Archerr

The boyfriend and I had a very busy fall weekend. We went to several winery events, enjoyed Halloween at a winery on Friday evening, and spent today driving through the country towns of Virginia enjoying the fall colors. Here's one picture I took of some of the leaves we saw today.



And this one is what the fall colors look like from my balcony on Saturday. They really are beautiful this year.

This was harvest weekend at our favorite winery. The boyfriend's parents flew up from New Orleans to join us. This is the second year they've joined this. This is becomming a tradition. This is my 4th year harvesting grapes.

We stayed in a hotel Saturday night to make it easier to get up at 5 AM and drive to the winery. It was very chilly this morning but it warmed up pretty quickly. After getting a quick reminder lesson, we started harvesting grapes. With about 60 other people we harvest almost 7 tons of chardonnay grapes. We had a good time harvesting and catching up with the boyfriend's parents. Here are a few pictures.

Wine tasting before getting to the hotel.


The boyfriend harvesting grapes.


The family after harvesting for 3 hours.

Last night we went to the Regeneration Tour at Wolf Trap. We saw several bands we remembered from the 80's. It brought back some great memories. The boyfriend and I danced in our seats and sang along to the songs. The concert started at 7:00 PM and by 10:30 we were very tired and decided to skip the last two bands and head home. We're both back to work so we were already tired. It was our last concert of the summer and we really enjoyed it so we weren't upset about leaving early. We are already looking forward to next summer's concert season.

The summer is over. I start back to work on Monday. I start my 22nd year of teaching. It's been a fun summer but it's gone really fast. I look forward to retirement.

Five things I really enjoyed this summer:
1. Spending lots of time with my loving boyfriend
2. Homer visiting in July
3. Going to several concerts with the boyfriend
4. Going to California for the first time in my life
5. Meeting new friends Mark and Shane

Five things I could forget about this summer:
1. My dishwasher dying
2. Dropping my camera and breaking the lens
3. Dropping my phone and having to replace it
4. The punctured tire
5. All the money I spent this summer

I always look forward to a new school year. New beginnings and such. I hope this year will be less expensive and I hope I have better luck. One thing I know for sure, the boyfriend will be there for me through it all.

Saturday night, the boyfriend and I went out to dinner with our friends, Mark and Shane and then went back to their house to have a game night. We've been talking about this for awhile and decided to make it happen.

All four of us are of the age that we remember Trivial Pursuit from the 80's. I remember playing that game SO much in the 80's and doing very well. We decided we would play Trivial Pursuit for our game night. Once we got the game all set up and poured a few glasses of wine, the decision was made that we'd play teams. I wanted to play individual but it's probably a good thing we did teams.

The first game was won by Mark and Shane. They actually got all six pieces before the boyfriend and I even got one. I like to think they got really easy questions but I think the truth is they are very smart.

The second game the boyfriend and I won. We did get some easy questions but we also had some challenging ones too. I gave some really stupid answers for a few. I should have listened to the boyfriend. He had the right answer but I was determined I was right. Oh well. Live and learn.

The last game was won by Mark and Shane. The last game was a little harder and took a little longer. We must have gotten to the hard questions in the middle of the boxes. So they won 2 out of 3 games. They are the champs.

We aren't sure what game we'll play next time but I'm sure we'll have as much fun as we did this time. They're great friends and we really enjoy spending time with them. Game nights are fun!

I've been out in California for a week but now I'm back. I have lots of photos to post in the coming days. The boyfriend and I had a great time but it's good to be back. Stay tuned for more updates.

For the last two days the boyfriend and I were on the northern neck of Virginia. We visited my artist friend, Bob. He and his wife treated us so nicely while we stayed with them. We went to see Stratford Hall, the birth home of Robert E. Lee. We toured the grounds and I took lots of pictures. Here's one of Bob and the boyfriend in front of the house.


While on the northern neck, we visited a few wineries and enjoyed the sites along the way. We noticed there were lots of corn fields. The corn looked really healthy. I had to stop and take a few pictures of the corn.

Tonight the boyfriend and I went to see the National Symphany Orchestra at Wolf Trap play songs from broadway shows with our friends Mark and Shane. We all brought lots of food. Mark and Shane brought some Pringles and I dared the boyfriend to eat one. He did!



Oh, and Homer comes tomorrow!

Today I picked the boyfriend up from the airport from his vacation. It's so good to have him back. We went out to dinner and then relaxed in the evening. He was tired and his neck hurt so I suggested he take a bath to relax his muscles. Of course while he was in there I had to take a few pictures of him. He was being silly as usual. Don't you love the tan he got while at the beach?

I just spent a few days with the boyfriend. I put him on a plane this afternoon so he can join his family on a beach vacation. He'll be gone for almost two weeks. I already miss him. I'm not sad, just missing him. Here's a picture I took just before recording my podcast.

The boyfriend and his family came over on the fourth of July. We spent the day playing tennis, relaxing, having dinner and watching the fireworks from my balcony. The boyfriend's nephew used my camera to take about 175 pictures. Only a few of them were worth keeping. Here's one he took of the boyfriend being silly on the tennis court. Below that is one from dinner. Again, the boyfriend is being silly. We had a fun day and it was nice catching up with his family.

Last night the boyfriend and I went to see Rent at Wolf Trap. We took a picnic with us to have before the show started. This is actually our second "concert" of the summer. I know it's a broadway show but it was full of music so I'll consider it a concert.


The evening began with a few raindrops. We had to move our spot on the lawn a few times to avoid the rain but were able to settle down and enjoy our picnic. Not long after that the show began. I thought it was hard to follow along but the boyfriend didn't have any trouble. I guess I'm not used to following the story line in song. After the intermission I was able to follow a little better. Even so, we enjoyed the show, the songs, and the story.


