Extra! Extra! Reader All About It!

Hello Bloggy Friends.

I hope you're having an exquisite evening. What a great week this has been! It's been very cold in Philadelphia. We didn't end up getting that warm day the weather men promised on Saturday. We had a great weekend, though. I hope you did too. Friday night we went to see Kate Winslett in "The Reader." It is an amazing movie. We loved it. I definitely recommend you check this one out, whether it be in the theater or on DVD when it's released.

Saturday, instead of going to the Reading Terminal for produce, we decided to go to the Italian Market. For those of you who don't know, the Italian Market is the largest open-air market in the United States - and it's only five or six blocks away from our front door! The produce is top quality, and the prices can't be beat. We walked away with three bags full of produce, and only dropped fifteen bucks. It was amazing- except for the moment when I got involved in a screaming match with one of the grocers because I accidentally stepped behind the counter where he was working. I'm sure it was entertaining for the other shoppers, though! To cool down from the confrontation we stopped into a delicatessen for lunch, where we enjoyed a fabulous Caprese sandwich. For a moment we felt like we were dining on the streets of Rome again. No grumpy, ol' grocer could take that away!

On Saturday we also took Galileo to Pampered Pooch to get his monthly grooming. I've attached some before and after pictures. What do you think of his new do? Saturday night Kelly and Ed came into town to do some site-seeing. We met up with them in Chinatown for dinner at Vietnam Palace. It was good, but the service was lousy. We decided to never go back there again. Can you believe they tried to charge us a $12 corking fee for our bottle of wine! What a rip off, especially when the Zagat lists them as a B.Y.O. Later that night I met up with my friend Tim for karaoke at a restaurant/bar called Elephant and Castle. We had a great time. One of the highlights was when they drew my name out a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to dine there in the future. I love winning things!

This afternoon Jude came by to for a visit. We had tea and chatted about what's been going on in our lives over the past few weeks. I love spending time with Jude, her presence always leaves me feeling inspired! She's a gem. Tonight for dinner Alan tackled a new recipe we found in a quarterly Whole Foods publication. It was Winter Squash Stuffed with Lentil Pilaf. I love winter squash. It was delicious! We've really started to explore new options in the kitchen, and no I don't mean that in a kinky way! We've found some amazing recipes over the past couple of weeks. Salmy Sunday is under a few renovations!

Now the time has come for us to plop down on the couch in our lounge around clothes. I think we're going to watch a lifetime movie we DVR'd last night called "Prayers for Bobby," starring Sigourney Weaver. Have you heard about it? It's about an overly religious mother who gives her teenage son a difficult time for being gay. I don't want to give away anything, but I think the pressure leads him to drastic, unfortunate measures. It's gotten a lot of hype. I look forward to seeing it.

I hope you guys have a great night. Have a great week too! I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Gettin' Back on Track.

Good evening, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you're having a nice evening. This is the first weekend we've had in Philadelphia for a few weeks. It was really nice to be back. We've had such a nice, relaxing week together. We haven't done much besides read, watch movies, cook, drink and a little lite shopping. Unfortunately, Alan starts back to work tomorrow. I'm still looking forward to my time off, but I will miss having him around as much as he has been.

All weekend, like I said before, we haven't done too much. On Friday we hit a local bookstore called Robin's, to take advantage of their going out of business sale. We picked up three armloads of great reads for only $70! If things go as planned I intend to knock a few of them out before I start back to school. I know once I get back I won't have a lot of reading time. I just finished a silly read called Stori Telling. It's the infamous tell-all Tori Spelling penned last year, about growing up in Hollywood. I've been a big fan of hers since I was a kid, so I have been anxious to read it. It won't change my life, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. My next venture will be a little deeper. It's Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums. My friend Eddie recommended it to me a few months back. He and I share a similar upbringing, as gays in Lancaster, Kentucky. I can't wait to read it. In the book Sessums tells his story of growing up gay in rural Mississippi. I have a feeling I will discover several parallels to my own upbringing in Kentucky. This one may change my life! I love southern writers like Flannery O'Conner, Truman Capote and William Faulkner. I'm hoping to find a little inspiration here so I can possibly scribble down my own memoirs one day. Would you buy a copy?

