Tales of the Sissy

Just because

2012-01-24T21:15:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2012-01-23T20:25:00.004-05:00

Spouse & I had dinner with Steven Fri night at Captains Table. Thad was away visiting his mom.

I worked on Sat, as usual. Spouse & I had dinner Sat night with Steven & Thad at Ruby Tuesday. Love their terrific salad bar!

I worked on Sun too.

There you have it - the highlights of my weekend.

Friday fragments

2012-01-20T18:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Here is the painting I made for my client's home:
I saw this on facebook and it gave me a good laugh.I was absolutely amazed by the content of this video!! This is what research funding is for, to invent life-changing things like this.

A friend sent me this and I love it!

Remember the "Leave Brittney Alone!!" video that went viral in 2007? The 'star' of the video, Chris Crocker, has drastically changed his appearance since then. You won't believe what he looks like now! Check out the NEW Chris Crocker:Say whaaaaa??? Dayum, he looks hot! Check out this interview with Chris.

Here's another gem I saw on facebook:

As expected, my 2nd week's weight loss results were far less dramatic than the 1st week. I only lost 3 lbs last week, making my 2 week total 15 lbs. Now, I'm not complaining! I'm just sayin'.

OMG, if only Stephen Colbert would run for President!!

Here's another one that I would LOVE to have made into a t-shirt:

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Second look

2012-01-19T20:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I got the opportunity to go inside a home that Spouse & I almost bought 6 years ago. Only it didn't look a thing like it did when we were considering it.

When we were looking for a full-time home in DE I knew I'd be working from an office in our home and thought it would be great to have a water view that office/home. Water views don't come cheap so our choices weren't plentiful. We even considered homes that were not 'our style' and that needed updating, with the idea that we could always make the home into what we wanted as long as it had that view.

So we got pretty serious about this contemporary-style home because it backed to a lake and had its own dock. This is the back of the home.
I even drew a floor plan of the home, complete with a 2-story addition on the left side so we could add a proper master suite and use the existing master bedroom (near the kitchen) as a formal dining room. The 2nd floor of the addition would have another guest bedroom and an office that overlooked the lake.

But before we'd made a decision on the home, someone else purchased it. A few months later I felt validated when I saw the new owner was remodeling and adding on, just as we had planned to do. Today, the back of the home looks like this: Another of the remodeling projects we'd planned was to enlarge the kitchen space and put in a completely new kitchen, because the existing kitchen:was not "our taste". Again I felt validate to find that the current owner not only enlarged and replaced the kitchen, they even moved it to a different place in the house. This is what the new kitchen looks like:
The expansion and remodeling of the home made it almost unrecognizable to me. There used to be 3 bedrooms, now there are 5. There used to be 2 bathrooms, now there are 3.5. There used to be a combo living/dining space, now there is a dining area, breakfast area, and living room complete with a beautiful stone fireplace.

Its pretty amazing what you can do with a talented architect and a full wallet.

Accomplishment

2012-01-18T22:36:00.000-05:00

I feel a real sense of accomplishment tonight. Why? I finished staging my client's home and it looks great!

Keep in mind I had a very small budget to work with, and from this budget I:

purchased a gallon of high quality paint with built in primer
paid someone to paint 2 walls, 1 of which vaulted to about 20 feet high
purchased a chandelier with 7' chain and electrical cable
paid someone to change out a chandelier that was hanging from a vaulted ceiling
purchased a large 'focal wall' wall hanging and a large piece of art
purchased 6 decorative pillows, a dining table runner, 3 lamp shades, and 2 shower curtains

Once the client and I had boxed up their person photos and distracting nicknacks, the painting was done and the new chandelier went up.

Then I went to work, moving furniture, remaking beds, hanging the shower curtains, placing white towels in the baths, arranging glasses on the bar, hanging the art and wall hanging, replacing the lamp shades, and arranging neutral but pleasant accessories that belonged to the client and some on loan from my house. Spouse graciously agreed to help me this evening so it would go more quickly.

I'm extremely pleased with the results! All references to the dated seafoam green and mauve color scheme are gone. Now the seafoam and brown pallette reads as chic and modern. What do you think?

Before...
after...

Before...
after...

Before...
after...
Before...after...

Before...
after...

Before...after...I'm really hoping these inexpensive but extremely necessary changes will help the place sell more quickly. Do you want to buy it?

Just because

2012-01-17T19:35:00.001-05:00

Weekend highlights

2012-01-16T10:27:00.006-05:00

As usual I worked on Sat. but it felt like a short day because I was only in the office until 1:30. Then I met a client and we spent a good while at a new home neighborhood pricing out a new home with the sales consultant there. Afterward I stopped in at my client's place to check in on painter. Changing the color from mauve to medium brown made a huge difference. I told the client "Your home is feeling younger by the minute!" That evening we met up with Steven & Thad, Jack, 1 of the Bobs, and Joe P for dinner at Dos Locos.

Sun morning we had breakfast with Steven & Thad at Crystal. It was super cold and windy. Later Spouse & I did some window shopping and then he took a nap while I caught up on some shows on the DVR. I also made a large piece of art. I'd bought a huge painting at a thrift store for $35. that had a hideous 1980s Grace Jones-like print on it. I could never have purchased a blank canvas that large for $35. So, I just painted over top of it.
That evening we went to Steven & Thad's house for dinner and to watch the Golden Globes. We made Weight Watcher-friendly pizzas using Flat Outs (oblong whole wheat flour tortillas), mushrooms, turkey pepperoni, olives, low-fat pizza sauce, and low-fat cheese. They were really good and I didn't feel like I was dieting. Joe P stopped over after dinner to watch some of the awards with us. Like most 'normal' gay men, most of our commentary was about the gowns and hairstyles worn by the nominees.

Spouse had today off since it is MLK day. My office was not closed, but I was not scheduled for phone duty and I had no appointments so I took the day off so we could be together. Hopefully Spouse will help me take the ornaments off the Christmas tree today and pack up the rest of the Christmas decorations. As much as I love Christmas, its time.

Friday fragments

2012-01-13T18:41:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I saw this on facebook, and although it isn't 'new', I think its cute enough to share.
We have been experiencing yoyo weather. That's when the temperature goes up to 65 degrees for a couple days, then plummets to 35 degrees the very next day, then goes back up to 60 and back down to 30-something. Its really freaky! And I literally do not know how to dress from day to day.

I had a settlement today for my client and friend Bob's new home. I like settlement days because I get a check! Oh, and because my clients are happy and excited too.

I want to have this made into a t-shirt and then give them away to people. Powerful message!

The painter is coming tomorrow to paint over the out-dated mauve walls in my client's house. The new color is called Cinnamon Sugar and is a medium brown. Its very modern and I think it will go a long way toward updating the look of the place.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Setting the stage

2012-01-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

You may recall from lots of my 'Weekend highlights' posts that I used to love watching back-to-back episodes of "Sell This House" on Sat mornings. "Sell This House" explains and demonstrates home staging, the process of streamlining and neutralizing a home to highlight its attributes and minimize any less desirable features. Its not about redecorating; its about using decor to make a home feel fresh, modern, and as large as possible.

As a realtor I thoroughly endorse home staging. I've shown homes that have that "lived in" look and have heard the negative comments of my clients. I've also shown the same clients the exact same size and floorplan home in the same neighborhood that has been staged and heard the positive comments. When clients tour a staged home they perceive it as bigger, well-maintained, and more valuable. Spouse says that people should be able to look beyond the decor and tidiness, but I ask 'Why should they?' Why not present your home in its best possible condition?

Although I work on Sat mornings now, I still get to watch "Sell This House" because I record it on the DVR. After so many episodes, I feel like I've learned not just the fundamentals of staging, but also more advanced science behind it.

For instance, the fundamentals include removing personal photos and portraits because they are distracting to home buyers who begin thinking about the people in the photos rather than the home.
But an advanced level of staging would also suggest removing a detailed painting for the same reason. Buyers can get distracted on the content of the painting, who painted it, and the subject of the painting and stop thinking about the home. A better option is a simple abstract painting that does not catch a buyer's eye, or a simple geometric wall hanging.The colors in the art should compliment the other furnishings but not be so specific that people want to look more at the art than the room its in.

This week I started staging a client's home in preparation for listing it for sale. Fortunately this client doesn't live in the home full-time so its not cluttered with too much furniture. The home is in very good condition, but it reads as dated due to the current color scheme. It was decorated in 1989 and it shows.

Colors and color combinations go in and out of style over the years. This home's color palette is seafoam green and mauve. If left unchanged I believe buyers will perceive the home to be 'original', possibly neglected, and less valuable, despite the fact that the home was painted a few years ago and has been very well maintained.

So my challenge is to update the home's color scheme to one that is contemporary and fresh to appeal to a wide cross-section of people without spending very much money. Afterall, most sellers don't want to invest a lot of money into a home they want to sell.

I'll take before and after photos of the home and share with you why I changed what I changed. At a minimum I hope you'll find it interesting, and maybe it will help you sell your home quicker and for more money.

Just because

2012-01-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

Results

2012-01-10T20:41:00.001-05:00

Last week I confessed that I had over-indulged over the holidays and needed to lose weight. I shared some of my tried and proven weight loss techniques, in the hopes that they may help some of you. If they have, please leave me a comment to let me know!

So now I want to report on my 1st week's weight loss results.

I lost 10 lbs.

I was pretty strict about staying on my diet and not cheating even though I often felt hungry. But I knew that was just a side effect of starting a diet. Its pretty common to feel like you're starving all the time during the 1st week of a diet while your body is adjusting to the smaller portions and lower level of carbs and sugar. Toward the end of the week that constantly starving feeling had subsided.

So I'm pretty happy with my 1st week's results and hope to do almost as well next week.

Weekend highlights

2012-01-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

...because there were no 'highlights' this past weekend. I worked Sat & Sun, and we stayed home for dinner both nights.

That's it. End of weekend.

Friday fragments

2012-01-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post. Oh, and sometimes its just funny stuff I've seen on facebook.

I saw this on facebook and it made me laugh!
Many people waste time trying to have the last word with haters and jerks. Why????

I saw this on facebook too and knew I wanted to share it.
I really believe in this! Sure, we all have biological families, some of which love and support us and some of which might not. But our chosen family are those mentioned above. I feel very fortunate to have a loving and supportive chosen family.

I need a t-shirt with this on it!!
Usually I'm not one to be conceited (calling myself fabulous) but I would SOOO love to have a t-shirt of this. Birthday/Christmas gift anyone???

Tonight we had dinner with Deb & Greer and Bob & Michael at Sole. We ordered a bunch of 'small plates' and passed them around, which is a really fun way to try a bunch of different items without eating a TON of food. We had a wonderful meal and a great time with our friends.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be working both days.

Blogiversary

2012-01-05T22:13:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I let my 7th blogiversary go by without a mention last week!

My acutal blogiversary is Dec 28th, last Wed, but I was so busy and pre-occupied at work that it slipped my mind. Its hard to believe I've been doing this for 7 years.

But better late than never, right?

It all started here.

Battle of the bulge

2012-01-04T20:32:00.013-05:00

As I mentioned in Monday's post, I am now on a weight loss plan.

The problem started sometime in Nov. As "the holidays" approached I began allowing myself to over-indulge in every kind of delicious and fattening recipe with the excuse that "its the holidays".

Apparently no one told my pants that holiday calories don't count, because my waistband is screaming!

I must say that I did enjoy over-indulging during the holidays. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast followed by several re-runs until the left-overs were gone. Then we had lots of yummy stuff in early Dec for our Christmas tree trimming party. Then there was all the food at my office! Several of my colleagues brought in cookies, several of our clients sent us boxes, baskets, and barrels of goodies, and even some of our vendors sent us platters of positively perfect confections. Then there were the multiple holiday parties, Spouse's mom's birthday party on Christmas eve, and the expected feast for Christmas dinner. Oh, and did I mention the decadent 4-cheese macaroni & cheese Spouse made for Steven & Thad's New Year's Eve party?

