ColaManKnits

HELLO

2008-05-10T20:03:00.003-05:00

I've moved here: http://colamanknits.wordpress.com/

THINGS

2008-01-01T23:50:00.000-05:00

I finally finished my friend's throw. This is it drapped over the back of one of her chairs. I didn't have time to lay it flat out to photograph it. I literally washed, dried and took it out to her. She was very happy with it, especially since she wasn't feeling well and was happy to wrap up in it.

This is where I am with my throw/afghan. I'm about half way through with it now.

Starting with this photo, these are some things that I've purchased over the past several months. The lastest edition to Tales Of The City (even though Armistead Maupin says it isn't) is a nice addition to my non-knitting library. It was nice to catch up with Michael Tolliver. I surely hope that the other books are made into movies before the original cast are not available to ever make the movies. Such a wonderful series of books and movies.

I love hot tea and was very happy to come across and order the Tea Cozy book. I haven't knitted anything from it yet, but look forward to it.

Do you think socks are on my horizon? :-)

I've had this book for several months, but have never photograph it and put it on my blog. There are several projects in it that I would like to make; especially the throw. I think some of the models are quite cute.

I love Alton Brown and please excuse me for being so forward, but I would do him in a New York minute. That aside, I love his show on Food Network and am glad to add these DVD's to my cooking library.

I have the One Voice Streisand concert on video tape that I bought when it orginally came out, but was very happy to add the DVD version to my Barbra collection. She taped an introduction for the DVD as kind of a look back at the event she taped in her backyard at her Malibu home at the time. It's reported that The Broadway Album video Barbra did when she was recording The Broadway Album will be released on DVD and for some REALLY great news, there is a VERY good chance that Yentl will be released on DVD this year. I'm doing the happy dance with this news. If you're a Streisand fan, check out Matt's website devoted to her. He does podcast as well as video cast about his news that he gets about her. He also has vintage Streisand photos. Check it out.

Years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the movie, Shirley Valentine. I love this movie. I never bought the movie on video and I thought they would never release it on DVD. I'm so happy they did.

I've always liked the movie, Making Love. I was always more attracted to Michael Ontkean than Harry Hamlin. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't kick Harry out of bed, but Michael was the one that got my motor running, especially when the movie first came out and my late teenage hormones were raging!! I do have to say, in Harry's defense, that he looked quite good in his red, very short shorts. Too bad that we, as men, wear shorts down to our knees now. Show me some nice hairy thighs and legs anyday!

I've been a fan of Michael C. Hall ever since Six Feet Under. I don't have Showtime, but heard good things about his new show called Dexter. I bought season one when it came out on DVD. I love this show and recommend it.

I went to see La Vie En Rose when it came to the movie art house here in Columbia. I've always liked the music of Edith Piaf, but had no idea she had such a bad childhood and would be mostly in bad health as an adult (some due to her doing). That aside, the movie is beautifully filmed with an excellent cast. I also bought the soundtrack in which the film uses Edith's recordings, but remastered.

I love disco and the music of The Village People. I think it's just such happy music. I own another Best of Village People CD, but this one has several 12" versions of some of the songs. I don't understand why a lot of people don't like Disco, I say, long live Disco!!!!

I own another copy of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, but this special edition one came out a few months ago. It really pisses me off that you buy a movie and then a few months if not a few years later, they come out with a special edition one.

Lost Language of Cranes is another movie that I originally bought on video and was very happy when it came out on DVD after several years. I love me some Corey Parker.

Noah's Arc is a series that came on the Logo Network. Since Time Warner here in Columbia doesn't carry that network, I didn't know anything about this series until I read about it. It's a pretty good series that has a lot of camp in it. Don't get me wrong, I like camp and it blends in well with the story lines. Unfortunately, the series wasn't renewed after the second season. Season One extras has frontal nudity in it as Season Two extras doesn't.

Well, dear ones, that's it for this post. I hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays and looking forward to a happy 2008. Let's hear it for a Democratic president this year!!!!

As Barbra sang in one of her early recordings, "Happy Days Are Here Again"!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008-01-01T10:15:00.001-05:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

2007-12-24T23:33:00.001-05:00

SHOPPING AND KNITTING

2007-12-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

A little over a month ago I decided to get a new computer. My old desktop only had 7.48 GB of hardrive space (I bought it in '98) and it was all but gone. I had to start removing programs that I used just to make sure the Operating System worked properly. After some debate, I bite the bullet and decided to go with a laptop. It is definately SWEET!!

Yes, I was on Ravelry when I took this photo.

On black Friday, Joann's Fabrics had this Ott-Lite Stand Lamp on sale for half-price. Plus I have a friend that works there and she was able to get me an additonal 20 percent with her employee discount. I got a very good deal on it.

It gives off amazing light and makes it less strain on the eyes; especially if you happen to be working with a dark-colored yarn.

Today, I went out and invested in a tri-pod. It's amazing what a steady "hand" can do when taking a picture, lol.

Here I am in all my fatness working on my friend's chevron throw. I would say that I'm about 75 percent through with it. I've made up my mind that I will lose this weight. I'm starting to feel bad and it LOOKS bad on me. I'll never get a husband looking like this, lol!!

Here it is spread out.

This is a throw that I started for myself so that I can use up my stash and probably then some. It's 50 rows garter stitch and then two rows of dropped stitches, repeated. I need to start weaving in the ends so there won't be so many to do when I'm finish.

Here's a close up of the dropped stitches.

I have a question and I hope that someone who happens to come across it will know the answer. Why is it that on one or two of your pictures you can click on it to enlarge it, but the others won't? Does Blogger put a cap on that or something?

Well, that's all for today. Take care.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER - PART 2

2007-12-02T01:00:00.000-05:00

The street off of where I was staying is the Rue de Rivoli. If you take a left onto it and walk for about five minutes, you start to see the top of the Place de la Bastille monument. If you look in the top center of the photo you can see the top.

Of course the Bastille prison is no longer there, but the monument is quite something to behold.

Coming out of the Metro and walking down one side of the Louvre, I came across this statue. It's one of Jeanne d'Arc. I walked over and got a closer look and picture.

I've read that there are several monuments dedicated to her throughout Paris.

Looking diagonally across from the statue is one small section of the Louvre. As many of you know, it's HUGE.

Looking a little more to the right.

Walking along, you can start to see the glass pyramid that's in front of the museum. It's in the middle/forground of the picture behind the trees.

Of course, the glass pyramid.

Looking to the right of the pyramid, another section of the Louvre. Two people enjoying the early April sunshine.

I thought it was interesting the way the sun was reflecting off of the pyramid onto the building.

More of Paris to come.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER - PART 1

2007-11-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm finally getting around to showing some of my pictures that I took while I was in my dream city of Paris. I finally have my scanner hooked back up and with my new lap-top, I felt that it was time. James, sorry it took so long!

First view of Notre Dame as I'm standing on one of the many bridges that cross over the Seine. I didn't notice it until after I had the pictures developed, but I love the way the red dress on the lady sets against the other colors in the photo.

Standing on the same bridge; just at a different angle.

This is one of the boats that you can get on to take a cruise down the Seine. I decided not to as I was on a mission to see Notre Dame.

Once I left the bridge, I walked down one of the streets that is behind the chruch. I love the way the greenery hangs over the wall.

Coming up to another bridge that takes you over to the church. You really can't tell in this photo, but there was a lot of people on the bridge. Some man was performing one-man musical numbers to get money. Speaking of musical numbers, one time when I was underground going to the Metro, there was this male violinist playing some of the most beautiful music I think I've ever heard. I tipped him quite well from what I remember.

Once you cross over the bridge, you're pretty much at Notre Dame. Of course, this is the back of the church. I think I was just as impressed with the back as I was with the front.

Just another view.

Off to the side, there's an area that you can sit and rest or just watch people.

After leaving the back, I walked down one side of it. Above you can see some of the many gargoyles that are a part of the church. From what I've read, they're decorative ways to run the rain water off of the roof of the chruch.

Of course this is the front.

The front, taking further back.

On the knitting front, I'm still working on my afghan/throw for my friend, plus I've started one for myself so that I can use up some of my yarn stash. More pictures of Paris to follow.

