Blog #32 – September 3 – September 18, 2022

So here is the Part II that you’ve been waiting for… maybe?  I couldn’t fit it all in in the previous post.  Turns out that WordPress couldn’t handle all the photos I’ve been uploading and I had to upgrade my blog. Hope this post resolves any cliff hangers.

Also, I figured out how to make a table of contents. You can click on one of the chapters labeled below skip around to the part of the blog you want to read first. Look at me getting all tech-y and everything!!!

1. Ferry
2. Chillax in Sag Harbor Then – Wedding #2/3!
3. BeeLine to Asheville
4. Western NC State Fair
5. The Funeral
6. CRASH
7. Rachel and Madison’s Wedding Weekend

Ferry

On the Friday of Labor Day Weekend, we got to the Cross Sound Ferry in New London early.  Since we had a big rig, both a Ford F250 and the car trailer it was towing, we needed to make special arrangements in advance. They needed the height, width and length of each vehicle and by the time you’re done, we’re over 40 feet in length. The ferry company was plenty happy that we arrived early and made room for some other people headed for Long Island’s East End on the holiday weekend.

It was a beautiful, sunny warm day. We took our pups on board (had to carry Toby up the stairs) and they enjoyed the harbor breezes on our hour plus ride. David and Brianna managed to find benches long enough so they could take naps.  We were still pooped when the ferry docked. We managed to hit some farm stands on the way out to Grandpa Mitchell and Aunt Nancy’s. Then, after a quick errand, we took a much-needed nap. Or two. Or three.  

Afterwards Nancy and I made a quick (not really) jaunt to the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Her cousin had an extra ticket so we did some boutique shopping before watching some fabulous show jumping. People and companies sponsor tables next to the jumping ring – and they decorate them! And cater them. This is how the other half lives. Oh, and we saw Christie Brinkley.

Chillax in Sag Harbor Then – Wedding #2/3!

We had Saturday to ourselves to chill. In the afternoon, we went into Southampton. While Bri knew we had a wedding on Sunday, she was still looking for a dress.  We found more than one, but the winner was a brown pleated number that she could wear on Sunday and to her sister’s wedding in a couple of weeks. She looks like a million bucks in everything and it was hard not to buy out the store.

Sunday was relaxing, walking and getting ready for the wedding. Our family friends’ daughter Allie Bichoupan was getting married to her fiancé Dan Laine on the North Fork of Long Island. The beautiful event was at a vineyard and mostly outside.  We got to catch up with many people we haven’t seen in years, and even re-kindled old friendships. It was a fabulous night. I didn’t take many photos.  Not sure if I really want to post videos of us all dancing, but it was a lot of fun. Don’t judge my dancing prowess — or lack thereof.

BeeLine to Asheville

The next day, Monday, Labor Day, we wanted to make some serious tracks to get back to Asheville. Brianna and David had work on Tuesday and even though we just swore that we wouldn’t drive more than 6 hours in a day….. we decided that with three drivers we could make a straight shot down. And that way we would have less time in the car with 3 dogs and 3 people. We made it home around 2 am with a big sigh. 

Now the real unpacking began – at least for me.  My mom was coming to visit on Friday and I was sick of all the boxes. I got a lot out. And the contractor made some headway on the elevator we are installing for mom.

When Mom flew in for the weekend, I knew I had to make the most of our time. She is going to be moving in with us and we need to update her bathroom so it’s more accessible as she ages. And we needed to get more done. On Friday, we went from the airport to an appointment at the bathroom fixture store. The we hit a carpeting store. We got a feel for what she might like.  On Monday, she interviewed an internist in Ashville and hit a tile store before she had to shoot over to the airport.  

Western NC State Fair

While mom was still there, we got to stop by the Fair on Saturday afternoon. I love looking at the livestock competitions and exhibitions. We chanced upon a junior showmanship class in sheep. These under 8-year olds were handling their domesticated animals like pros. Who did we like best? The girl with the bow and cowboy boots? Or the boy with the snap front plaid shirt?  Hard choices.

Then it was off to the craft area with beautiful quilts, metal working, molasses making, blacksmithing, basket making – you name it.  David had a ball looking at the old tractor exhibit. I was interested in the apples and apple cider from a local farm. 

The Funeral

I haven’t really been talking about the dogs. You know we take Toby and Rey with us everywhere and none of us would have it any other way. Lifting Toby into and out of the truck each time is a process that we had gotten used to. After his last battle with pneumonia, we thought we had him back to good health.

But it was not to be. He started having other gastrointestinal issues and he just couldn’t shake them. I felt terrible. Hell, we all felt terrible. David had researched a euthanasia service that comes to your home.  I was in denial. When I was away from him, I kept thinking maybe he would get better. Maybe there was another drug we could give him and it would fix this problem. But each time I came home and saw the look of pain and sadness in his eyes, I knew he was asking for it to end. 

At the end, it’s like you have health dominos lined up and the first one hits the next one and so on. One medical issue leads to another. Do we have to wait for the last domino to fall?  We made the difficult decision to let him rest in peace. No one should have to go through the pain he was going through.

