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In April we went to California to visit relatives and a quick trip to Vegas.  We started visiting Pasadina, CA to see Uncle Ed, who will be 90 this May.  We didn’t get the invitation until we got home or we would have rescheduled the trip to see him to coincide with his birthday party. 

We were only there for one day and then flew to Vegas to wait for Jan and Greg.  Of course, John paid a little Texas-Hold-em.

 Jan got tickets for us all to see the Terry Fator show.  I’d never heard of him, but now a fan.  His opening he welcomed the audience and said if we wanted to take pictures it was OK and even a video, but not all the show.  He is the ultimate entertainment.  He even has his own theatre at the Mirage.

From there we were lucky enough to fly in Greg’s plane.  John got to sit up front.  Jan and I sat and read books for the hour ride.  Owning your own plane is nice!  No lines, no baggage check.   It was hassle free until I left my pocket book in the Taxi when we were dropped off at the hanger. 

Luckily taxi drivers in Vegas are nice.  I got it back, after John called my cell phone a jillion times. 

Then back to Alamo, CA to spend a couple days with Jan and Greg and my nephews. 

Jack is taller than I am now.  eek.  A.J. still has the best smile, and is going to be a teenager. Where did the time go?  I don’t know what happened to the pictures of Jack and A.J., but here is Cooper:

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?

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.

It was really windy and cold at 7 a.m. today.   A note for all those who were not out at that time.

I haven’t knitted for 2 days.  Maybe I should say “it’s been 2 days since I last knitted.  Instead I’ve been mentally preparing a 30th birthday party for Doug, who is the baby of our family.

Here are a few more pictures of our baby, Beckett:

Just another pretty face: 

Beckett established that he likes to go out at 7:00 a.m. and wakes me up then.

 If it’s cold he will only go to the side yard or if it’s nice he wants a full walk around the complex, and always poos on a dogless home’s lawn.

He can here us go to the kitchen from wherever he is in the house (as does the cat) and them they both are there expecting that we will play the treat throw with them.

 Beckett, being the good jumper he is, has discovered that food is served on the dining room table.  We switched roles and let him know that was not for him, but …. he’s a sneaky little guy.  I have to watch him carefully whenever food is involved.  It has made my grandchildren eat that the table rather in front of the TV and that’s a good thing.

 He got into trouble for stealing an orange slice that my grandson had purposely put in the middle of the coffee table.  I thought that since he hadn’t been there so far the orange was safe.  Apparently not when food is involved  What dog LIKES oranges?????

Tonight as I write he is playing with some of his new toys and the game he likes most is fetch although the dropping is not quite there yet.  My husband was playing on the computer and so when Beckett wanted his toy thrown he tugged on John’s shoe laces.  John ignored him once and he chewed on the ankle.  I said to my husband that was a better response than the shoe lace.  Now he knows how to get your attention.

Now it’s 11 o’clock and Beckett and I are going to curl up in bed.   I going to get there first and get the good spot.

Pictures to follow another time

This is our new dog.  How did I come to get a dog?  I’ve been thinking about one but didn’t want a puppy or a puppy mill dog.

That said, I was in Home Depot the other day and there was a couple there with two dogs in thier carriage.  Of course I stopped them and asked about the cuties (dogs).  She said she rescued dogs.  Small dogs.  I asked her how she came to get these cute little guys, because I’ve been to the Hartford Pound three or four times and the dogs I wanted were already spoken for and I was discouraged to go again because they had so many Pitt Bull Terriers and it’s a kill shelter and I love Pit Bulls.

 Anyway she said she travels to shelters, in CT, PA, SC etc.  I was surprised.  I told her my story about the Hartford pound and she said she had a dog from the Naugatuck pound that she had just finished nursing back to health.  His name was Beckett after Josh Beckett.  (one of the dogs in the carriage was Coco Crisp).  Any I gave her my card and she said she’d mail me the pictures.  I liked him and she brought him over for a meet and greet and we had a few days to think it over (win John over). 

And here he is.  He’s probably a year old and very puppy like.  Good with tinkles and not so good with poopies, but we’re working on it.    I’ll write another posting about the cat/dog relations.

He is about 6 lbs - smaller than the cat - beige/blond.  He has a a tail like aPug, a body and ears like a Rat Terrier, but some of his coat is a little longer and very soft  and also my newly finished green socks.

Last night I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf, and it turned out quite nicely even if I do say so myself.  2 skeins of Vanna White yarn.

Now I have to finish these socks.  I have on sock done and am down to the toe on the other one so it won’t be long now.

I went to my Newington SNB tonight but they all left at quarter to 8. I was tired anyway. 

 I now have 2 knitting friends on Facebook!  cool beans!

I believe tomorrow is Josh Beckett day here at the Cavanaugh household.