Getting into the Season

 HAPPY HALLOW--- oh wait it is still September.

That doesn't matter, it is officially autumn, so why not put up Halloween decorations? B is all about it, just thank goodness he didn't want to decorate the yard in Halloween Gnomes! Will get to that in another post at some point I am sure.

It does look festive, and after placing 17 inflatables and various other decorations (pumpkins, mums and scarecrows) the "boys" (how I refer to DJ and B) were finished, for now now anyway.

All these decorations had me going back in time to Halloweens of past. Trick or Treat as a kid was not that much fun for me, and once I got married we didn't participate as my ex wife thought it was some kind of worship of Satan or something. Then once I came out it became a yearly extravaganza! I would either host or co-host a costume party every year.

This year DJ & B are hosting a costume party (as long as Covid slows down, which unfortunately, it seems to back in rampant force) The theme for the party is Disney. So now I need to decide what I will dress up as. I am thinking an Ape, from Tarzan. B already has the costume and I will be in a full faced mask all night! We will see.

As for my shingles, they are still active, but slowing down. Had to get another prescription of the famciclovir, so hopefully they will be gone soon! 

So, Happy Autumn and let's hope for a party!

Trimming the Hedges

 I mentioned in my first blog post back on my birthday and my first post in seven years that I was living with DJ and his husband, B now. In 2013 they bought their first home and about a year later they asked me to move in with them. It was odd at first, but I finally settled in and their home became my home. Fast forward to today. About a year ago, sometime in August 2019, DJ and B put their first home on the market. On December 17, 2019 they closed on the new home. A thirteen room colonial with an acre of land. We all love it, including the babies (the doggies).

I went out for a little bit today (as I have not been out of the house other than to go to the doctor) and when I returned, B had hedge clippers and was trying to manually cut the huge shrubs in the front of the house. He was not having the best of luck. I proceeded to get the electric hedge trimmers out of the garage and finished the job, and the photos above is the completed project.

I was quite proud of myself as the last time I had done this big of a project was way back in the mid 1990's when I worked with my former father-in-law. He taught me quite a bit about landscaping (as well as other things, I may add).

Hat's off to me, and thanks to my former father-in-law, RIP.

Reality Check... How am I 60?

 Today I turned Sixty.

No this picture is not a current one, this was taken in February.

In the midst of a pandemic, I turned sixty. I had planned a big party with family and friends, but unfortunately I had to cancel due to the stay-at-home orders across our county. Pandemic or not, I still turned sixty. Party or not, I turned sixty.

Did I tell you I turned sixty today? 60!

This blog has been empty of new posts since 2013. I had just recently started my job with my current employer. Posted about it then nothing. A hell of a lot has transpired in seven years, and now I am 60!

I have been with that employer now 7+ years. We were sold to the largest Pharmaceutical company in North America about 4 years ago. With that change, I received a large raise and promotion and had my own office. But now, instead of going to my office every day we are working remotely. For me, that means in my bedroom. Not a bad set up, and I am actually more productive here than I was at the office. If you would have told me seven years ago when I got this job that I would be working from my bedroom and living with DJ and B, I would have said you were crazy. But I am.

Yes I live with my Ex and his husband (they were married in 2015) and 99.9% we get along fine. Even during a pandemic and me living in this house 24 / 7. However, they are essential workers (the pandemic has created new words and phrases) and both work outside of the home. I rarely get out. I have an auto-immune disease (MS and diabetes) so I want to avoid the Coronavirus / COVID-19 at all costs.

Like I said, so much has transpired in the last seven years, and I don't want to go into all of it in this post, but I will be posting more in the upcoming weeks and bring you up to date, if there is anyone still reading this. If not, that is okay too as this blog was always for me anyway.

So welcome to the "NEW' Reality Check.

Reality Check @ 60

Cubicle Heaven or Haven?

Work is a necessary chore, unless you were born into wealth and live off the interest your trust fund gives you.  It is something we all must do in order to provide for ourselves and our family and have the basic needs meet and those not-so-basic needs meet that we have grown accustomed to having.  I have been with my current employer over 6 years.  In this day and time, and in my industry that's pretty good.  The average tenure at my job is about 4 years.  Recently there have been an influx of new hires, as we are going through an organizational restructure. I am one that really does not have issues with change, and the changes being made, are much needed and have been for some time.

For the most part I have enjoyed my employment here, and always felt appreciated and like a person.  Lately though it seems with new management and the company growing and expanding that feeling of appreciation is waning, and no longer so I feel like a person, but a machine. I also feel that my co-workers are feeling the same thing as many are looking for other work and some have recently left.

