Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Ruttsville
It's still hot here in rural Kansas. The corn isn't quite as high as an elephant's eye, and we can all tip our hats off to the drought for that. We had a hay man come and cut the grass in our pasture. He noticed that we no longer have hayburning equines out there, and he stopped me one day on one of my lengthy walks (7.5 miles) down the road. Sad state of drought affairs, most of what is out in the pasture to bale as hay is only weeds. And he only managed to eek out 2.5 round bales off the lot. That's not much weedy hay for all the labor put into making hay while the 100º sun shines.
That Spouse o' Mine just poked his head into the study: bike helmet, sunglasses, and face glowing from freshly-applied sunscreen. He's off on a group ride, approximately 25 miles. I exclaimed as I have done every Tuesday this whole summer, I think, "Oh! It's Tuesday! I forgot."
I am living in Ruttsville.
It's too hot to do anything (unless you consider having a wedding in the mountains), and my waking hours and daylight hours, and then hot evening hours are all running together like Edvard Munch's The Scream:
Here are two things - nay, three things which seem to be thriving in Corny-Kansas-in-August:
Datura (Angels' Trumpets)
Tomatoes. Last week's haul: ~ 100. That's the work of a Darwinian Garden in a drought:
And wind. Windy, wind-wind-wind. At least we can harness it for our benefit.
And there you have it. A tired soul, fatigued from wind and heat and dust and heat and heat and...
Oh. I am repeating myself.
Ruttsville.
Gotta climb out, somehow...
That Spouse o' Mine just poked his head into the study: bike helmet, sunglasses, and face glowing from freshly-applied sunscreen. He's off on a group ride, approximately 25 miles. I exclaimed as I have done every Tuesday this whole summer, I think, "Oh! It's Tuesday! I forgot."
I am living in Ruttsville.
It's too hot to do anything (unless you consider having a wedding in the mountains), and my waking hours and daylight hours, and then hot evening hours are all running together like Edvard Munch's The Scream:
Datura (Angels' Trumpets)
Tomatoes. Last week's haul: ~ 100. That's the work of a Darwinian Garden in a drought:
And wind. Windy, wind-wind-wind. At least we can harness it for our benefit.
Oh. I am repeating myself.
Ruttsville.
Gotta climb out, somehow...
Monday, August 06, 2012
Handiwork
I don't collect things. Well, I should qualify that - having done battle this afternoon with an army of giant dust bunnies.
I don't actively collect items. If there is anything in my household which might be construed as a collection, it might be my library of cookbooks. But I never went out and sought to build a cookbook information center. It just happened over the course of a few decades.
There is something I appreciate, and enjoy having in my household. I don't go out in pursuit of linens and beautiful handiwork, but if I find old pieces, tatted, crocheted, and stitched, I love to add them to MY household. And I use them, too; no tucking away in the dark old linen closet!
I don't actively collect items. If there is anything in my household which might be construed as a collection, it might be my library of cookbooks. But I never went out and sought to build a cookbook information center. It just happened over the course of a few decades.
There is something I appreciate, and enjoy having in my household. I don't go out in pursuit of linens and beautiful handiwork, but if I find old pieces, tatted, crocheted, and stitched, I love to add them to MY household. And I use them, too; no tucking away in the dark old linen closet!
Saturday, August 04, 2012
And Then There Were Photos...
I received some really delightful wedding photos this afternoon!
So go back and re-read Wedding Week, Day Seven!
Thursday, August 02, 2012
The Wedding Day:Wedding Week, Day Seven!!
What a day! What a fun, fun day! Yes - there were moments of "Omigoodness", but really: I would not have changed a single thing in our daughter's wedding day. Not one thing!
The morning commenced thusly: (And thanks right here to Josh Newman and Bob Webster for the wedding photography!! (Bob is my brother, and Josh is affianced to my niece Melinda!)
My sisters-inlaw and nieces joined me in the kitchen to begin the reception preparations. Here's a menu of our celebration: (If I can possibly recall...)
Hors d'oeuvres:
Artichoke squares
Melon balls
Parmesan puff pastry twists
Sweet peppers stuffed w/ chèvre
Deviled eggs
Tortellini skewers
Strawberries piped with cream cheese
Chorizo, sweet tomatoes and cheddar skewers
Apple chips
Mozzarella/ham pinwheels
I think there were more, but the day escaped me, totally!
Dinner:
Meatballs, Lutheran style
Bread rolls
Chicken salad
Croissants
Grissini
Wild rice salad
Watermelon/feta/olive salad
Yogurt Waldorf salad
Melon balls w/ blueberries
The bride and groom seemed pretty relaxed most of the day. They did not do the traditional "not seeing the bride before the wedding" thing this day, although they did not spend the day together, either. Claire breakfasted with her sister and girlfriends, and Rich went on a 30-mile bike ride with his cycling buddy.
At noon or so, someone mentioned the Wedding Cake.
THE WEDDING CAKE?!!
