Knitted Nightie

I am taking a break from making things for others, and I am making something for myself. I am knitting a night dress. And for anyone who knows me, PJs are the most important article of clothing I own. This is my project thus far:



I'm knitting it us on Size US2 needles. And if you don't know how thin that is, it is like knitting with the inki stick inside of a Bic pen. I am 13 inches into it which leaves me with a little less than half left.



Detail of the bottom lace pattern.

More to come when I actually finish.

Lil Japan

On Friday since Will and I both had the day off from work. I dragged him to Porter Square, home of the Porter Steak actually. There is a small mall which I think is also part of a University that houses a Japanese food court where you can get Sushi or Ramen noodles with a real Japanese flair. By Japanese flair I mean you stop at the counter and get a gargantuan bowl of rather authentic Ramen or sushi and eat it at a small bar or a table shared by everyone else. There is also a Japanese grocery store, knicknack store and a Boba tea stand.

We first had Ramen, then bought as much Pocky candy at the grocery store that we could carry. There is something about Japanese packaging that will make me buy it regardless if I'm able to consume it or not. This was edible luckily, the winning factor of this purchase was the couple on the back giving the peace sign salute. Oh, and what is Dressing flavor? I still have no idea, these crisps tasted like Buggles.



At the Japanese knicknack store they had all sorts of stuff, but what sold me on this wasn't the amount of adorable plushie toys that represent things like Hello Kitty and Poo, but they had authentic style Kimonos.



I however am not an authemtic Japanese citizen. I'm not even an authentic Bostonian, but this is the best robe I have ever owned.

Picture of the day

Yes, Idaho's license plate has a baked potato with a pat of butter on it. I could think of a few other things this looks like NOT pertaining to a spud.

40 whacks

In keeping with tradition, for my 30th birthday Will surprised me with the Lizzie Borden tour. I saw the axe and some blood, hair and crime photos.



God it rocked!

strictly for my ninjas

I knitted this ages ago for Will and just never posted it. He won't wear it in public though. I have no idea why not.



It's a wicked kimono.

Here's Johnny

I think it is my goal to see every historically creepy landmark everywhere I go. This is the infamous Stanley Hotel, you should all know that it was the inspiration for the Shining. No this was not the hotel from the Kubrick movie, but they did film the SciFi Miniseries here and an episode of T.A.P.S also on the SciFi channel. But regardless, it was where King got his inspiration after staying a night at the supposedly haunted hotel.



but alas I did not catch any ghostly images, this may be due to the fact that ghosts don't actually exist. But that doesn't stop me from driving Will completely tonto with my endless stream of ghost stories and scary movies.

Colorado or bust

So after the wedding it was onto Colorado. One of the many conservative states in the US (FYI we here in Boston don't care for conservative Republicans with their anti immigration and tax cuts for the wealthy, not to mention their proclivity for overlooking the ACTUAL amount of unemployed citizens in America). Anyway... we spent our 2 days in Colorado shopping and then trecking up the Rocky Mountains (in a car obviously) and seeing the sights and animals.



My first Elk.



and of course the sights. this would be from 13,000 feet up and in the very cold tundra of the mountain where nothing by moss grows due to the freezing wind.

Another Dorin gets hitched

So the Dorin boys are going fast, I've got the last one I think. A while ago during my blog hiatus we went to New Mexico to watch Hope and Mike get married after like 10 years or something of living together. It was a fun wedding, but the holy man behind them was a nutball. He turned the wedding into Sunday Mass and only really remembered that there was a wedding going on at the very end when he advised them to have a jesus threesome and to kiss. And he really wanted to put the word "obey" into Hope's vows.





The bride was gorgeous and all swooney and crap.

Prepare yourself for the next shot. No she didn't pole dance or anything, but she also didn't have a purse.



well that's all for the wedding. There were some characters there. Hope's uncle tried to pick a fight with me over my shawl, Apparently when you are inebriated and barely coherent, you might think anything is coyote... and then feel VERY strongly when you are told that it is not. I think he tried to throw down with the best man too. We all need a crazy uncle.

