Silent Sunday - Pity

"Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the time
I am being carried on great winds across the sky."

Chippewa, translated by Robert Bly

Our Wedding - The Invitations

After much discussion and weighing of options, The Frenchman and I finally selected our invitations. We had agreed we would do this part ourselves, along with everything else, and with some trepidation decided to purchase a kit from a local craft store. We were pleasantly surprised with the ease with which we were able to produce these using the on-line resource that provided pre-formatted templates.

We altered the script font for our names and insert card headers to Chopin, one of the free font downloads created by Jerry Jones at Shadowhouse Creations, to dress them up and add a touch of flourish. (This website is amazing, by the way. I need to set aside some serious time to really explore all that he offers here. If you haven't already discovered Jerry, go check him out.)

By having our guests R.S.V.P. to an e-mail address we created specifically to manage correspondence directly related to our wedding planning, we're further reducing our expenses. The invitations are a non-standard size though, so we'll be paying extra for postage. Life is a series of checks and balances.

We took the opportunity to express our wishes with regard to the tradition of gift giving by including a short paragraph on the bottom of the Response card. It's a collection of wording we assembled from a variety of resources that expresses our feelings perfectly.

Your presence with us on our Wedding Day
means a great deal to us.
The most important gift you can give us
is support in making our marriage grow.
We wish to receive no other gifts.

Finally, we personalized the invitations and introduced our Beach theme with a rubber stamp and embossing powder. The outer card is embossed with a filigree pattern and is a decorative touch that's not over the top.


It was time consuming, but we're very pleased with the final result and feel that it represents us very well.


Next installment: The Honeymoon

Silent Sunday - Dare

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength
in the service of my vision,
then it becomes less and less important
whether I am afraid."

Audre Lorde

Bits & Pieces

The Frenchman and I are steadily nibbling away at our wedding plans and, in an attempt to keep costs down, we're doing everything ourselves. The only problem with that, of course, is...well...we're doing everything ourselves.

On the upside, my control freak self is deliriously happy with her current circumstances.

Anyway, with all that we have on our plate right now, I haven't been able to focus my thoughts long enough to formulate anything of much substance here, so I've decided to just roll with it and spill some of my muddled brain matter out for you here to sort through on your own.

Kind of like a jumble sale without the haggling.


Celine and Luna (aka "the kids") are slowly ironing out their differences. Celine is at her most crabby with Luna when she's eating out of Luna's food dish. Celine looks like the meanest, baddest cat when she slinks out of Luna's room, with a total Don't F**** With Me look. Luna, follows her around like a kid sister, eager to romp around and have some fun, totally oblivious to Celine's bad ass display.

Hmmmm....interesting demonstration of one of life's valuable lessons, no?

Celine, with her poor eyesight, doesn't appreciate it when Luna pops up out of nowhere, startling her by bouncing into her space without any warning. Fair enough.

Luna is fun and playful and is revealing her personality in amusing ways. Stay tuned for more on that later.

We're lavishing them both with love and affection and making sure Celine has enough quiet time. This is her retirement home, after all. For her part, I think Celine just wants to know that she hasn't been replaced. And, who can't relate to that?

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The month of January is severely testing my faith at work. Sales are at an all time low and yet, I'm oddly at peace with the whole thing. Could it be that I've reached a new level of enlightenment...? Or am I just sadly out of touch with reality? The votes are still being tallied.

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Yoga is kicking my butt. Just sayin'...

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I've been in denial about it for quite some time now, but I can no longer ignore the fact that, much to my horror, my hair is, in fact, thinning!

Damn you, menopause!!

If that's not bad enough, I'm feeling plump today.

That's all.

Silent Sunday - Your Shoes

"Remind yourself that your shoes are unique,
talented and directed on a path that is as unique
and individualized as you are."

Melanie Testa
Artist

Sisters in Arms

I'm happy to report that Celine & Luna may have reached a turning point.

The Frenchman took both cats to the vet on Wednesday. Luna needed her complimentary SPCA vet check before her adoption was formalized and it was also time for Celine's annual check-up.

Celine does not like to leave the security of her own house and her normal reaction to it is to produce gut-wrenching howls of unmatched agony. The Frenchman tells me she did do some howling in the car on the way to the vet, but once they arrived, he placed her carrier case so it was facing Luna's and all howling ceased immediately.

When they were ushered into the small examination room, he released both cats and while Celine watched quietly from his lap, Luna scouted the place out for her. He said it felt like Celine put all differences aside because they were both in this scary predicament together. Sisters in Arms, as it were, banding together in the face of imminent danger.

Since then, Celine has been far more accepting and tolerant of Luna, although she did growl at her from her spot beside us on the couch that same night. Luna just stared at her for a few minutes as if to say, "I know your game, Sister", and then proceeded to fall on her favourite squeaky toy mouse with a fervour. She carries it around from room to room in her mouth like a real one, which leads us to believe she has moused at some point in her life. Luna has also calmed down somewhat and seems more relaxed in her new home.

