I feel for you...

I went to Galveston this morning and had a sit-down on the beach. It was a nice way to recharge and refresh my soul if you follow. On the way down, I listened to Neil Young. I have to admit I listen to that cd far more than I thought I would, and I think for the most part, I have not been dreaming Neil Young since buying it.

On the way back I listened to Chaka Khan and Prince. Prince has two greatest hits cd, and I was listening to what I think is the second one, the naughty one if you will. The following are the lyrics to "Do Me" and if you do not already own a copy you should go directly and download it from iTunes. Then play it really loud for your lovergrrl.

Do Me by Prince
Here we are in this big old empty room, staring each other down
U want me just as much as I want U, let's stop fooling around
Take me baby... kiss me all over... play with my love
Bring out what's been in me for far too long
Baby, u know that's all I've been dreaming of
Do Me Baby, like u never done before
Give it to me till I just can't take no more
Do Me Baby, like u never done before
I want u now, I just can't wait no more, can't wait...

Here we are looking for a reason for u to lay me down
For a love like ours is never out of season, so baby please stop teasing me
what ya do, I can never love no other, u're the best I ever had
Whenever we're not close to one another, I just want u so bad

So Do Me Baby, like u never done before
Give it to me till I just can't take no more
C'mon, Do Me Baby, like u never done before
I want u now, I just can't wait no more

I said ooo...ooo...oooo...ooooooo
Do Me Baby, Do Me Baby, give it to me
Do Me Baby, I want u now
Do Me Baby, give it to me
Do Me Baby, Do Me baby, don't wanna do it all alone
I want your love.
Do Me Baby, give it to me
Do Me Baby, This feeling is too strong, make me wait 2 long, I want u now



Now go drink some tea!!

Knit for Peace

knit for peace close-up
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Today was/is Knit for Peace day. i think the idea is something more focused on producing a statement sort of piece of work, but I heard about it just a few days ago, and in that time, I could not really organize something statementish. So I decided to go to the Rothko Chapel and do some Mindful Knitting.

I was at the Rothko from 4-6 this afternoon and I worked on this wrap I am making. I bought the pattern and the yarn at Tara Jon Manning's Mindful Knitting retreat in Vermont last weekend(2 weekends ago? impossible!) I did 17 rows in that time, about 2 inches, which translates to 1,462 stitches for peace.

The yarn and pattern are by Margaret Klein Wilson whose company is Mostly Merino. I would link her as well, but her site isn't quite done yet. Her product is unbelievable. I amusing Mostly Merino Singles which is Light Sport/Fingering weight. 2 oz = 250 yards. 77% Merino
& Corriedale Wool and 23 % Mohair. The color is Cinnabar.

Divine.

undertaker dude

undertaker dude
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Three young boys followed William to the door and watched him. One came back to where his family was waiting in the bar very excited. There is a totally cool undertaker dude.

At this, his father went to the door pasing the other two boys on the way. He asked one to point out the undertaker dude as he was intrigued. The boy passed by saying "Can't miss him."

True that.

Then the father just came back to the bar saying there really was an undertaker dude.

Virgin Snow

Virgin Snow
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

How I totally resisted buying this I am not sure.

yarn and more yarn

yarn and more yarn
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

A thing of beauty

A thing of beauty
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Is it not the cutest thing? I was very skeptical at first learning to knit in the round continental. Then I was on overload as Tara told us we would now be knitting two handed stranded. I got it. And I like it. Now to do it again on my own.

Let the sun shine...

Let the sun shine...
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

Lot's and lots of snow in Vermont. Highland Lodge offers 60 miles of cross country skiing and one of the employees said this last weekend of the season was absolutely the best snow all winter.

Let the vacation recap begin

dinner
Originally uploaded by queenmaxine.

William told me to call him when I checked into the Lake Placid Hilton so he could get dinner in the oven. He said it would be about half an hour after that he would see me, be hungry.

Me: Do I need to come to your place?
W: No, I am cooking at work and I will bring it to your room.
Me: Sweet!

He should have said be *very* hungry!

