Photographers

"The Packages:
Four hours $2,580
Six hours $3,450
Your Full Day $5,670"

That, according to A Practical Wedding is affordable. What is considered non-affordable?

Text for Invitation?

I want to clear up some of my tabs, so lets close the one on invitation etiquette.

Here are my thoughts on the phrasing:

[Dea-chan]
and
[Mister]
request the honor of your presence
to celebrate their marriage
at
[address]
on
[September something, 2012]
at
1 pm

RSVP: [our address]

Thoughts? It's just going to be the reception, and I'm not quite sure how to phrase that exactly. I'm also not sure if the "honor of your presence" is quite appropriate considering how godsdamned informal it's going to be. K, thoughts?

I figured in the invitation envelope would be a business card sized paper with the info for the registry, and a postcard with RSVP info (yes/no and chicken/beef/veg, etc).

Horror of All Horrors, Wedding Stuff!

Mister and I are taking the super slow route of figuring stuff out (a.k.a. he's being a bum and claiming he needs to 'think it over' for everything :-P). Now our reactions are completely par for the course as I want shit DONE and he wants it RIGHT.

What has been more or less decided:

Food: Redbones BBQ, a local (and amazing) BBQ place with catering starting from around $10/head

Ceremony: City Hall, Justice of the Peace, no witnesses (not required for JoP :-D). It requires $50 cash for license, and $12 per copy of certificate

Reception Location: Mister's uncle's house 40 mins away (which I am super proud of finding on google maps) They also have a couple of acres not visible from the road (Mister would like to add that we really have no idea where it's going to be held, but that it is an option that has been offered but we haven't actually spoken to them.)



Headcount: 60

Time of day: 1pm-4/5pm

Time of year: late September, 2012

Music: not sure if there will be any, but if we do have music, it will be Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band

Photographer: not sure if there will be one, but if we do have a photographer, it will probably be Mister's coworker, Todd

Rings: Jade Moran, same as my engagement. I will probably get palladium with a design similar to the vines on my engagement ring, although hopefully I can reuse someone's custom design for cheaper (Jade draws all of her vines very similarly :-P).

Invitations: will be done by me

Decorations: I've handed off to Mister. He said that he wanted a say in it, so I said "awesome. Your job now!" When he tried to protest, I informed him that I like surprises (unlike him) and I don't want to hear a thing about it.

Hair: I'm doing

Makeup: I'm doing

Dress: I will be making
Stats
Color: white
length: just below the knee
size: full skirt
crinoline: no, but probably petticoats (I like the weight)
sleeves: no, wide straps plus a shawl
details: some lace trim (maybe), red sash
aesthetic: fairly casual

Some Things We Are NOT Having At the Wedding*:

-- alcohol
-- first dance/Mother-Son dance/Father-Daughter dance/retardedness
-- cake. We'll probably have cookies
-- a wedding party (i.e., bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc.)
-- videographer
-- stage manager
-- bachelor/bachelorette parties
-- wedding insurance (seriously guys? that's a thing?)
-- florist. any flowers will either be picked or bought at the grocery store
-- limos or other specialty vehicles
-- tuxedos
-- ring inscriptions
-- spa treatments
-- name change arrangements. Not happening for either of us.
-- toasts
-- "Throw bridesmaids' lunch or party, at which you'll distribute gifts/jewelry." <-- what is that shit? People have too much money to burn...


I dunno what else to even talk about. The registry is at Amazon, but still needs a final going over by Mister ("we have time, I'll get to it..."), I haven't picked out pretty shoes yet, I am only 12% done on my shawl, I'm not sure if there will be favors or what they would be (Mister was like "Etsy!" and I was like "$10-15/person?!" to which he went "oh yeah..." and I reminded him that my uncle's wedding had after dinner mints in a bundle of tulle.). I thought about perhaps doing the Indian Wedding Henna Party type thing, but as I'm not Indian, I can't really pull that one off. I thought about having a nuclear family brunch pre-reception, but Mister says that requiring people to have to stay two nights in an expensive area isn't very nice.

