The Wedding of Amy and Bub

August 4, 2012

By K

Amy and Bub's wedding week ran smoothly, thanks to my family's famous planning. A several-page document listed the duties of the bride's family, the groom's family, and many friends. Mine included planning and co-hosting the bachelorette party, accompanying Dad to the airport to retrieve out-of-town family members and to the store to pick up his tux, being fitted for the bridesmaid dress Mom was frantically finishing, enjoying my brother's company, and making sure the bride was happy and our younger sister, caffeinated.

By K

I flew in Saturday. Mom sewed. I drank coffee, and tried the dress on when told.

By K

Sunday-Tuesday, repeat.

On Wednesday, Amy's new sister-in-law, Elena, and I threw a fantastic bachelorette party at Elena's house, if we do say so ourselves. We served carne adovada tacos (bringin' a little southwestern flavor to the northwest!), amazing homemade refried beans and salsa (thanks, Mariela!), fixings from all the gals, brownies from a box, and the hit of the night: an amazing sangria (I used a cabernet sauvigon and added peaches). We played a couple games, embarrassed her only a little, and generally had a great time with about 20 fabulous gals who love Amy to pieces.

On Thursday, Aunt Jody and Cousin Nik arrived from California and Louisiana.

Before the airport stop, I had a blast at Men's Wearhouse with Dad, and could not get over how schnazzy he looks in a suit. I was pretty disappointed, though, that Bubby didn't go with these:

On Friday, the whole gaggle of us descended on the church building to DECORATE. Their decorations were brilliant reds, golds, and purples, an homage to Amy and Bub's strong ties to Morocco. Flowing, rich fabrics draped for a tent, over tables, and around lanterns.

By K

Aunt Kristie and I learned that sometimes, when you are told to drape fabric on a table, and you take twenty minutes getting it just right, the bride will come by later and completely redo it. At that point, you just sip your lattes, smile knowingly at each other, and perhaps work less hard on the next decorating job you are given.

Post-decorating bash, we rehearsed. It was my fourth bridesmaid stint, but walking in a straight line when people are staring at you is still nerve-wracking. Our shoes were flat, bless Amy's dear soul, but juggling a bouquet, two dudes (I got the extra groomsman), and a full-length gown is tricky!

By K

The new in-laws hosted an incredible Moroccan rehearsal supper in their beautiful yard. Tagine, couscous, olives, chobbes...mmmm. We were surrounded by lanterns, Moroccan silver tea sets, and friends on a warm Washington evening.

On Saturday, we woke up early to go get FANCY. Amy and Mom zipped off immediately. Jenny and I took it a bit more slowly, and stopped for some elixir of life.

By K

Amy married into a family with two professional cosmetologists. It turns out that the convenience of this cannot be overstated. For next-to-nothing, the bridesmaids (and bride, obvs) got fabulous
up-dos. The bridesmaids did our own makeup, but Amy got the full Elena Treatment!

We put the dear in her dress...

...and set off to see the paparazza.

By K

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 We walked a lot. Through the woods.

  We almost died on a very rickety trampoline (to be fair, it was probably just fine without six adult females jumping on it).

By K

David's gonna keep our new BIL in line.

By K

By K

Finally, it was time to go the chapel! On the way, we stopped for more liquid courage. Natch. We had a lovely prayer time with Amykins, and waited for the go-ahead on the walkie talkie. Marching orders came, and we lined up for the big moment!

By K

 David's taking care of Mumsy.

By K

 Will Dad give her away??

By K

I always bemoan the fact that as a bridesmaid, I am clearly there for the bride, yet I get to look at the groom's face the whole time. Ah well. I love you, I suppose, new BIL. The ceremony went off without a hitch and was lovely. It was also under 30 minutes, so score!

By K

Them's got MARRIED.

By K

I witnessed it. Pretty sure.

By K

WE DID IT!!!

 

After clean-up duties, we whisked ourselves back to the in-laws' beautifully-decorated compound for the outdoor reception. Praise the Lord for the most beautiful Western Washington day you could imagine! Not a drop of rain fell on our merriment!

BFF Bethany drove down for the occasion!

By K

The food was incredible. Tri-tip steaks prepared by an uncle-in-law and a whole pig roasted by the husband of one of Amy's best childhood friends. I hear the cheesecakes were fabulous, but I was too distracted by keeping Amy fed, catching up with childhood friends, and dancing to their terrific music to try them.

By K

Oh and giving a speech. I hate talking to crowds of people. Here, I'm either overcome by love for my sister, whining about being in front of everyone, or feeling indigestion:

By K

The in-laws delighted us with a song, with an apparently naughty Arabic verse that no one would translate for us (Amy fully understood it).

By K

The newly-married couple had their first dances, visited with their guests, and eventually, ran off into the night! (Specifically, up to Whistler, Canada.)

