Sept. 30, 2010 - the milestone! also back to the beach.

the milestone! also back to the beach.

well yesterday marked a milestone as it was the 180th day i went out this year as diana or rather it marks my going out dressed as diana 1/2 the days of the year.  this is the most i have ever gone out as diana in one year! yeaaaa! it has been a squeeze some months to squeeze in aprox. 19-20 days most months.
but my goal is still to make it to 3/4 days  this year so i'll keep everyone posted.
 and there were still a few more "first " as diana like the pool in the next town.

anyway today i returned to the beach at the south end of ocean grove.












and although it was late in the day (almost 4 :30) there was enough daylight left to put my feet in the water. it (the water) was surprisingly warm but if i went all the way in ... then due to the late hour in the day and season i might not have a place to change if the restrooms closed up early for the day. so i only went in to my ankles.
next i ate my now very late lunch (a sandwich)  and looked out over the water as the sun started to set over the land.







 after changing i ended up in conversation with a GG who informed me she had been an english teacher before she retired and asked about the slight hoarseness in my voice. i replied that i was just getting over a cold ( i actually was getting over a sinus infection from the previous week). the irony was she must have really thought i was a gg since she mentioned that she was looking that evening at an apartment to rent and if i ever needed a place to stay.... i didn't have the heart to tell here i was transgendered.

Next i  stopped to visit with a former neighbor friend in town. ( he has seen me on previous visits as diana) he now has a beautiful little cottage he bought right after his partner passed on.
since it was now a little after 10 pm  it was off to get a late dinner at clancy's resturant/bar

i had called my new friend Elizabeth earlier to see if she and her friends were going to Georgies. she called back and said they would look for me.
by the time i arrived it was about 11:20. the 4 of us sat chatting while listening to the koeroky music as they had allready sung 2 numbers as a group. the time passed quickly and since still had an hours ride home i said my goodbys about 12:45 and headed for the parkway stopping at the rt33/rt35 McDonalds for a coffee via the drive through.
unfortunately by the time i got home the coffee had really taken hold and i couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
lucky i am self employed and could sleep in as i didn't get to sleep till 5 am LOL.

hugs
Diana

Sept. 22, 2010 - Diana meets Jennifer for girls day out.

Diana meets Jennifer for girls day out.

i am writting this a day later since it has been abusy week.

today i got to get together with Jenny for girls day out.

first off she is a bit taller than her blog photos ( but then again aren't we all *giggle giggle*)

since she was going to Lady Ellens for an afternoon  make -over we agreed to meet there.




the next priority was Lunch so we headed off to Rise and shine coffee shop for a very late afternoon lunch .
since i frequent this coffee shop as diana i am known by the staff so we got great service.





on our way we stopped at Rubana beauty supply on RT 22  watchung nj to meet my friend Sandra who works there. Sandra is a former cosmetologist so she really knows makeup and wigs and such.
aftr lunch is was time for a little shopping so off to the Unique thrift store. jen was like a kid turned loose in a candy shop. she went in looking for a winter coat and came out with 2-3 skirts.

from there since it was getting late in the day it was time for a coffee break at panera breads also on rt 22 watchug  nj.

by the time we finished our coffee and chatting about the days events it was almost 9pm. and although Jen didn't want the day to end she still had more than a 1-1/2 have hour ride back to the philly area.  so i drove her back to Lady Ellens where her car was parked and we said our goodbys and off we road our seperate ways into the twilight.

hugs
diana

ps jen said she was really tired but happy the next day!

Sept. 11, 2010 - thoughts of 9/11 in retrospct

thoughts of 9/11 in retrospct

may we NEVER forget  that fatefull morning!

ironically today's weather is almost the same as that morning. a beautiful late summer sept day!

i was disappointed how few local memorial events took place.

and i fear in a few years we will treat it like veterans day! sort of pushed asside in the history books almost as if to say "it never really happened".

i sincerely hope that this NEVER occurs!

may we never forget the sacrifice  that occurred upon that day!

