So after years of being corporate veal by day and cake eating wedding officiant by night, I'm larger than I should be for my height. If I were over six feet I'd be fine but as it stands in order to avoid the family flaws (heart disease, diabetes) it'll be best to cut back a bit. So I've been doing so, first by ditching the corporate veal job and then by stepping away from the cake table. It's a slow process, I always say Rome wasn't burned in a day and neither shall be my keester. Sometimes I get tempted by the siren call of dieting.
I've got a couple of friends who did very well on a famous/infamous medical weight lose strategy available in Toronto. And another who embraced a guided herbal supplement path and lost over three stone. (side note: over a certain weight range I like to count in stones, which is apparently 25lbs. Saying I only have to lose two stone sounds less daunting) And yet another friend who got royally screwed out of time and money to be led up the garden path to minimal weight loss. Every once in a while I get frustrated and take another look at the various paid systems out there or else the fasts and the cleanses and the over the counter wonder pills. But I know none of that is for me.
Primarily, it's not for me because I'm a cheap bastard who doesn't want to pay extra for drugs or what not. I also don't like taking drugs I don't medically need, and requirer fuller information than most proprietary plans can provide. I also don't like the idea of rapid weight loss unless a person is in a state of emergency and requires it. Your skin looks terrible and I'm kind of nervous about the information stored in fat cells being released all at once. So gradually I'll go. No dieting for me.
And yet, I know by some definitions I'm dieting a little bit. Certain things are restricted from my diet and it's sometimes difficult to explain to people why. It's just a question of treating food as fuel, rather than just tasty filling om noms. After reading "In Defense Of Food" and watching "Food INC." my understanding of what food is has changed. I TOTALLY recommend the terrifying duo of that book and film, fantastic stuff. Processed, pre-packaged and fast food? Is filler, not food. Bread, in all it's wondrous forms, is really cake and the processing of refining flour that came into vogue with the industrial revolution robes the substance of most of it's nutritional value. Basically if it's a whole food - totally recognizable in it's original form - it's food. If it comes from plants and was not made in a plant, it's food. If my grandmother recognized it as food, it's likely food. And if pests want it, it's food. I don't trust things marketed as food that bugs don't want. Bugs are not picky consumers, and if they don't want your margarine or flour or hamburger patty, chances are it's not fit for our consumption either. I'm working on restricting my diet to real food, and it's working so far.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Venue Review: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
This is one of my favorite venues. There's not many really excellent pictures online so I'll try to tell you about it. There are two rooms that you can be married in, and both have merit.
The great hall portion is huge with a vaulted ceiling and curiously, just about the worlds most perfect accoustics. You put a cello or a good quality human voice in there and the sound is just amazing. If this is the room that appeals, I'd say go for live music for your ceremony. String quartet. Or a singer with guitar. Or something like that. There's a piano in the room but I have no idea how often it's tuned. A piano in Toronto Ontario should be tuned twice a year at least. Srsly.Anyway, the great hall portion is a later addition to the schoolhouse and attached to the schoolhouse itself by a parlor area suitable for stand up receptions which contains a wet bar, access to the kitchens and curio cabinets with items of historical relevance.
The second room is the actual schoolhouse, dating from 1848 with low ceiling and narrow windows, very little light. It's dim, and there's room for about 100 guest to huddle into the reproduction school desks. Most of the furnishings and ornemantation are either reproduction or are antiques donated to the venue, but the school teachers desk that you sit on to sign your documennts is original and genuine. To sit at this gorgous, simple desk is to enter into your marriage in humility and this is half of what I love about this part of this venue - the quiet peace of the furnishings and room. The other half is that the building is made out of equal portions of brick and love.