I'm not sure this one wil rank high on our summer concert list, but it will be on the list. So far the George Benson concert is the best this season. We have a few other concerts later this summer that I'm sure we'll enjoy.

Last night the boyfriend and I went to the National Cathedral to see it all lit up by Gerry Hofstetter. "Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter makes his debut in the U.S. with this project. He is internationally known for lighting Antarctic icebergs, Egyptian pyramids, European churches, and more." We took a dinner picnic and sat right in front with a great view. I took several photos. Here are just a few. In the last one, the boyfriend's face is out of focus because I used a timed shot and he moved around.

Click on the picture to see the video. Video Length: 1:00, File Size: 5.5

On Saturday the boyfriend had a wonderful dinner party. We had five friends over and the boyfriend cooked some delicious foods for everyone to enjoy. Here are a few pictures from the evening. We had a great time!

Over the weekend the boyfriend and I went to a vertical tasting at our favorite winery. A vertical tasting is where you taste a flight of wines from different years...for example we were able to taste Merlots from 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. We also got to taste a flight of reserve cabernets from 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the wines. Here's a picture of us during the evening. I look fat and the boyfriend looks like he's forcing a smile. We're cute though.

Besides the fact that 4000 Americans have been killed in the war and all Dick Cheney can say is "So?", I am missing the boyfriend. He's on spring break and in New Orleans and will return tomorrow. I missed our weekend snuggles.

Kiss Me!

I dropped the bofyriend off at the airport a few hours ago. His flight left a few minutes ago and I'm tracking it as he heads to New Orleans for his Spring Break. He'll be gone until next week and I already miss him. I'll miss snuggles with him this weekend but I'll look forward to them when he returns.

Today is our 3rd anniversary! The boyfriend and I began dating three years ago today. As you know, we met in December 2004 but didn't start dating until February 20th 2005. We've had three wonderful years together and I'm sure we'll have many more together. I love you, sweetie!

Here are some pictures from the weeknd with the boyfriend. We celebrated our Valentines Day this weekend.


Here's what was on my plate before dinner on Friday night. The boyfriend knows I love those cheap chocolates you get at CVS or places like that. He likes high end chocolates and I like low end chocolates.


Here's the boyfriend reacting to the Ghirardelli chocolates I got him.


Here you can see the mimosa the boyfriend made for us on Saturday morning. Yum!


Here's what we did most of the weekend. We love snuggling!

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetie! I love you!

While the boyfriend was cutting up vegetables for our wine tasting dinner party on Saturday evening, he cut the tip of his finger off. We were not finished preparing for the dinner party but decided we should take him to urgent care and have it looked at. It wouldn't stop bleeding. The bandaids were soaked. Turns out he didn't need any stitches. He just cut off a bit of skin and a bit of finger nail. He'll be fine in time. We spent about two hours at the urgent care and we experienced just how bad the US healthcare system is. That two hours was the biggest indication that we need universal healthcare in our country.

1. Went to The Phillips Collection to see beautiful artwork and bought a nice Paul Gauguin print.


2. Went to a winery and talked with the owner and enjoyed some nice wine.


3. Snuggled, a lot!

Today the boyfriend and I went to a winery for their lasagna lunch. We enjoyed some nice wine and some great lasagna. Of course the boyfriend loves making faces and creating looks for the camera. Here's one of them. Doesn't he look cute?

The boyfriend arrived home safe yesterday. His flight was delayed by 35 minutes but since I was tracking it online, I knew he'd be arriving late. It was nice to see his smiling face as he walked down the walkway from the gate. I met him with a kiss of course. It's good to have him home again. I told him how much I missed him and we had some nice snuggle time last night.


He's now planning the meal for tomorrow night's dinner. We are having a few couples over for New Year's Eve. We'll have a nice dinner and then ring in the new year with some champagne and watching the ball drop on TV. We are looking forward to a new year but we both mentioned have quickly the time has gone by since Halloween. It seems like the time has just flown by. It was just yesterday we were getting dressed up for the Halloween party. Where did the time go? Before you know it, we'll be back at work on Wednesday. Ugh!

The boyfriend comes home today. As a matter of fact, as I type this, he's on his plane somewhere over Alabama. He's been in New Orleans this week for the holidays. I am picking him up at the airport in just a few hours. I've been tracking his flight since it took off a little while ago. I know that is flight is running 35 minutes late. It took off late and will be arriving late. I like this ability to track the flight so that I don't get to the airport too early and have to sit and wait for the flight. The anticipation would kill me. Anyway, he'll be home in just a few hours!

Saturday evening I went to the boyfriend's for dinner and presents. In one box he gave me some shaving items. I have transitioned from an electric razor to shaving with a blade. He gave me some very nice Caswell-Massey shaving products. He uses them so I know they give you a close shave. Now I can give up the disposable razors.

In the next box were some monogramed towels. He matched the color of my bathroom beautifully. The box also had some very nice soaps that he got from the Herb Cottage at the National Cathedral. He will see them in his bathroom. They make great guest bathroom additions.

In the final box was a beautiful Bulova watch. It's very fancy and classy. This is not a watch to wear to work each day. This is a weekend watch to wear to special occasions. I'm very hard on watches so I'm going to have to be careful when I wear this one. No scratches!

All the gifts were very nice. I think we both love the gifts we got each other. We had a great weekend. Now the boyfriend is in New Orleans until next Saturday. I already miss him and our snuggling. Love you, honey!

The boyfriend is leaving for New Orleans tomorrow morning so last night he came to my place to have dinner and open his presents. I'll be going to his place to do the same tonight. Here's a picture of my silly boyfriend opening his presents. I don't know why he makes the silly faces. I think he liked his presents and plans to use them all the time. The big gifts were a new Kitchen Aid blender and a waffle iron. Maybe he'll make waffles for me tomorrow morning. He'll be gone until next Saturday. I'll miss him terribly and miss snuggles!

