Great Weekend of Happy Things

Singing at Church
Originally uploaded by sunasak

It was quite a celebratory weekend--without the weight of Lee needing a job on us, it was easy to do fun things and feel good. The picture shows what we did this morning. Lee, Bill, Beccano and I played all the music at today's peace-themed church service. Here we are singing "Rocky Mountain High," a song about someone who finds inner peace. I admit it, ever since this was my favorite song when I was 14, I dreamed of getting to sing this in front of a crowd. Maybe hokey, but the words to this are actually pretty nice. We also did "One Tin Soldier," which people my age from the US will remember from endless viewings of the fine film Billy Jack. Beccano terms this number "rockin'". He really liked his bass part.

Indeed, one of the special things about today's performance was that it was Beccanos' first public guitar performance. He did great! It was also a first for me, because we sang a song I wrote. This was the first time anyone ever agreed to play anything I wrote. I just couldn't think of a song about peace and its importance, at least the kind I wanted, so I just wrote it myself. And I remembered to keep it simple. I think everything else I ever tried before was way too complex. Bill even said nice things about the song in front of the whole congregation. Honest, though, while it isn't a greatest hit song, it does say something nice and is sort of catchy:

I am a warrior for peace.
With fierce determination my quest will never cease.
'Till peace fills every land, I vow to take this stand,
For I am a warrior for peace.

Deep stuff, huh.

After church, we goofed off a bit and took some photos. We need to do our wedding announcement soon, so Beccano took some photos of me and Lee, and then Lee took a few of me and Bec. They really do look like we're having fun--one of my friends' husband was looking at them on Flickr and he told her how happy we all look. Amazing how a little stress relief can help! And if Tuba Boy were here, he'd be happy too--he got his first debate trophy yesterday, and that is about time! As a reward, I gave the kids permission to go see Weezer in concert. I hope that is how you spell it!

The rest of the day has been just fine. The weather is nice this time of year, and I sat outside for a while and watched Beccano sand on his piece of wood shaped like a guitar. He just got two books on building your own guitars, so it's the start.

And Lee made me melted cheese on crackers for dinner, just like my mom used to. Aww.

Here's one of the photos of me and my boy. You can hardly tell we are related, can you?

Yesterday!

Yesterday was also a very nice day. The plan was to head down south for some wedding dress shopping with my friend Katie, but on my way I got distracted by people on the side of the road offering free Obama stickers. They led me to the Williamson County Democratic Party HQ, which was a nirvana of "people like me." I got three bumper stickers, including one for a candidate whose beliefs really match mine, and a yard sign for another local do-gooder, though they were out of Obama ones. I got two t-shirts, but the kids are so fashion conscious that they will not wear size large shirts. Fine, then, Lee and I can say we think a black dude can be our Prez.

So, emblazoned with liberalism, I did make my way to south Austin, where I got the patiently conservative Katie and drove to New Braunfels, host city to Celebrations, the place to shop for wedding attire in the area. This place had sold Katie's mother her wedding dress and Katie her wedding dress (and prom dresses and every other formal she ever went to). The same woman is still doing the alterations. She certainly must know how to make this matron look good. The place was as nice as Katie said it would be, and the people there were patient and helpful. I tried on every red dress in the store, and sure enough, one of them was just right. It is exactly the color I wanted, has sleeves, has a lovely neckline and just enough sparkle. Katie was really cute about not wanting to pressure me into getting that particular dress, but really, it is just right. Also, it is the one that would look best with my wedding shawl. I am glad I got to get one that didn't have a jacket, which would have made the shawl harder to wear.

After making the largest clothing purchase of my life, we were hungry, so Katie took me to the nicest restaurant in town, Huisache Wine Bar and Grill, after a nice tour of the old downtown (it is fixed up very nice). I really enjoyed the restaurant, which is in an old building and has a beautiful garden and outbuildings behind it. I was really impressed by the plant selection and the neat buildings, which were designed by the dad of someone Katie knows (so fun to hang out with a native). And after the lunch, we went to see her parents' house, in a lovely location outside of town. There I got to meet her sister and little niece, too. I do so love to play with babies. And this one was quite charming, and VERY good at arching her back and using her legs to move her around in that position.

I'm really glad to have had the help picking a dress, and really glad that to do item is over. Whew.

Other than getting stuck in bad traffic on the way home, it was a great break from the usual routine. And we even managed to drop by the Knitting Nest and see their second anniversary celebration! All in all, one fine day, topped off by a lopsided college football game.

Being happy. What a concept.