Labor Day weekend update

We had a fab weekend with Bugs & Roger.  Sat evening we walked to a waterfront restaurant and had cocktails and terrific seafood for dinner.  The weather was perfect for dining al fresco, and we had a sassy waitress that made our experience even more fun.

L to R:  Me, Spouse, Bugsy, and Roger

My delicious cosmo

Sun we had enchilada casserole for dinner and birthday cake (Spouse made both) on the screened porch for Thad's birthday.  I didn't take any photos.

Bugsy & Roger left before lunch, so Spouse & I grabbed sandwiches from Subway and went to the beach.

Holiday weekend

Its the Fri before a holiday weekend.  We're tidying up and preparing for a visit from our good friends Bugsy & Roger who arrive tomorrow.  The weather forecast is great so I anticipate lots of morning coffee and afternoon cocktails on the screened porch along with great conversations and laughter.

We'll also be hosting a small birthday dinner for our friend Thad on Sun.

It should be a fun weekend! 

What are YOU doing this holiday weekend?

Happy birthday!!

Saturday was Spouse's birthday!  And Walter's birthday!

This year I planned a very social weekend away for Spouse's birthday but kept all the details a secret.  I told him to simply pack casual clothes and don't try to figure everything out.

So Sat morning we drove to the DC area where we used to live and arrived just in time for lunch at the Taco House with our friends Jeff, Shaun, Brandon and David.  Spouse was happily surprised to see them, and of course equally happy to eat at our longtime favorite Mexican restaurant.  I'd emailed in advance to be sure the owners (who are also friends) Juan & Gloria would be there, so we had a nice reunion with them too.  Unfortunately I took no photos.

Next we drove over to have a short visit with our good friends Bugsy & Roger.  It had been about a year since we'd seen them at our house so we enjoyed a nice, relaxing visit at their home.  Again I took no photos.

Then we drove several miles south to the area where I grew up, but that has changed quite a bit.  Spouse knows that our friend Carl lives there so he guessed we were either going to Carl's house or meeting him somewhere for dinner.  But instead, we arrived at a hotel and checked in.  After a few minutes of relaxing and changing our clothes, we went to a hip bar/restaurant nearby.  Waiting for us to arrive was Carl, Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, Kim, Justine & Liz, Harriet & Bob, Ana & Jose, Javier, and Emily & Brandon!  This time I managed to take a few photos but they're pretty bad.  

L-R: Kelly, Javier, Harriet, Bob, Jose, Ana, Hugh, Kerry

L-R:  Carl, Kim

L-R: Kerry, Justine, Liz, me

The birthday boy

I didn't give people time to look at the camera or smile, I just snapped away.  As you can see from the table, alcohol was involved which likely contributed to the (non-)quality of the photos, but at least its better than no photos.

About 3 hours later everyone left except Kerry & Hugh and Carl, so the servers moved us to a smaller table where we ordered a couple desserts to share and continued visiting.  We had a lovely, lovely birthday dinner, as well as a fun day overall.  We got back to the hotel and crashed.

The next morning we showered, checked out, and headed back north to Spouse's sister's house.  Waiting for us there was his sister, her husband, her 2 sons, and Spouse's brother and his wife.  'The family' had a yummy brunch and visited for a couple hours before heading home to DE.

Spouse complimented me on the terrific birthday weekend and said it was probably his favorite ever.

Sharing Spouse's birthday, although completely overlooked this year, is Walter who turned 5 years old.  We adopted him in Sept but were told he was born on July 20, the same day as Spouse.  That is why Walter's middle name is the same as Spouse's first name.

Happy birthday

...to me!  Yes, today is my birthday.  Although I do have to work today, I had Wed off for our NYC day trip and I had yesterday off because Thurs is my regular day off, so I don't mind working today.

Tonight Spouse is taking me to dinner somewhere so you can believe I will enjoy a birthday cosmo or two.

Weekend update

On Sat I was due to work, and although I had no appointments for the day, I was expected in the office to help with phone coverage.  Fortunately it was slow and we had more than enough people to handle the office so I ducked out for about 1.5 hours so Spouse & I could go to the gay car club's annual car show.  The weather was perfect for it. 

Many of the vehicles we'd seen before at past car shows, but I did note 3 beautiful additions to share:

This is a gorgeous 1955 (I think) Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon, in sea foam green with an ivory roof.  Such a beautiful car!

This is a mid-to-late 50s DeSoto Firedome convertible.  Love the powder pink and ivory color combo!  Its difficult to read in this photo but the license plate reads BEBUTCH.

