Two Letters

Dear Maybe-Dress,

We need to talk. You have been getting bossy and demanding , and this must stop. First, you tricked us with your color (I mean, who knows what color "Pavlova" is anyways...?), now you want shoes that match , and fancy jewelry. What will be next - some crazy veil or headdress? You were supposed to be low-maintenance , lets get back on track - OK ?

Dear Mr. Cohen at the Israeli Embassy,

Thank you for your kind help today. I'm very sorry about all the nasty things and light profanities I may or may not have muttered under my breath. I'm also sorry I didn't really believe you worked there ( This whole legal marriage thing is a little stressful-you know?). Thank you for really going out of your way to help me - for this I am truly grateful.

Sincerely,
Y.


*disclaimer : photos of dresses above are for illustration purposes only. None of them are the maybe-dress.

Martha and I say goodbye

So, I thought we were doing pretty good with the wedding planning. So far we have a maybe-location, maybe-catering, and tentative date. I also have a dress I will maybe wear. Good to go - right?
Then after a round of self satisfied, congratulatory backslapping, I made the mistake of looking at Martha's checklist, which is enough to send even the most relaxed hippie into a state of cardiac arrest. Apparently, I am WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE ! there are little {!} icons next to all the things I should have done long ago ! I do not have a color scheme for my BIG DAY! I have not looked at dresses in many shapes and hues for my flower girls! I have not finalized ...anything... The score at the top of the page now reads 0/54, and this cannot be good. She also sweetly suggests that I may want to " to join a gym or get a personal trainer to give you some motivation ". I guess this is what you get for snooping around the interweb.
I think I will go back to looking at pictures of wedding goats* . As for Martha , we might just have to part ways. I'm just not sure if we really see eye to eye anymore.

* apparently, everybody has goats at their wedding, if not the casual alpaca or two. Roosters are also acceptable,and other farm animals are also OK , but obviously inferior.

photo's via 100 layer cake

Spring and Skinheads

The sun has actually been out for a few days in a row, and people are suspiciously charming and kind to one and other in the streets *. A few friends have complained of a strange sense of happiness and well being. I think this can only mean one thing... against all odds,
Spring has made it's way to Leipzig.


* with the exception of the drunken skinhead who got himself arrested under my window early this morning, and seemed mostly bitter.

escapism 101

1. Make a long and detailed list of tedious things that really need to get done. Extra points for bureaucracy, and even more points if the list includes practical and less glamorous details of either of the weddings you happen to be planning. Portable toilet rental? Hunting down notarized-apostilled-translated-into-German copies of your birth certificate, anyone ?
2. Stare at the list and wonder what flowers will be in season in September
3. Pile several heavy books on top of the list
4. Google "vintage wedding dresses" or "good food in Positano , Italy"


photo of the fabulous Mimi Weddell

Happy Passover y'all

and next year in Jerusalem. I mean it.

Goats , Registries , and Marc Chagall

It never occurred to me to register for anything. Until generous souls started asking where we were registered, and until I saw this goat project ,
and then this explanation :

In Uganda, children with disabilities are an added responsibility for families already struggling to make a living. Due to the lack of understanding as to the cause of their differences, they are often feared and neglected because of traditional beliefs that their problems are due to "supernatural" causes. There are few support services and the children are usually not welcome in the available schools. As a result, children with disabilities are often hidden away to spare the family shame. With limited understanding about the capacities of children with disabilities, families have few expectations and the children have few opportunities.
After a child receives a goat so much changes!
The Give a Child a Goat Project elevates the status of children with disabilities and their families. A child with a disability who owns a goat holds a valued position in local Ugandan society, since goats provide families with a sustainable livelihood of food and milk. Caring for a goat gives a child self-confidence and pride and proves that he or she is capable of being a productive member of the community.
- The Polus center for economic development


Just so that we're clear, my motives are not pure. I've always wanted goats, but after one unsuccessful attempt at sheep raising , and a series of city apartments , I see no charming herds of goats in my near future. So this way I get my goats, the goats get to lead happy and fulfilling lives , and maybe tiny seeds of hope are planted where there was none. Sounds like a good deal to me.

The painting above is by Chagall of course , and I'm pretty sure he painted it just for me.
I leave you with this quote from "Notting Hill" :

“Anna Scott: I can’t believe you have that picture on your wall.

William: You like Chagall?

Anna Scott: I do. It feels like how being in love should be. Floating through a dark blue sky.

William: With a goat playing the violin.

Anna Scott: Yes - happiness isn’t happiness without a violin-playing goat.”

that is all

a literary break

Litany

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.

-Billy Collins

***

I've always loved this poem , with it's equal amounts of beauty and quirkiness.I humbly dedicate this to H. who understandably does not read this blog and would probably scratch his head but also happens to be very much the bread and the knife.

*watch a now legendary performance of this poem here
** swallow projection photo by one love via esb

paper goods and tyranny

The groom and Mother of the Bride have joined forces and cast their vote, but they conveniently forget that this is NOT a democracy... at least when it comes to paper goods. Otherwise it's all sweetness and light.

beautiful invitations from printable press

playing around with graphics for invitations while cheerfully ignoring the fact that using the time to actually find a venue might be wiser
= one happy camper

Anmeldung und Eheschließung

Tomorrow will be a Fun-with-a-capital-F sort of day, I can just feel it. Many things could make tomorrow special, but I have all my hopes invested in Leipzig's city hall , room 41 , where I have a Beratungsgespräch und Anmelding zur Eheschließung !! I know, lucky girl ! I am a sucker for German bureaucracy but this one is the icing on the cake. It's the second appointment in a string of joyfull occasions that build up to the moment where you're allowed to hand in your papers and apply for a marriage license . The first appointment being an appointment to get an appointment of course.
I digress....
Tomorrow, I will find out exactly what documents I need to procure in order to make it to the next level and will then be sent on then a series of challenges more fitting of a reality show like Survivor, or The Amazing Race. This is not for the faint of heart,
wish me Godspeed.


photo by Leo Patrone

good reading

"A Practical Wedding" is a blog with a real voice. Both intelligent and thought provoking this is one sane voice among all the others that seem to think it's perfectly normal for you to spend more on your wedding than the annual budget of a developing nation , that you need to look like a cupcake or sex worker to be a real bride, and that a marriage celebration without cupcakes, bunting and felt mustaches just isn't the same.

Founded by Meg Keene , and best described in her own words :
"It's about balancing feminism with weddings and married life; about wrestling with the cultural dialogue surrounding weddings and marriages; and about figuring out how to be a bride and a wife on your own terms."

enough said.

* Chagall inspired Ketubah from here

noun is back

A mere year or so later, noun is back for sporadic posting bringing you the madness that is intercontinental ( intergalactic?) wedding planing . a therapeutic outlet for all the ranting and the random insanity that seem to be par for the course. Be warned -it might not be pretty

* beautiful flowers by saipua . I've obviously been doing my homework with the wedding blogs