Saturday evening we did a little shopping after we finally forced ourselves out of the house. We needed to pick up some things from Trader Joe's, including some produce for my new juicer. We've been juicing fanatics lately. I love it. We've made some great juices with carrots, apples, ginger, celery and oranges. Thanks Dad! I've wanted one of these for so long. While we were at Trader Joe's we also picked up some things to make Indian food later that night. It was delicious. I love going out to eat, but nothing beats having dinner at home.

Today we got back on track by doing our weekly grocery shopping. We have to get back into the groove since Alan starts back to the real world tomorrow. We had a nice visit with Jude and Lou in the later part of the afternoon. She served us tea and biscotti. We chatted for an hour or so, and she showed us her whimsical, fabulously decorated Christmas tree. It was really great. Before we left she loaded us up with some homemade crab and artichoke dip and some aioli she had leftover from a holiday party. We'll use the aioli tonight with our salmon! Thanks Jude! She knows we love to eat.

So that about wraps up our weekend. I hope you guys have had a nice one as well. I'm sure most of you are also just getting back to work this week after the holidays. Good luck getting back and getting into the groove, as Madonna would say. I'll chat with ya'll later on.

Love, Josh

Post-Birthday Reflections

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

Thank you all so very much for the kind birthday wishes you left yesterday. This was truly one of my favorite birthdays ever. I received so many cards, calls, texts, emails and comments. It really touched me. Sometimes I am nearly blown away by the thoughtfulness of others. It's what life is all about. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I had such a great day, besides the fact that I had to spend most of it on campus.I'm nearing the end of my semester, so there are so many things to accomplish before my last day next Wednesday. That didn't keep me from throwing it all down to celebrate later on, though! When I got home a delivery came from Edible Arrangements. My step-mother Dawn sent me a balloon and a beautiful array of chocolate covered strawberries and apples. Yum! Alan surprised a bit later, by getting home much earlier than usual. As we were moving about the house, he somehow managed to slip a secret package on the bar for me. Inside were tickets for the two of us to see Rufus Wainwright at the Kimmel Center in February, and Tori Spelling's biography I've been meaning to get. He's such a sweetie! Not long after, Jude came by to give me a funny card and a bottle of Italian, sparkling wine from her and Lou. They are the best. Thank you so much, Jude, the wine was FANTASTIC! It meant so much.

Later, Alan took me to the Old City district to a restaurant I've been dying to try for some time now, Buddakan. It's an amazingly chic, Stephen Starr restaurant that serves modern, Asian cuisine. The interior was ultra-hip. The dimly lit room was decorated with funky, contemporary designs and an impressively large buddha statue firmly placed as the focal point. The food we supreme. As an appetizer we tried a delicious edamame ravioli, in a truffle scented sauternes-shallot broth. It was heavenly. For an entree I got the Japanese Black Cod with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes. The fish melted in my mouth. It was great, but still not as good as Jude's halibut! Alan tried a medium-rare Filet Mignon with Mashed Sweet Potatoes. He doesn't eat meat a lot, but he loved it. For dessert we tried their variation on my favorites, carrot cake! It was a delicious, lite slice of carrot cake with vanilla ice cream served on the side. They served it to me with a dazzling sparkler in the middle! Alan created an incredibly special night for us. I will never forget it. I love you!

This was definitely a birthday for the memory books. Once again, thank you all so much for taking the time to say hello throughout the course of your day. Every message brought such a smile to my face, and a warmness in my heart. I'll be floating for days! I hope you have a fantastic afternoon. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Thankful 'n Thoughtful

Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. Bloggy Friends!

Well, the long weekend has finally wrapped up, much to my dismay. I take it you have all returned from you weekend getaways, and are geared up for a fresh new week. This will be my last full week of school for this semester. After this, we have a half week, then a week of finals. I am so excited to be finished. This semester has been rewarding, but I'm just over it, plain and simple.