By K

We danced the night away, grabbed some lanterns (Mom and Amy didn't want to keep all 100 of the jars they painted so prettily), stole sparkling cider off tables (we're rebels), and drove home to collapse from exhaustion.

Kind of like this:

By K

 No bridesmaids were hurt with the making of this wedding.

On Sunday, I made my dearest parents wake up before 6am to take me to the airport. Love yooooou.

By K

Congratulations, Amy and Bub! You are a beautiful couple, and may the Lord bless your marriage!

By K

(Pictures "By K" are by their official wedding photographer; the others are from my phone. If you want her details, let me know! Reprinted with permission from the bride. :) )

Opera, Southwestern Style.

The Santa Fe Opera is a unique and world-class opera house and company. Its season is summer-only, due to its breathtaking open-air venue:

The House, with its sleek and simple lines, was quite the contrast to the ornate velvet-marble-and-gold of the other venues I've visited. I appreciate both styles, but there's something incredibly special about breathing fresh air and watching such a beautiful art form against the backdrop of the high desert mountains and setting sun.

I determined before I moved that if I had to, I'd see an opera here alone. However, thanks to a very handy social networking tool, I found new postdoc friends for two operas, Maometto II and Tosca!

We were surrounded by gorgeous scenery:

(Maometto II)

 (Tosca)

For both operas, my groups participated in the long-standing Santa Fe Opera tradition of tailgating in the parking lot an hour or two before the performance. This is not your college football game's tailgating. Replace beer with wine, hot dogs with tortellini, red solo cups with...clear plastic cups...and...okay, I never tailgated in college. Not really sure what else is usually there.

Nonetheless, we had some truly fantastic spreads. Tosca's involved wine, pasta, an array of appetizers, salads, and cookies. We did not go hungry.

Maometto II's classy spread:

We had SHRIMP.

Intermission Anecdotes: the first evening, I braved the bar line for the traditional overpriced glass of champagne. The next evening, I braved the gift shop. Pro tip: go for the refreshments, not the souvenirs. The bar line was much less-scarily populated than the gift shop. Barely made it out of there alive. Calm down, classy opera patrons! Is that mug really so important to you?

On to short reviews!

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Maometto II: Beautiful and Tragic Star-crossed Lovebirds

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The weather was New Mexican perfect: clear and warm until the sun set, when it was just cool enough to make the packed house comfortable. We heard the balcony was super hot, but main floor? We were fiiine.

The set was fairly minimalist and muted most of the time...

...though there were some super cool effects in some scenes, like a big red wall that represented Maometto's tent, not seen terribly well in this picture, but I can't find a better one:

(source)

Short synopsis: "The opera is set in the historical context of the fall of the Venetian colony of Negroponte to the Turks in 1476. The Venetian governor Paolo Erisso intends his daughter Anna to marry Calbo, but she loves Uberto, whom she had met in Corinth. Uberto turns out to be Maometto II in disguise. Anna suffers a conflict between duty and love, choosing the former in marriage to Calbo and final death by her own hand as the Turkish forces storm Negroponte." source

While the whole cast sang beautifully, Anna and Maometto were incredible. Chill-givingly gorgeous, particularly Anna's strong and mournful songs when she realizes that her beloved is the invader of her country and plans to kill her father, when she decides whether to run away with him or stay and marry someone else, and then when she kills herself.

Maometto was GORGEOUS. (Anna was, too.)

(source)

Maometto II was the perfect introduction to the Santa Fe Opera. I was hooked.

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Tosca: Beautiful and Tragic...Star-crossed...Lovebirds...wait a second...

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A thunderstorm rolled in just as we finished our dinner and packed up the cars. We ran, in our finery and heels, into...the open-air theater. Our seats in the back of the main floor were completely shielded from the sideways rain, but the orchestra section was soaked. It poured up until five or ten minutes before the start time, when an army of ushers attacked the sopping seats with towels. Everyone was safely seated, if a little bedraggled, in time for the show to go on.

Now, immediately upon entering, I noticed the Stargate:

Am I right? Even an usher agreed with my involuntary exclamation of surprised delight! The set was intriguing throughout the performance. It may be my favorite ever. (Like, ever.)

The Stargate was actually an abstract view of the inside of a cathedral, looking straight into the ceiling. The actors walked all over an in-progress painting of the Madonna:

(source)

In later scenes, we're outside the cathedral:

(source)

It was mind-blowing.

So you see a couple of tragic operas and you start to realize that they have the same basic story elements. Gorgeous and innocent (or strong and worldly) girl loves handsome and innocent (or bad yet redeemable) boy, something terrible happens involving parents/police/armies/consumption, and most people (especially our heroine and hero) die in the end, after singing brilliantly for a few hours. Tosca's twist on the standard involves a vividly evil crooked chief of police, a murder/self-defense killing, hope, trickery, and a truly dramatic ending that brought me to tears. I was that invested. Excellent job, Puccini and SFO.

