Um...

Looking at the update prior to today, I guess I did go over my plans! I did see some of the in-law family! Didn't see the wife's sister but did visit the brother and his wife and went the house of a friend of his for a fantastic dinner and playing some board games. So much to remember!

News from the world of Heather.

Hello friends and visitors.

It is September 5. Two months have passed since I visited my blog but much has happened.  I have a "new to me" desktop PC and before I switched from old to new, I failed to get my passwords copied and had been sort of locked out by the new PC.  Today was the day I said "I need to fire up that old PC and tell the world what's happened in the last two months.

I thought I had shared with the world that I was going to visit my parents on the east coast but in reading my two most recent blog updates, see nothing. 

So, I went to see the old folks. Mom will be 83 later this month and Dad's 82 as of May.  I'd planned on flying, like I usually do... I could swing the price of air fare since I'd bought a ticket last summer and cancelled when states back east started locking down. It would have been a couple hundred for the portion not covered by the credit.  When I tried renting a car in Hartford, I discovered that it would be about $1800 for the eighteen days I'd planned to get the cheapest/smallest thing available.  That wouldn't work.

I looked into the employee discount page from my employer. The have a link to renting "campervans" from a company based in Australia, New Zealand, California and Las Vegas.  I looked at the vehicles they offer. One is a passenger minivan which could be rented with full camping gear like tents, cots, portable stoves and coolers.  Well, I own all of that stuff, right up to the minivan but I didn't want to drive our van cross-country, though. It's my wife's car and she'd be miserable in my old Honda CRV for 2+ weeks.  I called the campervan people and asked about rental, discounts, mileage fees, talked it over with my wife and booked the vehicle the next day.  I drove across the North American Continent from Nevada, about 5 miles from the CA border to Mount Washington, NH and back with lots of adventure in-between.  

It was pleasing to stop at scenic areas in Utah, taking selfies while wearing the same sundress I'd worn to Rocky Horror!  Yeah, it's overexposed and a bit blurred but it was the first time using the selfie stick in a couple years.

Heather in Utah

There was some rain along the way which allowed for some interesting photos.  

Rain in the distance

Along the way, I
did some railfanning.  Stopping in Kearney NE at the crossing with a Virtual Railfan camera. At the time, my wife, her brother and some friends were playing boardgames online and I was an interruption.  I was just wearing a tee shirt and shorts, couldn't tell that my bra was stuffed with my D sized breast forms.  It was evening and the sun was backlighting me but I managed to get a screenshot. I'm the blur in the lower left quadrant.

Kearney NE Virtual Railfan crossing.

If you've read my previous postings, my family is in Massachusetts but my sister had taken vacation when I was there so she could have a break from worrying about our parents. She and her husband went to Lincoln, NH for about a week. They'd invited me up for a day and we went to Mount Washington.  That was a great place. Cold. Windy. Great fun. Glad I had warm clothes in the van!  I'd never been up.  We took my van up the AutoRoad. It's funny, the rental contract said "no dirt roads," no Death Valley between May and October but nothing about the highest point in New England and yes, there as a stretch of the AutoRoad that is unpaved. Didn't know until I got to it!

Mount Washington, NH

It was a nice visit. Got things done at my parents' house that needed doing but they were incapable of doing because of their age.  Dump runs, getting things ready to go to a metal scrapper, prepping for home improvement projects.  I try to bring my parents to places they've never seen or been to.  One trip, we did the Capitol Buildings in Hartford and Boston.  This year, we had planned on eating at a favorite Chinese restaurant but forgot it was a Tuesday so... closed.  Lots of things not open midweek.   

A week an a half after I'd arrived, it was time to say goodbye for now.  

My maple tree!

Here's the maple tree that stood guard over my bedroom when I was growing up.  It had been given a trimming by a tree company while I was there. Limbs were growing aver the house and the family didn't want one to fall on the roof.  As a kid, I played under that tree many times.  The family tapped it for maple syrup, too. Mom's clothesline is still attached to the tree and the original clothesline rail has grown into the tree.

My trip was nice, on the way out I stopped at the rail museum in Danbury, CT but it was closed. I still got a selfie.  Lots of places were closed mid-week.  

