Pen and Ink

Tres anos.

I was just about to turn off the computer after writing the last two posts when it hit me: this 'lil ole blog turned three today.

While I don't write as frequently as I once did, I do think about this site all the time.  It's been a lot of fun and I've become friendly with a number of readers who I did not previously know.  And one fellow writer -- S -- has become someone I call friend.

So to those of you who read Pen & Ink, however frequently, thanks. I really mean it.

Watch Abby pee.

My friend B has a wonderful Schnauzer named Abby (also known as my "niece").  I've known her for about six years, but hadn't seen her since B and G moved to Panama a few years ago.

When B lived in Fort Lauderdale, I was frequently at his house.  Very often when I would arrive, Abby would pee when she saw me.  It was kinda cute, in a weird way.  B and I used to laugh.

So last Thursday, I get to B's house in the mountains of Panama around 2 a.m.  Abby, of course, was there to greet her Uncle Glenn at the door (along with her stepbrother, G's dog T-Bone).

And what did she do?

She peed.  Not once, but twice.

I had forgotten about that endearing habit of hers.  I noticed the pee and mention something to B.  He looked at me and laughed. 

"She hasn't done that in years," he chuckled.

Not since the last time she saw me, of course.  I hope it means that she was happy to see me.

Fragments of ideas.

LIKE BUTTUH
As my post the other day mentioned, A and I spent the long weekend in Panama.  I'm going to write more about it in a day or so, but one of the highlights of the visit with our friends B & G is that we spent a lot of time just relaxing, cooking and baking together, drinking wine, and listening to music.

I was in the mood to bake, so I delighted our hosts with this scrumptious, over the top cinnamon-streusel coffeecake, recipe courtesy of one of my favorite companies, King Arthur Flour.  It's the second time in as many weeks that I had made this, and if you choose to try it, I recommend modifying the recipe and using an eight tablespoons for the crumb topping, instead of the six that the recipe calls for. 

Try it out.  It's amazing.

NO MAS BUTTUH
Three months from today, I board a plane to Rome. From there, A and I board the Celebrity Solstice for a nine-day cruise that includes Egypt, the Greek Isles and Naples.  With three thousand of our nearest and dearest gay male friends, plus Drew's wonderful parents.

So no more outrageous cinnamon-streusel coffeecake for me. I need to drop 20 pounds before the cruise.  I have no expectations of looking all buff, but I wouldn't mind dancing with my shirt off under the brilliant Mediterranean skies. And then there are the beaches in Mykonos.

With my back and hip getting better, I start working out again this week.  I gotta do this.

SOMETHING FUN
My friend Miss Emma has a fun new blog.  Check it out at Emmado.

The mountains of Panama.

So I'm off on a little weekend adventure to the mountains of Panama to visit my friends Bernardo y Greg.  It's my first time in this country and it's just beautiful.

The wildlife is amazing -- they have a hummingbird feeder hanging from their porch and some of the photos that Andy took are incredible.

The Panama Canal is another amazing feat.  We took a half-day cruise. The technology behind the locks is considerable, especially given when the canal was built.

Lunch with Dorene.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I posted this via my iPhone back in January. For some reason, it showed up today.  How very weird. This was taken during my New Year's trip to Boston.)

Here's another blog-in-the-go... Having lunch with my dear friend Dorene in Hahvahd Square.

Shout out

One of the cool things about Facebook and other social networking sites, is the ability to reconnect with people you haven't heard from in years.

A few months ago a college classmate and former co-worker, Maria, found me on Facebook.  It was so good to hear from her and to catch up with her life.

Well, now she has a blog, and while I was tardy in not adding a link to it from my site, it's now on the blogroll.  Check out Maria Talks Back.

All new people.

A funny sensation came over me the other night.

I have a new "someone special" in my life.  I'm not quite yet how to refer to him. "Boyfriend" doesn't sound right, but "partner" is too much.  I don't much like "significant other,"  so let's just go with "SS" for "someone special."

My SS and I were hosting our first dinner party together. Not an elaborate affair.  It started out as a casual evening so I could meet one of his best friends, who was in town for the weekend.  "Meeting his friend" translates to "said friend checking out Glenn to issue an approval or disapproval."  

Cary had plans to spend the weekend, so he was there.  And we extended an invitation to a guy that Cary recently met who maybe could possibly be "someone."  

So it was five of us with a great big vat of arroz con pollo (made by my SS) and an amazing chocolate fudgie layer cake courtesy of Whole Foods (for once I didn't bake).

At one point in the evening I went into the house to get something. Cary followed on my heels.  As he walked through the door, I glanced outside.

"All of these people are new," I marveled.

He looked confused, so I explained.

"How many gatherings have we had in this house (Cary is at pretty much every event I do)?  All of these people are new.  A month ago, we didn't know a one of them."

"Yeah, it's weird how life changes so suddenly," he replied.

Ain't it the truth?