I'm. So. Sleepy.

What a challenge it just was to type that title. Am I really *that* sleepy? Maybe. I might be falling asleep in the pedicure chair. Yippee.

I read yesterday of a search site that gives a penny per search to the non-profit of your choosing, As soon as I figure out how, I will add it as a link in the sidebar, but until then, go check out www.goodsearch.com

A penny a search doesn't sound like a lot, but I read of it in Lesbian Connection and they mentioned that is a hundred readers use this exclusively for a few searches a day, that would be more than $700 in a year which, to a non-profit trying to make ende meet needs, is some serious change. I elect Elsie Publishing (that's LC for Lesbian Connection), but I think you can type in the charity of your choice each time you use it. I have them on my toolbar and will remove the google and yahoo search bars to make it easy for myself.

EB just informed me we will leave a bit earlier than planned, so perhaps more on this later.

What? It's only 10:30?

I was up this morning at about 5:45 and I was the last one up. EB, who has been sleeping in lately? Up bright and early. Chef William who doesn't get up til he has to? His alarm went off while I was on the pot. (TMI, I know...get over it already). Chef was up because he is working this morning. Thomas, well, he came over last night at 11 and we only made it until about 10:20. I think Thomas was still up from xmas eve.

I took the pizza dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a little to make handling it somewhat easier. I made some monkey bread. You pinch off small pieces to roll into one inch balls and then dip them in butter and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Then collect them all on a bundt pan and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Hot gooey cinnamon is way hot when it comes out of the oven so be careful when you have at it.

Once the monkey bread was done, I raised the oven temp to 400 and popped in Nigella's Croque Monsieur bake. I made a pan for us and I took a pan to chef and his coworkers. Omigodthatissofuckinggood.

We opened pressies this morning before chef went to work and sadly (ok I'm kidding weese), I got four gift cards from loved ones. Let me emphasize I am kidding about being sorry. Contrary to the opinion of the great and powerful weese, I love me some gift cards. EB might just be addictd enough to Thomas' guitar hero 3 to need her own.

Time for a nappypoo before Papu comes over for dinner which will be cornish hens and roasted winter vegetables because quite frankly, it's time for our asses to be back on track.

Happiest of holidays, y'all!

happy xmas eve eve

Y'all celebrate this, yes?

I am celebrating today by being a slug. I know, you're *so* surprised. EB is out shopping. William is at work and Thomas just left to do Thomas stuff. My shopping is officially declared done and I, am slugging. After I post this I might give William a call to see if he wants a ride, which gets me a chai, but I don't *need* a chai. I don't want one. It is part of the abundance I am feeling, I think, and I posted about that just now at Cultivating Grace, linked on the right if it interests you.

This morning, we had a bot-o-drama with les chiens. I think Sawyer started it when he jumped off the foot of the chaise and snarled at Lilli, who then snarled at Nola, who snapped and flipped Lilli over in an instant. I have never seen Lilli and Nola so pointedly aggressive toward one another. There was no "I was just playing" forth coming from either of them and we simply had to intervene. I am presuming that Lilli Munster is in heat again, and I think in lieu of this incident it might be time to take care of that once and for all.

Last night was the fourth annual White Trash Xmas Buffet. I made the usual feast for WTXB4. We dined on beanie weanies, macaroni and cheese, chicken wings(both spicsy and patented sweet varieties), Pork tenderloin, mashed potatioes, homemade (not lipton) onion dip with not homemade chips, apple cider pound cake, rolls, and dee-lux(typo intentional due to the white trash nature of the affair)queenmaxine chocolate chip bar cookies. There was plenty of wine and beer to go around to the dozen or so guests we had in attendance.

Then. We played cards. Liverpool to be precise. And the fun continued into the late evening hours. We. Had. Fun.

There are enough leftovers that I needn't cook before Thursday (as Chef takes Wednesday), but Tuesday *is* xmas, so I will cook something. I am considering Croque Monsier from Nigella's latest cookbook. It is a ham and cheese on multigrain bread, soaked over night in an egg and cream concoction and then baked off in the morning, or whenever it seems time. What's not to like?

I guess I should see what time eb's pop is coming over because he might be expecting some real food. Croque Monsieur for brunch followed by cornish hens and roasted veggies? I think that might just be the ticket.

Holiday restless

I wish there was a way to suspend reality, alter it to suit the day, then save it as the new reality. That's what we do as we go through life, I suppose, but it seems it might be better served if we could do it consciously without having to learn life's little lessons along the way.

What would happen if a person consciously came to a point where they felt no need to learn further lessons? Shouldn't said person be able to happily go on his or her way in that state of constant contentment. Is this enlightenment? Realizing you have learned life's lessons and need not learn any more?

What is she teaching her children?

On Saturday morning, while doing a less than random act of kindness, I was the victim of a psychotic lunatic's road rage. It was animated in such a way as to have read the story, but have need to experience it first hand to believe it. Surely exaggeration played a part in the grandness of it all. Umm, No. This was so big, no patented queenmaxine exaggeration is needed. Really.

Saturday was the first of the month, and as it often does, it snuck up on me swiftly. Who makes their billing due date the first of the month? Discover. I've asked before for it to be changed and got a swift reply of "I'm sorry ma'am, that's just not possible. It's insane. Fortunately, you can pay your Discover bill at Sears and we happen to have one less than a mile away at the mall I had to go to anyway because I work there on Saturday morning.

It is the holiday season and I had planned to leave plenty of time for traffic and parking, as well as being prepared for lines at the register. On Saturday morning I also like to go by Starbucks to see Chef at work. He works at the second most convenient Starbucks (still within a 2.5 mile radius of home) and his store is particularly busy on Saturday morning. I left a little later than I had anticipated, but I knew the priority was Sears/Discover and if that was all I accomplished, even if it made me late for work, anything else would be gravy.

Apparently, last Saturday morning we were in the eye of the hurricane that is holiday shopping madness. I got to Sears and parked in the very first space by the door and the parking lot was relatively dead. It was 8:45 and I knew JCP opened at 7, so I was relatively sure Sears was open. I walked in and there were 4 men happily greeting me and offering assistance. I always go in through the Craftsman section because it is usually the quietest. I told them I just needed to make a payment. Upon closer scrutiny, I saw that the person assisting me, one of the 4, was actually a dyke. She was cautiously flirty.

I got back in my car and it was just 8:48. Starbucks is on the horizon. Between Starbucks and where I sat, and directly on the way is Shipley's Donuts. I have been extremely disciplined in the low glycemic way lately and truly, it has been pretty easy. I had no onclination toward a donut for myself. Zero. Really. None. Chef, however, likes their kolaches. I decided that if I could park when I got by Shipley's, kolaches were in his immediate future.

There was a space right in front, and still feeling eye of the hurricanish, there was oddly no traffic. This is a very busy place any morning, but on Saturday, there will be no hurrying.

I lie when I say there was no traffic. There was, far enough away that it posed no worry, one lone black SUV. Big, honking, IliveinMemorialandhave$$andyouareaninterloperbegone black SUV. Again, it was safely way far down the street.

I had my signal light on to turn left into the Shipley's parking lot. The parking lot drive area is u-shaped. I turned in and this crazy black SUV with its dark tinted windows came barreling toward me, horn blaring. As I was turning into the parking space, it was trying to cut me off having turned right into the out going end of the driveway. A second mre and it would have hit me. I cut my ignition to see it blocking me in from behind in my rear view mirror. The window rolls down, and there was a rather good looking(other than her disposion making her *so* unattractive) woman leaning across a 6 year old to look out the passenger side window. She was screaming something, and you know, momma didn't raise no fool. I stayed in my car and would have remained there until someone had escorted this psycho away. I had some knitting in my bag and could have settled in for a pleasant morning knit.

After about 2 minutes, She began to pull away and exit the entrance side of the driveway. As soon as I saw that she was not going to Shipley's, I got out of the car. At this time, she was on the front side of my car in the street, not between me and Shipley's any more. Her window was still down and she once again leaned over to shout out, and I quote, "Like you need another fucking donut!!"

There were also 2 small children in the back. The one in the front hadsunken as far as she could away into the seat. There was a man with a double stroller waiting by the door as I went to go in. "Was that a lady driving that car?"

"Ummm, No. I think not." He then offered to buy my donut for me. Wasn't that sweet? He was attractive, too. Very pleasant.

The irony of the entire situation, at least to me, is that I was not there buying anything for my fat ass. I was there getting kolaches to take my son at work. Oddly enough, the whole exchange didn't at all bother me except in that she was really setting a poor example for her children of how to treat people. What else are those children learning from her?

On another note, I saw my new doctor on Thursday and I liked him. It isn't often that I like a male doc right away, so I guess I really like him. We discussed my disease in very frank terms and he asked all the right questions. He called the nurse in so he could feel me up, checking various glands and palpating my intestines,all very benign. Then he said, "Okay Maxine, Drop your pants to mid thigh (they were just unbuttoned and ooched open at this point) and roll on your side, I need to see your bottom." To which I replied, "Dr M! On the first date?" "Don't worry dear (the glove snapped on), I have the lube right here..."

The turkey that was

A success!! The Turkey. Was. Awesome. Juicy white meat so tender a knitfe was not necessary. Back flavors of apple and basil and garlic. And who needs gravy when the pan juices are fantasic?

