And still it turns....

...the Wheel of Life. If I put in everything I've been up to, doing, seeing, hearing and eating since I last posted you would a) be here until NEXT Monday; and b) give up and go make a sandwich. So what you're going to have here is oddments, bits, reflections and observations. And my intention to settle in and keep up better than I have been. I attribute it to Summer with all its vagaries of activity, travel and so on. Now it is, surely as I sit here, AUTUMN. My favorite season, it's the time when I gather my stuff around me and prepare to hunker down for the winter.

"Hunkering down" involves vast amounts of hot tea, piles of delicious books, hours of knitting - often accompanied by movie-watching, and generally being inside because of snow, for which I am most earnestly wishing. Don't get me wrong, I don't like driving in winter much, but if we really have to go somewhere Mr. Dearling ("Fearless Driver") takes care of it. For my part (and I've said this before) I drive through town in the winter rather than on our Beltline, as I adhere to the thought that, if I slide off the road, I mean for it to land me in someone's yard who will make me a cup of hot tea and say "Tsk Tsk" a lot after calling Mr. Dearling and AAA. If I'm lucky they'll have cats and a big afghan too. Just sayin'.

Now then - first things first.

This stunning portrait is Le Papa, typifying the elegance that is Steam Punk. As it turns out, he's fine-looking in any historical period, but this is "what it is."

Here we see L'Oncle (on the left), La Maman in the center, and on the right, Le Papa again. They were in one of the myriad little out-of-the-way nooks and crannies in the mysterious site of the wedding, and all was lantern-lit and dim, adding to the wonderful ambience. The googles on L'Oncle are almost du rigeur for Steam Punk, and my friend J. was resplendent in her turn-of-the-century stylish frock and hat. As for M. - well, some men can wear hats and some cannot. Of those who CAN, some are restricted to only one type. (Mr. Dearling looks fabulous in his toque!) But M.? The top hat speaks for itself and he sports a tricorn with every bit as much fashion.

And here you see....

...my darling girls. On the right, L., who played American Girls with me (she'll ever be remembered fondly for that, probably to her frustration); on the left her "flip side", her mirror image, her counterpart from over the sea. They look "of a type", and just as their taste in style and hair color match, so too do their notions and ideas, their interests and skills, and they look to me quite an ideal match, and their actions seemed to bear it out.

One more:

Some traditions remain in spite of all other factors. The girls cut their cake(s) - three of them! They were DELICIOUS (remember I said I tasted both?) and we were lucky enough to be given some to take away with us. Dare I say, it didn't make it home to Madison. NOTE: see the beautiful roses? Well! They looked very realistic indeed...and they were made out of marzipan! Yes, you heard me, ALMOND PASTE. Some people view that as purely decorative and keep the little marzipan fruits that appear around Christmas on display. I might have said this before, but I. EAT. MARZIPAN.

Whether or not I said it before I'll say it again (and hopefully ne'er repeat it in public nevermore). Oh - and if you're of a delicate constitution you might wish to skip these lines. I've been known to buy a cellophane tube of Odense brand marzipan...and peel off the cellophane and eat it like a banana.

OK - the rest of you can look again. By the way, do NOT try this at home; there are 40 calories in one almond. Forget the sugar and all the rest of those almonds.

And so you've finally seen just a glimpse of the wonderful delight that was our celebration with dear friends AND our introduction to something fun that we hadn't heard of before.

I will now resume your regular programming.