Looking into the way back machine, here's a brief history of the Irish getting screwed in Toronto, as told by an undereducated wedding officiant fully expecting to be corrected. First the Irish Catholics came to Canada because they were getting screwed in their own country - unable to own certain things, unable to travel at certain times, unable to even own a horse over a certain height, that kind of BS. Then everyone in Ireland got screwed by the potato famine around about 1845. There was still a lot of food being produced but it was being shipped to England and places not Ireland, and it was just the potatoes that people were allowed to eat being affected over all. So people starved and struggled to get the hell out of Ireland. The US didn't want them and made a deal with England about the price of travel, so that to get to New York an Irish person would have to pay a lot of money and to get to Canada they'd have to pay very little, so a lot of them ended up here. Well, those who didn't, in their emaciated form, die either on the Atlantic or in the St. Lawrence river itself. There's mention of a couple of ships where people were sick, and rather than have the passengers be a burden or contamonate people on land they were just allowed to die within sight of it. No disembarking for them. This all pretty much sucked but was in keeping with what the Irish had begun to expect from the rest of the world, having been shipped off to penial colonies in Australia for being Irish and having been rounded up and sold at one point in history to the Carrabean. So what does the fresh hell of the mid 1800's have to do with a very attractive wedding venue?
When the famine victims did arrive they ran into the Irish Catholics they'd screwed over not a generation before, and it was awkward to say the least. Not a warm welcome. The rest of Toronto wasn't very kind eaither, George Brown writing in what was a pre-cursur to the Globe and Mail that they were lazy, violent, brutish and stupid. Irish by and large were considered a sub species at the time and the established Irish considered the new Irish imports to be assholes and hilarity insued.
So then this group of people got together and said "yeah, this isn't going to work unless they have some place to be, like a church and a school or something like that." This group included Bishop Strachan, brewer Enoch Turner, and the millers and distillers Gooderham and Worts. They raised funds and built a church, Little Trinity on King St. and from what I've read ran out of money. Enoch Turner, who had no children of his own but was pretty fond of them, determined that the life of the Irish wasn't going to improve without a school. Back in this time you couldn't go to school without paying for it and the famine victims were out of cash so he build them a school, out of his own pocket. and there it stands. Toronto's first free school, and given that it survived the great fire of the city years later it's the oldest standing one. Here's a blurb I wrote for the introduction of weddings I've done there, you can use it for your ceremony as long as you credit me and have a very nice day:
"We are, right now, within walls built by love in a very real sense. In 1848 brewer Enoch Turner founded this, Toronot's first free and longest standing school to provide basic education to the children of Irish immigrants. He was remembered in a period of grinding poverty as a generous and compassionate man. He had nothing to gain by this gift except the knowledge that he was helping build a better world. The world is changing with each moment, and each action and decision we partake in makes it what it is, and we learn from it. The most valuable lessons we learn in life, we absolutely learn from love."
There's a patch of gardens around it that look good in photo's and the interior of the great hall dresses up nicely. You don't want to dress up the schoolhouse, it's supposed to look the way it does and has a rustic charm you'd be hard pressed to replicate. The staff are friendly and renovations in recent years have ensured that there's a brides room the bathrooms are WAY nicer than they used to be. It's got an awful lot to recommend it and if your wedding is between 40-110 people it is, in my opinion, just about perfect.
The great hall portion is huge with a vaulted ceiling and curiously, just about the worlds most perfect accoustics. You put a cello or a good quality human voice in there and the sound is just amazing. If this is the room that appeals, I'd say go for live music for your ceremony. String quartet. Or a singer with guitar. Or something like that. There's a piano in the room but I have no idea how often it's tuned. A piano in Toronto Ontario should be tuned twice a year at least. Srsly.Anyway, the great hall portion is a later addition to the schoolhouse and attached to the schoolhouse itself by a parlor area suitable for stand up receptions which contains a wet bar, access to the kitchens and curio cabinets with items of historical relevance.
The second room is the actual schoolhouse, dating from 1848 with low ceiling and narrow windows, very little light. It's dim, and there's room for about 100 guest to huddle into the reproduction school desks. Most of the furnishings and ornemantation are either reproduction or are antiques donated to the venue, but the school teachers desk that you sit on to sign your documennts is original and genuine. To sit at this gorgous, simple desk is to enter into your marriage in humility and this is half of what I love about this part of this venue - the quiet peace of the furnishings and room. The other half is that the building is made out of equal portions of brick and love.