As I surmised, the macaroni and cheese was the best I have ever made. I used shells and farfalle mixed and poiled in heavily salted water. Then for the cheese blend, it was an 8 oz bag of sharp cheddar, an 8 oz bag of colby jack mixed, and about 4 oz of shredded fontina left over from when Chef made pizzas with wheat crust from scratch. The mac-n-cheese was excellent.

I became a potato snob about 4 years ago upon discovering yukon gold oe yellow fingerling potatoes. Nothing else will please me the same for mashed potatoes, and in general, russets are so terribly pedestrian. When I make mashed, we add a wee wedge of St Andre cheese. Creamy.

EB went to the stoore and took my phone so she could consult as needed for the list. When she got to the St Andre, she called for there was none. I told her any brie or other soft cheese they have would be fine. She ended up gettng Cambazola(sp?) and I wondered if the bleu in it might be too strong, but the Universe has been so good to us of late that I was not sweating it terribly. When I got the potatoes out of the bag, I knew right away they were russets. Eww. Due to no fault od eb's, the bag says in big shiny yellow letters, Pacific Gold (and then in wee teeny tiny letters) russet potatoes. Branding fuckers. They deliberately used trickery to deceive the gold/yellow potato buying public.

The potatoes, despite their inferior russet status, in conjunction with the Cambazola (and some cream and some butter...just a touch I swear) were not too bad. Of the leftovers, that is about all there is left. That and a turkey leg.

It beinf Thanksgiving and all, we were allowed dessert. I was going to make Grandma Mary's Sour Cream Pound Cake, but alas, there was no sour cream in the fridge and eb had done so well at the store, I was in no way going to send her back out again. So online I went to look for a more generic pound cake recipe. Google to the rescue, nearly top of the list was an apple cider pound cake recipe, and given the apple theme so far it seemed an immediate winner.

o. mi. god. I can't say enough to do it justice other than to let you know a cake that usually hangs out around here for a week or so is G. O. N. E. Apple cider in the batter and a fresh caramel glaze on top were a huge hit. Don't let Grandma Mary know her recipe might be shuffled down the list for a while.

We are now off to Texas Art Supply and then to Costco. Woohoo.

Thanksgiving yarny goodness

I was going to make this a picture heavy post, but I can't find the camera cord and the camera cord stasher is still sleeping. And it is Thanksgiving, afterall, so I will let her sleep. (It's a reasonable hour and I am adding some pics...)

Me? I was up at 5:20 this morning. I decided the peace and quiet of te early morning was boding well for casting on the Kushu Kushu scarf. The Kushu is a kit by Habu and I either love it or I hate it, I am not quite sure yet, but I am guessing I love it if I am not sure enought to continue on blind faith.

The Kushu is a scarf made with ultra-fine merino and silk stainless steel. That's right, I said stainless steel, but it is stainless steel wrapped in silk. See why a picture would have been nice? Both of these yarns are really fine. Lke sewing thread fine. And I am using, as per the pattern directions, a size 8 needle. At some future point I will change to a size 6. Then a four and finally a three. The latter two sizes will be knitting the Silk stainless steel solo, sans merino. I am intrigued to say the least.

The instructions, it's so bold of Habu to call them instructions, are a schematic. I am really glad that the sales clerk took the time to open the kit and explain the schematic to me, because it is brilliant in its simplicity and I would have otherwise been staring at it saying What. The. Fuck. As I cast on and knit the firt row, I decided I would put blind faith in the Universe that Kushu would turn out as intended. It's all good.

Habu is a Japanese company and apparentlly knitting is not knitting the world over. Well, I guess knitting is knitting, but patterns and schematics vary widely. I totally resist charted knitting, I think, because it is more work than my brain wants to do. I go with the flow and trust that the Universe is just not ready for me to read charts.

This schematic is brief. Way brief. But it truly offers all the information you need to knit Kushu Kushu. However...the schematic page says nothing about what stitch is to be used. Since there is no mention of purling anywhere, I went with garter stitch. Then, I went back to the cover page before emailing the company and asking (for confirmation before I knit too far) because it is Thanksgiving and I know no answer would be forthcoming, at least not today.

No, not garter stitch, but stockinette (which I thought had a g in it?). So my first 6 rows are garter and I can't see that it will matter. I plan to knit 6 rows further before I decide if it matters enough to rip it out and start again. The piece will be lightly felted when complete, so I might leave it as is.

The process of Kushu is totally consuming. It is such a simple basic pattern, but this is far from mindless knitting. It requires the solitude of early morning for concentration to be optimal.

To contrast my thread knitting, I also bought two skeins of Yosemite (might have to scroll down) by Trendsetter Yarns. I got color 78, Watermelon Slice. It is divine, and soft. And uber-chunky. I question my sanity everytime I grab anything this bulky as I live in Houston, but c'mon, it's gorgeous. I know, a pic would be nice, yes? I will add pics in a little while, perhaps after the brining turkey gets in the oven, perhaps before.

Food. Can't have a Thanksgiving day post and not talk about the food. I just mixed up the mac-n-cheese and I dare say it might be the best mac-n-cheese I have ever made. Ever. Best ever. This is a good sign as the turkey is a new venture and might suck. At least I know we will be slamming down some mac-n-cheese that is muy excellente.

The turkey is brining as explained here. I don't think an issue of Saveur comes out that doesn't have at least one thing I want to try. It's always about expanding my domestic horizons. I have a wife to keep satisfied, afterall.

The turkey has been brining overnight in cider, salt, dark brown sugar, apples, and garlic. 35 cloves of garlic, thank you very much. The turkey will cook at 425 for 2 hours. Hot and fast as turkey cooking goes. Again, I am intrigued.

I am also making mashed potatoes, and something green. I was going to make broccolini, but the store was out when eb went yesterday. Or she couldn't find it, but we will go with her story, they didn't have any. So I told her to just get something green. She brought home broccoli. And zucchini. And snap peas. And asparagus. And spinach. So we will be having at least one green vegetable.

And rolls. If they have any when I go to the store at noon.

I also made some jalapeno dip mixing whipped cream cheese with a jar of jalapeno relish we got last weekend at Gruene Market Days. This morning I am making us a veggie scramble and adding some dip at the end of the cooking. Just because.

Pics soon.

contemplating a new tattoo

I have never been able to add a photo directly to my blog because I was on a Mac and the feature wasn't available. Neither was spell check. Go figure. Recently, EB showed me the feature and it certainly makes it easier not having to first upload to Flickr and then blog it from Flickr, though honestly, that was easy enough.

It is a bit of a light time at work so today, I was learning how to crop an image in photoshop using the pen tool and the convert point tool. Of course the test will come when I try to do it again and can't remember what the hell I did. It was weird because I was mostly getting it, but not really cognitive of what exactly I was doing. The above image is the result.

When we were last in NYC, we went again to Pearl River Market. It is an Asian import market, and if you can't find it there, it might not exist. I think there prices are pretty reasonable, and surely a comparable place exists in Houston, but I just haven't found it yet.

So anyway, I bought a modest ammount of paper goods. A few packs of crane origami paper made it into my basket which I think will be used for wallpaper as I transform more of my dad's old pics. I also got a few small note pads that are a recycled paper with a graphic cover. One of them was the above image. I think it is going on the inside of my left calf at roughly 4 inches. I think baby buddha might sit on a lotus flower or be surrounded with clouds. Or maybe a burst of light like that surrounding Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I thinnk I might need to commission my wife.

Holy Vaginistas, Teresa is 40!

I was looking throught my blog entries for September 2004. That is when I turned the big 40. As I sit here listening to holiday music on my iPod, I can feel the rosy glow as if it were only yesterday. Relatively, it seems as if I am 40 still. I think 40 is that kind of landmark year. I think I might feel 40 until I am 52 (the magical AARP year). Truthfully, I think I feel 37, but that isn't what today is about. Today is all about Teresa turning 40.

Happy Birthday Teresa!!



So while I was browsing my archives, I found a post from the last day of my 39th year. I had gotten a card from my mom for my birthday with the standard $50 check. There was a note inside. My mom always includes a note because she thinks it is ridiculous to send a card for anything and not include some sort of personalized note. My mom and I have never been overly affectionate so imagine the tears in my eyes after reading this:

"Put 9-11 in the back of your mind and never forget.

But in the forefront of all your thinking know that on Sept. 11, 1964

a bundle of joy and delight brightened our door.

In your future always remember to put your many talents to good use for yourself and all womankind.
Love Mom--

P.S. I just was reading this over and it almost sounds like preaching. Or maybe I should get to work and
get that book started."


This is the most intimate sentiment ever expressed to me by my mother. And it is a totally auspicious beginning to my forties. It truly has only gotten better as each day passes.

Deck the halls

Following one of Weese's handy tips couldn't be easier. I think with Thanksgiving being somewhat early this year, we got the timing right even though there are those of you who mocked us.


The trees are up, yes this year there are three of them, and the lights are on. We have a 7 foot tree that eb put lights on last night. I was feeling a bit under the weather this past weekend and helped as I could. The 7 foot tree in in the library which is where we hang out lately, and it is in the front window.

A few weeks ago I got a 5 foot tree that is prelit from JCP. It retails for 120 and I got it for 38 after all the sales and discounts. I still like it, but it isn't quite as stable as we would like. It is on the cabinet formerly known as the TV stand in the great room. We hang out in there a lot as well, and that tree will showcase some of our more special ornaments.

