On January 9, 2005, I took a huge leap. I drove over to the house of a guy I’d never met. Together we boarded a ferry and headed to Bainbridge Island. Wine tasting, several hours of getting to know each other and one dinner later, I was hooked! Thus began our grand adventure. Here we […]
Marriage
The stars aligned: an anniversary post
Losing one’s wedding site puts a bride and groom-to-be in a precarious position. Not only are you faced with finding a new location for your nuptials, you need to secure a spot that is available on the same date as the first place you reserved. This is the scenario Big Papa and I were up […]
Oh the places we’ll go: A decade ago I boarded a ferry
A decade ago, I boarded a ferry. On a cold day in January, I headed to Bainbridge Island…with a man I’d never met before. We went on a first date that nearly wasn’t. “Why waste a perfectly good Sunday afternoon on a date that won’t go anywhere?” is what Big Papa thought some ten years […]
Toast to a heron
A toast to the heron: Photo of artwork used with permission, Jake Hose Seven years ago, Big Papa and I got married. This fact, in and of itself, is truly something to marvel at. Because–we nearly didn’t. Our first wedding venue cancelled six months prior to the wedding. Next, a month before the wedding, the […]
You are my sunshine
When Big Papa and I got married, we took the same vows that many people take when they commit to spend a lifetime together: for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; till death do us part. And, like most newly married couples, we hoped for health, better and richer. […]
The first mile
Eight years ago on 1-9-05, Seattle lay under a light blanket of snow and I got into my car and drove the mile between my apartment and Big Papa’s house for our first get-together. Over the previous week, we’d exchanged a few emails after meeting on an online dating site, but this was our first […]
When you wish upon a star
This morning I read Baby Bird a new book, Olivia and the Fairy Princess. She loves the original Olivia and I’d heard great reports about this book too. In this book, Olivia is having an identity crisis. There are too many ruffled, sparkly princesses around. She wants to do more than just fit in. She […]
Something blue
Five years ago, as I dressed for my wedding, I slipped a vintage 1960s Mexican wedding gown over my head, and placed my rose-gold engagement ring, circa 1880, on my right-hand ring finger. On my feet were brand-new espadrille sandals and my new wedding band was tucked into in the suit pocket of our best […]
For better, for worse…and everything in between
My first date with Big Papa was a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, our second date was dinner at a Cajun restaurant, and our third date was an afternoon of yard work. It was mid-January and I remember spending a few hours outdoors in the brisk air raking up the leaves that covered his small […]
What are the odds?
Math has never been my forte. When I was in grade school, I was fair to middling at math. Unfortunately, in tenth grade I suffered through “SMSG geometry” and a teacher—amazingly enough, a woman—who did nothing to inspire or motivate me. So by the time I was a senior in high school, I was doubling […]