This is a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville.  Notice how the up-sweeping rear fins are similar to those on my 1959 Cadillac.  Same goes for the wrap around windshield.

That evening we met Steven & Thad, Bob, and Joe P for dinner at 1776 Steakhouse, a high-end steak restaurant, to celebrate Steven's birthday and Steven & Thad's anniversary.  I had the same thing I've had several other times, the filet mignon trio. I absolutely love it! After dinner we had celebratory cake.

Then I went to the Blue Moon to perform in the Legends shows.  I was Neil Diamond and sang "Cracklin' Rosie", "I Am I Said", "Sweet Caroline", and "Brother Love's Travelin' Salvation Show". Our part-time neighbors Mark & Norman were there for the show, and Steven & Thad and Spouse showed up just before the finale song.  After I changed into my civilian clothes we walked over to Cooter Brown's where a big group of guys from the Bear Weekend had congregated.  We had a drink, chatted with friends and met some new friends.  The weather was dreamy outside so it was a great night to be "out on the town".

Sun was the complete opposite of Sat.  The weather was rainy/stormy and Spouse didn't feel like going to breakfast, which we do nearly every Sun.  So we stayed home, had coffee and left over cake, and watched several episodes of "Shameless".  We literally didn't do a single constructive thing all day.  Then about 5:30 we met Steven & Thad at a diner for an easy/cheap dinner, then back home for more "Shameless".

Happy birthday!

Today is Spouse's birthday.

As usual, there will be a floral arrangement waiting for him when he gets to work today.  He loves flowers and I love sending them to his office, which gets him lots of attention.  Many of his female colleagues say they're jealous of how loved and well-treated he is.  Knowing this makes me smile.

Tonight we're going to dinner with Steven & Thad to a restaurant we've never been to before.  Its not new, and its been highly recommended by people I know.  I'm not sure why we haven't been before, but I'm hoping for a great meal.

For a change he told me what he wanted for his birthday this year:  a new kitchen sink and faucet!

We currently have a 2-basin sink which be both find annoying, so I'm going to have it replaced with a single-basin sink that's the same size. This will be much more practical.  We're also replacing our existing faucet which is starting to drip with a new one.  Spouse wants a goose-neck style so that's what we're getting.  I've already picked both out and confirmed they were in stock so I'm just waiting for the contractor to give me the date.

After 23 birthdays together there's only so many surprise gifts you can come up with, so I was actually really happy he told me what he really wanted.

Birthday

Friay the 13th

Today is Fri the 13th!

Joe loves watching "scary movies" like this, but I find them dumb.  I mean, if you're alone in a house and hear sounds, don't walk around the house in the dark, turn on the damn lights!!

Today is also our nephew Eric's 20th birthday.  He's a sophomore in college.  He also dabbles in stand-up comedy and is teaching himself to play the guitar.  We're very proud of him.

Sean & Jeffrey

This evening we had the pleasure of celebrating a birthday dinner with Sean & Jeffrey!  

They planned a long weekend with friends Ken & nearby and invited us to join them for Jeffrey's 50th birthday dinner at Dos Locos.  Of course no birthday at a Mexican restaurant is complete without the birthday boy being serenaded while wearing a giant sombrero.

Selfie of Jeffrey and me

I should have looked at this photo of Sean and then taken a better one

We had a great meal, delicious cocktails, and fun conversation.  Then we went over to the house they'd rented for more cocktails and delicious, gluten-free German chocolate birthday cake.

Sean ordered this from a bakery who delivered it right to their door

I'll admit we were all a bit unsure of how a gluten-free German chocolate cake would turn out but it was super tasty.

As Spouse & I were touring the house, we both felt some deja-vue.  Then Spouse said "Isn't this the house that Pete & Alex rented a few summers ago for Alex's birthday?"  Sure enough, it was!  How weird that we'd been invited to the same house twice by friends who'd rented it for a birthday!!

We had a lovely visit with the Breens and promised to not let so much time lapse before we visit again.

Birthday, part 2

On his birthday I told Spouse that the 2nd part of his gift was a surprise and would take place on Sat and that we'd be away for the day.  He asked if we needed someone to let the dogs out and feed them, but I told him we'd be back in time.

So Sat morning we got into the car and drove north with him still unable to figure out where we were going or what we were doing.  About 2 hours later we arrived at QVC studios in West Chester PA and I told him we were going on a studio tour.  I'm sure I've written before about how much Spouse loves to watch home shopping on TV.  He watches all of them too:  QVC, HSN, HSN2, and evine Live.  He was excited about the tour.

