Stephanie’s cat Lucy is missing out. Recently, she’s been camping out at the top of the stairs hissing at the other cats when the try to come up, like the Troll under the bridge that doesn’t let people pass. But apparently she didn’t realize she should be charging money to let them by….
Team Indiana marching onto the field at the Opening Ceremonies of GGVII. See all my pictures of the Gay Games Opening Ceremonies, and the pictures Stephanie took from on the field, also. It was a beautiful, surprisingly political ceremony, and I had a great time, even if it was twice as long as planned.
Team Indiana was represented by 89 athletes in dozens of sports, including track and field, figure skating, tennis, and softball.
Photo Galleries from Gay Games 2006:
Gay Games Opening Ceremonies
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Day 1
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Day 2
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Exhibition of Champions
Team Indiana: After Party
We got home yesterday mid-day from Chicago, and we’ve been hanging out and relaxing. We ended up not going to Ikea on Thursday — we sat in traffic for 3 hours, and finally ended up giving up and going directly to the rink so Stephanie could prepare for her show. We went on Friday instead — and again due to traffic, it took a long time and we skipped coming back Friday night and came back Saturday instead so we could at least make one trip where we weren’t both ready to fall asleep.
We met some of our neighbors at a garage sale down the street, which was neat. And we took a tour of our neighbor’s gigantic house. Pretty cool. We went to MacNiven’s on Massachusetts Avenue for dinner — that was nice. We both had big salads and wings. I’d like to go back there; it was fun. Lots of Scottish foods, big vintage golf advert posters on the walls.
We went to our friend Mike’s last night to see his band play — the same band that played at my house two years ago. They were great; much more polished. Today we’ve puttered around, put together some of our furniture from Ikea and unpacked, got caught up on our e-mail and blog reading and watched a ton of TV.
I still haven’t uploaded my pictures; I’ll try to do that tomorrow.
I forgot to shut off the recordings of Degrassi: The Next Generation, so we maxed out our DVR space while we were gone. Oops. Here’s what I’ve been watching lately —
Degrassi: The Next Generation — I never heard of the show until I read about the current version on AfterEllen.com, where they reviewed the positive treatment of gay characters on the show. Stephanie was familiar with the original series from back in the 1980’s, but I was a bit too old for that version and never saw it. We’re now addicted to this version and have been watching the re-runs this summer on The N. For those who aren’t familiar; the original was set in Degrassi Junior High, then Degrassi High School. The current series is about the kids of the original characters, set in the same school, which is now a combined junior and senior high. The show tackles some edgy subjects in a very educated and non-preachy manner, which they can do because it’s a Canadian show, set in a Canada, where people don’t freak out about showing realistic issues on television. In fact some of the episodes were censored when they originally aired here. There are six seasons of DTNG, so we’ve been doing a lot of catch-up on the storylines, and they’ve aired shows from all the seasons in re-run. We’ve seen a lot of the episodes where Dylan and Marco (the boy gay couple) have a relationship, but we’re still waiting for the episodes where Paige and Alex (the girl gay couple) get together.
Deadwood
Entourage
Lucky Louie
Rescue Me
Saved
The Closer
Big Brother
Windfall (although we’re way behind on this series)
I seem to have an overly testosterone-driven viewing schedule. I wish Sex and the City was still around to balance it out.
Obviously, there’s a lot going on in the news, but I’m not sure how to even comment on it. Bush’s behavior at the G-8 summit makes it pretty clear that American foreign policy is pretty much fucked, and our ability to influence events in the middle east or with Korea is pretty much meaningless at this point. I’m praying that we can make it through the next few years without World War III spiraling into the end of civilization. Although there are quite a few people who are cheering for that to happen, and there’s some question about whether Bush is one of those people.
We’re headed up to Chicago for the Gay Games this week. Stephanie’s skating in two competitions as part of Team Indiana, so we’ll be there all week. (IIf you can’t be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!)
We’re staying with Stephanie’s Dad (and taking Spike!) so our internet connections will be sporatic, but we’ll try to visit Starbucks or Panera to do some blogging during the week.
Today we register Stephanie and attend the Opening Ceremonies — lots of celebrities, including Megan Mulallay an Holly Near.
Photo Galleries from Gay Games 2006:
Gay Games Opening Ceremonies
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Day 1
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Day 2
Gay Games: Figure Skating, Exhibition of Champions
Team Indiana: After Party
I’ve had a wicked case of poison ivy for the week and a half. We have a ton on it in our yard, and I’ve been spraying Round Up on it like crazy, but somehow I still managed to get into it, probably while using the weed wacker in the front yard. And I’ve never had it before, so I didn’t realize what teh rash was at first – I thought it was a nasty bug bite. So I managed to spread the oil all over my legs and arms before I caught on an started washing everything.
It finally dawned on my about Thursday, and I went to the doctor on Friday afternoon to get cortizone cream. That seems to be helping, but I’m still wide awake at 3:00 am while the itching drives me nuts.
We’re still moving Stephanie out of her house. We keep making trips at night and on the weekends, but it’s slow going doing it one load at a time. I think we’re three quarters of the way done; we down to stuff that still needs to be sorted and packed. Hopefully soon this endless move will be over and we can settle down to getting stuff organized and squared away.
We discovered last night that we can’t see the downtown fireworks from our backyard, but if we drive four blocks south we can see them on the other side of the overpass. We parked on 10th street, hopped into the back of the truck and had a perfect view. Which means we could host a cookout on the 4th next year if we feel like it. There might be other good vantage points in Old Northside, because on the way back, there were tons of people from the neighborhood walking back home carrying coolers and blankets. So they must have walked to wherever they saw the show from. I know we have at least three parks in the neighborhood; one of them might have a good vantage point.