Since I've already blogged about the rest of our Thanksgiving weekend, I'll just finish up by saying we had a delightful Saturday together. We shopped around the city, picked up some exciting new things for our home and had a delicious dinner. In the later part of the evening we went to the Ritz 5 to see Gus Van Sant's MILK. It is a wonderfully inspiring, heartbreaking movie. One of the best I've seen in a long time. Please get out and see it. Sean Penn was amazing, James Franco was dreamy, and the shots of San Francisco brought back so many fond memories. I miss it so much. Go see it!

Today (Sunday) we were supposed to go with Kelly and Ed to the Valley Green Inn for brunch, but when we woke up it was so rainy we decided to postpone. I think it was a great decision on all of our parts, because the rain held steady all day long. Instead, we braved the weather to do our usual Sunday chores. Tonight Alan made the most amazing dinner. Jude gave us a recipe from her culinary inspiration, Ida Gartner, called Roasted Mustard Fish. It called for things like capers, shallots, crème fraîche, dijon and whole wheat mustard. It was out-of-this-world. Along with that we had roasted fennel, mashed potatoes (thanks Bill) and a green salad. It was sinfully delicious. Wow. I'm so thankful Alan loves to cook.

Below I attached a video of our Thanksgiving in D.C. with Bill and Gary. I hope you enjoy. It was definitely one for the memory books! Have a great week. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Birthday Shout-Out: Rick P. Watson!

Plus Our Thanksgiving with Jude and Lou


Good afternoon, Bloggy Friends!

Today is a very special day. One of our best friends is celebrating his birthday. It's Rick! I hope he's in Louisville having the birthday of his dreams. As you may know, he recently ventured from the Highlands to live in another of Louisville's more hip addresses - Old Louisville. I've seen a few pictures, and his new apartment looks fabulous. Is this the best one yet? Rick is currently studying Interior Design at the University of Louisville. It won't be long before he has his B.F.A., then jets out into the world to create some architectural magic! I'm so proud of everything he has and will accomplish. Rick is one of the most thoughtful, inspiring, humorous people I know. These attributes help to place him high in the ranks of my greatest friends on earth. Thank you, girl! I hope you have the best birthday to date. We'll have to have a birthday blowout(!) when I make it back to Louisville for Christmas! I love you.

We're still reeling this morning from a fantastic time at Jude and Lou's last night. Is it fair that I've had two outstanding Thanksgiving meals in two days!?! As usual, Jude pulled out another crowning achievement in the culinary department. She kept in mind that we had a large meal the day before, so she thankfully decided to keep it on the light side. For our main course we savored the tenderest, most delicious piece of halibut - skillfully baked with fresh scallions. It was the most splendid combination you could imagine. The halibut melted in my mouth, just as the scallions decided to pop with flavor. My toes curled again. Along with that we had fingerling potatoes, with dill, a fresh green salad, a baguette and my favorite side dish of the evening - a fresh fennel, celery, yellow pepper salad. It was glorious and unlike anything I've ever tried. After dinner they served Alan and I a delightful piece of carrot cake from Termini Brothers. Carrot cake is one of my favorite desserts - so you know I was in heaven. As a digestif, we had a shot glass full of an Italian favorite - limoncello liqueur. I was so stuffed by that point, so Alan had to finish mine for me.

I believe last night was one of my favorite times we have spent together. I'm so thankful they're here in Philadelphia. Jude has sort of started to become somewhat of a life mentor for us, newly situated Center City-ites. She knows so much about the city, and just living in general. Lou is also such an inspiring, intelligent, funny man. I could chat with him for hours. They've lived such fascinating lives so far. The more time we spend together, the more it feel like I'm with family. It's a wonderful feeling that I've missed in my my mostly nomadic, adult life. Thank you Jude and Lou for another fabulous evening - and for the very generous housewarming gift! We love you both so much.

I hope you all have a fantastic day. This is the one day of our break that we don't have plans. I think we're going to get out in a bit and do some shopping. It's a beautiful afternoon. Let's all wish Rick a divalicious birthday! Have a great day.

