Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tie One On
I can tie a necktie in the dark with my eyes closed. Okay, so that's redundant. Either way, I can't see. The point is that I can tie a necktie without seeing. I had to do it this morning. Young Son was having class pictures taken and he wanted to wear a suit jacket and tie. His choice, not mine. Strange little boy, he is. He does not yet know how to tie a tie, so he thrust it at me while I was still in bed half asleep. I tied it and handed it back.
Where did I learn such a skill? Where any self-respecting girl learns such skills - from my dad. Back in high school wearing a tie with a boxy jacket was the thing - sort of Annie Hall - and I asked my dad to show me how to tie one properly. He showed me two different ways. I probably also borrowed the tie from him. He wasn't wearing them, but he had a bunch.
My husband doesn't wear ties, either. They strangle him. He wore one for our wedding and again for the awards banquet during the Atlanta trip. He told me he must really love me in order to put up with the noose, although I didn't make it a requirement for the Atlanta trip. He said if I bury him in a tie, he'll come back to haunt me. I don't intend to, so no worries there.
This all reminds me of a post I read on the Dangerous Intersection blog yesterday. Erich Vieth recommends that men all over America should get together and liberate themselves from neckties by having a tie-burning event. Hey, go for it. Most of us ladies gave up our girdles ages ago. (Thank God!)
Where did I learn such a skill? Where any self-respecting girl learns such skills - from my dad. Back in high school wearing a tie with a boxy jacket was the thing - sort of Annie Hall - and I asked my dad to show me how to tie one properly. He showed me two different ways. I probably also borrowed the tie from him. He wasn't wearing them, but he had a bunch.
My husband doesn't wear ties, either. They strangle him. He wore one for our wedding and again for the awards banquet during the Atlanta trip. He told me he must really love me in order to put up with the noose, although I didn't make it a requirement for the Atlanta trip. He said if I bury him in a tie, he'll come back to haunt me. I don't intend to, so no worries there.
This all reminds me of a post I read on the Dangerous Intersection blog yesterday. Erich Vieth recommends that men all over America should get together and liberate themselves from neckties by having a tie-burning event. Hey, go for it. Most of us ladies gave up our girdles ages ago. (Thank God!)
Labels: atlanta, dad, dangerous intersection, erich vieth, husband, liberation, neckties, wedding, young son
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Wedding
We're back. Jeez, that's starting to be a regular sentence here at Filter & Splice. We're back. This time from my sister's wedding. She married the guy she's been living with for the past six years, which is quite something because she was never going to get married again after her first. This guy, my new brother-in-law, is totally a keeper. Sweet with my sister, fun to talk to, a real gem. We've actually had trouble calling him my sister's boyfriend over the years because he has seemed like our brother-in-law for all that time.
It's finally official, but not without some chaos first. My sister had a plan - at least I'm pretty sure she did - but she didn't communicate it to anyone prior to the wedding. Where do the tents go? How do you want them arranged? How about the table and chairs? The table for the unity candle? What time are pictures again? Where do you want the grill for the pig? The food tables? When are we eating? Are we eating? Some of us simply had to take charge and get things done. To complicate things, it was extraordinarily windy and cold that day. The bridesmaids (including me) were dressed in sleeveless gowns and we were goose-pimply and teeth-chattery.
My sister and her youngest daughter left to have their hair and makeup done on Saturday morning and didn't return until about noon. The wedding was scheduled for 2 o'clock. We had to figure all of this stuff out, plus get dressed in about 4 hours. I think it was a good thing my sister was away. She gets so stressed by these sorts of events - even when she's not the center of the activities - that she would have wound herself up into greater knots. The rest of us did what we had to do and things were pretty much ready by 2. Except Mom, who decided she had to use the bathroom at the last minute. Not a big thing, except you have to understand that we were walking a huge, bumpy, farm field distance between the second backyard, where the wedding was being held, and the house. The wedding itself went without a hitch - except for that one REALLY IMPORTANT hitch. My husband's sister performed the ceremony. She's a UCC minister, you know. My sister was gorgeous - naturally - and the groom was handsome in his tux with camo vest and hunting boots. (It was hunting opener, so only true love could have forced the hunterly guys to show up for this event.)
