Jan '09

It is still the first month of the year and if the excitement of the last few days is any indicator of the rest of the year '09 is gonna be a HOOT! Two weeks ago I got home from teaching class; I released the beasties, hung up my coat and checked the answering machine. Gretchen had called; twice. I called her back and fully expected her question of "What are you doing next Friday?" to be an invitation to meet her for lunch. I replied that I taught in the morning but would be done about 10:30. This was met with a huge mock dramatic sigh and she said she would ask a sister...I was puzzled--why couldn't we get together?? WITH her sisters? either one?--then she explained. She needed somebody to witness HER MARRIAGE TO CHRIS!!! AHHHHH AHHHHH!!! Then she swore me to secrecy. So I couldn't tell anyone. GREAT!! I finally get to be a "Best Woman" and I don't get to do any of the goofy girlfriend shit. Had to switch on the filters on and control my enthusiasm. I had to quell my natural instincts as a Mrs. Dalloway wannabe and just stand there holding Chris' ring. Did it.

Drove up to Vassar Thursday (so as to avoid any bad traveling delays) and they were married Friday morning in a very quiet ceremony attended by their doggies and Sam & I. Got a little festive at her sister's place with a champagne toast and cake, went to Tiffany's Pub for lunch and headed home to check on the frozen pipes. yep they were still frozen.

Mostly because Hell had Frozen over (well Gretchen did get married). Our cold water feed pipes had two of our three toilets out of commission and the winter conditions continued to demand our attention...

Saturday was date night--a real date. With my "boyfriend"--you know that guy I used to date before I married the overworked doctor?? We had gotten tickets for the productions at Hilberry Theatre on Wayne State's campus back several months ago, Tom Stoppard's brilliant play Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead was being performed with HAMLET. We got the tickets on the only day they staged both plays so we could see both performances back to back. What a treat!! R&G were adorable; we arrived in the 20 questions bit--about 15 minutes later than the start of the play because the driving conditions I had anticipated screwing up the wedding actually had Matty getting to us a little later than he expected. I was not about to leave the kids with a fire in the fireplace, frozen pipes and no official adult.

Considering that we left later than we wanted and the roads were so horrendous I am actually quite pleased with the results. I thoroughly enjoyed the first play (despite the chilly auditorium) and at it's conclusion we slid around the corner to The Inn on Ferry Street HUBBA HUBBA!! what a beautiful place seriously. Petey surprised me with the whole overnight stay thing which in itself seemed over the top, I mean-- we only live 40 minutes from the theatre--but he was adamant that we needed a break so I was amenable--Matt was home with the chilldwens. I really need to get a grip on this anxiety thing. I explored the Arts & Crafts antiques that adorned our spacious room and started to relax for real--Then there was a knock on the door, "Front Desk"--and there was a lovely man with THE TRAY. You know the tray they put in all romance movies? The silver ice bucket with champagne nestled into it, a dozen red long stemmed roses arranged above a box of chocolates? My boy is sooooo smooth...giggle.

LONG slow Dinner at Traffic Jam and Snug--great fun and delish food. That is such a great space. Pete's iphone finally impressed me as we sat there sipping after dinner mugs of coffee and scrolling through the text of Shakespeare's play trying to trip each other up in a silly game of "identify the speaker". Eventually we toddled back across the tundra to see Hamlet. Seriously the perfect date. except for the hazardous driving--which we mostly avoided by not driving home after Hamlet. My boy is truly clever.

The performances were strong--not spectacular, not crappy. The Ren Fair costumes were distracting, but maybe if I didn't spend so much time with costuming laurels from the SCA I would have had better suspension of disbelief. The fun at seeing both plays back to back was totally worth it. I love both plays but my obsession with deconstruction and meaning --all Waiting for Godot and signifiers..yeah..I was happiest w/ R&G.

...and when we got home...Matt had the pipes thawed!!!