Three years ago today the boyfriend came over to pose for my nude photography. Here's a picture from that shoot. It was the first time I met him. The minute I met him I was smitten. We didn't start dating right away so this isn't our anniversary but it is the anniversary of the day we met. My life hasn't been the same since I met him. I love you, honey!

You won't believe it but I didn't take any photos this weekend. We did so many things but it seems I never thought to take the carmera out. Oh well.

On Friday night the boyfriend had a small holiday dinner party. The only guests were straight people. There were a lot of fun and enjoyed their company. Of course we had some nice wines too.

On Saturday we ran some errands and then went to The Joy Of Christmas concert at the National Cathedral. The music was beautiful. The boyfriend was in the mood and singing every song on the program. He even sang the songs with the Scandinavian Youth Choir. He has such a beautiful voice. During the concert he even noticed when I was closing my eyes so I could feel the music.

After dinner we walked down the block to Cafe Deluxe. We had a cozy dinner with a nice bottle of Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc. It's one of our favorites.

Then on Sunday morning we joined our friend, Michael, for a holiday brunch at his friend's house. After that we can home and had some afternoon snuggles. But then the boyfriend had to get going and so the wonderful weekend was over. It was busy, but we had a great weekend.

Here are some photos from our weekend. The first three are from Friday evening when we decorated the boyfriend's Christmas tree. We think it's the perfect tree and looks beautiful.





On Saturday we went to the National Cathedral to see the Centennial Exhibition and the Nativity display. Here are a few photos from that visit.






On Sunday we went to a few wineries to taste some wine. We went to the Gray Ghost Holiday Open House and then on to Gadino for a tasting.

I forgot to mention in the last post that my mother and I went to the boyfriend's house to have Thanksgiving dinner with his parents and him. He spent several days working on the meal and cooked all day on Thursday. He worked so hard and it turned out so well. The food was delicious!


As you can see the boyfriend cooked a big turkey and like a surgeon, he carved that turkey beautifully. Of course I ate turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, and cranberry sauce...the kind out of the can.


We had a great time catching up and talking about all kinds of things. I'm not sure why no one is smiling in this picture, but we were all happy and having a nice time together. I hope this becomes a yearly tradition for the boyfriend and I. Thanks sweetie, for having us over and cooking all day! I love ya!

The boyfriend and I went to my friend Bob's house this past weekend to visit him and his wife. We went to a few wineries and had a good time catching up. While we were there we took advantage of Bob's indoor heated pool. Of course we didn't have our suits with us so we did some skinny dipping. I was trying to take some pictures of the boyfriend but Bob took the camera and took some pics of us. This is the only picture that I can post...if you know what I mean.

Over the weekend the boyfriend and I had friends over for dinner. The boyfriend made an amazing meal. One of his courses was butternut squash soup. He made it from scratch! For everyone else, the bowls looked like this:


My bowl looked like this. He knows I don't care for butternut squash soup. I'm sure it was delicious though.

After we went horseback riding on Saturday afternoon, we went to a Reserve Cabernet dinner at Gray Ghost Vineyards. We got all dressed up. We met some friends and had a great time. I hate getting dressed up but the boyfriend loves to get dressed up. Here he is with our friends. However, below that picture you can see the boyfriend in my jeans. I call him my hip hop boyfriend because my jeans are way too big for him and they were hanging in his hips like those hip hoppers. He was being so funny I just had to take a picture.

The boyfriend and I went horseback riding on Saturday afternoon. We went to the Marriott Ranch to go on a trail ride with about 20 other people. We didn't know them, they had just signed up to ride at the same time we had. It wasn't too cold and the sun was out. We did get to see some fall color but it was mostly muted or the leaves had already fallen from the trees. Here are two pictures from the ride.

The boyfriend riding his horse.

Here's a shadow of me riding my horse.

The boyfriend and I went to Hillsborough winery last night for their halloween party. This is the third year we've gone. As you can see from the picture, we dressed up. The boyfriend was a prince and I was a pirate. I've been a pirate for 3 years now. It's time to think of a new costume.

The party was a bit different then it has been in the past. This time there were a lot more drunk, wild people. There were three girls dressed as Britney Spears and they were being very trashy. They were drunk and letting most of the men feel them up. One of them spilled wine all over herself and lost a couple of buttons off her blouse. Maybe we're getting too old, but it was just too loud and too wild. We might have to think of a new party to go to next year.

When were at the my father's this weekend the boyfriend took a nap. While he was napping, I took advantage of his vulnerability and made him look silly for this picture. He says I always want to embarrass him but I think it's just fun.

Oh, and that's my new iPod Nano on his forehead. hehehe

On Saturday evening the boyfriend and I had a wonderful dinner party. We had it at my place. We haven't entertained friends at my place for a very long time. Probably since my kitchen was renovated. We had five friends over to enjoy some delicious food the boyfriend prepared. He created a wonderful dinner around a huge pork loin. Of course he had lots of veggies that I didn't eat but our vegetarian friend certainly enjoyed them. It was really nice having friends over to enjoy a meal, some nice wines, and conversation. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Last night the boyfriend and I enjoyed dinner on the balcony. It was a very clear, crisp evening just perfect for having dinner outside. Of course I had to document this and the boyfriend helped by making a silly face. I'm not sure why he does that. Maybe it's because I'm always taking pictures of him. He likes to be silly. Here he is on the balcony at dinner making the silly face.