As soon as the wedding was over and the guests were all properly received, my sister and her husband went elsewhere for a visit with a granddaughter they rarely get to see. The wedding party changed into more sensible clothes - including a winter jacket for me - it was that cold - and we set up the food. My hubby had been roasting a pig all day, the one that my sister and her hubby had been raising for the occasion. It was delicious. Once the happy couple returned, after some prodding to get them to come to the meal, we ate. Food was followed by wedding cake, music, a bonfire, visiting, and clean-up. Then, blessed sleep.
It's finally official, but not without some chaos first. My sister had a plan - at least I'm pretty sure she did - but she didn't communicate it to anyone prior to the wedding. Where do the tents go? How do you want them arranged? How about the table and chairs? The table for the unity candle? What time are pictures again? Where do you want the grill for the pig? The food tables? When are we eating? Are we eating? Some of us simply had to take charge and get things done. To complicate things, it was extraordinarily windy and cold that day. The bridesmaids (including me) were dressed in sleeveless gowns and we were goose-pimply and teeth-chattery.
My sister and her youngest daughter left to have their hair and makeup done on Saturday morning and didn't return until about noon. The wedding was scheduled for 2 o'clock. We had to figure all of this stuff out, plus get dressed in about 4 hours. I think it was a good thing my sister was away. She gets so stressed by these sorts of events - even when she's not the center of the activities - that she would have wound herself up into greater knots. The rest of us did what we had to do and things were pretty much ready by 2. Except Mom, who decided she had to use the bathroom at the last minute. Not a big thing, except you have to understand that we were walking a huge, bumpy, farm field distance between the second backyard, where the wedding was being held, and the house. The wedding itself went without a hitch - except for that one REALLY IMPORTANT hitch. My husband's sister performed the ceremony. She's a UCC minister, you know. My sister was gorgeous - naturally - and the groom was handsome in his tux with camo vest and hunting boots. (It was hunting opener, so only true love could have forced the hunterly guys to show up for this event.)
As soon as the wedding was over and the guests were all properly received, my sister and her husband went elsewhere for a visit with a granddaughter they rarely get to see. The wedding party changed into more sensible clothes - including a winter jacket for me - it was that cold - and we set up the food. My hubby had been roasting a pig all day, the one that my sister and her hubby had been raising for the occasion. It was delicious. Once the happy couple returned, after some prodding to get them to come to the meal, we ate. Food was followed by wedding cake, music, a bonfire, visiting, and clean-up. Then, blessed sleep.
Labels: brother in law, cold, family, filter and splice, husband, minnesota, mom, pigs, sister, sister in law, weather, wedding
Friday, September 14, 2007
We Interrupt This Broadcast
We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast of the Atlanta tourism station to bring you the following announcement:
Mary's sister is getting married tomorrow. Mary is leaving today for her sister's house and won't be back for a couple of days. Blog posting suspended until then.
Have a great weekend! :)
Mary's sister is getting married tomorrow. Mary is leaving today for her sister's house and won't be back for a couple of days. Blog posting suspended until then.
Have a great weekend! :)
Labels: atlanta, blog, mary warner, sister, trip, wedding
Friday, August 03, 2007
My Sister, the Revolutionary
I took a vacation day today in order to try on dresses. Let me 'xplain. My sister is getting married in September and she has asked me to be her matron (gack! that word! so old!) of honor. I'm honored to be asked. Of course, this means that I need a dress. She bought her wedding dress a couple of months ago and has been after me to come try on dresses so that she has this part of the wedding figured out. We've been so busy this summer that I've had trouble finding time, so I finally just took a day off. My sister also asked my daughter to be one of the bridesmaids, so she had to try on dresses too.
We did the dress thing and went back to my sister's house. She and her fiance (a really fabulous, kind guy) have a house in the country, where they've been moving more deeply into farming. It started with a garden and progressed to chickens and now pigs. I can't believe how much pig poop stinks. Yech! They have three pigs, Grizzly, Priscilla, and Wilbur. Grizzly has another name - W.D. It stands for Wedding Dinner. (Alright, go ahead and get all Charlotte's Web on me.) When we were finished looking over the pigs and chickens, making special note of the one-legged chicken who had accidentally stepped into a trap, we went to the garden.