Danbury CT depot

It was a great trip.  I put nearly 7000 miles on the rented van in 2 1/2 weeks.  When not at my parents' house, I slept on my cot in the van, parked in truck stop parking lots and used the trucker's showers at Love's travel centers.  The van performed admirably and delivered phenomenal fuel economy averaging about 28 mpg with posted highway speeds of 75 - 80 mph.  All in, I spent just over $2000 on my trip. Food, fuel, showers, vehicle and taxes. AND... I still have my credit for a couple hundred dollars for air fare.  

Full disclosure, I didn't spend my entire drive fully dressed as Heather.  I needed to feel comfortable and safe with my surroundings and if there was going to be some kind of crowd, I toned her down. But I DID wear my biggest breast forms for the entire travel portion.  Tee shirt or button up, the girls went along.

Next time, I have to figure out how not to be sneering or exhibiting my RBF when I take a selfie.

That's it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time, Much Love,

Heather

ps: Hey look! I figured out how to include photos in my blog!

Breaking news! Rocky Horror Picture Show was a GO!

 Howdy,

We went last night!

My daughter ordered a dress specifically for my wife to wear to RHPS, it arrived yesterday. How could I not want to go?  They had planned on yesterday being the day we go and it was a surprise for me.  Well, blow me down!  I had ordered a lace negligee online and it had arrived Thursday.  So I had no reason to not go.  And, knowing that my wife was interested AND willing to go out, go to a movie AND be seen in public with me IN A DRESS, how could I say no?

The thing I had bought was a black lace dress (?) with attached garters, spaghetti straps and an elastic collar.  If I had real breasts, the top may have looked ok without a bra but since I wasn't factory equipped with an ample bosom I chose to wear a black lace underwire bra filled with my largest breast forms.  The hem of the dress barely covered the bottom of my black panties and I chose to wear black seamed stockings.  My wife said she'd be uncomfortable wearing that in public but if I was ok, she wasn't the one wearing it!  I don't know that I like the way the lingerie looked on me but I will certainly wear it again because I enjoyed wearing it.

Digging through my closet, I found a forgotten sundresses and decided to wear it over my lingerie.  We got my wife ready to go, we hopped in the car, I filled the gas tank and headed out for the hour and a half drive. We arrived at my daughters' house, ate and then I show off my outfit.  We all had chosen to dress for the movie.  Older daughter chose to dress as a "low budget Magenta" and younger daughter was "Eddie."  Wife was also a "Magenta" in her new black dress and a handmade apron that my youngest had made YESTERDAY!  

After I showed off my outfit, I said to the daughters "the only thing I'm missing is a corset."  My youngest goes upstairs and brings to me a black corset. She said that she's never been able to wear it, we're about the same size.  She holds it up to me and tells me to turn. Turn, turn turn I go. We start clipping the retainers together and then she starts lacing the back. OMG. I've always wanted to try a real corset. It was literally breathtaking.  I mean when she was pulling the laces, I could feel the breath being squashed out of me. I was concerned that I'd have a hard time wearing it for a number of hours AND moving or sitting while wearing it but it wasn't an issue.  I wore it home!  The experience of wearing a corset was everything I'd hoped.

With my wife's disability, movement is difficult, walking is difficult and her asthma makes everything harder, still. She did ok!  We were able to find a decent parking space and sat in the car until the line had dissipated so we were able to walk right in to the theater and the last row seats were vacant.  Throughout the course of the film, I looked over to her and saw her smiling. 

I wore my sundress from their house to the theater but had butterflies when we got there.  There weren't many people really dressed up, yes lots of black but not so many who were over the top like me.  I just wore the dress into the theater but once we were seated, I pulled the dress off and didn't put it back on until long after we got to the car.  As we were walking out after the movie, I felt that I was an eyeful. I admit that I don't know how I feel about that level of attention but I loved my outfit.  Outside the building, one of the cast was standing by the door as I drove up to get my wife, she was asking why we didn't participate in the costume contest and we said "last row" and all that... I was still in the driver's seat... my wife said "you should see my husband" so I get out, walk around the car and show off my outfit, this was also a perfect time to say hug my kids as I hadn't said a proper goodbye.  The cast member was impressed by all of us.  I guess next time we'll go up when it's costume time.  The daughters walk to their car and being the protective parent that I am, I made sure they get safely to the car.  It was then that I chose to put my dress back on for the drive home.  I didn't want to take a chance driving home at a late hour, have some dumb reason to be stopped by a cop while wearing a scandalously small amount of clothing.  Of course, nothing happened.

