New do

Got my hair cut this evening.

I was about 2 weeks overdue, and feeling a little shaggy, but I'd purposely let my hair grow out while I considered a new do. Finally I decided... on a 'fauxhawk'.

'Fauxhawk' rhymes with 'mohawk', and the cut is kinda similar, but a fauxhawk is far more stylish and far less rebellious. Its not shaved on the sides. Fauxhawks are very "in" right now. I like it.

This photo is not actually of me, but it looks just like my new do.

Comments?

Snow

All day and all night Fri, the only thing you heard on the news and weather forecasts was snow, snow, SNOW!

Typically in the metro DC area we get several predictions of snow in the winter. Most of the time the hype is worse than the storm. The news channels start reporting about "Blizzard '06" and "Storm Watch 9" before the first flakes have fallen. This was no exception.

Originally they said the snow would start in the early morning on Sat, then by Fri evening it was revised to starting around noon. I believe I started seeing flurries around noon, but it was still 37 degrees outside so it wasn't sticking. We went out and ran some errands.

Finally around 4:30 the snow changed from flurries to real snow, just as the temperature went down enough that the snow started to stick. Within a few hours it was gorgeous outside. But when I went to bed Sat night it appeared to be only 2-3 inches on the ground.

Sun morning it was a different story. It must have continued snowing all night long, and with the temperature being near or below freezing, it really began to pile up. I estimate we got about a foot of snow by 10:30 Sun morning when I went outside to join my neighbors who were already shoveling their sidewalks.

It was a dry, light snow that hung in the trees. It was just beautiful outside. I spent about an hour and a half shoveling the sidewalk that leads from our front porch to the main sidewalk, the main sidewalk in front of our house and our next door neighbor with the bad hip's house, and our driveway. It was great to hear the distant laughs and screams of kids sledding and sliding down the hill in the street on the next block up.

But today my back muscles were contesting! They weren't used to that kind of workout. But I'm not sorry. It is the kind of soreness that reminds you its good to be alive and well enough to be able to shovel... and enjoy that blanket of white.

Super Bowl

In honor of the super bowl this past Sun, Mad TV ran this hilarious skit on Sat night. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/w/Its-a-football-thing?v=rNiUkN4GssI&search=MadTV

Polar Bear Plunge

Fri night we went to the beach. After picking up a few breakfast items at the grocery store, I made myself a mango martini. I saw this great selection of Rose's cocktail mixes at the grocery store, and was drawn in by the ease and simplicity: just mix equal parts of cocktail mix and vodka! So I bought mango martini mix and watermelon martini mix. What a lovely and civilized way to end the work week.

On Sat we ran a few errands and then had lunch at the Dirty Finger. Its not really named the Dirty Finger, but that's what we like to call it. After having a very enjoyable and reasonably priced lunch and dinner there over the summer, we mentioned the place to our friends Doug & Jim. Jim's parents lived in Rehoboth until recently, and Jim told us they'd been there with his folks. Turns out the waitress who served them had dirt under her fingernails, which grossed them out. Jim couldn't finish his meal. So from that point on, we began calling it the Dirty Finger. Just before finishing our lunch, Kerry & Hugh called to tell us they had arrived.

Kerry, Hugh, George, Kelly, Anna, Aaron, Emely, and Javier came up Sat afternoon. Several of them had registered to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge, the annual fundraising event where people run out in the ocean and back. Each participant must pay a $50. registration fee (hence the fundraiser) and many also collect donations from friends, family, and co-workers. Proceeds go to Special Olympics. They tried to convince me and Joe to participate, but we told them we'd love to but someone had to take pictures and film it with their videocamera. (Clever, aren't we?) After several hours of enjoyable chatting and laughing, we ordered pizzas from Grotto's and settled in Sat night to watch "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" It was a hoot!

Sun morning we had a late breakfast, sat around and chewed the fat some more, then headed over to the beach for the Plunge. It was only about 48 degrees outside and it was kind of windy - exactly what you DON'T want when you're wet. But they had a good time. After the Plungers had showers, we had a very late lunch at the Blue Plate Diner, then everyone packed up and made their way home. It was a fun weekend!

Brokeback Mountain revisited

I found the following quotes to be quite curious:

"I don't think Ennis could be labeled as gay. Without Jack Twist, I don't know that he ever would have come out. I think the whole point was that it was two souls that fell in love with each other." --Heath Ledger.

"I approached the story believing that these were two straight guys who fall in love. These are two straight guys who develop this love, this bond." --Jake Gyllenhaal.

Okay, I saw the movie, and liked it. And I know a thing or two about what gay men are and what gay men do, and these two definitely acted like gay men. Let's break this down a bit.

Although Ledger may feel his character Ennis could not be labeled as gay, apparently Hollywood does, because everyone keeps talking about "Brokeback Mountain, the movie about two gay cowboys". Ledger tries to prove his point about not labeling Ennis as gay by saying that without Jack Twist entering the picture, Ennis would never have come out. Well, even WITH Jack Twist in the picture, Ennis never "came out". Their entire relationship was hidden as best they could. Besides, sheep herders in Wyoming in the 1960s-70s probably didn't "come out" even if they had a steady co-habitation with their male partner. I don't think I've ever heard of two souls of straight men falling in love with each other. Straight men have best friends, but they don't have sex with them. A man who's soul falls in love with another man is called gay.

I'm very surprised that Gyllenhaal sees the story as two straight guys who fall in love. If two men fall in love with each other, doesn't that pretty much make them not straight? Once again, straight men have best friends with whom they connect and in whom they confide, but they don't lie to their wives so they can sneak off and have sex with their friend. The idea that they had this great love and great bond is a wonderful idea. I know because I, too, have a great love and a great bond with my partner. And we're both gay.

Remember too, when Ennis & Jack's "fishing trip" is cancelled because Ennis has his daughters that weekend? Jack gets mad, drives across the boarder into Mexico and has sex with a male prostitute. If he weren't gay, wouldn't he have just found a female prostitute with whom to have sex? That's what a straight man would have done.

Then toward the end of the movie when Ennis is visiting Jack's parents he learns that Jack had told his father than he and another man might buy a neighboring ranch and help his dad out. This was the same offer he had made to Ennis many years before. If Jack were straight, why would he fall in love with another man, have sex with a male prostitute, and dream of setting up housekeeping with another man?

Now wait a minute, you might be thinking. Both characters got married to women and had children. That's what straight men do. That's also what some gay men do before they accept themselves and start living authentically. I know plenty of gay men who got married in the hopes of 'curing' themselves, or to please their parents, or to fit into society better. Let's face it, if you CAN be straight, you've got a much easier life ahead of you. But many finally learn to accept that they are gay and stop living a false life with their wife and children. But that is more common for men in the last 15-20 years, much later than the characters in Brokeback Mountain.

I don't find fault with the movie at all. To me it is clear that these are two gay men who did what they could in order to see each other, while living in a largely straight society. The movie is what it is: a story about two gay cowboys. So, why do these two actors (Ledger and Gyllenhaal) think their characters weren't gay, when everyone else knows they were? Could it be because they think Americans are so sophisticated that they can actually understand the difference between gay men and two straight men who fall in love? Is it because they don't want to be stigmatized by having played "gay"? Do they think that two straight men who fall in love with each other is just more palatable a concept?

We'll probably never know the answers to those questions. But here's what I do know: Jack and Ennis were gay. And I should know.

I'll Tumble 4 Ya

My colleague Steve and his wife Amy had a "Back to the 80s" party on Sat night. Everyone was encouraged to dress in 80s attire. My response to the eVite was "Sounds gnarly, dude!"

For several days I thought about the fashion trends of the 80s. For women there were the huge shoulder pads, leg warmers, big thick belts that barely hung on their waists, the "Flashdance" off-the-shoulder sweatshirts, the acid washed jeans, and the early Madonna/grunge look. For men it was Izod shirts with the collar flipped up, sometimes worn underneath a 2nd Izod shirt with the collar flipped up, cotton sweaters tied around the shoulders, khaki pants with Docksider shoes and no socks, and skinny ties. Then there was the eyeliner! Popular celebrities in the 80s were Madonna, Paula Abdul, Culture Club, The Petshop Boys, The Blues Brothers, The Cure, The Go-Gos, The Bangles. There was so much to emulate!

Steve told me he was dressing up as Robert Smith of The Cure. (I had to watch an online music video to remember who he was, since I wasn't a big rock fan.) Then it hit me: I would dress as Boy George.

I had an idea of some pieces I could put together to give the idea of Boy George, and I'd seen a wig at a party store that I thought I could modify. Just by coincidence, we'd made plans to spend the afternoon with my niece Lauren. We met for lunch, came back to the house and talked for a while, and then she joined me as we scanned two Goodwill stores before buying the wig at the party store.

She volunteered to do my Boy George make-up, but I told her she didn't have to hang around that long. It was only about 4pm and we weren't leaving for the party until 7 or so. She said "That's okay, I can stay. I can't wait to do your make-up!" So we went to CVS and got some inexpensive eyeliner, mascara, super-glittery eye shadow, blush and lipstick. By the time I started putting together the pieces of my outfit it was time to have her 'put my face on'.

I used an old black trench coat of Joes, to which I applied sticky address numbers (from the hardware store) in a random pattern. It came out better than I thought! I wore a wild paisley print shirt, jeans tucked into thick socks, and an old pair of suede boots. I used a left-over piece of colorful fabric from a drapery project and tied it around my waist. I took a tye died bandana and cut it into strips, and tied a strip of it around each ankle. Then came the wig. It was black dreadlocks with pink, purple, orange and yellow dreadlocks scattered throughout. I decided it was too much color, so I had Lauren cut some of the colored dreads out. Then I took the remaining strips of the tye died bandana and wrapped and tied them around the colored dreads. I took a purple and grey striped scarf ($1. from Goodwill) and slipped it around the back of my neck and tied it where the wig met my forehead, and then crowed the colorful creation with a borrowed black bowler hat. The transformation was complete! Although not a perfect match, the "essence" of Boy George was obvious.

