November 18 – “Blah, blah, blah, chicken …”

Countdown to Chemically Enhanced Marvel-slumber … ten days.

Before heading to the wedding last night (which was quite the affair.  I had to wear a suit), we decided to take in a few of the sights.  Well, actually we decided to go to a big craft fair we saw advertised.  We had to drive for 20 or 30 minutes to get there, and we saw such sights as an armadillo “taking a morning nap” on the side of the road, an array of fully-four-legged cows, and the home of the Postma Puma football team.  The craft show was epic.  It was in a convention center next to the Cy-Fair football complex.  A very large convention center.  And it was packed with 150 or more vendors.  And not just that.  Just while we were there, literally thousands of people came through to check things out.  We did buy one thing.  A modern-art looking rendition of a manger scene made out of different colors of glass in the form of an ornament.  Very pretty.

From there we stopped for lunch.  Based on that meal, I guess I’m about done with Luby’s.  That place has always had a certain nostalgic appeal, since we used to go there all the time with Mom and Dad.  That image has officially been shattered.  Soggy fried okra and day-old-tasting chocolate icebox pie will do that to you.  Sigh.

Next we headed to the Keithley’s house in Magnolia to change for the wedding.  They live way out in the country, so there were some more sights to see.  A Christmas tree farm.  Heifers for sale.  Some Texas longhorns (the actual cattle, not people dressed in burnt orange, although we saw some of those as well back at the craft fair.  In fact we also some fans rooting for the Aggies, West Virginia, Ohio State, TCU, and even one for Baylor.  Gotta love College Football Saturday).  But my favorite was the drive-through nail salon with the nicely dressed mannequin pointing the way.  Absolutely frightening figure right there on the side of the road.  But Chris didn’t even notice the mannequin.  She was too engrossed in the concept of driving through to get your nails done. 

We had to take a short cut or two to avoid the bad construction traffic.  And as we were finally drawing closer to our friends’ house, our short cut was diverted by a sheriff in the road.  We weren’t sure what the problem was, but he was turning a vast majority of the vehicles back.  So we veered toward a short cut of the short cut.  Finally we figured out what was happening.  Our friends apparently live on the route to the Renaissance Festival.  And the sheriffs were stopping people from taking unwarranted shortcuts through residential neighborhoods that had complained.  As we finally got to the last road before our destination, another sheriff pulled us over.  “Where are you going?” he asked.  Somewhat frustrated by this time, Chris quickly called out, “NOT to the Renaissance Festival.”  He wanted to know a specific address.  I told him, “The one at the end of the blue line on my google map app.”  Not good enough.  I had to look up the actual address, and when I read it out to him, he was all thumbs up.  Whew. 

We made it back to the wedding in plenty of time, and everything went off without too many hitches, if you don’t count the power outage during the reception.  The groom’s Dad was amazing, however.  He had prepared for just such an eventuality.  He had a backup generator ready to go.  One thing I had never before seen in all the weddings I have done over the years … First, the groom escorted his Mom in.  That is common and very sweet.  But then, the groom’s Dad escorted in the bride’s Mom.  Actually makes a lot of sense.  The bride’s Dad is going to walk her down the aisle, and the groom’s Mom has her escort.  Why not give old Dad a job, right? 

At the reception we were seated at the same table as seven New Orleans natives.  Fascinating experience.  They were all very friendly, but they truly had a vernacular all their own.  Didn’t understand all their words, but it was sure a fun evening watching them all have fun.  The food was … interesting.  I have no idea what it all was – couldn’t pronounce it.  In fact they had a lady at the buffet table telling what everything was.  I heard, “Blah, blah, blah, chicken, blah, blah, blah, scalloped potatoes, blah, blah, blah, vegetables, blah, blah, blah, chicken, blah, blah, blah, wine sauce.”  Two chickens.  One was just a hunk of chicken.  The other one was some chicken rolled up and hidden inside a roll.  I picked that one.  I love a mystery. 

Psalms 116:7 says, “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

Father, be with Miles and Meghan as they continue their journey together.  Amen.