3:10 To Yuma--Well, NOT Exactly!!

Rose and Scott are the picture of happiness indeed!

Picture this. The setting is in a tranquil park alongside the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona where a dashing soldier-groom, our nephew Scott, married his beautiful bride, Rose, with friends and family present to bestow their best wishes and congratulations on the happy couple.  Not exactly the movie, 3:10 To Yuma, you may know of, about the Old West and bank robbers.  Instead, it was a happy country garden-style wedding that took place in this historic Arizona town last Saturday, a warm January day with not one cloud in the azure-blue sky, promising a bright future for Scott and Rose and the wedding happened at exactly 3pm.

Busy, busy, BUSY!!!

Nancy, Amy and Laurie.

M.O.G. Amy with another brother, Mitch. 

It all began with a brisk wind in the morning, that mirrored the bustle and commotion of setting up for the big day.  At 10am, there were tables and chairs to set up, a dance floor to be put into place, strings upon strings of lights and glass lanterns to be hung while bunches of flowers in all shapes and shades were thoughtfully arranged into lovely tabletop bouquets that set off the yards of  freshly pressed burlap tablecloths.

Later in the afternoon, the coral-colored roses paired with soft white baby's breath wrapped into the bride's perfect bouquet would eventually become just the right touch to her beaded dress and veil.

Soon to be bride and groom from the Rinek clan, Christopher and fiance Lisa.

The bride, Rose and P.Lorenz, planning out their vision of the wedding flowers.

Peter with niece Cristy, Peter's twin sister Amy and Amy's friend Laurie.

Cousins Kevin, Cristy and Brian getting down to business.  If they ever quit their day jobs, the floral industry will be only too happy to have them.

Peter headed up the floral design crew and created the bride's bouquet.

It was a crazy, wonderful morning filled with friends and family coming together to help the bride and groom turn a public park into an intimate wedding setting.   By 3pm, the brisk wind settled down to a gentle breeze calming the day and ushering in only good thoughts for the couple as the wedding guests gathered. The breeze quieted even more just in time to accompany the bride and her father down the grassy aisle and the wedding went off without a hitch as the bride and groom pledged their lives to each other.

Father and daughter as they walk down the aisle.

Rose and Scott listening closely to the advice of the pastor during the ceremony.

Twilight in the park.

The dance floor.

The tables are set and ready.

Evening in the park, along the Colorado River.

Finally, a lovely reception under a starry sky complete with twinkling lights, champagne toasts, tinkling glasses, delicious regional cuisine and music to dance the night away by, were all in place for the bridal couple and their guests to enjoy. Every detail was meticulously planned by Scott and Rose to start their life together, in a most loving way.  This creative and innivative couple has a wonderful future ahead of them with endless possibilities. Congratulations and best wishes to them!

More pictures...

Mitch and Nancy Rinek

Where are all of the single ladies?!?

(L-R)  Brian, Nick, Kelly, Cristy & Amy.

Cousins (L-R) Christopher, Scott and Kevin.

F.O.G Marty, Scott and M.O.G Amy, all smiles.

Cousins and siblings, fiances and friends--oh my!

So handsome!  They clean up good, don't they!?!

The groom's parents toasting the happy couple.

Cutest little Flower Girl!

The best man and the mother of the bride.

Time to catch the 3:10 back to Virginia!

The Artistry of Ice

The greenhouse in the early morning hours with the sun shining through its ice-etched door.

A closer look at the artistry of ice on the greenhouse door.

Beatrix Potter, the 19th century English author and artist who penned the wonderful Peter the Rabbit children's books once said of winter, "There has been some lovely weather -- to look at."  The weather is indeed wild, at this time of the year, with strong, cold bands of north winds, careening through brown and snow dusted fields or "sloshy" with a cold fog hanging on in the dark woods and shady valleys. Most often, by the end of January, winter can resemble a welcomed house guest who has stayed long past his welcome.

A frozen road obviously less traveled.  No, this is not where I fell I knew better than to even attempt to venture down this.

A patch of ice hidden under a tangle of vines, leaves and grass. 

Yesterday, while walking the dog, I slipped and fell on a patch of ice hidden under old leaves.  I sat at the side of the road gathering my composure and taking inventory of my sore knees and back while the dog sat down next to me with a sympathetic look and waited patiently until I gathered my shattered nerves as I looked for sturdier ground with sufficient traction.  We then walked, a bit more gingerly, home to the warmth and sanctuary of the indoors.  Ice--who needs the stuff?!? It only creates havoc in the form of aches and pains, school closings and traffic jams!

Layers of thin ice upon thin ice.

I spied this frozen fountain in front of a home as I was driving by--pretty cool!

Bubbly and smooth ice, all at once, on the road.

A peek through the trees of a silver-iced pond along my country road.

Yet, in winter there are also bright spots in the form of icy signatures written on windows, glassy lakes and frosty walkways shining back into the face of the yellow winter sun.  Brown ice bubbles up on the side of treacherous roads while crystal clear ice takes over the dog's water dish, transforms a fountain into a still-life portrait and is a water color painting spread over frost-tipped grass.

Some nighttime visitor who frequent my yard along with those devil deer.

Perhaps I would venture out over the ice on this wooden dock but, as pretty as it looks, I think  icy ponds, as a rule, are not safe to walk on here in Northern Virginia.

Ice gathers up the untidy garden with footprints and deer tracks and leads us into a wonderland of poke-a-dot patterns and paisley prints especially in the dawning hours of a new day as the sun breaks through the bare trees.  Take a moment and try to enjoy the ice, instead of cursing it, as it is a venue of outdoor artistry, right at your fingertips--knees and back, too, if you are not careful!

Pretty In Pink!

Pretty in pink baby girl shower favors for the guests.

My perfectly British friends, Kim and Melanie. 

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that is what little girls are made of." That is how the sweet little nursery rhyme goes when describing a baby girl and a lovely sugar and spiced afternoon in honor of one particular little girl, soon to be born this coming spring.

The birth of a baby--girl(s) or/and boy(s)--is a wonderful thing and the expectant waiting is half of the fun of this most blessed event, especially when it is celebrated with cherished friends and family. I was lucky enough to be one of those celebrants invited, this past Sunday, to a perfectly pink baby girl shower at the home of my friend, Kim.  She threw a most delicious pretty pink shower for the daughter-in-law of another friend, Melanie.

Being the true and proper Brits (from Great Britain) that they are, both Kim and Melanie are fascinated with the American tradition of a baby shower and what made the afternoon even more special was that Melanie's daughter-in-law is Peruvian.  So, this American event turned into a perfectly lovely international event.

Some of the ladies with the mother-to-be at the head of the table.

Kim even went to the trouble of researching how countries, all over the world celebrate baby showers and then went even further and gave us all an explanation about bridal showers, too!  If you don't know already, baby showers tend to be traditionally women dominated events, no matter where you may live, although I'm sure that men would come, if asked, and if there is no football game scheduled on television during the same time.

What a special afternoon it was with a pretty  pink-tinged table, pink tulips and pink paper and ribbons swirled around poke-a-dots and baby's breath along with a delicious luncheon crowned by strawberry pink cupcakes.  The afternoon was perfectly pretty in pink and dedicated to the mother-to-be with pink pomegranate prosecco while the mother-to-be enjoyed sparkling water--how perfect!