My baby sure looks good in a beard

Day 2 (I skipped Day 1)

Because Day 1 without Will went something like Wake up, go to work, be at work, come home, fall asleep on couch during Law & Order SVU. So I've moved onto day 2 without Will here as he has gone to live it up in the Vegas with his brothers for a bachelor party. So it took a bit of psyching myself up for, but I actually took the bus system by myself today. I went into Harvard Square to shop for yarn and $90 dollars and only 3 balls of yarn to show for it, I headed over to a shoe store where I hooked myself up with a pair of pink wellies and some Mary Jane style chucks (which have given my blisters already) but whatever. It was then onto the Boston Tea Stop where I happily handed over a few breen backs for 4 bubble tea beverages and then luck was on my side. I got back to the bus stop and my bus was there idling. This would never happen normally, It's more like you end up waiting longer for the bus than the actual bus ride. I get home and think, the day is not done yet, it's sunny and in the 70's, so I put Akira the dog on his leash and head over to the dog friendly video store, where I picked up plenty of scary movies for the evening and Akira the dog got a crunchy treat from the store manager. I've had a nice independent day without William, but I am bored and haven't had a proper diner since he left. He better come home soon so he can make me a sandwich!

Okay, so I said that I would comment on the weirdness and hypocrisies of Hingham at lunch time. And I went out everyday to find them, but it was fruitless.

But today, I went out to Panera to partake in their new pea and asparagus soup and frosty green tea beverage. Since Mass. finally got out of the 40's and into the 70's overnight, I thought I would treat myself to icy goodness. But the straw... my god the straw the man chose for me is purple. He looked up at me and said "you look like a purple." I HATE purple, I hate every shade of purple, anyone who knows me knows that. I dispise dealing with anything purple. It compliments the green colour of the drink... but still, my beverage enjoyment is tainted, it's like... it's like he sneezed on my food before giving it to me. I didn't say anything when he handed my contaminated drink over to me because I thought it was sweet that someone put even a modicum of thought into what colour to choose to suit me... but PURPLE? Geez.

My debt is now paid

So after 5 months, I finally got my hands on an XBox 360. I know this is 5 months past the "Whoa, you got an XBox? That is F-ing awesome" stage. It was meant as a Christmas present for Will, 5 months later, but he was deep into World of Warcraft. So imagine my suprise when he came home and says, "I was thinking about getting an XBox tonight" I say "You can't just go out there and get one... can you? You told me you didn't need it yet" and he replies "I'm burnt out on WoW" Music to my ears.

So into the car we go, and off to the suburbs, pick one up just like that, take it home, plug it in, and find out that the drive is bad. So this journey was repeated the next day. Drive home from work in traffic, get Will, Drive all the way back out to the town I work in through traffic, get XBox, eat come home in traffic.

What ever, now my debt to his XMas gift has been payed, and I'm off to play Tomb Raider.

Ciao

Rand-Rand

Hey Randy, you found me!

This is a shout out to my old pal Randy. He is the best friend of my ex-bf and became pretty much became my best friend during and after this relationship tanked (a year over due). Well Randy, blew me off for a poker game instead of seeing me off before my great move to Boston. Shame on you Randy. I think of you often and of the hours I would watch you play video games, and that time we spent 3 weeks hunting down the Fight Club sound track, only to find it in the mall in Manassas. Good times buddy, good times.

Drop me an email sometime doll, and I'll try to remember to do the same.

The Lunchtime Break

The comunity where I work is an odd one, and usually I see or experience something noteworthy everyday if I go out for lunch. So my thought is that I should begin to write them down. Why not right? They may not be very interesting but it's just a bit of the flavor that is Hingham MA. A very rich community that is intermingled with the not so weathly working class. I always sympathise with the working class, so when I see some rich house wife trying to make their life less about kids and housework and the fact that dear hubbie is diddling the secretary, I take notice. 

To explain yesterdays debacle at the local ForEyes will be an entirely different post, but one worth noting. 