When I walked into the party, everyone looked, laughed, clapped, and took my picture. I felt like a rock star! It was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe that I put that entire outfit together and only spent $25. for the adhesive address numbers, wig, and tye died bandana.

Steve's friends were all nice. We met several fun people, including a couple named Jim and Miriam. Jim grew up in the same neighborhood as Joe, and Miriam lived in South Philadelphia where Joe's family is from. We had a really good time, and enjoyed seeing everyone else's 80s impressions.

Anna's Spanish Project

Joe's sister Mary called to tell us that her 13-year old daughter Anna had to do a family tree project for her Spanish class. On the 'limb' she listed her aunts and uncles, with 'branches' shooting off of the 'limbs' with her cousins on them.

Mary said that on one 'limb' Anna had listed "Uncle Joe and Uncle Mark", together on the same 'limb', just like "Uncle Louis and Aunt Karen" and the other married couples in the family.

In addition to the 'tree', Anna had to write a sentence or two in Spanish about each of the people on the tree. "Uncle Louis is bald and likes dogs." "Aunt Karen likes music and shopping." "Uncle Joe is funny and makes me laugh." "Uncle Mark likes to sing."

It made me feel good to hear that I'd been included on Anna's family tree. After all, I've been around her ever since she was 3 years old. It also made me feel grateful that Anna's parents were so wonderfully open-minded and accepting, and never ashamed of Joe or me at all. What a gift!

Then on Sun when I saw Anna she told me that she'd done her family tree for her Spanish class and that she had included me in it. My response, without even thinking was to say "Oh good, because I sure do feel like a part of the family."

Then I got to thinking about the farther reaching affects of Anna's family tree project. In theory her teacher will review the project in order to grade it, and will see that her student has a positive opinion of her gay uncles. Maybe that will in a small way help that teacher to be more accepting of gay people in her own family, the gay parents of some other student, or other gay people she encounters. Just maybe, this Spanish project will help someone realize that being gay is not just about people having sex, but is about people who love each other and who are a part of a family.

TransAmerica

On Sun afternoon I went to see TransAmerica. Its about a male-to-female pre-operative transexual who is about to have the 'final surgery' when she learns she has a 17-year old son. I thought the topic sounded interesting, and then when Felicity Huffman won the Golden Globe award for best actress in a dramatic movie for her portrayal of Sabrina (Bree) Osborn, I knew I had to see it.

First off, I have to say that Felicity Huffman definitely deserved that award. I found her acting to be honest, believable, and not overdone.

I also found the treatment of this subject matter to be incredibly sensitive. It didn't show the character to be a victim or a martyr or any other cliche, but rather, a real person trying very hard to finally become on the outside the person she was on the inside.

Bree Osborn is advised by her therapist to see her troubled 17-year old son, and although quite reluctant to do so, she considers the task her last step before her big surgery. She also makes a stop at her parents' house and receives various degrees of welcome from her mother, father, and younger sister.

The film doesn't have a 'Hollywood ending' where everything works out perfectly, but it does leave you feeling hopeful.

I think this is one of the best films I've seen in a long time (better than Brokeback Mountain), and I would definitely recommend that everyone see it.

Dinner at the Newlyweds

Sat night we had dinner at the Newlyweds' (ie: Michael & Jamie). I was excited because it had been a month since we'd last seen them, and because Joe had not yet seen their kitchen remodel.

Most of the months of Nov and Dec the Newlyweds didn't have a kitchen. The old one was demolished and a new one rebuilt in its place, but that doesn't happen overnight. I had stopped over to pick something up a few weeks back and saw the work in progress, but Joe hadn't seen anything since the project began.

Just before Christmas the Newlyweds headed out of town for 3 weeks. They spent the first several days visiting Jamie's parents in Las Vegas. Then they went on a belated honeymoon to Korea and Thailand. They were gone until Jan 15.

So, they invited us over for dinner and to see the finished kitchen. It is SO beautiful. The mosaic tile in shades of cream, tan, and mocha on their walls and the stone countertops with their flecks of green would look absolutely smashing in OUR kitchen! We warned them that we might have to copy their choices when we finally update our kitchen. Their contractor did a great job, the Newlyweds are happy with it, and it looks beautiful.

They invited a neighbor and his boyfriend over for dinner too. We chatted over wine, cheese, crackers and that kind of stuff and all got acquainted. Michael & Jamie told us some of the highlights of their trip, and then we had dinner. They made Afghan food: curried vegetables, lentils, and a potato and beef mixture, along with the traditional Afghan bread used to pick up the food and eat it. I decided to make a joke by whispering in a voice everyone could hear "You forgot the silverware." Fortunately no one thought I was actually that dumb and we all laughed. The dinner was delicious and the conversation enjoyable.

For dessert we had peach melba. I don't recall ever having peach melba before, but I enjoyed it. I don't know what prompted Jamie to decide that's what to make for dessert; its sort of a retro dessert, but it was tasty - especially that raspberry sauce drizzled on top.

After dessert we had more wine and more conversation until someone finally said "Oh my gosh - I can't believe its almost midnight!" We were having such a nice time that the night seemed to fly by. We said our goodbyes and went home. What a lovely time!

Goodbye to Christmas

Yes, its true. On Sat, Jan 21 we decided to undecorate our Christmas tree and take down all of the holiday decorations from the house.

I made a comment about how late it was to be doing this, and my aunt asked me "Where you still enjoying them?" to which I replied "Yes, in fact we had the tree plugged in just the night before when Wendy was over," to which she replied "Then there's nothing wrong with having your tree and decorations up on Jan 21." Thanks, Mary!

Nearly all of our tree ornaments have glitter on them, so as we were removing them from the tree and trying to figure out which original box they belonged in, traces of glitter deposited themselves on the sofa and on us. After finishing the undecorating of the tree we decided to go to lunch. I made sure to wash my hands and brush off my shirt before going out, but apparently Joe did not - or at least he didn't do it thoroughly. As we sat eating our lunch I looked over and saw the light playing off of a speck or two of glitter on his face and a few on his shirt. I truly loving and self-less partner would have discreetly assisted him to remove the glitter before anyone else noticed. Not me. I enjoyed the irony of this big, dark manly-looking man with glitter on his face. In my mind and later in an email to a close friend I began calling him "Glittery Joe".

It was a bit sad to say goodbye to all of the beautiful Christmas decorations. It really is my favorite season/holiday. But it did feel good to pack all that stuff back into the basement and give the house a good cleaning.

Golden Globes

Mon night we watched the Golden Globe Awards. This may not seem unusual, since many gay men love awards shows. Some get together for awards show parties. Joe & I tend not to watch awards shows for two reasons:
1. The audience at some of the awards shows are constantly screaming things to the presenters and winners. "We love you!!!" Blah blah blah.
2. The winners almost always feel obligated to thank a long list of people we don't know and don't care about. "I want to thank my agent, Bruce Lightfoot, my publicist, Susie Shoemaker..." Yadda yadda yadda. We don't know these people and don't care about them. I don't mind it when they thank someone I do know. "I want to thank Steven Spielberg for believing in this script enough to agree to direct it." We all know who Steven Spielberg is, so that seems completely appropriate to me. I also don't mind those cute, somewhat touching thank yous to "my college roommate Sandy who told me to never stop believing in myself and never stop following my dream." Although a tad sappy, it still seems appropriate to me to thank Sandy as you clutch your shiny award on national television.

So anyway, we decided to watch the Golden Globes this year because, for a change, we'd actually seen some of the movies that were nominated. Typically we don't go to the cinema that much - we rent movies when they come to the video store 2 or 3 months after they've been in the cinema, and we watch them in the comfort of our TV room. But this year, we'd seen at least 3 of the movies nominated, and watch some of the TV shows nominated. And since #1 above was not the case, we actually enjoyed the Globes. Here's a rundown of the winners, in case you've not already heard. The ones with the * indicate the ones we've seen.

Best Picture - Drama: Brokeback Mountain*
Best Picture - Musical or Comedy: Walk the Line*

Best Actress - Drama: Felicity Huffman for TransAmerica
Best Actor - Drama: Philip Seymore Hoffman for Capote

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line*
Best Actor - Musical or Comedy: Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line*

Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney for Syrianna

Best Director: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain*
Best Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain*
Best Movie Song: Brokeback Mountain*

Best TV Series - Drama: Lost
Best Actress - TV Drama: Gena Davis for Commander and Chief
Best Actor - TV Drama: Hugh Laurie for House

Best TV Series - Comedy: Desperate Housewives*
Best Actress - Comedy: Mary Louise Parker for Weeds
Best Actor - Comedy: Steve Carrell for The Office*

Other movies we saw that were nominated by didn't win were King Kong and Crash.

It never ceases to amaze me that movies that have not yet been released sometimes get nominated. Breakfast on Pluto has not yet been released but one of the actors was nominated in the Best Actor - Drama category. Not sure how that happens. I'm looking forward to seeing Breakfast on Pluto, which appears to be something similar to The Crying Game. I also want to see TransAmerica, perhaps this weekend.

American Idol 2006 started last night, with some of the auditions. And most importantly, starting tonight on Logo is Tales of the City - this blog's namesake! Tune in!!!

King Yawn

For the 3-day MLK Jr weekend we went to the beach. Sat started out an unseasonably warm and beautiful day. It must have been at least 60 degrees as we walked along the Rehoboth boardwalk without jackets. Later that evening when we went out again we could feel a marked drop in the temperature. It must have dropped 20 degrees in just a few hours. When we got out of the movies at 8:30, it was really cold and windy. Gusty winds blew down the Hooters billboard!