I am at a stage in my life, where I do not feel like getting the resume out and pushing it out there and making the calls and jumping through the hoops to find a new job.  I just do not have the energy for it any more.  So I will stay here where I am and deal with the current uneasiness and hope that after the storm that I am still afloat.  If not, then I will worry about what I am going to do and start looking to find something else.  But for now, I will sit right there in my cubicle and continue to do the best work I can do, and ignore the negativity and complacency of others.  I may be settling, and is it a heaven here...no more like a haven, but if I look at the big picture, I do like my job and if I was to find something else, chances are the same things will begin to happen again, so where do we stop?  Retirement?  Probably, so until then...

Starting Over

Wow, it is hard to believe it was almost two years since my last post! Well it is time for me to start over, wouldn't you say? Not forgettting the past, as I don't want to forget the past, it has made me who I am.  I also don't want to start all the way back at the beginning, you can read my past posts for that! But this is a new start. On January 15, 2013, I moved into my own place. All alone! At fifty-two I am living alone for the first time in my life. 

It is an adjustment, to say the least, as it is a BIG change for me and it is something I never even thought about, but it has been exciting. Oh yes I have had a few meltdowns already and it has been emotional, but overall I am looking at this with a positive attitude and a renewal of sorts.

The search for a new place didn't take me long, and I love the new place (pictures to follow) and decorating and buying all new things was the best part of the transistion. However, now that all the new furniture and decor is in place, reality is setting in, and it's becoming real to me. I am living alone, (well except for my cat, Cordelia).  So what a perfect time to get back into the my blog, right? So share with me my new adventure as I look forward to the next chapter of my reality!

To Date or Not to Date...That is the Question

It's been almost a year since Dan and I broke up, and recently I've been thinking about dating again.  I mean seriously looking for someone to date. More than a one night stand, or a FWB. Someone special.

Well it's not as easy as I first thought it was going to be.  I mean a lot has changed in eleven years, which was the last time I went on a date.  There was the Internet 11 years ago, but online dating was in it's infancy, and many of the guys that were on those sites were not ones you would have wanted to take home to meet your mother...or pets.  However, now the Internet is flooded with gay dating sites and even apps for your phones.  There is gay.com, okcupid.com, grindr, scruff, adam4adam, growlr...and the list goes on and on, even craigslist has an man 4 man option for personal ads.  Some are true dating sites, but most a "hook-up" sites.  What happened to going out to the bars, or other social venues and find a nice guy?

Then there are the "types" of guy your looking for, or attracted to.  Do I want a twink, or bear, or sissy girl, or leather man.  Hell I just want a date!  Then there is the age thing... yes we in the gay community are very selective.  If you are 21 to 30, you don't want to date someone in their 50's.  A guy 50+ is like dating your grandfather! (Yes, I was told that)  If your 35 to 40, you also don't want to date someone over 50.  Why? Because they are wanting someone their age or younger, someone they can relate to.  And most of the guys that are 45-55? Well they are looking for some hot young stud to make them feel younger. So where do I fit in, in all of this?  I don't know, you tell me! I'm not picky about age. Well anywhere from 25 to 55,  I think that is a broad enough age difference. As far as my type? He just needs to be a gay man, that is established, employed and decent. Not so much into "types" either.

I was just hoping to jump back out there in the dating pool and find Mr. Right and settle back down in the daily grind with someone at my side. But do I really? Do I really want that?  Am I ready for another relationship?  Will I ever be ready for another relationship? Today I am not sure. But what I do know is that I do not like dating any more that I did 11 years ago.  It's hard, and painful, and it causes me to think WAY too much.  So what do I do?  I think the answer is plain and simple and it was said to me 11 years ago.  Just stop looking and thinking so much about it. If it happens it happens.

So for now I will continue to check the dating sites I have signed up on, and I will continue to meet and talk to guys when the opportunity arises. But I am not going to dwell on not having a boyfriend.  I am going to date myself, enjoy my friends and family and when it's right....well you know the rest of it.

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

Of the three r's, (reading writing and arithmetic), reading was always my favorite. One of my first memories is sitting in the children's section of Hamilton, Ohio's Lane Public Library and looking at books wishing I could read the words on them.

My mother was and continues to be an avid reader and her love of reading was instilled into me at a very early age. When I finally began to learn how to read, I never wanted to stop. During the summer, the Lane Public Library had a summer reading fair and the "bookmobile" would come to various neighborhoods and the kids go borrow the books they wanted to read for the week and the next week return them and exchange for new ones. The child that read the most books over the summer holiday would be honored by having their name put on the summer reading banner.


