A Wedding and a Passing.

It's been 15 days since I've posted, which seems a very long time to me. These past 2 weeks have been filled with activities and work, so spare time has been at a minimum. After a long day, When I finally sit down to do a little blogging at night I tend to nod off, and consequently, haven't managed to put a post together, or do much visiting. I've missed you all! Hopefully I'll eventually get around to visiting with you to catch up on all that you've been up to.

Our weather has been mostly sunny and warm (we actually need rain!), perfect for gardening, but I've been working at school, so haven't had enough time to keep up with everything. My gardens are very untidy and looking a bit neglected at the moment. I've been planting containers and window boxes, and now I'm beginning to plant some annuals. I'll post pictures of the gardens soon. The peonies are budding, the bleeding heart are almost finished blooming (I will post the promised pictures of it soon), and I still have some iris blooming, among other things.

Ross has the vegetable garden all planted (well, he keeps adding a few things), and it's looking great. It's huge! He planted 125 hills of squash and pumpkins....and there are only 2 of us! He likes to try new varieties....and feed the neighbors!

Kylie and Ko held their wedding reception on June 2nd. Some of you may remember that they were married in a small ceremony at the Cornell Plantations last September. (Clicking the links will take you to those posts, and there are two more posts with pictures of the plantations here and here, if you're interested in seeing those beautiful gardens).

Ross says Kylie and Ko may have set a record for the longest period of time between the wedding and the reception :)

It was a very informal gathering, with a friend performing the Master of Ceremonies duty. He proved to be a stand up comedian and had us in stitches with stories of the couple's romance.

Kathy, our youngest, served as bridesmaid, and another friend, Paul, was the best man.

Kylie surprised us then by singing that old favorite song, "Our Love is Here to Stay" to her husband. It was a very touching moment (which brought tears to her mom and dad's eyes) and she did a beautiful job, singing acappella in her sweet, clear voice. She was a little emotional and nervous, but I was filled with admiration for her having courage and determination to do it.

Ko's lovely family

The reasoning behind the lengthy gap between the wedding ceremony and reception was that Ko's parents live in Japan and were planning to make a trip this June for Ko's graduation from Cornell upon completion of his PHD in Sociology. So that the parents need only make one trip, Kylie and Ko waited to have the reception at the time they would be here in the United States. Ko's brother and his wife live in sunny California. We fell in love with his family and had a wonderful time with them. I'm sad that they live so far away but we'll keep in touch.

Here is the whole family group, minus our son, Andrew, who was taking the picture, and our DIL, who is shy of being on the blog :)

During the cake cutting (a delicious carrot cake with cream cheese frosting...Kylie's favorite) the couple showed restraint and thankfully, no cake was shoved into faces. But apparently Ko was feeling mischievous and decided that dignity is no fun, because shortly afterward he could be seen chasing Kylie with a piece of cake in hand. She ended up with just a little frosting on her face :)

The weather was very hot and humid, with showers and thunderstorms predicted, but we were lucky and had only one small shower a couple of hours before the reception. As you can see, the party was held beside the lake and once the sun set the air cooled off nicely. It was a perfect setting for a wedding reception, and a wonderful time was had by all.

August 5th, 1916 - June 10th, 2007

On a much sadder note, my 90 year-old father passed away in Australia on June 10th. Dad's health had been failing for some time so it wasn't unexpected. He is now free from any pain and suffering after living a long life. May he rest in peace.

Dad loved to fish, so I've posted a picture of him taken during a 2-week fishing trip to Tasmania. He had a ball! That's one huge lobster!

My dear mother died in 1996.

It's a strange feeling to be without parents

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

I hope to find time to post pictures of the gardens soon!

Thirty-Six Years and Counting!

Another year has gone by since I posted about our anniversary last year. The time seems to fly, doesn't it?

I told the story of our meeting and subsequent marriage here if you'd like to read it. There's still much to tell, but not enough time today, so I'll just show you this picture of us before we were married, taken at Whale Beach (next to Palm Beach), NSW, Australia, where I grew up. Gosh, we were young! Ah yes, I remember it well :)

Happy Anniversary to my dear husband.

It's been a wonderful 36 years!

Thank you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our son gave this beautiful bouquet to his wife for Valentine's Day several years ago.

The weatherman is predicting a major snowstorm across our area tomorrow, with the snow beginning after midnight tonight. They're saying we can expect from 18 to 36 inches (45 to 91cm). That sounds like plenty! I'll be surprised if our school doesn't close for another snowday.

Those poor people to the north of Syracuse are in for more lake effect snow on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The village of Redfield has already recorded almost 12 feet of accumulated snow! That's hard to imagine, isn't it? We have a nice white landscape, but haven't had anywhere near the snow they've had.