We went to see King Kong, which I retitled King Yawn. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but it was definitely too long. It seemed like every scene just went on longer than it needed to. If they shaved off 1 or 2 minutes from every scene, the plot would stay in tact and the movie would have been about 30 minutes shorter. But as it was, the movie went on for slightly over 3 hours.

Now, I realize this is a 'fantasy' movie, and since we all know that a real King Kong could never exist, there's no point in trying to make it realistic, right? I guess that's what the film maker thought anyway. There were a few big empty holes in the film, like what was it that King Kong snarled and growled at everyone except this one woman? Why did the indigenous people of Skull Island routinely offer human sacrifices to King Kong, when he seemed to have no interest in killing or eating this one woman? And then when the guys drugged King Kong, how in the world did they get him to New York? There's no way they could have dragged him aboard that boat they came in. And even if they could have hoisted him aboard somehow, his weight would have sank the ship. Although scenes with less relation to the plot dragged on and on, this important logistic was completely overlooked.

It was 'okay'. I didn't hate it, I just thought it could have been better. Most of the time I'd say "Don't waste your money. Wait a few months for this film to show up in your video store." But considering the king size of this film, I'm sure its much better viewed on the big screen. In fact, I don't think I'd even bother to rent it because the whole effect would be lost.

We rented 'Wedding Crashers', which we enjoyed. There were a couple of really funny parts, and some of Vince Vaughn's dialog was hilarious. This one won't be nominated for the Golden Globes, but it was a fun diversion.

Being Memorable

I absolutely LOVE IT when friends present me with a gift and say something like "I saw this and thought of you", or "When I saw this it seemed to scream your name", or "The moment I saw this I thought it was SO you". I love being memorable.

So it was with particular glee that I received two special gifts this Christmas.

One was a set of cocktail/dessert plates with martinis on them. Perfect! I love martinis, I love cocktails, I love dessert, I love to entertain. The gift was a perfect match, and the giver of the gift knew it. Oh no - I'm not predictable. I'm memorable.

The second was a package of cocktail napkins with an old black and white photo of two women from 1961 sitting on a sofa with cocktails in hand and a little girl next to them with a sour look on her face. Under the photo in old 'typewriter' font is "Monica dear, that was a precious little story. Now be a sweetheart and go make Mommy another martini." Upon opening this package, I threw my head back, clutched the napkins to my chest and let out and hearty laugh. They were perfect! I'd seen them before, about 2 years ago, but didn't buy them for some reason. Then when I thought better of it and tried to find them again, I wasn't able to find them anywhere. My friend knew.

Knowing my (our) love of vintage stuff, a few years ago a friend gave me a gigantic wooded fork and spoon set, likely from the early 70s. Not to eat with (nobody likes a smart-ass), but to hang on the wall. They were for decoration. My friend confided that he had helped his mother clear out some "stuff" (he almost said junk) in preparation for moving, and he thought we might like them. Well, they're hanging on the wall in our vintage rumpus room. Does that answer your question?

A similar situation occurred with another friend whose parent was getting ready to move. This friend unveiled a set of pink porcelain poodles, probably from the 50s. I loved them! Coincidence? Au contraire, mon ami. Its because of being memorable.

Brokeback Mountain

Well, we finally went to see "Brokeback Mountain" yesterday. I'd been wanting to see it since it premiered here in mid-Dec, but with all of the holiday and family stuff going on, we just got to see it yesterday.

There were lots of things about the film I liked. First off, a film with two good-looking gay leading characters! (wink) Second, the exquisite acting of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall. I thought both of them were extremely true to their characters, not overdoing it as many straight actors playing gay characters often do. Third, the scenery and cinematography were beautiful and outstanding. We both thought the film was good, but I didn't expect it to be so sad. It sort of put a big fat damper on the entire weekend for me.

I see a lot of films, many that don't have happy 'Hollywood' endings, but for some reason I was expecting this film to be a little more hopeful - but it wasn't. The idea that these two guys fall in love in 1963 in the mountains of Wyoming, and then spend the next 20 years living 'double lives' married to women, to whom they lie about going fishing or hunting with their buddy 2-3 times a year... I came away from the film feeling sad.

Sad that one of them felt they could never live together.

Sad that one of them never got what he dreampt about.

Sad that they never said the words "I love you" to each other.

Sad that their culture/society made them feel they had to marry women.

Sad that they had to lie to their wives in order to be with each other.

Sad that their choices spoiled their wives' lives too.

Sad that there was such homophobia back then, and that there still is now in many places.

I thought it was significant that this film's two main characters were gay, since it was made for the 'mainstream' (straight) audience. There's certainly no shortage of gay characters in mainstream films these days - they usually just don't have leading roles. In mainstream films the gay characters are usually the leading lady's brother, hairstylist, or office mate. Then there's the gay films made for the non-mainstream (gay) audience, which frequently have gay leading characters. We've all seen and loved those. So I applaud Ang Lee for directing this mainstream film with gay leading characters.

Something Joe noticed though was that in mainstream films with gay characters, the gay characters always seem to die, whereas in non-mainstream films with gay characters, the gay characters often live on and maintain a sense of hope. When I started thinking about the mainstream and non-mainstream films I've seen with gay characters I realized he's absolutely right. Here are some examples:

Mainstream (made for straights)
In "The Children's Hour" two female teachers at an all-girls school are accused of an affair. One of the teachers who really is gay becomes so distraught she hangs herself. The other, straight teacher lives happily ever after.

Remember "Philadelphia" in the mid-90s? Tom Hanks is the openly gay attorney who gets fired from his law office because he's starting to show physical signs of AIDS. He dies.

Then there was "Our Sons" in the late-90s. Julie Andrews and Ann Margaret play the mothers of two gay sons, one of whom dies of AIDS.

"In The Gloaming" was another film where a gay son with AIDS returns to his family's home and mother's care to die.

And now we can add "Brokeback Mountain" to the list, since one of the gay lead characters is beaten to death with a tire iron, although his wife makes up a more palatable story of his death.

Non-mainstream (made for gays)
In "A Touch of Pink" you find a gay couple who goes through a rough time when one of them has reservations about coming out to his mother. Both gay leads live!

In "Beautiful Thing" two young gay men struggle to overcome the stereotypes and prying eyes of their small community. Although one gets beat up by his alcoholic dad and drug using brother, neither of them die.

"Saving Face" showed us that a lesbian surgeon having difficulties juggling her professional life, her family life, and her love life can eventually make the right decisions. Oh, and both the lesbians live.

Like "Brokeback Mountain", "Cote D'Azur" showed a gay man who was married to a woman and had two kids. But he finally confesses the truth to her after seeing his old boyfriend again after many years. None of the 3 gay characters dies.

So, although I am very happy that "Brokeback Mountain" was made and is getting such good reviews from straight audiences and gay audiences, I long for the day when we won't be able to tell if films with gay leading characters are made for mainstream or non-mainstream audiences; we'll just enjoy seeing films about interesting gay people.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. If 2005 wasn't such a great year for you, then I hope 2006 is a better one. If 2005 was a pretty darn good year for you, then I hope 2006 is even better!

Joe & I decided to spend the 3-day New Years weekend at the beach. We both worked a 1/2 day on Fri, then after throwing some drag in a bag, we hit the road, reaching the beach shortly after 4. We made our usual rounds (WalMart, K-Mart, grocery store, and video store) then went back to the house. We had dinner at Adriattico, an Italian restaurant in the Midway plaza, where Cathy Gorman was singing 'The Oldies'. She wasn't bad, but it was a little comical to see her standing there in front of her karoke machine-looking sound system, singing Patsy Cline and Leslie Gore songs, with her platinum highlighted hair and her silver lamay blouse. Then we went home and watched 'The 40 Year Old Virgin'. It was pretty funny. I love the lead guy, Steve Carrell, who is also the lead guy on the TV show 'The Office'. Before going home we stopped in the Dollar Tree, the last on our list of usual stops.

Sat it was overcast all morning, and when we decided to leave the house around noon it began to rain lightly. We drove to Milton, since we'd never been there before, to see what it was all about. Milton is an old historic town with beautiful Victorian homes that sit very close to the narrow streets. There's really not much 'business' there, other than a dry cleaner, a CPA, and the usual small town support structure (police, fire department, etc.) One definitely wouldn't move there for a job. I'm sure everyone who lives there does so because they love the Victorian architecture, and commutes elsewhere to work.

After our little Milton excursion we drove into Rehoboth and had lunch at Tijuana Taxi, a Mexican place. We'd had dinner there before and thought it was okay, but neither of us was impressed with our lunch. Then went home and watched 'Saving Face'. (See my post on Nov 14 for a synopsis.) This is a film I saw at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival back in Nov. We rented it because I knew Joe would enjoy it. Joe took a nap and I read a little, we got Chinese take-out and ate dinner at the house, and then watched 2 more films. 'March of the Penguins' was a documentary-style film that was in the theatres several months ago. Joe had been trying to get me to see it, but I thought "What could they possibly put in a film about penguins that could fill up 90 minutes? Its not like there's going to be clever dialog..." Turns out it was worth the rental. Its all about the mating habits of the arctic penguins and the amazing marches they must make. After that we watched 'Almost Normal'. This film is about the laments of a 40 year old single gay man who just wishes he were "normal". One day he wakes up and the whole world is gay and straight people are the exception. The premise was kind of cute and intriguing, but it just fell apart. For some reason, when the gay man realizes that the whole world is gay and that straights are the exception, he becomes straight! Joe described this film as "barely watchable".

