HNT -- Unicorn smiles

Thought I forgot, didn't you? Here's a little photo of me from our afternoon with the lovely unicorn. I dunno, does it look like I'm having a good time?

Happy HNT one and all! Don't forget to swing by Osbasso's place for some more Half-Nekkid fun!

88 thru 91-365 Random

Today is about nothing more than not getting behind. The week has been great, tonight is going to be dandy, the weekend is shaping up to be a fine time too. But I'm on a deadline this week folks. And deadlines come first.

This is "the monster." It's a bougainvillea. They get HUGE. They also have thorns an inch or more long. The luv abuse. The less water, the less attention, the harsher the cutting back, the bigger, better, and badder they get. I planted this guy when he was just a pup, barely a foot tall; now he's as tall as my house.

Tuesday evening, I met a girlfriend for a glass of vino. When I got home I realized I hadn't taken a picture so here it is, a little black and white bling.

Our first real thunderstorms started rolling through yesterday so I took another shot out of my front door. This was after one of the first storm cells came through. But it rained like a mo-fo all night. The thunder and lightening was A-MAZ-ZING! at around 4:00 am, I swear it felt like one bolt came through our window. K-BOOM!!

And this is one of the predictable results. Ahhhhh, the joy of old home ownership. Whenever we have the first major rain storm of the season, we wander around the house to see what old spots and new spots have sprung a leak. This is an old spot under one of the front windows. The caulking and plaster shift, dry, and pull during the dry winter and early spring, then when the rain hits it's like someone pours a bucket of water on the floor. Don't let this little trickle fool you. It can flood the room. So we pack it with towels until it quits raining for a day or two and we can get out there and patch the place up again.

86&87-365 It ain't braggin'....

Not a lot to report this weekend. I spent most of it working but Saturday eve Vince and I wandered downtown for a little vino and socializing.

Same thing on Sunday -- work. But took a break long enough to run to Target. While cruising the aisles looking for what we went there for I spotted this. Really? Someone needs a special device to make quesadillas? Are you freakin' serious? And then to pay $17.99?! Wow.

So I took my snotty self home and with a cast iron frying pan and a pot whipped up Parmesan Crusted Palliards (chicken) and tomatoes with creamy parm polenta and roasted asparagus.

Smug? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely! But another nugget of wisdom from my grandmother -- "It ain't braggin' if you can really do it."

82&85-365 View (and good advice)

Once again I realized I forgot to post a day. I took this the day Vince and I got back and meant to have it as a companion to the Dogwood tree picture but oh well. My brain's bin a bit out of town lately.

This is a Bottlebrush tree in our front yard, a few days past its peak. I've always loved these flowers (actually bracts) because they are bright red AND it does this several times throughout the summer. 

As I came down the stairs yesterday afternoon this was the view out my front door. You can't tell in the photo, but the sun sets over a large lake that you can see through the houses on the far street.

Like everyone else I've collected good and not-so-good advice throughout my life from various sources. There are a few items, though that I've come to think of as absolutes. They never fail me. And every time I ignore their little nugget of wisdom, I get bitten in the ass.

This little jewel was from my paternal grandmother -- "Never forget, if they'll do it to someone else, they'll do it to you. It's only a matter of time." At the time, she was talking about gossipy teen-age girls but I've found over and over that it holds with pretty much anything else. Bullies, liars, cheaters, thieves, back-stabbers and the like. But also the easily offended, overly indignant, hyper-defensive, etc. Everyone has a bad day and everyone, including yours truly, has sore spots and nerves that can be touched, but some people are just too damn prickly. Anyone with whom you must constantly and vigilantly guard their feelings over your own are a fuckin' pain in the ass.

Hence, my recent Facebook purge.

I also cut people for other reasons -- too many "I just had lunch" updates; or a constant litany of unasked for and unappreciated and more importantly insipid spiritual advice; or constantly trying to sell me Lia Sophia Jewelry or whatever other damn thing they were hawking FB page-to-FB page rather than door-to-door.

For those folks my grandmother's applicable advice to me would have been "Remember, people are exactly who they reveal themselves to be. Folks don't suddenly improve themselves just because you wish they would." For the love of Pete, post something funny every once in a while, say something thoughtful; hell, just say something positive or cool! Reveal some intellect, education, compassion, or integrity. But if all someone's going to do is spread nastiness, ignorance, and anger into my home via my computer, then they can't be invited in any more. They ain't gettin' any better just 'cause I wish they would. 

