Vibrant.(Still) Unrepentant. Badass. Old. Queer

Things That Are Awesome: (1) Me (2) This scarf, which was knat by the fabulous Chelsea and all I had to do was send her a couple of pieces of pottery . YAY for Internet Friends!  YAY for knitting! Happy happy dance dance *smooches*

Good Evening, My Sweet, Sweet, Furry Kittens of Joy! My weekend was chock full o' fun and excitement, if you define "fun and excitement" as "being on the sofa, watching DVDs, and knitting." On Friday, I went to an orthopedic surgeon.  He (well, his nurse) took x-rays of my back.  And, it looks fine (so he says).  There are a couple of picky little things going on with my lower vertebrae, but they are probably not the cause of my SuperIntenseBackPainOwOwOw.  So, he prescribed physical therapy (meh) and a Bottle of Miracle Pills (aka NSAIDs).  Seriously, I took the first one and, in, like, 15 minutes most of the debilitating back pain was Gone!  I still have a nagging little twinge and am not nearly as mobile as I would like, but, OMG, so. much. better (ish). BUT, although mostly mobile, I felt I should spend most of the weekend resting.  Which I did.  It was lovely. Mike (Who Makes Cakes) came over Friday evening for a little while. On Sat...

Good Morning, Kittens! How about that 4th of July, huh?  What a crazy riot of fun!  I stayed on the sofa ALL DAY and watched the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (extended editions).  I made serious progress on my knitting project (pictured).  At the rate I'm going, I *may* finish the scarf before it gets to be winter ... we'll see. I am currently reading Game of Thrones, Book 3.  It's a surprisingly good series; however, I've getting very frustrated with one character's storyline right now.  So, I may have to put the book down for a bit to give myself a break.  Anyone else into this series?  For dinner last night, I made this: Spicy Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Sauteed Green and Yellow Squash with Basil and Pinenuts, and Rice with Red Quinoa Very American, what with the squash and the tomatoes and the quinoa, right? As for my back, it still hurts.  I am able to get up and move around, which is good.  I think I may have overdone ...

Good morning, Kittens! Well, we did it! I finished the Army 10-Miler and didn't die (completely). My official results were: Net Time: 1:39:09 Pace: 9:54 Overall: 12321/21914 Gender: 8359/12245 Age Div (40-44): 1411/2103 Not too bad. My pre-surgery goal was to complete it in under 1:30. My post-surgery-i-couldn't-train-as-much goal was to complete it in under 2 hours. So, Yay me! I guess at some point there will be photos posted and I will be able to snag them. As for the rest of the weekend, on Friday, I slept in (yay!) and, then, went to pick-up my race packet. After that, I went to the pottery studio. I spent most of the time trimming and attaching handles ... Then, I had a boozy late lunch at Adega. Spent the rest of the afternoon/evening knitting and watching Mad Men. Saturday was such a beautiful day! I wandered around Downtown Silver Spring for quite some time. Then, I came home and blobbed and knitted and watched Mad Men. I also cooked pasta for dinner (carb-lo...

Good morning, Kittens! Well, this weekend was certainly an interesting one. After receiving the shock of the Great Sunflower Massacre of 2011, I spent most of the weekend either on the sofa or in the bed. Two of my favorite places to be, actually. On Saturday, I watched Harry Potter 1-4 on DVD. I finished the body of my seamless sweater, but lack the proper needles to begin the sleeves. I think, because of the number of stitches required, knitting on circular needles will be difficult. So, I need to purchase some #11 dpns. Yay. Instead of working on the sleeves, I decided to turn the heel on my first tweedy brown sock. I used the Zimmerman German Heel. It was actually easy (once I figured out that "knit up" = "pick up and knit"). This is where I am so far: Saturday evening, I showered (!) and ventured upstairs for a little going away party for my neighbors who are moving to Washington state in the Fall. So sad. I really liketh them. They are so pure and go...