Unfortunately I left my phone at home so I couldn't take any photos, but we did get to watch as the live broadcast was going on with David Venable.  Although known for his "In the Kitchen with David" segment, he was actually selling a collapsable rolling cart while we were there.  It was neat to see all the sets, lighting, cameras, and control booth used for the 100% live broadcasts.  I was surprised that most of the camera work is done by robots being maneuvered by the director with a joy stick in the control room.  We learned about how the volume of calls is tracked and matched with what the hosts and guests are saying in order to improve future selling.  We also learned that QVC has live broadcasts in China, Japan, Germany, UK, France, and Australia too.

After the tour we drove into the little historic town of West Chester and walked down the main street until we found a good looking place to eat lunch.  We had a delicious meal at Landmark Americana.  On our way south we stopped at Trader Joe's.  I'd managed to sneak a cooler with freezer blocks into the back of the car without Spouse knowing, so we were able to buy frozen food on this trip.  Typically we stock up at Trader Joe's near Spouse's family's house but can't get frozen foods because we never have a cooler.

Once back home we made plans to have dinner with Steven & Thad, which is typical for a Sat night.  But then 7 more of our friends walked in and we had a surprise birthday dinner for 11 at El Azteca Mexican restaurant.

Rick & Nick.  Spouse trains with Rick twice a week.

Joe & Glenn

Thad & Steven

Joe P and Harvey

Jim and me

Unfortunately I don't have a pic of Spouse!  I took one but he protested because he was chewing and thought the pic would look bad, so I deleted it.  I was going to take another pic later but, um... well, there were margaritas.  Delicious margaritas, and I got distracted.  But we had a great time and he was totally surprised.

Double birthday!

Today is a double birthday in our household.  Its Spouse's birthday and Walter's birthday!!

These flowers arrived at Spouse's office today

Everyone with whom Spouse works always comment how nice it is that he receives flowers at work on his birthday, Valentines Day, and our anniversary.  I think its important that they see that gay couples are perhaps more apt to publicly celebrate their relationships/marriages because we've had to fight for their recognition.

When Spouse got home from work I gave him a gift I knew he'd like:  12 pairs of colorful socks.

I realize this might seem like an odd gift, but he LOVES colorful socks.  I knew he'd love these.  Besides, he already bought himself an Amazon Fire tablet and an Amazon Fire Stick a few days ago so he really left me very few options.

I also got him 5 of his favorite candies:

On Sat I have more plans to celebrate his birthday!

Unfortunately for Walter, his 2nd birthday was overshadowed by Spouse's birthday.  But I did give him extra head scratches and playtime.

Birthday girl

On Sat we went to a 1-year old's birthday party.  Our friends Derwin & Carolyn's daughter Quinn's birthday was Sat the 15th and they had her outdoor party in their yard on Sat as well.  Our friend Thad went with us; Steven had to work.

There was good food, gourmet cupcakes, and a good time had by all.

Thad holding Quinn

NYC birthday

Well, my day trip to NYC on my birthday was great!

The bus left at 6:30am and I was greeted by birthday decorations on my seat.

We were dropped off near Radio City Music Hall, but we had plenty of time before the show so we began exploring.  Our 1st stop was St Patrick's Cathedral, which was not a place I wanted to go see necessarily, but it was pretty cool in the sense that its huge and old.  Next week walked to Madame Tussaud's was museum, but after finding out it was $32 to get in, we decided to skip it.  Then my friend Joey and his husband Glenn and I broke off from the pack of women who wanted to go shopping.  We decided to have lunch at a spot that looked interesting called Burger Heaven.  Great burgers! 

Then we went to Radio City Music Hall.  While waiting in line I decided to take a selfie.

Once inside the grand lobby I was struck by the amazing chandelier!

Joey had purchased the tickets online and paid for mine as a birthday gift so I didn't know ahead of time that our seats were going to be so good.  We were in the center orchestra in the 7th row.  We were close enough to see the expressions on the Rockettes' faces!  The show was really fun and the 3 of us really enjoyed it.

After the show we stopped into the MoMa store where Joey & I bought the exact same Christmas tree ornament and the exact same Tiffany glass coasters.  Then we walked over to Rockafeller Plaza and watched the people ice skating.

Then we stopped into a couple stores as we walked to Central Park.  It was getting to be dusk but we enjoyed the winter beauty of the 'park in the middle of the city'.  Here are Joey & Glenn watching more ice skaters with the skyline behind them.