84-365 A dash to the ladies room

How embarrassing. There I was, last night, at a lovely dinner party hosted by a good friend, and I suddenly realized I hadn't taken OR posted an HNT photo the night before. Dammit. I almost dropped my steak knife and knocked over another guest dashing to the ladies' room mumbling something like "yeah, uh, 'scuse me, gotta run, um, I just forgot, I mean remembered, er, er, nevermind." Sad. Really, really sad.

So here's a little quick pic for you folks a day late 'n a dollar short.

Oh, and that is not, I repeat NOT my tummy resting on the counter. It was the blouse being all blouse-y. The blouse, dammit!

But yesterday was pure proof of what I was concerned about in my last post. I got slammed yesterday which jangled my already frazzled last nerve. Worse, for reason's BE-YOND! my control, Vince and I haven't had a good throw down all week. Hell, we haven't had a mediocre, rushed, whammy-bammy session and let me tell ya friends and neighbors, that ain't good for keepin' lil' ol' Ivey on an even keel. Seriously people. I gotta get laid. And I will. Soon. Dammit! 

(BTW -- Vince says I always get funnier when I'm vexed about something. I dunno. I don't feel very funny. Damn. It.)

(And PS -- Why is the conjunction of "damn," with an N, and "it" auto corrected to "dammit" with two M's. Hmmmmm?!)

83-365 Cookin' with gas

I've always loved that phrase -- "We're cookin' with gas now, baby!" Anywhoo, after a zany couple of weeks on the adventure and traveling front, Vince and I are back home and back to normal, sort of. Last night I finally got to cook a real meal again. While Vince grilled the steaks and roasted veggies, I took care of the wild rice and a tasty sauteed mushroom glace. Yum!

But the craziness is about to take off again. Large, time sensitive and complex projects are all starting in rapid succession and we're going to be traveling A LOT. It's also already started that another major client, who'd been missing deadlines, delayed their way right into the middle of my next project right when it needs my full attention. And prepping the next one that starts four weeks from today got it's kick-off, well, today. Indeed, I just spent eight hours in almost continuous work and still didn't get to the one freakin' thing I really wanted to do today.

So posting may be shorter and more "catch up" like for the next few weeks (or months!). If something exciting happens I'll let ya know. In the meantime, I think I'm going to start focusing on further honing my time management and concise writing skills. And cooking. We can't forget cooking.

80&81-365 The mountains

After a couple of days hard at work and a couple hard at play we decided to slow it down a spell for Sunday. As I'm sure you can tell, we've been in the mountains, so we decided to take a drive and found a cool visitor center for another of our Nation's awesome National Parks. 

Of course, the above photo also shows one of the technical challenges I have. I pretty much take and edit all of my photos on my iPhone. Unfortunately, the pictures don't always look the same when I transfer them to my computer to upload here. In this case, I'd added a little color saturation because I wanted the marvelous wood ceiling to stand out a bit more but this isn't exactly what I had in mind. Anyway, on my phone it looks just lovely!

The bear was also at the visitor center and for this one I played around a bit with the "sketch" setting. I thought it turned out pretty cool on the phone even though here I don't think it looks like a sketch at all.

And this was from today..... sigh. Dogwoods. In full bloom. The soft breeze gently knocking the tiny petals to the ground where they look like a blanket of flowers. What you can't see from the photo is that this stand of trees was literally buzzing with thousands of bees; the air practically vibrated.

It's peak season for the Dogwoods right now and every where you turned in the mountains there they were in white, pale pink, or bold pink. Marvelous!

That catches me up on Proj365 so I may take tomorrow off. I have to say, while on our trip I didn't check Facebook, I rarely checked personal email, didn't check the swinger sites (Vince did. Thank goodness!), I didn't read many blogs. I don't do Twitter and I'm not a gal to watch much TV. It's been great. The electronic silence has been soothing to the soul. I may keep it going for a while. We'll see.

78&79-365 Proj365 (And I believe in Unicorns)

Our travels continue to bring adventures and of course, pictures.

Friday morning we were hiking in the woods and came across this marker. It had obviously been there a while (note the huge tree right behind it) and you can see where it used to have a bronze marker affixed to it. Obviously at some point someone thought this place and/or whatever happened here was important enough to mark. 

Not far away, again in the middle of the deep woods, we found this thing -- an iron pipe sticking up out of the ground. Our best guess is that is used to be a water pipe but those days are long gone.

