching Adam try to pace himself and not engorge the entire pork chop in one bite.

Bea - Pan-seared White Bass with White Corn, Cherry Tomatoes in some amazing sauce...

I went the untraditional route and chose another fish dish (I know, I know, I didn't choose the meat!?!?). The fish itself was good, but not great. I thought that the seasoned crust was a little salty, and the fish was cooked well, but not as moist as I would've liked it. What really impressed me was the accompanying white corn and cherry tomato extravaganza. I can't remember what went into the sauce, but I couldn't get enough of that goodness. More please!

The desserts:
So we couldn't help it, we had to try their desserts. Adam made us do it...it's all his fault.

Adam - Blackberry Almond Crostata and Lemon Cream

Adam's desert was tasty, but the best part of it was the lemon cream, that made me want some lemon meringue pie. I'm sure it must've been Meyer lemon too, judging by the reaction on my tongue.

Wade - Peach-Blackberry Cobbler and Vanilla Ice Cream

Wade went with the server recommendation of the cobbler, and he was particularly persuaded to go with the cobbler based on his love of the grilled peaches from his main dish. More peaches? It's the best thing since sliced bread! When we tasted the cobbler, what was surprising was the overwhelming berry taste, which made Wade sad, but it was still a very delightful cobbler.

Bea - Strawberry cream panna cotta

I chose the Strawberry panna cotta, and I think it was the definite winner. Whilst the other desserts had fantastic elements, this dessert was clean, simple and good overall.

In the end, it was after 11 pm, we had finished everything on our plates, and subsequently, felt like exploding. Nopa was a fantastic overall, from the room, the menu, the service, and the food. It's also quite reasonable economically, and has become one of my new favorites.

Try it! You'll like it too!

After dinner, I had to go home and try to digest, I may have overdone it. Too bad, because I ended up missing Jackie and Javier's going away drinks get-together at Lucky 13. Jackie and Jav (a.k.a. Jack-ier) are moving to Michigan where Jackie is going to grad school. I'm a bad friend! Good luck to Jackie and Jav!

Calgary: Monday, July 10 (End of a "Short" Long Weekend)

July 10, 2006

And so it goes, another super-short weekend jaunt back to Calgary. Apologies to any Calgary folks that I missed on this mini-trip. But don't worry, Will and I are back in late August for another wedding over Labor Day weekend (we're going to 5 of 7 potential weddings this year...yikes!).

On Monday for lunch, the entire Lavery crew met up with my parents for a little dim sum action at Harbour City in Chinatown.

Mike and Susan in their sweet Stampede duds

I spent the afternoon with my parents and Donna, before heading to the airport for my evening flight. Too bad I didn't have more time to Stampede, but let's be honest, I don't think my liver could've handled it...

Calgary: Sunday, July 9 (Hello Hangover!)

January 9, 2006

It wasn't too much of a shock when I woke up on Sunday morning and felt pretty close to death, repeating the "Why didn't I drink more water" routine while Will laughed pretty heartily at my pain. Apparently, he was impervious to alcohol again.

Will and I managed to get our selves in presentable shape so that we could catch the tail-end of the wedding brunch hosted by Kristi's parents, Colin and Susan. I was in rough shape, but managed to get a couple mini-pancakes in to help ease the pain.

Our timing was fantastic, the World Cup Soccer finals game between France and Italy was just starting, so we settled in with a bunch of the McGill crew to take in the action. It was very exciting and I was bowled over by Frenchman Zidane's incredible display of bad sportsmanship.

After the finals game and seeing off Ath and Kristi (on their way to France and Italy for their honeymoon), Will and I went over to Scott and Sonia's place to visit and to see how cute Sascha has been getting. Donna also came by to check out the little one for the first time.

It was wonderful to catch up with this adorable little family again. Sascha is such a sweet and happy baby, and he has incredible sumo legs.

By early evening, we had to be back at the Lavery house for pre-dinner drinks with some family friends (Dukes and Rogers). For dinner, Emily, John and Mike whipped up a wonderful dinner of salad, AAA Alberta beef tenderloin (woo hoo!) and a pretty amazing risotto.

We faded pretty quickly after dinner. The weather had turned for the worse and we were treated to an entertaining lightening show over the valley.

Ka-boom!...zzzz....

Calgary: Saturday, July 8 (Ath & Kristi Get Married!)

July 8, 2006

Saturday was wedding day, and what a day it was! Gorgeous blue skies, sunny warmth, perfect day for some nuptials!

Will and I had a nice sleep-in after our 2:30 am adventure getting home (it's hard getting a taxi during the Stampede!) But we woke up at 10:30 am and had to scramble to get ready and to go with John and Emily to go see Will & John's adopted grandmother, Tove, at the Bethany during her peak visiting times.

After the visit, we went back to Mike & Susan's for some brunch. Susan was out of town for another family wedding, so it was Mike, Will, John, Emily and I left to enjoy a fantastic brunch of cornmeal back bacon, tomatoes stuffed with antipasto and toppped withmelted cheese, and baked red pepper stuffed with garlic and olive rice...yum, indeed!

Somehow the afternoon was set on fast forward, and before we knew it, Will and I had to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was being held at The Ranche in Fish Creek Provincial Park. The Ranche is a restored ranch house that was converted to a restaurant and is a wonderful setting for a wedding.

There was a cocktail reception at 5:30 pm and the ceremony to start at 6 pm, shortly followed by another cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception and dinner.

The ceremony:

The cocktail reception:

The crew from McGill

The dinner & reception:

The dinner had three courses, starting with a spinach salad, Alberta beef tenderloin (well, you could choose salmon too, but we're in Alberta! Who's going to do that?!?!), and vanilla creme brulee.

...trouble...

Believe it or not, I ended up taking so many pictures that I maxed out my memory card! As such, my interest in taking pictures apparently is inversely proportional to the amount of alcohol I take in.

Will says that I was defiant again, only this time when he told me to drink water, I did it, but chased it with a cocktail (Captain n' Coke, I think)...

....baby steps....

CONGRATULATIONS ATH & KRISTI!!!