"Good" Morning, Kittens! I am still in Recuperationville from my outpatient surgical experience on Friday. And, like, ow. At least the Percocet Happy Pills seem to be working ... Although I really don't want to go into the whys and wheres and howtos and whatfors and whatevers about the procedure, the surgeon spent a good 30-45 minutes (I'm guessing) scraping, cutting, slicing, dicing, pulverizing, and then cauterizing my nether region. Yep. I had ass-tic surgery. Joy. I should have asked for a butt-lift while he was down there (hindsight. It is 20/20, yo!). Anyway, the recovery process is tedious. And painful. And messy. And long, like 3 weeks long. Ugh. Today is my last day of not working though. I am going to try to straggle into the office tomorrow. So, what does a VUBOQ do when he is at home, on drugs, and not whimpering from painful pooping sessions? He shops. My brother notified my of an extra 25% off sale at Ralph Lauren Dot Com. With his employee ...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. On my way home from Philly on Monday, I felt the tell-tell tickle of a cold coming on. Tuesday, when I woke up, it was worse, but not so bad I couldn't go to work. so I did. Then, I came home. Late. Because the Red Line was a ginormous clusterfuck. I had to rush to get to my co-op's Annual Shareholder's Meeting. Fortunately, I was not elected to the Board. yay! Of course, this means that I will most assuredly have to be on the Board next year. I went to bed early. When I got up, I thought I heard snow/sleet. I looked out the window, and I was correct. A couple of inches of slush and stuff covered the ground. Also, I felt like poop. After having some ginger lemon tea, I decided I couldn't make it to work. So I called out and went back to bed. I woke up at 11:30. Since then I've been feeding my fever to starve my cold. Or whatever. I've been eating a lot. I tried to do laundry, but it seems *BOTH* washers in our laundry room ...

Good Morning, Kittens. And, I'm back to the grind. Woo hoo. So, how was my weekend? BEAUTIFUL! The weather was stunning! On Saturday, I went for a 6+ mile run. It was fabulous. Well, as fabulous as a 6+ mile run can be. After I got back, Tomokito and I went to El Golfo. We had many many many glasses of sangria. And, I had my usual: spinach enchiladas. Deliciousness! I was supposed to go to Mike (Who Makes Cakes)'s for Game Night, but he canceled because of a date. Boo. Instead, I cast on a sweater ... I'm going to attempt Elizabeth Zimmerman's seamless sweater with this yummy navy blue cotton . Later, SCGB stopped by for several cocktails. mmm. cocktails. I tried a variation on an Old Fashioned. It didn't work. Oh, well ... Sunday, I was uberproductive. I did lots of cleaning/organizing. Then, I went shopping (and bought way too much stuff, both in the stores and online ... some of which I actually needed!). I ironed 14 shirts and a pair of pants. ...

Good morning, kittens! My weekend was chock full of fun and excitement. Friday night, I went to bed early. And Saturday, I didn't even leave the house. On Sunday, I left the house once (to go the grocery store). Mm. Hm. I am living the Crazy (sub)Urban Life! I did accomplish a few things during my convalescence though ... On Saturday, I made Garlicky Red Chili Sauce: Here's the recipe I used (adapted from the New York Times): 2 habenero chili peppers 1 red bell pepper, roasted and roughly chopped 4 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1. Wearing rubber/latex gloves, roughly chop the chilies. Combine all ingredients in a small pot over medium-high heat. Once mixture is simmering, reduce heat to low, cover and continue to simmer until peppers are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Do not inhale vapors; they will sting. 2. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree. Pour into a medium jar and allow to cool uncovered. Cover tigh...