Sept. 9,2010 - the beach!

the beach!

i am retyping this after hittting the back button and loosing the entire post aggghhh!

once again i decided to play hooky and go to the beach.

since it was warm out i wore my yellow cami and white jeans  skirt with white sandals and white fabric purse.

since i really, really needed a rest room stop, i stopped at the Cheesquake visitors rest stop. this is a major stopping point on  the parkway and covers a large area.
as i came out of the visitors center building a man finishing a phone conversation enters the building and softly says "very pretty, very pretty".

i say or rather surprisedly mumble, "thank you "

as i got back to the car the man in the next car waiting for someone with his window open says "you smell very nice" (in ref to my perfume)

i say "thank you " as i try not to bump his car door with mine. and wave good by to him as i back out of the parking space.

although awkwardly executed comments i don't know if they were comments, pick up lines or undercover officers but now i have a better understanding of what the GG's go though with such complements from total strangers in such large public places!

so it's onto ocean grove NJ.  as some may know this is my favorite nj beach town. it was built at the same time as cape may was being rebuilt after their great fire about 1890. accept until recently O.G. was not so touristy . a real Mayberry like shore town.
it has some wonderful little shops but retains it's own old fashioned newspaper store with sloping wood floors, a hardware store (which about 40 yrs ago i remember having a gas pump out front) and a small grocery store. they also have a wonderful former drugstore-soda fountain now just a restaurant called Nagles apothecary cafe. two blocks north of there is Days garden restaurant which houses both Days ice cream shop and the starving artist restaurant which is open only for breakfast and lunch. here one gets a box of crayons to draw on the paper table cloth (after all it is "the artist" restaurant...)
accross the park from Days again one block north is the Great Auditorium which seats about 6000 people. on saturday nights in season one can hear such greats as tony Bennett and way in the past even John Phillip Sousa have preformed in this building that is sort of like a upside down boat like structure.
on sundays great religious speakers from all over have spoken here including in the past Norman Vincent Piel.
it takes about 80 volunteer ushers to cover the building and balcony all in white pants and blue jackets.
with a 60 member choir and a pipe organ larger than radio city in NY it is quite and experience to attend event here.
surrounding this building are the remaining tent/buildings with attached cabins for bath and kitchen. they are up from may 15th to sept. 15 closing before hurricane season.
they represent the reminiscent of the camp meeting movement when one would come pitch a tent in the 1890's to hear the great Methodist speakers of the day.

when i arrived at the beach i changed into my 2 piece floral and dark blue bathing suit.
with a black lace beach cover up.




i don't feel i have the figure for a 2 piece bathing suit and that is why i usually wear a one piece maillot.
and although the water felt cool at first... once i was in it was comfortable.
one never knows at this time of year as many times after 3pm one will need a canvass wind barrier to remain on the beach.
the water was surprisingly calm with the tide going out







so i quickly went and rinsed off so that i could dry off in the last bit of time before the sun set. the sun has started setting earlier and by 7pm it was dark.
i had eaten a chicken sandwich earlier.
so now i went off to change and due to the  chill in the air i couldn't use the cami so i decided to wear instead a lace trimmed pink tank top with the white jeans skirt and a gray hoodie instead.

as i am sitting in the car phoning an old family friend the cousen of another old family friend wanders by the car, looks up but he doesn't approach. it doesn't matter as his cousin (whom my famialy used ot stay with ) has already been told about my being non transitioning transgendered. another long time family friend sort of blundered into telling her. oh well...

the old family friend i am phoning is home it turns out so it is a quick super- girl change into dave.  and a short visit up the coast with my parents friend now in a senior housing apt.she knows of diana and has seen photos but i felt arriving as dave was the better choice.
upon leaving it's back via "the phone" booth to change to diana again and off to clancys' sports bar for dinner.
this place has great sandwiches and although i don't care for potato soup i am told they have the best potato soup. clancy's is on main st also known as rt 71 in neptune township across from the gates of ocean grove.
ironically it also intersects O.G.'s Main AVE!
a bit confusing for a blond like me LOL

next it is off to Georgie's glbt cheers like bar for keroeoky night.
although i have been here in the past and heard that thee were other T girls here i have never meet any as they tend to come in on weekends. so imagine my pleasant surprise to see  a small group of 3 come in.




so i went over to introduce myself.  they invited me to join them. and when they got up to sing they invited me again to come up on stage with them. so i did.  they called themselves charlies angels.  Elizabeth (on my right), Holly (on my left) and Stephanie (my far right)
it turned out that the chestnut haired Elizabeth is from my area about 50 miles north west of asbury park.

both Holly (reddish hair) and Stephanie were both from the shore area a few towns away.
i had a blast!
by that time it was 12:30 and i had a one hours drive by myself on the parkway. so i said my goodbyes and with a stop at mcdonalds (on the corner of rt 33 and rt 35) for coffee i headed home.


hugs
diana