The movie ended at 11:40 and we watched 20 minutes of the New Years Eve countdown TV shows on several of the networks. That was it - 2005 was over, and 2006 had officially begun. Then we went to bed. Really exciting New Years Eve, huh? I tried to get Joe to agree to going to one of the NYE parties at the gay restaurants/clubs in Rehoboth, but he had no interest. He hates going to clubs. I, on the other hand, enjoy getting out there with "my people" now and then. Its a bone of contention for us.

Sun the weather was much more pleasant so we went for a long walk on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. It felt good to get out and move around, after having such a lazy day on the sofa on Sat. After our walk we had lunch at my favorite lunch spot: Cafe Sole. We chatted briefly with the waitresses who've been working there as long as we've been coming there: Penny and Amy. Joe had his usual, the Turkey Stuffer. Its basically Thanksgiving dinner on a roll. I broke out of my shell and ordered something different, a cup of their home made tomato artichoke bisque and a piece of coconut custard pie! Since I've been fighting with my sinuses since Christmas, my appetite just wasn't up for my usual fried oyster BLT with melted brie on focaccia. That is heaven on a plate, but too much for me to eat that day. After lunch we went to the theatre, believe it or not, and saw 'Walk the Line', the Johnny Cash story. We both enjoyed it a lot, even though I am not a country music fan. We thought the performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were actually better than the plot. Only, Reese is 1,000 times prettier than June Carter. After the movie we had dinner at Crabby Dicks.

Mon we cleaned the house and came home. It was raining again. Our dog Jordan was in the yard for a while, and when we called her to come in, she came bounding up to the back porch and slipped on the wet cement and fell and hurt her leg. The rest of the day yesterday she would not walk on it. Poor thing... Joe carried her outside about 3 times last night, trying to get her to pee before we went to bed, but she wouldn't do it. She didn't want to stand on that hurt leg. She tried to hold it all night, but finally at about 5am she got up and limped across the room. Joe got up and took her outside and she unloaded. Today she didn't eat her breakfast, which is very unlike her, but I'm guessing she did it to prevent herself from needing to go to the bathroom. Joe gave her a glucosamine tablet and an ibuprofin this morning, and this evening she is doing some better. She will limp around a little, and decided she'd eat her dinner, and pee in the yard - both encouraging signs. We're going to limit her mobility (although she's been doing that herself) so she can heal.

Lately Joe & I have been talking more and more about him resigning from his job and going into private practice full time. Today he had a particularly frustrating and demotivating day, so we talked over dinner about this topic again. We're both scared about him not having a regular paycheck, but at the same time we're both confident that he could have a great full time practice. Of course, it will take time to build up his current part time practice to full time, including getting a website set up and selecting some additional places to market and advertise. We've got some money in savings to carry us through a few months, plus access to other money if worse comes to worse. Tonight we talked about an aspect we'd never discussed before: the date he will turn in his resignation and the effective date of it. I think he is really ready to do it now, and I am tired of seeing him unhappy, so I am being supportive of his decision, eventhough it makes us both nervous. More on that as it develops.

Happy Birthday, Blog!!!

Today is the 1st birthday of my blog. Yes, its true. Exactly one year ago today I embarked on this sometimes strange but mostly interesting journey into online diary-ism. Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for more!

Holiday Highlights

Fri Joe & I both worked ½ days. He went to his sister’s after lunch to help her make home made ravioli and gnocchi for Christmas dinner. I did some last minute gift shopping, and then did my holiday baking for the neighbors. I made rum-flavored pound cakes drizzled with sweet rum glaze. I wrapped them in rose-colored plastic wrap and placed them in holiday tins and baskets, then delivered them along with holiday greeting cards to my neighbors. They all loved them, and several returned the favor by delivering baked goodies to us!

Sat after lunch at the Stray Cat Café we went to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make corn casserole (the Paula Dean recipe that’s made Joe a big hit), artichoke dip and sun-dried tomato dip. I put on some Christmas music and he made the food while I wrapped gifts. It was a nice day. That evening we went to his sister’s to meet up with the family to celebrate his mom’s birthday. Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned that his brother Paul and his family would not be able to join us because they had been in a serious car accident. A drunk driver crossed the center line. Paul swerved onto the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision, and the other driver slammed into the side of their ’06 Sienna minivan, ripping the sliding door and rear bumper completely off the vehicle. We considered it “The Christmas Miracle” that no one was seriously injured; just the typical small cuts from flying glass and bruises from the front and rear side curtain airbag deployment. Both vehicles were totaled. It was odd to not have them with us as we ate honey baked ham, turkey breast, biscuits, Joe’s two dips, green bean casserole, the corn casserole, and an assortment of pies, cookies, fudge, and brownies. To work off some of those holiday calories, we played a Play Station II game called Dance Revolution, where you listen to a song, watch the indicator on the TV screen, and step on the corresponding places on a wireless dance mat. It was really fun!

Sun morning Joe & I had a lovely Christmas breakfast of Belgian waffles with real Vermont maple syrup (from our Jan trip to Vermont) and sausage egg and cheese casserole. We ate in the dining room because the kitchen table was still being used as my gift wrapping station. After breakfast Joe watched some TV while I continued wrapping gifts. We both showered, loaded gifts into the Suburban, and at 3pm headed over my aunt’s to exchange gifts and take her with us to Joe’s sister’s for a family Christmas. My niece Lauren also joined us, for her very first Christmas. We had a delicious dinner of home made ravioli and gnocchi, meatballs, sweet and hot sausages, cheesy garlic bread, and a bounty of sweets. Dee-lish! Then we exchanged gifts, played Dance Revolution again, watched a Christmas movie, and visited with each other. It was a perfect, relaxing Christmas day.

Mon morning we made our traditional day-after-Christmas pilgrimage to Target to scarf up holiday wrapping paper, bows, and ornaments all marked 50% off. We had lunch at Chili’s, and then Joe watched TV while I wrapped the last of the gifts. Then we headed out to Centreville to our friends Greg & Gerry’s place. We exchanged gifts with them and went to dinner at Bonefish. I had delicious pork chops with sautéed mushrooms and fontina cheese. Joe had a tasty salmon dish. Then we had pie and coffee back and Greg & Gerry’s. We had a great time visiting with these dear friends.

Yesterday evening I drove to Woodbridge to meet up with my old friend Lisa, who was back in VA to visit her family for Christmas. I've known Lisa since elementary school. We remained friends all the way through high school. Eleven years later I organized a little reunion of friends at my place, and that was the last time I'd seen Lisa, in 1993. We recently reconnected via email, thanks to a mutual friend Brian. We had a fantastic visit last night! I brought some photos of some shows we both performed in when in high school, and the photos taken at the 1993 friends reunion. She told me about when her "life blew up" and she moved to New York City to start over 2 1/2 years ago. We talked non-stop for 6 1/2 hours - what fun!

It was a very nice holiday – not too hectic, not too tiring – just right. We seem to have found a comfortable way to really enjoy the holidays. I’m looking forward to another enjoyable evening tomorrow, when Kerry, Hugh, Kelly, and George come for dinner and gift exchanging.

People just need to calm down

Twice this week I was almost in car accidents, thanks to drivers talking on their cell phones, in an all-fire hurry to get somewhere. People just need to calm down.

The first one was less than a mile from home. I was in the Suburban and the car next to me realized that there were two cars in front of it, stopped with their flashers on. So, rather than being bothered to pause their cell phone conversation and stop, the driver next to me decided it would be preferable to simply put their blinker on as they moved into the lane I was in. I braked sharply and blew the horn, almost running up onto the median to keep from being hit by the driver. The driver couldn't be bothered though, as he/she simply continued driving 1/2 a mile up the road with their blinker still on, then slipped back into their original lane. I hope that driver was on the phone with a friend or relative who was in the hospital swinging on the hinges of death, because nothing short of that could justify that behavior. People just need to calm down.

The second one happened on my way home from work. I was in my convertible, cautiously staying in my lane as I moved through a very trafficky area. But a car stopped in a line of traffic next to me decided they were in too much of a hurry to wait 2 seconds for their lane of traffic to resume, so they simply swerved into my lane, without even a blinker, causing me to have to invoke my anti-lock brakes to keep from running into them. As soon as the driver did this, the lane of traffic they had just vacated began moving. People just need to calm down.

I heard a commercial on the radio the other day that went something like this: "Still having trouble finding that PERFECT gift?" Since when is Christmas about finding a PERFECT gift????? Shouldn't it be about spending time with family and friends, and the baby Jesus if you're into that, and exchanging a THOUGHTFUL gift, not necessarily a PERFECT gift? I don't understand why people drive themselves frantic over a gift. People just need to calm down. Another ad I heard said "Trying to keep your sanity during the hectic and stressful holidays?" I thought to myself: No. My holidays are not hectic or stressful because I don't MAKE THEM that way. I do not feel obligated to put myself through all kinds of gyrations in order to keep some holiday tradition, simply because "that's what we've always done". I write and send holiday cards and bake goodies for my neighbors because I want to and I find the time to. But I do not drive myself nuts in the pursuit of holiday "perfection", and neither should anyone else. People just need to calm down.

I overheard a conversation last night at dinner where a woman was telling her husband that she was wishing each of her colleagues at the office a Merry Christmas when to her utter horror she realized she'd wished a Merry Christmas to someone who is Jewish. She spoke as if she were truly mortified, over a small oversight. I'm sure she's not the first person to make that mistake, and probably won't be the last one. But the worse thing to do in a situation like that is to make a huge deal out of it. Simply say "I'm sorry, I meant to say Happy Holidays" and then forget about it. People just need to calm down.

Stepford Wife???

