Merry Christmas from Texas....

Just stopping by on a wet and chilly Christmas Eve to say that we hope everyone, everywhere has an exceptionally happy holiday!

Best wishes from both of us~

Shawn & SGTex

Sebastian, Seamus & Sasha

photo courtesy of http://skimhenson.files.wordpress.com

Beannachtaí Grianstad an Gheimhridh!

Winter Solstice Greetings!

Last evening SGTex and I were out on the town and he stopped to harvest some lovely mistletoe for our home. It's extremely prolific in this area all the year round, but is especially beautiful at the holidays, being thick with tiny, white berries.

The magical mistletoe was considered to be the most sacred plant by Druids. Five days following the new moon after the winter solstice, the priests would collect the greenery from a holy oak tree using a golden sickle. The branches must be caught before touching the ground, then were divided into sprigs to be passed to those who would carry it home to hang over their doorways as protection.

Our mistletoe will grace a beautiful antique bowl of brass with some red and gold ornaments and cones from the trees where we used to live. Some will be strategically placed in order to enhance our ;+) celebration, and perhaps we'll tie some on to our golden snowflake that tops our tree.

Enjoy your time of Winter Solstice. This lunar eclipse is something that has not be seen since the 1600s, so we look forward to experiencing that together.

Cheers!

Shawn

****

Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather....

‎....and dance - each beautiful, unique and too soon gone. ~D. Whipp

Some of our friends kindly shared what they remember about past holidays:

Angel…Mine is of my Daddy. Every year he got socks, underwear, and tee shirts. Every single year he would look all innocent like he didn't have ANY clue what was in there, and every year he would open it up and exclaim, "OOOOhhhh, JUST what I wanted!!!!" Valerie and I would just be so tickled because he loved "our" presents that Mom had bought for him, from us. As we grew up it was done a little more tongue-in-cheek, but he still kept saying that. I love him so much.

Anne…Such a nice memory of your dad, Angel. Mine is of my dad as well. He was a big joker. One Christmas he put this huge lidded trash can next to the tree with a big red bow & a tag showing it was a gift to my mom from him. Mom just shook her head like - what is he up to now??? Mom opened the trash can & inside there was one huge box which was wrapped in newspaper or something like that. She proceeded to open the box & must have gone thru 8 or 10 boxes/bags, etc. (looked like he had cleaned out the basement), to finally get to a tiny jewelry gift box holding a little wishbone charm for her charm holder necklace. It was so funny & we all enjoyed watching her open it all. None of us knew what Dad had done either, as he kept it a secret! I had a fun family!

Estelle…Two incidences, same Christmas: Hubby couldn't find a box to wrap his present for his dad, so his sister had a Gator Golf box he used. FIL unwrapped the box, kinda looked disgusted for a second...regained his composure, smiled kinda big and said, "Thanks, y'all." We had to encourage him to open the BOX to find the grown up present he needed. We laughed about that until he passed away. Hubby's sister had already received 2 Mr. Tea makers, and she unwrapped yet another one from her husband. She was so ticked off! Her hubby had to calm her down and make her LOOK inside the tea pitcher to find a gorgeous emerald ring. This is our Mr. Tea Emerald Ring story. :)

Becky…My dad was always the shining star at Christmas - makes it really hard without him, even though my mama was the glue who held everything together. On Christmas morning, we were not allowed to open our doors until we heard the jingle bells and heard the furnace fire up. Dad would jingle bells all the way down the hall and holler, "Kris Kringle was here!" and then we could come out. We all believed in Santa for many years past the time we should have because it was all so much fun and the presents were so lavish (we didn't get "stuff" throughout the year).

Anne…I can imagine both of those things happening, Estelle! At our house when growing up you had to look in the box as most times the box was being reused - never judge a box by its cover! We also had times where my husband & I would give my brother & his wife the same gift we received from them - we had all come up with the same idea. A time or two we also gave Mom the same items/gifts, so by the time we were done, we had 3 identical gifts there & we were all very happy with the results.