Knaked Knitting

I hope the neighbors enjoyed my hour of knaked knitting as much as I did this morning.

And I'm Home

I flew out of Albany yesterday and had a stop over in Cincinati where my connection was delayed due to a weather ground stop in Houston. I was supposed to arrive at 6:20 and I actually arrived close to 9. Not too bad because I could knit while I was waiting, but I was ready to be home in my babygrrl's arms.

Once in the air, the flight attendant, who I would wager was somewhat older than me, and hetero, was doing the pass with crackers, cookies, and beverages. There were peanutbutter crackers, cheese and crackers, and Biscoff cookies. I covet the cookies at all times so it was a no-brainer.

Me: Biscoff, please. Can I have two? They really are the closest thing to heaven I can believe in.
FA: Sure, sweetie, I'm wearing a few pounds of them myself. (She coyly said as her ample bosom was right in my face causing my eyes to zoom into an obvious stare)
Me: (very casually, not missing a beat) And you wear them so well...
FA: (slightly flushed, likely wanting to say my eyes are up here) Thanks (I think).

Those cookies were delish. Expanses of snow and knitting pics coming soon. Really.

Mostly packed.

Does that mean I am ready to go? No. It means yesterday was almost a slug day, and I shipped home some dirty clothes, books, and jars of crap I bought so my suitcase would not be to stuffed or overweight. There was a plan. I am sitting here today hoping I don't need any of the dirty clothes before Tuesday, their scheduled arrival in Houston.

So I still have to deal with the piddly crap. When I am packing for home, I always take a sort of inventory and try to appreciate stuff I brought but did not really need so that next time, I might pack lighter. When we doe a 4 or 5 day long weekend, I find this much easier. When I am gone for a week or more, this becomes more a challenge.

In an hour, I must be off to the airport, so time to get my ass in gear.

Oh, the irony...

Since leaving the house early yesterday morning, I knew I was forgetting something. Camera? Nope. Knitting stuff? Unuh. Directions, confirmations? Got 'em. Sneakers, socks, sweaters? All packed...

The list can go on and on, and it won't change the fact that the cute fuzzy and warm felted mittens I made with my own hands, the matching scarf, and various other warm cuddly scarves, are all sitting in the closet at home. As soon as I walked out of the airport into the cold with my neck exposed, I knew. It is just wrong. Woe, is me.

I am off in a moment to run down the street to the yarn store, yes, if it wasn't something close to zero degrees, it is close enough for a stroll, and buy some super chunky yarn that will be a scarf before bedtime tonight. Motherfucker.

Omigod, but it's fucking cold out.

So I am in a fabulous room at the Lake Placid Hilton, and everyone I interact with asks if I am Willie's mom. Well, yes, yes I am.

Willie insisted on taking care of my room, and at this very moment, he is down in the kitchen whipping me up some dindin. It's a surprise. and yes, son, I still prefer Pepsi.

So each time I am asked if I am Willie's mom, I am also then filled in on what a good guy Willie is. He may never work anywhere else ever again, and I might advise that, because they absolutely love him here. And I know what a good boy he is. Okay, he is 22, and hardly a boy, bbut as I argued with him in his teen years, as first born he will always be my baby. He likes it.

So the chef is in the kitchen fixing some most delicious grub for his mom. On the way up from Albany, I was cruising along somewhere past Lake George. Once past Lake George, there was hardly any traffic. The speed limit is 65 and I was keeping it under 75, mostly at 70. I had not seen another car in about a half hour and low and behold, there was a car merging onto the interstate. I shifted to the left lane, courteous driver that I am, and as I did so I caught a glance at my speedometer. Umm, 83. Okay, slow down a wee bit. As I slowed to a more respectable 73, I was about to pass the car and out of the blue I see it had a rack-o-lights. Woohoo, Mr State Trooper...yes I slowed just in the nick of time. It's not like I didn't *see* the rack, I just hadn't seen a car in so long that it didn't register.

Not only do I not have power locks or windows, but I also don't have cruise control. The little things can spoil a grrl, I tell ya.

