Home Sweet Home

It's been so long since I've posted, and a lot has gone on.  Lots of good stuff!

#1:  We. have. a. house.
       Seriously.  :-)   Three years of looking, false starts, getting out-bid over and over...  We got a great little house, a total fixer-upper.  1 1/2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, .24 acre lot (about twice what lots usually are in Minneapolis), built in 1952, good bones, just needs lots of cosmetics!  It wasn't easy-- there were moments when GF and I thought, Maybe we're not supposed to get this house...!  But in our hearts, we knew it was supposed to be ours.  It's been neglected for a long time, and we are just the people to give it a facelift and to love the hell out of it.
       I do already.  Love it, that is.  I have such a soft spot for our ugly little house!

Update #2:  We are working on getting pregnant.  Eeee!  Any of you know this is a time-consuming and very expensive process for a lesbian couple.  We're currently in our 2nd round of insemination with donor sperm, waiting those agonizing 2 weeks before we can have a pregnancy test. 
           So far, things have generally been good with this process.  The clinic, here in Minneapolis, is wonderful and have given us great care.  My insurance is covering a lot of the procedures, although every time I go in, those bills really add up.  Plus the cost of donor sperm and delivery, and since we've decided to use medications to help us, the ridiculous costs of those medications.
           We'll see how this goes, and decide later if we want to alter our plans.

Lots of big changes, and we're doing two of the biggest changes you can make, at one time!  But we're adventurous and excited and happy to be making this journey.  <3

Candis Cayne

I'm catching up on Season 2 of "Drop Dead Diva." Today I'm watching the episode "Queen of Mean," which besides guest-starring the wonderful Cybil Shepard, also features a transgender character named Allison. The character began her life as a man, married a woman, and then transitioned to a woman. Her wife has recently died and the wife's parents are suing for her estate, saying that when Allison became a woman, she revoked her claim to being her wife's legal partner, under California family law. Allison is, of course, fighting this in court to be able to stay in the home she shared with her wife and keep her possessions.


First off, I'm really pleased with how this character is treated. One of the lawyers in the firm representing Allison had a subtle, yet visible disdain for her, at first. Yet, through the course of the trial, he comes around and realizes that Allison is simply fighting for something that everyone wants-- the right to love their partner and have their union respected by others. There is also a very touching scene with Allison and her father-in-law. *sniff!*

Secondly, the actress playing Allison immediately caught my eye. Must be the 'Dar. ;-)
Upon looking up this episode, I found out that Allison is played by actress Candis Cayne, who is herself a transgender woman. Born as a man in Hawaii, Candis was a drag queen and eventually transitioned, and is now a successful actress, appearing as a regular character in "Dirty Sexy Money."

Gorgeous!

Homemade Holiday Gifts

There were a few handmade gifts in my pile of loot this year during the holidays. I made a few items myself, too, for my loved ones.

This is one of my favorite gifts, lovingly made and given to me by my little sister. She made a matching one in blue for our mom, too. I love that she used organic cotton yarn, (Mom and I are both sensitive to wool), and in such a beautiful neutral color.


I also made a gift for my friend, which I'm excited about. I think it turned out well. A while back, we had somehow ended up talking about an organizer for earrings made from a frame and screen material. I said they could easily be found on etsy-- I've seen many that I thought were nice. Well I'm hoping that she didn't order one from etsy, because I made her one. I used a vintage frame that I bought at a thrift store last year. (I knew it would come in handy sometime!)
I asked my girlfriend to bring me home some screen, knowing that they replace windows all the time at her job. She brought me a big clean piece, so I had plenty to work with. Busted out my trusty staple gun and stapled the screen to the frame. Then I glued black felt to the back of the screen, covering up some blemishes in the frame from past staples, and giving it a soft backing so it won't mark up their walls at all.

Holiday Giving To Those Who Support Us

Having the day off tomorrow, I thought it might be a great day to go thrifting! Tonight I planned our route, doing a Google search of places near to the place we just moved into a month ago. In doing this, I stumbled upon some information about where to not give my money this holiday season.

I had somehow been thinking that Goodwill Industries were anti-gay. From what I could find, the company itself doesn't have anti-gay policies, but individual branches may have their own issues. I found reports of stores harassing or firing out, gay employees. But I also found reports of other locations hiring transgender employees and being very supportive of transgender and gay people in their community.

I did, however, find that the Salvation Army is very anti-gay. Their policy states they will help those in need regardless of their sexual orientation, but from what I've read, they are against having gay employees. Their position is clearly stated on their web page.

We are getting to that time of year when the Salvation Army's red kettles and bell ringers will be out in front of stores and public places. Boycotts of the Salvation Army have been encouraged by LGBT groups for years. Bell ringers are not allowed in front of Target stores, not specifically because of their anti-LGBT policy, but because they don't want any solicitors in front of their doors. So, if you want to avoid them altogether, going to Target is a way to start. Although, if you're still boycotting Target for their big donation to the pro-business organization, MN Forward, which supported the anti-gay gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, you have other options for making a statement...

1) Talk to the bell ringer and explain why you won't donate. But realize that this is a volunteer who is trying to do a good deed, and please show them respect.

2) Write a note explaining why you won't donate to the Sal. Army and put that in the kettle. You could even print these up ahead of time to keep in your wallet or purse.