Cynthia…On Christmas Day 1997 George brought me a box wrapped in two unmatching types of Christmas paper. The outside of the box was labeled "Combat boots, size 9 M." Inside the box were three of Sue Grafton's alphabet books, and two boxes wrapped in tissue paper. The larger of the two boxes held a crystal teddy bear with a rose zircon heart (my birthstone.) The other box...when I unwrapped the tissue paper I noted that the wrapping paper said Zales. For those who don't know, Zales is a jewelry store. I unwrapped the box, which took forever because that wrapping paper could have withstood dynamite, to find a diamond ring in a box. At that point George proposed to me, and of course I accepted. We got married 05/02/98, and the last twelve years have been the best of my life. I only wish that my mother had gotten to meet him before she passed away.

Michelle…I'm having a disjointed memories day so... When I was a kid we all gathered at my grandmother's house. We were NOT a formal bunch. My grandparents supplied the turkey/ham/meat, and the rest of us brought sides and desserts. Everything would be lined up buffet style. One Christmas, we somehow started this tradition of stealing food off one another's plate. So, you might have your plate full of your favorite thing, and someone might stick their plate next to yours and scrape that last piece of pie onto their plate or steal your dinner roll. It escalated into "dinner roll" baseball later, with used pie pans as the bases and home plate. It was my most fun, most memorable, and most unconventional Christmas ever.

Shawn…Three Xmas holidays stand out in my mind. 1. The storybook, Hallmark card-like one spent in Wales. 2. When my father passed on, and the holidays basically turned upside down for me. 3. The one following 9 days of no power in WA, where Noel held my hand and kept me sane from a distance of over 2000 miles. Now I’m back to loving the holidays again. They’re simpler, less elaborate, and much, much better than ever, because I get to spend them with my very own Texas Santa Baby.

Let's remember to make some more of those sweet Christmas memories.

Shawn & SGTex

****

"I will honor Christmas in my heart...

....and try to keep it all the year." ~Charles Dickens

It seems to me, if we were to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long, we might not experience the stress that we do during the holidays. I think what Mr. Dickens likely meant is to have an attitude of charity and best wishes for all, to do for others first, to aim to give, rather than receive, to have more of a beatific countenance and a happier world view. Perhaps. But I don't want to presume to speak for Charles Dickens.

Who, by the way, is said to have been owned by Havanese (as are we, lol)... Perhaps that is why he was able to say he will honor Christmas and keep it all the year. That's not too difficult if one spends any time at all with such happy puppies ;+). This particular breed of canine's makeup can be summed up thusly: Glad Tidings of Great Joy, lol.

Anyway, I do think that it's a good idea to have that attitude. At the very least, we can attempt it. And I must say, I've certainly failed to do so. Hard as I may try, I find myself drawn into negativity and difficulties all too easily.

I very likely said it in my prior post about Christmas trees, but one of my most favorite things about this home is that I have such a great view of our sweet little tree with the old-fashioned lights and ornaments. It is placed "just so," and I can glance up from my desk and be reminded of what a lovely time of year it is. That helps when the typical stressors get the best of me and I'm out of sorts (who, me??), when I'm needing to be of better cheer, lol.

The other night when SGTex took me out on the town to see the holiday lights, and we pulled up in the car and there was our own tree shining through the window, I was very thankful. Our little house with the pretty tree and big holiday wreath on the front door with a big red bow was just as wonderful as anyone else's holiday home, in my estimation!

I might as well admit it. Yes, I do need to have the holiday spirit and to try (a little harder) to keep it all the year.

Happy 12 days until Christmas!

Shawn

****

The truth about snowflakes and frost....

