virtuallyutopia.com

I met Elizabeth Flock, at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library

author of  Sleepwalking in Daylight and she gave me permission to post her picture on my blog.  She is a New York Times Bestselling Author and a former CBS anchor .  I now am the owner of a signed copy!

It was an enjoyable evening and her incite was a help in understanding the “why” of the book.

I’ve read Emma and Me - one of her other books, but didn’t get a chance to ask about the surprise ending of that one.  I’m Screaming Inside is on deck.

 Another book to put on my “Books I’ve Read. 

I am knitting the Zodiac for my soon to be granddaughter.  I got to the bind off and realized I was looking at the directions for the larger size - even though I circled the size I needed.   I ripped down 11 inches.  That hurt!

Hubby has a bad back.  Hurt it chipping on the second hole and continued to play the 16 holes because “it didn’t hurt any worse”.  So now he’s hobbling around with a crocked back.  Poor baby!

Tonight I lost $2.00 again to the Beckley Babes -  our Monday night set back club.

On Wednesday some of us are going to see The proposal.

Poor baby Beckett is sick.  He has been throwing up all day and  is not his perky self.  I know he still feels bad as he hasn’t wanted to go for his walks.

We had BLTs for dinner tonight with our fresh patio tomatoes!  Mmmm tasty.

 I went to Bridgeport to see the house Katie and Doug are moving into.  It is his Grams and his Grandfather built it himself and his Dad grew up there!   Maybe there will be more Secors coming along.

I found some acrylic yarn in my stash - a huge - ball and decided to knit up a Kimono.  This yarn knitted up easy and quite washable. 

But the sweater keeps getting lost.  
I test drove a new car and left the knitting bag in the back and called the dealership twice and they swear they didn’t find it in the car.  I, luckily, bought the car and there it was it the back!

Then that weekend I went to Maine with my girlfriend to visit her Mom and left it there.  SIt’s finished now. I was just attaching the i-cords in Maine.
So now it’s vacationing there until she goes back.

 Feeling frustrated I did the sweater in a 100% Mercerised Cotton by Tahki.  That’s finished too.

Then I decided to organize my stash.  That was a 6 hour project, which included unraveliving some left over balls of yarn that the dog thought were toys.   I have a lot of stash.  

I wonder . . .  Is it alright to throw away stuff you don’t like?  Nah, give it to Good Will.

 I just finished reading a book about “The Troubles” in Ireland (that’s not the name of the book) The Marching Season by David Silva.

Now I’m reading the book club book, which is an easy read.   Next on deck Loving Frank: A Novel by Nancy Horan. A book about Frank Lloyd Wright’s life.  My sister-in-law read for her book club.  She said it was great.

I’ve been knitting a lot lately.  I finished the colorful baby blanket, and now am almost finished with

One-Piece Baby Kimono by Cristina Bernardi Shiffman from the Mason-Dixon knitting book.  I’m using some mystery yarn I found in my stash which I’ve named Mystery Peppermint. 

.
As you can see I have lots left over - even enough for the Zodiac.

I have good news from friends.  Sara T is pregnant and Darcy had another baby girl, Violet Elizabeth Graham. 

I told a neighbor about my reading page and she wanted to see it and I told her she could find it here on my blog.  If you’ve visited - Hi Sheila.

Today is my daughter’s 40th birthday.  I can’t figure out how she got that old, cause I don’t think I’m that old.

Sunday Kate and Doug are coming up for Father’s Day. John is playing in a golf tournament at his old childhood haunt Hubbard Height Golf Course in Stamford, now named E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course.  We hope to get Aunt Marilyn and Aunt Jean to have dinner with us while we are there.  Beth and Chris have offered to let us sleep over.   On Monday I hope to see my Uncle Lenny and hand lunch with him.   A very busy weekend coming up.

 Last night I talked John to driving to Frank Pepe’s Pizza in Manchester.   It was great New Haven Pizza!

 I am burning a book I purchased from audible dot com and it’s taking a million year (not to mention disks).

I had good intentions this morning of doing something on my Big TODO list.  I walked the Dog at 5:30 and then went back to bed as it was much too early to be awake. 

