So...whats for dinner?

Today, 32 years ago, I married Mr. 02143. Back them I would have been susan_75209. We were married in my parent's front yard; reception was in the side yard. The music was provided by a brass quartet, and the food was delicious. I was such a baby back then! I haven't aged that well, I am afraid. This dreary disease made sure of that!

Susan - gorgeous.  Thanks for sharing.  Happy Anniversary!!

lacey - I like to think that the focus was on the marriage rather than the wedding for us - not a lot of distractions or fuss.  I have to say it was a tad awkward to meet my in-laws, and same for DH, when we were already married.  I have warned my children that I will kill them if they do that!

Not sure about dinner tonight - may be healthy road snacks - we are driving to the east coast to clear out our friend's condo and clean.  We are bringing a good friend of DD with us, DD will drive up and spend the night, then take her friend back down to the Keys.  So, we will have a fun car trip!

Susan, that picture is so sweet and lovely that it brought tears to my eyes. 

I don't think dh's mother ever forgave him for getting married to me without even telling them he was getting married.  We had the ceremony in my parents' living room.  My school friend Carol Arnold officiated free of charge because I had helped her get elected justice of the peace!  Only my immediate family and a few friends attended. 

The reception food was long-necked Dixie beer (brewed and bottled in New Orleans and now out of business) and boiled shrimp.  Our only pictures were slides that I can't seem to locate.  Years ago I had a few of the slides made into photos but these are fading. 

We decided to get married because my parents and his parents would have been embarrassed if we'd taken off travelling together without being married.  Living together back in those days was called "shacking up" and nice people didn't do that.  Our private agreement was that we'd get divorced when we no longer wanted to stay together.  So far we haven't gotten that divorce! 

I re-read Eric's recipe and was reminded of pine nuts as an ingredient.  Alas, no pine nuts!  So I'm substituting roasted slivered almonds.

Our photographer was wonderful. This was his first non-Jewish wedding gig. He was thrilled to be asked to do this totally WASP wedding. He didn't do even one posed shot. He just took these amazing pictures and no one ever noticed that he was there. And then, for the cost of his time, we owned the negatives to have reproduced anywhere we wanted. Fabulous!

The dress was $75.00. The minister was $50. The brass quartet was $250. The food and cake added up to about a thousand total, and then there was wine. But we picked it up and bought from a place that bought any unopened bottles back with no stocking fee. The total, including the cost of paint for the windows you see in the background was just about $2,500. I was frugal then, and am frugal now!

I should scan my favorite wedding picture of all and post. You will all love it.

*susan*

Nostalgia... here is my favorite wedding picture of all. This was my Grandmother. She was always carried herself with dignity and always had the right outfit. Her bags and shoes always complimented each other, but were never matched. She found my fashion sense appalling and was shocked that any man would have me.  :-)

*susan*

What a hot, if not accepting, ticket! Love the posed hand with the handbag!

That's lovely, Garden!

Visiting the grands, and prepping for DGD's birthday party. There is already a houseful of guests staying from out of town, so the open space resonates with a zillion voices to go with DGD's intermittent high-pitched glass-cracking shrieks!

DDIL's mother (who lives here with her husband) made dinner last evening. It was a Persian dish I cannot name.....with beef, chickpeas, and vegetables, over rice with a lovely arugula salad with her balsamic dressing.

This morning, DDIL's father made a huge veggie omelet for the large crew who assembled in the kitchen. When we were here in March, DGD, upon seeing a similar huge omelet, happily exclaimed, "It's an egg pizza!" She is a riot, and keeps us all busy, amused and exhausted!  No doubt there will be Facebook entries of the birthday girl and her party....

Weather here is beautiful, and so atypical for NJ in August.....usually very hot and humid. Our hilly walk this AM was delightful in the 60's temp.

Wonderful pic of your grandmother, Susan. 

Lacey, glad the weather is so nice for your visit.  I wouldn't mind having those in-laws living with me, preparing food.

Not a lot of cooking around here lately.  Yesterday there were finally tomatoes at the jewelry store--I mean farmers' mkt!  I paid $13.50 for 6 med. sized tomatoes and a qt. of plum tomatoes, mixed red and purple.  They are lovely tomatoes.  One woman paid $3.50 for a single large tomato.  You've been sitting on a gold mine, Nance!

