and things went downhill from there

In theory, I am supposed to be working. Well, in my mind writing posts to LJ is kind of like work.

I meant to mention in my previous post that time does not appear to be progressing in a linear fashion, or at least not as it applies to my marriage. To the surprise of both of us, atara and I celebrated thirteen full years of wedded bliss yesterday. She asked me how it was working out for me, but seemed a bit put off by my answer, of "So far, so good..."

It has occurred to me that I may not be much of a romantic.



This picture was posted over the urinal in the restaurant where we had dinner last night. I usually avoid using the flash on my phone, but the lighting in the restaurant washroom was so dingy, I could not get a clear shot of the picture without it. At first I was annoyed by the flare from the flash, but once I was done processing the shot in Snapseed, I decided that I like the effect.

The reason why this picture caught my eye was its location over the urinal, and the curious grip employed by the female hand gripping a disturbingly phallic glass. My first thought was, "That's not suggestive at all..."

Speaking of things that have eluded me over the years, as I was out for a walk earlier this week, it suddenly struck me that the tile of Led Zeppelin's album In Through The Out Door might just be an allusion to butt sex.

Just over seven years ago, my fiancée and I were seriously toying with the idea of running off to Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator. Six years ago today we got married at a modest ceremony in a small church in front of friends and family.

Today we celebrated the anniversary of that event with dinner in a small Winnipeg restaurant. I won't go into a detailed review of the restaurant, but we both gave it enthusiastic thumbs up as we left. Although reservations are not required, they are recommended -- and once we saw the size of the dining room I was glad that I called ahead and booked us space.

It was an interesting dining experience on many levels. While the menu definitely leaned toward the fancy end of the scale, the atmosphere was loud and friendly (atara likened it to a roadside diner). On the other hand the serving staff were extremely attentive, topping up wine and water glasses, and swapping out silverware between courses. We didn't have a set person serving our table, rather the staff seemed to trade off with each other seamlessly as needed.

They have an extensive, all-Canadian wine list. Some of your more snobbish wine connoisseurs might be put off by that, but I have long been a fan of our domestic products (though that does not stop me from drinking my share of imports). We settled on an agreeable 2004 Cabernet-Merlot from the Okanagan since we were both ordering red meats. I had the bison ribs, and atara had the Minnedosa elk (you can scan their on-line menu for more details). For both of us the highlight and (and lowlight) of the meal were the appetizers. We ordered Proscuito and asparagus stuffed spring rolls with organic sesame seeds and sweet lemon ginger dip - which were good, but would have been nigh indistinguishable from any other spring rolls if we hadn't seen the ingredient list. The other appetizer was White truffle perogies with duck sausage and walnut cream which were amazing. This dish was so good that we both agreed that it really belongs on the entrée list.



Your turn to pick again next year, love.