I “R” Aged. And A Romantic Question

I was going through a few things the other day and came across this poster design we were working on right before Sarah was diagnosed with cancer. Since we left the road shortly after that, we never did put this poster into use but it’s still fun to look back at it nine years later and see how very young we looked.

And come to think of it, I guess if we looked so young back then, that must mean that the last nine years have aged us?

Yep. I guess they have.

I am aged.

I feel aged.

I “R'” aged.

Well, you get the point.

Romantic Question

Since I know that many of us are still basking in the glow of this recent event . . .

. . . I thought it would be fun to open up the floor to you all and hear how your marriage proposals came about. If you’re married, you have a proposal story to tell of some sort whether it be funny, sweet, poignant, awkward, or romantic. Or even romantically awkward!

I’ll start.

After Steve and I’d had just six dates in two years, both of our minds started turning pretty strongly toward marriage. Although we didn’t really talk about it outright, we were both dropping plenty of hints along the way.

On November 1, 1981, Steve took me on a day trip through the Blue Ridge mountains. That evening at sunset, we were parked at the top of Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest peak in the Eastern United States.

Great time for a proposal right? On a mountain top? At sunset?

Unfortunately, no proposal was forthcoming.

However.

The next night as we were sitting under a street lamp on a church parking lot and chatting about our relationship, I suddenly blurted out, “Well, what timetable are we on exactly?”

Steve leaned his head forward and rested it on the steering wheel for what seemed like a very long time. Then he sat up straight, looked at me and said, “Will you marry me?”

I didn’t have to think very long before responding in the happy affirmative.

We were married two months later.

Okay . . . it’s your turn!

*****************************************

Comments:

A couple of you commented on how pretty Meagan’s nails were and asked if she had done them especially for possible proposal.

Although I don’t have the inside scoop on that, I would probably guess that the answer to that would be, “Yes!” Either that or Meagan just has gorgeous nails all the time. In which case, I am definitely jealous.

Jodi asked, Any idea of a date? This year, next year? Does Nathan want to find a job first? What is his major? Where will the wedding be? I am guessing Megan's Dad and Steve will officiate?

Jodi, I’m sure that during the time that Nathan and Meagan are here we’ll start talking about a lot all those questions. I’m fairly sure the wedding will be sometime this summer but beyond that I don’t know many answers to wedding questions.

As for Nathan’s major, it is something along the lines of Social Work/Counseling. I don’t remember the exact official title but that’s the general idea.

Mrs Pam asked if Snowy had gotten any mail yesterday.

Mrs. Pam, he sure did and he says to tell you that the healthy, homemade dog biscuits were especially delicious. He is now convinced that you are the most wonderful person ever!

Commenting Instructions for BlogHer

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So here are the instructions:

1. Immediately following the end of the post, you'll see "3 comments." (Or maybe it will be more by the time you get there.)

2. About four lines down from there you'll see a place that says "log in."

3. It will take about 30 seconds to fill in a user name and password and then you'll be set to comment.

Thanks so much for supporting Smithellaneous over at BlogHer.

A Post Full of Romance. And Other Good Stuff.

Thanks so much for everyone who left comments on the blog over the past few hours celebrating the Nathan/Meagan news.

I think one of my favorite comments had to be this one:

Dana from Greenville, SC wrote, “Should I be this excited for someone I have never met?!!! I certainly hope so because I actually did the ugly almost crying face. Congratulations to everyone!”

I just loved the whole “ugly, almost crying face” line, not just because it’s funny but also because it’s so sweet to think that people who have never even met the newly engaged couple can be happy enough for all of us to almost cry. You guys are so sweet to rejoice with us.

Also, I want to thank a couple of you who pointed out to me the difference between fiancé and fiancée. (The former is a man; the latter is a woman.) That’s just the kind of stuff I love to learn and since I will be using those terms a lot in the coming months, I am happy to know I will be spelling them correctly.

A couple other commenters asked if we knew the proposal was coming. Yes, Nathan told us several weeks ago that he had set the date for when he was going to propose; we had several phone conversations with him about the details of what he was planning. (He told very few people about it because he was intent on keeping it all as secret as possible. And he succeeded swimmingly in the secrecy department.)

A few other people said (in effect), “It seems like you are happy with the girl Nathan chose to marry.”

