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

Last night was quite uneventful. I did laundry. I made chili. I knitted. I created a photo essay of me using one of my Christmas gifts, but forgot to upload the pictures, so you'll just have to wait. Instead, have I got a surprise for you! Guess what I'm wearing today??? Need a slightly better hint? That's right! It's the debut of the Never-Ending Sweater of Doom (finished sometime last Spring, but never worn -in public- until today!) Make me feel good. Tell me it's not crap. Oh, and the color is actually CRANBERRY , not the washed out brownyred in the photo. And, finally (for this post at least), a bad poem I wrote last night: A Weekend Memory Captured in Crappy Free Verse Drunk, We danced. His hand slithered down the front of my jeans. Wide-eyed, I started to speak. "He doesn't care," he said, Matter-of-fact. I turned to look at his partner, My ex, My friend, Chatting unaware across the bar. Another friend, Dancing rhythmless behind me Twisting Arms ...

Kittens, in honor of my 39, 189th site visitor, Vuboq declares, It's time for a CONTEST!!! [and there was much rejoicing. *yay*] Here's the deal: For every comment you leave from now until 5PM next Friday, July 20th, you will be entered one time in a very special draring. But, wait! There's more! First time commenters (and you know who you are) will be entered THREE times for their first comment (and once only for each following comment ... )! BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!! Leave a comment on Monday or Tuesday detailing your delicious (or not-so delicious) Meat-Free Monday Meal and you will be entered TWICE for that comment!!! OMG! SO MANY FRIGGIN' CHANCES TO WIN!!! And I hear the chorus of voices asking, "Win what, VUBOQ? What will we win?" Oh, it is a very special prize indeed. One finished only last night... A handknit HAT!!! "But, VUBOQ," you whine. "That's not very special." Au contraire, mon fraire . Not only is this a super-duper ha...

Some of you may remember me blogging about the SuperSecret Long-Awaited Knitting Project. Well, it has been received and a photo has been posted. Check it out ! Ms. Martini was runner-up in a little haiku contest I ran a while back (like maybe a year and a half ago?), so I promised I would knit her a scarf. We decided on a Harry Potter scarf. The only problem with that, which I failed to see at the time, is that the main color in the HP scarf was very similar to the color of the Never-Ending Sweater of Doom. So, I put the scarf aside until I finished the sweater. At least both projects are finished now, and I am, now, trying to figure out how to organize my Charity Knitting Project Idea. I will think on it tonight. And, now, I guess you are eagerly awaiting my report from last night? Well ... my Meat-Free Monday meal was delicious! I made a caprese salad [tomato slices, topped with basil and mozzarella, and an olive oil and balsamic dressing] for the first course. Then, we had pasta ...

Anyone else lose an hour somewhere? So very tired this morning. But, I had a very good weekend. Not only did I finish the Never-Ending Sweater of Doom (see pictures in previous entry), I also vacuumed the living room, tidied the kitchen, and spent loads of quality time with friends. Saturday evening, Mike and Robert picked me up. We got take-out Vietnamese (yum!) and watched The Departed at Bob and Bernard's house. Mike was dog-sitting for them. I was not expecting to like The Departed , because I normally don't enjoy mob movies. This one was very good though. Highly entertaining. Although I found the final shot -of the rat on the balcony- to be a bit contrived and unnecessary. I kept thinking "How did the rat get up there?" Sunday, I spent the morning blobbing around the house (and recovering from the red wine hangover). Mike picked me up around 3 and we hung out in Dupont Circle, meeting Robert and running into Steveandbobby. Mike, Robert, and I went to Alero for d...

The Never-Ending Sweater of Doom is FINISHED!!!! *WOOT* Well, it needs to be washed and ... um ... blocked, but it's done! DONE!!! And it only took a little over a year. I am amazing! Here it is (with flash): and again (without flash): So the arms/shoulders seem a bit wonky, and the neck is too big, but whatever... IT'S FINISHED!!! WORSHIP ME, KITTENS

Sooooooooo ... last night was Chocolate Decadence at the Ritz-Carlton. 3 hours of chocogoodness. OMG. I was so bloated. But the chocolate was (as chocolate is) so very very good. My favorite? Had to be either the yummily rich and smooth pie/fudge-like wedge that reminded me of the super-rich melty goodness of the only-sold-in-Winter Japanese candy: Melty Kiss. Chocorgasm. OR ... the odd, yet surprisingly delicious, chocolate cake, coated with bitter bitter dark chocolate and filled with a surprise - basil cream filling! Seriously. Shocking. Tantalizing. Oh, so good. Mmmmm ... There were over 200 different chocolate items. I think I may have tried them all. *oog* Today, I spent the morning and afternoon drinking coffee and knitting. I have seamed the shoulder of the Never-Ending Sweater of Doom and knitted about an inch of the neck. WOO HOO! I left the house around 2:45 to meet pab at Eastern Market. I had to go to the yarn store to buy more yarn. I started a hat for a friend, but under...

But, first ... OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! I have finished the Never-ending Left Sleeve of the Never-ending Sweater of Doom! Worship me, kittens! Now, all I have left to do is connect the shoulders, knit the neck, and sew the whole thing together! I should be done by AUGUST! *woot!* Ha. I kid. My goal is to be done by my birthday (March 17th, for those of you who want to send presents). Oh, and if anyone has any good links for seaming, please send them to me. I have no idea how to do the shoulders... or actually how to attach the sleeves to the torso. The rest will be mattress stitching, I guess, which is relatively easy. And, now, the confusion ... I didn't go out with pab tonight. He called around 6:30. I was too comfortable here to bother getting ready and leaving the warmth of my sofa. We may meet up tomorrow depending on his schedule. About an hour or so after we spoke, he called back. To tell me that he's thinking of moving to South Florida to be closer to his pare...

I had loads of fun last night. I had to do laundry, but didn't have enough quarters. I had to scrounge around through buckets of change until I found enough to do one load of laundry. Ah. Clean undies for yet another week. Life. It is good. I also made soup. I would love to tell you it was delicious, but I burned my tongue with the first bite and lost all sense of taste. It smelled good though. The recipe is thus: Saute in olive oil 1/2 onion (diced) and clove of garlic (mashed). Add one apple (peeled, cubed) and 3 potatoes (peeled, cubed). Add one chipotle pepper and a couple of spoonfuls of adobo sauce. Cook for a bit. Meanwhile, slice in half an acorn squash and remove seeds. Place squash in 1/4 cup of water and microwave for 8-10 minutes. To the pot add one can of diced tomatoes and several cans of water. Bring to a boil. Scoop out squash bits and add to soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. When all the veggies are soft, blend the HELL out of those suckers. Gawd, I love my handb...