Halloween

Sat night I went to the Halloween costume party at the Blue Moon.  Spouse had no interest in dressing up as usual, so I let him off the hook by saying I didn't mind if he wanted to stay home.

Hopefully I don't need to tell you who I dressed up as:

"Mother Darling, I really do feel that this is the best costume for the day."

If you click on the photo above you may be able to tell that my skirt is upside down, with the belted waistband near my knees, the the hem is safety pinned at my waist.  I patted myself on the back for this detail which I felt added authenticity.
 
I had a really good time at the party!  My friends Rick & Lisa were there:

Little Edie, Pimp Daddy, and Foxy Brown

There were lots of clever and elaborate costumes and make-up:

Roxy as a Disney movie character and Jeremy as the Snow Queen

Brian & Damien - check out that make-up!

My friend Clay as Divine!

Some unknown party guest in a cute Boy George costume

Little Edie in the house!

Little Edie with a bearded hooker who'd been in a car accident

An unintended consequence of my costume was that I was unable to go to the bathroom the entire time I was dressed up.  You see, the skirt was safety pinned to my turtle neck, so I couldn't let the skirt down without unpinning it.  I tried to pull the skirt up, but due to its belted waist, it wouldn't go above my thighs, and there was no room for my hands to go up under the skirt to pull down the stockings.  So, I had to 'hold it' until I got home.

Weekend

Hope you have a great weekend too!

Beardy boy

21 Things

I tend not to do a lot of memes, either here on my blog or on facebook.  I mean, sometimes they're okay but do I really need to know which states you've visited and which you haven't?

But I saw a meme recently I thought worth including here because it tells you more about me.  I'm not going to tag anyone; just do it on your blog if you feel like it.  Enjoy!

21 Things I Like (in no specific order):

1. soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies
2. riding in a convertible
3. being at the beach
4. GLBT films (even those with low production values)
5. changing my hairstyle
6. eating out with friends as a social thing
7. my iPhone 6plus
8. mid-century modern furniture, decor and housewares
9. watching home improvement, real estate, and house flipping shows
10. hosting an annual Christmas tree trimming party
11. cream cheese
12. cars from the 1950s and 1960s 
13. going for walks, with and without our dogs
14. writing and address Christmas cards
15. dark chocolate
16. Indian summer
17. singing 
18. cosmos (the cocktail)
19. wearing shorts and flip flops
20. chihuahuas
21. Reese's peanut butter cups

Just because

Hostile

Friday

Beardy boy

Showings and offers and contracts - oh my!

Wow, work has been so busy for me!  Being a real estate agent in a beach resort area you'd think I'd be crazy busy all summer long and then things would cool off when the weather cooled off.

Not so!  In the last 2 weeks I showed dozens of properties, and just this week I've written 5 offers!  I don't think I've ever written that many offers in a single week before.

And while I'm certainly not complaining about being busy (remember I don't get paid unless I go to closing), I just kind of wished this wasn't going on at the same time as Frank's passing.  On Sun when we were in VA I excused myself a couple of times to take work phone calls and close some deals.  I felt bad that I couldn't just spend the day with the family.

Looking at this from a different perspective, the timing of all these deals closing in late Nov and early Dec will mean that we will have the ability to be a little more generous when Christmas shopping, and will still be able to put away money for my quarterly tax payment.

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

Just because

VA visit

Yesterday Spouse & I packed up the dogs and drove back to VA to spend some time with the family.

Prior to cremation a family member must 'identify' the body and sign an authorization.  The hospital suggested that any family members who wished to see Frank for the last time could do so during this visitation time.

I chose to stay behind with our nephew (home from college for the weekend) and our neice's 11-month old baby while the rest of the family went to say goodbye.  I felt no need to see Frank's ravaged body 1 last time, and I knew there'd be a fair amount of crying from their mother, so I spared myself from joining in.  

After the brief visitation, everyone returned to Spouse's sister's house and we ordered Chinese food and pizza.  The mood was considerably lighter than I'm sure it was during the visitation, and we discussed plans and dates for the memorial service.  

We left in the early afternoon so as not to get caught in the football stadium traffic.  Shortly after returning home we met up with Steven & Thad for an easy dinner.  It felt like a long day.

Frank

Last night about 10:30 Spouse's eldest brother Frank passed away after a 3-year bout with cancer.

Spouse, his siblings, and his mother were all able to spend time with Frank earlier this week, although no one is sure if he was actually aware of this or not.  There was nothing more that could be done to manage his pain, so to be 'kind' to him Frank was heavily sedated.  He would awaken now and then, look at his family in the room, and attempt to speak but it made no sense and he drifted back to sleep.

