56 years

 Happy Anniversary to us!  56 years...wow we are even impressed!  It was 20 below zero that day. 

 Then...

and now...

we hardly look like the same people....such is life...but we are still best friends for richer or poorer in sickness and health...

We will go out for supper one evening soon to celebrate. 

Far Side

55 years

 We were married 55 years ago today.  

Here we are with our parents.  Far Guy's Mom was celebrating her 55th birthday that same day. 

It was cold...it was like -20 F  or -29 C that day.  Cold. That is what most people recall about that day. My baby brother said the other day " You remember how cold it was?  AND I had to haul gifts out of the church to the car!"

Happy Anniversary to us! 

We don't always agree, sometime we agree to disagree, but we are on the same team!

Far Side

1979 a blast from the past

 My other baby brother and she who sees robins first celebrate 45 years of wedded bliss today! 

1979  That is my sister Julie age 13 on the far left and the flower girl is our oldest daughter Trica she was 7 years old that year. 

Congratulations! 

Christmas card report: 12 finished so total is 65

Pain report: I have a little less pain....hopefully it will keep improving. 

Far Side

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

Well today is the day...fifty years ago at 2 o'clock in the afternoon we were married in Park Rapids Minnesota at St Johns Lutheran Church by the Pastor that made Far Guy promise to go to church every Sunday for the rest of his life during Confirmation.

The flowers have faded.

Wedding Bouquet and a Boutonniere

Our wedding party...December 20 1969.

From Left to right:  Karen (my aunt), Cathie my best friend in High School, Jan (Far Guys sister), Hilda (my cousin), me, Far Guy, Paul (Far Guys Friend), Frank (Far Guys friend, Carey (my brother), Kenny (my uncle)   Down in front we have Jill (my God Daughter and cousin), Julie (my sister) and the twins Karl and Kurt (my cousins).  The little girls were three years old and the little boys four years old.   Everyone in this photo is still alive except for my aunt Karen she died a few years ago.

We have a quiet day planned today with a bit of cooking.  Family will be coming later today and tomorrow.
Thank you for following along and for all your kind comments.

Far Side

The things we keep

That box of memories is no fancy box.  Do you recall a red three wheeled bike from from the early 1970's?  Marx Mini Wheel?  Red plastic with three black wheels and yellow handlebars. Well that was a Christmas Gift to our oldest daughter in 1974...and that is the box I used to pack up all the wedding memories.  Let me tell you that the contents of the box fit perfectly...all the little boxes fit inside only one way. 

Thank you cards.

And a box of napkins.

It is surprising that everything has withstood the test of time....including us...although we are a little worse for the wear.

On Friday December 19, 1969 a Groom's Dinner was hosted by Far Guy's parents at the Travelers Cafe in Park Rapids with our good friend and neighbor Arvilla cooking for the group.  It was cold...it was below zero.  The food must have been good...I cannot recall what we ate....neither can Far Guy...our best guess is chicken, steak or roast beef.  

Far Side 

List and Guests

In the box filled with memories was a list of names and addresses...the invitation list.  239 names were on the list.  I went through the list... most of the guests present are now deceased. 

My Mother wrote out the list.

Our Guest Book has seen better days but the inside is perfect.

Fun to see all the old signatures...especially those whose handwriting I am familiar with.

I counted 165 guests not counting children.

The view from the balcony in the church.

A few years ago, I scanned all the photos in our wedding photo album and refreshed the colors a bit as they were getting faded....faded with time.

Far Side

Cake and White Roses

In that box of memories were many old treasures.

We had cake.  My Aunt Skip made the cake.  It was a white layer cake.  One main cake and several heart shaped cakes.

I think this bit of ribbon and lily of the valley was on the cake server.

 Ha!  Here is the proof that the sprig of ribbon and lily of the valley goes with the cake server.

This was a long stemmed white rose long ago....this might have been my sisters flower she was a flowergirl...she was 3 years old....although she broke the head off of her flower and reported it promptly to me...so maybe this was Far Guy's sisters flower., she was a bridesmaid.

Our 50th Anniversary is Friday the 20th.  My musings will probably continue until then. 

Our youngest daughter has "something" planned for the weekend.  I requested a simple family dinner.

Getting married so close to Christmas we hardly ever celebrate, when we were younger we didn't have the money for both so Christmas took precedence.   Last Christmas and New Years we celebrated by going to Hawaii....that will do us for a few years.

We are almost ready for Christmas here.  I am working on the Shiny Brite Tree Upstairs.  I froze that fudge I made...I could finally cut it into something that resembled a square piece!   Everyone that comes over is going home with fudge so we get rid of it! Christmas Gifts are ready.  Pumpkin Bread and Cinnamon Rolls should be made.  I consulted with Far Guy about his Christmas Gift so we ordered it, then he consulted with me and mine was ordered also...shopping at it's finest!

