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memorial

Dale E. Minnix 11/22/58 - 8/7/94

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fun with pictures Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm).

 

The never ending house renovation

 

On March 16, I officially was a Phoenician for four years.  The house renovations continue...

 

exterior

The exterior of the house hadn't been painted since it was built 10 years prior.  Although it was well covered, it was faded, and just like every other house in the neighborhood, it was beige.  Our HOA finally started to allow more than 2 shades of beige so I had 10 new colors from which to choose.  One shade is a dark sepia with a golden tint and the trim is 2 shades darker. It now looks different from the other neighbors and adds a lot of curb appeal.  Click the pictures link or the thumbnail above for before and after shots.                                           Pictures

 

 

Office

The previous home owners moved the original door on the office, and did it poorly.  There was a bad patch where you could still see the outline of the old hole, they used a cheap and ugly short hollow door, and broke up the space so that the only way you could arrange furniture was to shove a desk up against a wall or window. I moved the opening back to the original location and put in an 8 foot tall reeded glass door.  I repainted, hung curtains, artwork and made all my office equipment wireless.  It's much warmer now, looks great, seems more natural to the flow of the house, and the new door adds a break and some scale to a very tall wall in the living room.                                  Pictures

 

 

West Guest Room

The master bedroom and the 3 guestrooms are actually on opposite sides of the house.  The master is North, and the guestrooms are East, South and West.  I haven't done much in the guestrooms except replace the carpeting, but the West bedroom had some wall and ceiling damage because of an old roof leak.  After having the leak fixed, I patched up the damaged areas, repainted, hung curtains and added some new overhead lighting.      Pictures

 

 

bar

The 'dining room' has sliders going out to the pool.  It's also set up so that if you did put a table and chairs in it, you'd have to walk around all the furniture to get outside or into the kitchen, totally breaking up the flow I like in this house.  I prefer total circulation for parties so everyone can continue to move.  In Arizona, we're pretty casual, we grill and eat outdoors, so a formal dining room is useless.  With a bar, everyone can grab a drink and continue out to the pool.  With all the furnishings, the room feels like a tiny little clubroom.                     Pictures

 

 

Kitchen

One of the first projects I tackled was the  kitchen.  I hated the Formica countertops, the porcelain white tile on the floor and the shiny black appliances and sink - so I had slab granite countertops installed, and replaced the fridge, dishwasher, and cook-top with stainless steel.  I replaced the sink with ivory Silegranite and the faucet with a modern gooseneck.  I also replaced a dated built-in desk with two wine refrigerators and then added the finishing touches with ancient Durango stone on the floor, backsplash, and entry wall.                                                     Pictures

 

 

MASTER SUITE

The master suite had a great layout with a balcony, a sitting room and a double-sided fireplace.  The issues I had were with the half wall between the sitting room and the bedroom; the fireplace facade was covered in cheap white porcelain tile; and there was the same beige Berber carpeting as was  everywhere else in the house.  Also, the previous homeowners never used the fireplace (it had gas pipes but no setup).  I opened up the sitting room, changed the fireplace facade, put the fire on remote, changed out the flooring and repainted everything.                                           Pictures

 

 

Flooring

There was cheap beige Berber carpeting everywhere in this house both upstairs and down.  Although I had it cleaned before moving in, I could barely stand the idea that I was living with the hair, dust, skin, and who knows what else of the previous homeowners buried beneath my bare feet.  I also couldn't stand the look as it was semi-worn and loose in some spots.  I put Malasian Merbau hardwood floors in every room downstairs and replaced all the carpeting upstairs with a thick plush.                                                   Pictures

 

 

POOL

A pool in Phoenix is a necessity.  The back yard of this house was nothing but dirt on top of rock.  It was a hard dig (requiring 48 hours of massive jack-hammering).  It's a custom design but a familiar look. You'll see similar pools in Arizona that are meant to blend into the desert atmosphere.  I added new touches by using Flagstone in some spots and real granite boulders (rather than cement faux rocks).  I had a heater / cooler installed, cleaner jets, a waterfall, and added a built in bench with spa jets.                                                     Pictures

 

 

landscaping

The cost overruns on the pool obliterated my land- scaping budget.  After getting a ridiculously outrageous bid of $10000 for a few shrubs, I decided to do the yard myself.  I wanted a desert xeriscape to go with the look of the pool.  I put in mixed cacti and succulents, blended with some Ocotillo and purple fountain grass.  I covered it all with decorative rock cover, and installed landscape lighting.                                                Pictures

 

 

