Goodbye Little Pink House

Never will I be able to listen to John Cougar Mellencamp's 'Little Pink Houses' without thinking that Mr. Cougar Mellencamp must have driven down our street and noticed our darling house and been inspired to write a cool song.

On Friday we closed on the sale of our Little Pink House. It was a great house with great neighbors. It was the first house that Rick and I owned together. It was the house that we brought Will home to when he was born. We were sad to see it go.
On the other hand... what a great feeling to not own 2 houses. A very cute young couple bought it and I'm sure they will love it as much as we did.

This is the stained glass window I made when we remodeled the bathroom.

Remember when...

SPARKLERS

WERE THE COOLEST THING EVER

Despite the fact that we made the trip to Phantom Fireworks and got a bunch of neat pyrotechnic tanks and planes and battle ships, Will was most interested in the sparklers. And there were about 75 of them in the box.

Sorrows drowned in a fountain of popcorn butter

To console ourselves after the loss of Mr. Fish we took Will to see his first movie.

UP
He did pretty well. He only cried when the dogs were being mean.
I cried a little too (must be the hormones).

R.I.P. Mr. Fish

The victim: Mr. Gold Fish

Age, at least 5 years
Previous known address, the dinky pond in the backyard when we moved into the house.
Brief obituary, Mr. Fish had grown and flourished since Rick redid the pond into a fish oasis. He leaves behind to mourn his memory 4 half-brother fish who had previously resided in our pond in German Village.
(Photo withheld to protect the queezy)

The scene of the crime: Our normally tranquil backyard pond

Main suspect: Urban Heron
Could not be reached for comment

Local enforcement officials report that security in the area will be beefed-up in the form of more frequent patrols of the perimeter by a resident chocolate lab

On a happier note, Rick's pepper plant grew this really terrific pepper.

Is there anything better than...

...a small town Memorial Day Parade?

Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya'hear

Rick and I had both previously lived in Charleston. Since we were going there for Honor and Ned's wedding, I took some extra days off and we rented a beach house on Isle of Palms. We spent the week introducing Will to some of the finer Southern pleasures.

Some of the highlights:

Eating boiled peanuts and watermelon on Honor's parents' dock and throwing the peanut shells into the water

Shelling on the beach at low tide

Sitting on a joggling bench with Grandpa

Going for oysters at Bowen's Island, a dive where they bring a pile of steamed oysters to the table; you shuck them yourself and throw the shells into a hole cut in the middle of the table

When Will declared, "I want to stay here forever!"

Wedding of the Year

We just got back from Charleston, where one of my oldest and dearest friends, Honor, married her sweetheart of a bazillion years, Ned. It was a truly breathtaking wedding- if Martha Stewart and Southern Living Magazine got together to throw a wedding, it couldn't top this wedding. Since I was in the wedding, it was hard to take pictures, but Rick snapped this one of Honor coming down the aisle with her dad. Isn't she beautiful? Note her dad's seersucker suit- I love the South.

I've known Honor since high school and even though I'm not one of those people who is especially good at keeping in touch, we have managed it somehow. It probably helps that our birthdays are exactly 1 week apart, so at least once a year we take time to catch up. (Thanks, Honor, for always turning 29 again a week before I do).

Our paths crossed again in Boston, where we both lived after college. That's where I met Ned. Even though I think Honor was a little in denial, it was clear that Ned had it bad for Honor. You could tell by the way he looked at her when he thought no one was watching. His eyes were so full of love and adoration. It was very sweet and romantic.

Then there was the year that my amazing she-woman friend ran the Boston Marathon. She called me and asked if I would jump in and run the last 6 miles of the race with her for moral support. I thought we had a good plan. I got all geared up, went early to a spot in front of the Dunkin' Donuts right after Heartbreak Hill, schmoozed the policeman who was posted there to make sure people didn't jump into the race, and waited.
And waited.
And somehow we missed each other. When I spoke to her later, she said that she got past the place we were supposed to meet, realized she had missed me, and burst into tears (oof- break my heart). Luckily, Ned just happened to be at a Marathon Party about a block down the course. He spotted Honor, jumped into the race (I have no idea what footwear he had on or how many drinks he had had), and saved the day knight-in-shining-armor style. I'm certainly not trying to take credit for them getting together, but when Honor called me a few years later and told me they decided to give their relationship a go, I turned to Rick and said, "I knew it!".

She picked fabulous colors for her wedding: Tiffany blue and espresso. I couldn't help but go into crafting overdrive.

A CD cover I made for a mix of 'Laid Back Love Songs for the Breezy Bride to Be'

A little photo album













A smash book passed around the bridesmaids luncheon













The wedding guest book
(Thanks for your help, Leah)