saturday would find us scattering in direction, to family: chris to her brother's, angie with her mom, and tiff and i to her parents. chris creatively managed to prepare breakfast burritos with what i believe was only one egg, a candle, duct tape and a small ball of twine. we said our brief goodbyes, knowing we would be back in a few days, and we were on the snowy roads to the greeley area.

except it hadn't snowed around greeley. at all. not. one. speck. apparently snowfall is very picky in colorado. we arrived to meet tiff's dad at the homestead and headed into town to pick up lunch. ah, small towns... for those familiar with my hometown, picture something similar. yep. after some confusion over curly fries, we headed back home in order to watch UT finish off CU, 70-3. tiff's mom arrived shortly thereafter and joined us on the Tifftastic Tour of Tiny Towns. there is something to be said for seeing and experiencing where a person grew up... it gives you a clear basis for their insanity. and since tiff had the pleasure of visiting my own town and crazy family last year around this time, it only seemed fair that i should share in hers. in the last town we visited, jean persuaded us into browsing at an antique store, a favorite pastime/obsession of hers. the guy playing accordion -- or was it piano? i've blocked it out -- had me scratching at my ear canal with a rusty icepick, pleading for a swift end. but as it turns out, some of my favorite pictures were taken in that store. i could have stood at this old switchboard for hours, finding angles in the perfect light. fan-freaking-tastic. and i don't know what this is, exactly. but i like it.

dinner before the hockey game that evening had byron harassing the waitstaff, his usual behavior. then, after deciphering the flashing text on the big orange construction traffic signs [i'm not making this up: "handecap parking"; "handicup parking"; "genial parking"; "premiem parking"], tiff decided on a space somewhere in the neighboring county. we proceeded to shuffle in to the arena, motivated by the thought of shelter and warm beverages ["i'm all about hot stuff"]. mr. security guard waved me on with my forgotten contraband candy bars, and we settled into our seats. if we were any closer to the ice, we'd have needed skates: it's nice to know people who know people. even if those people give other people bunny ears, and christopher is forced to take a second picture of the other people after those people -- you know, the ones that know people -- after THOSE people get up to buy snacks. anyway. hockey is awesome, even if i don't have any idea what the hell is going on. or, because i don't. whichever. at any rate, the good guys won, fun times had by all. saturday: random enjoyment.

sunday i actually had to get up before nine, and we visited tiff's church from her undergrad days. good service. and also, one of the most hilarious deadpan church announcements i have ever heard. then out to a coffeeshop with funny signs and a creepy doll floating in acrylic and set into a hole in the floor in the middle of the room. yeah. I KNOW. coffee was good, though. after a quick shopping trip and qdoba lunch, it was back to church for a three-hour tour engagement party.

now, the prospect of any mingling at any place for any extended period of time makes me want to crawl under a desk and hide, much less the prospect of mingling in an environment where i will know approximately one half of one percent of all appearing partygoers. as it turns out, at no point did i leave the premises or start rocking in a dark corner. surprising. i survived, and it was fun to finally meet many of tiff's old friends from grad and undergrad. [disclosure]there was certainly no shortage of couples at this gathering... and it is an odd feeling, a very weary one, to be surrounded by people, constantly, all day long, and yet feel so ultimately alone. but then, that's a whole different post. one that crops up periodically, actually. certainly no shortage of those around here.[/disclosure] many, many people showed up to wish tiffany and christopher their congratulations and well wishes... a good day for the happy couple.

post-party plans brought us to a temperature-impaired italian restaurant, where to my delight, tiff's mom and aunt began telling disjointed stories while trying to stifle their uncontrollable and contagious laughing attacks. oh so fun! also of note was one of my favorite misheard quotes, loosely regarding slow cookers ["did you just say 'stripper cock pot?'"]. back home again, it was a lazy evening spent mindlessly watching tv. maria: mentally exhausted.

one more installment...