Crystals arise when a pure compound passes gradually from liquid to solid form. The elegant regularity of a crystal is attributable to the way its molecules have configured and fit together. The angles and distances between atoms are determined by the strong bonds of fundamental molecular structure, and then weaker bonds amongst the molecules determine in turn the most comfortable interrelationship as they gather, when cooling from a melted state or drying forth from solution.
In regimented accordance with all these affinities and angles, molecules work out the most stable arrangement and ultimately present a statement about themselves to us. If it weren't for this, we might still be wondering about the structural nature of the executive genetic material, for Watson and Crick had to make crystals of DNA and shine x-ray light through them to *eureka* the remarkable double helix.
Not to disillusion those who need to believe Jack Frost is a real person, but the fact of the matter -- and my point here -- is that frost's fractal feathery fronds and the special beauty of snowflakes come about in this way, too. H2O maintains an angle of 104.5 degrees, stout chemical bonds keeping the hydrogens and oxygen together in a molecule, while gentler attractions decide the way they array when they find themselves at a low temperature. The most stable state entails compromise, as there is considerable repulsion between like-charged ends as well as attraction between the oppositely charged points, accounting for the expansion we see when water freezes, as well as a tendency to form a ring of six V-shapes that may ultimately express itself in a swirl of tiny sprites we can view with a magnifier and be impressed---or spread out this way and that across a pane to result in those crystal coastlines, cascades and crochet for perusal by sleepy eyes at sunrise.
And I will say it's quite apparent that the origin of life on Earth (and all those other worlds) traces back just as surely to the intricacy of purpose that atoms and molecules are able, nay eager, to share. If you catch someone trying to propagate the lie that order does not increase on its own in a universe such as ours, try not to smirk but rather smile. Arrogance is *their* province, not ours.

SGTex

****

Oh, arbre de Noël....

I realize it's not even December, but we put our Christmas tree up yesterday--that is to say, SGTex did. It is so pretty, as always.

We were reminiscing a little bit about what fun we had when we went tree shopping our first holiday together, here in Texas. We didn't quite shop 'til we drop, but I can honestly say we had lots of fun. I'm not going to tell you what SGTex did at the hardware store, but I honestly thought I'd die laughing. There was a bit of a discussion when it came down to the final tree selection, as we were living in an apartment and didn't have a huge space. The options were to go tall, but they tended to be rather pricey, and too large, lol. There was one particular window that would be a nice spot, so we picked one that was on the small side and not too wide. It's what I call a "forever green tree," so we can just pack it away and bring it out each year, and now it sits in the window that can be seen by those who happen to pass by our little house.

We seem to have a somewhat typical array of ornaments. Each holiday we have been together in Texas, we choose a new ornament to add to our collection. I keep meaning to bake some gingerbread men to hang, but never seem to get around to that. I like the clear lights, kind of a warm white. SGTex prefers the larger, old-fashioned colored lights, so we've done a combination, which really looks nice. This year, it is nearly the same, but instead of the clear, we have a set of quite white, bright lights that are a bit different and really look great.

I thought this picture of one made from antique jewelry was gorgeous, so wanted to share it. This may be the first of several.... Oh, oh...I feel a theme coming on, lol.

We hope your holiday season will be filled with good cheer!

Shawn
****
photo courtesy of antique-jewelry-investor.com

Thanksgiving....

“You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, “Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave.” –Dylan Brody

I'm looking forward to getting started on our second Thanksgiving dinner at this house....which makes it my third, here in Texas.

I remember the first Thanksgiving dinner I made for my family in Washington years ago. That was the first time I had company at my new-to-me home, at the time. I had a wonderful, green monstrosity of an oven that I had fenagled from the nearby appliance center. What I didn't know about it was, there was a switch that needed to be turned on in order for the oven to heat. I had the dinner ready to go, the turkey in the oven and went off to set the table....came back and checked. Nothing was heating. That turkey was as cold as it was when I took it out of the refrigerator.....Called my parents in a panic and my father drove down the hill to my house, fooled around with the fuse box....and then I discovered this funny-looking switch. The oven heated and all was well. Best Thanksgiving dinner anybody had ever eaten, they claimed, lol. Fun times.