Dearest eb...I promise to be in vacation mode on Goddess Time(tm) from this point forward.

Taa.

As of 10 AM Saturday...

I was officially empty. Of course, I didn't know I was empty until mid afternoon when I went to the bathroom and all I did was pee. For the last 23 hours, I have been a pee only sort of grrl. Thank you very much.

So it took from Midnight Wednesday until 10AM Saturday for me to empty. 58 hours. Eww. I am glad it hit when it did, not the weekend before when traveling and not the week after when traveling. That would just be poor form.

I lost 10 pounds yesterday

At that rate, if I could just stay sick for a week, I'd be happy with my weight for a change. I am sure the ten pounds will be finding me again soon as it was totally water weight. Need I get more graphic than that? Use your imaginations.

We went out to eat to one of our favorite places and I think maybe the salad dressing had turned. Since then, however, T has arrived with a stomach bug and maybe it is that someone working there passed something along. Regardless, it seems to be easing up, but I will not be going in to work again today, and hopefully, I might be less in the bathroom today. If I am really lucky, I will be able to knit. No knitting yesterday, yes I was that sick.

At least I can sit up today and read email. What a flurry of mail I had to greet me in my inbox. Vaginas and pussies tossed around so casually. A grrl has to like that. Sick or not, I will be checking my email for more.

the girls are home

This marks the official end of a fabulous long weekend vacation. Vacation nearly always begins a day early as soon as the girls are dropped off, so naturally, now that Lilli Munster and Nola are home, vacation is officially over. That, and the fact that I will be at work at 2.

What a wonderful weekend we had. It began with the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting Show at the Museum of Art and Design. On one of the knitting forums I frequent, someone had suggested not bringing a non-knitter. But when it comes down to it, this is an art show and in a prominent museum. I was so glad to see this, the evening gown knit out of one dollar bills, the miniature gloves(each one resting on a finger tip) and sweaters, the American flag knit using telephone and John Deere excavators. These and the lace forms that were not knit. All were awesome. Imagine delicate lace designs cut with an exacto knife in a large paper hanging. Need something more challenging to imagine? How about delicate lace cut in car parts with an oxyacetyline torch?

The point is, of course, that it was all art. And I am glad I got to see the exhibit.

As we were ending the museum tour, my cell rang and it was Kmae. Awesome, even if I did get chastised by the guards on the exhibit floor. Ok, so I moved off the floor and was waiting for the elevator to take me down. Chastised again. "No talking on the phone, Ma'am. My supervisor is on her way up the stairs and will take it from you."

So Kmae and Doris made it into the city and we joined them for dinner at Manitus. Burgers were good, but the company and conversation was way better. We had about an hour together and honestly, I could have sit and talk to them the entire weekend. They are really and truly a delight.

Kmae and Doris dropped us at our subway stop and we went to the drug store for toothpaste and deoderant. Not that we forgot to pack them, but we were nearly out of both items as we left home. Being less then fresh at the blogger gathering would habe been totally unacceptable.

We then caught the subway back to our hotel. The Barclay Intercontinental was a lovely night in NYC. Next time we travel we might better look at the ammenities available so we are better prepared to take advantage of saunas and steam rooms and such.

We left the Barclay quite early and went back to JFK to pick up our rental car. That was actually pathetically easy. We always hear, "No, don't fly into JFK..." but really it was a beautiful convergence of Goddess Time(tm) all weekend. The trip out to CT was smooth and without a blip.

We were able to check into our hotel, the Shelton Mariott early, dammit, a pool, and then it was on to Weese and MAW's(tm) place to meetup with them and Suzanne and Wendy as well as Suzanne's delicious, um, I mean delightful sister.

We sat and visited and had cocktails at Weese's house for a while before heading out to Sassyfemme's place for the bigger meetup. I liked having a small meetup on Friday and then a medium meetup on Saturday morning before the big meetup. It was a lovely layering of anticipation and gratification.