I've never met a mayonnaise-based dip I didn't like.
Needless to say, I ate a lot.

But now its time to "pay the piper", as they say, so Mon I started to diet. Not the old-fashioned fad diets like the grapefruit diet or South Beach diet. My form of dieting is really more of a sensible and healthy eating plan with inspirations from Weight Watchers and common sense.

To begin with, I'm cutting out snacking. Unlike Spouse I'm not much of a snacker to begin with, so this doesn't have a huge impact on me. But sometimes I'll come home from work and have a little something to eat because I'm not sure when we'll eat dinner. I'm not really "hungry" per se, its more of a preventative thing. No more.

Another successful technique is portion control. I serve myself the amount of food I imagine an elegant, 110 lb. woman would eat, and that's it. No seconds; no "Hungry-Man" portions.

If by chance I begin to feel full before I've finished my womanly portion, I stop eating immediately. Even if there are only 3 bites left on my plate, I stop eating as soon as I begin to feel full. I'm not a child so there is no need to strive to be in the 'clean plate club' anymore.

I also substitute some higher fat/higher calorie items with lower fat/lower calorie ones. For instance, I used to make sandwiches every day with Arnold Double Protein Multi Grain bread. The slices are large but the 'multi grain' aspect seemed like a healthy choice. That bread is 110 calories per slice. Now I eat Pepperidge Farm Light Style whole wheat bread at 45 calories per slice - less than 1/2 the calories!

But I still struggle with diet soda. I like all the different flavors and real hunger pangs can be temporarily quelled with a zero calorie diet soda! But some studies suggest that despite the absence of calories, diet soda can cause people to gain weight. Then there's the reality of diet soda being made up of chemicals rather than natural ingredients, which makes me think about alternatives. Obviously water is the best thing to drink, but I quickly get bored with the lack of flavor. So an alternative I like is to pour 1/2 a glass of 100% fruit juice (NOT a fruit-flavored drink) and fill the other 1/2 of the glass with water. At first it seems like watered down juice, which it is, but at least it enables me to drink 1/2 a glass of water with some flavor, and I eventually get used to to the taste.

So this is my plan to eat less, eat better, and lose weight. Stay tuned for updates.

Just because

2012-01-03T19:22:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2012-01-02T21:29:00.012-05:00

My office was closed Sat & Sun so I had a rare weekend off to spend with Spouse. We had a leisurely Sat morning. Spouse got his hair cut and picked up a few items at the grocery store while I drank coffee and watched back-t0-back episodes of "Sell This House". Afterward we stopped in at a few of the outlet stores looking for some good clearance deals, then had lunch at the Robin Hood diner. Then we went for a walk on the boardwalk! It was incredibly warm and sunny and there were tons of people on the boardwalk and on the beach. I had on a short sleeve shirt and no jacket. We ran into several friends who were also taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Then we stopped on the way home at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients to make mac-n-cheese to take to Steven & Thad's potluck dinner. That evening we joined a bunch of friends at Steven & Thad's for a festive New Year's Eve celebration. We had a lot of fun, and then at 11pm we all headed to a local watering hole to ring in the new year with a champagne toast.

Sun morning we met Steven & Thad and Joe P for breakfast. That afternoon we walked over to our friend George's house for his New Years open house. On our walk back home, we were invited into our new neighbor's home which is under construction. They showed us around and told us about the energy efficient features, which really seemed to excite them. Then we walked over to our friend Lee Ann's New Years open house. It was kind of crowded and Spouse had a headache so we didn't stay too long. When we got home Spouse took a nap and I watched some TV shows I had stored on the DVR. Then later that evening we went back over to Steven & Thad's house with Joe P and ate the left overs from the previous night's party for dinner. We all vowed to stop over-eating starting the next day.

I have been over-indulging since mid-Nov and am NOT happy with the way my clothes now fit, or don't fit! So I'm now making a concerted effort to eat right and lose weight. Wish me luck!

Friday fragments

2011-12-30T22:24:00.005-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I saw this on facebook and it gave me a chuckle!

I also saw this video on facebook and wanted to share it, although its NSFW. Its a great song, and the guy is super sexy. I got a real kick out of it!

A friend sent me this and I just had to share it.

Remember the old Herbal Essence shampoo commercials where the women washing their hair had orgasm-like reactions to the scent of Herbal Essence? Well, check out this spoof video for Herbal Essence for MEN!

My office is going to be closed Sat & Sun for New Years, which means I'll have 2 weekends in a row (Christmas & New Year's Eve) off work and with Spouse. How nice, since I always work on Sat and every other Sun.

We're going to a New Year's Eve potluck dinner party at Steven & Thad's tomorrow night. It should be fun! I hope all of you have a fun and safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2012!!

Stoopid lyrics

2011-12-29T22:02:00.000-05:00

Here is another installment of my blog feature "Stoopid lyrics" where I share with you a well-known song with lyrics that don't make sense.

Keep in mind this doesn't mean the song is stoopid or that I don't like the song. In fact, I often like the songs but the lyrics don't make sense.

What do YOU think?

Landslide
performed by Stevie Nicks

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
Till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Mmm, mmm, mmm

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older and I'm getting older too

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older and I'm getting older too
Oh, I'm getting older too

Aw, take my love, take it down
Aw, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down

And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
Oh, the landslide bring it down

Just because

2011-12-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

Miss Richfield 1981 returns

2011-12-27T21:07:00.003-05:00

Last night we had the pleasure of attending Miss Richfield 1981's show at the Blue Moon.

Originally Spouse & I planned to go with Steven & Thad and Joe P, but Spouse came down with a 24-hour bug and wasn't able to go.

This was 'dinner and show', so we started with cocktails and appetizers. I chose a Cosmo and the fried green tomato appetizer which were both delicious. Then I had the seared prime beef Belvedere with sauteed mushrooms and fried fingerling potatoes - yummy! For dessert I had the chocolate pie.

After dinner Miss Richfield 1981 began her hilarious show! Here she is with one of the guests.Here is Miss Richfield 1981 playing the hand saw, a talent that helped her win the Miss Richfield contest in 1981!
Here's Miss Richfield with Joe P.

We had a fantastic meal, a fantastic show, and fantastic evening!

(Holiday) Weekend highlights

2011-12-26T20:35:00.003-05:00

Fri am we headed back to VA, arriving just after 11am. We visited with Spouse's mom for an hour, then met up with Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, George, and Lisa for our 3rd annual Christmas lunch at Joe's Place. We had pizza and hippy rolls and shared a great time together. Then back at Spouse's mom's we visited with her and Spouse's sister, niece and nephews. That evening Spouse & I took his mom to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant: Cantina Mexicana (aka: Taco House).
We had a wonderful dinner and got to see the proprietor and our friend Juan. Unfortunately Gloria wasn't there.

Sat I drove out west almost an hour to visit my cousin Nez and her family. It had been about 18 months since I'd seen her. Just after I saw her last she had breast cancer surgery followed by months of chemo. I wasn't able to be with her then, but really really enjoyed spending the day with her on Sat. We sat around and talked, laughed, drank coffee, snacked, and just reconnected. It was really wonderful. That night Spouse's whole family came together at his sister's house to celebrate his mom's 82nd birthday, on Christmas Eve. My dear friend Kathryn came to the party as well, and we had a bunch of good laughs. She is the heterosexual, African American, female version of me!

Christmas morning was quiet, with Spouse & me having coffee and a slice of pumpkin roll with his mom. Later, his sister, niece and nephews came over and we had breakfast together. Later I showered, dressed, and picked up my aunt Mary and brought her back to Spouse's mom's house where we had our little gift exchange. Then we all went over to Spouse's sister's house for Christmas dinner. We had rigatoni, gnocchi, meatballs, sausage and 'gravy' (tomato sauce) and salad. My aunt Mary brought my absolute favorite cake for dessert: hummingbird cake. It was a very nice Christmas evening.

It seems the last few Christmases I've tried to schedule visits with friends and family like this, but they were interrupted by illness or inclement weather. Fortunately this year all my plans worked out! It was a great holiday, filled with friends, family, food, festivities and fun.

Friday fragments

2011-12-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this and I thought it was cute:

Our weather has been crazy this week. Its the week before Christmas and it was 65 degrees. Being so warm it didn't feel like Christmas, but it was kind of nice to not need a coat or jacket.

Spouse & I are both off work today and heading back to DC for the holidays. We're planning to spend time with family AND friends we haven't seen in awhile since we'll be there for 3 full days. I'm looking forward to a great, long, holiday weekend.

Since I don't have may fragments for today's post, I'll leave you with these sexy Santas instead. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Merry Solstice, Happy Kwanza, and Happy Holidays to 1 and all!

Holiday happenings

2011-12-22T16:07:00.001-05:00

Last week Spouse & I were commenting that it seemed as though fewer of our friends were having holiday parties this year. Then all the sudden, the invitations all came in at once.

On Mon I decorated and bagged Christmas cookies along with the owners, staff, and my fellow entertainers at the Blue Moon. We prepared approximately 400 bags (of 4 large cookies each) to be donated to the Jusst Sooup Ministry, which was featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Nov. Then later that night I went back to the Blue Moon for their staff and entertainers Christmas party and Chinese gift exchange. There served 7 different types of lasagna, salad, bread, and had an open bar. In the gift exchange I came home with a trio of savory dips. We had a really great time.

Tues night was my office Christmas party and secret Santa gift exchange. We decided to have it at my favorite happy hour location: Saketumi. We all had cocktails or wine and sushi and then exchanged gifts. Spouse and Christy's husband Ted came after the gift exchange and we all talked and laughed and had a fun time. I received a gift certificate and peanut butter fudge from my secret Santa, and a cashmere scarf from my boss.

Last night we went to a Christmas party at our friends Bill & Dean's house. They always go 'all out' with their Christmas decorating, but not in a tacky way. Their decorations are very tasteful and elegant and there's a lot of them. They had a full house of friends and family for their party and we ran into several friends we hadn't seen in a while. We had a very nice time.

Next week we're going to Tim & Randy's post-Christmas party on Wed night. I really enjoyed going to their party last year and am happy that Spouse has agreed to go with me next week. I really enjoy holiday parties, but I am going to have to go on a diet after the new year to make up for all my indulging.

Just because

2011-12-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

T-shirts

2011-12-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

We've all got someone in our life for whom gift shopping is a pain. What do you get for the person who's already got everything?

My answer: funny t-shirts!

Who wouldn't like a t-shirt with a funny saying on it? A local t-shirt shop can print them up or you can order some online. Here are some great suggestions:

Stupid people shouldn't breed

Winning isn't everything, but losing sucks

Not all men are fools. Some are bachelors

I'm not deaf. I'm ignoring you

You can't have everything. Where would you put it?

Is there life before coffee?

Have I slept with you somewhere before?

I know it all. I just can't remember it all at once!

If I wanted to hear from an @sshole, I would have farted.

I'm sure we all know SOMEONE who could use 1 of these!

Weekend highlights

2011-12-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

On Sat I worked until 5pm. I had no appointments and received very few calls and internet leads so the day seemed to drag on. That evening Spouse & I had dinner at Dos Locos, just the 2 of us. It was nice to eat out together without our friends, kind of like a date. Shortly afterward I headed over to the Blue Moon for the last of the Legends Christmas show performances. Jason & Kevin, Joe P, 1 of the Bobs, and Spouse came for the show, which went very well. At the end of the finale song it began to 'snow' in the performance area. The Blue Moon's snow machine made beautiful flaky white 'snow' that lightly fell over the audience. Very cool! After the show Jason & Kevin invited us over for pumpkin roll and coffee. The time flew by and before we knew it it was going on 1am.

Sun we met Steven & Thad for breakfast, then went Christmas shopping and to the grocery store. Spouse decided to have a small dinner party that evening so we did some light housecleaning, the Spouse made a cake and started dinner while I began wrapping some gifts.
That evening Steven & Thad and Joe P came over for dinner. Spouse made chicken parmesan with bowtie pasta and a chocolate cake with white icing and red & green sprinkles to add a festive holiday touch. After dinner we lit some candles, turned on the fireplace, and enjoyed looking at the Christmas tree as we talked. It was a great way to end the weekend!