SGTex and I had an interesting first Texas Thanksgiving, too. Big turkey he'd had in the freezer long before I got here.......We thawed it out and went looking for that little bag of goodies that is supposed to be removed before roasting, you know.....couldn't find anything. It wasn't there. Got the flashlight..........no sign of it, anywhere. Concluded our turkey was different- it came with no extras. Oh, well. And that's what we thought until several days later when I was taking all the leftover meat off the bones for soup and salads........Oh, oh.... Man, that bag of goodies was tucked well away, LOL.

This year our dinner will be pretty traditional, with lots of trimmings, including pecans. Lots of pecans, as it appears we're having a bumper crop this year.

May you and yours have a bumper crop of blessings.....

Shawn & SGTex
****

Moon over, Texas....

This has been a great Saturday, all day long. Nothing especially unusual or intense going on, just being at home together, getting some much-needed R&R and doing a few things around the house.

There's something to be said for taking time out from the busy work schedule to find out what it's like (what *we're* like) when there's nothing in particular that must be done, nowhere in particular to go, no big projects or concerns that must be dealt with....

This evening SGTex suggested we take a moonlit drive, so we put the pups in the "Raspberry," headed down the road and enjoyed the full moon over Texas.

Goodnight, everybody.

Shawn

****

photo courtesy of: "Moon over Texas" seen at the on-line gallery of WAMdesigns and artist Wilma Morrow, wilmamorrow.com

An Afghanistan-American sweetheart named Target....

This beauty, along with her canine friends Rufus and Sasha intercepted a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, saving the lives of many US soldiers. One of them brought her home to live in Arizona with her new family. She was America's hero. She even got to be on Oprah.

I guess it wasn't too surprising when she got out of the yard and spent some time at large, running loose in her town.

At least in America she didn't have to fear being shot (again) by Taliban, nor did she risk being caught by explosives.

But, the helpful neighbor who took her off the street and sent her to the animal shelter couldn't have known she wouldn't live to see home again. She was euthanized, much to the shock and dismay of her family and all of America.

Go hug your dogs and cats. This makes a good case for ID collars, microchipping and strong, secure fences.

Take care of your animal friends, for they will take care of you.

We're so sorry for what happened to you. Bless your beautiful heart, Target.

Shawn

****

Thoughts of thanksgiving....

This is the beautiful ceiling dome of the Thanks-Giving Square Chapel in Dallas. I absolutely must get to see it sometime soon....

I'm beginning to notice, as life goes on, that those things for which I am thankful aren't necessarily the same as when I was a child. "Come, ye thankful people come," isn't necessarily a song directed toward those who've had no difficulties or issues to resolve in their lives. I don't know what you were thinking as an American school child (were you one of us, lol) when it was time to get out the crayons and paste and draw around your hand and turn that into a turkey picture, but I was pretty well focused on being grateful for the nice things in my life. I didn't necessarily take everything good for granted, nor was I one who went around with a grateful look on my face and waking up each morning with, "Boy, am I lucky!!" As an adult living in Ireland, I found out that what I'd considered to be positive and good about my life in the burbs wasn't necessarily as well thought of by those living outside the USA.

As time has gone on, in fact, I'm less and less impressed by the "God is good" sayers. It seems that every time a distaster is averted in somebody's life, all the glory is given to God. Well, fine. Who gets the glory when the disaster lands smack dab on top of someone, or 10s of 1000s of someones???

Okay, never mind about that. I guess what I'm discovering is quite a "cornucopia" (lame, huh, lol?) of things for which to give thanks: Waking up in splendid Texas with a splendid man and finding another opportunity to get it right. Puppies that smile, no matter what. Mockingbirds. The love of a good man. My cute little margarine-colored bungalow. Good friends here and there. The soft colors of Texas and Black Angus cattle, just like in the movies, but just across town. Pictures of Washington, so beautiful as to remind me of my childhood. Getting to live in Astoria, Oregon.