My friend Mike (from http://michaelmeadows.blogspot.com/) read my last blog post and wrote: "I love reading your blog. You're like... a Stepford Wife. But not in the robot way." A Stepford Wife??? So I wrote an email back to Mr. Michael Meadows and requested he explain just HOW I reminded him of a Stepford Wife. His response? "Well, I meant that as a compliment. Your dinner parties, home decorating ideas.... etc. Perhaps I should have clarified that." Uhh... yeah. Right. Well the next time you want to "compliment" me, Mr. Michael Meadows, why don't you try going on and on about what a fabulous life I've scratched out for myself, huh??? I'm just kidding, of course. In Mike's very own, unique kind of way, I do believe he was trying to give me a compliment. Moving on...

Last week's trip to Richmond for those two agonizing days of sales meetings turned out to be better than I'd expected. Its always kind of fun to meet up with peers who work in different cities, and with whom you normally only talk on the phone or exchange emails. The meetings themselves were sufficiently boring and I believe I learned exactly one new thing, which hardly justifies two full days away from my real work. But there were a few bright moments to be recalled.

I met a very nice man who's only been with the company for six weeks, and who works in our London office. He was interesting and thoroughly enjoyable to talk to. By chance I was seated next to him on day one of the meeting. That night, the entire group went to a restaurant where they had no large tables, so we were all split up into groups of 4. Since my car group was the last to arrive and I got detained talking to a colleague, I took the last empty seat, directly across the table from my new British friend Bruce. On my right was another British gentlemen who happens to be in charge of European operations. He told the story of his first sales job in Paris. He felt fairly comfortable speaking French, but as you might expect, local dialects and similar words with very different meanings soon became his downfall. He went to a posh hotel to meet the female sales prospect. He'd injured his neck while working out at the gym so when she greeted him and asked how he was, he turned his head from side to side and said in French "I'm doing well, but my asshole hurts." Apparently the word for neck and the word for asshole sound very similar, and he used the wrong pronunciation. We howled with laughter, to the point that the those at the other tables became jealous, as they knew we were having more fun. Then next day I sat next to Bruce again. Cheers mate!

Shortly after returning home Thurs evening, I got a phone call from an old JW friend of mine. We'd met in 1984 when I moved (temporarily) to Norfolk VA. We became very good friends quickly. I think we both knew that we shared a certain secret. Finally one day it came out, and we felt good knowing we weren't the only JW guys attracted to men. I moved back to the DC area, but we stayed friends, calling and visiting from time to time. A couple years later, he got married. I wasn't totally surprised, as I knew it was thought to be the cure for any JW guy who was attracted to men. It appeared that they had a happy marriage for several years. Meanwhile, I left the JW religion so I was cut off from all of my JW friends. I moved, he moved, and we lost touch for over 12 years.

He said he'd been trying to locate me for some time by Googling my name and calling the phone numbers attached to the responses. After many wrong numbers, he finally found me. Just for clarity's sake, I told him I wasn't a JW anymore and he confirmed that he knew it. He told me he'd never stopped thinking of me as a friend, and felt like I was one of the few people he could really trust. He was going through a rough time and needed a friend. He told me his wife had left him 5 years ago for another man. About 2 years ago he began to get acquainted with other men he knew to be gay. Recently he'd had a few "encounters" (his words) and felt guilty enough to confess to the JW Elders. He told me he would be disfellowshipped (the JW term for ex-communicated) this coming Thurs. I asked how he felt about that. Was he sad? Was he relieved? He said he really didn't know what to think or feel. He thought he'd just take it day by day and try to come to terms with what he thought and felt. I encouraged this, and told him that as JWs we weren't really given the opportunity to think and feel for ourselves. We read the JW publications, went to church and bible study groups, and our thoughts and feelings were explained in detail for us. There was no real thought or feeling required of us. Now that he was no longer going to be a JW (at least for a while), I told him it was an excellent time to begin to trust himself to think and feel for himself; to trust himself to know what was right for him. He said he wanted to see me, so we are trying to work out a convenient date. I'm excited and scared for him. He is indeed going through a difficult time. I wish I could somehow infuse him with everything I've learned in the 12+ years since I left the JWs. But that is my experience, which may be able to help him, but certainly can't replace HIS experience. My friend: I'm sending you positive energy!

Fri evening Joe & I headed up to the beach. Sat after breakfast we headed out to a few outlet stores, trying to cross that last Christmas gift off our list. After no success, we decided to pick up a few things for ourselves... nothing big deal, just a few pieces of clothing on sale, more holiday cards, and some items for Toys for Tots. We drove to Herring Point (in the state park) and got out to look at the ocean. It was very calm and beautiful. Joe took a nap in the afternoon while I wrote and addressed more cards. This is the latest I've ever gotten my holiday cards out. With only a week until Christmas, I gave myself Sun as the deadline.

Sat night I decided to indulge Joe by acquiescing to go to The Wharf in Ocean City for dinner. They have an all-you-can-eat buffet that has crab legs so he loves to go there. I think the food is terrible and most of the time convince him not to go. But since we didn't have anything planned for the evening I figured I didn't mind driving the 45 minutes to get there. I could put up with the food since we hadn't been there in a long time. On the way down there and back we enjoyed seeing all the holiday lights and decorations. Bethany, Fenwick, and Ocean City all had decorations on the utility polls and elsewhere. We had the radio on the station playing nothing but Christmas music. It was nice. We drove into the tiny downtown area in Bethany to look at the lights, and drove around several blocks in Rehoboth to enjoy the ample displays of lights, garlands, candy canes, and snow men.

Sun morning we came home, showered and shaved, and went to a small holiday gathering at our friends Ron & James' house. It was nice, and we saw some friends we'd not seen since last Christmas. Ron & James normally have a huge open house where you SEE lots of people but aren't able to TALK to many, so this year they decided to do something much smaller and more intimate. It was nice to catch up with everyone and wish them happy holidays. (Mike is now thinking I'm a Stepford Wife again...)

Afterward we came home and Joe took a nap while I continued writing and addressing cards. When he woke, I talked him into sealing the envelopes for me. FINALLY... all 126 cards were written, addressed, sealed, stamped, and ready to go into the mailbox. I dropped them off at the post office this morning. I don't mean to sound like the card thing is a big chore. I don't feel that way at all. I write and send them because I like to. Its a time when I think of friends I see frequently and those I've not seen in years. I jot them a short note inside a card with a printed holiday greeting, and hopefully they feel good when they receive and open the card. That's the point, right? I know I enjoy getting holiday cards, knowing that friends are thinking of me and wishing me "every happiness this holiday season, and always".

Weekend Round Up

Very early Fri morning it snowed and then sleeted. We got about 3 inches of accumulation. Amazingly the Federal Government opened two hours late! That's Washington DC for ya...

Joe & I both had large, late lunches on Fri so we decided to go Christmas shopping Fri night and then eat dinner later. I had heard about a special 'Night Owl' sale at Kohls, from 8pm-midnight. The Kohls is near the Home Goods and World Market, two stores we always find good Christmas gifts at, so we headed on over. It was very cold, and the moisture on the parking lot was freezing up. But we shopped at all 3 stores and were able to mark a few more items off our gift list. About 9pm we had dinner at Uno's Pizza. We rarely go there, so it was nice to eat somewhere different. We discussed our holiday plans, work frustrations, and thankfulness in this season of good will. We got home at about 10:30.

After a leisurely morning, we headed out Sat for some lunch at the Stray Cat Cafe. The decor and menu items are all cat-related. I like it there. We got one of the last open tables, which was near the window. (I love a window table.) After fortifying ourselves with a tasty lunch, we went to the grocery store. We bought all the stuff for a lasagna dinner (along with some Home Depot gift cards - who knew?), then came home to cook and tidy up. Joe assembled the lasagna but didn't bake it. I wrote out some holiday cards and wrapped a "hostess gift" for the party we were going to that night.

We went to a party at The Dicks. The Dicks are a couple: Dick & Dick. We refer to them as The Dicks. Every year they have a swell holiday party that we don't miss. A few years we've even left another holiday party early so as to be at The Dicks party the same night. As usual we said hello to people we only see once a year at The Dicks party, met some new friends, nibbled on goodies, and sipped on cocktails. (I made Sour Appletinis.) One of The Dicks made a pistachio cheesecake that was out of this world! We had a good time. Afterward we stopped at an Italian brick-oven pizza place we realized we'd never been to before. I wasn't hungry so I just got an appetizer of stuffed, fried olives, while Joe got a calzone. Although it was only 10pm I felt exhausted. We watched a little TV at home and then went to bed.

Sun morning we headed out to Manassas to Kerry & Hugh's for a post-birthday breakfast. (My birthday was Wed, but Sun was the first opportunity we had to catch up with Hugh & Kerry.) Kerry's sister Kelly and father George were there, too. We had a wonderful time, as usual. Hugh made waffles, which were the lightest I've ever had, along with delicious Vermont maple syrup, purchased on our Vermont ski trip back in Jan. We lingered over coffee, nibbling on fresh pineapple and cantaloupe, until we had to get going. On our way home we stopped at Trader Joes so my Joe could pick up some vitamins, and we got a fresh green wreath to hang over the fireplace mantle. When we got home I vacuumed and straightened up the house a little, then pulled out the rest of the Christmas decorations. I removed the photos from the fireplace mantle and replaced them with holiday garlands, candles, holly from a tree in our backyard, and some artificial berries and greenery. (Tip: mix in some real greenery with your artificial greenery to 'fool the eye' and give a fuller affect.) I sprinkled the rest of the holiday votives and such around the house. Now it REALLY looks like Christmas.

Sun evening our friends Michael & Jamie (aka: The Newlyweds) and Doug & Jim came over for a casual holiday dinner. We had lasagna, salad and garlic bread, and french apple pie for dessert. We had a great time chatting, swapping stories, and hearing about each other's holiday plans. The Newlyweds are going to visit Jamie's parents in Las Vegas, then going to Korea and Thailand for their belated honeymoon. They'll be gone for 3 weeks!

