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

****

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

****

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

Falling leaves....

I guess I'm a few days late for making a celebratory Autumnal post. Just thought this was pretty and wanted to share. I absolutely love leaves, especially at this time of year. There's a big maple tree in Washington that should be growing quite spectacular about now...it's my most favorite tree anywhere, ever. :+)

Enjoy your autumn, everyone, everywhere....

Shawn

****

photo courtesy of: http://www.asp-support.com/fluhrerdesigns/DemoFinishedProduct/AutumnLeavesII.JPG

You are getting very sleepy....

Mother Lily and daughter Hope, having a little snooze time in the woods. Evidently Little Miss Hope doesn't miss a thing, as her eyes are wide open, staring into Sue's camera, lol.

They've been busy working on a den, and it's yet to be determined if this particular project will prove satisfactory to them. We shall see...

And then, here's Jo.

If you look closely at this picture, you'll find that she's snoozing away on the carcass of an unfortunate deer (thought to have been possibly injured by a bow hunter). Reportedly, she hasn't left this spot for the last day or so.

It's obviously Autumn in the Big Woods.

We've finally had a couple of cooler days here in Texas, and it actually feels very much like September in the Pacific Northwest-- very pleasant to me (as well as anybody else who happens to notice it's not hotter than blazes, lol.) I love sleeping with the windows open at night and the breeze coming in the windows. Don't get me wrong--air conditioning is a very good thing, but the fresh, cool air is free, lol.

Shawn

****

photos, as always, courtesy of: Lily The Black Bear, thanks to Sue M.

Elegant Lily....

....the black bear, yesterday. 

She and Hope have been getting their den ready to occupy, it seems.  I thought this was a particularly wonderful picture of her.   I've been fascinated and mystified about the process of hibernation and am going to be interested to see if/when there's a den cam to view.  We've all been keeping our fingers crossed, trusting that she and her daughter Hope would den together and everything would be safe and cozy. 

Goodnight, all!

Shawn

****

Autumn's arrival....

From what I gather, most everyone is saying, "Finally!!"  Seems like summer just flew by, and here we are.  There will still be some pretty warm weather, but it is time for leaves to be falling and turning pretty colors.  We won't see much of that around these parts, but other places really put on a show.  One of these days, I'd love to get up the east coast to see the leaves turning-- it's on my bucket list ;+). 

I almost decided to find a picture of a roller-coaster.  That's the kind of ride it's been for me, the last week or so!  Whew.  You know, I never wanted to ride the rollercoaster at the fair, for good reason....and I still don't much care for it, in the metaphorical sense, lol.  Still leaves me queazy and with that sort of disturbed, somewhat cranky feeling, when things aren't altogether as they could be.  That's when it's time to stop, get off and take a breather.  I suspect I should have taken SGTex up on his offer of a fuzzy navel cooler yesterday, but maybe it will be more effective this afternoon, when I can appreciate it a little more, haha. 

Speaking of yesterday, it was just pretty much perfectly awful for the most part, just the whirling dervish emotional stuff that comes with trying to mix work and wedding planning and the day-to-day stuff.  Then came a knock on the door, and it was a neighbor lady asking about "a little tan dog with a black muzzle...."  This particular little dog moved into the neighborhood and has made himself a real nuisance.  A tiny dog with a gigantic attitude, terrorizing all the well-behaved dogs within miles (including our two pups).  Well, he'd been hit by a car and killed on our street, and she was wanting to make sure where it lived.  It was very sad, and I cried...I really, really hate it when that happens, and it could be avoided with more care given to keeping dogs at home where they belong.  Sigh.....

Anyway, today seems better, and there's miles and miles of work to be done, so I'm going to coffee up and do it.  I hope your Friday is the beginning of a great weekend for us all!!

By the way, welcome to the oodles of new blog readers from interesting places around the world.  We're at 55 countries, all of a sudden, and I don't know how that even happened!  But, hey!  I'm sure glad it has :+)

Shawn
****
A really cute Texas birdbath (not in our back yard, lol) photo courtesy of:  http://americainshort.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/autumn-956.jpg

May dear Cal rest in peace....

