Celebration of Life Planning

I’m just shy of two months until this gathering, and the sense of urgency is getting real. I had a couple of wins today: The local paper can run a duo-obituary. Their online form doesn’t support this format. A note to the editor was all it took to learn that it can be done! A sort of win was getting a note back from the shellfish farm saying they would come to the venue and shuck the oysters for me, if I wanted, and to please reach out to the embedded email address to make those arrangements. Which I did only to have my outgoing note bounce 😏. I’m taking this stuff in stride as best I can. I wrote back to the shellfish farm asking for a different contact avenue.

In the ‘not quite there yet’ column I heard back from a local ceramic studio who cannot work with my father’s bisqued work. I have a few more places/people to reach out to. If they can’t, I’ll again contact our friend who has fired my dad’s pottery in the past. I’m trying to find alternatives as our friend has had some surgeries early this year. While he sounds like he’s doing well, having a fall back would be a relief. For him as well as me.

Also in the questionable category is my caterer. 😳 We met over three years ago on the ferry and always kept in touch. I haven’t heard from them since April. We usually toss notes back and forth multiple times a week. I’ve been sending happy/chatty notes every couple of weeks, but have nothing but crickets. My last note asked specific questions about the event. My next note will ask if they’re able to help with the event, and if they’re OK. If I don’t hear from them, I’ll write to say I assume they’re not available (and that’s OK). The menu I’ve created is handleable, the shellfish farm will come and shuck the oysters 😁, and I have the venue from 7AM to midnight.

I went through the electronic versions of my mom’s poetry today and chose 10 poems that make good candidates to create a printed remembrance for folk that attend the memorial event. I’m thinking about 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock folded in half to form a booklet. I’ll ask my DH to help me choose. He too is a poet.