Treading Lightly

"Yes, Boo, I know what kind of tablet you want."  #2 Son was sitting at the computer here at the house, between work shifts at the restaurant, and talking on the phone to his wife, DIL Becky.

"Don't get me one of those cheap, trashy things," she told him.

Did i mention they were on speakerphone?

"I promise I won't get you a cheap one.  I know just what kind of computer you want," he told her.

Red-headed Alec's take on it is, "She's a great friend, and I like chillin' with her, but she's the complete opposite of your son, and me for that matter, and I don't know how they even got together!  I know I could never have even dated her."

Did i mention that, as the non-interfering mother-in-law, i kept my mouth shut?  That's what i do a lot, just give hugs and love and keep my mouth closed.  If they ask for advice, i'll gently give it, but i want to keep that "non-interfering" in my title.

One thing i did not tell Red-headed Alec is that opposites attract but likes endure.  If they are enough alike to keep them together, and i hope they are, and have enough differences to keep things interesting, which they do, all will be well.

There are some things you don't say unless you are asked.

Today is:

Special PSA -- Daylight Saving Time begins for many of us at 2am tomorrow, so "spring forward" one hour before you go to bed tonight

Alfred Hitchcock Day -- some internet sources say March 8, and no one knows who picked either day, but he is worth celebrating

Arbor Day -- China; Taiwan

Birthday of Wenchang Wang, the God of Literature -- China

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Saturday:  Geneology Day, begin or continue the journey to learn about your family

Daylight Saving Time begins tomorrow -- Bermuda; Canada (most regions); Cuba; Haiti; Mexico (some areas); Saint Pierre and Miquelon; The Bahamas; Turks and Caicos Islands; US (most areas)

Donkey Appreciation Day -- formerly celebrated, but the lowly donkey is no longer as indespensible as he was; if you share my fondness for beasts of burden, celebrate it anyway

Girl Scouts Birthday -- US

Girl Scout Sabbath -- US (encouraging Girl Scouts to wear their uniforms to synagogue services and represent their troop to their congregations; the final day of Girl Scout Week in the US)

Highland County Maple Festival -- Highland County, VA, US (this weekend and next)

Huddling of Fairies of the Third Flight -- Fairy Calendar

International Fanny Pack Day -- started by someone who really likes the things (although i do admit they come in handy for keeping your money with you at all times when you have a garage sale)

Kronprinsessans Namnsdag -- Sweden (Name Day of HRH Crown Princess Victoria, the Heir Apparent; an official flag day)

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day festival, dates approximate; celebrates the marriage of Kore and Dionysos)

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria -- in 415, she was murdered for the three crimes of being intelligent, female, and pagan

National Baked Scallops Day

National Day -- Mauritius (anniversary of independence in 1968)

Plant a Flower Day -- sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation; now's a good time to give wildlife friendly perrenials a head start, starting them indoors if you have to 

Saint Patrick's Day Parades -- various cities around the English speaking world hold their celebrations on the Saturday or Sunday nearest the Saint's day

St. Gregory the Great's Day (Patron of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, popes, schoolchildren, singers, stonemasons, stone cutters, students, and teachers; England; Kercem, Malta; Legazpi, Philippines; Montone, Italy; San Gregorio nelle Alpi, Italy; West Indies; against gout and plague)
     note that Pope St. Gregory is also celebrated on Sept. 3, the date he was elected pope
     Graekarismessa (Mass of St. Gregory) -- Torshavn, Faroe Islands (traditional day on which the oystercatcher, their symbolic national bird, returns)
     Gregoru Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Gregory's Day, similar to groundhog day for weather prediction)

St. Seraphina's Day (Patron of the disabled and handicapped, and of spinners)

World Day Against Cyber Censorship -- sponsored by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International

Youth Day -- Zambia


Anniversaries Today:

Mick Jagger marries Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, 1971
Paul McCartney marries Linda Louise Eastman, 1969


Birthdays Today:

Frank Catalano, 1978
Aaron Eckhart, 1968
David Daniels, 1966
Darryl Strawberry, 1962
Marlon Jackson, 1957
Rob Cohen, 1949
James Taylor, 1948
Liza Minnelli, 1946
Al Jarreau, 1940
Barbara Feldon, 1933
Andrew Young, 1932
Edward Albee, 1928
Wally Schirra, 1923
Jack Kerouac, 1922
Gordon MacRae, 1921
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1881
Simon Newcomb, 1835
Charles Cunningham Boycott, 1832
Clement Studebaker, 1821

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moses und Aaron"(Opera), 1954
"Fervaal"(Opera; d'Indy Op. 40), 1897
"Simon Boccanegra"(Opera), 1857


Today in History:

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria, philosopher, 415
Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius, 538
Orvieto, Italy, rules it will behead and burn Jewish-Christian couples, 1350
Jews are expelled from Syria, 1496
New Jersey becomes an English colony, 1664
The first steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine, 1755
Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain, 1881
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time, 1894
The first main line electric train in UK, from Liverpool to Southport, begins running, 1904
The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States, by Juliette Gordon Lowe, 1912
The foundation stone of the new Australian capital in Canberra is laid, 1913
Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax, 1930
The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism, 1947
The Church of England ordains its first female priests, 1994
Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO, 1999
Financier Bernard Madoff plead guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street history, 2009
The U.S. Census Bureau reports the world now has 7 billion people, 2012

Happily Ever After

And so, #2 Son and DIL Becky's wedding.

