Archerr

Yesterday morning I dropped Homer off at the metro so that he could continue his vacation at Hotel Jimbo. He spent most of the day helping Jimbo prepare for a party in Homer's honor.

Last night the boyfriend and I attended the party and brought a couple of bottles of wine. There were lots of hot men there. Besides several bloggers in the DC area, there were also several hunky guys from Jimbo's rugby team. They were all very nice and we had a nice time chatting with them about all sorts of things. The majority of the party later moved on to another party. The boyfriend and I came home and had our own party.

Bloggers from left to right: Homer, Tom, Jimbo, and Carl.
Homer called to tell me about his evening and that he had drunk dialed Brian and left a message on his voicemail. I hope Brian doesn't mind but I lifted it from his site to share with you. Click on the play button below to hear what happened to Homer at the party.

Here's Homer talking with a hottie at the party.

Today the boyfriend and I took Homer to a couple of wineries. Homer is a novice wine taster but actually did a very good job describing the wines. He was able to tell us the flavors he was tasting. Of course he says he's a light weight and gets tipsy after just a few glasses. We didn't notice him getting tipsy at all. I think he had a good time enjoying the winery experience.

When Homer arrived on Wednesday he presented the boyfriend and I with a bottle of red wine from Arizona. We have not had any wine from Arizona and are looking forward to tasting it with a big hunk of meat. We would have had it with a meal with Homer but this red wine doesn't go well with Mac and Cheese.
Homer enjoying some red wine.

Homer and the boyfriend enjoying some lunch at the winery.

Yesterday Homer and I went to the United States Botanic Garden to see lots of plants and flowers. It was hot as hell and I was sweating like a pig. Homer was barely feeling the heat. While there we both took lots of photos and decided we would see who could take the best photo. On his blog you can see his entry. Here's the photo I think was the best of the ones I took yesterday.


We then went to the Hirshhorn Museum of modern art. We wandered through 3 floors of art and didn't find anything appealing. While I do enjoy going to museums, I guess I don't care for modern art. I only found a few pieces interesting. But not interesting enough to buy anything at the museum store.

Last night Homer, the boyfriend and I went to Wolf Trap to see ABBA - The Music. For some reason Homer thought we were seeing "Mamma Mia" the musical but actually this was a group of musicians who play ABBA music as a tribute to the popular 1970's band. The music was fun and we got up and danced at different points. Who knew Homer could dance? We also enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by the boyfriend and two bottles of wine. We had a great time even though I was very hot and soaked with sweat. Here are a few silly photos from the evening.



We are having a great time while Homer is here. We are off to a winery today to expose Homer to some fine wines.

His plane arrives at 7:42 PM Eastern Standard Time. It's been ten days. I wonder if I can wait until we get back to his place.

Homer is coming, Homer is coming! On Wednesday Homer will climb on the aluminum tube of death and fly across the country to visit the DC area for a few days. Watch out Washington! It’s been almost 2 years since Homer last visited but since then we have talked on the phone a couple of times a week keeping up with the changes taking place in our lives. He’s been a great blogger buddy for a long time now. I’m looking forward to his trip. Doesn't he look hot with his new haircut in this photo?

What many might not know is that Homer is very particular about his surroundings. He needs to have a nice clean house free of dust and clutter. I will have to work hard in the next 48 hours to clean my house and remove all the dust that has collected lately. Homer is also a very picky eater. He only enjoys the finest foods. I’ll also have to make a trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joes and get just the right fruits and vegetables to please his palate. No cheese curls and twinkies for Homer! I want his stay to be as enjoyable as possible. I have also spent considerable time planning activities to keep Homer busy and entertained while he’s here. We will be enjoying a concert and picnic dinner at Wolf Trap and then a trip to a winery the next day. While Homer is here I do plan to record a few podcasts. He's been a guest on the show several times but it's always be over the phone. We'll be able to record in the same room. Watch the website for those shows later this week. At the end of his stay I will be taking him to the Metro to begin the next part of his journey…staying with Jimbo.

I've been promising for a while now that I'd update my photo libraries. So I finally took the time today to work on adding photos of some of the models I've worked with lately. Click on the photography link on the right side or click on one of the pictures below to go right to the gallery. All comments on my photography are greatly apprecaited.