 We later learned that this area was once the home of a CCC camp (Civilian Conservation Corp) who brought this area of the world that had been decimated and deforested by over-logging back to health. So yeah, something important happened here.

Later, we left that part of the world to have a little vacation time and THAT'S when we were contacted by Shay the lovely Unicorn. We met her Friday night and let me say wow. Just wow. She was pretty, funny, smart, cute, chatty, informative, and every other positive description. After our terrific "get to know you" date we decided to get together on Saturday. From 1:00pm on, we laughed, giggled, moaned, had FF, MF, FMF sex etc. Vince took a few photos (sorry, you don't get to see them) and a few hours later we went to a fantastic french restaurant for dinner. Our table was in the wine room of the restaurant.

So.... Unicorns. In this lifestyle they are the holy grail. They can pick and choose, the never have to pay "entrance fees" to clubs or parties, they are considered rare and precious. Of course, there is another side that I think most folks in the lifestyle either forget or don't care about... they are people. In Shay's case, her story leading into the land of swinging is amazing. She is navigating this strange world alone, without a partner to protect and cherish her, and Vince does for me.

She was also the victim of a horrible but fucking typical infidelity story. A decade long monogamous, happy (at least she thought so) marriage. At one point her husband wanted to return to school so she worked the two jobs to support him and pay the fees. Two years later, after he graduated he immediately filed for divorce. That's when she learned that he'd been having an affair for those two years with another student. He moved out, she lost her home and her dignity, had to move in with her mother who refused to allow her beloved pets to come with her. She lost most of her friends, or rather realized they weren't friends in the first place. She became so depressed she checked herself into a hospital because she literally didn't think she'd survive.

I don't know her ex-husband and I hate him. I hate the bitch who agreed to participate in the affair. Those selfish, lying bastards unilaterally decided that Shay's life, happiness, mental well-being didn't matter. They were "dissatisfied" or some other shit and chose to lie to her, for fucking years, rather than suck it up, get some fucking guts, and tell this human being the truth.

Cowards and liars. I hate 'em. I'm serious, there are a gazillion other choices the ex and the other woman could have made and still ended up together. When he realized he wasn't happy in his marriage, he could have said so. When he realized he was attracted to someone else, he could have said so. When he first realized he wanted more than sex from the other woman but to start a new life with her, he could have fucking said so. But instead, he took her money, her self-esteem, two years of her life, and her future trust and faith in other people because he was a coward and an asshole. And I don't give a rat's ass if he was otherwise a solid, up-standing citizen; he could be giving money to widows and orphans, rescuing cats, saving the redwoods, and carrying little old ladies across the street on his back but he's a lying son of a bitch. And maybe she had gained a few pounds and wasn't a porn star in the sack but the price for that shouldn't be what she went through.

Take a moment and look at my "About me" blurb. "Generally nice enough except to liars and bullies." That's me. I don't go out of my way, I don't read "infidelity" blogs or go on their sites. I've never visited AshleyMadison. I'm not going to go out of my way to seek out and engage with those who sincerely believe that what they want and supposedly deserve is sooooo much more important than what the person they swore to love and cherish wants or deserves. Because I really, really, REALLY don't like liars.

76&77-365 Proj 365 (and you ain't gonna believe this!)

Vince and I are off galavanting around the country so posting is going to be a bit sporadic. But since I don't want to get too far behind on Proj365, here are 76&77.

This fluffy fella belong's to friends of ours who we stopped in to visit. He really is excited to see us. This is what he looks like when he's thrilled.

This little (actually not so little; it's about 20 feet long) is a piece of metal art that was just sitting along the side of a road. I think I almost wrecked the rental car turning around to go back and snap this picture.

The next two are from Thurday and it was hard to narrow it down to just these. I had a ton of cool shots but these were the favorites. I'll also include these in my Somewhere in America Series. This is an old corn crib and next to a split rail fence. Like the previous SIA photo of the old home, I do love taking pictures of old things. That doesn't mean I'm nostalic for the past. I'm not. Personally, I think the best thing about the good old days is that they're gone.  But the stuff left behind is still cool.

Nature on the other hand is a totally different story. I'm a huge fan and supporter of maintaining natural places. BTW, this is what the the Dept. of Environmental Protection protects, preserving this patch of paradise is the "wasteful spending" that some folks in congress want get rid of. For those who want to eliminate funds to the National Park System, Fish and Wildlife, and those agencies needed to make sure we keep these natural resources healthy and available to the people, I have two words -- fuck you.

