Don't Cry In My Snack-N-Cake

I have this song in my head today.

2009-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PnU27cWDs

Waiting to See what Pops up.

2009-05-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

This first year we are trying to figure out what is all in the back yard. The previous owner was a gardener and the yard is filled with tons of plants. Every day we are discovering something new. We have also discovered that a raccoon lives in the big tree out back! He comes out of his hole between 7:30 -8 PM. He then comes down the tree very slowly and exits our property to go out on his nightly hunting adventure. As long as he keeps doing that, we have decided to leave him alone. We have also had a possum in the back yard. Thankfully, he hasn't been seen again. I did see one deer, but we have been told that many have been known to graze in the back yard. We have a lot of song birds too. Cardinals, Goldfinches, Blue Jays and Chickadees to name a few.

This cute little water feature was by the small deck at the front of the house. All we did was fill it up with water and plug it in.

The previous owners were big on planting Hosta. We must have a million different varieties.

I couldn't resist buying some annuals at the garden center. I spruced up the stump in the front yard.

The back yard. We have a fire pit!

This is a sand box next to the school yard swing set that was installed in the yard. They had some herbs planted in it. I decided to add some things to it and try some square foot gardening. I'm not sure if it will get enough sun. After this year I will know if I will have a too much shade or not. I may have to just container garden.

The kitties love to be out on the screened-in porch. The cats adapted well to the new house. Our dog had a little more trouble. She's doing fine now, but she was a little freaked out by the move for a couple of weeks.

The front of the house. More plants!

We are thinking of building a small pond out in the back yard. I have a garden hose down to outline a spot for it. I kind of like this area by the deck.

I may have given off some clues that I was gay?

2009-03-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

An old friend of mine sent me this picture. I was taken sometime in 1983. I'm the one in the pink panties.

Packing a Praying

2009-02-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

We are getting some packing done. I just haven't been in the mood lately. Most most of the excitement has been put on hold. Yesterday was a really bad day for a few hours. The Realtor on the other side decided to send us the initial property inspection form early, instead of waiting for the FHA inspection. What David (our Realtor) and Daryl and I thought was a pretty good report, some how was turned around into a problem. The inspector pointed out that the roof was showing some wear but thought it had at least three to five years left on it. He said that he wasn't an expert on roofing and he thought it may have more that one layer of shingles on it. I had said there was only one. This is what I was told when I purchased the house 7 years ago.

This somehow turned into that the roof was "shot" (exact word used) and had to be replaced! Of course, she wanted us to replace it. David found the paperwork from when I purchased the house. It stated that the roof had been replaced in 1995 and had only one layer on it. We told her we would correct the other minor problem she wanted fixed, but wouldn't replace the roof because it wasn't in need of being replaced yet. She excepted that reply and all was well again. Now we are back at square one waiting for the FHA inspector. I'm just betting that he will say there is some chipping paint and she will ask for us to paint the house again. Will this never end!

Daryl is a mess. He really can't handle stress very well. He went to Walmart and forgot two bags at the checkout. We did get one back a day later after he remembered he left it. It was really surprising that they still had it. At least the kitties will eat this week. Cat food was what he had gone to Walmart to get in the first place.

Next week the plumber will be coming to fix a pipe that she wanted replaced and we have a couple of electricians stopping by to give us estimates on the wire to the garage this week. I think I will start packing again after we have the reply from the FHA inspection.

All is not bad. I have been emptying out the wine cabinet this week. I have been trying some of the wine that we have been given as gifts over the past year. Why should I have to move that?

Looking Better

2009-02-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

It looks as if everything is going to work out. Exactly two weeks from the day that we listed the house, it was sold. We had one of the inspections last week on our current house. They found a few things, but over all it's not to bad. The new owner has an FHA loan. That means that we will have another inspection soon. Hopefully it isn't anything more than what the first inspection found. During the first inspection the soon to be new owner stopped by to meet us. She is really in love with our house and wanted to make sure the inspection was going good. She wants our house as much as we want to move to the other house. After meeting her, I have a much better feeling that everything will go OK. I was really nervous. I thought our home was in pretty good shape, but with a 94 year old home, you just never know. If everything keeps going as planned, we will be moving the 16th of March. Wish us luck!

Our present house with the sold sign in front of it. It looks nice doesn't it!

The house we will be moving to. We will have lots of mowing to do when the grass gets growing again.

Jumping into a pile of stress

2009-01-15T09:43:00.001-08:00

Well, things are moving quickly. We looked at the house last night again with a friend. After talking about it for a while, we decided we would like to try for it. The big problem is getting ours sold. I'm thinking now that we should have put ours on the market last July when we first thought about selling. So the next few weeks will be pretty hectic for us.

I talked to the banker last night, but still haven't heard back from the Realtor this morning. I'm sure he's checking things out behind the scenes with the banker and making game plans. That's what I would be doing if I was in his shoes.

Daryl is off today and he is already starting to get things ready. He rented a storage shed today so we can empty out all the unnecessary stuff to make the house look as big as possible. We have a lot to do to get it ready.

I think it's as good of time as any to sell and find what we what. If we don't get this house, we will have to keep looking for something else. We just need to get ours sold.

Thinking Of Moving

2009-01-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

I could have went to work this morning and made double time pay. Instead this afternoon I looked at this house. It was everything that we would need. Of course it isn't perfect, but what house is? If you overlook the driveway from hell and the few updates that still need to be done, it's perfect enough! Lets not even talk about the price. The price is way too high and we would have to get it way down in my fantasy plan before I would consider buying it. I really need to get it out of my head. We don't need to move. And really, do we want to list our house and deal with that hell? The hassle of selling and moving really sucks! I'm really not sure I want to take on a bigger house payment. Is this the time to move or should we wait? Interest rates are low. And it sounds like the houses in the $100,000 range in Cedar Rapids are still selling. The "flood people" are moving out of the FEMA trailers and purchasing homes and keeping the demand up. It's such a hard decision to make.

Daryl and I have both said that we are happy in this house, but would eventually like to move to something a little bigger and have a back yard again and a real garage. You know, the kind that you can actually park a car in. The problem is the when. When is it the right time?

We both agree we would like a ranch or a raised ranch. It's always the sticker shock that gets me. I guess I need to get out and look at a few hundred house to get a feel of what is out on the market right now. We could actually afford a new house if we wanted to move into something without a finished basement. I'm not really thrilled with that idea. I condo would be an idea, but I still want a yard. I really need something more to do that going to work and planting myself in front of the TV. Shoveling snow and mowing keeps me moving, even if I like to bitch about doing it.

Buying a house and a car are the two things that I hate the most. I guess it's because I always feel I'm getting screwed on the deal. I never feel good about going into a large about of debt at one time. It's a number thing. I look at my check and see how much I make and it always feels that it will never be paid off. I get buyers remorse like two seconds after I purchase something. Maybe I should stay where I'm at and shop for a therapist instead?

weekends go by so fast

2008-11-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

After I finished the grocery shopping this afternoon, I decided to make two dishes that I haven't baked in a while. Lasagna and apple pie. The lasagna turned out perfect and went well with the spinach salad we had for dinner. The pie on the other hand turned out looking kind of strange and the apples were a little bit undercooked. It still tasted pretty good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

We Did and We Can

2008-11-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

We are progressing. It is a wonderful feeling being on the winning side of an election and having a candidate that I am not only emotionally, but also for the first time financially invested in. I am one of Obama’s small first time donors. Barack Obama had my vote a couple of days before the Iowa caucus. Seeing him and listening to a message that I have believed in all my life. The idea that this country has the ability to change and move towards a more perfect union.

It is a bitter sweet victory as a gay American witnessing on the same day the anti-gay marriage and adoption measures pass in a number of states. I am hopeful that this idea that we are some kind of threat to societies moral values will change someday too. I believe it will. I believe we can!

2008-10-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Let's Do The Time Warp Again!!

2008-10-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

After eating at Hamburger Mary's we went to The Rocky Horror Show located at the new location of Theatre Cedar Rapids at Lindale Mall. This is the 75th season for the community theatre. The building was damaged during this years flood and they have temporally moved to the mall location until the other building can be repaired. The theatre originally started when Grant Wood (notice in the film clip, Wood's American Gothic painting) and his friends did a play in Grant Wood's studio at 5 Turner Alley.

It's always interesting to see all the age groups that come to see this show. The show was a good time as always. How couldn't you have fun? It's only once a year that I get to yell out "ASSHOLE!" and "SLUT!" with a large group of people.

I can't wait to vote!

2008-10-22T15:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.craziesformccain.com/

I had to drive by and see this sign that a crazy McCain person put out in his yard here in Cedar Rapids. The article in our paper said that he is aware that he had spelled terrorist wrong. He said he didn't care. I bet he's against public education too. And shouldn't it say, Don't Vote for Obama? It's really is very confusing to me.

Daryl picked up an Obama doll from someone selling them at his workplace. I thought it was pretty cute. The Obama campaign called me the other day and asked if I would like to be an observer at our polling place on election day. I said I would. I'm not really sure what exactly is involved with an observing job. I just thought it would be fun paling around with other socialiost, terriost Obama supporters. I wonder if Iowa will be a pro-American part of the country this year?

After the Flood

2008-09-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive. It's been an interesting summer. I'm kind of feeling really pessimistic about the flood recovery and how long it will take to get this city back to a normal state. I liked living here most of the time. It is kind of boring, but we seemed to find enough to do to keep us busy. We are lucky that our house and work wasn't effected by the flood. And I am thankful about that. It could be a lot worse, but it really sucks living here and I kind of hate it. This city grinds it's teeth at any progress and I'm sure there will be a lot of pain involved in any changes that are made. I hope it will be better after everything gets moving again. I'm just not feeling to optimistic about it.

Back to work, More 2008 Flood Pictures

2008-06-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

It was hard to return to work after having a four day weekend. It was really nice just relaxing around the house. Really, I couldn’t do much with all the roads blocked and the traffic. I thought it best to just stay out of the way of the people that really needed to get around the city.

It is impossible not to be affected by the flood even when your house and job have been spared the waters. I was happy to see that Rockwell is reducing the water usage as some of the businesses around town. They shut off all the sinks and have put large bottles of hand cleaner for us to use. They even shut off the urinals. Rockwell also announced that they would donate 2 million dollars to the flood relief. They are in the process of getting some kind of program together to allow us to help with some of the clean up that will be needed when the waters go down. I’m hoping that I can help with that.

The number of people from work that I know with flood damage keeps growing. I contacted some of them today to let them know that we are there if they need some help. None of them have been able to get into their homes yet. Daryl is going with a friend of his tomorrow to help with what he can, that is, if she is allowed into her house. It’s just so sad, some of the homes have so much damage that people won’t be allowed to enter the homes.

