"Pretty" Amazing Woodturning Date Night

We had an amazing date day on Saturday!  Ed and Arlene Pretty made our date so special and amazing!  First they opened their home to us and we saw amazing works of art, we got to know each other and hear about the art of woodturning for art's sake.  Their website is here and check out the pieces....http://www.edswoodturning.com/.  We think we could have talked for hours about wood; getting to know Ed and Arlene was so natural and it felt as though we were chatting with old friends. 

We headed out to the work shop, where Ed showed us the wood lathes, the tools we would use and the safety equipment we would wear.  I had to admit I was a tad nervous, me being accident prone and all, however I was game.

So here's some pics...

Before: one big block of wood.  We got to practice on other wood first before turning our hands to these pieces. 

We learned that woodturning isn't just for functional pieces; it's for art work.  And art work isn't just for walls, it's for counters, mantles, tops of pianos....you name it!  The next time you go to an art gallery, don't just look at the walls, look at all the pieces of art. 

During:  woodturning's intense...you get lost in it.  It felt as though it was just minutes but hours went by as we learned the basics of woodturning from an artist with great passion.

After:  yes, we made these!  How can artists possibly discount the great works of art woodturners create. 

Ed and Arlene, we can't thank you enough for your kindness, your knowledge, your enthusiasm and your friendship.  It's amazing how small this world is eh?! 

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you both.   PJ should be calling you about buying a wood lathe soon.  :)   I believe we've found an art form we love.

The hangover was brutal but we had fun!

The weather was gorgeous here this weekend and so on Saturday we cleaned up the BBQ, bought new cushions for the outdoor furniture, normal stuff really.  I was heading out for a hair appointment and PJ suggested a date night BBQ...awesome idea!  How to turn a BBQ into a date night?  ...you guessed it...banana bread beer.

It was wonderful evening, the burgers were excellent, the wine and beer were flowing and we got our buzz on.  Once the sun went down, we watched the movie, "Silver Lining Playbook".  It was really good...I think.  Granted we were both a wee bit buzzed, me on my organic wine and PJ on, well, banana bread. 

 

This morning was a little rough.  The dog was up at 5:00 AM as usual, breathing heavy and demanding breakfast.  By the time I downed two coffees, the headache was receding. After a rather knarly walk, a hot bag to the eyes, copious amounts of water and a nap, we were both fit to start studying and back to our workout routines.

 

Impromptu dates are fun. The simple act of just being together was really nice.

 

Stay tuned for more as we are woodturning in early June!  Ed came through and we're both very excited.  And for that one, we're staying sober!  *hic*



Memory(ies)....We're not THAT old!

HELP!

Do you know, we'll be celebrating our anniversary this month?  Are we the only people who actually couldn't remember how many years or what year we actually got married in?  Oops.  Thank God we BOTH couldn't remember.    Imagine us sitting there counting on fingers, scratching our heads, looking blankly at each other and deciding we better pull out our photo album and look at the date.  Should we know?  Do others?  Feeling slightly embarassed but laughing at the same time.  We DO remember actually getting married, so we're not THAT old!  But still....!

And planning date night is not going smoothly. I have to admit this is the first month where I have struggled to pull off a date idea.  It seems whatever ideas I have they aren't flowing.  I'm a great believer in what flows is meant to be so I'm trying to figure out what's going on. 

I contacted a local artist, to see if we could have a woodturning session.  He's quite swamped with an upcoming art show but has promised that we can get time with him when he can swing it.  Whatever he does, we'll appreciate it for sure.  But I need a back up plan!

I'm going to need some ideas, so I'm putting it out there to get some comments.  What have you done for dates lately?  Do I combine anniversary and date night or keep them separate? 

I'm not giving up, we're GOING on a date this month.  And we're going to have fun.  :)

The Power of Veto!

Hey, is that allowed?

This is a first for us...using the power of veto on a date idea.  I'm not sure that this should be allowed...hmmm.

Planning for May, for some reason, has been a struggle.  Maybe it's because it's Spring, maybe it's because I have so many ideas bumbling around in my head and the Pandora's box has been opened.

So, here was my idea...singing!  Yup.  But not just singing, getting a little lesson on a song we both loved and then going to Blue Frog Studios to tape our foray into the vocal art world and have something to keep for prosterity. 

