Happy Anniversary!

My computer is still DEAD. Jack E. is still working on it when she has a few minutes to spare, she doesn't offer a lot of hope. Hopefully I will at least be able to get all the photos off (you know, the ones I should have been backing up for the last six months as she advised me? yeah, those photos.)

But I had to post today because it's a biggie I cannot miss.


Two weeks ago we were able to attend the temple in Los Angeles for El Guapo & Felicity's wedding.

Same room, same temple, almost the same family in attendance as when Hubby and I were married there 23 years ago.

 1988 was when wedding fashion was at its greatest heights. Literally. Take a second look at the height of my veil if you doubt me...

Love you, Hubby. You're the greatest.
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Technical difficulties

I'm behind on posting the next installment of MAWR 2011 because my computer has

DIED.

Stone cold, blue screened

DEAD.

I think I'm going to cry.

All I have to share with you today is a story. About my darlingest loveliest vivacious angel boy, Thing Two. He has never bothered to get a drivers license, primarily because he's an exceptional tightwad. He doesn't want to pay for insurance or to repair a car.
You see, he knows how much it actually costs. And he'd rather spend his money elsewhere ***cough - XBOX LIVE***

For many years he has used his feet and legs to get where he wants: he LOVES cycling. When he moved into the bachelor pad across town, he moved significantly further away from his place of employment. Previously, his bike would have him to work in about two minutes, or he could walk it in about seven.

Now it's more like half an hour on the bike, approximately forever on foot. So he's obviously taking the bike. And since he works at the movie theatre, sometimes he's biking home in the extreme darkness that is one a.m....

But I'm his mother and it's my job to worry, so I came up with an ingenious plan to ensure his safety!

One:
He needs a new, brightly colored bike that ignorant sleepy motorists can see in the dark. Found: bright YELLOW Mongoose bike with reflectors.

Two:
He should have lots of lights on his bike, good bright LED ones... Red flashing wheel lights, headlight and tail light. Found them purchase them put them on the bike. It's only slightly obnoxious.

Three:
He needs one of those neon colored reflective vests that crossing guards and meter readers wear.....


and maybe something else to ensure we catch their attention:

It's kept him safe so far....

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MAWR 2011 Chapter Two

You might want to go back to the previous post if you missed it,

sign in at the guest book and read my lovely poem.

Or not.

Or you could just proceed with me to the "photo booth" to have your picture taken

by my lovely neice, Victorius:

Hello, Victorius! She is a college student and aspiring photographer. And in the pink there is Thing One who just had her hair done. Isn't she lovely? In the blue is my other sister, Peggle.

So sit right down in the white lawn chair, and choose a prop:

ONE OF THE PROPS HAS A BACKSTORY!

THIS:

has lived under my piano for about ten years. I never quite knew what to do with it.

It was waiting for a mission.

This is from the late seventies, I believe. The avocado green paint and white linen liner give it away. I think I made it look a tab bit better, with only some aqua spray paint and a little antiquing:

This is a low budget "photo booth" but still a lot of fun, as demonstrated by the following participants:

Thing Two and Luke Skywalker

Thing One, Screamapillar and Eclair

And El Guapo

After you've had your picture taken, you should mosey on over to take a look at the fantastical cake table. Once again, all flower creations were made by the talented sister of the groom (SAS Floral!).

So here's the fantastical cake table:

I don't know about you, but I LOVE the chandelier.

Like I said, The Diva has style. This is awesome.

Next time: Are you hungry?

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The Most Awesome Wedding Reception of 2011. Seriously. And Pinterest.

Okay, I've been back from California for all of three days now and my sister has been endlessly pestering me to get the pictures finished. Holy Crap. Could I maybe buy some milk first? or get a full night's sleep for the first time in about 2 months now that the wedding is done?

No.

I must post photos.

of

The. Most. Awesome. Wedding. Reception. of. 2011.

Are you ready? For lots and lots and lots of pictures?

You see, this was more than a wedding. It is a physical manifestation of my sister's deep and abiding passion for Pinterest. If you haven't discovered Pinterest yet, run away now. Really. Because once you enter, there is no way to rip yourself away. She made me take all these photos for Pinterest before I took even one picture of the family. So you can see how this would be a dangerous addiction.

Something you should know about my sister (hereafter know as Diva), is that she has an incredible amount of style. She knows how to make something that looks good look amazing instead, and she can work miracles on a shoestring budget.