Someone sent me this link today and I thought I would pass it on. The pictures of the downtown area really show the extent of the flooding.

Andrea Lynn Photography

Who Is Running The City? Cedar Rapids 2008 Flood

2008-06-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today the water is receding and people are wanting to get into their homes and businesses to see the damage. Tempers are running high as people are realizing that they might not get in as everything has to be inspected for safety first.

The news has been running 24/7 with information about what is going on. Here is a few minutes of Channel 9 News. It shows some of the damage in the downtown area.

The GOOD news is that the water is up to 50% service instead of the 25% that we have been running at. We were in risk of running out of water in a couple of days if the water usage hadn't be reduced. We still need to conserve, but are allowed to flush the toilets and shower now. We are an odd number of house so we can use water on odd number days and then Even numbers homes can use water on even number of days.

We have been very fortunate in our area to only have lost power for a couple of hours and still have had ALL of our services. That is really amazing when you see the damage everywhere in the city. I feel so lucky considering 25,000 people have been displaced and over 4000 homes damaged.

2008-06-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

2008 Flood, Cedar Rapids

2008-06-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Daryl and I took a walk downtown to look at the flooding. This is just the East side downtown. They have had much more flooding on the west side of town. We started at Mercy hospital that is on 8th Ave and 10th Street.

Mercy Hospital

Downtown Post Office

4th Ave SE

3rd Ave. Cedar Rapids Art Museum, Green Square Park

Second Ave East . Old Dragon gay bar on the left under water too before the Dublin Pub.

First Ave East. Roosevelt Hotel , US Cellular Center.

US Cellular Center Parking Ramp View.

First Ave East. The building with the three advertising posters on it is the Cedar Rapids Community Theatre. Under water too is the historic Paramount Theatre on 3rd Ave.

South Interstate 380

Quaker Oats plant, North View of the river.

Busy Spring

2008-05-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

At last we are getting some nice weather! I love spring. It makes me so happy to see all the plants popping up again.

This has been a busy May, so far. It started out with our union contract being ratified. I get a 4% raise each year for the next five years. The company added a 3% matching funds to our 401k savings plan and our company paid pension plan has stayed the same. Our medical premiums have gone up a bit as expected, but our coverage and deductibles have stayed the same for the next five years. I will find out next week if I get an upgrade in my pay. It would be $1.30 more per hour on top of my 4%. Keep your fingers crossed.

Daryl has been busy too. He has started a part time job being a PartyLite consultant. I was a little skeptical of the whole idea at first. He seems to be doing pretty well and he said he is really enjoying himself. He has had a couple of parties. He earned a couple hundred dollars for each party, so he feels it worth it. If anyone is interested in having a party, give him a call. The PartyLite candles seem to be pretty good quality and they burn for a long time. I think he said they have oil and wax in them. I do like most of the stuff they have. Here is some of his inventory.

Daryl also scored us a free hot tub! Someone at work had a soft side tub that they didn’t want. It’s a few years old, but is in pretty good shape. I was worried it would take up to much space on the patio. It seems fit in pretty well in the corner.

The Final Season

2008-04-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

The movie The Final Season was released today on DVD. Some of the filming was done at a home off of Grande Ave. about four blocks from where we live. It was kind of funny seeing all the filming vehicles lined up the street that night. I should have taken more pictures. The only one I did take was the sign on our street pointing to the direction of the filming. We walked down Grande that night hoping to see one of the actors, but couldn't get very close to see what was going on. I haven't seen the movie yet and I haven't really heard if it was any good or not. I put it at the top of our netflix list this morning.

Thank You Sarah

2008-04-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you Sarah Mason! These are two letters to the editor , that were in the Cedar Rapids Gazette this week. Generally, letters to the editor just plain piss me off. People are always complaining about something. It's just an open forum for bitching about everything. Every once in a while, there is some homophobic jerk that has to write in and complain about some gay person offending them. They think we have some audacity to be out in the open and be ourselves. Occasionally I think about responding, but stop myself because it seems like a waste of time. Anyway, I have this blog to do MY complaining on. Everyone has to pick their own battles. I really appreciate when other people respond to the bigots and stand up for gay people.

April 6, 2008

Drag queens inappropriate at a family parade

I took my kids to what I thought was the family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. Needless to say that my three kids, ages 7, 5 and 2, had a good time chasing all the candy, etc. My problem with the day was the display of a group of scantily dressed drag queens from a particular gay club parading with as much “pride” as possible. To make matters worse, someone was on a microphone promoting drag shows and how hot the queens are. I know about freedom of expression and all that, but perhaps there is a better place than a family parade for these people to express themselves. I for one will not go to another “family event” that is put on by the city unless I can be assured of the content.

Don Zasadny Anamosa

April 12, 2008

Drag queens have equal right to promote group

I’m writing in regard to an April 6 letter about drag queens being inappropriate for a family parade. St. Patrick’s Day is based around liquor and adults getting drunk. If the writer doesn’t see anything inappropriate in taking his young children to an event based around that, there is something wrong. “Those people” are just as human as anyone else and have just as much right to promote their business or organization. I didn’t see anything inappropriate in their dress or the way they showed pride for who they are and the business they supported. I would much rather have my 5-year-old around people who are proud of themselves and don’t judge anyone for being different instead of ignorant people who discriminate against others who might look or act a little differently.

Sarah Mason Cedar Rapids

Doing What You Love

2008-04-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

IPTV is running the show Baking with Julia again. I just love Julia Child. She was such an interesting character. This morning her guests were Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford. They made wheat flour dough pita bread and eastern Mediterranean lamb and tomato bread. I like to bake bread when I have the time. Actually, I have the time this morning if I wanted to do it. I'm just feeling a little lazy. Pita bread looks like it may be fun to try. Cooking and baking are relaxing to me. I guess that's because I don't have to do it every day. If I had to, I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. My mother always thought that I would be a chef. As a kid I was always baking something. I did enjoy doing it, but most of it was because I was hungry all the time and it was just fun to make something to eat. I sometimes think about going to cooking school. At times I wish I would have done that or anything else that would have given me more mobility with my work. I hate the fact that I'm stuck in one place. It's almost like I have to wait for retirement from my job so I can begin something new. And when that happens, I'm afraid that I will be to old to do it! I would be nice work at something you love everyday. I wonder how many people can say they truly love their jobs and they wouldn't want to do anything else? Julia Child when asked what she thought contributed to her success, said that she new her business and she loved what she did. I wish I could say that.

That's My Job

2008-04-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

We had an all employees meeting called today so the new plant manager could introduce himself to the grunts. During the meeting the various lower level managers discussed what their particular department have been building and the future production requirements and growth expectations at our plant.

At the end of all the presentations, they showed us a film about the Future Combat Systems . The film is suppose to show us how the technology of the products we are building and designing may be used to help our military become a more efficient fighting force.

As I watched a soldier in the film point a sensor on his target and shoot the man down. All I could think about was, what the hell am I doing here? I work on a radio system that will be used in all types of military equipment. It was really creepy to think that I could have in the passed, or possibly in the future, build something that may be used to kill someone. I'm sure the film was suppose to make us feel good about building important products that will help protect our soldiers. You can think of it that way, but what I was thinking of, was the war in Iraq. I have always thought the war was unnecessary. And I don't believe that we are any safer today than before the war. I truly wish more members of our congress would have opposed the war. Sadly, it didn't happen and many lives have been lost. We have limited our opportunities to make the world a better place because we are bogged down in an expensive and dangerous war.

I wouldn't say that I'm a pacifist, but I do believe that most wars can be avoided. I feel kind of guilty that I benefit from this war that I oppose. I go to work every day and build electrical equipment that I know nothing about except how it is put together. I never think about what it will be used for. The film today was kind of an in-your-face look at what we really do. I didn't like it. It didn't make me feel safe or comfortable that we are building a stronger military. It just made me think how a few people can use the technology to wage war on people that may not be a threat to us. I don't like the fact that I could have a part in that. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way. It's like the waiter taking the blame for a bad meal instead of the chef. I just make the gun, I didn't put the bullets in and shoot it. It's just a part of my life that I thought I was proud of. The fact that I do a good job at what I build. Now I'm not feeling that. I kind of feel like a hypocrite.

Bush Crys

2008-04-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Something struck me as kind of ironic about two of yesterdays news events and them being held on the same day. I just couldn't help thinking what the right wing talk show hosts would be saying if Bill Clinton had been in office. Would they be debating if his tears were really real or if he had been faking the whole event to gain support for the war? And would they question the whole event of honoring an American hero on the same day that Gen. David Petraeus was testifying about the war?

The Boring Couple

2008-04-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

We really haven't been doing anything too exciting lately. I guess we have fallen into the boring couple mode. Friday night Brenda came over and we had a few drinks and made a fire out back of the house in the chiminea.

Saturday night we met Jeff and Kerry at AL's Red Frog. Crazy Mark (one of Jeff's old friends) was there too with his latest girl friend. Crazy Mark has a new girl about every year or so. He likes his girls a little on the trashy side, if you know what I mean. Jeff introduced me to him about five years ago when he was still married to Wendy. The marriage was on the downhill slide at that time. Wendy is really something to say the least. About two minutes after meeting her she told me, "Mark doesn't f**k me anymore!" I was like...oh, that's nice to know.

Jeff has had this idea for a while that he wanted to go to bingo sometime for a laugh. I'm always game to try something new. Have you ever seen the Roseanne show when she is addicted to bingo? It is really scary to find out that the people at bingo are not an exaggeration! I have never seen so many dabbers (dobbers?) in my life. People have like twenty of them in front of them. I'm not sure why. Are the afraid they might run out of ink? Maybe they have a different color for each game? What ever it is, it's strange. The fashion statement for bingo is a pair of sweats and a baggy T shirt. And people take bingo very seriously too. We were told to be quiet a couple of times. One lady yelled out to everyone, " shut up, it's hard to concentrate!" I really didn't feel that it was that hard to play and talk, but I guess it is. It was fun though. I do think all that smoke shortened my life a bit. I wonder if they will be subject to the smoking ban that just passed?

I found this new blog today. It's like a Who's Who of crime in Cedar Rapids. The lady that has it must live in the few block area that a lot of crap happens . About four or five blocks away from us. Nothing has happened to us. I don't feel like I'm afraid of the area. Daryl doesn't read this blog and I'm NOT going to tell him about the crime blog. It would just freak him out! He told me last night that I left the back door unlocked two nights in a row. I was like Dick Cheney, So? I just forgot and I didn't think it was a big deal. I just figure if someone is going to break in, they will probably do it when we're not home. What do you think?

Looking Foward To A Better Week

2008-04-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I watch some of the CNN special on Martin Luther King. It was interesting seeing what America was like not that long ago. It’s a shame that in some ways we haven’t come very far.