Today the boyfriend and I and his parents (who flew up from New Orleans just for this) harvested grapes at Gray Ghost winery. It's one of our favorite wineries. We had to get up early and harvested grapes for several hours. 2007 has been a great year for grapes so there was a record crop of vidal grapes...the ones we harvested today. We had a great time and it was nice spending time with the boyfriend's parents. Here's a picture of me while harvesting and a picture of the boyfriend harvesting grapes and being silly. By the end of the day we were very tired. Again, I'm feeling the effects of getting old.

Guest Blogger: The Boyfriend

Archerr was determined to try roasted vegetables, andI warned him that he may not like roasted veggies; however, his stubborn pride got in the way of his alleged hatred for vegetal joy and happiness. Fortunately, we visited a winery that featured wines which paired well with summer veggies. Archerr, in his sudden vegetable madness, roasted eggplant, squash, and tomatoes. I tried to stop Archerr as he sprinkled fresh thyme leaves and basil over the sacrificial veggies. Alas, Archerr prevailed----his veggie madness was bigger than the both of us. He cannot stop himself for eating all forms of vegetables. Is there help for vegetable addicts? Please let us know! Here you see me trying to find a wine that satifies vegetable addicts. Am I an enabler? Advise!!!

The boyfriend plays tennis often. I, on the other hand, have only begun to learn the game. We have recently played a few times and I'm learning. I have 4 courts at my condo so it doesn't cost anything to play and the courts are usually empty. We played tennis again today with our friend, Michael. Actually, he and the boyfriend played most of the time. When Michael got tired I filled in. I think I'm learning pretty quickly. I think I do a pretty good job of returning the ball when the boyfriend slams it my way. It will be a long time until I'm up to his level but I'm having a good time learning. Plus, it's exercise! Here's the boyfriend at the end of the session being silly.

Last night the boyfriend and I had a dinner party at his place. You know he's a great cook. He had a 4 course meal. He started with shrimp, then had a tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese salad, and then moved on to shrimp crab cakes with corn relish. For desert he made a delicious lemon cheesecake. Each course had a different Virginia wine. It was all very good!

We had some wine friends and some pet sitting friends over for dinner. One of the guests just had a book published. The book is: Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened. Check out hsi book on Amazon and check out his Website to see the press he's been getting lately. And of course if you find it interesting, you should buy it.





Here we are before the dinner party.

And here is the dinner party.

The boyfriend and I went on a short vacation at the end of last week and over the weekend. We traveled to southern VA to visit wineries. We visited 16 wineries in four days. We traveled 872 miles and I got 44.2 miles per gallon with my hybrid. We had a great time. We stayed in hotels each night. One of the evenings the boyfriend decided I didn't have a picture of his wine face with him in his underwear. So...thus the following picture. Isn't he adorable?

Here's the boyfriend just before putting on his exercise clothes to play tennis. I thought he looked so cute with his hand in his underwear that I just had to take a picture. Nice, huh?

The boyfriend has been home from his vacation since Tuesday and we've been very busy, if you know what I mean. Today we went to two wineries and got to taste some new wines. It was very warm but we had a nice time, enjoyed the wines, and the views. Of course the boyfriend was back at it...creating his famous face while tasting some wines. I told him when I took this picture today that I'd be posting it on the blog. He tried to make me believe that this pose was completely different from all the other poses. I beg to differ.

I put the boyfriend on the plane this morning at 6:30 AM. Once he got to Louisiana he e-mailed me to let me know he had arrived safely. I was glad of that. Of course now that he's gone I'm already missing him. We snuggle a lot and I know I'll have a tough time sleeping for several nights until he returns.

The boyfriend making another one of those silly faces at a winery.

Until he does return, I'll be painting. I got the dining room finished today. The color I picked, Grape Vine, is a little more green than I thought it was but I still think it looks good. I have to put the room all back together tomorrow. Once I get it all done I'll post a picture.

I must have at least 100 pictures of the boyfriend like this. We travel to lots of wineries and he always strikes this pose when I go to take his picture. He sometimes alters what side of his face he places the glass but for the most part he looks like this. We went to three wineries on Monday and he made this pose several times but I refused to take his picture because I already have so many like this. He still make the pose though.

The boyfriend's family has been in town since last Thursday. They will be here until next Thursday. Because of this the boyfriend and I didn't get to be together this weekend. We did get together with his family to go to a winery and enjoy a nice lunch. But we weren't able to be together alone or spend the night together. This is often difficult for me because I've grown used to sleeping with him on the weekends. When we sleep together we snuggle all night. I know that might be odd for some of you but we do. Either I snuggle him or he snuggles me all night. When we are apart during the week, I often have trouble sleeping because of not feeling his body next to mine. This past weekend I really had a hard time sleeping because we weren't in bed together. While I enjoy spending time with his family, I prefer spending time with him. I miss our snuggling.


This is one of my favorite pictures of the boyfriend.

This is what happens when you let the boyfriend take control of the camera on the way home from a winery. All of these photos were taken by the boyfriend with my camera.

On Saturday evening the boyfriend made me a wonderful dinner. We decided to have our dinner out on my balcony. As you can see it was wonderful.



As we finished our dinner, the sun was setting in the west and this is the view we had. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and the evening turned out to be just as beautiful.

Today the boyfriend and I went to a barrel tasting at Prince Michel Winery in Leon, Virginia. We had a great time tasting the wines right from the barrel. I wasn't as pleased with the taste of the wines from the barrel as the boyfriend was but then again, he has a better palate then I do. All the wines were really young and needed more time in the barrel.

After our barrel tasting, we enjoyed a glass of wine at the winery. I talked the boyfriend into playing a few games of checkers. He said he hadn't played in awhile. I guess he was right. I beat him in two games. Here's his reaction after the second game. We didn't play a third game.

I'm going to the boyfriend's this weekend. What are you doing?

It had been awhile since the boyfriend had a dinner party so we decided to have one. Last night we had 9 people (counting the 4 year old) over for a gumbo dinner. The boyfriend spent all day making the chicken gumbo. I had left over tilapia that we had for lunch.

