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Today my hubby and I moved a bookcase and all it’s books down stairs (at least the ones we still wanted) moved to others to fit the new one (it’s a wall unit with a corner and continuation piece). 

I have a gazillian CDs.  I need to ask Chris how I can do a wireless speaker for upstairs.

When was the last time you ever looked at a phone book?  All phone books out!   Sent to ATT in Wethersfield to recycle.

 Note: as I’m typing I’m watching a mommy bunny and her little one nibble on the clover.

I also moved my bed.  Because my little dog can slip under it I found all sorts of chewed up things under it not to mention a year’s worth of pet hair.  The fact that I haven’t moved it in a years does not make me a bad housekeeper.  That’s because I’m a homemaker and my motto is to do what I want when I want because the dirt will wait.

I bought two new chairs yesterday for the living room.   I’ve been looking for about a year now.  Now the rug is wrong and I need a new rug.  Damn, don’t you just hate when that happens?

 Ok, now on to knitting,  the Zodiac is finished, needs to have the ends woven and crochet around the edges.  I also need to make a decision about a zipper or buttons.  The baby shrug is finished and the is being modeled my  BERENGUER Berenguer Baby until my new granddaughter comes.  I believe it’s 6 weeks till due date! 

I’m trying to make a matching petal bib that is in One Skein but am having trouble with the short rows.

Lillian and I are going to see Martine on Wednesday, in Salisbury, MA.

I had a little bit of no knitting time.  I think it was because I had so many projects going and was near the end of all but something was wrong with all of them.

 I finally finished the peapod and hat.  You can see I did the little bobbles differently from the directions, cause I didn’t like the way it looked.  These seem to be more pronounced.

Then my friend Martine came down from Canada and we went to Sit N Knit Too and started a sidewise sweater with Helen.  It seems simple, but the value of it is in learning the fit.  I had an AHA moment.  All the sweaters I knit were too small.  I thought I was knitting too tight, even though the guage was right on.  I even knit a swatch and bound it off and then measured.  The trick is to add inches to the bust measurement.  duh….

  I’m using Lily Chin  and Isager “scots pine heather” yarn and it very nice.  This is the left sleeve, but I’m no on to the front and back.

Golf starts up on April 20th and there is a meeting on 4/4 at Hawks Landing.  $19 walking for a round this year.

 We’ve been busy worring and meeting about the condo for the last month.  We went to a Town of Berlin Meeting to see if the SHADY DEVELOPER Nathan Kahn would get is builders permit renewed.  We also contacted a couple of lawyers to see what would be in our best interest - get the permit or not.  The town didn’t know how bad the situation was here and noted that he was in violation on many counts and ordered him to clean up the trash and put in street signs (safety issues).

We will never get the “punch list stuff” done.  I, for one, would just like to see the grounds cleaned up and topsoil applied and the rest of the shrubbery planted.  I guess we’ll have to wait for a new developer to take over.  We have taken dozens of pictures and presented them to the p and z commission and I think even the inland/wetlands commission and anyone else we can think of. 

One of the other defunct projects, who seem to have a far greater problem than we do, had their community featured on channel 30 news and Nathan Kahn declined to comment.  They only have 9 residents as where we have 22.  That makes it a log easier to share the cost of everything. 

 We eliminated mulching and fertalizing from the maintenance contract and one of our owners is going to spread the fertalizer if the owners but it.  We can maybe mulch next year.

 I have been reading up a storm and need to collect the names before I forget them - see them next post!

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

Today I went out this morning to do five things.

Started with a Latte from DD

Make an contact exam

Buy some ink for printer

Cancel a cell phone on our ATT account.

Get birthday food at Stew Leonard’s

#1 No Splenda in Latte

#2 Went in to make the appointment and the dingbat at the counter wanted to know if I had insurance.  Yes - she looked at the card as if it were a UFO and said we don’t take this kind.  You need to go to your own doctor and come to us for a fitting, otherwise it’s $150.  I knew that I don’t have eye coverage and was willing to pay the $150 but just walked out.

#3  Circuit City and Office Depot (the two that carry the special ink for Lexmark)are going out of business - hence no ink.

#4 Can’t cancel in person at the ATT Store - have to call customer service

#5  Stew’s was having a sale on Fillet Mignon so I got all the stuff for under $200.00

 I went to Bessie’s last night to knit with her, having missed my two group opportunities this week.  Note to self:  Try the new 1:00 p.m. knitters group at the Wethersfield Library.