I would celebrate my 4th birthday in July of 1968. It would be another 5 years before I would see a black person other than watching them on TV. It may seem kind of strange to some, but that’s what rural Iowa was and is like.

People fear what they don’t know. I ran into that kind of thinking this week at work. Debbie (I’ll call her) is a coworker of mine. She’s 62 years old and considers herself a person of deep faith. She is a stanch Republican and told me that she only watches FOX news and listens to Rush Limbaugh. She is a very helpful and generous person most of the time. Sometimes this conflixs with some of the things she has to say. Often she will throw out some catch fraise used by one of the talking heads from the right wing. This leads to some heated exchanges from not only me, but other people in the department.

Wednesday, she brought up the subject of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the controversy about some of the things he said. I have to admit that I wasn’t really up on the whole issue. Partly because I haven’t been feeling the best, and the other thing is I try not to get too upset about things until I know more about them. In this case, I was uneducated about what he had or hadn’t said. I asked what exactly he said that upset her? Of course she couldn’t tell me what was said. I told her she should go to You Tube and listen to his speech before making decisions on the subject. She said she had heard the eight or so statements he had made and that was all she needed to know. He was Anti-American and she wasn’t going to vote for him (meaning Obama). Obama said he didn’t believe in those statements, I said. Then she said, “If Obama is elected there is going to be a race war.” I almost fell on the floor after hearing that! She said that’s what the blacks believe. I asked her how she new what all blacks believe and if she believed the same thing as every white person believes? Unfortunately, we were interrupted and the conversation ended. I never got an answer from her. Not that the answer would have made any sense anyway.

All I could think about that day was how amazing it is that we have to talk about this in 2008. That people still think that way. Even with all the changes in our society since the death of Dr. King. Debbie still sees people as groups of them verses us and doesn’t take into account that we are all human and have different opinions. I don’t understand it. She is well traveled and works with people of all different races and backgrounds. She doesn’t seem to have a problem working with anyone. Why is there a blockage of thought when it comes to issues of race? Is it because we tend to separate each other into categories? Is it because of what she listens to on the news and radio and her deep faith, as she calls it? It’s puzzling to me.

I believe I have grown a lot since I came out of the closet many years ago. I think about my prejudice sometimes. I work on not lumping people together. That comes from the fact that we see people lump all gay people together. It’s disturbing to see people misuse Bible scripture to justify discrimination. It’s an old trick to pull things out of contexts. We surround ourselves with friends that except us and we forget about the people don’t.

It would be easy to dismiss what Debbie had said if not for the next day I read an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

CEDAR RAPIDS — An audit of 39 property management companies in Cedar Rapids found that 29 of them discriminated between black and white applicants.

I have often felt that Cedar Rapids has a problem with race, mostly since I moved into my neighborhood almost six years ago. Local people use the words like “The Hood” to describe the area or they refer to our local grocery store as “Ghetto Hy-vee” instead of the 1st Avenue Store. I often correct people when they make those statements, but I continue to hear it all the time. They perpetuate the prejudice by tell new people in town that they should avoid buying or living in certain areas. One engineer at work was told that you should buy anything on any side of town but avoid the SE side. It’s funny that some of the wealthiest people in town live in SE Cedar Rapids. What they are really saying is stay away from an area with minorities. Cedar Rapids is prodomitaly white and has a low crime rate compared to other cities of its size. What is their fear based on?

I hope that this year the election will open our eyes to the work we have ahead of us. Are we really willing to change and elect a woman or a black man as president? The policy differences are clear. We have one side looking towards the future to what America should be and can be. The other side is trying to hold us back and to conserve the past that at times have not been good for everyone. I’m optimistic that we can move forward. It has been depressing the last 7 years watching this country make the mistakes it has made and stagnating to the degree it has. My hope is that Martin Luther King’s dream is still alive and that we will continue to make and enforce the laws to protect ALL people in America. What I can do is keep speaking up when I hear people saying things that are divisive and discrimitory and try to keep myself in check.

And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

-Martin Luther King-

Sick Again!

2008-03-30T06:59:00.001-07:00

I have been sick this last week. Unfortunately, not sick enough to miss work. I feel fine when I get up in the morning, but by the end of the day I feel like I'm on the verge of getting the flu.

Two people have been off from work this week with the flu. I must have some form of that. This is the third time I have been sick this year!

At least our weather is getting a little warmer. We did get snow the other morning. It didn 't last. Everything seems so brown outside. The roads and grass are full of the road sand they used for all the snow we had. It sounds like the spring rains are coming next week and maybe a little snow again. That's not the kind of weather that makes a person feel better.

Well, I have been up for a few hours and I feel like I need a nap. I guess I should head back to bed and rest.

campaign buttons

2008-03-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

I was just browsing the campaign stores and noticed the GLBT buttons. I think the Obama button is the better looking of the two, but I must say the OUT for Hillary is a pretty cool slogan. It made me giggle.

The Democrats are much better at merchandising. Needless to say, the John McCain store didn't have any GLBT buttons. It would have probably frightened me if they did.

Hate

2008-03-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Every so often I go to AOL to read about an issue I'm interested in. Today I read about the gay Iranian teen trying to keep from being deported back to Iran after his boyfriend had been executed for being gay.

After the articles they have this poll and I always put my vote in. Have you ever scrolled down and read the horrible comments some people leave? It really doesn't matter what the story is, someone is always leaving a disgusting comment. I guess I'm more sensitive to the gay issue. But read an article about a Muslim and you will see just as much hate speech.

Are there that many homophobic, bigoted hate mongering people out there, or is it just AOL attracting them?

It frightens me sometimes to think about it.

Congressman King

2008-03-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have tried to load the video comment that Congressman Steve King made about Barack Obama’s middle name. I just can’t get my Youtube to work. So, you’re just going to have to go look at the video yourself.

I just wanted everyone to know that Congressman Steve King represents the 5th district of Iowa and NOT the 2nd district that we live in.

I think I will be dancing in the streets when George Bush and Republicans like Steve King are out of office!

We Have Our Garden Plot

2008-03-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

We signed our lease for a city garden plot this past week. I may have gone a little crazy with ordering seeds? The plots are 20’ wide and 50’ long. I just can’t wait until spring gets here! It has been such a long, long winter.

CORN- SWEET GATTA HAVE IT HYBRID PKT
PUMPKIN GURNEY’S GIANT MAGIC PKT
CARROT TENDERSWEET PKT/G
PEA SNOW OREGON SUGAR PODII PKT/G
LETTUCE BLEND PKT

RADISH CHAMPION PKT/G
SPINACH BLOOMSDALE LONG STANDING PKT/G
BEAN BUSH FLAVOR SWEET PKT -2 OZ
FL- SUNFLOWER LEMON QUEEN
ZINNIA THUMBELINA/G
RED ONION SETS PINT
CUCUMBER HYBRID MISS PICKLER PKT
EGGPLAN DUSKY HYBRID PKT
FENNEL BRONZE PKT
HERB OREGANO PKT
HERB DILL MAMMOTH PKT

We will still have to get tomato and pepper plants.

Still Fighting For Our Rights In Iowa

2008-03-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

After I read Scooterville’s post on the gains made in Washington on the domestic partnership rights. I thought I would give you an update on what's happening here in our lovely bitter cold state of Iowa.

This week our Republican friends decided to try an obscure procedure to bring about a vote on a constitutional amendment to declare marriage between only a man and a woman. They failed to get this job done. As you already may know, Iowa has had a challenge on its 1998 Defense of Marriage Act. A Polk County District judge ruled that it was unconstitutional. The decision currently is under review with the Iowa Supreme Court.

Iowa has a Democratic majority in both houses of government and a Democratic Governor Chet Culver. Governor Culver said “he doesn’t want to take action before the Supreme Court rules. However, if the court upholds a lower court ruling in favor of gay marriage, he said the legislature can, and should respond quickly. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect marriage between a man and a woman.” We have no friend in Governor Culver.

It’s going to be an ongoing battle here in Iowa to gain marriage rights. I'm sure the Republicans will bring this up again around election time.

4 boxes

2008-03-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

You know, I haven’t met a Girl Scout ( with cookies) that I didn’t like.

Ann

2008-03-01T04:15:00.000-08:00

I have had the good fortune to have great friends. It seems that the right person often comes into my life when I need them.

Ann is one of those friends. I don’t see or hear from her that often anymore, but she will always have a place in my heart. She was a shoulder to lean on when I needed it.

We were the only two people in the receiving department on second shift. The job was pretty mundanely boring to say the least. We had to unpack the customer returns, log the information into the computer and then place them in an assigned storage location.

To pass the time we started talking, sharing music and just rambling on about anything that came up in our life. I talked about my past and Ann shared her interesting life. At that time I wasn’t out to my family, so I wasn’t out at work either. When I finally got up the courage to tell Ann I was gay. All she said was, “Tom I already know, now what’s wrong?” After working with me for a few months, she knew that something was bothering me.

I told her that I was ready to tell my parents and I didn’t know what I was going to say or how I was going to tell them. Ann just listened. All she really said was that I should do what I thought was best and it would all work out in the long run. I decided after spilling my fears to her. That I was going to tell my parents that weekend. I was really tired of hiding and I wanted them to know from me and not find out from someone else.

That Monday after I returned to work, Ann was waiting to find out how everything had gone. I told her that it was fine. My parents had done what I should have known they would do. They said that they loved me and that it didn’t matter. Everything would be alright.

Ann said that she knew it would turn out that way. I asked her how she knew that? She said, “Parents love their children and will do anything for them. Unless, they’re fucked-up or something.” It was the first time I ever heard Ann use any kind of curse word and I couldn’t help bursting into laughter! We spent the rest of the night talking about my new life.

Ann, thank you once again from the bottom of my heart. You made a difficult time in my life better. And I will always love you for that.

2008-02-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

On My Dark Days

Sadness overcomes me
A veil of darkness
A well of tears
The ache of heart
Emptiness.

Will no one notice me?
Will no one care?
Will no one hear me cry?
Invisible.

Everything is wrong with me
Nothing is wrong with me
Insecurity.

O'Reilly Says Arianna Huffington No Different Than Nazis/KKK

2008-02-28T12:11:00.001-08:00

All I could do was laugh after seeing this last night. They actually pay this guy for comments like that? I guess we shouldn’t go off and form a lynching party for him just yet; as he said Arianna Huffington was no different than a Nazi instead of just calling her one.

Bill, you’re no different than an ass hole!

Tax time again

2008-02-26T03:44:00.000-08:00

2007

Tom: Daryl, why don’t you let me do your taxes? I already have Turbo Tax loaded on the computer.

