Look no farther. Check out the new post-wedding site that Adam put together.

I find myself torn. There is just too much to write about, today.

I want to post more wedding pictures I like. Like this one. And this one. And these two, too.

I want to talk more about the apartment. About how we managed to put up the big bookshelf, the one I helped Adam pick out on our “first date” (to IKEA). I want to tell you how great it looks with both our books, and how we’ll need to get another to house the rest of our library.

I want to tell you some things about being married, like how they are right when they say that it’s hard, but working through the hard bits is more rewarding than ever, because you know that in the long run, the guts and tears you put into working it out will make things lighter and keep crawling things from creeping into your relationship. And in the short run, it’s rewarding too, and you find yourself dancing and twirling with your husband in a coffee shop while you wait for your smoothie.

I want to talk about Yeats, poetry, personality, pilgrim souls.

But, unfortunately, all that will have to wait, because I’ve just finished the first draft of my first book. It’s sitting next to me now, open to the first page I began back when summer was still young. I thought that this would excite me. And maybe it will. But for now, it just feels strange. I don’t really want the story to be over.

That’s not to say I have nothing left to do with it. I already have dozens of things I want to carve into and big things I want to plop in. But a part of me misses writing the first draft. There is something so fun about about holding a blank page with no idea what is coming next and filling it with a story. I loved creating the characters, and places, and adventures. I really loved it! I know that the hardest work is yet to come, but if it’s half as rewarding as this first bit has been, it is so worth it.

This story is a children’s story, and it begins with two heroes, one human, one feline, who don’t know they are heroes yet. They get caught up in an adventure involving a butler, a rich old woman, a rich dead woman, a gardner, and a no-good grizzling sminks. Before they know it, they’re setting traps in mansions and eating goulash in the remote mountains of Hungary. It’s all very exciting, really. And just now, quite rough. But I can’t wait to see where draft two takes these heroes.

It’s been a great week. We had a cozy, wonderful honeymoon filled to the brim with long drives and amazing food. We drove up to Door County and stayed at the wonderful (wonderful.) Whistling Swan. Then we scooted across Death’s Door to Washington Island and the Washington Hotel. It’s also a culinary school that focuses on local and organic ingredients, so the food there was awesome. Even just bread (baked from the island’s wheat), butter (good stuff), and milk (so thick and fresh) was an amazing treat I couldn’t seem to get enough of. We also both really liked the quiet island. It was a lovely time.

Unfortunately, upon return, we found that our rental company made a glitch in our lease, so we are currently stuck in the bedroom of Adam’s old apartment filled to the brim with stuff we were planning to move yesterday into our new place. It makes me slightly claustrophobic at times, and hasn’t been a lot of fun in that respect. It’s been ages since I’ve had claustrophobic panic attacks, and I forgot how scary it can be, though, thankfully, these have been very mild.

But tonight, we bought a bottle of sherry to beat the claustrophobia blues. Adam smoked a cigar, and I smoked my pipe while we drank it and talked and watched the long, dark, cool rain fall. There was a soft ease to the evening despite loud music nearby. We delighted together at how the taste of tobacco and sherry melted on our tongues, the slow sips and breaths. The moment was small, but it was very sweet.

I’ve been married a week, and it has been wonderful. I relish the closeness and the safety I find here, the sweetness of being tied so tightly, the joy of embarking on something new and bright. Even as I read my vows and felt their weight in my mouth, I didn’t know that tomorrow would feel so different. I find myself surprised, yet again, by God and this world and this life, surprised by the width and depth of things. I love being surprised.

I wish you all a good night. If it’s raining, I hope it is pattering nicely outside your window while you are falling asleep.

The wedding…

was…

great!

And being married?

It’s even sweeter. It feels different, and it feels wonderful.

There’s an update on the wedding page. Check it out.

Guess who is coming all the way from Norway to see me get married (and probably also just to see me)?

It’s Tåran! My dear, wonderful friend. I am so excited.

How was your 4th of July? I think my favourite bit of this holiday is that when you drive at night, there are fireworks happening all around you and a thick, smoky smog over the street from neighborhood bottle-rockets. And there always seem to be good stars with just the right amount of clouds breezing by them, don’t there? I am quite fond of the 4th of July, for all it’s colour, noise, dewy grass, and crepe paper.

On a tip from Superhero Journal, I recently listened to a wonderful interview with Roald Dahl (get on the glass elevator to get to his interview). It was inspiring in all the ways I needed to be inspired, and chock-full of useful advice. If you are interested in writing, give him a listen. You may want to give him a listen even if you aren’t. He has the most wonderful voice, don’t you think? I love when he talks about how he got the idea for James and the Giant Peach. Peaches are lovely and squishy!

I am having quite a good time scribbling away at my own bit of a story. I’m beginning to think scribbling away is quite a nice thing to do. I also think yogurt is nice, especially with some blueberries in it. So, I think the only logical thing to do tonight is sit and scribble while eating yogurt. With blueberries in it. And maybe some honey.

Adam and I have gotten pretty sick of this wedding planning business. Pretty sick, indeed. The whole process just tends to get too materialistic for us. There are lists and websites and magazines full of things to buy and gifts to give and what to register for and it is just so centered on stuff. It stresses me out and, honestly, makes me just want the whole thing to be over.

Did you ever get sick of your wedding?

Today, I stumbled on this lovely Flickr photo set, full of silliness and flowers and fruit and banjos. And, this little photo set reminded me that weddings can be beautiful and fresh and real and sweet and silly. I so needed that.

And now, I’m excited again, and my brain is buzzing with menu ideas and visions of laughing people and berries and boxes of cereal.

Flickr, I am glad you exist.

Last Sunday, Janelle and I were stressing out doing our taxes while Greg and Adam were out rummage sale-ing. They came in smiling and Janelle and I smiled and then went back to stressing. And then we finished and were happy because we get money and they both gave us a strip of photos and a rummage treasure. Adam gave me a typewriter. And not just any typewriter. A typewriter that with high pressy keys that goes “ding.”  Isn’t that wonderful?!

And speaking of treasures, look what we’ve finally brought home.