Interesting thing is none of the guests were gay. We had 3 straight couples over. Sometimes we have difficulty getting gay men to commit to a dinner party. There's always something "better" to do, I guess, then come over for an evening of conversation, good food, and nice wines.

We had 6 bottles of wine. I know that sounds like a lot but it ended up really being a taste of each wine for each person. Of course the boyfriend did an amazing job of pairing the wines with the food. Everyone enjoyed the gumbo and the wine choices. We had some fun conversations and laughed a lot. Straight people can be a lot of fun especially when they aren't concerned in the least about your sexuality.

Here's a photo for the evening.

Last night the boyfriend and I went to Grapeseed, a win bar/restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland. The do a wonderful job of pairing wines with their meals. Their menu says they start with the wine and create the meals to go with them.

I'm such a picky eater. It's always hard to find things on the menu that I will eat. I saw "crispy fish" on the menu and had to ask our waiter what the fish was. He said it was tilapia. I had never had it before. It's a relatively simple white fish that's a little more dense than the cod that I'm used to. The tilapia was lightly battered and lightly fried. It was actually pretty good. I liked it. It wasn't that heavy, fried stuff you get elsewhere. It was pretty light and was on top of a pile of jasmine rice. I really liked it. I think I'd try it again sometime. Maybe the boyfriend will make it for me sometime.

Today the boyfriend and I went to one of our favorite wineries. While the boyfriend was grading papers I was people watching and playing on the computer. We sat upstairs in the loft area and enjoyed a glass of wine.

While sitting in the loft, two hot guys came upstairs to look around. One of them was wearing shorts and had really hairy legs. They couldn’t have been more then 25-28 years old. The boyfriend and I were both looking at them the whole time they were in the loft area. The boyfriend got so distracted that he spilled his glass of wine on his papers. It was funny when it spilled it but it was funnier when he spilled the glass the second time. I guess we are both easily distracted.

I used the built in iSight camera on the laptop to take a few photos. Here’s one of the boyfriend just after he spilled his wine on his papers. Below that is a picture of the two hot guys while they were looking over the loft area. I know they aren’t the best pictures but it was the iSight after all. It wasn’t like I had my super nice camera with me to take photos of the event.

The boyfriend and I will be going to a winery as usual and spending time together. What will you be doing? What are your plans for the weekend?

Two years ago today the boyfriend and I went on our first date. We met a few months before but hadn't gone on an offical date. Because February 20th was our first official date, it has become our anniversary. We celebrated our anniversary over the weekend. We had a wonderful time and professed our love for each other and plan to be together for many years into the future. Happy Anniversary, sweetie! I love you!

Here's the boyfriend opening a gift. The traditional second anniversary gift is cotton so I got him a table cloth since he loves to have dinner parties.

Happy Anniversary!

The boyfriend and I were finally able to get together to celebrate Valentine's Day. It's been too icy this week to get together so we just waited until this evening. We had a wonderful dinner of baked cod, rice pilaf, and green beans. Here you see the boyfriend with his gifts. I got him the pink iPod Shuffle and some candy. I loaded up the iPod Shuffle with some love songs. How sweet.

Yesterday was the boyfriend's birthday. His parents flew in from New Orleans for his birthday. Wasn't that nice of them? I had my mother and his parents over for his birthday dinner. Yes, I cooked everything. I even made his birthday cake. I think everyone had a good time and enjoyed the meal. It's amazing how well our parents get along. They were just chatting up a storm. It's a good feeling when your partner's parents get along with yours. Plus, his parents are so nice. Here are a few photos from the evening.

The boyfriend's parents on the left, my mother and the boyfriend on the right.

Time to blow out the candles! Can you tell how old he is?

Opening gifts.

I got him the Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer

This weekend the boyfriend and I are off to Charlottesville to visit my father and to visit a few wineries in the area. We aren’t leaving until Sunday. We thought we’d take advantage of having Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. During our trip we will think about the contributions he’s made to our countries history and to the civil rights of everyone.

We have plans to visit one of our favorite wineries, Gray Ghost, tomorrow. It will be our first winery visit in 2007. The boyfriend has some papers to grade so we plan on sitting in their loft area while enjoying some wine while the boyfriend gets some work done. I’m sure I’ll do something on the computer since I always take it with me. However, I won’t be able to connect to the internet because I know they don’t have wireless connectivity at the winery.

And what’s up with the lack of connectivity out in the country? Don’t this country people need to be connected at some point? What are they waiting for? I would like to be able to open my laptop anywhere in the country and be able to get a connection. Oh well. In time, I’m sure.

Last night the boyfriend and I had a small dinner party. It was a nice intimate affair. The boyfriend made an amazing dinner (with special foods for me because I'm a picky eater) and had wine with each course. At the end of the evening we watched the ball drop while enjoying an amazing blush champagne. 2006 was a pretty good year, especially the second half. The boyfriend made the year so much better of course. 2007 promises to be even better! Happy New Year!

Here we are enjoying dinner.

Here we are watching the ball drop.

And here's the boyfriend and I ringing in the new year.

The boyfriend has been in Louisana for the last week enjoying the holidays with his family. He comes home today! I've missed him terribly of course and can't wait to see him. I pick him up from the airport at 2:15 and we'll spend the weekend together at his place. If you call me, Homer, I won't be home. hehehe

The boyfriend came over for a rare during the week visit. I made dinner for him and he was able to open the gifts I got him for Christmas. We had a wonderful time and I must say my dinner was delicious. It was so easy cooking the meal in my new kitchen. Notice the new dishes the boyfriend gave me in the picture. The boyfriend is leaving on Friday for New Orleans and will be away for a week. I'll miss him terribly but look forward to his return. Here are a few photos from our evening last night.