But for this afternoon, my first post in ode to the lunchtime break will be about faux mother earth worshippers.

I'm leaving Whole Foods (because god forbid the uppercrusties build a normal grocery store,) with my mango smoothie in hand as a nod to the new spring feel in the air, I see a mother earther. She's got her hemp type woven bag over her shoulders, and her earthy flowing skirt and all the frills. But the thing that makes her special in my mind, is the fact that she's driving a big ol' mini van. You can't care about the earth and destroy it at the same time. So shame on you miss thang. Buy yourself a hybrid and then your earthen bag and flowing skirt will mean more than just you trying to appear caring and carefree. 

The DMV, a Fairy Tale

To anyone on the planet Earth who has ever had to deal with the DMV, you will know our pain. A few months ago I noted on this blog about how crappy the Mass DMV/RMV is. After 4 visits and a week and a half I did get registered to own and operate my vehicle. William however, lacking his car title due to an extreme fuckup on the part of his bank where he had his loan, chose to believe in the system, and woe be to any man who tries this again. According to the DMV you can request another title. So starting in Mid June William filled out the appropriate paperwork and sent it in with his self addressed and stamped envelope. 6 weeks later his application was sent back to him.

Again he filled it our, got the signature from his ex-girlfriend, who after a long afternoon 6 months earlier was actually no longer on the title... Strange no? Well months and months go by with out a peep from the DMV or his title. Even his ex-girlfriend tried to help us out when she visited Virginia again to see her family. She was told that she was no longer on the title and therefore could not obtain the title... What? Okay, so Will gets from his Ex a new title number and fills out another form and another check and another self addressed and stamped envelope and sends it in. And a few weeks later one of his envelopes returns to us with a title inside. A dead title. We thought about using it anyway and getting him registered so that he could at least get his parking permit and retire the visitor pass he's been using for the past 6 months. We thought against it. I remembered in a cold sweat all the little things the Mass DMV turned me away for, and I could only imaging the tears that this would cause us.

But all was not lost, one Virginia DMV operator when to work in the morning set out to accomplish something no others would. He was new I'm sure, his sole was not yet crushed under the weight of long lines and angry waiters. The title was on it's way.

We retrieved the mail one day to see an old 37 cent stamp in our post box. It was the envelope with William's title. We wept and laughed and danced in joy...



But something was amiss...



Although someone at the DMV had the good intention to send us the title, they would not even seal the envelope. We even sent a self sealing envelope! The amount of effort that would have been used to pull off the protective paper was less than the effort put forth in placing the title into the envelope.



What is this!? We cried. Our very precious piece of paper was placed carelessly into an unsealed envelope and was at the mercy of our postal system. I mean no offense to our postal system that has seen hard times since the development of the internet and email. But lets get real here. Our envelope was not even postmarked. What ever we thought.



We had the title and by some strange bit of fate it arrived into our welcoming house unharmed. Where it will sit around for 3 more months before we get off our asses and decide that the time is right to approach the Mass RMV, which will be a whole new adventure fraught with tears, blood and probably a lot of alcohol.

Our Dear Dear Cambridge Friends

Let me take this time to introduce to you our first and only true friends here in Cambridge. Wendy and Tony, They moved around the same time we did. Tony is here to study at MIT after he graduated from my fathers alma mater RPI (they can use their secret hand shakes together later) and after ending his stint in the military.

Wendy also just finished her duty for the military after having spent 2 years in Okinawa. She is also a Doctor and a liberal. This usually makes for hours of enjoyment when all three of us get together and make fun of Tony, our token Republican and a political minority here in the New England/Massachusettes area.



Wendy is doing her best impression of ANY scary Japanese movie.



Tony voted for Bush, and by the look on his face I think he regrets it.

Buck Buck Bukah

There are many wonderful things here in Cambridge, but among them, this here is my favorite.



