SOMEWHERE IN TIME

Hello, possums. This is by far one of my favorite movie soundtracks (I love the DVD movie Collector's Edition as well). The only other one that I can compare to this one is the soundtrack from "Sophie's Choice" by Marvin Hamlish (another good movie to own on DVD). They're both beautifully written, arranged and performed. I remember back in college, I would put on my headphones and play these two soundtracks and the next thing I knew, I was either waking from falling asleep or feeling all the tension from exams, classes, etc. just slipping away. Now, if I have a stressful day at work, I'll come home, shut the door to my den (so my cat won't interrupt me), turn the light out, lie in the floor, put the music on and relax. On another note, I'm feeling kind of reflective today. I turned on the tele this morning to watch some of The Today Show and found out that Egypt was bombed again by terrorist. I remember "somewhere in time" when things like this happened infrequently. I long for those times. The sad thing is, I think it will only get worse. On a small rant, I'm sick of the U. S. news networks, U. S. Government, etc., always bringing up 9.11 when reporting other terrorist attacks. From the bombings in London to the attacks this morning. STOP IT!! Stop always trying to shine the light back on the U. S. to gain sympathy or whatever you want to call it; and we wonder why the world does not view us in the same light as many years ago. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my country and for what we stand for, but everything seems to be so misguided right now (and not in a good way). At times, I feel overwhelmed by it all.

Oy! I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday after work and came across this book they had on sale. I purchased it because yes, my dear friends, I'm starting to feel my age at times. Nothing worse than getting up out of bed in the morning and feeling stiff as a board due to just everyday living. I've always wanted to have a daily stretching/meditation routine to ease the stiffness/stress in my body. This is a fairly good book from what I can see so far. It's broken down into three sections, easy, intermediate and advanced. I think I'll try some tonight before going to bed. By the way, some of the men in the book are quite cute in their little shorts. I hate to say this, but what the hell, I'm queer; there are some very nice male crotch shots to encourage you along.







On the knitting front, I'm just about finished with the afghan. After finishing the middle two panels, I'll just need to sew what's left together. I think I'm going to put some type of crocheted border around it to give it a more finished look. In case you're wondering why I choose the colors that I used, the yarn was given to me by a friend and I'm trying to use it up to help clear out some of my stash. There were only two small skeins of yellow, hence having to finish those rows with white. Well, that's all at the moment. I'm going out tonight to a friend's birthday/dinner party. I may take some pictures and do another post this weekend. Until then............bye, possums!

ALL THE WAY FROM GREYTOWN, NEW ZEALAND

I received in the mail this week a package full of goodies from James. Clockwise from top: two beautiful balls of Mohair yarn, socks, candy, bookmark and card.

1. Yarn: I cannot wait to find the perfect knit stitch and pattern to make something with this. I love the way it feels in my hands.

2. Socks: I don't know if you can make out the positions of the sheep, but they are a riot. All I can say is naughty, naughty sheep. I can't wait to wear them.

3. Candy: The candy is this delicious orange flavored, dark chocolate in a candy shell that is absolutely succulent. It's mine, ALL mine.

4. Bookmark: The bookmark has the national symbol of New Zealand on it which is The Silver Fern. It's inlaid with Mother of Pearl. I'm almost afraid to take it out and use it for fear of it getting messed up.

5. Last, but not least, a beautiful card with a lovely note inside from James.

James, thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness. I love everything I received and will think of you with fondness when I use them.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Thursday, I stopped by one of the LYS and purchased this...















and this. The book has several Native American Fair Isle motifs in it that I would like to try and make something with. I think red and yellow will go good with that. It's a wonderful book and not a bad pre-tax price of $19.95.










Yesterday, a friend and I went to see War of the Worlds. I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan even before his stupid-ass remarks to Matt Lauer on The Today Show, but the special effects in this movie are great. Steven Spielberg is a wonderful director. The two things I didn't like about the movie are the little girl's almost constant screaming (I know, I know, she's a little girl) and the way the movie seemed to end all of a sudden. I thought there would be a Mother Ship or something. I guess if I had read the book or saw the first movie, I would know better.