Two years ago today I met the boyfriend. He came over at that time to pose for my nude photography. You can find his photos in the photography section of my site. We didn't start dating at that time so this isn't our anniversary but it is an anniversary in a way. We did meet and got to know each other very well and things went from there. My life has changed for the better since knowing the boyfriend. I'm so glad he's in my life. Think of all the experiences I wouldn't have had if I hadn't of met him. I love you, honey!

Here's the boyfriend last Saturday night.

I spent the evening wrapping the boyfriend's presents. I was completely in the holiday mood. I decided to watch one of the holiday movies I recorded on the DVR. There are several on there to watch but I decided to watch The Bishop's Wife. What a great movie. In some respects it would be wonderful to return to that time. Things were simpler then. It was made in 1947 and was full of hope. They don't make movies like that anymore. I did some searching on the internet and found this trailer...if you can call it a trailer. By the end of the movie the gifts were all wrapped. I hope the boyfriend likes them!

The boyfriend is coming over for a rare week night visit. He's coming over because he'll be out of town for the holiday and we won't see each other. I'm making him dinner and having him open his presents. I'm sure we'll have a nice evening.

Click on the picture to see the trailer.

Last night the boyfriend and I went to a cocktail party at a winery. We got all dressed up. We had a very nice time and met some nice people. Here we are before we left. We clean up well I think.


When you get home from a party or event, do you take your pants off first or your shoes? The boyfriend has decided it's easier to take his pants off over his shoes. I think that's difficult. Especially if you are wearing boots. Which do you do first?

The boyfriend is obsessed with Diana Ross. Just seconds before this picture was taken he was watching a Supremes video on YouTube and dancing around in the chair. He's so funny but I just don't get the obsession with Diana Ross. You gotta love him.

I got a voicemail message from the boyfriend when I got home from work today. The boyfriend told me he wasn't feeling well and hadn't gone to work today. I felt so bad for him. I called him back and we chatted and he told me he has some kind of stomach virus. He spent most of the day in bed. The poor thing. I felt so bad for him. I asked if there was anything I could do and he said it was just nice to hear my voice.

I wish I could make him feel better. I know he'll be over it in a few days but I don't like it when someone I care for isn't feeling well. He's coming to my place this weekend. I know by then he'll be feeling better but I'll do my best to treat him extra special this weekend. Stay in bed and get better! I hope you get better soon, honey!

It's that time of the year again. The boyfriend and I went out and bought his Christmas tree Friday night. Of course when we went to the tree lot it was 75 degrees and I was wearing shorts so it didn't feel much like Christmas.

We picked out a beautiful tree. At the lot it didn't look as big as it does now that it's been decorated. It looks much wider. We spent the evening putting on the lights, and the tons of ornaments the boyfriend has. We enjoyed some fine wine and had nibbles. Of course we played Christmas music the whole time. As the evening went on a cold front moved through our area and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees. It's now beginning to feel like winter.

I took a few pictures while we were setting up the tree. As you can see the boyfriend was silly at times. This makes the second year that we've bought his tree and decorated it together. I think we've begun our own holiday tradition. Next week the tradition will continue. We'll be decorating my tree.

Three years ago today I started my blog, so Happy Blogoversary to me! The blog reflects my ups and downs and has been a place to reflect on things going on in my life. I plan to continue blogging and posting my photos. This is post 733!

In other news, I had a really nice time at the boyfriend's for Thanksgiving yesterday. My mom had a great time and the food was delicious. Our parents got a long really well and talked the whole time. On the way home my mom talked about how nice the boyfriend's parents are and what a nice time she had. Before going to the boyfriend's my mother was talking about how she missed having big Thanksgiving meals with the family at our old house (she moved to a condo a few years ago and doesn't cook for the family anymore). She was feeling a little sad and missing the wonderful times we had when we were all much younger. I think the time we spent at the boyfriend's visiting with his parents and enjoying he meal made her feel so much better and reminded her of the Thanksgivings we used to have.


After the meal.


The boyfriend's nephew took this one. I don't know WHY the boyfriend can't smile.

So a few weeks ago I downloaded the photos from the boyfriend's camera. Here's one of the pictures I found on the camera. I'm not sure who took it but I know it's at the boyfriend's house during one of his dinner parties. I know it was taken in July. How cute. How sweet. Love the boyfriend!

Often I spend the weekend at the boyfriend’s house and I always take my MacBook with me. I like to stay connected and check my e-mail and surf the web pages I like to read daily. The only problem is getting a connection at the boyfriend’s house. While he has a computer and a great connection of his own, it’s not wireless. I’m so used to using my MacBook that I sometimes find it cumbersome to switch to the PC and use web mail. I like the feel and ease of having my mail program come up and check my mail for me. It also puts all that nasty spam in a place I don’t have to look at it.

Anyway, the point is that stealing wireless connections at the boyfriend’s is very hit or miss. Sometimes I startup the MacBook and it finds a strong connection without a password and I’m off and running. Other times I start up the MacBook and it can’t find a connection or those it does find are password protected. I think there should be free wireless connections all over the city. Of course that’s impossible but it’s a nice wish.

I always kid the boyfriend on his photography skills. Most of his photos are out of focus or not centered. Today I was using his camera when I discovered some photos he took this week of the fall leaves. I couldn't believe how beautiful they were. Here's one of the photos he took. I might have some competition!

Last night the boyfriend and I went to a winery for a Halloween Party. We went to the same party last year and had a great time so we decided to do it again this year. This year we wore the same costumes as last year. The party was a little more sedate but still fun. The boyfriend even got out on the dance floor and danced with the other couple (a straight couple) we went with. We enjoyed the wines and the atmosphere. There were less drunk people at this one. We had a great time and enjoyed having an extra hour to sleep once we got home.

