I Can Feel It

Gwen Bell is a person whose name keeps popping up. I first met Gwen Bell at BlogHer in 2008 in San Francisco. She appeared to me as an incredible virtual multi-tasker and I followed her blog and tweets until I dropped into that space where the focus was only on Second Seating. I considerit a fine example of synchronicity that Gretchen Rubin interviewed Gwen Bell for The Happiness Project and that I just happened to read that interview minutes ago.
Because in the last several days, I can feel myself seeing ahead to the next and the next endeavors, meaning 'What happens after Second Seating?' Well, a lot. We are happy when we do what we are meant to do. Gwen Bell does what she's meant to do and I did what I was meant to do with Second Seating.
I know that Second Seating was a warm up exercise. Yesterday, I shared an impromptu cup of tea with a friend and we talked about how she felt when I spoke at an evening gathering in the Second Seating space. Her response prompted my mind to take immediate leaps here, there and everywhere. Another friend reminded me about an offer I'd received ten days ago for help in writing a grant for an incredible new project. So, suddenly in the last 24 hours, I am truly engaged in what 'comes after Second Seating' and I am remembering that in the very first concept papers, Second Seating was a step on the way to many other endeavors.
Sometime in the middle of last night, I had a flash forward vision of myself as a woman in her 70s creating and managing a new business that involves making spaces that perhaps, for a moment or forever, change the people who enter them. Because in these spaces, they 'see' differently or feel an unnameable emotion or are overcome by words painted on a wall or a flock of flying chairs or an urban garden as gathering space.
There is so much more to come. Therefore, I need to eat vegetables by the truck load, walk miles every day and do a little house cleaning before it all begins again.
And wasn't it nice to here about Gwen Bell this morning and know that it is time for me to read her book The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web amid all the other things that are gathering on the 'to do' list.

Yes, I Attended Last Weekend's Wedding

A very few have asked if I was at the wedding because they didn't see any photos of me. True, I am usually behind the camera lens. So here's a photo of the three of us siblings. John is flanked by his older and younger sisters. His 'older' would be me.
And below is a very short unintentional video that was made when I was really trying to take a simple still photograph of the fabulous felted roses given to me by two wonderful women friends when Second Seating opened. The wedding was the first time I wore this rope of roses that could double as a jump rope. Just so you know, I tried it out as a jump rope in the hotel room and yes, it's long enough and the most beautiful jump rope I ever used. So, here's the video and it ends up going right down the bathtub drain. So much for film making.

Just a few more wedding photos

This morning I wrote an entire post in the Oakland Airport, sort of sizing up the weekend and thinking about this family gathering. But it didn't save and it's gone. I've never lost a whole post before. Not the end of the world, of course, but it was a nice conclusion to this wedding weekend. So instead of a wordy post, here are some more photos. Things and people I noticed at this wedding. Here's this incredible car that was parked outside the church. Was Chris to drive Heather to the reception in this or have someone drive them? Car is fabulous. Maybe it belongs to a wedding guest? We told the grandchildren not to touch it, no fingerprints, no.
Here are some shoes and legs I kind of liked. And this photo of the bridesmaid table and Charlie Bean who affixed himself to that table. And finally a photo of the 'throwing of the bridal bouquet.'
I'd like to upload more photos, but the system has suddenly developed issues so that's it for now.

One Lovely Wedding

Here's the link to wedding photos. Special thanks to all of the four parents who made a beautiful wedding for two very special people. Heather and Chris, my very best wishes to you both.

Two Different Worlds

Morning before the wedding? We're all in this hotel together. But in two different worlds, depending on whether you're tending kids five and under or are a member of the wedding party. Mary and I were up on 6:00 and downstairs for the buffet breakfast. The number of folks at the table grew and finally, it was pool time for the grandkids. There are four pools here. All of them different. One for serious laps, one for hanging out, one's a wader and then there's a hot tub.

So, this morning under a brilliant blue sky , the girls and I spent time in two of the four pools and the kids were in the water for almost three hours.

In the midst of all the splashing, I took a break and found Kate, there in the hallway on her way into the 'bride and bridesmaid's laire.'

And what a different space it was. Filled with young women and two moms in stages of dress and undress, hair being upswept and blush and eye shadow making each woman radiant. All were readying themselves for the wedding.

Seriously different atmosphere from the one with sweet grandchildren splashing in the pool. Hey, it was good to be reminded that we're all here for a wedding.

All A Blur

The bride and groom were beaming as they entered the rehearsal dinner after, you guessed it, a thorough rehearsal at the church. Both wore new western shirts and boots and were applauded after my sister Kate very graciously welcomed all of us assembled in a party room that even had the Texas flag on the wall. Chris may call Seattle home, but it's clear there's a part of him that never left Texas.

The evening is a blur, filled with hugs, short conversations and those four grandchildren and grand niece Peyton who were overtaken with sugar fueled energy and the wonder of it all. Add in great fatigue (my fatigue) and photos taken without flash (my photos) and you get a sense of true sense of 'blurry'.

The kids are crazy about the hotel's long corridors. We are all bedded down on the fourth floor and our ramped up children run up and down the hallways ceaselessly. I would sprint back and forth on them too, if I were their ages. It's a veritable track. We have not yet prevailed upon them to run silently. They also took over the lobby before we all left for the party. High energy.

