Halloween humor

Costume

Tomorrow is the big Halloween costume party at the Blue Moon.  They REALLY go all out for Halloween there so its absolutely the best place to be for Halloween. 

Last year was really fun because I had my costume idea months in advance and had all the elements assembled and tried on several days in advance.  I was Little Edie Beale from Grey Gardens.

This year I just can't seem to come up with a good costume idea.  I tried to think of some timely political concept that didn't involve Trump, but came up empty.  And I can't repeat one of my costumes from a previous Halloween, as that would be lame.  So, unless I'm struck by some great costume concept between now and tomorrow night, I'll probably just stay home.

Halloween

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

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

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

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

Little Edie, Pimp Daddy, and Foxy Brown

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

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

Brian & Damien - check out that make-up!

My friend Clay as Divine!

Some unknown party guest in a cute Boy George costume

Little Edie in the house!

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

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

Fun, food and friends

So, the weekend before last our good friends Ron & James and Mike & Clark came for their annual visit.  They arrived midday on Fri and took advantage of our tax-free factory outlet store shopping, then met up with some mutual friends of ours for a visit before arriving at our house around 6pm.

Although our friends come just once per year, I was surprised they noticed we'd replaced the area rug in our living room.  The previous area rug was off white and although it was wool and supposedly easy to clean, it unfortunately did not fair well with our pets.  It seems they've all puked, peed or pooped on that darn rug for 1 reason or another at some point in time.  So we recently replaced it with an area rug that will be more 'forgiving' and also feels more modern that the previous one.

After a little chit-chat we headed out to dinner at Beachside Bar & Grill.  Though the weather was mild enough we could have eaten outside on their huge patio, we opted to eat indoors.  The food was very good and our server was cute and attentive.  Afterward we walked down the street to the boardwalk and treated ourselves to ice cream.  Back at home we visited until everyone's eyelids became heavy.

Sat morning we had coffee, juice, croissants, and scones and just enjoyed a lazy morning of conversations and laughs.  Later we got dressed and walked downtown where we stopped into a few shops and the antique emporium.  Then we met up with our mutual friends Marty & Karen for lunch at the new Crooked Hammock Brewery.

Afterward a few of us went home and a few of us made a stop at the Dollar Tree.  Ron loves to stock up nice, well-priced greeting cards there.  That afternoon some of us napped while others talked until it was time to have dinner.  We went to Pig + Fish, and everyone started off with cocktails before deciding on our apps and entrees.  As the 1st of the entrees was arriving at the table, James said "Here comes your chicken, Ron" and several of us burst into laughter because the runner delivering the chicken dinner looked like he was 14 years old.  (Gay men of a certain age will make the connection between chicken and 14 year olds.)  Everyone enjoyed their meals and there were many more laughs that night.

After dinner we walked over to the Blue Moon to check out all the creative costumes, since it was Halloween.  Also there were Steven & Thad and Rick & Nick.  We hung out for a while until it got too crowded.

Sun morning after conversations and coffee we walked over to Honey's Farm Fresh for breakfast which was delicious and filling.  Afterwards the guys packed up their gear and bid us goodbye before heading back to DC.  It was a fun weekend, complete with lots of laughs and friendship.

Friday fragments

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

We had a great time in Montreal!!  Although we didn't expect to have Tornwordo as our tour guide every day, he generously spent time with us during each day of our visit and we saw lots of great sites and had a ball.  

Photos and descriptions will be coming in next week's posts.

Tomorrow night is Halloween.  My crazy friend Liz texted me this:

Our longtime friends Ron & James and Mike & Clark are coming today for for their annual weekend visit.  We used to hang out a lot when we lived in VA, and they would come visit our beach house with us every year beginning in 2003.  So this weekend is our 13th annual weekend together.  We don't tend to 'do' a lot when they're here (ie: site seeing).  Since we only see them once a year we usually spend it talking, drinking, laughing, eating, and catching up on the goings on in each others lives.  

Can I see a show of hands of who was surprised that Tim Gunn used his 'Tim Gunn Save' to bring Edmond back?  Anyone?  Anyone??

Have a fun and safe Halloween weekend!!

Halloween

I hope everyone enjoys a safe and FUN Halloween!

Appreciation

Last night I went to a realtor appreciation party hosted by a local real estate attorney that I sometimes refer my clients to.  She used to have this realtor appreciation party in Dec but found that it was harder and harder to schedule without overlapping some other party/event, so she decided to move it to late Oct and make it a costume party.  (Spouses were invited but mine declined.)

The party was a lot of fun!  Nearly everyone was dressed in costumes.  I resurrected an old favorite of mine: Boy George.  Here is a photo of me from 2006 in the same costume.

Richard Simmons, Boy George, Bride of Frankenstein

There was live music, costume prizes, door prizes, food and drinks - what more could you ask of a week night Halloween party?

Spouse & I are going to a friend's Halloween party on Fri night and I'll probably be wearing this costume again.

Halloween comes early here

Since Halloween is this coming Fri, I would think that most bars and clubs would have their big Halloween parties on Fri or Sat night.  Glad I did a little research and found the contrary: this past Sat was the big night.  Maybe this was done to coincide with the increasingly popular Sea Witch Festival which took place this past weekend.