Looking into the way back machine, here's a brief history of the Irish getting screwed in Toronto, as told by an undereducated wedding officiant fully expecting to be corrected. First the Irish Catholics came to Canada because they were getting screwed in their own country - unable to own certain things, unable to travel at certain times, unable to even own a horse over a certain height, that kind of BS. Then everyone in Ireland got screwed by the potato famine around about 1845. There was still a lot of food being produced but it was being shipped to England and places not Ireland, and it was just the potatoes that people were allowed to eat being affected over all. So people starved and struggled to get the hell out of Ireland. The US didn't want them and made a deal with England about the price of travel, so that to get to New York an Irish person would have to pay a lot of money and to get to Canada they'd have to pay very little, so a lot of them ended up here. Well, those who didn't, in their emaciated form, die either on the Atlantic or in the St. Lawrence river itself. There's mention of a couple of ships where people were sick, and rather than have the passengers be a burden or contamonate people on land they were just allowed to die within sight of it. No disembarking for them. This all pretty much sucked but was in keeping with what the Irish had begun to expect from the rest of the world, having been shipped off to penial colonies in Australia for being Irish and having been rounded up and sold at one point in history to the Carrabean. So what does the fresh hell of the mid 1800's have to do with a very attractive wedding venue?
When the famine victims did arrive they ran into the Irish Catholics they'd screwed over not a generation before, and it was awkward to say the least. Not a warm welcome. The rest of Toronto wasn't very kind eaither, George Brown writing in what was a pre-cursur to the Globe and Mail that they were lazy, violent, brutish and stupid. Irish by and large were considered a sub species at the time and the established Irish considered the new Irish imports to be assholes and hilarity insued.
So then this group of people got together and said "yeah, this isn't going to work unless they have some place to be, like a church and a school or something like that." This group included Bishop Strachan, brewer Enoch Turner, and the millers and distillers Gooderham and Worts. They raised funds and built a church, Little Trinity on King St. and from what I've read ran out of money. Enoch Turner, who had no children of his own but was pretty fond of them, determined that the life of the Irish wasn't going to improve without a school. Back in this time you couldn't go to school without paying for it and the famine victims were out of cash so he build them a school, out of his own pocket. and there it stands. Toronto's first free school, and given that it survived the great fire of the city years later it's the oldest standing one. Here's a blurb I wrote for the introduction of weddings I've done there, you can use it for your ceremony as long as you credit me and have a very nice day:
"We are, right now, within walls built by love in a very real sense. In 1848 brewer Enoch Turner founded this, Toronot's first free and longest standing school to provide basic education to the children of Irish immigrants. He was remembered in a period of grinding poverty as a generous and compassionate man. He had nothing to gain by this gift except the knowledge that he was helping build a better world. The world is changing with each moment, and each action and decision we partake in makes it what it is, and we learn from it. The most valuable lessons we learn in life, we absolutely learn from love."
There's a patch of gardens around it that look good in photo's and the interior of the great hall dresses up nicely. You don't want to dress up the schoolhouse, it's supposed to look the way it does and has a rustic charm you'd be hard pressed to replicate. The staff are friendly and renovations in recent years have ensured that there's a brides room the bathrooms are WAY nicer than they used to be. It's got an awful lot to recommend it and if your wedding is between 40-110 people it is, in my opinion, just about perfect.
From the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalizing same sex marriage
A reading I've added to my archive for options in weddings, and one I like very much. There are weddings at which it's been very appropriate, not all of them same sex:
“Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity and family. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a ‘civil right.’ Without the right to choose to marry, one is excluded from the full range of human experience.”
- from the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in that state.
“Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity and family. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a ‘civil right.’ Without the right to choose to marry, one is excluded from the full range of human experience.”
