Sweeter

Joan and David and an amazing day...communing with nature and all.

 

David and Joan...how cute of a couple are they?!

 

So, as I mentioned before, our good friends, Joan and David from New York, came to visit over Labor Day weekend.  Day one was awesome...day two was "awesomer".

  


Yaquina Lighthouse.

After breakfast we decided to first head back over to Yaquina Lighthouse in hopes of being able to climb to the top this morning.  We arrived at the lighthouse only to find out the wait was about 2 hours.  Not wanting to wait that long, we just decided to stroll around the grounds a bit.  Joan spotted a whale (our first sighting that weekend), which we watched for a bit, until the flies got to us.  There's something odd about this particular lighthouse.  Every time I'm there, it's swarmed with flies that buzz around you and land on you.  Eric thinks the place is cursed, and after about 5 minutes of being attacked by flies, Joan agreed.

  


Lady of the flies.

We left the lighthouse to head for the Nature Conservancy Trail.  We read about this in a Hikes of the Oregon Coast book.  You'd never know it was there, if you didn't know where to look.  The book told us to go up a particular road, then look for a gravel road and yellow gate to the left.  Amazingly we found it and drove in about 3 miles to the trailhead. 

 
 
Joan and David hiking the Nature Conservancy Trail.

The trail is closed from January to July because it is a wildflower and butterfly preserve.  We got out of the car, stepped into a pile of mud, and began the 1 mile hike through the rainforest...which would lead to a huge alpine meadow high above the ocean with incredible 180 degree views from forest to coast to ocean.

 

The view that awaited us at the top.

The open meadow was sunny and warm, and we did see many interesting butterflies that I'd never seen before...plus some hawks, and even spotted some sea lions waaaay below us.  The view was nothing short of breathtaking.  We had packed a picnic lunch, so we found a spot at the very top of the hill, sat down and enjoyed a feast of cheese, meats, olives, bread, wine, and brownies (ya gotta have chocolate!).  It is by far, the best view I've ever had with a meal.

 

Joan, me and David.

 

Eric was our pack mule...he's got my camera equipment on his back and our lunch around his shoulder.  What a guy!

After relaxing on the mountainside for a few hours, we packed up and headed back down to the car and back to Otter Crest.  We had 6:00 pm reservations at the Bay House.  The Bay House is another one of our favorite restaurants at the beach.  The food is of course fantastic, but it's the atmosphere and the hospitality that give this restaurant such high rankings for me.  Nestled on the edge of Siletz bay, The Bay House is cozy in a Nantucket sea captain's house meets Portland funk kind of way.  The sophistcated grey walls are the perfect backdrop for the art, and the big windows frame the view of the bay. The four of us enjoyed a leisurely dinner, sipping wine, watching the sunset, talking, laughing.  I loved sharing this little corner of the world with Joan and David.

 

At Bay House.

The Bay House limo drove us back to Otter Crest after dinner.  As we were walking up the hill back to our place, we noticed the sky was absolutely littered with stars.  The air was sea-clean, salty, and crisp and we breathed it in deeply as we walked.  David, made me laugh when he said sarcastically, "Gee, how can you stand it here...it's one crummy thing after another".  I had to agree...it was an amazing day...nature's bounty had surrounded and astounded us over and over.

 

Last bbq of summer

We've had a not very "summery" summer this year, so when, 3 weeks ago, we planned a "Last BBQ of Summer" party with our friends, I wondered if it would end up more of a "Fall Kick Off" party.  But, after some clouds this morning, the sun came out and we were able to actually enjoy our party in our backyard, instead of crammed around my dining room table looking out at the rain.