The third tree is a metal stand which crisscrosses in layers and is a matte gold color. There are all sorts of loopdeloos on which to display ornaments. It resides on top of one of our 9 cubbies and will also showcase some of our fragile ornaments.

We still have a lot of ornaments to unpack, I am guessing that while the oven is abaking this evening, tissue paper will be aflying. I thnk there are a few santa figures that are booked for return rngagements this year, too, and I am sure we will come across those this evening.

The outside stuff will need a quick inventory and maybe, just maybe, it will get put up. That is often the challenge of decorating for the holidays when it is still in the 80s. I am thinking blue lights across the front of the house on the horizontal, not up to the eaves, but that is eb's decision because either way, I don't do ladders. A couple of years ago I saw a house that had totally outlined their landscaping on the ground and I thought that would be interesting, but the front yard is on the big side and that would be a lot of lights. I sort of fance the multi colored big bulbe poking out cactus like from the front lamp post or maybe a big red bow. Hmmm.

My first sweater is finished!

Nov 2007 005
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine

I was done with the knitting over the weekend. On Monday night, I met up with Faith to sit and knit at Panera in the early evening. While there I wove in all the ends. Wednesday morning I sewed up one side seam, and Wednesday evening the other. 'Skully' is from Stitch N Bitch and is made with Lamb's pride Bulky in Bronze Patina(6 skeins) and Sunburst Gold(1 skein).
Tres warm! Like warm enough (for eb, it's her sweater, of course) to wear in CT in February or something.

S O L D

Woohoo!! I found out yesterday that "A Good Cigar" (see post below) sold at the silent auction gala. We were unable to go this year and the Dia de los Muertos exhibit is coming down today. We totally should have gone to the Lawndale on Sunday. Hopefully next year we will both get tins done and then we can make a night of it.

Elizabeth's sweater, Skully, is nearly done. I have finished the knitting and weaving in of ends. I sewed onw seam up this morning and the other will be sewn either tonight or tomorrow. Pics to follow.

Post Slacker

It's been a few weeks of "Oh, I should blog about xxx..." and then when it comes to blogging time I got nuttin'. It's weird how it goes in cycles but I certainly see it on others' blogs. I know it isn't anything new.

The biggest news is I have taken on a third part time job two nights a week at my favorite yarn shop. This last week, which was my first there, I worked three nights, which already I know was too many. Not physically too many, but more time than I care to spend there as an employee. I was hired on as part time help while one of the women there is out on maternity leave and as holiday help. I am not sure this will go past January. At that time I might switch to an as needed status.

I think I have JCP whittled down to a manageable 11-13 hours a week (2 days). I would maybe like it better at just Saturday, but I have to work enough hours so that my income there covers the cost of my benefits which I am eligible for through the end of 2008. It's a thing of beauty. I can't wait to see what my PTO forecast is for 2008. It will be maximized to be certain. When my eligibility expires I am not sure what will become of JCP, but that is 14 months from now so no need for a hasty decision.

So at the yarn shop, my 2 nights equal about 8 hours. As eb's assistant I am consistent at 22 hours right now, but I would like to ramp that up a little. I think next week will be 26, and I might hang out there for a bit to see how it goes.

In other news, the cat is out of the bag in regards to our tenth anniversary trip next summer. We are doing an Alaska cruise in May. A little before our actual anni date, but that was when the sock cruise was scheduled, so who am I to argue the dates? I really need to try a funky pattern type of sock before the cruise, maybe monkey or .pomatomus. I am not sure what the knitting classes will cover, but it will definitely be sock related. There is talk of a support group for the knitter's spouses that will meet at the bar when we are in class. Could be eb's thing but I imagine the other spouses are likely men. Maybe not so much her thing. Regardless, I am sure we will have a good time on this, our first cruise. More later, off to Lowes.

So at Lowes, eb got some tiling accoutrements and I toured the xmas aisles. Then as we were getting ready to go, we spy the Stanley FatMax. Weese, you know you want one. It is an early xmas gift and I think we might eventually have more than one. I can see one as an artist catch all, plenty of room for eb to load it with paints. It might be a feasible traveling studio.
still, maybe more later...

Ruler of the house

sept oct 07 064
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine

Don't even think for a second that the humans have anything to say about anythng.

A Good Cigar

sept oct 07 072
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine

I managed to get my retablo done for Dia de los Muertos at the Lawndale. I was actualy finished a few days before the deadline this year and I was able to drop it off before we went to see the beautiful people in CT.

The gala and silent auction is next week and I think we won't be going this year, but it is always a lot of fun to do the retablo and we can go see the show the following week.

I used another of my father's vintage photos this year. This is one of him about55 years ago and I am not sure if he took it using a tripod or if someone else took it. I need to ask him but he might not remember.

I printed the b&w photo on a transparency, coated the printed side with a thin payer of mod podge, and then used acrylic paint to color what I wanted to color. The background is a piece of Martha Stewart craft paper available at Michael's. I like last years better I think.

I am going to use the same pic to make a tin gift box for my folks using last years xmas cookie tin and putting the pic on the lid. The box will nicely hold the various things I have knit for them for xmas.

Slippery When Wet

How is it I have been a Funk fan for many a day and I don;t know this song? It just seems wrong. Thank you Starbucks for The funk compilation Out of Sight.

Slippery When Wet by The Commodores

Listen to me brothers
Listen well
Brothers we got something to tell
You can't run around
Bein' a married man
And takin' care of business very well
You've got to keep yourself together
If you dig on what you got
Cuz what you got can sho' nuff mean a lot
If you aint takin' care of business
This you must expect
Love gets slippery when it's wet
You know hangin' loose Can be outta sight
But hangin' loose
No it just aint right
You see slippin'a tippin'
Havin' fun aint no good
Leavin' homework undone
You've got keep your thing together
If you dig on what you've got
Cuz what you've got can sho nuff mean a lot
If you aint takin' care of business
This you can expect
Love gets slippery when it's wet
If you aint takin' care of business
This you can expect
Love gets slippery when it's wet
Uh huh slippery, slippery
Love gets slippery when it's wet oh
It'll slip away yeah
Love gets slippery when it's wet ooooooh
Love gets slippery when it's wet
Slippery, slippery
Love gets slippery when it's wet
Don't let your love slip away
Love gets slippery when it's wet ow
Takin' care of business
Love gets slippery when it's wet…

Slippery When Wet

what's not to like?

I am drinking some new tea from Teavana at work this morning. It's called Queen of Babylon and eb does not care for it. She isn't usually quite so picky, but hey, we have a shitload of tea to choose from here at the moment, and I would guess that if Queen of Babylon was all there was to drink she might rather like it.

Queen of Babylon White Tea
A whimsical tasting rare white tea blended with immunity boositing pomegranate seeds, sour cherries, sweet carrot bits, apple and pineapple pieces.

Shiny and new...and I like it.

I had to work at JCP today. My new laptop arrived at the other job. My boss was kind enough to bring it home. And it's all good. Umm, it's also big. Bigger than the 13.3 inches I am used to. And the bells and whistles. Are all. Quite. Different. But hey, I am online and the basics are all the same.

There is a third job on te horizon. A few obscure hours a week, maybe 3 hours on Friday night. Or Thurday. And temporary holiday sort of help. But it could carry on past the holidays because I have it going on like that. You know of where I speak, don't you. Can you guess?

Chef feels like crap

Dinner last night was postponed at our request. EB and I just felt like we had a lot to do and being social wasn't really on the list. Chef and the girl went out for pizza and then to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. He coulda brought something home from CF doncha think?

The plan is for the fish dinner to happen in two weeks. I am sure it will be a smashing success.

My various side projects are all done. I delivered my retablo this afternoon and will post a pic soon. I did remember to take one this year.

I suppose some laundry is in order and then I really need to think about packing because we leave in the morning early. What knitting shall I bring?

Two done on Tuesday morning

So both my retablo and my taop secret project are done. I will take some pics of the retablo tonight when I get home. That means I get to knit! Or read. Or take pictures for Ravelry. That sounds good.

Right now I am waiting for the tech support technician to come in at Micro Center. Brandon, the hardware guy who replaced the hardrive said it is not a hardware issue and it might be a software issue. You see, since the hardrive has been replaced, the mac cannot receive the airport wireless signal. Sound fishy? EB thinks so and I remain on te fence.

Tomorrow, William will be cooking fish for dinner. Mahimahi is the plan, but I think it will depend on if that is available. He has never made this dish. I am not sure he has ever eaten it either. But he has been jonesing to cook it for us and tomorrow is the night. And he has invited his new friend. Who is a girl. But not to be confused as his new girlfriend. And hhe is cooking something new. Brave chef.

So tonight it will be a trip to the grocery store and then the chef has the someone is coming to the house cleaning list. Woo.

A meandering trail through the woods that doesn't quite make it to grandma's house

Pre-packing is the mental event of getting ready for a trip. I feel like I have been in my head a lot lately and thinking about everything I want or have to do before we leave on Friday is no exception.

Primarily, i have to go buy a pair of jeans. If we weren't going north, I could do without a new pair of jeans well into December. This will involve going to the mall. I thought when I left on Saturday that I would not be going back until next Wednesday when I go back to JCP. It is different going for shopping than it is going for work, but it is a fine line of distinction. I should have gone this weekend as the jeans I have grown partial to were likely on sale with everything else at Macy's, but I have been making art and time got away from me.

Art is the other thing I have to do before leaving. I have two projects that absolutely must be done before Thursday. I think it is under control. Maybe.

