Bobservations

Sunday was laundry day at Casa Bob y Carlos and I am the laundress, so I asked Carlos to put what he wanted washed into the hamper or else, you know, no wash.

I walked into the closet and he is holding up a shirt to wash; he reaches inside that shirt and pulls out another shirt; he reaches inside that shirt and pulls out another shirt; he reaches inside that shirt and pulls out another shirt; this happened until all seven shirts were separated and put in the hamper.

He wears Russian nesting Doll Shirts for crying out loud!

This Tuxedo Memory is from September 2015 and is entitled:

“It's My Blog And I'll Tuxedo If I Want To .....

Okay, so this is mainly a filler post as Carlos and I are out of town, visiting Raleigh, North Carolina, and attending a Mexican Independence Celebration at the Contemporary Art Museum [CAM] hosted by the Mexican Consulate and the Consul General.

That's a long-winded way of saying Carlos was invited to a shindig and I was "and Guest."

So, you'll get Tuxedo, sleeping on a high shelf in the closet next to a stuffed rabbit someone gave the cats as a gift, and one they promptly chewed the ears off and destroyed.

I guess now it's just a Cat Pillow?

Anyway, I'll be back live[?] tomorrow. Stay tuned.”

Tuxedo was never a filler cat!

Since the rapture didn't happen after the eclipse, remember who predicted it would ... and then stop listening to them.

This is a good story true or not … there is a little coffee shop, where two people arrive and approached the counter.

“Five coffees please. Two for us and three hanging.”

They paid, they took their two coffees and left. I asked the waiter:

"What’s this about hanging coffees?"

“Wait and you'll see."

Some more people came in. Two girls asked for a coffee each, they paid & left. The following order was for seven coffees and it was made by three women—‘three for them and four hanging coffees.’

I was left wondering...what is the meaning of the hanging coffees, they leave. Then, a man dressed in worn clothes, who looks like he might be homeless, arrives at the counter and asks sincerely...

“Do you have a coffee hanging?"

“Yes we do, sir.”

They serve him a coffee and I got my answer.

People pay in advance for a coffee that will be served to whoever can't afford a hot drink. This tradition started in Naples. Amazingly, it has spread throughout the world’s cities and towns.

It’s also possible to order not only "hanging coffees" but also a sandwich or a full low-cost meal. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all start doing this in the cities and towns where we live? Small kindnesses like this can impact so many lives, in ways we could never imagine.

Maybe we should all try it.

“May you live as long as you want and not want for as long as you live,” is an Irish toast but “bread, cinnamon, eggs and Maple syrup” is a French toast.

You’re welcome.

I do a lot of posts where I tease about Carlos and tell funny stories of him, but his birthday was last Sunday and so this is what I thought of him on his ‘day’ …

“On the yearly anniversary of my dear husband's birth, I shall like to say that in the past couple of months, since the passing of my father, I have had a difficult time.

Things seem to work out and then they don't; things happen, stresses rise and sleepless nights ensue. But all through that Carlos has been my rock and my salvation and my saving grace.

I have loved him for nearly twenty-four years and that love grows each and every day.

Happy birthday, baby, and thank you for all you do to keep me safe and sane and steady and loved.”

And that’s a Carlos Tale of a Different Color.

This is the 50th Anniversary of a woman being able to get a credit card without the signature of a man … let that sink in and then realize that Arizona is rolling back abortion laws to the 1860s.

It's almost like some men are out to punish women.

Years ago Carlos and I went to the Columbia Farmer’s Market Plant Sale looking for plants for our new yard. We found a few we liked and then Carlos found a two-foot-tall Popcorn Tree, AKA Popcorn Viburnum. It produces clusters of small, popcorn ball-shaped blooms in spring while the leaves turn red to purple in the fall. Carlos wanted it and asked one of the vendors how much it was … seventeen dollars, Carlos said, and so we packed it up with a few other plants and headed off to pay for our new additions.