On the way home, we stopped at a fast food place to get something cold to drink for the long drive. We talked and she told me it was great to see me acting goofy and participating in the movie. She was glad I was having fun and said we need to do this more frequently.  She had never seen it in a theater nor has she seen it in it's entirety. Her takeaway was that the movie was pretty odd.  She didn't like the ending and said that some of the scenes were disturbing, especially Eddie under the dining table.  I don't think my youngest daughter had seen it live but I had taken my oldest at least one time to see Rocky Horror with a live cast.  In the end, I had a nice day out. My kids had a great time. My wife had a great time.  Got home at 2:00 am. I was impressed that I didn't fall asleep during the film and had no sensation of wanting to sleep during the 70 mile drive.

Happy trails, friends.

Heather.

And yes, there will be a next time. I cannot promise that my wife will go. That's okay.

More plans, Rocky Horror Picture Show

 Good morning friends,

Apparently there is a local movie theater that screens Rocky Horror occasionally.  

My kids love that movie.  As a teen and into my early twenties I would go to the movies and watch Rocky Horror. We weren't participants who brought props or dressed up, just attendees who could be pretty raucous and often jumped into the aisles for the dance sequences and shouted when appropriate.  After graduation, the three of us didn't really go to the movies any more as we worked and our personal lives became more important than socializing.  A couple years after graduation from high school, I started dating the woman who is now my ex-wife.  The two of us would go to the movies after a late shift of work and see Rocky Horror. She became a fan. Again, we were never dressed for a part and as I was trying to impress her rather than scare her away.

My current wife is who told me about the showing.  I'm hoping she'll attend. She's never seen the movie. I told my daughters about the showing and they're planning to attend the screening.  I am planning to dress for the movie.  My plan is to find some black lingerie with garters, seamed stockings and heels to wear.  I'm going to be scandalously dressed in public!  I'm so looking forward to this.

Now to wait until I get back from my trip so we can go to the movies!

Heather

January 17? Where have I been? OMG!

 Hi friends,

Yeah, I guess it has been a while. I'm busy. Working. Volunteering. Family. Busy.

I've been out and about a couple of times in the months since I've visited my little blog.

Yes, I went with my wife for a drive to the candy store in Beatty, Nevada and afterward we had a picnic in the ghost town of Rhyolite, NV.  It was the first time the two of us went out with her and me out of the car, shopping with me dressed.  It was a fun day,.

In the middle of April, my wife and I bough a "new to us" used van.  It's 12 years newer than our newest vehicle with much lower mileage.

Shortly after buying the van, I went with my daughters to the "Pirate Fest" in Vegas back in April. I wore a peasant skirt and embroidered blouse that my ex-wife gave me.  We had gone back in 2018 and we'd had a good time. This one was the first big event in Vegas since "lockdown." There was a mix of people practicing Social Distancing and mask wearing and a mass who threw caution to the wind.  Aside from the nightmare of trying to park, we had a fantastic time.

On June 6, my wife and I took a long drive toward Reno, NV. We really only drove about 240 miles before turning back toward home but it was a nice drive out and about. I wore one of my favorite tops and skirt.   We turned around near the California border un US Rt 6.  It was nice to once again be out. if you're ever in the Tonopah, NV area, there are some amazing bits of history out there.  

And for some BIG news, I'm driving across the county! I will be renting a vehicle in Vegas and going on a long excursion to see my parents. The vehicle is a Dodge Grand Caravan being rented from a company that rents campervans. What I'm renting is going to be a regular passenger van. I'll be bringing my own supplies for camping. I'm going for two full weeks plus a few days.  Heather will be able to stop along the way to see some of my favorite places I've seen online. Did you know that there are webcams located along railroad lines?  We discovered a bunch of cameras on Youtube and have become huge fans. I hope to be able to be spotted on the webcams at a couple of the locations.

My goal is to stay at campgrounds along the way, stopping when I get tired.  I don't think I'll be outing myself to my parents or other family members but who knows.  When I get to the family homestead, I'm going to help deal with some of the clutter to make it easier to to access parts of the house that need to be repaired or replaced after 63 years, repairs include the replacing garage door, bedroom windows and front door.  With other things to be done in the future.  I have a feeling that I'll be very busy while I'm there. There is plenty to be done there. My Mom has told me that she's planning on packing up some stuff for me to bring back. I also have a few things I will be asking to take to clear space at the house. 