Today I had a photo shoot with my artist friend, Bob. We worked with a model we worked with back in the fall. Since then he's been working out and his body has improved. I think you'd agree. Here are some shots from today's shoot.

Today the boyfriend left for his ten day vacation. I put him on the airplane to New Orleans at 2:00 PM today and he e-mailed me a little while ago to let me know he arrived safely. On Saturday he's off to the beach where he won't have internet access so I won't be getting any e-mail from him for awhile. As the title says, I'm already missing him. Since we are both off in the summer we have been spending a lot of time together. That makes it harder to leave each other. I'll miss snuggling with at night. He's a great snuggler (among other things). Here's one of my favorite photos of him. I took it when we visit my artist friend Bob a few weeks ago. I shot it in color but turned it into black and white and then highlighted his eyes. You can see the water of the pool being reflected in his eyes. He's beautiful. And I know, he's not smiliing but for this photo, it was on purpose.

Today my artist friend Bob and I were in the city for Bob to attend a meeting at Lambda Rising Bookstore to sell his artwork. The meeting was successful and he will be selling his artwork at the DC store. So if you happen to be at the Lambda Rising Bookstore in DC, check out his work and buy some. Congrats Bob!

While we were in the city we decided to go to The Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle. "The Phillips Collection is America's first museum of modern art. Featuring a renowned permanent collection of nearly 2,500 works by American and European impressionist and modern artists, the Phillips is known for exceptional art in an intimate atmosphere. Housed in founder Duncan Phillips' 1897 Georgian Revival home and similarly scaled additions-including the latest, which opened in April 2006-The Phillips Collection is widely regarded as one of the world's finest small museums." While visiting the museum we were able to see works by Degas, Sickert, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Klee.

The exhibition that I really enjoyed seeing was The Renoir Returns: A Celebration of Masterworks at The Phillips Collection. I've been to many museums and seen many paintings before but when we walked into the room housing the Luncheon of the Boating Party I was in awe. I was in awe because I was surprised at how large the painting was. It dominated one entire wall of the room. It's something like 6 feet wide and 4 feet high. The detail in the painting is amazing. I just loved it. Of course before we left I had to buy a poster of the painting so that I can remember it. I also bought one of those cheesy magnets to put on my fridge.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Phillips Collection, be sure to see the Luncheon of the Boating Party.

Last night we went to Wolf Trap to see The Gipsy Kings. It was great! Their music is very worldly and makes you want to get up and move. The boyfriend did get up a few times and danced around.

The crowd was great. It was very multicultural. The boyfriend and I were talking after the concert how this crowd represents the true America. This crowd was not from George Bush's America. Also, there was one really cute gay couple behind us holding each other rocking to the music. It was so sweet.

The weather was just right (it didn't rain and it wasn't too hot), the picnic dinner was perfect, the wine was nice, and of course the music was very good. We had a wonderful evening!

Friday night the boyfriend had a small dinner party for some friends. One of which is moving to Boston this week (we'll miss you John!). The boyfriend made crab cakes, mixed green salad, and risotto. For dessert he made a mixed berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. He's such a good cook. Of course with each course of the meal we had a different wine. It was all very good.

Before the guests arrived the boyfriend and I were listening to some world music the boyfriend downloaded from iTunes. While were listening we were dancing around being silly. He's always making me do silly things.


Andrew, John, Kerry, Boyfriend, Caroline
Once the guests arrived we became serious again. We had some great discussions during dinner. Among the topics were religion, politics and sex. I must say our mixed crowd agreed on most issues. It's interesting when you get like-minded people together there is very little dissent. It was a wonderful evening and we really enjoyed spending time with our friends.

Tonight we're off to Wolf Trap to hear the Gipsy Kings. I hope it doesn't rain!

Today was Bushie's birthday. Big deal. A bigger deal is that Big Brother 7 starts tonight. Yeah! I can't wait.

The boyfriend and I saw Brokeback Mountain shortly after it came out and we loved it. Then we saw Crash and realized why Crash won the Oscar for Best Movie.