New additions that totaled nearly $150.00 and almost caused Carlos to faint. You see, the Popcorn Bush wasn’t seventeen, but seventy dollars, and Carlos was too embarrassed to tell them we didn’t want it.

Good thing because this is the Popcorn Bush this spring … over six feet tall and worth every penny.

Emmanuel Buchele is an athlete, actor, model, and a host of other things, so … Would You Hit It?

Lazy Weekend ...For Some of Us

We spent the morning in Friday getting the taxes done, and were surprised to see we were getting a rather healthy refund.

That was nice. But then, with the onset of spring, and some slightly warmer days, there were lawns to mow and hedges to trim, and a ten foot tall holly bush off the deck that needed to be reshaped for spring; a little help with the ladder and I was able to give Holly a haircut.

Sunday was Carlos' turn in the yard, and trimming bushes and replanting a tree and weeding along the fence.

Fun times. But,we did manage to squeeze in somne time with Tuxedo on the deck. Our cats don't go outside because, living in a somewhat rural area, there are all kinds of things they can catch from critters that roam through out yard. Still,Tuxedo is allowed out, and on the table on the deck, but only with supervision, AKA me, and only when it's nice and sunny for him to warm his bones, and then take a breather in the sun.

Not a bad life,really, for us, and Tuxedo.

Random Musings

Okay, so there are certain phrases that people use that I loathe and I’m’a gonna add to that list, which includes ... It is what it is ... and LOL ... and people who actually say OMG rather than Oh My God.

So, the new phrase I would like erased from our culture is ... 

Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Stop it. And, I will ask that women, especially stop saying it, and not because I’m sexist or misogynistic, but because women are smarter than men and don’t need to spout dumb shiz like this.

Carry on.

Tuxedo is an escape artist. He, like the other cats, is not allowed outside because we live in a rural area and there are lots of things cats can catch that are dangerous. But ... and there’s always a but ... Tuxedo is the Best Cat Ever™ and so several morning a week, I take him outside and let him walk along the deck railing so he can smell the outside; don’t worry, he’s always chaperoned.

Still, if he’s in that mood, and someone opens a door, and he’s there, and there’s an opening, he’s been known to fly out the door and escape into the yard where a chase ensues, and treats are used to goad him back inside. 

One morning, Carlos left a door open when he was going into the yard and I couldn’t find Tuxedo. I called all over the house and he wasn’t there ... but I could hear him meow ... over and over again. It was coming near the sunroom, where the door had been left open ... I heard his plaintive meows and called him and then looked down ...

I guess he was playing Hide-and-Seek and I was ‘It.’

So ... will the 2017 NBA Champions Golden State Warriors meet President _____ in the White House, as is custom for winning teams? Maybe; maybe not. 

After the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and won the championship, Tweets suggested that Golden State Warriors had decided ... as a team ... to boycott a trip to the White House, but then the organization released a statement saying no decision had been made. Yet there is a thought that the team or some on the team, don’t wish to meet _____; some like Stephen Curry, who took issue with his sponsor Under Armor over CEO Kevin Plank's description of _____ as a “real asset” by saying:

“I agree with that description, if you remove the 'et' from asset.”

And Warrior coach Steve Kerr has called _____ "blowhard" who couldn't be "more ill-suited to be President."

And, another player, David West, said this in January:

“All the tactics that he used to get elected are the very things that someone like me, who works with youth on a consistent basis, are the things that we try to talk our young folks out of being.”

Stay home, Golden State, because he’ll just use your visit as a photo op to shore up his fragile ego and failing presidency and do World Champions really wanna stoop that low?

Last weekend, Carlos was working in the garden and when he took a break, he came in to tell me that the, ahem, "understructure" was in place and next he would work on the infrastructure.

I'm terrified he’s building an overpass in the backyard.

The Ninth Circuit Court clapped back at _____ and ruled against his “revised” Travel Ban:

“We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress.”

Plus, it’s racist, you know.