Sad news:

Lily's brother Cal was radio-collared, unable to be given ribbons, killed by a hunter. 

Sue M, giving the late Cal bear his radio collar...

photo courtesy of:  Lily The Black Bear. 

Shawn & SGTex
****

Sometimes I feel like a nut....

....on the other hand, no thanks.  I'll pass--on the things that I currently consider to be nuts.  I'm talkin' about things that can drive me craaaazy...as in *you-gotta-be-kidding* nuts.  Things that really make me go, "Whaaaa???"

Got nuts?  Here, for instance, is the latest story I just read on line, about an incident in a town called Trophy Club, Texas.  Their high school evidently suspended a 16-year-old male student for coming to school with bloodshot (red) eyes.  He was accused of using marijuana, so they suspended him.  But his eyes were red because....(are you ready for this???) his father had been murdered, and he had been crying. 

Can you imagine?!!  Appalling.  The story can be found on line via Google. 

More nuts?  Oh, let's see.  Today I was on Facebook and asked another FB friend about her post regarding the "See You At The Pole" event at a local school (where kids meet before school hours to pray--these would be kids who are most often conservative, born-again Christians, and you can also Google about that.  Interesting information at the Religious Tolerance website if you care to know more, for instance).  Well, I asked for the poster's thoughts about the aspect of constitutionality (as in US Constitution rights) and this poster's daughter jumped on and really lit into me, assuming I was anti-this and anti-that.  Nervy, hmm?  She was wrong....but one thing was made aBUNdantly clear--I'm really, really glad to be 99.9% free of having to deal with that type of person in my life these days.  Whew.  Unpleasant, to say the least. 

There is some interesting discussion to be had about Constitutional rights, about freedom of worship, freedom of speech, when the line gets crossed in the wrong way, separation of church and state, etc....I'm all for religious tolerance, and I'm all against religious intolerance, especially when it is practiced on the premises of city hall, public schools, etc....Some people seem to forget that the United States of America isn't ONLY a nation of one particular sort of faith or another.  There's room for all faiths, here....

Even more nuts?

I could probably come up with a few more things that I consider to be nutty, or things that make me nutty in particular.  Junk mail used to really bother me.  So do phone books, haha.  I'm not scared of them or anything-- I just find it weird and disturbing that they seem to accumulate so quickly and never seem to be thrown out.  Bacon grease makes me nuts.  (Sorry, Honey)... But more often these days, it's stuff I'm responsible for and haven't gotten resolved, like the boxes of wedding stuff sitting all over the house that need to be organized, reduced in number, stowed away neatly on shelves or in the shed.  And pictures that need to be hung...Or how about the half-finished wedding projects that need to be completed and crossed off the list?  Yeah.  What about _____ and _____?  Go ahead, fill in the blanks.  Chances are, there's a high likelihood what you put there at your desk would most likely apply here at my desk ;+).

OTOH, speaking of nuts, our pecan trees are absolutely laden with a bumper crop of beautiful nuts that will prove to be absolutely scrumptious.

Now, we're talkin' nuts!!

Shawn
****

On behalf of gentle Jo, Lily and Hope and their forest friends....

poster courtesy of:  Lily The Black Bear

Shawn
****

Between Thursday and Friday....

....I dreamed of the border regions of being.