Daryl: I have done my own taxes for years. I’m perfectly capable of doing them myself.

Tom: OK, I just thought it would be much easier if I just did them.

2008

This year Daryl used TaxAct instead of doing them himself using the tax books. I guess we know where his 2008 tax rebate check is going.

MadTV - Wizard of Oz (Alternate Ending)

2008-02-24T18:50:00.001-08:00

"Are you out of your F****** Mind?!"

Dreaming Of Remodeling

2008-02-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

I love the Drake lighting fixture from Rejuvenation. I wish we had a place for it. On their web site, they have a section on customer idea and advice that you can go to, and watch videos and see photos that people have sent in about what they have done with some of the lighting fixtures and house parts. I would love to remodel our bathroom and turn it back to the style that the house had 93 years ago. The claw foot tub would be awesome!

Our house was built in 1915 and has the Arts and Crafts elements. I fell in love with the woodwork when I looked at the house. The fireplace and built in buffet and cabinets made my heart flutter. I overlooked the amount of work it takes to keep an old house together. We spend money every year to maintain and fix problems. Most of the major things we have done are on the exterior of the house. We put in fencing, a retaining wall, and patio and painted the house and garage. We have done some things on the inside like painting and refinishing the hardwood floors, but the major remodeling hasn’t been done. The kitchen and bathroom need to be remodeled. They are livable and will probably stay the way they are for a while.

We sometimes bat around the idea of finding something different, that doesn’t require as much work. The longer we stay in the house the more comfortable I get living here. I’m fairly sure that we will stay here until we retire and then hopefully move to a milder climate. For the time being we will continue to improve and do what we can afford.

"Welcome to my house! Enter freely, Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring." - Count Dracula

I would like to have that stenciled on the wall in our entry way. I think it would be a hoot!

Latter Days vid - Everything

2008-02-23T06:04:00.001-08:00

I'm feeling a little romantic this morning. This is such a great movie!

Blood Drive at Work

2008-02-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

I can't give blood today because of who I sleep with. This really kind of bugs me. I understood the rule 20 years ago when they didn’t know as much about HIV, but today I think it’s a rule that should be changed. I guess they don’t believe that straight people can be infected with HIV?

The Red Cross is at work today because the blood banks are running low. It would be nice to help out. I don't think a person has to "Out" themselves because the want to give blood. Really, think of all the straight men and women that have sex with tons of people. I think a good old fashioned slut is just as much of a risk as any gay man. Maybe they should have that question on the form. How many people have you slept with? That way they could determine if you’re at a larger risk. You’re a whore; we don’t want your blood!

I guess I had to give up donating blood for sex. The choice was really pretty easy.

Cruelty By The Weak

2008-02-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

I thought only happy cows came from California? This company didn’t care about the animals or our food supply. Got Mad Cow?

California packer makes largest U.S. beef recall

Snowing again

2008-02-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

1:30 pm

I have the first round of snow shoveling finished and it doesn't look like I did a thing as it's snowing like a bitch outside. The snow is so wet and heavy and I'm glad I have some of it finished as it would really be bad if I let it wait.

Jeff and Kerry just called. They are starting out from Kansas City. They were going to stay over, but changed their minds and thought they would give it a try since it has stopped there. They are hoping that they can at least make it to Des Moines.

We had house guest again last night. Daryl's Daughter-in-law Charlene and her mother Marilyn. They both work at Cottage Grove with Daryl. I'm sure they will stay tonight as they won’t want to drive back to Keystone tonight.

I started to make a pot of bean soup. I always think that soup and a sandwich is a great meal on a cold snowy day.

One spoiled cat

2008-02-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Jeff had to go to Kansas City for some continuing education classes and I was asked to check in on their baby while they were gone. Colby is supposed to be on a diet. Jeff claims that he has lost a couple of pounds. I'm not seeing it.

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Last night Daryl had a Candle-lite party at our house. Surprisingly, 26 people showed up and purchased over $1100 worth of products.

I was thinking that the caramel apple martinis he made may have helped the sales numbers. People left feeling pretty happy.

It was nice waking up this morning in a house that smelled like a candle store.

Just thinking

2008-02-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

I made a mistake today and looked at my 401k retirement savings today. How depressing it is when the market is down. It seems that it takes forever for your money to grow but overnight you lose a bunch. I guess that's how the game is played, you can'tbe up all the time. I have to consider that I'm buying at a lower price and it will all balance out in the long run. At least that's what they say.

It would be nice once in a while to know your getting smarter as you get older. I just feel I’m getting more and more confused.

Who's tired of the snow?

2008-02-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

Free Souvenir

2008-02-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

I'm a matchbook hoarder. Everywhere we go I have to pick up matchbooks. It upsets me when a bar or restaurant doesn't have them. I started doing this about 10 years ago. I have a jar stuffed with matchbooks from all over the place. It's a souvenir for me and they come in handy when the lights go out. I'm just worried with all the smoking bans going on all over the country that it will kill the matchbook advertising business. I have sympathy for anyone that has to work in a smoking environment. I wouldn’t want to work in smoke either, it would really suck. But I would hate to have to stop collecting too. What's a guy to do?

13

2008-02-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

13 inches is a lot of snow! I stayed working until around 6 yesterday. Rockwell had the snow policy in effect, which means they have work if you can make it in, but it doesn't count against you if you don't show up. In the afternoon a lot of people headed home. I figured that I was at work, so I might as well stay. It sure would have been nice if they had told us that BEFORE we came to work.

The snow sure is pretty if you don't have to go anywhere. I am getting tired of digging out. Sounds like more snow to come today. That f**king groundhog!

Weekend in Chicago

2008-02-06T03:48:00.000-08:00

My best friend Jeff's wanted to ride the train into Chicago for his birthday, so he invited four of us to go along with him and Kerry to celebrate. The train really isn't the most efficient way for us to get to the windy city on a normal day because we had to drive south an hour and ½ out of the way to Mt. Pleasant to board. The funny part is, with the bad weather, we may have canceled or plans if we hadn’t taken the train. Even though the train ran late, I still think we wouldn’t have gotten there that much faster driving. I’m sure no one would have wanted to drive that distance with the weather being bad.

We stayed at The City Center downtown. After arriving we had a few hours to relax before us heading out to dinner at 9 pm at The Raw Bar. It was one of those nights that everything fell into place. The food, entertainment, service and company made it a night that I will never forget. Later we all went our separate ways, some went back to the hotel, some dancing and Daryl and I ended up at the John Hancock building having a couple martinis’ on the 96th floor.

Sunday morning we went to the House of Blues before checking out of the hotel and heading for the train station. Every Sunday they feature live gospel music and an all-you-can-eat southern style buffet. We got a little Jesus and had our fill of great food.

Of course the weather turned bad again on the way home. It was a little scary driving home from the train station, but Kerry handled it well and we made it home at around 9 pm on Sunday night. What a wonderful weekend we had!

The train station at Mt. Pleasant.

Mary

2008-02-02T04:51:00.000-08:00

Cedar Rapids is getting a Hamburger Mary's. Will this work here? We can barely keep a gay bar open.

HOW SAD

2008-01-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

I just got home from work and got the news. How sad that Heath Ledger was found dead today.

Cold weather

2008-01-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

I'm just trying to stay warm! I haven't been feeling the best the last couple of days and this cold weather isn't helping. At least it's Friday!

Assassination Vacation

2008-01-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of a history buff. I love vacations that have a little bit of history thrown into the relaxation. Not every vacation, but it's nice every once in a while to visit a historic place or museum. Daryl's eyes rolled when I suggested that we should try to make it a point to visit all the presidential libraries. I'm not like Sarah Vowell, fixated on the assassinations of the presidents, but I do find some of the history she talks about fasinating, espescally when odd things happen. The truth is almost always more interesting than fiction.

One of the places that I have to get to is Washington DC. My friend Jeff had suggested that we go next summer. I would like to go, but I feel it would be more enjoyable for me if we would wait until the current occupant of the oval offices is back in Texas. I really wouldn't want to visit the White House unless I could protest outside of it against him.

Sarah brings up in the book that she is sort of amazed with the fact that no one has tried to assassinate President Bush. She and I both agree that it would be a great mistake. What a big mistake it would be to have him turn into a martyr. I think my Dad put it best as to why someone hasn't made that leap to harm him. " Even crazy people know that it would be a mistake to have Dick Cheney as president!" How true, things could always be worse.

On to my next Book:

3 of a kind

2008-01-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

Every day I’m greeted by all the animals when I get home. It’s kind of cute to have them all come over in their own way and welcome me home. Sometimes Daryl half-jokingly rants about how HE’S the one who feeds them and cleans up after them and they all love me best. I didn’t know we were competing, but I’m happy because apparently I’m winning!

All the pets have their own rituals. Baby Kitty is a lap cat. She likes to be on you or next to you most of the time. She loves people and rarely ever hides when guest come over. She’s great around children too. She is our monitor when the water bowl is getting low. If it’s half full, or half empty, depending how you look at it, she lets us know by sitting in front of it until we fill it up to the top. I guess she is the glass is half empty type of cat? One time Daryl had this idea that he was going to train her to use the toilet. He found some crazy web site on the internet that gave instructions as to how to train the cat. The theory is that you move the litter box every few days a little closer to the toilet and then, eventually you place it on the toilet seat. After the cat gets use to using the box on the toilet, you remove the box. Supposably, the cat will use the toilet after that. I thought the whole idea was just gross. After all, who wants to go to use the toilet after the cat? And you just know they won’t flush! The whole thing came to a tragic end when we went on vacation. He was midway in the training process, the box was setting beside the toilet and she hadn’t had a problem with the box moving every other day. Sometime during our trip the water line on the back of the toilet broke. It filled up the litter box with water. Poor Baby Kitty, she was traumatized by the whole incident. She was waiting by the front door when we got home and started meowing at us to let us know what kind of hell she had been through. It took about two weeks to get her going again in the litter box, instead of squatting in one of the house plants.

Cole, our youngest cat, loves to run and play all the time. He is always jumping out from somewhere or hiding under something and grabbing your feet when you walk by. He loves to run at a full sprint from one floor to the next, up and down the stairs. Most often he chooses to do this in the middle of the night. He’s not as friendly when it comes to guests. He tends to hide until they go away. A couple of weeks ago, Cinder and Cole started playing together. They will play for about ten minutes every day. It’s cute watching them, watch the video.

Cinder our dog has really changed since our other dog died last year. She is a lot less hyper than she used to be. She still is a nervous wreck when it’s storming out side, but on a daily bases she has slowed down on her excessive barking. She is a little dog that thinks she’s a pit-bull. If left alone she will go upstairs to the bedroom and look out the windows and bark at everyone and everything that walks down the street. Even if they are 3 block away. It’s annoying! When not barking, her favorite pastime is sleeping. Most dogs get excited when you ask them if they want to go outside or play fetch. Cinder gets excited when you ask if she wants to go to bed. She loves her bed!