I suppose if I really give these pre-packing matters heavy consideration, it is time that I want. I want the time I have for pleasurable pursuits to equal that of when I was not working. This does not equate to not wanting to work really, but sort of. Ideally I want the unemployment I was receiving at the time. I want to be paid to stay home. I better get a lottery ticket on my lunch today.

The knitting forum I favor has a lively discussion going on about this very thing (in a roundabout sort of way). There is a new blog linked to the left called yarnstorm. I like the woman's view. She really gets it and is enjoying life. I appreciate that their might be less pretty slices of her life that don't make it to her blog, but I really think she gets it.

She has a book just released in the UK called "The Gentle Art of Domesticity". There was a less than flattering review, an attack really (IMO) or criticism of her way of life, more than a critique of the book itself. This spawned debate ranging from how we treat each other as women, to feminism, to Martha Stewart. It was a little insane. And all I want to do is get the book. I wonder if it is scheduled for a US release.

What knitting am I going to take on the trip? That is the pressing question in my mind at this moment, a good thought to close on.

Monday Tip-O-Day

It is of the utmost importance that you keep the surface of your desk clean and sanitary. Yes, it's your desk and those are your cooties, but there is a night cleaniong crew and the occasional creepy coworker and you never really knows what happens on your desk when you aren't there.

If you keep your desk surface clean and sanitary, you will have no qualms about licking your finger to pick up all the crumbs from the finest milk chocklate Norway has to offer when they litter your desk from snapping off a piece. No need to waist even the smallest morsel of the fast-dimminishing stash.

It's all good.

So I have been to ravelry ad started to play. I like it. Now, I need to take some pictures. I need to take a lot of pictures. And then I need to learn how to use the camera with this computer. It will be smooth. I know it. Maybe.

Lilli is sitting on her pillow on the desk to my right and off in lala land. It's her favorite new spot. She really doesn't miss much.

I think Ravelry will help me get my fiber obsession a bit more organized and under control. I don't think it is really out of control, but I already hear eb begging to differ. Not only is it a project database, it allows you to catalog everything. Yarn, books, patterns, needles, projects on the needles, projects waiting in line. And there are groups to be joined. Wow. I joined 2 today.

In other news, I am working on my retablo for the Lawndale show and I am also working on another still sewcret at this time project. I have made recent progress on both and am pretty pleased with how they are coming along. I get to work on the secret project at work next week. EB said so. Is anything more perfect than that?

In there...

But there is no time to play. I just got my Ravelry invite in my email this morning. It was likely there last night, but I was too tired to get on and check. I have registered and queenmaxine was available, so all is good in the Ravelry universe.

I have to take Chef to a training session on my way to work and honestly, work is a mile away so it isn't really on the way. That is likely a good thing as I would only be getting lost in Ravelry at this early hour which might make me late for work.

o.m.g.

#994 @ 1 p.m.
#934 @ 4 p.m.
#657 @ 11 p.m.
#557 @ 6 a.m.
#500 @ 11:26 a.m.
#2 @2 p.m.

That's right, 2...how can 2 of us just be dangling there? I appreciate the fact that there are about 15 thousand or so in line behind me and there are not just 2, but my stats say 2. O.Mi.God........................

Loving it

2 things really. First:

* You signed up on July 22, 2007
* You are #19479 on the list.
* 1182 people are ahead of you in line.
* 16946 people are behind you in line.
* 50% of the list has been invited so far

I am almost under 1000. I am so ready to say finally. I figure maybe by the weekend I will be planning the photographing of yarn. I am not sure still if I am freefalling intro this yet, but there is a tiny tingle of anticipation working here.

Second. I am loving this new read of mine. I am about 80 pages into it I guess and I am really liking it. I just like the idea of the journey I guess. I can't recommend it until finishing, but Eat, Pray, Love has been pleasing so far.

Yawn.

Once again

I have been awake and online for more than an hour and it is 222 am. I went to bed at midnight and there was a little hot tea that needed drinking. Then, some RLS. At this point, I am hoping that the leg issues are connected to my medication 100% and not anything extraneous. I should be off this med in a month or so.

In the past, the leg cramps have been very charlie horseish in nature. My calf knots hard and then my ankle goes limp as if it is no longer there. I have even had to wake eb to flex my ankle for me to relieve the pain in my calf as I was totally unable to flex it on my own. The past week or so it has been more the total restless leg thing. Toss. Turn. No relief. At those times the best relief is to be sitting up at the computer drinking some water.

Yawn.

I think if I took this time to knit, my brain would be a little too engaged and I would never get back to sleep. Instead, I surf the dark side.

* You signed up on July 22, 2007
* You are #19479 on the list.
* 1734 people are ahead of you in line.
* 16506 people are behind you in line.
* 49% of the list has been invited so far

Yay. I am under 2000. This is progress.

Kimi stages an intervention

K: Hey Max, why don't you come for a visit.
M: Sweet, I have never been to Boston, that would be great.
K: It's a walking city, that okay?
M: I can hang with that as long as we can walk a bit slower than normal...

In all honesty, it was my idea to come visit. I had no idea it was a third floor walk-up, but that would not have kept me from visiting my bestest. I do remember Kim saying they owned the house, I don't think I knew it was subdivided and they live on the third floor. That means stairs. Feel my heart rate going up?

It has been awesome weather so far. Yesterday we went to P-town for the day and had a nice time of it walking around all the shops. Why i did not pack my backpack I will never know, but the first store we went to for tshirts had a sturdy enough bag to accomodate the rest of my loot. We had pizza at George's for lunch and stopped at the Portuguese bakery for a snack for the ferry ride back to Boston.

Susan made a delicious grilled chicken salad for dinner with corn on the cob. This morning for breakfast was french toast and bacon. Weese would be pleased.

Today we are going to Harvard Square to find some fiber(among other places).

Safe and Sound for the weekend in Boston

I have arrived and we have a plan. The plan is to go with the flow. Below are my current Ravelry stats and by the time I get home, I might just be close to getting an invitation!

Found you!
You signed up on July 22, 2007
You are #19479 on the list.
4415 people are ahead of you in line.
14706 people are behind you in line.
43% of the list has been invited so far

Later chicas!

eb,ifly...

One. More. Day.

I *so* want to call in sick today. Of course, that would disqualify my PTO for Saturday, and quite frankly, I have planning the maximization of PTO down to a science.So, I have to go in to work today. But this time tomorrow, I will be sitting on the runway awaiting take-off.

I am off to Boston for the weekend. Woohoooooooooooooooooo...My bestest friend Kimi lives there. I have to try to remember to not call her that while I am there as it might get me smacked. I finally get to meet her gf of 6 or so years. I haven;t seen Kim since she was here for our wedding 2 years ago. I would post a pic from then, but ahem...they are all history on the damned fried hard drive. Wah. I will try to remember to take plenty more this weekend.

Transcontinental, 1:30 a.m.

I really like that song. I like Vienna Teng in general, but that might just be my favorite song of hers. At least my favorite of the ones I have heard. I was going to post about it earlier this morning. Way earlier.

I got up at to pee 1 a.m. and my nape was saturated. I had been laying there not really sleeping since about 11:30 when we went to bed, so I decided to stay up and run with it. It could mean some insomnia is settling in and it could be just an anomaly. Let's hope for the latter. I was up til nearly 5 and took the time to work on my latest top secret project. It is slower going than I would like and I need to kick my butt into gear.

I also need to work on my retablo for the Lawndale's Dia de los Muertos fest. I see it in my brain and it is time to start bringing it to life. Today. Now.

Make your move

Just so there is no question, when the *bux mug comes down from the shelf and hits the micro, it's time for some Hot Tea(TM eb).

In other news, it has been decided that William will take custody of my sick iBook. It will be about 200 clams to buy and install a new hard drive, and there is zero possibility of recovery. Once the new drive is installed, he will basically have a new machine. That means I will need a new machine.

After a bit less than 3 years on the Mac, I, a computer commoner, see no advantage to staying on a Mac. I really like that I had no worries regarding viruses, but other than that I am unimpressed. The photo correction abilities suck, and other than writing, playing with my dad's vintage photos is what else I would want to do. Since I do that on our other computer anyway, a hard drive that totally craps out with no warning has no further appeal. Also, working on a windows machine again at work makes it more challenging being on a mac at home.

We're off to Dell.

In a month, he'll be 80

I try to keep this in mind every time my dad does something that seems a bit off. Or odd. Or even questionable. My dad has 80 years of memories swimming around in his noggin. And he is a storyteller and a character. It is not uncommon for him to tell a story seamlessly oonly for me to realize that the beginning of the story is 50 years ago (no, dad, I don't remember that man, I'm 42), and suddenly the subject of the story is the same, but we have shifter to az decade later. By the end of the story, we are talking about the same experience, but in the recent past. EB has witnessed this.

The doctor reassures him he doesn't have oldstimers disease, but if he did, would he remember what the doc has said?


I think my dad is a smart man. I am pretty sure he didn't finish the 6th grade because he had to go to work in his pop's store i Brooklyn. In spite of this, he worked as a mechanic in a government job for 30 years. After retiring from there, we owned a campground and in that small town in upstate NY, he was the judge for 17 years.

