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

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

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.

Winter Wedding

Yesterday we attended the wedding of our niece Rachael.  She has been praying for snow for the wedding.  There was a fair amount of snow….and many of the outside photos show snowflakes.

Rachael and Chad were married in front of the fireplace in a lovely ceremony.  Guests were seated at round tables, a brunch followed the 9:45 AM nuptials.

I took outdoor photos from the balcony.

The bride was beautiful. It seems like only yesterday when she was born. Now she is all grown up, graduated from College and  married.

 

Can you guess what they did to celebrate?

They celebrated by joining their guests in some tubing down the big hill in front of the hall where the wedding took place.   The guests especially the younger ones had a blast!  Far Guy said “Go ahead and sled with the kids, I will visit you in the hospital.”  I declined and was more than happy just to take photos.

The high yesterday was 11 F or –11C.  Just another balmy day in Minnesnowda

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:) 

Wistful Wednesday: Wedding Days 1994 and 1913

Our oldest daughter Trica shares a birthday with her Great Grandma A. She also shares a wedding day, June 18. Great Grandma ( Meady) died in 1990 at the age of 96, Trica was just 18 then, she had met her prospective husband in high school, but she did not date him until she was in College. They were married at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Trica and Dick 1994

Meady and Curt 1913

I will share what someone wrote in a Who's Who column that I found taped to one of Meadys Photographs. It is unsigned, so I have no idea who wrote it.

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Meady and Curt were schoolmates in the lower grades. Her family moved and she went to another school so didn't see him very often until later years when she saw him every Sunday. Being a little late one Sunday evening, he took a short cut to her home. Dear Molly was pacing down the road in high gear when a skunk walked out and took the right of way and Curt had to turn back. For several months he had to walk until the rains washed the buggy wheels clean of that everlasting odor. They were married June 18, 1913 at the Congregational Church in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

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I had nothing to do with choosing the wedding date, Trica was 22 years old by then. However Far Guys Mom was just thrilled that her oldest Granddaughter would be married on her parents wedding day. Two women born exactly 79 years apart..sharing the same date on the calender for their wedding day, 81 years apart:)