After cocktails at Casa Weese, we took two cars to Chez Sassy. Lots of fun was had by all. Before actually meeting Sassy and Fran, the door was cordially answered by Bent Fabric who said she was Sassy, but had been tanning. Funny, that one is. The afternoon ensued with a lot of reveling and continual laughter. I was floating around from here to there and finally took up residence in the corner of the kitchen at the table where I could knock back some beer and watch as well as participate in quieter conversations, all of which were quite enjoyable. The kitchen crowd would thin out a little and all would be rather serene, and just then, the crowd would refom in the kitchen to rounds of luscious laughter.

At one point, eb told me she was going to go outside and play in the snow. She was out front making some snow paintings for our hostesses when the graffiti artists showed up. I had enough sense to stay inside as I have played with enough snow for this lifetime.

All around, the weekend was a relaxing delight. I made scarves for our various hosts, and damn but you know I took pics of none of them. Five glorious queenmaxine originals out in the world hugging prayers and warmth around their recipients.

Off to work for a few days before I turn around and am off again to the snow, this time to the Mindful Knitting Retreat in VT with Tara Jon Manning. Just enough time to properly thaw and do laundry.

Like I really need another project in the air...

This one will actually begin in a few weeks, but I want to give a heads up now because there will be details to work out. I just visited and signed up for 1001journals.com and while there, I launched a traveling journal for the EP lesbos to include contributors and supporters. It will be by invitation and that means if you might be interested, you need to email me or comment here to get an invite and be on the list. I need a bit of time to prepare the journal for it's voyage and everyone is encouraged to participate, and I don't want to hear any "I'm not creative enough for that" bullshit.

I am going to prep the pages and you will then pick what page suits your fancy and journal on it by any means and about any subject. It can be artful, literary, anonymous(sort of), anything goes. I ask that you limit custody to two weeks. I also ask that you add a trinket to the traveling journal box which will be used for the final journal shrine assembly. I am contemplating if it could be used in the Day of the Dead fundraiser we participate in and that part remains to be thought through. I like the idea because it is a public viewing sort of show, but I don't like it because it would be up for auction, though I would be establishing the starting bid which I could raise discriminitely. Any proceeds would go to EP to defray costs.

You would be responsible for doing your spread and then sending it on to the next person on the list via mail. It is also requested by the host site that each person scan their contribution to post, but we can work that out as necessary.

Who's in? Everyone reading this far had better be saying yes!

And the stories that were told...

I cooked some more pork tenderloin last night. Never a disappointment, that one. I also made the St Andre mashed potatoes again because everyone knows you can't have pork tenderloin without them. Then I made honey glazed baby carrots with shallots and ginger. One comment was heard attesting to their goodness, "...and I don't like cooked carrots!" Yummy. That was Suzanne. She had seconds on her carrots. Her wife Vicki thought even Brandon might eat them. He's 7 I think, and her grandson.

Suzanne and Vicki came over for haircuts and we were going to order out for dinner. I just thought cooking would be easier, and I kinda like it, as you know. I'm sick like that. I still think it was easier, but I had to go out and flip the stove breaker about 8 times while I was cooking. What a pain in the ass.

Since the stove was new about 4 years ago, I have learned that you don't use the oven and the cooktop at the same time. Well, you could use both, but only one burner. If I forgot and turned on a second burner, the breaker would flip. This was only ever a problem if we were entertaining, but I got quite good at juggling what was cooked and when and in what order.
Not too long ago it started happening when I was broiling and using one burner. Ok, bigger pain in the ass.

Recently, the broiler itself, all alone, has been tripping the breaker almost as soon as the pork really starts sizzling. It takes about 4 flips of the breaker to cook the pork tenderloin. Last night, I think it was 5.

So the pork was done and resting, and the broiler turned off. Then The potatoes had to be boiled and the carrots sauteed. Maybe the oven was still too hot and it contributed to the breaker flipping again when only the cooktop was being used. And maybe the stove is a piece of shit. Just maybe.

So with the cooking drama aside, we ate and drank a little. Michael and Irene were here too, and it was Michael's first time. I think he might come back. It would be nice to find him another gayboy friend, but that could prove a challenge. Two boys might upset the estrogen balance too much, even if they are gayboys.

