what are they doing?? Look at that blond, curly hair - what is Daddad doing? What is that thing in Daddad's hand?
job? Whaddya think?
The same day that Poppa & I stopped in the Memorial Garden at the park, we veered off the marked trail, and followed the old rail bed un
til we arrived at the rear of the old train station, which has lots of character and is currently used as the bus station for buses to and from out-of-town places. I had never seen the back of the building and so couldn't resist snapping a couple of shots. Even from the back I thought the character of the old building shone through.
Last time Munchie came for a visit, Mummum and Poppa took some time to wash and wax Mummum's car. They spent quite a while working on it and when they were done it looked just like brand new. They were both kinda tired and hot when they were done, but both of them declared that it was worth the effort to see the car looking so spiffy.
While Mummum
was occupied with the car, little Munchkin decided it was a good time to go exploring in Poppa's grass. It was longer than usual because Poppa had been so busy and if he had any spare time, then it was raining. But, although Poppa thought it was terrible to have such an unmanicured lawn, Munchie thought it made absolutely wonderful territory for exploring. Daddad had gone fishing someplace or other, so Munchie was being supervised by Nanna and he found that she was quite lenient with the rules and regulations - that's what grandmothers are for - right?
Once Daddad returned from a successful fishing expedition (well, he said he caught a few fish, but he didn't bring home any proof of his fish stories), he and Mummum decided a few moments 
of rest and relaxation were in order and went outside for a dip in the hot tub. This left little Munchkin unattended while Nanna made supper, so Poppa crawled into the void and entertained (translate - played with) our little guy.
I'm still working on that cotton blend cover-up, but haven't made much progress - so no new pictures for you yet. Maybe I'll get more time this week.
A few years ago this was my signature knitting pattern. It seemed that everyone wanted popcorn stitch outfits for their babies. It appears now that baby styles have changed. It is stylish now to dress babies like very small adults instead of the more traditional outfits that were popular a few years back. So, I haven't done any popcorn stitch for quite a while. While we were in Florida last winter I bought a couple of nice sundresses that I am really fond of. On really, really hot summer days they are cooler and more comfy than slacks for work, but with the air conditioner at the office and my less than youthful body, I feel the need for a cover-up of some sort. Great-gramma Robert lives in an extended care facility and enjoys knitting dishcloths as a way to pass the time. Apparently, another resident who saw her knitting frequently, gave her a bag of yarn. Unfortunately for Great-gramma Robert, and fortunately for me, the yarn wasn't cotton and therefore not suitable for dishcloths. So - yep - you guessed it, I became the recipient of the bag of yarn. You saw some of it on the two circle sweaters (I know, I know, pictures will follow "soon".). It was the beige boucle on the outer ring and sleeves of the first sweater, and the smallest ring on the second sweater. In my quest to make a cover-up suitable to wear with my sundresses, I made another foray into that bag of yarn. I found a lovely cotton/acrylic blend in a soft grey shade (I know - it looks blue in the picture, but trust me it is actually grey) mixed with white and decided it would be perfect for my project. I started following a pattern in feather and fan, which I love - but didn't seem to suit the yarn at all - the yarn was too limp and the pattern didn't compliment the texture either. So after working about 8 inches I decided it was just not right and did the frog thing - you know - rippit, rippit, rippit. Then I started over in a pattern I am familiar with and this is the result. I have about six inches done now in the popcorn stitch 
and am liking it much better.
about a month (or so) ago? Here is how it looked last week. It actually has about twice as many flowers now and is putting on a fine show. Unlike the other plants in our flower beds, it is showing off its best this late in the season. It is so nice to look out the back door and see those pretty flowers brightening up the day. 
Munchie was quite happy to see Poppa since he was having trouble with his little Jeep - there was a miss in the motor. Here is Munchie explaining to Poppa exactly what the problem is.
It didn't take too long and they were both satisfied that the Jeep was working perfectly again.
So Mummum got ready and we decided to go for a stroll, get some groceries and see what was happening in the park.
Here is Munchie installed in the stroller heading down the hall to the elevator. Poppa is at the controls and Mummum is bringing up the rear.
The first order of business at the Mall was to get coffee for Poppa and Mummum, and give Munchie a snack.
Then a stop at the grocery store.
Then, back towards home.
Stop in the park for a swing. You will notice that one shoe has been taken off. Fortunately Mummum caught it and put it in the stroller with the groceries.
Check the mail.
Back to the apartment.
A quick bottom change - I took this when that mission was complete.