We have a group of friends that gets together, oh about every 6 weeks to two months to plan themed dinners.  Awesome cooks, all of them, each dinner, is a culinary treat.  For this barbecue dinner, Eric smoked an 8 lb. brisket all day...I'm sure every dog in the neighborhood was salivating smelling it cook throughout the afternoon.  He also made some grilled corn and we cooked up some vegetarian baked beans (our friend Norma is anti-meat. :-) ).  Bill and Norma brought cucumber, tomatoe and onion salad and tofu sausages (and regular ones); Barb and Rod brought fried chicken, biscuits, and sweet potatoe tarts; and Terri and Christine brought non-vegetarian baked beans and some "set-your-mouth-on-fire" cheese stuffed jalepeno's.  We finished the meal with s'mores around the campfire....what a great way to toast the last bit of summer!

 
Almost too pretty to eat...but, uh, I managed to eat it...all!

Barb, Rod, Norma and Bill.

 
The best part of camping is the campfire...especially when it's in my backyard with friends!

Although you can't tell it from this picture, Rod got the award for the messiest s'more maker.

Bill making his s'mores.  Norma the vegetarian passed..telling us marshmellows had cow hoofs in them....hmmmm...I may never eat a marshmellow again. :-)

Oooey, goooey, yummy, s'mores!

As the party was winding down...two party crashers snuck in through our open gate in the backyard.  Max and Maddie...two lively, sweet, puggles!  Liberty was none too happy about it, but Peanut thought it was great that a couple dogs stopped by to join the fun.  Maddie had a phone number on her tag.  We reached the owner who told us she was in Seattle, but she called her daughter to come and get the dogs.  Turns out Max and Maddie had wandered about 100 blocks away from home...amazing!  I think they probably smelled the brisket cooking and just followed their noses till they found our house.

Maddie eyeing our dog's food.

Max helps himself to a drink of water.

Liberty didn't want to be anywhere near the two party crashers...jumping into whosever arms she could.

Live from New York...it's Joan and David!

Day One:

Our good friends, Joan and David made the long flight out from New York to spend Labor Day weekend with Eric and I.   We decided to spend the weekend at our beach place at Otter Crest.  I had fretted about the weather forecasts, but as it turned out we were blessed with sunny skies and temps in the low 60's. 

We started Saturday with a walk over to Devil's Punchbowl for the views and wine tasting at The Flying Dutchman Winery.  After that we walked along the Otter Crest beach where Joan hunted for seashells to bring back to the kids...unfortunately our seashells aren't exactly the prettiest.

Next we hopped in the car and headed to Newport, stopping to see Yaquina Head Lighthouse along the way.  We strolled the waterfront checking out the sea lions (who were incredibly loud and active..mating season perhaps?) and the boats on the pier.  We finished our walk with bowls of world famous Mo's chowder (grilled cheese for Joan who loathes seafood).

On the way out of Newport, we shopped in Nye Beach and then stopped at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse to take the tour, but unfortunately the tours were done for the day, so we just walked around a bit and planned to come back on Sunday morning to climb the tower.

We ended the evening with an amazing dinner at Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay and cocktails at the ever-kitschy, and fun, Sea Hag. 

View of our place from Devil's Punchbowl.

Joan collects shells at the Otter Crest beach.

Wine tasting at the Flying Dutchman Winery at Devil's Punchbowl.  Joan liked the raspberry wine best...much to Eric's utter confusion.

The beautiful Yaquina Bay bridge in Newport.

The Chelsea Sea was selling fresh tuna right of the boat down on the docks.  We didn't buy any, but it was amazing to watch the skillful fishermen filet the tuna.

Eric and David on the docks at Newport.

I love the sign over this bar on the Newport waterfront.  One day, I've got to go in and actually sit at the bar and have a drink to make me an official "riff raff".

 
Joan at Yaquina Lighthouse.  Probably one of my favorite pics ever of her....love that smile!

We finished the day with cocktails at the Sea Hag....girly drinks for us.....

"Perfect Manhattans" for our perfect men.

A high flying Fourth of July!

The family spent the day at Fort Vancouver for the Fourth of July this year.  Eric had volunteered his time (and his staff's time) to run the computer systems for the day.  Although the weather was a bit (an understatement here) chilly, it was fun to walk around and see all the families enjoying the day.