Friday fragments

2011-12-16T21:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I started our Christmas cards on Mon and surprisingly got about 3/4 of them done. Often I do them in several smaller batches, and hour or 2 each night after dinner. But I didn't have much planned for my day off so I just kept going for 6 hours. Then I finished the balance of them yesterday. All 138 signed, sealed, addressed, stamped, and dropped off at the post office.

I had to share this from facebook:

Many of you likely have memories of model trains and miniature villages at Christmastime. This video shows an extensive model train and miniature collection - the largest in the world - with settings from several countries. Its truly really amazing!

Had to share this from facebook too:

May THIS is why they don't want gays in the military. Pretty funny stuff.

Spouse & I did some Christmas shopping after work on Thurs. It was a rather productive trip and we're about 1/2 way done.

A friend sent me this:

Tonight we had dinner with our friends Deb & Greer and Bob & Michael. We tried a new place (actually an old place that's under new management now). The food was pretty good and we had a fun time together.

Here's wishing everyone a great weekend!

Company Christmas party

2011-12-15T20:27:00.004-05:00

Last night we had our company Christmas party. The owners of our agency rented out an entire restaurant and had an open bar, a buffet of cocktail party food, and a band.

The party was well attended with about 75% of employees, plus many of us brought our spouses. My Spouse is not a big fan of the whole company Christmas party thing, although he has graciously come with me to most of mine in the past. I expected he would be hinting that he wanted to leave after only an hour or so, but to my surprise he really seemed to enjoy himself and we stayed until just before the official end time.

My colleague Amy brought her camera and took several photos. Here's me and Spouse:

Here's Dawn, Spouse, and me:

Here's Spouse, Amy, and me:

Here's Spouse, Christy, and me:

I just noticed there's a Cosmo in my hand in every photo! It was a very nice evening.

I had a dream...

2011-12-14T22:26:00.001-05:00

I had a very unusual dream.

I was inside a very large factory with metal floors, walls, and ceiling; not big wide open space like a typical factory, but lots and lots of hallways with doors. I wasn't frightened at all, but I was trying to find my way out. I kept walking down corridors and opening doors, only to find more corridors and doors.

The next thing I know, I run into a couple of my colleagues from work. I tell them I'm surprised to see them, and ask if they are trying to find their way out too. They say yes so we decide we'll stick together. However, after walking down several corridors and going through several doors together, I look over my shoulder and the colleagues are gone. Again, I'm not alarmed by this, and I continue on my way.

Then I meet this guy whose ethnicity I can't quite figure out. He could be Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, I'm just not sure. The ethnically ambiguous guy (EAG) is very gentle and friendly. I explain that I'm trying to find my way out of the factory and he says that he's sure I'll find my way. I thank him for his kindness and continue on my way.

Again I encounter others in the factory that I know; friends I know currently as well as some from my past. I confirm with them that they're also looking for the way out of the huge metal factory, and we agree to work together. Some of them offer suggestions and we easily agree which direction to continue on. Again after going done several corridors and through several doors, I look over my shoulder to find myself alone again. I continue on until I finally see a window with daylight shining through.

Just then EAG shows up again. I excited point to the window and tell him I think I've almost found my way out of the factory. He smiles and nods his head. I tell EAG that I'd met up with both the colleagues from work and the current and past friends while trying to get out of the factory. I tell him how we shared ideas and agreed to work together, but that all of them have disappeared. EAG suggests that perhaps I got what I needed from them so they were no longer needed for my journey.

Now, if the dreamed had ended then I probably wouldn't have found it to be so unusual. I would have thought of it as being just another of those crazy dreams that make no sense. But instead, the dream continues.

I note his use of the word 'journey', and feel it is the most accurate description of what I've been going through: a journey to get out of the factory. I look at EAG and he smiles back at me. He knows that I'm starting to understand.

"The colleagues from work and the past and present friends..." I say to EAG, "they're all me, aren't they? That's why they left, because I was able to find my way to the window." EAG tells me that I already had all the answers, and that the colleagues and friends simply helped me have the confidence to follow my own direction.

EAG and I walk down the final corridor and open the final door to the outside. The sunlight is so bright that its blinding. I shield my eyes with my hand, then look back to make sure EAG is still there. He is, so I say to him "And you... you're me too, aren't you?" I ask him. He smiles. "So now that I've found my way out, I guess you'll disappear too, won't you?"

I accidentally move my hand and the bright sunlight blinds me again. I readjust my hand to shade my eyes again, and sure enough... EAG was gone, and the dream was over.

This is the only time I can remember where my dream's symbolism is actually explained in the dream. I didn't wake up wondering why I'd dreamt that, it was clear. I knew what the dream meant.

Just because

2011-12-13T19:31:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-12-12T20:30:00.004-05:00

This was my weekend to work both Sat & Sun, but I still managed to squeeze in some celebrating and fun.

Sat evening we joined a bunch of friends at Saketumi for Jason's birthday dinner. The food was delicious as usual, and the company was fun. Then I was off to Blue Moon for the Legends Christmas show. It was really fun and the crowd was very responsive to our performances.

Sun after work we went to Steven & Thad's for dinner with Joe P, Alisha & Jack, and the Bobs. Steven made enough spaghetti for an army! We had a great time and it was a great way to end the weekend.

Friday fragments

2011-12-09T19:44:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Spouse & I started our Christmas shopping this week. We don't go crazy buying multiple, expensive gifts for our family. (My hair stylist told me he's buying at $500. laptop for each of his 3 kids.) There are too many of them and its just not practical or necessary, so we buy gifts: moderately priced things we think the recipient will like or enjoy. This week we went to our favorite jewelry and accessories store and picked up 4 gifts for the family and 1 gift for my office gift exchange.

We received this as a Christmas card at work from a vendor and I thought it was funny enough to share!We've had some wild weather fluctuations this week. On Wed it was 70 degrees but a cold front came through overnight and it was only 40 degrees on Thur - a 30 degree difference in less than 24 hours. At least the cold weather makes it finally feel like Christmastime.

I saw this posted on facebook and thought it was cute.

I received a small box of chocolates as a gift and noticed the phrase "hand-crafted in small batches" in italics on the box. If the ingredients are the same, does chocolate made in small batches really taste different than chocolate made in large batches?

Now, HERE'S a candidate I could really stand up for!

Why do some people make "realtor" into a 3-syllable word? They pronounce it "real-UH-tor" when the correct pronunciation is "real-tor". I've even heard this on real estate shows on HGTV.

This year I've been vacillating about whether or not to send out my usual load of Christmas cards. Well, today I made a decision: I'm going to send them. One of my concerns was the cost of cards and stamps, and while I can't do anything about the cost of stamps, I was able to find some great deals on cards. Today I got more cards than I'll need and only spent about 1/4 of what I thought I would spend, so I decided to do it. I also took a few minutes today to review and edit my list of recipients. Surprisingly it wasn't as hard as I'd imagined to trim about 15 off the list, and I only added 3 to the list so far. Now all I need is some eggnog to sip while I start my cards.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bad taste

2011-12-08T20:43:00.007-05:00

You already know that I've written before about my dislike of rushing the holidays. You know, Christmas decorations in stores before Halloween, bathing suits in stores in January, that kind of thing. I just think we should decorate, dress, and enjoy 1 holiday at a time.

But as much as rushing the holidays annoys me, the opposite is just as offensive. Today I drove by a house that had a Christmas wreath on the door and a jack-o-lantern flag sticking up from the flower bed.
I had a rather strong reaction to this holiday tragedy and needed to pull over in order to collect myself.

I mean, wouldn't you think they would remove the Halloween flag when they put the Christmas wreath up? Don't most people store their holiday decorations in the same place? It just seems so logical to put away the Halloween flag at the same time you're getting out the Christmas wreath.

And what happened to Thanksgiving? Is there some reason why the Pilgrim, turkey, or cornucopia decorations were skipped altogether?

Sadly it appears there's just no accounting for taste these days.

Birthday

2011-12-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Yep, today's my birthday.

Just because

2011-12-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-12-05T21:36:00.000-05:00

On Sat I worked until 4pm instead of 5pm. Since the company was preparing to participate in the Lewes Christmas parade, we closed an hour early. I adorned Big Ella with a lighted musical wreath and red velvet bows, and lined up at the parade route. I was amazed at how many people attended the parade! There had to be several thousand spectators lining the streets. It was great! After the parade I met up with Spouse, Steven & Thad, and Joe P at the house and the 5 of us went to dinner at La Tonalteca. Afterward the 4 of them stopped at Walmart to pick out toys for the Toys for Tots drive, while I headed to the Blue Moon to get ready for the Legends Christmas show. Joe P took this photo:
The 4 of them came to see the show, as did 2 of my clients and my neighbor Barb and a handful of her friends. The show was a lot of fun! Here's a clip taken by Joe P:

Afterward, the 5 of us went to a Toys for Tots toy drive and dropped off our toys. We got home just after midnight and I was exhausted. It was a long day.

Sun Spouse & I spent all day cooking, baking, cleaning, and setting up for our tree trimming party. It seemed like I everything I tried to do backfired. I couldn't seem to get the tree to stay straight in the stand, despite adjusting it and tightening the screws a number of times. Then 3 out of the 4 strings of lights I'd used last year wouldn't light up all the way. Then made 2 pans of brownies and set the kitchen timer on the microwave. Spouse used the microwave so it erased my timing of the baking of the brownies. Both pans were burned to a crisp and had to be thrown away. But everything came together nicely, despite all my bad luck that day, and we had a great time. Joe P took this photo too:The tree looks gorgeous and I love that it is a creation of our friends. I was so tired that we went to bed before 10pm - a real rarity for me.

Friday fragments

2011-12-02T11:35:00.006-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

A friend of mine posted this on facebook and I laughed out loud!

Another friend sent me this along with a story about the driver and passengers wearing these artificial moose heads while driving down a highway with the hunter strapped onto the roof, all as a joke. Apparently this 'joke' caused a multi-car accident.

Christmas parade season is here! Last night I drove Big Ella in the Georgetown parade, and tomorrow night is the Lewes parade. The Rehoboth Beach parade is Tues night and the Milton parade is Wed night. There are several opportunities for Big Ella to be enjoyed and adored by the public.

We're looking forward to our tree trimming party. I put up the tree yesterday, and will put the lights on before folks come on Sun afternoon. Then our friends will come over and help us hang all the ornaments, visit, and snack. It should be fun!

Several times I've written here in support of alternative energy. I believe our government needs to support it too, and if you agree, please click here and enter your address. The system will automatically generate an email to the representatives in your district which you can edit (which is best if you have time) or just send the email as-is. It only takes a few minutes and can help save layoffs and create thousands of good, middle-class jobs.

Holiday bread pudding

2011-12-01T21:45:00.001-05:00

I'm off work today so after some coffee and a shower, I did a little shopping. We're having a gift exchange at work so I purchased that gift, then got gas and lead additive for Big Ella in preparation for tonight's parade, and deposited some checks at the bank. Back at home I assembled the Christmas tree and put the wreaths on the doors, then decided to make my own new recipe for holiday bread pudding.

Bread pudding is usually made with stale French bread, but my idea was to make it with Panettone. Panettone is kind of like a drier, lighter version of fruit cake, popular among Italians. Since I've been with Spouse we've always had Panettone at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Panettone already contains raisins and spices, it makes it really easy to make bread pudding. In addition, I added Craisins, walnuts, and spooned 'ribbons' of cranberry sauce into the batter for a holiday touch. It came out really good so I shared it with Steven & Thad, Joe P, and the Bobs.

Here's how to make my Holiday Bread Pudding:

Ingredients

Panettone bread, at least a day old, cut into cubes, about 6-7 cups
1 qt milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl soak the Panettone in the milk, making sure all the bread is thoroughly moistened.
In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and melted butter. Gently stir this mixture into the bread/milk mixture. Optional: fold in Craisins and/or chopped walnuts.
Pour mixture into the baking pan. Optional: spoon in 'ribbons' of cranberry sauce. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start to brown and pull away from the pan.