Here's the boyfriend dancing in his seat just after dancing on the dancefloor. He worked up a sweat! I was too busy taking pictures to dance. Plus, I don't dance.

I was laying in bed snuggling with the boyfriend when my eyes became aware of the morning sun. Through my eyelids I could tell the morning was beginning. We were facing his window while we snuggled. I opened my eyes to see the sun shinning on the tops of the trees outside his window. The sun highlighted the bright fall colors: oranges, yellows, reds! It was absolutely beautiful. I stayed still listening the boyfriend breath while taking in all the colors. After awhile I asked if he could see (he wears glasses) and told him to open his eyes and see what I was seeing. This is what we saw:

This weekend I was at the boyfriend's house. Lately we've been very busy on Sunday mornings but today we were able to relax and not rush off to a winery or an event. The boyfriend made multi-grain pancakes and bacon. He also made a pot of coffee for himself (I don't drink coffee). While I was doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, this is what he was doing.


He really enjoys being able to enjoy his coffee while reading the Sunday paper. He reads it pretty much cover to cover. After doing the dishes, I watched the CBS Sunday Morning show. We had such a relaxing Sunday morning. Considering we both are back to work now, it was nice to enjoy one quiet relaxing morning. I don't know how many of these we will have this academic year.

We have so few pictures of us together. It's nice to get a good one of the two of us together. Here's one from yesterday. We went to a winery with a fellow wine blogger and he was nice enough to take a photo of us together. I think we look pretty good. Love ya, honey!



Update: Today is our 1 1/2 year anniversary. We went to see Chris Issak in concert tonight. We saw him last year at this time and it was the first time we admitted our love for each other. The boyfriend reminded me of that tonight. He's so sweet. We reaffirmed our love.

Today the boyfriend and I are off on a road trip to visit my father in Charlottesville, VA. We will be gone for five days. While it will be nice to visit with my father, our real plan is to visit wineries. We have plans to visit 14 wineries. Should be fun!

Some of you might remember previous visits to my father's house and how silly he can be. Remember this? I have the video camera packed so I'll be taking more video of my funny father I'm sure.

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.

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.

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!

This past weekend the boyfriend and I went to visit my artist friend Bob. He lives on the Northern Neck of Virginia. There are a handful of wineries there as well. We decided to visit wineries and Bob.

Saturday we went to two wineries on our way to Bob's. Once we go to Bob's we relaxed for a while. We took advantage of Bob's indoor poor and swam naked. That was SO much fun. I hadn't been in a pool in years. That evening we went to a Jazz event at Ingleside winery. We met some nice people and tasted some nice wines.

On Sunday we spent almost the whole day relaxing in the pool. I took some photos of the boyfriend relaxing at the pool and other places around Bob's house. That's always fun.


Sunday evening we went back to Ingleside because we were invited to attend and educational seminar about the components of wine. The event was very informative and fun. We ended the evening falling asleep while watching a movie with Bob.

Early Monday morning we woke up to hear about all the rain our area had gotten overnight and about all the traffic problems in our area so we decided to skip the wineries and get home. It took us about four hours to get home but we did squeeze in a short stop at one of our favorite wineries for a quick lunch.

We had a great weekend. We traveled almost 500 miles and I can report that my new Honda Civic Hybrid gave us 46.8 miles per gallon. That's a huge increase from my old Ford Escape that only ever returned about 18 miles per gallon.

Today the boyfriend and I went to Windham Winery. The weather was so nice, we sat outside to enjoy our bottle of riesling and some nibbles for lunch. We brought the laptop to do some writing for our wine blog. Windham also has wireless internet access that reaches outside. Very nice. It was a wonderful afternoon. Here are some photos from our visit to Windham Winery.

On Sunday the boyfriend and I went to Linden Vineyards to participate in a once a year barrel tasting. We invited some new friends to join us at the winery. Caroline and Keri are new friends of ours. Caroline is French and has a family history in the wine industry. We were so glad to have them join us.

Of course this made me wonder if many gay men have lesbian friends. I'm sure many do but I don't have any. The boyfriend met Caroline through his pet sitting job and they hit it off by talking about wines. From there we made the plans to go to the barrel tasting. We had such a nice time with them on Sunday. They were easy to talk to about the wines and things going on in our lives. The boyfriend and I enjoyed spending time with them so much that we've decided we must cultivate this friendship and do more things together. There are a couple of photos from our visit to Linden below.

Do you have many lesbian friends?

Caroline, Keri, and the boyfriend at the regular tasting.


The boyfriend, Keri, and Caroline enjoying the barrel tasting.


The boyfriend gets a taste of the 2005 Boisseau.

Earlier this evening I returned from a five day trip to New Orleans with the boyfriend. His family is from New Orleans and were happy to provide us a place to stay. We had a wonderful trip and his family is very nice. I really enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them.

While we were in New Orleans we were able to see much of the city and surrounding areas. His sister basically gave us a Katrina tour. By no means is New Orleans back to normal. There are parts of the city that are abandoned. Many businesses haven't returned. Everyone is looking for workers. The city far from recovery. The news reports of the damage do not show the real picture. You simply must see the damage up close to realize the devastation from hurricane Katrina. Here are some pictures from our trip. Click on the photo to see a larger view of the photo.

Here's a photo I took while in the car driving towards the city. You can see in the lower right hand corner all the FEMA blue roofs. There are still thousands of roofs that look like this.


Here is a photo shot from the car showing the Superdome. As you can see they are still working on fixing the roof. From the sign you can see they plan to reopen in September.


Here's a photo of one of the levee breaks. You can't see much but here you see them fixing the levee.


