Apparently Father Fall won the fight against Mother Nature who seemed intent on keeping us spoiled by warm temperatures. The weather actually matches the calendar page now so there's no more denying the arrival of fall.
We didn't go for our regular Fri night dinner at the Miltonian. Rick & Nick were out of town, and Stephan & Wayne had invited us to their house for a happy hour. Wayne had made a bunch of holiday wreaths and floral centerpieces and had them out for folks to see and purchase if they felt so inclined. We enjoyed a drink and a nibble to eat, but only stayed for about an hour. We came home, ate pizza and Spouse flipped around between various crappy TV programs while I watched a Netflix DVD called 'Crutch', which I enjoyed.
Spouse made breakfast for us on Sat morning and then we putzed around the house until almost noon. Stephan & Wayne met us here at 12:30 and we headed to Bridgeville for the 14th annual Apple Scrapple Festival. It was wonderfully sunny, cool, and a little breezy; perfect festival weather. On our way to Bridgeville we stopped at a gas station where I accidentally backed into the gas pump, breaking the nozzle off the handle, and breaking the tail light on Spouse's CRV. How embarrassing. The owner of the station was not present but I talked to him on the phone. He called me back today to thank me for being honest about having broken the nozzle. Since the station was not open, I could very easily have gotten back in the car and driven away. The off-duty mechanic working on his own vehicle inside the garage did not see what happened. I had to interrupt his work to inquire about who to speak to about the pump. The owner said the nozzle will cost about $180. to replace. I told him to have it done and mail me the invoice, and I'd pay for it. He again expressed his gratitude for my honesty.
The Apple Scrapple Festival was a much bigger deal that we'd thought. Bridgeville is a very small town so we assumed the festival would be small and easily completed within an hour. Au contraire! Nearly the entire town was roped off for the festival, which consisted of live entertainment on a stage, lots of food vendors (including scrapple, of course), arts and crafts booths, products and services booths, booths selling apples, canned veggies and fruit, pickles, relish, and a rather impressive selection of classic and antique cars to peruse. We were shocked at home many people the festival attracted. Afterward we had an early dinner at Jimmy's Grill, where we ate quite possibly the best fried chicken in DE, if not the entire country.
We barely had time to feed and walk Jordan once we got home before we had to hop back in the car and go to Paul & Steve's for Movie Night. Paul & Steve converted their dining room (which they never used) into a full-fledged movie theatre, complete with a projection system, huge wall-sized screen, velvet drapes, authentic movie theatre candy counter and popcorn maker! These guys took the theme and really went with it, so watching movies with them is even better than going to the actual cinema. We watched "Victim", a 1960 British film about the blackmailing of gay men when simply being homosexual was against the law, based on a true story. It was really good.
Sun morning we slept in until 9:30, then watched "The Barefoot Contessa" and "Nigella Express" as we ate our sesame bagels and drank our blueberry flavored coffee. Unable to postpone it any longer, we started doing our 'serious' housecleaning. Spouse had suggested early in the week that we do a 'serious' housecleaning that coming weekend, and by Sun at noon we knew we'd have to get started. Surprisingly it didn't take as long as we thought, and Spouse abbreviated his portion a bit, deciding to mop the kitchen floor "another day".
Again it was bright and sunny, cool, and slightly breezy so we agreed to meet Rick & Nick at the beach at 2:30. We brought sweatshirts since its often cooler on the beach than at home, but the warmth of the sun kept us from needing to put them on. There was hardly anyone there, and the water was quite calm. Rick & Nick brought their new Sheltie puppy Zack with them. He really enjoyed the beach. We really enjoyed being able to just sit and talk with our friends on the beach for 2 hours, knowing there will very few if any more days like this until spring.
When we got home I showered and then made dinner. We had tacos and Mexican rice. Spouse watched '60 Minutes' and I watched a Netflix DVD called "Unconditional Love". Despite the star-studded cast which included Kathy Bates, the uber-yummy Rupert Everett, Vanessa Redgrave, Dan Akroyd, and Johnathan Pryce, the film was rather disappointing. The 1st half was good and engaging. I really felt for the lead character played by Kathy Bates, whose husband leaves her and whose favorite pop star dies. But the 2nd half just seemed to turn silly and insipid, falling short of even being campy. I really wanted to like this film but it just wasn't worth liking.
We both went to bed at 10:30, but were awakened several times throughout the night and early morning by our darling dog Jordan. We think she has allergies because there are times like last night where she will 'cough' for 15-20 seconds, loud enough to wake us up. Sometimes she does it during waking hours, which is far less irritating than last night when she woke us up no less than 6 times. Spouse took her into a guest bedroom and closed the door, but sometime later she began to whimper and scratch on the door, so he let her out of the guest room and back into our room. This happened 3 times. I don't fault Jordan for keeping us up all night, I fault Spouse. He should have made her stay in the guest bedroom after she'd woken us up twice. This morning when the alarm went off I felt as if I'd just taken a series of 15 minute cat naps.
Pet concern update: Pouncer and Jordan are both eating and pooping normally again. Just thought you'd want to know.
Now, I'm off to my work out.
Drag Queen name of the day: Lily Pewshun
Monday, October 15, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Pet concerns
When we returned from the Berkshires on Mon it was apparent that Pouncer had not eaten much, if at all, within the 3 days, which is very unlike him. Pouncer is not a finicky eater, and would likely eat until he was plump and fat like Garfield if allowed. He's been eating the same brand of food for years and never leaves a crumb or morsel behind, so it concerned us to find most of his food still in his bowl on Mon afternoon.
Then we started discovering small 'messes' where Pouncer had had diarrhea. Oddly, he chose two specific places to do it: on the floor mats in front of the front and side doors, and in front of the windows in the living room and dining room. I think this is odd because he didn't do it in front of a wall or in the middle of the room, but only in front of a door or window.
We figured he must have gotten a bug or virus, and concluded that he'd start eating again when he thought his stomach could take it. But he didn't eat on Tues or Wed either.
Meanwhile, Jordan started having diarrhea (not in the house) on Tues and Wed, too. Of course it didn't effect her desire or ability to eat. Jordan will eat any and everything, and continued her regular diet despite her gastroentrological protests. This really got us to wondering what might have caused both pets to suddenly start having diarrhea.
We're not positive, but we think it might be the new lavender scented Febreze. Having a dog and a cat for many years, we've used Febreze products before, with no ill side effects. However, I noticed the lavender scented one I just bought advertized it was a "new" scent, and I'm sure we'd never used it before. Just before we left for the Berkshires on Sat morning, Spouse spritzed the main floor of the house with the new lavender Febreze. Then on Mon when I cleaned up Pouncer's messes, I used the Febreze again.
Pouncer stopped eating and started having diarrhea sometime on Sat, but Jordan was fine until Tues, because Jordan was at the pet hotel. When Jordan returned home on Mon she started having diarrhea on Tues, so that's why we think the Febreze is the culprit.
So we've thrown away the lavender Febreze and are hoping that as the scent dissipates our pets will return to normal.
I think Pouncer believed his food was making him sick because he still would not eat his regular food on Thurs, despite the fact that we threw away the food in the bowl and gave him fresh. I felt so bad, as I calculated he hadn't eaten any food (except for treats) in 6 days. So on Thurs evening Spouse bought another cat food that looks completely different, we gave it to Pouncer, and he eagerly devoured it. He ate it without protest again this morning, so that's good. We're going to continue giving him the new food for a few days, then gradually start mixing his old food in with the new food so he'll get used to eating his old food again.
Hopefully both of our furry family members will return to normal soon.
Drag Queen name of the day: Olive Eweforever
Then we started discovering small 'messes' where Pouncer had had diarrhea. Oddly, he chose two specific places to do it: on the floor mats in front of the front and side doors, and in front of the windows in the living room and dining room. I think this is odd because he didn't do it in front of a wall or in the middle of the room, but only in front of a door or window.
We figured he must have gotten a bug or virus, and concluded that he'd start eating again when he thought his stomach could take it. But he didn't eat on Tues or Wed either.
Meanwhile, Jordan started having diarrhea (not in the house) on Tues and Wed, too. Of course it didn't effect her desire or ability to eat. Jordan will eat any and everything, and continued her regular diet despite her gastroentrological protests. This really got us to wondering what might have caused both pets to suddenly start having diarrhea.
We're not positive, but we think it might be the new lavender scented Febreze. Having a dog and a cat for many years, we've used Febreze products before, with no ill side effects. However, I noticed the lavender scented one I just bought advertized it was a "new" scent, and I'm sure we'd never used it before. Just before we left for the Berkshires on Sat morning, Spouse spritzed the main floor of the house with the new lavender Febreze. Then on Mon when I cleaned up Pouncer's messes, I used the Febreze again.
Pouncer stopped eating and started having diarrhea sometime on Sat, but Jordan was fine until Tues, because Jordan was at the pet hotel. When Jordan returned home on Mon she started having diarrhea on Tues, so that's why we think the Febreze is the culprit.
So we've thrown away the lavender Febreze and are hoping that as the scent dissipates our pets will return to normal.
I think Pouncer believed his food was making him sick because he still would not eat his regular food on Thurs, despite the fact that we threw away the food in the bowl and gave him fresh. I felt so bad, as I calculated he hadn't eaten any food (except for treats) in 6 days. So on Thurs evening Spouse bought another cat food that looks completely different, we gave it to Pouncer, and he eagerly devoured it. He ate it without protest again this morning, so that's good. We're going to continue giving him the new food for a few days, then gradually start mixing his old food in with the new food so he'll get used to eating his old food again.
Hopefully both of our furry family members will return to normal soon.
Drag Queen name of the day: Olive Eweforever
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Work out update
Work out update: session 5
Since we were returning from the Berkshires on Mon, my regular work out day, I had made arrangements with Rick to switch my work out to Wed this week.
My work out went well. I had a little talk with Rick about the presumed blood pressure spikes and plummets and asked him if I could eat something to help prevent this. He suggested bringing dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, and raisins to the work out with me so I could have a handful to eat part way through the work out to keep my blood pressure from "crashing". He also suggested Gatorade, since it has sugar in it. So I'm going to try this going forward.
But on Wed I didn't have that problem, which was great. I was able to get through the whole session without needing to lie on the ground 3-4 minutes to recuperate from the blood pressure "crash".
Every session ends with an exercise called 'elbows and knees', where you lie on your back with your hands behind your head and you try to touch your right elbow to your left knee, and then your left elbow to your right knee. Typically he has me do 30 'elbows and knees', but this time I was still feeling like I had a little bit more in me, so I did 40 instead. Rick jokingly asked me "Where'd that come from?" and I told him I just felt like I could do a little more. So then he sarcastically replied "Well great, then give me 30 more." After a brief rest I gave him 40 more 'elbows and knees', which gained me a genuine compliment. Rick said most beginners aren't able to do 80 'elbows and knees'. So, although I'm sure I'm way behind most beginners in the weight I'm able to lift, at least I'm above the curve in something.
Drag Queen name of the day: Bobbie Ganoush
Since we were returning from the Berkshires on Mon, my regular work out day, I had made arrangements with Rick to switch my work out to Wed this week.
My work out went well. I had a little talk with Rick about the presumed blood pressure spikes and plummets and asked him if I could eat something to help prevent this. He suggested bringing dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, and raisins to the work out with me so I could have a handful to eat part way through the work out to keep my blood pressure from "crashing". He also suggested Gatorade, since it has sugar in it. So I'm going to try this going forward.
But on Wed I didn't have that problem, which was great. I was able to get through the whole session without needing to lie on the ground 3-4 minutes to recuperate from the blood pressure "crash".
Every session ends with an exercise called 'elbows and knees', where you lie on your back with your hands behind your head and you try to touch your right elbow to your left knee, and then your left elbow to your right knee. Typically he has me do 30 'elbows and knees', but this time I was still feeling like I had a little bit more in me, so I did 40 instead. Rick jokingly asked me "Where'd that come from?" and I told him I just felt like I could do a little more. So then he sarcastically replied "Well great, then give me 30 more." After a brief rest I gave him 40 more 'elbows and knees', which gained me a genuine compliment. Rick said most beginners aren't able to do 80 'elbows and knees'. So, although I'm sure I'm way behind most beginners in the weight I'm able to lift, at least I'm above the curve in something.
Drag Queen name of the day: Bobbie Ganoush
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Shorter days
I think one of the best things about summer is how long the days get. Here in the Mid-Atlantic region it can stay light until 9:00 or so in the peak of summer.
In the spring we began meeting friends for dinner every Fri at 7:00 and its always been light at that time. Sometimes it would still be light when we were leaving. But this past Fri I noticed it was barely still light at 6:45 as we headed to Milton for dinner.
Jordan gets fed and walked right around 6:00, and often the sun has been so high and bright that I would wear sunglasses while walking her. But yesterday I walked her at 6:15 and didn't need sunglasses at all. In fact, the sun was close to setting when we returned home at 6:40.
Although the unseasonably warm temperatures have left us feeling as if its still summer, the shorter days and earlier sunsets are a harsh slap of reality that it is indeed fall.
I always have mixed feelings about fall. A part of me grieves the end of summer, wearing shorts and sandals, driving with the top down, while another part of me anticipates the beauty of fall leaves, the smell of wood burning in fireplaces, and the knowledge that the mirth of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are close at hand. I think I'd actually miss fall if I lived in Hawaii or some other place of eternal summer. But given the opportunity, I think I'd still move to Hawaii!
Drag Queen name of the day: Misty Meanor
In the spring we began meeting friends for dinner every Fri at 7:00 and its always been light at that time. Sometimes it would still be light when we were leaving. But this past Fri I noticed it was barely still light at 6:45 as we headed to Milton for dinner.
Jordan gets fed and walked right around 6:00, and often the sun has been so high and bright that I would wear sunglasses while walking her. But yesterday I walked her at 6:15 and didn't need sunglasses at all. In fact, the sun was close to setting when we returned home at 6:40.
Although the unseasonably warm temperatures have left us feeling as if its still summer, the shorter days and earlier sunsets are a harsh slap of reality that it is indeed fall.
I always have mixed feelings about fall. A part of me grieves the end of summer, wearing shorts and sandals, driving with the top down, while another part of me anticipates the beauty of fall leaves, the smell of wood burning in fireplaces, and the knowledge that the mirth of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are close at hand. I think I'd actually miss fall if I lived in Hawaii or some other place of eternal summer. But given the opportunity, I think I'd still move to Hawaii!
Drag Queen name of the day: Misty Meanor
Monday, October 08, 2007
Long weekend in the Berkshires
The Newlyweds arrived Fri night at 10:00, we snacked and planned our travel strategy for the next day, and went to bed at about 11:00.
Sat morning we got up at 6:00, showered, ate, packed the car, and left Lewes at 7:30. It was quite warm and we all wore shorts. The trip took longer than expected, due to traffic congestion (on a Sat?) and a wrong turn or two. After a fuel stop and a lunch stop, we arrived in Becket, MA at about 3:30.
We found the cabin to be adequate; nothing fancy, that's for sure. Both of the beds left much to be desired, as did the single tiny bathroom. But we weren't planning to lounge around indoors much so we found the accommodations acceptable. But then there was the view: Spectacular! The cabin sat on a hillside, with a large deck on the back with a direct view of the pond. There were beautiful, tall, old trees on either side of the clearing, perfectly 'framing' the view of the pond. Across the pond sat an old red canoe which seemed to draw out the patches of red leaves from the patchwork quilt of foliage behind it. I wish we'd had a camera to capture that postcard view, but we left ours home after it had acted up so much at the car show a few weeks ago. The large deck had a newer dining table and chairs, a glider, 2 chaise lounges, and a chiminea.