Saturday night we FaceTimed with all the kids and Brianna made a fabulous slideshow with photos of all Toby’s life. We got to cuddle him all night. He even got to sleep on our bed.

Sunday was a puddle for us. We fed him ice cream and chicken all day. It was the best day a food focused dog could ever have. Overlooking a beautiful view, he died with dignity in our arms. He gave us 14 years of joy as the best dog in the world. I’m still a weepy mess about the whole thing. Pass the tissues.

What happened after that? I can’t even remember. That week was just one sub-contractor in the house after another. And then….

CRASH

I was driving home on Thursday and thought I could pop in to a market and pick up dinner. I won’t go into the whole blow by blow, but I got hit while turning left.  Even though I think it was his fault, all left turn accidents are considered the fault of the turner. I was very shaken up but no one was hurt. Now we are down one more car. And I had to deal with all the insurance stuff and organizing to get the car fixed.  All before the big day.

Rachel and Madison’s Wedding Weekend

We traveled on Friday to Bozeman, MT.  David and I made the travel plans together months earlier but even so, David was frustrated by the 6 hour layover in Dallas. The American Airlines lounge helped. We used the time wisely, David on business calls and me getting a manicure at the airport. We arrived in Bozeman around 8:30pm.  Madison’s aunt held a bbq/get together at her house that evening and we dropped in for the tail end of it.  

Saturday morning we got up a little early and we were able to have breakfast at one of Bozeman’s iconic morning spots, Jam!  We then got some pastries at Wild Crumb, the bakery that always seems to have a line out the door, to deliver some baked goods to Rachel and Madison’s AirBnB. We got to have a little coffee with the siblings and the newlyweds’ friends. Afterwards we stuffed gift bags at their AirBnb.  We then walked around town a little, exploring stores. Our team ended at the boot repair shop that had great skate (it’s a fish) skin wallets.  

We stopped off back at our AirBnb and then ran out again for the picnic arranged for Saturday afternoon/evening.  Everyone came to the Pavilion in the park and the families and friends got a chance to meet before the wedding itself. It was heartwarming to see all the family and cousins together. 

The after party continued at a local brewery which had to stop serving at 8pm.  Otherwise we might have gone to the wee small hours. 

On Sunday, David and I woke up early to practice our speech. Which we then changed. And changed. And realized we had to go because I had to get to the venue early to participate in the pre-wedding hair and makeup prep and hangout. I actually did nothing to help.

Brianna, on the other hand, did everything. She helped with hair, she helped with makeup, she got each of the brides into their dresses, and later she helped David with the slide show and getting the polaroid cameras ready for people to use and add photos to their guest book remarks, she helped with the photographer, she made everyone feel welcome from cousins to new family. 

We went for family photos in a nearby field for wedding pics. There were horses in the field and they alternately looked romantic and cute — or were just annoying. The photographer used them as props, or managed to chase them away, gracefully, with a really long lens in front of her. I don’t know how.

My mom walked down to the field barefoot. You may remember that she fell a couple of weeks before at the Susan G. Komen walk, but she’s up and at ‘em like the trooper she is. The hyperbaric chamber treatments for her wounds are making her heal very quickly. 

After photos, guests arrived for the cocktail hour. Beautiful passed hors d’oerves included smoked salmon and bison stuffed mushrooms.  Only in Montana?  

The ceremony was next. The brides’ dear friend Jill officiated. Since Madison and Rachel had already said their vows at their elopement, they had a different kind of ceremony that was very true to their interests.  Representing the weaving together of two people into a couple and families coming together, they had two pieces of climbing rope which they first knotted. Then the brides each said something special to her parents and Jill then guided the parents to continue the knot (because we had no idea what we were doing!). It was a truly lovely ceremony. Afterwards, each parent gave a speech to their daughter.  Mother Nature had other plans. The sky opened up and we had to make a mad dash to the covering of the wedding venue. It was only a few feet, but everyone found a seat and then we continued the ceremony inside. It was seamless really. 

After this, dinner was served. Each of the food items had meaning to the brides and there was a card next to each dish explaining what they meant. Why all the gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches? Why pumpkin ravioli? Why a huge charcuterrie board? They could tag each item to some important event: a first date, a surprise of some sort, something they both loved. It was great. 

Who is the hero of this event?  I’ve already mentioned Brianna, but the person who put the whole thing together was Madison’s mom Lori. She coordinated the entire thing. It helps that she’s lived in Bozeman forever and that she and her husband Mike had a restaurant there for a dozen+ years. With that background, she knew caterers and other vendors we needed. She found the photographer, the DJ, the flowers, the cards, the venue, the entire thing. 

We all danced the night away. I barely sat down the entire time. It was a genuine celebration and I’m so happy that the girls got the celebration and wedding they wanted. 

I’m not sure I can ever top that kind of weekend. Still the road we travel on winds along. We have more chapters coming — Troubles with Tractors, Moving Mom, Breathing Lesson, and more. Am I leaving with another cliff hanger? Stay tuned ….