Some warm milk and a cuddle.
year after Poppa cleaned the eavestrough at Great-Grandma Duffy's house, he salvaged several little maple trees that were threatening to grow there. At the time they were about two inches tall. He brought them home and carefully planted them in little pots. He tended them carefully until snow fly and then he set the pots into the soil in our front flower bed, up close to the house where the snow doesn't get toooo deep. As soon as the snow was gone, and the soil started to dry up, he re-planted them in bigger pots, and resumed his vigil to keep them growing. Well, about half of them didn't survive the winter, but the other half seem to be thriving in their pots. Here they are all lined up along the back of the house. This is a shadier spot than most of our yard, so they don't dry up as quickly. As you can see, they are all turning into trees and he is quite pleased with them.
recently went on a mission to Auntie Colleen's house to deliver some trees to her house. OK - they weren't really trees, but Great-Grandma Duffy seems to have a way with house plants, and these two plants were almost as tall as me, if not taller. Anyway, there was a package waiting there for me. It contained a birthday card for Kev-Inn and a lovely su
rprise for me! So - first some background. On my birthday I received a card from Great-Grandma Duffy which was a Monkey & Boo creation. It had Pooh Bear on it along with some of his friends from the Hundred-Acre Wood. Of course, Pooh is a favourite of mine, since he is a teddy bear of some considerable fame and fortune, as well as being just plain - well - cute and adorable like all teddy bears everywhere. Back to now, in my surprise bag was a most wonderful bookmark - which matched that birthday card. So, here is a picture of the card (front and back) with the bookmark. Aren't they wonderful??!!!??
you may have guessed, we were down to visit Munchie on Thursday. He appears to be thriving. When he smiles widely, we can peek in and see his three teeth. I anticipate that he will have four shortly, but right now we can see three. We had a lovely visit. I will post more pictures in a separate entry. For now, here is a hint as to some of the things we did that day. Poppa got this shot - and did a fine job for someone who doesn't
usually wield the camera.
as nice and soft and would feel nice. I also, thought that stripes of the various colours would be effective. So, after some consideration I decided to do both. I used the burgundy as the main sleeve colour and just below the elbow I added some narrow stripes in random order just to keep it interesting. This picture was taken near the end of the first sleeve. As you can see, Taffy was helping with that project, while Poppa and Squeegie were working on the lawn tractor. The problem is that when I got all finished I discovered that I didn't have enough 1" elastic to finish off the sleeves at the cuff. So, since Munchie is coming today and bringing his parents with him (Hee), I thought perhaps Mummum and I would have time to check out Wal-Mart and maybe I could find some of that elastic. Once I get the sleeves finished, I will post a finished project picture. I'm convinced that there will be a picture of that first circle sweater very "soon"......its new owner said there would be!
I believe Mummum has decided to give us a new slant on our little Munchkin. She seems to be getting right down to the bottom of things to give us a new perspective on our little guy. I received this shot recently and I think you will agree that this is a different angle on the whole Munchkin view. It does have a certain appeal though. I believe this shot is from under the walker. Mummum must have been tired and laying on the floor when she snapped this one for us. 
has been busy keeping his senses alert and has managed to find one more photo for his Abandoned Series. I'm not nearly as good as Auntie Colleen at solving the mystery of the actual site of the photograph - maybe one of you other Orillians can identify it? Anyway, as usual there is the speciman sitting proudly awaiting its moment in the camera lens to be published here for posterity. I rather like this shot for aesthetic reasons as well. The shiny metal, the waxed cup - against the parked cars, the greenery of the trees and the distant red-brick building....all are pleasing to the eye in a way I cannot describe.
there to give Gramma a bigger garage door. So, I haven't gotten any new pictures this week. But - I do have a really cute one from our last visit to Munchkin's house. This is Poppa with Munchkin after our visit to the park for a swing. Needless to say, Munchie was getting tired and found a nice to place to snuggle into when Poppa picked him up after feeding him his lunch. Shortly after this picture was taken, Munchie went for his afternoon snooze and Poppa and Nanna headed for home. We had a nice visit - including some pizza for lunch - the traffic around the big city was horrendous, since it was the beginning of a long weekend for some folks - otherwise we enjoyed the drive and the visit.
s - as a follow up to that opening picture from a new perspective - here is another unique angle of our little Munchkin. Apparently Mummum took this one from underneath the high chair while she was on a cheerio-retrieving mission under there. Of course, Munchie was curious as to why she was down there under his chair and couldn't resist peeking under to see what was going on. He asked to have the cheerio back, and couldn't quite understand why Mummum wouldn't give it to him, since he had retrieved the odd cheerio from under there himself when he was exploring on all fours from time to time. However, he didn't get this one..jpg)
Munchie and his parents arrived home after their vacation at Gramma's house, it was decided that they would laze around and watch a couple of movies. Mummum suggested that Munchkin choose a suitable film and they would pop it into the DVD player and chill out. On the off chance that being a movie critic would be a good choice for a future career, our little guy got busy pulling movies off the shelves to check them out.