My dad has been a semi-professional photographer since he was 13 and someone gave him his first camera and help him set up a darkroom. He has a lot of cameras. A. Lot. Of. Cameras. Every time I see him, his digital camera is new. The last one I recall was 7 megapixel. He doesn't sell the previous ones. When I signed up for Ravelry, (only 7,773 people ahead of me currently) I asked him if he had a digital camera he could send me so we had a spare. He asked what I would be taking pics of, and I told him yarn, to put online. Lots of pics of yarn.

His answer was an easy yes, surprising a little that it was easy, and he said he would work on getting it mailed out. So this morning, there is an email from him with the subject "birthday". It said:

"11 day of september is the day the twin towers went down. have a nice day will try to find right cords for camera after the wedding this week. i am trying to get ready for winter. inspector wilson scotland yard."

Here's what I surmise. He remembers I have a birthday soon, hence the subject. He then remembers what else happened on Sept 11. Then he has a flash of the camera conversation, sees it sitting on the desk next to the computer and realizes he has not yet sent it. Someone is getting married. Someone I know? Someone he is performing a wedding for? A wedding they are attending? And of course, it often snows on my bday up there. He always had to get the woodstove going for my parties in the game room at the campground so we wouldn't freeze our asses off.

Then there is the signature. That would be my father's clever secret identity so no one can access his personal info. Clever, yes. But not so clever that he knows to use it when setting up the account. When the setup asked for his name he used his real name. So his name appears in all the from lines on every email he sends. That email took him about 8 minutes to type, too. Chatting with my dad is ideal for multi tasking. No need to ever say brb because he is still typing his reply to your q when you return from peeing, or making a sandwich, etc.

I am glad he uses the technology at all, but his emails are often a little cryptic. I like it though, if nothing else for the adventure through my memories that they send me on.

It's official...

Someone write the eulogy...


more later.

ps...you all don't need to wait for a Weese Tip-o-day (tm) to go do a full back up do you?

Let's take a collective cleansing breath...

...in the hope that the Technology Goddess might be appeased. I think my laptop hard drive is fucked. We have an appointment tomorrow night at 6 pm at the Apple Genius Bar.

It's all good.
Really.

Not to give you any ideas, but it *is* about hot tea, right?

The _______ Hotel is one of ________’s most distinctive and beautiful landmarks. Built in 1908 at the height of British influence in ______, the _______ is a fine example of late Victorian colonial architecture, and has been carefully restored to its full grandeur. Walk through the lobbies and main halls to admire the lofty and intricately carved mahogany ceilings. Many of the hotel’s original fixtures are still present, including 12 massive and ornate chandeliers.

For many visitors the _______ is synonymous with afternoon tea. The chef has taken the British tradition of tea time and raised it to an art form that is enjoyed by over 100,000 people each year. Tea includes small sandwiches of smoked salmon and cream cheese, carrot and ginger, egg salad and cucumber; then on to fresh scones, homemade preserves and thick jersey cream. A selection of fresh pastries rounds out the meal. All are of course accompanied by _______ blend tea, served in Royal Doultan china. Past diners have included Queen Elizabeth II, Harrison Ford, Barbara Striesand, and John Travolta, to name just a few. Dress is "smart casual" with no torn jeans, short shorts, or jogging suits.

Max and Anna

Max and Anna
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine

This is a transparency print of a photo my dad took of his parents about 50 years ago. The transparency is coated in ModPodge then painted on the reverse side with acrylics. The top side can also be further embellished for a highlighting effect, but I ran out of time for that. I used a Japanese paper for the background.

Tragic

Inhale...2...3...4...sigh.............

I dropped Will off at school and went to the Lawndale to pick up our tins for this year's Dia de las Muertos. The tins are gone. This is tragedy part one.

I found great consolation in a small serving of Brownie Supreme ice cream from the Chocolate Bar.

I felt so much better after my ice cream, yes, it was *that* good, that I decided to go visit my painting at Cafe Artiste. It's GONE. Tragedy, part two.

Someone is very lucky as the price dropped from 800 clams to 600, and the y own a very lovely piece of art.

Okay, I am over it.

The worker bee at the Lawndale did say it was okay to reuse tins from previous years, so I think we will be in business, and we are alsoo on the waiting list should they decide to get more tins as they did last year. I am going to do another of my father's pictures similar to last year's entry which I will post in a minute. my tin sold last year, so I am going with that general themGFB has one I did in memory of her cat Spooky, but I know I have at least two that can be recycled. If Will is lucky, three. I was shocked they were gone as I thought I was going early this year to pick them up. The worker bee said he doesn't remember them ever going so fast.

Will had his first class last night and they were let out after just an hour. Today he is due to be out at 5, so I will post in case they are let out early and he calls. More later, maybe.

The line is long...

Have you heard about that little knitterly thing called Ravelry? I jumped in line on July 22. I am #19479 on the list. There are now more people behind me in line than there are ahead of me in line which is somehow comforting, but there are still eight thousand, nine hundred seventeen people in front of me in line.

The thing about it is, I am ot even sure it is something I will fully embrace once I am at the head of the line. But I think the resulting database will be worth the wait.

The picture is still a wee bit foggy.

August: the month of sports

Earlier this month, we went to see the Comets play at the Toyota Center. That was a first for me. The game was pretty good, they have hot cheerleaders, and the tims went by rather quickly because I was knitting. I think for basketball, it goes by quickly anyway.

We had an opportunity to see the Texans play the following day, but it was a preseason game and eb suggested we pass, so I still haven't been to a Texans game, but that isn't something you will see me crying over.

The day after that was the Astro's Stitch & Pitch game. I have been to a few Astro's game and I can actually follow baseball, so the knitting was a bonus, and we sat with the knitters. William went, and we had a ticket for Thomas as well, but he had forgotten and got tickets to go with his girlfriend, so I offered our extra ticket to Berrylicious(that's good friend Irene). We went and had a good time at the game. It was the celebration of Biggio's 3,000th hit, and there was a sell-out crowd. Craig Biggio has played his entire 20 year carreer with the Astro's, and he is the first Astro to join the 3,000 club, the 27th in baseball history, and at the time, was at 3,029, which ranked him number 20. That I know that much about baseball is too taxing on my brain on this lovely Sunday morning.

Yesterday, I went with my good friend Edna to see her son's first game at Blinn College. It was a football game, of course, the first I have ever been to. I know almost nothing about the game and couldn't follow for shit. Thankfully, Alexander is in the band, not on the field. I think his mother would have been having a heart attack if he were actually playing. I learned early enoughon that when the man in front of me got up, totally decked out in his Blinn Bucanner's paraphenalia, and raised his right hand with his pointer finger bent and shaped like a hook shouting "AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...", well, that was a good thing and we could cheer. He was definitely the unofficial (or maybe official) section leader.

Blinn College is about an hour from Houston. When we got there, we could park relatively close and did not have terribly far to walk. Then we hit the bleachers. It was 3 in the afternoon. Clear sunny sky. weather.com tells me the high was "96, feels like 106"....and yes I can vouch for the feels like 106 degrees part. We left Houston and it had been pouring, so I was half expecting to get to Brenham and have the game cancelled. I didn't have a single thought about being out in the hot sun in August. at 3pm. hey, sunscreen might be a good idea. Nope, none of those thoughts.

The bleacher seats were metal, my hoo hoo thought it was getting a spa treatment. Naturally, we got there about halfway through the first quarter and the bleachers were pretty packed. there were a few seats by the band, goodie, and near enough that Edna could talk to her son, oh, only about 27 rows up, and please, uunderstand this is a serious concern for uncoordinated bad ankle and currently bad knee me, no hand railing on the stairs!! We got up there easy enough, but seriously, I had no idea how I was going to get down. I considered oonching down on my but one stair at a time the best alternative.

Did I convey to you exactly how fucking hot it was? I sent a text message to eb who was on the road back from taking T to Syracuse. I think it said, "Omigod it's fucking hot here". It didn't occur to me that I had not told her what I was doing. She called me back and as I answered the phone, there was a big Argh going on (the section was in full swing by this point), and then we got cut off. EB called back a while later in the middle of the halftime show and I asked her if she could hear the band. Then I told her where I was and no that was not static on the line before.

The band had a break for most of the third quarter, so Alexander could sit and talk with us.

A: Hey, guys, thanks for coming.
E: Of course baby, I told you I will come when I can for the home games. You want some chips? (we had nachos}
A: Sure, I know better than to ever turn down real food now.
E: What did you have to eat earlier?
A: (holding up the basket) Nachos.
E: Omigod, Alexander, you need to eat, let me go get you something.

So Alexander and I watched the game while Edna hoofed it down the stairs for the second time to get her boy some food. She was back about ten minutes later with a hot dog with chili and cheese and a gatorade. He ate. He was content.

E: So baby, I think it is too hot for me and Maxine and we will go now if that is okay.
A: Aw mom, I hoped we would go get dinner and hang out a little.
E: But it is so hot.
A: Well, okay. I understand. But I just miss you.
E: Okay, we'll stay.

We sat about 10 more minutes and then Edna told Alexander we would go to Starbucks and he could call when he was done. Frankly, I was surprised that Brenham has a Starbucks. Can you say small college town? So we went to Starbucks for about an hour and then when Alexander was fone, we got him and went to Applebee's for dinner. Salty, but good.

A: Where do you want to go eat?
M: We're just visiting, you should already know where all the good places are.
A: (Not really sure if I was kidding or if he could be a smartass as we just really met) But I have only been here a week!

