The coneflowers are opening and, boy, do they make me happy! It’s my favorite time in the garden because I like a cottage garden look and, to me, coneflowers are a cottage garden. And, since they’re self-seeding, the bang you get for your buck is fabulous.
Thank you so much for your best wishes on our 30th anniversary! We had a lovely day yesterday and we’ve decided that we’re celebrating through the weekend. We want to continue our celebration. We received so many well wishes here on the blog, as well as on Facebook and Instagram. We heard from actors and designers who were at that party, childhood friends, and a host of other friends and acquaintances from our lives in theater and music, my colleagues from the veterinary hospital, former students, and social media friends. All in all, it was very moving.
We had this idea earlier in the year and weren’t sure we would go through with it, but we did. It took a long time.
Then and now:
Don kept this shirt that he happened to purchase on that Fourth of July and he only pulls it out once a year. I kept my sweatshirt because I loved it, eventually using it while painting, as you can see. It’s still my comfort sweatshirt and I wear it when I’m not feeling well. So – both of us had our shirts from 30 years ago.
As best we could, we tried to recreate the look of the original photo, though I have no idea what I was doing with my hand in the original and every time we tried it, it looked like a fist, so I modified the pose. And the slightly shy look I had 30 years ago only served to highlight my double chins, so that got altered quickly.
Goal: lose some weight. I was too skinny in those days and Don prefers me this way; nevertheless, some dieting is in order.
We did all this while shooting a video and then we froze the frames when we found a good shot. Consequently, there was a lot of back and forth between us on the videos. Watching them made us laugh out loud. Boy, we sure are a longtime married couple!
Anyway, we are proud of us. Don had been married twice before and I was deathly afraid of any sort of commitment. Yet, here we are, 30 years later.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
So cute—then and now! Enjoy your weekend celebration.
Thanks, Shanna!
Stay safe.
then and now–great photos!
I wish you the best on your anniversary and yes celebrate all weekend. We don’t see many
couples celebrating these years very much. I think they are too ready to call it quits. But also
I don’t think they know the work involved to keep a strong, happy relationship.
All the best,
Marion Shaw
We sure work hard at our marriage, Marion! And it’s worth it.
Thank you.
Stay safe.
So sweet!
Thank you, Ellen.
Stay safe.
Of course…you must celebrate all weekend. Still can’t believe you have those shirts from so long ago.
Enjoy your weekend! ;)
I didn’t save mine because I wanted to commemorate that day – I just loved it and it was a great memory of my days teaching at Boston University.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
I love that you kept the shirts you wore on your first date! Very sweet! Enjoy your extended celebration!
Thanks so much, Barrie.
Stay safe.
I have two words for this post: delightful and charming!
The two of you are well loved and deservedly so..
Enjoy your celebration weekend.
Kaye
Thank you so much, Kaye.
Stay safe.
the coneflowers are beautiful, but even more so is the love that you and don have for each other. again many congratulations on the achievement of thirty years together, and best wishes for forevermore.
and those photos are wonderful!
kathy
ps … i have comfort clothes, too.
Thanks so very much, Kathy.
Stay safe.
Adorable!
Thank you, Wendy!
Stay safe.
LOVE the photos and recreation. Amazing that you both still have your original clothing! Happy 30, enjoy the weekend celebration!
Thank you, Debra! So nice to hear from you.
Stay safe.
Wowers, you guys are stunners. Where’s your red socks, Claudia? You don’t need to lose a pound, plus the camera adds 20-30 lbs on us. No, honestly, I think that you’re prettier now. You’ve got a hunk of a man. I threw away Mike’s favorite striped blue and white shirt early in our marriage and haven’t heard the last of that.
I wish my marriage was just like yours, but I love to sneak a peek at couples who are really in love. Maybe like Don, I need to try again. I think divorce is just too expensive now. Oh, well, I knew a woman who did her divorce online for next to nothing!
I guess I’ll keep Mike. He’d do anything for me and is so generous. Plus we’d have to split our black and white little dog in half and that’s just painful (for the dog)
No red socks in my sock drawer, unfortunately!
Your marriage sounds pretty wonderful, Irene. I’d hang on to him!
Stay safe.
I just adore the then-and-now photos! And that you have the same clothes. (I suspect Rick and I probably do too — we don’t change up that much! But we don’t have a wonderful photo like that!
I hope you had a good fourth. I had issues (political ones, which I blogged about today) but all to the good. And it was a nice day — one of the few good weather (or at least dry weather) ones we’ve had since we got north. Now, it’s onward.
Big smiles on you two!
Onward and upward, Jeanie!
Stay safe.
Love that you’re celebrating all weekend. Clever of you to restage your original photo of 30 years ago. Fun thing to do. Your cone flower is so pretty. Have a great weekend. Hugs, Elaine
Thank you, Elaine.
Stay safe.
It has been a while since I’ve read your blog, or commented. Happy Anniversary!
What compelled me to write was that I remembered you saying that you had never had covid. Is that still the case? I felt that I was the last person on earth who could say the same thing. That is, until last week.
Apparently the variant du jour is called FLIRT and is similar to other variants except for one spike on theat weird covid ball that is now missing. That missing spike makes this new variant extremely transmissible!
Last week 4 of us went to see Les Miz in Orlando and three of us came down with covid two days later.
I was supposed to visit a friend in a senior community that weekend and found out later that the community had been shut down to visitors due to covid!
So I am sending you this info just to acknowledge what’s going on in case you want to keep your covid-fee title safe.! Best wishes!
Thanks so much, Suzanne. We are still Covid-free, and we will definitely watch out for this new variant.
Stay safe.
dear Claudia/Don — great then and now pixs — don’t think either of you look very different maybe a smidge more gray ??? haha any long ago pixs of Mr and me (from the Dark Ages, haha) show my long auburn hair, totally in a flip (a la Jackie look) w/very mini miniskirt and long legs, lots of makeup, of course, very skinny. the Mr was all business w/short hair (b/c ROTC required it) jeans and sweatshirts (UK, of course). we are totally unrecognizable. Years have a way of changing everything when we’re not looking. thanks for sharing your pixs. hope you stay safe/healthy
A LOT more gray for me!
People used to ask me if I was anorexic, but I was just skinny!
Thanks so much, Linda.
Stay safe.
LOVE the picture(s) … such a fun idea! Happy, belated, 30 years since you met anniversary. I always enjoy that you and Don have so much fun together!
Thank you, Debbie!
Stay safe.
I LOVE the recreation of the photo! You both look adorable!!
Thanks so much, Jenny!
Stay safe.
CUTE!!!
Thank you, dear Judy.
Stay safe.
Congratulations. And you still have shirt and sweater from that time. 😊
Thank you, Regula!
Stay safe.