After unloading our gear we headed to Lee where we stopped for a little shopping expedition at the Prime Outlets. Michael had read online that they were having a sidewalk sale that day. Next we stopped at the Otis Poultry Farm in Otis and bought a fabulous homemade 'Fruits of the Forest' pie. Then we walked around Lee, had Thai chicken burritos, and then picked up supplies at the one and only grocery store called Price Chopper. (I don't know why but that name continues to make me giggle.) While in the grocery store it began to rain and continued as we got back to the cabin, squelching our plans for making s'mores and sitting around the chiminea. But it was still in the 70s so it wouldn't have been so great anyway. We talked for a while, then popped a DVD in to watch until we went to bed. Oh, and we had pie!
Sun was considerably cooler. I was the only one to wear shorts. Fortunately the rain had stopped, and we planned our day as we ate breakfast and looked at our fabulous view of the pond. We went for a walk on the streets around the pond instead of going for a hike, since the ground was still wet and muddy. One of the houses on the other side of the pond had 3 vehicles parked in front of it, all containing HRC stickers or rainbow stickers. Since one of the vehicles was a Subaru and another was a 4-wheel drive SUV, we decided it was a group of lesbians.
Then we took a driving tour around Great Barrington, Sheffield, West Stockbridge, Monterey, and Lenox which enabled us to see the pretty foliage and stop at a few tag sales, antique shops, and places of interest. My friend Sal told me to stop in and see his grandmother at her antique shop so we did. We found her to be sweet and hip at the same time. She even gave us a discount on a terrific 1940s side table we were able to slip into the back of the CRV. After returning to the cabin for showers and cat naps, we met the Newlyweds' friends Norton & David at a restaurant in Lenox called Zinc. Jamie met Norton while working at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, where Norton has worked for 30 years. The dinner and conversations were delightful. Afterward the 6 of us came back to the cabin and made a fire in the chiminea. The temperature seemed to be in the low 50s so it was ideal. We sat around the fire and made s'mores for about 2 hours, until Norton & David left. The remaining 4 of us returned to sitting by the fire until we'd burned up all the wood. It was exactly how I'd envisioned it.
Mon we got up at 8:00, packed up our gear, cleaned up the cabin, and were out the door by 8:30. The trip home went much faster, as we ran into no traffic congestion and took no wrong turns. After a fuel stop and a lunch stop, we arrived back in Lewes at 3:00. The Newlyweds left shortly thereafter.
Despite it being Oct 8, the temperature reached 90 degrees today. The forecast shows a cooling just around the corner though, with expected temps in the 70s on Wed.
Drag Queen name of the day: Leisel Weapon
Sat morning we got up at 6:00, showered, ate, packed the car, and left Lewes at 7:30. It was quite warm and we all wore shorts. The trip took longer than expected, due to traffic congestion (on a Sat?) and a wrong turn or two. After a fuel stop and a lunch stop, we arrived in Becket, MA at about 3:30.
We found the cabin to be adequate; nothing fancy, that's for sure. Both of the beds left much to be desired, as did the single tiny bathroom. But we weren't planning to lounge around indoors much so we found the accommodations acceptable. But then there was the view: Spectacular! The cabin sat on a hillside, with a large deck on the back with a direct view of the pond. There were beautiful, tall, old trees on either side of the clearing, perfectly 'framing' the view of the pond. Across the pond sat an old red canoe which seemed to draw out the patches of red leaves from the patchwork quilt of foliage behind it. I wish we'd had a camera to capture that postcard view, but we left ours home after it had acted up so much at the car show a few weeks ago. The large deck had a newer dining table and chairs, a glider, 2 chaise lounges, and a chiminea.
After unloading our gear we headed to Lee where we stopped for a little shopping expedition at the Prime Outlets. Michael had read online that they were having a sidewalk sale that day. Next we stopped at the Otis Poultry Farm in Otis and bought a fabulous homemade 'Fruits of the Forest' pie. Then we walked around Lee, had Thai chicken burritos, and then picked up supplies at the one and only grocery store called Price Chopper. (I don't know why but that name continues to make me giggle.) While in the grocery store it began to rain and continued as we got back to the cabin, squelching our plans for making s'mores and sitting around the chiminea. But it was still in the 70s so it wouldn't have been so great anyway. We talked for a while, then popped a DVD in to watch until we went to bed. Oh, and we had pie!
Sun was considerably cooler. I was the only one to wear shorts. Fortunately the rain had stopped, and we planned our day as we ate breakfast and looked at our fabulous view of the pond. We went for a walk on the streets around the pond instead of going for a hike, since the ground was still wet and muddy. One of the houses on the other side of the pond had 3 vehicles parked in front of it, all containing HRC stickers or rainbow stickers. Since one of the vehicles was a Subaru and another was a 4-wheel drive SUV, we decided it was a group of lesbians.
Then we took a driving tour around Great Barrington, Sheffield, West Stockbridge, Monterey, and Lenox which enabled us to see the pretty foliage and stop at a few tag sales, antique shops, and places of interest. My friend Sal told me to stop in and see his grandmother at her antique shop so we did. We found her to be sweet and hip at the same time. She even gave us a discount on a terrific 1940s side table we were able to slip into the back of the CRV. After returning to the cabin for showers and cat naps, we met the Newlyweds' friends Norton & David at a restaurant in Lenox called Zinc. Jamie met Norton while working at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, where Norton has worked for 30 years. The dinner and conversations were delightful. Afterward the 6 of us came back to the cabin and made a fire in the chiminea. The temperature seemed to be in the low 50s so it was ideal. We sat around the fire and made s'mores for about 2 hours, until Norton & David left. The remaining 4 of us returned to sitting by the fire until we'd burned up all the wood. It was exactly how I'd envisioned it.
Mon we got up at 8:00, packed up our gear, cleaned up the cabin, and were out the door by 8:30. The trip home went much faster, as we ran into no traffic congestion and took no wrong turns. After a fuel stop and a lunch stop, we arrived back in Lewes at 3:00. The Newlyweds left shortly thereafter.
Despite it being Oct 8, the temperature reached 90 degrees today. The forecast shows a cooling just around the corner though, with expected temps in the 70s on Wed.
Drag Queen name of the day: Leisel Weapon
Friday, October 05, 2007
This 'n that
Work out update - session 4
Once again Rick changed up the exercises so I did mostly new stuff. Pretty interesting how the same 5-6 machines can be configured for a seemingly endless array of exercises. Keeps you from getting bored doing the same thing every time, plus Rick says that each one works the muscles differently so changing them up gives you a better, balanced work out.
Unfortunately I had to stop twice during the work out to lie on the floor. It seems that either my blood pressure spikes and plummets, or my vagas nerve gets over-stimulated, both of which result in me feeling dizzy, nauseous, and very hot and flushed. It seems 2-3 minutes lying flat on my back remedies the problem, but its inconvenient and uncomfortable. I may need to consult my physician about this.
Pot luck
The bi-monthly men's group I belong to had a pot luck on Wed evening with an Oktoberfest theme. There was lots of tasty stuff to eat, including brats with sauerkraut, German potato salad, sesame slaw, pumpkin pie, and black forest cake. My contribution was not Oktoberfest related, unfortunately. I was very busy with work on Wed and had not planned in advance what to make. So with only about an hour before the potluck I quickly put together a modified version of a berry trifle; modified in the sense that it didn't have the custard. It tasted good anyway, but didn't really fit into the theme. Next time maybe I'll plan better.
DMV
Thurs I went to the DE DMV to get my car inspected, registered, and titled. What a thoroughly enjoyable process, all of which takes place right there at the DMV. In VA you have to take your vehicle to a gas station or garage and wait in line forever for the safety and emissions inspections, then go to the DMV and wait in line forever and a day to conduct your DMV transaction. Our last visit to the VA DMV took 90 minutes, all but 10 of which were spent just waiting for our number to be called. At the DE DMV I only waited about 3 minutes for the inspections, both of which were completed within 5 minutes. Then I went inside and only waited 2 minutes for my number to be called. I wasn't even finished filling out the form! My transaction was completed in probably under 10 minutes, I had my new license plate and title in my hand, and I was on my way. FINALLY both of our cars are 'legal' now.
Vet
This morning I took Jordan to the vet. It was her 1st time at the vet here in Lewes. I'd called the previous vet in VA and had them fax Jordan's records to the new vet a few weeks ago when I made the appointment. She needed 2 shots to get her updated and she also received a thorough exam from the doctor. She did very well and didn't squirm too much. Then we walked next door to the "pet hotel" and I checked Jordan in.
Berkshires
The Newlyweds are arriving tonight and then we're leaving very early tomorrow morning for a weekend in the Berkshires. It will probably take about 6-7 hours to get there. We've rented a cottage with a fireplace next to a lake, so that should be nice and cozy. We're hoping to see beautiful fall foliage during the day and relax next to the fire and watch movies at night. Ironically the weather is much warmer than usual for this time of year so I hope the foliage will have actually started turning colors. If not then we'll just enjoy a weekend getaway with our friends. We're coming home Mon evening.
Indian Summer
At the risk of sounding cliche, we are having a wonderful Indian Summer. I can't believe its October and the temperatures have been in the 80s all week. It is forecasted to reach 86 degrees here on Mon, Oct 8. But you don't hear me complaining! I adore Indian Summer and am loving the ability to continue wearing shorts and sandals as well as driving with the top down on my car. I really should live in San Diego.
Life is good here at the beach.
Drag Queen name of the day: Frieda Slaves
Once again Rick changed up the exercises so I did mostly new stuff. Pretty interesting how the same 5-6 machines can be configured for a seemingly endless array of exercises. Keeps you from getting bored doing the same thing every time, plus Rick says that each one works the muscles differently so changing them up gives you a better, balanced work out.
Unfortunately I had to stop twice during the work out to lie on the floor. It seems that either my blood pressure spikes and plummets, or my vagas nerve gets over-stimulated, both of which result in me feeling dizzy, nauseous, and very hot and flushed. It seems 2-3 minutes lying flat on my back remedies the problem, but its inconvenient and uncomfortable. I may need to consult my physician about this.
Pot luck
The bi-monthly men's group I belong to had a pot luck on Wed evening with an Oktoberfest theme. There was lots of tasty stuff to eat, including brats with sauerkraut, German potato salad, sesame slaw, pumpkin pie, and black forest cake. My contribution was not Oktoberfest related, unfortunately. I was very busy with work on Wed and had not planned in advance what to make. So with only about an hour before the potluck I quickly put together a modified version of a berry trifle; modified in the sense that it didn't have the custard. It tasted good anyway, but didn't really fit into the theme. Next time maybe I'll plan better.
DMV
Thurs I went to the DE DMV to get my car inspected, registered, and titled. What a thoroughly enjoyable process, all of which takes place right there at the DMV. In VA you have to take your vehicle to a gas station or garage and wait in line forever for the safety and emissions inspections, then go to the DMV and wait in line forever and a day to conduct your DMV transaction. Our last visit to the VA DMV took 90 minutes, all but 10 of which were spent just waiting for our number to be called. At the DE DMV I only waited about 3 minutes for the inspections, both of which were completed within 5 minutes. Then I went inside and only waited 2 minutes for my number to be called. I wasn't even finished filling out the form! My transaction was completed in probably under 10 minutes, I had my new license plate and title in my hand, and I was on my way. FINALLY both of our cars are 'legal' now.
Vet
This morning I took Jordan to the vet. It was her 1st time at the vet here in Lewes. I'd called the previous vet in VA and had them fax Jordan's records to the new vet a few weeks ago when I made the appointment. She needed 2 shots to get her updated and she also received a thorough exam from the doctor. She did very well and didn't squirm too much. Then we walked next door to the "pet hotel" and I checked Jordan in.
Berkshires
The Newlyweds are arriving tonight and then we're leaving very early tomorrow morning for a weekend in the Berkshires. It will probably take about 6-7 hours to get there. We've rented a cottage with a fireplace next to a lake, so that should be nice and cozy. We're hoping to see beautiful fall foliage during the day and relax next to the fire and watch movies at night. Ironically the weather is much warmer than usual for this time of year so I hope the foliage will have actually started turning colors. If not then we'll just enjoy a weekend getaway with our friends. We're coming home Mon evening.
Indian Summer
At the risk of sounding cliche, we are having a wonderful Indian Summer. I can't believe its October and the temperatures have been in the 80s all week. It is forecasted to reach 86 degrees here on Mon, Oct 8. But you don't hear me complaining! I adore Indian Summer and am loving the ability to continue wearing shorts and sandals as well as driving with the top down on my car. I really should live in San Diego.
Life is good here at the beach.
Drag Queen name of the day: Frieda Slaves
Thursday, October 04, 2007
And the construction continues
I hope I don't end up sounding like a broken record, constantly lamenting about the construction going on around our home, but thought I'd give you a little update.
In a previous post I naively mentioned construction noise and dirt in the air as my chief complaints during the start of the construction. But now that the project is in full-swing I realize I hadn't even considered the fact that multiple construction employees, contractors, sub-contractors, and vendors would be whizzing up our narrow little street many times a day, driving too fast, driving the wrong direction on our one-way street, turning vehicles around and driving on other people's private property, and blocking the one-way street with unattended vehicles/machinery.
I've considered writing a letter to the city, or to the general contractor, listing the safety and other violations (ie: driving the wrong way on a one-way street, blocking the street with an unattended vehicle with its engine running) but am still considering the wisdom of this. If I wrote the letter it wouldn't be in a bitchy, complainy way, but rather, citing the need for the general contractor's employees and vendors to use caution and be considerate of those who live nearby. God, I sound like a crotchety old man, don't I?
Then I began to think whether the idea of writing a letter about these violations and inconsiderations would have even entered my mind if I didn't work at home. If I worked in a traditional office I wouldn't have witnessed any of this stuff. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and pretend like I'm not affected by any of it? What to do, what to do.
Drag Queen name of the day: Korey Ography
In a previous post I naively mentioned construction noise and dirt in the air as my chief complaints during the start of the construction. But now that the project is in full-swing I realize I hadn't even considered the fact that multiple construction employees, contractors, sub-contractors, and vendors would be whizzing up our narrow little street many times a day, driving too fast, driving the wrong direction on our one-way street, turning vehicles around and driving on other people's private property, and blocking the one-way street with unattended vehicles/machinery.
I've considered writing a letter to the city, or to the general contractor, listing the safety and other violations (ie: driving the wrong way on a one-way street, blocking the street with an unattended vehicle with its engine running) but am still considering the wisdom of this. If I wrote the letter it wouldn't be in a bitchy, complainy way, but rather, citing the need for the general contractor's employees and vendors to use caution and be considerate of those who live nearby. God, I sound like a crotchety old man, don't I?
Then I began to think whether the idea of writing a letter about these violations and inconsiderations would have even entered my mind if I didn't work at home. If I worked in a traditional office I wouldn't have witnessed any of this stuff. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and pretend like I'm not affected by any of it? What to do, what to do.
Drag Queen name of the day: Korey Ography
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The Psychic
Fri evening Spouse & I got the house in shape for our friends/guests before joining 'the usual suspects' for dinner at the Miltonian. Not long after we'd returned, Liz & Rob arrived.