Woke up at 8:45 and took Beckett to daycare.  There were many dogs there this morning so I hope he’ll be tired tonight. 

 I then check the stack of bills and found only 2 that needed to be paid.  Made neat piles of the stack of paper and turned on the The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (audio book).  This limited me to go no father than my computer as the book was downloaded from the library.   It is a fascinating story.  I think that hearing it read makes it better.  The book is set on Guernsey Island in 1946 and the speakers all have English accents.

I did sew on the snaps and buttons on the baby sweater I made. 

Princess Fluffy took the opportunity of the absence of Beckett to beg some begging to be brushed.

 It’s been ages since I’ve been to Olympia Diner to knit with the Newington SNB.  I think I may go tonight.

My daughter called me Sunday and she said she’s started to show.  It’s so exciting, she’s more than halfway there.

 Tomorrow Home Depot is installing my storm door and my granddaughter is playing her viola in concert tomorrow evening.  I’m not sure that I’m the baby sitter or will be a concert goer.

 Last month my friend, Martine, came down for a visit to her boyfriend.  I met her for a birthday lunch at Westfarms Mall.  I also got to meet her sister, Annette.

This my new Grand-Cat, Cleo.   Isn’t she sweet?

 This is Beckett, last night, waiting for me to finish brushing my teeth.  I didn’t know that dogs could sit like that.

I am finished with the 8.5″ of the back of the sideways sweater.   Now to cast on 72 stitches for the right side.  I hope to have this done before tomorrow morning when I go back to Sit N Knit Too to start a shawl with Audry.   I seem to do so much better with goals.

I have a weakness - that’s buying some yarn every-time I go to Sit N Knit.  I also see a new project I want to start.  I need restraint.

I updated my reading list.  I can’ t remember two or three books.  I should do this more often.  Next Tuesday is the Berlin Peck-Memorial Library Book Club to discuss “The Last Lecture”.  Two of my neighbors are coming with me, Maryann and Sheila. 

 We, the some of the ladies of Beckley Farms, have started a Monday Night Card Club.  It’s lots of fun.  I lost $3 last week!!!

 I also spent $700 on repairs for my 3 year old Subaru.  The dealer said that it was spark plug coils were corroded.  This is in a garaged car.  WTF?

Let’s start with the new tricks.   I am teaching Beckett to sit on command and today we started with down.  He is a big cheese hound and learned quickly.   I was so happy I made my husband watch and asked what we should teach next and he said:said “teach him not to shit in the house”.  I’m working on that.  He’s small and quick  and our house has an open floor plan so I have a problem keeping an eye on him.   Just as we started a routine we had a snow stom that dropped more inches of snow than he could keep his head above.

Here’s a picture of my Granddog Murphy, who stayed the week with us and Beckett playing tug o war.

I updated Ravelry today with new pictures of some project  in the works and a couple of new ones.  I’m making a sweater for Melanie, Ryan’s American Doll.  Here’s a picture  And this is a picture of Ryan on her 8th birthday and her doll in matching outfits.

This is a picture of a sweater for Ryan:

This is a pair of toe up socks I’m working on :

I’m using Judy’s Magic Cast On and the short row tutorial listed on Lillian’s Facebook page

As long as I’m doing pictures here’s Becket after he tired himself out by helping me wind the yarn in the sock picture!!!!

Becket went to Rocky Hill Animal Hospital Tuesday and got a kennel cough treatment and made a pile in the lobby so they were able to do a fecal sample.  The glass is always half full!!!!   I think he is going to go to day care at River Run once a week for a while to socialize.  They have the cutest little guy area.  You should stop in and see it.

I finished “The Last Lecture” today and cried.  I missed the big U-Tube thing on it.  It’s a Berlin Book Club Book.

I’m supposed to be making plans for a trip to see my favorite sister, but haven’t done anything about it yet.  Too busy doing condo things and dog things.

 RANTING

What is wrong with people???  Today in the times a man had a house he bought and refinanced and too 1 Million $$$$ out and not his house is not worth what it was and wants a reduction on his loans.   Hey GUY what did you do with the CASH??

What makes people think they are entitled???  