I'M IN

2007-10-01T00:04:00.000-05:00

I received my Ravelry invitation a couple of hours ago. I haven't added much to it yet. My name there is colamanknits.

NEW STUFF

2007-09-29T13:09:00.000-05:00

I've been shopping. I've been wanting to try out the Knit Picks Options Interchangeable set, so I bought them. Just three words...I LOVE them!!. The set comes with (from top-left to right): knitting needles sizes (U. S.) 4 - 11, a set of bags (3 bags with 2 in each one), a case to keep everything in and 24 inch and 32 inch cables (two per bag). The cable bags also has the key thingy to secure the cable to the needle and some rounds things that you can screw into the ends of the cables if you wanted to use them as straight needles.

I also bought the 40 inch and 60 inch cables. Again, there are two cables per bag.

This is a new afghan/throw that I'm making for a friend. I'm using my new options needles (40 inch one) and they're working like a charm. This is a Chevron pattern. It's king of hard to see the zig-zag effect until you add a contrasting yarn. I'll show another picture of the progress once that is added. It's going to be done in blocks of this color and the contrasting color shown in the last picture.

It's kind of hard to see the actual colors of the variegated yarn in this picture. The pictures were taken at night, using a flash. The two sets of colors remind me of fall colors.

I may be going out to dinner this evening at Red Robin with a couple of friends and then working on the throw later this evening. The weather is nice in the evenings and mornings now. Fall is on it's way and I'm really looking forward to it. This summer was horrible with the 106 degree(F) weather for a couple of weeks. Add the humidity to that and it was around 110. The rest of the summer was in the 90's. Enjoy your weekend.

DISHCLOTHES AND A BABY

2007-09-13T21:33:00.000-05:00

These are some dishclothes that I've worked on over the past several months. I've read on some blogs that the writers think that knitting dishclothes are a waste of time. I TOTALLY disagree. Not only do I knit sweaters, etc., but I also enjoy knitting dishclothes. Not only are they fun, but they're practical by way of washing dishes or general cleaning. That's my two cents on that.

This is a close-up of the previous picture (bottom, right one). I love this pattern. I think that it would look nice as the front panel of a sweater. My camera doesn't have a micro-zoom, so sorry that the close-up is not clearer.

This is another "Warshcloth" from the Mason-Dixon book.

My favorite is the Martini (big surprise) cloth in this set.

I like the top, right one here. The only thing about it is, the pattern causes the top part not to be straight across. The bottom, left one reminds me of a pie chart. I was trying to use up left-over yarn. Same thing with the one next to it.

I like the top, left one here. It's an "illusion" pattern that can be seen if looking at it side ways. The next picture shows what's hiding in there.

The AIDS cure ribbon.

This one has another wavy (top, left) pattern that I like. The bottom, left on was knit diagonally and yes, I was using up more left-over yarn. The bottom, right one was crocheted using the single stitch and then a single stitch around the outside. Guess why it's two colors? Yes, you're right.

This is the Five-Hour Baby Sweater that I like to do from time-to-time. It's done in the round with and quite fun to do. I haven't added the ribbon to this one yet. There's no seaming to do except for the sleeves.

This last picture is me looking silly at the camera. I'm holding the "Warshcloth" from the third photo.

Let's see. What else? Saturday, I'm riding up to Charlotte with a friend to shop. Sunday, I'm going to the art house cinema here in town to see "La Vie En Rose". I'm sure that some of you have heard of it or seen it by now. It's a movie based on the life of Edith Piaf. I can't wait to see it as I really like the music by her. Melissa Manchester did a wonderful cover of the above song on her "Tribute" CD several years ago. Check it out. I think that you'll enjoy it. She does other covers of some classic songs by other great female recording artists.

It's T.G.I.F. tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend, y'all!!

P. S. Just so you know, none of the dishclothes (or the baby sweater) were blocked. Sometimes I will do it to the ones that become a present.

MIXED BAG

2007-09-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

Hey, guys. Yes, it's me. I'm back. Sorry for the long, long break in blogging. I hope that some of you are checking back from time to time. If not, I totally understand. As my heading says, this is a mixed bag of a post.

First, this is my baby Tiger. He doesn't like having his picture taken, but he's such a sweet and loving cat.

I LOVE Indian food. On this night I had an Onion Nan and Biriani with a few Bass Ales. Very nice dinner.

This is a hat that I knitted several months ago just to have something to knit.

This is my mom and the top down, in the round sweater that I knitted for her a while ago. It has a pattern panel in the front, but it's hard to tell in the photo. I don't think I've shown this before. If so, my apologies.

This is a picture I took in Paris when I was there last year. It was taken from one of the many bridges that cross the Seine. Of course, you can see Notre Dame in the background. I have many more that I will share with you once they're scanned and ready. I took them with my 35m film camera.

This is the hotel that I stayed in. It's in the Marais (means swamp) arrondissement of Paris. It used to be a Convent years and years ago. The Marais is also known as the gay section of Paris and most of the gay bars/clubs/restaurants are located there.

This is one of the hotel clerks. I won't give his name to respect his privacy. He's a very nice fellow with a very sexy French accent. I also think he's a sister because he knew exactly where all the gay clubs/bars are in Paris when I inquired with him about them.

This is just some things that I've purchased in the recent past. I love the sock yarn, but haven't made any socks with them yet. I've used the sock blockers already and they really work well. I haven't made anything yet out of the Knitter's Almanac.

This is a pair of toe-up socks that I made for myself. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to wear them because I couldn't get them up my calf far enough. It was okay though, because I gave them as a gift to a friend (a girl) of mine. They fit her perfectly. she wore them one day with a pair of jeans and they looked fabulous!

This is another pair of toe-up socks I did on two circulars. This pair was knitted with a wool-blend, worsted weight yarn for a male friend of mine. I made with with worsted weight so that they could be worn as house socks with bedroom slippers during the winter.

Well, that's it for this post. I will post another one soon. I promise. I hope everyone is enjoying their long, Labor Day weekend.

I HAVE NO EXCUSE

2006-09-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

Long time, no write, no? I have no excuse except that I'm still using my friends computer and cannot upload any pictures from my camera. I just feel that my writing is so boring, especially without visuals.

Let's see, where to start. I'm still staying with my friend and working a temp. job. I hope that this one will turn into something full-time. We'll see. I had a great time in Paris and will post more on that when I can upload some pictures. Also, I've made a baby cardigan and FINALLY finised my mom's sweater. I had work all the parts of the pattern, but after I got to the neckline, I didn't like. Not to mention that I think something was wrong in the pattern for the neckline instructions. I simply could not figure it out. So, instead, I ripped it all out. I ordered The Sweater Workshop book, which I received around August 3rd, and did one in the round. I put a pattern stitch in the front of it so that it wouldn't be all stockinette stitch. I'll try to shows pictures here before I give it to her. Speaking of knitting sweaters in the round; I think it's very ingenious and many kudos to EZ for coming up with it. I received another sweater book this week called From The Top. As some of you probably know, it's sweaters in the round, but they're knitted form the top down.

I bought the first and second season of the 70's show Family on DVD. I simply love that show and was so happy when I saw that it was finally being released on DVD. I can't wait for the other seasons to be released. I use to have such a crush on Gary Frank back in the day. I think he was such a cutie. I tried to Google him to see what he looks like now, but I couldn't find any current pictures. I think he's 56 now. My, oh my, how time flys (flies?). Another cutie from that show was Nancy's (ex)husband, Jeff, who was played by John Rubinstein.

I've been shopping. I ordered the above picture yesterday. I tried to download what was inside, but it would not let me copy that. It has a sock pattern, orange dpn's, a tapestry needle and drab green (their words, not mine) sock yarn in it. I love the tin container that it comes in as well. You can order one here:

https://www.redcrossstore.org/shopper/ProdList.aspx?LocationId=5

Also, you can look at the contents of the container while you're there.

I ordered some of Knit Picks circular needles and dpn's. They're all nickel-plated, hollow brass. The circulars have a purple cable join that I love. I was going to show pictures, but either I've reached my max for one day or blogger is having problems. Anyway, has anyone used either of these yet? How are they? Well, that's it for now. More later.

SORRY!

2006-04-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

I apologize that it's been over two months since I last posted to my blog. The dust has settled from the sale of my house. I must say again, thanks for all the encouraging words throughout that process. On the job front, I've been working temporary jobs. Now, for the BIG news:

I'M GOING TO PARIS!!!!