Totally off my radar. A moment of panic. However, the gold-star Maid of Honor/sister of the bride Gillian, and the College Boy Graham immediately hopped in the car to fetch the cake, over hill and dale, and mountainous Vail Pass. There were a few phone calls two hours later when they were unable to find the bakery, but all fell in to place eventually, and the cake was got. Gillian described Graham (the driver) flying back down Vail Pass, curves and descents, althewhile she holding a death grip on the beautiful white wedding cake, decorated with calla lilies.
Some brides get their hair done, have manicures and pedicures, and basically have an "I, Me, My" day before their weddings. After Bride Claire heard that the cake was on its way to the house, she turned to me, threw up her hands, and announced, "I am going for a run." Three hours before her walk down the aisle. I like her way of doing things!
The afternoon clouds set in, as is the daily routine, and the rain came down, and so did the lightning. And it rained and thundered for most of the afternoon.
We looked at Plan B: moving all things into the house and garage. Not a problem: Let's go to a wedding!
My Mom & Dad:
Gillian and me!
In our family, it was a tradition to pick one's own wedding processional. My three brothers, my sister and I all had different ones: Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Vivaldi.
Claire's wedding music was Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, played by the church pianist. The Groom and Best Man entered at the beginning of the song. If you listen to the link, you can imagine the Maid of Honor entering the sanctuary at 1:05 in the piece, and finally, the sanctuary doors opened at 1:30, and the Bride and her father walked in at 1:40 in the music. Withe her tea-length wedding dress and fingertip veil, she looked like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. The church is small, and the talented pianist ended the processional very nicely as soon as Claire arrived at the altar.
A father's special moment:
On the way out: Ringing the chapel bells:
After a few photographs taken after the wedding service, everyone (65 people?) headed to the house and we executed Plan B, very successfully. Hors d'oeuvres, dinner, champagne and toasts, cutting the cake, and dancing.
Three cousins:
Line dancing, all through the house...led by daughter Gillian and son Graham...
Throwing the bouquet...
And then they were gone!
What a terrific day!
The morning commenced thusly: (And thanks right here to Josh Newman and Bob Webster for the wedding photography!! (Bob is my brother, and Josh is affianced to my niece Melinda!)
My sisters-inlaw and nieces joined me in the kitchen to begin the reception preparations. Here's a menu of our celebration: (If I can possibly recall...)
Hors d'oeuvres:
Artichoke squares
Melon balls
Parmesan puff pastry twists
Sweet peppers stuffed w/ chèvre
Deviled eggs
Tortellini skewers
Strawberries piped with cream cheese
Chorizo, sweet tomatoes and cheddar skewers
Apple chips
Mozzarella/ham pinwheels
I think there were more, but the day escaped me, totally!
Dinner:
Meatballs, Lutheran style
Bread rolls
Chicken salad
Croissants
Grissini
Wild rice salad
Watermelon/feta/olive salad
Yogurt Waldorf salad
Melon balls w/ blueberries
The bride and groom seemed pretty relaxed most of the day. They did not do the traditional "not seeing the bride before the wedding" thing this day, although they did not spend the day together, either. Claire breakfasted with her sister and girlfriends, and Rich went on a 30-mile bike ride with his cycling buddy.
At noon or so, someone mentioned the Wedding Cake.
THE WEDDING CAKE?!!
Totally off my radar. A moment of panic. However, the gold-star Maid of Honor/sister of the bride Gillian, and the College Boy Graham immediately hopped in the car to fetch the cake, over hill and dale, and mountainous Vail Pass. There were a few phone calls two hours later when they were unable to find the bakery, but all fell in to place eventually, and the cake was got. Gillian described Graham (the driver) flying back down Vail Pass, curves and descents, althewhile she holding a death grip on the beautiful white wedding cake, decorated with calla lilies.
Some brides get their hair done, have manicures and pedicures, and basically have an "I, Me, My" day before their weddings. After Bride Claire heard that the cake was on its way to the house, she turned to me, threw up her hands, and announced, "I am going for a run." Three hours before her walk down the aisle. I like her way of doing things!
The afternoon clouds set in, as is the daily routine, and the rain came down, and so did the lightning. And it rained and thundered for most of the afternoon.
We looked at Plan B: moving all things into the house and garage. Not a problem: Let's go to a wedding!
My Mom & Dad:
Gillian and me!
In our family, it was a tradition to pick one's own wedding processional. My three brothers, my sister and I all had different ones: Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Vivaldi.
Claire's wedding music was Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, played by the church pianist. The Groom and Best Man entered at the beginning of the song. If you listen to the link, you can imagine the Maid of Honor entering the sanctuary at 1:05 in the piece, and finally, the sanctuary doors opened at 1:30, and the Bride and her father walked in at 1:40 in the music. Withe her tea-length wedding dress and fingertip veil, she looked like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. The church is small, and the talented pianist ended the processional very nicely as soon as Claire arrived at the altar.
A father's special moment:
On the way out: Ringing the chapel bells:
After a few photographs taken after the wedding service, everyone (65 people?) headed to the house and we executed Plan B, very successfully. Hors d'oeuvres, dinner, champagne and toasts, cutting the cake, and dancing.
Three siblings:
Three cousins:
Line dancing, all through the house...led by daughter Gillian and son Graham...
Throwing the bouquet...
And then they were gone!
What a terrific day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