My husband is terrified.  So much so, he evoked the power of veto.  Huh.  Although this would be a fun idea for some people our date nights are not meant to scare, intimidate or cause us to curl up like an possum and play dead. 

I learnt something about PJ today. He has a great singing voice but he doesn't wish to share it.  I get that.  I respect that and him for saying something.  And, in honesty, I feel like we had an extra date night because of our discussion and getting to know something about each other we didn't know before. 

I'm proud of PJ.  For being open and honest, for saying how he felt in a way that honoured me but looked after him. 

Am I disappointed?  Nope, because there's more ideas rolling around to choose from. And this idea, well, here's a hint...

May is on its Way

well not quite yet, but it's time to plan May's date night. 

Hmm.  I have so many ideas. 

May is so busy.  There's birthdays, anniversaries, a long weekend.  But I want to make our date night stand out and be special rather than roll it into the other events.

Should I pick plan A or plan B?  A is outside and weather dependent but FUN. B is inside but equally fun.  Hmm. 

What would PJ like? It has to be fun, around 2 hours long, something we can experience but not "master". 

Stay tuned...I'm leaning towards B.

Boston Marathon

PJ and I are still in shock about the events surrounding the Boston Marathon. It has struck a cord with us because we have attended races before, both participating in them and cheering from the sidelines, experiencing the joy and exhilaration of the moment.  Being a part of the action, being there to support our family and friends as they achieve their greatness.  To see the devastation of bombs going off at such an event saddens us.  To hear of families' losses and people's injuries is tragic. We question why? and we don't have answers.

We watch the footage and within this shock and devastation we had to find a glimmer of hope; we saw love.  Love of the first responders, love of volunteers, love of passers by.  Evil will not win, cannot win. Love trumps all and brings hope and brings peace, even if right now it's a glimmer.

We send our prayers of love and peace to all of the families, we send prayers of thankfulness to those who gave selflessly to others and we send prayers of strength to those that are bringing justice to this event.

This event reminds us once again how truly important our loved ones are to us.  We took a moment to hug, to look in each other's eyes and say how much we appreciate and love each other.  We are thankful for our dates, our memories and our times together and hope others can cling to their moments as well. 

Peace be with you.

A Little History...

Hi again,

Our date nights started when in a very short space of time, I lost a great friend to obesity, another friend is passing away from cancer and my father found out he had cancer as well.   PJ already had lost both parents to cancer.  It stopped us in our tracks. Were we taking our lives and relationship for granted?

We met 6 years ago, online.  My friend signed me up on a dating site and conveniently neglected to let me know. PJ signed up to play a joke on a friend and this site ended up matching us up.  As you can imagine, my friend Mary had to tell me that this amazing guy had emailed me and wanted to chat.  I was SO embarrassed but once we got talking, it was as though we had always known each other.  A year later we were married and we've been married for 4 years.

We both work full time and PJ is completing his Masters and I'm completing my diploma so life is busy.  We go out for dinner and walks but it's always the same places and life has started to be, well, consistent. We can't go away as we have a special needs dog.. more on him later.

It was my parents (who have been married for 54 years) that gave us a gift at Christmas....a date.  They felt we should be spending time together, quality time.  So, we took it a step further...

Here's the details:

• I organize one month, and PJ the next. 
• It's a secret for awhile, the other person can ask questions and guess.  We have to say when/if they guess correctly. 
• If the other person doesn't guess, then we can tell them a few days or hours before the event.  We realized anticipation is a necessary part of the fun.
• We cannot repeat an activity or experience.
• We cannot go to the same restaurant, we have to try new ones.

So far we have

• January - shooting at a gun range (me)
• February - a night time owl prowl (PJ)
• March - glass blowing lessons (me)
• April - night at the theatre on Manet's art and then private painting lessons (PJ)
• May -me...stay tuned for hints and guesses

I am attaching a BBC 2 minute video that I just watched.  It is truly the essence of our date nights.  It's a wonderful world that we live in, and when we share it with someone we love we get outside of the everyday issue and problems, work and school and connect with each other.  I hope you enjoy it.
www.youtube.com/embed/auSo1MyWf8g?rel=0