Monthly Archives: September 2009
Productive
I had a very productive weekend. Outside of laundry, dishes, and grocery shopping on Saturday (often the usual weekend chores), I worked outside in the yard for 3 hours on Sunday planting the mums I had purchased on Saturday, moving flowers around, and cleaning out and extending one of the flower beds in the back yard. It was nice to be outside in the 60 degree weather getting my hands dirty.
I recently purchased 200 bulbs from the New Holland Bulb Company. And while it took forever for them to get here because they only ship to my growing zone after labor day, it was hopefully a nice investment for the yard for next spring. J and I have fallen in love with the allium flower, which is an onion bulb that produces one single long stem flower that looks like a puff ball. 
I bought three varieties of the flower which finally arrived yesterday. However, they short shipped one kind and sent me a bag of 50 tulip bulbs instead. I called in the problem and they are reshipping the correct item to me at no charge and letting me keep the tulip bulbs. I’m not wild about tulips, but I’m going to plant them anyway to add some color to the back yard.
J and I have a concrete slab in the backyard that we haven’t really known what to do with over the past 3 years. It’s currently painted like a basketball court. At one time, it was an open garage. We’ve used it as a place to sit a few potted plants during the summer. We finally decided to paint it next year and to have a pergola built over the top of it, incorporating it into a nice outside living space that we can finally enjoy. With it and the new spring bulbs to be planted, I think the back yard will look great next year.
It’s odd that it is October, and we’re already planning out the yardscape for next year. I love autumn, but I am looking forward to spring again. Let’s just skip winter this year and get on with the growing.
Decaf Mandarin Orchard Green Tea
Here’s another “pretty” box of tea I picked up on a whim because once again, someone in the marketing department at Celestial Seasonings did a good job. The dark colorful wood ducks immediately caught my attention.
I haven’t been a big fan of Green Tea so far, mainly because I find most of them to be a bit too weak for my taste buds but this white tea has a great citrus flavor to it. It’s light and sweet and also has a great aroma to it.
I drink it hot with two packs of artificial sweetener, but the hint of mandarin oranges is just enough to satisfy my taste for something. If you too aren’t a big fan of green tea but you’d like to try, this one is well worth it.
Wayne Courtois’s Report from Winter
Wayne Courtois’s Report from Winter is labeled as a memoir. It may also serve as a haunting reminder to the lonely distance that sometimes separates gay men and their mothers, both physically and emotionally. And how sometimes an attempt at closing that distance comes too late.
Wayne, the central character in the story, has had little contact with his mother for nearly ten years. Now, he must leave his lover and comfort zone of Kansas City and fly back to his wintry hometown in Maine to prepare for his mother’s passing. But returning to the small town he grew up in presents itself as a challenge because nothing is the same: places have gone out of business, new businesses have sprung up, people have moved on. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the nonchalant attitude of Wayne’s family – an older gay brother and an aunt – and the harsh bitter winter season that paints the town white.
Courtois paints a story filled with emotion as he tries desperately to make a connection to his loved ones and becomes overwhelmed with seeing his mother in a semi-comatose state. He reminisces of a snowstorm that happened when he was a child and wishes he could communicate now with his mother despite seeming to have an uneasy relationship with her when he was younger. Finding the situation uncomfortable and almost unbearable, he calls upon his lover Ralph to fly up and offer the much needed support he’s not getting from his family during this critical time.
The flashback scenes of Wayne’s family each dealing with the snowstorm in their own personal way, and a flashback to when Ralph and Wayne first met provide an otherwise level paced story with much needed depth and characterism. The imagery of winter and snow each from Ralph’s and Wayne’s point of view also add a nice touch. Courtois is a word artist at painting a multi-layered picture that makes you want to stay at the window a bit longer with the curtains pulled back as the snow falls. It’s a scene or a memory we’ve all seen many times before; the death of a loved one is something we can all relate to, but Courtois examines it from a new perspective for himself and for the reader making you want to dwell there searching for a new point of view, finding something else to remember and take away from it all.