We bought tickets to be in the "prime viewing area" at the Pearson Airfield, and right next to where we were seated, they were selling rides on vintage bi-planes.  We were watching them take off with me thinking..."that looks too scary for me", so I looked over at Jessica and said, "Is that something you'd want to do?".  To my surprise she said "Yes!".  So...Jessica strapped on an old-fashioned pilot's leather cap, climbed in the front seat and took a high-flying spin around Vancouver.

Looking like Amelia Earhart.

 

In the plane and ready to go.

Starting the engine and ready for take-off.

And away she goes!

 
Flying high.
  
 
 
 

Two weddings, one funeral and a very rushed Mother of the Bride

True Confessions of a Mother of the Bride, cont'd.

I spent the week before Brianna's wedding in Seattle doing last minute running around, baking cookies for candy/cookie buffet, arranging the flowers, and reviewing all the details with the church and reception site.

On the day of the rehearsal, I spoke with one of the catering manager's from Salty's.  Now, before I go any further, let me say, Salty's was awesome!  The setting is spectacular, the food incredible, and the staff couldn't have been any more helpful.  So, anyways, as I was dropping off some decorations for the reception the day before the wedding, they reminded me that we had to be out of the room (including cleaning up all the centerpieces and decorations) at the latest at 5:00 pm since they had another wedding coming in at  6:00 pm.  I've coordinated many a function over the years, and I know that if I only had one hour to set-up for a wedding reception...I'd be feeling a bit stressed.  But...I guess that would be their problem.

At the rehearsal, the wedding coordinator for the parish (who by the way I adored...he kept the stress low by making everyone laugh...but he kept us on task as well), pulled me aside and just reminded me that we needed to be out of the church by 11:00 am since they had a baptisim at 11:30 am.  The wedding was to start at precisely 10:00 am, the coordinator told us, since the ceremony would take about an hour.

Helping button up Brianna's dress.

The morning of the wedding was rushed and hectic.  Eric and I were up at 4:30 am delivering flowers and the cookies/candy to Salty's.  We fought our way through minor traffic and made it back to the hotel in time for us to have only about 20 minutes to finish getting ready before pictures would start.  Of course, my hair picked today to freak out on me...but I left it as was.  Being there for helping Brianna put on her dress and sharing those few moments before the wedding were more important than my hair.

 

Brianna and Ken wait for the ceremony to start.

The church was nothing short of breathtaking.

We made it to the church on time, the wedding started on time, and it finished on time.  But then, afterwards we needed to grab a few more group family shots since some of the family wasn't present for the photos we took earlier that morning.  The "Ellis" side of the family was waiting to the left of the alter to be up next to take pictures when my neice tugged at my sleeve and pointed to an alcove off to the side. Behind a screen was...a casket.  Oh, goodness...apparently the "baptisim" was really a funeral.  We needed to hurry up and get out before people for the funeral started arriving!  As we were leaving the church I noticed all the funeral flowers waiting in the vestibule and the people for the funeral just starting to arrive.  How weird I thought....here Brianna and Ken were young, just starting their lives together with family gathered around sharing in their joy....and just minutes later, a woman's family was bidding their final farewell in the same church....a beginning and and ending.

Thankfully, I don't think Brianna and Ken noticed the funeral about to begin as they climbed into their vintage rolls royce to head to the reception.

 
Newly married and off to the reception.

The reception site, as I've mentioned was beautiful!  Salty's sits across the sound from Seattle, so diners get an amazing view of the Seattle skyline.  The tables were decorated with vintage silver vessels of all sorts filled with white flowers.  Accents of turqoise blue brightened the room....it was, as Brianna described it, "A modern take on Tiffany". 

 

The view from the reception site....Salty's on Alkai Beach in Seattle.

Brianna's tiffany blue and white color scheme.

