3DSSC Stretcher Framework

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe assembling one of his multi-piece 3DSSC (3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas) stretcher frameworks for a forthcoming 3DSSC painting.

Fontaine Caffe

Caffe with TWO F's!!! My theory about the misspelling is that it wasn't out of ignorance, instead, it was intentional to make it easily findable by search engine. There are Fontaine Cafe's and Cafe Fontaine's, but only one Fontaine Caffe.

When I heard that a low-key creperie opened in Old Town, I was very curious. It has potential to be a must-go spot, but for now it's definitely skippable. It should be an adorable buzzing place that evokes a corner Parisian cafe, but instead it's awkwardly quiet (not much in people-watching) and inconsistent in the food department. Like it's French counterpart, the service was nothing to be proud of--just kidding, Paris! Don't hate me because I'm American.

Food-wise, I had parts of the Zenist (lentils, spinach, and tomatoes simmered in coriander coconut curry sauce) and the Moroccan (spinach and feta topped with mint-yogurt sauce). The Zenist was underwhelming in flavor and texture, it tasted like lumpy lukewarm mediocre lentil soup leaked onto a crepe. The crepe flavor didn't work well with the lentil mixture at all.

The Moroccan was DELISH and if I was forced to go back, I could eat that and be very happy. But I hope you aren't thirsty, because when you ask for water for the third time and finally get it, you may never get a refill. We all had a mug of (cold) French cider, which was pretty fun and different. But still, I want my agua!

E, what did you have and was it good?

J had the Washingtonian--steak and potatoes with a red wine mushroom sauce. His conclusion was that it was okay, but the large squares of steak weren't conducive to the crepe format...maybe thinly sliced or shredded would have worked out better. It required a fork, which pretty much sucks the fun out of being in a creperie.

Dessert was much better. But what creperie could possibly serve a "bad" dessert? The Marathon--nutella, peanut butter, and either banana and peanut butter--embodies all that is right with a sweet crepe. Mmmm. J had the Grand Chocolate, which had dark chocolate and praline mousse with chocolate sauce, was creamy, sweet, and totally decadent.

All of the sweet crepes look good, though--I'd love to try the marscapone and cherry, or the butter pecan (ice cream), poached pear, and cognac. Basically, I'd like to go there with 5 or 6 friends and share a bunch of desserts.

So to wrap up, it's not my first-stop in Old Town for dinner, but it's decent for dessert, if you aren't in the mood for frozen custard (Dairy Godmother).

Fontaine Caffe
119 S. Royal Street
Alexandria, VA
Metro: Blue or Yellow Line to King Street

Buying a New Monitor

Today Harry and I went out looking for a new monitor. We had gone out Friday to Best Buy and Circuit City but didn't really find anything and I didn't want buy one just to buy one. I wanted a good monitor but at a decent price. Well we went to Fry's Electronics today and we found this really nice and decently priced monitor right off the bat.

LG W2252TQ-TF 22"W LCD Monitor (10000:1 DFC, 2ms, 1680 x 1050) On Sale $279.95

With an ultrafast 2 ms response time and Digital Fine Contrast ratio of 10,000:1 contrast for sharp image detail, this 22" widescreen flat-panel LCD monitor delivers the stunning visuals you need for gaming and video viewing.

Got it home and hooked it up digitally but kept having issues and finally decided to hook it up analog just so I could use it and I would attempt to figure out why it didn't work digitally for me. It's a beautiful and big monitor.. I love it.

3-D Stretcher Framework

Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe working on the 3-D part of the stretcher framework for one of his 3DSSC (3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas) paintings. It takes quite a long time to design, measure, cut and assemble a stretcher framework for a 3DSSC painting.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Stretcher Framework For 3DSSC Painting

Today's photo is artist Jay Rolfe creating a stretcher framework for one of his 3DSSC (3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas) paintings. Jay Rolfe learned his carpentry skills years ago when he and his wife gutted an old farmhouse down to the floor joists and rafters, and totally rebuilt the house.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Harry's Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Harry's Birthday. We had a nice little get together at our house and BBQ. It's been an on going joke that Harry's love war.. I mentioned it at one of his birthday’s years ago and everyone always brings it up.. so for this party we decided to decorate the backyard with camouflage and war items. We went to a party story and bought army men, army plates, cups, table clothes, hats and even a blow up machine gun. Of course those who were in on the joke got it right away and others we had to explain it.

It was good food and great company and everyone seemed to have a good time. Right before everyone started to leave our good friends Tara and Jack showed up with their little girl Bella. We had expected them at the party but they missed the whole thing.

After everyone left we hung out with them for a while and caught up. It was really good seeing them as it had been over a year since we had seen them last. We decided that we would all go out to dinner and hang out a bit more. We went to Sizzler and had a nice dinner and conversation.

It was a long but fun day.

Assembling a Stretcher Framework for a New Painting

Artist Jay Rolfe is assembling stretcher frameworks for new 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas (3DSSC) paintings. The photo of the day is of artist Jay Rolfe doing just that.