I'm very fortunate that the sale of the house allowed me enough of a profit that I'll be able to fulfill one of my dreams that I've had for almost all my life. I'm leaving June 1st and coming back on June 15th. Yes, two weeks in La Belle Paris. My hotel is in the Marais arrondissement (city district) of Paris which is known for being the gay section of Paris. It's also the Main Jewish area of Paris.

While I'm very excited, I'm somewhat nervous. I haven't traveled (alone) outside the U. S. since the early 80's when I went to England. That, and trying to get around Paris without any knowledge of the layout of the city just has me nervous. As far as the language, while I'm not fluent, I think that I'll be able to get by. If anyone has any suggestions, etc. that you think may help, please send them my way. They will be most appreciated.

On the knitting front, since all of my knitting books, patterns, etc. are in storage, most of what I've been knitting is dishcloths. I have a book that I made that has a hugh selection of dishcloth patterns in it that I've found on the Internet. I still haven't finished my mom's sweater. I know, bad son. I think something is wrong with the pattern for the neckline. So, until I can figure out how to alter the pattern, it's still going to be on the needles. I will NEVER do this pattern again.

I hope that everyone is doing well and I leave you with this. I found this on Dave's blog and thought that it was the funniest thing. Enjoy!

SOLD!

2006-02-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

The house has been sold. The closing is on 2.24. Thank you to all who said a prayer and kept me in your thoughts. I must also say what great parents and sisters I have. They have helped more than they know. I am blessed. I apologize that I haven't posted anything in a while, but between the house and now getting everything packed up and put into storage, it's been crazy around here. I did answer Drew's call to contribute squares for comfortghans. These will be assembled (thank god I don't have that job) and given to Heartmade Blessings. The below pictures are the ones that I crocheted and sent to him. Tomorrow is Friday and I hope that everyone has a FANTABULOUS weekend. Much love to you all.

By the way, I will be disassembling my computer desk and computer tonight. Over the next few days, I will be closing out my internet service, electric, etc. accounts. Any E-mail correspondence will need to be sent to: cbranjr@hotmail.com. Thanks and see you on the flip side.

WHO WANTS TO BUY A HOUSE?

2006-01-23T15:52:00.000-05:00

After waiting for probably too long, I finally put my house on the market. The agent that I'm going through is a friend of mine and he seems to think that the house will sell in a fair amount of time. We'll see.

As I have mentioned in another post, I've never been all that happy in this house. On the other hand, it's been a roof over me and my kitty's head and in that respect, it will be sad to leave it, but I'm ready to move on now. I'm ready to put this behind me. Even though I've only been in the house a little over a five years, the agent seems to think that I'll get a fair amount out of it. Not to count my chickens before they hatch, but that trip to Paris I've always dreamed of... We'll see.

Speaking of traveling, the older I get, the less I want to travel alone. I know that traveling to Paris alone will definitely keep the "possibilities" opened more should they present themselves (oui, oui Monsieur)! On the other hand, who wants to sit alone at a cozy bistro, sidewalk café or walk along the Champs-Elysées all alone. Again, we'll see.

On the knitting front, the only thing I'm working on is another Five Hour Baby Sweater. This time in pink. I won't bore you with another picture. I don't know why I'm making these other than it's a new pattern to me. Oh well, I guess they'll be good to keep around to give away at some point.

This past Saturday, a friend and I went to see Brokeback Mountain. I really enjoyed the film and it left an impact on me throughout the weekend. I saw the movie at 1:00 and all through that evening and into some of Sunday, I was depressed. I won't say anything more about the film except that I wish that things could have been different for them (the two main characters) and be prepared to cry.

For those who pray, please do and for others who don't, please keep me in your thoughts that this house will sell soon. Take care and have a good week.

FRILLY THINGS

2006-01-15T01:41:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was at one of the local craft stores here in Columbia and ran into Khebhin (who works there). He showed me this baby sweater he was working on called a Five Hour Baby Sweater and it was just so cute. I asked him if he had another copy or if he could E-mail me the pattern. He gave me his. I thought that was very kind of him. Thanks, Khebhin.

Anyway, I worked on it off and on over the past couple days and really enjoyed the pattern. The great thing about it is, the only seaming you have to do is on the sleeves (from the cuff to the armpit), that’s it! The only drawback, to me anyway, is that the pattern does not call for buttons. When I make this pattern again (probably in a soft pink), I think I will add some small ones. Even though there aren’t any button holes, they should fit in between the garter stitch border well enough. I worked on it at the Knit-In this past Thursday night and one of the ladies was telling me that there’s another Five Hour pattern that is geared toward a male baby. I’m in the process of trying to find it on the Internet.

Sorry for the bad pictures. A photographer, I’m not. The sweater hasn’t been blocked or the sleeves seamed up in these two pictures and I doubt that I will (block) since it’s not going to be given to anyone. I just wanted to give the pattern a test knit through to see how I liked it.

I decided to frog the Irish Hiking Scarf for the time being. I'm just not feeling it right now. Until later, take care everyone.

SEVEN THINGS

2006-01-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

Andy tagged me for this, so here it is.

A. Seven things to do before I die:

1. Go to Paris.
2. Have true peace of mind.
3. Have a successful job that I don’t hate and will allow me to be financially
stable.
4. See the end of AIDS and cancer (I hope to see this in my lifetime).
5. Work with computers as a technician or programmer.
6. Get State recertification as a music teacher.
7. See the United States as a TRUE democracy.

B. Seven things I cannot do:

1. Speak a foreign language fluently.
2. Tolerate hate.
3. Tolerate dishonesty.
4. Tolerate someone that leaves their shopping cart in a parking space
instead of placing it in the designated area. Lazy bastards!!
5. Draw, paint, etc.
6. Change my own car oil (big surprise).
7. Tolerate someone that will sit and wait (while backing up traffic) for a
parking space instead of parking further out in the parking lot and walking a
few extra feet with their fat asses!

C. Seven things that attract me to a man:

1. Nice smile.
2. Black hair with blue eyes.
3. Kind heart.
4. Someone that is uncut (big surprise).
5. A man that has an olive/tan skin complexion.
6. Hairy chest, ass and legs.
7. Someone that appreciates wine.

D. Seven things I say most often:

1. Go on, gurl.
2. Mary!
3. Thank you.
4. I love you.
5. Bitch!
6. Fuck!
7. I’m sick of this!

E. Seven books (or series or genres or topics) that I love:

1. Sophie’s Choice
2. The Vampire Chronicles
3. Becoming A Man
4. Borrowed Time: An Aids Memoir
5. Last Watch Of The Night
6. The Front Runner
7. Harlan’s Race

F. Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would if I had time):

1. Sophie’s Choice
2. Tales Of The City
3. Yentl
4. A Room With A View
5. Amadeus
6. The Pianist
7. Funny Girl

G. Seven things you want answers to:

1. Is their life on other planets?
2. Is it REALLY better to have loved and lost than to have never loved
(romantically speaking)?
3. Why is Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson (and her sister), Brittany Spears and
others like them famous? I simply do not get it.
4. Why does Jessica Simpson (and her sister) and Brittany Spears think they
can truly sing? If they had to sing (live) with just a microphone on a stand
and a piano as their only accompaniment, they would fall flat on their face.
Ech!!
5. Why is it that sometime, we’re our own worst enemy?
6. Why is BUSH still in office or at least been put on trial?
7. How can someone be so damn ignorant to think that the Holocaust
never happened?

H. Seven people I want to join in, too:

Anyone who would like to do this on their blog.

YES, HE STILL KNITS

2006-01-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

I have completed everything on my mom's sweater except finish the neckline and sew it up. The pattern is confusing to me on the process of continuing the mock cable pattern into the neckline. To make it even more confusing (at least to me), all the stitches are on holders and then it's telling me to do this and this, oy! I'm going to my knit-in next Thursday, so I'll ask for help at that time. All I'll have to do then is seam everything up. Yeah!! The below picture is an Irish Hiking Scarf that I've started working on while waiting for help on the sweater pattern. I pinned it out to give more stitch definition. I LOVE cables!!