We left my house around 2 and I was home again at 9. It was all in all a nice diversion for a Saturday afternoon. Connor had the opportunity to join us, but at 2 he was still sleeping and elected to stay in bed. William had to work, so it was a nice getaway for me.

Other things I appreciated while at Blinn: the game was at Spencer Stadium. Pretty basic as small colleges go I imagine. If I had a child there, I would have to head up the hand railing on the bleacher stairs fund raising committee. Everytrime I looked down at the field, I was expecting to see a goalie. NOw I know that football has no goalie, but it is my experience with school sports to see hockey or soccer, so it was a goalie I expected to see. Other than knowing there is no goalie and there are four quarters, I might need a football for dummies primer.

The cheerleaders were in front of our section the entire game, and most of you rterading this and knowing me realize this might be a draw. Well, not so much. Certainly they were all cutr. but very much children. During half time, the pom pom girls did a routine. Of the chearleader types, the pom pom girls were definitely the a line while the regular cheerleaders the b line. Is this the norm?

Let us not forget the featured twirler. She was really pretty awesome. Constantly twirling a baton the entire game and during the half time show she was juggling three twirling batons. The girl has some talent. Really.

I was totally surprised this morning to look in the mirror and see no sunburn. Not even pink. As I was in the shower, there was a light knock on the door. EB is home!! I was up early because I was taking Will driving in to the bagel store. He was going to get up on the big bad freeway. I think eb in the card made him a little nervous. We turned the corner and were on the feeder road and he was a wee bit close to the right curb. I need a new rim, but Will learned how to change the tire. We are all okay, and maybe the freeway will be on the agenda next Sunday. After changing the tire in the mall parking lot, we opted to go to Panera Bread instead since we were right there. Will is a little freaked out by it all, but we parent folked remained rather calm and unfazed. I think he was expecting someone to go off and when neither of us did, he was a bit in shock. He can shake it off at work and we will be back on the horse soon enough.

Also, eb brought me a box from the beautiful people. There is an an appreciation award citing me as a proud sponsor of the V Word bracket tourney. It is an awesome original watercolor from Weese's MAW(tm). Thanks so much!! I will post a pic as soon as the camera is revitalized form eb's journey.

This post has gotten way too long to edit, so typos be damned. Nap time.

Out of sync

This is how I am when eb is away. It isn't really something that can be changed, I have come to accept that it just is. That doesn't mean I like it.

At work yesterday, all day long I just was out of sync. I think it is in part because I am still in a training mode. I asked for a to-do list, but eb did not get around to it before leaving. At the end of the work day I was able to label myself unable to think for myself as far as work as eb's assistant goes. I did get some things accomplished, but it was a series of trips the long way around the barn. The learning curve, is very steep still. Very. Steep.

So after work, I had to take Will to Strarbucks for his followup interview. They told him they would let him know something by Wednesday, but then they called him back last night. He will give Quizno's notice tomorrow and he will begin at the star next Wednesday. Woohoo.

We then went to the central HCC campus so we would know where the hell he was being dropped for class on Mon and Tues starting next week. I am comfortable navigating on some streets downtown, but it was a challenge locating the right places. The buildings for class, not really a problem. The bookstore? 6 or so times around the block. You'd think that the bookstore might say so on the side of the building in big letters. Umm, no. After the third time around the block, I knew what building it was for sure, but then traffic diverted me up a block or so, and I got a wee bit turned around. We had a full tank of gas and no other agenda, so Will finally was able to drop $145 on two text books. Woo.

Then, we headed to Cafe Artiste for some dinner and to just decompress, though admittedly, I was able to remain pretty chill and not too frustrated. We both had shrimp po-boys which were muy excellente. On the way out the door, I saw a painting that I absolutely must own. The artist is Sheng Kuan Chung. It might be the solo monk depicted here, if not it is similar. I want it. I am tempted to drop it on Visa. I will wait to see if eb likes it as well.

Today at work, I am feeling a little more as if I am working as if eb were here. Still not at peak, but better than yuesterday. Way better.

500 years of women in art

That was a title in the off topic section of my favored knitting forum. Then there was the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

Yummy.

Seven Whole Hours

DO you know how long it has been since I have gotten seven whole hours of sleep? O. Mi. God. i might not know how to act today. It is so nice to wake up, however early, and have gotten a restful night of sleep. i htink I must have remained on my back the entire night as well, because it is not aching. All around feel good to start the day. What a concept. Dare I hope for more of the same?

My addiction was the cause of my demise.

That is a direct quote from my son Connor(16.87 years). I got a call last night and the caller ID on my cell showed it to be from my wasband. If you know my history at all, you know this can't be a good thing. After saying a cautious hello, I discover I am talking with C.

C: Hi mamaa...
M: Hey, baby...How's it going? You are still coming next week?
C: all is well, yes, still coming.

Lightbulb shines brightly...

M: Why are you on your father's phone?

Long pause...

C: History repeats itself. My addiction is the cause of my demise. I am writing a book and that is the beginning.

He was cracking me up. Really. Last year about this time he all of a sudden had caused us to have a $700 phone bill. Of course his line was cut off imediately and that was basically his xmas present. Then when xmas came and he was traveling here for the holiday, I reinstated his phone so he would have it for emergency use and he did good for a while again. EB monitored the line more closely and the minute there was a deviation we dropped him again, this time permanently.

Soon enough, his dad added him to his plan as he had gotten quite used to C having a phone. So now he sees his son's addiction for what it is...the boy should have a phone implant, he is on it that much.

In other news...I was actually two full days without knitting. That was so tragic, that I picked up some yarn and knit eb a skull hat. Mostly done in one day. I will try to get pics of the skull hat series up in the next day or so. I have knit four of them so far. I am also knitting a scarf for myself, the Montego Bay scarf from the summer issue of Interweave Knits, and I am making another My So Called Scarf for a xmas gift for someone.

Surprise planning continues. A commitment has been made. We are going. Somewhere. For our 10th anniversary. Woohoo.

The new job situation seems to be working out just fine.

I am about halfway through HP 7.

Knit? Read? I have to choose?

A day without knitting

How sad is that. I knit not a single stitch yesterday. I did, of course, think about knitting, and I bought tickets via the phone from one of my local yarn stores for the Astros stitch and pitch on August 12th, but it's not the same.

No bamboo knitting needles warmed by my touch. No luscious fiber coursing through my fingers. No glorious fabric miraculously being produced by my own two hands. A day sans tricoter doesn't happen very often around here.

Today, the stove is being fixed. Bright and early (anytime before work), Mario is here to see what he can do to prevent the stove from flipping the breaker every time we use more than two burners or the broiler. This has been going on since the stove was installed a few years ago, but I have been dealing with it. Now that The Chef has moved home, it could become a more serious concern.

Tuesday night we had chicken stuffed with spinach with a side of pasta in a brownn butter sauce with pine nuts and garlic. The chicken was topped with a tomato reduction and was very tasty. Let's nnot forget the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Wednesday night was mile high meatloaf sandwiches. This is an open faced meatloaf sandwich with creamy mashed potatoes and fried onions and gravy. We also had a salad of baby spinach and bananas, strawberries and walnuts with a sweet dressing.

Last night was leftover meatloaf with pasta topped with sauce and pinenuts.

We need to have The Chef study up on portion control or we soon won't be able to go out the door.

Just plain criminal

Working with eb again has been a relatively smooth transition. There is but one woman there who worked there when I was previosly employed there who has not said a single word to me. Not. One. Word. No need to give her the benefit of the doubt. The woman I thought would react in this way has been totally pleasant. Mostly, it's all good.

On most days, eb and I think of Weese and we car pool. It's really funny when eb looks at me over her shoulder and tells me I can get going any time and that she is almost ready to go too. Umm...how are you getting home, sweetness? Then we chuckle and I bet that makes silent woman down the hall cringe.

Yesterday, I even remembered to bring my lunch so I could work straight through, thus maximizing my hours. I brought a banana, some cherries, a stash of mini candy bars, and a fluffernutter sammich. I was so looking forward to the fluffernutter being perfect and then, the criminal part. As I picked it up out of the bag, half my fluff was in the bottom of my ziplock bag. Thank goodness it was a ziplock or else we would have had marshmallow fluff on everything.

Wednesday tip-o-day: Always! Always store your fluffernutter sammiches flat.

release

I am well n to being adjusted to my new work situation. I am currently three days a week at jcp and I am starting to realize, as everything eases into a new image, just how much that place was stressing me out. By the end of the month, I will be just Wednesday and Saturday there, and I think that will be totally acceptable in the terms of energy balance. It is hard to totally give up the discount and the savings for getting my hair and nails done. I can see a day where I might choose that, but not in the next 6 months at minimum. Time will tell.

The new job is going well, I think. My new boss is very touchy feely and well, we all know I like that. She calls me babe all the time, and while I don't mind, I have to wonder if the bossman whose office is adjacent has any objection. And she is is also very gracious with the help when I have no idea what thew fuck I am doing. But when she explains it slow enough for me to write a few things down, I get it quick enough to recover, or so it seems. I think by the time the August issues are put to bed, I might be on my way. By the way, if you haven't followed, my new boss is eb.

So as my new schedule settles around me, there is still plenty of knitting to be done. And surprise contemplation. I am at the point where I need to commit and I went back to the planning site to see if there was more info. It seems that the particulars have changed a bit, just enough that I might have to give it up and consult with eb before committing. Drat. I think I will go knit and meditate on it until she wakes up this morning.