This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

A SHOUT OUT TO JENNIFER

I get a lot of great fan letters, and occasionally I'll post them. Here's one sent to me this past week by Jennifer. So a shout out to you Jennifer for being so awesome!

Hi

I finished reading your book, Model Spy, about a month ago. I thought it really rocked and love your characters that you brought forward. They aren't like any old boring characters with just any old backgrounds. So I was really glad when I saw that there was a sequel, and I read Down to the Wire! All of the schemes, methods, irony, and chaos entailed was especially awesome to read, and the relationships your characters shared. I think you are a specialist yourself - as a writer, and I really liked your style throughout the books. While reading them I kept wondering how you could fathom so much about computers, gadgets, formulas, and places. I hope you have success with the next one (this may be the first time I've actually been itching for a book to come out) lol.

Oh yeah, I didn't want to leave you out in the dark about who one of your readers is. I am 15 years old as of January, and I live in a small town on the west coast of Florida facing the Gulf of Mexico. My little bro, big sis, and I live together with my dad here and go to public highschool. I'd been kind of on an unconscious reading strike until about a month ago. Now, anyone will rarely see me without a book in my hand. (Just yesterday I finished reading this really amazing book called The Snows. (it was amazing, maybe you might like it) I finished it in less than two days, and now I've started on another. It's almost better than food to me now. lol) I'm a real outdoorsy person I guess you could say. And I love the ocean.

Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment. I've never actually written to an author before.

I hope you have a good day!

a happy fan of yours,
Jennifer

Cutting Wood Pieces for a Stretcher Framework

The weather finally turned warm enough to work outside comfortable. Spring is officially here, although it hasn't felt like it many days. Artist Jay Rolfe is cutting wood for stretcher frameworks for several new 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas (3DSSC) paintings. The photo of the day is of Jay Rolfe cutting wood for the stretcher frameworks with a miter power saw.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Computer Monitor is Dead

Today when I got home and entered the house and could smell burning plastic. I asked Harry what that smell was and he took me to our office and showed me my computer. The monitor picture was squeezed together and you can smell burnt plastic coming from it. Harry said he had heard a loud pop moments before and then the smell came. So my monitor is dead.

Palena

I wanted to go to Palena for a long time. When we went inside, it didn't quite look the way I expected. The name invokes a subdued but colorful Spanish-inspired look in my head, but it was really quite a mix--mostly neutrals, with some color on the booth upholstery, and very classy (and comfy looking) bar stools with big Marie-Antoinette-like cushions.

So there's the dining room, where you can only partake in a fixed price menu (and which takes reservations, I believe), then the cafe. The cafe doesn't take reservations, you can order anything from the fixed price menu a la carte, AND choose from an extremely reasonable cafe menu. Our server was clear about how much different courses will cost from the fixed price options, and was just extremely helpful, kind, and efficient. J heard that on weekdays people line up at 4pm to be seated when the cafe opens at 5:30, so on this Saturday before Easter we arrived at around 6pm. After a 35 minute wait (which we spent walking (not too deep)) around the zoo, we were seated in a roomy booth.

On to the food.

Fry plate: Hand-cut fries, really long, thin, hot and crispy; a few onion rings, dauphine potatoes, and the biggest surprise--quarter-dollar rounds of fried lemon. J was brave. When I warned him his next bite was lemon, he shrugged his shoulders and continued, while I paused to consider the possible sour bite to come. They were surprisingly good, and didn't cause any scrunchy faces.

Gnocchi: Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi with a Tyscan-style sauce--I had relished every word of Jason from DCFoodies' recommendations for Palena. And the gnocchi was really good--definitely the best gnocchi I'd ever had, because the texture was admittedly, probably was what gnocchi should always be. But the rest of my meal really out-shined those few bites.

J had the stuffed lamb off the cafe menu, he said he couldn't really tell about the "stuffed" part but it was really good. I can't recall what it came with. Wow, I'm so self-absorbed in my own food!

Roasted organic half chicken: What in the crispy outside, juicy super-soft inside is gong on! Tell your server right away that you want the chicken, as it takes 45 minutes to prepare/serve. And it's worth every minute of the wait. There was tons of meat, this was no El Pollo Rico or Super Pollo. I guess the 45 minutes is when they dilute the magic sparkle dust and turn it into my chicken.

Dessert brought the Warm German Apple Cake, which was as it sounds. It wasn't too sweet, and had a delightful large dollop of ginger ice cream alongside. The ice cream was refreshing, not too ginger-y, but enough to warrant the name.

I'll definitely be back at Palena. We had a delicious, beautiful gourmet dinner for less than $100.

Palena
3529 Connecticut Avenue NW
Metro: Red Line to Cleveland Park, take West exit.

Harry's Birthday

Today is my special guys 37th birthday. We are the same age for the next six months :) I had to be in Online all day today but when I got home I took him out to his favorite Steak house, Outback Steak House. We have gone there for his birthday ever since he has been in the U.S.. We normally go with friends and family but this year we are having a BBQ get together this weekend at our house so this time it was just Harry and I. It was a very nice dinner. Kind of a quiet birthday but he likes it that way. Here's to many more dinners at Outback Steak House with my honey.

