All I knew about my New Year’s present from Ales was that it was something spectacular. Every time we had guests in December, he’d take them to his laptop and conspiratorially show them, to the sound of inevitable WOWs.

It didn’t arrive -in two big, heavy boxes carried by grumpy UPS employees-  until the two days prior to NYE. Our friends Allan and Ulorin came over for the big reveal, which elevated the suspense to a fever pitch. I battled layers of cardboard and styrofoam in a pair of rather impractical heels until…

…a massive, gorgeous, sparkly-black telescope emerged. The women observed and fetched sustenance while the men labored to construct the beast.

It was all very manly.

I can honestly say this is the best present I’ve ever received and wish The Incomparable Ales lots of luck in topping it. I still squeal with delight every time I feast my eyes upon this glorious machine.

It’s a full moon tonight – hopefully the sky will be clear enough to get a closer look!

                          

And now, to celebrating the finer things in life.

Another favorable aspect of my Denver journey: hangin’ with these love-beasts. Introducing Filya, the eternal Labrador puppy intent on showering the world with adoration and saliva, and Kuzya, the deceptively lithe three-legged cat who insisted on sleeping directly on top of me the entirety of my stay.

FEEL IT.

                          

Are you married to Ales? / Are you and Ales getting married, or what? / Are you engaged?! / Did you get married, or engaged? / You are to have the marry?

I didn’t accidentally post photos of incriminating wedding gifts by accident – have been meaning to break the news sometime this month, and this is a good place to leave off on, before my no-blog week begins. So – Yes. And Yes. Also, Yes. To tell you the truth, we got married last June, in a microscopic civil ceremony.

Pictures by Andrew Yoon, he also took these of the post-wedding mini-feast.

Marriage today is an odd thing. It will grant you joint health insurance [haay!], but does it really mean anything beyond a handful of legal benefits and playing house? I think it can. Ales and I knew we wanted to spend our lives together the moment we saw each other in Paris. To do that, we needed to get married, because he’s a Czech citizen. Would we have gotten married if circumstance was different? Mhmmm. But why? Is a partnership invalidated without some form of commitment ceremony? Of course not. I am of the opinion that people can happily spend lifetimes together without anything of the sort. It’s just that we wanted to do it. Because a ceremony is nothing less than a missive to the universe saying, “I want this, always.”