Bucky named February "Death Month"since it was in February that both of her parents died,
but this year I think we could call it "B Month". Over three weeks ago Laura got a brown recluse spider bite on her elbow and this past week two of Paul's boys had to get rabies shot because of a bat in their house - B for bug and bat. Other than that, it has been a regular month, almost completely snowless and ten degrees warmer than usual. What we don't have to pay for the fuel for the furnace, we are not putting it into the cars, as gas climbs up over $4.00 today when I drove through Red Hook.

My sisters and brother visited this week, and Diane brought me a slip of paper she had found. It was from the Covered Wagon Inn, the restauant I used after my wedding. The slip of paper had four items listed and noted 60 people for the date of July 8, 1961 - 51 years ago this July. Anyway, here are the 4 items: Wine toast - $18.00, Beer - $28.00, Cake - $24.00 and finally, the chicken dinner $153.00. The total was $223 and apparently, my father had made a deposit of $20. So, 51 years ago the total for the wedding food and drink were $203.00. I remember we had a piano player that charged $25.00. And that was it. My dress cost $35.00 and I borrowed a neighbor's daughter's veil. So there you go...A wedding for 60 people under $300.00. We had guests at the Bird's Nest last year that left their restaurant receipt for 4 people that came to more than that. The cake must have been special, it cost almost as much as the beer.

I could go back 51 years and say that gas was only 19 cents a gallon then, but now I am just getting silly.