Eat it as-is, or top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Please let me know if you make this and how you like it!

Christmas cards

2011-11-30T20:36:00.004-05:00

We received our 1st Christmas card today.

I know I've written more than once about my ritual of writing, addressing, and sending Christmas cards. I've done it with joy every year for the last 18 Christmases without even questioning it. But this year I'm undecided about whether to continue this tradition this year.

The main reason I'm unsure about it this year is the expense. I usually buy deeply discounted cards right after Christmas for use the following year, but I didn't do so last Christmas. Even if I can find bargain-priced cards I will still spend about $40. - $50. to get 130 cards. Then there's the $57. cost for 130 stamps. In the past I usually order special Christmas and generic holiday return address labels for another $15. or so, making the total cost of sending 130 Christmas cards close to $125. Although work has been going well, we're still not in a position to casually spend $125. at a time when we're also purchasing Christmas gifts for family members and contributing toward Secret Santa for the needy.

An additional consideration is the time needed to write, address, seal, and stamp the cards. Although some people print address labels from their computers, I have always preferred hand-writing recipients' names and addresses. It seems much more personal to me. I suppose I have the same number of hours I'd had in past years to do this, for some reason I'm concerned that this year I may not have enough time.

Obviously I have considered that reducing my card list would require less expense and less time. But every year its hard enough to scratch some recipients off the list in order to add new recipients without increasing the total number, let alone to reduce the total number.

So even though Christmas is less than a month away and we've already received our 1st card, I'm still not sure what to do.

Just because

2011-11-29T20:26:00.003-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-11-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

On Sat morning I went to work and Spouse's family went home. That evening Spouse & I took our Thanksgiving left-overs to Steven & Thad's and combined them with their left-overs for a Thanksgiving 'repeat' dinner. Joe P came too and brought dessert. I love Thanksgiving food! Then I performed in the 1st of the Christmas "Legends" shows. I sang 'Merry Christmas Darling' as Neil Sedaka and the audience really enjoyed the show.

Sun I was off work. Spouse & I met Steven & Thad for breakfast, then we went for a walk on the boardwalk. The weather was amazing - 70 degrees and sunny! Afterward we came home and I started cleaning up the 'aftermath' of having Spouse's 9 family members stay with us. While I was at it, I rearranged some of the living room furniture to make room for the Christmas tree. I'll set it up next week. Spouse spent some time cleaning the front porch and the white rockers that adorn it. It felt good to be productive at the same time, even though we weren't working on the same projects. Then we took Big Ella out for a spin, and stopped in at Steven & Thad's to see their outdoor Christmas decorations. Afterward we stopped at a few outlet stores in the hopes of finding Spouse a 'holiday shirt', something to wear to holiday parties. Then we met Steven & Thad and Joe P for dinner at a diner. It was a really great day!

Friday fragments

2011-11-25T18:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this funny photo.

Mon & Tues evenings I went for rehearsals for the upcoming Legends Christmas show series, which runs the 4 Sat nights between Nov 26 and Dec 17. Its gonna be great!

Another friend sent me this amazing video of a two-faced cat that's defied the odds.

This week we've had crazy weather. Mon & Tues it was 76 degrees, then Wed & Thurs it rained and was only 46 degrees - a 30 degree difference overnight - then today it was back up to 70 degrees again. Its a wonder we don't all have pneumonia.

Today I worked but Spouse & the family took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and went to the boardwalk. Notice some of them are wearing shorts.They're all going home tomorrow.

Work continues to go well and I'm still enjoying it very much. I wrote offer #11 this week and the seller accepted the offer without countering! Tomorrow I'm accompanying another client to a new home community to write up offer #12.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:00:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving preparations

2011-11-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

Today our office closed at 1pm in preparation for Thanksgiving. I had a property showing appt at 12:30 (just 1 house) so that worked out well for me.

Then I ran home to meet the guy from the gas company who had come to take a look at our gas fireplace. It hasn't worked since last winter. I suspected the pilot light had blown out. Spouse & I had tried to figure out how to restart it but weren't successful, and I surely wasn't going to try and light it with a match! The fireplace guy showed up, flipped the switch, and the flame came on. I couldn't believe it. He turned it off and on several times and it worked just fine. Fortunately he was a nice guy and said he wouldn't charge me for the service visit since he was already in my neighborhood. Sweet!

Next I began cleaning the house. I'd already washed all the sheets and towels and made up the guest room beds, so today was all about vacuuming, dusting, and straightening up.

I realized that Spouse had forgotten a few key ingredients when he was at the grocery store, so I went to the store to pick up the items I needed for tomorrow's big meal. I'm making Paula Deen's corn casserole and sweet potato shuffle, both guaranteed crowd pleasers that are a staple for all of our holiday meals.

Later tonight 1/2 of the family will arrive. Spouse's sister and her husband and their 2 sons are expected between 10:30-11pm tonight. Then tomorrow Spouse's mother, brother, his other brother and sister-in-law, and his neice will arrive before noon. In case you've lost count that's 9 people coming AND STAYING WITH US for 3 days. They're all leaving on Sat.

Lord help us...

I get along great with Spouse's family, but its hard to have 9 people staying in your home for 3 days/nights. There's people sleeping in every room but the kitchen and its never quiet unless everyone's asleep. Then there's 3 meals and multiple snacks per day for everyone. But considering the lack of relationship I have with my parents/siblings, I should be happy to have Spouse's family here.

Here's wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

Just because

2011-11-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-11-21T14:57:00.003-05:00

This was my weekend to work both days, but I did manage to squeeze in a few social activities.

After work on Sat we had dinner with Steven & Thad and Joe P at La Tonalteca. Afterward Spouse & I just watched TV before bed.

Sun after work we went to a birthday gathering at Cilantro for our dear friend Deb, followed by a dinner party at Bob & Michael's. We met several of their friends and had a very nice time.So that was my weekend: work and socializing!

Friday fragments

2011-11-18T21:04:00.007-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this amazing video of a cat playing with some dolphins. I've never seen anything like it!

I saw this photo on facebookwhich made think this employee-of-the-year has mastered the art of multi-tasking!

My friend Wendy sent me this funny video. Enjoy!

Here's wishing everyone a terrific weekend.

Pre-Thanksgiving

2011-11-17T22:46:00.009-05:00

I'm off work today but need to go to the office anyway. I need to copy, scan, and email some documents for deal #10, AND we're having our office Thanksgiving luncheon.

I made sweet potato shuffle, a recipe I got from my aunt Mary a few years ago. She's brought it to Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners for years. Its a family favorite, and I don't think anyone whose every tasted it didn't like it. I think the recipe came from an old issue of Southern Living magazine but I won't swear on it.
Here's how to make it:

Sweet potato mixture
6 cups (2 40-oz. cans) of sweet potatoes (I use Bruce's); drain and mashed in bowl
4 beaten eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk; or 1/2 cup Half-n-Half and 1/2 cup milk
2/3 stick melted butter
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
Combine with a hand mixer and spread evenly into a greased 9x13 baking dish

Topping mixture
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2/3 stick melted butter
Combine with a fork, then spread evenly over sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. If a knife comes out of center clean, its done.

Shoe-tastic!

2011-11-16T23:21:00.001-05:00

I grew up with 3 sisters and a mother, so 4 women in the house, and having been a young gay boy I have a pretty vivid memory of the styles and fashions of my youth.

I remember my sisters wearing huge platform shoes in the 70s...
and Candies in the 80s.But I don't think anything has had a greater effect on women's shoes than Sex and the City. I bet nobody outside of NYC had ever heard of Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Ch00 before Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha made them household names.

Designer shoes have become a huge industry necessitating custom closets with shoe shelves and in some cases, bedrooms converted into walk-in closets. Its no longer about having the perfect pair of black heels. Now its about having a pair of black heels for each outfit.

And who can forget the Alexander McQueen's armadillo shoes worn by Lady Gaga?
With all the creativity and technology out there, shoe-aholics will be practically orgasmic over these:

Just because

2011-11-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-11-14T21:11:00.005-05:00

Even though Bugs & Roger were here, I still worked Sat. I had a new couple to whom I was showing a bunch of homes. They are very 'qualified' so it was nice to work with them. I think they're going to buy sooner rather than later. Spouse took Bugs & Roger to breakfast and then they did some shopping at the outlets. That night we had dinner at Sole. Spouse panicked when they presented their new fall menu which is 90% small plates. But the 4 of us ordered 2 or 3 items each and shared most of them, and it worked out great.

Sun morning Steven & Thad came over and Spouse made breakfast for the 6 of us. I don't know why but he loves to make breakfast for company. I'd much rather make a dessert. Although I wasn't scheduled to work on Sun, I met another new, 'well qualified' client at 10:30 and showed them several homes. Fortunately they really liked several of them. Bugs & Roger left around noon and I got home about 2pm. Spouse & I went for a little drive to the beach and stopped at a few stores including Pier One where we have a gift card from last Christmas we haven't been able to spend. That evening we took salad to Steven & Thad's house to go with the lasagna Steven made for dinner. It was a delicious and fun way to wind up the weekend.

Friday fragments

2011-11-11T23:27:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget yet too small to be their own post.

Many thanks to those of you who sent condolences about Jordan's passing, both in the comments of this blog and on facebook. Spouse & I really appreciate the kindness. This 1st week without her around has been very different. Spouse said he can feel a very noticeable absence of her energy in the house. Several times I could have sworn I heard her nails tick-tick-ticking on the hardwood floors. To me it almost seemed like there were residuals of Jordan's life hanging around the house. But I've also felt a little guilty for enjoying the freedom that comes from not having to care for a dog.

My friend Jared sent me this which I thought was funny.

Today's date is 11/11/11.

Did you hear/read the latest about dark chocolate now being considered a 'super-food'? Great! Just what I need... more incentive to eat dark chocolate!

Bugs & Roger arrived today at noon so I met them and Spouse for lunch, then I went back to work. When I got home from work we had cocktails at home and then went to dinner at Fins. Afterward we came home and Steven & Thad came over for dessert. It was a fun night!

Film festival day

2011-11-10T23:03:00.000-05:00

Since I can't take off all 4 days of the film festival this year, my plan was to see as many films as possible on Thurs (my regular day off), see a 1 after work on Fri & Sat, and see as many as possible on Sun since I'm not scheduled to work this Sun.

But what is it they say about the best laid plans? Well, whatever it is, its true.

It appears I'll only be seeing films today. Our dear friends Bugs & Roger contacted us last week about coming for a visit this weekend, since they have Fri off for Veteran's Day, as does Spouse. So they are coming sometime during the day on Fri and leaving on Sun, so I'm not going to see any films after work on Fri or Sat. If I did, I wouldn't have any time to see Bugs & Roger!

Bugs & Roger will probably leave before lunch on Sun, so I thought I'd probably still be able to catch a few Sun afternoon films, but yesterday at work I got a call from a brand new client who's picked out 6 homes they want to see on Sun afternoon. They are coming from out of state and are shopping in a very nice price range so I'm going to sacrifice my Sun afternoon of films to work with them. Hey, if I told them I wasn't available Sun afternoon, I'm sure they would have called another realtor, and I surely don't want that to happen.

So here are the films I saw today:
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
Synopsis: With every lyrical word, movements akin to the grace of choreography, and a rich and rarefied storyline that rivals that of any heroine of the Great White Way, Carol Channing’s life could itself be a Broadway musical. Footage from the archives—television appearances, song and dance numbers, and stage performances—show Carol at her best (not that there is a “worst”). Debbie Reynolds, Chita Rivera, Bruce Vilanch and Channing’s devoted chorus of “Dolly Boy” dancers pop up to pay tribute to this amazing performer. Without batting a false eyelash, she effortlessly charms audiences with her hilarity, relentless energy, and unique beauty, reminding us that before Barbra or Marilyn, there was Carol. Channing shows us true love may be the key to youth and vitality. An advocate for many charities including gay rights and AIDS awareness, Channing still lights up the stage with song and dance. Perhaps the most brilliant thing about Berinstein’s bubbly biopic is that you don’t need to love Broadway or even theater itself to love or to be mesmerized by Carol.