- from the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in that state.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Blog Re-boot
I've kept another blog for many years, more recently not really paying much attention to it in favor of "socializing" on facebook or watching videos on YouTube. Fact is I need to write more and so I'm consolidating online writing under this blog heading renaming it "Mindful Passenger". Why that? Easy. Well, is seems clear to me but then I'm a somewhat mad hat wearing wedding officiant/writer/filmmaker. We'll see how much sense this makes to you:
This year we got a motorcycle. The husband drives it, and I ride behind him. It's very different than being a passenger in a car, because you're completely exposed and *in* the elements. Of course, you're slightly more at risk of injury than when traveling by car but not by that much. Cars feel safer because they're enclosed, an envelope of steel and fiber glass that makes us feel coccooned, safe. Some drivers and passengers even feel like they're in houses, completely removed from the act of travel. Riding a motorcycle is a completely different experiance, but not because it is - only because the veneer of percieved insulatoin is removed. And I started thinking of how much like life that is, how removed and distant we sometimes feel because of perception when we really are all still here, in a community, impacting on others and being impacted on. Our time here is fleeting, a blizzard of seconds and paying attention matters. I started thinking about life as a ride, a transit in time and remembered a) a quote on a bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap declaring us all astronauts on space ship earth and b) a reference to everything in the universe - us included - being made from exploded stars. Stardust. We are all astronauts made of star dust traveling at 107,000Km/hr around the sun and every time I get wound up about something petty, that thought blows my fragile little mind. But this is life. This is a journey worth noting, and so here are my notes.
This year we got a motorcycle. The husband drives it, and I ride behind him. It's very different than being a passenger in a car, because you're completely exposed and *in* the elements. Of course, you're slightly more at risk of injury than when traveling by car but not by that much. Cars feel safer because they're enclosed, an envelope of steel and fiber glass that makes us feel coccooned, safe. Some drivers and passengers even feel like they're in houses, completely removed from the act of travel. Riding a motorcycle is a completely different experiance, but not because it is - only because the veneer of percieved insulatoin is removed. And I started thinking of how much like life that is, how removed and distant we sometimes feel because of perception when we really are all still here, in a community, impacting on others and being impacted on. Our time here is fleeting, a blizzard of seconds and paying attention matters. I started thinking about life as a ride, a transit in time and remembered a) a quote on a bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap declaring us all astronauts on space ship earth and b) a reference to everything in the universe - us included - being made from exploded stars. Stardust. We are all astronauts made of star dust traveling at 107,000Km/hr around the sun and every time I get wound up about something petty, that thought blows my fragile little mind. But this is life. This is a journey worth noting, and so here are my notes.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I want everyone to have this information. Some of the symptoms aren't what you might think, and I know/know of some very smart people who've witnessed heart attacks and didn't know it at the time. A lot of this is direct from various heart and stroke websites and covers heart attack, cardiac arrest and various forms of stroke.
A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die. A person having a heart attack may feel sudden pain:
* Sudden discomfort or pain that does not go away with rest
* Pain that may be in the chest, neck, jaw, shoulder, arms or back
* Pain that may feel like burning, squeezing, heaviness, tightness or pressure
* In women, pain may be more vague
* Chest pain or discomfort that is brought on with exertion and goes away with rest
They may also have a shortness of breath, or indigestion/nausea/vomiting, and/or have cool, clammy skin, and/or experience anxiety or denial. So a person who's got indigestion, some pain, is anxious and telling you to piss off may be having a panic attack - or a heart attack.
So what do you do? If it's you, stop telling people to piss off, you're just agitating yourself and looking like a moron. Whoever can should call 911. The person experiencing the possible heart attack should stop what they're doing, sit or lie down, try to relax. If they/you take nitroglycerin, take the normal dose. If they/you experience chest pain, chew (which is gross, do it anyway) one adult 325 mg tablet or 2 80 mg tablets of ASA (acetylsalicylic acid, commonly referred to as Aspirin®). Pain medicines such as acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (commonly known as Advil®) do not work the same way as ASA (Aspirin) and therefore will not help in the emergency situation described above.