During my 20+ year relationship with Spouse we were never what you'd call "close" with Frank.  His lifestyle was very different from ours (heavy smoker, heavy drinker, recreational drug user, etc.) so we didn't have much in common with him.  Yet, the death of a sibling is still difficult, even if you aren't close.  It reminds one of their own mortality, and sometimes makes one question if there were something they could have/should have done differently.

Despite our differences, Frank shared our feeling that Family was very important.  He always made an effort to be with his family for all the holidays, birthday parties, baptisms, first communions, and any other special event. 

Frank was divorced for many years and had no children so the family made the decision to have his body cremated.  A memorial service will be held in the near future.

Beardy boy

National Coming Out Day

Yesterday was National Coming Out Day.

The foundational belief is that homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance, and that once people know that they have loved ones, colleagues, or neighbors who are lesbian or gay, they are far less likely to maintain homophobic or oppressive views.  For more on the history of National Coming Out Day click here.

I remember well the first few years after I began to come out.  Initially I told my family and just a couple close friends.  But when I heard about National Coming Out Day and considered the good it could accomplish, I made it a goal to come out to at least 1 person every year on Oct 11.  

Rather than a formal announcement of "I'm gay" which I felt had the potential to make people feel as if they had to respond in some way, I chose a more informal approach.  I would simply allow this information to find its way into a conversation.  If I were talking with someone at work and they asked if I'd been to a new restaurant, I might respond "Yes, my boyfriend and I went last week and really liked it."  To me, this did not put the other person 'on the spot'.  They could acknowledge my coming out to them or not.  That didn't matter to me.  What mattered is that someone now realized that they had a gay friend, and hopefully wouldn't participate in hurtful language or discriminatory behavior toward the GLBT community.

Nowadays I really have no one to whom I can come out.  Everyone already knows I'm gay because I don't hide it.  Its a part of who I am and organically comes out in everyday conversation with people.  And I do believe that this behavior and the National Coming Out Day movement has helped move the GLBT community into the mainstream.  Just this week I called to purchase an insurance policy and after giving my name and details, the salesperson asked if there was anyone else who should be on the policy.  I responded, "Yes, my husband."  The salesperson didn't miss a beat and then asked for his name and details.  While there is still work to be done in achieving true equality, I believe National Coming Out Day has helped.

How have you participated in National Coming Out Day?

Just because

Thanks to BosGuy for this delicious-looking man.

Anniversary

Last night I attended the Blue Moon's 35th anniversary celebration.  In case you're new here, the Blue Moon is a restaurant, bar, and performance venue where I perform musical impersonations in the 'Legends' shows.

As a paid performer I was given several complimentary cocktail tickets which was a nice touch.  They also had delicious passed hors d'oeurves for a couple hours, then slices of the multi-tier anniversary cake.  

Entertainment was provided by a full band and the resident singing diva Pamala Stanley.  It was a very festive and quite fun time!

Pamala Stanley singing before the band

I saw and chatted with lots and lots of friends and people I know.

Rick & Lisa - I love these two!!

Rick, Lisa, and me

Me and Brian

Me and Nate

Confession

I have a confession to make:  I LOVE pumpkin spice products.

Pumpkin spice coffee.  Pumpkin spice coffee creamer.  Pumpkin spice muffins.  Pumpkin spice cookies.  Pumpkin spice cream cheese.  Pumpkin spice oatmeal.  Pumpkin spice pancakes.  Pumpkin spice cereal.  Pumpkin spice frozen yogurt.  Pumpkin spice peanut butter.  Pumpkin spice ice cream.  Pumpkin spice cheesecake.

Yes, yes, and YES!!!

While I hate the end of summer, my disappointment is tempered by the knowledge that pumpkin spice season is right around the corner.

Beardy boy

Flu shot

Steven & Thad and Spouse & I went for our annual flu shot this week.  Our local GLBT community center hosts nurses from the local hospital to administer free flu shots 1 day every year, so for the last few years we've been going together, getting our flu shots, and then going to dinner.  That kind of makes it more fun than just getting a flu shot and going home.

Have you gotten your flu shot yet?  People DIE from the flu every year, so be sure to get your flu shot!

Just because

Fall

I'm a firm believer in not rushing holiday decorations.  But since its now October and we're technically in fall, I decided it was OK to set up my little tribute to fall and the harvest season.

 
These pumpkins were given to me by my friend Thad.  He got them (free) from a colleague's garden.  I like the variation in size and colors, although I believe the green will eventually turn orange, leaving me with 3 orange and 1 white pumpkins.