Friday, September 09, 2005, 17:51
Wedding Bells
My nephew is getting married tomorrow. The last one on my side of the family. I have a niece and three nephews.
He's getting married on his mom and dad's thirty-third wedding anniversary (it was almost 77th wedding anniversary -- Sophie was climbing around on the keyboard and typed in 77; good thing I noticed it).
My nephew (being a typical boy?) didn't know it was their anniversary when he and his fiancee picked the date. He knew his mom and dad had gotten married "sometime" in September because he used to have to milk the cows for them in Septemer on their anniversary so they could go out to dinner. But other than that, he wasn't sure of the date.
My sister got a big laugh out of it when she found out they had picked her wedding anniversary.
At last count, 325 people had confirmed that they would be at the ceremony and/or the reception.
"Can your church hold that many people?" I asked.
"I hope so," my sister said.
My future niece-in-law is going to have six bridesmaids (six!). Randy is videotaping the ceremony, so I think he will have his work cut out for him.
We're going to the rehearsal tonight. (Randy has to know where he can stand in the church with the video camera). And then we're going to the rehearsal dinner. It's 40 miles one way.
And it's supposed to be 90 degrees tomorrow! For the past week, every time I listened to the weather forecast, the temperature kept creeping up for Saturday. It started out that the forecasters said it would be 71 on Saturday. Then it was changed to 74. Then 78. Then 82. Then 85. And now they are saying 90.
Thirty-three years ago when my sister and brother-in-law were married, it was beautifully cool lovely fall day.
I *was* going to wear a button-down blouse (with a high collar) and a pair of dress slacks. I've changed my mind. I will be sweating profusely in 90-degree heat with a high collar and dress slacks. I'm going to wear a short-sleeved, v-necked cotton sweater and a skirt.
I hope those bridesmaids' dresses aren't long-sleeved. And I hope the bride's gown isn't long-sleeved. The groom and groomsmen are going to have to tough it out for a while, until they can remove their jackets.
Hmmmmm. . .I wonder if the church has air conditioning?
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, September 07, 2005, 20:06
Sweeeeeet!
"Dad would be proud," I said to my husband as I held up the muskmelon.
It was the first muskmelon from our garden this year, and I picked it Tuesday evening. The muskmelon was a classic-looking muskmelon -- the kind of muskmelon that my dad used to grow in the truck garden he raised every year after he retired from farming. People used to tell my father that he couldn't grow muskmelon around here because the growing season isn't long enough. And then he would prove them wrong by growing bushels of beautiful muskmelon that were as tasty as could be.
I haven't always been as successful as Dad at raising muskmelon. Some of the ones from years past have been much smaller. They've all be extremely tasty. But they haven't sometimes been as big as Dad's -- or anywhere close to as big as Dad's. Some years they have been "individual serving size muskmelon" with only a few spoonfuls of fruit in each one. The melon I picked Tuesday evening was a muskmelon that Dad would have said was as good as anything he could grow himself.
I could hardly wait to see what it tasted like, so I got out a knife and sliced it open. I scooped out the seeds and cut it into four pieces and got out a spoon and ate my first taste. I scooped out another spoonful and gave it to Randy.
"What do you think?" I asked.
He reached for the spoon and helped himself to another bite.
"This," he said, "is very good."
Out in my muskmelon patch there are maybe another half a dozen muskmelon that might make it to maturity *if* it doesn't freeze too soon. If we are in danger of frost, I can probably cover them. The little patch of garden by the basement is also close enough to get some protection from the house when the temperature starts dropping.
I've been watching this particular muskmelon for a long time and waiting for it to get ripe.
And I must say -- it was definitely worth the wait.
LeAnn R. Ralph