If you're alone, wait for help. You've called 911, right? If not, call them now. You may have seen an email about coughing to keep the heart going if you're alone and suspect you're having a heart attack. The Heart and Stroke website advises to ignore this email. Think about it, if your goal is to rest and keep calm how is forcing deep coughs going to help? And you've received a lot of bullshit emails, right? The coughing thing was one of them, don't do it.
Cardiac arrest is something different. Cardiac arrest is the sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. The victim may or may not have diagnosed heart disease. Sudden death (also called sudden cardiac death) occurs within minutes after symptoms appear.During cardiac arrest a victim loses consciousness, stops normal breathing and loses pulse and blood pressure. If you're alone and experience cardiac arrest, you're fucked. On the up side according to some doctors I've spoken to, you're not going to feel a thing, you're just going to drop, may not have any warning of something amiss. You'll remain unconscious as your body dies. If you're in front of someone who's dropped for no apparent reason and isn't responding to their name, being shaken or shouted at, check for pulse, breathing. Tilt their head back and listen for breathing for a maximum of 5 seconds. No breathing, pulse, response? Might be cardiac arrest. If there are other people around, have someone call 911. Tell someone to get an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if one is available. Most gyms have them now, all fire trucks do and there's one every 20 ft (from what I've heard) at Pearson airport. If none is available, begin CPR if you know it.
If you're alone with a person appearing to be experiencing cardiac arrest, call 911, get the AED yourself if one is available. If none is available, begin CPR if you know it. The main message here is learn CPR.
Stroke is something different again. A stroke is a sudden loss of brain function. It is caused by the interruption of flow of blood to the brain (ischemic stroke) or the rupture of blood vessels in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). Effects and damage are going to depend on where the stroke occurred.
We can all thank the episode of House with the pregnant photographer for the FAST way of recognizing a stroke. Remember?
F = Face. Is your smile crooked? Is part of your face drooping?
A = Arms. Are you able to raise your arms to the same level in front of you? No? Weakness on one side, my friend.
S = Speech. Subject, noun, verb, give it a try. If you suddenly are having trouble speaking, that's a bad thing.
T = Time. You're having a stroke. Get medical attention immediately. The longer you wait, the more damaged (or dead) you'll be.
There are other symptoms though. Massive sudden headache, dizziness and vision problems are additional things you should watch for. If you or someone in front of you seems to be having a stroke, get medical attention immediately. It may be nothing but are you a doctor? No? Well, let one decide. The faster you get to help, the better your chances for surviving well are. There are medications you may be given during your stroke at a hospital, whether they're appropriate to your circumstance are up to the health care providers on staff.
And that's it. It's a cliche to say that lots of hearts break when one does, but it's also a fact. The sudden loss of someone to heart attack or stroke is as much of a shock to loved ones as losing them to a car crash or bullet. You have one heart, and it's precious. You have one mind, and it's valuable. Take care of both. Educate yourself and people around you, take CPR courses with friends. Eat real food in appropriate amounts. Don't smoke. Exercise regularly. Enjoy your life and be happy. You are loved.
A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die. A person having a heart attack may feel sudden pain:
* Sudden discomfort or pain that does not go away with rest
* Pain that may be in the chest, neck, jaw, shoulder, arms or back
* Pain that may feel like burning, squeezing, heaviness, tightness or pressure
* In women, pain may be more vague
* Chest pain or discomfort that is brought on with exertion and goes away with rest
They may also have a shortness of breath, or indigestion/nausea/vomiting, and/or have cool, clammy skin, and/or experience anxiety or denial. So a person who's got indigestion, some pain, is anxious and telling you to piss off may be having a panic attack - or a heart attack.
So what do you do? If it's you, stop telling people to piss off, you're just agitating yourself and looking like a moron. Whoever can should call 911. The person experiencing the possible heart attack should stop what they're doing, sit or lie down, try to relax. If they/you take nitroglycerin, take the normal dose. If they/you experience chest pain, chew (which is gross, do it anyway) one adult 325 mg tablet or 2 80 mg tablets of ASA (acetylsalicylic acid, commonly referred to as Aspirin®). Pain medicines such as acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (commonly known as Advil®) do not work the same way as ASA (Aspirin) and therefore will not help in the emergency situation described above.
