OK, Here’s a visual

Lately words have failed me.  So I thought I’d post a little montage of the pictures that have been in my mind over the last week.  This represents the goings on over a two-day period – the day before and the day of - the wedding.  Right now, K and S are in Las Vegas enjoying laying out by the pool and destressing from the prior weeks.  I know Kris has told us she’s so glad it’s all over.  The wedding was a lot of fun, but it did take a lot of planning and a lot of work on Kris and Sonny’s part – and the part of a lot of others, not the least of which was DH.  I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as he did to get our home up to a visit from relatives! The best part was the team of people who came in and did the heavy duty cleaning neither of us had the time to do – even with a week off from work. 

Anyway, it was a boiling hot day – and so humid, that my reading glasses steamed up when I stepped outside to take a few photographs.  Even the lens on my camera steamed up – hence the somewhat foggy view of Kris with her Gavigan/Lefkowitz bridesmaids and flower girls at the house.

My poor Dad had a tough time, with the heat and lack of sleep, but he rallied and it was sooo good to see him and Maureen.  Six of John’s seven surviving sibs came, along with spouses – and when his SIL Jackie arrived, I knew the party had STARTED!!!

John had the foresight to get a bus for everyone to get from the reception place to the wedding down in Adelphi – an air-conditioned bus, a handicapped accessible bus! JoAnna went early to Panera and bought sandwiches (she also prepped them) along with coffee and danish for the morning crowd.  John and Donald put together three coolers with snacks and soda and water and….well, special water for whoever had the desire and was not in a recovery program (JUST KIDDING).  Thus armed, we made our way to the wedding.

The ceremony was delightful, me joyfully striding down the aisle on the arm of our son, D, and DH barely holding back the tears as he walked K down the aisle (not enough room for us both to do it, unfortunately – but that’s oK, I had flower girl duties – as in bribing them with cheerios to keep them quiet once seated  – in the meantime).

It took a few minutes for the couple to realize we had not been told to be seated, which made us all laugh – we weren’t even paying attention, either, LOL!  The ceremony was quick, with fairly traditional vows exchanged and a reading from 1 Cor 13 – my favorite:) Then a receiving line and pictures.

Then the long drive back to the reception which was a lot of fun.  K and S danced to something I didn’t recognize, but it was sweet.  DH and K danced to “Landslide” (Stevie Nicks), S and his mom danced to “Sunrise, Sunset”(Fiddler on the Roof), and John and I danced to “Never My Love” (Association) – the song we danced to at our wedding.

The bride and groom asked people to tell them their favorite song in their responses to the wedding invitation.  They got what they could find and downloaded the music, then played it at the reception.  It was really cool.

The high point of the evening musically for me was getting up and dancing with my kids, my sisters-in-law, granddaughters, and all the other women in the family, singing “We are Family” by Sister Sledge – and also “Don’t stop Believing” by Journey – apparently my kids’ favorite karaoke song (they didn’t know it was also mine and about lost their respective lunches – heh heh heh…).

And in the middle of all the hubbub, I heard “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64″ (Beatles) and couldn’t help but wonder if Mrs. S. sent that one in…..:)

Later that evening, we had a little get together with John’s sibs and my dad and stepmom back at the house. We all crashed along with the thunder and lightening of the storm that finally invaded after the festivities were over. It was a glorious day.

The next morning I had bells and choir (bells and yells?).  Normally, I would have missed if Nancy could have substituted someone for me, but this was her 20th anniversary at SJEC and there was no way I was missing that! She was well and truly surprised and now I can say that the choir was practicing secretly at SJEC when she was on vacation at the end of May and at St. Peter’s down the street, thanks to Tom H., their organist.  It was Tom who also did the postlude at the two morning services so Nancy could meet and greet after the service.  The funny part was trying to figure out how to get her DH there without tipping him off. Tom’s wife, Donna called him on some pretext or other, but got him there.

The choir sang O Nata Lux, conducted by Barry.  She seemed pleased.  I wouldn’t have missed that for anything.:)

Afterwards, I slipped over to Baltimore and joined the rest of the family at brunch, drove Dad and Maureen to the train station and then home. 

Monday was a day off from work and boy did I need it.  Tuesday was catching up on paperwork and today I got ready for court.  The weather finally cooled down to the 80s and I HAD TO TURN DOWN A WALK – a much needed walk – WITH NANCY! DAMN~ I was just too far behind at work.