So for those of you still reading, you won't believe this -- Vince and I have been contacted by a unicorn. Not just any unicorn, but a smart, funny, pretty and totally cool unicorn. That's all I'm going to say for now. I don't want to jinx anything. But wow. Just wow.

71-,72-,74-,75-365 Catching up

Getting ready to head to the airport but wanted to catch up on Proj365 first. Got a little behind with all the comings and goings. hehe.

Friday 71-365. My pre-weekend soak. I do luv me some tub time! I needed it before our long and fun-filled weekend. Wheee!

 Saturday 72-365 -- Funny Face -- This is a Staghorn Fern. It's a massive plant (about 5 feet across) and it doesn't grow in the ground. It's an air plant and if you look at the lower left side, you can see part of the chain that suspends it from one of our oak trees. Anywhoo, the damn squirrels (who may have abandoned the attic or may simply be regrouping for the next assault) have chewed holes in this one too. But it does look like a face, doesn't it?

Sunday 73-365 This was the flamenco dancers from Monday's post.

Monday 74-365 I do love curves! These beauties are hanging at the local music store, just waiting for the right guy or gal to take them to their new home. One of them is a guitar that Vince has placed on consignment. It's not like he'll miss it. He has about 20 more.

 Tuesday 75-365 Our bike ride was hampered a bit by several broken spokes on Vincent's bike. We have no idea how that happened but limped back to the bike shop and now it's fixed up and good as new! (um, with a little road dirt here and there.)

We're off for our next adventure! I'm planning to keep up on Proj365 and have no idea if there will be more to report.

See ya!

It was really only a guideline... (and 73-365)

What. A. Weekend.

So we left yesterday's post with a single-sentence mention of a date last night with another couple. We "met" Steve and Julie through the swinger-site we belong to when Steve IM'd Vince and they chatted for a while. It turns out that Steve had been involved in swinging a bit in a previous marriage, but for Julie, this was all new. Though I'm hardly an experienced expert, and we do have a rule that I must speak on the phone with the wife before we set up a date with anyone, so Vince told him to have her give me a call if they'd like to meet or if she'd simply like to talk. She did and we had a great conversation. She was new but definitely interested and curious.

So cut to last night. We met them at the same restaurant where I took the photo of the belly dancer a few weeks ago. Last night, the dancing was provided by this couple:

Julie is lovely -- mid-30s, blonde, happy, and bubbly. He is tall, shaved head, and very charming. To sum up the meal, we talk, laugh, and generally have a great time. At some point I excuse myself to go to the ladies room and when I return, Vince leans in to me and whispers "They just invited us back to thier place. Want to go?"

Now we have a "rule" that we don't play on the first date, hence the title of the post. But I knew from the moment we sat down that this lovely lady was Vincent's type. He's having a ball, so I say "sure!" and then try to slide back out of the booth to leave. He kind of nudges me back in, "No, no. Have a seat for a second." "But aren't we leaving?" I try to slide back out. "In a minute or two." Nudge back in. Steve is finishing up the check, she is starting to stand, and I'm totallly confused because Vince has just asked me if I want to go and is gently pushing me back into the booth. Weird.

 I few minutes later as we're pulling out of the parking lot, Vince turns to me and says "Ivey honey-sugar-baby, I had a woody. I was trying to get you to sit the fuck back down because I think I just scandalized every table we had to walk past getting out of the restaurant." "Ohhhhhhhhh!" Ha!.

So we get to their place and after a little chit chat, Vince asks Julie and Steve what they'd like to do. This was Julie's first time -- first time swinging, first time with a woman (if she wanted), first time with multi-partner sex. And Vince and I found ourselves in the VERY unlikely position of being the "experienced" couple in the room -- HAHA! -- almost 24 hours to the minute after our first full swap.

As it turns out, Julie wanted to go for the full enchilada and we did our darndest to be worthy of being her "first." She was lovely, communicative, enthusiastic, beautiful (did I mention she's mid-30s and drop dead gorgeous blonde?) and an all around girl-with-game. Steve was a delightful surprise. Come to find out this low-key "gentleman" is into Tantric sex (has taken classes), has a talented tongue and fingers, and an absolutely delightful ability and willingness to listen. ;) The guy takes his role in fucking fuckin' seriously!