Spouse & I went to dinner Sat evening with Steven & Thad and Joe P, and then we headed over to the Blue Moon.  They "go all out" every year for Halloween, including a big costume party.  None of us were in costume but we figured we'd go anyway to see the clever, creative, and funny costumes of those who were (obviously) more into it than we were.  It was fun and we stayed for about an hour.

On Sun we met Steven & Thad, Robin, and Joe P for breakfast at the Crystal, and then tried on the costumes Spouse had purchased for Marvin & Walter.  I was a little surprised they kept them on, as I remember last year Marvin repeatedly pulled off the Santa hat we'd put on him.

Trying on their costumes at home

Once we had both of our hot dogs in their carriers we headed to the Sea Witch Festival's Costume Dog Parade where we met up with Steven & Thad, Robin, and Joe P.  It had probably been 10 or more years since we'd been to this, and I can't imagine why.  It was a blast!!  There were likely over 100 dogs in costumes, many of which were being walked or pushed in baby carriages or pulled in wagons or floats by their owners.  We didn't enter our guys in the parade as we didn't know how they'd react to being around so many dogs, but we stood along the parade route and enjoyed the show.  Of course Walter drew a lot of attention both before and after the parade as everyone commented on his size (3.5 lbs) and his overwhelming adorableness.  Being there took a lot out of both dogs (sensory overload anyone?) and both fell asleep in their carriers on the 15 minute drive back home. 

Joe P gets lots of puppy kisses from Walter

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Although today is Halloween, we celebrated last Sat night by going to a costume party at a friend's house, followed by going to the Blue Moon to check out other people's costumes.

Spouse went as Fred Flintstone

and I went as Boy George

Tonight we actually got a couple trick-or-treaters for the 1st time.  Since last year we got 2 new neighbors who have children, so those kids came.  In past years we've had no kids.

Make it sexy!

This year Halloween is on a Wed, so all the costume parties seem to be happening this coming Sat.  Spouse & I are going to a costume party/potluck, and will then go to the Blue Moon to see lots of other folks in costumes.  We're recycling costumes from previous years since we aren't likely to run into the same people at this party. 

Fellow blogger BosGuy included this article about 10 Rules for Sexy Gay Homosexual Halloween Costumes.  (I'm not sure why the need to include 'Gay' and 'Homosexual', but whatever.)  There are several examples of regular costumes made sexy by The Gays.  I thought the article was cute and encourage you to take a look at it.

Its not that hard - you can make almost any Halloween costume sexy simply by removing all non-essential pieces of clothing.

Regular Indian:

Sexy Indian:

Regular Firefighter:

Sexy Firefighter:

Honestly, which would YOU rather run into at a party??

Whatever costume you choose this year, please be SAFE and have FUN!!

Weekend highlights

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.

Memories of Halloweens past

I'm disappointed that Spouse & I will not be able to participate in any fun Halloween activities this year. My cousin's wedding and reception is from 4:00-9:30 on Sat. When its over we will have about an hour's drive to get back to Spouse's mom's house where we're staying so I'm sure he will not want to go out anywhere after we've gotten out of our suits and ties.

So instead of doing anything for Halloween this year, I am just going to relive some fun memories from Halloweens past.

This is me & Spouse last year dressed as Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone. We wore these costumes to 2 different Halloween parties last year. (All photos on this page may be clicked to enlarge.)
The Barney and Fred costume idea was Spouse's. I could have thought of at least 100 other (read: better) costume ideas, but acquiesced since I knew Spouse would be more apt to actually participate if he were happy and comfortable in his costume. We used fleece throws from Wal-Mart, sewn with the help of our friend Bugsy, and I used iron-on patches for the spots on Fred's tunic. At the party people only seemed to 'get' my costume if I was standing with Spouse. Alone my costume was ambiguous, and I was asked if I were a monk and John the Baptist. So I tried to stand and sit near Spouse the rest of the time.

Here's a photo of my Halloween 2006 costume, sandwiched between Richard Simmons and the Bride of Frankenstein.
The scary part of it is that I put together the Boy George costume completely from clothing Spouse & I already owned! The only thing I bought was the wig and the stick-on numbers. I won 1st runner up in a costume contest at Freddie's Beach Bar.

Back in 1996 I talked 5 of my female co-workers into dressing up with me as The Village People. I'm the Cowboy on the right. The other 5 are females! Check out the Leatherman with the huge mustache.

In this photo we're lip-syncing the song "Y.M.C.A." and doing simple choreography in the breakroom at work. I'm not sure I've ever laughed as hard or as long as I did that day. Good times!

In 1994 I dressed as a patient in a hospital bed.

I'm actually standing up in this picture. The 'bed' is made of cardboard, with a whole in the middle in which I'm standing. I have rope suspenders over my shoulders, holding the 'bed' up. The 'legs' are panty hose stuffed with plastic bags. I won 1st place in a costume contest with this.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween. Don't forget to take pictures and post them on your blogs!