I love my sister's garden. She's got a wide variety of veggies, including broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, lettuce, the ubiquitous zucchini, and kohlrabi. She also has berries and watermelon, and I'm probably missing some other things. Most years the garden is a riot of production and we can wander through picking what we like. It's a personal farmer's market; it's all organic and they don't water it. In the spirit of my Yard and Patio Revolutionaries post, I asked if they saved the seeds. They do and they've found that the seeds they've saved actually work better than store-bought ones. I asked if they thought the seeds had evolved to deal with their soil and growing conditions and they thought maybe so. How cool is that? My sister and her soon-to-be husband are already Yard Revolutionaries. My sister also does her own canning, which is one of those old-fashioned tasks I previously mentioned. A dying art, really, but not in my sister's household.
We did the dress thing and went back to my sister's house. She and her fiance (a really fabulous, kind guy) have a house in the country, where they've been moving more deeply into farming. It started with a garden and progressed to chickens and now pigs. I can't believe how much pig poop stinks. Yech! They have three pigs, Grizzly, Priscilla, and Wilbur. Grizzly has another name - W.D. It stands for Wedding Dinner. (Alright, go ahead and get all Charlotte's Web on me.) When we were finished looking over the pigs and chickens, making special note of the one-legged chicken who had accidentally stepped into a trap, we went to the garden.
I love my sister's garden. She's got a wide variety of veggies, including broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, lettuce, the ubiquitous zucchini, and kohlrabi. She also has berries and watermelon, and I'm probably missing some other things. Most years the garden is a riot of production and we can wander through picking what we like. It's a personal farmer's market; it's all organic and they don't water it. In the spirit of my Yard and Patio Revolutionaries post, I asked if they saved the seeds. They do and they've found that the seeds they've saved actually work better than store-bought ones. I asked if they thought the seeds had evolved to deal with their soil and growing conditions and they thought maybe so. How cool is that? My sister and her soon-to-be husband are already Yard Revolutionaries. My sister also does her own canning, which is one of those old-fashioned tasks I previously mentioned. A dying art, really, but not in my sister's household.
Labels: chickens, daughter, dresses, garden, pigs, seed savers, seeds, vacation, wedding
Saturday, July 07, 2007
7/7/07
A fortuitous day, numbers-wise, seven being considered so lucky and all, although I'm not quite sure why. I do know that there were lots of weddings planned for today. I figured it was so that couples could easily remember their wedding day. That's the only reason I'd ever plan a wedding for this day anyway.
It was also Live Earth day. We've been half-watching the concert most of the day, really concentrating when someone interesting to us comes on. It doesn't seem to have much of the flavor of other cause concerts, perhaps because they're not raising any money, but I think it goes deeper than that. Maybe people are burned out by all these mass concerts and they just don't have the effect they once had. Not too many fire-and-brimstone preachers among the performers either. In my opinion, the only one who captured the essence of the cause was Melissa Etheridge. When that woman spoke, I really wanted to do something.
Al Gore came on directly after Melissa and quickly ran down the Live Earth pledge. I'm not holding out any hope that Kanye West is going to live up to that pledge. Something about that Gold Digger song might just be affecting my judgment, though.
Madonna performed in London, looking quite matronly in her black dress with all the British school children singing with her dressed in their school uniforms. During her performance of Ray of Light, she played the electric guitar in an uncomfortable fashion. It's obvious that she hasn't had that much practice with the instrument, although her action in the matter is understandable. From what I've heard, she likes to have total control over her performances and is a stickler for perfection. She has a personality that will insist that she try the guitar.
We saw Duran Duran this morning, playing from London. Very good form, that group. They played a couple of oldies - from my day oldies - Planet Earth and Girls on Film. I was surprised to see Simon LeBon chewing gum. In fact, there were a few other singers that were also chewing gum. Does this help keep the mouth moist?
Kelly Clarkson did a great set. She seems so natural and down-to-earth, as did her back-up singers. Solid performance.
Two great little surprises were Blue Man Group, with their funny earth-is-an-airplane-on-a-collision-course video, and Nanatuk, the group of scientists on Antarctica who got together to play specifically for Live Earth. They did a great job, although we wondered if they pre-taped their session. There were no cords leading from their instruments to any power source that we could see. They played outside, so doing a non-plugged-in version is understandable (unless they buried their cords under the snow?).
The band I was waiting for was Dave Matthews Band. They played One Sweet World, Don't Drink the Water (one of my personal favorites) and Too Much. Quite fitting, actually. We were all a little worried about Dave's voice on Don't Drink the Water, at the point where he does this scream-yell. My daughter said, "Get that man a cough drop." That, or a piece of gum. Really, it was that serious. I'm not sure how any of these singers get up night after night to perform without getting permanent laryngitis. I do three school tours in a row at work and I'm frogging up like mad. I have every confidence that the Dave Matthews Band, along with Melissa Etheridge, will live up to the Live Earth pledge, as they are already doing so to a great extent. Dave even said something along the lines of hoping that everyone would walk home from the concert. Nice touch.
