Holiday Cards and Thoughts On Marriage - A Tangent Into Some Family History

I didn't get quite as much done on my cards yesterday morning as I had planned, so I'll be trying my best to finish Stage 3 and maybe even start Stage 4 today before I open the store. I'm quite pleased with what I've got so far, and I'm really liking the way these will come together. I always have a bit more time on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I'm not in the pool - I'm using the treadmill at home instead. I'll take advantage of this little extra time and get to the shop as early as possible to get some serious work done before I have to start my day. 

We still have leaves to rake, so hopefully DH can get the 
last of those taken care of. Otherwise, I'll probably end up 
having to help him on Sunday which will be much colder 
and will have rain/snow mixed. He's already gotten a lot 
of them raked up, the front yard looks great. We often 
end up having to work on the upper back yard in poor 
weather, though. 

Today is going to be a very nice day for DH's day off, we'll be in the 40's, even the upper 40's by the end of the day. He wanted to get a bunch of things done today, so my hope is that he actually accomplishes something. From today onward, we'll be dealing with falling temperatures again, so he'd better take advantage of today. 

I've always enjoyed the image of deer around 
the holidays, despite the fact that the deer and 
my garden are not very compatible. Still, I'll 
probably put deer somewhere in my cards. 
They are beautiful creatures, despite their 
destructive tendencies. 

I'm busy thinking about final decisions on my cards. I don't have to make those decisions for a few more days, but it's always good to review the options in my head before committing the resources. I don't have room for errors. My materials are an exact number and I'm not willing to order more because I messed up with this or that. 

I'm curious. What jewelry do you always wear? I usually wear a set of earrings, my wedding ring and I often will also wear my mother's first wedding ring set (her second, much larger one was stolen from her in the care facility shortly before her death). Both of these rings are rather plain, mine is a single solitaire diamond, not very large, but of good quality, her first one was a thin band with five flush-set diamonds in a plain gold band. Each is accompanied by a gold band of matrimony. 

I have a simple Tiffany setting like this (although all 
in yellow gold). The diamond is relatively small. 
We were both broke. In fact, I bought my own ring 
because I was working and DH hadn't found a job yet. 
I think the entire package was $250 total, and yes, 
we got a decent deal from a friend of the family. 
It's not large or ostentatious. But for me, it's 
perfect. I don't need "in your face", I have other 
rings for that if necessary. I think it's perfect. 

I remember my mother telling me that they were in a horse-driven carriage, carried around the central plaza of Vienna after their marriage. Apparently that was traditional at that time, despite the Great Depression that was worldwide. Mom's father was a physician, so they had money. Dad, however, was destitute with no real job prospects and no family except his sister, my Tante Hedda. Mom was marrying below her station, and her parents were quite unhappy with her decision. But she adored Dad, and Dad worshiped her for his entire life. It turned into a good marriage, but not without bumps in the road. 

It was tradition in those days, for the newly married couple 
to be paraded around the main square of Vienna in a 
horse-drawn carriage. Of course, given that this was the 
early 1930's, horse transportation was still the more common 
method of getting from here to there. My Mom remembered 
that ride for the rest of her life, and told me about how 
wonderful it was. Given that it was January in Vienna, I 
have some doubts it was as wonderful as she remembered. 

Well, I guess I ended up on a tangent. I'm going to get my day started and wish all of you a wonderful Tuesday. I have every intention of returning tomorrow before I rush off to the swimming pool. Enjoy your day, be kind, and tell someone that you love them. It may be just what they need to hear today.