I know I've mentioned them before, but don't think I've explained the various connections between us. First I met Liz when she and her mother moved to the area and started going to the church I attended. Then I met Randy at a party. He was visiting from WI. We became friends and Randy moved to the area and became my roommate. Randy convinced me to let Rob move in with us. I was friends with Rob's mother but didn't know Rob well at all. He needed a place badly so I agreed. All of us attended the same church so we all knew each other on some level. Randy and Liz dated, got married, moved to WI and then to GA. We lost touch after a few years. Rob went into the military, got married, and came back to the area when he got out of the military. He and I lost touch for many years.
Then about 4 years ago I got a call from Liz & Rob. They told me Liz & Randy split up, she got in touch with Rob, and now they were dating. They looked up my name in the phone book and called every one until they found me. Shortly thereafter we met for dinner, got reacquainted, and caught up on the last few years. Liz & Rob were later married.
They are both quite busy. They both work full-time, plus they take photography classes and have a part-time photography business shooting weddings. But they made time in their schedule to visit Spouse & I and have a relaxing weekend. Although it has been at least a year since we saw them, we talked and laughed as if it were yesterday.
We had coffee and talked on the screened porch until nearly 11:00, at which time we walked over to the Blue Plate Diner and had breakfast, then walked around downtown a bit. They'd been to our beach place before but we'd not really showed them around downtown. Then we sat in the living room for a while, just relaxing, talking, and laughing. Spouse needed to make a dish for the Block Party, so we relocated to the screened porch (off the kitchen) so he could stay involved in the conversation while he cooked.
Prior to the start of the Block Party the pet psychic arrived. I walked over to our neighbor's porch and listened as she verbalized the pictures the pets sent, and communicated pet owners' comments back to the pets. She's not just a pet psychic, but she also communicates with people who have passed on. During our neighbors Larry & Rob's session with their 3 dogs she interrupted by saying that she had the presence of a friend of Rob's who had passed away recently. Rob looked startled. Then she repeated the friend's name and Rob looked at Larry in disbelief. Indeed his friend by that name had passed away recently! She gave Rob a message from the friend, then returned to facilitating communication between Larry, Rob, and their 3 dogs.
Next it was Jordan's turn! The psychic indicated that Jordan wanted us to know that she was happy living here and enjoyed it more than the other place. That wasn't surprising, since Jordan gets walked at least twice a day here, which she loves, as opposed to simply having time in the backyard at our other house. Jordan also wanted us to know that she was getting enough exercise and water. She said we should be careful when lifting her into the car because sometimes it made her back legs hurt. Okay, I thought to myself, that's not very generic. Indeed, sometimes Jordan yelped when Spouse lifted her into the car. Then she said that although she was being quiet at the moment, she liked being vocal at times. That is her way of expressing her excitement. That was true, she hadn't barked at all with the psychic and she does bark at home, especially when we return from being away. So far, interesting but nothing too surprising.
The psychic said that Jordan was telling her that there was a cat in the house, and that the cat believes he is the boss, and that she didn't mind. Okay, now she had my attention. How could the psychic know we had a cat, just 1 cat, that the cat was a 'he', and that he felt dominant? Pretty interesting!
The psychic asked if there was anything I wanted to find out from Jordan. I felt a little caught off-guard, as I hadn't anticipated asking anything of Jordan, so I told the psychic we were proud of Jordan for learning how to ride in the car without getting sick. She told Jordan what I'd said, and she responded that Jordan said it had taken a little while, but she'd eventually become comfortable with it. Then I asked the psychic to ask Jordan to please not get into the trash can anymore because she could eat something dangerous. The psychic relayed my message and Jordan responded that she would work on that.
When Spouse became available he walked over and joined the session, which was nearly over. As soon as he walked over Jordan went to him and wagged her tail furiously as he petted her. The psychic looked at Spouse and said she felt the presence of 2 males in spirit (passed on) who were related to him, one was his father. She asked if he had died from cancer or something to do with the heart, since she saw a picture indicating pressure in the chest. He replied that no, he'd died of leukemia. Spouse took this as a 'failed guess' but I reminded him that although his father's death was due to leukemia, he also had a stroke. The psychic said his father was not alone in the spirit world, but that next to him was a female whose name began with the letter M. Spouse's father's deceased sister is Margie. Spouse told me he'd heard an expose' on psychics say that the most common names begin with the letter M, so he chalked this up to a 'correct guess'. Then the psychic told Spouse that his father wanted him to know that although they had not had the best or closest relationship, he stilled loved him and was proud of him. I thought this was indeed true, but Spouse (the critic) thought it was another 'correct guess', as the chances are high that gay men often have not-so-close relationships with their fathers.
So, Spouse was far less convinced of the psychic's abilities than I. This led to an interesting conversation between the 2 of us and Rob & Liz about whether psychics use physical clues and people's responses to make 'guesses' about them. Then we joined the Block Party.
Everyone brought a dish to share, and Jim & Barb generously provided all the meat and drinks. We had a nice time talking to the neighbors we already knew as well as meeting some of the neighbors we'd not met before. Jim had his iPod hooked up to big speakers which provided music for the soiree'. It was a lot of fun.
I spoke to our neighbor Brenda, whose dog Molly had also had a session with the psychic. Brenda related that the psychic told her that Molly had indicated she really liked the bandanna with the pumpkins on it and wanted Brenda to put that one on her. Brenda said just that morning she'd taken the pumpkin bandanna off Molly so it could be washed. The psychic also said that Molly enjoyed having that other dog in the house for a while, but did not want Brenda to get another dog permanently. This stumped Brenda, as she had never owned another dog while she'd had Molly. The psychic closed her eyes again to communicate with Molly, then said that it was a small terrier that had stayed with them. Ding ding ding!!! Brenda remembered that she had helped a friend out by taking in a foster dog for 6 weeks - a small terrier! I was sure to relate these two gems to my disbelieving Spouse.
We returned home to feed Jordan, and then the 4 of us took her for a walk. Rob & Liz took some photos of the beautiful church on Second St, which is lit up marvelously at night. Then we sat in the living room and talked for several more hours before going to bed, just before 1:00.
Sun we had coffee on the porch again, followed by blueberry cake and bacon which Spouse had made us for breakfast. After talking for a while, we went to Rehoboth Beach and walked along the boardwalk. Liz & Rob took pictures, and then we had lunch at Cafe Sole'. We returned home, they packed their things and left at 3:00.
Spouse & I changed into our swimsuits and headed back to Rehoboth Beach to meet Rick & Nick, who'd left us a message indicating they were already at the beach. But just after we'd gotten on the road they called to say they were leaving the beach, so we turned around and went home. Spouse said he really wanted to take a nap anyway, so he wasn't disappointed. While he napped I sat out on the screened porch for over 2 hours and read several magazines. The weather was so lovely I just didn't want to stay inside. Sept is my favorite month of the year. Spouse & I had cereal for dinner, then he watched crappy TV downstairs while I watched a crappy DVD (Mulholland Drive) upstairs.
More and more construction equipment returned today, meaning more noise and dirt in the air. I have a feeling I will be writing this many more times in the future.
Drag Queen name of the day: Dee Lourdes Myshepherd
I know I've mentioned them before, but don't think I've explained the various connections between us. First I met Liz when she and her mother moved to the area and started going to the church I attended. Then I met Randy at a party. He was visiting from WI. We became friends and Randy moved to the area and became my roommate. Randy convinced me to let Rob move in with us. I was friends with Rob's mother but didn't know Rob well at all. He needed a place badly so I agreed. All of us attended the same church so we all knew each other on some level. Randy and Liz dated, got married, moved to WI and then to GA. We lost touch after a few years. Rob went into the military, got married, and came back to the area when he got out of the military. He and I lost touch for many years.
Then about 4 years ago I got a call from Liz & Rob. They told me Liz & Randy split up, she got in touch with Rob, and now they were dating. They looked up my name in the phone book and called every one until they found me. Shortly thereafter we met for dinner, got reacquainted, and caught up on the last few years. Liz & Rob were later married.
They are both quite busy. They both work full-time, plus they take photography classes and have a part-time photography business shooting weddings. But they made time in their schedule to visit Spouse & I and have a relaxing weekend. Although it has been at least a year since we saw them, we talked and laughed as if it were yesterday.
We had coffee and talked on the screened porch until nearly 11:00, at which time we walked over to the Blue Plate Diner and had breakfast, then walked around downtown a bit. They'd been to our beach place before but we'd not really showed them around downtown. Then we sat in the living room for a while, just relaxing, talking, and laughing. Spouse needed to make a dish for the Block Party, so we relocated to the screened porch (off the kitchen) so he could stay involved in the conversation while he cooked.
Prior to the start of the Block Party the pet psychic arrived. I walked over to our neighbor's porch and listened as she verbalized the pictures the pets sent, and communicated pet owners' comments back to the pets. She's not just a pet psychic, but she also communicates with people who have passed on. During our neighbors Larry & Rob's session with their 3 dogs she interrupted by saying that she had the presence of a friend of Rob's who had passed away recently. Rob looked startled. Then she repeated the friend's name and Rob looked at Larry in disbelief. Indeed his friend by that name had passed away recently! She gave Rob a message from the friend, then returned to facilitating communication between Larry, Rob, and their 3 dogs.
Next it was Jordan's turn! The psychic indicated that Jordan wanted us to know that she was happy living here and enjoyed it more than the other place. That wasn't surprising, since Jordan gets walked at least twice a day here, which she loves, as opposed to simply having time in the backyard at our other house. Jordan also wanted us to know that she was getting enough exercise and water. She said we should be careful when lifting her into the car because sometimes it made her back legs hurt. Okay, I thought to myself, that's not very generic. Indeed, sometimes Jordan yelped when Spouse lifted her into the car. Then she said that although she was being quiet at the moment, she liked being vocal at times. That is her way of expressing her excitement. That was true, she hadn't barked at all with the psychic and she does bark at home, especially when we return from being away. So far, interesting but nothing too surprising.
The psychic said that Jordan was telling her that there was a cat in the house, and that the cat believes he is the boss, and that she didn't mind. Okay, now she had my attention. How could the psychic know we had a cat, just 1 cat, that the cat was a 'he', and that he felt dominant? Pretty interesting!
The psychic asked if there was anything I wanted to find out from Jordan. I felt a little caught off-guard, as I hadn't anticipated asking anything of Jordan, so I told the psychic we were proud of Jordan for learning how to ride in the car without getting sick. She told Jordan what I'd said, and she responded that Jordan said it had taken a little while, but she'd eventually become comfortable with it. Then I asked the psychic to ask Jordan to please not get into the trash can anymore because she could eat something dangerous. The psychic relayed my message and Jordan responded that she would work on that.
When Spouse became available he walked over and joined the session, which was nearly over. As soon as he walked over Jordan went to him and wagged her tail furiously as he petted her. The psychic looked at Spouse and said she felt the presence of 2 males in spirit (passed on) who were related to him, one was his father. She asked if he had died from cancer or something to do with the heart, since she saw a picture indicating pressure in the chest. He replied that no, he'd died of leukemia. Spouse took this as a 'failed guess' but I reminded him that although his father's death was due to leukemia, he also had a stroke. The psychic said his father was not alone in the spirit world, but that next to him was a female whose name began with the letter M. Spouse's father's deceased sister is Margie. Spouse told me he'd heard an expose' on psychics say that the most common names begin with the letter M, so he chalked this up to a 'correct guess'. Then the psychic told Spouse that his father wanted him to know that although they had not had the best or closest relationship, he stilled loved him and was proud of him. I thought this was indeed true, but Spouse (the critic) thought it was another 'correct guess', as the chances are high that gay men often have not-so-close relationships with their fathers.
So, Spouse was far less convinced of the psychic's abilities than I. This led to an interesting conversation between the 2 of us and Rob & Liz about whether psychics use physical clues and people's responses to make 'guesses' about them. Then we joined the Block Party.
Everyone brought a dish to share, and Jim & Barb generously provided all the meat and drinks. We had a nice time talking to the neighbors we already knew as well as meeting some of the neighbors we'd not met before. Jim had his iPod hooked up to big speakers which provided music for the soiree'. It was a lot of fun.
I spoke to our neighbor Brenda, whose dog Molly had also had a session with the psychic. Brenda related that the psychic told her that Molly had indicated she really liked the bandanna with the pumpkins on it and wanted Brenda to put that one on her. Brenda said just that morning she'd taken the pumpkin bandanna off Molly so it could be washed. The psychic also said that Molly enjoyed having that other dog in the house for a while, but did not want Brenda to get another dog permanently. This stumped Brenda, as she had never owned another dog while she'd had Molly. The psychic closed her eyes again to communicate with Molly, then said that it was a small terrier that had stayed with them. Ding ding ding!!! Brenda remembered that she had helped a friend out by taking in a foster dog for 6 weeks - a small terrier! I was sure to relate these two gems to my disbelieving Spouse.
We returned home to feed Jordan, and then the 4 of us took her for a walk. Rob & Liz took some photos of the beautiful church on Second St, which is lit up marvelously at night. Then we sat in the living room and talked for several more hours before going to bed, just before 1:00.
Sun we had coffee on the porch again, followed by blueberry cake and bacon which Spouse had made us for breakfast. After talking for a while, we went to Rehoboth Beach and walked along the boardwalk. Liz & Rob took pictures, and then we had lunch at Cafe Sole'. We returned home, they packed their things and left at 3:00.
Spouse & I changed into our swimsuits and headed back to Rehoboth Beach to meet Rick & Nick, who'd left us a message indicating they were already at the beach. But just after we'd gotten on the road they called to say they were leaving the beach, so we turned around and went home. Spouse said he really wanted to take a nap anyway, so he wasn't disappointed. While he napped I sat out on the screened porch for over 2 hours and read several magazines. The weather was so lovely I just didn't want to stay inside. Sept is my favorite month of the year. Spouse & I had cereal for dinner, then he watched crappy TV downstairs while I watched a crappy DVD (Mulholland Drive) upstairs.
More and more construction equipment returned today, meaning more noise and dirt in the air. I have a feeling I will be writing this many more times in the future.
Drag Queen name of the day: Dee Lourdes Myshepherd
Friday, September 28, 2007
Lots to do
The last few days have been rather busy with my job. Plus we're at the end of the month so I have more than the usual work to do in order to have the billing info ready for Finance.
Our friends Liz & Rob are coming for a visit this weekend, which means we will need to clean the house and make sure everything is presentable before they arrive tonight. I did some of it during my lunch break today, but still need to vacuum make the bed in the guestroom while Spouse cleans all of the bathrooms.
Tomorrow our neighbors are having a Block Party, with food, drinks, music, and a pet psychic! I'm looking forward to this annual extravaganza, as I've heard its the bomb.
Have a great weekend!
Drag Queen name of the day: Amanda Callmyown
Our friends Liz & Rob are coming for a visit this weekend, which means we will need to clean the house and make sure everything is presentable before they arrive tonight. I did some of it during my lunch break today, but still need to vacuum make the bed in the guestroom while Spouse cleans all of the bathrooms.
Tomorrow our neighbors are having a Block Party, with food, drinks, music, and a pet psychic! I'm looking forward to this annual extravaganza, as I've heard its the bomb.
Have a great weekend!