The reception went nicely.  The food was served, the cake was cut, toasts were given, dancing occurred...and about 3:45 pm (we had the room till 4:00 pm) some guests began to say their goodbyes and leave.  The Salty's crew, knowing they had to turn the room around quickly for the next receptiong starting at 6:00 pm, began clearing tables as people left, and putting down fresh linens....which were black...umm, not looking so good with the Tiffany blue and vintage silver.  I was a bit confused when I saw this happening.  Then I remembered the other wedding that was coming in a soon as we left to decorate.  I felt for them, knowing they were going to have to bust hump to get the room set-up before 6:00 pm...but at the same time I didn't want to be rushed out ourselves.  But as more tables began to get cleared, we took the hint and started taking down decorations and packing them up.  Thankfully, but this time, only about 15 or so people remained at the reception. 

Brianna and Ken's first dance.

We started hauling out boxes of vintage silver, crystal, and Tiffany's gift boxes.  As we walked through the service entrance to take things to the car, there standing in the pouring rain were the next group with their boxes of bamboo shoots, modern Asian teapots, and zen gardens waiting to come in to decorate.  And believe me they wasted no time.  As soon as they saw we were packing up, they were in the door setting up their tables.

So, alas, the day was over.  Although I felt rushed for most of the day, I did manage to get to really savor some moments from getting ready, to the meaningful ceremony, to watching Ken and Brianna have their first dance.  It was a happy, happy day.

 

 

By the way, all these beautiful photographs are from the amazing Jaquilyn Shumate Photography.  To see more photos from the wedding, visit Jaqui's blog. 

 

A Family Affair - part deux

A continuation of the series...True Confessions of a Mother of the Bride.

My last blog post about Brianna's wedding was about my "ex-family"...and well, just how nice it was to see them and share in the joy of the occasion.  So, now, let's segway, into my present family.....

 

Husband past (Doug on left), with husband present (Eric on right)

 

 

Let's start with the siblings (and their children)

I come from a relatively large (by today's standards) Catholic family.  I have two older brothers, and two older sisters.  (I'm the baby of the family, which for those of you who know me should explain a lot...but that's a whole 'nother blog post.)  So..back to the sibs.  My oldest brother Eric, who lives in Chicago, wasn't able to make it to the wedding and we missed him, but my brother Chad and his partner Doug came up.  And what a godsend they were.  Even though we had a day-of-coordinator for the wedding, I really needed someone I could trust to set-up the reception site, including the centerpieces, candy buffet, cake table, guest book table, and gift table.  This was no easy task, because each table was to be individual and unique.  I knew I could trust Chad... and bless his heart...he and Doug, were up before the birds with suits on and out to the reception site making sure everything looked just right.  They did an amazing job, and then rushed back to the church in time to take photos and help keep the mother-of-the-bride relatively calm.

My sister Laura, also made it to the reception, and this was no small feat.  She drove from the far eastern corner of Oregon all the way to Seattle.  En route she had not one...not two...but three, yes THREE flat tires...in the middle of nowhere.  Thank God for the good samaritans and Les Schwab grease monkeys who helped her out and got her back on the road.  She finally rolled in around midnight the night before the wedding....talk about determination!  I had been worried about her driving that far, so was very relieved, and happy when I finally saw her the next morning.

My other sister Karen, had a stroke about a month and a half before the wedding.  She wanted so badly to make it, but she was still too weak to make the trip.  Instead, all three of her children and their spouses came up.  Major road construction on I-5 meant they had to get up at 2:30 am in order to make it in time for the 10:00 am wedding.  They made it to Seattle around 8:00 am, in time to have breakfast with their Aunt Laurie before the wedding.  When I came down to the lobby of the hotel before heading out to the church, I saw them all gathered around the lobby and a tear jumped to my eye.  It touched me so that they all made it...Michelle, Luke, little Jo, Jack, Patty, Ashley, and Chris...all of them.

Chad and Doug...couldn't have done it without them!

Look at the candy buffet Chad and Doug put together....incredible, isn't it?