And Lauren was really into the ice chest and for a while, seemed to be carrying bits of ice everywhere.

So here are a few blurry photos of what was for me me a blurry evening and I wouldn't have missed a moment of it. Here's Kate with Brenda and her family - all the way from Florida.

The groom-to-be with Jeanne, Tanner and Peyton and below, here's Kate with Perry, a college friend from Cornell days. Their friendship goes back forever.

Here's Denny's older sister Kathy from Florida sharing photos with Caroline, who by the way, made her scarf from a thrift store sweater - lots of surging ability here.

It's lovely to be with all my family. There are two that aren't here with us and, yes, they are missed. Steve and Queta, we're thinking about you from time to time.

Wedding Weekend: Chapter One

The clans are assembling for this family wedding, flying in from many places. Houston, Portland and Seattle, of course, plus Florida, Massachusetts, California and South Dakota. Chris and Heather will be married tomorrow and it's a very big weekend for us all.
Continental doesn't fly into Oakland so I found myself on Delta, landing in Salt Lake City and changing planes. I was to meet Denny's sister Kathy in Salt Lake 'in the bar next to the gate.' Hadn't seen her in over thirty years, since the kids were little.

However, I never saw a bar, but then I don't look for bars in airports. So we didn't meet up until baggage claim where Denny and Kate picked her up for the ride from Oakland to Walnut Creek.
I took a shuttle to Hertz where Jeanne and Dan and kids had a car waiting to drive to this very nice Renaissance Hotel where we met John and Trish, Tanner, Greg, Carrie and Peyton and crowded around a big round table for grilled cheese sandwiches and Cobb salads. Have no idea what my brother and sister are discussing so intently, but there they are. Probably directions to the rehearsal dinner?

It's after 4:00 now and Caroline's just landed. Plane delayed and hopefully, she'll arrive with Charlie Bean and Lulu Bell before 6:00, but there's Friday afternoon traffic to deal with.

We'll have barbecue for the rehearsal dinner this evening. Chris wanted a touch of Texas, a bit of going back to his roots, and so it may be. I'll bet the groom's extended family will be comparing it to Houston's Goode Company barbecue and wanting it to be Texas 'good.'

I am eager to watch and participate in this gathering of the clans. There are always subplots and specific sensitivities that factor in, but we're smart folks. We'll make it a lovely time for this special bride and groom. So young, so very young and bright eyed. I'm looking forward to this wedding that has brought so much family together.

A Touch of Melancholy

Did I write that title? What's going on? A touch of melancholy? That's what it feels like right now as I slow down, days after the close of Second Seating. I spent most of the afternoon reading a new issue of Vanity Fair in bed and then wandered into the kitchen for more peanut candy. Actually, several times I wandered into the kitchen to break off pieces of a 'Dickies' peanut pattie and slowly crunch away.
Several weeks ago, when my sister was visiting, she introduced me to this candy, which is made in Tyler, TX. She searched for it, telling me she ate 'Dickies' peanut patties when she was an intern at Hermann Hospital. Said they were a terrific combination of sugar and protein which kept her going. I've eaten a third of a six inch pattie and yes, it's very good. I can now recommend 'Dickies' peanut patties to friends. Not sure though, whether it kept me going this afternoon. I guess it may have kept me from sleeping?
Back to the title. A touch of melancholy? What did I expect when the pressure of keeping a visual arts exhibition up and running stopped? Actually, there is still a lot to do. Such as Art Crawl on November 21 - the very last time Second Seating will be open. And then there is the dismantling of the show. A huge job because things go to so many different places and spaces. And there are as many as 100 letters I want to write to folks and companies and organizations to thank them for their support, their contributions, their willingness to say 'yes' when I called for help. It's not over until it's over and yet, it feels different. All the rest of the work will take place in another gear, one that is a bit unfamiliar.
So, perhaps it's a good thing that I am flying off to Oakland early tomorrow morning for Chris and Heather's wedding. My sister's son and his bride are young, very young, just out of college, about the age I was when I married. My daughters all attached themselves to partners much closer to their 30th birthday than their 20th.
This wedding will be populated with the young. One of the lovely things about the weekend is that I'll see folks I haven't seen in decades, like Denny's two sisters. I'll see my three daughters again and all the four grandkids. Charlie Bean has a velveteen jacket that he loves and wanted to wear to school. The weather is fine.
But even with all these good things, I still feel a touch of melancholy. There is a glass of cold white wine by my keyboard. It's from a bottle of the same wine served at the opening of Second Seating and throughout the month of evening gatherings. I've taken a real liking to this wine called River Rock White from Oregon. Fruity, almost like a Reisling, but not quite.
I think the thing to do this evening is make a CD with photos of Aggie's son's wedding at Sisterdale. Just the act of editing all those photos will be this day's creative act and perhaps, this empty feeling will loosen its grip. I'll take another look at the stuff I've put in the suitcase and then call it a day.
It's dark now and almost 6:00 p.m. That sky of vibrant mauves and rose is gone. I hear dogs barking and far away, a train sounds its horn. The wine is good. This is what's going on right now.