Super Support from Sally

May 31-06 ... it was just another ordinary day at work; I was just about to leave my office this afternoon when the phone rang. I came back to my desk, checked the call display which didn't reveal anything, other than the call had been transferred from reception. I answered the call and to my surprise, heard my good friend Sally's voice. She wanted to hear all about the latest plans for the wedding. After filling her in on the latest news (and giving her the blog addresses) she then asked me to guess what her news might be ... I guessed correctly! She quit her job at the BBC! We chatted for a bit about that, and about her new home in Royal Leamington Spa and her plans to decorate it and about her plans for the next year.

I met Sally when I moved to England for a short time in 1978. Andy's friend "Sniffer" introduced us and we hit it off right from the start. Although my time in England was short, we formed a friendship bond that has lasted all these years ... (how many? more than she or I would like to admit!) Maybe that has something to do with the fact that we were born in the same year, only 1 day apart.

Although we've remained friends throughout all these years, time spent together has for the most part, been limited to short visits and mostly on those rare occasions when we as a family travel home to Coventry. Sally came to visit in 1990 and stayed a week with us when we lived in our little white raised bungalow in Mountview. Rachel was 8 years old then and the fondest memories we share from that trip were enjoying "sin"amon buns from Heartland Cafe and enjoying a decadent massage from Brenda in front of the fireplace in our living room! In 1996 Sally "dropped in" for a surprise visit on Oct 31, showing at McCarthy Tetrault's office but it was a short visit, we only had a day or so together which was spent in one of Sally's favorite places in the world, the Rocky Mountains!! (After a quick whirlwind tour of the Lonesome Dove set where Brett the Hitman Heart gave her his handwarmers which she promptly plunged down her jumper front!)

Sally is so excited about the Rachel & Tyler's wedding! Even though she's so far away, she wants to be involved and supportive in any way she can. Her life has been full of challenges and hard work which left her with no social life; she hasn't been able to stay in touch with us as she would have liked. I am so excited to hear that she is taking some "me" time and reconnecting with her friends and catching up on the things important to her life. She claims she's technically challenged and may not be able to "post" a comment on our blogs but she's one smart cookie & I have no doubt she'll figure it out!! Love you Sal!!

"to do lists"

Good thing Rachel is a lover of "to do lists"- it's easy to put together the "to do" lists ... the hard part is executing them! I think we've covered off all the major items (with the exception of the photographer) in relatively short time ... so far we've got:

1. the church booked
2. the reception booked
3. the bridesmaid dresses
4. flower shop selected
5. have a "sense" of what Rachel & Tyler want for invitations
6. a guest list
7. a cake decorator (tentative, not yet confirmed)
8. a lead on a seamstress to do the wedding dress alterations
9. the bride's shoes

We need to nail down:

1. hairdresser
2. photographer
3. master of ceremonies
4. men's suits
5. bridemaid shoes (closed toe, black)
6. guest table decorations
7. wedding favors
8. wedding cars
9. a MOB dress

I'm sure there is a lot more to added to our "list" but I'm confident those things will naturally evolve along the way.

I am baking the wedding cake (traditional fruit cake) which I must do soon ... the longer it has to age, the better the flavor and easier to cut! Having fruit cake in the house is always a risky venture in the Price household, so as per usual, I will have to "hide" it to keep it safe!

Engagement photos

Much to Rachel's chagrin, I suggested I take engagement photos this weekend (May long weekend) ... my reasons of course were three fold: (i) it gives me an opportunity to create a scrapbook page; (ii) it is a photographic marker in time for the happy couple to look back on years from now and marvel how young they were; and (iii) it would be nice to have a photo for her wedding blog!

Flowers: Rachel and I went to a local florist and had a consultation; we are now awaiting the quote. Suprisingly, most flowers are readily available in December. We are selecting "hardy" varieties given the time of year.

Ok, so this is a new experience!! I now have my first & only blog which came about as a result of trying to "post" a reply to Rachel's wedding blog. Come to think of it, having a blog will be a good thing - I can use it to record my thoughts & feelings about our first child's wedding and all the planning that has to happen between now and December 30th! I have to confess, whenever I thought of the day when Rachel would one day marry, that day would be years off in the future; I had lots of time to worry about that then, not now! But then she and Tyler had other plans ... I was abruptly jerked out of my "someday way off in the future" fantasy land. They broke my comfort bubble! First off, I am too young to have a daughter who is getting married .... when asked the ages of my children, I have grown accoustomed to responding that they are both "in university". Yes, my children are still in school ... after all, that is where children are typically found! But our children are 19 and 21 which means they are also adults.

Adult:
1. One who has attained maturity or legal age.
2. Biology. A fully grown, mature organism.

Adults make grown up decisions like getting married. *sigh* Let me reassure you I'm not delusional. I know they are are adults. As parents, Andy and I have done our best to prepare our children to make their own decisions (guiding them through the process), be responsible and accountable for the consequences of their actions. I knew this day would come; but I just don't feel like I've prepared myself well enough to embrace it. But then again, I have a whole 7 months to adjust. Come to think of it, when Rachel moves out of our home, we'll have a spare room to decorate! We've always wanted an office/study room.....