Love you

New Job

Well as some of you may know my current job will be ending in the next few weeks. I had an interview today with a former co-worker and a former company that I had worked with previously. It's for a new 10 episode Reality Game Show for NBC. They need a Post Super to start the Monday after my last Friday so it seems to work out great. I went in for the interview but it was more of a "here's is what we need to do" meeting. It seemed that the job was mine before I had even gotten there. The job sounded good and it lasted till mid September.

I didn't want to accept until I had a chance to go back to my old job and ask them if there was anything coming up. My current company has a lot of things happening just not soon enough and they couldn't match my pay rate, so I accepted the position at the new job. I start officially on April 14th but will be going in the week prior to work on starting up post.

I would have preferred to take some time off in between jobs as I really do need a break but when something like this comes along you can say no.. this will be my first Network show that I will be working on.. I'm very excited.

Slightly Opinionated

My friend Jocelyn started a new blog called Slightly Opinionated check it out. One day she's gonna be President but until then I get to give her shit for being a nerdy know it all from the barrio. Hmmm...now that I think about it, an idea is coming to mind. Each day Joce, myself and another pal named Ryan have an email thread while we are at work. Well Ry Ry doesn't always hold up his end of the thread so we posted the following ad on CL, that was crazy. Hmm...guess I'll post it here and see what comes of it. ;-) peace

From Jocelyn's MySpace:

My friend and I recently posted a CL ad for an e-mail buddy. It is funny. Allow me to entertain you. Mind you, we are dead serious.

Do you get bored at work? Do you feel that you are surrounded by idiots and crave a connection to the outside world? Then we are looking for you. My friend and I are looking for a third member to join our e-mail thread. We had a third member previously, but he was recently let go from his job and is currently alternating between sleeping, partying and hoing it up with his boyfriend. He is slacking terribly and not holding up his end of the convo. My friend and I worked together previously and have known each other for approx. 6 years. He is male and I am female. We both like men. We are both minorities, but of different ethnicities. The previous member was a majority. He also liked men, so he was slightly a minority (seeing as he can hide his fascination with men and thereby pass as a hetero he isn't allowed to be a card-carrying minority. Then again the card entitles you to a beating by the LAPD, who wants that.). He joined the group with PC rhetoric, we cured him of that and allowed him to "see color", say whatever the hell he wanted and challenge people on their assumptions. He spent all that money on a science degree from a small liberal arts college, but we are the ones that truly educated him. If he wasn't laid out somewhere on market street, covered in lube and confetti he would see this in his inbox and agree with me. On the thread we discuss hot boys, our jobs, the future, past indiscretions, politics, relationships, racial issues, etc. We are socially conscious, but not PC and don't want anyone who is. You can take that bleeding heart liberal crap elsewhere. We send each other news stories that we find interesting. We rant, rave, vent and theorize over the course of the day. We talk a lot of smack. The thread typically runs from 8:30-5 and depending how the day/workload goes a little later. Frequently, we find ourselves laughing out loud and then trying to pretend that the latest e-mail is work related.

If this sounds like a thread you would like to join please e-mail me. Tell me a little about yourself, a dirty joke, your favorite event or just something interesting.

Slightly Opinionated

My friend Jocelyn started a new blog called Slightly Opinionated check it out. One day she's gonna be President but until then I get to give her shit for being a nerdy know it all from the barrio. Hmmm...now that I think about it, an idea is coming to mind. Each day Joce, myself and another pal named Ryan have an email thread while we are at work. Well Ry Ry doesn't always hold up his end of the thread so we posted the following ad on CL, that was crazy. Hmm...guess I'll post it here and see what comes of it. ;-) peace

From Jocelyn's MySpace:

My friend and I recently posted a CL ad for an e-mail buddy. It is funny. Allow me to entertain you. Mind you, we are dead serious.

Do you get bored at work? Do you feel that you are surrounded by idiots and crave a connection to the outside world? Then we are looking for you. My friend and I are looking for a third member to join our e-mail thread. We had a third member previously, but he was recently let go from his job and is currently alternating between sleeping, partying and hoing it up with his boyfriend. He is slacking terribly and not holding up his end of the convo. My friend and I worked together previously and have known each other for approx. 6 years. He is male and I am female. We both like men. We are both minorities, but of different ethnicities. The previous member was a majority. He also liked men, so he was slightly a minority (seeing as he can hide his fascination with men and thereby pass as a hetero he isn't allowed to be a card-carrying minority. Then again the card entitles you to a beating by the LAPD, who wants that.). He joined the group with PC rhetoric, we cured him of that and allowed him to "see color", say whatever the hell he wanted and challenge people on their assumptions. He spent all that money on a science degree from a small liberal arts college, but we are the ones that truly educated him. If he wasn't laid out somewhere on market street, covered in lube and confetti he would see this in his inbox and agree with me. On the thread we discuss hot boys, our jobs, the future, past indiscretions, politics, relationships, racial issues, etc. We are socially conscious, but not PC and don't want anyone who is. You can take that bleeding heart liberal crap elsewhere. We send each other news stories that we find interesting. We rant, rave, vent and theorize over the course of the day. We talk a lot of smack. The thread typically runs from 8:30-5 and depending how the day/workload goes a little later. Frequently, we find ourselves laughing out loud and then trying to pretend that the latest e-mail is work related.