However, tomorrow I have court and then rehearsal at the Baltimore Cathedral for the new Bishop’s consecration at the end of the month.  That will be fun.

Oh, and another funny thing: I’m the substitute drummer for the musicians supporting the Bethesda Little Theater’s broadway review. Danny has let me borrow his drums.  I’d better not lose so much as a bolt. But What a hoot!!! It’s exhausting dragging the drums around, but it is fun! And I didn’t do too badly:)  Well, not that badly… well, they didn’t fire me, LOL!

Well, I’m going to go have some dinner.  It’s got to be low-carb because my butt has gotten huge with virtually giving up this winter and then the wedding and pre-wedding eating and drinking.  So far, I’ve been behaving this week.  But I’ve got a lot of catching up to do there also. 

Ah well, such is life!

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Stash Enhancement

Some stuff came from KnitPicks today – and one of my LYS’s had a sale:

No time to write – on my way to K’s graduation.  Our first to get a Bachelors – and in the Honor Society.  I am so proud of her – she earned it herself!  And it’s such a beautiful day today after what felt like weeks of rain:)

 

I’m off to see the Wizard

Well, that’s what I usually say when I’m headed for court. No wonder I represent children, LOL! Since last we left each other, dear Reader (all 2 of you, LOL), I was headed for a shelter. What a mess yesterday was – had to get a colleague to cover the shelter and he was none too pleased. It got held over and so of course bumped up into the deposition that I absolutely had to attend. A deposition is the taking of testimony outside of the courtroom. There is always a court reporter and in this case, a videographer. The reason for the deposition is that the witness is in her ninth month of pregnancy and will very possibly be in the midst of childbirth or just recovering when the trial date hits. She did very well.

After work, I got back and decided, even though it was a air-as-thick-as-pudding day, that I would go for a walk. I did. It was relatively brief, but it’s funny. I get kind of blue if I don’t get out and move – get the heart and lungs going. I felt so much better after I was done. Sometimes walking outside with nature is a great way to clear the lungs – and the mind.

When I got home, I showered, changed and went to my very first Knitting Meetup at our local Borders. It was fun and I got a lot of knitting on the Cables and Os sweater from No Sheep For You. I had to take a break from the shawl, but will get back to it today when I return from court. It will hopefully be a light day.

It doesn’t appear to be much progress, but when you consider it’s 384 stitches and size 2 needles, it takes a while, LOL:)

I’m glad it’s a short day in court. I owe my family some serious cleaning time. Then I’m going to get in another walk in the early evening when it’s not so hot and sticky (provided we don’t have a thunderstorm, although we seriously need one!).

Well, I’m off to see the wizard…..+

 

Oh Man… And I coulda had a V8!

Apparently I have “gay hands.” Man! After 30 years of marriage and six kids, I’ve been doing it all wrong! Geez Louise! I should have been another ALF. Little did I know:) Note the ring finger is ever so much longer than the index finger. Well now I’m showing my total lack of experience and sophistication! That’s OK, just don’t tell John. He’d be laughing as hard as I am.

C’est la vie!

Today, I overslept big time! I was supposed to be at church, vested and ready for rehearsal before the service by 8:30 AM. Service started at 9. I was there at 9:15. Oy! Well, at least I made it in time for the psalm. Nancy was probably thinking about the organ concert today, so if she was annoyed, she didn’t show it. I was so embarassed – good thing I’m not one of the good singers, LOL!
After church, I did my usual run to pick up the Sun and the New York Times. It had been drizzling a little and the sun came out – so the first thing that greeted me at the traffic light from St. John’s Lane to Rte 40 was a rainbow! Hope you can see it in these pictures. The second one is in the parking lot of the shopping center where I get my papers.

 

It’s faint, but you can make it out – probably better in the second one.

Knitting – well one of the reasons I was up far too late on Saturday was to (1) finish that sock yarn scarf I’ve been working on, (2) finish the second scarf (this one for my boss), and (3) start on a knitting blankie for our newest great niece. #1 got finished last night – needs to be blocked, though. I finished the eyelash scarf and didn’t do much on #2, but I did start the blankie. Here are pics:

One sock yarn scarf in dire need of blocking and finishing;

Scarf for the boss needs to be finished;

Eyelash Scarf completed;

And baby blankie begun. It’s in cotton – fair isle pattern from Dale of Norway (sweater adapted to blanket – they live in San Diego and by the time the sweater would be done, she’d be a toddler, LOL:) ) Colors to the right are more accurate, if duller than the original.

