Party time!

Thanks for all of you who came to our engagement party last Saturday. We felt very loved by all of the faces that made time in their packed schedules to met Simon, celebrate our engagement and kiss us goodbye again.








We spent the day decorating the house with fresh flowers, rearranging furniture, and handdrawing a timeline of our relationship. Dick and Dee were the first to arrive and it was nice getting to sit down for a bit before the mad rush began.

One thing that I don't like about hosting parties like this is that all of the conversations are interupted by an empty platter, or a new guest arriving. I constantly felt like I couldn't settle down for a meaningful conversations. Parties like this remind me of school openhouses where everyone wants to talk with the teacher all at the same time.

Overall the night was a big sucess and actually a miracle. My whole family made the two and a half hour drive up from Portland.My sister flew in from San Francisco. I was a little anxious about having my divorced family all together in one small room. We prayed for my mom to feel comfortable and that she would be able to be herself and that my dads would be able to interact. Well, it was so great because all of our prayers were answered. My dad and Tommy spent most of the night together talking, laughing and teasing Simon. After talking to both of them the next day they both said that they had a great time and enjoyed eachother company. Tommy said they have a lot in common. My mom found her space in the kitchen helping Abby clean and refilling the food platters. She also spent some time relaxing and mingling with my
friends.

I was also really pleased to see how well my family was getting along with Simon. He got to spend more time talking with them than I did. And he is offically accepted because they teased him relentlessly.

Once again, thanks for coming and thanks for supporting and loving us.
Cheers until the next time we meet!

Nights that make it all worth it

All day I was looking forward to hanging out with some of the coolest people I know in Tacoma. Around 6:20 Simon and I bundled up and and walked over to the artistic haven of the Llewellyns. A couple seconds into the door Deb announced they were starving and dinner was ready. We sat down to a table which breathed artistic inspiration into me with each place setting a different color bowl and unique shape, with candles acting like a table runner down the table and crusty cheesy bread to dip into our steaming soup.

Simon and I have told our story a couple of times a day for the past month and half. After a great lunch with friends were I retold our story like a stoic, passionless, salesman we agreed that Simon would get to do it the next time. Even your favorite Sinfield episode if seen 100's of times get old after awhile. But, tonight we enjoyed our time sharing. Instead of draining us we interrupted each other adding in missing details, we laughed and we were smiling when it was over. What a difference!

After dinner was done I saw Simon creaking his neck into the direction of the family room that houses a couple of towering book shelves. He and Tom walked through the house talking about quotes, authors and rare editions. Tom was the perfect guy to encourage Simon in his writing and one of his favorite passions, books.

For four hours I didn't move from my cushioned window seat. I got to fill Deb in on all of the scoop of who we had seen over coffee, lunch, and walks. We ended the night by looking at the Beautiful Angle posters Tom and Lance collaborate on. This was one of my favorite parts being caught in a swirl of artistic expression and hearing Simon exclaim that he wanted to do this in Byron Bay.

Walking home Simon said that he felt sane again. I agreed.Just being with them in their house makes me want to run home and do art. What a great feeling. Unfortunately we can't take the Llewellyns home with us to Australia but this interaction makes me long for the artistic, hippy community even more.




One of my favorite posters by Beautiful Angle called Hole.

Snow Shoeing

While in Tacoma Simon and I have been staying with Tim and Abby Isaacson and it has been really great to have a home base. We can let our suitcases explode without worrying about them being in anyones way. It has really warmed my heart to see Simon connecting with some of my best friends. I'm going to miss picking our next Nextflick order, debriefing about our days over delicious home cooking, and being comfortable enough to make fun of each others idiosyncrasies.



This past weekend it was around noon when we finally had the car loaded with our snow gear. We spent the morning gathering mixmatched waterproof wear. Simon looked ridiculous with black water resistant slip pants bunched over his jeans. Since Simon is used to the dry bush environment it was his one desire to tromp through snow.



Our two mile snow walk stretched into hours as we had a lot of intermissions for a snowball snacking your back or freezing chills as it slided down your jacket. The snow had this magical effect on us turning us from 20 somethings to elementary children. It was great. And for once I felt I had an equal advantage when defending myself because with help from the snow shoes with one push I could send Simon tumbling.



We had a great time as we ended our day in a pub to celebrate St. Patrick's day over chips and pints of amber beer. Our time here is quickly coming to an end and when the 26th rolls around it will be a teary goodbye to loving friends and snowy, wet adventures.

Shelly is awesome!

Dashing through the Gauntlet

What a beautiful day! The sun made a star appearance today and I got spring fever. I changed my outfit three times today because I finally got to bust out the short sleeve shirts and flip flops. It was a great break from the rain.

Last night Si and I were talking about this rigorous schedule I had arranged for us. We decided that we didn't need to be putting ourselves through the social gauntlet. It is difficult because I want to see so many of you but I want to enjoy doing it as well. It has been exhausting for both of us as we met and introduce ourselves to some of my favorite people. Constantly the best foot has to be put forward. Constantly we are telling and retelling the story of our meeting. Constantly we are packing the car and driving to our next destination. Gratefully, we have a wonderful base here in Portland and in Tacoma as well. Instead of packing, driving, and charming we are going to spend a couple more days at my parents home.

It has been really good for Simon and I to have this place with an overflowing refrigerator, space for individual time, and stimulating conversation with my stepfather who teaches at a university. This rest will do us well as we recuperate for another mad dash through the gauntlet.

But, I don't want you to take this personally. I have LOVED seeing those we have seen, and am looking forward to seeing those who will be seen. I love everyone of you and appreciate the effort and love we have shared.