Drag Queen name of the day: Amanda Callmyown
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Digging begins
This morning I was awakened at 7:30 by the beeping sound made by construction vehicles in reverse. This is not a foreign or isolated occurrence, since the medical center just blocks from our house has been adding on a wing since before we moved here. But today the beeping seemed closer. When I looked out the window I saw construction equipment in the large vacant lot across the street to the west of our house. The inevitable had begun.
We knew when we bought this house that the large lot across the street would some day be developed. A few months ago we learned that the owner of the lot had gotten approval by the city of Lewes to subdivide the large lot into 5 lots. The owner would build houses on the 3 lots that face the street and would then build is own private residence on the two remaining lots that face the park and pond. Today a bulldozer began leveling the land, hence all the reverse beeps, and then it began spreading a huge dump truck load of sand.
We are not upset by the building, in fact, quite to the contrary, we like the idea of 'city' or 'in-town' living, with neighbors close by. If we had wanted a home in a rural setting we certainly could have purchased one and paid a whole lot less. But we wanted to live 'in-town' and be able to walk to restaurants, shops, businesses, and the bay.
Although, when construction is being done in your neighborhood it makes a difference when you work in an office versus working at home. When you work in an office you do not hear the construction noise that's happening at home because you are at the office. But when your office is in your home, like mine, you hear the construction noise... all... day... long. For now its just the roar of the engines of dump trucks and the beeping sound that indicates the bulldozer is in reverse. But later those will be replaced by the sounds of hammers and nail guns. With the windows closed the noise is quite tolerable. But since its prime weather for having the windows open, the noise is more noticeable.
Then there's all the dirt in the air. I remember when we lived in VA and our neighbors on the street behind us did a major remodel, I was amazed at how much dirt got tossed into the air and found its way onto our screened porch, outdoor furniture, house, and car. I'm sure the same thing will happen here, only our front porch is much bigger so there will much more space to have to clean when we want to sit outside. Sigh...
Guess I'd better get used to it, as I predict I will be hearing construction sounds and cleaning away construction dirt for the next 2-3 years. It certainly could be worse.
Drag Queen name of the day: Carrie Atorch
We knew when we bought this house that the large lot across the street would some day be developed. A few months ago we learned that the owner of the lot had gotten approval by the city of Lewes to subdivide the large lot into 5 lots. The owner would build houses on the 3 lots that face the street and would then build is own private residence on the two remaining lots that face the park and pond. Today a bulldozer began leveling the land, hence all the reverse beeps, and then it began spreading a huge dump truck load of sand.
We are not upset by the building, in fact, quite to the contrary, we like the idea of 'city' or 'in-town' living, with neighbors close by. If we had wanted a home in a rural setting we certainly could have purchased one and paid a whole lot less. But we wanted to live 'in-town' and be able to walk to restaurants, shops, businesses, and the bay.
Although, when construction is being done in your neighborhood it makes a difference when you work in an office versus working at home. When you work in an office you do not hear the construction noise that's happening at home because you are at the office. But when your office is in your home, like mine, you hear the construction noise... all... day... long. For now its just the roar of the engines of dump trucks and the beeping sound that indicates the bulldozer is in reverse. But later those will be replaced by the sounds of hammers and nail guns. With the windows closed the noise is quite tolerable. But since its prime weather for having the windows open, the noise is more noticeable.
Then there's all the dirt in the air. I remember when we lived in VA and our neighbors on the street behind us did a major remodel, I was amazed at how much dirt got tossed into the air and found its way onto our screened porch, outdoor furniture, house, and car. I'm sure the same thing will happen here, only our front porch is much bigger so there will much more space to have to clean when we want to sit outside. Sigh...
Guess I'd better get used to it, as I predict I will be hearing construction sounds and cleaning away construction dirt for the next 2-3 years. It certainly could be worse.
Drag Queen name of the day: Carrie Atorch
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Toilet paper disparity
There is a toilet paper disparity in our household. I prefer the soft, fluffy, quilted brand while Spouse prefers the not-so-soft, thin, tissue paper-like design.
Honestly, I can't see what he likes about that thin stuff. Its so thin it reminds me of the tissue paper you find inside a gift wrapped box. You can practically see through it. I'm always afraid it will tear due to its extreme thinness, allowing me to accidentally soil my hand, so I wind up using more of it than I normally would. Just the idea of that makes me shudder.
On the other hand, the soft, fluffy, quilted type gives me no such fright. I feel as if I use less of it than the thin stuff, and can do so with confidence. Plus, its so nice and soft. Its almost as if I'm caressing my bottom each time I use it. Who wouldn't love it?
So, how do we handle this toilet paper disparity, you may ask?
We buy whichever is on sale.
Drag Queen name of the day: Gail Forcewinds
Honestly, I can't see what he likes about that thin stuff. Its so thin it reminds me of the tissue paper you find inside a gift wrapped box. You can practically see through it. I'm always afraid it will tear due to its extreme thinness, allowing me to accidentally soil my hand, so I wind up using more of it than I normally would. Just the idea of that makes me shudder.
On the other hand, the soft, fluffy, quilted type gives me no such fright. I feel as if I use less of it than the thin stuff, and can do so with confidence. Plus, its so nice and soft. Its almost as if I'm caressing my bottom each time I use it. Who wouldn't love it?
So, how do we handle this toilet paper disparity, you may ask?
We buy whichever is on sale.
Drag Queen name of the day: Gail Forcewinds
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Long day
Wow, today was a long day.
Yesterday we finally received the lien release letter I requested 2 weeks ago and which was supposed to take just 3-5 days. I had to call again about it, and when I got off the phone and checked the mail, it had arrived. Rather than mail the letters and the duplicate title forms to the VA DMV, we decided to take the next day off and drive to the VA DMV and handle it in person. Who knows how long it would take for the forms to arrive, get processed, and for the titles to be mailed back to us.
So Spouse & I called our offices to let them know we were taking the day off and then hit the road at 7:45 this morning. It was a chilly and foggy morning, but the sun finally burned through the fog and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We arrived at the DMV at 10:30, waited an hour and 15 minutes for our number to be called, and shortly thereafter walked out of the DMV with all 3 titles in hand. Success!
Since it was almost lunch time we decided to stop in at our fave Mexican restaurant Cantina Mexicana (aka: The Taco House). We arrived just before the noon lunch rush. On Spouse's way to the restroom he saw Gloria who came out of the kitchen to say hello and give him a hug. Then she came to our table and gave me the same greeting. She thanked me sincerely for the article that appeared in the Del Ray Sun newspaper (see blog entry on ) and said she'd received several calls and in-person patrons who were happy to learn from my article that Cantina Mexicana was actually The Taco House. We had a delicious lunch consisting of their awesome chicken quesadilla appetizer followed by Tres Colores (3 different colored enchiladas with 3 different fillings) and a California burrito. YUM!!! When it was time for the check we were told our meal was "on the house". We thanked them profusely and told them we'd see them in 3 weeks, since we have plans to meet friends there on our next weekend back in DC.
We left at about 1:30 and headed back to DE. We decided we would go directly to the car dealership to sign and drop off the 2 titles for the cars we traded in, and pick up the license plate for our CRV. They had been 'holding' the plate until we gave them the titles. Unfortunately that meant we had to drive around for 2 weeks with expired temporary tags until the whole title mess was finally resolved.
Prior to our deciding to take the day off, Spouse & I had decided we'd go to Dover on Tues evening to use a store coupon that expired on Fri. So after an hour back at home, we got back in the car and drove to Dover to do our shopping. We had a coupon for 15% off our entire purchase, and we a gift card (housewarming gift) for $100. We only spent a little over $50. this time, which is fine. The gift card can be used anywhere so we'll just hang onto it. We got 2 sets of chocolate brown towels for our bathroom, a set of 500 thread count queen sheets for our bed (or a guest bed), a 5-piece set of bathroom accessories (soap dish, liquid soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, drinking cup) in ivory with a brown starfish on them, and 3 one pound bags of flavored coffee. I think we did really well!
When we left the store it was almost 8:00 so we headed toward home and thought about what to do about dinner. We decided to eat at the Milford Diner. Spouse had heard from colleagues that the food was good and very reasonably priced, which rings not 1 but 2 bells in our heads. Neither of us was starving, but knew we'd need to eat something so the diner seemed right on point. Since I learned from the waitress that they had coconut cream pie, I decided on a fried egg sandwich (with mayo & cheese) so I'd have room left for the pie. I was surprised to see fried egg sandwiches on the menu - that's such a 'diner' thing. I hadn't had one in a bazillion years but as I ate mine I was pleasantly reminded of my childhood when my family would sometimes have fried egg sandwiches for lunch on a Sat or Sun. It really took me back. And the pie was no disappointment either. We enjoyed our dinner at the diner, and got home just before 10:00, a few minutes ago. Its been a long day, but a good one.
Work out update - session 3: I did pretty well with my breathing so I wasn't yawning like a bored temp, but I got a little nauseous at the very end of my work out. I'd finished my ab work and felt really hot and flushed. I was sweating like a whore in church, and just laid on the floor for a few minutes, waiting to feel normal again. Rick says my blood pressure may have spiked from all the exercises. Not sure if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening again, or if it will stop happening by itself as I continue to exercise regularly.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ima Freeloader
Yesterday we finally received the lien release letter I requested 2 weeks ago and which was supposed to take just 3-5 days. I had to call again about it, and when I got off the phone and checked the mail, it had arrived. Rather than mail the letters and the duplicate title forms to the VA DMV, we decided to take the next day off and drive to the VA DMV and handle it in person. Who knows how long it would take for the forms to arrive, get processed, and for the titles to be mailed back to us.
So Spouse & I called our offices to let them know we were taking the day off and then hit the road at 7:45 this morning. It was a chilly and foggy morning, but the sun finally burned through the fog and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We arrived at the DMV at 10:30, waited an hour and 15 minutes for our number to be called, and shortly thereafter walked out of the DMV with all 3 titles in hand. Success!
Since it was almost lunch time we decided to stop in at our fave Mexican restaurant Cantina Mexicana (aka: The Taco House). We arrived just before the noon lunch rush. On Spouse's way to the restroom he saw Gloria who came out of the kitchen to say hello and give him a hug. Then she came to our table and gave me the same greeting. She thanked me sincerely for the article that appeared in the Del Ray Sun newspaper (see blog entry on ) and said she'd received several calls and in-person patrons who were happy to learn from my article that Cantina Mexicana was actually The Taco House. We had a delicious lunch consisting of their awesome chicken quesadilla appetizer followed by Tres Colores (3 different colored enchiladas with 3 different fillings) and a California burrito. YUM!!! When it was time for the check we were told our meal was "on the house". We thanked them profusely and told them we'd see them in 3 weeks, since we have plans to meet friends there on our next weekend back in DC.
We left at about 1:30 and headed back to DE. We decided we would go directly to the car dealership to sign and drop off the 2 titles for the cars we traded in, and pick up the license plate for our CRV. They had been 'holding' the plate until we gave them the titles. Unfortunately that meant we had to drive around for 2 weeks with expired temporary tags until the whole title mess was finally resolved.
Prior to our deciding to take the day off, Spouse & I had decided we'd go to Dover on Tues evening to use a store coupon that expired on Fri. So after an hour back at home, we got back in the car and drove to Dover to do our shopping. We had a coupon for 15% off our entire purchase, and we a gift card (housewarming gift) for $100. We only spent a little over $50. this time, which is fine. The gift card can be used anywhere so we'll just hang onto it. We got 2 sets of chocolate brown towels for our bathroom, a set of 500 thread count queen sheets for our bed (or a guest bed), a 5-piece set of bathroom accessories (soap dish, liquid soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, drinking cup) in ivory with a brown starfish on them, and 3 one pound bags of flavored coffee. I think we did really well!
When we left the store it was almost 8:00 so we headed toward home and thought about what to do about dinner. We decided to eat at the Milford Diner. Spouse had heard from colleagues that the food was good and very reasonably priced, which rings not 1 but 2 bells in our heads. Neither of us was starving, but knew we'd need to eat something so the diner seemed right on point. Since I learned from the waitress that they had coconut cream pie, I decided on a fried egg sandwich (with mayo & cheese) so I'd have room left for the pie. I was surprised to see fried egg sandwiches on the menu - that's such a 'diner' thing. I hadn't had one in a bazillion years but as I ate mine I was pleasantly reminded of my childhood when my family would sometimes have fried egg sandwiches for lunch on a Sat or Sun. It really took me back. And the pie was no disappointment either. We enjoyed our dinner at the diner, and got home just before 10:00, a few minutes ago. Its been a long day, but a good one.
Work out update - session 3: I did pretty well with my breathing so I wasn't yawning like a bored temp, but I got a little nauseous at the very end of my work out. I'd finished my ab work and felt really hot and flushed. I was sweating like a whore in church, and just laid on the floor for a few minutes, waiting to feel normal again. Rick says my blood pressure may have spiked from all the exercises. Not sure if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening again, or if it will stop happening by itself as I continue to exercise regularly.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ima Freeloader
Monday, September 24, 2007
Newlyweds and car show
Fri evening we met Dave & Scott at the Miltonian for our regular Fri night affair. Seems 'all the usual suspects' had other plans and couldn't make it, but the 4 of us had a lovely time anyway. Later, the Newlyweds arrived for a weekend visit.
After a leisurely breakfast Sat morning the 4 of us met Rick & Nick at the Straight Eights car show in Rehoboth, an event I've been looking forward to for months. Last year Spouse & I went to this car show and loved it! Lots and lots of gay classic car owners showing off their chrome and tail fins to the adoring public. It was pure coincidence that the Newlyweds had selected this weekend to visit, and they were happy it worked out so they could attend this car show with us. We saw some real beauties, too. I took lots of photos and will try and add some to this post later, if I can get our crazy camera to work again. The weather was unexpectedly humid, and just as the car show ending, the skies opened up and it poured down raining for about 10 minutes. Then the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun came back out.
After the car show Rick & Nick joined the Newlyweds and us for a late lunch at the Dirty Finger. Then we hung out for a while at home until everyone decided to take a nap. I watched TV instead. Naps make me feel disoriented when I wake up. I can't remember which day it is, and I can't get to sleep that night. So while they dozed I watched "Sell This House" and assorted home decorating shows on HGTV. Later the 4 of us had dinner at Serendipity on the Indian River, then met Rick & Nick at the cheap theatre to see "Ratatouille". As you know, I am not a fan of animated movies, but since everyone else wanted to see it, I acquiesced. It was cute; better than I expected. I just kept thinking "This would be so much better if it were a real movie and not animated." Old habits die hard I guess.
Sun we lingered over a big breakfast of banana pancakes and sausage, then decided to go to the beach. The humidity from Sat was completely gone and it was absolutely gorgeous at the beach. We got back home around 2:30 and had left-overs from the previous night's dinners for lunch. The Newlyweds packed their stuff and left just before 4:00. We called Rick & Nick and decided to go back to the beach and hang out with them since it was so beautiful outside. We stayed until 6:00. On a scale of 1-10, Sunday's weather was an 11.
Spouse & I had cereal for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. It was a very nice weekend, but it seemed to go by way too quickly. Don't they all?
Drag Queen name of the day: Angie Dextrous
After a leisurely breakfast Sat morning the 4 of us met Rick & Nick at the Straight Eights car show in Rehoboth, an event I've been looking forward to for months. Last year Spouse & I went to this car show and loved it! Lots and lots of gay classic car owners showing off their chrome and tail fins to the adoring public. It was pure coincidence that the Newlyweds had selected this weekend to visit, and they were happy it worked out so they could attend this car show with us. We saw some real beauties, too. I took lots of photos and will try and add some to this post later, if I can get our crazy camera to work again. The weather was unexpectedly humid, and just as the car show ending, the skies opened up and it poured down raining for about 10 minutes. Then the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun came back out.
