Computer Surprise!

Last December, Damian's mom and one of his brothers (and his wife and child) came out to Baltimore for Christmas.  While he was here, Joe (the brother) tried to get some work done on our computers, but we didn't have the software he needed.  Plus, when we traveled, it was even more difficult for him to get his work done.  It was commented that a laptop would make his task much easier.  Russ and I took note and began watching the sales flyers.

Finally we found a bargain and--since we learned that Damian's younger brother, Jeff, had recently completed one leg of his college path and about to start the next--decided to get two of them and send out to the hills.

We ordered them and had them mailed to Mom.  She went out and bought them travel cases and wireless mice, then called the boys down for a gift bestowing party.

Apparently, they were a hit!  (hits?)  Mom says the boys' eyes lit up and there were many gasps of surprise and delight.  Everyone wins!

Hotter 'n Hell

What a (horrible) weekend!

First, Garry had to work all weekend---and hell shifts at that!  530am to 330pm!  WTH?!  His manager (who is also his aunt) knows that he's a big, gay, homo and that the weekend belongs to us....so what in the world is she thinking making him work such hours on a weekend?!  (Yes, I'm using question-marks and exclamation points.)

Secondly, our air conditioner went hay-wire.  We have a big, old, horrible house  (Russ loves it; me...not so much).  To keep it cool, we have an AC on the main floor and one in the attic/4th floor/bedroom.  Anyway, for whatever reason the condenser in the upstairs unit overflowed and sent water into the walls.  It flowed into our closet on the second floor, and onward to the first floor.  We had a lovely waterfall flowing off the second floor staircase and onto the first floor.

We had to take all the clothes out of our closet...and that's the clothing of gay men, so it's no small endeavor! And then get to work fixing the beast.

So, Russ turned off the AC and we began to cook.  He's a great carpenter / handyman and he's rigged a system up to (theoretically) drain the water out the side of the house and into the storm drain.  We'll see if it works.

But after a weekend of sweating, the AC is back on.

(the mess in the closet)

(our clothes on the bed)

(damage to the second floor wall)

(the source of the waterfall from the main staircase)

So now...if it's all fixed..Russ has to rip out all the damaged drywall and replace it.   Fortunately, he's awesome at that sort of thing and sort of loves it.  So, it'll take time, but he'll fix it.

Gramma Joyce

Today, the Three of We took off to the Eastern Shore to visit Garry's gramma.  She was the first one of his family to greet his coming-out with smiles, open arms, and a glass of wine.  However, last year she came down with a variety of illnesses and had a stroke, so we thought it would be advisable to spend some time with her.  But we could never get Garry to call her up and make a date.  So...Russ and I did.  Sorta.  We told Garry that we knew where she lived and we'd be going whether he called to warn her or not.

So he did, with some reluctance.

We drove two hours to Gramma's house, where she lives with her son Roger, his girlfriend, her baby, and a seeming handful of other young relatives and pets.  Roger was repairing a screen door and right away handy-man Russ jumped in and started helping.

Gramma Joyce wasn't in when we arrived.  She'd dashed out to the store to buy us a bottle of wine.  She returned, hugs were given all around, and we sat down at the dining room table and began chatting.  She told us stories of her youth in England, moving to the States, her family, etc., etc.  It was a great time and many laughs were had all around.

All too soon, it was time go battle traffic back to Baltimore.  More hugs were given, plans were made for Gramma to come out in September (health allowing) to get away from the family, lounge in the old house, visit Damian's mom, and go see Cirque's Ovo show.  Who knows?  Perhaps we'll make it.

Then we were back in the car and driving.  Garry, as is his custom, immediately hit the cushions.

But it was a great time and we're all glad we went.  Here's looking forward to September....

I Have The Power!! (not)

What non-excitement!

For the last two weeks, we've been waiting for rain, but-- in spite of the weatherman's predictioons-- none has been forthcoming.

So today we get off work and head to the gym. The sky is overcast and threatening..again..big deal. While we're at the gym there's some booming and flickering of lights. We get home and discover that we are without power.

Well....no big deal; we've been without power before after storms (although this wasn't much of a storm). Then Damian looked out the window and noticed that a giant branch from one of the giant trees and fallen across the power lines running down the side of our property. Great.

We called BGE and they sent out a truck. More good news! The branch not only pulled down the lines, but also broke off the top of a utility pole! Prognosis according to Russell: no power for at least two days.

So, Garry suggested we drive down to where he works and get a free room for the night. He called his boss, got the room, we did a quick pack of clothes for tomorrow...and off we go!

Independence Day at the House

Every year, the boys and I say, "We should put on a 4th of July picnic.  Invite the neighbors, have food, drinks, watch the country club's fireworks, then have some of our own."  Every year, we say it; every year we forget...or the 4th is on a Tuesday or something like that.

This year, however, we looked early, saw it was on a Sunday...and we did it!  Hooray for us!  We invited all the neighbors, friends from work, friends from school, generic friends, their kids, and we had our fling.  Russ cooked a ton of food, we mixed drinks, people began to arrive.

Several people brought their young ones.  A co-worker brought his moon-bounce and we set it up.  It was the hit of the party as far as the kids were concerned.  Although Alex had a bit of a melt-down when big, bad, evil Damian made him share!  Can you imagine!?

We discovered, sadly, that the country club had their event the night before, so all we had was our $200 supply from CostCo.  All "spark fountain" stuff, but fun nonetheless.  Garry took charge of lighting them.  Russ and Damian took pictures.

I even made a little video.  I'm still trying to figure out the MacBook and its toys.  I used iMovie and then decided to remove the audio track (which was just pops and people yammering).  I then thought I'd try to add some music.

Fireworks from Damian Hart on Vimeo.

Everyone seemed to have fun.  Then....just as I suspected would happen, one of the attractions decided it wasn't finished.  The cardboard caught on fire and started burning.

But I was prepared...

Disaster averted!  haha!

And that was the end of the day.

***

The next day was the 5th, and TheThreeOfWe all had the day off from work.  So I rustled them out of bed at 430am (much grumbling from Garry), loaded them in the car, and took off to a surprise destination:  Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey!  Yaaa!

It was fun---although really hot.  We rode all the coasters, then came back home. 

Family

Family has always been important to me. More now that I'm older and I have a family of my own. Damain and Russ are very important to me because they are my family now and I love the fact that we all are there for each other. Just last weekend was the 4th of July. We had a BBQ on Sunday, had friends and family over. Simple times like this just makes me stop to realize how importnat it is to have your loved ones around and that just because we're a gay family doesn't make it any diffrent from any other family and with our love for each other, I think out family gets stronger and stronger every day.