One of the areas we toured was St. Bernard Parish. As with all other areas touched by Katrina, a distinct water line can be seen on all the buildings. The line shows the highest point the water reached. It's very eerie to see this line all over the city and outlying areas.


As part of our tour we went into the city. Here's a photo of Charity Hospital. It was damaged so heavily there are plans to implode it. This will be a loss to the city because many of the city's poorest residents were able to get their healthcare here.


After visiting the city we went to the lower 9th ward, which I'm sure you heard about during all the hurricane coverage. Here are some photos from the lower 9th ward. The place is abandoned. No one has moved back. Street after street is deserted. You won't see any water lines because this entire area was under water. You can see the marks on the houses where the officials searched and left their findings on the buildings.


This is Fats Domino's house. He lives in the lower 9th ward. He has begun to fix the damage to his house. You can see his trumpet player cleaning the fence.


The amount of destruction that took place is overwhelming.












This was just one of the many houses we saw with identifying marks showing that someone died right in their home. This house was different because family members and loved ones returned to create a memorial to Dorothy Holloman.






We went to many different parts of the city. This photo shows Ann Rice's old house. She no longer lives here.


Here's another view of the city from the car.


On Friday we went to the French Quarter. This is St. Louis Cathedral. You might remember George Bush standing on the lawn in front of this cathedral a few days after the hurricane.


Here's a view inside St. Louis Cathedral.


While in the French Quarter, we went to the farmer's market. Not many of the farmers have returned. Most of the shops sell tourist crap. Here's the boyfriend looking at all the spices sold at one store.


Here's just an interesting view out of the windows of the cafe where we had lunch.


Here's one of the famous balconies.


Here we are at the famous Cafe Du Monde


Here's the boyfriend enjoying the beignets and coffee. I had never had them before but thoroughly enjoyed them.


On the last night before I left we had a big traditional Good Friday feast at the boyfriend's sister's house. They had tons of crabs, crawfish, and gumbo. Believe it or not, I ate a crawfish and tasted some of the gumbo. I survived.

Last night the boyfriend and I went to Gray Ghost Winery for a vertical wine tasting. We got all dressed up because it was black tie optional. Neither of us have tuxes so we wore coats and ties. A vertical wine tasting is when you get to taste several different vintages of one wine. Last night we were able to taste 10 years of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Gray Ghost wine library. None of the wines are currently for sale to the public. We tasted Cabernet Sauvignons from 1993 through 2002. While tasting the wines we had a wonderful dinner. It was cool to compare and contrast the wines from different years. I decided the 1993, the 1995, the 2000, and the 2002 were the best vintages. The boyfriend had different choices because we enjoy different characteristics of wine. We had a wonderful evening enjoying the wines and the foods and the other people sitting at our table. Below is a picture of us when we got home from the tasting. We had planned to take a picture of us all dressed up but it didn't work out. So here we are at the end of the evening.

Lately the boyfriend and I have been visiting lots of wineries and tasting lots of wine. We have been writing articles for an online news site about our experiences at the wineries and about the wines we have been tasting. This weekend we decided to take a break from the wineries and do some in town activities.

On Saturday we took the metro to the National Gallery Of Art East building in Washington, D.C. to see the Cezanne in Provence exhibit. Paul Cezanne died in 1906. This exhibit marks 2006 as the centenary of his death. The exhibit focuses on the works he painted in and around his native Aix-en-Provence and celebrates the landscape and rich associations it had for him. We took our time and studied each painting. We noticed several had places where the canvas wasn't touched with paint at all. We noticed many of the buildings were off angle and looked like they were leaning. We aren't sure if this was on purpose or how they actually looked at the time. Either way, we thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit.



After the Cezanne exhibit we decided to walk across the street to the West building and see the Dada exhibit. I saw a story on the CBS Sunday Morning show last weekend about the exhibit and was interested in seeing it. Dada is a movement of artists who were expressing their feelings of the social climate of the time through their art. This exhibit features paintings, sculpture, photography, film, and collages from many European cities. All of these works were created in the midst of World War I. Once we began to see the works, I did not really care for them at all. The boyfriend liked some of them. I did get a few ideas to try with my photography. I'm probably not describing the art or the movement very well so you can read more about it here.

After Dada, we walked all the way down the mall to the tidal basin and took in the views of the Cherry Blossoms. The peak bloom was Friday so there were literally thousands of other people there to see them as well. Even though I've lived in the DC area all my life, this was the first time I've seen the blossoms up close. They were beautiful and it was worth the walk.

The boyfriend in front of the cherry blossoms.


We were very tired from walking all over the mall and we still have to walk back to get the metro home. The metro was packed and people were being shoved in the cars like sardines. We decided to bag the metro and take a cab back to where we parked. It was well worth the 15 bucks. We were exhausted.

The boyfriend in the cab.


Even though we were very tired, we really enjoyed taking in the visual sights of the day. The Cezanne exhibit was wonderful, the Dada exhibit left me thinking, and the cherry blossoms were beautiful. We had a wonderful day. We ended the day by going to our favorite wine seller and bought a case of wine. What a wonderful day!

Today is our one year anniversary. A year ago today we went on our first date even though we met in December 2004. It has been an amazing year. We have been to so many places, seen so many things, experienced many new things together and have really enjoyed our time together. Here's to many more years together! Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!


This is us in July when we were visiting Oasis Winery. I couldn't find any other pictures of us together besides Halloween. I'm usually behind the camera and he's usually in front of the camera. We'll have to work on that.

On Valetine's Day I was treated to a rare event. The boyfriend came out to the suburbs to have dinner with me. We are both early risers so staying out late on a school night doesn't happen very often. When the boyfriend got here he had a box of chocolates for me. How sweet! I gave him a box of chocolates as well.

Before the boyfriend got here I made a call and got a reservation at a relatively new wine bar near my house. We went to the