Last weekend was the Tony Awards which I watched because, well, gay, and as a gay man I love all things Broadway and all things Hot Men and especially all things Broadway and Hot men.

As in Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton creator, who presented at last week’s show. I mean, he’s adorable, talented, Latino, and, well, I loves all those things naturally ... since I’m married to an adorable, talented Latino man.

And there was also one Lucas Steele, of The Great Comet, who looks a little like a sexy vampire and I am all about the sexy vampires and Broadway because, again, gay.

Just sayin’.

We all know that Fox News is just a branch of the GOP and will defend and credit the Republicans for every little thing ... whether it’s true or not ... case in point, Fox News reported this:

“First New Coal Mine of _____ Era Opens in Pennsylvania”

Except, like most Fox News stories there was nary a thread of truth to it ... because the permit for this mine was issued back in 2013, when _____ was nothing but an hysterical Birther tool.

Another Fox Lie as they goose-step alongside crazy.

So, this is Pride Month, and even Facebook has gotten into it with one of their emojis; you have the Thumbs Up, the Heart, the Smile, the Wow, the Tear, the Frown, and now you have the Pride Flag.

Cool, right? Well, not for a Facebook page called “Warriors for Christ” who posted this:

And then added:

So, as happens, people began going full-on Rainbow on the “Warriors for Christ” page:

And the Warriors were not happy about all that Rainbow Goodness ...

Too bad, so sad.

Last week, we got the bill for Carlos’ hospital stay ... twenty-eight hours in the hospital equals $20,000.

Yup, and this 20K is just for the bed; he was hooked up to no machines, no monitors, no nothing; he had a bed and a couple of meals and a few times he had his vitals checked by a nurse.

I told him that the next time he needs to be hospitalized, we’ll check him into the Presidential Suite at the Hyatt and hire a nurse for a day; it’d be cheaper.

On the upside ... thank god for insurance... because our out-of-pocket was just $800 and after a call from Carlos to Billing, it fell to just $700.

So, yeah, there’s that.

This week, while testifying before the Senate about Russia, Attorney General, and Keebler Elf, Jefferson Beauregard Beverly Leslie Sessions said 'I don't recall' a lot.

The best part was he said he ‘didn’t recall’ meeting with a Russian spy, but he did recall that if he had met with the man, they didn’t talk about anything like Russia hacking the election.

Huh? I don’t remember meeting the man but I remember that if I met him we didn’t discuss that.

Asshat lying little troll.

More good news? Okay ... Oprah Winfrey says she’s not running for President.

As if anyone seriously thought she would ... I mean, she’s too busy shilling Weight Watcher s and her love affair with bread.

Siddown Oprah, please.

So when President-For-Now _____ announced he was planning another get-together with bigwigs in the tech field, one man, Dick Costolo, the ex-CEO of Twitter, who attended the last go-round, had some advice for those who may want to go, but can’t ...

Twitter is fun ... especially when its ex-CEO uses it to clap back at the Twit-In-Chief!

Thanks Hurricane Matthew!

Well, we made it through the storm, but one of our sixty-plus foot pines in the front yard did not.

And neither did a huge couple of trees in our neighbor's yard who both decided that the grass was greener on our side of the fence.

Luckily the only damage was to some trees and a small section of fence.

Oy ... didn't we move out of Florida because of Hurricanes? Maybe it's time to head to California ... nope, earthquakes. Maye Oklahoma; nope tornadoes. Perhaps Texas? Nope ... Texans.

Random Musings

The Duggars, in the midst of a child molestation scandal, and a probe by Child Protective Services, and the loss of the TV gig because they aid and abet child molesters, are still hoping to return to TV because they believe it is “God's plan for them.”

Funny, I think God’s plan is for them to be outed as the hypocritical, holier-than-thou, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals that they are.

But that’s just me.

We are undergoing some new hours and restructuring at work, so my schedule this week has been a confusing mess; days when I should be in, I’m out, and times I should be out, I’m in. I woke up this morning and told Carlos I was glad it was the weekend and he said …

“It’s Thursday.”