 

 
Daughter Piper, niece Ashley, niece Patty, bride Brianna, daughter Sara, Mother-of-the-Bride.

 

My daughters:

My daughters...all so very, very, very different.  And all so amazing.  Brianna was a very calm bride.  She stressed and worried before the wedding, but when the weekend arrived, she approached it with calm, letting others take on any worries, so she could focus on enjoying this moment in her life...and that's how a bride should be.  Jessica, Sara, and Piper...all there to support their sister, share her joy, and celebrate family.  They were all beautiful.  All supportive and helpful.  I was so proud of them all.  And...a special shout-out to son-in-law Jesse.  He was so helpful..doing things that I didn't even know about until weeks after the wedding to help out.

 

Aunt Laurie with Jessica.

My rock aka: my husband:

Eric arrived on Friday morning with loads of wedding paraphernalia, two daughters, a son-in-law and a dog.  He spent the next two and a half days helping me in every way imaginable, keeping me calm, solving any problem that came up, holding my hand, making sure I ate, schlepping more stuff than anyone can possibly imagine...and just letting me be crabby when I needed to, crying when I couldn't hold back the emotions, and being peacefully happy at then end of it all.  He made sure that everyone else had what they needed, stepping in to help, so others could just enjoy the weekend. 

The morning after the wedding, Eric had volunteered to drive Sara to the airport (see, yet again, being the helpful guy that he is).  As we dropped Sara off, the three of us stood at the curb saying our goodbyes.  Never one for outward signs of affection, Sara gave me a hug, and then said, loud enough so Eric could hear her, "Eric was a good bitch for you this weekend, Mom." and then she hugged Eric goodbye.  Now, if you know Sara, you'll know that she just gave Eric the supreme compliment.  He laughed and hugged her goodbye, smiling and bragging aftewards that he got a compliment from Sara.

 
Eric and I at the reception.  He looks so good in a tux!

The parents:

The one thing that did sadden me on this weekend, was that my Mom and Dad weren't here.  Dad's been gone for many years...he never even had the chance to walk me down the aisle, let alone watch a grandchild's wedding.  And Mom, well, she's only been gone a little over a year.  She would have loved this wedding.  The beautifully historic Catholic church, the mass, and Ave Maria being sung after communion.  I cried for them both at the wedding, I cried for me missing them...but I took comfort in the thought that the two of them were in heaven with front-row seats to it all, holding hands, smiling, looking at their children and grandchildren, and knowing they had done their job well.

Mom and Dad weren't there in person, but they were there in spirit.  The cake topper is the original one from their wedding and their wedding photo sits by the cake.

 

Whenever I count my blessings...I count my family twice.  A perfect family, no they're not, but then whose is?  We are all gloriously dysfunctional in our own way.  We have our foibles.  We have spats.  We have differences.  But, we are family, with a strong undercurrent of love.  And on this particular weekend, I could hardly contain my love for them all.

 

 

A gorge-ous birthday!

Saturday was Jessica's birthday. She decided she'd like to go hiking for the day and then go out for dinner.  So, Eric and I picked the hike to Latourell Falls with dinner at Skamania Lodge afterward.  I'm pretty sure Jessica has a direct line with God, because the forecast had called for rain, but we ended up with a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the glory of the Columbia River Gorge. 

I remember still, very well the day Jessica was born.  And although it was a happy day because I had my new baby girl, I have to say, this day was much more enjoyable.  The hour hike to the falls, was much easier than the 10-hour labor (natural, thank you very much).  Happy Birthday Jessica!

Jessica, Jesse and Skeeter at the foot of upper Latourell falls.

Is this the tiniest dog you've ever seen?

We saw so many beautiful wildflowers...here is a wild Columbine growing in the dappled forest.

The bottom half of Latourell Falls (I couldn't get the whole falls in from where I was standing)...it is a beautiful fall...and getting soaked by the ice cold mist was refreshing!

