The Return of the Anniversary Limerick

October 12, 1996

There once was a lad named Shawn
Who was looking to be Don Juan
Thoughts full of erotica
He would woo Veronica
Whose soft cries encouraged him on

Good afternoon. Today Shawn and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Okay in actuality the celebrating began on October 8th when we drove down to Bisbee. We spent a couple nights at the Bisbee Grand Hotel and then drove through Arizona wine country on our way to Tucson where we spent a couple nights at the Hacienda Del Sol and spent Monday at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Museum. I figured 25 is a big anniversary and Shawn deserved another limerick, but nothing rhymes with silver. And yes, I know I used a near rhyme with erotica and Veronica but I didn’t like any of the near rhymes for silver. Don Juan DeMarco happens to be one of Shawn and my favorite movies and Don Juan and Shawn rhyme so I went with it. Of course after 25 years of marriage I’m beginning to relate more with Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway’s characters than with the striking young Johnny Depp Don Juan.

Mr. & Mrs Shawn Hosking October, 11 2021

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#NaPoWriMo 2018 Day Eight

Jacob and Lindsey Wedding Alwun House – Shawn Hosking Photographer

Love Potion

Wedding
bride and groom step
forward to recite vows
reception happiness abounds
Allure

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Let’s take a leaf from Shelley’s book, and write poems in which mysterious and magical things occur. Your poem could take the form of a spell, for example, or simply describe an event that can’t be understood literally. Feel free to incorporate crystal balls, fauns, lightning storms, or whatever seems fierce and free and strange. Poetry is like that (at least when you’ve been reading Shelley!) If you’re in search of inspiration, maybe you’ll find it in this poem by Louis Untermeyer, or this one by Kathleen Graber.

Good afternoon and welcome back to #NaPoWriMo day eight. I slept in this morning so I got a lot start on today’s prompt. Any guesses where I was yesterday? Yes, Shawn and I attended a wedding and Shawn was one of the photographers. It worked out for me though, because another friend helped me with the buffet and kept me well supplied in beverages. I told Shawn he needed to pay him for taking care of me. It was nice not trying to balance a plate of food and walk back to the table. Of course I learned years ago, I don’t care how dressed up I am, my feet will be in sneakers. It just makes it easier to walk. One of the pictures Shawn took was everyone standing in front of Alwun House. I really tried to sneak to the back, but it didn’t work. Shawn showed me the photo, but I didn’t check to see if the sneakers were visible.

Well I have some housework to do since I’ll be starting work tomorrow and I won’t have all the time to procrastinate as usual. I can’t believe no one told me April 7 is no housework day. Actually made yesterday’s poem work out even better, but I was doing some housework before we left for the wedding.

Happy Anniversary

Wedding Dance

Wedding toast

My niece and nephew

October 12, 1996

Since both girls were on fall break, my in-laws flew down to visit over the long holiday weekend, and I think we had a fun-filled time. Friday October 6 was opening night for The Monster Menagerie at Alwun house. We went and saw Shawn’s artwork. Then Saturday afternoon everyone went out to eat over at PF Chang’s. You know you frequent a place too often when the waitress walks over to your table, smiles and says, Oh it’s my friends one Bloody Mary and Virgin Bloody Mary. Sunday afternoon we had lunch at Denny’s and then spent some time at Barnes and Noble. Monday morning we got up bright and early to drive up to Sedona and spent the day there walking around and shopping. Tuesday it was off to the movies and then dinner at Oregano’s in Tempe for Mimi and Poppo’s last night in Phoenix. Wednesday they shuffled off to Buffalo and Rachael headed back to school. Gretchen has the rest of the week off until her college class Saturday morning. Last Saturday her professor was impressed with her essay and I posted it on Facebook. The evil twin replied, Umm… it’s Saturday. Is it really?! Yes, the poor child has school 6 days a week.

Today Shawn and I have been married for twenty-one years. For our big 20th anniversary we spent the day enjoying The Ales on Rails train ride at the Verde Valley Railway. It happened to fall a couple days before our anniversary due to when Rachael had fall break and the train schedule. When I posted the photo of our trip on Tuesday, I realized I was short one limerick for year 21. At Oregano’s I noticed they had Italian wedding soup and I ordered a bowl. Well Shawn seems to enjoy taking and sharing the most unflattering photos. I told him he has no one but himself to blame for this limerick.

Foolish husband holds up camera and peers
through its lens until his wife sneers
he snaps a quick shot
and being a twat
shares it on Facebook to haunt her for years

And no, I am not posting the photo here so unless you are friends with me on Facebook, you will just have to imagine how unflattering my facial expression is. 😛

Riding the Rails

Here we are once more October 12th has swung around again. Today Shawn and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary! Wow where did all those years disappear to. Well five years ago, we took a week and traveled New Mexico, Santa Fe, Taos, and Ghost Ranch. Of course we wanted to do something special for twenty years. But now we have a child in college and not as much mad money.

Gretchen is on fall break this entire week. And Rachael had a short fall break with ASU. They had off on Monday and Tuesday. This gave Shawn and me an opportunity to get away over the weekend. Back in August, I was looking at day trips and found Ales on Rails by the Verde Canyon Railway. Oktoberfest lunch, beer sampling, and then a ride on the train. Perfect since Shawn and I took a train trip for our honeymoon.