I am sure that I have read thousands of books. From Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" to Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and every genre in between. I have many favorite books I have read and some I care not to read again. Like movies, some you can read over and over and others, once is enough. Some of my favorites are... "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote; "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell; and "The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice. But my very first book was read in the floor of the children's section of Hamilton, Ohio's Lane Public Library, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter. The memory is so fresh and vivid in my mind, just like it was yesterday. Some of my best memories as a child came from reading and that library.


Things have changed quite a bit since then. The Lane Public Library is still there and the main building is on the Ohio Historic Registry of Historic Buildings, but it has seen some changes since then. It also has several branches throughout Butler County. Now most kids have never opened a book other than their school text books and if they read it is off the Internet or from magazines. The neighborhood library is almost a thing of the past. And I have not seen a "bookmobile" in decades. It is unfortunate that reading has taken a back seat to video games and the computer. So next time you need some quiet time, or just need to "get away" from the every day world, grab a book.

Where you Been??

Over at facebook, come look me up, and be my friend!

www.facebook.com/mwyatt1960

Susan or Julie?

The sensation this week via You Tube has been the "Britain's Got Talent" contestant or The Central Station in Antwerp. I know the Central Station video was staged and Susan Boyle was a real live performance, but I really liked the Central Station one better. What do you think?



or Susan Boyle Britian's Got Talent

Another March Madness

Check out my blog posting regarding March Madness in 2007. Well, it is that time again, and much like the 2007 version, this one is very much the same. However, this year I did play the "brackets". I picked the city in each division that I like or would like to live in and chose them. So in the final four I have Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Memphis, which I narrowed down to Duke and Wake Forest with Wake Forest going all the way. I've been laughed at now for two days, but who cares, it was only 5$.

I hate March Madness for many of the same reasons I hated it in 2007, but another reason is DJ works double shifts throughout this entire fiasco. So for the next three weekends I will not see him at all. Yes, the money is good, and being a bartender during March Madness at a very well-known national sports bar chain, is financially profitable, but I miss my own private bartender!!

Another March will soon be over, and so too will the madness of it all.

Cleaning House

It is almost 70 degrees outside today and it has me in the mood for cleaning! Spring cleaning! I hear you now..."You are kidding right?"

But no I am not kidding, I NEED to clean house. Even though we have only lived here about 4 months (Oh, yeah we moved again, didn't I tell you? Sorry. A bigger place, two bedrooms, same complex) I really need to clean. Even though neither DJ or myself seem to be spending as much time at home, it is a MESS! So most of the morning I have spent cleaning.

I have also been cleaning the blog up a little. I was reading my blog list (that list of blogs to your right) and I am finding out that some of my favorite bloggers have disappeared from the blogoshere. Lost them to facebook or Twitter I guess. So I cleaned house over there, deleting some blogs that have disappeared and added some new ones and brought back some ones that I used to read. I also added (or should I say updated) my picture links. I am focusing the picture links to my grand kids.

Well as I am sure DJ is happy I cleaned house, i hope you are also happy I cleaned up my Blog-House.

March Already!?

It is really hard to believe that it is already March 2009! It could be the fact that it is still cold as December outside. Or it could be with everything going on with Adam and everything else it just seems like it should still be December.

DJ's little sister is expecting her first child in August. This was news that we heard on her birthday, January 2nd, but everyone was keeping it quiet. I never understood that, though. How can you keep a pregnancy quiet? It is going to be obvious sooner of later. Maybe it was because she is 18 and just graduated High School. It may be they wanted it quiet because she is un-married. That no longer seems to be the taboo it was back in the 1950's, so why all the "hush hush". Who knows, but it drama seems to be prevalent in his family, so maybe they just wanted it for the "drama". Anyway her baby will be here in August, then talk about drama!!

Not much happening really, Adam is moving along pretty well. There has been some bumps, but nothing that he can not get over. Other than that it looks as though March is going to be another uneventful month that just passes us by too quickly and we will soon hear me saying...December, Already!?

A Little of Nothing

Not posted in a while, but been pretty busy actually. Adam had clinic last week , so it was a day in the hospital, and then with the weather being bad last week as well and missing work I had a lot of work to catch up on.

We had a crazy ice/snow storm last week, and the drive home which normally takes me 30-45 minutes depending on the traffic took me 4 hours! Yes, FOUR HOURS. It was just crazy. Fortunately by the next morning things were cleaned up at least a little better and it only took me ab hour to get to work.

