A going-away/birthday party

Just a mere two weeks ago (though it feels like months now!) was both Jeremi's birthday and the date of my going-away party. With our living room full of boxes for shipping it wasn't the best time to throw a party at our house, and we didn't really want to spend our last weekend together cleaning up. So instead we opted to invite everyone to the neighbourhood pub, formerly the George and Dragon, and recently re-opened as The Fernwood Inn. Not only is it a mere stumbling distance from our place, it's actually not a bad place to hang out. I was worried they fixed it up a little too much (I worry about the gentrification of the most affordable neighbourhood in Victoria proper), but I'm sure that time will give it patina of spilt beer that will make it feel more comfortable for the likes of me.

The party was a wild success, we more than filled the 30 seats we reserved for, and we had a really good time. There was a band in the room we were in, an enjoyable bluegrassish/blues trio of double bass, guitar (and sometimes fiddle and harmonica) and drums. Add to that a set of standards à la The Commitments sung by one of the waitresses, and it was definitely a crowd-pleaser. Here's a selection of a few pictures from that night.

Oh, and in that last picture, Jeremi's shooting a mudslide (a shotglass filled with booze is nestled inside a large glass filled with whipped cream, and of course he can't use his hands - very messy with a beard).