Friday we kind of divided and conquered. I did all kinds of stuff in Ann Arbor and Jenelle did the same in Belleville. She had a mid-day call that was pretty important, then we rendezvoused at her place and headed north to Lake Orion for an evening with Adelbert and Mike. We really liked seeing their house and the details they've put into it; mental wheels were spinning throughout the tour. There was also a great, great summer dinner outside on the deck looking out into their woods and talking about days ahead.

Today included a number of events. The first was our annual trip to the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market. We should go more often, but it has only worked out that we really wanted to on a trio of occassions - today we wanted fresh basil and found it. Then I had a haircut, a final haircut, marked by discussions with my stylist about 'what things my fiance has done to make this experience really special.' In the afternoon we took an impromptu nap with Ollie and then rallied for a major airshow, which I dubbed "Thunder over Jenelle's House." The Navy's Blue Angels are in town for "Thunder over Michigan" so we grabbed lawn chairs and found a spot in the park to watch them scream hither and yon across the sky over Willow Run airport.

A recurring event lately, for better or worse, has been discussions about the role of the groom in today's wedding. Family and friends have commented on how nice it is that Jenelle and I are doing the wedding together. Strangers have no idea how a groom is involved, and vendors often seem reticent to include him - sometimes outright not knowing who I am until Jenelle's name and the date come up. There's such a pop-culture, media-fed bridezilla and mother-of-the-bride inertia that we grooms barely get recognized, no matter how balanced the planning has been. The moral of the story is this: don't ask your soon-to-be married guy friend how his fiance is doing with the wedding plans.