I'm not saying for sure....

...But, there was a very large hole in my pillow case when I went to make my bed, and I don't remember it being there before. It was big too, not something I think I would overlook.

And then, my married sister came over in the evening and told her, "I had a nightmare last night that we had five black and brown Chihuahua's and they were very mean, they were biting me." Suddenly a horrid thought occurred to me, were there mice on me, last night, while I was trying to sleep? They couldn't have bit me, I didn't have any bite marks, but.... the thought is simply ghastly.....Scream! No, I didn't, wouldn't have even considered it. Well, I might have considered it.

It is disconcerting to wake up in the middle of the night and hear little pitter patter of mice feet. Especially disconcerting after discovering a hole in your pillowcase. Unnerving if you can't tell if they are climbing up your bedpost, I froze, really I did, that cessation of movement that descends on you when faced with grave danger and you have to decide how to react. I wondered if I suddenly felt a mouse on my pillow I was going to sit up so fast I would hit my head on the bottom of the bunk. It is higher than ordinary bunks, but I haven't ever sat bolt upright before and this was a concern. I considered calling out, "I'm awake, I can hear you. Go away."

I can only consider myself fortunate that I'm not terrified of mice, though I certainly don't wish them as bedfellows. I wonder if watching Cinderella would help alleviate the apprehension I feel with mice loose in the house?

We did get a whole bunch more mouse traps and my little brother was going around placing them in drawers and in the rooms while singing to himself, "Oh, mousy won't you come out and talk with me...."

My little sister Twiglet though, has it all figured out, she placed pictures of mouse traps and warning signs on her bed. "No mice allowed. All trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you can read this, you are too close."

And she doesn't have any holes in her pillow case.

The Wedding III

I still haven't been able to get other pictures of the wedding decor, so I'll just have to make due with the ones I already have. Enough time has elapsed already. I apologize in advance for the very poor lighting in the the photographs.

What you plan and what happens are not always the same thing. But sometimes they are close. The wedding décor was very similar to what I hoped it would be (and what I hope pleased the bride and groom), with the exception that we were not planning on orange roses. But, in the end I think they complemented the green very nicely – and made the wedding very similar in color scheme the bride's parent's wedding. And, the bride wore the same necklace as her mother; a beautiful jade teardrop suspended beneath a pearl.

The front of the "sanctuary" where the wedding took place. It is a rustic floral arrangement placed in a large tin can that had green burlap glued onto it, and into this I placed: cedar, laurel, rose hips, branches with leaves in fall color, what I believe might have been the ends of a butterfly bush flowers, wild apples & pears and roses. The only thing we bought were the roses. I was able to minimize the use of flowers by combining lots of textures and colors. They were large arrangements and I only ended up using about five roses each. I had more roses available to use, but I didn't need them. Sometimes the key to floral arranging is knowing when to stop.

The Guest Book table.

Another poorly lit photograph - the aisle ends.

This was centered at the back of the aisle. Right smack dab in the middle was a huge multipurpose printer and it couldn't be moved. So I drafted my father and brothers to build this rustic fence. It turned out very nicely. This arrangement didn't have any flowers in it and was actually one of my favorites. An old milk pail, color and texture did the trick.

And the other side. This arrangement did have a few roses in it and was assembled at the facility when I decided I needed something in the corner. I wish I have better pictures! Oh, well.

This is the neatest wild grass that I found on the roadside out by our place quite by accident a few months ago. I like how it looks like it belongs to the wheat family but is very lacy. It's called Squirreltail Barley (or other and assorted names).

And the most important part of the wedding: The cake (I know, not really). My sister-in-law ended up pulling this together and I really appreciate it. She was planning to do the piping all along, but assembling it wasn't supposed to fall on her shoulders. I'm very grateful that she was willing to pitch in and help to make sure it got done. And I think the topper my brother found at the last minute was perfect. And, special thanks to the same brother for this cake photo.

A sweet picture of the flower girl... and don't touch this groom's girl!