Martine should be coming down from the cold Canada soon.  It will be fun to see her again.

 Lots of stuff going on with our Condo and Nathan Kahn (who has other failing developments, whose loan is attached to the Beckley Farms Loan).   Nathan Kahn has one in Danbury, 2 in Hebron and one that he walked away from leaving the condo owners high and dry in Windsor or S. Windsor - Strawberry Fields.  It’s so depressing.  You read about horror stories, but living one is another thing!

There is so much more to be done on the common properties, not to mention he never completed the punch lists of the last 15 people who moved here (there are only 22 of us).  It was always, I’m getting money next week, don’t worry.  I’m getting money from Isreal next week.

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

I don’t know if I posted this picture or not, but here it is:

 During the election I was driving along I-91 and was behind this truck and thought “how ironic is that?”

  I thought all those mid-west states were CONSERVATIVE,  but it seems that there is a Liberal, Kansas!!!

 I felt very strong emotions watching the swearing in ceremony on Tuesday.  I really think we can change and that Obama will be good for the country.

I know that he is bucking the establishment and will have a hard time, but I was disappointed when reading the NYTimes this morning I saw that the new Chairman of the board of CITI was a crony of Obamas, and that he was already on the board of CITI when the former, read crook, took a 69M retirement pkg.

Please lord don’t let it be.

The other night I was at Stew Lenords on the Berlin Turnpike and when I went out to the car it was dark and their Christmas light were on and there was a rather large Christmas Tree shinning colorfully.

 I was still for a moment with a feeling of déjà vu.  I looked at the lights and felt that I should have a joyful feeling, but it just wouldn’t come.   I remember shopping for Christmas Dinners Past and my goal was to make the holiday a memory for my children and husband.  I would finally relax when the prep was finished and the atmosphere was pleasurable.

 That night I just couldn’t feel the excitement.  Perhaps it’s not having children waking up on Christmas morning or the expectation of family and friend arrival.  Maybe it’s the fact that we don’t host Christmas anymore or have any “wants” for gifts.  Maybe it’s the fact that my Grandchildren have so much that they don’t seem (to me anyway and I know that is a generational thing beause I heard the same thing from my mother) have the expectation of Santa bringing them something that they really want.

The holiday now seems more commercial and the state of my country is in disarray and I’ve been watching the news about CT Food Share.  I know I’m echoing the sentiments of the talking heads on TV, but that’s just the way I feel.

I think this year I’ll give more to charity. 

Sunday the championship game between the black and silver teams of the Farmington Valley Mudhogs Football League was won by the black team.  My grandson #60 starts offense and defense for the black team.  Here he is waiting for the punting team to come back; no. 60 4th standing from the right.

 My granddaughter, who is 8, is a cheerleader for the Farmington Valley Mudhogs silver team.  When it was all over she had the quote of the day:

“Who won?”

 I am making progress on the cable sweater, 1/2 inch at the top of the sleeve.  I’ve seamed the shoulders and will block the sweater today.  I ran out of yarn because I made it so long.  Now I have to figure out something to do with the shawl collar.

The February Lady’s sweater is coming along nicely.  I freaked to get knit where we were supposed to be for the lesson and found I was one of the few who got that far.  So I ripped down to some errors and re-knit and am ready to increase for the lace, and I still have 9 more days to do that.

 I am also down to the foot on the Berrocco Comfort socks. 

 I always thought I was lucky that my husband never noticed how much yarn I have.  Today there was a package in the mailbox and he said, “just what we need, more yarn”.  Hah!

 Yesterday hubby and I went to the Berlin Library to start on our quest to read the classics.  I have to stutter stop and read The Last Lobster by Stewart O’Nan for the book club in December, because the author will be there and I bought a book to be autographed.   We also got The Red Badge of Courage and For Whom the Bell Tolls, plus a light reading novel and a book on take to knit by.

Let’s watch the election results tonight! 

I decided to write here before I entered my new stash in Ravelry.  If I go to Ravelry first I’ll never get here.  I seem to get lost for hours on that site.

 Yesterday, I had the most enjoyable day.  I had a haircutand then went directly to Sit N Knit in Wethersfield until 3:00.  A relaxing day of knitting - hence the stash increase.   I worked on one sleeve of my sweater and am halfway through.  I chose not to  do 2 sleeves at once since the last time Idid that I spent more time untangling the yarn than knitting, at least it felt like that.  My goal is to finish the sleeve tonight and cast on the next.

