hubby wifey

speaking of semantics, now that we are {legally} married, patty & i are having a hard time deciding what to call each other.  she calls me "wife" most of the time, but what to call her?  she doesn't really like to be called "wife," but then again, she prefers "husband," but it doesn't quite fit.  the origin of the word "husband" is from the old english & old norse "husbonda," literally meaning "house-holder."  so we could redefine the word to suit our needs.  however, if i refer to her as my "husband" when she's not around, folks usually assume i'm married to a man, which i'm not.  we both don't really love "partner," either, as it seems so, well, business like.  what about spouse?  that is gender-neutral, but awkward.  do we come up with our own words?  change the definition of the existing words?

gertrude and alice called each other "hubby" and "wifey," which i quite like. 

with all the talk of the word "marriage," and whether or not we deserve it, what do we call each other now that we have it?

first image by cecil beaton from "gertrude stein in words and pictures."

second image by carl mydans.