While I'm there, I will probably visit my wife's brother and maybe some of their friends and possibly her estranged sister to deliver some mementos.  I may be adventurous enough to visit brother as Heather but sister will meet the other persona. Her brother has close friends who have transgender children and I'm really not concerned about acceptance. Sister, if she's still living where she was, is a very, VERY conservative person who lives in a world where image, opinion and appearances are important. My wife drove across country and sister was uncomfortable with my wife sleeping in her car in the driveway because "what would the neighbors say?!?"

Okay, it's nearly midnight. 

I'll post more soon.

Heather

A day out.

 Hello friends,

Big day, today.

We (wife and I) went for a drive. It isn't always easy to get my spouse out of the house but it was mostly her idea.

We drove two towns to the north of ours, really in the middle of nowhere but on the main highway to the north about 75 miles away.

The big deal is that it was the first trip where we got out of the car and interacted with the public. We went to a tourist trap/candy store. It was the first time my spouse went shopping with Heather. I didn't look at people to judge their reactions but the place was fairly busy. The funniest part was when I was paying, my spouse got the pronouns mixed up and I didn't even care! I just had a fun time shopping with her.

After the shopping excursion, we went to an abandoned townsite and had lunch. I had prepared a couple sandwiches, bagged some oranges and bottled water, brought some patio chairs and a little table and we parked off a dirt road and enjoyed our little lunch. There is a National Park Service vault toilet, I used it. Possibly the most unoffensive vault toilet I've ever used. As I was standing over the seat, someone knocks and twists the handle... I quickly said, "Hey." and he closed the door. That would have been an uncomfortable situation, me in a skirt and nylons, standing to pee and a dude walks in...

We drove home and picked up a prescription for my wife at the drive-up pharmacy window. I didn't even take out my breast forms.

Thanks for stopping by..

Heather.

Visibility. Life in the open?

Visibility. 

I'm still using Facebook. I know that there are plenty of people who say DELETE FACEBOOK! I have family members who use it, my 82 year old Mom can access my FB and see what her siblings and friends of our family are doing. I won't be deleting Facebook.  I will say that I’m not joining the new, upstart social media websites. Although I identify as a Democrat, I will not join the Democrat focused “Liker dot com” and you know for certain that I won’t join the Republican focused “parler dot com.” I already waste far too much time staring at computer screens between my job and time at home. 

I digress. I have Facebook. When I created my account, I never posted a profile photo of me. Instead, I posted a picture of my Suzuki motorcycle.  For ten years, the bike was my “me” photo.

Halloween 2020 comes. Heck, 2020 itself. The year has been... something else, am I right?  I decided that I loved my Halloween outfit and all that it meant to me. For the first time ever, I was going to change my profile photo. Red wig, bullet bra, pink skirt, Heather is me. I know that.

My friends here know me as Heather.

My wife loves me as Heather.

2/3 of my kids know I’m Heather.

Even my ex-wife is aware of Heather.

Visibility? Yes. 

It's fun. I feel great when I "like" or comment on stories in my FB timeline about LGBTQ issues, but especially transgender issues with my photo.  I hope that when a person questioning whether it's ok to live a genuine life, as their true self sees me commenting as my birthname in my feminine finery, they can feel a bit stronger, more confident and empowered.  

It’s fun? Yes. Especially when reading conservative media outlets Facebook postings. It brings great pleasure to comment as birthname with a photo of me, especially when someone gets so uptight that they feel the need to get rude. Rudeness brings out the “report comment” function for bullying, harassment or other inappropriate manner. Blocking works, too.

I wonder how much repression some people have experienced to think it’s okay to be completely filled with hate. 

I tried to set up a Heather Facebook page but the algorithms fought me and wouldn't let me fully activate my account and I refused to send the personal information requested.  I could change my account’s name to Heather instead of birthname, I don’t want to. 

Have a great weekend!

Much love, 

Heather

ps. No, I'm not living full time as Heather. I still have my own personal demons and fears to deal with. I have to live and work in this repressed town.