ABC Wednesday...R is for...Ruth!

Ruth and Joe, last Saturday!

In our village church, check out the lovely dress!

Notice the flowers on the end of every pew, 20 in all.

The flower arrangements...euphorbia from our garden and lilacs from Ruth's grandad's garden, two houses up from ours.

I made the arrangements and posies, so now you know why I was so busy last week. I made the invitations and orders of service too. I am very busy with quite a few weddings right now but love every minute of it. Ruth's wedding was special however. We have known Ruth for nearly 20 years and were thrilled when she announced she was going to marry Joe. So to Ruth and Joe, congratulations, as the vicar said, two beautiful people. One of the hymns we sung was one which Jon and I had at our wedding. Apparantly it is called the "Engineer's Hymn" on account of verse 2, which is precisely why we chose it.

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy, Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray, Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day. Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray, Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day. Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray, Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day. Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray, Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

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Black Jack? I wouldn't have a clue!

A Black casino chip for True Colour Thursday! THIS MAY COME AS A SURPRISE TO THOSE OF YOU NOT LIVING IN LAS VEGAS, BUT THERE ARE MORE CATHOLIC CHURCHES THAN CASINOS. NOT SURPRISINGLY, SOME WORSHIPERS AT SUNDAY SERVICES WILL GIVE CASINO CHIPS RATHER THAN CASH WHEN THE BASKET IS PASSED. SINCE THEY GET CHIPS FROM MANY DIFFERENT CASINOS, THE CHURCHES HAVE DEVISED A METHOD TO COLLECT THE OFFERINGS. THE CHURCHES SEND ALL THEIR COLLECTED CHIPS TO A NEARBY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY FOR SORTING AND THEN THE CHIPS ARE TAKEN TO THE CASINOS OF ORIGIN AND CASHED IN. THIS IS DONE BY THE CHIP MONKS. YOU DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT COMING, DID YOU ? Had to share this! Well it is an understatement to say I am going to be busy over the next few days. This afternoon I have a meeting with a local hotel manager about a wedding fayre in March which I am organising. I am awaiting delivery of materials for a wedding commission I have to deliver by the end of next week, then I have another commission to undertake once current one is completed. Jon and I are at a wedding all Saturday and Evening Reception....I am taking the photographs. I have a new commission to sketch up some ideas for and meet the client probably Sunday, Friday night possibility. On Friday I am driving over to Malton to follow up six butchers re Jon's business... It is our godson's 18th birthday on Friday. I am cooking a family dinner for Sunday 25th! I am working on a powerpoint presentation as a surprise. I have lots of photos to scan! so if all appears quiet here you know I am too busy to get up to any mischief! Update! Delivery of Materials...11.30am today, so off I go to work!

Busy busy busy!

The funeral of Jon's godmother, Auntie Kathy went well, as well as a funeral can go. Kathy was a regular church goer until she fell ill a few years ago and had to be moved into a residential home. Throughout the church service the vicar made it clear he did not know her as he had never met her. I thought this was a shame and surely could have found the time to visit her when she was in the home. I accept that he may be new, there may be reasons why he never met her, but he just mentioned it on quite a few occasions! Another thing too, he wore light adjusting glasses, so when he entered church from outside he appeared to be wearing sunglasses, he couldn't read very well, but once his lenses adjusted he improved. After the church service we drove to the crematorium and after a short service we spoke with Kathy's family. The vicar was there for a short time, we all shook his hand. My MIL, Mavis commented that she didn't think he wanted to shake her hand but she was determined to shake his hand! When I shook his hand I found he had a very very limp grasp! What does that say? Strangely there was no announcement about refreshments so Mavis Jon and I went out for lunch! The weekend is a busy one.....we are off to Hull tomorrow for me to try some leathers on, then Sunday I have a wedding Fayre where I am exhibiting! To be honest it has caused me grief due to lack of communication at the venue, but I will see how Sunday goes. I will be glad when it is all over I can tell you! Monday, I can't wait for Monday as it means the Wedding Fayre will be over! I have promised Wilma I will take her for a long walk as I want to pick the last of the brambles and elderberries I spotted up Handale Lane. I walk up the lane every morning with Wilma, sometimes for an hour. I keep noticing the brambles so with a clear head it will be a great way to let go of the stress which I am feeling! Monday is also the day the mobile library van comes to the village. I am quite hooked on crime novels right no, so I will see what James Patterson and Susan Hill novels they have. I may order some too! I want to catch up on visiting some blogs and finding out what everybody has been up to......after the weekend, after Sunday!

Busyness, a clever fellow Found his way to peaceful meadow Where he succeeded, in guise of fun To gain the trust of innocent ones. They thought at first He was a sight! His flashing brilliance, Full of excite In time they found That wear and tear Wrecked their bodies Impaired their lair Busy you see When accepted for fun Can transform to A vicious one Always demanding More to do Rejecting counsel From those that choose To pursue its lifestyle Such a curse! Unending cycles Of acts to nurse... 'Til finally those Exhausted and blue Sent Busy packing... And enjoyed the view! Wendy Price-Kirkham

Roll on Monday..............................when I too can enjoy the view!

BYB Sunday........Weddings!

Photo of the Day
04.11.07
Me, on the left aged 9

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…
If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…
It takes a lifetime to learn another person…
When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

Madeleine L'Engle





My class in 1998 were our guard of honour!

I am blessed in our marriage.
Today I have had an exhibition at a Wedding Fayre....
It is really a blessing to meet people getting married, the air is full of expectation and anticipation.



I will tell you about the day later, I am quite tired right now and just want to unwind, but thought I would share some photos.

From "Gift From The Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.


Our Wedding
02.06.98

Jon, me, mum, Uncle Bob.


From "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

The Wedding!

Close up! The bride and groom................. or here, Mr. and Mrs A.J. Petson! The buttonhole! The guests! (Well the guests you would know!) The best pic! Adam, the last time you will see him as a bachelor! Order of Service Wedding March Colours of Day First reading: Genesis They become one body Psalm – sung Make me a channel of your peace Second reading: St Paul to the Corinthians If I am without love, it will do me no good whatever Gospel: Wedding feast at Cana Fr John Paul Leonard Homily - Fr John Paul Leonard Exchange of promises Signing of Register – Hymn to be sung by choir Bidding Prayers Offertory Hymn: As I kneel before you Communion Hymn: This is my body Recessional Hymn: I will be with you Wedding March

A little preview for those who can't wait!

JON'S BUTTON HOLE ABOVE! MY HAIR PIECE BELOW! STUNNING!

I've finished!

120 orders of service, ready to be delivered to mother of the bride. Out of all the various processes involved with designing & making wedding stationery, packaging and delivering is the favourite part for me. The wedding is at 3pm on Saturday, at at the nearby Cathedral. Jon and I are guests. Now I need to find an outfit! I do enjoy working with couples approaching their wedding. It was months ago we first started talking about the designs etc, and now the day is here almost! D