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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

A To-Do List (Mostly) To-Done

I did something dangerous today.
I went back and looked at my To-Do List from before the wedding.
And it wasn't as painful as I feared it might be.
Here's the List, from my June 8th post:

(June 8, 2011 To-Do List)
1. Getting the house painted (underway today, with scraping).
2. Weeding and mulching the front beds and the driveway slope (scheduled for next week).
3. Installing privacy fence outside sunroom patio.
4. Daughter Anne to make Alida's veil and headpiece, and fashion the fascinators for bridesmaids.
5. Mother -- that would be me -- to bake Norwegian wedding cake (efforts to buy a satisfactory
  Kransekake proved unsuccessful) and bake a perfect 4-strand braided loaf of Challah.
(Who wants to come and help bake?  Bring wine.  Lots.)
And . . . also:
6. Send After Party invitations, and order the food for it.
7. Bring truckloads of stuff to Goodwill, and not bring anything home from there.
8. Run up those danged curtains on my new sewing machine, then put the machine away!
9. Check in with photographer, makeup and hair stylists, Pastor, organist, florist, caterer . . .
and last but not least:
10. Anne and Alida to take one last sisters' overnight road trip together.

And except for #8, and 1/2 of #5, it all got done, and more beside.

#8 will get done soon; I am not fond of the nekkid window look in the dining room.

As for #5, I did not make my own loaf of Challah; it was too humid the week
before the wedding.   But I did make the Kransekake,
 which was a much more daunting task!  I've never been frightened by pastry before.

Daughter Anne made her sister's veil, and trimmed it in pearls.
 How lucky for the bride that her sister is a costume designer!
Daddy and one of his girls.
Anne also made 4 of these, called fascinators,
 for the bridesmaids to wear in their hair.  They sparked up the navy dresses.
She was going to add some netting, but decided the only veiling that day should be on the bride herself.

The house got painted, just in the nick of time,
although we couldn't walk on the porch till 2 days after the wedding.
Can you see the broom across the front steps, to block feet?

 Hey, nothing's perfect, y'know?

The driveway slope was weeded and mulched, and looked great until . . .
Torrential rain 2 days before the wedding washed gullies of mulch off the slope
and across the driveway.  Oh well, as I already said, Nothing's perfect.

We got the privacy fence installed, just in time.
Monday morning, following the After Party on Saturday night, and the Open House on Sunday.
But it was done on that same day of torrential rain, so we had no cleanup time.
A little fresh sawdust on the ground never hurt anyone, right?

**********************************************************88

The weekend before the wedding, we weeded and weeded and weeded . . .
and then, encouraged by the 4 days of rain beforehand and the steamy hot temperatures,
the weeds came roaring back and soared to new heights just in time to join the wedding festivities.

The weather didn't clear till the morning of the wedding.

By then, we were out of time to weed or clean the driveway, or do much of anything except
bow to the inevitable.  Nothing is perfect, after all, and gardens have weeds sometimes,
and driveways have dirty mulch smeared across them sometimes,
and freshly painted porches have tacky paint sometimes,
and you go with the flow and enjoy the celebration anyway.

Which we did.

And so did they.
Our newlyweds are now in China, on a 3-week honeymoon that began this past weekend.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?  -- Cass

18 comments:

  1. I think you did very well to get all those major projects done before the wedding! We went to New Hampshire for a few days then on to Ottawa, Ontario. We love the White Mountains and have been back many times though not for a few years now. New England was *the* place to honeymoon in the 70's whereas today more exotic places are *it*. (Our daughter went to Hawaii!) Are you rested up yet?? Have a great week! Blessings, Pamela

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  2. I can't believe that you got ALL of that done!!!! You rock!!!!

    Now to see the curtains that you'll run up AFTER the wedding!!

    (But they will be enjoyed by your Thanksgiving crowd!)

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  3. You were a busy girl! It's amazing what you can get accomplished under pressure, isn't it?

    We also took three weeks off! 1/2 wk before, 1 week on a cruse to the western Caribbean, 1 week in Palm Beach and 1/2 week @ home! It was wonderful!

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  4. New England for us too--especially Vermont. Nothing fancy back in those days.

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  5. You got sooo much done. It was scary to watch from here and I had nothing at risk. The house painting alone had me holding my breath sometimes.

    Where did we go for our honeymoon? We drove from PA to Florida. When it was time to return home we realized it was Spring Break when there was not a hotel room to be found all the way up I-95. We drove straight through. Memories.
    Between the Spring Break oopsie and the leftover chicken salad sandwiches from the reception that went with us in a cooler, we have had more laughs. But I loved every minute of it.

    Best wishes for the happy couple in China!

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  6. I'd say that was pretty darned good stab and you got almost everything done. It's awful though when weather is the reason behind it! Everything really looks great though..and what didn't get done wasn't important anyway!

    We did NOT have a honeymoon. We were living in FL and MyHero decided he wanted to move back to his hometown..so we were all packed up and left for Wisconsin the morning after we got married...driving 2 different cars with dog and one child, pulling a boat that had a motorcycle loaded onto it. We made quite a parade! xo Diana

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  7. You got a lot accomplished !!! From the pictures you have shared - looks like everything was perfect. Mom and Dab of the Bride - Great Job!

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  8. Cass, you are amazing! I think you made a HUGE dent on your list! Your house and bride are beautiful! China!!! I love it! We went to Kauii and had a ball! Get some rest now!

    XO,
    Jane

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  9. I took my husband to Paris, I had been to Europe several times but he had never been. It was so wonderful to show him "my Paris". My favorite picture of him is standing looking out the french doors onto the street below...the look on his face priceless.

    I thought I was the only one who grows weeds, weeds them out and they come back :(

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  10. Headline News: "Yet another Mother of the Bride survives the Big Day"

    If you were like most of us you were convinced at some point that it all couldn't possibly be done in time. But then the Big Day comes, and no matter how much is left undone, it still is one of life's happiest days!

    Good job, Momma! You did it!

    Mazel Tov to you and your whole family!

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  11. What honeymoons????

    That was a most lovely wedding you all made for this beautiful couple.
    I feel....THE LOVE!

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  12. What a list - and I am SO impressed by the kransekage - I know what a challenge it is!
    We went to Denmark on our honeymoon - no surprise there!

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  13. Whew--I'm tired. Congrats on getting so much done!
    We went to San Antonio--the Riverwalk was decorated for Christmas! It was beeautiful.

    Get some rest.

    Melinda

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  14. You did so much in so little time, well done. Where did we go? 37 years ago last month we went to the Lake District and it rained for a week, but didn't dampen us LOL x

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  15. Cass, I'm sure that your guests didn't even notice the "imperfections" that you saw. They were there to celebrate! You did accomplish a lot in a short time- when I first saw your initial list, I thought you were very ambitious. Glad it all turned out so well for you. And remember, you have the rest of the summer to work on those outdoor projects! :-)
    ~ Sue

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  16. Girl, you made me tired just reading that list! When you finish there, come my way, would you? :-))

    The house is beautiful and the bride is gorgeous! Congrats!

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  17. Your daughter and her dress are beautiful! Just gorgeous. And the wedding looked wonderful too. Much better than on television!!!

    We went to Acapulco - I worked for United Air Lines! Teehee

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  18. We went to Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Md for 2 days and then headed to cabin in Williamsport, Pa for 4 days. Your house is gorgeous painted even with all the "oops". So cozy!

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