The reception was absolutely perfect.

We left early last Thursday morning for the weekend of festivities to celebrate Amy and Tom's marriage. It could not have been a nicer weekend.

Thursday afternoon we checked into the hotel and relaxed for a bit. Poor Duncan had a bit of a rough time on the trip. He didn't get sick, but he gets very stressed . He stayed at Amy's house with her dog Steve, and Amy, Tom, Craig and Sonia and Dan and I went to a small Mexican place to eat dinner. It was good food and a good time. We parted ways fairly early, because everyone was tired.

Friday was a nice and relaxed day of visiting with Amy, having the rest of my sons arrive in town, as well as my sister Deb and her family. At six pm was a wine and cheese reception and it was just lovely. Toms mom and his two brothers and a niece were there. Severl of Amy and Tom's friends came and it was relaxed and just a plain old nice time. It was good to get to know Tom's family a bit better. I had never met his brothers... they seemed quite nice.. and I had met his mom, Harriet and I quite like her!

Duncan and Steve played... there were two 3 year olds and one 4 year old there..and all of them were up way too late. Way way too late... back in the day we hired sitters if we were going to a function... or were going to be out after 8pm.

Anyway.. It was very nice.. the reception was in al old home on a college campus. There were beautiful leaded glass windows, and they made rainbows everywhere! The food was very good and nicely presented. There was a dumpling bar, sandwiches tiny ones with different fillings available as well as several relishes. shish kabobs.. three kinds of chicken .. curry, jerk and teriaki. There was a nice chopped salad.. won tons with steak.

And there was a desert table with Cold Water Cakes, nut roll, and chocolate chip cake that Tom's mom made that was delish! All deserts were made by family with family recipes and there was no cake. This was a very non traditional reception... no toast.. more like a party with Featured guests....

There was an open bar .. nice bartender... music by IPOD. 6-10 pm... no children.
The weather was perfect.. warm not hot.. breeze...
there was a nice porch with white rockers across .......

I cannot describe how wonderful it all was.

The next day was sunday... Mother's Day.. and Amy and
Tom had a brunch for all of us... and it too, was very nice.

There will be pictures soon.....

Last Tuesday

Amy and Tom were coming home from St Lucia. They landed in Miami and were to take a 9:30 pm flight out to home. Well. They were pulled out of line after the flight from St Lucia landed, told there was a problem with Toms passport, and taken to a holding room.

Once there they were not allowed to use a bathroom, or a phone and they were told that if they as questions it would take them all the longer to get out. They were told nothing else for over 3.5 hours. Then, Tom was handed his passport and told that the chip had not read properly at first and that they were free to go. The last flight had left. They had to get a room and stay in Miami, then fly out in the morning.Nice way to end a wedding/honeymoon....

I was terrified. She sneaked in a call to her dog sitter.. and one to me. She got caught the first time, and yelled at.. she managed the call to me without being caught. Can you imagine how angry I was , how frightened all night until I heard from her again.. ???? A friend of my sisters goes through something similar several times a month, because he travels for his current job. His last job .. he fell from a crane and shattered several bones and so is filled with metal. Despite being armed with the proper papers from his doctors.. he is detained.

Free to have bottles of water taken from me at the airport, have to walk barefoot to get permission to get on a plane, and free to watch my president and his administration make a mockery of the Bill of Rights. Free to have my telephone and internet monitored for sport. Free to watch people I love treated as if they should have no rights at all because they are gay. Free to protest! As long as we do it in the fenced in area half a mile down the road from where the king of America is speaking.

Remember the old days when we really were free?

Melissa Etheridge - Imagine That lyrics

A mother was grieving her loss
Her soldier the ultimate cost
She went to the man
Who's been told that he's a king
Waited outside of his compound
To ask him a few things
She said "For what noble cause did my son have to die
Where are their weapons
Why did you kave to lie"
Imagine that

A lieutenant in the army
In his heart and his soul he believe
In the land of the free and the home of the brave
Now he's standing on trial
For he will not behave as they wish
He said "I believe the constitution
To defend it and uphold
I will not fight your war for profit
No sir I will not go"
Imagine that

A scientist and his machine
The smallest of life he has seen
Inside matter inside atoms
As far as you can go
He saw the stirring of life that vibrate
With the universal flow
He said "I have seen the spirit
And all its creation
It's in each and every thought
And all our intentions"
Imagine that

Your Mind is Blue

Of all the mind types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Mind?