Love, Josh

Our Thanksgiving Plans

Happy Wednesday, Bloggy Friends!

I'm sure you are all excited to wrap up your early week, and rush off to your perspective holiday gatherings. I've been looking forward to this week for a while now. Not only am I so relieved to have a few days away from school, but I am so excited to spend time with good friends over the next few days. In a few hours Alan, Galileo and I are leaving for a fabulous over-nighter in D.C. Two of our dear Bloggy Friends, Bill and Gary, have been gracious enough to invite us to their home. I am so excited to see them both, and to check out some of this delicious, Julia Child-inspired food we've heard so much about! It sounds like Bill has quite a spread planned. I can't wait to spend time with them both.

Friday we are getting together with Alan's aunt Jude and Uncle Lou. We had Thanksgiving dinner with them last year as well, so I'm hoping we have a little tradition brewing. I cherish every minute I can spend with the two of them, and it's not just because they always feed us well! Mmmm....

As if that wasn't enough eating, we're getting together with our friends, Kelly and Ed, on Sunday. We're going to have brunch at the Valley Green Inn in the Wissahickon Valley. Alan and I went there last year for Thanksgiving, and it was FANTASTIC. We're looking forward to going back. I think Kelly and Ed will love it.

So, that's our itinerary for the 2008 Thanksgiving season. It's a busy one, but I'm so jazzed about it. We may be running from here to there, but I plan on taking it easy, eating well, and having a few too many merry cocktails.

Let's not lose sight of what Thanksgiving is all about - reflecting on the things we are most thankful for. I have so many things to give thanks about - Alan, my pets, my family, my friends (you), our health, our able-bodiness, my job, my ability to do well in school, our beautiful new apartment and the love that completely surrounds our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, Bloggy Friends, for stopping by today. Thank you for sharing my life with me, and letting me know how much you care. You could never know how much your presence means to me. I love you all!

Have a wonderful, safe holiday season. Let me know what you guys are up to.

Love, Josh

Whole-Wheat Weekend Wrap

Good afternoon, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Ours was busy. Busy in a good way. With the holidays approaching, being busy just goes with the territory. How many times can I say busy in a paragraph? Busy, busy, busy!

Bright and early Saturday morning, Alan and I arose from bed to take Galileo to the animal hospital. After two weeks, it was finally time to get his stitches taken out. The whole process took about 3 minutes. We actually figured we could have snipped the stitches out ourselves. It looked so simple. Anyways, he healed up nicely and he'll be glad to know I told you that he no longer has to wear that hideous collar around his neck. He was mortified when he found out I posted that picture of him online.

When we returned home it was already time to get ready for another outing. We met up with Alan's aunt Jude for coffee before we went to see the latest show at the Philadephia Theatre Company. The show was called Unusual Acts of Devotion, it was written by famed, gay playwright, Terrence McNally. I was particularly excited about seeing this show, because it was starring none other than Richard Thomas. My southern sisters will recognize him as John Boy Walton from the 1970's sitcom, The Waltons. I met him a few times backstage, and he is such a nice man. The show was pretty good, I honestly wasn't crazy about it. It has been doing very well, though. We've been selling tickets like crazy, and have even housed a few big name celebrities like Nathan Lane, and Angela Lansbury! It's always exciting when famous people come to watch.

After the show we brought Jude over to see our apartment for the first time. She gave us some helpful hints on how to "umph" up the place. I'm excited to try some of her ideas. You guys know how much I love spending time with Jude. Later that evening we met up with my friend, Tim, for drinks and karaoke at a local pub called Moriarty's. It was pretty fun. After seeing the show, I felt the need to do a little performing of my own. I sang two songs and enjoyed countless other performances while we were there. Good times in Center City!

