GONE AGAIN!!!

I went out for the mail late this afternoon. And I checked my gardenia plant. There should have been a bloom to pick. NOOOOOOO! Once again the crappy person stole a bloom. I am ticked, pissed and mad.

Marty suggested we put a sign by the plant, $25 a bloom. Of course that will do nothing but make us feel a little better. No way a thief would bother to pay.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING???

I just realized I have not updated my blog since Sunday. That really isn't like me. I tend to want to write something every day if not twice a day. So let me give you an idea of my week, why I think I just forgot about writing.

First the weddings. So normal as to be boring. Nothing fun to write. No crazy brides or rude parents, just nice people.

Friends, all hell has broken loose in the last week or so. One friend's brother is fighting a very aggressive form of skin cancer, and it does not look good for him. Another friend's mother is also fighting skin cancer. A dear friend just had a biopsy Tuesday and diagnosed with breast cancer. We are waiting to see what her treatment will be. This woman has had lung cancer and several other types of cancer. This is scary.

Family, extended and close. That seems to be going better. All sides are trying harder. My Mother has a hip issue going on for a couple of weeks and is in pain. Papa Jack is having surgery in a couple of weeks.

The economy, well we all are hurting, so this one doesn't count.

And it goes on and on. No more than most people deal with. I just took a week off and didn't know it. I realized to feel better I am cooking good comfort food, not good for you. But food will get you through whatever is going on...

I will try to post on a regular basis in the future. I know how maddening it is to go to a site and there is nothing new.

GARDENING

Let me say up front I hate gardening. I don't like to get my hands dirty, I don't like to sweat, I don't like to pick off snails, I hurt when I bend over for long periods of time. I do like the flowers, herbs, and veggies we get from gardening. That was the royal we. The only gardening I do is to dead head roses every now and then and to try to pull out the fern overtaking the gardenia. But then there is Marty.

I told a friend once that when Marty died I am sure he will come back as an earth worm. The man loves to dig in the dirt. He loves to garden, to dig, fertilize, prune, play with the irrigation system, to start seeds. He loves everything about growing plants and he is so good at it.

We don't have lots of sun in our yard. Lots of trees in surrounding yards create too much shade. But we do have little pools of sunlight and Marty has planted those areas within an inch of their lives. We have tomatoes, radishes, peppers, chard, carrots, basil, cilantro, chives, artichokes, thyme, sage, and on and on. And we have the greenhouse. Oh how he loves that greenhouse. He starts plants from seed in the winter and he has orchids. Lots and lots of orchids. We have cattleyas, dendrobiums, cymbidums, phalaenopsis, and some I don't know what species they are. Our house is full of blooming orchids.

All are beautiful, and some also have a wonderful aroma. Orchids have many different aromas: we have some that smell like chocolate, pepper, or are sweet smelling. They also produce a nectar like substance that taste good. It will drip off the plants. They are wonderful plants that are forgiving. They will live a long time while you learn how to grow them.

Marty spent most of today watering, pruning, fertilizing, re-potting, and just taking care of his orchids. Every plant came out of the greenhouse and was checked and taken care of. He was a happy happy camper. I was very helpful and served him beer. This was his idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon. I had my perfect afternoon in the recliner reading a mystery.

WEDDINGS AND THE LOVELY WEDDING

Wednesday I did 7 weddings, they were all nice, and they all were happy weddings. One or two things stand out. One wedding the bride was thrilled I was marrying them, because she had seen me marry her best friend last summer. And there was the couple who were 18, babies. She was 18 and 21 one days, I did the math to be sure she was old enough. I had married their two witnesses 2 years ago. But the best part: I asked if they had rings to exchange, no they had duplicate tattoos done on their arms, from the elbow down.

I promised to tell you about the lovely wedding on Monday. The bride had on a white strapless satin floor length dress. The bodice had seed pearls on it. She carried a round bouquet of silvery white flowers. The groom had on a gorgeous three piece suit. She was around 6 foot tall and curvy, he was about 6 foot 3 inches tall and built like a brick s*** house. A very handsome couple.

I was told by one of their friends that neither of them spoke English. They were from Bosnia as were all the guests. An older male friend M would translate for them. M was a very suave and debonair gentleman. The type of man who makes all women feel pretty. I thought I just might take my time with this wedding.