I saw this on Knit Picks website several months ago. I may purchase it at some point. Does anyone, who may read this, have this software? If so, what are the pros and cons of it? Are there other sweater software programs out there that you can recommend?
For New Year's Eve, a friend rented some videos that we watched as we brought in the New Year.

1. A Love Song for Bobby Long: I have to admit that I have seen this at Blockbuster several times, but have always passed on it because it just didn't appeal to me. Boy was I wrong! This movie is filmed in New Orleans and stars John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson and Gabriel Macht. I think this is a great movie and it doesn't hurt that Gabriel is TOO hot in it!! I won't give anything away about the movie, but this one made me cry.

2. The Wedding Date: This is a cute movie, I think. The English filmed scenes is always beautiful, especially the ones filmed out-of-doors. Dermot Mulroney is looking very sexy in this movie. They show a full-body scene from the backside when he's getting into the shower. Even though he's naked in this scene, you only get to see his butt. It will do though, because it's a very nice butt (hee-hee). Debra is as always, perky and bubbly and plays her part well.

3. Million Dollar Baby: I will admit that I didn't care one bit about seeing this movie when it was being shown at the theater. I don't care anything about boxing and thought that it would not appeal to me. Boy, was I ever wrong. As the old saying goes, "You can't judge a "book" by its cover." This is an excellent movie and one that made me cry even harder than the first one.

I don't really have any plans for the weekend except to work on the scarf and maybe rewatch Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. I haven't watched this movie since I bought it years ago. Stay warm.

2005-12-30T21:52:00.000-05:00

It’s hard to believe that 2005 is almost at a close. I can’t believe that I started a blog page and kept at it. I say that because I started one on Live Journal a couple of years ago (non knitting related), but just didn’t feel compelled to keep it going past a month or so.

That being said, I am so happy that I’ve made new friends that love to knit as much as I do. Even though we’ve never meet (with the exception of one person), I feel blessed to have all of you in my life and I look forward to getting to know you better in 2006. I hope that every everyone has a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR and that it proves to be your best yet!!

2005-12-23T15:51:00.000-05:00

H a p p y H o l i d a y s, everyone!

HOLIDAY CHEER

2005-12-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I received a Christmas package from this handsome KIWI. Inside the package was a beautiful hand knitted, Fair Isle pouch with a hand knitted tie around it. Inside that was several other wonderful gifts. I know, I was a bad boy for not waiting until Christmas to open it. James, thank you so much for being such a sweet person (as you always are) and thinking of me this holiday season. I hope that you and Ian have a very, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

ONE HUNDRED THINGS ABOUT ME - PART TWO

2005-12-15T20:18:00.000-05:00

51. If I could live in another domestic city, it would probably be Boston or Philadelphia.

52. I dreamed of going to culinary school because I love to cook. Being a house hold of one, I hardly cook a complete meal because of the left overs that are eventually thrown out.

53. When I was a teenager and before I got my drivers license, I used to day dream that my first car would be a Volkswagen Beetle. I thought they were the coolest cars. I like a manual transmission.

54. Per number 52, I have a lot of cookbooks and can sit and look/read them as if I was reading a novel.

55. Because of my love for knitting, I could do the same with knitting books.

56. I can be a very bad procrastinator. I truly HATE this about myself and wonder if I will ever be able to change it.

57. I wanted to go to graduate school, but decided against it since I never utilized my undergraduate degree toward supporting myself.

58. Sending in my last undergrad. student loan payment was a very happy day for me and another reason why I probably decided against grad. school.

59. I think that one of life’s greatest blessings is to have true peace of mind.

60. They say that being rich cannot not bring you happiness, but I know that it sure could relieve a lot of my worries!

61. When I was a young child, whenever my parents would have very loud arguments/fights with one another, I would hide in my closet because it terrified me.

62. I have never shared the above with anyone before.

63. I believe that there is a gay gene and knew from a very early age that I felt different than other boys. Of course, it wasn’t until later in life that I realized what the difference I felt was.

64. If I had to choose one Classical music composer that I would love to sit down and share dinner, a glass of wine/beer and a conversation with, it would be Beethoven. I think that he was ahead of his time. Whenever I listen to some of his music, I get goose bumps.

65. I also love the music of Vivaldi.

66. I think that Billy Idol is very sexy.

67. I love the music of Luis Miguel and also think that he is very sexy. That man can move those hips.

68. I love Tales of The City and have all of the DVD’s.

69. Keeping Up Appearances is one of my favorite British sit-coms.

70. Of course, so is Absolutely Fabulous and Are You Being Served?.

71. My favorite flower is a red tulip.

72. I very seldom go out to bars anymore; especially alone.

73. I love flannel sheets in the winter.

74. I love and respect my parents very much and thank God for them.

75. I love Curry powder.

76. My favorite condiment is mayonnaise. I despise fat-free or light ones. Give me the fat, baby!

77. I will admit that I’m a size queen, but a man with a kind heart and respect for others will win out any day!

78. I have two piercings in my left ear and one in my right that I’ve had for a very long time. I don’t wear my earrings that much anymore though. My left nipple was once pierced. I’ve thought about having it done again, but now I don’t think I could take the pain. Yes, it hurt! Does anyone know if it means anything in which nipple you have pierced? You know, kind of like when a hanky that was a certain color and worn in the back pocket of jeans, on a particular side, meant something.

79. Personally, I don’t think a Prince Albert is sexy. What if it causes you to chip a tooth or something!

80. I belong to a local knitting guild.

81. Per above, I’m the only male.

82. My blog name, ColaManKnits, is not in reference to a soft-drink, but Cola is sometimes used when referencing Columbia by locals.

83. I love choral music as well as symphonies and chamber music.

84. I love to hear a coloratura soprano sing. Mozart’s Queen Of The Night aria about makes me wet myself. A very close second is Kathleen Battle singing Johann Strauss’ Voices Of Spring from the CD New Year’s Concert from Vienna. It’s a shame that she was kicked out of The Met several years ago because she acted like such a Diva. What a beautiful singing voice she has though.

85. My favorite opera is La Traviata by Verdi.

86. I like dark beers.

87. I prefer red wines, but will drink whites.

88. I love Turning Leaf’s Zinfandel.

89. I do not like White Zinfandel. I find them too sweet.

90. I like lamb meat, but seldom eat it.

91. I would like to try goat meat.

92. I don’t like to see or hear someone being picked on or being made fun of. It hurts me for them.

93. I love snow; especially watching it fall. I think it makes everything look new again (does that make sense?)

94. One of my fondest memories of Provincetown, MA was seeing a stand-up show where the guy impersonated Bette Davis (post stroke). I kid you not, he looked and sounded just like her and if I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that it was her on the stage. “But you are Blanche… you are”!

95. I like pipe organs.

96. I will miss seeing new episodes of Will and Grace when it goes off the air this season.

97. I have never been able to find out if Sean Hayes is really gay or not. Does anyone know?

98. I love water slides and swimming pools.

99. I like Cosmopolitans. Those Sex and The City bitches have nothing on me.

100. This is weird, but I like to do data entry.

ADDENDUM

I remember a high school friend of mine wrote in my senior year book, “Without dreams, you’re dead.” This has always stayed with me and the older I get, the more I find this to be true.

"LIFE IS A CABARET, OH CHUM"!

2005-12-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

The below picture was taken probably back in 1996. That is my ex. partner of eight years I'm with. We were in Beaufort, SC (near Charleston) for a weekend. I was so in love, but more importantly, look how slender I was. Hah!

In many posts back, I stated that I may share some of my drag pictures sometime. Well, here are a few. It wasn't serious drag, but just me and some of my friends that were going to a Halloween party back in 1997, I believe. These were taken in my apartment I had before I bought my house. Lawd, I was even skinnier then than I was in the above picture. You see, at the time, me and the above guy were having a lot of problems. I basically really didn't have an appetite and had to force myself to eat. Man, times sure have changed. I wouldn't mind being around that weight again, but not to that extreme.

