Costofwedding.com

Have you seen this site? You can enter a zip code or city name from anywhere in the country and get a look at the average wedding cost for that area. Here are some I entered:
Hartford—$33,700
Norwalk, CT—$56,740
Boston—$40,900
Springfield, MA—$26,780
Providence—$27,940
Brattleboro—$24,480

Chipmunk!

I’m at my desk editing last Friday when my intern, Fiona, says, “Tom, there’s a chipmunk in your office.” Now, I get a little freaked out by wildlife, especially when it’s indoors, but I managed not to startle until I actually laid eyes on it. Yep, right there, paused on my floor—a chipmunk. I followed it through my house, opened the front door, and casually herded it outside, with Fiona’s help.

About an hour later, Fiona had gone home, but the chipmunk had returned. Yes, back in my office. And since I was alone I was free to really jump when I spotted it. I thought it would be a simple matter of herding out the front door again, but this time, the chipmunk ran into the kitchen and under the stove.

I made a system of barricades in the kitchen to force the chipmunk closer to our open back door, but it took to hiding under the refrigerator, and stayed there until the next morning. I saw it beside the fridge, so we left it alone with our barricades up and the back door open. Several checks later in the day found no further sign of chipmunk. It seemed like a good opportunity to pull out the fridge and clean all around it, vacuum the coils, etc., so I can with certainty say it isn’t in the fridge anymore. We sure hope it found its way outside and is not lurking somewhere in the house, waiting to startle me a third time.

My favorite Connecticut wedding sites

I had posted earlier about my favorite Massachusetts wedding sites. Well, I shoot a lot of weddings in Connecticut, too, and I have some favorites there:

The Branford House, owned by the University of Connecticut, is a colossal building with a spectacular view in Groton.

The Gwyn Careg Inn, very romantic, has 14 acres of manicured landscape, including a majestic enclosed stone wall Spanish Garden. In Pomfret.

The Wadsworth Mansion, in Middletown, isa beautiful mansion with lovely grounds and a long, long lawn stretching out from the terrace.

The Hill-Stead Museum, in Farmington, has hilltop views of the Litchfield hills, expansive acreage, and a gorgeous sunken garden.

The Pavilion at Rocky Neck State Park, in Niantic, is a most original building with terrific views of Long Island Sound.