It snowed again and more snow was shoveled.

Far Side

It takes lots of cousins

In that box of memories I unearthed was a fancy apron.

I know it is a wrinkled mess but you get the idea. It was a sheer half apron that was short and had lace trim, it tied in the back. There was a bow and a bell on the pocket.

Year and years ago teenage cousins were asked to help serve the bridal table.  You know go for coffee refills and fetch extra napkins and make sure everyone had what they needed.  At our wedding the "waitresses" were my cousins;  Diane, Vickie and Max short for Maxine although most of the time we called her Zeeny.

In fact it took a village/lots of cousins to have a wedding reception in the church.  Far Guy had some cousins that helped out also and probably wore the pretty little aprons!

Coffee was poured...the gals sat at the end of the table and poured coffee from a silver service and presented the cup  on a small plate.  (Is that correct Bonnie? She reads my blog too!) Yes we had punch...but I do not recall the ice cream. (Sharon...she reads my blog... was there really ice cream?)

I think 400 people is a stretch...but there were lots of people on that cold December day.

Note:  50 years ago all the women that were married are a Mrs somebody...if you are married you lost your first name.
Far Side

Update From Sharon: Yes Connie, you did have ice cream and I was so nervous serving it because there were so many people! 

Update from Bonnie: I remember serving coffee on a fancy china plate☕️.

49 years and counting

We were married 49 years ago today.  It was a 2 PM ceremony at the church with a reception afterwards in the church sociial hall… small sandwiches, cookies, mints and cake…oh and coffee and punch. We had a wedding dance the next night (Sunday) at Anglers Tavern in Osage.  It was bitterly cold… –20 F.

We honeymooned for one night in Thief River Falls, Minnesota where it was even colder.

Today we will go out for a late lunch most likely with my parents and then have a quiet evening at home.

I still have the veil…the dress was made into a Baptismal Gown and Hey Mikey wore it.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Wistful Wednesday: 48 years ago

It was cold…about –20F or –6C eh! 

We were married in the afternoon and had a reception afterwards.  We had cake, Christmas cookies, coffee, punch and some fancy sandwitches…they used to take a loaf of bread and swirl food coloring in it.  Then it would be sliced lengthwise and the layers would be filled with cheese…ham salad etc…fancy….the reception took place in the church social hall.

This is a photo of the inside of the church taken from the balcony.

We had fun looking at the backs of the heads in this photo.  Many who are now gone. My Maternal Grandmother and Far Guys Maternal Grandmother both wore hats as did our Mothers.

This is the entire wedding party. The gal( my Aunt that was younger than me) on the far left died last spring but the rest of the group are still alive and well.

 

48 years…it sounds like a long time…but it doesn’t seem that long ago.  We know each other well and can finish each other sentences and often are thinking the same thing at the same time. We are still best friends and on good days we both have a wicked sense of humor.

We had planned to spend the day away to see a Grand…but we are supposed to get a bunch of snow and it may be a winter storm so we will spend the day at home. Warm and safe instead of in a snowstorm someplace.

47 years and counting

We got married 47 years ago. High School Sweethearts.  We were young.  Statistics were not on our side, we beat the odds.

Those first years were hard, but we had many good times together as a young couple before we had children.  Children change your dynamic as a couple, there is no more I or we…it is the children, the us… a family…a team.

It was 20 below zero that Saturday morning, we were married at 2 in the afternoon. 

We were engaged on July 5 1969 and married December 20 1969.

It has been give and take and communication that has gotten us this far.   We were friends first, and we are still best friends.  More wedding photos can be found here.

Happy Anniversary to us!  We will have a quiet day at home and we will cook supper together…we have the fixins for a lobster and steak supper.

Best Friends

We may be a tad cranky with each other as we age…but we will always be best friends, a shoulder to lean or cry upon and someone to throw you kisses across the room if you are kinda cranky.   Someone who can almost read your mind and gets better at it as the years pass you by. 

How many years has it been?  Forty four..seems like only yesterday or maybe the day before and here we are two daughters and five grands later.

Here is a link to some old wedding photos.

December 20, 1969

43 years

Well it is that time of year again.  Wedding Anniversary time.  We have managed to  annoy, disagree and love each other through another year.  I am a lucky woman to still have my best friend and soul mate to irritate everyday!

A long time ago..“We ate cake!”

At least we were civil and fed the cake to each other nicely.  I watch some of those “Wedding Shows”  with some of the wedding cake fiascos and the smearing of the cake on the face.  It is not funny at all in my opinion.  I think the younger generation has lost respect for this part of the wedding day.

Other than breathe a sigh of relief and greet all your guests..the first thing you do together as a married couple is cut the cake..a joint effort..holding the cake knife together.  Then you feed each other part of the first slice..the symbolism being that you will provide for each other from now on.  I think it is a wonderful tradition.