Shawn & Me on our honeymoon

Train traveling through Canadian Rockies

Holding hands riding Scottsdale car

Verde Canyon Train Clarkdale, AZ

 

Shawn and I drove up to Clarkdale Sunday morning, checked in to get our train tickets, enjoyed an Oktoberfest meal and beer sampling, and then boarded the train. It’s a four hour tour of the Verde Valley while onboard, we had more food and drinks and then birthday cake. A lovely young lady was celebrating her 7th birthday and shared cake with the car. When we disembarked Shawn and I checked into a hotel in Cottonwood. In the lobby Shawn picked up one of those free magazines and noticed the cover artist was the featured artist in September for 9 the gallery. Two hours outside of Phoenix and we still read things about the city.

Gifts for 20th anniversary – traditional is china, modern is platinum. Notice the picture of our rings. Shawn insisted on a platinum wedding band twenty years ago; I figure I’m covered on that one. And traditional gifts in this relationship has turned into limericks. Be forewarned I’ve been married to this man for 20 years and it doesn’t take a genius to realize what rhymes with china.

 

Happy couple celebrates twenty years
ride Oktoberfest train sampling beers
too trendy for china
he craves her vagina
chugs over orgasmic crescendo and cheers

Beyond Nineteen Years

Frontier Central Senior Prom

High school sweethearts trust
they will be together long
after senior prom

Yes that is my husband and me in my senior prom photo. Today may be our 19th wedding anniversary, but we have dated and known each other for over 24 years. I posted my anniversary limerick yesterday. When I logged onto Facebook this morning, the prom picture popped up in the share your memories with Shawn Hosking because of our anniversary. And everyone knows by now I like to do the #haikuchallenge on twitter. Today’s word is trust.

Also I’m participating in the platform challenge #platchal at Writer’s Digest. We are suppose to comment on and share another blog today. I went over to Steph’s Writing and enjoyed reading the interview she posted with another blogger. Despite it being Columbus Day, both my girls are in school. Gretchen was off all last week for fall break. Rachael’s school follows the college schedule no fall break or Monday holiday for her. Although last week she had an oral presentation in her American Religions class and her professor said her group set the standard and the handout for the presentation was on graduate level. She is doing very well her senior year of high school.

Well Shawn did take the day off. Maybe I should spend some time with him. 😉

Happy 19th Anniversary

 

The Happy Couple

Horsing around

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There once was a happy couple redound
to silly antics and horsing around
all smiles at Oktoberfest
knowing they are truly blessed
for in nineteen years their love has abound

 

New York School Poetry

Wedding toast

Wedding Dance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nineteen years ago
Delaware Park Casino
Buffalo, New York

I’ve been perusing the ModPo MOOC and they will cover New York School. And yes folks, Buffalo is in New York not Canada. Although I do have to go to the post office to mail the RSVP to my friend’s wedding to Canada – no postage. Shawn said we could go Monday, but I’m feeling generous and I’m going to let everyone have a day off to celebrate my anniversary. In April of 2014, one of the napowrimo prompts was New York School. I wrote about all the lovely places we took photos on our wedding day. Then in October of the same year, Delaware Park was named one of the Great Places. Shawn and I were trend setters. 😉

Three more days and I’ll be posting a limerick.

Autumn Weddings

Shawn and my anniversary is less than two weeks away. I love October one of the things I miss living in AZ are the beautiful fall colors. But I don’t miss Buffalo snow so…

Yesterday a good friend from high school called out of the blue. He’s getting married next month. 😀 I asked him if it was October 12th (a really good day to get married) though since it is a Monday this year, I pretty much knew it would be no. Their date will be October 24. Unfortunately with less than a month’s notice, I can’t be there. But I did use the good news as inspiration for today’s #haikuchallenge

Libations flow free
Happily ever after
Autumn wedding bells

I’m, by no means, partial to October weddings. 😉 The limerick for my 19th anniversary has been written and being left alone. I looked at the one for last year. The rough draft written out was different from what was actually posted. We shall see if letting this year’s sit unread will inspire edits when I post.

Tomorrow is October. And Gretchen will be on fall break next week. Wow! the first quarter of her freshman year is almost complete. You know what that means?

Can’t wait for fall break
Sleep is in my DNA
No early wake up

Gretchen’s DNA model

A Long Time Ago…

My niece and nephew

In a galaxy…
er…um…Buffalo, NY
nineteen years ago

There they are adorable two-year-olds all dressed up for their Aunt and Uncle’s wedding. Wonder what happens in nineteen years?

My niece and nephew September 6, 2015

Wonders why he is
still single when he wears an
I pee in pools shirt

Ha-ha the #haikuchallenge word today is single. In case my nephew hasn’t figured things out on his own. 😉 This photo was perfect for a haiku this morning.

Yesterday we had a nice picnic at Nonnie’s house. Caitlin and Mack met again after almost 19 years. We also saw my cousin and uncle for a little while. And we had Sahlen’s hotdogs. Nothing like bribing your nephew to drive up from Fort Bliss with some good ole Buffalo, NY hotdogs. He’s heading back to El Paso this morning. He has a dozen hotdogs with him, hoping it’s enough for one cookout back there.

18th Anniversary Limerick

Steps of Rockwell Hall Buffalo State College

There once was a lad who wanted to court
a lass, who saw in his small stature no thwart
reaching only five six
he did quickly transfix
in one wink, eighteen years, breathlessly short

I’m not a fan of shoes.  Under that nice cathedral train, I’m wearing sneakers which were traded out for slippers at the reception.  Needless to say, I would be on my tippy toes all the time if I married a tall man.  When I read an article in Self Magazine on how short men make better husbands, I knew I found the perfect subject for my 18th anniversary limerick.