Vacation

We had a very nice vacation, and are now home safe and sound, although we could have stayed away forever . . .  

Although most of the pictures have been posted elsewhere so they could be shared with vanilla family and friends, I wanted to give you, my dear reader, a taste of the scenery.

"Life is and will ever remain an equation incapable of solution, but it contains certain known factors."

    ~ Nikola Tesla

direction

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."

    ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I've always enjoyed Antoine de Saint-Exupery and I'll never forget reading Le Petit Prince in French class, a classic story that can be enjoyed on a number of levels . . . 

Anniversaries

Our blog's one year anniversary passed quietly earlier this month, unnoticed even by the blog's authors.  I'd hate to say we are oblivious right now, but that does seem to be the case.  Serafina and I are preoccupied with a number of different things.

I guess that's sometimes how life ends up, passing by, leaving you feeling a little bit like you are watching it go by while you sit behind glass in a greyhound bus.  It's something I need to snap out of, I'm not a "leave the driving to us" kinda guy.

Today is another anniversary, it's been one year since my Mother's passing.  If you are feeling sensitive today, or perhaps you simply don't wish to read about death, this is probably a good time to stop reading . . .

I was looking back at the blog, and I saw my post about being under the weather on the 29th last year.  I was home with what I thought was a flu bug (I've since realized it's just the peak of ragweed season and it leaves me miserable every year at this time.)  I got a call from the hospital that my Mother wasn't doing well, she was going to have to be intubated and taken to ICU.  I begged off going in, not wanting to spread my flu to Mom, and thinking it was not the worst news, Mom had been thru three previous ICU visits in the previous 3 years, hell it was almost turning into a routine.  I sent Serafina to the Hospital in my stead.

An hour later, I got the call.  Mom had refused to go on the ventilator, instead she had chosen to die.  At that point I went to the hospital despite the flu, it wasn't like my little bug was going to harm Mom at that point anyway.

She passed away the next day, at about 1 pm, I was with her holding her hand and gently telling her she was loved.  I think it's the most difficult thing I've ever endured, sitting with her those last 24 hours.  Death did not come gently like the night . . .

I'm sorry to burden you with this rememberence, unfortunately life isn't always sexy or fun.  All I have to share today is raw emotion, it's going to be a long day I'm sure . . .

Getting into corsetry

Not always as easy as it looks but looks super sweet when it is worn.  I have such a barrel shaped trunk and I really wish it would conform to the desired hour-glass curves.  Master Michael has generously offered a custom- designed corset.  We chose Amy Delicious who has an excellent reputation.  We had approached 3 others who had excuses or didn't bother to return emails and calls.  One was too busy with orders.

Amy delivers!  After sending her the initial measurements she sent a mock up to try on. So here I am feeling quite awkward in a self-portrait for the record.  my intention is to continue to lose the weight and get in shape.  Just in time for a renewed zeal to  take up nature hiking after a very long hiatus.  We expect a few new aches and pains that will hopefully diminish over time as we get more fit.  After all, who wants to get old and decrepit?

TMI - 8/28/2012

TMI Tuesday - Michael's None Night Stand Edition

1. Have you ever initiated a booty call? 

Not exactly.  The closest I've come is when the ex and I would have Cherub over for a LSD fueled evening of absolute debauchery.  The scenes would usually last for hours and would include spankings, floggings and bondage, so I'm thinking that's a little bit beyond your average "booty call".

 2. Have you ever accepted a booty call? 

No actual call was ever involved, but a former girlfriend who I've since nicknamed "pain and misery" was notorious for showing up on my doorstep (usually a little drunk) for sex for at least a couple of years after we formally broke off the relationship.

 3. Ever had a “friend with benefits” relationship? How long did it last? Are you still friends or acquaintances with that person? Are you still having sex with that friend? 

Well, my first wife and I had steady sex with each other for two or three years after our divorce, although there was no relationship beyond a strained friendship outside of the bedroom.  We've not had contact with each other for something like 15 years outside of Facebook, where I saw the other day she'd finally remarried in 2010.

 4. Tell us about your best one-night stand, what made it so good? 

I've never had a one night stand.

5. When was your last one-night stand? 

I've never had a one night stand.

 6. What’s the grimiest, dirtiest place that you’ve had sex? 

When I was 16 I had sex with my first girlfriend in an old storage closet that was in a portion of the school building that had been blocked off by renovations.  It was dusty and filthy enough to cause an asthma attack.

 Bonus: What’s the one random thing you wish your friends knew about you?

If there was one special something I wanted my friends to know about me, it (obviously) wouldn't be "random" . . . Perhaps I should just tell everybody I've never had a one night stand . . . er . . . I guess I already did that!

weekend report . . .

Our weekend included a day's worth of truck repairs that included a new muffler as well as shocks and struts, an expensive proposition for a Friday.  We managed to fit some urban hiking into the day, and we did get to observe a dancer walking her dogs when the wooded path we were taking brought us out behind a strip club.

Saturday found us on a trip to Oakbrook Terrace to visit a REI store to grab some camping and hiking gear we needed for our excursions to explore the Driftless Area.  While I've got baseball caps galore, neither one of us had a decent wide brim had to keep sun off our neck and ears, a must for hiking in the sun.  That wardrobe hole, as well as some other essential camping needs are now filled.

Sunday was supposed to be a day of resting, although the agenda did include a corset test fitting.  Delicious Corsets is creating a custom corset for Serafina, and their custom corset manufacturing process includes a fabric "mock up" being sent to my slave/wife for a test fitting.

Serafina took some photos of her test fitting, but I'm not sure where they are at right now, I know a cd-rom was burnt to return to the manufacturer with those photos.  I'll let Serafina share the photos later if she chooses.  With that in mind, I'll temporarily turn this into a food blog, and illustrate today's post with a picture of lunch . . .

Bratwurst (cooked in beer) with grilled onion by Michael Samadhi