We is married

Adrian and Rebecca Kramer now exist. YAY!!

We are at Bec's parents for Thanksgiving Day and will go to our B+B this evening for the first part of our honeymoon.

The day was perfect: the service was wonderful, the rain stopped early in the day to make the photos great and reception was lots of fun. This morning there was the lightest snow falling as we drove to church.

We are both tired but really, really happy.

A & R Kramer

The build up

What joy it is to be here in Ontario with my darling Rebecca. Long plane flights are not my preferred way of spending time, but they are worth every minute to see my Bec.

The last few things that need to be done before the wedding have come together nicely and the weather today is sunny. The forecast for snow on Saturday has been changed to Sunday. What a tragedy it would be if we were snowed in on our honeymoon! As long as we make our flight on Wednesday.

God's blessings

Adrian

I'm on my way...

'I'm on my way from misery to happiness...' tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon I begin my trip to Canada by going to Kalgoorlie to preach on Sunday. After the service I will fly to Adelaide, stay the night and leave for Canada Monday morning arriving in beloved's arms on Tuesday at 6:11am.

Ain't life grand.

This time next week...

This time next week I will be in the arms of my beloved. Ontario is 12 hours behind WA time and I will be landing in Toronto at 6:11am. So, by this time, 7:30, I should be through customs and reunited with Rebecca.

I love you Becca. Not long now.

God's blessing to you all.

-Adrian

Guess who?

Yes, that is me. I have had my glasses for a couple of weeks now and they are doing a great job. The people in church don't look like they left home without combing their hair. They are no longer fuzzy, but clear.

I am very busy at the moment getting everything ready for while I am away and doing the last few things for the wedding. We have waited so long and now it is so close. Only 15 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes until we are married.

Our new shower and bathroom.

The family room and kitchen during the sanding back.

Hello from the future Mrs

Howdy all! I'm guest blogging for Adrian today.

I've made it back to Ontario from BC. The trip was long and eventful and long. Lots of coffee and salads, fun with friends & family and pictures of dirty windscreens. Oh, did I mention it was long? I drove the 5000 km home in 2 weeks. I took my time for the most part, seeing old roommates and homes. I spent a week of my trip with my brother and his family. I got to go to a good friend (and colleague)'s wedding. And though the trip was tiring (who ever sleeps well on the road?), it was wonderful. My sister Tracey kept me company and sane during the last two days where we covered over 2000 km of the trip. There are a million memories and highlights from a trip like that, especially being out of the car!

Since being back, I've raced around peculiarly humid southern Ontario doing this, that and the other thing - all in the name of wedding planning. We're counting down the days til we get to be together, not to say goodbye again.

Hope you're all doing - sorry - going well.
Rebecca

On the move again

Things have been quiet on the building front for the last 3 weeks. However, today the gyp-rockers/plasterers/drywallers arrived and things are on the move again.

Considering the poor health of the dining room ceiling, it was decided it should come down, and it did, along with a pile of dirt. Not to worry, the job is forward.

Will it be done by October 21 when my beloved and I return from Canada?

The things you read about

In breaking news...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/22/2633243.htm

I think the police should be checking all Canadian citizens to see if they have bought a rock off the back of a truck lately. Or maybe someone was looking for cheap paper weights in the economic downturn!

Sweep hard my friends, EH!

100 days to go!

In 100 days and 13 hours I will meet my darling Rebecca at Faith Desboro and we will be joined together as husband and wife. When we were engaged in January, October 10 seemed so far away and now it is only a couple of months off. 

We still need to get some things done but the big items are taken care of.

PS: Happy Canada Day!

The renos

The house is coming along nicely. The patio is up, new roof is on, the walls and roof of the on suite are done, the garage floor is in and as you can see the wall is going up. Yes, the new and old bricks don't match, they don't have to, the walls will be rendered.

My Wednesday night

humiliation - make (someone) feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and self-respect, esp. publicly.

tennis - a game in which two or four players strike a ball with rackets over a net stretched across a court. 

Guess what I did this evening? Yep. Play tennis. 

Well in the first game my actions could best be described as 'holding a racquet.' 6-1

The second game was better. My 'over the net and within the white lines' count reached double figures. 6-2

In the third game I hit my straps and we put up a good fight. 6-5 

Although the night started dismally I ended up recovering some pride. 

An en suite

The digging seems to have stopped and things are going up. The en suite has a shape. I thought about trying out the shower with a bucket in a string, but for the sake of modesty and my neighbors eyesight (possible blinding) I gave it a miss.