This is one of my best friends. He and his partner has since moved to NC and then on to VA. Even though we still talk via the phone, it's not the same as when he lived in Columbia. We use to have such a great time.This is another friend of mine who is Filipino. He still lives in Columbia, but I hardly ever see him anymore. Yes, he did grab my person right when the picture was taken. I was horrified since I'm such a lady (yeh, right!)
I haven't been feeling all that well the last couple of days because of my sinus/allergies and thought that between that and the cold weather, it would be a perfect evening for homemade vegetable soup.It hit the spot!Then I followed it with a couple (maybe more, I'm not telling) of these. I loves me some Bass Ale. When I was in England many years ago, mostly of what I drank was sweet cider. It's a lot more potent there than what you find here in the States.Well, that's all for right now. I've just about finished with the front of the Mock Cable sweater and then on to the sleeves and neck. I probably won't put a picture up until it's finished. I'm supposed to go to my first Christmas party of the season tomorrow. I think I'll wear my sweater that I finished a few weeks ago. I'll try to take pictures of the festivities! Later, possums

THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW (I HOPE)

2005-11-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

Not much good going on here. I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving and looking forward to the remaining holidays. The purpose of this entry is to let you know that if you send me an E-mail and it gets returned as undeliverable, please use this one: colaqueer@yahoo.com. The reason being is that my life is SO up in the air right now. I will probably have to let my house go back to bank. That being said, I'll have to start closing my accounts temporarily, which will include my internet service. That's why I'm putting out an alternate E-mail address because I don't won't to lose touch with anyone. I can't begin to tell you the stress and feeling of depression this can bring on. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and ask a friend (my ex.) if I can stay with him while I get back on my feet (and pay him, of course). I'm going to have to find somewhere to store all my stuff because he simply would not have the space for mine. I HATE this. I hate that my previous employer (the "Can you hear me now" people) put me in a position that I hated the job so much that I was willing to quit just to get out there. Needless to say, temp. jobs just don't pay enough to make a seven hundred dollar plus mortgage and all the other bills. This really SUCKS. Sorry about all this, but I'll just be glad when I can put all this behind me. On the plus side, I never really have enjoyed living in the house that I bought. I don't know why I bought it except that I was ready to stop living in an apartment. Now, I totally wouldn't mind living in one and that's what I plan to look for once I get back on my feet. I really do not look forward to talking with the bank and telling them that they're going to have to take the house. I'm really trying to find the bright side of all this. Please keep me in your prayers.

On the knitting front, I finished the the back of my mom's "Mock Cable Sweater" about a week and a half ago, but I've only been making slow progress on the front because with all this other stuff coming to a head/weighing heavily on my mind, I just haven't been able to concentrate much on my knitting. I will try to post pictures later.

CHANDAIL - QUATRE - FINI

2005-11-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

Mesdames et messieurs, je vous présenter le chandail!

A view of the sweater being worn. I think that it turned out pretty well considering that it's the first sweater that I made for an adult (I love Raglan sleeves). The only other sweater that I've made is the baby cardigan. I think that the circumference of the sleeves need to be just a tad bit smaller. Maybe when I wash it, the sleeves won't seem as wide. I need a haircut.

This is my next project. My mom has requested this sweater. You can't see it, but the name of the booklet says Sears Beginner's Knitting Book. It even calls for you to use "Sears yarn". How funny is that!! I didn't know that Sears sold craft supplies back in the day. This is from one of the booklets that was mentioned here. Isn't the picture so groovy?! It's so 70's ( I feel like I need to watch the movie Can't Stop The Music, even though it came out in 1980)!! A special thanks to Andrés for my new profile picture. I just love the way he put my blog name on my tee-shirt. I like the font very much. Well, tomorrow is Friday and I know that everyone is looking forward to the weekend. So, with that being said, I hope that everyone has a FANTABULOUS one!!!!

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME

2005-11-07T23:29:00.000-05:00

Tonight as I was sitting here at home, for some reason, the music of The Mamas and The Papas kept going through my mind. I got up and found my Greatest Hits CD and put it on. It hit the spot. I have a good many CD's in my collection that I forget what I have. Listening to the CD brought back a good memory from my early childhood. I don't remember exactly what year it was, but it was right around the time that cassette tapes came out. My sister got a cassette player for Christmas and one of the cassettes that my parents got her was one of The Mamas and The Papas. I remember playing it and just being enthralled with Dream A Little Dream Of Me. Mama Cass had a nice voice and it really showed on that title. I have to chuckle at myself because even at that early age, I was drag queen in the making (no I don't publicly peform drag...too self conscious). I took whatever was handy and pretended that it was a microphone and just sang along with her like there was no tomorrow. I really like the harmonies of that group. Speaking of drag, I remember taking a pair of my mother's late 60's pointed toed, high heel shoes (brown, imitation alligator skin no less)....oh, I'll save that tale for another day. After The Mamas and The Papas, I then became enthralled with the harmonies of The Carpenters. The piece de resistance came when I discovered La Streisand when A Star Is Born came out and I've wanted to be the male Streisand ever since, LOL.

On the knitting front, I finished knitting my sweater and now comes the sewing everything together part. Something about sewing in the Raglan sleeves is confusing the crap out of me. I called a friend today and she's coming over tomorrow to help me with it. Hopefully, within the next couple of days, I be able to show it completely finished. Well it's 11:30 pm and I need to wrap this up. I hope that everyone has an absolutely fabulous day tomorrow.

ONE HUNDRED THINGS ABOUT ME - PART ONE

2005-10-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

In No Particular Order:

1. My major in college started out as French, but I changed to music.

2. Per above, I’m a Francophile.

3. My maternal grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a pre-teen. I started knitting a couple of years later when a friend taught me to cast-on. Everything else, I either learned on my own or was shown by someone else.

4. As stated in my profile, I’m a huge Barbra Streisand fan.

5. I come from a conservative, Baptist background. Funny, my parents took it fairly well when I came out to them as being gay (my mom stated that she always knew).

6. If I attend church, I now go to a Methodist one.

7. I have an older sister and a younger sister. I joke with people and tell them that my parent’s have three daughters.

8. I love green plants in the house, even though I can be quite lazy at times in watering them.

9. I prefer men who are uncut, but don’t discriminate.

10. I’m versatile in matters of the bedroom.

11. I think that Latino men are sexy.

12. I would love to learn to sew and be able to tailor my clothes. My mother is a seamstress, but lives about 24 miles from me, so her being able to teach me is difficult. She gave me her old cabinet sewing machine.

13. I love my cat, Tiger very much. He is such a sweetheart.

14. I’m a short man; just 5’ 1”.

15. I didn’t like high school and would never want to do it again.

16. I love Classical Music; the Baroque and Classical period being my favorites. I do, however, love Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”. Very moving.

17. I love to travel. I’ve only traveled twice outside the U. S. and that was to England and Mexico. Whenever finances will allow, I hope to go to Paris. That has always been a dream of mine.

18. I love mass transit systems, especially the subway in New York and the tube in London.

19. I love most any type of food.

20. My favorite color is red.

21. I tend to fancy Latino men and European men; not to forget Australia and New Zealand. It must be that uncut thing.

22. Politically, I lean left, if not far left. Very much a Democrat/borderline liberal.

23. This is for American citizens, one thing that gets my goat is to hear someone call a “Stateline” a “border”. Borders separate countries. The last time I checked, we’re still in one country.

24. I like to wear watches and have more than I need.

25. I need to lose weight.

26. I am slowly, but surely, becoming a yarn snob.

27. I love any kind of desert as long as it’s sweet (hence the weight gain).

28. My doctor has advised me to watch my sweets since I’m already glucose intolerant which can lead to diabetes. My maternal grandmother was diabetic.

29. Geez, I haven’t even made it to number fifty yet.

30. I love to walk and roller-skate (I’m so Eighties), but haven’t done either recently….another reason for the weight gain.

31. I love the Internet and probably spend too much time on it.

32. I would love to visit Montrèal and Québec City.

33. I like to learn about new cultures and be around foreign people whenever possible.

34. I prefer a home made of brick. That’s why mine has vinyl siding on it.

35. My favorite scent is that from a Tea Olive bush when it blooms.

36. I long for the days of the Clinton Administration.

37. Stateside, I’ve been to: Massachusetts (Boston and Provincetown), New York (Manhattan), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Norristown), North Carolina (many places), Georgia (many places), Florida (Orlando, St. Pete., Tampa and some small town on the Gulf side at the bottom of FL.), Texas (Houston), California (L. A. three times and San Francisco once).

