Once upon a time, in a land inhabited by little people in little villages and large countryside, there was a little girl with long curls and large box of color crayons.  She called them Nellie curls because there was a little girl named Nellie who had long curls on Little House on the Prairie.  The little girl called her crayons Burnt Sienna, Midnight Blue, and Sea Green.
If truth be known, and it should always be known, whether in fact or fantasy, the little girl with the Nellie curls was not like naughty Nellie but much like likeable Laura Ingalls who lived in the little house on the prairie.
The little girl with the curls and crayons colored the life of everyone she met in the little land of Lilac Lane in Victoria, the place where she lived all of her growing up years.  She colored her mother Tickle Me Pink and Wild Watermelon.   She colored her father Mellow Maroon and Cool Cucumber.
When the little girl became acquainted with her little brother, she colored him True Blue and Mild Mulberry. 
Her backyard on Lilac Lane became Spring Green and Schutz Lake became Aquamarine.  Her friends were Perfect Peach and Cotton Candy and some were even Outrageous Orange.
Roving Red, the color of her bike, led her to the Victoria Dairy Queen.  Smooth Silver, the color of her skates, led her to the bike trails of Carver Park.  Boring Brown, the color of her first car, led her to the Chaska High School.
The girl with the curls had a rainbow of colors all her own.  Most evident were her primary colors of Real Red, Sky Blue, and Tiger Yellow.  Some colors were lacking in the little girl, colors like Envy Green and Charcoal Gray. 
The little girl with the long curls and large crayons grew up and colored other parts of the world, including that part on Warbler Lane in Eden Prairie.  She colored her townhome with tones of Daring Fuschia and Rich Mahogany and Bittersweet Memories.
And then the little girl met her handsome prince and they fell in love and got married.  The date was March 23rd, 2002.  Now she has a whole new batch of crayons to color her world on their farm near Northfield.  She has already used a lot of Barn Red and Apple Red and Rose Red.  The edges are squirted with Denim Blue and Dandelion Yellow.  God has touched every one of her colors and counted every one of her curls.
Whereas the little girl is the editor's daughter and the editor's "cartoonist" for over twenty years, you might guess that the story will not end with this edition of The Victoria Gazette.  Her palette appears to be black and white every month in this newspaper, but those who see and read between the lines will continue to see her work in living color.
In any case, we shall not get to the happily ever after ending of this little girl with the curls and crayons.  As with so many other stories of fact and fantasy, the moment is the treasure.
This photographic feature is being published, in part, in response to requests from far and wide in this land of little people and little villages and large countryside.  I will seize the moment.


EDITOR'S NOTE:  Photos chosen for the paper edition of the Gazette were by Joseph McDonald of McDonald's Studio in Delano.  If you want to see living color photos of "The Wedding," from a mother's perspective and camera, go back to the home page of this site and click on Sue's Album.  It's the latest entry!