After the car show Rick & Nick joined the Newlyweds and us for a late lunch at the Dirty Finger. Then we hung out for a while at home until everyone decided to take a nap. I watched TV instead. Naps make me feel disoriented when I wake up. I can't remember which day it is, and I can't get to sleep that night. So while they dozed I watched "Sell This House" and assorted home decorating shows on HGTV. Later the 4 of us had dinner at Serendipity on the Indian River, then met Rick & Nick at the cheap theatre to see "Ratatouille". As you know, I am not a fan of animated movies, but since everyone else wanted to see it, I acquiesced. It was cute; better than I expected. I just kept thinking "This would be so much better if it were a real movie and not animated." Old habits die hard I guess.
Sun we lingered over a big breakfast of banana pancakes and sausage, then decided to go to the beach. The humidity from Sat was completely gone and it was absolutely gorgeous at the beach. We got back home around 2:30 and had left-overs from the previous night's dinners for lunch. The Newlyweds packed their stuff and left just before 4:00. We called Rick & Nick and decided to go back to the beach and hang out with them since it was so beautiful outside. We stayed until 6:00. On a scale of 1-10, Sunday's weather was an 11.
Spouse & I had cereal for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. It was a very nice weekend, but it seemed to go by way too quickly. Don't they all?
Drag Queen name of the day: Angie Dextrous
Friday, September 21, 2007
Ugly Betty
With the Emmys last weekend I was reminded yet again that I am the only person alive who has not seen 'Ugly Betty'. Lead America Ferrera won an emmy for Best Actress in a comedy. So last night I decided to check out the show and see what the buzz was about.
And I'm still wondering. I mean, I didn't hate it, but I really didn't see what everyone is so ga-ga about. I realize its a comedy, but there were so many implausibilities and holes in the storyline that I felt like I was watching a kids' cartoon. Here's just one example:
A female character learns that her (rival) brother is explaining his black eye by claiming to have saved a drowning girl scout in the Central Park pond. She decides to 'call him on it' by setting up a press conference, complete with reporters, photographers, and a full troupe of girl scouts, where she grills him on the details of the heroic incident to his embarrassment.
How STUPID is that? Even if your brother were getting in the way of you taking over the family business, you wouldn't damage the family business' name by showing your brother to be a liar in front of the press. And, why wasn't the girl scout he claimed to have saved invited to the press conference?
I just found the show to be almost unwatchable. Its only redeeming value is the message that 'different' people are okay.
Betty is 'different' because she works at a glamor magazine, yet is far from glamorous herself and doesn't see the need to be glamorous. Betty's associate Marc (who is NOT her friend) is 'different' because he is a big flaming queen, yet no one seems to notice or they just don't care.
But by far though, the most endearing of the 'different' characters is Betty's nephew Justin who is consumed with the tiniest of details, and for whom all signs point to "future homosexual". There's something about the innocence of youth, when one has not yet learned to filter their speech and actions, that makes this character lovable.
My guess is that this show is one of only a small handful of comedies still left on TV, since the demise of 'Friends' and 'Will & Grace', so choosing to watch it is like choosing the least offensive presidential candidate to vote for. What other comedies are there? I must give props to 'The Office', which I think is the best comedy on TV right now, although '30 Rock' won the emmy. I have not seen '30 Rock' yet, but will likely be equally disappointed with it.
Too bad they don't make comedies like they used to. Remember "All in the Family"? "The Carol Burnett Show?" "The Jeffersons?" Now THOSE were comedies!
Nope, they sure don't make 'em like they used to.
Drag Queen name of the day: Grace Fully
And I'm still wondering. I mean, I didn't hate it, but I really didn't see what everyone is so ga-ga about. I realize its a comedy, but there were so many implausibilities and holes in the storyline that I felt like I was watching a kids' cartoon. Here's just one example:
A female character learns that her (rival) brother is explaining his black eye by claiming to have saved a drowning girl scout in the Central Park pond. She decides to 'call him on it' by setting up a press conference, complete with reporters, photographers, and a full troupe of girl scouts, where she grills him on the details of the heroic incident to his embarrassment.
How STUPID is that? Even if your brother were getting in the way of you taking over the family business, you wouldn't damage the family business' name by showing your brother to be a liar in front of the press. And, why wasn't the girl scout he claimed to have saved invited to the press conference?
I just found the show to be almost unwatchable. Its only redeeming value is the message that 'different' people are okay.
Betty is 'different' because she works at a glamor magazine, yet is far from glamorous herself and doesn't see the need to be glamorous. Betty's associate Marc (who is NOT her friend) is 'different' because he is a big flaming queen, yet no one seems to notice or they just don't care.
But by far though, the most endearing of the 'different' characters is Betty's nephew Justin who is consumed with the tiniest of details, and for whom all signs point to "future homosexual". There's something about the innocence of youth, when one has not yet learned to filter their speech and actions, that makes this character lovable.
My guess is that this show is one of only a small handful of comedies still left on TV, since the demise of 'Friends' and 'Will & Grace', so choosing to watch it is like choosing the least offensive presidential candidate to vote for. What other comedies are there? I must give props to 'The Office', which I think is the best comedy on TV right now, although '30 Rock' won the emmy. I have not seen '30 Rock' yet, but will likely be equally disappointed with it.
Too bad they don't make comedies like they used to. Remember "All in the Family"? "The Carol Burnett Show?" "The Jeffersons?" Now THOSE were comedies!
Nope, they sure don't make 'em like they used to.
Drag Queen name of the day: Grace Fully
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Nuttin'
Today I just didn't feel like doing anything.
I got up a little later than usual, but not much, took my shower and went downstairs to make my coffee and feed/walk the dog. I just didn't feel any "gumption", as my mother would say.
So after taking Jordan for her normal walk around the block I decided to eat breakfast. Maybe that was my problem. I heated up a bowl of banana bread-flavored instant oatmeal in the microwave and ate that before starting my workday. I also had 2 cups of coffee throughout the morning.
I felt a slight bit energized from eating breakfast, but just couldn't seem to get myself in gear work-wise. I replied to a few emails, rescheduled a few things, but by and large I just putzed around on the internet most of the day which, although satisfying for the moment since I wasn't working, left me feeling guilty in the long run.
I got caught up on many of the blogs I read, forwarded some funny emails, and updated my profile on my MySpace page. I'm not sure what was wrong with me today.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ginger Vitus
I got up a little later than usual, but not much, took my shower and went downstairs to make my coffee and feed/walk the dog. I just didn't feel any "gumption", as my mother would say.
So after taking Jordan for her normal walk around the block I decided to eat breakfast. Maybe that was my problem. I heated up a bowl of banana bread-flavored instant oatmeal in the microwave and ate that before starting my workday. I also had 2 cups of coffee throughout the morning.
I felt a slight bit energized from eating breakfast, but just couldn't seem to get myself in gear work-wise. I replied to a few emails, rescheduled a few things, but by and large I just putzed around on the internet most of the day which, although satisfying for the moment since I wasn't working, left me feeling guilty in the long run.
I got caught up on many of the blogs I read, forwarded some funny emails, and updated my profile on my MySpace page. I'm not sure what was wrong with me today.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ginger Vitus
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Work out update: session 2
Mon evening I went for my 2nd work out. Not that I'd given it a lot of fore-thought, but I guess I just assumed we'd do the same exercises as the first time. Au contraire! Just about every exercise I did Mon evening was different from the previous week, which I suppose is good, as they work different muscles.
I suppose this is only of note to me because I am so unfamiliar with how to do everything. Having never worked out before I had no knowledge of what to do with all those machines, much less the fact that most of them have multiple positions for multiple exercises. This probably sounds silly to most, but as I said, I've never done this before so its all new to me. I assumed on my 2nd work out Rick would be able to say "Hug the bear" and I'd know the machine and exercise he wanted me to do. But I quickly realized I would have another night of learning the correct form and position to do these new exercises.
Being aware of my breathing and making sure to take regular, deep breaths was VERY helpful this time. I made a conscious effort to breathe, which sounds weird when you say it, and found that it really helped keep sufficient oxygen pumping to my brain, which made the work out much more comfortable. I still sweat, but I didn't yawn like Rumpelstiltskin (a sign of insufficient oxygen to the brain) like I did last week.
I'm not as stiff or sore this week as I was last week either. Mon evening we ended the work out with lots of ab work, so I'm definitely feeling that. But I'm less uncomfortable than last week. I suppose this is normal. I imagine that each week it will get easier... until Rick starts loading on the weights! I'm actually looking forward to next Monday's session.
Okay, now please be aware that I know how utterly ridiculous this sounds, but it really did happen, and this is my blog so I'm going to write it anyway.
The other day I was scratching a little itch on my arm and I became aware of feeling a muscle. It almost startled me at first. But being pleased with the idea that I could actually feel a muscle, I decided to flex my bicep to see if I could see any visible enlargement, and I thought I did. After just 2 work outs!!! 'Could it really be that visible muscle enlargement could be noticeable after 2 work outs?' I wondered to myself. Logic told me no, but I decided to tell myself yes, as it felt like a huge incentive to keep on working out. Silly, I know...
Drag Queen name of the day: Keri A Load
I suppose this is only of note to me because I am so unfamiliar with how to do everything. Having never worked out before I had no knowledge of what to do with all those machines, much less the fact that most of them have multiple positions for multiple exercises. This probably sounds silly to most, but as I said, I've never done this before so its all new to me. I assumed on my 2nd work out Rick would be able to say "Hug the bear" and I'd know the machine and exercise he wanted me to do. But I quickly realized I would have another night of learning the correct form and position to do these new exercises.
Being aware of my breathing and making sure to take regular, deep breaths was VERY helpful this time. I made a conscious effort to breathe, which sounds weird when you say it, and found that it really helped keep sufficient oxygen pumping to my brain, which made the work out much more comfortable. I still sweat, but I didn't yawn like Rumpelstiltskin (a sign of insufficient oxygen to the brain) like I did last week.
I'm not as stiff or sore this week as I was last week either. Mon evening we ended the work out with lots of ab work, so I'm definitely feeling that. But I'm less uncomfortable than last week. I suppose this is normal. I imagine that each week it will get easier... until Rick starts loading on the weights! I'm actually looking forward to next Monday's session.
Okay, now please be aware that I know how utterly ridiculous this sounds, but it really did happen, and this is my blog so I'm going to write it anyway.
The other day I was scratching a little itch on my arm and I became aware of feeling a muscle. It almost startled me at first. But being pleased with the idea that I could actually feel a muscle, I decided to flex my bicep to see if I could see any visible enlargement, and I thought I did. After just 2 work outs!!! 'Could it really be that visible muscle enlargement could be noticeable after 2 work outs?' I wondered to myself. Logic told me no, but I decided to tell myself yes, as it felt like a huge incentive to keep on working out. Silly, I know...
Drag Queen name of the day: Keri A Load
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Rafter in the eye
You probably recall that Bible verse that says something like 'before offering to remove the straw from your brother's eye, first remove the rafter from your own eye'. Well that's exactly what this news story reminded me of.
Right-wing Republicans and religious fanatics are often quick to associate gays with pedophilia when statistics show that pedophiles are more often heterosexual. Yet they insist on trying to 'remove the straw' from the eyes of gays while that great big 'rafter' is sticking out of their own eyes. Read for yourself:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html
Federal Prosecutor Arrested In Child Sex Sting
DETROIT -- A U.S. Justice Department official has been arrested on suspicion of traveling to Detroit over the weekend to have sex with a minor.
John David R. Atchison, 53, an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday afternoon.
An undercover officer posed as a mother offering her child to Atchison for sex, according to police.
He is charged with enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to authorities, Atchison made contact with a detective working undercover for the Macomb County Sheriff's department's.
The detective, acting as the child's mother, allegedly arranged a sexual encounter between Atchison and her 5-year-old daughter, police said.
In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents."
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."
The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.
Atchison, a member of the Florida bar association since 1984, lives in Gulf Breeze, Fla., near Pensacola.
He is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth athletics organization.
He described himself online as a family man. His wife is a science teacher at Gulf Breeze High School.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Department and the FBI were a part of the investigation.
Atchison remains in federal custody and a detention hearing will be held on Tuesday.
Drag Queen name of the day: Fannie Pack
Right-wing Republicans and religious fanatics are often quick to associate gays with pedophilia when statistics show that pedophiles are more often heterosexual. Yet they insist on trying to 'remove the straw' from the eyes of gays while that great big 'rafter' is sticking out of their own eyes. Read for yourself:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html
Federal Prosecutor Arrested In Child Sex Sting
DETROIT -- A U.S. Justice Department official has been arrested on suspicion of traveling to Detroit over the weekend to have sex with a minor.
John David R. Atchison, 53, an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday afternoon.
An undercover officer posed as a mother offering her child to Atchison for sex, according to police.
He is charged with enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to authorities, Atchison made contact with a detective working undercover for the Macomb County Sheriff's department's.
The detective, acting as the child's mother, allegedly arranged a sexual encounter between Atchison and her 5-year-old daughter, police said.
In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents."
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."
The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.
Atchison, a member of the Florida bar association since 1984, lives in Gulf Breeze, Fla., near Pensacola.
He is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth athletics organization.
He described himself online as a family man. His wife is a science teacher at Gulf Breeze High School.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Department and the FBI were a part of the investigation.
Atchison remains in federal custody and a detention hearing will be held on Tuesday.
Drag Queen name of the day: Fannie Pack
Monday, September 17, 2007
DE Pride and cocktails
Fri evening we met the "usual suspects" for our regular Fri night dinner at the Miltonian. I can't tell you how much I enjoy this routine. Its not that the food is fantastic (although its actually rather good and inexpensive), and lord knows we don't go there to "be seen" cuz its in Milton, boys and girly-boys. But there's just something comforting about meeting up with friendly faces and enjoying a meal together every week at this unremarkable place. I look forward to it every week.
On the way home Spouse asked me to help him complete the online application for a new job within the State system. Its not really in his area of specialty, but its 4 grades higher than his current grade so he feels he could learn to do it and love it for that kind of a pay raise. So, from 9:15 - 11:45 we copied and pasted paragraphs and phrases from his application for his current job into the online application for this new job. The submission deadline was 11:59pm on Fri night. I'm not kidding. Why on earth would they do that? No one in HR is going to wake up Sat morning and start reviewing all the applications, they're going to do that on Mon morning. So why not make the submission deadline 12:59pm on Sun night? Whatever. We got it done and submitted with 14 minutes to spare.
One might think, knowing us, that at 11:45 we would have gaily skipped off to bed for our compulsory 8-9 hours of slumber, but no. We promised ourselves we would do all the cooking for Sat night's cocktail party on Fri night; this decision having been made before I knew about the job application. So at 11:45 we schlepped down the stairs and into the kitchen. We made artichoke and pesto dip, sun dried tomato dip, blueberry lemon pound cake, and polenta chile squares. Of course, when the last items came out of the oven we couldn't just slip off to bed. We had to wait for them to cool before covering them. If we covered them while still hot, the baked goods would become soggy from the steam. So we watched a rerun of the Bill Maher show while the food cooled, and finally got to bed a little after 2am.
