11 weeks 2 days: so much has happened....

I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote anything. I had a great time in Los Angeles, but it made me really sad that I will not be teaching anymore since the NEA has given me such wonderful contacts and friends all over the country. It was bittersweet to receive such support for my wedding and our baby, and know that I will not be a part of the network anymore....

The day before we left for the wedding, we had to a little scare with the rings. I had read online about how people's rings weren't fitting due to water retention, so I got our rings out in a panic to make sure mine still fit. It did, but when Dyke Two went to take hers off, it slipped out of her hands, and fell into the air conditioning vent. We ended up having to take apart the duct work under the living room to fish it out...

But the wedding, oh, the wedding. It was so wonderful. We had all of our closest friends and family members there: my mom, dad and stepmom, Dyke Two's mom, my brother, SIL and two kids, my grandparents, Dyke Two's advisor and his girlfriend, my best friend, Chuck's three closest friends and their families, my close friend and her husband, and our two close gayboy friends.

Dyke Two and I spent a night in Niagara Falls on the way up. I had never seen the Falls, and was dutifully impressed, but was far more impressed with the penthouse room that our friends had reserved for us as a wedding present. Friday afternoon, we had an open house in our room so that everyone could stop by for snacks and drinks and reconnect since almost everyone knew each other. Then in the evening, we went out to dinner in the village with our gayboys and my best friend and Dyke Two's close close friends from New York. Afterwards, we went to a bar for a drag show (my secret obsession is drag queens--LOVE them) and bars in Toronto are smoke free.

Saturday morning, we all went out for breakfast, and then Dyke Two and I got massages and pedicures at a really fancy-pants spa. we felt like royalty, and loved every second of it. (They wouldn't do a full massage of my legs because of the risk of blood clots, but I got a fabulous back, arms, face, neck and head massage).

We got married on the outdoor patio of a restaurant in the village under a gazebo. Dyke Two began crying from the first second we arrived at the restaurant, and all of our friends and family were circled in close so we felt totally surrounded by love. At one point, we had to stop the ceremony so Dyke Two could dab away my tears with the same tissue she had used for her own. We walked in to the sounds of one of the guests playing an original piece on her guitar. Kind of cool to have your own wedding song. Our moms were our witnesses, so they were under the gazebo with us. Part way through the ceremony, we had to take a break to get hugs and congratulations from the family since in the US signing the registry takes place after the ceremony, and the officiant had it as part of the ceremony.

We had a delicious meal, a fabulous cake and then walked back through the village. People were stopping us on the street to congratulate us, and three couples from Cleveland looked as emotional as we were. All of our friends and family were so comfortable with each other, and there was absolutely NO tension. I'm not sure I have ever been to a wedding where the bride could say that.

Sunday we went out to a lesbian owned B&B, and spent Sunday and Monday there. They had a beautiful home, three sweet dogs, chickens and ducks and 7 acres. We splashed in the hot tub--which they lowered to 98 degrees for me, read Harry Potter, and hiked around the property. We ate amazing food, most of which was grown in their garden. I nearly peed in my pants as Dyke Two tried to confront her chicken phobia by helping one of the owners corral the four hens they had sold to their neighbor to re-populate his coop after a coyote attacked.

Tuesday we drove back 13 hours straight through. I read aloud from the Harry Potter book as Dyke Two drove, and we returned home to discover that the gayboys had, in addition to taking over the watching of the dogs, purchased the paint we had selected before we left, painted the entire dining room, and done half the kitchen. Now we have a gorgeous Bordeaux living room, a Cypress nursery, a Cream (buttery yellow) kitchen and a purple whose name is escaping me dining room. And I never had to inhale a paint fume.