The countdown is on. Three weeks from Saturday. I keep getting reminded about this little fact of my life on a daily basis. Hoo boy.

When I proposed to Susan on her birthday in April, we both decided we wanted to keep the whole thing simple. A simple marriage. Now there's an oxymoron if ever there was....

We're having the ceremony and reception here at "The Homestead." That's what we call our humble abode here in Larkspur. We sit on 5 acres. It's our little slice of paradise. Still sounds simple, eh?

Of course, to host 200 people we need a tent. A big tent. And a caterer. And a band. Maybe a porta-john or two. Alright, those can be lined up.

Of course, those two hundred people need invitations. My sister Sue helped design those. Susan has been working overtime getting them out. Easy enough, right?

A lot of those two hundred guests are coming from out of town. So they need a place to stay. Again, easy to cover, right?

Then the questions start coming in. The caterer has questions. The tent people have questions. The band needs a stage. And the porta-john people? Oh crap! (sorry, couldn't resist) We still need to call the porta-john people!

Susan's sister Cathy was here last week. She is an organizing machine. So now we have this cool 3-ring binder full of all these different check lists and reminders of what needs to be done and by whom.

That 3-ring binder scares the beejeezes out of me. I am not sure why. What started out in my head as a simple, get some family and friends together, buy a keg of beer, say I do and have a party, now is organized into folders and pages and notes and........HELP!

Deep breath. There, that's better. Clean up around the place. Move logs for my next project out of the way. Mow the meadow. Clean, clean, clean. If nothing else the place will get a good picking up.

One good thought. We have decided, from day 1, that this day is our day. Come rain, snow, or sunshine, life will be good. I am excited about that. My son will be home and is my best man. I am excited about that, too.

Our family and friends will be here. How cool is that? I am marrying the love of my life. No one needs to tell me how cool that is! It really is all pretty simple.

So, in three weeks we get hitched. A simple ceremony followed by a simple celebration. Easy money. Piece of cake........

Cake? Do we need to order a cake? And a guest book, we still need that. Beer wine, liquor? What are we going to do there? And the caterer still has questions. And flowers, what about flowers? And parking, and seating, and tables, and gifts for people in the wedding and...........

Relax, Mick. Deep breath. In, out. Another. In, out. There, that's better.