The author leaves it up the reader to decide what that something is after the inevitable happens. There are no pristine moments of fantasy and fiction. There is no waking up to find it’s all just been a dream. There are no reconnections and no feel good music as the credits roll. There is no sunshine to melt the snow away. It is just life in its purest and simplest, and coldest, of times. Courtois writes from the soul and gives the reader the truth…plain and simple.
I would rank this book at the top of the shelf with Andrew Holleran (Grief) and Jim Grimsley (Winter Birds) which are two books I love and praise. This is not a feel good book with love connections and sex that tend to make gay reads so popular. It is, instead, a memoir that serves to hopefully melt the cold hearts we keep toward those we love.
Subsurdity by Eric Arvin
Eric Arvin’s Subsurdity has been called a gay Desperate Housewives, and I would totally agree with that statement. It has all the traditional gossipy characters living on Jasper Lane and interacting with each other in various dramatic plots. It’s a bit dream-like since all of the story lines deal with homosexuality in some way, with both gay and straight characters. There’s even a dog named Gayhound. 
First, you have the questioning teenage boy whose looking for an escape from his overbearing Mom and Grandmother. His Mom is the uptight “good neighbor” whose appalled by her neighbors’ antics, but also strangely turned on. There’s the fun party loving neighbor who is accused of killing her husband. Another club going neighbor and her transsexual best friend. A straight couple dealing with the husband losing his job and having to find other means of income. Then, there’s the new kid on the block…a hot military man who jogs through the neighborhood shirtless, turning everyone’s heads. And there’s a bunch of gay guys living together in another house….one fresh out of a horrible relationship, another dating a porn star, and another who finds out he has a son.
Arvin’s talent for art and comics really shines through in this book. There are no traditional chapters, but rather scenes and vignettes moving you from character to character and throughout the various plot lines just like a comic book. In fact, this book would be even better with illustrations! The dialogue is fun, often over the top and dramatic just as it should be, and really helps to shape each story.
While being a light read and not always believable (but hey, what soap operas are?), Arvin has given many of the characters interesting traits and plots that really bring them to life off the page. One of the gay neighbors wears an eye patch after losing his eye in a bar fight. The straight couple throw an Independence Day costume party, and the husband explores gay-for-pay porn to make money after losing his job. The military man has a homophobe friend show up needing a place to stay. The fun loving neighbor throws a gay porn party and has a bit of mystery to her over her missing husband.
At just over 200 pages, Subsurdity is a quick juicy read perfect for the beach or a lazy Saturday. Like others who have posted reviews, I couldn’t put it down and I look forward to the next book in the series!
“Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.”
I deactivated my Facebook account today. After hours wasted growing imaginary crops and accepting virtual animals as gifts from friends I haven’t spoken to since high school, decorating and cleaning an online fish tank, attacking clans of vampires and buying minions, I have decided enough is enough.
It’s time to get back to the regularly scheduled program of life.
The happy little blog world I have here has missed me.
So, while I can’t roll dice and gift chips, ignore all those purses people kept sending me in Sorority Life, or send out chippy or snide comments to friends about what I’m doing throughout the day, I’m much happier here in my own little world. Yeah, it’s a lonely world but it’s mine and I don’t feel like it’s a waste of too much time. So, I’ve cut myself lose from FB for now!
Good-bye FB! Parting is such sweet sorrow…
Woman Finds Stiff Replacement for Hubby in Iraq
I thought I’d seen it all after watching Lars and the Real Girl, but this is hilarious!
At least he’s got a nice body!
Move over stolen garden gnomes! I see this marketing concept going crazy!
Good for them!
The Last Day of the Dyer County Fair
I had the pleasure of attending the last night of the Dyer County Fair this past Saturday. It’d been years since I’d been to the fair at all, so with camera in tow I was excited to go. We started by walking through Sogrham Valley, a small movie-like set of buildings reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie that you can tour through for free. There’s a bank, a school house, a church, a doctor, a jail, and more. Here’s a snapshot of the inside and outside of the school house.
Here’s a few shots of the inside of the old grocery store.
