34 Years

October 20, 1990.  That's when Tricia and I were married in Corpus Christi, Texas.  It's been a long time.  My wife happened to be out of town on the day of our anniversary as she was visiting her Mom in Corpus Christi and her brother who is in the hospital in Houston.  We agreed to celebrate the day after.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Blue skies, brilliant sunshine, crisp air with almost no humidity - a rarity in our locale.

We are creatures of habit, so we decided to do what we've done for the past 3 years.  It's simple, but enjoyable, and in these inflationary times, affordable.  After my work was done, we drove from Jennings to Lafayette at around 3pm.  There's a grocery store there that we like called, The Fresh Market.  We get a little shopping cart and push it around looking at all of the gourmet food items.

The store markets their specialty items well, and you are hard pressed to not throw everything in your basket.  Our goal was to put together a nice picnic basket with some items that looked good.  We got some Olipop Soft Drinks, strawberry vanilla and orange squeeze and a non-alcoholic Ginger Beer from Australia.  For appetizers we got shrimp cocktail and a container of Kalamata olives, feta cheese and marinated artichoke hearts.

We each got a bistro meal with sides and for dessert, a chocolate tuxedo napolean.  We spread out the picnic blankets, kicked off our shoes, asked a blessing on the food, made a toast and enjoyed the afternoon.  So good!  All of it.

We made our way to Girard Park.  It's next to the campus of University of Louisiana.  Cypress trees line the edge of ponds and people walked on walking trails.  We settled in the St. Augustine grass under a live oak tree.

We exchanged cards to each other and talked about lots of things, taking a long time to eat and enjoy the food, the weather and the time with one another.  Many times we rush through meals, but not today.

We talked about plans and goals and life in general.  We counted our blessings, thankful for what the Good Lord has given us.

We were so full when we finished eating!  We probably should have brought half the Napoleon home rather than finishing it off!

At last, knowing there were eggs to gather, chickens to put up, goats to feed, and a cow to milk waiting for us, we packed up and headed home.  What a nice day!

33 Years!

On October 20, 1990 my bride and I were wed in Corpus Christi, Texas.  It seems like such a long time ago.  We were both 24 years old.  We had no idea of what lay before us - both the good and the bad.  We just knew we loved each other and that was enough.  33 years later and here we are - still happily married.  

We're simple people and decided that we would do what we did two years ago.  I took a Friday off and we drove to Lafayette.  It's a 40 minute drive east on Interstate 10.  It was a gorgeous day.  We stopped at CC's Coffee and had coffee and lunch and a scone.  Then, I went shopping at Marshall's with Tricia.  She rarely is able to get me in a (clothing) store, but she did it.  We went to Natural Grocers for some specialty items we can't get in Jennings and then...

We did our new anniversary custom.  We went to Fresh Market and picked out some delicious gourmet picnic items to put in our "Dorothy from Wizard of Oz picnic basket" and went to a nice park in Lafayette called Moncus Park where we laid out a blanket and relaxed.

We visited and slowly ate while soaking in the sun and watching the ripples in the pond.

Tricia had picked out the dessert that we got last time.  It is called a Tuxedo Napoleon Cake.  We split it in half and watched it quickly disappear.

Russ was staying with Benjamin while we celebrated, so we wanted to get home before too long, so we packed up our belongings and walked back to the car.

After 33 years, a lot of things in our world has changed, but my love for this woman has not.  I love you, Tricia!

32 Years Ago

On October 20, 1990:

• The price of gasoline was $1.33 per gallon
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 2,520.79
• The median household income was $36,659
• #1 Country Song was "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks
• George H. W. Bush was President of the United States

In other news, on October 20th of that year, Tricia and I were married in Corpus Christi, Texas.  We are simple people who are easily amused and entertained.  When I asked what Tricia wanted to do to celebrate our 32nd year of marriage, she had an idea.  She wanted to go together to Lafayette, LA, which is a 45 minute drive east and both go shopping in a specialty grocery store that has a lot of fancy shmancy upscale food items.  We were to pick out a bunch of things to fill a picnic basket and then go to a park and picnic and celebrate.  That's exactly what we did!

For our appetizer, we had artichoke parmesan dip and crackers with brie cheese and mushrooms on the side.  In addition, we had cold tail-on shrimp marinated in garlic and butter

We had organic fermented sparkling ginger ale to wash it all down

For the main meal, we had an Italian panini with bleu cheese potato salad and Mediterranean pasta salad

For dessert, we had a Tuxedo chocolate cake

On a nice secluded spot on a hillside next to some water, we laid out some blankets and unpacked the basket of food and started enjoying our meal and the great weather.

The food was decadent and delicious.  I was digging the shrimp!

Then it was time to eat cake.  The tuxedo cake had dark chocolate layers and vanilla layers and was rich and tasty.

We didn't rush through the meal, but savored the time, enjoying the company and the food.  We finished most of the food and were stuffed!

We were treated to a beautiful sunset in the west as we looked out over the water.  It was then that we counted five alligators that launched out into the water from the marsh grass you see in the foreground.  We were wondering if they'd flank us and devour us for a fancy meal of their own, so we decided it was time to leave.

On the way back to the vehicle I had Tricia stand by an ancient live oak tree that was lit up in lights.

The old tree has stood the test of time, just as we're committing our marriage to do.  Happy Anniversary, Tricia!