Powder Room

The Powder Room downstairs was one of the easy "just get it done" kind of projects that had to happen right away.  The previous owners tried an orange and brown wall paint technique that made it look as though someone spread ca-ca all over the place.  It almost made me heave to walk in.    It's not done... I've done little to it since just to get the basics in.  I of course re-painted and changed out the pedestal sink with a glass vessel sink and nice faucet.  One day I'll change out the floor and put a little more decor inside.                                           Picture

 

Grand Canyon Adventure

Oct 26-29 2007:  Jim & Joey flew in from Ft Lauderdale and Don & Rodney came in from Dayton.  The five of us packed up our backpacks and headed North for our big Grand Canyon adventure.  We started at the South Rim and hiked down into the canyon, loaded up with water, Gatorade and plenty of salty snacks. 

 

It normally takes twice as long to get back up as it takes to get down, but we made it back up in about the same time.  We didn't stop to take so many pictures on the way up, so we made good time.  I was unfortunately the weak link in the chain gang this time as I racked my knees on the way down.  The impact of putting my body weight into every step down just inflamed the tissue in my knee caps.  I was in quite a bit of pain for the climb out.  It started getting a little scarier when I would stop and my knees would lock up. 

 

Anyway, after eating 'Aleve' like candy, drinking plenty of vodka, and getting in the hot tub, my knees got a little better. 

 

That's Jim standing out on the ledge in the Thumbnail above.  You can click on the thumbnail to enlarge it.  See the slideshow of all our pictures here (or by clicking the headline above).

 

Mexican Riviera
Oct 28-Nov 4 2006: I took my first gay vacation cruise.  I was on the Diamond Princess through the Mexican Riviera with 7 other friends.  After flying into Los Angeles, the ship took us to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan.  It was a seven day RSVP cruise on one of the largest ships in the Princess Cruise Lines fleet.  The ship had 4 pools, lots of restaurants and bars, a spa and many other amenities.  It offered an eat-anywhere-anytime service which was dangerous after losing a bunch of weight, but I did very well and kept it off. 

 

 

 

Nick is so butch

West Snide Story
Well this was just too funny to pass up and not publicize... Many thanks to Allan Fetheroff for passing this on.  It's a photo stored away in the Arts Council in Ohio of our dear friend and matriarch rehearsing for "West Side Story", sometime back in the late 70's.  Somehow I don't remember the Anglo Jets or the Puerto Rican Sharks wearing "Daisy Dukes" - or is he playing the part of Maria?  That would be more fitting.  I mean, just look at the luxurious silky hair and shaved legs.  Natalie Wood eat your heart out.

Click on the thumbnail or headline to see an enlarged version.

 

Jerry Popolis
My friend Jerry Popolis in New York (and PA) does hair and makeup for the movies.  He's worked on the sets of Spiderman II, Stepford Wives, Michael Clayton, Savage Grace, Lie Down with Dogs, The Forgotten, The Producers and many other movies that we've all seen and enjoyed. 

He's worked with many of my favorites like Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore (that's him doing her above), and he's now Robert DeNiro's personal stylist.  His full list of credits are on IMDB.  One day, I think we'll be seeing him on the Golden Globes or the Oscars, accepting an award for best hair and makeup.   Here are some articles recently written about him.

Jerry and his spouse, Alberto got married in P-town and have been refurbishing an old farmhouse in Eastern Pennsylvania.  They've done a beautiful job bringing this gem back to life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cocktails

this section isn't to share recipes as much as it is to make sure you have the right cocktail ingredients when I stop over for a drink :)

   

VESPER Martini            

Corpse reviver Ii

Apricosmo

Mojitorita                                            
Cosmopolitan                                

Prickley Pear Margharita            
Granny Smith Appletini                    

Dreamcicle                                         Bellini                                                

Tropicolitan                                      
Key Lime Martini                                   

Peartini                                                 

Lemon Drop                                           
Pimms Cup                                           

Chocolatini                                         

Strawberry Shortcake                       

Links
 
Friend's Websites
Adam's Dock Rentals
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Sosegago (Mona's Page)
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James Kiselica's Artwork
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Chris & Bill's Website
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Jerry & Alberto's farmhouse
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Tyler's Posche Models
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Community Sites
Advocate
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Human Rights Campaign
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Equality Arizona
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Names Project Quilt
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Jimmy James
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Queer Day News
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Gay Wired
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Washington Blade
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365Gay.com
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Hotspots Magazine (Fort Lauderdale/Miami)
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Echo Magazine (Phoenix)
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Ionaz (Phoenix)
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HX Magazine (New York)
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