Here's the synopsis.

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I'm already psyched for next season, and waiting for the perfect time to buy tickets (after couch and bed buying). If you're a New Mexican opera lover (particularly one who already knows me) or an out-of-state friend who wants to visit, contact me and let's plan some Cultural Outings 2013! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEXT TIME: WEDDING

Wrappin' up the summer

Friends, spas, trails, rodeos, operas, weddings...the last half of the summer was a bit busy! That doesn't even cover work, furniture shopping, or house decorating. Or copious amounts of Netflix and Hulu viewing. Some of these are more interesting than others. Don't worry, I'll stay on the fun side.

So, White Collar and the Bachelorette. Can you BELIEVE...

...kidding!

This is pretty much a photo dump to catch us all up, dear readers. Even more photo-dumpy than usual. The fall months with impending actual couch arrival will be more conducive to blogging with words. 

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Friends
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Within a week of each other, I saw my favorite bethanys. The first visited New Mexico "on the way back" from a work trip to Florida (nothing says, "brief layover" like three extra flights). I was beyond thrilled to have my first visitor. She enjoyed my canyon:

From Los Alamos 2012

I introduced her to Oppenheimer:

From Los Alamos 2012

And we spent several glorious hours soaking in the mineral springs, getting massaged and prickly-pear salt-scrubbed, and eating amazing food at Ojo Caliente.

From Los Alamos 2012

Bethany was a saint and helped me shop for couches in Santa Fe. I'm enjoying this whole real-job thing! Previously, all of my furniture was free or Ikea. We found a beautiful non-Ikea couch that will be delivered this week. Furniture really does take its time...

The rest of our weekend involved lots of New Mexican food (she's a convert), shopping for the perfect turquoise earrings (she's still looking), and avoiding the rattlesnake museum in Albuquerque like the plague. It has cute tortoises outside, though:

From Los Alamos 2012

My house felt so quiet and lonely after she left! Thank heavens I saw her a week later at my sister's wedding. :)

From Los Alamos 2012

But before the wedding, I saw Second Bethany!

From Los Alamos 2012

She picked me up from SeaTac and took me downtown for lunch and wandering. (My family was at wedding in Oregon. Yes, the week before my sister's. Aaagh!) I discovered that the Seattle waterfront sprouted a ferris wheel:

From Los Alamos 2012

And also, that the Space Needle suddenly supports Princeton:

From Los Alamos 2012

(Or it went retro for the anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair.)

It was wonderful to catch up with her, too, and I hope Second Bethany makes it down to Los Alamos soon. :)

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Trails
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Los Alamos is situated on several finger mesas extending off the side of a supervolcano in the Jemez mountains that blew its top (much like Mt. St. Helens, only 2000 times bigger) a very long time ago. (This is my source, along with Wikipedia, natch.)

Mesas (and the Sangre de Christo mountains in the distance):

From Los Alamos 2012

  What's left of the volcano is the Valles Caldera:

From Los Alamos 2012

(source)

My new friend, Madi, and I have hiked twice in the caldera. We've learned that while we may feel okay down here at 7300ft, hiking up steep trails that begin at 9000ft is killer. But the views! The viiieeews!

From Los Alamos 2012

From Los Alamos 2012

From Los Alamos 2012

There's still a lot of damage from the fire last year,  but it's still pretty in a different way:

From Los Alamos 2012

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RODEO
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Several friends and I ventured out to the Los Alamos County Rodeo. The Fair took over the entire downtown and consisted of good ol' fair food and arts and crafts. No rides, sadly, unless you count the bouncy slides and paddle boats on Ashley (Pond) Pond. After stuffing ourselves full of dripping-with-grease french fries, we procured liquid courage and drove out to North Mesa to find some cowboys.

This is about how we felt walking into the dusty, gritty arena as scientists with our fancy espresso drinks:

From Los Alamos 2012

But this is Los Alamos. While there were certainly real cowboy-type folk, the majority of the crowd was of the lab variety.

The rodeo started off with a winner in Mutton Bustin':

From Los Alamos 2012

Sheep were set loose with small, brave children clinging desperately to their backs. The children did not last long.

On the sheep. They were unharmed.

There were the requisite bull riding, cattle roping, and barrel riding events. Besides the kids-on-sheep, my favorite moment was when the sole boy in the barrel riding couldn't get his stubborn horse to move. A nice cowboy pulled the horse around the entire course:

From Los Alamos 2012

Summer is not complete without ice cream:

From Los Alamos 2012

I leave you now with...
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Gratuitous Faraday Pictures
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SQUIRREL.

From Los Alamos 2012

SUNBEAM.

From Los Alamos 2012

WHAT?

From Los Alamos 2012

Just let me lounge...

From Los Alamos 2012

Yes, there are still cardboard boxes in my living room. My couch hasn't arrived yet! I don't have the motivation.

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Next Time
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WEDDING. OPERA.