It remains to be seen how all this shakes out. But, hey, it's 7/7/07. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?
Correction (7/8/07): Well, then . . . it seems I've spelled the Antarctic group's name wrong. According to a Reuters article, it's Nunatak. Whoops. Sorry.
It was also Live Earth day. We've been half-watching the concert most of the day, really concentrating when someone interesting to us comes on. It doesn't seem to have much of the flavor of other cause concerts, perhaps because they're not raising any money, but I think it goes deeper than that. Maybe people are burned out by all these mass concerts and they just don't have the effect they once had. Not too many fire-and-brimstone preachers among the performers either. In my opinion, the only one who captured the essence of the cause was Melissa Etheridge. When that woman spoke, I really wanted to do something.
Al Gore came on directly after Melissa and quickly ran down the Live Earth pledge. I'm not holding out any hope that Kanye West is going to live up to that pledge. Something about that Gold Digger song might just be affecting my judgment, though.
Madonna performed in London, looking quite matronly in her black dress with all the British school children singing with her dressed in their school uniforms. During her performance of Ray of Light, she played the electric guitar in an uncomfortable fashion. It's obvious that she hasn't had that much practice with the instrument, although her action in the matter is understandable. From what I've heard, she likes to have total control over her performances and is a stickler for perfection. She has a personality that will insist that she try the guitar.
We saw Duran Duran this morning, playing from London. Very good form, that group. They played a couple of oldies - from my day oldies - Planet Earth and Girls on Film. I was surprised to see Simon LeBon chewing gum. In fact, there were a few other singers that were also chewing gum. Does this help keep the mouth moist?
Kelly Clarkson did a great set. She seems so natural and down-to-earth, as did her back-up singers. Solid performance.
Two great little surprises were Blue Man Group, with their funny earth-is-an-airplane-on-a-collision-course video, and Nanatuk, the group of scientists on Antarctica who got together to play specifically for Live Earth. They did a great job, although we wondered if they pre-taped their session. There were no cords leading from their instruments to any power source that we could see. They played outside, so doing a non-plugged-in version is understandable (unless they buried their cords under the snow?).
The band I was waiting for was Dave Matthews Band. They played One Sweet World, Don't Drink the Water (one of my personal favorites) and Too Much. Quite fitting, actually. We were all a little worried about Dave's voice on Don't Drink the Water, at the point where he does this scream-yell. My daughter said, "Get that man a cough drop." That, or a piece of gum. Really, it was that serious. I'm not sure how any of these singers get up night after night to perform without getting permanent laryngitis. I do three school tours in a row at work and I'm frogging up like mad. I have every confidence that the Dave Matthews Band, along with Melissa Etheridge, will live up to the Live Earth pledge, as they are already doing so to a great extent. Dave even said something along the lines of hoping that everyone would walk home from the concert. Nice touch.
It remains to be seen how all this shakes out. But, hey, it's 7/7/07. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?
Correction (7/8/07): Well, then . . . it seems I've spelled the Antarctic group's name wrong. According to a Reuters article, it's Nunatak. Whoops. Sorry.
Labels: al gore, blue man group, dave matthews band, duran duran, global warming, guitar, kanye west, kelly clarkson, live earth, luck, madonna, melissa etheridge, music, nunatak, wedding
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Bridal Registry
We attended my step-sister's wedding yesterday. Lovely outdoor affair at a golf course, very quick service - "Do you? Do you? You may kiss the bride."
Prior to the wedding, we checked out the happy couple's bridal registry at Target. Very convenient to be able to look it up online. The online list that comes up shows which items have been filled, or purchased, and which are left to buy. That cuts down on repeat gifts. The happy couple also has a chance to pick what they want, which means that things will match their decor. "But we wanted lime green, not day-glo pink!" So then, the bridal registry seems like a good thing, however . . . the ability to see the entire list, fulfilled or not, online certainly cuts down on the surprise of the happy couple while opening those gifts.