If you're alone, wait for help. You've called 911, right? If not, call them now. You may have seen an email about coughing to keep the heart going if you're alone and suspect you're having a heart attack. The Heart and Stroke website advises to ignore this email. Think about it, if your goal is to rest and keep calm how is forcing deep coughs going to help? And you've received a lot of bullshit emails, right? The coughing thing was one of them, don't do it.
Cardiac arrest is something different. Cardiac arrest is the sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. The victim may or may not have diagnosed heart disease. Sudden death (also called sudden cardiac death) occurs within minutes after symptoms appear.During cardiac arrest a victim loses consciousness, stops normal breathing and loses pulse and blood pressure. If you're alone and experience cardiac arrest, you're fucked. On the up side according to some doctors I've spoken to, you're not going to feel a thing, you're just going to drop, may not have any warning of something amiss. You'll remain unconscious as your body dies. If you're in front of someone who's dropped for no apparent reason and isn't responding to their name, being shaken or shouted at, check for pulse, breathing. Tilt their head back and listen for breathing for a maximum of 5 seconds. No breathing, pulse, response? Might be cardiac arrest. If there are other people around, have someone call 911. Tell someone to get an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if one is available. Most gyms have them now, all fire trucks do and there's one every 20 ft (from what I've heard) at Pearson airport. If none is available, begin CPR if you know it.
If you're alone with a person appearing to be experiencing cardiac arrest, call 911, get the AED yourself if one is available. If none is available, begin CPR if you know it. The main message here is learn CPR.
Stroke is something different again. A stroke is a sudden loss of brain function. It is caused by the interruption of flow of blood to the brain (ischemic stroke) or the rupture of blood vessels in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). Effects and damage are going to depend on where the stroke occurred.
We can all thank the episode of House with the pregnant photographer for the FAST way of recognizing a stroke. Remember?
F = Face. Is your smile crooked? Is part of your face drooping?
A = Arms. Are you able to raise your arms to the same level in front of you? No? Weakness on one side, my friend.
S = Speech. Subject, noun, verb, give it a try. If you suddenly are having trouble speaking, that's a bad thing.
T = Time. You're having a stroke. Get medical attention immediately. The longer you wait, the more damaged (or dead) you'll be.
There are other symptoms though. Massive sudden headache, dizziness and vision problems are additional things you should watch for. If you or someone in front of you seems to be having a stroke, get medical attention immediately. It may be nothing but are you a doctor? No? Well, let one decide. The faster you get to help, the better your chances for surviving well are. There are medications you may be given during your stroke at a hospital, whether they're appropriate to your circumstance are up to the health care providers on staff.
And that's it. It's a cliche to say that lots of hearts break when one does, but it's also a fact. The sudden loss of someone to heart attack or stroke is as much of a shock to loved ones as losing them to a car crash or bullet. You have one heart, and it's precious. You have one mind, and it's valuable. Take care of both. Educate yourself and people around you, take CPR courses with friends. Eat real food in appropriate amounts. Don't smoke. Exercise regularly. Enjoy your life and be happy. You are loved.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Venue Review: La Maquette
Prettiest. Venue. Ever. Found on the south side of King St. at Church, the staff bend over backward to make the experience good, by all accounts the food is excellent and certainly it's well situated and voted one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. I've heard people note that it's not an inexpensive venue but I'm here to point something out: if what you want is elegant and pretty La Maquette has great value.