The answer to that query can only be a great big fat “YES!” We are thrilled at the thought of calling Meagan our future daughter-in-law. She is a young woman of many talents and accomplishments who takes her own patented glow with her wherever she goes. She’s a graduate of the same university Nathan is attending (studied to be a teacher), comes from a wonderful family (her parents are some of our closest friends) and has a strong Christian faith. She is smart and witty and a whole lot of fun to be around. We are tickled pink with the future wife Nathan fell in love with.

Okay. Now onto some more important stuff. Women are nothing if not romantic and according to the comments I’ve received, a lot of you are interested in hearing all the romantic deals of the proposal.

However, until I sit down face to face with Nathan and Meagan and hear the whole story again in person (we just heard the highlights over the phone yesterday) I’m not sure I can get all the details written accurately. So for right now, I’ll just give you an overall summary enhanced by a few pictures. (Meagan’s mom will be blogging about this, too. I’ll let you know when that post is up and you can head on over to her blog and hear the story from her perspective.)

The Nathan/Meagan Proposal Summary

Last Friday night, Nathan had arranged a big, fancy date and Meagan was so sure that it was going to be the night he would propose. (And that’s just what he wanted her to think.)

Here he is in the living room waiting to catch his first glimpse of Meagan as she comes out of her room.

Ready for the date. The BIG (non-proposal, trying-to-fake-out-Meagan) date.

At the fancy restaurant. (Meagan has a fun tradition of taking pictures of herself in the bathrooms of all the restaurants they go to.)

The fancy food at the fancy restaurant. Meagan is convinced the proposal must surely be coming any moment.

But alas. Nathan took her her back home with no proposal. She was sooooo disappointed.

And then came Saturday night.

It involved pottery painting.

A blindfold.

A lake side gazebo strung with lights.

Roses, finger foods and sparkling grape juice.

A proposal.

And a ring.

How romantic is that?

Syndicated Post.

BlogHer, the company that advertises on Smithellaneous, has selected one of my recent posts to syndicate across their network. That means I get to post this little cool piece of blog bling on my side bar!



BlogHer features many great writers on its main site and I'm honored to be included. If you have a minute, please click through to see where some of my writing has ended up. And if you have just another minute, I'd love it if you'd leave a comment over there, as well; it will make my article feel a little less lonely as it hangs out over there in non-Smithellaneous land.

(Also, if you haven't read the Big News post below this one, be sure to do so!)

News. Of the Biggish Sort.

A few days ago, I wrote that Nathan and his girlfriend, Meagan, would be coming to Manteo this coming weekend.

Well, it seems as though I was sadly mistaken.

Nathan and his girlfriend, Meagan, will NOT be coming home after all.

It seems as though some things have transpired in recent hours in their relationship and Meagan is no longer Nathan's girlfriend.

In fact, she will never be Nathan's girlfriend again.

Sigh. Sniff.

However . . . .

As it turns out . . .

Wait for it . . .

Although Meagan is no longer Nathan's girlfriend she IS his (drum roll, please) FIANCE'!

He proposed last night!

And she said yes!!

Nathan is bringing his fiance' home!

I'm going to be a mother-in-law!!!!

Hugged In Absentia

As most of you probably remember, last week Steve went to a marriage retreat that our church organized; although my camera and I (sadly) did not make the trip due to sickness, someone else passed their shots on to me.

Since this is sort of an unusual destination (only four-wheel drive vehicles are allowed) I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photos.

In case you’re wondering why a four-wheel drive is necessary? This gives you some idea.

Here is one of the “streets.”

This is actually one of the more organized areas; last year we did a tour and saw some places where dirt and sand roads just jutted out everywhere in a meandering maze of messiness. How in the world does Pizza Hut ever figure out where to deliver pizza?

This picture was taken further north of the house; the fence is the border between North Carolina and Virginia so you can stand on the beach with your feet in two states.

The view of the beach from the 23-bedroom house the gang stayed in.

One of the many rooms inside the house.

Of course, one has to have home theater in one’s house! Maybe our next home improvement project will be to build one of these babies in the Smith Mansion. (ha)

A certain fella (who I’m sorta attached to) is rejoicing that he’s not making the payments on said house.

I especially loved seeing all the huge decks/porches for the purpose of sittin’ and chattin’.

It’s lovely at night, too.