On Sunday Alan and I took care of our chores. We went to the Reading Terminal for produce, and Whole Foods for the rest of our groceries. I love grocery day. After that we rushed over to Temple University to see the opera, La Boheme. I was required to see it for my Voice Class, but unfortunately it was all sold out when we arrived. I'll have to try and make another performance before the semester's over. Darn. That evening, we had my friend Terra over for dinner. She works with me at PTC. It's always fun to spend time with her. Alan made our traditional salmon (with rosemary and lemon), garlic mashed potatoes and a delicious spinach salad. It was delicious.

Well, this is getting a little long. I told you were were busy! I guess I'll cut it out for now. I hope you guys have a fantastic week. What do you have planned for the holidays? We have lots going on, and I absolutely can't wait. This is going to be a very short school week for me. Most of my classes are canceled, so I only have to go to campus today! This will afford me extra time to work on some writing assignments. Have a great day. I'll chat with you soon!

Love, Josh

Rounds Two & Three: Success, Success!

Hey, Bloggy Friends.

I'm writing to you today from hangover central. All aboard!

The remainder of the weekend with Alan's parents sailed by smoothly. We definitely broke new ground, and are entering a new era where we can all be happy, harmonious and free.

Yesterday afternoon we brought them out to Manayunk to see our place and to meet Mary Todd, Abigail and Galileo. The two of them fell in love with Galileo after he showered them both with wet, puppy kisses! Later, we went to Main Street to have a light brunch at a restaurant called Derek's. I had a pear and gorgonzola salad with organic strawberries. It was perfectly delicious. We all enjoyed ourselves, still had a ton to talk about and went about our merry way. They went back downtown to freshen up for the evening festivities, while Alan and I hung around the house taking care of Sunday chores. The landlord stopped by to show our apartment, and expressed his pleasure in how well we have maintained the place over the year. That made us both feel nice.

Around five we headed downtown to meet up again at Jude and Lou's. As always, they went out of their way to make us feel so comfortable. We enjoyed an impressive spread of appetizers and an array of refreshing beverages as we chatted each other up before dinner. Lou provided the entertainment. Besides being a constant jokester, he had female jazz artists like Sarah Vaughan and Helen Merrill playing smoothly over the sound system. What, may I ask, can set a mood of ease better than that? Not much. Well, unless of course you count the aroma of the slow cooking pot roast wafting through the air above us!

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the magic Jude works in the kitchen. She is one of those rare people who can take the joy of eating to a whole new level. So, needless to day, dinner was fantastic. We began with a first course of pasta and pesto. It was warm, smooth and delicious. Pesto is one of my favorite flavors in the world. Next she brought out the pot roast that had been teasing us all night long. Most of you know, I'm not a big meat eater, but after eating this I just may rethink my decision. It was so tender and juicy. It was infused with some flavor that made my toes curl up (in that good, I'm so happy way) every time I took a bite. Yum. As a side we had beets, that I assume were local and farm fresh, and a wonderful tossed green salad. And to top all of this off, we were served a red wine that complimented the flavors to perfection. Halleluiah!

For dessert we celebrated Alan's mother's birthday with a cake. It was freshly made from a local bakery. It was really good, but to be honest this was the moment of the evening when I started to realize I drank too much. I had two bourbon's on ice and probably two glasses of wine at dinner. The room started spinning a little, but it wasn't long before we were heading out the door. Thank you so much, Jude and Lou, for another extraordinary evening. I really appreciate all you did to make us feel at ease. You're awesome.

So, this brings us to the end of my weekend. Everything went very well with Alan's parents. Through each gathering I think we became closer and closer. I know their effort meant so much to Alan and it meant a lot to me as well. I'm already looking forward to having them back again!

I have to run now, though. I need to hop on the train for school in about 9 minutes. Thank you all again for the support you gave us over the weekend. I shared your thoughts with Alan and he found it as touching as I did. I am so blessed to have you.

Have a great day. I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Josh

Round One: A Success!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

I just returned from having dinner with Alan's parents and it went really well! They were so nice. We hit it off better than I expected to. I'm really happy about it and so is Alan.