Okay, okay.

Shawn

*****

Hey!!!!

Yeah, you, dammit...

Okay, that wasn't very ladylike of me, was it?! I know, but geewhiz. Last evening an old friend posted on Facebook that she had noticed that some of her more liberal friends were being cranky (after the midterm elections where the more conservative types prevailed and will be sitting in Congress, now). I made a comment to the effect that some of us aren't as cranky, as we are skeptical these days, watching to see what the Republicans are going to do about everything they want changed....and of course, a couple of conservatives hopped on the thread and started in with their remarks. I chimed in with my guess that there are those who dislike Pres. Obama and family because they're not white folks, and it doesn't set well with them. So, I got told that liberals are always crying "racism" when they disagree with the conservatives.....blah, blah, blah.

Well, anyway, I find it all rather tiresome, this hash-slinging and accusatory mentality, and wish everybody would just settle down and identify the real problems we have in our country, put our heads together (as opposed to knocking them) and come up with some solutions. Maybe even just start with one thing and then resolve it, then move on to the next...and so on.

I think the first thing we might do is remember that we all are Americans, yet we don't have to all think and live the same way. It's actually okay to believe differently than our neighbors and have different lifestyles, different philosophies. There's something called "diversity" that makes life more interesting and rewarding--but the deal is, we need to actually pay attention to others and appreciate them for being who they are, and get to know about them, if not get to know them personally, well enough to like them and respect them, be grateful for what they bring to this country. I remember someone who was absolutely mean and hateful about the Vietnamese people who came to our small town in the PNW and worked hard, proving that they could contribute to our community and were given loans so they could buy a small business and make something of it. Boyhowdy, they did, and they did all right by themselves and helped each other and their extended families. They were successful. The hateful person? Well, she and her husband have gone on to be dishonest and fail at their business and are both pretty dismal and angry people, without their medication... lol. Hatred and mistrust and bigotry seems to take a toll on a person's health. I know I can't stand to be around them... I wish they were a fraction as nice as the Vietnamese people they hate so much, lol. Oh, well...

I know we're exceedingly blessed here in America. We're lucky as all get-out and some of us don't even know it. Other people from other places dislike us, mainly because we come off as being uppity and arrogant and we take so much for granted. I remember when I lived in Ireland, there were people who would come up to me and ask me if families really all had cars, or more than one car, and did our houses really have garages that were filled with all of our extra stuff so we had to park our car(s) outside...and then when I answered yes, yes, yes, they shook their heads--not so much in amazement, but in a sort of pitying, tongue-clucking way. We do take a lot for granted. We've been given a lot, here in the US of A, and the least we could do is to be grateful, take better care of it all and see if we might redistribute some of it amongst ourselves, so as to help those less fortunate.

I know, a girl can dream.....

Shawn

****

It's time for the Féile Moingfhinne....

"If I don't see you when the bonfires are burning, burning
If I don't see you when we're singing the Gloriana tune
If I've got to see you when it's raining deep inside the forest
I got to see you at the waning of the moon
Oh, won't you come on back?
Want you to be of good cheer
Come back home on the Celtic New Year"

Van Morrison, Celtic New Year

We love that song and it was included in our wedding playlist.

Yes, we're honeymooners, looking forward to reorganizing and packing away the wedding paraphanalia (love that word) and moving from the lighter into the darker half of our year.

These days, bonfires, music, dancing and harvest celebrations mark a time of readiness for the coming winter. Some ancient customs still live on, two of the most charming mentioned at Wikipedia: "....apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name. Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their movements interpreted - if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple."

Whatever you do to celebrate this season, may your days and nights all be peaceful and prosperous.

Ar mian leat a Samhna is beannaithe!