I did put my foot down and say that I'm getting prepped with the ladies, which he grumbled about. Our budget is around $2000, but we're not quite sure what ENSMB's and Todd's prices would be. If it's too much, or would double our budget ($3200 starting rates for wedding photography my ass) it shall be cut. If the music gets cut, then there won't be dancing as I find both DJs (expensive and retarded) and iPods (cheap and retarded) unworthy of attention. It'll just be food and hanging out.

Mister is super upset and worried about the dates for when we'll have the party, as his sister's getting married early September, and he's claiming late September could be too cold ("it could be snowing!"). I told him that if it's snowing I'll just add grey knitted tights to my grey crocheted shawl and call it a day.

_________

*I'm maybe acting a bit angry about some of this stuff, but I've been wading through a sea of BS ever since I started looking into a wedding. I have found exactly ONE website that I respect: A Practical Wedding as it's the only one that doesn't try to sell you stuff, have you make hand-painted tchotchkes, or care what you do so long as it's YOU. They don't care what your budget is, or what you have so long as you know why you're including what you are. Whether you're doing it because "everyone is and you hadn't thought of it/don't care enough to change it" or "it's a tradition that I find meaningful joining" or even "it's what feels right to me and my partner". The other thing I super respect is their respect towards LGBTQ weddings. Wanna hear something scary? The uber wedding site "The Knot" has this lovely little notice on the bottom:

Once you're a member of The Knot, you can easily log in to our sister sites The Nest and The Bump.

Is that not the scariest thing you've ever heard? Because once you've wasted your life planning your wedding, you're clearly not going to be doing anything other than redecorating your husbands home and popping babies. (*shudder)

P.S. Awesome pick of Mister, taken by Todd, while at Redbones

Rain and Fall

This post is a bit of stream-of-consciousness writing.

As I type this, it's raining decently hard and I get to wear cords and a turtle-neck sweater (which I spilled coffee on! :-( ). I love listening to the rain, and my favorite memories as a kid are surrounding rain. The sound cars make driving on wet pavement, and the smell after the rain of Bristol-Meyers Squibb. I have no idea what Bristol produced, but my mother always blamed the smell I loved on them. :-P Some kind of factory smell, maybe with a bit of sulphur?

This kind of weather makes me want to curl up with tea and a blanket, perhaps write or read a bit.

I had to run an errand today that wound up being unnecessary. A very dear friend just moved across the country and I had to go put her remaining belongings on the curb. Turns out, building management took care of it for her/me! But it was nice to get out of the house and know that the house would be warm and waiting for me. Also, for some unknown reason I really enjoy walking in the rain. I am not an umbrella-dweller, I put on my leather jacket, sturdy pants and shoes and a hat to keep the rain off of my head and glasses. This last bit is quite important, as I turn into Cranky Bitch (TM) with a wet head.

When walking in the rain, I love how everyone is in their own little world (and its NOT caused by headphones), merely trying to make their way around the puddles. I also enjoy seeing who else is reveling and who is hiding from the rain. Who is firmly ensconced in their layers and coverings and who is simply appreciating the barest requirement of a jacket... or not.

When Mister and I were first dating, we went to a music festival for one weekend. It poured when it wasn't hotter than hell, and I was miserable and crabby. When Mister convinced me to leave the tent during one rainstorm, I was upset for a while. And then, it switched. I was wet enough that I could get no wetter and just enjoyed being wet and being wet with others who enjoyed it. We were dancing, and hopping, and skipping, and splashing and it was glorious.

Yet for all that I scorn umbrellas and those that use them (I hate seeing umbrella people hogging sidewalks and acting seemingly unaware of this fact) I have seen some beautiful umbrellas that I want. I would love the one that is a black umbrella with blue skies inside. I want with a passion this beautiful 24-paneled umbrella (I just called and found the info :-P) from Vista International, "Memphis". It's just classy looking.