Tonight Joe & I went back to the Stray Cat Cafe (again) for dinner. I thought it was Half Price Burger Night but it wasn't. Oh well, we enjoyed it anyway. Joe is currently out at a client appointment and I am supposed to be working on our holiday cards, but instead I am writing this. I wanted to update this site before being out of town for a few days. I'm being forced to go to Richmond again, this time for 2 whole days of sales meetings AND evening team-building events. UGH!! I have real work to do for real clients, back in my office. I do NOT need to be tormented by sitting in sales meetings for 2 days. Unfortunately, my boss feels differently so I must go. I'm leaving Tues night and coming back Thurs night. Then Fri night we're headed to the beach for a little R&R, to see the Christmas decorations in downtown Rehoboth, and to hopefully finish our holiday gift shopping. We're coming back Sun morning so we can clean up and go to a 2pm party.

I'm hoping to get a chance to pick up some items for Toys For Tots, but I'm not sure when the drop-off deadline is. Anyone know? Leave me a comment if you do.

"Its the most wonderful (and busy) time of the year"

Fri evening we got together with Michael & Jamie (aka: The Newlyweds) and tried out a new (to us) restaurant called Portabellos. Its a small, intimate, bistro-style restaurant. We enjoyed it. We were enjoying our time with Michael & Jamie so much that we decided to go somewhere for dessert too, and continue talking. We had a ball.

Sat morning we picked up Joe's mom and my niece and drove out to Manassas for the Christmas parade. It's a hoot... kind of what you might expect a Christmas parade to look like in Mayberry RFD. There are high school marching bands, fire trucks, floats, antique cars, Santa, reindeers - you name it! The great part about this annual tradition for us is that our friends Kerry & Hugh live right on the parade route. They invite a bunch of friends and have coffee, hot tea, cocoa, and loads of sweets and goodies to snack on when you duck inside to warm up. We had such a good time that we stayed for 2 hours after the parade had ended and most of their guests had left. Then the remaining group decided to have a late lunch (2:00 or so) at a restaurant nearby. We had a great time! I was really glad my niece Lauren came, as this is her first year celebrating Christmas. I was also glad my friend Dee and her family came, as Dee was also a JW (like me and Lauren) years ago, and I think Lauren liked chatting with Dee. I did, too.

Later Sat night Joe & I went out to look for a Christmas tree. We found a place with many beautiful Fraser firs. There were so many pretty trees it was hard to pick one! Joe seemed less enthusiastic than I expected, so I asked him about it. He said "I must be getting old, because I kind of don't want to deal with having a real tree this year... hauling it in the house, trying to get it straight in the tree stand, remembering to water it every day, having to sweep up the dropping needles... I'm thinking maybe we should look at artificial trees." This really surprised me, as I had suggested years ago that we get an artificial tree since they are much easier to decorate. He'd resisted, in favor of the wonderful scent of a real tree. So we left the tree lot and went home.

Sun we went to Target at 10am, hoping to beat the holiday weekend crowds. There we found a lovely artificial tree that was very reasonably priced. We both thought it would due nicely, so we bought it. We figured the worst case scenario would be that if we didn't like it, we could always sell it at a yard sale or donate it to a family in need. But to our pleasure, we liked the tree even better at home than in the store. It took quite a while to get all the branches fluffed out and attached to the base, but I figure I'll only have to do it this once. When Christmas is over I will remove the decorations and carry the tree downstairs to the basement and put an old sheet over it. Voila!

Sun evening we got together with our friends Michael & Sandy for dinner. After a lengthy discussion with lots of options, we ended up going to Portabellos again. We were seated at the same table we'd sat at on Fri, and had the same waiter. To top it off, Michael & Sandy ordered the same dishes that Joe & I had ordered on Fri! We had a lovely dinner with our new friends and closed the restaurant.

Mon after work I untangled and tested my strings of lights for the tree, and then put them on. (One year I put all the lights on the tree without testing them first. When I finally plugged them in I found I had a non-working string of lights in the middle of the tree! I had to take almost all of them off to get the bad light string out of there.) Once the lights were on, I spent 4 HOURS putting the ornaments on! Although that might sound like an exaggeration, I assure it is not. I really spent 4 hours putting ornaments on the tree. Usually Joe & I do it together, but he didn't feel like doing it last night so I did it alone. And don't even bother asking me how many ornaments there are because I don't know. All I can tell you is that they came out of 4 large shopping bags and 1 box. There are a few large, many medium, and quite a few small ones - perhaps 300 in total, but I really don't know. The tree, however, is breathtaking.

Tonight Joe & I went to dinner at the Carlisle, one of my favorite restaurants, for my birthday. Although my actual birthday is tomorrow, Joe has 2 client appointments tomorrow evening so tonight worked out better for his schedule. We had a lovely and delicious dinner. We both started with their fabulous mixed green salads with dates, cranberries, grilled corn and goat cheese. I had roasted pork tenderloin with grilled corn relish and parmesan mashed potatoes. Joe had a marinated rib eye steak, mushrooms, and the parmesan mashed potatoes. We shared an unbelievable banana pudding and coffee for dessert. The Carlisle is a beautiful restaurant to begin with, but with their tasteful holiday decorations, it seemed to glow. Although a large restaurant, it somehow felt cozy and intimate to me tonight. Joe said "Happy birthday. I'm glad you were born." I blushed.

Hair

I got my hair cut and highlights put in. The blonde came out a bit 'brighter' than I had expected, but I don't mind. I can wear rather light blonde highlights because my complexion is so fair, especially in the winter. I feel fabulous!

Thanksgiving: The Aftermath

Not sure why I picked this title - it sounds rather ominous, when in reality, Thanksgiving was wonderful. Anywhoo...

Man, that whole "clean the house on Saturday" idea was a great one. It really gave us much more time on Thanksgiving day. We actually stopped and took little breaks, and we were ready before anyone showed up! Go figure. This was the year I decided I was not going to get pissed off if people showed up early and we weren't ready. (One year they started arriving as I was stepping into the shower.) But this year our advance preparations paid off.

I picked up my niece Lauren (since she is currently sans vehicle) and my aunt Mary. When we got back, everyone else was here. I introduced Lauren to everyone then showed her around the house, since it was her first time here. Then I helped Joe "set up the buffet" (his words). We put all the food out on the kitchen counters, said Grace, and formed a line. How fortunate we are to have so many good cooks in the family. Everything was absolutely delicious and we all ate until we couldn't fit anymore inside us. Then we had dessert!

We had a lovely time, and everyone left by about 8:30. Joe, Lauren, Mary and I sat at the kitchen table and talked for another hour, and then I drove them both back to their homes. I was so glad to get back to my home, put on my flannel pajama pants and T-shirt and relax on the sofa! We watched TV together until 11:30 when Joe went to bed. I came up at midnight.

I didn't realize how tired I was, but we both slept until 11am on Friday! I don't think I've ever slept that late, even when I've been up half the night. But it felt wonderfully luxurious to sleep until I was ready to get up - no alarm clock, nothing to disturb my delicious sleep. Joe had to get up at 7:30 and let Jordan outside to pee, but then he came back to bed and fell asleep again.

Friday turned into a day of relaxation and shopping from the comfort of our TV room. As you may know, Joe is a fan of HSN (Home Shopping Network) and would watch it for hours and hours if I didn't protest. But Friday they were having their day of Christmas gift specials so we watched and shopped. We really found some great gifts at prices you couldn't beat at a regular store, even on sale or with a coupon. We got 7 Christmas gifts and never had to get dressed! In fact, we stayed in our pajamas the entire day. Around 1pm we heated up those delicious Thanksgiving left-overs for lunch, then continued watching TV and relaxing. (The main benefit of hosting Thanksgiving is having all the left-overs.) Joe even went back to bed for a nap. Around 8pm we put a frozen pizza in the oven and that was our dinner. Back to relaxing and TV watching. We never showered, we never got dressed, we never left the house. It was fabulous.

Sat we slept until 9:30, showered, dressed, and headed west. We stopped at Kerry & Hugh's and watched as Hugh and Jose installed their new stove. Its a gorgeous retro stove that looks like something from the 1920s. Then we had lunch at Five Guys, and Joe and I headed out to Front Royal for some real, in-store shopping at Big Lots. (Note: Not all Big Lots are created equal. We've been to 2 other Big Lots closer to our house and both were disappointing. If you really want a bargain shopping experience, go to the Big Lots in Front Royal.) We came home with 9 more Christmas gifts, plus several items for ourselves. It was fun! For dinner we heated up those yummy Thanksgiving left-overs and watched TV the rest of the night.

Sun we slept until 10. I watched home improvement/home decorating shows on TV and Joe surfed the internet. Then Joe washed up the last of the Thanksgiving platters and I got out the leaf blower for 'Round 2'. This time I took sinus/allergy medicine to ward off the sinus flare-up I experienced the last time I blew the leaves. It worked. Then I put away the last of the Thanksgiving paraphenalia and vacuumed the main level of the house again. Joe vacuumed upstairs. All day we kept asking each other 'What do you want to do today?' I offered a few suggestions, but Joe never said yes or no to any of them, so we just kept doing little things here and there: cleaning, putting things away, watching TV, surfing the internet, etc. Finally at 5pm it became apparent that we just weren't going to do anything else outside the house. Besides, it was dark now, and a light sprinkle was falling, so it seemed best to stay put. For the 3rd and final time, we heated up those dwindling but wonderful Thanksgiving left-overs for dinner and settled in for a relaxing night of TV. We watched several shows on Logo, which was fun.

It was a wonderful 4-day weekend, full of tasty food, family, laughter, sleep, TV watching, relaxing, and Christmas shopping. Just the way Thanksgiving should be.

