Liz's wedding was a masterpiece

Which it should have been, being the second time around! The first wedding had broken out in the middle of a hockey game.

Liz had a perfect day for it, which was amazing since the weather was crappy before, and right afterwards. She looked stunning in her cream (I know that isn't the correct name for that color) dress, which had a stripe of red going down the train. I thought it might have been a racing stripe...but she stuck around for the entire ceremony. Kyle was dapper in his tux, standing tall, but not quite at attention. My buddy, Rick had just gotten his Marv haircut that morning, and Cheryl was attractive in her mother-of-the-bride dress.

The coolest part of the wedding ceremony was when Liz and Kyle knelt down before the statue of Mary, to pray together. Just then, sunlight came streaming through the stained-glass window, to light them up. It couldn't have been choreographed better to look like God was blessing them.

I had picked up a head cold on Friday, and exacerbated it by drinking many beers that night, after the rehearsal dinner at Rick's house. The entire day, Saturday, I was plagued with a runny nose, headache, and worst of all, an incessant tickle in my chest that would send me into a burst of coughing. I was barely able to control it by concentrating on breathing slowly, and shallowly, but that made for very poor conversation.

I debated on skipping the reception, but in the end, I went. They served great food, and the reception was as nice as the ceremony itself. The highlight being, during the introductions, the groom preceded the bride, then began jumping up and wriggling his body, with his hands at his side. I was wondering what kind of weird fish dance he was supposed to be doing?! When I saw Liz come out, miming the use of a fishing rod, I realized that she was reeling him in. It was very funny.

I stayed in bed all day Sunday, and most of Monday, drinking prodigious amounts of OJ mixed with water, and sweating. I didn't feel too bad this morning, but took off anyway, because I didn't want to work in the rain, and have a relapse. My buddy suggested Nyquil, which I went to the store for, and it seemed to work. I took it at noon, slept from 1 to 5pm, and felt decent. I just took another dose, at 10pm, to last me through the night.

I bought a couple of suits

It's a slow news day. Yup, I finally buckled and bought a suit. My buddy's daughter is getting married on Saturday, and I figured I'd get a suit for it. Every man *should* have two suits anyway, one for festive and one for sombre occasions. The experience wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, though I've been dreading and avoiding it. The two gentlemen who helped me knew their trade, were polite and patient, and completely natural and unpretentious. I felt at ease as the fellow told me that the bottom button is never buttoned on the suit jacket, and explained why the pants were so long. I'm a Goober.

At least I'll be a well-dressed Goober at the wedding and reception.

Easter

Easter morning was bright and sunny, though a bit cool yet. My daffodils have started to bloom, adding a nice splash of color to the front of the house.


I headed off to my sister's house for Easter dinner and some fun, but first I stopped at Mom & Dad's to see how the old farm looks. Dad's demo of the quonset hut is coming along. It's sad to see the old buildings falling apart. There used to be a corn-crib and a grainery too.

The barn looks in FINE shape still. Look at those straight lines. They sure knew how to build to last 100 years ago. Of course the new siding and paint job we put on 10 years ago helps. Notice the ladder leading to the top of the pear tree? Pop is fearless at 77. I'd be nervous about going up that ladder, and I make a living climbing!


Hammamia was happy to see me. Or bored. (This picture is for David)


My sister Megan, and her daughters were already there when Mom, Dad, and I arrived. I told Autumn that she had the wrong color scheme for this holiday.


Shelby let me create a character on her World of Warcraft account (actually, Kerry's account), just to check it out. Beautiful graphics! Sometimes I miss the old Everquest days.

I took some time to show my dad the old pictures my cousins had put up on the GENI site, and we tried to get the names of some of the people Aunt Joann couldn't remember. Dad had a few more names, and he really enjoyed seeing those pictures. He said it was like a history lesson. Then I headed out to the Man Den, for a few cold beers, Cavs AND Indians games, and to see my brother-in-law's (Kerry's husband, Tom) new project with his nephew. James' car is a 1970 Olds 442.






Some day, it'll look like my other brother-in-law's car (Stacey's husband, Brian). It's the exact same car. I wish I knew how to do automotive work. It looks like it would be very rewarding. One of these days, I'll get some pictures of the car Tom has already restored.

Back home again

When I got home from Indiana, Tina and I took Katie for a walk at the local park. While Katie made dootie, Tina prepared to do her duty. Dootie-duty. (I'm a damn fine writer, aren't I?)


No one told Katie that she wasn't supposed to go for a swim, so while I walked out onto little "duck island", Katie followed me, though she took the muddy route. I couldn't stop laughing while Tina was yelling for Katie to get out of the mud. I didn't mention that Tina wore a white sweater that day, did I...?

I ran her around a bit to try her, and wipe some of the mud off.


We put her in the back of the truck for the ride home, then right into the laundry sink for a bath. She used to be afraid of that sink, but now she just sits down under the warm water and enjoys it.

I don't know why Katie used to be afraid of the sink. Just because it looks like it belongs in a slaughterhouse. Those stains do look like blood, don't they? Hmmmm.


Yes, I made Tina do all the work while I cheered from the sidelines.

I stopped to visit my third brother

I left Shane's house at 10:48 pm, Saturday. I had taken a nap that afternoon, and figured I'd end up watching late-night movies anyway, so instead I headed out towards Morgan's house. I arrived there at 2:36 am, which wasn't too bad for 242 miles. Morgan and I chatted for a bit, then I went to bed. Up and out by 7:30, which let me arrive in Sullivan about 9:10. I stopped there to visit my other brother, Kelly:

I had never been to his grave site before. That's about all I feel like writing.

Terre Haute, Indiana

On my way to Shane's house, I saw this sign when I drove into town. Gives one a warm, fuzzy, feeling all over, doesn't it?


Here is Shane's new house. It was built in 1884, and is registered as a historical landmark. It's a really cool house, and he got it for a great price.


David showed me around the house, but couldn't wait to show me his collection of "weapons". Let's see, there is a Dragon Spear, two Dark Elf weapons, a Wood Elf bow, one of each kind of Wizard's wands (one long, one short), a Dark Elf sword, and probably more that my 45-year old mind can't remember.


Here he's showing me how to use a Dragon Spear, and he demonstrated it on the "dragon" in front of their house (which looked like an evergreen tree to me)


This is the proper way to wield a Wizard's Long Wand. ...swish....and flick.

Every Dark-Elf should be well versed in all techniques of Dark-Elf weaponry. By the time my sensei had completed the lesson, I felt ready to do battle with any Orc I might come across, with a variety of weapons.

Kristen made us a delicious dinner, after which we went out back to relax. I'm sure in David's vivid imagination he's fighting a fire elemental to protect Queen Kristen and King Shane, while the dullard Prince Shawn looks idly on.

Weekend visiting my brothers

I have tomorrow (Friday) off, so I decided to have some fun this weekend and go see my brothers. Right now, I'm at Morgan's house. We just finished a pizza, and watched the Cavs lose. Like my geeky shirt? I'd like to find one of Ninja Scroll some day.



Morgan has a real nice Sony big screen TV. I had not yet seen this commercial, and it rocked, so I watched it a few times with TiVo, then I took a picture. GREAT color and clarity. One of these days, I'll get one.

Morgan showed me this site that my sister, Casey started, and my cousin Maureen worked on also. It's at Geni.com, and it shows our geneological tree. There were pictures from my father's side that I had never seen before, including this one, from when he was in the Army, during the Korean war.


This is my favorite picture of my Dad, ever. I remember seeing this picture when I was a kid. Somewhere, we've got a similar picture of my nephew.