I also loved the old printers in the “printing press” shop with the old Dyer County election signs on the wall.
In the 4H barn, I couldn’t resist a snapshot of this lop eared bunny.
Here’s the grand prize winner, a big bushy haired bunny who must be quite the princess. Notice the fan on top of the cage.
There were baby bunnies for sale. Just ten dollars each. Next year’s winners?
This little guy was either mad because he didn’t get the grand prize or he thought the ribbon tasted pretty good.
Sadly, I stayed away from the popcorn and cotton candy, but couldn’t resist a picture of it.
I didn’t eat Dipsy Dog either. Not sure what it is but if it makes meat on a stick any better, it’s got to be delicious.
What’s a fair without funnel cakes? Didn’t eat one of these either though. I was good and just had a lemonade.
And what’s the fair without rides? I did not ride this one though. I did however ride the Alpine Bob (or Slopes??) and that huge pirate ship that rocks back and forth. That was plenty for me, but I enjoyed snapping a few photos of the other rides.
After I’d had my fill of just two rides, I paid 5 bucks for 30 ping pong balls and my Sis and I each won a goldfish, which found a happy home in my mom’s aquarium. No gigantic teddy bears for us.
Overall, it was a nice time out. Surprisingly, the fair wasn’t very crowded on its last night, but that made the night even better since we didn’t have to deal with getting through a busy crowd to see the exhibits.
Remembrance
You may not even remember where you were yesterday. But everyone remembers where they were 8 years ago on this day. We will never forget.
It was 2001, and I was living and working in Memphis. I was completing my last week of work because I had accepted a new position in St. Louis, Missouri and would be leaving in 4 days for my final drive to my new home in a new city to start all over.
So, it was to already be a week of change for me. And became a week of change for the whole country.
When I look back, it’s hard to believe it’s been 8 years. It’s hard to believe I’ve lived in St. Louis that long, having now lived here longer than I did in Memphis.
That was a scary week for me and for our country. It brought forth new beginnings, some new beginnings we probably would have never expected or thought about before then. Me too.
Comparing my own personal experience that week to what our nation went through is apples and oranges. But like I said, we can all remember where we were that day.
I will never forget.
Morning Thunder
I like to drink hot tea during the cooler months and in winter. So, since Fall is quickly approaching I’ve already been sipping a new Celestial Seasonings this week. I decided my tea habits might make for some good blogging, so here goes…
The kitchen cabinet is full of various teas, but that didn’t stop me from picking up Celestial Seasoning’s Morning Thunder this week. What can I say! I’m a sucker for a pretty box and whoever does the marketing for Celestial Seasonings deserves a huge bonus because their deep colorful boxes with interesting pictures always grab my attention. Morning Thunder has a picture of a buffalo on it with a herd of buffalo running in the background. Look closer and you’ll see buffalo up in the clouds too. 
It’s a black tea that does contain caffeine, but does not contain any calories. In fact, the Nutritional Facts panel on the side of the box is all zeroes. So, it’s definitely gluten free.
Being a black tea, it has a very heavy and rich taste in the mouth which I feel on the tip of my tongue first and then on the sides. It has a nice, almost coppery, feel – but not metallic – in the mouth when you swallow it and then you get hit with the true taste of the tea just as it’s going down.
I drink it hot with two packs of artificial no cal sweetener, but it still has that heavy stout flavor which makes “Morning Thunder” the perfect name. The box also says it contains “Energizing, Healthy Maté.” According to Wikipedia, Maté has good and bad effects, but the bad ones are mostly related to effects that any hot beverage can have on you.
Mate can help eliminate fatigue, while stimulating mental and physical activity. It has a beneficial effect on nerves and muscles; it can also enhance intellectual work. Yerba Mate health benefits have been documented by research such as being anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antispasmodic, thermogenic (increases fat burning), aids in weight loss, and can help with mental clarity. It contains vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B… and complex minerals like Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Zinc. It also contains Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid, and 15 Amino Acids.
Overall, I think it is one of the better black teas I’ve experienced.