38. Most of the time I tend to be a perfectionist, but trying to learn not to be. It can drive you crazy!

39. I bought my home in 2000, but wish that I had kept my apartment.

40. My favorite vegetable is broccoli.

41. I dreamed of being a chef.

42. I dreamed of being a commercial airline pilot, but knew that my height would be a hindrance.

43. My favorite commercial aircraft is the Concorde and wanted to fly on one before they were taken out of service.

44. I admire Oprah Winfrey.

45. I admire Martha Stewart…from a distance.

46. I think highly of Barbra Streisand’s political views.

47. I think that the earth (environment) is in such distress that it’s fighting back.

48. Per number 47, I can’t believe………………..yes I can, that Bush thinks there is no need for concern.

49. If I could live in another city for an extended period of time, it would be Paris.

50. I’m shy around people that I don’t know and don’t really warm-up to strangers until I get to know them. People have often taken this as me being aloof, but nothing could be further from the truth.

CHANDAIL - TROIS

2005-10-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of the first sleeve. I know, big deal, but I'm excited that I only have one more to knit and then I can sew everything together and pick up the stitches for the neckline. I promise that I won't bore you with pictures of the second sleeve, so hopefully, the next picture will be of the finished sweater.

In other news, my mother called and told me that one of my cousins gave her a bunch of knit and crochet patterns; some are even books. My mom has already found a sweater in one of them that she wants me to make for her. My mother told me that some of the patterns look 70ish. I can't wait to see all of it. I'll let you know what all it contains once I have it. I asked my mom why my cousin was giving them away and she said that she (my cousin) had got them at one point with the intention of learning to knit and crochet, but never really maintained interest in it. I'll probably drive up to Winnsboro sometime this weekend to get them and see how my dad is doing. In the same conversation, she told me that she had to take him to the emergency room the other morning because he was dizzy and was regurgitating. My dad has had open heart surgery, so my mom insisted that he go because of his heart. You know men, don't want to see a doctor. He was told that he has Inner Ear. I remember that many years ago, he had the same thing, so hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

One other thing, Tom Brokaw has a special coming on tonight about Evangelical Christians and the influence they're having, even more so, in today's government and country. Let me say that I consider myself a gay Christian, but I'm also democrat/liberal. I feel that Bush has pretty much destroyed the government having to keep separation of church and state and safe keeping of the environment (but that's another story). I don't know about you, but it's A LOT scary. If we (gay, straight, democrat, liberal, etc.) don't stand up and demand that our government get back to keeping separation of church and state, it will only get worse and we'll find our liberties even more at risk than they are now.

I hope that everyone has a peaceful and relaxing weekend. Let me hear those knitting needles clicking.

SAFF

2005-10-25T13:50:00.000-05:00

Before leaving Columbia to go up to Asheville, NC. L. to R.: Nancy, Brenda and Millie. Before we left Columbia, we stopped and got coffee from this cute guy that has a free-standing coffee stand. It's more like a small one-room building in one section of a parking lot, but I digress. He is this extremely handsome African-American and come to find out from Brenda (she knitted him a scarf and hat for those cold days), he's a friend of Dorothy, but has a partner. Just my luck.

This is at Nancy's Log Cabin house that she has right at the SC/NC State Line. It is simply beautiful. You walk in and it smells like you're in a pine forest. She has a loft room off of the living room that has a ladder you use to get up to the loft. I told them that I felt as if I was in a scene from Little House On The Prairie when I was standing on the ladder looking at the loft. Anyhow, this picture was taken on Friday night when we settled down to knit and have girl-talk. There were definitely some dishy topics being discussed that evening.

C'est moi Friday night while knitting. The only thing I can say about this photo is that it inspired me to start walking (exercising) again and to watch my calorie intake. Lawd have mercy, not a pretty sight.

This is only a couple of the many spinning wheels they had for sale at SAFF. The also had a spinning class under way when we got there on Saturday. I immediately thought of QueerJoe
when I saw them. While I was walking around, I came upon this lady who was sitting in her booth spinning her fiber with a spinning wheel and I was amazed. I wanted to try it, but didn't have the nerve to ask her if I could try it. I can see how spinning could be as addictive as knitting.

Just a picture of the arena that SAFF was in. There were booths set-up all over the bottom floor and all around the top part.

Just a drop in the bucket of the massive amounts of yarn that was being sold at damn good prices. Wool, Alpaca, Angora, you name it, they had it somewhere in the building.

Of course you know that this is an Angora rabbit. They were really tame because they would let you pet them. They would just sit there and not freak out at all.

Believe it or not, this is the only thing that I bought except for some laminated quick-reference cards. Not having a job makes you think twice about buying something when you really don't need it, i. e. yarn. We did not go back on Sunday because we saw everything we wanted to on Saturday. Anyway, I love my little knitting tote bag that will remind me of the wonderful time I had with friends at SAFF this year in Asheville.

CHANDAIL - DEUX

2005-10-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

I finished the front of the sweater.

This is the back. The pattern calls for the sleeves to be worked next. I'm trying to decide wheter to work both sleeves at the same time or one at a time. We'll see.

CHANDAIL - UN

2005-10-13T23:33:00.000-05:00

I started on my sweater last night. I decided to knit it in a cream color yarn that I have since I didn't want to purchase new yarn at this time.

As far as the contrasting color(s), I decided to use another color that I already have in my stash. Instead of having four different colors in the 14 contrasting rows, I'm going to use red and and just do a solid block for those rows. Since red is my favorite color, I can live with this. Thanks to Mark and Sean for their suggestions.

Until later...

2005-10-11T23:37:00.000-05:00

I'm going to do this next... the sweater, that is. Isn't this guy gorgeous!! If you look in the lower regions of his body, he fills out his pants quite nicely in the front!! Yes, he can make me his love slave anyday. I just caught the vapors (shut up, Jon, LOL)!

Not much else to report. Last Friday, my parents came down from Winnsboro and we went over to the State Fair for a while. I've been going to this thing, off and on, all my life when it comes to town for two weeks. I remember, as a child, I would be all excited about going because I would get to ride all the rides, eat all kinds of sweets, etc. Now, as an adult, all I really want to do when I go is eat and look in all the buildings at the crafts and animals. They had cows, lamas, sheep, goats, horses, pigs/piglets, chickens, etc. Oh, my, gawd, I didn't realize there were so many different species of chickens. Some of them were beautiful. I saw that one chicken had these dark brown feathers with a little dark red mixed in. Between the feathers and the dark red, flappy thing under its beak, it was stunning. I realized at that moment, the colors from the chicken would make a beautiful sweater. I never thought that I would get a color combination idea from a chicken. Who knew? Oh, I can't forget the little chicken biddies, they were sooooooooo adorable.

At this time, I'm planning on going to SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) in Asheville, North Carolina from the 21st through the 23rd. I'll try and take some pictures. I hope that everyone is having a good week. A toute a l'heure, mes amis.

By the way, what do you think about the colors in the sweater? Would you leave as is or change them to something else? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

DOWNTOWN

2005-09-25T22:22:00.000-05:00

I had a pretty good weekend. Saturday, I was invited by a friend to go to the Greek Festival which is held at Columbia's Greek orthodox Church, downtown. I had a wonderful time. The food was delicious. Being raised Baptist, it was strange having beer served on church property (i.e., served at all). Of course, I had one. It was an Athenian (sp) and boy did it go down good with the Greek chicken, some kind of pasta (that was out of this world), a filo pastry dish that had spinach in it and bread. I later had Baklava. Honey, I wouldn't mind having me a Greek man because there was definitely some lookers there. They also had a couple of groups of kids that did some Greek dancing. They were truly enjoying life. Of course, some older people did the traditional Greek dance. I can't think of the name, but they just had the best time dancing. Everyone watching the dancers kept shouting, "Umpa" (sp). What a fun time I had. I wish that we, as Americans, would slow down and enjoy life (and not feel guilty about it) the way most Europeans do.

Today I went over to a friend's house for lunch. He can make a mean, homemade macaroni and cheese.

Have you ever had a song(s) to pop into your head, out of the blue and then you spend the rest of the day singing the song until you about drive yourself crazy? Well, that happened to me today. It started out with Downtown by Petula Clark. I don't know where it came from because I haven't thought about that song in ages. None the less, I love that song and it always makes me happy to hear it or just walking around singing it to myself. I then thought about the song, Georgy Girl by The Seekers (an Australian group from the Sixties) which is another old favorite of mine. To me, the two just go together.