It seems that people in power (think CEOs, TRADERS, Hedge Fund Manager and of course Politicians) feel that we owe them something.  What’s up with

We’re getting our taxes ready to do the taxes, what this means is (I do the bills in our relationship) and my husband says get me this and get me that (because he does the taxes).

I have been knitting and reading and staying in.  In addition, unbeknown to me, I’ve been growing my hair.  I am in desperate need for a hair cut.  This is what happens when I don’t make an appointment when I leave the shop after a haircut.  Then I start thinking maybe I should grow it longer or maybe cut it really short.  Thinking like that always makes me sorry.

I’ve read Home to Holly Springs, and a book about a father talking about his son’s drug addiction.  I also read a novelette by John Grisham  called The Bleachers.  I’m going to gather the info and put it on the reading page on the blog.  Now I’m reading a Kellerman mystery.

On the knitting front I am working on my Pea-pod baby sweater-set. This is my first time using a knitting chart and I’ve frogged a few times. I thought I was finished and realized that I didn’t make the armholes big enough when I went to put on the sleeves. So I had to frog again.   This is the yarn that I bought when Martine and we snuck up to the Webb’s sale.  The other yarn, grey, is waiting for the perfect men’s sweater pattern.  But the hat’s done (but no picture of the hat). If I don’t put in the stash on Ravelry, does it count?

I also ordered some things from Knit Picks.  I had to…  I stepped on my number 5 interchangeable harmony wood needle and had to reorder another one.  Here’s the catch.  If you order $50 or more they ship it to you free!  Who doesn’t like free?  I bought a few knitting accessories and some sock yarn and the Mason Dixon Knitting Book.  Hey if was 40% off.

At the end of next month my grand-dog is coming to stay a week with us.  I can’t wait.  He is so calm and good.  He even gets along with Miss Princess Fluffy. 

Speaking of Miss fluffy, she is getting to be a hairy beast.  I try to brush her while we are watching Television, but she is impatient with me.  I tell her that she is going to have to get groomed, but she just gives me that stare.  As a parting note, always remember to save before you publish

Paradise Island, that is.  I took some of the Webs yarn I bought with Martine in December and packed it for the trip to Paradise Island.  This is the second time my husband won an all expense paid trip there.  He won the trip on 12/28 and we were off on 1/4/09.  Of course the weather was beautiful, lots of sun and spa and pina coladas.  We had a great room this time and a great flight on Jet Blue.  This is the view from our window:

 Two days into the tri p I used a drink glass to keep my knitting chart from blowing away and of course the ink ran smearing the leaf main chart.  I was saved by Karen squared.  She sent me the pdf so I could keep knitting.

I’ve got my shopping done, but have to wrap and send out the Christmas cards.  I always wish I had thought ahead at Thanksgiving when everyone was here to take a Christmas picture.  Then I waste time looking through the years pictures to see if I have one, but I never do.

My grandchildren helped me get out all the Christmas Decorations and decorate the tree last weekend.  Then I got sick.  My first sinus infection of 2008.  Feeling better but tired.  I finished a book about WWII and the internment of Japanese Americans entitled When The Emperor Was Divine.  Now I’m reading a John Connelly book, White Road, about the character Charlie Parker. It’s a sad commentary on the early (or as late at the 60’s) southern folks inhumanity to man.  I also finished the Truman Capote book Summer Crossings.  I think the material was Capote all the way. 

Today I am on the Tyra Banks show and if my son-in-law has recorded it I hope to embed it here!  My loot is starting to come in.  I went back to New York on 12/9 and took Ryan with me.  My daughter, Kate, got tickets to see “Shrek the Musical” and it was wonderful.  We got into the city via Metro North (using Stationstops, my son-in-law’s blog) to navigate the schedule and had time to visit the top of the Empire State Building and American Girl to check out the Doll stuff before the show.  One of the fun things was take a train, pedi-cab, taxi and ferry, all things that you don’t find in Farmington, CT.

I finished the February Lady’s sweater class but not the sweater.  Arms are in order..  I also snuck a class in a Celtic cable neck warmer and am fascinated by it.  I have startitis with 4 projects going.

I am going to do one thing on my to-do list and then go to Radio shack to see of I can get some printer to USB converters.