I'll be at the football stadium

all day today and it has nothing to do with football...lucky me...in fact a day of this

and to make it more challenging, I woke up with a headache...if I can get past the next 3 days, I may survive December

I don't know what to think ....

someone gave me a case of fresh corn and a box of deodorant this afternoon...

our most annoying Christmas decoration

also J's favorite...the cat is not impressed and suprise, suprise...I sound a lot like a redneck...go figure

Weekend Decorating

I'm a little glad it's Monday and time to go back to work....even knowing what kind of week this is going to be...

I've run out of lights to put on things

Saturday Photo Hunt - Time

The Adluh Flour Mill has seen a lot of time pass in Columbia...regardless of what the surrounding neighborhood has done or will become...I love passing the bright red letters on the way to work in the morning

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yard decorating inspirations for the holidays??

Jason Jones needs some help...KingofHolidayInflatables.com (I'm not sure I like the way that sounds)...Christmas inflatables specifically showcased here


37th Street in Austin...my kind of stuff...more pictures of yard cars strung in lights and other cool stuff here..."don't make Baby Jesus cry"

and for some things more likely to be seen in our neighbor's backyard...go to zug

while I'm on a holiday traditions roll...

encouraging that healthy family competitive streak...it's sweeter than pecan pie...and aren't they cute doing it? too bad for them, this game got broken up while things were still sweet...there's always Christmas :)

another holiday tradition

I inadvertently picked up as a child....and like the WKRP clip am still amused by...

holiday baking requires butter and even better that the box the butter comes in can be manipulated to show breasts...I want to make sure this tradition lives on so I will continue to post it during the Christmas season...it is my civic duty...go and bake in peace now

Oh the Humanity

The funniest Thanksgiving clip ever :)

unbelievable

we have snow and ice - albeit a very small amount - falling in SC

wonder if we'll get to go home early??????????????????

Is this too gay?

we've been talking about what we want to do for a vacation next year and are seriously considering Gay Days in Orlando....

we decided after the Cherokee debacle that the next vacation was going to have to be queer...I know I said Asheville, but we can go there anytime....the lesbians will always be there
so anyone done this in the past? have any feedback? is it just a big circuit party?

I went out to rake

this morning and realized the rednecks have been busy....they've added a deck and a yard cart...please notice it is essentially up on blocks as the front wheels are in the buggy and it's propped up on the deck...

also please note the hole still in the wall where daddy redneck tore a spigot off in March...

during this season of giving thanks, I am ever thankful for the entertainment our next door neighbors provide...mostly

surfacing - kind of

spending the day pretty quietly - well, except for the dogs barking - and I actually got a few dragon ornaments cut and sanded...I'm going to paint them later, just taking a break to play online...I still haven't gotten the band saw out...but I love the scroll saw so it's all good....I changed the template a little for this batch...of course I haven't made any of these in a few years so it was time to update the pattern...I love dragons...I seem to make them a lot...anytime I do this sort of thing is when I feel the closest to my grandfather, I think he would be so amused by the little wood things...he loved making things and puttering around his shop...I wound up with some of tools after he died and they are really some of the most special things I have....don't know where that came from...must have inhaled too much sawdust

today is a suit day

I hate suit days, but I love the Grateful Dead

Box of Rain

Look out of any window, any morning, any evening, any day.
Maybe the sun is shining, birds are singing,
No rain is falling from a heavy sky.
What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago.

Walk out of any doorway, feel your way, feel your way like the day before.
Maybe you'll find direction,
Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you.
What do you want me to do, to watch for you while you are sleeping?
The please don't be surprised when you find me dreaming too.

Look into any eyes you find by you, you can see clear to another day,
Maybe been seen before, through other eyes on other days while going home.
What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago.

Walk into splintered sunlight,
Inch your way through dead dreams to another land.
Maybe you're tired and broken,
Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear

What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?
A box of rain will ease the pain, and love will see you through.

Just a box of rain, wind and water,
Sun and shower, wind and rain,
In and out the window like a moth before a flame.

And it's just a box of rain, I don't know who put it there,
Believe it if you need it, or leave it if you dare.

And it's just a box of rain, or a ribbon for your hair;
Such a long long time to be gone, and a short time to be there.

this is funny for so many reasons

You Passed Your Driver's Test

Congratulations, you got 7/10 correct. You're a good driver - at least, when you want to be.

Are You a Good Driver?

I won't link the post about all the cars I've destroyed over the years...but it's nice to see my progress as a safe driver has been duly noted by this quiz (thanks TW for the validation!!)

I may need a

kick in the ass over the next few days...just to make sure I'm staying focused...one of my friend's will be doing the Charlotte Antique/Collectible Show in a few weeks and wants to take some of my ornaments...which I really have none of right now...so if I have any intention of taking her up on this offer, I will have to get busy....or at least pretend to

Skeeter's got a blog...

I should have properly welcomed my good friend skeeter to the blog world days ago...but I'm a slacker (and she loves me anyway ;))...

Skeet's in Hawaii and is trying to get organized, but she's already talking about her underwear so I have great hopes that she will sink to trashy depths in no time...go say hello or aloha or something...I'll warn you in advance though, she a tease...

Skeet's Stuff

Illustration Friday - Clear

It was clear that the Elves Jazz Trio had been practicing for the upcoming holiday season....however, there was some ongoing discussion concerning their choice of outfits.

pulled out the sepia pens for this one...color via watercolor pencils and photoshop magic....more Illustration Friday here...

I'm blaming the evil fairies

not to be confused with the radical faeries (who are an interesting bunch of guys in their own right, and a whole lot of fun to hang out with) ...the fairies I'm talking about are the evil, yet hypnotic, ones we've had for years...we found them yesterday going through the decorations...I had to put them out now...we get a big kick out of the evil fairies, there must be at least 6 or so in varying sizes and flavors and as disturbing as they may be to some, they're some of our favorite holiday things...but today has been the weirdest day...