Give this group a few glasses of wine and beer and the stories will start flowing. We learned all about an awesome sex shop in London and the Mafia in Italy, among other things.

Next time maybe pablano chicken or Sarah's pine nut spinach manicotti.

Life is good.

uses time wisely

I have been out and about since 10 this morning. I decided to fuller embrace not giving a shit about my hair and left home with it not 'done'. As a hairdresser, this is a challenge. Also, given that it is a work day and need my hair to be 'done' for work, I was doubly surprised when it occurred to me to get out early and not give a shit as all things have a way of working themselves out, my hair included.

Normally, I would get it all together, then go run errands on my way to work. This formula just does not work as I get distracted on the way to getting it all together, thus shortening greatly the errand portion of the day, if not eliminating it altogether.

So today, I showered and threw on a tshirt and jeans and ran out the door by 10 this morning. I had a bowl of blueberries in an effort to get used to eating breakfast, too. They were damn good with a scant tablespoon of both sour cream and brown sugar mixed in. Don't wrinkle up your nose til you've tried it. I had a few errands in mind, the yarn store because e has begged me to make a scarf or two and that requires some yarn. Check. Then to Whole Foods for some stuff for dinner tomorrow night. Check. Then to Costco for some pork tenderloin for said dinner. Check.

The yarn store was quiet and Wendy was working. She was extremely thankful for the tin of cookies I brought in for the staff for the holidays. You know what that means?? They now know who I am. It is akin to Norm arriving at Cheers in the knitting world when your LYS (local yarn shop) knows who you are. I like it. I bought wool for two scarves and I can see them already in my brain. They will get made in a timely fashion.

Then there was Whole Foods. I should not be allowed to go there without a list. I really was not too bad, but I did get some new tea for us and that jacked the grocery bill just a wee bit. Reports on those later. On the way in the door they had the most exquisite potted orchids. I think I might go back for at least one. They were stunning. Totally a reason to be carrying a camera with me though I wasn't. Yes, they were that beautiful. Cupid should be sending them to everyone on the v-day list. I was able to resist, but I think for certain I will be going back for one. I managed to get the dinner things as well, yukon gold potatoes for mashed, some baby zuchini to roast, as well as some mushrooms to saute. I guess I should have picked up some shallots, too, but I wasn't thinking about shallots, I was thinking of those damn orchids. I remembered the St Andre cheese to dump into the mashed potatoes and I got a triple cream brie and some other new for us cheese to have with pomegranite and walnuts as a starter. Dinner is sure to be delish.

At Costco, because I had other groceries in the car, I was extremely ficused. In, to the back, grab pork, get in line. I like it when Costco is easy and quick as much when it is lingering, and the crowd today was sparse, so it was a snap either way.

As I pulled into the driveway, I realized the errand that was supposed to be primary today, my expired car inspection. I have a 2005 Civic and I am sure it will pass so there is not drama nerves about the inspection, but I just keep forgetting to get it done. This too will work itself out.

jeans...and socks...

I scored yesterday. When I went to Macy's to see if they had my jeans, I was looking for a 24 because that is the size I thought I was wearing. All they had in The Jones New York Signature collection jean was a 16 and a 22. Fuck.

I grabbed them and a shitload of other jeans to try on and lo and behold, thank The Little Baby Jesus(tm), the 22, in the jean I wanted in the first place, fit like a glove. Let me fess up, no I did not lose a size, the pair I already have are a 22. At least I am thinking this is the case, I might check when I do laundry, but I don't feel like getting up now to go see.

I also got eb a stylish wool blazer that was on clearance. And not to be forgotten, I got some socks when I went back to JCP. I got 6 pair of trouser socks, 6 pair of heavy white ankle socks, 6 pair of heavy black ankle socks, a 6 pair black and white mixed light ankle socks, and 4 pair of pretty knit socks. I think we have enough socks for the moment.

We also have a shitload of bras on clearance. I mean a shitload. I got 2 and brought 6 home for eb. It's charming. really.