My thoughts: I'm not a huge fan of Carol Channing but this documentary filled a gap in my film schedule and previous documentary's shown at this festival have been very good so I gave this a chance. I liked it much more than I thought I would. The film showed a human side to Channing that amazingly isn't tarnished like so many other celebrities. In fact, Channing's personality and humanity shine brightly, both on and off stage, like highly polished brass. Barbara Walters says in the film that she's never heard or read anything bad or mean about Channing, which is also rare for celebrities these days, especially one who's been performing for over 70 years. It was a delightful and engaging documentary I'd highly recommend.

The Night Watch
Synopsis: “War changes people. Not always for the better.” That’s the common sentiment for a group of lesbians and gay men in WWII London. Adapted from Sarah Waters’ novel, The Night Watch is an achingly beautiful cyclone of missed connections and fragmented pasts. Directed by openly gay Richard Laxton, this film gorgeously moves back in time, from post-war 1947 to 1944 to 1941, revealing a web of connections among a group on society’s fringe. Duncan spent his wartime in jail, lusting after his rakish cellmate, but he can’t seem to free himself from his time behind bars. His sister, Viv, is looking for love with a married man, while trying to forget the ways he has betrayed her. Viv’s coworker, Helen, works as a matchmaker, but a past love triangle with two women threatens her happiness. And when we meet Kay, she spends her time wandering London’s war-torn streets, pulled back to her time as an heroic ambulance driver during the Blitz. Kay’s ex, Julia, is ever more present in her life, especially when Kay runs into a stranger she aided during the war. While so many around them find relief in peace, these outsiders are stranded without purpose, at loose ends, without their pre-war innocence and without the power they enjoyed during the fighting. Desperate characters burst with quiet grace as the layers of their lives peel back to reveal the way forward.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed the way this film told its stories backwards. Its starts after the war's end in 1947, then goes back to 1944, then back to 1941. Each step back in time gives more insight into the events and feelings that have shaped their current lives. Although somewhat dark and not very hopeful, this film was very well crafted and enjoyable to watch.

Tomboy
Synopsis: Gender identity is explored in Celine Sciamma‘s humorous, heartfelt story of a girl who just wants to be a boy. Ten-year-old Laure and her family move into a Parisian suburban apartment during the summer holiday. Laure, a tomboy who cuts her hair short and wears boys’ clothing (not of concern to her parents) explores the neighborhood and quickly meets Lisa but introduces herself as Michael. Soon Michael meets up with other kids and becomes part of the circle of friends – playing soccer shirtless, running though the forest or swimming in a lake (where a well played piece of modeling clay help in her ruse.) The innocence of her being a boy takes a more mature turn when Lisa falls in puppy love with her….and Michael responds. A tender, captivating story made all the more amazing by the naturalistic and totally believable performance of Zoe Heran as Michael/Laure. And amazing as she is, Malonn Levana as her six-year-old sister Jeanne nearly steals the show from her! A film for all audiences, genders, and sexualities.

My thoughts: I found both the story and the acting to be superb. Where the film lacked, in my opinion, was the editing. There were too many "artistic" shots of leaves blowing in the summer breeze, etc. However, those were excusable due to the storyline which felt completely authentic and not at all contrived. Then there was the absolutely honest and believable acting of the 2 young girls playing sisters. This is a film I'd highly recommend for the content and acting with a caveat for the editing.

10% Shorts (GLBT-themed short films)
AWOL - Days before her deployment to Afghanistan, Joey comes home to rural Pennsylvania for Christmas with dreams of running away to Canada. Will she do it? Will she make the trek alone?

My thoughts: This film was sad and I didn't see the real purpose. Joey reconnects with her girlfriend and her 2 young daughters at Christmas and asks them to run away to Canada with her. The girlfriend says yes at 1st but changes her mind, breaking Joey's heart. Joey abandons her thoughts of escaping the military in Canada. I didn't understand why this film was made.

Lust Life - Caught between what was and what could be, a woman who has lost her lust for life in Paris, the world’s most passionate city, takes a chance. Sexy, intimate, and with mood and atmosphere to burn, the film brims with passion just like the setting.

My thoughts: For the life of me I can't remember what this short was about. Sorry, but it was that non-memorable.

Requited - Nicolas struggles to decide whether to go to the wedding of his best friend from high school, Aaron, whom he’s always been quietly in love with. The two had a falling out years earlier after Nicolas inexplicably kissed Aaron’s girlfriend. Nicolas clings to an idealized image of his former friend, subconsciously sabotaging his own happiness in the process. Requited is a realistic slice-of-life that poses the question, “How do you get over something you never had?”

My thoughts: I liked this short because they guys were cute/sexy and because I could relate to the story line, as I imagine many others will too.

Bald Guy - A lively musical film dealing with a young man’s quest for love and acceptance, this short examines the issue of promoting yourself and loving whomever you want. It’s a film about forbidden and boundless love and the risk of losing everything when you choose to challenge the morally accepted. Oh, and it’s about a bald guy.

My thoughts: The synopsis above is a flourishing way of saying this short is about a young man who tells his parents he's dating a bald guy, which turns into a 10-minute Broadway style choreographed group musical number. It was amusing and enjoyable for the 1st 3 or 4 minutes, but how long can you make "I'm in love with a bald guy" stay funny?

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone - In this tender short, the arrival of a new student in school changes Leonardo’s life. This 15-year-old blind teenager has to deal with the jealousy of his friend Giovana while figuring out the romantic feelings he’s having for his new friend Gabriel.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this film and found the telling of this tale to be authentic and not at all contrived.

52 - While every gay man has a relationship to the aging process, each reaction is different. The hilarious 52 is one gay man’s nightmare about aging, starring the amazing Scott Thompson (The Kids in the Hall).

My thoughts: Scott Thompson is always funny and this film was no exception. This dream within a dream within a dream farce was thoroughly entertaining.

No Direction - Life in the big world is tough when you’re a Philosophy major fresh from college graduation. Looking for guidance, Jamie falls in love with the GPS in her parents’ car. Cute, quirky and downright adorable are just a few of the many descriptors for No Direction.

My thoughts: While this short had its cute and amusing moments, I wouldn't describe the short as 'downright adorable'. A lesbian with no sense of direction??? I don't think so.

The Maiden and the Princess - Little Emmy kisses a girl on the playground and is left feeling isolated and alone. The Grand High Council of Fairy Tale Rules and Standards led by Bernard sends her a hetero-normative fairytale to set her down the ‘right’ path in life. With the help of fairy godmother and rogue fairytale narrator, Hammond, Emmy searches for herself amidst this musical fairytale.

My thoughts: Although I liked the concept of expanding the boundaries of what is 'normal', this short suffered from an overdose of camp which wound up being more silly than funny.

Film festival time!

2011-11-09T23:16:00.000-05:00

Although I've not mentioned it recently, I've been looking forward to the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival which began tonight with 'locals night' and runs through Sun. This film festival is a highlight of my year, of which I try to take the utmost advantage.

For many years when I worked a traditional Mon-Fri schedule, I would take vacation days on Thurs & Fri so I could see as many films as possible during the festival. Now that I don't work a traditional Mon-Fri schedule and can't be off for 4 days in a row, I've had to adjust and compromise. But that's a key ingredient to happiness in life, right? Better to compromise and enjoy as much of the festival as I can than to be severely disappointed that I can't be off work for all 4 days of it. At least that's how I see it.

Tonight I saw a wonderful Italian film called "Loose Cannons". Here's the film society's synopsis:
Tommaso has a comfortable life in Rome as an aspiring writer and a steady relationship with his boyfriend Marco - a life he has kept secret from his family. So when he’s called back to his hometown of Lecce in Italy’s deep-south to help run the family pasta business, he decides to finally reveal his homosexuality to his conservative family and hopefully get out of his business obligations in the process. But when his plans are thwarted by his brother, Tommaso gets stuck on the path that he was desperately trying to avoid. Director Ferzan Ozpetek takes a playful approach to this family dramedy, matching a critique of provincial Southern values with an eccentric cast of characters that includes a philandering conservative father, a boozing aunt, a pair of disgruntled maids, and Tommaso’s bubbly friends. As each family member’s quirks slowly come to the surface, Ozpetek’s heartfelt film reveals that Tommaso isn’t the only one struggling to navigate between a good public image and his true desires.

My thoughts:
I thought this film was delightful! The individuals' and the family's struggles were heartbreaking at times, yet laugh-outloud funny at times. The cinematography was beautiful, the characters were dimensional and fully developed yet not characatures, and the acting was true and believable. Things get particularly tense but hilarious when 4 of Tommaso's gay friends try to play it straight when they stop by his parents' house to say hello on their way to the beach!

I would highly recommend seeing this film, either at an art house theatre or eventually via Netflix.

Just because

2011-11-08T17:28:00.001-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-11-07T21:37:00.003-05:00

It was a rather unremarkable weekend. I was scheduled for floor duty at work on both Sat and Sun. I asked Steven & Thad to try to keep Spouse engaged over the weekend so he wouldn't just sit at home by himself thinking about Jordan. Spouse went to the gym and had lunch with them, so that was good. That night the 4 of us went to dinner at 1 of my favorite places: Georgia House. The cuisine is country/comfort food and the prices are very reasonable.

On Sun our internet at work was down all day, which made it nearly impossible to work. Fortunately the office across the parking lot had internet so several times I went over there and logged into my work email and the MLS. Spouse had breakfast with Steven & Thad and did some shopping.

We'd gotten an email from our dear friends Kerry & Hugh earlier in the week letting us know they would be in our area Sun afternoon and wanted to get together. When I got home from work on Sun they were at the house. It was great to see them! And being the always-thoughtful friends that they are, they brought us a beautiful vase of flowers to try and cheer us up. They have a strong attachment to their dog, Chopper, so they were particularly sensitive to Jordan's passing on Fri. However, the strange thing about it was the colors: purple and white. You see, I'm not so fond of multi-colored flower arrangements. They are often too 'busy' for my taste, so when I order flowers from a florist I always specify "any shades of purple plus white". I think this request makes for a more sophisticated arrangement. When I saw the flowers Kerry & Hugh brought, I asked them whether or not I'd told them of my flower color preference, and they said no. In fact, Kerry then said she'd originally picked up a multi-colored arrangement, but then put it back in favor of the purples and white. Weird, huh?

We visited for a little while at home, then had an early dinner at Ocean Point Grill. It was really nice to spend a little time with Kerry & Hugh and get caught up on the goings on of our mutual friends. It was a great way to end a rather unremarkable weekend.

Friday fragments: Preempted

2011-11-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

Today's Friday fragments post is being preempted in order to pay tribute to our dog, Jordan. We got Jordan in Feb of 1998 from a beagle and basset hound rescue league. They said she was almost 2 years old, but when we took her to the vet for the 1st time, the vet suggested she was probably older; more likely closer to 4 years old.

Jordan has always been quite vocal, especially when excited. Every time we'd return home, and every time company would enter the house, Jordan would excitedly bark and bay. She really made us feel like she'd missed us, even if we'd only been gone a few hours. Even as Jordan aged she'd still greet us with several barks when we came in the door, although they didn't last as long as before.

Jordan was extremely friendly and docile. She was never ever aggressive toward other dogs or people she'd meet on her walks. I would laughingly tell other dog owners "She's never met a stranger." Even when we got Pouncer as a very young kitten a few months later, Jordan accepted him into the family and they became great pals. And although she could be difficult and frustrating at times and I've joked about her being an inconvenient dog, she was also a very loving dog.

About 2 years ago we noticed that Jordan was becoming hard-of-hearing, not uncommon for dogs her age, so we began to speak louder to her. Last summer it became obvious that Jordan's favorite 2-block walk was too much for her. She'd get so tired she could barely make it back home, so we reduced it to a 1-block walk. Spouse would occasionally carry her up the stairs at bedtime if she was sleeping while we watched TV.