I hope you all have a very happy Valentine's Day, and remember....

Carpe cocoa - seize the chocolate!

Thirty-five Years Ago!

On this day, thirty-five years ago, my dear husband and I were married. Wow! That’s a long time to put up with each other!
Isn’t it amazing how quickly the years go by? We’ve grown together over the years and are enjoying each other’s company just as much now as when we first met. Probably more, actually. It’s certainly true that you get wiser as you age (well, one would hope that we learn as we grow). How thankful I am to have such a patient, good-natured and loving man to spend my days with. Life is good!

The caption under the photo in the local newspaper read:

U.S. MARINE'S AUSSIE BRIDE

We met at the wedding of friends of mine, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Ross was on R&R (rest and recreation) leave from Vietnam, where he was serving as a US Marine. I was bridesmaid for my school friend, Pat, and her English husband, Alan. Ross had met a girl named Glenda during a cruise on Sydney's picturesque harbor (one of the many activities set up for visiting G.I.’s). She had introduced Pat and Alan to each other and she needed a date for their wedding, so she invited Ross to accompany her.
When we were first introduced I thought he looked about 15 and must be Glenda’s younger brother. His hair was white blond and his eyes a very clear blue. Glenda was explaining about how they met and we began discussing the planned events for the G.I.’s (member of the US armed forces). She was telling me how much fun they were and said she’d give me a call to let me know when the next one was scheduled. I wrote my phone number on the place card at my table and she gave it to Ross to hold for her, as our pocketbooks (handbags for you Aussies and others out there) were stored in another room. This may sound too detailed, but that’s an important part of the story, which I can’t leave out!
The wedding was at a wonderful restaurant called ‘The Rocklily’ and the dinner consisted of seven courses, with wine and finally champagne (for the toasts) served with each course. Then there was dancing! Ross and I ended up dancing one dance together. How this came about is a funny little story of it’s own, but I’m trying not to add too many details (this is hard for me, as you can probably tell).
On the way home Glenda asked Ross to give her my phone number so she could call me as promised, and that wicked young man told a fib….he said he’d lost it! Now, remember, he and I only danced one dance, and not much conversation took place between us, but somehow, there was an instant attraction. Just a spark, you know?
I received a phone call from this young man the next day asking me out on a date :) My mum and I had planned to have dinner at the local surf club so we invited him to accompany us. Those of you who have read some of my previous posts will know that we lived at beautiful Whale Beach (near Palm Beach, just north of Sydney, part of the ‘north shore’ chain of beaches in NSW). So Ross caught the bus out from Sydney, where he was staying, and went to Moby Dick’s surf club for dinner with us. We had a lovely night and he and my mum fell in love with each other :)
There were two more dates after that first night before he had to return to Vietnam. After that we began writing a series of letters that just didn’t stop! Ross extended his tour of duty in Vietnam and was given 30 days leave. He spent that 30 days in Australia and that’s when we really got to know each other, spending all of those 30 days together, seeing some lovely sights and talking endlessly. By the end of his leave we were talking about marriage :)
He was scheduled for another R&R in February and we planned to be married at that time. We set the date and sent out the invitations, but the Marine Corps wasn’t cooperating. They seriously discouraged this kind of thing. Ross did finally make it back to Australia, but not until April 16th, and this was only because he told his commanding officer that he was going, with or without his orders, and headed for the airport. The CO was a compassionate man and a good friend. He followed Ross to the airport and handed him the necessary papers.
I was working in Sydney at the time and talking to my friend, Susie on the phone (yes, I did work, but I just happened to be on the phone at that particular moment) when Ross walked into my office. Imagine my surprise…(you’ll have to, I can’t find words to describe it!)…I had just been telling Susie that Ross had said he might not be able to let me know when he was coming…that he might just ‘show up’. And suddenly, there he was!!
That was a Friday. My mother’s birthday is April 17th, and she had remarked earlier in the week that it would be funny if Ross showed up this weekend and we could be married on her birthday.

Well, we were…and the rest is history ! Happy birthday Mum! Had she still been living, Mum would be 89 today. She died in 1996 and I still miss her.

We had a lovely, albiet, brief honeymoon at a beach further north before Ross had to return to Vietnam. It was just a few all-too-short days together, but we had the time of our lives! And we are still enjoying each other's company! Of course, we’ve had our ups and downs, but here we are 35 years, and 3 kids later, and we’re still blissfully happy. I can honestly say I’ve been truly blessed. When our grandchildren are old enough to appreciate it, I’ll tell them this story :)

Happy Anniversary to us!