Shukie and I went to my home town, Ridgefield CT, over the Memorial Day weekend.  It’s been a long time since I’ve even just passed through, and it was fun to show him where I came from.  Not sure if it clarified anything for him….  It was a great place to grow up, and it still would be.  Not much has changed, a few new (gigantic) houses, the shopping centers are a little different, and they *gasp* allow colorful signs on Main Street!  But the hot dog guy was still there, the old high school was still ugly, though it is now surrounded by beatiful new buildings (kids these days are so lucky).  The house I grew up in looks different, a giant tree is gone and the front walk is now very formal looking.  Here are pictures of how it was then and how it is now.

We also went to my favorite park, where I took my first pictures in pursuit of art with my Dad’s old Canon SLR.  We ate giant sandwhiches from the deli that is still there and took Lula for a walk.  We visited my mother’s grave for an official introduction with Shukie, and we planted some pretty pink flowers for her.  Here are some more pics from our trip:

Amy & Lula at the park in my neighborhood

At my elementary school

Hanging out at the park

We are in the final stretch of wedding preparation — the last 2 months are gonna fly by. I have suddenly become an arts & crafts maven…I’ve spent so much time at the paper store and even bought an old-school paper cutter. I’ve tied many many bows and attached stickers to different things. I kinda like it…who knew? I had my first measurements for my dress this past weekend, another great experience. I highly recommend having a dress custom made, I know that the dress is going to be exactly what I want and fit me perfectly. We also went shopping for Shukie’s suit or tux…we may still be undecided, but he looked so handsome in everything he tried on. I just can’t wait to marry him!

Our invitations were sent yesterday…another wedding milestone.  Whoo-hoo!  Only ten million more things to go in the next 2 months!

We are in the process of selling the house I bought in Hudson MA 3 years ago…not very easy in the current market. It is a beautiful house, almost 100 years old, and I’m sure that someone will love it as much as I have. The house has one small-ish bathroom. When I moved in, it was a hideous purple with a black and white vinyl floor. I wanted to re-do the whole bathroom, new floor, walls, tub, vanity, but didn’t (when there is only 1, it is hard to deconstruct a bathroom while living there). So, I painted everything and put a new floor down. But, knowing that someday I’d gut it I made it bright and weird with a faux finish to mimic crumbling walls. Definitely not everyone’s taste. Shukie and I re-did the whole thing - carpentry, plumbing, contracting, painting, demolition. It was pretty cool. Now it looks awesome, and like the bathroom I had actually wanted when I redid it the first time. I just hope it helps with the sale! See the pics.

Bathroom Tansformation

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