Back from the hinterland

Phew!
Talk about a whirlwind weekend....well, extended weekend. Steve-o's friend from high school was getting married in Vermont, so off we went. Started out on Wednesday night about 9:30. We planned on stopping at Steve-o's mom's house in NJ and sleeping there for the night. Well, torrential downpours and Steve-o's light and tiny car made a 4-hour trip into an 8-hour trip. Yep. We arrived in NJ at 5:30 in the morning. Poor Steve-o had to drive the whole way cause I don't know how to drive stick yet, though I've had my first lesson - and didn't stall the car!

So, we slept in late to recover from that ordeal and didn't leave NJ for the trip to VT until 3:30 on Thursday. We stopped at some outlets, where Steve-o was actually the only one who bought anything, and made it to his condo sometime before midnight.

Up bright and early and off the the
VT DMV to get Steve-o his
Vermont license. He's so proud.
Then, off to a state park for some boat races (in canoes) and then some boat races
(a.k.a. drinking games). Steve-o drank his team to victory. I'm so proud.

Off to rehearse all the wedding stuff and then the rehearsal dinner at a cute Inn where we had some fabulous food, and a bit more alcohol.

Then, sometime around 11:30, we made our way back to Steve-o's condo - an hour away....or two hours when you get lost driving country roads with no lights, plenty of deer and enough twists in the road to make you nauseous.

Then - the big wedding day. Hooray! Everything went smoothly. And the General Lee even blassed the wedding! Steve-o's ex pointed out that she almost wore the same dress as I did. Can you imagine that one! Girl fight! The ceremony was short and sweet....as they should be. And the reception was accompanied by tasty Vermont cheese and a whopping 6 hours of open bar! It was an outdoor reception, but the bugs were pretty tame. Per the groom's request, they nuked the garden the day before to the point where it was "toxic to all living things." Ah, better living through chemistry, right?

I was unwilling to drive the backroads at 2 a.m. again, so we stayed at the Inn where they had the reception and had a tasty breakfast, too. It also happened to be the place where they filmed the sitcom, 'Newhart' for those of you old enough to remember 'Larry, his brother Daryl, and his other brother Daryl.'

We did the drive back over 2 days as well, and it was relatively uneventful...but very pretty. See? We did have some tasty ice cream, got passed on the highway by two Amish guys in a pick-up truck and made it back just in time for Steve-0 to get to class. I now officially need a vacation from that vacation.

And now, some gratuitous cat photos of Smidgen with the mouse I made her (complete with beady little red eyes), and Smidgen napping, which she seems to prefer doing at 1p.m. rather than 1 a.m.....when she's busy dragging her toys into the bedroom to amuse herself, and wake me up. Do you see this cat's super paws? Crazy, huh?

And you want to know what's going on with the house? Absolutely nothing yet. Well, that's not entirely true. Before we left, I sent off my official correspondance to my sleazy contractors...the ones who wanted to keep overhead and profit for work they didn't do. I returned to a letter from them telling me that they didn't agree with my "philosphy on overhead and profit," that I cannot profit from an insurance claim (which I'm not, since I had to pay someone else to do the work they didn't do), and that my actions could be considered fraud. My actions are fraud?!? Hello - keeping money for work you didn't do - now that sounds like fraud! Ooooh, they make me so mad. Must channel anger, though. Have too much to do.

R* kindly installed our new bathroom faucet and showerhead while we were gone, so it's nice that that's done. Now, I must go on a painting and organizing spree. I think my brain has finally recovered from the funes, so it's time to paint once again! Harbor Mist - here I come!