 
Jesse and Eric look up at the falls...Skeeter couldn't care less.

 
Jessica's abundant birthday desert that she was nice enough to share with me.

A birthday hug for Jessica at Skamania!

A Family Affair - More true confessions of a Mother-of-the-Bride

One thing Brianna and Ken said from the very beginning of planning their wedding, was they wanted it to be about family.  Nice.  But...(there's always a "but")...sometimes when you bring a lot of family members together, the divergent personalities can clash, which can be, um, stressful.  But, to Brianna and Ken, their marriage wasn't so much about them as it was about their families and a celebration of family.  So, the wedding came and the relatives arrived...in droves...by car, by plane, across miles...all there to celebrate Brianna and Ken.

Family past:

Brianna's father and I have been divorced for over 20 years now.  Far from a friendly divorce, it was more acrimonious than amicable.  But the years have passed and we've both mellowed.  We've set aside our youthful egos and we get along just fine.  We don't see each other or even talk with each other much now that the girls are grown, but we are there together for big occasions like graduations, weddings, and someday grandchildren. 

I used to get knots in my stomach before having to face Doug in person when we first divorced.  But I've long since forgiven and mostly forgotten the bad stuff between us, and when I see Doug now, I see the father of my children...he loves them and they love him and that's good.  That being said, I do still tread with caution when we meet up and when I interact with his family.  I like my ex-in-laws...I think fondly of them.  But when I see them at the rare family function, I often wonder if they will be receptive to my desire to want to visit and say hello...blood is thicker than water, and I always wonder if they perhaps harbor ill-will for the messy divorce Doug and I had.

Well...for this occasion...my qualms were unfounded.  Everyone was friendly and helpful and happy for Brianna and Ken.  I had so much fun with Doug's two daughters...they are both adorable, smart and funny.  The neatest thing is how much they like Eric's daugther Piper, sitting on her lap, holding her hand...and it just seemed natural.

Doug's brother John and his wife Michelle, were there also.  I always liked John and we greeted each other with a big hug and geniune smiles.  Later John and Michelle sat and chatted with Eric and I at the after party.  I really enjoyed their company and it was easy to remember why I liked them so much.

Also present was Doug's great Uncle Bill.  Ya gotta love this guy.  In his 80's and he still gets around like a man at least 20 years younger.  He has so many interesting stories to tell, and since he was staying at the same hotel we were, we ran into him several times and enjoyed sharing a cup of coffee and conversation.

And then there were my ex- parent-in-laws.  Doug's father has been ill and was in a wheelchair.  He looked older than when I saw him last.  I remember him as a glass half-full kind of guy...and I could see from the look on his face, he still had that positive spark in him.  I didn't get to talk with him, since he had to go rest after the wedding,but I did visit with my ex-mother-in-law at the reception.  She's still amazingly sharp, and mobile.  I spoke with her as she was leaving.  She had made up a to-go bag with treats from the wedding to bring back to her husband since he couldn't make the reception...how sweet. 

It was strange.  The memories of bad things between Doug and I seemed like nothing more than old faded photographs shoved in a shoebox at the back of some closet.  For this joyful weekend, our mutual love for Brianna, and Jessica, and Sara took center stage.  It was good.  It was how it should have always been...  It may have taken a long time, but at least we finally got to this point.  Hopefully, that counts for something.

The Johnston Clan.

 

 

What do a limo, Michael Jackson, and Ernest Borgnine have in common?

This past weekend was "work weekend" at Otter Crest.  Chad, Doug, Eric and I spent the weekend doing some maintence and repairs on our beach place.  Eric replaced an ugly baseboard heater with a new one, while the rest of us touched up paint, washed windows, cleaned closets, etc.  Chad is a taskmaster (in a good way).  He came prepared with a list of things to get accomplished, gave everyone their assignments, and kept us on track, so we finished up about 3:00 pm on Saturday, with still enough weekend time to have a little fun.