I bought the DVD of Brokeback Mountain when it came out but never watched it. I just finished watching it for the first time since seeing it in the theatre. I'm in awe of the story and thoroughly love the movie. It's got to be one of my favorite movies. I'm such a sucker for a love story. I shed a few tears as I did the first time I saw it. During the movie I felt so bad for Ennis. He lived such a sad life. Even though I'd seen it before, I still hoped that Jack and Ennis would have created a life together. We need a movie where men like Jack and Ennis create a life together without fear and poverty.

Anyway, it's a great movie. You should see it again.

On Saturday night the boyfriend and I went to see The Dave Brubeck Quartet at the National Cathedral. Even though it was hot as hell and it seemed like I was sweating the whole time we were there, the music was fun. The concert was split into two sections. The first section was Dave Brubeck and his quartet doing some of their traditional jazz numbers. At the end of the first section he played Take Five, one of the best pieces of jazz they created. I thoroughly enjoyed this first part. And of course you can listen to or buy this music on . I suggest you buy the whole album. I think Apple used this music in one of their early iPod commercials. I think that's when I may have first heard it.

The second part was The Gates of Justice, a cantata based on biblical and Hebrew liturgical texts. The program says Dave Brubeck says he wrote this large-scale sacred composition to bring together the Jewish people and American blacks. The music during this part was mostly pipe organ and the chorus. I can’t say I understood or really got into this part of the concert. There were times during the music that he brought in some of the jazz I am familiar with. I did enjoy that part.

Before the concert the boyfriend and I went to Café Deluxe for dinner. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Allen Scott Sauvignon Blanc. I had roast chicken and the boyfriend had crab cakes. The whole evening was lovely and we really enjoyed ourselves.

On Thursday when Bob and I had our photo shoot I decided to offer the models sandwiches for lunch. I had cold cuts, bread, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. When lunch was over there was some lettuce left over. I don't eat lettuce so I decided to put the leftovers in the disposal and send it down the drain. Big mistake. The disposal turned it into salad and it clogged my drain.

I couldn't do anything about it at the time but once everyone was gone I got under the sink and took all the pipes apart but didn't see any clogs. So I figured it was in the wall past my pipes. I called the maintenance department in my building and scheduled them to come clean out the pipes on Friday morning. They came as scheduled but I couldn't stay. I left thinking everything would be fine.

I came home a few hours later. I put my key in the lock and tried to get in my condo. The key turned but it wouldn't move the latch. I jiggled it and yanked and pushed and finally go in my condo. Without even thinking I let the door close behind me. I went to the kitchen to see that the drain had been snaked and besides the mess they left, the drain was fine. My friend Bob was with me and getting ready to leave so I walked him to the door. I grabbed the knob as usual but it wouldn't turn. We couldn't get the door open. The latch wouldn't move as we turned the knob. We were locked IN my condo now.

Turns out the maintenance men noticed that the doorknob on the inside was just a little loose and took it upon themselves to tighten it. They tightened so tight that it wouldn't move the latch. I had to call the front desk and have them send someone up to my condo to let me out. It was the same guy who snaked my drain and "fixed" the doorknob. They finally let us out and Bob was able to leave. At first they said they could fix it but then decided to call a locksmith. Before leaving though they turned the deadbolt and let the door rest on that instead of letting the latch catch the door frame. This way I could get out and people could get in.

An hour later a locksmith was at my door. I let him and began explaining the problem. As I was explaining the problem and showing him the latch, doorknob, etc. I accidentally let the door close. I was locked IN my condo again! But this time with the locksmith who had my extra key in his hand. He didn't have any of his tools with him so we couldn't get out. Again I called the front desk. This time they sent someone outside to stand seven floors below me. I dropped the extra key over the balcony and ten minutes later he was letting us out of my condo again.

What a mess. An hour later the locksmith had fixed the lock and actually made it better then it had been the last five years. He billed the condo so I wouldn't have to pay for his services. All was well.

Then this morning I woke up to find a bill under my door for $25 for snaking my drain. I guess that's not too bad for getting my drain snaked AND a rebuilt lock.

Sometimes we make stupid mistakes. I still hate lettuce.