noelle’s birthday hat
Originally uploaded by RiseyP.

soon, we’ll be heading over to the newlyweds’ loft to celebrate noelle’s birthday (oh, and maybe throw in some ancient pagan hedonism for good measure… who knows?)

last night was a lot of fun, too. dana and i went over to will and cindy’s for dinner, and we got to meet dan & isabel. we gorged on knishes, red wine, turkey and roasted sweet potatoes. champagne, berries and biscotti too!

best of all, isabel kept us mightily entertained with her removable front tooth - CLASSIC!

40 really *is* the new 30!
Originally uploaded by RiseyP.

late september, back in sixty-three…

Ok, so maybe it was more like late august, and perhaps the year was sixty-five, but close enough!! it was the sixties fer chrissakes!

anyway, sometime ’round then, my bestest buddy dana was conceived. and i am so, so glad she was!!

she has made my life everso much more fun these last eight or so years, in a variety of ways:

• conspiring against our evil manager and soulless workmates while pretending we weren’t friends

• outdoing one another in the quest for true tackiness at the flower market while planning my wedding
• tae-bo in the living room and runs in the park
• sunset barbecues on my deck in marin with juicy fruit and the pugaliciouses!
• repeated viewings and quotings of le grand lebowski
• commiserating as our respective marriages crumbled
• enjoying the killer view and competing 4th of july fireworks shows from our little rented house in dolores heights
• much drunkenness and even more good food
• refraining from killing each other over my beloved Martha Stewart laundry hamper
• seven glorious days at a villa on the amalfi coast of italy with signor cleek
• getting one another through breakups, makeups and movings-on

I love you, Thena!!

Pink and Gray Hat (second ever!)
Originally uploaded by RiseyP.

After I got home from work on Friday, I picked J up and we swung by the Apple Store, as he'd decided to buy his iMac there, despite the higher memory prices. We were going to have dinner downtown afterwards, but he was too excited and had to go straight home to set up his new "putie."

Our friend Richard got here from the airport (he'd flown in from LA) at about 11pm — just in time for him & J to stay up very very late playing videogames in the front room, while I made progess on this hat.

For the past couple days, I'd been working with some pretty, grayish-green, bulky Wool-Ease but after about 6 attempts, decided I needed to work with a nicer-feel yarn. So I broke out my gray Debbie Bliss chunky merino and things went much better.

Next morning, we puttered around drinking coffee, went to Kate's Kitchen for brunch, and then came home for a nap while R went to the Alternative Press Expo. We woke up at 7pm and I called Dana in a panic, not knowing what time we were supposed to be at her party. The caviar was already out, she told us, so get over there NOW. Woops.

The only problem was that SweetBoy had gotten outside while we were napping and was nowhere to be seen or heard. So that unfortunately cast a bit of a pall over us while trying to enjoy ourselves at the party But it was still a nice time. The food and company were top-notch. We had foie gras with figs and sauternes, filet mignon with polenta, lemon cake and handmade chipotle chocolates… mmm!

But we did head out on the early-ish side, and I went out into the backyard (recently cleared out by the landlord - YAY!) with a flashlight, hoping to corral SweetBoy, but to no avail. Kismet even went out there with me, and I was somewhat hopeful as I went to sleep, knowing we could leave the back door open (no rain for the first time in ages!) and that Kismet seemed to be on the case, meowing occasionally to get her little brother to come back home.

An hour later, J came into the room with a wet, muddy SweetBoy, and I could sleep at last. Whew!!

This morning, there was more puttering about with coffee, and I finished my second hat - hooray!

So I finally saw Brokeback. which i bought from walmart.com no less! stickin' it to the man! or somethin' - heh.

anyway, oh MY.

i spent the first 5-10 minutes thinking to myself, "Self, you know you're a big gay-man-lovin' sort of girl… don't be so EASY. Be critical. Maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be." And so, I did find it took a teeny-tiny while to believe Jake Gyllenhaal's character. But as for Heath Ledger… he had me at "Ennis."

I won't post any spoilers, cause believe me, I *hate* that shit. I'll just say I fucking LOVED this movie. Utterly naturalistic and believable and painful and real.

guess all cowboys ain't so bad*, after all.

*when i was little, i loved my cousin Nick everso much. but when my mom jokingly asked me if i wanted to marry him, i said, "Nah. he wants to be a cowboy." Dunno why that was such a deal-breaker, but anyway.

check this. very interesting debate.

i found myself surprisingly unoffended (inoffended? heh) by mim's original post, actually. but after reading k's insights and arguments, i got a bit more worked up.

i ended my consideration of this debate with a closer scrutiny of mim's blog template. i found it very interesting that she ornaments her homepage with an image (ostensibly of herself) of a very slim woman, with lovely long hair, her oh-so-pert posterior center stage… holding the hand of her child.

milf-wannabe much??

but anyway, i spose we all fall short when we make inconsiderate, unfounded assumptions about "the other."

so yeah, i say this: skinny bitches (and i say that with as much affection as jealousy), shut yer traps about shit you don't know shit about.

while i'm overweight now, i've been thin for most of my life, and fuck yeah… if i looked as great from behind as the chick on mim's blog, i'd plaster front and center on my blog, too.

i only hope that my experience in a heavier woman's body makes me a little more circumspect and respectful, should i ever get back to my college weight (or thereabouts.)

it's been almost 9 weeks and I am finally done knitting my first sweater. i can't recall the last time i worked on anything for this long - the occasional big work project, perhaps… and before that, i suppose, my college senior honors project.

but i'm pleased and surprised that this endeavor has held my attention so much more consistently than work or school ever has. i've always thought of myself someone who had no problem starting things but, unfortunately, also someone who rarely finished what she started.

so i am quite proud indeed

all i can think about is what i'll knit next!!