It’s kind of nice to have pets around. They always seem happy to have you home. That’s nice.

a couple of books read over the holiday

2008-01-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

Most of my Christmas break was spent in bed trying to get over strep throat. I did manage to get a couple of short books read. “A Simple Path” has been sitting on my self for years. The book is about the life and work of Mother Teresa and her mission to serve the poorest of the poor. She embodies what I believe Christianity should be about. A simple message, Love one another as you love yourself.

From the sign on the wall of the children’s home in Calcutta:

ANYWAY

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered,

LOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies,

SUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,

BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight,

BUILD ANYWAY

People really need help but may attack you if you help them,

HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth,

GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY

"Into the Wild” is the story of Christopher McCandless who gave away his money and possessions and went off into the wilderness to be by himself. I have always had a fantasy of taking off and leaving my life behind and starting over, creating a new life. My feelings have changed over the years and I am very content at where I am in my life. For one thing, I don’t think I could survive eight hours in the wilderness on my own! Most of these feelings came from the fact that I didn’t face up to who I was and dealing with being gay. I guess in the back of my mind, running away from the problem was easier than dealing with it. I took the daring path of venturing into the wild gay bar. I wouldn't recommend the bar to anyone else, but for me I was able to meet gay people and finally accept who I was. Later I realized that I wasn't hanging out in bars when I was a straight man, why was I hanging out in a bar because I was gay. It was a growing process and a necessary step that I had to take. I'm glad I faced my fears and didn't run away.

IMAX CLOSING

2008-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Will the closing of the IMAX even be missed in Cedar Rapids? I may have been at the IMAX a total of 7 times in the passed 7 years. I never ever seemed to be in the right spot in that theater. The regular box office films really didn't work for me. Everyone was just too big for my tastes. I felt like I was missing something because I found myself focusing on something in the background.

I'm sure that it would have been more successful in cedar rapids if it has some kind of bar attached to it. We're big on buffets too. As long as it's not too expensive. All they would have had to do was give you a free $5 slot play at any of the Casinos with every ticket and I bet they would have been filled to capacity every night!

Caucus tonight

2008-01-03T04:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight two 43 year old caucus virgins will head to our precinct spots. We are anxious to vote for the candidates we would like to see as the next president of the United States! I’m caucusing for Obama and Daryl is backing Hillary.

My top issues:

. Ending the war in Iraq and mending the foreign policy blunders of the Bush years.
· Universal health care - There is no excuse that we don't have everyone covered.
· Environmental issues/ conservation, less dependence on oil.
· Gay, lesbian and Transgender rights.
· The Economy - Tax fairness, protecting the middle class.
· Education improvements and making it affordable for all.

Obama in Cedar Rapids 1-2-o7

The Clinton's in Cedar Rapids. 7-4-07

He made me an Elf.

2007-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

This is what Daryl does on his day off. I really need to find him something to do.

-------------------------------------------------

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone. Tom and I would like to give you a Christmas dance!!! Check it out at :

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1481725198

the 15th of December

2007-12-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

The snow has started to fall again this morning. At least it isn't ice. Last night I got the SUV stuck in the driveway, that is until I put it in 4 wheel drive. We have this big ice hump at the end of the driveway. The snow plow always piles everything back up after you clear it off. This last week, with the ice we never did get it completely cleared. Now we will have snow on top of it again.

We picked up our living room furniture last night. I found this set on the buy and sell sight at work. This guy was getting a divorce and moving to a new house and needed to part with his leather furniture. It turns out his house was right across the street from my friend Jeff's house. I think this furniture fits our living room a lot better. The other furniture we had is really too big for the room. Now we have to find someone to buy the other set.

Book Club:

Book club meeting was held at Danial Arthur's on 3rd Ave Thursday night. The food was great, but the service kind of was slow. I think when they automatically add the gratuity the server doesn't seem to work as hard. Why would they when they know they are going to receive a tip no matter what they do? The service wasn't that big of deal, as we had a good time exchanging books for Christmas and discussing next years plans.

The Christmas Train received a 2.4 rating from us. We try to pick a holiday themed book to read, but it seems that we struck out again with this one.

Ice, Ice and More Ice

2007-12-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

The storm coated everything with a thick layer of ice. I think it looks very beautiful. To bad it is so very destructive to the trees in an older neighborhood. I was glad that when I got home I didn’t find any branches in our yard or driveway

We lost power for about 6 hours. Most of that time I was at work and it didn’t affect me very much, because we never lose power at work. After getting home from work, I helped our neighbors with clearing some of the ice off their sidewalks. They had our half of the driveway cleared off and I thought that was super nice of them to help us like that. When I finally got back inside to the dark house, found the flashlight, candles and the matches, the power came back on. Perfect timing!

Daryl has been off on his annual family deer hunting event. Normally he would have been home every night, but with the icy weather, he has been staying with his parents. He got his deer on Monday. They hunt all week until they get the total number of deer for the tags they have. As of today, they still have four tags left. I'm not sure how they get around so well with all this ice all over the ground.

Great Start this Morning.

2007-12-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

You know it’s going to be a bad Monday when you don’t miss the bus, but the bus misses you. Yeah, it went right by me without stopping this morning! I guess I should have jumped up and down instead of just standing at the bus stop with my arm out?

So, I catch the next bus and get to the door at work and realize I don’t have my badge to get in. I had to walk down to the other end of the building to find a guard. It has to get better, don’t you think?

Listen to what they say

2007-12-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

With the Iowa Caucus on January 3rd this year we have been inundated with phone calls about events with the candidates and who we will be supporting. Oprah Winfrey was in Cedar Rapids yesterday and after getting home late from my niece’s wedding last night, we had a message that Bill Clinton will be in Iowa City On December 5th. It seems every day one of the candidates are in the area on both sides of the political spectrum. Living in Iowa all my life, it seems kind of funny, I haven't ever had the desire to participate in the Iowa Caucus before. It just seemed a little intimidating to me. I always felt you had to be a hard core political member to attend the event. This year I'm thinking that my voting in the main election isn't enough. We have seen that frightening people to the polls is all it takes for a fundamentalist nut bag want-to-be dictator to be elected to two terms as president. What will it take for us to wake up?

I have always been politically aware, but apathetic when participating in any political events other than voting. I am a registered Democrat. This has not always been the case. For many years I had the Independent label. I didn’t vote for President Clinton the first term. Of course, I am glad that Bill Clinton was elected. The first Bush was a totally different president than the current Bush. At least he had the common sence that we didn't need to invade the country to change its government. With the fundamentalist Christens taking over the Republican Party, I found that my home was on the side of the Democrats. It just seemed that I was more represented and welcomed.

Clinton and Obama are my two top picks. I was disappointed that I couldn't attend this last Oprah/Obama event, but family always comes first. I have been to a Clinton rally and I am impressed by her. I think she would be a good president if she is able to get elected. Well, who wouldn't after what we have? The only problem I have is all this anti-Clinton crap that will be rehashed again. I don’t really understand the right wing hate mongering fest they have with her, but it is a fact that we have to deal with. If Obama could clear the air and bring back some rational debate about moving the country into a sane path without rehashing all this red state verses blue state shit, I for one would welcome the change. I’m tired of feeling that I am some evil person for wanting the same rights as other Americans and that being gay means that we are not moral people and have no value in our country. Romney and Huckabee are the two Republican candidates that disturb me the most on that side. A president should represent all Americans not just Christians. It perplexes me that Christan's who have a overwhelmingly majority in this country somehow feel that they are under some an assault is beyond my comprehension. Fear, fear, fear. We are frightened of everything and most of it is just ignorance and prejudice .

Last week I was watching a program about the presidential libraries on PBS. Bill Clinton made a statement that really kind of made me think. He said that he believed that most people running for office are honest people that want to change government for the better as to their idea of better. If you listen to them they will tell you what kind of government policies they will try to implement and they do what they say they will do. We need to listen to them even if we get tired of all the commercials and phone calls. It may be a pain, but the consequence of elections are real. Hopefully,we have learned this lesson with this current President.

Grumpy Old Men

2007-12-02T09:13:00.001-08:00

Shoveling out of our snow/ice storm reminded me of this movie that I love. "Eat my Shorts!" If you don't like it. LOL

The Tree is Up

2007-12-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

Daryl's family moved up their family tree cutting weekend this year and I didn't get to go. This year and it fell on the day that I always help Jeff decorate for his Christmas party. I was finished over there just in time to help him unload our tree. After seeing the tree that Daryl picked out this year, I think I should have been with him to help. He went a little over the top with getting a tree much to large for our house. The angel is scraping her poor little head on the ceiling this year.

No gifts under the tree yet.

The lights and stockings are up around the fireplace (I wish we could get the fire working). Cole is checking out the decorations in the lower left of the picture.

Daryl went shopping for the grand kids already. The bags of gifts will sit around until about a day before they come over for the holidays and then he will stuff the stockings and wrap the gifts.

Gifting

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's global warming , or my clock is all messed up, but I seem to have gone through my seasonal depression early this year. I'm looking forward to the holidays and the cold weather really isn't bothering me that much. What a change from a month ago. I may even decide to venture out to the stores early this year. I usually only Christmas shop a couple of days before Christmas. Daryl does mostly all the shopping for our house. He doesn't seem to mind it as much as I do. I just hate it. I don't want to exchange any gifts this year. I ran the thought by Daryl and I don't think he is going to go for the idea, as he didn't say anything in reply. I always take a no reply as a "NO" from him. I'm thinking he is going to get me a gift even if I didn't get him one. That means that I'll get him something too. It's always very awkward when someone gives you a gift and you don't have one to return. It makes me feel like I am either really lazy or just don't care. I guess when I think about it, I'm not against us exchanging a gift, it's just I don't feel the need to go all out and get a lot of gifts. We should be giving one another gifts all through the year. OK, now that I have that settled, I wonder what I'm going to get him?

Black Friday 2007

2007-11-23T09:36:00.001-08:00

Black Friday

I am once again boycotting Black Friday. I refuse to spend any money on this day. I’m sure some people enjoy running around trying to find a bargain. My feeling is, if you have to stand in line for 12 hours or more to save a couple hundred dollars on a $1600 flat screen TV. Maybe, you really shouldn’t be buying that TV in the first place. And hell, if you just wait a few weeks, you will probably get the same deal after they put the item on sale after Christmas, avoiding the mess of killing someone to get it. I know fighting people in lines to get the best material things is what people think Christmas is about, but I would rather not deal with all the pushing and shoving that happens every year and just sit at home and spend my time relaxing. Call me crazy!