Adam goes back into the hospital Wednesday-Friday for his next round of chemo and things are going as expected there. He is doing okay, just really tired and is beginning to actually look sick. I think the chemo is finally taking it's toll on him. You can read more updates about his progress on his blog Adam's Journey. Tomorrow is his 16th birthday and I am planning to post a retrospective entry. We celebrated his birthday Saturday, with lunch with Erin at Red Lobster and then Dave and Busters with Silver and his son.

Well that's about it for now, nothing real exciting to share, but make sure you come back, I know soon something will stir around here. It can not go this long without some kind of excitement!!

Long Week...

It's been a very long week. Monday was a holiday, so that was a plus, thanks to Martin Luther King! But from that point on this week has seemed to have flown by. Tuesday we moved into our new office at work. It is very nice and accommodating, and has all the amenities one would need for a safe, pleasant and enjoyable work experience. At least it will have once all the kinks have been worked out. With a move of that magnitude there were some issues. Mostly electrical and to do with our IT Department. Overall they have done a tremendous job, it's just somewhat unsettling this week at work.

Thursday Adam had to be admitted back into the hospital for his third session of chemo, and that was an ALL day extravaganza. See his blog for his current status. Friday night I stayed all night at the hospital with him, and yesterday was a half work day, and then home. It really seems like home has not been a place where I have spent much time this past week.

We did receive some good new this week. Adam was selected for the Make-a-Wish foundation and he gets to make a wish, and it is granted. Well besides a car, he already asked and they don't give those as gifts. He is currently looking at a possible Hawaii vacation for himself, his mother, stepfather, myself, Dan and his brother J2. Once his treatments are completed he will make the decision and finalization will be made. We are looking to the future and this makes it a little brighter for all of us, especially Adam.

I See Dead People...

In my dreams. Not like right now, here in front of me, but in my dreams. The last week or so I have been dreaming about people I once knew that are now dead. In my dreams they are not dead and it is not a dream where it happened before they died, but in the current time. I am the age I am now, regardless of how old I was when they actually died.

Normally dreams are not a big deal to me, but many times I have had dreams of loved ones that have died, and then I hear that they actually have died, like a premonition. But these are different types of dreams, these are of people that are already dead, some of them for a very long time. So I decided I needed to have these dreams interpreted, so off to the world wide web!

Each link I found regarding dreaming of dead people, told me a different reason as to why I was seeing dead people in my dreams. Some said that it was my mind telling me I no longer needed these people or the relationship I once had. No shit?! They are dead, I certainly do not have a relationship with these people any longer.

Another said that I was dreaming of these dead people to warn me not to make the same mistakes they did. Okay...one lady was killed by her husband, another lived to be 92, what mistakes did they make that I need to avoid? Living to be 92 or being with a psychotic?

Overall after reading these many interpretations of why we dream of dead people I come to the conclusion that no one really knows why. So I am going to take my grandmother's interpretation (yes, she is now dead, and yes she was one of the people I dreamed about) She always told me that "When you dream of someone who has died, they are just paying you a visit."

I know that sound kind of eery, but I like it.

4 Years and Counting

Sunday is my unofficial 4 year Blogiversary! I say unofficial as I started the blog about a year earlier on another blog service and the deleted my content. So this is my 4th year blogging on blogger!

Let's see what was happening on my blog four years ago...

Well I was having the HUMP DAY BLUES here...

Looks like I was Enjoying a Weekend on this particular blog post...

Also four years ago a certain presidential election was coming to an end and we were at the Home Stretch...

And it looks as though I was Getting Over a bad cold...

But actually a lot more than those things have happened in the last four years. DJ and I have moved five times, I have had a son get married, three grandchildren, lost and started a new job...twice, added three cats to our family, diagnosed with diabetes, lost several family members, met new friends, lost old ones and put up with GWB for the last four years!

So now for the next four years...

Tuesday the New Monday

Tuesday, September 30, 2008. The last day of September until next year. And a Tuesday. My least favorite day of the week. I vote we just take Tuesdays off the calendar. September has been a rough month and today was no exception. DJ is gone 3,000 miles away from me, the economy is faltering, Wall St. is crashing, and I really don't know who I want to vote for as President yet, my check was for much less that I was counting on, things at work just seemed to explode and I get to come home to an empty house. Well not completely empty, the cats are here.