If this sounds like a thread you would like to join please e-mail me. Tell me a little about yourself, a dirty joke, your favorite event or just something interesting.

Slightly Opinionated

My friend Jocelyn started a new blog called Slightly Opinionated check it out. One day she's gonna be President but until then I get to give her shit for being a nerdy know it all from the barrio. Hmmm...now that I think about it, an idea is coming to mind. Each day Joce, myself and another pal named Ryan have an email thread while we are at work. Well Ry Ry doesn't always hold up his end of the thread so we posted the following ad on CL, that was crazy. Hmm...guess I'll post it here and see what comes of it. ;-) peace

From Jocelyn's MySpace:

My friend and I recently posted a CL ad for an e-mail buddy. It is funny. Allow me to entertain you. Mind you, we are dead serious.

Do you get bored at work? Do you feel that you are surrounded by idiots and crave a connection to the outside world? Then we are looking for you. My friend and I are looking for a third member to join our e-mail thread. We had a third member previously, but he was recently let go from his job and is currently alternating between sleeping, partying and hoing it up with his boyfriend. He is slacking terribly and not holding up his end of the convo. My friend and I worked together previously and have known each other for approx. 6 years. He is male and I am female. We both like men. We are both minorities, but of different ethnicities. The previous member was a majority. He also liked men, so he was slightly a minority (seeing as he can hide his fascination with men and thereby pass as a hetero he isn't allowed to be a card-carrying minority. Then again the card entitles you to a beating by the LAPD, who wants that.). He joined the group with PC rhetoric, we cured him of that and allowed him to "see color", say whatever the hell he wanted and challenge people on their assumptions. He spent all that money on a science degree from a small liberal arts college, but we are the ones that truly educated him. If he wasn't laid out somewhere on market street, covered in lube and confetti he would see this in his inbox and agree with me. On the thread we discuss hot boys, our jobs, the future, past indiscretions, politics, relationships, racial issues, etc. We are socially conscious, but not PC and don't want anyone who is. You can take that bleeding heart liberal crap elsewhere. We send each other news stories that we find interesting. We rant, rave, vent and theorize over the course of the day. We talk a lot of smack. The thread typically runs from 8:30-5 and depending how the day/workload goes a little later. Frequently, we find ourselves laughing out loud and then trying to pretend that the latest e-mail is work related.

If this sounds like a thread you would like to join please e-mail me. Tell me a little about yourself, a dirty joke, your favorite event or just something interesting.

Another Doctor's Visit

Today I had an appointment with my Colon specialist, Dr. Madsen. This was the person that Doctor Mills referred me to for my hemorrhoid problem. I figure I would go in and she would do the examination and I would set up a time for surgery. Well we talked for a few minutes, and I have to say she was very sweet and kind, which was very nice and she informed me that it could be a number of things and she would know more once she examined me. Well the next thing I knew I had my pants down around my ankle and I was lying on my side exposing my butt to this complete stranger. I won't go into super details so let's just say she inserted a probe and took a look around. She did find several hemorrhoids and to my surprise she said she was going to inject medicine directly into them and sure enough I could feel the medicine being injected in.. it was very discomforting to say the least... after she infected three times she told me she was done and to come back in two months.. I asked her if that's it and she said yes.. that in a few days I'll feel great and everything should be fine. I guess I don't need surgery, at least not at this time.

Gerda's Birthday

Today is Harry's sister's Birthday.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Gerda

Christopher's Eggarama

My good friend Christopher has an Easter Egg coloring party every year.. at least the past six years and it's such a fun time to hang out with friends and paint easter eggs. This year I managed to paint a full dozen of eggs (normally it's only six) and it was a ton of fun. Harry did not attend but my good friend Bruce did and he and I had a great time painting out eggs together. Christopher has some great friends and it's always nice to hang out with them. Can't wait for next year.

Work Is Almost Over

Today is the last day of Offline Editing for Big Medicine. We finally finished our 13th episode. So far 11 episodes have been complete and are in the can and we have two more to do 212 next week and 213 the week after that and then I have one week to clean up and I'm done with Big Medicine.

Still don't have a clue what I'm doing next. There is talk here at The Idea Factory of more work but they can't give me a start date. I also have an interview next week with my former Line Producer working on a show for NBC. So keep your fingers crossed.

The Heights

The Heights is fun. Also, it's now a stone's throw away from Marshall's, Best Buy, Target, Lane Bryant, and other things that were formerly foreign to Columbia Heights. The Heights is owned by the same peeps as Merkado (never been), Logan Tavern (never been), and Grillfish (been--good but uneventful, a long time ago).

Enough small talk...