Turkey Day

Yesterday, Daryl and I did the two family events. First we went to my sister Joanne’s house for dinner. About ½ of the family was there. That includes my parents, brothers, sisters, their kids and some of their kids. About 45 people this year. It was nice getting together again as I don’t see everyone that often anymore. Everyone has busy lives and it takes a major event to get my large family together. Some I see at Thanksgiving and some at Christmas. You never know who will show up. We had the usually turkey dinner with all the fixings laid out buffet style. I did really well with not over eating this year. Yea, for me!

Next it was off to Daryl’s parents, a smaller group of 10 people. Once again the usually turkey dinner and all the fixings. Daryl’s parents had a bar in Vinton, Iowa for sixteen years and his sister brought a film for us to watch of the closing night of their business in 1993. It was hilarious watching it and seeing how everyone had changed in fourteen years. His sister has lost 100 pounds since then and Daryl was sporting a beard and slicked back hair. He appeared to have spent most of that night dancing with all the ladies. Wow, how times have changed. Just imagine how our lives would have been if both of us had remained closeted.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Don’t shop too hard today.

EVITA -

2007-11-21T09:49:00.001-08:00

Listening to Evita is helping me pass the time at work today.

Flu memories

2007-11-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

My left arm is still hurting from the flu shot I got on Friday after work. The shot itself I hardly felt at all. I wonder why it feels like someone has punched you in the arm? I have been getting the flu shot on a regular bases the last few years. The thing is, it's so convenient to get, because it's provided free by our health care plan and they come right to work and give it to us. If it saves me from getting the flu, it's well worth it in my book.

It's been many years since I had the flu and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I felt like I was going to die the last time I had it. I remember being up all day and night trying to get enough air to breathe. I was living by myself in a one room apartment in Manchester, Iowa. I had sold my first home and wasn't ready to buy another one yet. At that time you had to reinvest your capital gains into another home or pay taxes on it. I think I had a year to do it, but at that time I hadn't found anything yet and was living in an unfinished apartment. I basically had a mattress to sleep on for furniture and that was it. I had everything else in storage. What a depressing place it was. I guess if you have to get the flu, you might as well have it in a dark lonely apartment as anywhere else. I was so happy when I moved out of that place into a bright clean home. I hadn't thought about that place in a long time. I guess the memory of the place will always be tied to the flu.

I hope my arm is feeling better tomorrow. I hope I'm not getting the flu!

2007-11-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling a little depressed lately and may have lost some of my zest for life. It happened the same time the weather started changing. I took the same journey that the morning glory plant in front of our house has taken. A few weeks ago the plant was filled with many bright beautiful blue flowers, but now sadly, they are all shriveled.

What to do? My plan has been to get up and go to work every morning and try to get through the day. It has been working. These last few days I am starting to feel like myself again. I am looking forward to the holidays coming up this month and next. I have four days off for Thanksgiving and ten off around Christmas/New Years. I will spend them by doing as little as possible. I’m sure something will come up, but it is going to be nice not having to go to work. It makes me happy just thinking about that.

PHONE BILL

I keep telling Daryl that I don’t need a cell phone anymore. I know it sounds strange, especially now that everyone has one and it seems to be a necessity for most. It’s not for me. Everyone that calls me knows enough to call the house phone or my work number if they need to reach me. Sometimes, I will have a message on my cell phone for days and I won’t know it, because it has been left on the counter at home in the charging mode and I haven’t bothered to check it. I hate having to carry it around. I use it mostly to keep track of the time and make sure I’m not late when I need to catch the bus in the mornings and evenings getting to work. When I think about it, do I really need a cell phone? How did I go from using a phone all the time to hardly using it at all? Have I become too isolated and haven’t enough people that need or want to talk to me?

Daryl and I share a cell phone plan. He used 1192 minutes. Look what I used!

2007-09-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

I have been anti-blogger lately. I don't know what is happening, but every time I try to save a post, it somehow disappears after I get most of it finished. That is kind of pissing me off. Seems I have been in a pissy mood lately anyway. No use blogging out negative crap when you don't have to I guess. It might be nice to vent, but it really seems a waste of time to blog a bunch of negative crap when your just hating life at the moment.

Please take note:

2007-09-08T06:40:00.003-07:00

Dear people of Cedar Rapids,

If you insist on driving on Northwest on 19th Street and turning right on to first Ave SE, please take note:

1) When turning right you enter a turning lane that is clearly marked ONLY with an arrow pointing to your right. That means that lane is for turning right on to First Avenue.

2) There is NO... let me repeat this, NO stop sign or yield sign of any kind! Stop coming to a complete stop!

3) First Avenue has 3 lanes of traffic for 2 blocks from 19th street to Cottage Grove Ave. This gives you plenty of time to merge over to the other lane if you so desire. There is solid white line in fact to let you know that you shouldn't merge over at the point you first turn into the lane.

4) If you insist on stopping in the turning lane and backing up traffic, I have no choice but to act like prick and lay down on my horn until you start moving! It is not something I normally do, but you people are really starting to piss me off!

5) I encourage all pedestrian to point at you and make you feel like an idiot should feel.

Thank you for letting me vent. Having someone do this every day is really wearing me down.

Driving Directions from [200-299] 19th St Se, Cedar Rapids, IA to 1920 1st Ave Ne, Cedar Rapids, IA

2007-09-08T06:40:00.002-07:00

call it what you may, just give me the same rights

2007-09-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

This was staring me in the face this morning as I read the Opinion page in this Sundays Cedar Rapids Gazette newspaper. It's under the headline Your View (for some reason View wouldn't copy).

I would have actually expected the number for NO to be much higher in this conservative community.

It just goes to show that we have a long way to go for equal rights.

My personal opinion is that The State has no right giving anyone a license to get married. I believe that it is a religious commitment between two people and the state has no business being involved.

Because of past history, The State of Iowa and every other state in the union decided to take peoples money and issue them a license that meant nothing. As time when by the license did become very important and meaningful because it was given value to claiming property and other government entitlements and rights in court proceedings.

I honesty wonder how people can really believe that a society can discriminate against a group of people and deny them the rights that others have?

People confuse the the religious aspect to marriage with the legal rights of marriage. If you want to be involved in a church that doesn't except gay marriage, so be it. But, don't deny gay people the right to the same benefits that straight people have!

Instead of making laws to restrict marriage between a man and a women. Why not change the whole marriage license to a Domestic Partnership license or what every you want to call it for everyone? I know some of you may think that it is a cop-out and we should be entitled to the same marriage license as everyone else has now. I say let the churches deal with God and who is married and who is going to hell. Church and state should be separated. That way I don't have to be subjected to that religious dogma. I can feel like I have the same value as every straight person in this society as far as my government is concerned!

Water Feature

2007-09-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Friends of ours, Jeff and Kerry have their pond showcased on the Eastern Iowa Pond Society web page. We love going over to their house to hang out on their deck next to the pond and listen to the water and watch the fish.

We decided to a add a water feature to our patio area. I'm not sure what we are going to do with the fish and plants when it starts to get cold.

I love sitting out back and reading a book with the sound of water running in the background. It's really peaceful. I'm loving this weather right now!

Michael moving out

2007-09-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Michael moved into his new apartment last night. The apartment was furnished with a Murphy bed, dresser and a chair. I guess you can't ask for much when the rent is only $280 a month with heat and water paid. The apartment is located on 4th Ave SE in an older home that has been divided into 4 apartments. We have the house to ourselves again now!

After moving Michael we went out to eat at Al's Red Frog with Michael and Jeremy. There is nothing like good American bar food! I had the Frog burger and an order of Jalapeno Poppers. I only ended up eating one popper, because everyone else seemed to gobble them down before I had time to get another. The bill only came to $42 with a round of drinks for four people! The bartender didn't charge us for the last round because he said we waited too long to get the poppers. We always seem to have a good time every time we stop down at Al's.

On the way home we stopped by for a martini at Daniel Arthurs's on 3rd Ave. I had the nuts and berries martini. YUM, YUM! They have an outdoor area off the bar and almost every night they have live music. It's a great place to go and unwind after a long day or on the way home as we did.

Below are a few pictures I took of the Rotary Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin. Last weekend we went to see the Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley. We thought we would check out this garden since we were in town and had a few hours to kill. It turned out to be a wonderful surprise! It is a very beautiful place and my pictures don't do it justice. I wish Cedar Rapids had a public garden like this.

Should I trust her?

2007-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about participating in the Second Annual Mayor's Bike Ride on Monday.

I'm might have to reconsider, with some crazy old women riding around hitting people on bicycles!

Cedar Rapids' Mayor Hits Bicyclist, Fined
By Danielle Plogmann

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids' mayor was behind the wheel when her car hit a bicyclist Thursday night.

Kay Halloran says 28-year-old Christopher Pyle was walking his bike across Eighth Avenue SE and she didn't see him.

Pyle declined treatment after the accident. Police cited Halloran for failing to yield on a left turn. Now, she'll have to pay nearly $100 worth of fines and court costs.

Marriage Equality In Iowa!

2007-08-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

Why does it feel like this news came from out the blue? Two years of legal battles makes a person forget what the fight was about.

I’m sure there will be something on the ballot come next election to ban gay marriage and stir up all those Christian conservatives. They wouldn’t want gay people getting married to destroy the sanctity of their 2nd and 3rd marriages.

In the mean time we can all run to the court house and get hitched if we desire.

From Lamba Legal (with a history timeline of the Iowa lawsuit)http://www.lambdalegal.org/iowa-marriage-win-feature.html

Marriage Equality Win in Midwest!

Nearly two years after six same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses by Polk County Recorder Timothy Brien, an Iowa court ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. This is the first marriage case launched in the American Midwest and shows that fairness and equality for all are valued across our nation. The decision brings to life the Iowa Constitution's promise of equality for same-sex couples and their families.

This case now moves forward, and the Iowa Supreme Court will ultimately have the final decision.

Background:

Lambda Legal filed this lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry in Iowa. We argue that under the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Iowa Constitution it is unlawful to bar same-sex couples from marrying. The couples in this case have been together between five and more than 17 years. Three of the couples are raising children, others are planning families, and all want the responsibilities of marriage and the protections only marriage can provide.

History:

December 2005 Lambda Legal files marriage lawsuit in Iowa district court for Polk County; case will ultimately be decided by the Iowa Supreme Court.

April 2006 Twenty-six state legislators represented by an antigay legal organization move to intervene in the case as defendants.

August 2006 Court denies legislators' application, ruling that none of the legislators had interests in the case sufficient for intervention.

August 2006 Plaintiffs move to amend their petition in order to add three of their children as parties, among other amendments.

September 2006 Defendant resisted plaintiffs' motion to add the children as parties.