Why hello, Diva. Thank you for showing us your hairy legs. The gentleman next to her is NOT her husband, that is my other BIL, Fireman. He's an amiable sort, smiles even when everything around him is insane.

I now present for your viewing enjoyment, M(ost) A(wesome) W(edding) R(eception) 2011, Installment One: The Entry and Guestbook:

Oh, dear. Diva? Did you notice someone wrote on your mirror in lipstick? You meant to do that? Okay. Nevermind. 

Love these signs.

Lovely original artwork by my very talented BIL (Diva's husband). He gives one to everyone that gets married in the LA temple. Except us. We never got one because he hates us. Or maybe because we got married before he knew us. I choose to think that he hates us.

Diva picked up this amazing door somewhere, it was fantastic. Old rusty hardware, and the perfect weathered look without looking like it was a piece of junk they found under a pier somewhere.

Diva got the knobs at Anthro, and the Athen's Girls (two lovely ladies from Athens of all places, whom El Guapo met on his mission) artfully attached all these fun photos. 

Here's the guest book table, which formerly resided in Diva's entry. 

I should tell you now that ALL of the Wonderful and Beautiful flowers were done by my talented niece (sister of El Guapo and mother of Gabbie and Pedro). She can be found here at SAS Floral.


Seated at this bench:

(which I sewed a cover for at 1am the night before), you would have this view of the guestbook table, in all it's glory:

Now, I'm hoping you notice all the lovely details: Hurricane lantern, daisy ball made by lovely niece, fantastic photos taken by yours truly, finial on lower level, great guestbook by Shutterfly, willowy lamp.....hey! what the heck is that on the lamp? 

Whatever it is, it has inspired the following poem:

Ode to the Squidtastic Tassel

I cannot look away

because I can't quite figure out what you are

an escaped sea creature?

or merely a fanciful embellishment.

Perhaps we will never know.

But you are the right color

to fit in with the wedding decor.

And after all

Everyone knows

that is the most important thing of all.

Another look at this item in it's natural habitat:

And HELLO Athen's Girls! Thank you for all of your help, you were WONDERFUL!

One last photo, an overview of the entry, and an introduction to the next installment:

No. The next installment is not "Men who speak with their hands too much." It instead has something to do with niece Victorious (with the camera on the left) and those two peoples sittin' in the lawn chair there.

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Laid to rest.

With all the joyful hullabaloo of the wedding, we had a very sad event occur as well. My wonderful dad's twin brother passed away last week. His funeral service is today, and I'd like to share with you the obituary of a man who lived life to the fullest.

Darryl & Dennis

ST THOMAS, VI   Darryl L. Kane, 68, passed away in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on Monday, June 6, 2011 after his long battle with stage four cancer. He fought this battle with vengeance and dignity. Darryl was born on November 13, 1942 in Los Angeles, Calif., to Edward & Florence (Reeves) Kane. 

Dennis (L) and Darryl (R)

Professionally, Darryl was a successful consultant with specialties in mergers & acquisitions as well as corporate startups and reconstruction. Darryl served in the United States Navy from 1960 to 1966. He was an accomplished sailor with the high marks in the NavCad program and also won the "Iron Man" award seven (7) times in Miramar, Calif. Darryl specialized in radar electronics and served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War in 1964 & 1965, on the Oriskany and the Kitty Hawk. After his career in the Navy, he was employed with IBM as their Santa Monica, Calif., branch manager for five years before his entrepreneurial spirit led him to venture out on his own, ultimately leading him to Pennsylvania. Through his illustrious career, Darryl has owned and sold several technology consulting firms and was an expert in Database technologies and shop floor control. 

Darryl was also an adventurer and inventor at heart. In 1976, Darryl was responsible for creating the Gemini II Project, which was the first truly hybrid car made from a 1976 OldsmobileCutlass Supreme. The Gemini II project, and its many revolutionary concepts that Darryl is responsible for, are fully documented in the May 1976 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. He was a successful pilot too, holding a commercial rating for many years and logging over 2200 hours of flight time, most in his twin-engine Seneca III airplane. He was an avid snow skier since his early 20's and enjoyed aquatic sports such as SCUBA Diving and jet skiing from 1981 to 2009, ultimately conquering the ultimate jet skiing adventure, jet skiing the Caribbean Sea. Darryl was also a road racing enthusiast all of his life and became an accomplished race car driver in Formula Continental series beginning 1995, winning the championships in the most difficult regions in the U.S. across multiple sanctioning bodies from 1998 to 2001. 

