Birthday Reminds Me of Wedding

Today is my friend Beatrice's birthday.  Today is also my nephew's 32nd birthday.  The old saying is true: the older one gets, the faster time seems to pass.  I remember coming out to Boulder, from Chincoteague, with Mom for my sister's wedding to Jim.  It was a dry summer, and they had chosen to get married on Boulder Open Space - an open valley with the Rockies looking over us.  I hadn't been to a Quaker wedding before, and wasn't sure what to expect.  Other than hiring a baker to make and decorate the wedding cakes, the family (all of Jim's large Snow clan and Mom and I) worked our buns off for a full week to get everything ready...  Ann, Jim's mother, made the bouquet; we decorated the building for the reception; we made plates and platters of finger-foods, and purchased cases of soda, lemonade, beer, wine, and sparkling grape juice.  The reception took place in Eldora Canyon, at the hall, which also contained several swimming pools.   AT the beginning of a Quaker wedding, there is 15 minutes of silence, so that each person present may commune with God.  At the age of 25, I thought I could control myself for 15 minutes.  I did not count on my Mother "playing" with me during this time.  As members of the family, we sat directly across from Kathy and Jim, in wooden chairs placed in a huge circle in the meadow.  It was August 14, and grasshoppers were plentiful - small, tan and brown grasshoppers, never larger than 3/4 of an inch - but a great many of them were present.  Mom and I sat down to begin our 15 minutes of silence; then she waggled her fingers at me, and pointed at my skirt.  I stopped counting when I reached 45 grasshoppers that were resting on me.  Mom had about the same number on her skirt.  Then she started flicking the grasshoppers off of her skirt, and onto me, using her index finger.  I have to admit, that while I didn't make a sound, my actions drew a lot of eyes and quirked eyebrows.  I did not jump up, or dance around - but I was going into frantic convulsions, trying not to laugh hysterically. I bit the inside of my cheek until I drew blood, and I ended up rubbing the stitches in my back against the chair back in an effort to keep control.  After the silence, the marriage ceremony went on without a hitch, Kathy and Jim kissed, and then we led the way up to the reception hall.  Once there, I was barraged with questions - and Mom, of course, acted totally innocent.
  Other than the fun we had at the reception, and my poor behavior in the wedding circle, I only remember that the wedding cakes were carrot cakes with a rainbow on top, and that we ran out of drinks, and sent a couple of friends down the Canyon to the local convenience store, where we cleared out all of their cold drinks, most of their other drinks, and all the ice they had in stock....
  And Mike was on the way!

Sleepy Sunday; Olympic Cross Country Results

I did laundry and dishes yesterday, as well as scrubbing the kitty litter boxes, and I watched a bit of the Olympics coverage. But I was a sloth most of the time and slept a great deal. We had a good rain last night, with plenty of lightning and thunder - and for my walk this morning, the air felt positively cool. I hadn't realized it until this morning, but the kits have been collecting grasshoppers and turning them loose indoors. I sat down to a bowl of fruit this morning after my walk, and found myself contemplating a large tan and black grasshoppper on the rim of my bowl. I've caught and released 22 grasshoppers so far today.

Official individual results for the Olympic Cross Country are in:
1st place: Hinrich Romeike, of Germany, on Marius
2nd place: Ingrid Klimke, of Germany, on Abraxxas
3rd place: Megan Jones, of Australia, on Irish Jester
4th place: Clayton Fredericks, of Russia, on Ben Along Time
5th place (tie): Gina Miles, USA, on McKinlaigh
5th place (tie): Mary King, of Great Britain, on Call Again Cavalier
Mark Todd on Gandalf, from New Zealand, finished 29th; Karen O'Connor on Mandiba (USA) finished 54th. Amy Tryon and her horse, Poggio II, (USA) fell and were eliminated.

Unofficial (right now) Team results for the Cross Country are:
1st place: Germany
2nd place: Russia
3rd place: Great Britain
The US Equestrian Team is in 7th place as a Team.