I had a burger, and it was large and VERY filling. They reasonably allowed me to substitute any of the side dishes for the french fries--I mean, if you aren't at Beck, what's the point of wasting calories on fries?

Be my shrink for a sec--I have to tell you something. I was disappointed with the roasted butternut squash. Let me tell you what I was expecting, okay? Somewhere in my weird fantastical notions about butternut squash I thought that alongside my burger I'd find large wedge-like slices that were soft (but not mushy), sweet (but not too sweet) and creamy (um...that's all, yep, creamy). Instead I got a small bowl (what?!) of squash diced up to the same size as the tiny tomatoes on my salad. The soft/firm-ness was inconsistent, and despite the appearance of some onion and spices, the flavor didn't wow me. Bland. And it bothers me, because, it's like, my MOM can make some pretty sweet squash quickly in the microwave with some cinnamon and general mom-like pizzazz, so what's with that, Heights?

Now on to the BEST PART OF MY MEAL! No, I didn't have dessert. I purposefully skipped the part about my great salad. I asked our friendly (and patient) server to rank the salads according to his personal preference, and promptly chose his 2nd favorite for my starter. Repeat these words over and over, until you get to The Heights. Grilled. Romaine. Salad.

They take the heart of romaine lettuce (it's all connected, so it's a bunch), and throw it on the grill for what is probably a VERY short period of time, put it on a plate with blue cheese, and finely diced tomatoes and olives that must have been marinating in the AWESOME vinaigrette. I don't even like tomatoes, and I was scraping every bit of the topping off my plate and into the endless receptacle that is my mouth.

I'll be back at The Heights soon, where I will probably make my date buy me one of the delicious-sounding entrees. If you've been paying attention, you probably noticed that I love nut-crusted fish, so the pecan-crusted trout is natural. The salmon special sounded good but there was a lot going on--why did it need to have a lobster cream sauce? How many fish/seafood items really need to be in one dish? Also, I bet if we go, J will have the lamb. Mark my words!

The Heights
3115 14th Street NW
Metro: Green Line to Columbia Heights

08 Releases

I just realized I haven't posted my two books that are coming out this year. Yellow cover is April (next month-yay!). And green cover is July. Both are in The Specialists series.

"Storm Clouds"

Today's photo of the day is a photo taken recently by artist Jay Rolfe of an approaching storm which is darkening the horizon.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Postcard from Tortola

Located in the British Virgin Islands (about a 45 minute ferry ride from St. Thomas, a USVI), Tortola is a picturesque, largely undeveloped (commercially, that is--no big resorts or chain hotels) island with gorgeous beaches of clear water, soft sand, and colorful fish. People are drawn to it for surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and plain old relaxation. Many people on the serene beaches are retirees, and I turn green with jealousy when I ask them in March, "So, how long have you been here?" and they say, "Since New Year's." Ahhhh!

I'm not going to tell you everything they offer, go on and on about the view (it truly is lovely), or bother with the "downer" that is the parking situations on the island. These are the highlights. Consider yourself warned!

If you find yourself on Tortola, your cruise stops there, or you take a trip there from nearby St. John, St. Thomas, Jost Van Dyke, or Anegada, consider the options below:


Sugar Mill Hotel
Sugar Mill is a small hotel in Little Apple Bay located across the street from the beach that has a spacious restaurant. Brunch at Sugar Mill is delightful--you can refill your own coffee as much as you want, and the entrees are all delicious. Mom insists they are known for their apple French toast, and it definitely was a winner.

Jolly Roger
This Soper's Hole joint, also known as "Louie's" for the owner, is known for its burgers and pizzas. Jersey born and bred, I rarely eat pizza outside the Garden State or NY, so for me it's the HUGE burger at Jolly Roger that makes my day. The dock seating allows for an entertaining view of people coming in off their boats, and the huge fish that hang around hoping for dropped food.

Virgin Gorda: Restaurant at Top of the Baths
The jerk chicken sandwich was good, but had quite a bit of kick. If you are weak in the tastebuds, go for the regular grilled chicken. The spinach fritters were a GREAT starter, perfectly fried to a golden crisp. I can't say the same for the lobster bisque, which several members of my party said reminded them of "canned tomato soup infested with fake crab meat." Ouch. Location-wise, there's no better place than this to grab a bite to eat after you go to the Baths but before you head back to the ferry.

Road Town: La Dolce Vita
As the capital of Tortola, Road Town is bound to have both an overwhelming number tourists heading from cruise ships AND some of the best bites on the island. This gelato place is downright awesome, and we can't make a trip to "town" without stopping for a scoop, regardless of the hour. All the traditional flavors are there, and our favorites include the creamy strawberry, chocolate chip, and tiramisu.


Palm's Delight
I saved the best for last. Chicken in a ginger wine sauce, johnnie cakes (pancake meets cornbread), and beef patties (like empanadas) make this place a MUST. Like most other spots in Tortola, it's tiny, mostly outdoor, and the service may not be as quick as it is in the states ;) We're on island time, people.