November 2006 Defendant moves for summary judgment.

December 2006 Court grants plaintiffs' motion to amend, including plaintiffs' motion to add three of their children as parties.

January 2007 Plaintiffs file resistance to defendant's motion for summary judgment and cross-moved for summary judgment as well. Plaintiffs also file affidavits from leading child development and other experts who explain the need for marriage rights for same-sex couples. In support of plaintiffs' summary judgment motion, Iowa faith leaders, scholars and religious groups file friend-of-the-court brief as does the Iowa Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a group of Iowa historians and law professors.

March 2007 Defendant files reply brief.

April 2007 Plaintiffs file reply brief.

May 2007 Summary judgment hearing.

August 2007 Victory! The Iowa District Court for Polk County rules in favor of equality!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

what do they call you?

2007-08-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

As I was looking around at the people I work with, I realized that we have several people that are referred to by a different name behind their backs.

Smokey Joe - carries around a cloud of cigarette fumes.

Trigger - not the brightest, named after Roy Rogers horse.

Wonder Boy - has the management convinced he is indispensable.

Santa – if he put on the Santa garb, he could pass as the real thing.

This made me wonder if I have a name that everyone calls me behind my back? I don’t even want to know if they do. It’s too frightening to think about!

Talking dogs

2007-08-22T09:57:00.001-07:00

burning down the house

2007-08-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Daryl’s discharge papers from the hospital state that he is to do no physical work outside of walking. No household work including vacuuming, laundry or yard work.

I would not have a problem relaxing for two weeks. Would you?

He can’t seem to abide by the doctor’s wishes. I keep telling him that the pain pills are covering up his pain and if he continues to try to do things he will hurt himself. “Hey, if you want to injure yourself just go right ahead, I’ll just be the one having all the fun while you’re in pain!” That got no response.

Well, yesterday he started a fire by accident. He left a pan on the stove and went off to do something else and a grease fire started. He lost track of time not realizing it takes him longer to do things than it use to. Fortunate for us he was able to get the fire before anything was damaged.

Hopefully this will teach him that he needs to take it easy for a while. If not, I’m just going to have to get a babysitter for him when I’m gone.

Saint of 9/11

2007-08-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Something actually went down in price. Our Netflix membership went down to $16.99 per month. That's surprising since the price of stamps went up since then.

Last night the movie we watched was the documentary Saint of 9/11.

I had tears at the end of it.

It brings back a lot of memories of the way things were in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and of course 9/11.

Saint of 9/11 presents the turbulent, restless, spiritual and remarkable journey of Father Mychal Judge. Compassionate champion of the needy and forgotten and a beloved Fire Department Chaplain, Father Judge was a humble parish priest who wrestled with his own private demons while touching others in powerful and miraculous ways.

2007-07-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I cant' believe I haven't entered a post since the 7th!

Daryl had his surgery yesterday and everything went like clock work. We left home at 5:15 am to be at Mercy Medical Center by 5:30 AM. He was in the pre-surgery room by six and his surgery started at 7 AM. It was all over at 8:30. The care at the hospital was top notch. Everyone that we came in contact with was very nice and helpful and the process went really smooth.

This morning he came home and has been getting along just wonderfully. I'm thinking at this rate he will be feeling much better in about a week. His first appointment with the doctor isn't until two weeks from now. In that time he isn't suppose to lift anything and he can't drive. He is suppose work up to a 20 minute walk. He is already been outside twice today walking about a 1/2 block at a time. I think it won't take him long and he will be walking the 4 block to Bever Park.

I made Daryl smile for this picture. I said, " remember how the morphine made you feel ?".

I went to the farmers market this morning and picked up an eggplant, zucchini and some sweet corn. Tonight I made this eggplant dish I found this recipe on Cooks.com. It turned out very well and was easy to make, so I thought I would put this on if anyone else likes trying new recipes as much as I do.

BAKED TOMATO AU GRATIN
Printed from COOKS.COM

1 sm. eggplant

2 med. size zucchinis

1/2 c. olive oil

2 lg. onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 c. plain packed bread crumbs

4 thin slices Swiss cheese or provolone cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

2 lg. ripe yellow tomatoes, sliced Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat broiler. Trim ends off eggplant and zucchini; cut each vegetable lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange slices on broiler rack; brush both sides of slices with olive oil. Broil vegetable slices until fork tender, turning once.
Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat remaining oil. Add onions and cook until soft and golden. Add garlic and cook a few seconds. Remove from heat and stir in bread crumbs.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In greased 10 inch square baking dish, arrange eggplant and zucchini slices. Place cheese slices over vegetables. Top with onion mixture and sprinkle with half of the grated cheese.
Arrange tomatoes over onion layer, alternating red and yellow slices. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Bake vegetables 45 minutes. Sprinkle casserole with chopped thyme and serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6 to 8 people.

Thanks Hancher for the gift!

2007-07-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing the Joffrey Ballet perform on the grounds of Brucemore. The free event was held to celebrate Hancher's 35th anniversary. We arrived when the gates opened at 6:30 pm behind a line of people waiting to get into the grounds. After the gates swung open it didn't take long for the lawn to fill up with people. They had an area roped off with chairs for special guest in the center, so we took a spot to the left of stage and set up our chairs and lay a blanket down on the ground for us to have a picnic. Daryl had packed the picnic basket with sandwiches and salad and wine. Here is a little clip of one of the five pieces on stage last night.

Light Rain - Joffrey Ballet

Fireworks on the 4th

2007-07-04T07:54:00.002-07:00

After the Clinton rally we went down to 3rd Street Live to meet Jeff and Kerry and get some food. They had a special on two for one domestic beer and we had 3 rounds apiece. The food was great! I had a breaded chicken sandwich with fries. It was yummy! It really wasn't terribly busy and very comfortable sitting in their outside area. After eating we headed across the street to the corner opposite the African American Museum and watched the firework. It was just a beautiful night!

Bill and Hillary

2007-07-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

Bill and Hillary Clinton were in Cedar Rapids to campaign for Hillary for President. I decided that I wanted to go down and see what it was all about. The really neat thing about living in Iowa is that you have an opportunity to see up close all the presidential candidates if you want to, because they seem to be all over the place during an election cycle. Like most Iowans, I have never taken the time to get involved and meet the people that effect our lives so greatly after they are elected. We ended up getting within about 15 feet of the former President and Senator Clinton. I really haven't made a decision yet who I want to be president. I want to see Barack Obama and John Edwards when they come around this area. I may get the nerve to attend the Iowa Caucus and find out how it works. I have heard that they are kind of fun to attend.

Freedom Festival Run

2007-07-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July! I have a routine that I have followed for the last 4 1/2 years living in this neighborhood. I get up and go out on my porch with my coffee and the morning newspaper and wait for the Freedom Festival Run to start. Then I head out to the curb and watch all the hot shirtless men running down the street. It's a great way to start the holiday!

My Personal Save The Earth Program is Paying Off

2007-07-03T09:55:00.001-07:00

Congratulations!! Your name has been drawn to receive a $25 Visa gift card for participating in the Employee Commute Reduction Program. Please call me at x58650 to arrange a time for you to come to my work station and pick up the gift card. I am on the deck in bldg. 166, m/s 166-203. Your names will also be posted on the ECRP bulletin board in the tunnel. Thank you for participating!

Good News So Far

2007-07-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

Daryl took this picture from our alley by the side of the house. The balloon was flying really low on Grande Avenue.

The biopsy on Daryl's thyroid was benign and his blood work has all come back normal! The doctor is still a little concerned and has ordered another biopsy on his lymph node to make sure that is clear. He said sometimes it will show a negative in the thyroid and a positive in the lymph node. I'm not sure why he didn't order both at the same time. My only assumption is that he thought it was cancer and didn't want to do an unnecessary procedure if he didn't have to. If this second test comes back also benign, they will go ahead with his back surgery and check his thyroid again in six months.

I can't wait to fly in this

2007-06-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Flying in the future looks really comfortable. Check out the Boeing's 787 Dreamliner site. Rockwell Collins is supplying the Displays; communications/surveillance systems and pilot control system for this plane.

It's heating up outside

2007-06-27T04:22:00.000-07:00

We finally broke down and turned on the central air yesterday. I really can't believe that we waited as long as we did. We have had the little window air on in our bedroom upstairs and it worked just fine for us at night. It's always warmer upstairs, but the rest of the house felt pretty cool except for yesterday.

Daryl has his biopsy today. I know he didn't sleep very well last night as I found him on the couch this morning. His friends Pat and Michael are going with him. I will be going with him next Monday to his doctors appointment to go over the results. The doctor is on vacation this week and he told Daryl to call for the results if he wants to know before Monday. Daryl plans on finding out today when they will know and calling them for the information . All this waiting is really driving him nuts! Every night we get phone calls from family and friends wanting to know what we have heard and we have nothing to tell them. It will be nice to know when everything is going to take place, so I can plan to take the days off that I have to.

Michael's is on the job hunt. He had an interview yesterday and has another one later on this week. I don't think it will take him long to find a job. It's been pretty fun lately having him around. It kind of feels like we have adopted an adult size child.

I'm 24 points from Hell

2007-06-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

TAKE THE HELL TEST

Daryl, Michael and the Doctor

2007-06-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

The throat specialist said that Daryl has a growth on his thyroid approximately two centimeters in diameter. Monday we should hear from the hospital radiologist as to when the biopsy is scheduled. If it turns out to be cancer they will remove the thyroid and the enlarged lymph nodes around it. That surgery would take place before his back fusion surgery.

Daryl and I decided that his friend Michael can stay with us for a couple of months until he can get back on his feet again, finding a job and saving up enough to get a place of his own. Michael can also help us out by going to the appointments with Daryl as I have to get back to work next week.

our little mouser

2007-06-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

You would think a cat that loves to play with fake mice as much as Cole does, would be able to catch a REAL mouse running around our house! Yes, we have two cats, and bate boxes outside the house that are checked every other month by a pest service, but we STILL have mice!

Cole did manage to get himself stuck in a sticky mouse trap. It happened to have a mouse stuck on it with him. So far, the sticky traps have caught three mice. The two cats, ah......ZERO!

Rainy Friday

2007-06-22T06:44:00.001-07:00

Rain, rain and more rain. This morning our unofficial rain gauge had 2.5 inches of rain in it. Yesterday we had almost an inch of rain. It's been raining since I got up this morning. Fortunately, I got up before the rain started and was able to get our dog out to go to the bathroom before it started as she won't go out if it's raining.

Daryl had a note on the counter from Micheal this morning. I couldn't help reading it as it was just setting there. Michael wants to move in with us for a while and find a job in Cedar Rapids. I'm going to leave this one up to Daryl to decide. I don't have a problem with him staying for a while, it's Daryl's friend and he has to make the call on this one.