I explained the ceremony and we worked out how he would translate. I told him to tell them they could say their vows in their native language. We began, everything is going as planned. The groom says his vows and then it is the bride's turn. She said them all in English, with a huge gotcha smile on her face. Everyone applauded when she finished. The groom grabbed her and kissed the daylights out of her. We all just roared with laughter.

I finally calmed us down and finished the ceremony. The bride was so tickled with herself. She didn't really know English, but had tried hard to do that part of the ceremony. And she is a recent American citizen so maybe she felt the need to be American for the wedding.

It was such a feel good wedding. The whole family was stunned by her surprise. And me, I loved it.

GARDENIAS = HEAVEN

I love gardenias, they are my all time favorite flower. The purity of the white petals with just a touch of pale green when they first open; the incredible scent; the design of the petals overlapping; and I love the memories of past corsages and bouquets.

I had my tonsils out as a child and nearly bled out. When I finally arrived home I had a pillow corsage of gardenias to help me heal. Other illness my grandmother bought me pillow corsages. And of course gardenias were the flower of choice for the big dances. And the major gift was my wedding bouquet with out of season gardenias. I can only imagine what that cost Marty.

Through the years Marty has grown gardenias for me if the climate allowed. He even grew them in our greenhouse when we lived in Louisville, KY. It is such a joy to pick them and have them around the house. The beauty and the scent are wonderful.

We have one gardenia left on the hill. (It is at the top of the steps by the street. This factors into the story. ) Nasty hairballs took out the others. And we have an invasive fern that tries to choke out everything. But this little plant is a fighter. In spite of Marty feeding it, praying over it, this is a sickly plant. It is scraggly, leaves have a yellow cast, and the fern keeps stealing the sunlight. Yet this little plant is full of buds and flowers. Every year it blooms its heart out. Heaven in our yard.

Every day I note which buds are close to picking. I check on them when I get the paper and again when I get the mail. I pull out the nasty fern. And I love to come in with two or three flowers for the breakfast table.

Late yesterday afternoon I saw several buds nearly open. I knew this morning I could pick lots of them for the table. Well, that didn't work out. This morning they weren't there. Some low life person walking by picked them. I am sorry, that is just stealing. If you really want one of my precious gardenia blooms, come ring the door bell. I will share, and I have shared.

I know tomorrow there will be more blooms, but this ticked me off.

THE CASE OF THE VANISHING BRIDE AND GROOM

Yesterday C brought me a marriage license. It had been sold several days earlier. C just had to add the witness info. I checked it and went out to get the couple. It had not been 2 minutes since they left the counter. I called their names over and over. I checked outside. Many couples stand outside and smoke. No one even in sight. I went back to C and she went to look for them. She knew what they looked like and thought she might spot them up the street. Nothing. She went upstairs to look, in case they headed up without me. Nothing. We spent 15 minutes looking for them. We were afraid they thought they were married. She told the deputy and the information clerk what the groom looked like: yellow corduroy suit. We asked them to watch for the couple. She then gave me the groom's cell number to call.

I called the number, it went into voice mail. I explained they were not married and to please come back. I waited. About 10 minutes later the info clerk came running to me, they were back. I went out to get them. I know I have two licenses almost ready to hit my desk. So I want to get this couple married and on their way.

In the elevator one of the guests asked what floor we were going to. He needs to call one of the guests. It seems a woman and child are in the restroom and will come up later. Can I wait. I nearly lost it. They hide for 30 minutes, come back say they are ready, and they aren't. I said second floor, but I can not wait any longer, we will begin when we get there. So I ask my questions, rings, vows, camera. Guess who had the camera. Bathroom lady.

I could not marry them and they not have pictures. So we waited, and waited. Finally the woman and child arrived and the wedding was done. Now these were nice people, they just were not considerate. They acted as if they were the only wedding we were doing. And I then had trouble getting them out of the room.

But the next wedding lovely. But that is for another day.

JULY 2O, 1969 WHERE WERE YOU?