A couple times during the retreat, the speaker asked participants to put an arm around his or her spouse. Here is Steve, pretending I’m sitting there.

And another hugging occasion. Nice to be hugged in absentia when my hubby has to be away.

On the way home, they ran into really bad rush hour traffic. There were three vehicles! Gasp.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour. When you have a spare day or two (or three), you should come to the Outer Banks and do your own four-wheel drive exploring. It’s quite the adventure.

A Recipe and Ramblings: Homemade Chunky Applesauce

I promised you a recipe and a recipe you shall have!

This one is embarrassingly easy but wonderfully delicious and goes with just about any main dish you want to serve.

Homemade Chunky Applesauce

8 medium Granny Smith apples (or other tart cooking apples)

Note: I am not real apply savvy and wouldn’t know a tart cooking apple if it bit me on the end of my nose. Therefore, I always just open the fridge and grab whatever apples happen to be currently residing there. (Because I’m an accomplished cook like that.)

2/3 C sugar (You can certainly use less; I usually use white sugar but I imagine brown would work as well.)

3/4 C apple juice (I seem to be out of apple juice whenever I decide to make this recipe so I use orange juice most of the time and it always turns out great.)

2 T margarine or butter, melted

1 t. cinnamon

1. Peel apples.

(There is no real reason I’m using a colander to put my peelings in except for the fact that all my regular big bowls were either in use or dirty.)

Eight peeled apples.

While I’m on the subject of peeling apples, may I just make a small, wee confession to you right now? I’ve been wanting to get this story off my chest for a long time and now seems to be as good a time as any.

My confession is this: The knife in this picture is a (gasp!) stolen knife.

Here’s the confession:

Several years ago, Steve went to a Subway sandwich shop to pick up some subs for our family dinner. When he got home and we unpacked the sandwiches, lo and behold, sitting right there next to the meat and the bread and numerous sandwich-y toppings was yon knife! It had been inadvertently wrapped up and sent home with the sandwich!

(Insert gasp of horror here.)

Well, of course I immediately thought that we should return the knife but the restaurant was a little ways away from our house and I didn’t feel like doing it that night. And I forgot about it the next night. And the next. And the next.

It wasn’t long before we had moved to another town while still harboring the knife--the Stolen, unStolen Knife. And to this very day, we still have that knife. And I still have haunting feelings of overwhelming guilt whenever I use the knife. However, the truth of the matter is that the knife works really well and I’m sort of attached to it.

The way I figure it? Subway probably buys these knives in mass quantities for about a dollar each. And so the next time I go to a Subway, I may just leave a couple dollars in the tip jar and call it even.

Do you think that would be okay? Are any of you planning on calling the Manteo police and having me arrested? Because if so, I would like to know ahead of time so that I could at least put on some lipstick.

Thank you.

Okay. Glad I have finally dealt with that painful subject. Where were we?

2. Cut the peeled apples into eighths with your (hopefully) unstolen knife and put them into the Crockpot. (Or a large pan.)

3. Add sugar . . .

4. And butter . . .

5. And cinnamon.

6. Then rummage around in your messy drawer and try to locate a measuring cup.

7. Put apple or orange juice into cup. You can see I didn’t measure real carefully but--oh well! ("Oh well" is my Official Cooking Slogan.) Add juice to crock pot.

8. Cover crock pot and cook on high heat setting 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until apples begin to break up. (If you’re cooking in a pan on the stove, cover the pan and turn the heat to low.)

Here are the apples at the beginning of the cooking time . . .

and at the end of the cooking time.

9. Stir well to break up larger pieces of apples. I actually use a potato masher because I want to feel like the kind of cook who can use a potato masher with panache and precision. Are you impressed? No? (sigh)

Then do what my mother always taught me which is to rinse your utensils right away so that the food will not dry and stick eternally to said utensils. It will make your life so much happier not to have to deal with eternally stuck food. Trust me on this.

And there you have it!

Now, for a little cooking secret reserved exclusively for my Smithellaneous blog friends:

If you need to serve a bigger crowd (like for Easter dinner) but you don’t feel like peeling 16 apples in order to double the recipe, do what I do. Buy a jar of chunky applesauce at the store, mix it in with the home made applesauce and call it a day. There will be plenty to go around and the home made flavor will shine through and make the whole bowl of apple-y sauce extra delicious.