A couple weekends ago, Eric and I stopped and had lunch at the Bay House in Lincoln City.  We fell in love with the white tableclothed tables, each with a perfect red rose in a vase on top.  The view of Siletz Bay was serene with gulls and other shore birds wading through the shallow water.  The decor is modern, yet cozy at the same time, and the food, well, the food was divine.  The place was stunning...even the bathroom was impressive.

The women's restroom...a fireplace, oriental rug, garden courtyard and the scent of fresh flowers!  All public restrooms should be like this.

While having lunch we met the owner, Steve.  Steve is proud of his beautiful restaurant, his extensive wine list, the newly built oh-so-elegant lounge, and his new limo.  He picked it up for a song, and now uses it to pick up and drop of guests dining for dinner.  So, Eric knowing we were coming back with Chad and Doug in a few weeks, made a dinner reservation for us and reserved the limo.

When it was time to go to dinner, the four of us walked down the steep hill from our condo towards the parking lot.  When we got to the bottom of the hill I told the guys we needed to go to the lobby because we had a ride picking us up.  Expecting a cab to show up, Chad and Doug were surprised with the limo...what fun!

Our limo arrives at Bay House.

We rode the 12 miles or so, having fun in the limo, playing with the gadgets and me teasing Chad and Doug for their Michael Jackson inspired white socks.  We arrived at the restaurant a little before sunset.  Our window seat affording an excellent view of the bay.   When we entered the restaurant, Steve greeted us, remembering our names and welcoming us back to Bay House (I was impressed!).

Whose feet are these?  Chad O'Lynn or Michael Jackson?  Hmmmm?

First up, Eric ordered a bottle of wine.  Bay House has a serious wine list...20 pages of chardonay alone.  We finally gave in and asked the waiter to make a recommendation.  He came back with a nice bottle of chardonay for less than $50.  The guys all ordered salads, which arrived fresh and tasty with unique ingredients like pine nuts, strawberries, and goat cheese.  Next up, were Chad's and my pork loin chops, tender and juicy with a smokey grilled flavor.  Eric and Doug ordered seafood...swordfish and halibut...both works of art for the eye and the palate (I sound like a food critic, don't I?). 

 

 
 A wine list of biblical proportions.

 

 

Doug's halibut work of art!

We took our time with dinner, enjoying our food, the view, and each other's company.  At one point Chad and Doug had me laughing so hard at their middle school mishaps that I was actually crying with laughter and slapping the table with my hand (um, I think we were the loudest table in the place, but we were having fun).  After dinner we had dessert...chocolate cake for me (what else), Chad had the berry cobbler, and Doug opted for the creme brule.  When it arrived Chad joked saying Doug couldn't eat it because the carmelization on top looked like Jesus...Doug said it looked more like Ernest Borgnine and quickly stabbed his spoon into it to get his first delicious bite.

Tell me, do you see Ernest Borgnine or Jesus is in this creme brule?

We lingered with after dinner cocktails in the lounge listening to the "Sons of the Beaches" playing jazz.  They were sort of bluesy, sort of jazzy, sort of rockabilly, sort of Jimmy Buffet...sounds weird, but it worked.  After about 4 hours after arriving, we piled back in the limo, which we shared this time with the cutest couple heading to their prom. 

It was one of my best dining experiences ever...and I've eaten at some awesome restaurants.  The Bay House experience doesn't come without a hefty price tag, but sometimes you've just got to treat yourself to something spectacular, and Bay House fits the bill quite nicely.

 

 

OMG the flowers are dead!

Second installment in the True Confessions of a Mother of the Bride blog series.

My daughter, Brianna, decided she wanted to use my vintage silver and crystal pieces to create eclectic centerpieces for her wedding.  She wanted to use all white flowers...fluffy ones like hydrangeas, garden roses, carnations, and football mums.  My first thought was, "All white? Hmmm...that is going to look so plain."  But I went with it.  And I have to say her vision, once created, was stunning.

