A Southern Wedding on a Saturday Morning

Our family friends' daughter and her long time sweetheart were married earlier today . I left home at 6:45 this morning to travel to middle Georgia for the late morning ceremony. Arriving on this overcast morning in plenty of time to go with my family to the quaint country waterside location. Yes it sprinkled a bit as we arrived but it cleared in plenty of time for us to find our seats in the very picturesque setting. The chairs were set up in a clearing between groups of large flowering trees where the blossoms had fallen and carpeted the ground. So, my little niece decided to be a flower girl. She enjoyed picking up the blossoms and tossing them back to the ground.

The groom walked to the front along with his father who served as his best man and the ring bearer- the groom's well behaved black lab. The bride was beautiful in a simple cut strapless A-line wedding gown made more eloquent by the beautiful fabric. I'm not sure if it was beaded or what exactly, but it was very pretty.

During the final song a soft misting rain began. One umbrella popped open and almost instantaneously every person was covered by an umbrella resulting in a rainbow of color across the congregation. I'm very sorry that I did not have my camera to capture this sight. The umbrellas were actually quite pretty and it was interesting to be in a large group but in your own little world while listening to the song and watching the couple beaming at one another with no apparent thought to the gentle sprinkling. As the song ended so did the rain.

The reception was a traditional southern picnic with fried chicken, pulled pork, chicken salad, and potato salad. As well as mini tarts with lemon, chocolate and pecan fillings. And Mexican wedding cookies. And two of my favorites : spinach dip with corn chips and cheese spread with strawberry jam served with Ritz crackers, of course. Oh, I almost forgot the tomato and cucumber sandwiches. Each layer of the bride's cake was a different flavor which made it very difficult for some of us to choose, but my nephew was such a gentleman and great host for our table that he choose hummingbird for me. It was possibly the best wedding cake I have ever eaten. (Thanks Wes! You were a great host. As was your dad.)

Congrats Jessica and Caleb! Thanks Andrea and Tim for your hospitality. Beautiful ( and tasty) wedding celebration.

New Friends posted : 8/28/08

People have asked me what I would do when I retired. I heard it as, “What in the world will YOU do after you retire? You don’t have a life except for school!” And there were times when I didn’t have much of one. But, I can say that it is not that difficult to make new friends. I have, however, had a few missteps. I thought I had a potential friend recently. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I was open and interested in her life. She told me all about her son. I imaged that our paths would cross frequently. Things were going great until she did not give me my cash back after I paid for my groceries with my debit card. Well, she was a little distracted by the new Key Customer cards. We’ll see how it works out. I really need to go see her. Our pantry is almost empty.
I also tried to make friends at ABAC. But no one was interested. They did not seem to want to add to their numbers. They seemed irrational and a little obtuse. Who knew Math people were so cold and calculating! ( HEE! HEE! I kill me!)
Oh, well! I have made some new friends. There is Rechelle (The Country Doctor’s Wife), who is a friend of Laurie’s friend Ree (The Pioneer Woman). Rechelle is LOL funny and Ree is an excellent cook and sometimes has give-aways for her friends. I now check in with Ree and Rechelle every morning. We all have such full lives!!!
Then there are Michael, Kerri and Misty. We spent a LOT of time together for a couple of weeks but they are busy young people so we don’t see each other as much now. I did catch Michael on the Today show this morning. He seemed happy and healthy. I’m waiting to hear from Kerri and Misty. They both hope to start families now that the games are over. I’ll miss seeing them every day but just want the best for them. They both need someone else to hug on and pop on the butt besides each other.
This week I am being courted by Michelle and Joe. I’m trying to hold off to see what John can offer me next week. At least I have my ABAC students. Some of them email me and some even call me at home.