Forty years ago today the USA had the first man on the moon. The world watched in wonder. Everyone gathered around a TV. For you young things, there was no Internet to watch. People stood in front of TV stores and watched the sets in the windows. Anywhere they could find a TV people gathered. Again young things not everyone had a TV, and not every bar had a TV. Nearly everyone was glued to a TV set. This was history. Mind boggling history.

I missed it. I have seen all the rerun footage. I was told how wonderful it was to see it live, but I was busy. I was in a delivery room in Covington, KY. I had been there all Saturday night and into late Sunday afternoon. Since I was taking so long and not much was happening, Marty and my doctor went into the physician's lounge and watched the walk. After the walk was over my doctor told Marty, "Let's go deliver that baby." After a shot to speed things up, I delivered the perfect baby boy. He was the first baby born in Northern KY after the moonwalk.

So today is important for many reasons, national and personal.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIK. We love you very much.

SAN FRANCISCO AIDS WALK

Today Marty and I worked the San Francisco AIDS WALK. We worked in the SF AIDS Foundatiion Booth. He has worked 9 years of walks (some years he has walked and not just worked the booth), I have done 8 years. This is an incredible event, wonderful and sad at the same time. After so many years, we are still having to do this fundraiser to help people with this awful disease.

This is close to the beginnning of the walk.
A picture of the stage and audience where entertainment and political people performed. Yes politicians perform.

These are the walkers from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation team.

The stage.

Marty in the booth.

Me in the booth.

More me.

Our Booth. Click on this and you can see lovely me working the booth.

Out of order picture. This is early before many arrived.

FAREWELL WALTER CRONKITE

The world lost a great journalist yesterday. Walter Cronkite was THE anchorman for America. Every major event for so many years he guided us through. If it was awful, he kept us calm, it it was good he celebrated with us. He was like a loved member of the family. Our trusted uncle who explained options, problems, told it like it was, yet didn't try to scare us to death. He made us feel/understand the truth. When he retired I never felt anyone could replace him, and in my opinion they haven't. Although I will say Tom Brokaw came close.

Today most anchor people are talking heads. They don't seem sincere. They don't seem to care how the news effects us. There are some good ones out there, but the majority seem pretty shallow. They make the news a game: laugh, joke, and so many time go into the fake sadness. They just don't have a realness.

Walter Cronkite you will be sorely missed.

WEEPY BRIDE, RUDE GROOM

Yesterday was busy at the marriage factory. The morning volunteer is on a cruise, so staff was spread thin. Great happiness when I arrived early.

I did four weddings and then others did 2 Spanish and one Mandarin. Well, I did a Mandarin also, but the bride did the translating for the groom. That is like doing two weddings time wise. He had enough English to know he shouldn't do the ceremony in English. The bride did a great job translating for him, well she could have just been saying keep nodding and look happy. Who knows? They both were in their 40s and each had been married twice. So I have my fingers crossed on this one. Not great odds with their history.

I took a couple up to the clerk who was going to do the wedding in Spanish. As I got on the elevator a man ran up to me and wanted to know, "Are we on your list?" (there is no list ) Then he said, "We want to get married now, why haven't you called for us?" This was said with great attitude. I don't take attitude well. I am not paid, so I don't have to take attitude. But I also am a lovely charming Southern Belle, ( No laughing from friends and family. I am too charming.) and I explained when I had the license I would come get them. I knew their license had just been placed on my desk. But I had to get the Spanish couple upstairs, sometimes we bump couples if translators are needed. We take those clerks when we can get them.

The clerks had told me the bride belonging to the attitude groom had caused a scene by weeping and wailing. They thought it was an act. Usually they are right, but not this time. A big strapping woman, she shouldn't be scared. The bride was at least 6 foot two inches tall and about 250 pounds. She looked fine, except she was gritting her teeth and not remembering how to breathe. She was really really scared. I talked to her, I did my you have 90 days to do this or the rest of your life, we don't start until you are ready. Then the groom or I would tell her to breathe. She was finally ready. They wanted to do their own vows but shy, I told them to whisper to each other. No one had to hear them and so they did. Attitude guy dropped it during the ceremony, he was just concerned about her. And maybe that is why he jumped me. It worked out. Lots of family at this one, lots of pictures, and after the ceremony lots of smiles from the bride.