Preparations for Thanksgiving

Last night Joe & I went to the grocery store for all of our Thanksgiving dinner needs. We spent $127. but saved $31. with our Safeway Club card. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded and we got everything we needed except for the gravy. We forgot it, so we'll have to go out tonight and get some.

As usual, we are hosting the family at our house. Joe is making an 18 lb turkey, homemade dressing (my recipe, although he thinks its his), corn casserole (ala Paula Dean), peas, and biscuits. His sister Mary is bringing mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. His sister-in-law Karen is bringing pumpkin pies and whipped cream. His mother is bringing the traditional Italian favorites: clementines and mixed nuts in the shells. His sister-in-law Denise is bringing a second turkey and potato salad. My aunt Mary is bringing sweet potato shuffle and orange sherbet jello in a mold. We also have a French apple pie and vanilla ice cream in case anyone doesn't want pumpkin pie. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is!

There should be 17 of us this year, split up at three tables. We're hoping to eat at 4pm. Let's hope the turkey is ready on time this year.

My niece Lauren will be with us for the first time this year. In fact, this will be her first Thanksgiving ever, as Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Thanksgiving or any other holiday. She seems very excited, and I hope she really enjoys being with us.

Last Sat Joe & I did our big, major housecleaning so that tomorrow while he's cooking I will just need to tidy up, set the tables, and get everything ready. All of the table cloths are washed. The 'good' dishes and 'good' flatware are clean and waiting in the sideboard, but I'll need to run the dishwasher tonight to make sure all of the 'everyday' dishes and flatware are clean too, since we'll need some of them.

I'm looking forward to a joyful day with tons of delicious food, family, laughter, and thankfulness for all we have. I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving as well.

Sick

Yuck. I'm feeling sick. My sinuses are hurting, I'm congested, and I have a sore throat. I think I have a fall allergy to leaves. It seems that every year, about a week or two before Thanksgiving, when the leaves are falling like crazy, I get sick like this.

I mentioned it to a friend who suggested I might be allergic to leaf mold. I hadn't really considered that leaves get moldy. My friend has a friend whose doctor said he was allergic to leaf mold, so I guess its legitimate. Plus, yesterday I spent about an hour and a half using the leaf blower. Today I have a significant flare up in my symptoms, which previous to the leaf blowing chore, had been slight.

I'm taking an over-the-counter sinus/allergy medication at night, which really helps dry me up and let me sleep through the night. When it wears off during the day I just blow my nose or clear my throat as needed. I don't like taking medication during the day at work because it makes me feel dopey - even the "non-drowsy formula".

The front yard looks like nice though.

Highlights of the film festival

The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival was... GREAT!

Wed night the weather had once again gotten very warm, so I put the convertible top down and hit the road. Nov 9th at 8pm it was 73 degrees! My spirits were high as I sailed down the highway, singing along with Bette Midler (The Rosemary Clooney Songbook), RuPaul (Supermodel), and Madonna (The Immaculate Collection). I took my bag into the house, turned on the lights, and headed out to find a bite to eat and perhaps a cocktail. But... it was 10:30 on a Wed night. The only places serving food were fast-food restaurants, and although I enjoy the occasional foray into McDonalds and Taco Bell, I just wasn't in the mood for them that night. So I skipped the food and went right for the cocktail. I drove by the Blue Moon, but it looked to be closed, so I stopped at Partners Bistro. The wonderful and talented Matthew was entertaining the handful of patrons with his excellent keyboard skills and nice voice. I had a Malibu and coke.

I stopped at the 24-hour Food Lion on the way back to the house and got a few necessities, which included cereal, milk, and this wonderful strawberry cheescake-flavored pound cake I wouldn't have gotten if Joe were with me. I had a slice of the cake as I watched TV, too excited to go to bed. I finally made myself go to bed shortly before 2am, and I was surprised the next morning that it didn't take me long to fall asleep.

At 8:30 am I left for the box office! I had already read a brief summary of all the films being screened and had filled out my ticket order form. As I stood in line for nearly an hour, I crossed my fingers and thought happy thoughts in the attempt that it would keep my selections from selling out before I got up to the ticket counter.

Success!!! I was able to get tickets to all the films I'd selected except one. It wasn't that the film had sold out, I just couldn't get the show times to fit into any of the openings in my schedule. Without further ado, here's what I saw:

American Potpourri Shorts, a collection of American short films that included 'Flix' a 2 minute animated film about the high price of theatre tickets and the temptation to buy pirated films, 'The Road Taken' another animated film without dialog about a woman's decision when she unexpectedly finds she's expecting, 'Pretty Ugly' a cute film about a funky high school girl who wants to go to the prom but not with any of her classmates, 'Pee Shy' about a group of boy scouts whose scary campfire stories get out of hand, 'I Killed Zoe Day' a whodunit murder mystery told in multiple flashbacks, 'Such Great Joy' about a woman who brings her new girlfriend to the engagement party being thrown for her and her ex-fiance, 'Night Swimming' about a gay teen and his best friend who begin to tackle subjects more complicated than swimming. Although I'm not a fan of animated films, this collection of shorts only included 2 animated films and both were very short. I enjoyed the collection in all.

My Summer of Love, a story about a working class Scottish girl who falls in love with a wealthy English girl. Not only is their summer of love complicated by their drastically different background, but it is further complicated when one girl finds the other has lied to her about several things. A bit of a strange ending, but very interesting and enjoyable. Recommended rental if you see it on Netflix.

Loggerheads, based on a true story of a young man fascinated with the loggerhead turtles of coastal North Carolina. He was given up for adoption as an infant, raised by his adopted parents (a preacher and his wife), then kicked out of the house at 17 because of coming out. His biological mother yearns to find him, and his adopted parents struggle with their feelings and their religious beliefs. Very nicely done. Recommended rental.

Saving Face, the story of a closeted Chinese-American woman who's widowed mother suddenly becomes pregnant at age 48. The mother is ostracized from the close-knit Chinese-American NY community and moves in with her closeted lesbian daughter. A cute story with a good message and a lot of laughs. Recommended rental.

Cote D'Azur, a film I saw this passed summer during the DC Pride Film Festival. This film shows that love can mean many different things: commitment, romance, family, tolerance. For more details of the plot, see my entry on June 5. In French with subtitles. Recommended rental.

Mysterious Skin, the dark tale of two 8-year olds who had played on the same little league baseball team. One grows up believing he was abducted by an alien. The other grows up to become a hustler. They meet in order to help each other deal with the truth of their shared past. Excellent cinematography and a compelling story. Recommended rental.

Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, the ficticous story of a controversial author and poet, whose 'muse' has been a mystery for decades. This film was too long (over 2 hours) and could have easily been told in much less time if the editor had picked a theme or two and concentrated on it/them. There were way too many 'messages' and the production quality was poor. Don't bother renting this one unless you have insomnia and need something to put you to sleep.

The Favor, a hilarious comedy about a female couple in Barcelona who want to have a baby. They try to implement a plan to drug one of the women's visiting brother so he will impregnate the other woman. Everything goes wrong, but you'll laugh out loud at nearly every scene. In Spanish with subtitles. Recommended rental.

That Man: Peter Berlin, a documentary about the self-created gay icon of the '70s. John Waters and Armistead Maupin contribute their impressions and recollections. On a scale of 1-10 I'd give this a 5. Although the topic, photos, and video clips were interesting, most of the dialog with Peter Berlin was vague and lengthy. I'd only recommend this if you are a Peter Berlin fan.

Heights, a Merchant Ivory production, and possibly one of the best films of the festival. Four or five independent stories appear to be happening in the beginning, until characters from one story begin showing up in another story, demonstrating the whole inter-connectedness of life. Very 'Tales of the City', so of course I loved it. A solid and believable performance by Glenn Close. Recommended rental.

Fun!

The saying holds true: Time flies when you're having fun. And we've been having some fun lately...

Fri evening Michael & Jamie (aka: The Newlyweds) came over for a little snack as we waited for their friend Missy to arrive at the airport. They picked her up and met us at Bangkok 54, a stylish Thai restaurant on Columbia Pike. It looks like a place you'd expect to see in Manhattan, with its high, open ceiling and sleek decor. We enjoyed a tasty Thai dinner and some interesting cocktails: I had a pumpkin martini and Michael had a Basil cocktail. Mmmm... Its fun to try new martinis.

The Newlyweds reminded us that the next day was the last of the Civitan Rummage sales until next spring. Imagining crazy bargains from vendors who didn't want to store stuff for 6 months, we decided to go. It was a bright, sunny, warm day, and I was overdressed with a long sleeve shirt. I hadn't paid attention to the weather. Two hours later we came home with a cute set of old aluminum canisters (sugar, flour, tea) and a 3-tier dessert stand. Fabulous bargains!

We changed into shorts and T-shirts, tossed a suitcase in the trunk and Jordan into the back seat, and headed south with the top down on the convertible. It was 72 degrees and sunny on Nov 5th!!! The traffic gods were on our side and we ran into no typical bad traffic on 95, so we got to Kerry & Hugh's log home in the woods in 2 1/2 hours. We had a lovely weekend talking, laughing, eating, drinking, playing pool, and watching movies. I hadn't played pool in years, but it was a lot of fun. Sun afternoon we headed home, again with the top down. It was clear and sunny, 76 degrees. Although I had originally been hoping for a cool, Nov weekend wrapped in fleece and flannel, this unusually warm weather was certainly welcomed by this convertible-enthusiast. Fun!!!

On the way home on Sun we stopped at Joe's mom's house, but she wasn't there. We headed over to his sister's house to see her new appliances. Her stove, dishwasher and fridge all broke at about the same time so she replaced all three with new stainless steel appliances.

