1929 Oakland

This is S, again. A few weeks back, we met some guy in an alley. He showed us his car. We gave him a check. He said that either he or his friend JW would pick us up in this car after the wedding and take us to the reception. K was skeptical ... because there are no seatbelts. So if all goes as planned, this will be our ride.

Rhonda Hair

This is S. I'm guest-blogging this evening. I just heard that Rhonda, one of my good friends from college, and her husband Peter will be attending our wedding. Rhonda likes to play with electricity (see below), so it should be fun. Please, nobody tell her what I am wearing ... because she will likely turn up in the same outfit.

Kittens and other critters

We took the kitten to the vet yesterday - she is a girl, healthy, FIV/Leukemia free and has received her vaccinations. We're taking her to an adoption event in German Village today - with any luck, she'll find new people!

This week also saw the arrival of a new Rodis

(Charlie, 6 lbs. 6 ounces)

and further progress on a developing baby

(will be replaced by a more recent photo when available)

Report on larger groups of (larger) carbon-based life forms...

We attended Oktoberfest last night, caused shock in my co-worker when I proclaimed "I love Reaganomics!" (a band, not the fiscal policy), learned who Saving Jane is, hung out with Mel, Melissa and company, and, as occassionally happens on weekends, discovered that living in Columbus is not half bad.

Poor timing, poorer cat

Doubtless, you realize we are suckers, eventually doomed to be three-cat-ladies.

Someday. But not today. Please.

We were talking with our neighbor (Troy) and heard a sad little meowing...coming from this creature.

Yes, this is our basement, and yes, s/he is currently living there. We don't have a lot of time to find him a home (what with our upcoming multi-national nuptials and trips to Japan/Australia...) - s/he's very sweet, cuddly, and is a kitten, as evidenced here...

So - if you've been thinking "If those Schmlloyds ever find a kitten who's sweet and snuggly, and they're really desparate to place it - maybe I'll take that cat" - it's your lucky day!

Seriously - if you know of ANYONE who wants a cat - please advertise this little guy?

Blogging rate

As you may have noticed...I didn't post much over the past month. Why? Yes, we have been busy, but mostly, it's because my ThinkPad finally bit the dust. I tried not ordering a new machine...and that didn't work out so well. So, I ordered a Vostro 1500. It came this morning. S charged the battery while I was at work. I read the manual. I started it. I set it up. S entered the wireless information. For 20 glorious minutes, we surfed. Everything worked - wireless, sound, video, and the picture was beautiful.

Hungry, I left my new laptop on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to make dinner. We ate dinner. I walked back into the living room. The computer was hibernating. How nice, I thought - energy savings pre-programmed. I hit the spacebar. Nothing happened. I hit return, nothing. Fine, sometimes you need to hit the powerkey. I hit the power key. The screen flickered. The screen came on. It looked like this.



And that is all it ever did. After an hour on the phone with Dell (no, really, I don't want to diagnose the problem. no, thank you, I don't think I do want another Vostro), I have printing labels. Once Little Bit decides to get off my lap, I will go downstairs and pack my new laptop back into its box. I will drive it to a UPS drop-off site.

And then, I will be laptopless once more.

Canada

Well, we've finalized our plans for the Canadian ceremony. We're getting married in Stratford, Ontario, home of North America's largest Shakespeare festival. We found out about the bed and breakfast through ssmarriage.com - they're one of a number of places that arrange wedding details from Americans coming North to marry. They've lined up an officiant, are obtaining a gluten free cake for us from a local bakery, and advising us on the requirements of Canadian marriage.

A happy coincidence? The mother and daughter who own the bed and breakfast are fellow celiacs, and the Dad bakes wonderful gluten-free things! (Not too happy, as I'm sad they're afflicted, but it is nice to know I'll get good things to eat!)

We'll plan to arrive early enough on Friday to get the license in plenty of time. That evening, we'll catch a play, see the city the next day, and we'll get married at 6:00 PM in the Tower Suite of Alban Abbey's bed and breakfast.

This will all take place the weekend before the Pittsburgh events - hopefully things will be going smoothly and we won't be too crazy (:

Rental Car?

You don't really need a rental car for your visit - there's a bus from the airport to downtown for $2.25 each way. We've hired a shuttle to take you to and from the hotel, ceremony and reception. And, there are museums and restaurants in walking distance from the hotel. For anything else you want to check out, you can take the bus.

(If this is not your style, that's fine, too, and the hotel has free parking. At least you know there's no need to drive to the reception!)

Just in case, though - here are the bus directions to and from the airport:

From the airport, hop on the 28X to downtown. The bus drivers in Pittsburgh are really nice - tell them where you're going!

You'll get off at the downtown stop - it's at the corner of Liberty and Wood. From there, you can either walk or transfer to another bus. The bus only takes you 4 more blocks - it may not be worth the wait.

Here's a map with the directions from the bus stop -

Walking Directions from Liberty Ave & Wood St, Pittsburgh, PA to 1247 Smallman St, Pittsburgh, PA

We can't wait to see you!