Recap

So we did not jet to the island yesterday. As has been the norm lately, we had some wicked thunderstorms in the area. I drove through them on the way home from the yarn store and bagel shop. I think traffic on the freeway was slowed to about 30 mph.

Just before my exit it had let up a little and I was not sure which way it was going. I got home to a dry driveway and figured it was headed our way. I hurriedly shuttled the dogs out the door to pee and the thunder made all three of them come sit at my feet on the patio. I got up and went and stood in the middle of the yard and all three followed and peed. I saw that Sawyer has a wicked rash in the crease of one of his hind legs. Attractive. I think he will have to go to the vet. Yippee.

So we did not go to Galveston. Also, Lilli Munster did not get transformed from a dustmop Chewbacca looking doll to a snauser. Her grandmama, Angela, had her brother and parents donme recently in a snauser cut and they were all so cute, I think I might give it a go. I will drop her this morning.

Not much else going on here today. Some laundry and some cleaning. Woohoo.

Non-agreement survived

Don't you just hate it when you have a few days off?

I mean when you have a few days off and you eat something that doesn't agree with you. I worked Thursday til about 7. I was supposed to work til 9 but as I was told by the store asst mgr, they understand it if I have to leave early until my schedule change can go into effect. Since I was to be off jcp til next Wednesday(when my new schedule begins), I had to leave early. They understand. Although my boss asked me how I was feeling when I was there yesterday getting my nails done.
Me:Fine, why?
Boss: Well Esme told me you left early and you weren't feeling well.
Me: No, I was just tired.
Boss: (the exasperated look)
Me: Debbie said you (the store) would deal with it if I had to leave early...

A little fire flashed in her eyes as she realized I was being spiteful, but frankly, I no longer give a damn.

So yesterday, I went in the morning to see my client Angela and did her hair. Then I called Paulie expecting he was still in the hospital. He was home and I went by to visit. I picked up an Antone's po' boy on the way. Tuna. Now if it was the tuna that did not agree with me, I think I would have known right away. Remember what a delicate flower I am. After a nice visit with Paulie, I went to get my nails done. That took about two houes, about 4 hours since I had eaten. No tummy trouble.

On the way home I got some fried rice from our favorite local place. I eat this all the time. All. The. Time. About an hour after I ate I was feeling a little indigestion. When it is bad food, I usually know in minutes. Now that I consider that, I feel it is possible that the tuna and the fried rice did not agree with each other.

Anyway, This morning, after a restless nice sans EB, as well as restless up on the pot all night, I think it has passed.

Paulie's nurse usually comes by around 11 and he wants to jet to Galveston. I am glad he feels well enough to get out and I am happy to oblige. To maximize my morning, I am going to take Lilli Munster for a haircut and then go to the bagel shop on the way to the yarn store. Well maybe the haircut will wait til tomorrow because who knows when we will get back from the island.

The yarn store trip is necessitasted, mostly because I have a beautiful skein of Helen's Lace that I want to play with. It is very fine and thin, and I am not about to wind 1250 or so yards of it by hand. Just. Not. Happening. I also want to pick up two skeins of Cascade 220, one in orange and one in blue, to make a skull hat for Thomas in his Syracuse colors.

Maybe I will even wear the Syracuse crocs today.

Go...Now...

Take the poll...

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/leisure/your.picks/index.html

Yawn...streeeetch...

My new boss is such a babe. I like her so well, I will be dropping another day at JCP at the end of July to give my new boss 3 days and JCP only 2. Poor ole JCP. What will they do without me? My goal there this next month is to get the other receptionists a little more paperwork proficient so I will not be doing it all on one of my 2 days there. We have been open more than a year, and there should be a foolproof system in place by now. But there isn't. And I am not quite sure I will be able to remedy this. I say it is my goal for the next month, but if I do not pull it off, have no fear. I will stop giving two shits about it. I promise. I just feel like I need to ease everyone into the idea that JCP is no longer a priority for me. At all.

I have already set it up to where the evening receptionist does the confirmation calls because of all the things the desk is responsible, that is the one thing I absolutely hate doing. It isn't terribly difficult. It takes all of about 10-15 minutes. I just don't like doing it. On Thursday, I will have done it for the last time. Unless I forget. I might.

So now, I leave you with another question. I have alread decided, but I am still interrested in a vote. South in February? Or north in May? Vote in comments.

questions

Can a surprise be too big and should not be a surprise?

How big is too big?

Discuss.

Hear Darth Vader's March playing softly in your ears...

Evil has been unleashed in my house via USPS and KTS3. My package arrived this afternoon and I opened it when I was home from work for lunch. I didn't want to go back. I wanted to plunge into my new adventure to the Dark Side right away. (Of course, it should be said that I never really want to go back.)

Take a moment to hear the Emporer as he commands Darth Vader to lure poor young Luke over to the Dark Side. Shwhooooo...shwooooo...shwoooo...(that's Darth Vader breathing for those not in the know).

Laura of The Painted Sheep sent me a lovely letter detailing my goodies. The yarn is a skein of Mango Moon Recycled Silk. Laura says, "I am not sure if you know about this company, but I thought that a recycled sari silk yarn benefitting Nepali women would go with your zen approach to life."

There is no way Laura could have known this, but one of my LYSs carries this yarn and I buy a skein every time I go. My plan is to collect it and eventually knit a patchwork bedspread from it. Just plain garter squares to make a nice and substantial weight quilt. I have 2 skeins in my stash, now 3. Awesome. Darth Vader is still lurking waiting to make his move...

Laura also sent a skein of The Painted Sheep's "Foot Prints" which is superwash merino sock yarn. If that isn't enough yarn, there is a skein of The Painted Sheep's "House Blend" which is a blend of merino, silk and alpaca.

"Luuuke...shwooooo....shwoooo...I am your faaather...shwoooo...shwoooo..."

Darth Vader jumps out of nowhere...evil is running rampant in my house.

Did lovely Laura send me some of her fabulous handpainted colorways? No. (For the record, I am not complaining here.) She sent me naked yarn. A blank canvas. And pure evil in the form of Cushing's Perfection Dyes. Nile Green. Turquoise. Mint Green. And a book I have been lusting after, The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook. The book will help me on my trek toward the Dark Side.

While communing with Darth Vader, I can enjoy some of Angelina's Orange Spice Black Tea, and Earl Grey Green Tea. Perfect to dunk in my cup-o-tea is something local to Laura, Moravian sugar cookies. I have already snacked on some of those and I hope there is a website they can be ordered from because they are delish.

A very well rounded package and a very satisfying swap. Many thanks to all whose efforts made this possible!!

EB is a babe

Cultivating Grace is up and running (linked right), and though the template is not perfect, until I have time to sit and tweak it(likely never), or until I find another one I like better, it will have to do. My goal is to post there once a week, but we shall see how that pans out.

Not only is EB a babe, she is also a rebel. She is blatantly defying the docs instructions as she just drove herself to work. IMHO, not taking it easy enough, and she was supposed to not drive another day. But I suppose it should be said if she was home another day she would likely be working on the bathroom, so being at work is taking it easy in that respect. Everything is relative to something.

Now I have to see if I can get my ass in ger enough to make the post office on my way to work.

And so it was

I was so stressed out going into work this afternoon. I even thought, for a brief moment, that I should call in sick so as to avoid the confrontation with my boss. I immediately saw the flaw in that plan as it would just have me more stressed out tomorrow.

I saw her as soon as I got to work. She reacted as I knew she would. I said specifically, "I need to drop Tuesday and Thursday altogether as I just cannot handle the evenings." She said, "Well do you want to work til 6 on T and Th and just close 2 registers before you leave ond someone can close the third?" Umm, no, I need to drop T and Th altogether as I just cannot handle the evenings."

She then did a little For Fuck's Sake (tm GFI) in her own full of charm and never uttering the word fuck in her life suthin way and was totally talking out loud to herself. Well, if I am sitting there in the room, and you are talking out loud to yourself, you're sorta talking to me. So I was answering. She said something about compromised coverage and I replied that it could no longer be my concern. "Well of course not, Max, I was talking to myself. I'm just trying to figure out what we can do..."

I stressed to her that this was about my illness. I was telling her at one point how I appreciated that her concerns were company related and not personal toward me. I then told her my concerns were company related, too. In particular, I told her that I felt that if my Crohn's was a visible disibility, I would have been given the modified schedule I requested a few weeks ago. That put her radar up and she got up from her desk and went down to the main office to call the Assistant Manager out of a meeting in another store to ask what to do. Amazing how the word disibility being thrown in made the sparks fly.

She came back explaining that with our new system (new next week) schedules were locked in three weeks out and my new schedule can't go into effect until 7\1. funny that not 30 minutes prior, she had been asking me if I needed any edits for the week before that. She could edit that week to drop me out T and Th, yes? I did not push it because my new boss is a pushover...umm...flexible.

JCP is just less and less a company I want to work for. Maybe that is taking care of itself.

So the new job... I will be the assistant to not one, but two! Two hotshot art directors. Both who like me well enough. One even loves me dearly. They can totally have their way with me.....

Ask, and it shall be given...

Everyone needs to hold a good thought for me today. I have accepted a new position part time and in lieu of that will let my boss know I am dropping two of my days and will no longer be available evenings. it will be a challenging conversation because it compromises desk coverage, but I can no longer let that be my concern.

