Weekend at Oka and stuff

The little gathering Thursday night was nice... mostly Châteauguay Valley people, but some city dwellers too, and lots of chatting, food, drink and generally kicking around. The place is starting to feel like my own, and is getting quite comfortable. I hope I can stay for a while, and throw the occasional small bash (so all is not lost, ye who missed it and know who you are — I'd still love to have you down, jointly or severally, sometime soon).

I went to Oka Provinvial Park this weekend with Elizabeth. It was a fun, relaxing trip.

We set out Friday afternoon, four thirtyish or so( ... )

Sunday, we bicycled the whole way back through Deux-Montagnes, Laval and bits of Montreal, about 70km, stopping for an Indian feast at Pushap. Saw Elizabeth off at Atwater, made it home, unpacked some stuff, let my folks know I was alive, and then loupdebois turned up for some impromptu beer, snacks and chatting. Went to bed pleasantly tired.

I'm so happy and lucky to be able to share this kind of experience with someone who I love that also gets it. Happy to get away from it all, keep my watch out of sight, live pretty simply and have a big stretch of time to enjoy the fresh air and the company. Didn't think to take many photos, but here are a couple.

( Photos! )

This week, some work, some bike repairs (a couple of front spokes went on the trip as my bike mechanic had predicted -- time to get those fixed before they become a big issue), and then off to Oakville with my folks to celebrate the marriage of my cousin. It should be fun, pretty serious and religious (they're both church youth leader-ish types) but not too serious (this is my family here, and my dad's probably been practising his ukulele extra-hard for next weekend).