Shawn & SGTex
****
photo courtesy of: lordfett.com/myspace/samhain

Our wedding cake....

10~23~10

Just moments into our wedding day....

And lo, I'm blogging. What??

In spite of what the PC calendar/time says, it is, for all intents and purposes 10/23/10....

Okay, for you who think I'm nuts to be blogging less than 12 hours before the wedding-- consider this: It's either pack stuff in the car, or sit at the computer and keep Mister company while he winds up a project....

Yes, in 12 hours it will, for the most part, be said and done. There should be bubbles rising "Higher and Higher" to the sounds of Jackie Wilson.

Weather is iffy. For the first time in years, the weather gods have decided to keep us guessing, but right now there's a gorgeous full moon, which will turn into a new moon at the rightest of times.

It's been an eventful time, filled with all the feeling that can be packed into a long journey toward a most momentous occasion.

Love,

Shawn & SGTex

****

You've got to be bored out of your minds by now, but by the time you read this.....

....everything should be pretty much all wrapped up, pulled together and be easily construed as "wedding ready." (Yes, I said "should," and "pretty much," lol)

Actually, I'm officially off work now for the next week+, and just knowing that there's more than a couple of hours available to me to dedicate to this undertaking is a comfort. And so what did I immediately do, knowing that? Went in the bedroom and collapsed, konked out, napped. Yes. You can ask my Mister how often that happens. (Practically never). It sure felt good!

I know the whole world cannot possibly be interested in our wedding stuff, and those of you who have gotten this far following or dropping by to read all about it for however long it's been, well, you should get some sort of credit for having done so. Here: Thankyouverymuch!!! Our readership has grown by leaps and bounds for some reason (64 countries), and that's fun. Soon, there will hopefully be something else about which to blog. The bears will be hibernating, so that gives you all a bear break, too. (I do wish Lily and Hope would settle down and hole up for the winter....)

Sooo, the first of our company has arrived and we're looking forward to dinner with them, to kick off the celebration. There are blue skies forecast on Our Day (we are grateful for that), and it does actually look like we should be on The Learning Channel programming for hoarding wedding items, at our house. If you haven't been invited to drop by for a visit, it's not that we're antisocial (yeah, yeah, M), it's that there is absolutely No Place To Sit Down, unless it's at our computer armoires, LOL. Every surface seems to be covered with phfoo phfoo items. It looks like Martha Stewart dot com on crack.

No kidding.

See you after it's all over.......

Shawn
****

The last weekend before The Weekend....

.....and there is so much to do! Just finished talking to the caterer/event planner at the hotel, so the reception is finalized, no more decisions to be made about that. I can X that off the list!!

I've always admired pictures like this one here, with the bride looking so bride-like and demure, somewhat detached and garbed in such loveliness. It must be that she's the type who was able to delegate...which means she must have had a delegation of maids and family members to do her bidding. The groom, no doubt, didn't involve himself in much but the typical groomly, traditional things. Someone else dealt with the business-end of the wedding, right?

Not so, here :+).

Before things get really, really hectic, please, with 7 days to go....

Let me just take this opportunity to publicly give thanks:

1. For My Groom, who is very, very groomly, and has gone way over and above to do my bidding. He's been the Idea Man, Mr. Cake, Mr. Ceremony, Mr. Music, Mr. Gitterdone, and Gitterdone with a smile (for the most part). Even when things have been less than perfect, and even when I have exhibited more of the zilla than I have bride.... Thank you. I will always love you for being you. Truly, madly, deeply.....

2. For My Groom's son, Adam, who is going to see to it that our music makes music, indeed. He's going to take a chunk out of his weekend to be there for his Dad, and for me, and we appreciate that so very much. He's going to see about our Sasha while we're away, and says he'll give our hanging baskets a drink. We're terribly glad about Adam.

3. For Shawna, our officiant, who will officiate this wedding and be the calming influence when we're needing a calming influence. It turns out that she's just the ticket, and we appreciate her so very much.