Crush du Jour: George Sherrill

Weekend update

Fri evening we had a fun time at Liz & Justine's Halloween costume party/wedding reception.
There really weren't any physical references to the 'wedding reception' as I'd imagined. No white wedding bells or doves; just people in Halloween costumes. We didn't take our camera so I don't have any photos, but there were some clever costumes.

Since the theme was 'couples' many people were creative. One couple had added 'fins' to one of their outfits and bags of potato chips to the other. They were 'fish and chips'. There were two couples who came as an electric socket and plug. Apparently they shopped at the same costume store. Another couple came as Austin Powers and a shagalicious lady. As stated before, Spouse & I were Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Our hostesses were black-eyed peas. Hmmm, sounds familiar.

One woman came as Nancy Pilosi and she looked exactly like her! When she walked in I was like "What is Nancy Pilosi doing here?" She had a color photo of Nancy Pilosi pinned to her lapel, carried a gavel and a small American flag, and encouraged everyone to vote Democratic on Tues. She was quite funny.

Sat we met up with our friends Robert & Liz, saw their house, and caught up on each others' news over lunch at a great Indian restaurant. We hadn't seen them since Dec so we had a good time. Then we returned to Spouse's mom's house and visited with her and his sister and kids. Then our friend Wendy came over and we went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant The Taco House. It was absolutely delicious, and we enjoyed seeing Juan, Gloria, Sandy, and Neville.

Sun morning we met up with Kerry & Hugh, George, Kelly, Ana, Emily and Javier for breakfast. It was great to see them all, as it had been quite a while. We really didn't do much catching up, as the US Presidential election continued to overpower the conversation. I will be so happy on Nov 5th when that is over. Afterward we hung out at Spouse's mom's house again talking to her and Wendy until Spouse's sister and kids came over again. When they left around 2pm we were right behind them.

This will be a short work week for both of us. Spouse worked today, but has tomorrow off for the election (since he's a state employee). He works Wed but is off 1/2 day on Thurs for the election parade. Then he works on Fri. I work today, tomorrow, and Wed and then will be off Thurs and Fri for the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. I'm so excited! As I did in past years, I will recap the films I see each day so you can add those you like to your Netflix queue.

Crush du Jour: Jon LaJoie

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, everyone!

You may recall I mentioned that last weekend when Mike & Clark and Bugs & Roger visited us we went to a Halloween costume party at our neighbor's house. The guys and Spouse weren't too thrilled about the idea when I first brought it up, but fortunately they were all 'good sports' and played along.

Just before we were about to walk the 2 blocks to our neighbor's house, it began to pour down raining! We decided to take a few pictures while we waited for the monsoon to pass. Here's me and Spouse as Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone. (All photos on this page may be clicked to enlarge.)
The Barney and Fred costume idea was Spouse's. I could have thought of at least 100 other (read: better) costume ideas, but acquiesced since I knew Spouse would be more apt to actually participate if he were happy and comfortable in his costume. We used fleece throws from Wal-Mart, sewn with the help of Bugs, and I used iron-on patches for the spots on Fred's tunic.

At the party people only seemed to 'get' my costume if I was standing with Spouse. Alone my costume appeared ambiguous, and I was asked if I was a monk (?) and John the Baptist. So I did my best to stand and sit near Spouse.

Mike & Clark and Bugs & Roger are pictured below. It took me a minute to 'get' their costume. How about you?
If you said "They're Black-eyed Peas!" then you'd be right. Bugs sewed the Ps onto their sweatshirts, and they used theatre make-up to give themselves black eyes. Clever!

Tonight Spouse & I are driving back to DC for the weekend. Our 1st stop is at our friends Justine & Liz's house in Silver Spring, MD. A few weeks ago they slipped up to MA and got married, and tonight they are having a Halloween costume party/wedding reception at their house. The theme is "couples", due to their recent wedding. So Fred & Barney will be reappearing there tonight.

On Sat and Sun we'll be meeting up with some friends and family. We decided to board Jordan since we'll be running around the entire weekend. We like to think of it as Jordan having a "spa weekend", complete with a bath, nail trim, and massage. Nothing but the best for our pooch.

Here's a photo of my Halloween 2006 costume, sandwiched between Richard Simmons and the Bride of Frankenstein.
The scary part of it is that I put together the Boy George costume completely from clothing Spouse & I already owned! The only thing I bought was the wig and the stick-on numbers. I won 1st runner up in a costume contest at Freddie's Beach Bar.

Back in 1996 I talked 5 of my female co-workers into dressing up with me as The Village People. I'm the Cowboy on the right. The other 5 are females! Check out the Leatherman with the huge mustache.

In this photo we're lip-syncing the song "Y.M.C.A." and doing simple choreography in the breakroom at work. I'm not sure I've ever laughed as hard or as long as I did that day. Good times!

In 1994 I dressed as a patient in a hospital bed.

I'm actually standing up in this picture. The 'bed' is made of cardboard, with a whole in the middle in which I'm standing. I have rope suspenders over my shoulders, holding the 'bed' up. The 'legs' are panty hose stuffed with plastic bags. I won 1st place in a costume contest with this.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween. Don't forget to take pictures and post them on your blogs!

Crush du Jour: Ted Colunga