Best Gay Blogs

I was a little surprised to receive the following email recently:

"Your blog registration at www.bestgayblogs.net has been accepted. Your blog is now listed in our directory. To login and change your blog details, and to add further information, you will need to use your e-mail address and the password (removed)."

Then I remembered a blogger buddy had suggested I submit my blog for consideration. It was quite some time ago and I had forgotten about it. Apparently my blog 'cut the mustard' and was accepted into their best gay blogs directory. Does this mean I'm now a published writer?

Drag Queen name of the day: Gwen N. Barrett

This is it...

Today I am taking Jordan the dog and Pouncer the Wondercat with me and driving to DE. We have the walk-through and settlement on the new house this afternoon!

Then after dinner, I will drive back to VA so I can be here on Fri morning to meet the movers. Joe will stay in DE in order to meet the cable installer on Fri morning. Hopefully all will go well and I will be reconnect to cyberspace by the weekend. Cross your fingers.

So this is my last blog post from VA! I'm literally disconnecting the modem as soon as I post this and power down.

Drag Queen name of the day: Ginger Ale

More packing and Snow

This weekend Joe & I once again spent several hours packing.

Its amazing to me how much stuff we've accumulated in the 6 years we've lived here. And I'm not a pack rat either. About 2 or 3 years ago we had a yard sale to get rid of some stuff, and then took all the unsold items to Goodwill. Twice a year I go through my closet (and sometimes Joe's too) and filter out the clothing I haven't worn and don't want to wear anymore. I either take it to Goodwill or allow Value Village to pick it up. Yet we still have too much stuff to take with us.

We went through the storage area of the basement and came up with 2 large boxes of good, usable stuff to donate. Then we went through the attic and bagged up 7 large trash bags full of Joe's clothes to donate. We filled up the Suburban and took the stuff to Goodwill.

Then we unloaded the pantry and packed all the stuff into boxes. Today Joe's sister Mary, neice Anna, and mother Evelyn came over to 'help'. Between the 3 of them and Joe, they finished packing up the kitchen while I worked on re-packing some boxes in the storage room. I decided to edit some of my old papers and re-pack the items in newer, sturdier boxes. I also packed some loose stuff that had been left from the last time we had worked in there.

Around 1pm it began to snow. When Joe's relatives arrived we didn't think much of the snow, since it is not unusual to get a light dusting that quickly melts. But it continued to snow for about 5 hours, and I'm guessing we got about 3 inches of snow. Of course the entire DC metro area is paralyzed. I'm sure they'll cancel school tomorrow for the kids - for 3 inches of snow.

The snow is pretty because its hanging in the trees. I don't mind it.

Drag Queen name of the day: Barb B Doll

Last Thurs night dinner with Evelyn

Tonight was my last Thurs night dinner with Evelyn.

I brought my aunt Mary along, since Evelyn often asks for her. Mary had a good idea of where to go for dinner: Espisito's in Fairfax. Its an authentic Italian family restaurant. Mary had taken Joe & me there before.

I had to go to Richmond but was able to get back in time for dinner. I picked up Mary and then Evelyn and we went to Espisito's. I had canneloni filled with ricotta and veal. Mary had lasagna, and Evelyn got the special linguini with mussels and scallops. And for dessert we all shared tiramisu. It was a great dinner, and an appropriate way to 'celebrate' our last Thurs night dinner together.

Drag Queen name of the day: Tyne E. Bubbles

Redneck Pick-up Lines

A friend sent me this and I think its one of the funniest things I've read so far this year! Enjoy.

Redneck Pick-up Lines:

1) Did you fart? 'Cuz you blew me away.
2) Are yer parents retarded? 'Cuz ya sure are special.
3) My love fer you is like diarrhea . I can't hold it in.
4) Do you have a library card? 'Cuz I'd like to sign you out.
5) Is there a mirror in yer pants? 'Cuz I can see myself in 'em.
6) If you was a tree I were a squirrel, I'd store my nuts in yer hole.
7) You might not be the best lookin' girl here, but beauty's only a light switch away.
8) Man: "Fat Penguin!" Woman: "WHAT?" Man: "I just wanted to say something that would break the ice."
9) I know I'm not no Fred Flintstone, but I bet I can make yer bed-rock.
10) I can't find my puppy, can you help me find him? I think he went inta this cheap motel room.
11) Yer eyes are as blue as winda cleaner.
12) If yer gunna regret this in the mornin, we kin sleep til afternoon.
And.... the best for last!
13) Yer face reminds me of a wrench, every time I think of it my nuts tighten up.

Drag Queen name of the day: Donna Venuday

Packing

Last Wed I purchased some moving boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper from an ad on Craigslist. A woman had just moved to the area from Oregon and had lots of moving boxes and packing supplies to get rid of. The ad said she paid $200. for the boxes and supplies (which I'm sure is true) and I bought them for $50.