Consider this: one of the single best cost saving things a couple can do for their wedding, second only to limiting the guest list, is to have the wedding and reception in a reastaurant. No separate catering fee, no table rentals, no special occasions permit to aquire, no rental of linens, no hiring of staff and wondering if, transient workers that they can be, they'll show up. A restaurant is really the way to go: it's easy to arrange a tasting of the food, it's a known quantity, and all your costs are easier to determine and therefore less likely to bite you in the ass. Now, very swank restaurants can be pricier and certainly La Maquette is that. But it's also more than that - it's beautiful. Don't want to spend extra money on flowers or decoration? You don't have to. The interior is a work of art, at first seeming just quite pretty but on further examination the level of detail and depth to the quality of attention in it's design are truly breathtaking. Over the course of your event your guests will just get more and more impressed. The atmosphere is magnificent, the rooms open and inviting. No, I haven't had dinner there yet and will update this post once I do, but from the joy of couples I've seen married there and the quality of service I've seen on display I whole heartedly recommend it.
Consider this: one of the single best cost saving things a couple can do for their wedding, second only to limiting the guest list, is to have the wedding and reception in a reastaurant. No separate catering fee, no table rentals, no special occasions permit to aquire, no rental of linens, no hiring of staff and wondering if, transient workers that they can be, they'll show up. A restaurant is really the way to go: it's easy to arrange a tasting of the food, it's a known quantity, and all your costs are easier to determine and therefore less likely to bite you in the ass. Now, very swank restaurants can be pricier and certainly La Maquette is that. But it's also more than that - it's beautiful. Don't want to spend extra money on flowers or decoration? You don't have to. The interior is a work of art, at first seeming just quite pretty but on further examination the level of detail and depth to the quality of attention in it's design are truly breathtaking. Over the course of your event your guests will just get more and more impressed. The atmosphere is magnificent, the rooms open and inviting. No, I haven't had dinner there yet and will update this post once I do, but from the joy of couples I've seen married there and the quality of service I've seen on display I whole heartedly recommend it.
Bare Bones Marriage Ceremony for Ontario
For anyone wondering, this is what the marriage act requires. The spirit of it is covered in any general ceremony I do, but the actual language was requested by one couple ages ago. Here it is, dry as toast, from the Ontario Marriage Act:
I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, AB, may not be joined in matrimony to CD,
Je déclare solennellement que moi, AB, je ne connais aucun empêchement légal à mon mariage avec CD,
and each of the parties shall say to the other:
I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, AB, do take you, CD, to be my lawful wedded wife (or to be my lawful wedded husband or to be my lawful wedded partner or to be my lawful wedded spouse),
Je demande aux personnes qui sont ici présentes d’être témoins que moi, AB, je prends CD comme légitime épouse (ou comme légitime époux ou comme partenaire conjugal légitime ou comme légitime conjoint(e)),
after which the person solemnizing the marriage shall say:
I, EF, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Marriage Act, do hereby pronounce you AB and CD to be married,
En vertu des pouvoirs qui me sont conférés par la Loi sur le mariage, moi, EF, je vous déclare mariés(ées), AB et CD.
I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, AB, may not be joined in matrimony to CD,
Je déclare solennellement que moi, AB, je ne connais aucun empêchement légal à mon mariage avec CD,
and each of the parties shall say to the other:
I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, AB, do take you, CD, to be my lawful wedded wife (or to be my lawful wedded husband or to be my lawful wedded partner or to be my lawful wedded spouse),
Je demande aux personnes qui sont ici présentes d’être témoins que moi, AB, je prends CD comme légitime épouse (ou comme légitime époux ou comme partenaire conjugal légitime ou comme légitime conjoint(e)),
after which the person solemnizing the marriage shall say:
I, EF, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Marriage Act, do hereby pronounce you AB and CD to be married,
En vertu des pouvoirs qui me sont conférés par la Loi sur le mariage, moi, EF, je vous déclare mariés(ées), AB et CD.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Last nights dinner
We had a friend over for dinner, the kind of friend that only ever makes sense. In celebration we went kind of all out on the food front. Here's the menu:
Steaks - Dead, happy animals, not factory farmed BS. BBQ'd to rare. Only problem was I got too much meat for two people to eat. Not everyone felt this was a problem.
