What I Can Do With Toilet Paper

On Sunday, I drove over to Prospect for Miriam's bridal shower. Although I forgot my camera (grr!), I remembered to bring my cell phone, which has its own camera. Normally, it can take pretty nice pictures, but that assumes an operator who isn't flopping around like a fish on the high-dive. Also, I found it hard to balance the camera and my plate of coconut cheesecake.

Anyway. So the first surprise was that Miriam's baby sister Rebecca flew in from NM. Here they are, hugging it out:


And posing together, all pretty and coordinated: [please note Miriam's shoes ZOMG]


And here's Miriam, weeping. It's just not a shower unless someone cries.


The bride-to-be again, this time with her college friend Cheryl, aka "Cleo." Note the fabulous purple threads. Your humble narrator is jealllouus.


Miriam and her sister Caroline, reading the answers to the quiz about the groom-to-be. Apparently, he was born in England, likes to play tennis, prefers orange and absolutely must eat a burrito at least once a week. This was news to me, so I blew the quiz pretty bad. However, I spotted the misspelling of "haggis," so that's something.


I grant that this is a crappy picture. This is not a photo blog. Still, when I tell you what you're seeing, you'll understand why I had to post it anyway. Game #1 was a map quiz, in which we had to identify the location of the wedding (in East Sussex, England). Game #2 was the quiz about the groom. Game #3, which could not be escaped by going to the toilet for 5 whole minutes (ask me how I know) was to make a bridal veil from toilet paper.

What you see below is the bride-to-be modeling one of the creations. Now, although I had unpleasant flashbacks to girl scout camp doing this, there were 2 consolations. #1: I was in a team with "Cleo" and Rebecca, both of whom were great fun and surprisingly talented at toilet paper crafts. Of course, Rebecca is an engineer, so I suspect she could make a Maserati out of paperclips if necessary. "Cleo" and I provided snarky commentary.

Consolation #2 was that some of the teams made surprisingly awesome headpieces out of tp. These included the one below, an 80's style sideways cap with a puff in back and a little fluttering train. It was very, very Krystle Carrington.

Here's our final product. It was a braided headband with a pouf flower in back and a train, plus a small rosebud bouquet. We did not win.


Last, but not least, I got a chance to see the babies for a bit at the end. Like all stars, they made an entrance - more drama that way. Here's "Cleo" and Chloe, cuddling:


And Brando thinking Very Serious Thoughts about his purple balloon. Very, Very Serious.

It was a great party, especially because Miriam's Aunt Matie and her Grandmother were there. I love chatting with her grandmother, who met Miriam's grandfather during WWII (!!). She's full of fun, as is Aunt Matie.

Thank you, Miriam, Caroline, Rebecca and Mrs. Miriam's Momma. I had a great time.

[P.S. Erin - I hope Brock's feeling better. Missed you.]