Doctors Visit

Well it's been a year since I have been to the doctors and I have been having some issues lately so I figured it was a good time to visit. I had an appointment today with Dr. Mills. When I was looking for a doctor I really wanted a gay doctor and my friend Bruce recommended Dr. Mills. He is a really nice guy even though I've only had one office visit. So today was my second visit with Dr. Mills. I have been having some chest tightening and I continue to deal with my sever case of hemorrhoids. The doc did his examination and said that the chest pains could be from heartburn and prescribed me some medication. As for the hemorrhoids he refereed me to a colon specialist and prescribed me some medication to temporarily relieve some pain. He also did an EKG of my heart to make sure there is nothing wrong there... so it's off to the colon specialist for me. Getting old really sucks.

Matisse "The Pink Nude"

Henri Matisse painted "The Pink Nude" more formally known as "Large Reclining Nude" in 1935. This compares with 1907 for "The Blue Nude" which is shown in my post yesterday. Both of these nudes are shown in the same gallery of the Baltimore Museum of Art. The collector and donor, Etta Cone, displayed both of them in the same room of her Baltimore apartment on opposite walls.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Today's Weather...

...was nice and warm and balmy. It was just beautiful...so on that note...enjoy. ;)peace

Today's Weather...

...was nice and warm and balmy. It was just beautiful...so on that note...enjoy. ;)peace

Today's Weather...

...was nice and warm and balmy. It was just beautiful...so on that note...enjoy. ;)peace

Matisse's "Blue Nude"

On Friday artist Jay Rolfe visited the Baltimore Museum of Art again. They have one of the best collections in the world of Matisse paintings, part of the Cone collection. One painting I missed on my previous visit because it was out on loan was the famous "Blue Nude" by Henri Matisse. It's a large painting done in 1907. Imagine a very proper female physician from Baltimore buying that at that time.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

St. Patty's Day

Did you know that Savannah has the 2nd largest St. Patty's parade in the nation? The first being NYC. Here's me and Guapo all decked out for the event (notice his sparkly bowtie). We parked the RV at the visitors center and lived out of it for the weekend. Well, that was the original plan until the parking lot became party central. Can anyone say 5am and no one is sleeping? Sigh. Guess I'm not as young as I used to be. I packed up and went home early. But I did see the parade!

Fixing the Tire

Well I got up early today to try and get they stripped lug nut off the tire so I could change it.. after an hour or so of trying I finally gave up and decided to call AAA. They sent someone out and who tried and remove the lug nut but they had no luck. So he called a tow truck and we towed the Jeep a few blocks away to the local Pep Boys (which btw I hate.. long story). They informed me that it was cost me $45 to remove the lug nut. At that time I didn't care I just wanted it done. About and hour later they start working on my Jeep. Using their high power "impactor" tool they had the lug off in two seconds. I ask for them to put my spare tire on because the tire they took off was under warranty and I was going to take it back to the place and have them fix it. As he took my spare off he called me over to show me a nail in my spare tire. He said he would have to fix it before they could put it on.. that would cost an additional $25. I figure since I was fixing a tire I might as well have them fix the good tire instead of the spare. He also informed me that all my lug nuts were starting to strip and I should replace them all. Of course they don't have the same ones I use so now I have funky looking lugs on that tire but it holds it on. Also my Jeep has five lugs and they sell the lugs in packs of four.. so yep I had to buy two packs. Needless to say two hours later and $80 poorer I got my tired fixed and I head home to try and enjoy my Sunday off.

Happy Birthday Bruce

Today is one of our good friends Birthday... Bruce.

Bruce is my Harry Potter Buddy and we shared something very speical with the last two books. We would talk almost every night and discuss the chapters we read. We would cry together, laught together and have the OMG moments together. It was fantastic.

He was having a dinner and dancing party in Hollywood tonight and Harry and I got ready and began to drive away from the house when I noticed that my jeep was pulling to one side. I thought Oh shoot I have a flat and sure enough the drivers front left tire was flat. We were already running late and it started to rain. I got out and started to get the jack and stuff. I unscrewed one, two, three, four lug nuts and when I got to the fifth guess what.. it was stripped. I could not believe it. By this time I was super frustrated but thankful that we were only a block from our house so we limped the jeep home to our driveway and I called Bruce and told him that we would not be attending his Birthday bash.. which really upset me as Harry and I were really looking forward to it.

Minh's

When it's cold, all I want to do is go to Minh's. Good service, never a wait (although it does get busy on a Friday or Saturday night), super affordable, and most importantly, delicious.

I recommend anything ginger- or lemongrass-related then cooked in a clay pot (it will say it on the menu), the 5-spice chicken, and by golly, the pho! Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup with thin strips of brisket--they offer several variations but in the end they are mostly the same. A "small" in their pho is actually a big bowl, so please, order the large, and take a picture so I can see the results.

Five people each got a "small" pho then shared three entrees and left stuffed for around $65 including tax and tip.

What are you waiting for?!?!?!?