Good Morning, Kittens. Not much going on right now. So, enjoy the progress on the Never-Ending Baby Blanket of Doom (pictured). I've been working on it almost every night for nearly a week and am about 1/3 done. Yesterday, I did laundry. The washing machine threw itself out of balance and so I had to take a whole bunch of stuff out. If those sodden clothes *ever* dry in this weather, it will be a miracle. Later in the evening, I went upstairs to hangout with Tomokito and her family. Her parents are visiting from Japan and her father returns today. That was fun. I have forgotten *so* much Japanese. Of course, it's been well over ten years since I have spoken it/heard it on a regular basis. No real plans today. It's cold and dreary and gray and rainy. I may venture forth to the pottery studio this afternoon. We shall see. *smooches*

Good (still barely) Morning, Kittens! I can haz oog? Someone drank a little too much yesterday. I did nothing all weekend, except watch DVDs and knit. I'm working on a baby blanket for my neighbors. Here's a picture: Seed Stitch is tedious and painful . When finished it will look like this (only a different color). Y is back. I guess he's here to move the rest of his stuff? I have no idea how long he will stay this time. Guess that's it. It's 12 of 12 today. So, if I can get my camera batteries recharged, expect another (more interesting?) post later. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! Yesterday, as some of you probably already know, I decided on making a little change. With help from the Fabulous Colornatrix, I am once again a redhead. Yay. This color is actually pretty close to what my hair color was when I was a kid. As I got older, my hair became more and more auburn. And, then, all the red disappeared and it became a mousy blondy brown. *sigh* After my appointment, I met Mike (Who Makes Cakes) for lunch. We had the following, mildly amusing conversation. Mike: I love your hair. Me: Thanks. It's really close to my original color. Mike: I know. Me: No. Really. My original color is ... Mike: I know. Me: (pause). Oh. Right.* Lunch was fun. Then, we went back to his office, where I quickly finished his scarf. See: I was worried about finishing it, but, as luck would have it, there was a fire in one of the Metro stations, so my regular 45-50 minute trip to the salon took a little over 90 minutes. Lots of time to knit on the tra...

Good Morning, Kittens. It's a sunshiny, sparklefied day here in Vutopia ... even though I didn't get up early to go running like I told myself I would. Maybe I'll go later this afternoon or evening or something. Or maybe I'll go back to bed. Actually, the other thing I promised myself was that today would be a "Writing Day." I need to whip out some of my short stories and try to polish those turds. Fun times. In knitting news, I'm taking a break from sock knitting, and I've started on a scarf (pictured) for Mike (who Makes Cakes). Why, yes, it does use the same yarn that I used to make Josh is Trashy 's hat (good eye! you are so observant!). Chelsea sent me the yarn years ago for my birthday and I'm finally putting it to good use. I kind of like this horizonal rib thing that I have going on. And, I totally love the color. In my previous post, Terri had some questions about sock-knitting. M. Nicodemus was kind enough to provide an an...

Good Morning, Kittens. My weekend was a bit of a bust ... The weather was (usually) crapola. AND, I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. So, I stayed inside the entire time ... watching DVDs and knitting. On the plus side, I finished my first sock. Now, I have to decided if I want to (a) knit the other one or (b) amputate one foot. I'm seriously leaning towards amputation ... You wanna see it on? OK: Foot Model: vuboq Other exciting events of the weekend included having drinks with Tomokito one night and having drinks with SCGB another night. And having drinks by myself. And, then, having a few more drinks. Today, I have to go to the likker store. Ha! Seriously. I have a hair appointment coming up and I want to infuse some vodka for the Colornatrix. I'm thinking Blueberry Lemon. Mmmm. And, then, K-Factor and I are off to pottery class tonight. Yay. Have a great, sunshiny day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. You are looking at yesterday's Big Project: Turning a Heel. It was quite an Knitting Adventure, fer sure. I never want to have to go through that again! (except I will either have to or amputate one of my feet ... hmm). The Y Frustration of the Day involved our differing concepts of Time. I have a realistic one. His is entirely forked up. Around 11, Y asked if I needed anything from Whole Foods. I took a quick inventory and gave him a list. As he was leaving, he asked, "Do you need this for lunch?" No. Of course, I assumed that meant he would be returning with the groceries in time for dinner. And, he did! If you eat dinner at 10:30PM. Fortunately, I had some stuff lying around that I could fix for dinner. I picked some basil and whipped up a quick pesto. I suppose it was all right, but it tasted like disappointment. After my pesto + pasta dinner, I watched the first two episodes of Season 1 True Blood . It was OK. I don't qui...