Well I was treated to the “fugue” part of this blog yesterday afternoon. After church – and attempting to cook dinner early (disaster!) I went to St. Peter’s Church for their organ dedication. Tom H., one of our choir members and an organ builder/composer extraordinaire, and whose wife, Donna, has a lovely soprano voice, repaired – or more accurately stated – rebuilt – their pipe organ. Nancy S., our music director/choirmaster/ and concert organist, put together a beautiful concert in honor of the occasion. The little church was packed and it was oh-so-warm (in January!!!). But the music was transforming. How awesome it must have been for Tom to see his work of art creating other works of art! The Rector of St. Peter’s commented that the music took him to another place and time. It did the same for me. I found myself meditating on being in God’s presence. My experience was woven in and out of the music, like I was there and not there at the same time. Words don’t adequately express the experience I had. The past few months have been difficult for me emotionally and spiritually. I have had so many questions about life, death, love, you name it. What I took away with me was this: Love is Eternal. Pain, sin, hatred and death fall away and in the end you are left with one thing: Love. The love you left with others, the love you give today and the love you have always received. That must be what Paul meant when he was penning 1 Cor 13. All that from an organ concert!

There was a couple there -Dick and Sally if you can believe it – and Dick is from WI- so I introduced them to Rennie, Nancy’s husband. There were going to try to meet up with her at the reception afterwards. I had to leave immediately afterwards in hopes of Sunday dinner with the family. Unfortunately, the chicken I attempted to slow-cook turned out AWFUL. It smelled great, but was far too dry for human consumption – at least the white meat was and that’s all my gang will eat (except me).

Oh well, life goes on:)

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. We remember a man who confronted racism and bigotry with the mind of Christ. And now his beloved Coretta has joined him in Heaven. Let freedom ring! I slept in a little this morning. My goals are to keep on keeping on – by starting off with a walk, catching up on the wash, cleaning up the mess that is my desk, updating calendars and organizing work so I know what I’m up against, LOL.

And this evening is a Music Committee Meeting.

That oughta hold me until tomorrow – meeting with the boss and then court.

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A Terminal Case of Cute or ‘Nothing You Could Do Could Make Me Untrue To My Guys…."

“The Christian religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any reasonable person without one. Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its veracity; and whoever is moved by faith to assent to it, is conscious of a continued miracle in his/her own person, which subverts all the principles of his understanding and gives him/her a determination to believe what is most contrary to custom and experience.”

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding “Of Miracles” (1748, edited to remove the sexist use of pronouns)

With the exception of the first picture, some of the above are so funny – they’re logos from another blog: gracenotes over at livejournal.com. I especially love the “f you.” No, the sentiment isn’t exactly sweetness and light, but it cracks me up.

Well, Christmas was lovely. I am sort of kind of taking the day off today, since we had no shelter hearings today and there is really no reason to go into the office.

Dori took amazing photos of the grandbabies and framed them. We now have four lovely professionally done photos of our two granddaughters. Where to hang the pics? Decisions, decisions, but we think in the playroom-which-was-supposed-to-be-a-dining-room area makes sense. A preview of one of the photos is at the top of this entry.

Three of my kids got me a portable GPS system which will come in VERY handy while doing client visits. And yes, it talks to me. How disturbing…. Two of my other kids got me really interesting books, one of which provided the quote you see here today at the top of this post. John got me some cool gifts, one of which was a “regifting” from a customer at the Center Club, unlike John, a fellow Democrat. It is a keychain that gives you the countdown for Bush’s time in office. Kind of like the one you see on the sidebar of this blog, LOL. Also a DVD called “WordPlay” with an accompanying workbook about crossword puzzles. I am in hog heaven:). That and the cool corkscrew set really shows John’s got my number, LOL:)

John got the usual cologne and a few goodies from Restoration Hardware from me. The kids got him a photo printer. He’s not one to view things online – wants to frame and hang up his photos like a normal person:)

The grandchildren were overwhelmed by the time they had to get to their daddy’s house, but this morning, they briefly stopped by for a visit to collect a lot of their “stuff” and they seemed a lot better rested.

As was Grandma. I’ve started to finish that huge sweater for my son, Danny – it could fit him and his wife together, but he wants it anyway. Hmmmm…. they are newlyweds. Not going there, LOL

Well, Nigella Feasts is running for the 110th time on the DVR thingie, so I better get going. And I may just take another look at the Knitty Gritty episode on steaking.

Hope you all are enjoying your holiday:)

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