About 6 months ago we noticed she just seemed to be slowing down. Her normal exuberance upon our return was tempered, and she was often contented with sniffing around the yard instead of going for a walk. This week we got the 1st indication that she really wasn't doing well when she didn't want to eat. Jordan was normally a furious eater who gobbled down her food in seconds. Her internal clock always alerted us to feeding time. This week her walking within the house seemed very slow, and we wondered if she was having pain from a disc in her back, as she did in 2004. We talked about it and decided to watch her closely for the next few days and then make a vet appointment next week if necessary.

But last night Jordan took a turn for the worse. She suddenly seemed to have trouble supporting her weight with her hind legs. She tried several times to get up during the night to get a drink of water. Each time she'd walk a few feet and then plop down onto her butt. Instead of coming back to bed after her drink, Jordan started to descend the steps to the main level. I jumped up and grabbed my robe and slippers, thinking she needed to go out to pee. When I got down the stairs I saw that she had peed in the house, which is highly unusual for her. I took her outside so she could finish, then I cleaned up the floor and carried her back upstairs. Throughout the night she seemed unable to get comfortable or settle herself, again highly unusual behavior for her. We were both so concerned over her unusual behavior we barely slept.

This morning I called the vet and explained our concerns that Jordan was not well and possibly in pain. After answering several questions the vet told us to bring Jordan in at 9:30. Spouse took the day off work and took her to the vet while I headed to the office.

An examination, blood tests, and x-rays revealed that Jordan had a very high fever and was in pain due to a fast-growing tumor near her liver and spleen. Surgery was an option, but due to her advanced age the vet said it would be very risky. The anesthesia alone is risky at her age. With Jordan in pain and no alternative treatment options, Spouse made the difficult decision to say goodbye and send her to heaven.

We found it a very strange coincidence that Jordan joined Pouncer in heaven exactly 1 year to the day, Nov 4, of Pouncer's arrival there.

Spouse elected not to stay for any of the procedure. And while some pet owners save their beloved pet's last collar or favorite toy, Spouse refused when the vet offered him Jordan's collar, ID tags, and even the laundry basket in which he carried her into the office. He said he just wanted to pet her, say goodbye, and get out of there. I guess we all grieve in our own way.

We've decided to wait at least until the new year to think about getting another dog. With weekend company next week, Spouse's family staying with us for Thanksgiving, holiday parties, and being gone for several days for Christmas, it just wasn't a good time to try and bond with and train a new pet.

So maybe we'll start the new year with a new pet.

New York in 1941 & 1942

2011-11-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this cool article about an Indiana man who took photos of New York in 1941 & 1942. The unusual thing is that he used expensive color film which was not readily available then so the photos appear to be much newer than they actually are.

Many of the buildings have been demolished or replaced since, but some still remain like McSorley's Old Ale House, then...
and now...

Have a look at these interesting photos!

Business

2011-11-02T22:14:00.003-05:00

Its only Wed and already I can say that this is a good week for real estate!

Friday afternoon I showed several homes to a very interested couple and on Mon I wrote up an offer for them. That's contract #1 this week, and #9 since I started in April.

Then yesterday a couple with whom I've been working for about 2 weeks now came into the office and we wrote up an offer for them on a home I showed them twice. That's contract #2 this week, and #10 since I started in April.

This afternoon I completed the negotiations on both offers which were accepted!

Since I started working in real estate (here in a beach community) in the spring/summer I assumed that business would slow down dramatically after the beach season ended. Fortunately I was wrong and business continues to be good for me. I still have several other clients with whom I'm working and who may purchase within the next few weeks/months.

I feel like I really made the right decision when I changed careers. It required a huge leap of faith (not to mention giving up the security of a regular paycheck) to do this, but it seems to be working out well.

Just because

2011-11-01T14:13:00.003-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-10-31T20:09:00.000-05:00

Its hard to imagine the weather being much less conducive to walking around Philly on Sat. The temperature was in the upper 30s as it alternated between rain and snow the entire day. Oh, and did I mention it was very windy too? We used umbrellas but the wind drove the rain and show under them.

When we arrived in Philly around noon we started with lunch at Pietro's. We had soup, salad, and pizza. Then we had a driving tour of Philly and Thad pointed out places of interest such as museums, beautiful old government buildings, and places where he used to live and work. Then we checked into the hotel and walked across the street to Reading Terminal Market. After walking around and getting the 'lay of the land' we took advantage of the vendors' desire to get rid of baked goods for $2. The 4 of us purchased 5 different desserts and enjoyed a Dessert Extravaganza along with some hot coffee. The coffee was especially nice on such a cold, blustery day. Since it was raining/snowing I wore a water-resistant windbreaker but it wasn't warm enough. (My warmer coat isn't water-resistant.) I felt like I was cold the entire weekend. Then we went to Macy's which is located in the old Wanamaker store. What a gorgeous building! Neither Spouse nor I bought anything, since Macy's isn't really our style. Afterward we rested in hotel room until it was time to get ready for dinner. The 4 of us took a cab and met up with Joe P, Allen, and Matt & Stacy for dinner at Farmicia. But after we'd been sat at our table our waiter advised us that they had no gas (which power the stoves and ovens) so they could not provide any hot food! We decided to go to plan B and went around the corner to Fork. I think the dicey weather was the only reason they were able to seat our party of 8 without a reservation. I had wild mushroom risotto which was delicious. After dinner Joe P went with the 4 of us to a bar called the Bike Stop to see some guys in Halloween costumes. Then we walked over to to Tavern on Camac to see more. It was a fun night!

Sun morning walked across the street again to Reading Terminal Market and had breakfast at Down Home Diner. Afterward we walked around the Terminal some more. Fortunately the weather cleared up. It was bright and sunny, but still cold. We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to Trader Joe's in the car so we could stock up on our favorite items. (We don't have Trader Joe's near us so we stock up when we're in Philly or in VA visiting family.) Then came home and relaxed and caught up on emails.

It was a very nice trip, although the weather surely could have been nicer.

Friday fragments

2011-10-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this and I laughed out loud!A randomly placed price tag can change the entire meaning!

Once again I was disappointed with this season's winner of Project Runway. The last season where I agreed with the winner was when Christian Siriano won. This season it was Anya, or Last-minute Lisa as I call her. Anya allegedly just learned how to sow a few months before the show began. She never seemed to have a clear vision of what she was designing, and always appeared to fly by the seat of her pants. I was especially surprised that the judges didn't slam her for the fact that her Fashion Week collection had little diversity. While other designers made dresses, pants, tops, jackets, gowns, and tanks, Anya made 10 flowing shapeless dresses in tropical prints. Perfect for women who live on cruise ships!

I saw this on facebook and really liked the message.
I've had lots of property showings this week, which is a good thing since you don't sell houses if you aren't showing them. None of them wrote an offer yet but I believe at least 1 of them is getting very close.

Speaking of clients, 1 of my clients sent me box of chocolates as 'thank you' for helping them get to know the area and narrow down the home search for them. They sent the chocolates from some place in OH where they live so I'd never heard of the company before, but the chocolates were amazing!

I saw this on facebook and just had to share it.

Spouse & I are going to Philly this weekend with Steven & Thad. Of course the weather has suddenly changed. Today its cold and windy and tomorrow they're forecasting rain and possibly snow in Philly. I'm sure we'll have a great time anyway.

Have a great Halloween weekend!

The mystery continues

2011-10-27T21:39:00.000-05:00

After confronting Steven & Thad about my belief that they were responsible for the 'banana mystery', the bananas appeared to stop which confirmed for me that they were indeed responsible, despite their protests to the contrary.

Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the produce department, another banana arrived today!

The 1st banana was porcelain, the 2nd was frosted, the 3rd was a real banana, and now the 4th banana is paper mache.

This one came via US mail to our house, and was postmarked in VA Beach, VA. This puzzled me since I've never EVER heard Steven & Thad mention having any friends or family in VA Beach, to whom they could have sent the banana with instructions to mail it to me.

A friend to whom I'd told the banana mystery suggested that Steven & Thad may have accomplices that travel for work who could have sent the latest banana from VA Beach. Indeed, the locations from which the bananas are sent need not necessarily be important.

Of course the thought has also crossed my mind that 'copy cats' could jump on the bandwagon, but this is highly unlikely since I've not shared my address on my blog. So I still think its Steven & Thad and their accomplices who are responsible for the bananas.

I wonder what the next banana will be made of???

Stoopid lyrics

2011-10-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another edition of "Stoopid lyrics"!

A song's appearance here does NOT mean I think the song is stupid or that I don't like the song. In fact, often I like the songs a lot, but find the lyrics just don't make sense.

Judge for yourself!

Bright Lights
performed by Matchbox 20

She got out of town
On a railway New York bound
Took all except my name
Another alien on Broadway
There's some things in this world
You just can't change
Somethings you can't see
Until it gets too late
Baby, baby, baby
When all your love is gone
Who will save me
From all I'm up against out in this world
Maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something
That's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around
And come on home
I got a hole in me now
yeah,I got a scar I can talk about
She keeps a picture of me
In her apartment in the city
Some things in this world
Man, they don't make sense
Some things you don't need
Until they leave you
And they're things that you miss
Baby, baby, baby
When all your love is gone
Who will save me
From all I'm up against out in this world
Maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something
That's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around
And come on home
Let that city take you in, come on home
Let that city spit you out, come on home
Let that city take you down, yeah
God's sake turn around
Baby, baby, baby
When all your love is gone
Who will save me
From all I'm up against in this world
Maybe, maybe, maybe
You'll find something
That's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around
And come on home
Come on home
Baby, baby, baby
Come on home
Yeah, come on home
Yeah, come on home

Just because

2011-10-25T18:18:00.003-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-10-24T20:09:00.001-05:00

Wow - where did the weekend go?

I worked on Sat, as usual, and Spouse & I had dinner with Steven & Thad at Bethany Blues. End of day.

Sun I was off so Spouse & I met Steven & Thad for breakfast at Crystal Restaurant, then we did a little shopping. Spouse needed a pair of jeans that actually fit him since he's lost weight, and he found a pair that fit him well AND were on sale. We also checked out the clearance racks at a few of the outlet/factory stores and Spouse got 2 shirts and a hoodie. Later that afternoon we did some housecleaning and laundry, then met Steven & Thad for dinner at Cafe Azafran. End of weekend.

Friday fragments

2011-10-21T22:16:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I saw this on facebook and liked it so much I shared it with my friends there AND here on Blogger. It really makes a lot of sense when you stop and think about it.

I also saw this on facebook and laughed out loud. So true!!!

My friend Joe P shared this video with me about how to get corn on the cob with no silk and no shucking. I can't believe I'd never heard of this before!

So another celebrity has 'come out': Zachary Quinto.
I thought he did a great job as Spock in the Star Trek movie, and I think he's really attractive, too.

Here's hoping everyone has a great weekend.

Don't rush me

2011-10-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

I've written before about my dislike for people and retailers who rush the seasons and the holidays.

Even here in this beach resort area, you can't find a bathing suit in any store in July because they've all been cleared out to make room for the winter coats... in July!!

I was in a store in September and was shocked to see Christmas decorations for sale!

Its also frustrating to see Valentines Day merchandise in stores between Christmas and New Years.

And although I don't shop at Nordstrom, I absolutely LOVE that they absolutely refuse to decorate their stores with Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. Why? Well, this sign in a Nordstrom window explains it rather simply:
I suggest we all vow to live and decorate 'in the moment' and resist rushing the seasons or the holidays. Who's with me?!?!

Stoopid lyrics

2011-10-19T17:04:00.006-05:00

Now that I've figured out I can copy text and paste it into Blogger as long as I'm not using Internet Explorer, I can resume my blog feature "Stoopid Lyrics".

A song's appearance here does NOT mean I think the song is stupid or that I don't like the song. In fact, often I like the songs a lot, but find the lyrics just don't make sense.

Judge for yourself!