4. For both Robert and Adam, who will give some very special readings at the ceremony. Thank you for making our day even more special. We appreciate it very much.

5. For our Near and Dear who are coming from far and wide to be here on our Big Day and bless us with their company. We appreciate your attendance and look forward to our visit with you. (I must mention that there really are no words to describe how special it is that my family is coming--you know who you are. Thank you.)

6. Honorable Mention must be made about the Family Patriarch, Boyd. He's coming in spite of the delays and calendar adjustments and happenings in his life that might have prevented him, were he less heroic than he is. Thank you, Boyd.

7. For Kimberly and Tara, who were so kind and sweet to offer to do some making and baking of good things. Thank you both for being so wonderful, for giving of your time and talent to enhance our reception.

8. For those who've been so kind as to send us your love and good wishes across the miles. Your words, your prayers, your gifts and the thought of you all are such a blessing....

We thank you!!

Shawn & Noel

*****

Only one more Monday to go....

....before that particular weekend. :+) Frankly, to tell you the truth (can you say all of that in the same sentence?), I'll be really happy to have reached 2 Mondays from now. We'll be on our honeymoon by then, won't we?....Yeah.

So, what's new? Well, this is, for all intents and purposes, Columbus Day. I'm not too impressed with this holiday, (not a big fan of Columbus and the way he supposedly handled things) and the only significant thing that ever happened to me on this holiday was when I was living in Ireland down country from Dublin, needed to go to the American Embassy, made the long trip up to the city with my friends, only to find out that the embassy was closed-- for Columbus Day. (Eyeroll) Perhaps I told this story before on this blog in the past. I guess it still irritates me....just kidding. I was pretty amazed by that. We did, however, go see the doors of Dublin, shopped and went to St. Stephen's Green and saw the swans. Somewhere I have a cute picture of a little boy toddler feeding a swan (not always a safe thing to do). It's really a great shot.

But I digress. Back to the USA, Republic of Texas, and today....It's actually gorgeous outside. Warm and breezy, the neighborhood is rather quiet for some reason. Well, it usually is, but today it was just peaceful sitting outside on the front porch and chatting. SGTex remembered some little cookies that had been tucked away in the freezer for our wedding reception, so he went in to get them out and show me-- I'd forgotten about them, lol. Yum. Raspberry. My favorite. This evening it's going to be some pecan-shelling for our nutcups and popcorn picnic (we make some killer sweetened/spiced pecans from our very own trees).

We've been to the park and tested the electricity, decided where to hang the pompoms, we think, and have spotted where to gather fresh mistletoe to lay around the wedding cake. Did we tell you the cake is absolutely going to be gorgeous?

Oh yeah, and the missing package, evidently delivered to oh, Mars, perhaps...that issue was resolved. Replaced. And the UPS guy came to the door and had SGTex SIGN a statement swearing we hadn't received the package, scratched his head and claimed, "I coulda sworn I left a package here...hmmm.....duhh....." LOL!! I tell you, there's a certain company in California who will have my business forever. They sent a replacement without so much as asking a "How come?" I was totally impressed. And SGTex tells me it was Fed Ex in the movie "Castaway." Glad I got that straightened out, lol.

We're getting our stuff together for the wedding and trip. Good times filled with music and reminiscences....CD-burning and hand-holding. Less than good times, finding out that some guests aren't able to come and be with us, for whatever reasons. Some legit, some perhaps not, lol.....which creates a situation for comforting hugs and more hand-holding. Weddings are evidently like that. There have been some unforgettable moments along the way to our Big Day. Like I said, weddings are evidently like that. :+)

So, obviously this was just a rambling blog post with nothing really profound to be said.

Hope your week (and ours) is just the best yet.

Shawn
****

Quick, look at the bears before they hide away....

Hope has gotten to be quite the beautiful bear....