And now here is the rambling-less recipe:

Homemade Chunky Applesauce

8 medium Granny Smith apples (or other tart cooking apples)

2/3 C sugar (You can use a bit less.)

3/4 C apple or orange juice

2 T margarine or butter, melted

1 t. cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in slow cooker

Cover and cook on high heat setting 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until apples begin to break up. Stir well to break up larger pieces of apples.

Serve warm or chilled. Serves about 6.

The recipe adds: “For a pretty delicate applesauce that is packed with cinnamon flavor, stir in 1/3 cup red cinnamon candies during the last 30 minutes of cooking.”

Sarah

Sarah had a good day at school yesterday and even went to her girl’s group at church last night. I can tell she’s not up to full strength but she’s definitely made great improvement. Thanks for all your encouraging words to her during her down time.

The Sew Sew Edition

I can’t tell you all how much I have enjoyed reading your sewing skills stories! Some of you are incredibly gifted in this area and some of you are, well, just like me!

It was also interesting to read the range of ages represented and although it does seem to be true that most of the more accomplished sewers are fifty or over, I was encouraged to read of a resurgence of sewing interest among the younger crowd.

It’s just nice to be reminded that I’m in good company, and that I’m not the only one that hyperventilates at the thought of doing anything beyond sewing a simple hem.

Thanks so much, everyone, for chiming in and sharing your stories; I love getting the chance to get to you all and love seeing you all get to know each other!

Comments

Jojy wrote: With a caring (though a tad hirsute) nurse that Snowy is, Sarah will be back to herself in NO time! When I get feeling puny sometimes, I wish I had Nurse Snowy nearby!! Get well Sarah!

Jojy, I just have to say that I was thrilled to read a word in your comment that I didn’t know. (I love learning new words!) I immediately looked up hirsute and discovered it meant “furry.”

Thanks for expanding my brain!

Anon asked: How many days until The College Dude (TCD) will be back home?

Nathan (and his girlfriend, Meagan) are due back home next weekend and will stay for almost a week. Hurray!

Sarah and Mrs. Sew Sew.

Sarah

Sarah made it to school today and since I haven’t gotten any phone calls from the school, it seems like she may actually make it through the day. She still had a tough day yesterday but by bedtime, she had gotten some of her pizzazz back. This morning, she her lips and face were very pale again, but the color came back a little after she’d been up a while. She said she felt strong enough to try and make it through the day so off she went! (Leaving a forlorn Nurse Snowy behind.)

Here she is taking her temp yesterday. (Which is why she is sitting sort of funny, waiting to take the thermometer out from under her am.)

Thanks for all your kind-n-happy wishes for her in the comments section; we’re blessed that you’re part of our Smithellaneous Family!

Mrs. Sew Sew

Mrs. Sew Sew? Yep, that would be me.

Because the longer I live the more I discover that my sewing skills are rather, um, sew sew.

To illustrate, here is my Facebook post from yesterday:

I just sewed a button on Steve's pajama's and another button on my pants and I am exhausted. Sewing is so not my gig. My limit is two buttons a year so I guess I'm done for 2011! (Just don't tell Steve.)

After I wrote that entry and read some of the responses, I got to thinking about the whole sewing/mending deal and wondering how many people even do that sort of stuff any more.

Would I be correct in thinking that women over fifty are more prone to mend things and even (wonder of wonders) sew stuff from scratch then the under fifty crowd?

And since my brain has been mulling over this for a few hours now, I thought I’d ask you all to jump in with your studied and inimitable opinions.

First of all, rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 concerning your level of sewing skill. A one means that you run screaming the other direction at the very thought of picking up a needle; a ten means that you are capable of sewing and/or mending just about anything.

You can even back up your number with an example or two which would be quite informative and entertaining for the rest of us.

And then (if you don’t mind), let us know what decade you’re in—30’s, 40’s, 50’s, etc. I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular skill may be disappearing a little more with each generation and it’s really sort of sad because mending something is a pretty cool thing to do if you actually know how to do it.

Which I don’t.

I can (sort of) sew on buttons and (sort of) hem a pair of pants. And that’s why I would rate my skills as sorta “sew sew.”

So I’ll go first and say that I’m about a 3 on the Sewing Scale. And I’m in my 40’s.

Your turn!