Just finished my first attempt at a Fair Isle motif (not from the book above). It's not going to be used for anything, I just wanted to see how I would do. I thought it was kind of fun, but the two yarns getting tangled got on my nerves at certain times. There are a few mistakes in the second from bottom pattern. Over all, I wouldn't mind knitting something using a Fair Isle pattern. Tonight, I think I'm going to cook a Tater-Tot Casserole (how red-neck does that sound, right?) and a salad. It's actually quite good. This evening will again be a DVD re-watch from my DVD stash. Tonight's selection will be Maurice which, as you probably know, is another Merchant-Ivory movie. Rupert Graves (as well as Hugh Grant) is in this movie and it goes without saying that Rupert Graves can... Well, we finally have a day that isn't calling for rain from the several hurricanes already this season. Don't get me wrong, we can always use the rain since we were (are) in a draught for several years, so that being said, I'm out to cut my grass before I'm run out of the neighborhood or I get a notice stating my queer card is about to be revoked. There are a lot of other sistas that live in the neighborhood. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See ya.

CONSUMERISM AT ITS BEST(EVERYBODY WANTS MY MONEY)

Saturday, a week ago, I was in the mood to actually cook myself a meal for dinner instead of eating junk. I go be-bopping into the kitchen to start. I took the foil off the margarine and put it into a Pyrex measuring cup and then stuck it in the microwave. Turned on the microwave and proceeded to walk across the kitchen. All of a sudden, I heard this zapping noise behind me. I turned around and low and behold, my microwave was shooting sparks on the inside where the cooking element is. I thought shit, do I touch it to turn if off and possibly electrocute myself or see if it stops? I took a chance and was able to hit the stop button. I let it sit there for a few minutes hoping that it would "work itself out". I then turned it back on and damn if it didn't start doing it again. Geez, Louise, I've had the thing less than two years and already its gone out. I was NOT a happy camper. Anyhow, I unplugged it; didn't want to take a chance on anything else happening.

I've gone all week without using one and almost had the mindset that I would try to do without one. Yeah, right. I can't tell you how many times I've taken something out of the refrigerator and turned to put it in the microwave and then realized, F***, I don't have one. So today, I schlepped out to Lowe's who had one on sale that I liked. Believe me, it was blazing, hot- as-hell. The kind of hot when you step out the door, you immediately begin to sweat. Suprisingly, Lowe's was not busy at all. I guess everyone else had sense to stay out of the heat. Got the microwave and headed back home. Yes, I am now the proud owner of a turbo-charged, stainless steel one. I just love stainless steel.

Well, I'm off to re-watch A Room With A View and eat popcorn for dinner. See, I told you that I eat junk. BTW, I just LOVE the pond scene in that movie. Julian Sands and Rupert Graves can do me any day! :-)

MONACO

Vivre Prince Albert II. May he reign in peace, love and understanding.

As he pointed out in a speech to his subjects today, "Monaco has a vocation to embrace other cultures. Should this be forgotten the European and American origins of my family are there to remind us".

CUP OF TEA

Hello, possums (a la Dame Edna). It's been kind of a busy weekend. Friday afternoon, a friend, his sister and I went to out to eat at a restaurant in town called "New Orleans". New Orleans sits on the Saluda River that has a walking/bicycling park that runs along it. As we sat there eating dinner, one could not but help and notice the beauty of nature and near naked men jogging along the way. I almost got fahklempth a couple of times. The food was okay; I had the grilled, barbecue chicken which was nothing to brag about. This is the second time that I've eaten there and if I remember correctly, I wasn't too impressed the first time either. I didn't say anything being that I was not the one suggested that we go there.

Saturday, I went out to one of the Best Buys here in Columbia because I was in the mood to look at DVD'S and see if there was anything there that would catch my interest. Is it just me or is it that Best Buy has got where they don't stock hardly any in-store, gay-themed DVD'S? Maybe it's just the stores here in Columbia. Anyway, the only two that caught my attention was "Far From Heaven" and "Absolutely Fabulous" - Series Five. Since I've seen (but still may purchase for my DVD collection) "Far From Heaven", I purchased the other. Oh, my gawd!! I laughed so hard. I don't know where I was when these were being televised. I think these were the ones that were shown on the Oxygen Network. If you're in the mood for a good laugh, I definitely recommend it.