Granted as a vegetarian I will never partake in the wonderousness of Fresh Killed and what they have to offer me, but the sign would draw even the most hardened of veg heads and Hippy McFreakingtons any day. What makes this even better yet is that they sell t-shirts and even thong panties with this logo emblazened on them. And yet strangely enough, I do not have a t-shirt yet, oh but I wish upon a star I did.

The Grocery store is not where you go to rest

But apparently this kid here does.




Note his/her soda bottle, the pajama bottoms, You can't see the candy bar gut it was in this kids tights fisted hand. I am just having a hard time understanding this. You're sitting at home all comfy in your jammies, and you thikn to yourself, man I need to kick back and read a magazine... and you head off to the local Shaws. And this is really medicarry of me to say but I was only concerned with whether or not he/she was going to pay for that soda and candy bar, forget the magazine, they are over priced anyway.

A belated Christmas special

I'm a little slow on the uptake, I should have posted images from my trip to Maine for Christmas AGES ago. But due to the overwhelming feeling of not really giving a damn about the birth of "Jesus" I didn't. It's always better to arrive fashionably late, you may miss the best finger food, but you get closer to the time the whole thing is over with. So if you will just bear with me a bit, I will show you the breathtaking breathtakingness of Maine, Our forgotten state.

My mother spends most of her time in Virginia, and the rest of that in Maine where she bought a house from her brother. The good daughter that I am, I chose to spend this years holiday with her. And I didn't take any images of the actual Christmas celebration going down, but I did take images of my family's back yard, where we took our dog for the best walk of his life.




My Grandfather created a Christmas tree farm. That's right, a Christmas tree farm. And during the summers I would work there for my uncle who now owns the business. People, they do not grow in that shape, it takes dedicated people such as myself and the promise of $.60 an hour to wield a machete and sheer them into that shape. Better than therapy. I loved working there, wouldn't do it again, but I loved it.



Lots of trees, acres and rows going on forever.



It was a creepy and foggy day, but here we have the trees. Little seedlings that from what my uncle tells me are really big with the deer population this year.


This is the old Slaughter house. When my grandfather owned a farm it was where they killed the chickens, they now sell you wreaths.



William on our hike. Akira dog is somewhere peeing on something.



This was the end of the world. The boundaries, if you ever get to them are just woods and nothings.



On our way back, we got a little lost in the white and seriously, didn't I already pass that row? Or was it that one? We came across this tower of rocks. We don't really know what it is, even after my other uncle who created it explained it. He's an artist, a painter to be exact, and a damn good one. He does mostly nature. I don't have any money, or enough to afford one of his pieces, but they are sureal and breathtaking. I would however fork over for a large print poster if they make them. He has no website yet. I googled him and here are the top 3 search results.

Alan Bray
alan.bray @manchester.ac.uk. Address. Room 6.6 Department of Physics and Astronomy The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester England ...
theory.ph.man.ac.uk/~bray/home.html - 3k - Cached - Similar pages

Knitting Circle Alan Bray
Alan Bray went to Bangor University where he took a joint degree in history and English. ... In 1970 Alan Bray joined the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) . ...
myweb.lsbu.ac.uk/~stafflag/alanbray.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages

Bates College | Alan Bray
A painter who studied at the Art Institute of Boston and the University of Southern Maine, Alan Bray received his master's in painting from Villa Schifanoia ...
www.bates.edu/alan-bray-painter.xml - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

I think the last one was him, but alas no images.

That pretty much sums up my trip. So I leave you with this.



Happy holidays. I'm outta here

Day 2 of my week without Will

Day 2 has rolled around and my chef is nowhere to be found. So what does a smart chick like me end up doing? Why go to the grocery store and discover a fast and easy way to make a curry that does not burn my tastebuds off. Enter the "Tastes of the World" isle at Shaws and premade curry.



How did it taste? Not as funny as it looks, but it is a far cry from the "Pujabi Dahba" at Inman Sq. Oh Dabah... I miss your paneer.



Please come home soon. I may starve... or fill the fridge with leftovers. And I need someone to tell me that raw cookie dough is not an entre.