Yesterday Joe & I began packing. I'd been dreading it for weeks, even having dreams about the movers showing up on moving day and me running around in a full-on panic because I hadn't finished packing yet. But fortunately things went well yesterday as we packed up the books, papers, and decorations from the office/library and our bedroom, as well as the linen closet and one of the bedroom closets. Afterward we picked up my aunt and Joe's mother and had dinner at Red Hot & Blue.

Today we worked in the basement. I packed up a box of vintage decorations from the family room, and he and I sorted through the boxes in the storage area. Despite having had a yard sale and having sorted stuff a few months ago in preparation for listing the house, we still managed to identify several trashbags full of stuff we could throw away, as well as 2 large boxes of stuff to donate to a charity. After sorting it all we began boxing up what we were keeping, and then took a few loads of trash out to the curb.

Tomorrow my aunt is coming over to help us pack. We're working on the main floor of the house, and my aunt will be assigned to the dining room because everything in it must be packed. There's no sorting to do in there - all the glassware, dishes, trays, serving platters, bowls, and flatware will get packed. While she's doing that Joe & I will go around the rest of the main floor wrapping all the decorative stuff (vases, framed photos, etc) in bubble wrap and safely tucking them into padded boxes.

I'm crossing my fingers we'll find places for all this stuff, PLUS the stuff from the beach house, in our new house!

Drag Queen name of the day: Alberta V. O'Five

Renter found

With our move to full-time living in Lewes we had no more need for the beach place in Lewes. We discussed the situation months ago with the other owners and all agreed we would put the place on the market for sale and for rent, and would be happy with whichever came first.

But knowing that the real estate market has been in transition for several months now, we were not optimistic about either a sale or a renter coming forward quickly. We mentally prepared ourselves to be patient for several months.

The listings went into the MLS on Mon, and on Tues we learned that an agent wanted to show the place to a renter on Wed. This was not entirely surprising, as properties often get some initial 'action' when they first come on the market.

But I was completely surprised when our listing agent called me on Fri morning to let me know the renter who saw the place on Wed had submitted an application! They did a credit check and prior rental history and both came up great. So we agreed to rent to them! 5 days on the market and a renter was found!

I called Joe first, and then the other owners who had left on vacation the night before and told them the good news. Like me, they were all surprised but delighted. One of them said "You guys should play the lottery because it seems like things are really going your way!"

Drag Queen name of the day: Deb U. Taunt

Gay, Straight, & Taken

On Mon night I saw this new show on Lifetime called 'Gay, Straight, or Taken'. The concept is for a woman to be introduced to 3 guys, one of whom is gay, one of whom is straight and available, and one of whom is straight but taken (in a relationship). She spends some one-on-one time with each of them doing activities of her choosing (like yoga, ballroom dancing, etc) in an attempt to identify each guy's status. If she can correctly identify the straight and available guy, she and he go on a fancy weekend trip. If she does not correctly identify him, then the guy she picks gets to take the trip with his boyfriend or girlfriend.

I thought it was a clever concept, and when I watched both of the 1/2 hour shows I really liked them! Even I had trouble correctly identifying each guy's status. Young, straight, urban guys appear so gay these days. In both of the episodes I saw, the woman was not able to correctly identify the gay guy. In one case she did correctly identify the straight and available guy, but had the 'taken' and the gay guy reversed. In the other episode the woman didn't identify any of the 3 guy's status correctly.

I like the fact that it is only a 30 minute show. If it were on a network I'm sure they would have drug it out into the typical 60 minute reality show formula, which would just be too much. But kudos to Lifetime for correctly limiting this show to 30 minutes, which to me feels just right.

Keep your eye out for 'Gay, Straight, & Taken' on Lifetime at 9pm ET on Mondays!

Drag Queen name of the day: Henna Roid

Myspace

My friend Sean convinced to sign up for a MySpace page.

I was a bit skeptical at first, since my only exposure to MySpace was hearing stories of teens pouring their hearts out on their MySpace pages and middle-aged perverts trying to prey upon them. But then I reasoned that, like any component of the internet or life in general for that matter, there will be a few freaks along the way.

So I went about creating my MySpace page. Then I started looking through the directories of MySpace users and requesting others to allow 'friend' links from my page to theirs. It seems everyone has a MySpace page these days, from TV and film celebrities, recording artists, and average Joes. It can get a bit addictive, looking at people's pages, seeing who their 'friends' are, and clicking on the links to their friends' pages. Time just flies by.

I'm still adding and tweaking my page, but feel free to visit and leave a comment (either there or here) if you'd like: http://www.myspace.com/singjaz

Drag Queen name of the day: Gerrie Tall

This weekend

This weekend Joe was going to come home and we were going to start packing. However, I wasn’t able to find any boxes yet, so there wasn’t much point in him coming here again.

He’s come to VA the last 2 weekends in a row, and will be coming to VA the 2 weekends prior to our move, too. If he were to come this weekend, it would be 5 weekends in a row for him.