Minh's
2500 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
Metro: Orange Line to Court House

Harry Potter Book 7 Split

Today they announced that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is the seventh and last book in that series would be made into two movies I love this idea as the final book has so much stuff going on and it was be very difficult to cut this down to a two hour movie. I think starting with Goblit of Fire all the Harry Potter books should have been two movies as many of the films had to be cut down and if you want the full experience of the Harry Potter World you need to read the books.

I love the movies but they don't hold a candle to the actual books. So I am very happy that the Harry Potter movie series will go out with a bang and do the series justice.

BTW.. Happy Birthday to Sue from the Pottercast podcast.. go Hufflepuff!!!!

Madonna in the UK Hall of fame

I know I'm behind, bu the cool thing is...if you check here, you will find something you missed! I guess this is from 2004, I never heard of it but like I said, I am so behind. It's Mo, remember...before she was Madge? Here is Mo getting inducted into the Rock hall of fame in the UK.

Madonna in the UK Hall of fame

I know I'm behind, bu the cool thing is...if you check here, you will find something you missed! I guess this is from 2004, I never heard of it but like I said, I am so behind. It's Mo, remember...before she was Madge? Here is Mo getting inducted into the Rock hall of fame in the UK.

Madonna in the UK Hall of fame

I know I'm behind, bu the cool thing is...if you check here, you will find something you missed! I guess this is from 2004, I never heard of it but like I said, I am so behind. It's Mo, remember...before she was Madge? Here is Mo getting inducted into the Rock hall of fame in the UK.

American Idol

Ok, the top 12 have been picked NOW I can watch it!! ;-) so far...Carly is my favorite, there are a few more to hear.

OMG! I was watching her and I thought back to when Kelly Clarkson won...um, SIMON just said the same thing!

Dang this is two hours?

Ok it's over now and I still think Carly is the best. Some cute guys on there though.
Ok I know this blog isn't as detailed as other A.I. posts on other blogs but um, well it never was. ;-) I do how I do.

American Idol

Ok, the top 12 have been picked NOW I can watch it!! ;-) so far...Carly is my favorite, there are a few more to hear.

OMG! I was watching her and I thought back to when Kelly Clarkson won...um, SIMON just said the same thing!

Dang this is two hours?

Ok it's over now and I still think Carly is the best. Some cute guys on there though.
Ok I know this blog isn't as detailed as other A.I. posts on other blogs but um, well it never was. ;-) I do how I do.

American Idol

Ok, the top 12 have been picked NOW I can watch it!! ;-) so far...Carly is my favorite, there are a few more to hear.

OMG! I was watching her and I thought back to when Kelly Clarkson won...um, SIMON just said the same thing!

Dang this is two hours?

Ok it's over now and I still think Carly is the best. Some cute guys on there though.
Ok I know this blog isn't as detailed as other A.I. posts on other blogs but um, well it never was. ;-) I do how I do.

5th Anniversary

oday is the Five Year Anniversary of when Harry met Kenny. Well actually this is the day that I got a response to my personal ad on Yahoo. Who whould have guess that when I was reading and responding to that email that this would be the guy I would spend the rest of my life with. Happy Five Years Sweetie.

Michelle's Birthday

Today is one of my oldest friends Birthday.. I don't mean in age I mean in time we've know each other. We became roommates back when I was 20 (over 18 years ago) and we also worked together for many years. We have had our ups and downs but it's been a great ride. I don't get to see her, in fact it's been many years since we've seen each other but we do talk via email once a while. One day we will catch up again on our lives. A very happy birthday Michelle. HUGS

Peace Table

Artist Jay Rolfe mounted one of his Peace symbol paintings onto a great bar table base. Now it is art that can be used daily! Today's photos of the day are of the painted wood table top and of the table from the side.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses his melancholic artistic temperament to passionately explore contemporary issues such as the nature of existence, disorientation, alienation, loneliness, unrequited love, complex relationships, conflict, unrest, war, greed, unfulfilled dreams, yearning, and boredom.

Craig's Birthday

Today is my friends birthday. Craig and I have known each other for many years. We don't see each other often as we like we chat here and there.. Happy Birthday Buddy.

Chihuly "Persian Window"

Artist Jay Rolfe is seeing Dale Chihuly work everywhere. On Friday evening we was at the Delaware Art Museum to see the Pre-Raphael Brotherhood paintings and saw the Chihuly "Persian Window" installation over the entrance. It was strikingly beautiful at night. Today's photo of the day is the night photo of Chihuly's "Persian Window" made for the museum in 1999-2000 and expanded for the new entrance in 2005. Here's a link to one of the museum's daytime photos of the same work. http://www.delart.org/view/collections/chihuly_interior.html And a link to a detail of the work. http://www.delart.org/view/collections/chihuly_detail_04.html

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses his melancholic artistic temperament to passionately explore contemporary issues such as the nature of existence, disorientation, alienation, loneliness, unrequited love, complex relationships, conflict, unrest, war, greed, unfulfilled dreams, yearning, and boredom.

Daylight Savings

This morning was Daylight Savings.. we had to turn our clocks ahead one hour.

What is daylight-saving time?