But we are spent! This morning, Vince and I had the opportunity for some wonderful reconnecting sex, the kind that higlights the difference, in a positive way, between play time and love making. Vincent has been playing my body for almost 16 years and can cut to the chase so-to-speak. Watching Steve work his magic was fabulously fun, and we look forward to doing it again with them and others, but not the same, not the same at all, as staring into my beloved's eyes as he drives me absolutely insane with pleasure. And laughing with the our new friends is terrific, and a worthy way to spend some time, but not remotely on the same plane as basking in the joy, contenment, and love I share with my life partner; my beloved, my Vince.

 

About last night....

 Let me just cut to the chase. Last night, Vince and I took the "full swap" step. You read that right, dear readers. For the first time in more than 16 years, my beloved husband had full on PIV sex, to completion (hehe), with a woman who isn't his wife. And his wife watched. And his wife enjoyed it! Once again, I say...

Wheeee!!!!!!!

Let me back up a tad. Some of you, if you've been reading this blog from the beginning, may remember Rick and Leah. (I wrote about them in my first two posts, if you want to go catch up.) They are the first swinger couple Vince and I ever met, almost two years ago. At the time let's just say we weren't ready. No, really. I mean NOT ready.

But time moved on, we stayed in touch via Facebook, and in October of 2010, after we'd worked through most of our drama, had a couple of "first" experiences, got some of our crazy out of the way, we met them again for the first date we should have had two years ago. The one that would have been wonderful in 2009 if we/I hadn't done everything wrong on the front end.

And it was a great date. Vince was finally able to see Leah, beyond looking at Rick and thinking "You want to do WHAT with my wife?" I was able to enjoy and facilitate the group dynamic, not just my own wants. We left that night knowing that it would be 2011 before we got a chance to see them again.

In the intervening time, we had a couple of swinger-type folks to our house for dinner, one of whom was the delightful Hubman along with another couple of newbie friends, and we discovered how delightful and relaxed it can be having people in your home, where you can talk freely and laugh loudly. We also hosted, during that time, our out-of-town friends with benefits, and found that sexy playtime in your own bed after enjoying a fun day together can be icing on top of an awesome cake of yumminess.

 So yesterday, almost two years after we first met them, Rick and Leah came to our house, we took a nice leisurely ride on the local bike trail, came back home for a delicious dinner, then went upstairs for some not-so-serious fucking and sucking. ;)

Laughter, giggles, groans, moans, gasps, smacks, licks, tickles, suckles. In the Lane swinger household, we operate under the banner that whatever Vince wants, whatever he's comfortable with, is what he gets. And after Leah and I had spend a little time enjoying each other, and after we'd invited the gents to join us on the bed, and after he'd also been able to discover her awesome kissing technique while I was discovering a new cock, Vince double checks with Leah and Rick to make sure it's okay, and with their happy approval, gloves' up and, shall we say, enjoys Leah completely.

And there wasn't and isn't an ounce of awkwardness nor jealousy nor regret; in fact, it's the opposite -- ease, closeness, and enjoyment. It was a great evening. 

About an hour or so later, as the four of us we're laying around breathing and chuckling, Vince and I realize that we've just stepped over another hurdle and through a new door. Successfully and in our own way. We're actually meeting another couple this evening for a first date, you know, just to get to know them and see if all like each other. But in the case of Rick and Leah, we already know all of that. We'll see them again, maybe to play around in the swinger sense or maybe to just play around in the friendly sense. And it was well worth the wait.

Oh, and kissing Rick was just as hot and sexy as it was the first time in 2009. And kissing Leah? Well, I'll just let Vince tell you about that... if he wants to. But just between us, he isn't a kiss 'n tell kind of guy.

69&70-365 and late HNT

A quick Proj365 update and a bonus HNT!

First, the weather here is still fantastic! Or at least it was on Tuesday. On this tree the new bright green leaves are pushing the spent flowers out of the way, continuing the spring transition.

We had to take a short trek to work with a client this week. Our hotel wasn't up to our usual standards (ha!) but this is pretty much what it looked like afte our morning wake-up sex session. As a rule, when I'm about to go spend a day in intense mental wrangling, I really need a good session to take the edge off. NO ONE wants me to deal with client's if I'm in a nookie-deficit zone. (shudder!)

So here I am, the freshly laid lass. Haven't even brushed my hair yet.  

Happy belated HNT, everyone!

67-365 Geek store or Freak store?

Yesterday Vince and I had to run an errend to one of our favorite places. This little out of the way store you see below is a tinkerer's paradise. You name it? You need it? They've got it. Need a single male cable connector? No problem. A 1/2 watt resistor? Bin # 365. A two horsepower rotor motor? Top shelf, ask for assistance. Camo canvas? How many yards to you need? A plastic pizza cutter? Aisle three. No kidding.