Then we decided to stop for cocktails at the bar inside the legendary Plaza Hotel.  I'd never been inside before but it was just as elegant and fancy as I'd imagined.  Check out the absolutely gorgeous granite bar!

Our cocktails were so delicious we had to have a 2nd round.  Then we walked back toward Radio City Music Hall where the bus was to pick us up.  We stopped and bought cashmere scarves from a street vendor (3 for $25) and then got hot dogs and pretzels from another street vendor.  Joey & Glenn were a bit skeptical but I told them "real New Yorkers eat street vendor food all the time".  Near the food vendor there was this pretty grouping of trees lit with white lights.  I felt compelled to take a photo.

Then we walked back to Rockafeller Plaza again to get a picture of the giant lit tree before getting back on the bus.

The weather was mild and not at all windy so it was the perfect winter day to be in NYC.  It was a really fun way to spend my birthday.

Birthday

Today is my birthday.  I'm not going to say which birthday, so if you really, REALLY want to know, you'll have to email me.

I'm in NYC today.  My local Realtor's association charters a bus to NYC every year on the 1st Wed in Dec.  The bus leaves at 6:30am and returns at 10pm, so you've got an entire day to do whatever you want in the Big Apple.  I've haven't done this trip before but decided to go ahead and do it since it was my birthday.  

Some of my Realtor and mortgage friends and I have tickets to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.  If you've never seen this show, you should add it to your bucket list.  I saw it 20+ years ago and was amazed by the sheer mechanics of all the set changes, stage changes, costume changes, animals, etc.  "Spectacular" is definitely not an over-statement.

I'm not sure what else I'll do but in NYC there's definitely no shortage of interesting things to see and places to go.  Even regular buildings and stores will be dressed for Christmas and will be even more beautiful than usual.  Maybe I'll wander through Central Park, see the Christmas tree and ice skaters at Rockafeller Center, and for sure I'll have some good food.  

More details to follow.

Weekend recap

Wow, what a fun, full weekend!

On Fri evening Steven & Thad and Spouse & I met up with my new friends Charles & John for dinner at Dos Locos.  I met Charles & John (who live in Philly) a few weeks ago after my show at the Blue Moon.  As usual our food was great and the atmosphere was fun. 

While my Blood Orange Margarita looks huge in this photo, its really just a medium

After dinner the 6 of us stopped in at the Blue Moon and caught the last few minutes of their drag show, then hung out on the patio and talked.  The weather was really nice.  We got home at midnight.

On Sat I worked until 3:30, then went home to change clothes and pick up Spouse.  We went to a cocktail party at Deb & Greer's house.  Their friend Paul is a chef and gave them the cocktail party as a gift.  There were lots of yummy appetizers and desserts and we had fun visiting with everyone there.  We went home to change clothes again and rest a bit, then went to our friend Tim's 60th birthday dinner at Touch of Italy, an Italian restaurant.

There were 11 of us there, including Steven & Thad, and a friend from Tim's childhood.  The food was delicious and everybody had a good time.

Tim & Michael

After dinner Steven & Thad and Spouse & I met up again with our friends from Philly Charles & John at Aqua, a bar with a large patio area.  As soon as we walked in we saw our newlywed friends Kevin & Jason, so we introduced them to Charles & John and we all hung out.  The weather was terrific so we really enjoyed being outdoors.  We didn't get home until 1am.

Sun was part 2 of Tim's birthday celebration, which included a BBQ lunch at the beach.  He had reserved the pavilion which has picnic tables, a grill and electricity.  We had a great lunch which included hotdogs, hamburgers, barbecued chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, and various beverage options.  Since Tim is a retired teacher he always includes jeopardy-style games in every party or gathering so we had fun with those, too.  Steven & Thad offered to bring the cake:

Notice the creative spelling of Tim's name  ;-)

When we got home I took the dogs for a walk and Spouse took a nap.  Later we met up with Steven & Thad again for an easy dinner and then watched some of the Emmys.

Whew... I'm exhausted just retelling this!

Labor Day weekend

Happy Labor Day!  

I hope you are enjoying a 3-day weekend.  Since I'm a realtor and typically work on most weekends, there is no such thing as a 3-day weekend unless I request to be off.  Our friends Mike & Clark planned to spend the long holiday weekend with us so I requested to be off, but due to the death of a friend, they cancelled their visit.  But I kept my 3-day holiday weekend off work anyway.