We got up at 1oam, had a light breakfast and coffee, and began a thorough house cleaning in preparation for our big cocktail party. After the cleaning was finished Spouse took a shower and I washed a slew of martini, margarita, and wine glasses. Some of them hadn't been used since we moved in so they still had finger prints from being handled during the packing and unpacking processes. We got the warming trays and serving platters out and figured out how everything would fit on the dining room table.
Then we hopped in the car and went to the DE Pride festivities, held at the Rehoboth entrance to Cape Henlopen State Park. DE Pride is a rather small Pride festival when compared to those held in Washington DC, New York City, or San Francisco. There's no parade or parties leading up to the Pride festival. However, for 6 hours you can roam amongst the vendor and informational booths, buy Pride and non-Pride paraphernalia, eat, drink, and be entertained by various performers on the stage. Most people I know manage to do all this in less than an hour. We spent 90 minutes there only because we ran into so many people we knew that we kept stopping and chatting with our friends. Its nice that our little state has a Pride festival, but I'd like it to be more like the larger ones, at least with a parade. I'm considering joining the organization that plans DE Pride so I can offer that suggestion.
Upon returning from DE Pride Spouse & I operated in 5th gear/full throttle to finish getting ready for our cocktail party. It was our 1st entertaining event in this house, and for many of the 23 guests who said they'd come it would be the 1st time they'd seen our house. We really wanted everything to be nice, clean, and pretty. No pressure!!! I was surprised how quickly the time passed as the preparations continued and as I kept adding more tasks to my mental 'to do' list. Finally at 20 minutes before the party was to start I forced myself to run upstairs to change my shirt and brush my teeth. As I was coming back downstairs at 10 minutes til, I heard the doorbell ring. The 1st guests were early and I hadn't made the pitchers of cocktails yet. Yikes!
Fortunately the 1st guests to arrive were Wayne & Stephan whom we know pretty well now. So as I was pouring the different ingredients into the pitchers I asked Stephan to stir each one and help me put the garnishes out. All the drinks were set up on the kitchen counter and peninsula. Here's what we had to drink:
On the way home Spouse asked me to help him complete the online application for a new job within the State system. Its not really in his area of specialty, but its 4 grades higher than his current grade so he feels he could learn to do it and love it for that kind of a pay raise. So, from 9:15 - 11:45 we copied and pasted paragraphs and phrases from his application for his current job into the online application for this new job. The submission deadline was 11:59pm on Fri night. I'm not kidding. Why on earth would they do that? No one in HR is going to wake up Sat morning and start reviewing all the applications, they're going to do that on Mon morning. So why not make the submission deadline 12:59pm on Sun night? Whatever. We got it done and submitted with 14 minutes to spare.
One might think, knowing us, that at 11:45 we would have gaily skipped off to bed for our compulsory 8-9 hours of slumber, but no. We promised ourselves we would do all the cooking for Sat night's cocktail party on Fri night; this decision having been made before I knew about the job application. So at 11:45 we schlepped down the stairs and into the kitchen. We made artichoke and pesto dip, sun dried tomato dip, blueberry lemon pound cake, and polenta chile squares. Of course, when the last items came out of the oven we couldn't just slip off to bed. We had to wait for them to cool before covering them. If we covered them while still hot, the baked goods would become soggy from the steam. So we watched a rerun of the Bill Maher show while the food cooled, and finally got to bed a little after 2am.
We got up at 1oam, had a light breakfast and coffee, and began a thorough house cleaning in preparation for our big cocktail party. After the cleaning was finished Spouse took a shower and I washed a slew of martini, margarita, and wine glasses. Some of them hadn't been used since we moved in so they still had finger prints from being handled during the packing and unpacking processes. We got the warming trays and serving platters out and figured out how everything would fit on the dining room table.
Then we hopped in the car and went to the DE Pride festivities, held at the Rehoboth entrance to Cape Henlopen State Park. DE Pride is a rather small Pride festival when compared to those held in Washington DC, New York City, or San Francisco. There's no parade or parties leading up to the Pride festival. However, for 6 hours you can roam amongst the vendor and informational booths, buy Pride and non-Pride paraphernalia, eat, drink, and be entertained by various performers on the stage. Most people I know manage to do all this in less than an hour. We spent 90 minutes there only because we ran into so many people we knew that we kept stopping and chatting with our friends. Its nice that our little state has a Pride festival, but I'd like it to be more like the larger ones, at least with a parade. I'm considering joining the organization that plans DE Pride so I can offer that suggestion.
Upon returning from DE Pride Spouse & I operated in 5th gear/full throttle to finish getting ready for our cocktail party. It was our 1st entertaining event in this house, and for many of the 23 guests who said they'd come it would be the 1st time they'd seen our house. We really wanted everything to be nice, clean, and pretty. No pressure!!! I was surprised how quickly the time passed as the preparations continued and as I kept adding more tasks to my mental 'to do' list. Finally at 20 minutes before the party was to start I forced myself to run upstairs to change my shirt and brush my teeth. As I was coming back downstairs at 10 minutes til, I heard the doorbell ring. The 1st guests were early and I hadn't made the pitchers of cocktails yet. Yikes!
Fortunately the 1st guests to arrive were Wayne & Stephan whom we know pretty well now. So as I was pouring the different ingredients into the pitchers I asked Stephan to stir each one and help me put the garnishes out. All the drinks were set up on the kitchen counter and peninsula. Here's what we had to drink:
- Cosmopolitans (with my secret special ingredient) with orange rind garnishes
- Appletinis (with a splash of lime juice) with marachino cherry garnishes
- Margaritas with lime wedge garnishes and blue salt
- Mojitos with mint leaf garnishes
- Beer (regular and non-alcoholic)
- Bottled water
- Soda (Coke, Diet, Sprite)
- Iced tea
- Wine (red & white)
I pushed the breakfast area table against the wall, put a white table cloth over it, and lined up all the glasses in neat linear rows, upside down. Martinis, margaritas, wine, pilsners, and tumblers. I really wanted it to look like a bar.
Here's what we had to eat:
- Hot artichoke pesto dip (home made) with crackers
- Hot sun-dried tomato dip (home made) with crackers
- Polenta chile squares (home made)
- Italian sausage bites with onions, peppers, and tomato (home made) with roles
- 3 different types of olives
- mixed nuts
- Roasted red pepper and eggplant spread with crackers
- Artichoke and spinach spread with crackers
- Sweet corn salsa with crackers
- Grilled mixed vegetable bruschetta
- Olive tapenade with crackers
- Roasted red pepper with crackers
- Blueberry lemon pound cake (home made)
The food was all on the dining room table. To help prevent everyone from standing in 1 room, we placed the food in the dining room and the drinks in kitchen, and it worked. We also had the french doors from the breakfast room open to the screened porch since it was a lovely night, and several folks enjoyed the gentle breezes. I lit several candles on the porch and in the house which, to me, is essential for night entertaining.
Our guests seemed to enjoy the food and drink as well as the conversations. Spouse & I also had a good time because we didn't have to worry about refilling the refreshments all the time, since there were only 20 guests. This freed us up to mingle with our friends and enjoy the party. Back when we used to have our big holiday parties for 75-100 guests we could only spend about 15 minutes at a time talking with friends before having to check the food and drinks for possible refills needed. This smaller party was much more relaxing, but nearly as much preparation as the big parties.
The last guests left at 11:30. Spouse & I put away the left-over food and loaded/ran the dishwasher, but left the rest of the clean up for later. After being on our feet (literally) all day we were both ready to crash at 12:30.
Drag Queen name of the day: Annie Freeze
Friday, September 14, 2007
I'm an author!
As I posted last week, the editor of the Sun newspaper requested permission to print an entry from my blog in the Del Ray Sun newspaper. He wanted to feature one of his new advertisers, and found my blog entry from a Google search. I happily gave him permission to print it, so my blog entry was printed in the Del Ray Sun yesterday. Here's a link to the online version.
The Del Ray Sun is a small, local paper but I found it exciting to think that my blog was 'picked up' by an editor. Quite validating.
Work out update: Last evening Spouse & I went for a walk on the boardwalk since it was such a gorgeous evening, then had 1/2 price nachos and tacos at Arena's. Today I can barely walk down the stairs! I think I may have over-exercised my legs. But in a weird kind of way, its sort of a good discomfort because it reminds me I'm doing something good for myself.
Tomorrow is DE Pride day. The festivities will take place at Gordon's Pond from 12-6pm. Spouse & I are hosting a Pride cocktail party for our friends from 7-10pm. Should be fun!
Drag Queen name of the day: Brooke Linbridge
The Del Ray Sun is a small, local paper but I found it exciting to think that my blog was 'picked up' by an editor. Quite validating.
Work out update: Last evening Spouse & I went for a walk on the boardwalk since it was such a gorgeous evening, then had 1/2 price nachos and tacos at Arena's. Today I can barely walk down the stairs! I think I may have over-exercised my legs. But in a weird kind of way, its sort of a good discomfort because it reminds me I'm doing something good for myself.
Tomorrow is DE Pride day. The festivities will take place at Gordon's Pond from 12-6pm. Spouse & I are hosting a Pride cocktail party for our friends from 7-10pm. Should be fun!
Drag Queen name of the day: Brooke Linbridge
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Work out
Last evening history was made: I worked out for the 1st time ever.
I made an appointment with Spouse's personal trainer (and our friend) Rick, and made him promise to take it easy on me. I explained I'd never worked out before and did NOT want to vomit, sweat, or be sore the next day. He laughed and said "Sure!"
Rick is a good trainer and really tailors the sessions to his clients' needs. Obviously, if he forced me to do too much or made it too difficult and unpleasant, I wouldn't go back. But many times he checked in with me by saying "How ya feelin'?", to which I would always respond "This is hard!"
I started with 5 minutes on the treadmill, which was a piece of cake. Since Spouse & I walk all over Lewes and Rehoboth I wasn't even out of breath after the 5 minutes. Then we moved on to the other exercises and machines. Rick was great to demonstrate the proper techniques for me since I'd never done it before.
About 1/2 way through I began to feel hot and clammy as well as a little nauseous. I told him I thought I should lie down for a few minutes. He said I appeared to be holding my breathe some of the time while working out, and likely I wasn't getting enough oxygen. So after just a few minutes I resumed the work out and paid better attention to my breathing, taking nice deep breathes and exhaling regularly. It really helped!
The work out concluded with sit-ups and 'elbows and knees', which look like one is riding an invisible bicycle while lying on one's back. When I finished I told Rick he was successful in not making me vomit, but that he'd failed in the part about not making me sweat, since I was glistening all over.
Since I've done a good bit of walking I assumed that the leg work out would affect me less and that the upper body work out would result in more soreness. But so far today, it is the exact opposite! My thigh muscles feel stiff/sore and my upper body feels like normal, which makes no sense what-so-ever to me.
I'm going back on Mon for my next session.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ophelia Payne
I made an appointment with Spouse's personal trainer (and our friend) Rick, and made him promise to take it easy on me. I explained I'd never worked out before and did NOT want to vomit, sweat, or be sore the next day. He laughed and said "Sure!"
Rick is a good trainer and really tailors the sessions to his clients' needs. Obviously, if he forced me to do too much or made it too difficult and unpleasant, I wouldn't go back. But many times he checked in with me by saying "How ya feelin'?", to which I would always respond "This is hard!"
I started with 5 minutes on the treadmill, which was a piece of cake. Since Spouse & I walk all over Lewes and Rehoboth I wasn't even out of breath after the 5 minutes. Then we moved on to the other exercises and machines. Rick was great to demonstrate the proper techniques for me since I'd never done it before.
About 1/2 way through I began to feel hot and clammy as well as a little nauseous. I told him I thought I should lie down for a few minutes. He said I appeared to be holding my breathe some of the time while working out, and likely I wasn't getting enough oxygen. So after just a few minutes I resumed the work out and paid better attention to my breathing, taking nice deep breathes and exhaling regularly. It really helped!
The work out concluded with sit-ups and 'elbows and knees', which look like one is riding an invisible bicycle while lying on one's back. When I finished I told Rick he was successful in not making me vomit, but that he'd failed in the part about not making me sweat, since I was glistening all over.
Since I've done a good bit of walking I assumed that the leg work out would affect me less and that the upper body work out would result in more soreness. But so far today, it is the exact opposite! My thigh muscles feel stiff/sore and my upper body feels like normal, which makes no sense what-so-ever to me.
I'm going back on Mon for my next session.
Drag Queen name of the day: Ophelia Payne
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Highlights
Last night I decided to give myself highlights.
I've had highlights in my hair before. When I lived in Arlington my hairdresser eventually learned how to do them the way I like. I don't like it when they put that cap on and pull the hair through with a crochet hook and color it. It doesn't get the color close enough to the root, especially for someone with hair as short as mine, and it sometimes resulted in a 'checkerboard' pattern on the sides and back. Not pretty! So I basically trained her how to 'paint' the highlights on with a comb and small paint brush.
Since moving to Lewes I didn't feel like training a new person to do my highlights the way I like them, or did I feel like paying $35.-$50. for this luxury, so a few months ago I bought a highlighting kit and did it myself. It turned out just fine! Besides, after 2 haircuts all the highlights are gone. Like I said, I wear my hair pretty short. So for about $10. I can do the highlights myself, without an appointment, after every other haircut.
Since it was summer, I thought I'd try another highlighting 'trick' I'd used before, which consists of spraying 'Sun In' on my hair a few times while at the beach. You don't get the same kind of definition as regular highlights, but it still lightens up my hair nicely. But I kept forgetting to buy the 'Sun In' at the store, so I basically had dull, lifeless looking hair for a few weeks.
Well, no more! Last night I did the self-highlighting and now I've got my blond back!
Drag Queen name of the day: Eve St. Laurent
I've had highlights in my hair before. When I lived in Arlington my hairdresser eventually learned how to do them the way I like. I don't like it when they put that cap on and pull the hair through with a crochet hook and color it. It doesn't get the color close enough to the root, especially for someone with hair as short as mine, and it sometimes resulted in a 'checkerboard' pattern on the sides and back. Not pretty! So I basically trained her how to 'paint' the highlights on with a comb and small paint brush.
Since moving to Lewes I didn't feel like training a new person to do my highlights the way I like them, or did I feel like paying $35.-$50. for this luxury, so a few months ago I bought a highlighting kit and did it myself. It turned out just fine! Besides, after 2 haircuts all the highlights are gone. Like I said, I wear my hair pretty short. So for about $10. I can do the highlights myself, without an appointment, after every other haircut.
Since it was summer, I thought I'd try another highlighting 'trick' I'd used before, which consists of spraying 'Sun In' on my hair a few times while at the beach. You don't get the same kind of definition as regular highlights, but it still lightens up my hair nicely. But I kept forgetting to buy the 'Sun In' at the store, so I basically had dull, lifeless looking hair for a few weeks.
Well, no more! Last night I did the self-highlighting and now I've got my blond back!
Drag Queen name of the day: Eve St. Laurent
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Frustrating!
You may recall my post 2 months ago that we traded in both our Suburban and Civic on a used Honda CRV. The whole process was so easy... until about a month later when I got a call from the bookkeeper at the dealership, asking me for the titles for the trade-ins. I told her this was the first I'd heard about the need for the titles. No one at the dealership had asked us for them earlier.