Until then...later possums.

OH...MY...GAWD!!

2005-09-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

YOU GO, GIRL!!!! I'm speechless. I just did my initial run through of Barbra's new CD. BRILLIANT!! The three that stand out to me so far are: Night Of My Life (great dance number. It makes me want to put on my dance shoes and go clubbing), All The Children (great Middle Eastern flavor in this one. Great vocal surprises by Barbra) and (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away - Classic. Barry Gibb is truly a wonderful composer. I just don't know what to say. It's more than I expected. Barbra and Barry, you made this queer very happy!

UPDATE....Okay, make that five. I've got to include, Stranger In A Strange Land and It's Up To You as other favorites so far.

HATS GALORE

2005-09-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

Another London Beanie. I think this one may be it for a while. Unless I knit some to give away to charities for this Winter. Speaking of Winter, I remember when growing up as a child, it always seemed to have been a lot colder than it does now. I firmly believe that we've worked ourselves into a corner with global warming and now Mother Nature is having her say. I remember when President Clinton was in office, he put a lot of positive environmental policies into affect and yes, they were having a positive impact on the situation. It was a proven fact that the hole in the ozone layer was closing up. Then comes along the current person in the White House, who all but does away with everything Clinton did (for our part) to start healing the earth. Bush will not even admit that the earth's oceans are getting warmer, which in turn produces more violent hurricanes, tornados, etc. The list goes on and on. I truly hope that in the immediate furture, we as a country, will strive with utmost passion to do our part in healing the earth and to make it a better place for future generations to live in. I believe that since the Industrial Revolution, the earth has been giving us hints that we're not taking care of her and now she's through talking. I think this quote is credited to the American Indians, "The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth." How very true.

Speaking of headwear. check out this photo. Weren't we just the fashion setters, LOL. This was taken back in 1968 which would have made me 7 years old at the time. With me are my two sisters, Joann on the left and Denise on the right. I like to joke with them and say that I'm the middle daughter. If you look closely, I'm holding a huge ice sickle. Even then, I liked to hold things that were phallic :-) !!

I can't believe that I'm showing this, but I just wanted to show a picture of the beanie being worn. I took this picture today while I was speaking with a friend on the phone. I know, how rude. The way I see it, I was just multi-tasking. Yes, you can look like this by gaining weight and not shaving for two days. Can anyone say, "convict"?! I need to see if I can buy one of those styrofoam heads that you see in wig shops. Speaking of wigs, maybe one day I'll be brave enough to show you some pictures of me in drag. Believe me, it was long ago when I weighed A LOT less and looked much younger.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Charlotte, NC to some of the LYS's there. Me and some of the ladies from the knitting guild that I'm in are going to take a day trip and make it a day of shopping and eating. As Barbra sang on The Broadway Album, "Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch..."

I leave you with this, a beautiful choral anthem written by English music composer, John Rutter. If you ever get a chance to hear this short piece, it will bring you close to tears. At least it does me.

A GAELIC BLESSING (words adapted from an old Gaelic rune)

"Deep peace of the running wave to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the the gentle night to you

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world, to you

Deep peace of Christ to you."

Have a great weekend everyone.

FOUR YEARS

2005-09-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that four years have gone by since the attacks on the Twin Towers, The Pentagon and the American Airline flight that was brought down by it's brave passengers. It's also hard to believe that if it had not been for their bravery, the White House may have lain in ruins. To all the men, women and children who lost lives on that terrible day, I pray that you're at rest and at peace. To all the families that lost loved ones, may you find strength in the hope for humanity and are finding peace in your own hearts.

This is what I've been working on lately; a London Beanie and mittens. I've got another mitten to go. Heck with SSS, I've got SMS!! The London Beanie is from a pattern I found off of the web a couple of weeks ago that was written by an Englishman; I guess when David Beckham made them a must wear. The mitten is from a book I checked out from the library this weekend. This is my first time knitting both a Beanie and a mitten(s). I'm quite happy with myself and the results.

In other news, I quit my job at Verizon Wireless Wednesday, a week ago. I've been working in a call center since 1994 for one wireless carrier or another. I just could not take it any more. The reason I quit instead of being fired is because I was lied to. The manager told me if they fired me and I used them as an employment reference, they would have to disclose why I was let go, but if I quit, then all they would have to disclose was the dates of my employment with them. Come to find out, it's against the law to disclose the reason an employee is let go anyway. I've never been fired from a job before so I didn't know she was sitting there acting all concerned when all she was doing was sitting there, lying through her teeth and hoping to be patted on the back by higher management that she saved them from having to pay me unemployment benefits. That's okay though because I believe you reap what you sow. That's why I always try to treat others the way that I want to be treated. I'll say this and try to put that place behind me. I don't know how the other Verizon Wireless call centers are throughout the country, but the one here in Columbia is simply awful. You're nothing more to them except performance numbers. You wouldn't believe everything they expect you to do on a call and then not allow you time in between calls to finish taking care of the customer's concern. Lord help if you forgot to do something for a customer because of that and the customer calls back in to complain. Enough of that and that place. I hope that I find something soon. Until later...

FROM THE DUMBASS ON DOWN

2005-09-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Where is the governmental leadership in this country? From the dumbass in office on down to the local government in the States that were affected by Hurricane Katrina? Dumbass gave a live broadcast this morning before he left to go down to the affected areas, but chose to land in Mississippi instead of Louisiana. He knows to stay away from there. Concerning his speech this morning. He was stumbling all over his words, which is not uncommon, but even more so today. As I told Sean this morning in an E-Mail, he knows his ass is in hot water on this one. As some of you probably are aware, there was study put in place by FEMA that was studying the affects that a hurricane would have the levees in New Orleans and how to fix them. We'll guess what, dumbass cut the funding down to next to nothing. Oh yeah, and least we forget where the "savings" went, yes, HIS war in IRAQ. So yes, the effect of this disaster can be tied by to him. His ass had better be impeached on this. I swear!! Enough is enough!! I'm sure that as many are, please continue to keep the victims in the affected areas in your thoughts and prayers and send any type of help that you can. We CANNOT forget this and the lack of leadership we've seen to our fellow countrymen by the current administration. DO NOT FORGET!

(QUE BARBRA) MEMORIES, LIGHT THE CORNERS OF MY MIND

2005-08-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

No new knitting to report today. I did complete a cotton dishcloth with a cat design in it, but decided to take a stroll down memory lane and show a crocheted lace doily I did back in 2003. My maternal grandmother (Flona) taught me to crochet just as I was entering my teenage years. She passed away several years ago, but I still miss her greatly; even to this day. She was a very dainty woman who never wore make-up or had on a pair of pants or shorts a day in her life. She belonged to the Church of God (Penacostal). Below is the doily that I crocheted and a picture of my grandmother. We were playing some kind of game around Easter one year where you had an Irish potato between your thighs and you had to walk up to a Mason (canning) jar and drop it in without missing. This may be a Southern thing :-)! I remember laughing so hard that I thought I would wet myself. I believe this picture was taken of her back in the late Sixties. That's me, my mother (Doris) and my youngest sister (Denise) to the left of my grandmother.

The picture below was taken when I was around 14 or so. I had just completed my first, big crocheted project; a large granny-square afghan. I was so proud of it. Lord, I was so homely looking, LOL!!

This picture was taken around 1991. I'm showing this one because it was around this time that I came out to everyone as a proud, gay man. The lady in the picture with me is/was a good friend of mine, Anne. She and another lady that I used to work with took me out to dinner at a restaurant named Julie's to celebrate my coming out. Notice my lazy eyes? I think I had like two or three glasses of red wine with dinner and I was definitely not feeling any pain. I can't believe how much hair I had and how physically thin I was. In some ways, I really miss those days, but as Doris Day once sang, Que Sera, Sera!!

In case anyone's interested, here's a link to a website if you want to start knitting up some cotton dishcloths to give away as Christmas/Hanukkah presents. The holidays are just around the corner, you know.

Well, that’s it for the moment. I may post another entry sometime later this week about my job, or better yet, probably here soon, the lack thereof. Ta-Ta For Now, possums!