We also spent some time at my brother Paul’s yesterday afternoon. He cooked out burgers and we got to see his house (I’ve never been) and Scott’s new puppy, Pickford.
We spent a large part of the holiday weekend moving and unpacking. David and Garrett helped us move some of the bigger furniture from Stephanie’s house on Sunday (in 96 degree weather!) With some slight mishaps. We lost a set of wooden shelves from the back of the truck at one point. We did manage to get her grandmother’s dresser to the new house intact, though, which is mostly what I was worried about. There’s still lots to move, but I think we past the tipping point of getting major stuff from the house, and now there’s lots of little trips left. At this point we’re trying not to kill ourselves by overdoing it.
If this seems like it’s taking forever — imagine how we feel. Heh.
Various pictures of moving activities. Photos of May 2006 on Flickr
Pod Arrival
Huckleberry hiding under packing materials
Annabelle hiding under packing materials
pictures of the painting
We had our shower plumbing (check out experienced plumbers at Sarkinen Plumbing here) worked on for the third time Friday, and they finally got it right. The “on” handle was leaking to start out with, then it was fixed but hard to turn on or get good pressure. Now it’s awesome — the kind of water pressure that almost knocks you over it’s so strong. I love that. Our shower rocks.
We spent Saturday doing some more moving, with Stephanie’s friends Barb and Ollie helping, and unpacking at home. I think we’re making progress, but it’s hard to tell. As soon as we get stuff unpacked and put away, more stuff seems to find it’s way to the house. We took a load of the crappy carpet from the basement to the landfill, which was pretty entertaining.
We spent some time trying to get the cats to like each other. That’s a work in progress. For now, everyone has their own room, and they get to roam the house at different times.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning we painted the laundry room. We decided to do it because the washer and dryer were pulled out (we replaced the crappy ones that came with the house with mine) and we thought it would be good to do before we put them in place, since the last people who painted didn’t bother to do it behind the appliances. Sunday morning I hooked up the washer and dryer, and we started washing the massive piles of laundry we’ve been accumulating.
Sunday afternoon we went to a cookout at my Dad’s house to celebrate Father’s day and all the June birthdays. Everyone has a better camera than I do — I want a good Canon. I’ll have to work on that. My dad gave us his 18′ ladder, which we toted home, and in the evening, we took a small load of stuff from Stephanie’s and grabbed Phoebe and brought her to live in her new garage.
It was a pleasant enough weekend, although it was overshadowed by some bad news from some friends that really kinda has me feeling down. I don’t want to write more than that out of respect for other’s personal stuff. But sometimes life really sucks.
It seems like I’ve hit a bit of a wall when it comes to the moving and unpacking process. My muscles are incredibly sore, making the task of lifting boxes much more challenging than it should be. Everywhere I look in the new house, there are boxes piled up, obstructing the spaces where we need to start unpacking our belongings. I wonder if hiring a professional West Jordan moving company could alleviate some of this stress.
My latent OCD tendencies are causing me to feel overwhelmed by the clutter and disarray created by all these boxes. It’s like having a persistent buzzing noise in my ears; the visual chaos of stuff scattered everywhere is exacerbating my stress levels. Last night, I had a meltdown due to the mounting pressure, and Stephanie is graciously trying to support me through it all. She truly is a remarkable person for being so patient and understanding.
We managed to make some progress on Tuesday when we packed up a significant portion of the kitchen at Stephanie’s house, thanks to the invaluable help of Elizabeth. However, there’s still a considerable amount of work left to do there. Additionally, I still have about two truckloads of belongings at my own house that need to be transported to the new place. Choose Roadmoto Trailer Rentals for secure transport of your equipment and other belongings.
Copied from the Old Northside Historic Plan, information on our house:
Caylor – Jenkins – Riddle House
c. 1876
Built by Joseph Caylor, who lived next door, this Italianate cottage has had its original frame porch replaced by the present brick porch with battered columns. The window sash has also been changed to four over one. These changes were probably made after 1910.Dennis Jenkins took up residence at this address in 1890. He was publisher of the Jersey Bulletin, a publication for Jersey cattle breeders. A permanent memorial to Jenkins exists in the form of the bell at Irvington Presbyterian Church, which he donated upon its construction.
From 1919 to 1925, Charles L. Riddle, Jr. resided here. Riddle was president, treasurer, and general manager of the Charles L. Riddle Company. They were dealers in wholesale plumbing supplies and electric light fixtures.
The Charles L. Riddle Company is mentioned in Indiana’s Historic National Road: The East Side, Richmond to Indianapolis because it was located at 462 W. Washington Street in 1919. According to that book, “The Charles Riddle Store sold automobile tires, tubes and electrical supplies.”
After doing a bit of searching on the former residents of our abode:
Regarding Dennis Jenkins and his Jersey Cow publication (from the PDF file, courtesy of The American Jersey Cattle Association):
Into this void came The Jersey Bulletin, established in 1883 by Dennis H. Jenkins, a railway clerk in Indianapolis, Ind. “To it belongs the credit of being the first magazine published exclusively as a dairy breed paper,” writes Gow. Its 16-page premier issue was dated October 1 and in the “Salutatory,” Jenkins wrote:
“The mission of the BULLETIN will be to give promptly all the Jersey news of interest, publish the transfers and movements of Jersey cattle, the experience and views of practical breeders, collect all items of value or interest, employ able writers on the subject, and to make it, in fact, perfectly indispensable to every one who has an interest in this great (breed) of butter makers.”