The Wedding

How did I like the wedding? 

I loved it.  

I don't know what there is to say that hasn't already been said but I will add a few comments.

The Dress:

Best. Wedding. Dress. Ever.  

Better than

 

Grace Kelly's, possibly better than 

 

Maria Von Trapp's in the Sound of Music. 

The uniform: 

Nothing says "I am the future king of Great Britain" than a red uniform.

The Flower Girls' Dresses:

I happen to be making a flower girl dress for Nutmeg this month.  Don't be surprised if it has puffed sleeves, box pleats and a scalloped lace underskirt.

The Abbey:

Loved the trees.  I think we should all start investing in potted trees for weddings.  It's going to be huge.

The kisses: They were adorable and we waited long enough for them!

The service:  I am glad that it was religious but it was so boring and long!

The Queen: 

 

Darling. Perfect.

The hats.  50/50. About 50% were cute and 50% were hideous.  Only a handful were as awesome as the one I wore to the viewing party.

Criticisms: I would have liked to see Kate smile a LOT more during the walk/ceremony/service  she seems like a charming gal not too terrified by the spotlight so I can't understand why she wasn't grinning from ear to ear on her wedding day.  She smiled in the carriage would it have killed her to do it in the abbey?

I also expected more of Camilla's ensemble.  Her 1920's era coat was not flattering and after her smashing wedding hair ornament 

 

I was hoping for something as stunning.

Heels.  I would think that someone would have taught the Royals and royal relations how to walk in heels.  They all looked SO uncomfortable and bow legged in them. Kate, Pippa and Her Majesty excepted.

 And as someone commented on Facebook "The York girls should not be let out unsupervised."

Things I Have Learned The Hard Way

Bubble Bath in a jetted tub is NOT a good idea.

Tan lines are not as bad as the alternative.

My husband does not always take the topper off the van when he unloads it.

Yes, you CAN get pregnant that way.

Always wire a tall Christmas tree to the wall no matter how well it appears to be balanced.

The buy one get one free offer for the Ballet is not redeemable online.

The Reds and the Red Socks are different teams

An $18 dollar rattle is not a good buy even if it is hand crafted

It's called the Freshman 15 for a reason

The last train to London leaves Inverness really early.

P.S. This is not an announcement. That was a long time ago.

The Mayflower, Tulips, King John Lackland and Shaking off the Norman Opressors

In Commander C's quest to earn his "Heritage Belt Loop" we have been doing a little family history. Today's project was to learn what countries our family hails from.

This is what we learned. I actually find this surprisingly homogeneous all things considered. Moose is more of a purebred than I am, his people all coming from 2 countries that are neighbors. My blood is a little mixed but I think that makes my genes stronger.
England- All parts, including Yorkshire, which makes us hardy.
Wales- The reason I love to sing and my striking resemblance to Catherine Zeta Jones?
Germany- The reason I enjoy kneading bread and the reason Moose and his children would easily have been passed over by the 3rd Reich.
Holland- This is all Moose's side not mine, perhaps we should start investing in Tulips.
Sweden- To be honest I have a hard time reconciling this one, I have never felt drawn to the Swedes. This sounds like an opportunity for research.

Other tidbits from my family history.
Many of my ancestors were part of the Mormon migration from Europe but others have been in America since the boat that followed the Mayflower.
Amongst our hearty ancestors is King John of England, that's right John Lackland ridiculed and despised in literature and lore since the day he was born. He probably deserved it but is defense of my great grand sire I have 2 words "Magna Carta." Sure, he was strong armed into signing it, but still, he signed it. One of the world's first attempts at freedom.We decided to eschew our French blood and not recognize our Norman ancestors, figuring that if it happened before the Battle of Hastings, it doesn't count.

Sadly there is no luck of the Irish for us (though some of our English ancestors were landholders in Ireland) and we are not Scottish which I find hard to believe since I am so frugal.
While La Keira's children are known affectionately as Beanerschnitzel's (Mexican and Dutch) my children have a few more nationalities to incorporate into their recipe. Submit the name for our mixed heritage in the comments. there will be a winner.

Interview with a Samurai, pt.1

As my life is SO mysterious, and inquiring minds DO want to know, La Keira has very kindly volunteered to do an interview with Samurai Mom to answer many of your pressing questions. I hope you enjoy it, I did.

#1: Living in Portland, as you do, I imagine you see a lot of bumper stickers. I saw a particularly self-righteous one the other day that said "What exactly do conservatives want to conserve?" Wow. What a zinger. Here's your chance to respond. I'd like at least three bullet points.

Your Money,
Your Rights,
Your Liberties,
and possibly,Your Sanity

#2: I know your home schooling style is inspired in part by Thomas Jefferson but I can't bring myself to like the guy (Declaration notwithstanding, it's gonna take some time for me to get past the Sally Hemmings thing). So, my question is, which Founding Father do you most relate to and (if different) who would you like to spend a dinner with? Why?Though I haven't studied him much, I think that I most identify with Patrick Henry. I don't think that I have all the ideas but I know correct principles when I see them and they burn within me and become part of me. I hope to be a "radical" as he was and maybe one day if needed to come up with a phrase as patriotic as "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
I don't want to mince words, I want to speak the truth.

As for dinner I would like to break bread with John and Abigail Adams because after reading McCullough's biography how could one not adore and admire John Adams?

#3: You, like me, are a collector of the fabulous. What item in your home do you have an inexplicable passion/unhealthy obsession for?
I simply cannot choose just one. This answer will be woefully inaccurate no matter the answer I choose so I am going to say that currently I am in love with colanders though I am limiting myself to possessing only 4. Also, there is Danvers, my ceramic duck filled with knitting needles, perhaps my favorite item.