They also have every size and shape screw, clamp, carabiner, cable, switch, whatever you can imagine and if all you need is one, that's all you have to buy. 

The place was, as expected, full of regular looking guys (and the sexy Vince!) and more surprisingly, lots of very attractive ladies. (inclulding your truly. hehe.) Now I'm not saying that everyone in the store was secretly building a suspension rig for their bedrooms or designing a seruptitious survelience system for the neighbors comings and goings but if that's what you want to do, then this is where you need to go.

We selected our items then made our way  over to another of our favorite stores -- our local adult store. If the previous place was for the do-it-yourself-er, then this one is a ready-to-wear dream! Just choose your tool and head over to the checkout counter! 

However, when it comes to durabilty and price-to-value ratio, I think if you want a job done right then you've got to do it yourself.

Except for these little beauties. This store separates its standard run-of-the-mill dildos, plugs, etc. from what it calls the Rolls Royce selection. Oooohhhhhh don't they look lovely?! And they have a huge wall of these babies! Squeeeee!

 We made it back home and after a tasty dinner had fantastic, sexy, fuck me kind of evening! We started out with a little porn; very little since I'm still trying to find something that doesn't make me giggle for the wrong reasons. Understandably, I prefer groups and couples. If it's just two-on-two, I'm like, yeah, I got it, crappy camera angle, damn there's no way she can hold that position, dude that makes your dick look ridiculous and you're going to throw your back out eventually.

But the amateur or swinger stuff generally involves the things I really dig. First and foremost, you can generally hear and see some genuine laughter and smiling. I like my fucking to be fun, damnit. Mewly, whiny, grunty, "oh-yeah-fuck-that-pussy-baby" "oh-god-suck-that-cock" crap annoys me. Second, I'm all about combinations -- MFMF, FMF, FFM, MMF, MFM, you name it, I love it!

So we enjoyed our day AND our evening. Not bad for a Monday!

65-365 Shadow

Hey, they can't all be great.

Sometimes you just snap a pic of what's there and STFU.

65-365 Late Night Dalliance

Yes, I know. I've got to stop with the teaser titles. I will. I promise.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I spent the day with a book. Here's the book and here's where I spent it. 

First, the setting: Salvaged hand-me-down bed frame, repainted and re-purposed by yours truly. Piles of pillows. Quilt -- hand pieced and hand stitched by my great grandmother. Cozy. Side table -- designed by Ivey Lane and built by my father. Glass of water and emery board near at hand. Note the stacks of books; yes, I'm currently reading (or re-reading) all of them. Box of tissues? It's Spring.

The book: Straight from my local library. There's no way I could afford my reading habit if I had to pay for all these books, not even in paperback. Not even on Kindle or Amazon. One of the many great things about our library system is not only do they have a branch within biking distance, conveniently located on the bike trail I ride, but I can also go on-line and request any book I want and they MAIL it to me, at no charge. They even include the return postage or I can just drop it off it at the local branch.

Vince had a gig last night so I curled up with one of my favorite "other men." In this case, Jack Reacher: 6'5", former Army MP, all around nomadic bad-ass. Or you could think of it as his alter ego -- Lee Child.I'm totally a slut for these guys like Reacher and Child. Characters like Elvis Cole, Joe Pike, Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers, Andy Dalziel, Patrick Kenzie, Harry Bosch, Alex Delaware and on and on. The authors Robert Crais, Jonathan Kellerman, Michael Connolly, David Baldacci, Dennis Lehane, John Sanford and on and on and on. I love to read and I especially love complicated, flawed, fallen heroes.  

I have a theory that lots of people, myself included, read in order to get the emotional thrills and intimate -- though imaginary -- connections they don't have in their real lives. I don't often read history or educational material for entertainment because that's a big part of what I do for a living. I'm not lacking in that part of my life. But in the visceral arena of excitement and lust and desire and adventure and all that goes with it, well, I'm pretty much your average middle aged woman. 

It's a nice substitute; and don't get me wrong, I have no desire to actually be shot at or, as in the case of Mr. Reacher's last adventure, possibly incinerated, but it sure as heck literally gets my heart racing. But books are, in fact, and escape from the mundane, just like movies and video games. And even reading anonymous blogs about other people's lives. It's an opportunity to simulate a more exciting life, filled with interesting people and events, and yes, a little potential danger, both physical and emotional. 

