As some of you may (or may not) know, our first-born, four-legged baby Jake passed on a few weeks ago after a long battle with cancer.  It was a very difficult time for us; I don’t recall having cried so hard in many, many years.  And just when I thought I had grieved all I could grieve, I found myself missing him even more yesterday.  He was so young, only seven years old, and was the best, most loyal friend anyone could have.  Jake was not only our baby and a true, loyal friend, he was our protector and companion.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how lucky we were to have him in our lives and in our hearts.  Jake is, and always will be, a part of us…a part of our soul.  And if there are dogs in the after-life, I feel certain that Jake will be there waiting for us to hold him once more.  WE  LOVE   AND  MISS  YOU  JAKE!!!

This video from the ’80s is where Jake got his name.

Here is another poem I wrote in 2006.  Even though the husbear HATES poetry, this is one of my favorites.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                   Peaceful Sleep?

Once again I lie here, watching the door

    as I have done many nights before,

    SLEEPLESS  -  thinking about the days of yore

    and the days which are yet to befall me.

But unlike the morrows of all the days past

    Sleep at last finds me, like the frost finds the grass

    on a cold autumn evening when the witches have cast

    their spells of enchantment upon me.

Weighing heavily upon me like a spectre of gray

    Sleep continues to draw me like a horse draws a sleigh

    down a haunted street called Yesterday

    where wretched memories o’er flow me.

Standing on the corner of Yesterday and Grace,

    I see an old man with a sorrow-filled face;

    the one I looked down on with scorn and disgrace.

    This is where my conscience had failed me.

As I call upon Sleep, asking him to repeal

    this memory I’ve tried in vain to conceal,

    Sleep’s true identity is to me revealed;

    Death has come to claim me.

It was at that moment when I realized the door

    of my past had been opened, and I came to abhor

    the night that Sleep came – the night that Death tore

    any hope of redemption from me.

Had I known that Sleep and Death were the same,

    I would never have bid him to call me by name.

    Now all I have is a pictureless frame

    of a world that will never know me.

…is architecture.  As a kid, all I ever wanted to be was an architect.  However, as I got older and realized that I absolutely, positively “HATED” math, I decided that being an architect probably wasn’t the best choice for me.  Regardless, my love for architecture remained.  Here are some of my favorite architectural photos; all of which were taken by either me or my husbear.  Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.

Notre Dame at Dusk (Paris, France)

Exterior of Chapel at St. Chapelle Cathedral (Paris, France)

Paris Opera House

A View Inside St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England)

A View of the Arches of St. Paul's from the Dome Stairwell Window (London, England)

Westminster Abbey (London, England)

This is a poem I wrote back in ‘06 entitled “Out of Time”: 

Tonight I sit alone
in this big empty house,
cocooned in my favorite chair
and I LISTEN…
…
…
…to the noiseless sound of the air;

…to that symphony of silence,
notes with no rhythm,
notes with no sound, and I stare,
and I LISTEN…
…
…
…as the clock ticks in like a snare

…as if from nowhere, joining
that conductorless throng,
though I knew that the clock was there,
and I LISTEN…
…
…
…as it percusses its fair share

…of music that I had not
heard before now,
though all the time it had been there
and I LISTEN…
…
…
…as Time slowly passes and I dare

…myself to stop
the clock from ticking,
though I know I should beware,
so I LISTEN…
…
…
…and then I decide to share

…with Time this moment
of solitude and peace,
for even Time needs time to declare,
so I LISTEN…
…
…
…as Time begins telling me that there

…is little time left
to make amends
for my wrongs and show that I care,
but I WAIT…
…
…
…believing I’ve time to spare.

But the ticking has stopped
and the time I thought
I had was a fleeting prayer,
so I LISTEN…

WAIT…

REALIZE…

…that Time is no longer there.

I know, I know…they’re not poppies; that’s just what my hubby said when I showed him this pic, so I thought it only fitting that I title the post as such.

On the weekends I usually make my rounds through the various sub-divisions in town to view the progress on new construction.  As I passed an empty residential lot, I noticed that it was covered completely with flowers & I just had to stop & take a picture:

I sometimes miss life in a big city, but I must say that it’s things like this pic that make me glad that I live in rural Arkansas with my partner of almost seven years.  I wouldn’t trade my life here for anything in the world.  The last seven years have been the best years of my life.

This is Jake, our first-born child.  He is a 6.5 year old Black Labrador Retriever.  I may be wrong in my assumption, but I tend to think he might be gay.  

For those of you who like dark comedies, this is the movie for you:  ”Burn After Reading”.  I will admit that parts of the movie are a bit slow, but the surprises inserted here & there throughout the movie make it SO worth watching.  For all of you Pitt haters, put your prejudice aside for a few hours.  Here’s a one-minute synopsis of the movie; watch it and let me know what you think.

Thought I’d share a couple of really cool pics with everyone.

This pic was taken during a lightning storm at our cabin on Lake Norfork in Mountain Home, Arkansas in September of 2006.  This was the first time I’ve ever been able to catch a lighting strike on camera.  It was an amazing storm.

This pic was taken back in the fall of 2005.  I was trying to photograph the sun setting through the trees, and this is how the picture turned out:

A bit behind-the-time, I know…as in a whole year behind.  However, in anticipation of our upcoming trip to GayDays ‘09, the embedded video contains my Logo CBS News television debut.  Watch for the Arkansas boys!  Some of you may recognize a few other people in the group…

Okay, guys! After showing my “softer” side, I now feel the need to butch it up and show the “REAL” me…ROFL. This pic will show that I am indeed a normal, masculine guy. RIGHT?