We met them at their hotel around 6, before we headed to a restaurant called McCormick & Shmick's. The dinner was really good, except for the fact that my fish was a little dry. The conversation flowed brilliantly all evening. We got to know each other as well as we could in the short time we had together. His mother is quite a character. She's sassy, fashionable and very funny. She and I had a lot to chat about. His father is such a gentle, kind, caring man. He has one of the longest southern drawls I have ever heard.

It really was a great time. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Of course this is only the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we walked away as best friends, but it did go as well as it could have went. I'd say this is a great first step towards a future that is more open, honest and.... aware.

We are going to get together again tomorrow evening at Alan's aunt Jude's. I look forward to that. I'm sure she has a delicious dinner planned!

Before I go, I just want to say how touched I was with all of the support and advice you offered in your comments yesterday. I feel so blessed to have friends like you. You were right there when I needed you most. I appreciate it more than you know.

Have a great evening. I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Josh

I'm Pooped!

Hello.Hey, Bloggy Friends!

What a whirlwind of a few days this has been! I honestly don't think I have sat down to rest since - well I can't remember when. As you know, Wednesday afternoon Casey flew into Philadelphia for work. He was only here until Friday afternoon, but we were fortunate enough to spend a little time together every day he was here. His hotel was literally steps away from my work, so at nights when I finished I would just pop by and we'd head out on the town. Friday afternoon before he left we spent the day together touring some of Philadelphia's historic sites. I saw the Liberty Bell for the very first time! We closed our visit with a little lunch in Old City, and some light shopping on Walnut. We had such a fantastic time. It was so great to see him. Having him here helps to reconfirm my belief that God blessed me with some of the best friends in the whole world. You're the best, Mimi!

Saturday afternoon Alan and I met up with his aunt, Jude, to see the latest play put on at PTC - The Happiness Lecture. This play, starring Bill Irwin, was a highly entertaining piece of performance art. I was a little skeptical going in, because I thought it was going to be a silly show about clowns and magic - boy was I wrong. It was such an uplifting, comical show that had me laughing out loud - and holding back tears of joy at the end. The show was full of dancing, singing, special effects and puppetry. One of my favorite aspects of the performance was the usage of the entire theatre space, by the actors. They were running through the aisles, climbing up rafters and even communicating with some audience members. It was fantastic. If any of you are in the Philadelphia area - I totally recommend seeing this show. Bring your loved ones and be prepared to be overjoyed! It's a winner.

As always it was fantastic to see Jude. When the show was over we headed to a restaurant on Pine Street, called MIXTO. We conversed over drinks and a little dinner. Jude's husband, Lou, was a little under the weather, so she had to rush off a little quicker than usual. We hated to part so early, but hope to see them again soon when Lou is all better. Speedy recovery!

Today we woke up and took care of all our puppy duties. This includes several potty breaks, feeding, playing, and watching him incessantly. It is starting to feel like a hassle and is a huge reason why I don't feel like I have been able to chillout in days. He has been doing so much better since my last post, though. Thank you all for your advice. Around one o'clock we headed a few miles away to the home of our pet sitters, Scott and Zoe. They have been helping us out since December when we go on vacation, or when we are not here during the day to take Galileo out. They were hosting a Garden BBQ for friends and clients, so we went along to meet some folks and let Galileo socialize with other puppies. He had a great time running around with this cute French Bulldog named, Driver. They are about the same age, and nearly the same size, so they became fast friends. It was great to see him take so well to other dogs. We also met a lot of interesting people. The food was delicious and the weather was fab. I'm loving the Philadelphia summer.

So, as you can see we have been running rampant over the past few days. It has all been worth it, but like I say in my title - Josh is pooooooooped! I have some great videos to share of Casey's visit, and of course the final two parts of our Kentucky road trip - so stay tuned for those in the coming days. When I close this blog I am going to head downstairs, make myself some warm tea and crash on the couch for the rest of the evening. Does that not sound dreamy???

I hope you guys had a lovely weekend and here's to a perfect week. Below is a slide show of PICTURES we took over the past few days - most of which are from Casey's visit. Gotta run, Galileo is barking for some attention!

I love you all. Good night.

Josh