And that's the point isn't it? I don't want a life that I feel a desire to "escape" from. That needs "escapist" literature to get the blood racing. Like all things in moderation, my goal is to create a relatively seamless whole, that INCLUDES emotional and physical adventure -- people, places, events, activities. Not limited to sex or merely doing something for the sake of doing (like going to Mt. Rushmore to simply snap a photo and get back in your car then saying "you've been there"), but exploring, learning, experiencing, enriching.

But I did hop on-line the moment I finished "61 Hours" to request the next book by Lee Child about Jack Reacher's adventures. I think it'll arrive long before I figure out how to not be mundane.... and average.

64-365 A Pussy Cat

Last evening I went to a friend's house for the evening. It's a regular occurrence. She and I get together, hang out, talk about life, the universe and everything, usually over a bottle of wine or so. This is one of her marvelous cats, a rescued critter that showed up on her doorstep one day and simply moved in. 

 Same creature in color.

When we have these get togethers we always just plan to spend the night; no reason to risk either an accident or a DUI.

And I took my cue for today from the kitty. I pretty much laid around most of the day, reading a novel, hanging out with Vince, and generally being like this furry little guy.

What a lovely way to spend the day.

62&63-365 Catching up (sewing, public sex, and a quirky day off)

Catching up on my Proj365 photos this morning! On Tuesday, I put the fabric I purchased on Monday to good use. I made a new seat for a beach chair and the slings for our beach umbrella's to attach to our motorcycle, along with our attachable luggage bag, to see if we can take longer trips around Florida. We tested it out the next day.

 That was going to be my only Tuesday shot until public sex caught us by surprise. Okay, so it wasn't me and Vince. (The title had you hoping, didn't it? Yeah, me too.) We were sitting outside having afternoon coffee when I heard a ruckus in the bushes, then saw a black flash race under our deck. I knew it was one of our snakes. (BTW -- Neither of us are the types to freak out over snakes and we actually like having these guys around. They're SUPPOSED to keep the rodent population under control, though it appears they've been falling down on the job lately.) A few minutes later we realized it was TWO snakes having a throw down in the yard when they came writhing and wrapped together out from under the deck.

Look at 'em. Shameless.

 They hung out for about 5 minutes like that, en flagrante delecto, before racing off to find a more private spot for round two, or three or four; I really couldn't say but they seemed to have serious staying power.

On Thursday, we decided to take the day off. We worked a few hours in the morning then lit out for the West Coast. On the way, there is a fantastic little restaurant we like. This place is odd-ball but the food is fantastic. It's hard to tell in this photo but the seating is actually in the middle of a wacky shop that sells everything from shoes to the lighted stars you see hanging from the ceiling.

 The waitresses (there are no men) all dress in old-fashioned nurses uniforms and I think they range in age from 50 - 80. The photo below is the menu; they carry chalk boards from table to table and set them next to you. And don't dawdle, if they need it for a new table you're out of luck.

 As I said, the food is great! And there was also a bridge club playing at several of the tables around us. I guess the old ladies can dawdle as long as they like.

But we weren't at our destination so we took off again and kept heading west. One of the things you should know about Florida is that the West Coast isn't all beaches, in fact sometimes it can be pretty darn hard to find one. We'd picked a place off Google maps before we left -- Rees Park in Port Richey. We'd never heard of it and let me tell you something, NO ONE could find this place by accident.

But what a cool little surprise it was.

 We hung out for a few hours -- laying around, napping, reading -- generally enjoying life. Before we left, I got this shot of the sun starting to set.

It was a lovely day -- a two hour motorcycle ride back home and we stopped for supper as well, mostly because my tush needed a break. Ours is a great bike for short rides but we confirmed that for anything longer than one-hour hops we need to consider upgrading to a touring bike, like a Honda Goldwing or a Yamaha Venture.  Maybe another day.

HNT -- All Me -- 38B

I don't what it is with the bra manufacturers and retail outlets but apparently they think any woman larger than a 34 and smaller than a size a D cup wants to encase their boobs in foam-rubber. I do not; therefore I have to search high and low for a bra that is simply all me and a little fabric -- no padding, no pushing, no lifting, no separating.

Just me.

Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday, one and all! Don't forget to swing by Osbasso's for the rest of the loveliness.

Mwah!

61-365 The Fabric of Our Lives (and "Swing" Episode 3 - review)

Of course you recognize the post's title from the old cotton commercial jingle, (sing it with me now!) "The look, the feel, the fabric of our lives!"