Potato - Kind of scalloped, but without cheese or flour. Sliced and layered local, organic spuds with onion, minced Ontario garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and a dab of Becel in every layer. Potato ends saved for the top to keep in moisture. Put in an enamel cast iron pot with lid and baked at 300 for 40 min, then 400 for 20 min. This turned out very, very nicely and will happen again.
Alt salad - No idea where I was going with this one at first, but it seemed like it might be tastey. Fried up some onion and red bell peppers until they were soft (onion first, bell peppers much later) in Becel. Steamed one sliced, pitted pear, skin left on. Steamed some slices of scrubbed (but not skinned) beets. Served very hot - bed of peppers and onion topped with beets, topped with pear and finally goats cheese which melted just slightly into the pear and beet. Fucking awesome. Will be doing this one again for sure.
Other salad - Just torn up organic lettuce, poor bastard. It was breakfast this morning, no one paid it any heed last night.
Veg - Asparagus, cleaned and chopped, tossed with olive oil and fresh cracked salt and pepper, BBQ'd in a steel wok. Still crunchy when served, this might be my new favorite way to have asparagus.
Wine - Normally I drink red, but last nights guest drinks white so I had to go outside my comfort zone in shopping. I picked a low range bottle of Le Clos Jordanne Chardonnay, cousin to a higher range bottle that had beat out wines from all over the world in a competition last year. Oh my goodness, it was good. Buttery, round and full of life. It had character and stories to tell. It told us about sun splattered days and shenanigans at the vineyard and we were highly entertained.
Now, our guest had brought a bottle as well so we moved on to another Chardonnay from Niagara, Peller Estates. Normally quite a palatable wine it was unremarkable by comparison, a relative wallflower. This drastic side by side goes to show that you can’t judge a wine by it’s region, ever. There’s so much more that goes into making wine, and people who go on at me about there being no good Canadian wines? Have simply not met the right one. Le Clos Jordanne – or Jordy as we like to call her – is welcome back any time.
Steaks - Dead, happy animals, not factory farmed BS. BBQ'd to rare. Only problem was I got too much meat for two people to eat. Not everyone felt this was a problem.
Potato - Kind of scalloped, but without cheese or flour. Sliced and layered local, organic spuds with onion, minced Ontario garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and a dab of Becel in every layer. Potato ends saved for the top to keep in moisture. Put in an enamel cast iron pot with lid and baked at 300 for 40 min, then 400 for 20 min. This turned out very, very nicely and will happen again.
Alt salad - No idea where I was going with this one at first, but it seemed like it might be tastey. Fried up some onion and red bell peppers until they were soft (onion first, bell peppers much later) in Becel. Steamed one sliced, pitted pear, skin left on. Steamed some slices of scrubbed (but not skinned) beets. Served very hot - bed of peppers and onion topped with beets, topped with pear and finally goats cheese which melted just slightly into the pear and beet. Fucking awesome. Will be doing this one again for sure.
Other salad - Just torn up organic lettuce, poor bastard. It was breakfast this morning, no one paid it any heed last night.
Veg - Asparagus, cleaned and chopped, tossed with olive oil and fresh cracked salt and pepper, BBQ'd in a steel wok. Still crunchy when served, this might be my new favorite way to have asparagus.
Wine - Normally I drink red, but last nights guest drinks white so I had to go outside my comfort zone in shopping. I picked a low range bottle of Le Clos Jordanne Chardonnay, cousin to a higher range bottle that had beat out wines from all over the world in a competition last year. Oh my goodness, it was good. Buttery, round and full of life. It had character and stories to tell. It told us about sun splattered days and shenanigans at the vineyard and we were highly entertained.
Now, our guest had brought a bottle as well so we moved on to another Chardonnay from Niagara, Peller Estates. Normally quite a palatable wine it was unremarkable by comparison, a relative wallflower. This drastic side by side goes to show that you can’t judge a wine by it’s region, ever. There’s so much more that goes into making wine, and people who go on at me about there being no good Canadian wines? Have simply not met the right one. Le Clos Jordanne – or Jordy as we like to call her – is welcome back any time.
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