A few months back I asked to be taken off nights as soon as possible because it was a challenge for me in that I felt more tired on Tues and Thursday, the nights I work, and then I felt worse at work the next day as well. I told my boss I really felt I needed to not work past six. Nothing really came of that that has helped me. I was clear in saying I needed to not work past six, but my boss took it to mean I was working too long a shift and cut me back on the early end changing my 12-9 shift to 2-9. Not so helpful really.

Recently, I asked to change my work week to a 4 day week. This would be the best of both worlds solution. It would get me down to one night, and it would still offer good desk coverage. I got an uncompromising no. Crohn's is a protected disability. Basically this just means they cannot fire me for being sick, I think. However if it was not an invisible disability, I think my scheduling request would have been taken more seriously and likely would have been granted.

I see no choice but to go in today and limit my availability. The down side might be that they really fuck with that and schedule me minimal hours within that. But that will be okay. Within my availablility, I will work whatever I am scheduled.

So here's my shout out thanks to The Universe for answering!

Did you hear that loud bang?

It was the sound of one door closing. I need everyone to be clear on this just in case The Universe isn't paying attention. I can't give notice at my current job until I have another offer on the table. I was going to say I officially hate my job, but that isn't accurate. I actually like my job and I am rather good at it. it is my employer I am less than fond of. Toxicity has reached a new level and it is soon time to go, if The Universe will cooperate. MAW, get to work. xo.

Buttons

I need buttons. You all know you have a small stash of buttons which you will likely never use. You have saved them for me. When you see a jar of buttons at the thrift store, garage sale, your sister's house, those are mine too, so facilitate their safe travel queenward. Buttons...BUTTONS...lovely round or otherwise shaped buttons...You are getting sleepy...when I snap my fingers, you will be ready to send me buttons...

*SNAP*

Please let me know if you need the address.

Commit to Sit

Yesterday, eb and I began our Commit to Sit efforts. Our friend Irene is on board with this as well, and we are looking forward mostly to an improved sense of well being.

Sawyer is also taking the challenge rather seriously. While I was sitting this morning, he stood guard at the entrance of the meditation room and was very growly toward both Nola and Lilli when they attempted entry. Whe my timer went off at the end of my twenty minute sit, Sawyer was positioned across the threshold in a way that prevented either of the grrls entry, and they were both laying perpendicular to hime waiting for me to emerge. I think they like the energy shift.

I am also incorporating a few yoga poses with my sit time in a n effort to bring yoga back to my daily schedule. It will work, or it won't, and only time will tell.

feliz dia de los mamacitas

dancing grrls 5
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Some day my Spanish will not be so bastardized, but it is the best I can do today. I made a scrumptious breakfast of potatoes and eggs for eb and myself, and now, I must phone my mamacita lest I be deemed dog meat.

ps...my laptop shifted to a large print setting all on its own...how does that happen...last night I was checking email and all was normal and this morning I opened it up to large print...maybe the universe thinks I am squinting too much? Maybe it was a visit from Gnomo the homo?

pps...the dancing grrls bag is donerooni and there are more pics on flickr.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog for a special report................................

gnomo
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Meet gnomo the homo. Gnomo is of the miniature branch of the gnome family, and as her name suggests, is a homo. Yes, I said she.
No teasing as she is sometimes quite sensitive about being a bearded lady. There is a fine line between her sensitivity and her fine beard being a point of pride.

Gnomo is reposed in the latest in Gnome's of the homo type cozy fashion. She is decked out in a custom residence, a bowl of her own. Very Virginia Woolf.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog.............................

my baby done left me...

I was going to leave you with some bad blues-y lyrics here, but you likely know that eb surely didn't leave-leave me. No, she is with T in Syracuse checking things out. In a college town. On a Saturday night. With her 18 yo son. Hmmmm...I bet they are sleeping.

EB will not be back until Wednesday, and I have no earthly idea what time. I took the liberty of doing a little retail therapy to deal with my loss. I even did it on Friday morning before she was gone. She didn't leave until some ungodly hour today. But I knew my grieving would be severe. I went to the Texas Weaver's Conference. Any guesses as to what Texas weavers weave with?

I had done some side hair on Monday, so I had some cash on hand, and I was a very good grrl in that I used only my cash on hand. No credit cards, though every vendor assured me a credit card was no problem. Yuppers. I was very good. Only used my csh. All. Of. It.

I was showing the booty make that loot to deter a trip to the gutter, to Irene this morning over breakfast, and she agrees I will be knitting up some mighty fine things with all my new pretties.. I got some loopy stuff, some pretty and soft mohair, some cotton, some handpainted wool...lots-o-pretties. Maybe I will snap a pic in the morning.

And it will all fit into the bins I have without necessitating a trip to Targay for more.

I think that means I was very, very good. woo.

bird season

Nola just had the first baby bird of the season completely in her mouth. That means I just had the first mama bird of the season in my hair.

She dropped it on command, she is such a good girl, and for the first time, Lilli Munster got a little taste of baby bird. What a tag team.

Birds are all fine and recovered. Me? Not so much.

Charming.

Into the washer she goes

I felted the Dancing Grrls Bag this morning. I need to let it dry some and give it a shave, and maybe it still needs another trip through the washer. One can never be certain about such things. I think I like it, maybe. It will be an awesome knitting bag of nothing else, and there is still a lot of finishing to be done on it.

After two trips through the wash, the bag has shrunk from roughly 16X16 inches to 15X13 which is close to the suggested pattern post felting measurement of 13 high and 16 wide. Maybe no more washer time for this beauty.

It still needs 5 rounds of crochet around the top which will take away the slight waviness, and then a twisted strand drawstring. Also it will need a six stitch i-cord strap which is sewn on with metal rings. I might modify that part somehow. Or I might not. It depends on what I think of it after I get the crocheted edging done.

This bag also calls for little dolls to be buttoned on and I am definitely ommiting them as I think they are a bit unseemly. Overkill if you will. Just a little *too* folkish for me.

On another note, I have an interview for a potential salon manager opening. It is not a definite opening yet, and it might lead nowhere, but it is an interview. This means a little shopping is in order, so eb will not be out to play on Sunday until later in the day. Her assistance is required. Cross something, please.

Dancing grrls bag

Dancing grrls bag
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

The pattern is from Berroco in Ultra Alpaca and they call it the Doll Bag. I used six colors instead of eight and I used different colors than suggested. Pre-felting my bag measures about 16 inches square.

There are more pics up on Flickr, a detailed shot of each ro. Even the chart I totally fucked up. It's the charm of the handknit, says I.

The next step is to felt this in the washing machine. Cross something for me.

so gay scarf

so gay scarf
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

It's just so gay. Really. And it will be in the mail tomorrow.

ahhhhhh...

TtheLBJ(tm) that neither of the primo jackasses work on Friday.

no more being nice to jackasses

That title was what I said to one of my favored coworkers as I was leaving work tonight. No. More. Being. Nice. To. JACKASSES!!!

One of my coworkers is such a jackass(okay, really there are 2 total jackasses and 3 who are jackasses just 50% of the time). Could you tell? I have strong obstacles in dealing with her and she is definitely vying for the top of my challengeswithjackasses list.

So the favored coworker has a problem with the way she was booked this evening. The chi would not be good as it was set, so we did a little juggling. I first called client A, none other than eb, and asked her to come earlier. Then I called client B and asked her to come a little later. No problem. Then, Client C was 30 minutes late, yes, arriving at almost the same time as client B who was coming later.

So the favored coworker does part of client C's service, not what she was booked for, but favored coworker is good at adding on extra services and then juggling them in with everyone involved remaining happy. As she finished up a wax for client C, client B arrives. During the wax, she learns that client C would also like a hilite. Also, not the haircut she was booked for.

Rather than say no to one of her clients, she asked her if she would mind if the jackass did her as she had no client booked this evevning. (Everyone, no matter how much of a jackass, should be booked this close to Easter. It's a fact of salon life that is often hell for us little old receptionists.)

Client C said that would be fine as long as the favored coworker was doing the cutting.

So favored coworker talks to jackass who readily agrees, because not only is she a jackass, but she is a greedy jackass. Also, a whineyass jackass. The whole time she was getting it together to do the hilite for client C, she was whining about why should she do only the hilite? Why did favored coworker get the wax and cut?
i
You see, greedy whineyass jackass contends that I give all the walkins to favored coworker (I don't) and if I had given client C to her to begin with, she would be doing all 3 services. Jackass also has a hearing problem, well, a listening problem, because favored coworker had clearly stated this was her regular client.

Client C comes up to pay and was apparently upset. Maybe she just wanted to be out of the salon, but when she saw her total she was genuinely shocked. I asked her if jackass neglected to discuss the price with her and she said yes. So egomaniacal receptionist that I am, I used the power bestowed on me by the boss lady, and I cut her ticket, no questions asked. I have had this problem with jackass padding her tickets before and the ticket has a spot for the stylist to specifically go over all charges and list the total fee for the client to initial, It's sort of required script that most stylists ignore, but when I know it is an issue, I tell the boss lady and she reviews it with the stylist personally to avoid future issues.

She also felt that jackass delayed in getting to her and when she sees her hair in the daylight tomorrow, she will not be seeing much hilite, so that will be an issue for another day.

Then, she asked who was working the desk this morning (not me) and told me she specifically said she could not make 630, it would definitely be 7, and if she had been properly booked, no magnificant shuffling would have been required.

Client C was satisfied and jackass loses commission. I can't wait til tomorrow to chat with the boss lady.