Of course, I don't think there's a thread of cotton in this shot.

You may not know it but I'm actually quite girly-girl when it comes to crafts and sewing. For a while, in my late teens and twenties, I used to make most of my clothes. I then evolved into a crafter and for a short time had a little side business selling my handmade wares. And I just luv fabric and craft stores! Oh the possibilities, the beauty, the creativity!! I'm surprised to say it, but it's one of my favorite places to go.

My latest project is a beach chair that will disassemble into a bag small enough to carry on our motorcycle and a matching side pouch (similar to the rifle carriers you'd see in Western movies) that we can carry a beach umbrella in. I think it's going to be pretty cool.

On to Swing, Episode 3!

I mentioned in a previous review of the show that a couple that Vince and I met were going to be on the show. If you're interested, you can see watch the episode on PlayboyTV's website for free here.

First , Kimberly and Michael definitely raised the bar a bit. She is significantly more articulate and apparently intelligent than the previous Mrs. Newbie and he is far more charming and genuine. And that is exactly what we thought of them when we met them for drinks and appetizers last year.

Throughout the program you could see Kimberly's evaluation and assessment of the evening on her face. She didin't appear "scared" -- in fact she exuded confidence -- but you could also tell that she was gathering information and deciding how she felt about it throughout the evening. Michael certainly had an air of excitement and anticipation, but not the slathering dog quality that the previous Mr. Newbie did.

The rest of the house participants seemed a bit different than the first episode; some I recognized but others were new. It may be just my perception, but it appears that the women mostly got "thinner" and "blonder." They also, for  the most part, shared a trait that both Vince and I find fairly unattractive -- the zany-over-the-top-stripper trait. From the coarseness of their language to the vapidness of their communication, other than tits and pussy, I couldn't tell exactly what greater understanding of the Lifestyle they are supposed to bring to the table. The thing is, that within that group I'm certain there IS an intelligent, articulate and STILL sexy, beautiful woman or two in the house (in fact I know there is; one of the other couples are the owners of a swinger-website that we subscribe to) but the direction and the editing of the program seems to indicate that feminine intellect and sexiness are still mutually exclusive. But of course, it IS the Playboy Channel.

Which also means all of my previous criticism still hold. The sex started off with the obligatory multi-woman sex pile, Michael was added and from there provided the uber male-fantasy experience: one cock, multiple pussies and a plethora o'boobies. As time went on, a self-professed "squirter champion," in that he says he can get any woman to squirt and quickly, joined the group. (NOTE TO VINCE -- If you EVER see anyone attacking my delicate lady-parts with that much gusto, assume the asshole has knocked me unconscious and beat the livin' daylights out of him.) But it eventually evolved into the full on Roman orgy we're coming to expect on Swing. And yes, I enjoyed it. It does make it look like lots of fun and I would certainly love to experience it some day.

I'll let you watch the episode to get Kimberly and Michael's take on the evening. Their words and expressions are beautiful, humorous, and genuine. I will say this, my favorite shot, favorite scene of the entire episode takes place near the end. After the previous evening's adventure, after they've spoken with the relationship counselor and shared their take on the night, our Newbie heroes take a shower. And there's a moment in there that just says it all. 

 

60-365 "The End of Slavery"

"The End of Slavery" is the title of this object, a sculpture found in the courtyard of the local recreation center. I wish I could say I found it anything other than hideous.

The physical construction is a collection of iron pipes, welded together, then treated (I think) with some type of acid to hasten the rust and decomposition. This type of abstract sculpture is, to get into the hoity-toity phrasing of the "ahhhhrtest communiteh", is generally seen as a "conversation" between the artist, who creates form from thought, and the viewer, who turns that form back into their own thought. Seems kinda one-way to me but hey, I'm not part of the "ahhhhrtest communiteh."

But it does reinforce how much our concepts of right and wrong, honorable and dishonorable, good and evil can change. The grander themes are ownership, control, and exploitation of another human being. But beneath those overarching ideas are who can marry who, who can participate in government and business and at what levels, intellectual capacity vs. intellectual acceptance. Unlimited potential vs. enforced degradation.

I have wayyyy too many thoughts on this subject to write them all down here. I do, after all, have work to do today. But that ugly-ass sculpture does make me think of possibilities and how things can truly change for the better. I think that one day people may come to see our current concepts of "traditional" marriage the same way we look back at the "traditional" life of a plantation. I think that like the iron in that sculpture, what seems so unyielding is really in a continuous state of change. And it's for the better.