Saturday, April 6

We were up at 7 a.m., so I could get ready to go to a wedding shower at 10 a.m. I opted to wear white slacks and an orange sherbet colored tunic. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and shortly afterward, I headed to the shower.

The home where the event was held looks very modest on the outside, but is quite spacious inside. The living room/dining room area overlooks a beautiful vista through floor to ceiling windows. The living room features a cathedral ceiling, and a huge fireplace.

There were only nine of us in attendance, which included the three hostesses, the honoree, and her Mother. But we had a great time. Had I known the hostesses intended to provide brunch, I wouldn't have eaten breakfast. Fortunately, I had my usual Cheerios breakfast, which is pretty light.

The brunch consisted of an egg/cheese/bacon quiche, topped with corn flakes, and baked in individual clear souffle' dishes, some sort of breakfast bread, chocolate chip scones, fresh fruit, and choices of orange juice, coffee, or water. The food was elegantly served on clear plates, with gold forks. Coffee was served in China cups. The water was in a clear crystal pitcher in which slices of lemons, limes, and strawberries floated. There was enough food to feed three times as many as showed up.

The honoree got several nice gifts, some of which were very creative. One person gave her the wedding invitation professionally framed. Very thoughtful. Another gave her several serving pieces engraved with inspirational quotes. One of the hostesses gave her jars of things that represented good wishes...sugar for sweetness of life, lemon seasoning for zest, etc. Very clever.

I was not very clever and opted to simply give a gift card. However, the honoree was very pleased with this. She's an extremely shy, unassuming young woman, who is not into fussiness. In fact, when I spoke with her after the shower, she bemoaned the fact that the simple wedding she requested has turned into a major production. She is so grateful that her outgoing mother and aunts have taken over the planning, because she said she didn't think she ever would have been able to carry it off alone. She is marrying a minister, so I can understand her feelings. I asked where and when the wedding is to take place, and she said she is sending an e-mail announcement about it soon. So I guess there will be no formal invitations.

Back home at noon, Mother and Hubbie were enjoying lunch. Obviously, I didn't want lunch. So I quickly changed clothes and headed to the college for the afternoon FilmFest features. There is a $4 charge for each screening session (four on Saturday, and four on Sunday), but I bought a $20 Red Eye pass, so I can see all of them for half the price. It's called a Red Eye pass for obvious reasons, since screenings go on all afternoon and evening on Saturday and Sunday, as well as a couple of noon sessions during the week, and two major screenings on Thursday and Friday nights.

Today, the first film revolved around a young woman who inherits a cabin in an isolated part of Montana. She leaves her husband for a week to go, with her baby, to the cabin, where a young man has been hired to do some repairs. She ends up being attracted to the man and has an affair with him. But when he becomes possessive, she becomes frightened. One morning, he takes the baby to the river without her permission, and when she wakes up to find him missing, she races to the river, snatches her baby, and rushes back to the cabin, where her husband has just arrived.

The second feature is about a man involved with a girlfriend who has just lost a baby. He decides to go on a two month hike. Along the way, he meets a woman he falls in bed with, a man and his son who have been abandoned by the wife, but who still loves her, etc. By the time he decides to go back to his girlfriend, she has given up on him.

Came back home after that, heated chicken noodle soup, and threw a can of biscuits in the oven, for our supper. Then hurried back to the college for a 6 p.m. screening. This one revolves around the wedding of a young woman. A cousin of the bride is trying to "find herself," which baffles her grandmother, who only wants her to hurry up and come drive her to the wedding. Why can't this granddaughter be more like the sweet one who is getting married? A surprise is in store for her when she discovers the sweet granddaughter is gay, and she has to adjust to it right there on the spot. All turns out well.

Hubbie joined me for the final two features, which were very heavy, because they dealt with drug dealing and addiction, poverty, abuse, and neglect. One was a portrayal of two boys and their drug-dealing father, which ends badly when the father, the younger son, and two police officers, are killed in a shoot-out.

The second film is a documentary that included poignant personal interviews with folks from the mountain part of our state and the adjoining one who are trapped in a cycle extreme poverty, causing neglect or abuse of children. The situation is perpetuated from generation to generation. The central theme of this film is "Can the cycle be broken?"

We were back home around 9:30. Hubbie wanted to finish watching the NCAA basketball games I'd recorded, so it was close to midnight before we were finally in bed.