I really had no idea which of the multiple boxes of paperwork contained the titles to the vehicles, or if we even possessed the titles, so I tried to weigh my options. I could spend god-knows-how-many hours searching through boxes and boxes of unfiled paperwork for documents we may or may not have, or I could go online and pay $5. each for a duplicate title from the DMV website. It didn't take long to decided.
However, when I began to follow the links on the DMV website I found that you can't really do anything other than get information unless you login using your drivers license number. Problem: a few months ago we traded in our VA drivers licenses for DE drivers licenses, so the VA drivers license number was no longer valid. Dead end. So then I scoured the website to find a phone number in the hopes of explaining my need to a real person. They obviously don't want phone calls, because I tried the number several times on several different days and always got a busy signal. No, rather than phone calls, the DMV prefers in-person visits with their personality void employees. After a week of busy signals, I stopped trying.
Then today I just got a call from the credit union where we'd borrowed the money for the CRV. The guy said the final loan papers were never returned and last week's payment had not been made. After some investigation I realized I'd accidentally misplaced the loan papers we signed a month ago in my stack of stuff to be filed. Ooops. I explained, and promised to mail the signed papers in and make the payment right away, which I did. The guy was very nice and said he was calling to find out if something just like this had happened.
Then, as if everyone were ganging up on me at once, I got a call from the dealership where we'd purchased the CRV. He asked about the titles for the 2 trade-ins. He said our temporary tags were going to expire in a few days and that they were unable to submit our tag request to the DE DMV because they hadn't gotten the trade-in titles yet. I apologized and told him I'd had terrible trouble trying to reach anyone at the VA DMV. He gave me another number to try and I promised to work on getting it resolved today.
I called the number he gave me and after waiting only 18 minutes on hold, I got a real person who genuinely seemed to want to help. That's not usually the case with the VA DMV. So I explained my need to obtain duplicate titles and my inability to use the DMV website since I no longer had a VA drivers license. She checked in her system but said she was unable to issue duplicate titles because both the vehicles had lender liens on them. I explained that both vehicles had been paid off several years ago, but she said that the lendor liens had never been removed. The only way to remove the liens was to show proof that the vehicles were paid in full, as if I had a receipt or something, or to request the lender to send a lien release letter. She promised to mail me forms to request the duplicate titles, with the instructions that once I'd received the lien release letters I should enclose them with my completed duplicate title request forms and a check for $10. and mail them all to a special DMV address.
So, I thanked her for her help and called the finance company who'd lent us the money for the Civic, which was paid off in 2003. To my surprise they were able to locate the loan immediately and agreed to mail the lien release letter right away.
Then I called the credit union who'd lent us the money for the Suburban - the very same credit union who'd call me earlier in the day wondering where in the hell were the signed loan papers! Fortunately I didn't have to speak to the same person. That might have been embarrassing. Imagine the conversation:
ME: Yeah, hi its me again, the one who never mailed back the signed loan documents for that new car.
CREDIT UNION: Oh, uh huh...
ME: You know, its really funny, but in addition to not mailing back the signed loan documents for that new car, I've also managed to not be able to find the title to that car I bought umteen years ago. Kooky, huh?
CREDIT UNION: Uh huh...
ME: Yeah, so now I need you to go back through your file of paid off loans and find mine, and then send me a letter saying its paid off. Preferably today. Kay?
CREDIT UNION: Sure. We'll get right on that.
The idea really made me feel like a big looser, so I silently vowed to go threw those boxes of paperwork before the end of this year (4 months) and get our affairs in order.
The credit union lady was unable to locate the paid off loan in the 'regular system', so she transferred me to the 'records department' where a lovely but tired-sounding woman named Vera said it would take some time to research the loan. She took my number and promised to call back when they'd located it.
So now I wait. First I wait for Vera to call back and tell me they've found the paid off loan and ask me where to mail the lien release letter. Then I wait for the lien release letters to come for both vehicles, while I simultaneously wait for the duplicate title request forms to come from the VA DMV. Once I match those up and mail them I will wait even more for them to be processed and to receive the duplicate titles in the mail. Then I'll take them to the car dealership and wait for the title and tags from the DE DMV for the new CRV. Meanwhile, as all of this waiting is going on, the tags on the CRV will have expired. Maybe this is what we deserve for waiting so long to act?
Now I know why rich people hire personal assistants.
Drag Queen name of the day: Rosa Corn
I really had no idea which of the multiple boxes of paperwork contained the titles to the vehicles, or if we even possessed the titles, so I tried to weigh my options. I could spend god-knows-how-many hours searching through boxes and boxes of unfiled paperwork for documents we may or may not have, or I could go online and pay $5. each for a duplicate title from the DMV website. It didn't take long to decided.
However, when I began to follow the links on the DMV website I found that you can't really do anything other than get information unless you login using your drivers license number. Problem: a few months ago we traded in our VA drivers licenses for DE drivers licenses, so the VA drivers license number was no longer valid. Dead end. So then I scoured the website to find a phone number in the hopes of explaining my need to a real person. They obviously don't want phone calls, because I tried the number several times on several different days and always got a busy signal. No, rather than phone calls, the DMV prefers in-person visits with their personality void employees. After a week of busy signals, I stopped trying.
Then today I just got a call from the credit union where we'd borrowed the money for the CRV. The guy said the final loan papers were never returned and last week's payment had not been made. After some investigation I realized I'd accidentally misplaced the loan papers we signed a month ago in my stack of stuff to be filed. Ooops. I explained, and promised to mail the signed papers in and make the payment right away, which I did. The guy was very nice and said he was calling to find out if something just like this had happened.
Then, as if everyone were ganging up on me at once, I got a call from the dealership where we'd purchased the CRV. He asked about the titles for the 2 trade-ins. He said our temporary tags were going to expire in a few days and that they were unable to submit our tag request to the DE DMV because they hadn't gotten the trade-in titles yet. I apologized and told him I'd had terrible trouble trying to reach anyone at the VA DMV. He gave me another number to try and I promised to work on getting it resolved today.
I called the number he gave me and after waiting only 18 minutes on hold, I got a real person who genuinely seemed to want to help. That's not usually the case with the VA DMV. So I explained my need to obtain duplicate titles and my inability to use the DMV website since I no longer had a VA drivers license. She checked in her system but said she was unable to issue duplicate titles because both the vehicles had lender liens on them. I explained that both vehicles had been paid off several years ago, but she said that the lendor liens had never been removed. The only way to remove the liens was to show proof that the vehicles were paid in full, as if I had a receipt or something, or to request the lender to send a lien release letter. She promised to mail me forms to request the duplicate titles, with the instructions that once I'd received the lien release letters I should enclose them with my completed duplicate title request forms and a check for $10. and mail them all to a special DMV address.
So, I thanked her for her help and called the finance company who'd lent us the money for the Civic, which was paid off in 2003. To my surprise they were able to locate the loan immediately and agreed to mail the lien release letter right away.
Then I called the credit union who'd lent us the money for the Suburban - the very same credit union who'd call me earlier in the day wondering where in the hell were the signed loan papers! Fortunately I didn't have to speak to the same person. That might have been embarrassing. Imagine the conversation:
ME: Yeah, hi its me again, the one who never mailed back the signed loan documents for that new car.
CREDIT UNION: Oh, uh huh...
ME: You know, its really funny, but in addition to not mailing back the signed loan documents for that new car, I've also managed to not be able to find the title to that car I bought umteen years ago. Kooky, huh?
CREDIT UNION: Uh huh...
ME: Yeah, so now I need you to go back through your file of paid off loans and find mine, and then send me a letter saying its paid off. Preferably today. Kay?
CREDIT UNION: Sure. We'll get right on that.
The idea really made me feel like a big looser, so I silently vowed to go threw those boxes of paperwork before the end of this year (4 months) and get our affairs in order.
The credit union lady was unable to locate the paid off loan in the 'regular system', so she transferred me to the 'records department' where a lovely but tired-sounding woman named Vera said it would take some time to research the loan. She took my number and promised to call back when they'd located it.
So now I wait. First I wait for Vera to call back and tell me they've found the paid off loan and ask me where to mail the lien release letter. Then I wait for the lien release letters to come for both vehicles, while I simultaneously wait for the duplicate title request forms to come from the VA DMV. Once I match those up and mail them I will wait even more for them to be processed and to receive the duplicate titles in the mail. Then I'll take them to the car dealership and wait for the title and tags from the DE DMV for the new CRV. Meanwhile, as all of this waiting is going on, the tags on the CRV will have expired. Maybe this is what we deserve for waiting so long to act?
Now I know why rich people hire personal assistants.
Drag Queen name of the day: Rosa Corn
Monday, September 10, 2007
A busy week ahead
I really didn't feel like working today. I probably should have taken the day off, or called in sick. I just didn't feel like dealing with anything today, so I wasted most of the morning reading other people's blogs, checking my personal email, voting for Kim on 'Design Star', and stuff like that. But eventually I had to do something productive and investigate a few things and respond to client and colleague emails. The afternoon passed quickly.
This week promises to be a full one, not work-wise, but personally. We need to go to the grocery store again to pick up all the things we forgot when we were there on Sat. We also need to clean the house again (thanks to our darling dog and cat), go to the liquor store, and make some of the party food on Thurs or Fri night so its ready for Sat's cocktail party.
This Sat is DE Pride. The festivities run from noon to 6pm, although we will not stay the entire time. We've invited about 25 people to a cocktail party from 7-10pm to celebrate Pride day. We're serving several of the Trader Joe's appetizers from last Sat and making some other food too. It should be a fun time, but I'm a little nervous since it will be the 1st time the majority of the guests will see our house. (All our previous guests have been friends from VA.) I really want everything to be clean and look nice.
Unfortunately we can't clean the house in advance because the dog and cat hair will simply have to be vacuumed up again, so I think I'll save the vacuuming for Sat morning before we go to the Pride festivities. Spouse has agreed to make a few of his other 'specialties' on Thurs or Fri night.
I also have something else to do on Wed evening; something I've not yet shared on this blog. I'm going to work out with a personal trainer.
For years I have resisted working out or joining a gym because I didn't want to 'conform' to stereotype that gay men all work out and have gym-toned bodies. Well, that and because I prefer not to sweat or be under any physical stress. I have proudly shared my fitness motto: "No pain, that's great!" I have also encouraged others who don't quite resemble Abercrombie & Fitch models to "love the skin you're in".
But... I'm 43 years old now and gravity is playing a dirty trick on me, tugging at me, pulling my muscles, skin, and fat toward the ground. I looked at myself nude in the mirror and really didn't like what I saw. In fact, I'm pretty sure a little bit of my breakfast came back up into my mouth. So I decided to enlist the assistance of a personal trainer. Naturally I chose Rick, the same trainer Spouse has been working with once a week for nearly a year. He's also a friend and I've told him I'm willing to work out with him as long as he ensures me I will not sweat or be sore... ever. He just laughed and said "Sure!". Somehow I think I'm in for trouble.
Although I do not expect to become a catalog model, hopefully the training and a healthier diet will help slow down the effects of Ol' Man Gravity, and quite possibly have a positive affect on my cholesterol, sugar, etc. Wish me luck!
Drag Queen name of the day: Melba Toast
This week promises to be a full one, not work-wise, but personally. We need to go to the grocery store again to pick up all the things we forgot when we were there on Sat. We also need to clean the house again (thanks to our darling dog and cat), go to the liquor store, and make some of the party food on Thurs or Fri night so its ready for Sat's cocktail party.
This Sat is DE Pride. The festivities run from noon to 6pm, although we will not stay the entire time. We've invited about 25 people to a cocktail party from 7-10pm to celebrate Pride day. We're serving several of the Trader Joe's appetizers from last Sat and making some other food too. It should be a fun time, but I'm a little nervous since it will be the 1st time the majority of the guests will see our house. (All our previous guests have been friends from VA.) I really want everything to be clean and look nice.
Unfortunately we can't clean the house in advance because the dog and cat hair will simply have to be vacuumed up again, so I think I'll save the vacuuming for Sat morning before we go to the Pride festivities. Spouse has agreed to make a few of his other 'specialties' on Thurs or Fri night.
I also have something else to do on Wed evening; something I've not yet shared on this blog. I'm going to work out with a personal trainer.
For years I have resisted working out or joining a gym because I didn't want to 'conform' to stereotype that gay men all work out and have gym-toned bodies. Well, that and because I prefer not to sweat or be under any physical stress. I have proudly shared my fitness motto: "No pain, that's great!" I have also encouraged others who don't quite resemble Abercrombie & Fitch models to "love the skin you're in".
But... I'm 43 years old now and gravity is playing a dirty trick on me, tugging at me, pulling my muscles, skin, and fat toward the ground. I looked at myself nude in the mirror and really didn't like what I saw. In fact, I'm pretty sure a little bit of my breakfast came back up into my mouth. So I decided to enlist the assistance of a personal trainer. Naturally I chose Rick, the same trainer Spouse has been working with once a week for nearly a year. He's also a friend and I've told him I'm willing to work out with him as long as he ensures me I will not sweat or be sore... ever. He just laughed and said "Sure!". Somehow I think I'm in for trouble.
Although I do not expect to become a catalog model, hopefully the training and a healthier diet will help slow down the effects of Ol' Man Gravity, and quite possibly have a positive affect on my cholesterol, sugar, etc. Wish me luck!
Drag Queen name of the day: Melba Toast
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Weekend potpourri
Fri night we met up with 'the usual suspects' for our weekly dinner at the Miltonian. Afterward Spouse & I drove into Rehoboth and went for a long walk on the boardwalk. It was a lovely night. We've really loved having so many friends and relatives visit us this summer, but we confessed to each other during our walk that we were actually looking forward to the 1st weekend in I-don't-know-how-long with no overnight guests.
We slept in Sat morning until 9:30, then walked the dog, had breakfast at Bob Evans, went to the grocery store, and did a major house cleaning. We moved some furniture around in the 3rd floor TV room in preparation for hosting this month's Gay Men's Movie Night. Then we got our appetizer stuff (all purchased at Trader Joe's when we were in VA 2 weeks ago) and figured out what serving pieces we'd need. When everything was ready we both showered and then walked to Half Full for gourmet pizza. On our walk back home we found 2 neighbors on their front porches so we stopped and chatted with each of them for a few minutes. I love that about living here in Lewes!
Spouse fed and walked the dog as I began putting the appetizers onto their platters and into their bowls. The snacks had a definite international theme: artichoke antipasto, roasted red pepper spread, olive tapenade, sweet corn salsa, grilled veggies, red pepper and eggplant spread with crackers, and mixed country olives and jalapeno stuffed green olives. The movie group arrived, we snacked, then went up and watched our movie selection: "Now, Voyager!" Spouse introduced me to this film years ago and I just love it. Despite the fact that there are no 'love scenes' in this film, it is very romantic. Definitely a must-see, at least twice.
When the last of the movie friends had left, I called my friend Chris. At the beginning of the summer I was introduced to Chris at Freddie's Beach Bar, back in VA. As we were chatting we discovered we'd gone to the same high school for 2 years and had many mutual friends. Chris emailed me a few days ago to let me know he would be in Rehoboth this weekend, but since we had plans Sat & Sun, I suggested we might meet up for a drink Sat night after the movie group had left. So when I called him at 10:15 that's what we decided to do. I met Chris and his 2 friends from Baltimore at the Blue Moon and we had a swell time chatting, laughing, and enjoying our cocktails. Chris is a really sweet guy.