Good Morning, Kittens. Everyone glad to be back at work? Good! I knew you would be. I made a baby hat yesterday. It is itty bitty and will be winging its way to a friend in Atlanta as soon as I find her address. I have 3 other packages to mail today as well. I guess I'll get to the post office eventually. Other than knitting all day long yesterday, I didn't do much. Tomokito and family and I went to lunch at El Golfo. Spinach enchiladas. YUM. And, last night, K-Factor and SCGB came down to watch Paris Je'taime ... which I had seen before, but SCGB hadn't. Fun times, for sure. And, that's all the exciting news from this end. Have a great day. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. Another day, another dollar. Climb outta bed and get yer lazy arses to work! Not a whole lot happened yesterday. I did manage to apply for a job. I finished my SuperSecret Knitting Project (well, almost ... i still have to weave in the ends and block). I started another knitting project using the leftover yarn. PLUS, the yarn for the baby blanket I'm going to knit the neighbors arrived. Later in the evening, K-Factor brought by a Mugiversary present (pictured). Yay! Booze! And, then, we went to the park to throw Frisbee. Good times. We both suck and have no aim. Once home, I popped in a movie (which irritated He Who Was Still in His Underwear and Hadn't Showered All Day). Around 10ish, I went upstairs and Tomokito and I finished off the last of the Chocolate and Cinnamon Basil Sorbet. Today, there is more knitting on the agenda. Plus, doing some co-op business. Plus, making a few job-related calls. Plus, catching up on the latest two episode...

Good Morning, Kittens! Happy Friday! Did everyone watch Project Runway 6 last night? Or should we withhold discussion until you watch the reruns over the weekend? I didn't get to watch the All-Star Special , nor did I stay up for Models of the Runway , but I was able to catch the actual show. And, all I can say is "Hallelujah! It's Back!" Besides the tv watching, yesterday was quite a busy day. First, I met the wonderful Ms. Clio Bluestocking for Boozy Lunch at Adega. It was fun. And Boozy! AND, I got to hear all about her New Man! I am not going to spill all the deets here though (sorry). It's her sordid and tawdry tale of luv to tell. After lunch, I metro'ed into DC to do some yarn shopping. I bought two skeins of beautiful yarn for a special (and secret) knitting project. I love the yarn and the colors! So pretty and soft. I was also looking ofr some gold or silver metallic thread, but the yarn shop didn't have any. I remembered there ...

Good Morning, Kittens! Happy Saturday! Here's a look at First Sock Ever, Version 2.0, No Pooling Allowed Edition: Have a great day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. Yesterday was a good news/bad news kind of day. The good news was that I completed my EPA applications (and faxed my transcripts. Yes, Dr. Liz, federal jobs require you to provide proof of an advanced degree ... if you are using that degree in lieu of (or in addition to) experience for a higher paygrade). The bad news is pictured. Pooling. The colors on my lovely stripe-y sock have started to coagulate. And, I was given several methods to correct it: (1) Move up or down a needle size or (2) Adjust by 2-4 stitches. Since this is my first sock ever, I think I am going to frog the whole thing and start over with a yarn that is solid, not stripe-y. *sigh* No plans today. I'm supposed to have a date, but he hasn't called ... which -to me- means I'm not having a date. Which is also ok, because I'm really not all into the guy anyway. AND, I don't have any plans for the weekend yet. What up with that? Have a SuperFuntastic day. *smooches*