Also, I got to thinking that if I went to DE this weekend, not only would it give Joe a break from the weekend commute, but it would also give us a chance to clean the beach house thoroughly before it is listed for sale and rent. I’m bringing the carpet shampooer with me so we can freshen up the carpet too. Additionally we needed to get a check to the realtor’s office, so if I came to DE for the weekend we could simply drop it off, eliminating the 2 or 3 days for it to arrive in the mail.

So, I’m going to DE tonight, after the traffic dies down a bit. I emailed our realtor and asked if we could get a key so we could go inside our new house and take some measurements. We have a good idea where most of our furniture will go, but do have a few pieces still in question.

I’ll be back Sun night.

Drag Queen name of the day: Dee Face

New Years Eve

Kerry & Hugh invited us to their house for a NYE party in their new great room addition. The party was very warm and casual, with about 15 people.

Of course there was lots to eat; several people brought food in addition to what Kerry & Hugh had provided. The dining room table was covered! I brought a crockpot of meatballs in my 'secret' beer barbecue sauce.

We talked and laughed and ate and mingled until somebody suggested we start the karoke. Kelly brought her karoke machine and CDs. Kelly & I started off with the duet "I Got You Babe", only she sang Sonny's part and I sang Cher's part. It was a blast!

Shortly before midnight we turned on the TV for the countdown. I brought my bag of vintage tin noise makers and passed them out to everyone. At midnight we all shook and twisted our noise makers and shouted "Happy New Year!" and then had a festive champagne toast.

This NYE was SO much fun than last year's, since last year Joe & I basically did nothing except watch the ball drop in Times Square and then go to bed. NYE parties are SO much better than staying home!

Drag Queen name of the day: Deb O'Nare

Last dinner party in this house

Last Sat we had the last dinner party in this house.

24 friends and family members came for a very casual dinner party (styrofoam plates and plastic cups) of baked ziti, meatballs, sausage, salad, and cheesy garlic bread followed by various desserts and coffee. It was a great way to wish everyone Happy Holidays in person, as well as celebrate the last time we'd entertain in this house. It was kind of like a very scaled-down version of the old holiday open houses we used to have. Everyone seemed to have a good time eating and talking and laughing.

Drag Queen name of the day: Ruby Redd

Holiday wrap-up

On Christmas Eve I finished making the goodies to go in my goodie baskets, assembled all 12 of the baskets, and then delivered 7 of them to my neighbors. They were all delighted to get them! The other 5 were earmarked for family and friends.

The goodie baskets included chocolate covered pretzels dredged in nuts and rainbow dots, 5 different kinds of chocolate bark, cocoanut cheese cake squares, red and green M&Ms or Hershey's kisses. Some of the baskets also included a box of 3 hand painted glass ornaments. I had a great time making the goodies and assembling and decorating the baskets with artificial poinsettias and spray painted pine cones.

Then Joe & I went to his sister Mary's house to meet up with the other family members. Christmas Eve is also Joe's mother's birthday so we always have a birthday party for her. We had a honey baked ham, potato salad, pesto dip, sun dried tomato dip, corn casserole, rolls, and tons of cookies, brownies, and other baked goods. It was practically vulgar, but delicious. It was a lot of fun.

For her birthday Joe & I gave his mother a pair of earrings, pendant, and ring (matching set) with beautiful purple stones on them. She loves jewelry and wears lots of it, depending on her outfit. She often 'matches' her jewelry to the color of her outfit. She loved the set, which made Joe happy since he'd picked it out.

We visited with all of the family and then went home around midnight.

On Christmas morning Joe & I had Christmas breakfast together. He made 'yule log waffles', which consisted of waffle batter sprinkled with left over pieces of the bark I'd made the day before. They tasted great! We also had hash browns, sausage, bacon, biscuits, orange juice, and coffee. After cleaning up the breakfast mess, we just relaxed on the sofa in our pajamas and watched TV, with Jordan the dog and Pouncer the Wondercat next to us. It was divinely relaxing.

Later we showered, got dressed, and loaded the Christmas gifts into the back of the Suburban. Unfortunately it was raining, so I had to hold an umbrella with one hand and 1 or 2 gifts in the other, making what felt like 101 trips until everything was in the truck. Then we picked up my aunt Mary.

Once at Joe's sister Mary's house again, we hung out for a little while until dinner was ready, then after saying grace we all loaded up our plates. Two days before Joe had gone to Mary's and had helped her make homemade ravioli and gnochi, so for Christmas dinner we had both of those plus stuffed shells, homemade meatballs and sausage in tomato sauce. (Can you tell his family is Italian?) It was all super delicious!

After dinner we had the family gift exchange. Since everyone knew we were moving soon, they wisely gave us gift cards! Those will be very convenient when we move into our new house, and we don't have to pack them. Everyone liked the gifts we had picked out for them, which was validating. Anna played a few Christmas carols on the piano and David played a few on his cello. Not quite as Normal Rockwell as it sounds. It was another wonderful Christmas.

Drag Queen name of the day: Jenny Fur