#1 Son had informed us the night before that he didn't have pants to wear.  As the Best Man, that would not exactly be acceptable.  Little Girl also informed me that DIL Becky had so enjoyed the turkey stuffing at Christmas Day dinner (Stove Top brand stuffing for turkey, with real turkey broth!) that she wanted some to serve at the wedding.  Thus i made an early morning run to Mall-Mart to get stuffing mix and a pair of black pants.  The pants were easily procured, but they were out of stuffing.  An extra trip was made to MomAndPopStore, which not only had it, but had it on sale.

Stuffing was made while #1 Son's shirt was in the wash.  Nothing like leaving everything until the last minute, is there?

The wedding itself was the usual mix of the beautiful and the comical that tends to make these events memorable.  It was at the bride's parents' home, which is where the two of them will continue to live.  There's plenty of room, it's a farm with a house big enough for three families.

There were beautiful decorations that were just for the wedding

A wreath next to the Bride and Groom's table.

next to the items that let you know just what kind of family he's marrying into.

Can we say "country folk"?  Very kind and loving, very country.

#2 Son had built the arch under which they said their vows.  It was lovely.

He can build an arch.

His cake had not turned out so well.

#2 Son and Mother-of-the-Bride had laughed themselves silly over it as it collapsed!

When i offered to go get them a cake, #2 Son kept saying not to bother, but the word came from the bride that yes, if i was willing, she wanted another one.  So there i was, a half hour before the ceremony was set to begin, buying an Italian cream cake at yet another Mall-Mart.

Italian cream cake, to which i added blue frosting and the topper.

When i offered to go get a cake, i was busy getting the chocolate strawberries ready.  So i handed that off to Bigger Girl, who managed to get some strawberries done

Delicious tasting, although not professionally done.

and managed to make a nice mess, too.

Little on earth is messier than chocolate.

They had written their own vows, and DIL Becky read hers off of her iPad, which she carried instead of a bouquet.  Ah, kids these days.  It is, however, a good thing she had them to read, as she and her mother both cried through the whole thing, and she never would have remembered if she hadn't had them written down.

This, to me, is the picture that sums it up:

Two hearts, one favorite soft drink.

My only hope is that they stay happy.

Today is:

Birth of Prophet Mohammad and of Imam Sadegh -- Iran

Constitution Day -- Ireland

Enjoying ESP Day -- internet generated, and it means eating, sleeping, and partying!

Fifth Day of Christmas

Illegal Pants Day -- commemorates Emma Snodgrass' arrest in Boston in 1852 for wearing pants

Kwanzaa, Day 4, Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)

National Chocolate Again Day -- because someone, somewhere, believes it can't be chocolate something-or-other day often enough

National Independence Day -- Mongolia(1911, from the Qing Dynasty)

Paternoster Row Day -- in memoriam of the famous area destroyed by the Blitz this date and tomorrow in 1940

Pepper Pot Day -- Pepper Pot Soup was invented today in 1777 at Valley Forge for the army to have something warm to eat

Sacrifice to Zeus Horios -- Ancient Greek Calendar (sacrifice in the deme of Erichia; date approximate)

St. Gabriel's Day -- Ethiopia

St. Thomas of Canterbury's Day (Thomas a Becket, Patron of clergy, secular clergy; Exeter College, Oxford, England; Portsmouth, England)

St. Trophimus of Arles' Day (Patron of children; Arles, France; against drought)

Tick Tock Day -- end of the year is getting closer, stop putting off your dreams! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Yodel in the Shower Day -- internet generated, and i promise not to tell if you do


Anniversaries Today:

J. Paul Getty, Jr., weds Victoria Holdsworth, 1994
Texas becomes the 28th US State, 1845


Birthdays Today:

Jude Law, 1972
Andy Wachowski, 1967
Bryan "Dexter" Holland, 1966
Patricia Clarkson, 1959
Paula Poundstone, 1959
Ed Autry, 1954
John Polito, 1950
Ted Danson, 1947
Marianne Faithfull, 1946
Jon Voight, 1938
Mary Tyler Moore, 1936
Thomas Edwin Jarriel, 1934
Klaus Fuchs, 1911
Billy Mitchell, 1879
Pablo Cassals, 1876
William Gladstone, 1809
Andrew Johnson, 1808
Charles Goodyear, 1800


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Thunderball(Film, UK release), 1965
"The Andersonville Trial"(Play), 1959
The Adventures of Kathlyn(Film, first movie serial), 1913


Today in History:

Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, 1170
The first nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston, 1782
Gas lights are installed at White House, during the Polk administration, 1848
The first Young Men's Christian Association chapter in the US opens, in Boston, 1851
Emma Snodgrass is arrested in Boston for wearing pants, 1852
The first telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Co, NY, 1867
The Wounded Knee Massacre takes place, 1890
Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio), 1891
Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, 1911
The first movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn," premieres in Chicago, 1913
Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans, 1930
Physicist Richard Feynman gives a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology, 1959
Filming began on Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in England, 1965
Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees, 1989
Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war, 1996
Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million lives, 1998
The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct, 2003