Another month of 2008 has come and gone, and so much has happened. Where do I begin? Or where will it end? Who knows, but I know one thing. Tuesday will come back again next week. I just hoe they get better as the year winds down.

King for a Day

I have to start taking my camera everywhere I go. It's a must. Because people never believe me when I tell them the things I see on the way to and from work. Seriously, it's everyday that I see something bizarre or entertaining in my car as I travel the highways and byways of Cincinnati.

Many times it may be a person, or a sign. Sometimes it is an animal or just something strange that sticks out and catches my eye. Today though it was something quite entertaining. As I was driving down a major road in the beautiful Queen City, I saw what had to have been the King of Cincy. He was standing there waiting apparently for the Metro (Cincinnati's Bus Line), minding his business and making sure that everyone knew he was...the man.

I would venture to say he was in his late 60's and decked out in one of the finest polyester suits I have ever seen. His shoes matched the color of the suit, which was almost a turquoise shade. His hair was cropped close, from what I could see, and his general appearance was clean, yet not OCD clean. On every finger and thumb he had at least one golden ring attached to it. Around his neck were several golden necklaces and chains. Over his shoulder was what looked like a golden Louis Vitton bag. And upon his head was the crowing achievement, so to speak.

It was a golden crown with stunning jewel inlaid around the circumference and pearls that lined the tops of each spire. It was a vision of splendor that would have made even the Queen of England green with envy. As I drove past I looked in my rear view mirror and caught my final glimpse of him heading into the bus carry his green garbage bag, ready for another day of whatever it is the King of the City does.

Yes, I need to start taking my camera with me everywhere! There is so much I could share.

A Lady in My Life

I have a new lady in my life. I have named her Scarlett. Not sure what her real name is so Scarlett will have to do.

Scarlett is a glimpse in my childhood and when I saw her sitting there in the cousin's curio cabinet I just knew I had to have her. Now that I have her sitting out proudly in my living room I don't want her to be alone. I am on the lookout for another lady to join her...maybe Melanie?

This little lady is actually what is called a head vase. They were made in Japan back after WWII and then they made their way into American homes by way of florists. In the top of the hat, or head as it may be, there is a hole. (No comments about all women having holes in their heads, please) In this hole, florists filled with dirt and flowers, and Americans would sit these planters or vases out for all to see. Once the flower died of course they could still be used for decoration.

My grandmother most have received a lot of flowers in the 40's and 50's because I remember her having at least 10 of these ladies sitting on a shelf in her kitchen, peering down at me while I sat the looking up at these strange mysterious women. It was kind of freaky... Plus she had more gazing at me from the living room.

Fast forward to today (and like most of the things in my grandmother's home that no one knows what happened to after she passed),these little ladies are collectors items. Hell, they have their own convention!! And their very own web site called HEAD VASE MUSEUM. These ladies can be found all over the country in garage sales, vintage sales, and flea markets. But bring your pocketbook, because these little ladies like to drain the wallet dry, they will suck the numbers right off your credit card. Some of these women can go for as high as $2,500. Now don't come running over to my house and try to steal Scarlett, thinking she will bring you that much. At last check she was only worth about $250, so HANDS OFF MY LADY! Needless to say I will be collecting these ladies, along with my vintage movie posters and Wizard of Oz Memorabilia.

With my birthday coming up in about 4 days (hint hint) I know a great gift....

Just Another Day

It was just going to be another day. A day like all the rest. I got up, took my shower and scambled to get ready for work. I took the same route I take everyday and see all the same sights I see day in and day out...and then it happened...

The day suddenly became different. I stopped at red light and she was there on the corner. I sat waiting for the red light to turn green but it didn't happen soon enough, she was now coming towards my car. I started to roll up my window but it was too late she was talking to me.

"Hey...can I have a smoke?" Her hair had not been washed in quite sometime and her clothes were about in the same condition. They didn't fit around her "round" torso and her belly button looked like it had just exploded from underneath the dirty,(what used to be white) T-Shirt. She had on no under garmets, at least not under the T-shirt, that was obvious. I replied...

"No, I don't smoke"... I lied and glanced over to the pack of cigarettes that lay on the car seat next to me. This did not deter her.

"So how about some money?" I couldn't believe this, she was now resting her arm on my car window!

"No, just go on the light is going to turn green." I said with what I knew was a disgusted look on my face.

"How about a ride then honey..." The light turned green I rlled up my window and went through the intersection leaving her standing in the middle of the road. I looked in the rear view mirror just in time to see her giving me the international sign for...well you know.

No this was NOT going to be just another day.