My lovin' spouseful and I registered for dishes - at the insistence of my family - and that was it. No one in my family bought those dishes; my lovin' spouseful's parents bought us one set, and everyone else surprised us. It was delightful to open our gifts because of the surprise factor. I suppose that historically wedding gifts have not always had a suprise factor, though. Think about dowries. They were used by the bride's family to purchase a husband. In order to figure out whether the bride-to-be was a good deal dowry-wise, the bride's family had to reveal what that dowry was. Fifteen cows, thirty-two sheep, handmade linens, some prime acreage, etc. etc. "Hey, throw in a dozen quart jars of your mother's canned tomatoes, and we've got ourselves a deal."
Still and all, I like the suprise factor, which we were able to conjure for my step-sister's wedding by viewing the registry online yesterday and popping into Target to purchase the gift just a couple of hours before the wedding. The bride and groom certainly were far too busy thinking of other things yesterday to bother with their registry.
Good luck and many wishes for a long and happy marriage to them both.
Prior to the wedding, we checked out the happy couple's bridal registry at Target. Very convenient to be able to look it up online. The online list that comes up shows which items have been filled, or purchased, and which are left to buy. That cuts down on repeat gifts. The happy couple also has a chance to pick what they want, which means that things will match their decor. "But we wanted lime green, not day-glo pink!" So then, the bridal registry seems like a good thing, however . . . the ability to see the entire list, fulfilled or not, online certainly cuts down on the surprise of the happy couple while opening those gifts.
My lovin' spouseful and I registered for dishes - at the insistence of my family - and that was it. No one in my family bought those dishes; my lovin' spouseful's parents bought us one set, and everyone else surprised us. It was delightful to open our gifts because of the surprise factor. I suppose that historically wedding gifts have not always had a suprise factor, though. Think about dowries. They were used by the bride's family to purchase a husband. In order to figure out whether the bride-to-be was a good deal dowry-wise, the bride's family had to reveal what that dowry was. Fifteen cows, thirty-two sheep, handmade linens, some prime acreage, etc. etc. "Hey, throw in a dozen quart jars of your mother's canned tomatoes, and we've got ourselves a deal."
Still and all, I like the suprise factor, which we were able to conjure for my step-sister's wedding by viewing the registry online yesterday and popping into Target to purchase the gift just a couple of hours before the wedding. The bride and groom certainly were far too busy thinking of other things yesterday to bother with their registry.
Good luck and many wishes for a long and happy marriage to them both.
Labels: bridal registry, dishes, dowry, family, gifts, husband, internet, surprise, target, wedding
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Anniversary
As you may or may not have noticed, I've skipped a couple of days in blogging. The weather is nice and there's been a lot to do, but I've been gathering subject matter and have about six ideas worth. I won't inundate you with them all tonight, but will cover a few in separate posts.
First, and foremost, today is a Red Letter Day: My husband and I have been married 18 years as of today. How's that for cool? Doesn't feel that long. The time has simply flown by. The weather was marvelous today; sunny, a few clouds, warm - just like 18 years ago - except there was more wind today. The irises, our wedding flower, also bloomed earlier this year than they did back then. Ahh! Such a pleasant anniversary.
First, and foremost, today is a Red Letter Day: My husband and I have been married 18 years as of today. How's that for cool? Doesn't feel that long. The time has simply flown by. The weather was marvelous today; sunny, a few clouds, warm - just like 18 years ago - except there was more wind today. The irises, our wedding flower, also bloomed earlier this year than they did back then. Ahh! Such a pleasant anniversary.
Labels: anniversary, blogging, husband, iris, marriage, minnesota, weather, wedding
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Candy Hearts and Dogs
Happy Valentine's Day, to those of you who celebrate. Our family doesn't because we aren't particularly attached to the holiday. It feels too much like a marketer's holiday to us and we don't buy into conspicuous consumption. As for celebrating our togetherness, the hubby and I do that on our wedding anniversary. I do have one weakness when it comes to Valentine season - candy hearts - the ones with sayings. Mmm, mmm! I break down and buy some of these every year for the family. I've noticed that the candy heart makers don't seem to be able to keep up with technological change any better than I do. There are still hearts that say "Fax me," but none (that I could find) that say "IM me." My husband, aside from enjoying a little Valentine chocolate, has a different seasonal weakness: The Westminster Kennel Club's big dog show, generally held at Madison Square Garden. Puppies and hearts, puppies and hearts. It's love.
Labels: candy hearts, dog show, dogs, family, holidays, husband, marketing, technology, valentine's day, wedding