Being on a budget, we decided we'd try to tackle the job of creating the centerpieces ourselves.  She wanted to use a single flower in each arrangement, so it couldn't be too hard, right?  We'd just clip a hydrangea, plunk it in a silver teapot and call it good.  Several months before the wedding, I drove to Seattle where we cleaned out all the white carnations at Safeway to practice some bouquets and arrangements.  We did a pretty good job and the flowers held up well.

We decided we'd order the flowers we needed online and have them shipped to Brianna's several days before the wedding where we would create the centerpieces and bouquets.  Great.  Well, then Brianna met Julia Miller.  Julia said she'd order all our flowers for us and then spend the day helping us make the arrangements.  Oh, pshaw!  I said.  We don't need any help.  We can do it ourselves.  But Brianna insisted that Julia would be a great idea, so since it was Brianna's wedding, I agreed.

Fast forward to two days before the wedding.  Julia and I had been in touch by email  weeks before to confirm the type and quantity of flowers.  Brianna had arranged for us to do our floral creations in the oversized kitchen at the church she works at.  Julia was to meet us at the church with the flowers and to instruct us on how to make the arrangements.

Brianna's step-mom, Christine, Brianna, and sisters  Natalie, and Sara arranging flowers.  Julia is in the foreground.

Julia arrived with buckets and buckets of beautiful flowers that she had lovingly cared for the last several days to make sure the blooms would be just right.  I immediately liked Julia when I met her.  A kind, friendliness exudes from her, and yet, there is this take charge 8th grade math teacher quality about her too, that makes sure everyone is on task to get the job done!

She set to work, helping us divide up the containers and assigning us each to our tasks.  Next she gave us each a lesson on how to work with each one of the different flower types we had.  Hydrangea leaves rob water from the flowers so pull them off...however rose leaves help the flowers stay fresh, so leave those on (who knew?  Apparently, Julia).  She showed us how to cut and arrange the flowers.  Two hours later we left the church with about 50 stunning arrangements.

Before we left the church, Julia pulled me aside and told me how to store the flowers for the next couple of days and what to do to if any of them started to wilt.  She gave me her card, and with a hug told me to call her if I ran into any problems.

We transported all the flowers to my hotel room (setting the thermostat to a chilly 60 degrees for the flowers).  We had a bit of water spillage on the way, but all the flowers looked fine.  We dropped off the flowers and then headed back out to run more errands. 

Around 7:00 pm that night I headed back to my hotel room, exhausted and ready for a glass of wine, my book and an early sleep.  When I stepped into my room, I noticed...it wasn't so cool.  In fact, it was kind of hot.  Apparently the hotel has no air conditioning.  I flipped on the light and went to check on the flowers.  OMG...about half of the flowers were wilted!  What was I going to do?  I panicked.  Should I run out to Safeway and start buying up replacement flowers?  Should I call a florist in the morning to see if they could quickly make some new arrangements?  And then, like a floral guardian angel, I remembered Julia's advice.  "If the flowers wilt, re-cut them under water, mist them to keep them moist, and they should spring back to life." 

I immediately set to work.  I unboxed all the arrangements, pulled out wilting blooms, and began performing floral resuscitation, right there in my hotel room.  I filled the bathtub full of lukewarm water, and began clipping stems and dunking flowers like some sort of botanic John the Baptist.  I misted the flowers, opened the windows to let in cool air and prayed for renewed life for the flowers.  And...miracle of miracles...it worked.  The flowers bounced back beautifully.  I re-created the destructed arrangements and re-watered everything else.  They were as good as new.  And might I add, gorgeous. 

 

 

 
These garden roses are th most heavenly smelling things ever!

 

Disclaimer on the above photos:  I forgot to take any photos of the cernterpieces at the reception (Doh!), so these are recreated versions I took on Monday night back home with flowers I salvaged from the event.  But...you get the idea.

At midnight I finally fell into bed with the sweet smell of garden roses and carnations filling the cool night air and a very, very big sigh of relief.