Stoned Soul Picnic

performed by the Fifth Dimension

Can you surry, can you picnic?
Can you surry, can you picnic?
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine

Red yellow honey, sassafras and moonshine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine (moonshine)
Stoned soul, stoned soul

Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Rain and sun come in akin
And from the sky come the Lord and the lightning
And from the sky come the Lord and the lightning

Stoned soul, stoned soul
Surry on soul
Surry, Surry, Surry, Surry

There'll be trains of blossoms (there'll be trains of blossoms)
There'll be trains of music (there'll be music)
There'll be trains of trust, trains of golden dust
Come along and surry on sweet trains of thought
Surry on down

Can you surry, can you surry
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine

Red yellow honey, sassafras and moonshine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine (moonshine)
Stoned soul, stoned soul
Stoned soul yeah
Surry on soul
Surry

Just because

2011-10-18T20:08:00.004-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-10-17T19:42:00.004-05:00

I don't have a lot of 'highlights' from the weekend since I worked both days.

After work on Sat. Spouse & I had dinner with Steven & Thad and 1 of the Bobs at Fins Fish House & Raw Bar. Although Fins has been in business for several years, I've just started eating there now that I know it isn't just raw food. The food is very good but a little on the expensive side, even for downtown, which may be the reason they don't put any prices on their website's menu. After dinner we strolled the streets of town in search of jazz. Since it was jazz fest weekend I assumed we'd be able to duck into various bars and restaurants to hear a little music, as we'd done in past years. I don't know if we happened to stop in just at the time most performers were on break or what, but we had a difficult time finding music! One place had music but it wasn't jazz. Another place or 2 had jazz but they were restaurants so we didn't want to go in and take up a table and not order. We wound up sitting on a bench in front of a restaurant and listened to their jazz from a distance. But the weather was amazing so we didn't mind walking around town and just enjoying being outside on what was probably 1 of the last nights of the year that we didn't need a jacket.

While I worked on Sun. Spouse cooked boneless pork chops and roasted a veggie medley for dinner. Apparently that morning while he was having breakfast with Steven & Thad, 1 of them suggested he made dinner for the 4 of us, so he did. He didn't feel like cooking AND cleaning the house, so he told Steven & Thad he'd bring dinner over to their house to eat. It was delish and we had a nice time visiting with our friends after dinner was over.

Since I worked yesterday I was off today. I didn't have any special plans so I had time to washed 2 loads of clothes and 3 loads of towels. I also stopped in at my office for an hour or so to handle a few things like copying and dropping off offer #8 at the office of another realtor. It was nice weather to have the day off.

Friday fragments

2011-10-14T22:34:00.005-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this which I found funny and true.

A friend sent me this and I just had to share it. Love it!

This weekend is the big Jazz Fest in our area. There's a concert at the convention center and all the local restaurants and bars will also have live jazz musicians and singers as well. I'm scheduled to work Sat & Sun but am hoping to duck into a few places after dinner Sat evening to check out the live music.

Here's wishing everyone a great weekend!

Demolished

2011-10-13T22:32:00.002-05:00

You may remember about 2 years ago when pediatrician Earl Bradley of Bay Bees Pediatrics in Lewes, DE was accused of sexually assaulting over 100 of his child patients over a period of several years. This scandal shocked the community, and many parents of children treated by Bradley remained in disbelief for months. He was found guilty and sentenced to multiple life sentences in prison.

The bank that held the mortgage took possession of the land on which Dr Bradley's ofc sat some time ago, and this week the structures were demolished. I pass this site everyday.
Some parents and local politicians attended the event which they hoped would erase the reminder of the horrific behavior. You can read the story and view more photos here.

Just because

2011-10-12T20:33:00.000-05:00

National Coming Out Day

2011-10-11T20:45:00.007-05:00

Today is National Coming Out Day.

NCOD was founded by a psychologist and an openly-gay politician to raise awareness of the GLBT community and equally. Gays and lesbians are encouraged to 'come out' on NCOD to someone who may not know they're gay.

Although I fully support the idea of NCOD, personally I've had very little need for it. Ever since I 'came out' the first time, I've always lived openly. My daily conversation contains references to my partner and our lives together. So rather than needing to 'come out' to anyone on any day, I'm always 'out'.

But 'coming out' isn't easy for most people. My 'coming out' to my family was extremely emotional. I delayed it for several years because I knew it would truly be a life-altering action. I've shared my 'coming out' story here before, but if you haven't read it and you'd like to, you can do so here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

If you feel so inclined, please 'come out' to someone today.

Weekend highlights

2011-10-10T20:30:00.000-05:00

As usual I worked on Sat. The offer I wrote on Fri for the small old house was countered by the seller on Sat and then ratified later on that day. That's deal #7 for me. That afternoon I met with a new couple and showed them a number of homes.

That evening Spouse & I met up with Steven & Thad and 1 of the Bobs for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. Then I went to the Blue Moon to perform as Neil Diamond in the encore presentation of the Legends show. There was a good crowd at the show, likely because it was a holiday weekend and there were several activities going on in town. After the show I hung out for a while with a couple friends from the show, but was home by midnight since I had to work the next day.

Sun I met with a client at 9:30 and took him to see a few homes he'd selected online that were very low priced. He's never bought a home before and is not sure if he can afford to buy or how much he can spend, so I gave him business cards for 2 local mortgage specialists and explained that they can pre-qualify him for a mortgage over the phone, letting him know how much he can afford to buy and what the payments would be. As we drove from home to home I asked him questions about his work and where he was from, and also helped explain some general real estate processes to him (home inspection, closing costs, transfer taxes). None of the homes we saw today suited him so I suggested that, depending on the results of his pre-qualification, he may find something he likes better in a slightly higher price range. He agreed and I look forward to working with him again in the future. Then after lunch, the guys I'd shown property to on Tues, saw at karaoke on Thurs, and showed homes to on Fri came in to write an offer on one of the homes. That's #8. It was a good week for me real estate-wise!

Sun evening Spouse & I used our VIP invitation to attend the 30th anniversary celebration of the Blue Moon. There were roving spotlights and red carpets announcing the establishment's special night. Inside it was very crowded and everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. There were passed hors d'ouvres and both of the bars were slammed. Then the emcee for the night, Miss Richfield 1981, did a short but hilarious stand-up act and then introduced the special guest entertainer: Thelma Houston! Thelma performed a Motown medley followed by her 70s disco hit "Don't Leave Me This Way". I was really impressed by how great her voice sounded after more than 35 years. Everyone danced and sang along. It was really great! Another fun surprise of the celebration was a photo booth. Spouse declined to have his photo taken so I hopped in the booth with 2 of my favorite drag queens Mona Lotts and with Phoenix Rising. It was a really, really nice celebration.

Friday fragments

2011-10-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I saw this on facebook and had to include it here.
Seems pretty accurate to me.

Last night my clients to whom I showed property on Tues and earlier today showed up at karaoke! They didn't know I'd be there; its just 'the place to be' on Thurs nights. We hung out for a while and they got to hear me sing. It was fun!

Today I wrote an offer for a commercial client on a small, old house that's on a street that's now zoned commercial. Its rather inexpensive because the value is primarily in the land, but every deal is a good deal. They plan to renovate the house and relocate their office in the old house. Let's hope this one gets ratified too, so it will be deal #7.

I saw this on facebook and thought I'd share it.Feel free to send this to an ungrateful teenager you know.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday's 30th anniversary party at the Blue Moon. They'll have a red carpet, spotlights shooting up into the sky, and all kinds of surprises. Look for my recap on Mon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Busy

2011-10-06T18:46:00.001-05:00

Since I live and work in a beach/resort area, I assumed that shortly after Labor Day when "the season" was over, there would be fewer visitors and work would slow down from the hectic summer pace. I was wrong.

Its Oct and work has still been quite busy; so much so that I've had trouble taking a full day off. I was supposed to be off today, but the offer I presented a few days ago was countered by the seller last evening, so today I was on the phone with my buyers discussing the counter, their options and our strategy. Then I spoke with another client and eventually had to go into office to send some documents to the 1st buyers and schedule property showings for next day for the 2nd buyers. This seems to happen every time I try to take a day off.

I know I shouldn't complain. I mean, how many people start a brand new career in real estate and in just over 6 months are so busy they have a hard time having a real, full day off? I'm lucky to be this busy, but at times it gets a little frustrating.

Diva

2011-10-05T22:12:00.001-05:00

This coming weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the Blue Moon restaurant and bar. As a part of the weekend's celebration we're doing an encore performance of the Legends show Sat night.

Its been over a month since we performed these characters so the bar owners asked each of us to come in today to run through our segments. I went today at 3:30 to rehearsal my Neil Diamond routine. I'm very comfortable with the material and really didn't need the rehearsal, but I dare not say so.

See, the night of our very first Legends show I was the last performer and after finishing my medley I left the stage knowing I had just a few short minutes to change out of my Neil Diamond costume and into my finale tuxedo. So as I exited the stage I handed my mic to the show coordinator and simply said "mic", then yanked my silk scarf from around my neck and handed it to the costume coordinator and said "scarf" and began unbuttoning my shirt. Thanks to this, the show coordinator gave me the nickname Diva.

So I dared not tell them I really didn't need today's rehearsal. That would have cemented my Diva status for sure!

After finishing the rehearsal we talked briefly about plans for the Legends Christmas show. I love Christmas music!! I was thrilled to learn that I'm going to be impersonating Neil Sedaka and singing 'Merry Christmas, Darling' - one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs!

Just because

2011-10-04T19:08:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-10-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

Fri night we had Fri night dinner with 'the usual suspects' and a crazy weather front moved in while we were eating. There was lightning and rain and when we left the restaurant the temperature seemed to have dropped 20 degrees. It was really chilly! That night I wound up having to get up during the night to get a blanket from the amoir.

As usual I worked on Sat. I had an 8:30 walk-thru followed by a 9:30 settlement for my clients from CT. They aren't a young couple, but they were so excited about closing on their new home. They loved the beautiful decorative glass bowl I gave them as a settlement gift. That evening Steven & Thad went to a wedding so Spouse & I went to dinner at Saketumi with Joe P. I was in the mood for sushi and Joe P always says yes to sushi. Steven & Thad joined us there after the wedding, about 1/2 way through our meal. Afterward we stopped at their house for wedding cupcakes they brought home from the reception. I confronted them about their role in the banana mystery!! As I suspected they denied it, but I still think it was them.

Sun I was scheduled to be off work, but 2 of my clients wanted to come and see property so I wound up working from 11am-5:30. It was worth it, as 1 of the clients decided to write an offer. That's #6. That evening it was still chilly - only in the very low 50s - so we decided to have Italian food for dinner. We met Steven & Thad and Joe P at the Tuscan Grill and had a great meal together. I put on my flannel pajama pants and Spouse & I watched 'Pan Am' and 'Mike & Molly' on the DVR.

Friday fragments

2011-09-30T21:15:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I saw this on facebook and had to share it. So true.

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the Progressive Insurance commercials with Flo? Seriously, I love them! I can't believe the actress that plays Flo hasn't shown up in any of the new sitcoms that started this week.

A friend sent me this video of a tsunami filmed by someone in a car. Its captivating!

A friend sent me this and I thought it was funny.

I was supposed to be off work today but a client wanted to come to town for a 2nd showing of a home I showed them, so I met her and her mother at 1:00. Although I had the entire morning to get things done at home and have a little 'me time', I found myself looking at the clock every few minutes to make sure I wasn't running late for my 1:00 appointment. She didn't end up writing an offer on that home, but she did decide to go up in price in order to try and get what they really want. I think they're serious!

Here's hoping everyone has a great weekend!

Family matters

2011-09-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Me neither

2011-09-28T18:46:00.001-05:00

Just because

2011-09-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-09-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

There isn't much "highlight" from my weekend...

I worked all day on Sat. but Spouse & I and Steven & Thad went to Joe P's for a dinner party that night. Joe made a fabulous prime rib roast, baked potatoes, and a penne side dish. Spouse made a roasted veggie medley with eggplant, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, red pepper, and onion. Steven & Thad brought dessert. We had a delicious dinner and a lovely evening.