Unfortunately weather was rather iffy/unpredictable due to tropical storm Hermine.  Our area was told to 'batten down the hatches' and prepare for heavy wind and rain.  But it turned into a big toodoo about nothing.  Sat morning it rained for about an hour and it was breezy, and that was it!  The rest of the weekend it was partly cloudy and partly sunny at times, but no more rain.

My Elton John wig, glasses, and tips

Sat night I performed as Elton John in the last Legends show of the summer season.  Typically the show's introduction includes a notice that the performers do not accept tips during the show, but will be available for photos and tips immediately after the show's conclusion.  But since it was the last show of the summer season the owner decided NOT to make that announcement and instead told us performers that we could accept tips during the show as long as we did not compromise our impersonations.  I'm not sure if the audience was feeling especially generous or if I 'pulled out all the stops' in my performance, but I was shocked at the tips.  I received at $20 bill from someone!!  After the show I had lots of fun greeting the patrons, posing for photos, and talking to the folks about where they live.  There was a bachelorette party there, which can be good or bad.  When its bad the women are drunk and sloppy and loud.  But on Sat it was good and the young women were ladies.

On Sun Spouse & I had breakfast with Steven & Thad, then stopped at the grocery store on the way

Thad's custom cake

home to pick up a few things.  Later that evening Steven & Thad and Joe P came over to celebrate Thad's birthday.  The weather was pleasant so we had dinner on the screened porch.  Thad came up with this special menu of things he'd been craving, so Spouse made exactly what he wanted.  Homemade meatballs in sauce, homemade potato salad, an orange-flavored cake with the center hollowed out and filled with chocolate mousse and covered in butter cream icing, and rosemary mint lemonade.  We also had rolls so Spouse and Steven made meatball sandwiches with them.  Everything was very tasty, we had candles and lanterns lit and music playing.  We had a nice time.


Today was very low-key.  I did a little bit of laundry (even though you're supposed to rest from your labors on Labor Day), took the dogs for a walk, watched some TV, and poked around on Facebook.  While it wasn't the Labor Day weekend I was expecting, it was a pleasant one none-the-less.

What did YOU do this weekend?

Card

So, this arrived in the mail yesterday...

I burst into laughter!!

Inside was a message from our friends Ron & James, explaining that they'd seen this card while vacationing in Amsterdam and bought it just for me. I'm glad they explained that since I can't imagine finding this in a card store in the US.

Although a few days late, it was worth the wait.

Promised pics

In a couple of my earlier posts I promised pics from the tree trimming party and my birthday.

The tree trimming party was a lot of fun!  About 15 friends came and had a little something to eat and drink and then helped us hang all the ornaments.  Spouse made (warm) artichoke dip, (warm) buffalo chicken dip, both served with crackers and carrots and celery.  Spouse also made mac 'n cheese and a crockpot of saucy meatballs, served with rolls.  I made milk chocolate chip brownies and white chocolate chip brownies, and we also served several types of cookies we bought.  And there was a decorated birthday cake as if we didn't have enough sweets.

2015 Christmas tree

Yes, I know the topper is crooked.  About 1/2 of those in attendance tried to straighten the topper but it always seemed to lean to the left, to the right, to the front, or to the back.  Imagine all the sophomoric jokes told about how even our Christmas tree wasn't straight!

While in Montreal in Oct we stopped in a Christmas store and bought a Chihuahua ornament for the tree.  I was excited to see it once it was placed on the tree by 1 of our friends.

Purchased in Montreal

A couple friends asked if I was going to rearrange the ornaments to my taste after everyone left.  Absolutely not!!  The whole idea of a tree trimming party is that the tree looks different every year because friends place the ornaments on it and I leave them alone.  Its a fun tradition for us.

Mon was my actual birthday but Spouse had his personal trainer appointment and my team at work had its Christmas cocktail party and secret Santa gift exchange, so Spouse & I planned to go out to dinner for my birthday on Tues.  I picked dinner at the award winning Blue Moon restaurant, which is adjacent to the bar/nightclub where I perform.  I had an AMAZING beef short rib with white cheddar grits and grilled veggies.  SOOO delicious.  Spouse had a wonderful butternut squash soup and rock fish.  Because it was my birthday we were treated to a complimentary wedge of Moon Pie.

Infamous (Blue) Moon Pie

Chocolate, coffee, caramel... INCREDIBLE!  This hunk of pie was so big that Spouse & I shared it and still couldn't finish the entire thing.  If you ever have the opportunity for a nice dinner in Rehoboth Beach, dine at Blue Moon.  Reservations recommended.  We had a lovely night out, just the 2 of us.