Jeff, Kerry and I were going to go down to the BBQ Roundup when it opens at 11 this morning and eat as we all have the day off. With the rain we may have to change our plans. I'm expecting Jeff to call any time now and let me know what is going on. Daryl went to work this morning , his appointment isn't until this afternoon. Michael will sleep until about noon as he has the past couple of days. It almost seems like a Sunday today. Time seems to be moving slow.

2007-06-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

I took the bike out for a ride yesterday. I took this picture standing on the Martin Luther King Jr. bridge facing the downtown area of Cedar Rapids. The red tent is set up for the Barbecue Roundup that will start today.

Tomorrow Daryl has to go to another doctor. Our family doctor called yesterday and said that the CT indicated a large cell mast. They set up an appointment on Friday for him to see a throat specialist.

Daryl's friend Michael has been staying with us the last few days. I think it's nice to have someone around for him to talk to and keep him busy thinking about other things. I'm nervous, but I tend to not get upset at things that are out of my control. I guess we will know more tomorrow.

Locus

2007-06-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

I took about 6 pictures and I think my hand was shaking so bad that they didn't come out. They are very cool looking, just a bit scary to me.

The locus are a little camera shy. The closer I got to them the more they moved away.

test result update....still waiting

2007-06-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

One more test. Daryl's ultrasound indicated that he has a couple of cysts as well as the enlarged lymph node. They are going to schedule a CT scan next week to find out what it is. The nurse said they will probably get back to us on Monday. More waiting.

Daryl's test results

2007-06-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Daryl found out from the doctor that he needs to have surgery on his back. He has to have spinal fusion back surgery. He went to the doctor by himself. I think when they mentioned surgery he stopped listening. I kind of feel bad that I didn't go along with him for the appointment. They always say that you should have someone else along to listen. I didn't take off work because we have been short of people, half our department is on vacation. We had scheduled our vacation for next week as we were suppose to be going to Chicago and I had to cover for the people being gone this week. I will still be taking a few days off, but the trip is canceled because of this surgery coming up. Hopefully, they will schedule his surgery this week as I already have it off if I want to use it.

We are waiting today for news on the Daryl's latest test. He has an enlarged lymph node and the surgeon sent him to our primary doctor. Our doctor ordered an ultrasound this week. We are waiting on that result to see if everything is a go for his back surgery.

The surgeon said that Daryl will spend a night in the hospital after the surgery and be off of work for six weeks. He should be feeling better in about a week after the surgery, but will be restricted from lifting our doing any kind of strenuous activities. I guess that wild sex if off for a bit! :)

Pictured above is the Yukka plant that bloomed this week. It is next to our Iowa Cactus.

St. Louis Marathon

2007-06-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since I have met Jeff he has been going on about St Louis. The five years he lived in the city he said the spring seemed to come early and last a long time. Well, it sure wasn't beautiful the weekend of the St. Louis marathon(April 15)! It started out nice when we left on Friday the 13th around one pm. About an hour into the trip the indicator light came on flashing a warning of some type of tire problem. Jeff called the rental company to find out what it was about. They didn't know what it was , so we decided to continued on on our trip hoping that we didn't have a breakdown on the highway and switch cars when we arrived in St. Louis. At the St. Louis airport we found the the rental company and made the car swap. They said it was the third problem car they had that day and Jeff was given a free rental day for being friendlier than the two previous return people. It pays to be nice every once in a while.

After the airport we went to our hotel. The baseball game didn't start until 7:00 so we had some time to unwind before we headed to the game. On the way down to the stadium Jeff gave me a little tour of the downtown area, pointing out Union Station and of course the arch.

Busch Stadium is really cool! I guess I love the fact that they built a new structure and designed it to look and feel like an old ball park. As we walked in we immediately caught a whiff of hot dogs and beer. On our way to find our seats we grabbed a beer and stopped by the food stand to get a hot dog. I got to try my first St. Louis toasted ravioli! After eating we carried our beers up the stairs to the third level and found our seats. We settled into our seats and took in the atmosphere of the stadium and of course all the cute men sitting around us. We play this game of picking out the guys that would be our first choice of men that we would want to sleep with and and then pick a guy who would be our bare minimum, the last choice before the guy we definitely wouldn't sleep with. Bare minimum is a lot harder. It's really funny sometimes to see how low someone would go. Jeff has a lower standard than me I think!

It would have been a wonderful night if it hadn't started raining 10 minutes before the game was suppose to start. We hung around under the deck with the rest of the crowed until they started to pull the tarps over ball field. We new the game would be called off at that point. It was a bummer for me that the game was an rain out.

Jeff suggested that we go to the Soulard area to the oldest gay bar in St. Louis by the name of Clementine’s. The bar seemed very small to me. Jeff said they have an outside area when the weather is nice. I told Jeff afterwards that I felt REALLY attractive in that bar! I guess I wasn't really in the mood to drink that night as the beer wasn't going down very fast and everyone seemed totally drunk and it was very Smokey. Can I bitch anymore? After having a drink we decided to hit another bar. The weather was so awful and rainy that we really didn't want to walk outside very long. The next bar was some type of gay/country bar. The guy was clueless on how to make a martini, so he only charged us for one drink. I couldn't even choke that drink down. Next we went down the street to a straight sports bar to look at some eye candy before heading back to the hotel. Jeff wanted to get a good nights rest both nights because of the race. I didn’t mind the first night because it was cold and dreary outside and I didn’t feel in the party mood. Jeff didn't want me to watch any TV, so he could get some sleep. Well, I went to sleep, but he kept waking me up because I was snoring and he couldn't get to sleep. I bet he was up a dozen times running to the bathroom and complaining that he couldn't sleep. I don't know why he wanted to get back to the room so early that night if he wasn't ready to sleep?

Saturday morning we did sleep in a little. The hotel had a breakfast and we headed down the 9 floors to eat. I forgot to mention that one of the elevators crapped out Friday night and so it was just easier to take the stairs. It's not to bad going down 9 floors , it really sucks having to go up and then find out your key doesn't work!

Jeff loves the Soulard Farmers Market and he wanted to show it to me. He said Jackie (Jeff's ex-wife) and him would do their grocery shopping all the time at the market when they lived in St. Louis, because it was so cheap. It was fairly easy to find a parking space that morning because of the cold and rain. Most of the vendors didn’t even open. I got a feel of the market. I’m sure it would have been great if not for the cold weather.

The only option for us the rest of the day was to do indoor activities. I suggested that we go to The Arch. Jeff has seen it about 20 times, so he wasn’t too enthused about that. He went along with my idea as long as I went with him to the runner’s expo at the Adam's mark hotel. I enjoyed the Arch and the movie before it. The Arch is a lot larger than I thought it was. The pod elevators are kind of small and I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic. I enjoyed the view from the little windows on top. It had started to spit snow when we got up to the top and the wind that day gave the arch a little sway. It felt as we were on a boat.

After that we went to the expo and then to Union Station. All we had planned for the evening was to go to the Hill area and meet Jeff's adoptive family ( the people he lived and work for during his college years) and eat with them. I had the best lasagna that I have ever had in my life at Guido's! After that we decided to take it easy and just go see a movie, because Jeff had to get his rest for the race in the morning. The movie was and it was OK, not that exciting, but it killed some time.

The night was a disaster. Jeff bounced up and down all night again and complained about me. It kind of pissed me off! It's not like we haven't ever shared a room before and I don't think I snore any louder than I use to. He was just nervous about the race and couldn't sleep. I use to get that way before anything, but now I don't fret the small stuff and sleep pretty well most of the time. I think this is the last trip we will take together unless we have different rooms. He apologised the next day to me and all if forgiven.

The marathon was something to behold. I never seen the beginning of a race before. Lots of people jammed together waiting to start. Jeff's friend Jill also ran the race. The weather was a little cool, but nice considering what we had the day before. Jill finished the 1/2 in a little over 2 hours. Jeff took considerably longer. He said he lost steam 1/2 way during the race. I always have to give Jeff credit for doing these things. Jeff says his metabolism is zero and he would weigh 300 lbs if he didn't exercise every day. I think that may be true to a point, but I know Jeff likes to eat a lot too. Watching the race isn't that exciting, but it was OK, because I got to hang around with Jill's really hot Fiance' by the name of Jeff too. He sells gym equipment and is really a pretty cool guy. He is kind of alfa dog like though, always wanting to be in control of the situation.

After Jeff took his shower we packed up and headed out of town. Pretty boring stuff, but at least I got to see some of St. Louis. I suppose if I was adventurous I could have ventured out on my own. I figured that I would have another chance for that if we every return. I'm sure we will, I think Daryl would really enjoy St. Louis. Although I didn't really get to do that much because of the limitations with the weather and Jeff needing his rest for the race, I'm glad I was able to see a little of St. Louis.

chinese laterns, wine and friends

2007-06-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I have a few hours to wait until Daryl gets home from work. He has an appointment to get a MRI this morning. He has had some serious pain in his back and shoulder area for some time now. The Chiropractor visits have given him some relief, but now that isn't working. The X-Ray seems to indicate that he may have a bone spur or possibly arthritis. The MRI should be able to tell what exactly the problem is. Tuesday he will have the appointment with the doctor to go over the results.

After Daryl's appointment this morning we have to go get the camper and bring it to my brother's place. He uses it every year for a camping trip he go's on with a bunch of his friends. I hope Daryl will feel up to the ride, or else I will be delivering the camper to him myself.

Saturday:

I headed down to the farmers market in the morning to get some asparagus. I new it was kind of late in the season for it, but I thought by chance someone would still have some to sell. No luck was had. I ended up buying a loaf of bread at the farmers market and the asparagus from the Hyvee grocery store. We planned on having Daryl's friends Rod and Heather over that evening and I thought it would be nice to have the asparagus cooked on the grill. We introduced Rod and Heather a couple of weekends ago at our house and they have been getting along just great! They wanted to thank us again for introducing them, so they brought over some food and we thought we could have a cook-out. Daryl's cousin Mike and his boyfriend Brian stopped by with some beer and Mike had made a baked bean dish. I'm not sure what everyone else had to drink last night, but I know that Mike and I polished off three bottles of wine between us. Daryl cooked the chicken breast and baked potatoes on the the grill. He is the best at grill cooking, everything turns out just perfect! We had been drinking for a few hours before we sat down to eat. I realized half way during the meal that we hadn't made the asparagus. I guess the alcohol must have fuzzed up my head a little bit!

The weather was just perfect last night and we had the fire going out back. During the day I strung up some Chinese lanterns along the side of the garage. It provided us with just enough light and I thought they looked very attractive. I just love being out on our patio during the warm weather!