And there are all of the beautiful red and scalloped and decorated ones out there. I do so love beauty of form and an umbrella can be absolutely beautiful (I know I'm over-using that word, but I love the look of the word 'beautiful' so much more than any of its synonyms :-P).

When I was in high school I was in a production of Once On This Island. The song Rain was choreographed with all of the chorus coming out with blue and white mini-umbrellas that were decorated with hanging strings of beads. We all danced with the umbrellas and swung them around and up and waved them back and forth. That was my favorite scene to do for that reason. That and the soloist for that song (Agwe, God of Water) was phenomenal and really carried the scene. He was the master of that piece since the first read-through and it never failed to impress me.

My plants are ever so happy that it's raining. After all of my high hopes, I have one really happy canteloupe plant (still covered in blossoms), one sad, stunted canteloupe, three happy bell pepper plants, six happy black cherry tomato plants and two sad black cherry tomato plants. I'm looking forward to getting a small harvest of SOMETHING!

I broke the "rules" today and went and bought a coffee and a snack. $4.21 for my bagel and coffee. It is just such a lazy, comfy day I couldn't help myself (that and we have little-to-no food in the house). It's due to this lack of food that I pulled a roast out of the freezer and plopped it into the crock pot two hours ago. I threw in a bottle of shitty homebrew, a carton of beef stock, some Worcestershire sauce, some molasses, some tomato paste and a bunch of herbs. We'll see how it turns out.

I love the color of the light in my house during the rain. It's such an even, warm grey that it feels like I must be a ghost in my own home. And then if I turn a light on, it becomes a warm, cheery yellow/pink like a fire. This kind of day makes me wander the house feeling satisfied with nothing to do. I am strangely good at doing nothing and having no thoughts. I am just content.

I am currently listening to my favorite clarinet sonata, Saint-Saens Op. 167. It's absolutely beautiful and I think everything that a clarinet could be. Ah, the end of the piece, now I am onto Poulenc and Saint-Saens' oboe sonatas. Both Poulenc and Saint-Saens towards the end of their lives, within a few years of each other, wrote three woodwind sonatas: oboe, clarinet and bassoon. They are absolutely beautiful and complement each other well. I love the oboe pieces, but they do not fill my heart the way the clarinet piece does. Clarinet is just such a warmer sound, a perfect sound to settle oneself during a rainstorm. Oboe is a little more prickling -- it makes me wonder, and it makes me restless. It is such a questing sort of sound. It is always asking questions; that is, if it is done well. Clarinet is content in itself, oboe is always striving towards something.

This entry is dedicated to my great friend mle.

iPad Gleanings

I've had few tabs up on the iPad for weeks, so lets close them down, shall we?

Spiced Carrot Waffle recipe

This has been such an interesting thread. I posted the statistics for food born illness from home canned food in the comments section but I will just add (for those that don’t read the comments) most botulism is infant botulism coming from feeding babies foods that adults can tolerate but are not good for babies (honey is one example). The second cause if wound infection as botulism occurs naturally. Take good care of even small injuries. The incidence of food born botulism is very small with only 21 cases being reported last year. You are far more likely to get ill from eating commercial spinach than from my home canned tomatoes. Here are the take home points. Use up-to-date recipes from approved sources, proper equipment and excellent hygiene and you will be fine. Do not can anything with gravy. Make the gravy later-it only takes a minute. Don’t can dense things like pureed pumpkin or squash as the interior may not get hot enough. Don’t can in 1/2 gallon jars. Add acid to tomato products. Boil canned vegetables for 10 minutes before eating. I know. The idea of canned green beans being boiled for ten minutes is pretty unappealing which is why I freeze or dehydrate my vegetables. Don’t can milk products in a water bath as they are low acid and not safe.

from the Just In Case book blog

This heat wave is pretty awful, especially if you’re very young, very old or if you are health compromised. Maybe you’re lucky and have AC that you can afford to run but if, like me, you have chosen to discard the AC or if you just don’t have it, you should make some plans about how you will handle the heat.