This is a short week for me at work, as I am taking off Thurs and Fri to go to the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. I am so excited! I've gone to the festival several years and have always enjoyed seeing the indy films. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but I can hardly stomach the typical 'Hollywood' releases, where the 'good' characters always live happily ever after and you can figure out how the movie will end after the first 10 minutes. The indy films are not made to appeal to the mindless masses. They're not made to make money. They're made to entertain, to tell a story, to make you think, to let you escape.

I bought a $60. RB Film Society membership, which entitles me to enter the box office one hour earlier than the general public, and to purchase all of my film tickets for the entire festival, rather than just the tickets for that day's films. I can't wait!

Joe enjoys the occasional indy film too, but he's not interested in spending an entire day watching 3 or 4 films. So he and his mom and Jordan will come up Fri night after work. I'll report on some of the films in a few days.

McDonalds

I have always been a fan of McDonalds. I really do like the food. I did a project on McDonalds in a business class I took several years ago. Despite the fact that McDonalds is known for their hamburgers, they didn't start out that way. The first McDonalds was a place to get milkshakes.

I can remember going to McDonalds with my family in the early 70s. Because my family was of modest means, we 4 kids were allowed to get a Big Mac, small fries and a small drink - OR - a cheeseburger, small fries and a milkshake. We were not allowed to get a Big Mac AND a milkshake... it was one or the other. I can still remember going there on Thurs nights after church, my sisters in dresses and me in a suit. The floor was brown tile, the chairs were rust colored, and the booths and tables were gold and beige. Yep, our McDonalds was stylin'.

I also remember going to the new McDonalds built near our house in the early 80s, when 2 of my 3 sisters were married and none were living at home. It was close enough to walk to. I remember my best friend Rodney would come over for the weekend, and we would walk without any parents to the McDonalds and 'dine'. Going to McDonalds then meant independence. We both got small allowances so we could order whatever we wanted. I remember the thrill of ordering a Big Mac, fries AND a milkshake! The decor of this McDonalds was a bit more hip. It had a tan/gold tile floor, beige chairs and booths, and navy blue tables.

I can remember in the late 80s when a new McDonalds opened near Potomac Mills Mall. The mall had been open for a few years, so when they began developing the land surrounding the mall, McDonalds bought in. But this was a special McDonalds - it had a 1950s theme! The floor was black and white checkerboard tile, the booths were covered in sparkly red vinyl, there were photos of 1950s film and music stars on the walls, and record albums hung from the ceiling. Sometimes I'd meet my friends there for dinner when I was working at the mall. Not long after that, a drive-thru only McDonalds was built on the other side of the mall. There was no customer entrance or seating area; it was strictly a drive-thru.

In the mid 90s I was living with my first boyfriend in Gaithersburg, a growing community within a reasonable commute to DC. The McDonalds near our house was rather new, and had the latest, hippest color scheme: purple, teal green, and raspberry! Yeah, that's right. It was colorful. As I recall, this was the first McDonalds that gave you a cup so you could determine your own perfect ratio of ice and soda.

In 1998 I began working in Herndon, after having moved back to VA in 1996. The McDonalds near my office was located in a shopping center. I don't mean out in the parking lot of a shopping center, but rather, IN the shopping center, between the bagel place and the cellular store. It must have been the smallest McDonalds ever, and it was always crowded. A year or so later they opened a new, normal size McDonalds half a block up the street. I have been going there for about 6 years now. It is hands down the most efficiently run fast food restaurant I have ever been to - ever. Even on the busiest days at the busiest times, you never wait in line more than a few seconds. You place your order and pay, and by the time you put your change or debit card away, your food is ready and on your tray. It should be the model for all fast food restaurants. My only complaint is the woman whose job it is to wipe down and restock the condiment area. Lots of times when I'm in a hurry I find myself waiting for her to finish wiping the 3 droplets of coke from the stainless steel counter before I can grab my straw and run out the door. But its a small price to pay for such great service otherwise.

Then there's the McDonalds closest to our house. From its color scheme, it appears to have been decorated in the mid-80s, with its southwestern hues of dusty turquoise, dusty peach, and beige. There are even wallpaper inserts on the walls with a southwestern, American Indian motif. The food and service are usually good there, but occasionally there is a problem with the a/c in the summer. The left side and the main counter area will be fine, and the right side will be noticeably warmer. But when you're really in the mood for chicken McNuggets with hot mustard sauce, one does what one must.

Last Fri when Joe & I were headed up to the beach, we decided to stop at a McDonalds in our town (not the one closest to our house). We were really surprised to see that it had recently been remodeled. I nicknamed it the 'Bistro McDonalds'. There are no booths, and no stationary chairs bolted to the floor in front of the tables. The lighting is dim, coming from tiny spots in the ceiling. There is a circular ceiling 'sculpture' with indirect lighting behind it, too. There are tall tables with high bar stools, and some regular tables with silver aluminum chairs. Instead of wallpaper, the walls are covered in a faux granite material (likely a laminate). There were large flat-panel plasma TV screens mounted in the corners of the ceiling, playing CNN. It was the wildest thing I'd ever seen in a McDonalds! With this 'Bistro McDonalds' we began to wonder what would be next? I've already seen a DVD rental machine in one McDonalds. Credit and debit cards are accepted at all McDonalds, including the drive-thru window. So what's next? Maybe a partnership with massage therapists to knead your muscles while you eat? Maybe a partnership with Starbucks and the local beauty school so you can get a pedicure while you sip a latte? Who knows, but I'm sure that whatever it is, it will be successful.

Surprise - the furniture is ready

It was Friday, my catch-up day at work, and I'm thinking about the fact that we didn't hear from the furniture store about the furniture we ordered. We bought it at a very reasonably priced furniture store up at the beach. Although not so convenient for delivery, the price was right AND there is no sales tax in DE. They had said 2-3 weeks, but thought it might be 2 weeks. I was hoping it would be 2 weeks, as we'd be able to pick it up right away. If it were going to be ready in 3 weeks, we'd have to wait another week after that, as we already had plans to be out of town the 3rd weekend.

So since it appeared we weren't going to be tied up with the furniture, I emailed our friends Liz & Robert, with whom we had 'back-up' plans for dinner on Sat, in case the furniture wasn't ready. But Liz & Robert decided to go to Williamsburg for the weekend. They invited us to go, but we really have no interest in visiting Williamsburg so we politely declined. Besides, we didn't have any arrangements for our dog.

So then I began trolling my friends via email to see who was doing what this weekend. Since Halloween is on Mon, I figured some of our friends may want to go downtown on Sat night to the clubs and bars and see all the boys in their costumes. But everyone I contacted either had other plans or didn't respond to my email.

I began to think 'Man, we really are losers. Here it is, Halloween weekend, and we have absolutely NO plans what-so-ever.' So I called Joe and asked him how he felt about just going downtown the two of us and checking out the Halloween costumes. He didn't want to. So I braced myself for a truly uneventful weekend.

When I got home from work on Fri, Joe said "Surprise - the furniture is ready." The store had called and left a message saying the furniture had just come in. Suddenly I was kind of glad that none of my attempts to make plans for the weekend had worked out! We began to make our new plans.

Our existing TV room sofa was going to Joe's brother's house in Bowie. We had hoped he could come and pick it up, but with such short notice, that wasn't going to happen. Fortunately, his house is on the way to the beach, so we put the sofa in our Suburban and dropped it off on the way. The love seat was going to Joe's sister in Alexandria, but we didn't have time to deliver it on Fri, so we left it in the TV room for some future delivery date.

We were both dreading getting the existing sofa and love seat out of the house, as we remembered how hard it was to get in. We couldn't use the front door because the furniture was too big to go around the corner to get into the TV room. We had to bring the furniture in through the exterior door to the TV room, which is not as wide as the front door. It just barely squeezed through - only after totally removing the door off of its hinge. So with great strain tempered with excitement, we finally extracted the old furniture to make way for the new stuff.

When we went to pick up the new furniture we really didn't think they'd be able to get both pieces inside the Suburban. We planned to take one piece home Sat morning, drive back to the beach Sat night, and take the second piece home on Sun. But we'd removed the 3rd row seat and flipped down the 2nd row seats, creating an impressive amount of space, so the loading guys were optimistic. It took a couple tries and several configurations, but amazingly they got both pieces into our truck!

With both pieces of furniture snugly in the truck and the weather forecast at the beach being good, we thought we'd stay up there for the weekend, and then unload the furniture on Sun evening. But after driving around at the beach with that load of furniture for about 20 minutes, we both agreed to just go home. We were excited to transform our TV room.

We got home around 4pm on Sat and unloaded the furniture, took all the protective plastic and cardboard off, and screwed on the feet. Then we placed the furniture on the wall where the TV/VCR/DVD had been, moved the area rugs, and decided to call it quits. It was 7pm and we were both ready for a shower and some food.

This morning we made a quick trip to our local hardware/variety store to pick up a few necessities and got back to work. Since we wanted to turn the room around and put the furniture where the TV had been, we needed to get the cable over to the other wall where the furniture had been. Fortunately I could pull the cable from the basement and poke it up threw a pre-drilled hole in exactly the right place. Then we put the TV/VCR/DVD onto the new entertainment center we'd bought last weekend from the scratch-n-dent area at Ikea (you can't even find the flaw) and placed it on the wall where the furniture had been. We replaced the lightbulbs in the overhead light that were too bright with some more appropriate lower watt bulbs, and slipped some rubber anti-skid discs under the eight feet of our new furniture, threw the ottoman back in and voila! It looks fabulous!

The new furniture is an ivory chenile, two-piece sectional. There is a sofa with a left arm, and a chaise with a right arm. Put them together and add the toss pillows with a graphic red & ivory design and add our existing red ottoman and you get a stunning designer look. (Michael: this is WAY better than the furniture you remember!) We even had time to deliver the old love seat to Joe's sister, and have an early dinner with his mom.

So much for weekends with no plans!