So, Rose got married this weekend. It was truly a beautiful wedding. The weather was nice and the ceremony was outdoors, very close to an alpaca! [Speaking of which, let’s not forget the alpaca festival is this weekend!] My heels kept sinking into the wet ground, but I’m pretty sure that didn’t affect the ceremony. It was short and sweet, with homemade vows and Rose looking so lovely. Her hair is exceptionally cute — sassy and fun. The dress was gorgeous — one of those classic strapless numbers with the beautiful satin ribboning around it. You know what I’m talking about? Anyway, Rose was, of course, gorgeous. The bridesmaids’ dresses were a rich chocolate with really stunning rhinestone broaches. I was really feeling the broaches. I think Ellen, Rose’s sister, worried I was going to steal hers as she covered it up with a cute wrap after I mentioned how much I liked it.
Anyway, the ceremony was just perfect and afterwards, we all went inside to the barn, which was decorated with pretty white lights and sunflower centerpieces. The hors d’oeuvres were delicious — bruschetta, hummus, almonds, cheese & crackers — very Mediterranean and yumsville. There was a copious amount of wine, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The speeches were sweet, funny and heartfelt — exactly what you want at a wedding. The dinner was really amazing — the Michigan salad was outrageously good and the grilled veggies were doused with yummy yummy olive oil and my beef tenderloin was grand. Really, it was all so pretty and perfect.
I was lucky enough to be able to sit next to the star of the show, or at least when she was able to sit down. As I remember from my own wedding, there’s not a lot of slow periods at the show when you’re the bride. I watched to make sure she at least got something to eat, but she was up and circulating, it seemed, before she had more than a sip of her champagne. Oh, Rose! Such a great bride.
The best part may have been when Rosie said, “Where’s my husband?” Not great because he was MIA for a moment, but great because it was so cute to hear. And just as natural.
It was also great to see Claire, another old pal from Italy with whom I’d lost touch. She was as fun and dynamic as ever and it was really great to be around a familiar and so-friendly face.
This is really where the greatness of the weekend ends. At around 10:30 I was ready to crash, so I decided to part ways with the DeLuca-Gollnitz crew and say goodbye to the Cobblestone Farm. My chosen spot for the night, the Lamp Post Inn (which is a two-story, L-shaped motel with a pool like the one in Karate Kid), was about a half of a mile away so I was quickly in bed. Before I hit the mattress, though, I needed to use the loo and the sink. Normal bedtime behavior, I think. This is when I discovered the toilet didn’t work in any way other than to serve as a receptacle and that turning on the water in the sink meant HUGE ants would crawl out of it, look me in the eye and ask me what I thought I was doing. Ick! I was really too tired to worry too much about it, so I curled up in bed — trying my hardest not to touch the bedspread as I shoved it off the bed. Sleep came for awhile until around 2:30 am when I awoke to what had to be at least 30 twentysomethings screaming at the top of their lungs, blasting music out of their rooms, playing hackeysack in the parking lot and running up and down the cement hall. This lasted for, I’d say, two hours. I’ve really never seen anything like it. I stared out my broken vertical blinds at the scene. Doors were all open with folks sitting in the doorways, people were out and about talking and yelling, and everyone had at least one beer in their hand. The place had really come alive. I tried to go back to sleep and I must have, but I woke up at seven (six Wisco time), remembered the ants and packed up as quickly as I ever have. I pretty much ran out the door, but was quickly stopped in my tracks by a totally freaky looking cat staring right at me. I let out a pretty quiet scream and thought about what to do. It started coming towards me. I backed away. It was standing between me and the stairs I needed to use to escape from the ants and the backed up toilet. It walked towards the stairs. I followed. By this time I had told myself, “Kate, it’s a cat. You are much bigger and somewhat brighter and just get out of here!” So, I approached it as it guarded the stairs. It arched its back and its gaze was now fierce. I ran the other way, finding stairs on the other end of the motel. I reached my car, threw my stuff in, drove off to the front desk, basically threw the key at the guy standing in the doorway, and didn’t stop until I hit Indiana.
Well, not entirely true. I got a coffee at a Shell station somewhere in western Michigan. But, when I did make it home to Madison, I threw everything in the suitcase into the wash. Everything except my toothbrush, which I threw in the garbage. Ew!
life and puppies 