StanleyWheeler

 It's done. Child number 5 has entered the hallowed halls of wedded bliss. There's no guarantee on the earthly duration of the bliss, but if ignorance is also bliss, then turning a blind eye to many little annoyances should help. However, somethings are a very big deal. I shared with son-in-law that much of the rest of his life will be spent in discovering that many things he took for granted or never gave much thought to are now, in fact, a very big deal. The information will frequently come as a complete surprise to him; just as it will surprise her that he could've failed to realize a thing so obvious to her. They're in for some good times. The wedding took place in the morning, followed by a luncheon, and then a reception in the evening. I shot a picture of one of the few outdoor decorations at the reception venue because nothing says matrimony like hyper-salivating lions. We had all our children together again, and they had good news to share.  We had a nice hike i...

* This weekend began (and completed) the Christmasification--or is it Christmasization?--of the estate. Fils and his children Kned and Comedienne joined us to erect the brand new yuletide pine constructed of genuine and completely man-made materials. The fun also included the festive luminizing--or is it lumification?--of the exterior timber and mansion house perimeter. A word (or several) about those sobriquets: Fils is self-explanatory; I thought Kned (pronounced either with, or without the vocalized "K" ) sounded better than "dead president;" and Comedienne was the alternative to "Dickens' French girl"--also, she did comedic things like waking us up in the middle of the night several times in order to grace us with renditions of her greatest hits--which sounded a lot like the vocal tracks on a death metal album. She's a scream--literally. We were thrilled to have them. The vocal tracks were inconsequential in comparison to the joy they broug...