Later that evening, a friend of mine that I've known for years came by for a cup of tea, but tea quickly turned into cocktails. Her mother (who was English and passed away several years ago) was a wonderful knitter. I've seen some of the sweaters that she hand knitted and they are to die for. I hate that I never got to meet her, but Alyson and I had just become friends when her mother got sick and soon passed away after that. This is a dishcloth that I knitted for Alyson. I think it was appropriate for her since she's half British.


Today I had a picnic with the same above people. We went back to the Saluda River. It was a cloudy day and humid as hell. Didn't see any near naked men today though. I was quite disappointed. Later today my mom, her sister (who lives in St. Pete., FL), dad and nephew came down to my house. They still live in Winnsboro where I grew up. Winnsboro is about twenty-four miles north of Columbia and is a small town. There's not a damn thing to do there. That's why I moved to Columbia. Well, possums, not much else to say so I'm off to knit and watch the tele. Ciao bella.

WHY?

For the life of me, I can't fathom why people do horrendous things in the name of God (Allah) and religion. Whether it's to deny (while at the same time being a hiprocrite themselves) people in this country their true, god given rights or Mass murdering and wounding people in London. To the people of London and Great Britain, please know that you're in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong!

FLIGHT ATTENDANT

Some of you may have already read this joke, but I think it's funny and still laugh when I read it.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT

I once was on a plane where we were served by an obviously gay flight attendant. Near the end of the flight, he bounced over to where I was sitting and proclaimed to the passengers in the area, "The Captain has asked me to announce that he will be landing the big, scary plane shortly, so if you could just put up your trays, that would be great." I did as he had instructed, but the woman sitting next to me did not. A few moments later, our flight attendant came back and said to her, "Ma'am, perhaps you couldn't hear me over the big, scary engines, but I asked you to please put up your tray so that the Captain can land the plane." She still wouldn't comply. Now he was getting annoyed and asked her again to put up the tray. She then calmly turned to him and said: "In my country, I am called a princess. I take orders from no one." Our flight attendant replied, "Oh, yeah? Well in MY country, I'm called a queen and I outrank you, bitch, so put the damn tray up!"

BABY SWEATER

On the knitting front, still working on the afghan, so I thought that I would post the last project that I finished. It's a baby sweater. Fibre Alive and Bald Jeff has already seen the pictures of it. The hearts were done using the Swiss Darning method. I haven't tried Intarsia yet. This was my first sweater grant it, a baby one, but a sweater just the same.

JEFF AND AIKO

Jeff and Aiko-Houston, TX - April 2005

This is Jeff who was one of my roommates from college. He lives in Houston, Texas. He is such a wonderful person and I treasure his friendship very deeply. As one reader knows, I went out to visit him the first week in April and had a blast. While there, I went to hear a concert by Houston's Gay Mens' Chorus which Jeff is a member of. It was absolutely outstanding. They have an area of Houston called Montrose where most of the gay bars are. While there, we went to JR'S. and The Mining Company and a Latino club called Inergy. While at The Mining Company, I come to see that yes, everything IS bigger in Texas. There was this one stripper who was beautiful, body for days and this huge, I mean huge C***!! Yes, I had lust in my heart my dear friends. Anyway, other than that, I ate at some really enjoyable restaurants. I think that my favorite was Baba Yega's (sp?) which is also in Montrose. With Jeff is his cat Aiko (pronounced Eye-ko). He’s a sweet cat.

CURRENT PROJECT

This is my current project. It's an afghan. I've got three panels completed and sewn together and three in the works (two on the circular needles and one on the straight needles). Only one more to go after that. I've started other afghans in the past, but never finished them because it seemed to take forever. I'm sticking with this one though. I hope everyone has a good evening and a great, Fourth of July tomorrow!

WELL, HERE GOES

Hello, everyone. This is my first, official post as a blogger. I hope that I can find enough interesting things to write about that will keep you entertained. First a little about myself: I'm 43 (soon to be 44 as of 08.11)and also a GWM that loves Latino men. I'm also an avid knitter who is an active member of Palmetto Purlers (a knitting guild here in Columbia, SC) and yes, I'm currently the only male member. Everyone is fantastic though and have made many great friends. I started off crocheting as a pre-teen when my grandmother taught me the basics. I hope to post pictures of in-the-works projects as well as finished projects. Currently working on an afghan that is worked up in panels and then sewn together.