When I awoke, I remembered only something between water and land, silence and speech, sleep and waking, and thought: "Here it is, the esthetics of indeterminacy. And here it is again..."



by: Lev Rubinstein, translated by Alex Halberstadt  (http://www.jewcy.com/ )
 
Well...
I did dream last night, and it was strange.  A lot of stairs leading to and from vast empty spaces in parking garages that overlooked empty streets.  Somehow, I ended up arriving at evening choir practice on a Sunday evening at the old church my family attended when I was a little girl.  And for some reason, I was supposed to go change clothes.  My aunt and cousin were sitting in the pew behind me and when I sat down they laughed.....Haha.  It was when I saw that the line into the dressing room was quite long that I became bored and woke myself up.  (Actually, I think SGTex awoke, got up to feed Sasha, and that is what woke me up, lol)
 

I don't know anything really profound to say today (not that I ever do, lol).  We're coming down the home stretch on the wedding plans....This morning I was wondering what will occupy our thoughts and time, once the wedding is past.  Hmmm.  I'm sure we'll come up with something!  I know!!  Paying for it!!! Hahaha.  We were delighted to know that M&R, two of our most special guests set out today on their trip from Washington state, planning to visit friends, camp and kayak all the way to Texas!  That was great news.

I guess I'd better get back to work.  SGTex is in the kitchen making some beef stew, and the fragrance is wonderful....

Hope your Thursday is leading up to a fantastic Friday!

Shawn

****

pictures courtesy of:  Jeannine Coats Cooper, to be found on Facebook 

Beautiful bear....

~ Juliet ~

09.13.10

I couldn't resist posting this, for all the world to see and smile....
Shawn
****
photo courtesy of :  Lily the Black Bear

OMG, Honey!!! Forty days.....

.....and so much to do!!!!

Can I tell you a secret?  Okay, sometimes I think about what it's going to be like--in *41* days, LOL!  When it's all said and done (and paid for-haha), everything we're wondering about, as in "How are we going to manage that?" will be--you know, like--completed. 

Also, I imagine what it will be like to get out of the car and hear our music playing downtown....seeing SGTex standing there....Look at the pompoms hanging in the tree, and the flower petals we've collected and dried to scatter, with our special songs playing...our near and dear folks who came...the wall-of-water fountain with the lotus floating in the pool....the ritual, the vows, more music, the readings, what Shawna will have to say, what I'll say, what SGTex will say...

Then, it makes me smile to imagine that last bit when the bubbles start to swirl around us and float up to the sky to Jackie Wilson's "Higher..."  :+)  

It's going to be wonderful.  The whole kit and kaboodle of it all.  Each task we have yet to complete is sweet and happy, really.....I'm sitting here at the desk which is pretty much obscured by polyurethane and ______s (that's supposed to still be a secret) sitting around waiting to be wrapped and beribboned and tucked in pretty gift bags, etc., etc....

I found this picture when looking for wedding bouquet examples.  I just finished--wait, no, it's not quite finished, come to think of it...But what I was saying was, this picture made me smile, as it's a great, nearly exaggerated depiction of the 1920-style bouquet.  I wanted some ivy trailing a bit, but this is like, woah....more than plenty, there....charming.  Wouldn't it be something to see these in color?!  Although, come to think of it, the flowers are likely pale shades of spring, but still it would be lovely to see. 

But this morning before we even actually got up, we watched "Bearwalker of the North Woods" on Animal Planet.  SGTex got up and called DishNetwork and made them give us Animal Planet (with only about 15 minutes to spare) so we could watch Dr. Lynn and Sue work their bear magic.  It's really a great documentary, and I can't wait to see what BBC is going to do next.  Who'd have thought people like us in Texas would get all wrapped up and be so involved with Ursus Americanus-types up in Minnesota?!  Well, we are....

SGTex has been busy wrangling the newish job into something that works for him, and after the wedding is over I'm hoping that he'll have more time to do his writing and get some free time with absolutely nothing that has to be done.  I bet when that happens we'll be seeing more of HIM on this here blog....Yay!!!!!

So, I guess I'd better see about getting this show on the road and get busy.  Or, I might just grab some more coffee and call a friend ;+).  If your phone rings in about 10 minutes, that'll be me......

Shawn
****
photo courtesy of : petalina.files.wordpress.com (and I have no idea where they got it, lol!)

09.11....

New York City, USA

photo courtesy of:  stephenrahn.com

Shawn & SGTex
****