ANOTHER SATURDAY

2005-08-27T11:39:00.000-05:00

At the moment, I'm listening to one of Mozart's last string quartets he wrote before he passed away. I didn't get out of bed until late this morning. I've got clothes in the dryer and then I'm going to wash my bed sheets. Exciting, right?! Least I forget, I've got to cut grass today. I'm having a knit-in at my house tomorrow afternoon and I don't want them to see my yard my with grass not cut. Cutting grass is one of my least favorite things to do. It's not a big yard because I live in the city limits. All the same, cutting grass is cutting grass; not a big fan. I also need to clean out my car and wash it. Will that get done today? Maybe, maybe not.

Yesterday after work, I stopped by The Parthenon and picked up a Greek Salad for my dinner. I don't know if it was all the oil and feta cheese, but I've not been feeling my best today. Once I cut the grass, maybe I'll feel better due to the exercise.

I FROGGED my sock. I may try again with DPN's.

I hope that everyone is having a good weekend and feeling content, happy and at peace.

Shalom, my little prairie dog.

WORD VERIFICATION

2005-08-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

Hello, everyone. I turned on the word verification option for my comment section. It seems that I'm reading more and more where people are getting spammed in their comment section. Arse hole spammers!! I hope that won't be too much of an inconvenience and you'll continue to post your comments. I enjoy reading what you have to say. I'm heading up to my younger sister's home today. She is giving her daughter a birthday party and invited me to come up. I've got to run and get showered and then off to the grocery store before I leave. I hope that everyone is having a good weekend so far. Smooches!

I'M SO MESHUGANAH WITH ANTICIPATION!

2005-08-18T19:29:00.000-05:00

I can't wait..........I can't wait!!!! I got an E-Mail from Sony (Owner of Columbia Records) today advising that Barbra's new album will be out September 20th. I think it's going to be a great album. She and Barry are looking so fabulous. I can't wait...........I can't wait! Happy dance........happy dance!!!! Click on link below to see a video of one of the songs from the album.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000AOJ9EY/ref=amb_right-1_96005001_2/104-2189539-8930345

BTW, no I'm not Jewish, I just love Yiddish words. They're so expressive. I did date a Jewish guy from California for a while. He certainly was/is a character with a nice punem and schlong!!

IT'S ON!

2005-08-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

I'm truly seeing red because I'm so mad. A woman from a company called All American called and left me a message on my answering machine and stated that it was imperative that I call them back. The thing is, I recognized the name of the company when they called last week. When I called her back last week, I asked her what company was All American and she said that it was a Title Company. When she asked for the last four of my ssn, I gave it to her. She stated, no you're not him and said that she would take care of it.

Well, I called back again and she once again asked for last four of my ssn. I gave it to her again. She stated again, you're not him. I then proceeded to tell her, "that's what you told me last week." That #@*&^ hung up on me. I immediately called back and asked to speak with a supervisor, she hung up on me again. I called again and the phone kept ringing and then she finally answered and I again asked to speak with a supervisor, she hung up again. I called back and after many more ringtones, she finally answered. I told her, "YOU RUDE ASS"!!!! and hung up the phone. Do you know she had the nerve to call me back and threaten to call the police and report me! I very loudly was in the process of telling her that if she/the company ever called me again I would do the same. That #@*&^ hung up on me again before I could finish saying it. I try not to let myself get so angry, but she truly fit the bill of a B****! This just happened so I guess that's why I'm still fuming.

I started my first official sock last night using two circular needles. I've only made one in the past using regular worsted weight yarn on double pointed needles as a sample run through. It came out okay, but have not tried to started another one with regular sock yarn. I then purchased Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles and am so far finding the experience fun. Don't get me wrong, both the circs. and dpn's and good in their on right. I guess it's just up to one's preference. I'm just on the 2x2 ribbing so far so we'll see when I get to turning the heel and then the gusset. I hope that everyone is having a good HUMP DAY. Two more days until the weekend. Thank gawd!!!!

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER, OY VEY!!

2005-08-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, this past Thursday (the 11th), I turned 44. I don't feel my age except maybe a slightly stiff back in the morning. I'm way out of shape and need to do something about it. Funny that I know I need to lose about 25 pounds, but the majority of time spent for my birthday Thursday through Sunday was eating more than my share of food.

Friday night myself, two ladies from the local knitting guild I'm in and my ex. went out to dinner at The Parthenon. Great Greek food. I only got the Greek salad and had water instead of beer. The only thing is, it comes in this huge bowl. I sat there and ate just about the whole thing; what was left came home in a doggy bag. Not to worry, my pretty, I polished it off around midnight as a snack. Thanks for the great company and meal Millie, Gail and Dallas!!

Saturday myself, my ex. and his sister went out to lunch at a Chinese buffet. I don't remember the name, but yes again, I over-ate. Not hard to do at a buffet. I love Chinese food.
Thanks for the wonderful meal, Dallas and for being a great person that I'm so thankful to have in my life. Linda, you're a sweetheart.

Sunday, my friend Alyson and her dad (who came over from Sumter) went out to lunch at Yesterday's where I proceeded to order the Mushroom Cheeseburger with French Fries. I love mayonnaise with my fries and could live quite happily in Belgium because of that (not to forget that they're one of the largest producers of beer in Europe)!! Yesterday's is in an area of Columbia called Five Points which is near the University of South Carolina. Need I say that school is back in session and the male eye candy has tripled in that area of town! Alyson, you're a dear friend that I've known for many years now and I just LOVE to shop with you. You see, we never tell the other not to buy something, whether it's truly needed or not.

My mom and dad sent me a gift card to Target (that was used yesterday), my friend Robb from Las Vegas sent me a gift card to Best Buy (that was also used yesterday). Yes, they both were used yesterday while shopping with Alyson. Thanks mom, dad and Robb. You guys know I do like to spend money; especially when given to me. I used my Target gift-card to buy misc. things. My big purchase was at Best Buy where I used Robb's gift-card toward purchasing Oz: Season Three. Christopher Meloni can be husband anyday!!

This is the birthday card that Robb sent me. On the inside it said, "You Sure As Hell Ain't 39"!!! I thought it was pretty funny.

So, as I look ahead to a new birthday year, I so need to make a commitment to losing weight and getting out of my present job that is slowly, but surely, driving me insane. It's a very large, national telecommunications company that really doesn't care about the kind of stress they put on their employees. It's all about your performance numbers, my dear. Okay, well great, but you sit down and try and do it and see how successful you are!! Enough said. I'm off today and don't want to think about the place.

On the knitting front, this is the one thing that I've finished since the Afghan. It's a dish drying towel. I still need to add a button and then block it. The top folds over and buttons onto a drawer or oven handle. It's made from some left-over (that I still have more of) cotton yarn. My cat, Tiger said that he must be in the photo.

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille"!! Have a great week, everyone.

P. S. I am so excited that next month, if everything is still on schedule , that Streisand has a new POP album coming out!!!! On her website, she has some wonderful, personal views on what's going on in our country today. You go, girl!!

C'EST FINI

2005-08-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Oui, mon cher. C'est fini. I have finally given birth. No RG (real girl) has anything on me. I gave birth and immediately got up and took pictures. At times, I didn't think that I would ever finish, but I did. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is the first time that I ever finished an afghan (throw). I usually would get bored with one and never finish it. I'm glad to have it done so that I can now start on something new. What will it be.........? Also, as mentioned in a previous post, the colors have no rhyme or reason. It's yarn that a friend gave me and I was trying to thin out my stash. I had to put the white in it because there was not much of the yellow. Anyhow, I'm okay with the way it came out. It's not as wide as I had thought it would be, so I'll probably use it as a throw instead of an afghan.

To finish it off, I decided to crochet a shell stitch border instead of putting tassels on it. I now have it in the wash so that I can put it away until Winter.

While finishing my knitting project today, I watched this DVD from my collection. Every time I watch this, it never fails to crack me up. Such funny stuff. The parts where she talks about gays is hilarious. I hope that everyone is having a great weekend. TTFN.

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

2005-07-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-16T12:49:00.000-05:00

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)

2005-07-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

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?

2005-07-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-06T11:44:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-03T18:37:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-03T12:41:00.000-05:00

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.