And here's Lily, with a bit of dirt on her nose from digging.

They haven't yet revealed quite where they'll be spending the long winter, so we're still waiting on that to unfold.

Just had to share some sweet bear faces before they actually tuck themselves away ;+)...

Shawn

****

photos courtesy of: Lily the Black Bear page on Facebook

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could only.....

I think we manage some on the list better than others. How about you? :+)

It surprised me when I glanced up at the calendar on the wall next to my desk and saw that it was already Thursday. I think I'm still getting over the shock of seeing that it's actually October, LOL!! That means there aren't even 3 weeks left until our wedding weekend...O.M.G.

Okay, let me just set the paper bag I've been breathing into aside and see if I can collect the last few thoughts I might have left for this day.....

I've been mad about the rhino situation in Africa-- the poaching must stop! See about it here, and do whatever you can. Pass it on, be informed and inform others, please:

http://bushwarriors.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/south-africa-warrants-issued-more-shocking-arrests-expected-in-rhino-crime-syndicate-investigation/

Obviously, it's not just black bears which interest me, is it? I'm sorry to have to be sad, but someone has to put the word out and speak up against evil and cruelty. I don't want to find that when Mother Earth lets us know that enough is more than enough, I hadn't bothered to try to help!

Lately the news in the US has been focused on bullying, and young kids committing suicide because they cannot bear to endure one more day. That makes me sad, too. I saw a related story from the UK, too, so I know it's not just something we face here in the USA.

Something that I've been coming to is a sense of not just being part of my particular state and country, but realizing that I'm a member of the bigger, more global community. I guess that's what happens when one communicates with people all over this planet.

I find that to be awesome.

Shawn

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She's got a ticket to ride....

Hmmm....What to blog about this evening? It's been a busy Sunday, and we got about half of what we had planned for the day underway, and pretty much completed. That might have something to do with the fact that we didn't actually "rise and shine" until afternoon.... :+). Both of us are sitting at our desks with some pretty strong coffee before us, and it's about time to knock it off for the night, lol. He's actually working. I mentioned that I might see about working, but never quite made that particular connection. Watched a video, surfed the I'net, and sat here trying to remember *where did I put the silver heart stickers* that I ordered?!?! So far, nothing's coming to me. I tell ya, there have been several little items during this "journey to the wedding day" that have created some mind boggling. I actually used to be somewhat organized. That isn't the case any more, obviously, lol. More like well on the way to scrambled shambles status...sigh....

It's actually cooled off, into the realm of 50 degrees! Windows open, but I'm kinda shivering and am going to be pulling the comforter up past our feet tonight. That's pleasant, though. Last night we stepped outside and the crickets were singing like crazy-- I absolutely love that sound. Something you don't hear after dark in the Pacific Northwest. Texas is great.

We spent much of the day getting the groom's cake brandied and boxed. It is So. Very. Good. Mr. SGTex is quite the consummate chef and baker..... I think everyone will be glad they got to take some of that home with them after the wedding :+P. Private recipe....

So, that's about all I have to say. Less than 3 weeks to go, and so much to do. This past week has been the ultimate roller coaster ride, to tell you the truth!

Oh, wait, here's something:

I'm not into corporate bashing-- well, unless it's BP Oil, but~ United Parcel Service claims they delivered something Very Important to the wedding on September 29, at 5:20 p.m. to our front door. The Internet site offers "proof of delivery" (don't believe that for a minute--that is not so....) and lemme tellya, if they don't come up with some answers (and the package) tomorrow, we're setting the cat amongst the pigeons. OMG......

Hmm, wasn't it UPS that left Tom Hanks on a deserted island in "Castaway?" Well, then, thereya go.

I'll try and blog about the outcome of this little fiasco, and let the world know, lol. Speaking of world, we're waving hello at 58 countries now.

My goodness!

Shawn

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photo courtesy of: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2009/03/13/rollercoaster7_1.jpg