Daylight-saving time is a system established to reduce energy use by extending daylight hours (clocks are set ahead one hour). This year, daylight-saving time begins at 2 AM on Sunday, March 9, 2008. Daylight-saving time ends at 2 AM on Sunday, November 2, 2008. In the past, daylight-saving time began in April and ended in October. However, an energy bill signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005 extended daylight-saving time as part of a long-term solution to the nation's energy problems. The new law extended daylight-saving time by four weeks; beginning three weeks earlier and ending one week later. Also under the new laws, the entire state of Indiana now observes daylight-saving time. Prior to the new laws, only certain areas of the state observed the time changes.

I don't like losing an hour but I do like Daylight Savings. I enjoy getting out of work at 7pm and it still light outside.

I also had to work today but I did get Friday off to make up the time. Just finished our 10th episode.

Dinner with Friends

Today Harry and I went over to our friends John and Moises' house for dinner and games. We were celebrating John's birthday which was a week earlier. Joining the party was Tom, Bruce, John, Moises, Harry and I.

Moises always makes a great dinner, this time we had soft taco's. We played a few games, had dinner and then watched a movie on their new TV and Blu-ray system. It was a fun night.

Deray Davis

I want to know, why my Fridays are like Mondays? For real, I got slammed this afternoon around 3pm and just got done about an hour ago! I know people hate Mondays, but I am beginning to hate Fridays, that's supposed to be the good day!! So I needed to laugh and looked up a hottie comedian, Deray Davis. He is nice on the eyes and makes me laugh! ;-) peace

Deray Davis

I want to know, why my Fridays are like Mondays? For real, I got slammed this afternoon around 3pm and just got done about an hour ago! I know people hate Mondays, but I am beginning to hate Fridays, that's supposed to be the good day!! So I needed to laugh and looked up a hottie comedian, Deray Davis. He is nice on the eyes and makes me laugh! ;-) peace

Deray Davis

I want to know, why my Fridays are like Mondays? For real, I got slammed this afternoon around 3pm and just got done about an hour ago! I know people hate Mondays, but I am beginning to hate Fridays, that's supposed to be the good day!! So I needed to laugh and looked up a hottie comedian, Deray Davis. He is nice on the eyes and makes me laugh! ;-) peace

Off Work / Ebay Store

Today I was off work since I have to go in on the weekend.. they were kind enough to let me take a day off during the week. Even though there were technical issues and I had to go in for about ten minutes to fix it... it was still a day off. Today I really wanted to work on our Ebay Store. Federation Outpost

It was doing really well when we first started but the past month or so it's really slowed down. We are barely making enough money to cover the cost of having the store. We also started to take off all our holiday items and wait till later in the year to put them back up. Well in doing so that removed about half our items in our store but we have a ton of stuff that can be put up. The process of putting stuff up is a job in itself. It's something that I start but quickly get side tracked. Today I did manage to upload about six or seven new items. It's not what I was hoping for as I was hoping to get almost everything up but it's a start, we currently have 107 items in our store.

"Whisps and Frost"

Today's photo of the day is a striking photo by Jay Rolfe taken in the early light of wispy clouds, blue sky, bare trees, and frost on the grass.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses his melancholic artistic temperament to passionately explore contemporary issues such as the nature of existence, disorientation, alienation, loneliness, unrequited love, complex relationships, conflict, unrest, war, greed, unfulfilled dreams, yearning, and boredom.

Have You Read Locker Shock?

LOCKER SHOCK

By Pamela Ripling
ISBN: 978-1-59080-581-7

Read Chapter One

What would you do if you found something deadly in your school locker and you suspected a friend of stashing it there?

Benjamin Mitchell thinks life really sucks when he nearly fails his history test. What's more, he's trying to get on the Midland Racers hockey team as a replacement goal tender. His buddies, Zach and Frasier are as different as night and day, and Ben feels like salt-water taffy, stretched thinner and thinner as the boys battle for his attention. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Valerie has suddenly started acting like a girl. The pressure is on.

Ben has bigger problems and it looks like somebody is out to set him up. Can he find out before it's too late?

What people are saying about Locker Shock

"...a valuable story. The characterization is superb of today's teenagers." – Sharpwriter.com

"Ben's first encounter with the darker side of life is satisfying and educational without a lot of heavy moralizing, and his uncertainty as he wrestles with the issues of loyalty versus morality is solid and authentic." – Blue Iris Journal

Meet the Author:

Pam Ripling didn't know what she was getting into when she decided she wanted to be published. A bookkeeper by trade and a mother, wife, and daughter most of the rest of the time, Pam dove headlong into electronic publishing when it became apparent that this, at last, was her ticket to stardom and notoriety. With a few romance novels already under her proverbial belt, LOCKER SHOCK! is her first venture into the Young Adult genre. Fueled by her two teenaged sons' experiences in junior high, Pam has created several stories portraying life as a young teen in today's uniquely challenging times. She hopes LOCKER SHOCK! is the first of many.

You can visit Pamela at
www.beaconstreetbooks.com