 Also I recently bought some “doesn’t count as stash” sock yarn.  Blue Socketta, green Pattons stretch because I had to buy the other skein I forgot to buy to make the knee-socks.  You need to skeins of stretch to make a pair, so in order to save on shipping I bought 4 others.

I signed up for Sit N Knit’s Lady Sweater and bought the yarn.  Here’s a picture of what the finished product will look like.The yarn I bought is a soft Berraco purple, it feels so nice.  I snuck in a single skein of a soft soft baby wash pink to make my Granddaughter a pair of wristlets.  Why?  Because she went to Justice with her Aunt and bought a blouse with short sleeves, that  came with a pair of cotton gauntlets.  Flimsy material.

 Today I wait for the cable guy, not HIM, but comcast to put in the second box so we can see hi def on the downstairs TV, then off to Farmington to wait for the school bus.  I’m getting better at this.  I have a goose step schedule and it seems to work without tears.  I wish I could wait and watch Ty practice but I have to sit and wait for the 7 year olds practice - I guess that what you call 15 little girls that can’t stand in a line for more than a minute and the high school girls that are the “coaches” .  The coaches need a  little bit of management skills and to learn the meaning of “preparation”, instead of standing there trying to think of a new routine.

So I can’t get through a post without ranting about politics.  What’s with “THAT ONE”? What was John McCain thinking???  They say as people age they seem to become more ethnic, or maybe it’s the people older than me that get that way.  I think it’s from when they were young all people were “foreigners” - 1st or 2nd generation (and that’s a generalization).  People tended to stay within their groups of ethnicity.  But hey, he’s a politician and should have better handlers.   Slip of the tongue that shows what he is thinking.

 I am voting for Obama.  I made my mind up a year ago.  My first reason is that I think we are going too far right and the church/state thing is to integrated.  Church and state should be separate, no ifs ands or buts.  Second:  Health care!   Does John Mcain really thing a $5000 tax credit will purchase health care?  I have a pre-existing condition, “Pre-Diabetes” (which means that I control it with diet and exercise - not drugs) and when my COBRA ended I was canned because of that condition.  Now I am in a HIGH RISK company and pay - are you ready for this????? $375.50 /per month.  YES THAT PER MONTH - MORE THAN $13,000.OO PER YEAR  - YES MORE THAN THE $5000 TAX CREDIT.   How does that help people like me?

Ok, I am calmer now.  I’m off to Ravelry.

I finished the Mother’s Day Sweater that I started in May.  Actually I finished all but the putting together when I broke my finger. It sat there by my knitting spot and made me frustrated and sad. So the first part of August I brought it to Sit N Knit Too for Judy to finish. I made it out of Samoa-Mouline yarn (cotton & acrylic 10ply) by GGH.

I wanted to get a picture of me wearing it, but hubby has been on a tournament binge between Turning Stone and Foxwoods so I have to corner him on Friday for a photo session.

The entralac socks I started were too complicated for me at this time so I frogged them and cast on a plain jane pair that I thought I could knit on when my finger was in the cast.  Ha - that was a laugh.  I am behind in the KAL A  Year in Socks, I have only 7  pair made and it already almost September.  Ok, so maybe I can not count January since I joined in February, so then I’m only a pair behind.

I am actually typing with all fingers, abet lots of right hand mistakes. 

I went to Sit N Knit Too Tuesday and Helen helped me with the neck of the Gurnsey Sweater.  I also started this bhp (before hand problem) and I’m almost finished, but it looks like Jake has outgrown it..

I’m now trolling magazines and books and Ravelry for a new project.  Goal:  Use something from my stash.  I’d like to make a fall sweater jacket using my hand dyed New Zealand Wool.  I can’t remember where I got it, but Ihavfe 1495 yards of it.

Big plans for the weekend.  Katie and Doug and Doug’s sister are coming for the weekend.  We are all going to the lake in Pittsfield, MA for a picnic with my brother (except Beth and Chris who are sadly for me, going to NH).   I’m watching my 3 grand children saturday night while their parents go to a Perl Jam concert.  And on Monday we’re having a neighborhood block party.

 On a political note:  The news caster on the car radio tells me that Cindy McCain is going to China to view the effects of the earthquake on its citizens.     My questions is WHY?   Why on earth is this news.  Do they have cheaper botox injections?  Is she thinking of adopting a child.  What are her qualifications?  Did she ply the news casters with beer to get the story in?

On that note I’ll sign off and gaze at the ragweed growing outside at the edge of the woods.  Achoooo