DH and I bicycled out of a small town called LaPorte.  We had a delicious burger there for lunch when we returned to LaPorte.  There's a little café/market called Smokehouse where you can buy the smoked bacon, summer sausage, brats of many types, etc. made on the premises.  We bought smoked bacon, summer sausage and kielbasa brats.  We had slices of the summer sausage on sandwiches today for lunch and it is very good.  I also had slices of tomato on my half sandwich.  I'm trying to keep the lbs off, Lacey! 

For dinner tonight we'll have the brats.  I have a purple cabbage in the refrigerator that I need to use.  I bought it at a farmers' mkt a couple of weeks ago.  I also have green beans and yellow beans and new potatoes.  The tomatoes and good cucumbers.  The riches of choice!

I wonder how the chillies would mix with the chillies?  

Simple dinner tonight.....hot dogs, potato salad and probably an ale..... !?! 

Eric

I envy you susan! Not just the food! LOL where I live the haze from the lake covered up the moon. Sugh. Also tonight is the Perseid meteor shower isn't it?  Can't see but one star. Sigh. 

LOL eric! Mario Batali likes Chili's in everything! LOL

Much love

susan - my mouth was watering while I was reading of your dinner with the UK-bound cousins!  All sounds yum!

lacey - see note to susan, ditto!

carole - lol on the farmer's market/jewelry store!  I will look at jewelry, and often buy some, anywhere I go!  It is one of my favorite things to get on vacation because I am reminded of the good time I had whenever I wear that piece.  I am a bit of a jewelry-holic, and I don't think there is a 12-step program available.

My DD has another interview locally tomorrow morning so she will drive home tonight after work - it takes her about 6 hours.  The extra special part is that DS is flying down tonight as well for a week of R&R after the end of summer school (took Anatomy 1 & 2 - he needs a break!) and full-time work in the Emergency Room and fire station.  He will be here for a few days, then drive down with sister and a buddy to the Keys for some fishing and fun, then back here for a few days.  I rarely have both of my children under one roof with me - it is when I am the happiest, so I am excited!  DH says - yay! - both chicks back in the nest! 

We spent the weekend cleaning out our friend's condo and getting it ready for sale - we put in about 30 hours.  It was a challenge but we got it done.  I definitely lifted and carried things I should not have - my poor LE arm, but it seems ok.  I am tired and sore, but satisfied with the job we did.  DH has to go back this weekend to take care of some loose ends - talk to the real estate agent, get the tile floors cleaned, and sign over the car to the friend it was given to, but I am going to hang out with the dog and do NOTHING.

We had a power outage on Sunday evening that somehow messed up the resort wireless service.  I'm having to use our Verizon data card, which doesn't work as well.  So until the resort service is back on, I won't be on the internet as much.

It was too windy yesterday for fishing or for bicycling so we took a road trip to a little town called Pierz, home of Thielen Meats.  I learned of Thielen Meats on Amy Thielen's food channel series, Heartland Table.  Martha Stewart praised their smoked bacon as "the best" on one of her cooking shows.  Anyhow...  We bought ring bologna, brats, pork sausage patties, bacon, and rib eyes.  The latter were Choice, not Prime, like Susan's.  Everything except the ring bologna went into the freezer.  I saw Amy Thielen cook ring bologna on one of her shows.  I had never heard of it.

We had lunch at Patrick's Bar, which uses Thielen's beef patties for their hamburgers.  I had the Blue Cheese burger and it was possibly the best burger I've ever eaten.  I am eating WAY too many burgers here in MN.  And I always eat some of DH's French fries, too.

I lost part of this post in which I made responses to everyone who posted lately. 

First oFf, warning, my keyboard is cooked, braised, kaput! But, I wanted to share something. My daughter, and her partner of four years, have decided to get married! On October 9th, they will get married in our living room with only immediate family in attendance. She wants candles and flowers on the mantle. A justice of the peace will do the ceremony. Then we will have some light snacks before all heading to a French bistro. She is inviting a total of 15 people. In a few years, she will have a party to celebrate with the rest of the family and all of their friends.

Which bistro is a big question. [Suggestions Lacey? Considering Brasserie Jo and Eastern Standard so far. Gaslight is too loud.]

I have lived long enough to celebrate my daughter's wedding! How cool is this?

*susan*