3) Print up a batch of these fantastic fake dollars to put into the kettle!

Give your holiday donations, instead, to a group that supports all people equally. Try Big Brothers, Big Sisters, The Trevor Project, The MN AIDS Project, or find an organization in your community that supports the well-being of ALL the members of the community.

120 Film Respooled = 620 Film!

When I was visiting my hometown this past weekend, my mom and I were talking about old cameras-- I was explaining to her how I'm planning to do some TTL experiments with my digital SLR and and old TLR camera. And she mentioned how much she'd like to actually shoot with her TLR camera. It's been probably 5 years since she did, and the thing worked really well then, surprisingly! Her boyfriend had procured some faux-620 film on ebay for her. It cost at least $10 a roll, I believe. As much as she wanted to experiment with that camera again, she couldn't justify that cost.

I told her I would try to track down some for her. Maybe since I work at a camera store, I'd be able to find somewhere to get it cheaper. After a couple minutes of researching, I realized that almost everything out there is actually respooled 120 film. Well, I have a pack of Kodak color 120 at home. If I could get my hands on a 120 spool or two, I might be able to make it work!

I found a great tutorial online at:
http://www.brownie-camera.com/respool/respool.shtml

Yes, they misspelled Congratulations, at the end... ;) But the step-by-step instructions and clear pictures gave me all the information I needed. After 2 read-throughs and a quick skim, I was pretty sure I had it down. I searched through a few of my store's display and recycle-bin oldie cameras and was able to come up with a few spools! Grabbed our dark-box, which we use to take film out of stuck cameras.


I had the first roll almost done, when I realized I had done it backwards. Oops! Don't know if it would've made a difference, but I started over anyway. I suppose this way the numbers on the paper backing will be in order! Sent a quick text to my mom to see if she'd like to have a roll of black & white along with the color roll, which she was really excited about. Bought a roll of Ilford 120 400-speed B&W film which can be processed C-41. That will enable me to take it to our store's lab for processing, instead of sending it out, and then I can make sure that I hang on to these somewhat-rare spools!


This is my finished product. The first 2 of maybe many! I know the processing and printing will run us a bit, but at least this part was pretty cheap and painless. Now she won't have to worry about being stingy with the film.

I need to take my own advice and get my Holgas out again!!

Ode To My Mom

Who would've ever thought...
Certainly not me at age 15, just realizing I was at least half gay and being terrified that my mother would find out. Knowing full well her thoughts on the matter, her having been raised with the Catholic belief that being gay was a horrible sin and that it was so wrong that she didn't want her children to even watch a television show with gay characters. Her attitude shocked me and made me feel like she would reject my real self, and so I hid huge parts of my life from her for 12 years. She was who I was most afraid to come out to. I couldn't even do it in person I was so afraid.

Who would've ever thought that 15 years later, my mother would be posting one of those goofy pre-written Facebook statuses (kind of like the modern equivalent of a chain letter!), updating her status with the same message as so many of my friends are doing today. --A message that starts out "‎1 of every 10 people born is gay" and goes on to decry the attitude toward gay people in this country, how it's causing a rash of suicides among gay teenagers. A poorly written, badly punctuated little paragraph that aims to spread the message to teens and closeted gays everywhere that life "will get better."

My mom posted this as her Facebook status 4 minutes ago.

I can't explain what that means to me, or even why it does mean so much to me. It's Facebook. Really, it's just silly. My mom has been so supportive of me and my girlfriend in the past 3 years since I came out to her, it's just been incredible. I've been so lucky.

Maybe it's because it's so public that I'm so touched?? A lot of her extended family is connected to her on Facebook, old friends, co-workers. It's a public acknowledgment to anyone who may read it, that her feelings have completely changed. She loves her gay daughter and no longer sees this trait, this "lifestyle," as a terrible sin. She knows I'm living my true life and it's helped to change her attitude. We gays are just regular people now.

She had a period of adjustment, for sure, and of course that's to be expected-- it was a shock to her because I'd tried very hard all those years to keep the truth from her. But now, it's just no thing. My girl and I are as valid a couple and as accepted in her home and at family events as my sister and her fiance. Actually, gf and I have been together longer, even. Every phone-call with Mom ends with a "Say hi to Kristy for me" and an "I love you."

I love you, too, Mom!!

June 2010 Playlist

My June 2010 playlist:

1) Kate Nash - Do-Wah Doo
2) Goldfrapp - Rocket
3) The Little Ones - Lovers Who Uncover
4) Cut Off Your Hands - Happy As Can Be
5) M.I.A. - Xxxo
6) Lissy Trullie - Don't To Do
7) The Big Pink - Velvet
8) Florence And The Machine - Cosmic Love
9) Dum Dum Girls - Lines Her Eyes
10) Bettie Serveert - Deny All
11) Gin Wigmore - Oh My
12) MGMT - It's Working
13) Goldfrapp - Alive
14) The Big Pink - Dominoes
15) Class Actress - Careful What You Say
16) Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Tiny Light
17) White Rabbits - I Used To Complain Now I Don't
18) Vivian Girls - Lake House
19) Black Kids - Hurricane Jane
20) Telepathe - So Fine
21) The Big Pink - Stop The World