Sun morning our friends Paul & Steve picked us up at 9am for our day trip to Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Philly is only 2 hours from Lewes. RTM was a railroad terminal that's been converted into a kind of farmers market and specialty foods shop. You can get everything from fresh produce to bees wax candles to infused olive oils to hand-made chocolates.
Our first purchase was at the renown Termini Brothers bakery. Spouse & I got a chocolate eclaire and a canoli to split. They were both fantastic - definitely the absolute best canoli in the world. Then I got fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, and greens from Delilah's. I wasn't familiar with Delilah but Steve told me that Oprah declared Delilah's mac & cheese to be "the best". It was a very tasty lunch! Spouse got a hot turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich he described as "crazy good". I shared some of my lunch with him too. Next we got ice cream from 'world famous' Bassett's. Spouse got butter almond and I got rum raisin. I thought it odd they were 'world famous' since I'd never heard of Bassett's before. But we agreed it was the creamiest ice cream we'd ever eaten; definitely worthy of its 'world famous' status. We rounded out our eating extravaganza with a pretzel, heath bar crunch cookie, and 2 rum truffles. Completely stuffed and barely able to walk to the car, we called it quits. Spouse's full tummy made it hard for him to stay awake on the trip home, but I kept the conversation going with our friends while Spouse occasionally dosed off.
When we returned home we slipped into bed for a decadent, late afternoon nap. I putzed around on the computer for a little while and Spouse watched TV. Then I went swimming in the neighbor's pool. Spouse didn't feel like it. We both had a very light dinner and Spouse returned to watching TV. Its Serious Skin Care week on HSN, dontcha know. I watched last week's 'Design Star' on demand, and will watch tonight's final challenge at 9pm. I love that show, and am hoping Kim wins.
Why is it the weekends pass so quickly?
Drag Queen name of the day: Olive Branch
We slept in Sat morning until 9:30, then walked the dog, had breakfast at Bob Evans, went to the grocery store, and did a major house cleaning. We moved some furniture around in the 3rd floor TV room in preparation for hosting this month's Gay Men's Movie Night. Then we got our appetizer stuff (all purchased at Trader Joe's when we were in VA 2 weeks ago) and figured out what serving pieces we'd need. When everything was ready we both showered and then walked to Half Full for gourmet pizza. On our walk back home we found 2 neighbors on their front porches so we stopped and chatted with each of them for a few minutes. I love that about living here in Lewes!
Spouse fed and walked the dog as I began putting the appetizers onto their platters and into their bowls. The snacks had a definite international theme: artichoke antipasto, roasted red pepper spread, olive tapenade, sweet corn salsa, grilled veggies, red pepper and eggplant spread with crackers, and mixed country olives and jalapeno stuffed green olives. The movie group arrived, we snacked, then went up and watched our movie selection: "Now, Voyager!" Spouse introduced me to this film years ago and I just love it. Despite the fact that there are no 'love scenes' in this film, it is very romantic. Definitely a must-see, at least twice.
When the last of the movie friends had left, I called my friend Chris. At the beginning of the summer I was introduced to Chris at Freddie's Beach Bar, back in VA. As we were chatting we discovered we'd gone to the same high school for 2 years and had many mutual friends. Chris emailed me a few days ago to let me know he would be in Rehoboth this weekend, but since we had plans Sat & Sun, I suggested we might meet up for a drink Sat night after the movie group had left. So when I called him at 10:15 that's what we decided to do. I met Chris and his 2 friends from Baltimore at the Blue Moon and we had a swell time chatting, laughing, and enjoying our cocktails. Chris is a really sweet guy.
Sun morning our friends Paul & Steve picked us up at 9am for our day trip to Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Philly is only 2 hours from Lewes. RTM was a railroad terminal that's been converted into a kind of farmers market and specialty foods shop. You can get everything from fresh produce to bees wax candles to infused olive oils to hand-made chocolates.
Our first purchase was at the renown Termini Brothers bakery. Spouse & I got a chocolate eclaire and a canoli to split. They were both fantastic - definitely the absolute best canoli in the world. Then I got fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, and greens from Delilah's. I wasn't familiar with Delilah but Steve told me that Oprah declared Delilah's mac & cheese to be "the best". It was a very tasty lunch! Spouse got a hot turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich he described as "crazy good". I shared some of my lunch with him too. Next we got ice cream from 'world famous' Bassett's. Spouse got butter almond and I got rum raisin. I thought it odd they were 'world famous' since I'd never heard of Bassett's before. But we agreed it was the creamiest ice cream we'd ever eaten; definitely worthy of its 'world famous' status. We rounded out our eating extravaganza with a pretzel, heath bar crunch cookie, and 2 rum truffles. Completely stuffed and barely able to walk to the car, we called it quits. Spouse's full tummy made it hard for him to stay awake on the trip home, but I kept the conversation going with our friends while Spouse occasionally dosed off.
When we returned home we slipped into bed for a decadent, late afternoon nap. I putzed around on the computer for a little while and Spouse watched TV. Then I went swimming in the neighbor's pool. Spouse didn't feel like it. We both had a very light dinner and Spouse returned to watching TV. Its Serious Skin Care week on HSN, dontcha know. I watched last week's 'Design Star' on demand, and will watch tonight's final challenge at 9pm. I love that show, and am hoping Kim wins.
Why is it the weekends pass so quickly?
Drag Queen name of the day: Olive Branch
Thursday, September 06, 2007
This 'n that
Quick trip to HQ
Tues morning I drove to my company's headquarters in Richmond, VA. I set some meetings and a training session in the afternoon, stayed overnight, and had more meetings and more training Wed morning. I left at 1:00 and drove home. It was a lot of time on the road (9 hours) in 2 days, but I accomplished a lot in a short time.
Gays marry in IA
Did you hear that Iowa is now permitting gay marriage? According to a story at http://www.gfn.com/channelArticle.cfm?channelDesRecordID=492:
Gay College Students Legally Wed in Des Moines
One day after an Iowa judge ruled that a state law stipulating the only legal marriages in Iowa were between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, two male college students were married in the front yard of a Des Moines residence.
The couple — Tim McQuillan and Sean Fritz, both 24 and Iowa State University students — were married this morning, after they obtained a marriage license at the Polk County recorder’s office and got a judge to sign a waiver allowing them to marry today rather than wait three days, as is required by law, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.
They were married by the Rev. Mark Stringer of First Unitarian Church in Des Moines at 10:32 a.m.
Fritz proposed to McQuillan last night when he heard Polk County Judge Robert Hanson had ruled Iowa's law forbidding gay marriage was unconstitutional. As reported by RadioIowa, Fritz went to the store and bought wedding rings last night, then got on the Internet to find the paperwork for a Polk County marriage license.
"There was a lot of double-checking everything on the Internet to make sure that we got all the paperwork filled out correctly the first time," Fritz said. "We didn't want to get refused because we messed up a 't' somewhere."
Fritz says he called McQuillan's mother in California to ask permission to marry her son. McQuillan says Fritz then got in touch with him. "He instant messaged me over the Internet that this was going on," McQuillan said. "When he picked me up around nine o'clock he proposed to me on the spot. Besides the obvious shock, I still haven't recovered. Maybe it'll set in later this week."
Iowa Family Policy Center president Chuck Hurley called the state of affairs this morning in Iowa "devastating" and "outrageous."
Blog excerpt to be printed
Last Fri I received an email request from the editor of the DelRay Sun newspaper to print one of my blog entries. It seems that my favorite Mexican restaurant Cantina Mexicana (aka: The Taco House) has resumed advertising in that paper, and the editor wants to help steer more business there. He said he found a blog entry where I wrote about the restaurant and staff and thought it would be helpful to print it in his paper.
So if you're in the Alexandria/Arlington area be on the look-out for my excerpt in the Sept 12 edition of the DelRay Sun.
Drag Queen name of the day: Maureen Core
Tues morning I drove to my company's headquarters in Richmond, VA. I set some meetings and a training session in the afternoon, stayed overnight, and had more meetings and more training Wed morning. I left at 1:00 and drove home. It was a lot of time on the road (9 hours) in 2 days, but I accomplished a lot in a short time.
Gays marry in IA
Did you hear that Iowa is now permitting gay marriage? According to a story at http://www.gfn.com/channelArticle.cfm?channelDesRecordID=492:
Gay College Students Legally Wed in Des Moines
One day after an Iowa judge ruled that a state law stipulating the only legal marriages in Iowa were between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, two male college students were married in the front yard of a Des Moines residence.
The couple — Tim McQuillan and Sean Fritz, both 24 and Iowa State University students — were married this morning, after they obtained a marriage license at the Polk County recorder’s office and got a judge to sign a waiver allowing them to marry today rather than wait three days, as is required by law, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.
They were married by the Rev. Mark Stringer of First Unitarian Church in Des Moines at 10:32 a.m.
Fritz proposed to McQuillan last night when he heard Polk County Judge Robert Hanson had ruled Iowa's law forbidding gay marriage was unconstitutional. As reported by RadioIowa, Fritz went to the store and bought wedding rings last night, then got on the Internet to find the paperwork for a Polk County marriage license.
"There was a lot of double-checking everything on the Internet to make sure that we got all the paperwork filled out correctly the first time," Fritz said. "We didn't want to get refused because we messed up a 't' somewhere."
Fritz says he called McQuillan's mother in California to ask permission to marry her son. McQuillan says Fritz then got in touch with him. "He instant messaged me over the Internet that this was going on," McQuillan said. "When he picked me up around nine o'clock he proposed to me on the spot. Besides the obvious shock, I still haven't recovered. Maybe it'll set in later this week."
Iowa Family Policy Center president Chuck Hurley called the state of affairs this morning in Iowa "devastating" and "outrageous."
Blog excerpt to be printed
Last Fri I received an email request from the editor of the DelRay Sun newspaper to print one of my blog entries. It seems that my favorite Mexican restaurant Cantina Mexicana (aka: The Taco House) has resumed advertising in that paper, and the editor wants to help steer more business there. He said he found a blog entry where I wrote about the restaurant and staff and thought it would be helpful to print it in his paper.
So if you're in the Alexandria/Arlington area be on the look-out for my excerpt in the Sept 12 edition of the DelRay Sun.
Drag Queen name of the day: Maureen Core
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Awesome Labor Day weekend
Our friends Bugsy & Roger rolled into town at about 12:30 on Fri (cuz that's how they roll) so I met them at the Blue Plate Diner for lunch. Afterward we came back to the house where Roger did a little homework for his class and Bugs went for a walk while I went back to work. My company closed early (3:30) so I only had 2 hours to go.
Spouse came home early and the 4 of us hung out and talked for a while. The temperature and humidity were delightfully low for Aug, so we turned off the a/c and opened the windows and french doors that lead from the kitchen onto the screened porch. We enjoyed the light breezes while catching up on each others' bidniss. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up on all the necessary items required for a long, holiday weekend, then met up with Rick & Nick and a few others for our regular Fri night dinner at the Miltonian.
Sat we lingered over breakfast for quite a while, enjoying music and conversation on the porch again. We went for a walk through town, and then across the canal to the bay. The beach was full of people thrilled with the near perfect weather for doing anything outside. We went for a walk on the beach, which was rather pebbly. We joked about how our feet would be as smooth as a baby's bottom from the exfoliation from the pebbles. After lunch and showers we went to an art show and sale. Rick & Nick told us about it and we were excited that a glass artist whose work we'd seen and liked was one of the exhibitors. We ran into several of our neighbors and friends there and really enjoyed seeing the artists' work. Many of the pieces were purchased. After returning home we had cocktails and snacks, then walked to Jerry's Seafood for dinner. After dinner we watched the campy cult classic "Valley of the Dolls". What a hoot!
Sun we had another leisurely morning that included banana chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, 2 pots of coffee, chatting, and laughing on the screened porch. Then we spent the afternoon at the beach, which was nothing less than divine. The temperature remained in the low 80s, the humidity was indecipherable, and there was a gentle breeze blowing. I challenged our friends to find something that could improve this experience but they came up empty-handed. Upon returning home we all showered and prepared to host a little cook-out. Rick & Nick, Wayne & Stephan, and Doug & Jim came over for hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats on the grill with baked beans, tortellini salad, and homemade mac 'n cheese. It took a while to get the grill nice and hot, but everything was cooked perfectly! When the sun sank low along the horizon I lit a bunch of candles that gave the screened porch a dreamy glow. It was a great night!
Mon morning was much like Sat and Sun morning: easy, tasty, relaxed, and enjoyable. Again we had a spectacular day at the beach, although it was a bit more breezy, leaving most of us with sand in every imaginable crevice. After returning to the house, showering, and packing their things, Bugs & Rog left at about 6:00. Spouse & I met Rick & Nick at 7:45 to see "The Simpsons" movie. Although I'm not a fan of most animated movies, the writing is so clever in "The Simpsons" that I couldn't help but like it.
We had an awesome weekend and I can't think of anything that could have made it better, with the exception of winning the lottery maybe.
Drag Queen name of the day: Allie Babah
Spouse came home early and the 4 of us hung out and talked for a while. The temperature and humidity were delightfully low for Aug, so we turned off the a/c and opened the windows and french doors that lead from the kitchen onto the screened porch. We enjoyed the light breezes while catching up on each others' bidniss. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up on all the necessary items required for a long, holiday weekend, then met up with Rick & Nick and a few others for our regular Fri night dinner at the Miltonian.
Sat we lingered over breakfast for quite a while, enjoying music and conversation on the porch again. We went for a walk through town, and then across the canal to the bay. The beach was full of people thrilled with the near perfect weather for doing anything outside. We went for a walk on the beach, which was rather pebbly. We joked about how our feet would be as smooth as a baby's bottom from the exfoliation from the pebbles. After lunch and showers we went to an art show and sale. Rick & Nick told us about it and we were excited that a glass artist whose work we'd seen and liked was one of the exhibitors. We ran into several of our neighbors and friends there and really enjoyed seeing the artists' work. Many of the pieces were purchased. After returning home we had cocktails and snacks, then walked to Jerry's Seafood for dinner. After dinner we watched the campy cult classic "Valley of the Dolls". What a hoot!
Sun we had another leisurely morning that included banana chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, 2 pots of coffee, chatting, and laughing on the screened porch. Then we spent the afternoon at the beach, which was nothing less than divine. The temperature remained in the low 80s, the humidity was indecipherable, and there was a gentle breeze blowing. I challenged our friends to find something that could improve this experience but they came up empty-handed. Upon returning home we all showered and prepared to host a little cook-out. Rick & Nick, Wayne & Stephan, and Doug & Jim came over for hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats on the grill with baked beans, tortellini salad, and homemade mac 'n cheese. It took a while to get the grill nice and hot, but everything was cooked perfectly! When the sun sank low along the horizon I lit a bunch of candles that gave the screened porch a dreamy glow. It was a great night!
Mon morning was much like Sat and Sun morning: easy, tasty, relaxed, and enjoyable. Again we had a spectacular day at the beach, although it was a bit more breezy, leaving most of us with sand in every imaginable crevice. After returning to the house, showering, and packing their things, Bugs & Rog left at about 6:00. Spouse & I met Rick & Nick at 7:45 to see "The Simpsons" movie. Although I'm not a fan of most animated movies, the writing is so clever in "The Simpsons" that I couldn't help but like it.
We had an awesome weekend and I can't think of anything that could have made it better, with the exception of winning the lottery maybe.
Drag Queen name of the day: Allie Babah
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