I have restored the photographs that were in our wedding album.  They have faded over time..even if they were in an album.  More wedding photos can be found here.

I still have the dress and veil.  I would like to take the dress apart and have it made into a baptismal gown for my Great Grands ( someday far off in the future)..either that or donate it to a museum.  I would like to do something useful with it.

What have you done with your old wedding dress?  Is it like mine..wrapped in white tissue paper and stuck in a box? :)

42 Years

“It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”

Ah young love sometimes works out to be old comfortable love.

Communication is the cornerstone of a good relationship.  Despite my husbands uncanny ability to know my many moods..he cannot read my mind. He is not Superman. We are much better communicators than we were 42 years ago.  I try to use words like I instead of You.. “I feel tired.” versus “You should know I feel tired.” “ I am confused.. what can I help you do?” versus “You obviously are trying to do something that just won’t work.”

Old love and communication: The kind where you can finish each others sentences, the kind where you know when the other is thinking the exact same thing you are..you catch each others eye and smile..and later you compare notes and laugh.  The kind where just holding hands is an expression of support encouragement and undying love. The kind that asks “What is on your agenda today and how can I help you?”

Annoyances: Oh there are many.. Today I will share a few things that irritate him..as I see it:

When I chew bubble gum and blow bubbles and pop them…although really good bubble gum is hard to find nowadays.

When I chew gum noisily with my mouth open..the snapping of gum nearly drives him nuts.

He hates my sleepwalking and talking and screaming. I cannot blame him..I don’t like it much either.

He dislikes sand on the floor..occasionally I will come in the house and grab something without taking off my shoes. For shame..for shame.

He  gets grumpy when I shave my legs in the tub and forget to rinse it out.

It annoys him if I am right and he is wrong..sometimes the discussion can go on for days.

Sometimes I have time management problems..He likes to be on time..AIS ( That is A** in Seat) times are discussed and agreed upon, so no one is waiting..although sometimes I get to the car before he does..just to make a point..and then I announce the time especially if he is a minute or two late..yup it is all about communication.

So yes..we like to annoy each other sometimes:) 

December 20, 1969

This is it, a look back 39 years ago today. High school sweethearts tying the knot! It was cold, twenty below zero. The church was full of people. The Bride was nervous, hoping she wouldn't trip or pass out. The Groom was nervous too.

Still time to back out?

Walk slower Dad! This is not a race, they can't start without us!

The Wedding Party

The Girls: Karen (My Aunt), Cathie (Friend), Jan (Far Guys Sister), Hilda (My Cousin).

The Lttle Girls: Jill (My Cousin) and Julie (My Sister)

The Guys: Paul ( Friend), Frank (Friend), Carey (My Brother), Kenny ( My Uncle)

The Little Boys: Karl and Kurt (My Twin Cousins)

Far Guys Grandma H, and My Grandma D in the background. Both wonderful Grandmas who we miss every day.

The reception was held in the church, the cake was made by my Aunt Skip. Don't ya just love those black glasses!

And they lived happily ever after..

Thanks for coming along on a trip down memory lane:)

A Red Velvet Ornament

This ornament may not seem like much to you. But this ornament tells a special story. I made it sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's. That is when poked ornaments were all the rage. They were called poked because that's how you made them. A Styrofoam ball was covered with small pieces of fabric, the pieces of fabric were poked down into the Styrofoam with a metal nail file, a quilted looking ornament was the result.

My Mother ( a true fabric saver and hoarder) had some left over red velvet from the Flower Girls dresses from the day Far Guy and I were married. So I made an ornament. I made it because I wanted something to commemorate the day we were married. You see we were very young, many of our friends that were married young were already divorced. So I guess what it all boils down too..I made it because I felt lucky to have made a good choice when I married the man of my dreams.

We got married in December to drive our Mother's nuts on purpose! Not really, we had originally planned a September wedding. warm weather, beautiful fall colors! Then we thought about just eloping. All of our ideas were met with much negative discussion. Far Guys Mother chose the wedding date, as she was insistent that Far Guys sister be present.

So we got married in December, a day so close to Christmas that we never celebrate it. We have never had a party or a gathering of any kind. Some years we make an effort to go out to dinner. Most years we just say ..well we made it through another year, and we are still best friends and soul mates, forever in love until death us do part. It was not the day we had imagined, we are both plain people, it all got out of hand. It was not as fancy as some, but still too much hoopla to our liking. We would have been just as happy with a small church ceremony, and our marriage would have lasted just as long if we had eloped.

I do not remember too much about that day, I was too nervous with all the people. I said my vows, Far Guy said his= married! It was twenty below zero that day, it was so cold. It is a blur. Our anniversary is coming up soon, want to know when? Would you like to see a few photographs? Then come back tomorrow the 20th.

Far Guy was 19, and I was 18, young and in love! Holy cats we hardly recognise ourselves..thirty nine years ago tomorrow. :)