I begin each hot, humid morning by closing up the house. I shut the windows and doors and close the curtains to keep the hot air out and the cool, night air in. I put jars of water with lots of ice in a cooler on the counter. This prevents people from constantly opening the door to the freezer and the refrigerator to get something cold to drink. I put a pile of wash cloths in the same cooler and use those to mop the kids down from time to time.

I head out to the garden in the very early morning. Any work that needs to be done is finished before 10:00 or waits until late afternoon. I give any tender plants a good drink very early so the water won’t evaporate before doing any good. The heat of the day is not good for travel. You will use far more gas by running your AC and car trouble is no fun if you find yourself waiting on hot asphalt for help to arrive.

We move our bunny, Olivia, to a cool spot under the pine trees and check her water often. She’s pretty old and I fear this heat will kill her. I don’t have a dog but if I did I would be extra cautious about keeping her cool as well. We use to put our dog in the basement on days like this.

I keep Phoebe inside, even letting her watch TV just to keep her occupied and quiet. My kids don’t seem to wilt in the heat as quickly as I do but it’s still hard on little bodies. This is the day to put myself to work in the basement. I have a lot of chores down there to keep me busy and the cool, moist air is fabulous.

I also plan my meals first thing the in the morning. Food tends towards cheese and bread, fruit and cold salads, things that can be prepared without heating up the house. If I do need to cook, I try to use the solar oven. I will really appreciate that summer kitchen.

also from the Just In Case book blog

I thought I’d show you another traditional way to store a bundle of lavender, for scenting linens, where the flowers are encased in a cage made from the flower stems woven with ribbon. Called a lavender bottle, made this way, the flowers stay put and don’t go all over the place, so it can be pushed in between layers of stored bedlinen, kept in a drawer with your smalls or hung in the wardrobe to keep your best clothes sweet. For this the lavender variety is immaterial, the smellier the better.
Again pick your lavender on a dry sunny day when the flowers are just about to be or are partly open. The stems need to be long, green and pliable. Pick an odd number of stems, I used 21 here, and bundle them together, so all the flowers are bunched up together and the stems are smooth, pulling off any smaller flowers lower down. Tie tightly together below the flower heads with a piece of thin ribbon or twine. Then one by one, bend the stems back over the flowers so they form a cage around them. You do have to try and arrange the stems as evenly spaced as possible to keep things as neat as you can at this stage.
Tie a piece of ribbon or twine tightly around the stems to hold everything in place. Now, take a long length of narrow ribbon, 5-10mm (1/4-1/2in) wide is ideal, and starting at the top pointy end, wrap one end of the ribbon around one of the stems and fix it in place with a few stitches made with needle and thread. Begin to weave the ribbon in and out of the stems (you may find a bodkin useful to help with this), working round the stem cage and pulling the ribbon evenly to give the lavender bottle a good shape. When the flowers are completely encased by the woven ribbon, tuck the end of the ribbon around a stem and fix in place with a few stitches with needle and thread. Trim the stems to the length you like then tie the stems tightly together with ribbon at both ends. Leave the bottle to dry out for a while and give the flowers a squeeze from time to time to reactive the scent.

from Laundry etc.

Baked Goods

So I made bread yesterday from this recipe. I used up the last of my whole wheat flour, my all purpose flour, and a bit of the white whole wheat (plus water, olive oil salt and yeast). Just a very simple, basic bread to see how I like the recipe. It's a little bland, but very workable.

Funnily enough, today's 101 cookbooks recipe is ALSO bread! It also looks quite tasty, and I'll probably try it out after these two loaves are gone.

Found a recipe for Shortbread that I'd like to try.

And I scored free pyrex the other day! I got two loaf pans, two pie pans, two mixing bowls and a metal loaf pan as well.

Links

Just a quick post to save some links

Things We Make
Suitcase Chairs
Demystifying Macrons