And Books. I love books, even if I never read all of them, I love books.

#4: Speaking of books...The character Desmond on LOST is saving up a copy of "Our Mutual Friend" to read as the last book he ever reads in his life. Do you have a favorite book that you wish you could unread and save for just such an occasion?
I am having trouble with this one. First, I would say Jane Eyre but Jane Eyre has so many lessons that I have needed in this life, I would hate to have gone without them. Second, I would like to say Mrs. Miniver but again I can't imagine a world without knowing the joys of Mrs. Miniver. Just think of bidding on an auction emotionally because something looks lonely and not knowing that Mrs. Miniver would do the same thing.
I choose Rebecca. Rebecca is one of my favorite books but I fully admit that the life lessons learned therein are faulty and one doesn't learn much in that respect. It would be delightful for the last book read to begin "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again."

#5 I know that you loved your time in London. Where was your favorite place there? What time of day? What should it smell like?

I loved to walk along the Thames at night. Always with a friend, not because I was ever afraid for my safety in London Town but because walking along the Thames is a time for conversation. We would walk along the embankment and then cross to the south using Lambeth Bridge, then Westminster enchanted by the Houses of Parliament waving to Boadicea as we passed. Then skip Hungerford past the sphinxes and on to my favorite, Waterloo, which leads to the Royal National Theatre and up to the elaborately painted Blackfriars bridge. If it wasn't too late and the conversation was still good there was Tower Bridge via the New Globe Theatre, but not often. It smells like roasted chestnuts and crisp fall air. Chestnuts taste terrible but smell delicious and I am sure the Thames smells but if it does I can't recall the scent.

.....to be continued. Tune in tomorrow to find out my bad habits, psychological philosophy, and what I will look like in heaven in Interview with a Samurai, pt.2

A Motley Crew and a Terrifying Tale

These are our Thanksgiving pies, a sad display, I know. We were a sight to behold, Moose strumming on the guitar, Boss Moss teasing Nutmeg, Commander C stirring the lemon Pudding at the stove, Boba Fett stirring the pecan pie, Grandma Whitehouse making the meringue and Samurai Mom getting ingredients for two pies at once. Mom put the crusts in the pans so they looked much nicer than when I do it and I thought that was an auspicious start. But alas it was not to be.
The pumpkin had this funny bubble in it that split and then sunk, the lemon meringue has questionable pudding and a flat split meringue. And the Chocolate pecan, well it boiled over in the oven making the pie look very sad indeed and in smoking up the kitchen right now and the corn syrup burn on the bottom of the oven as the turkey roasts.

Let us hope that they taste good and that the smoke alarm does not go off.

Before I tell the terrifying tale I will mention that I made a Chocolate Pecan for the ward pie contest this year and I was robbed. First, I looked at my pie after the judging and there is NO WAY 3 judges tasted the pie, there was a half teaspoon sized bite taken out, that is all. Secondly, the judges were all men and the winners were all fruit pies, obviously they were not qualified to judge a chocolate pie. I had sufficient praise from others however. Now, on to my tale.

It was Thanksgiving 1997, London.
Our abroad program was an American school, with American students and British instructors.
Happily, the director of the program arranged a Thanksgiving day feast at a small French restaurant. We all convened and while the dinner was not quite a traditional feast the basics were there and it was acceptable. Then it was time for desert. The servers went around the room taking orders apple or pumpkin pie. Some ordered the apple but most drooled at the prospect of some pumpkin pie and ordered that in their southern drawl (most of the girls at Hollins abroad were from the south.) The instructors did likewise on our recommendation. The pies arrived and those who had ordered pumpkin were a bit perplexed. The pumpkin was not a custard pie but a pie like an apple pie, with little slices of pumpkin in a syrupy filling! I am not joking people! We were appalled but tasted the pie with trepidation followed by disappointment, it was gross. No rich velvety delight for us. We vehemently declared to our British Instructors that THIS was not pumpkin pie and tried to explain it though none of us knew enough about baking one to do it accurately.
Ironic that in England we could not get a custard pie.

(Proof I was there at the infamous Thanksgiving feast, I have no idea who these people are, but the woman in the center was our Shakespeare instructor and the man sitting was her partner. I thought that was SO shocking and metropolitan.)

Eureka! (or more appropriately) Tiffin!

The date: October 12, 1997. The setting: the Bath Autumn Fayre. The cast: Myself (many years younger and dumpier) Katherine (just as lovely as always) and the ladies who hosted the Bath Autumn Fayre. The objects purchased: a hand knit (and in retrospect ugly) knit wool cap and a delightful confection that I immediately forgot the name of and have not been able to recall these 11 years.

I have found it and it is called Tiffin, here is a recipe. Digestive biscuits are a key ingredient. Digestive biscuits are a delight. Digestive biscuits are how I kept my baby fat and Freshman 15 (or so) while walking several miles a day. Digestive biscuits and Cadbury Dairy milk with caramel.

My favorite part of Bath apart from the Autumn Fayre is the bridge in the picture. There are shops all along the bridge and if you go downstairs in the shops you find yourself inside the bridge itself looking out the window.

London Town

It is difficult to speak adequately, or justly, of London. It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent. - Henry James
I found this blog today and it made me so nostalgic for London. This man does what I did in London, but for a living. He watches plays. There is nothing quite like living in London even if it is only for a term. There is nothing like having seen 28 shows in 3 months. There is nothing like tossing roasted chestnuts into the Thames because they are not tasty.

Since I don't have any of my pictures of London in digital form (though I did once see a digital camera while in London) I present a picture of my favorite bridge in London. Thoroughly unremarkable Waterloo Bride to me represents the embankment and delightful evenings walking along the embankment zig-zaging the river as we crossed each bridge. Waterloo must have held my favorite view.