My recent excursion

While the excitement of the renovations continue (more photos soon), that fades away compared to the joy of spending 9 glorious days in Canada with my wonderful fiancee Rebecca. On top of getting lots of wedding planning done we enjoyed fantastic Sushi, beautiful sunsets, the stunning Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island and the finest company of close friends and family. 

The highlight was being able to hold Rebecca and speak to her without having to dial a number. Needless to say the 2:30 am farewell at the airport was not fun, but the next time we meet it will be for good. No more good byes! Yay

I love you Rebecca.

Excited!!

The renovation is underway. Last week the boys moved in and dug the foundations for the builder to make a start. The hole on the left is where the on-suite will go, the garage will be at the street end of the sand pit and the patio will go between the garage and this end of the sand pit. 

New toy

Since being in the parish I have been a bit of a lazy bum and have not spent much time exercising. So to fix that problem I bought a bike, a Giant Upland. I realize that buying the bike does nothing to increase how much I exercise, so i walked the 20 mins down town and rode it back, and I plan to ride it regularly.  Now it has been a while since I rode a bike so the experience was interesting, but good. I am surprised how much peddling is required to keep the machine moving forward; aluminum and rubber is surprisingly heavy. Also, I am more accustom to the performance of my Yamaha WRF 400's 65 horse power and not a bicycle powered by a single ass. 

And in case you are wondering, no I don't need to loose weight for the wedding.

Changes

The renovations have begun

This view from the side of the manse shows that the carport and patio have been taken down. The wall with the glass door in it is going to be taken out and a new wall put up on the edge of the raised concrete pad. This will be the dining/family room. The brick garage will go where the car is and the new patio run from the back of the garage 11m into the yard. I have been busily moving plants I want to keep: daffodils, agapanthus, cannas, a small grape fruit tree and roses have been relocated, and so far they are all looking well. 

I have been doing some renovations of my own in the backyard to make room for a raised vege garden. No, I'm not becoming Peter Cundall but I do what a good vege garden.

Cheers, Adrian

The big smoke

Today I got back from spending a week in the city. I travelled the 8 hours to Perth last Monday and spent Tuesday finding a place to have my camera serviced, checking out the city centre for a while and looking through furniture shops for a tv chair. I came back chairless. It seems that my taste in chairs cannot be satisfied, except for lots of money. This is what I would love, but i cannot find. 

Wednesday to Friday I spent at my first pastor's conference. My brother's over here are a great bunch of pastor's and I'm looking forward to the next time we get together. Friday night to Sunday we had the WA district Convention at Duncraig. I don't usually find meetings the most interesting place to spend time, but I enjoyed getting to know more people over here and they loved meeting the new pastor. Last night I spent in Katanning at the Pukallus' (the new pastor and his family) and got back at 2pm this afternoon. 

I'm tired, excited and happy to be home after a week away. How about that, Esperance is home.

The whitest beaches

Many a beachside town in Australia may claim to have the whitest beaches in the country but only one beach can claim that title. Lucky Bay near Esperance is the current title holder (click to read article), and much to the disappointment of Queenslanders. 

When I visited Lucky Bay I met some 'unlucky', most probably silly, jet-skiers who didn't know much about the dangers of backing into the surf. YAY for the ever vigilant and helpful Esperance fire brigade. I wonder if they gave the fireman a donation, after all, a tow would have been a lot cheaper than a new van.

Our fishing trip

Over the summer break Brenton, Shirley, Mark and I went fishing for a few days just north of Kingston, South Australia. While we caught quiet a few fish they were all were too small. Jewfish have to be 80cm to keep. The wind was the worst part. One afternoon we got back to the tent to find 5mm of sand on my pillow. All the same, we had a great time in a beautiful place.

Adrian

Those fires

The recent bush fires in Victoria have shaken us all. The loss of life is tragic and unseen in our history. For those who don't know Victoria so well my family are not in those areas burnt by Saturday's fires. 

While we are helpless to restore lives lost, the LCA has launched an appeal to raise funds for those left with nothing but the clothes they wear. We can also pray for the victims who have lost family, friends, property and their community. God is not silent in these times, he speaks through his children who offer any help we can.

Grace and peace to you all.

-Adrian

The first week

First, sorry about the lack of news. 

Second, I love WA! The people are great, the beaches are amazing and weather is beaut. Sure Rebecca is now even further away, but the phone doesn't know the difference.

All considered, I think I will stay for a while.

God's blessings to you and thanks for the best wishes for Rebecca and I.

We are engaged

I recently asked Rebecca to marry me and she said yes. 

It is amazing what a diamond ring and a waterfall can do.