As for their health, Celine, for her part, has a few issues related to her advanced age that are concerning, but to be expected and that we'll continue to monitor.

Luna got a clean bill of health, except for the discovery of a tapeworm, which explains her ravenous appetite. She's on medication, so we'll dispense with that in no time and then it's full speed ahead. Literally.

Post Holiday Debriefing

The Frenchman and I have been maintaining a fairly regular routine with the yoga practice we began this month. Although I hesitate to say that I'm enjoying it in the moment, I do find that I look forward to my next class and I'm pleased to find that the heat and humidity doesn't bother me beyond causing me to sweat profusely. So much so, sometimes, that I fear I will end my life as a puddle - albeit a very flexible one.

That said, I actually enjoy the temperature in the room. I imagine I'm visiting a spa in some equatorial country and just relax into it.

One of the highlights of my classes, so far, was an unexpected aria sung to all of us at the end of our 90 minute workout by the teacher of that particular class who is also an opera singer.

So beautiful. It moved me to tears.

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In the Most Unusual Present Received category, the Frenchman and I received a large box of condoms for Christmas, totaling 55 in all, sent to us by none other than my Mother.

My first thought upon opening the gift? I'm going to have to write about this on my blog.

More proof that I may be crazy.

Or that the Frenchman is, for wanting to marry into this family.

It should be noted that the Frenchman and my Mom have not met yet. Although, it appears that she's won a warm place in his heart with this move.

...It would be unfair of me not to mention that there were a few other, more conventional gifts included in the parcel, as well.

And Baby Makes Four

We've been smitten, bitten, and completely sucked in by a temptress well versed in the fine art of seduction.

Yup. We've officially adopted another rescue animal.

Meet Luna.


At 2 years of age, she's way more kitten than I've ever experienced before and I've already dubbed her Our Lady of Perpetual Motion. When she does stop long enough to catch her breath, she's completely loving and affectionate. She's sleek, lean, and built like a bantam weight and there's an element of wildcat in her. I suspect that she had to go without food at some point in her young life because she devours anything I offer her to eat, leaving nothing behind but the scent. Although, it could just be that her metabolism is so high that her body consumes food like a rocket burns jet fuel.

We're introducing Luna to Celine slowly and Celine established her place in the hierarchy early on. She hisses and growls at Luna and Luna just plops her butt down on the ground wherever she is and sits quietly. For the most part, Celine is keeping her distance and maintaining her dignity. I'm sure Celine is wondering when this interloper will be going back to wherever she came from. That said, I'm confident that they'll reach an amicable agreement before too long. Celine is actually quite timid, so we're making sure she's still getting lots of attention and have deemed our bedroom off-limits for Luna so Celine has an area where she can retreat to if she feels threatened. We're keeping them separated for now, unless we're around to supervise.

The photo was taken on Luna's first night with us and in very low light. She has the most beautiful markings, so I'll be sharing those with you as soon as she slows down long enough for me to capture her on film.

Silent Sunday - Who Says

"Who says I can't be free
From all of the things that I used to be?
Rewrite my history.
Who says I can't be free?"

Who Says
by John Mayer, Singer/Songwriter

Late Night Life Lessons

"I think I'm having a mid-life crisis." I said.

The Frenchman and I were laying in bed together after having just watched the movie, Ray. A biographical account of Ray Charles' life and career, this was the first time I'd seen it. I won't review the movie for you here, other than to say that it was superbly done and that Jamie Foxx was absolutely deserving of the Oscar he won for his portrayal of this legendary musician.

In any event, to return to the point of my story, The Frenchman asked me what I meant by my confession.

"All I do everyday is punch in at work, come home, and go to bed."

A gross oversimplification, I admit, but I was feeling particularly bleak at the time.

I went on to say that I couldn't believe that my sole purpose in life was to work at the Gallery and sell art work. Surely, I was meant to accomplish more than that, in my life!

"I mean, look at Ray Charles," I said. "He came from a dirt poor existence - literally - suffered terrible tragedy, struggled with a physical limitation during an incredibly intolerant period of time and yet, went on to accomplish great things."

"Life sucks and then you die." The Frenchman said and then rolled away from me onto his side.

I lay there quietly in the dark, turning his words over in my mind.

*blink*

*blink*

"That doesn't help me at all." I thought.

Perhaps sensing that he hadn't provided me with the kind of support I was in need of, he rolled back toward me.

"It doesn't matter that Ray Charles made music." He said. "What matters is how he touched people's lives with his music. It's not what we do, that's important, it's how we touch people with the relationships we have."

Is it any wonder that I love this man?

Silent Sunday - The Great Door

"As you sit on the hillside,
or lie prone under the trees of the forest,
or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream,
the great door,
that does not look like a door,
opens."

Stephen Graham