Meanwhile, Poppa and I were busily checking out store after store in search of the perfect accoutrements for Poppa's project at the front of the house. We had a certain look in mind, and we had some difficulty finding just the right thing. Finally we drove to Barrie, at the suggestion of a helpful fellow in one of the stores we visited. There we happened to find exactly what we were looking for. The price was higher than Poppa had imagined, but that is usually the case when a person is seaching for that certain thing. Squeegie supervised the placement and decreed this was about perfect.
we were driving around, it occurred to me that out-of-town folks reading this blog (like Mummum or Granny Maureen) might like to see a couple of shots from their home town. I took this as we were headed in a westerly direction.... I wonder if any of those people can tell me where this was taken. And, yes, Auntie Colleen, you can vote too, even though you are in town - Hee! For those of you who are not familiar with our little city, this will give you a glimpse of life north of the big city..jpg)
Back at Munchkin's house. He began the long process of getting several movies off the shelves for closer perusal - and he had to stretch to reach the ones on the higher shelves. After sifting through what seemed like a gazillion movies, reading the leaders on the reverse and watching snippets from the short list, he finally made a decision and chose two for viewing. Mummum went off to prepare a movie-watching snack and Daddad hustled to get the seats in all the right places.
the box we had brought home with the little chairs and began the assembly of the pieces he found in there. It only took a few minutes and he had the piece we needed to finish off the ensemble. I had been in the house getting supper ready and when I stepped out into the garage I found him there feeling quite pleased with his efforts and our choice for that special little nook he had worked so painstakingly to create.
is Munchie chilling out in front of the TV watching one of the movies he had chosen. I find something particularly endearing about the back of his head.... it must be a grandmother thing. I checked out the screen to see if I could detect what movie he had picked, but I'm not sure I've seen that one..........?????
got that circle sweater to a point where I could spread it out and get a picture for you. I added a bit of lacy edging. I wanted a scalloped edge, but I didn't really get that effect. The edge does look a little lacy and different from the main part of the collar though, so I think it will be all right. I have been debating what colour to use for the sleeves, considered doing it in stripes to match the main part, and haven't quite decided yet - but think I will use the burgundy because that yarn is nice and soft.
here is the whole bistro set on the brick patio that Poppa laboured so hard on. Squeegie and Taffy thought the whole thing was a great lark to provide them with a special spot all their own. They hopped into the chairs to test them out, and found them to be much more comfortable than they look. Both of them being fond of getting their pictures taken though, they decided to ham for the camera and posed cutely for this shot. (Is cutely actually a word? Oh well, it says what I want to say.) We need some flowers now to dress it up and we will call that project complete.
I found a couple of pictures from the beginning of the month in amongst the slew of photos that Mummum sent once she got her computer working again. A couple of them were just too good to keep to myself. For example, here is Auntie Muffy and Pal. Mummum captured them when they were visiting her during their recent sojourn to our neck of the woods. In view of the fact that their vacation was almost over, they both look pretty happy.
on his back. Really - I'm serious! See for yourself. He doesn't seem bothered about it and went about his business as usual. As you can see, he is checking out the box attached to the TV. I have no idea what this box does, but Munchkin checks it out regularly to ensure that it is functioning properly, and fixes it if it is malfunctioning. I can only assume that one of his aspirations may include becoming an electronics repairman - which may not be such a bad idea in this day and age. It seems that the monkey has a long strap, so that Mummum and Daddad can keep track of the little guy as he travels around repairing electronic things (like - ummm - Mummum's computer????).
the "Auntie Colleen's Beautiful Garden" series - I absolutely adore the colours in this excellent example of above-mentioned garden. I always imagine Auntie Colleen wandering about in this oasis of beauty, snapping pictures as she goes. It must give her pleasure each and every time to discover one more photogenic target sprouting and blooming in her own space in this gigantic world, which is so often filled with unpleasantness.