I was late for work
and not just a few minutes - for me anyway - and that never happens
I lost my work keys
I am compulsive about where my keys are at all times - really unheard of
I took a wrong turn coming home this afternoon
I drive a few miles back and forth to work - in a city I grew up in and know pretty well
I took my glasses off to change when I got home and almost immediately couldn't find them
no justificaton for this one, just me being me

so I got to think the fairies are playing tricks...I hope they got it all out of their system today, I'm wondering if I shouldn't disarm the treb before we go to bed

just in case.

now I'm armed...

I finally rigged up my model trebuchet this morning and was immediately reminded "not to play with it in the house"....so I took it outside and shot rocks in the backyard...I was just about to adjust the counterweight to make it shoot farther when my redneck neighbor came up and wanted to chat....then I had to go in because the dog was barking

now it's all loaded and just sitting there and J's taking a nap...and I found the lincoln logs and the tinker toys which could build great targets...what to do, what to do?

SPF - yes, no, maybe

It's the start of a long weekend...so I made this easy...Kristine said we could...after cleaning up the part of the work room that has my tools and stuff in it...I decided to make it all about that since I have every intention of spending some time there in the next few days

1. Yes....yes, I will be opening the band saw I got last year for Christmas and cutting something soon...now that I can actually get to it

2. No...no Scout, please don't eat the boxes or the wagon or my bike pedals or anything else...really...no

3. Maybe...maybe the giant Jack Daniels bottle will really be a lamp for my brother like I've meant it to be for the last couple of years

Did you play?

the Elves have landed

as much as I bitch about Christmas, the ugly truth is...I really love Christmas ornaments

no, really - I do

and here's another confession...actually making Christmas ornaments is even better, but that's something else entirely

I started picking up ornaments up almost 20 years ago...I still have the first one I ever bought - and I am a total psycho when it comes to boxes, wrapping, unpacking and packing them...sometimes it's not pretty...but that's not the point

J will tell you the first thing I ever gave her was a Christmas ornament...in August

they come from everywhere...we try and find them from places we visit...our nieces and nephews have made them as gifts over the years...there is a closet full of boxes with nothng but ornaments in them in our work room...

last week I ordered some from Ebay and they came today...a few, the ones I actually wanted, are in the picture...I'm very excited about the chicken in particular...I think I have J convinced that we might need to pull out some of the ornament boxes from the closet this weekend and start deciding what will go on which tree...in return I may have to listen to the Carpenters Christmas Album, but I'm in the mood for compromise

only here

can the name of a lesbian TV series be used as the headline for an article about the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier

crisis looming

I just switched my functional warm weather lesbian bag to my functional cold weather lesbian bag and realized a terrible thing...it is about to lose a strap thingie...

not good

I'm not sure what's going to traumatize me more....my current FLB finally meeting its maker or having to find another one....

I did find this one...too....functional, right? and I guess there's always the option of duct tape repair

110706

fake the joy

I have a friend who believes that if you pretend to like something long enough, you will ultimately either come to love it or become resigned to it...fake the joy, that's what she says...

so as the holidays approach and I attempt to make the most of the season, as I've been instructed, I am keeping this thought fresh in my mind as we discuss decorations, meal plans, and family gatherings...

as with most things of this magnitude...I am trying to be respectful, I am trying to keep a sense of humor about the impending storm of Thanksgiving and Christmas activities on the horizon, I am trying not to visibly cringe every time the conversation drifts towards the subject...

this weekend was a good practice run...I agreed to do some things around the house which included staging the yard decorations in an easily accessible area for the inevitable set-up in a few weeks...hanging Santa and his reindeer friend gave me a lot of real joy...

IF - Smoke

once the smoke had settled from her impromptu move to Antartica from Miami, Lulu questioned the wisdom of her decision when she realized the penquins were her most appreciative suitors....

more IF entries and other stuff found here....go look

before

I started blogging...before last year even...before this.. and by this I mean rediscovering the luxury of drawing...

there was this...little stuff cut with a scroll saw for the nieces and nephews...



after today...and uncovering the things I need to do the saw stuff again, I realized the little game I play with myself of justifying not doing the things that make me happy, in order to do the things I think should be done...somehow there has to be a happy median in there that allows you to do both well...I must be getting closer though, I think now it's just a matter of putting things together...

my domain

after 3 years...something I never thought possible has happened...the room we've been using as an office is actually somewhat functional...all most of the art supplies are here too, so I can play online and draw or paint and listen to music and whatever else all right here...I've been utilizing it this very afternoon...

Saturday Photo Hunt - Windows

this is my favorite corner downtown...the reflection of the building in the windows across the street always looks ghostly

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SPF - good, bad & ugly

from Kristine...a super damn easy week...it's actually been a super busy week but since today is Friday - I won't bitch...too much...and be forewarned, there's a clown picture at the bottom (sassymonkey that PSA is for you)

1. The Good - Waffle House Hashbrowns...not only good, but downright life sustaining

2. The Bad - it might be hard to believe that cute little face is bad, but if you look closely enough, that's the fire of hell reflecting in her eyes....we love her anyway (mostly)

3. The Ugly - just look at that painting...who would intentionally paint clown ass?...even I have standards

who played....anybody else thinking about garish holiday yard decorations yet?

it's official - I've been back in SC too long

I willingly and knowingly purchased a camouflage steering wheel cover for my truck last night...and was disappointed they didn't have the bench seat cover to match...I'm thinking about getting a gun rack to store my tripod on...I think an intervention may be necessary