In his last years, he was able to live another dream by retiring in the Caribbean and realize a life-long goal of navigating the Caribbean skies. He felt blessed with the many friends and close relationships he was able to have there in the years before and during his medical condition. 

Darryl is survived by his two sons, Jed C. Kane of Fairfax, Va. and Shawn Darryl C. Kane and his wife Tami of York; as well as his two daughters, Colleen A. Avery-Kane of Ephrata and Kathleen M. Kane of Elizabethtown; grandkids, Abbi Kane, Jed's daughter, Justin Darryl T. Kane, Shawn and Tami's son, Conner Avery, and Cormick Avery, Colleen's sons; 

brothers, Jerry Kane of Los Angeles, Calif., Tom Kane of Columbus, Ohio, and twin brother, Dennis Kane of Utah. 

Darryl, Dennis, Jerry and Tom

Darryl was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, family man and true friend. 

For those who knew him, Darryl touched their lives with his dedication to friendship and warm heart. He was a mentor & teacher of many things to many different people and brought joy with his smile wherever his journeys took him. He will be dearly missed by us all, but never forgotten. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, from J.J. Hartenstein Mortuary, Inc., 24 N. Second St., New Freedom, with the Rev. Dr. Peggy Click officiating. There will be a visitation held at the mortuary immediately prior to the service beginning at 1 p.m. Entombment will be in Susquehanna Memorial Gardens, York.

 We'll miss you, Uncle Darryl.

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Happily Ever After

Well, they did it. Felicity and El Guapo are married!

It was completely awesome. And tiring. But mostly awesome.

No time to post today, recovering. But I did want to give you a heads-up on some upcoming posts you won't want to miss. These posts may or may not be about:

THE MOST AWESOME WEDDING OF THE YEAR

Top Ten Indicators That Your Motel is a Dive.

How to travel with children

How NOT to travel with children

Lobsters

AND TRANSVESTITES..

I leave you today with a picture of my lovely children, all dressed up and trying to behave like civilized human beings:

Home Alone

As mother was too busy and frazzled to update the blog, I figured I'd fill all ya'll in.

Mother exhibited her mad skillz by sewing wedding party dresses for myself, Screamapillar and Eclair. She also took some 400 bridal portraits of Felicity, edited said photos, and made some adjustments on Felicity's dress for comfort sake. She also did many much more things that I can't even recall because they were so numerous. So I publicly thank mother for all her amazing work and to say, WE LOVE YOU MAMA!

She did all this in time to leave with the family yesterday afternoon (And managed to get everyone out of the house within two hours of the original goal time, which I think is a new record) to head to California for the wedding. Alas, I have work, so I get to stay here which means...I am the only one in the house.

O.O

Score.

So anybody wanna guess what I did once the whole family left for California and I had the house to myself?

Did I eat ice cream and go on a chick flick binge?

Did I watch the entire first season of "Angel?"

Or did I go attend wild parties and come home at 3 am?

Maybe I had A BOY come over. *GASP*

Well you'd be right about one thing...I spent the night with a boy.

Remember this guy?


As illustrated in this photo, Gus is a cat of very little brain. Shortly after this picture was taken, I turned the faucet on and he merely looked at it in bewilderment before realizing that he was getting wet. Sometimes, he reminds me of the "Simple Dog," (of Hyperbole and a Half) . On any given day, he will be lounging on the floor of the most inconvenient walkway possible. He will sit on the shelf next to Stevie's cage and wonder at what this small creature is, before forgetting that there is glass and running into it. My personal favorite is his complete lack of self preservation instinct, which leads to lack of coordination and general adoration/coddling/being carried around like a toy dog from small children. But I digress.

Last night, I spent my time trying to teach our special cat to jump out through the downstairs bathroom window (at ground level!) so that he could get outside on his own. Muffin, our angelic cat, figured this one out on her own. In fact, she's the one that taught us to do it. Gus...just doesn't get it. Either he's afraid of heights, or he just doesn't understand the concept of "Climbing."I have tried everything short of climbing out the window myself to illustrate that said window can also be an egress, but he fails to comprehend. I even put him outside while it was raining, and then called and waved to him through the window to get his attention, but he simply stayed by the door I put him out of and meowed to be let back in. I'm just going to make sure the litter-box is clean and all the doors are closed and hope for the best.

Stupid cat.

EDIT: in my own defense of not being a COMPLETE cat lady, I also did various cleaning around the house in addition to trying to educate the cat. I also attended a choir rehearsal. So I'm not a COMPLETE lost cause.

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