I wept.

Funny, cuz it’s true, but the Huffington Post has announced that, while they will continue to cover Donald [t]Rump’s soon-to-implode, presidential bid, they will no longer do so on the legitimate news pages, but will relegate him to the site's entertainment section.

"Our reason is simple: Trump's campaign is a sideshow. We won't take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you'll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette."—Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim and editorial director Danny Shea

And so naturally, [t]Rump responded in truly presidential fashion by writing his own article with an emphasis on words like ‘loser’ and ‘not as rich as me’ and, well, you get the idea.

Petulant child throwing a fit.

John Kasich, former governor of  Ohio, has become the 16th GOP candidate for the presidential nomination. A lot of folks like him because he’s called a bit more centrist than the way-to-the-right leaning others in the GOP Clown Car, but here’s my issue with Kasich.

During an interview, he mentioned how much fun he likes to have while serving in politics and I don ‘t want my president thinking about fun; I wanting his thinking about whirled peas, and world peace, and global warming, and the economy and the incredibly expanding middle and lower classes and the way most politicians worry only about the One Per Cent.

Also, Kasich said he wanted to be the candidate for the poor, for the Black voter, and for the Brown voter; all those folks who’ve been disenfranchised and ignored by the right.

He said not a word about the LGBT community.

Luckily he doesn’t have a chance at being president.

Now, go have fun.

So, they’ve cancelled my Hannibal, one of the most beautifully photographed, scored and acted shows on television.

Yeah, I’m not happy. But then we had the return of The Strain — not as beautiful, but still gripping except … they’ve changed the way the vampires look and act and die from the last season with no explanation,. Now, some of them scurry like little crabs for no reason whatsoever and when they are killed they appear to shatter into thousands of pieces … again for no reason.

Cut to me erasing the series from my DVR. Buh bye.

Marc Lamont Hill. Hot. Smart. Hot. That’s all I got, but every so often you can find him on CNN being hot and smart and hot.

And don't even try to talk to me when MLH is on with my Husband-In-My-Head, Randy Andy Cooper!

Pat Robertson. Yeah, he’s a loon, but every so often his lunacy is funny.

Like this week when he said the Supreme Courts Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage will lead to “love affairs” between men and animals.

Yes, it’s an old chestnut, but my question is: why it gotta be just men doin’ the nasty with the animals? Aren’t they any lesbians into bestiality?

Just sayin’.

Carlos and I are working on a gardening project along the front walk to the house. It used to be lined with hedges that require a lot of work, pruning and trimming, and, well, a lot of sun, which they don’t get in that space.

So, I sat down and came up with an idea on how to make the walkway nicer, and without nearly as much maintenance required to keep it up.

I told Carlos; I took him outside and walked him through the three phases of my plan — yes, three phases; I took him inside and sketched out a plan, showing him where we would use some cobblestones, some native drought resistant grasses, a few pots for his rose bushes, and some mulch … with the idea, maybe, of adding a trellis and a climbing rose bush near the garage.

Last Sunday we began the project — Phase One — along the front porch, and got most of it done, until Carlos, cooling off in the house, said we should try this other way.

Really? I created; I planned; I sketched; I walked you through it … literally. We bought the cobblestones, we bought the pots, we bought the mulch and the grasses and now you are rethinking?

Lord, I love that man but sometimes ….

Last weekend, here in Columbia, South Carolina we had a KKK rally in support of the Confederate flag … and the best part was that the rally occurred a week after the flag was removed.

And there were pictures of white supremacists screaming at people, and people screaming back; there was video of a sousaphone player following the march and giving it some much needed musical comedy relief.

But the picture that stands out most of all is that one up there … a black police officer, Leroy Smith, assisting a man … a white supremacist … in a t-shirt bearing a swastika … who was overcome by the heat … into the shade and giving him water.

Those are the kinds of images of police officers we need to see.

Kudos to Officer Smith for helping a man who literally hates him out of the sun and into the shade.