1 month to the nuptial...

OK, July 8th has come and gone, leaving us with a month before the big day. Despite some unexpected changes, summer colds and necessary employment, things are coming along well and everything seems to be...progressing.

Caila is currently visiting her Grandma, Mom and Jana, looking for a wedding dress that you could wear again after the day and generally enjoying some time to herself. This past weekend she was "invited" along to Salt Spring Island for a camping trip and a visit to the market by some of the ladies from her old sorority (for lack of a better word), which turned out to involve blue hair, a tiara and lace gloves and strange men eating candy off her wrist - and this is before the Tequila came out of hiding! She had a great time though and it does my heart so much good to see my princess smile that broadly.

Paul came back from Myanmar a married man! A cyclone struck the country and the lady he had been building a relationship with over e-mail and the phone needed rescuing - so off he raced (minus the white steed of course) to save her from the less-than-best conditions over there. Mrs. Swe Swe Myint Holbrook arrived in Canada, wide-eyed and understandably disorientated after her first international journey. Soon enough she started adapting to Lund-life and now ( a mere couple of weeks later
) she has become and invaluable resource; helping out with the gardens, cooking, cleaning and occupying Paul's free time. She is an outgoing, wonderfully-friendly and intelligent individual who worries way too much about her spoken English (which is perfectly understandable). At 26-years she has undoubtedly seen sights we have not and lived a life so far removed from what we are used to that at times I want to take her by the shoulders and ask her question after question after question. But there will be time enough for that in the future seeing as how she is now part of the family.

I just finished a roofing job with a friendly fellow named John Edwards and consider the experience gained more valuable than the renumeration, although the latter will go to finance our "honeymoon" in Lund. We have decided to take over the cabin we rented for my parents after they have gone and will spend most of August (finally) enjoying the sights and activities the Sunshine Coast has to offer. Caila will most likely try and do some more work on her thesis and I will try my best to keep my honeymooning hands and comments to myself - but there will be late mornings and much chocolate, of that you can be sure.

At the house Paul has been putting in a big effort on the new bathroom and it seems set to actually be completed and useable during the wedding. It's awesome to have a hot shower at home, let me tell you. I have a few final touches to put on the outhouse (like a roof and back wall) and soon there will be another work party to get the final things sorted out. Some efforts are continuous, like searching for cheap mattrasses, wine stoppers, glasses to drink the wine out of and an amplifier that can carry the speakers. But other things have fallen into place conveniently and semi-miraculously. I found my monkey suit by chance (pretty much exactly what I was looking for) and for next to nothing, Susan dropped by with our Raspberry/Currant wine and offered to help us find fresh salmon (many many thanks Susan), the last of the accommodation hassles was confirmed and thankfully Tannie Chrissila won't have to sleep on the doorstep of Piet and Drien's cabin after all.

That kind of brings us up to date with pre-Nuptial life in Lund. Here's to sunny weather and safe fun for all come August 8th.