I worked all day Sun too. Steven & Thad went to dinner for their 11th anniversary, so Spouse & I were on our own for dinner. We decided to go to the Cottage Cafe for their Sun evening dinner special: turkey dinner with gravy, stuffing, and a vegetable of your choice. I had zucchini and yellow squash, and Spouse had creamed spinach. It was really good! The turkey was tender and moist, just like Thanksgiving. So often we eat out with others, and when we eat at home its usually in front of the TV, so it was nice to have a meal out together, just the 2 of us.

Friday fragments

2011-09-23T21:47:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

The offer I wrote for my client last weekend (when I was supposed to be off work) got ratified this week, so that makes sale #5 for me. It feels good to think I'm getting the hang of this. But just when I get to thinking I'm comfortable, something new comes up. I'm now working with a client who wants to purchase a vacant lot in a residential community, upon which he'll build a house in a few years. Believe it or not, there's a different sales contract for land.

A friend sent me this photo.
At 1st I thought "He's kind of handsome", and then I noticed the mirror on the wall.

I'm scheduled to work Sat & Sun this weekend so we don't have many plans. Joe P is having a small dinner party on Sat night so we'll take a side dish and go to that. Otherwise, I'm not sure what Spouse will do with his free time. Hopefully he'll be productive and not sit at home in front of the TV all weekend.

I saw this posted on facebook and thought it was worth sharing.

I hope everyone has a fun weekend!

Yet another banana!

2011-09-22T10:54:00.007-05:00

As I was coming from the car to the front door the other day I saw something on the door step that gave me a chuckle.

Another banana!
Only this time it wasn't porcelain or frosted; it was real. And cold. The person(s) behind the banana mystery had left a cold, real banana on my doorstep.

This made me chuckle for a couple reason. One, its funny to me that someone would go to all the trouble to perpetuate the banana mystery. Two, the fact that this real banana was personally dropped off at our house and was still cold gave me a very strong clue toward the identity of the person(s) responsible.

The porcelain banana was left in my laundry room but I'm not sure when, and there were lots of people in our house then. Spouse's family stayed with us, Anne Marie from Philly had stayed with us, and we'd had friends over for dinner so it could have been anyone.

The frosted banana was shipped to my office from NJ. Literally anyone could have sent the banana to a friend who lives or works in NJ with instructions to send it to me.

But this latest banana was hand-delivered and was still cold when I got home from work, which tells me it was kept in a fridge and delivered very shortly before I got home. This had to be done by someone local.

I have yet to confront/expose the anonymous banana sender, but rest assured that I'll write about it when I do.

Just because

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday Steven!!

2011-09-20T19:33:00.004-05:00

Today is my good friend Steven's birthday! Here's a photo of us taken last Nov on our cruise.Happy birthday Steven!!!

Weekend highlights

2011-09-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

Since I had an appointment for a 2nd showing of a house at noon on Sat, Spouse & I went to the car show when it started at 10am. The weather was very chilly and overcast. Unlike past years when everyone was in shorts and t-shirts, this day they had on jeans and jackets. We walked around and admired the lovely cars and chatted with a few friends we met along the way. This year's theme was "In the lap of luxury" so many of the club members with multiple cars brought their most luxurious models. There must have been a dozen Cadillacs which delighted me immensely, a few Lincolns, and even a 1960 Rolls Royce. We left at 11:30 as it began to rain, so I could drop Spouse off at home and then meet my client at the house. I felt bad for the guys at the car show.

My client brought her architect brother along for the 2nd showing to give her ideas. She liked the home's size and location a lot, but its style was a bit too modern. Her brother and I both had some great ideas to make the home feel more cottagy. She promised to call me later that afternoon with her decision. I had a good feeling!

My plan was to pick up Spouse after the house showing and go to DE Pride, but it was raining pretty steadily by then. Since the entire event is outdoors, we thought that if we waited for a while the rain might pass on and we could go to Pride later when the entertainment was scheduled. So we met up with Steven and Alisha & Jack for lunch, then hung out at home for a while. I played a few turns of WWF and tidied up the house a bit while Spouse took a nap. My client called to say they wanted to write an offer on the house I'd shown her twice so I met them at the office to prepare the offer. By the time we finished it was 5:00 and it was still raining so we gave up on attending DE Pride and seeing Taylor Dayne perform. That night we went to our friend Doug's surprise birthday party at their friend's house. They had great food and we had a good time.

I was supposed to work on Sun but my colleague asked me to switch Sundays with him so he could be off next Sun. This gave me an entire weekend off (with the exception of the showing and the offer writing). Our friends Koset & Jim were in town and texted me so we met them for breakfast. Afterward they invited us to their house since we'd not been there before and we talked until noon. I hoped the weather would clear up so we could go to the beach in the afternoon but it was cool and overcast instead. Again we relaxed at home for a while until it was time to have dinner at Steven & Thad's. Thad's mother was visiting so they invited us and Robin and Joe P over for dinner. Spouse was helping to set the table for dinner in the sunroom and looked into the kitchen window and made a comment about being the 'zany next door neighbor' from a 1950s sitcom stopping by to gossip, and we all cracked up! Joe P took this photo.We had a delicious meal and a fun evening!

Friday fragments

2011-09-16T17:11:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

My friend Jared sent me this:I love how its done in 'traditional' needlepoint!

Earlier this week Spouse & I went to dinner with our friends Deb & Greer and Bob & Michael. We met Bob & Michael at Greer's birthday party a few weeks ago and we seemed to click with them. This week we had dinner at Planet X, one of my favorite local restaurants. The weather was pleasant so we had a table on the porch, but for some reason there was no breeze and we all became uncomfortably warm. So after dinner we walked to the boardwalk to 'cool off' with the ocean breezes and an ice cream cone! It was a very nice evening.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend! Its the car club's annual Beach Ball car show on Sat. I didn't renew my membership in the club this year or pay to participate in Beach Ball (car show, banquet, parties, etc.) due to funds, but I am definitely planning to attend the car show as a spectator. Click here for photos of last year's Beach Ball. I even requested off work to enjoy the car club, although I will take an hour or so at noon to show a house to a client for the 2nd time. Hopefully it will be worth it.

Also on Sat is DE Pride! This year talent is pretty amazing, especially for this relatively small Pride event. The headliner is Taylor Dayne!! I loved her back in the late 80s/early 90s and even saw her in concert. Also performing are Jonny McGovern, Calpernia Addams, and Pepper MaShay. In addition to the talent I always find it nice to wonder around the festival and see lots of friends.

Sat night Spouse & I are going to our friend Doug's surprise birthday dinner so that should be fun too.

My current pet peeve is when people say "navy blue" because its redundant. Navy is only a shade of blue so there's no need to distinguish which color is a shade of. There's no navy red, navy green, or navy brown, so don't say "navy blue". Just say navy.

Here's wishing everyone a great weekend!

My clients in the news

2011-09-15T18:10:00.001-05:00

Last week a writer from CNNMoney called our office. He said he was writing an article about couples who were taking advantage of historically low interest rates and buying their retirement homes now, rather than waiting a few years when they actually stop working. He wanted to know if we had any clients in this situation.

My colleague confirmed with me that 1 of my clients was doing that exact thing, buying their retirement home now, and asked me if I thought the clients would be willing to be interviewed. I thought they probably would so I called and asked them. They said yes so I provided their phone number to my colleague who then passed it onto the writer.

The result is this short article. I was a little disappointed the writer didn't mention me or at least my agency's name, but I suppose he was trying not to show any favoritism. Still it was exciting for me to see MY CLIENTS and the home I found for them featured in the article.

I do but you don't

2011-09-14T22:30:00.002-05:00

I began reading this article with the intent of being satisfied that the number of people who favor same sex marriage is going up. After all its title is "Near Split in US Over Legal Gay Marriage".

And while I was encouraged that half the people polled are in favor of marriage equality, I was simultaneously disturbed by the hypocrisy of the mother who "thinks the world" of her daughter's same sex partner and believes they should have equal rights, but can't support marriage equality due to her religion.

The writer is kind, in my opinion, by suggesting that "its complicated" and that "Americans are grappling with it". Maybe I'm overly sensitive to religion-based hypocrisy because of my own family's estrangement, but really... how "complicated" is it? You either believe in equality and vote for it or you don't.

Some may feel like the mother in this article, that gays should have equal rights in everything except marriage. But that really wouldn't make them EQUAL, now would it? Getting the same rights through an alternative measure (not through marriage) inherently creates a separate class.

Some seem to think that same sex couples should simply move to a state that offers same sex marriage. Can you imagine how preposterous it would be if that were truly implemented? What if 10% of the US population moved to the 6 states and the District of Columbia where they can legally marry? Even more preposterous is the idea that such a suggestion might have been made to African Americans 50 years ago when they sought legal equality.

The other grossly overlooked piece of the puzzle is that same sex couples who are married in the 6 states plus the District of Columbia where same sex marriage is legal only receive equal STATE rights. They still do not get equal FEDERAL rights.

Yet somehow these well-meaning people like the mother in this article allow their religion to override their consideration and respect for their very own daughter and her partner. The mother concludes the article by saying “We had to bring them to the house and hug them and love them and tell them these things and not let that keep us apart.”

In my opinion, this should keep her and her daughter apart. My parents and siblings chose their religious beliefs over their relationship with me and in a twisted way I'm glad they did. At least they aren't hypocrites. At least they don't "think the world" of me & Spouse in their home and then vote against our equality. My family's behavior is at least consistent with their speech.

It seems to me that some people want to act hypocritically and then excuse it or try to reduce its impact by saying "its complicated". Well, important decisions frequently are complicated but that does not mean we have any less responsibility to do the right thing. The true measure of one's character is how they act in "complicated" situations.

You can read the article here and feel free to share your thoughts with me by commenting on this post.

Just because

2011-09-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

Weekend highlights

2011-09-12T22:54:00.010-05:00

I worked on Sat. Afterward Spouse & I had hot dogs at Steven & Thad's for dinner. I left early for Legends show. Spouse, Steven & Thad, Joe P, and our friends Koset & Jim and Doug & Jim all came to the show. Koset took this video of my performance. Not long after the show, everyone left but Koset. He and I decided to hang out together and we really had a good time! Koset took this photo of me and Karla who performed as Donna Summer.
I took this picture of Karla and Koset.

Sun I worked. Spouse went to the beach with Steven & Thad and Joe P. Anticipating the season finale of True Blood that night on HBO (which we don't have but Steven & Thad do), Spouse offered to cook dinner and make dessert for them if they let us watch the show at their house. They don't follow the show like we do, so bribery was in order. Chris & Jason came over for dessert and the show. Spouse made a trifle for dessert and had me write True Blood on the top with gel icing.

Since I worked yesterday I was off today. I slept until 9am, watched a little TV while I drank my coffee, played several turns of Words With Friends (WWF), did several loads of laundry, had lunch, and then went to the beach. It was a beautiful day: sunny, low 80s, and low humidity. After returning home and having dinner with Spouse we settled onto the sofa and I played several more turns of WWF while Spouse watched TV. The original film 'Hairspray' by John Waters was on so that was going in the background as I played my turns. I love that film!

Friday fragments

2011-09-09T23:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Last Sat at what I thought was my last performance of Legends, I learned that we were doing an encore Legends performance tomorrow night! I've had SO much fun doing the Legends show, I'm happy to do an encore performance tomorrow night.

Last night I learned from Steven that the 'Words with Friends' (WWF) game he plays with Joe P and Jack & Alisha on their iPads and iPhones is also available on Facebook, so I started playing on Facebook. OMG, I'm completely addicted! I have 20 simultaneous games going on already! Its similar to Scrabble, a game I played a lot as a kid.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend. But there'll be no beach time for me this weekend. I am scheduled to work both Sat & Sun. I hope I get some good new clients to work with to make it worth it.

Rick Perry

2011-09-08T19:16:00.003-05:00

OK, I know this is Photoshopped but its still funny.

Just because

2011-09-07T22:16:00.000-05:00