Candles, a church, a woman veiled in white... You guessed it - I went to a wedding today! It was so beautiful that I found myself sniffling and dabbing my eyes within the first few minutes of the procession! That's a record if I ever made one. The entire wedding party was made up of close family members of the bride and groom, both of whom are my friends. Let me say props to whoever had the idea for the color scheme and designed the gowns! They were gorgeous - a deep, rich green (remember, I like that color) for the bridesmaids and cream-colored dresses for the three sweet little flower girls, tied with big green bows at the back and all wearing white flowers in their hair. The bride was radiant, beaming with joy, and the groom was standing tall with his brothers at his side.
I got to hear one of my favorite choral pieces in instrumental form, performed by the organist for Mary's Voice choir: St. Therese's "Canticle of Love", written by a Carmelite Sister. It was truly uplifting, as were the other traditional hymns and the Mass setting of Missa de Angelis or "Mass of the Angels" in English. We were all grinning as Fr. Jeremy held the microphone up for the celebrant who gave the prompts for the vows and then passed it in front of the couple to answer.
On a different note, I found something remarkable and absolutely charming in my inbox yesterday that I must share with all of you. As you know, knitting is one of my crafting hobbies. Some brilliant and creative folks have posted videos related to knitting on YouTube, and this is one of my favorites. It is true genius at work. Ah, the simple joys of knitting!
Tonight, I also had the pleasure of eating an unusual meal: traditional Vietnamese rice cakes (sweet rice stuffed with mung bean and pork, wrapped in banana leaves to hold their shape) with sauteed bamboo shoots, salty pork and egg, with dragon fruit for dessert (mmmmmm it was so delicious!). If you have never tried any of the above, you are missing out on some incredible flavors. No, it's definitely not gourmet. But home-cooked ethnic food is not to be passed over for something you could eat in a restaurant. Their construction and preparation is simple, and the presentation is colorful and nutritious. So the next time your Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai or Laotian friend invites you over for a meal, give it a try. You might end up finding something that you'll enjoy for the rest of your life, and that you might have missed had you said 'no'.
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