Next Thing You Know..................

Poppa bought new garlands for the tree and put them on.  Then he put on his three new packages of balls.  And Nanna stood back and declared it good and beautiful!  The next day Nanna went off to work and left Poppa and the tree at home.  Lo and Behold!  When I got home I discovered that Poppa had bought two more packages of balls and some tinsel.  The tree looked even more beautiful!  We turned it on and admired the pre-strung lights.

Later in the day we got a call from Mumma asking if we could pick up some Baby Wipes for the weekend, since she only had a few left.  So...off we went to Wal-Mart in search of Baby Wipes - no problem - away went the two old people in search of something that we'd never purchased in our lives, and had no inkling of which were good and which were not.  Eventually, after perusing labels on about six different kinds, we selected some made by Pampers, and carried on.  Poppa then advises me that he thinks we should get a tree skirt.  So off we head to the Christmas decoration displays.  We picked up a lovely tree skirt and a new star for the top.  This little tiny tree has now cost the working member of the family a small fortune............but...............here it is!

Merry...........?

Since we were not going to be home for Christmas this year - we are leaving for Florida on the 25th of December - Poppa decided that we did not need a tree at all.  We are having our family Christmas dinner on the 20th of December - a week ahead of time - and yes - family includes Munchie!  Munchie is too young really for a tree - he would just try to pull it apart and/or knock it over.

And - we wouldn't have time to take it down before we left...but maybe just a little tiny tree that wouldn't take too long to put up and take down.  They aren't very expensive and some of them are kind of cute and that way at least when Munchie came for Christmas dinner he would see a Christmas tree with presents under it and get the general idea of what Christmas looks like.  Yeah - sure just a little tree.  Oh - maybe not, we really don't need a tree.  We'll just put up the little ceramic tree - that will do.  No - we'd still have to put it away.  If we're going to do that we might as well get a little tiny tree and use that.  Well - maybe not.............do you get the drift?

So what is it that is keeping Taffy and Squeegie so enthralled?  What could they possibly be looking at with such intensity?

I wonder what exactly they see!  Do you think they are watching Poppa put up a tree?  Well I'm sure if that is what they are watching, it is just a small little tree that won't require much time or attention and will be easily packed up and put away before we leave for Florida.  They appear to be very interested in whatever it is that is going on.  Squeegie is too intrigued to even stop and take his jacket off.  And, Taffy has wiggled her way to the edge of the chair to see better.  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm posting this next picture for Auntie Colleen as I think she will recognize the person I found standing near my desk today at work.  I had to snap the picture very quickly - and I think he moved a tad while I was snapping, and maybe I had the camera on the wrong setting, because the picture seems a little blurry...........but.............

I won't say who it is until I hear from her to see if she knows who it is - Hee!  Kind of a good looking young man - who I've seen around my workplace for years and years.  He is quite personable and always asks me how Auntie Colleen is doing.  I think his retirement date is getting closer, but he's still there.

Now - it appears that this is what was keeping the attention of the two bears - I'll give you a sneak preview.  I should warn you that I believe it is still unfinished and Poppa will probably be aggravated with me for letting you see it in this state - but here it is anyway....

What do you think??  A nice little tiny tree - right?  Well, Poppa says nothing is too good for little Munchie!  Happy Preparing-For-Christmas Season to all!

Comfort or Not

Here is another picture from Auntie Colleen, and I believe she found this little beauty herself in that amazing yard behind their house.  Now chickadees are nice little birds - much more attractive than that old crow from yesterday!  I love to see these little fellows out at the birdfeeder during the cold, winter months.  I often wonder how someone so small manages to stave off the cold and stay alive all winter in Canada - but somehow they do, and they brighten our day while they nibble at seeds.

Munchie managed to get facing the right direction in the walker - now if he could just figure out how to get that last leg in there.  Speaking of being uncomfortable - he doesn't look cold like the chickadee - but that doesn't look like the most comfortable position I've ever seen.  I'll have to give him a call though - perhaps he is considering becoming a yoga instructor.  Judging by the cheerful smile he isn't bothered by the leg-on-table position!

Is That So...?

Here is Auntie Colleen's Picture of the Day.  I should clarify that Uncle Shaun actually took this picture of an old crow.  Now I know that crows are not the favourite bird of most people, but for some reason that I cannot fathom, Auntie Colleen seems to be quite fond of them.  The thing I like about this picture (besides the fact that the bird is the right colour for the shot) is the way that the near branches look like a window framing an exterior of some kind of weird crowdom.  Nifty hey? 

Monkey Bars

A long, long time ago - when Munchie was just a baby, Nanna and Poppa brought him a walker.  He learned months ago, how to tip it over and climb out.  So, Mumma and Daddad put it away so there was more space for Munchie to crawl - his favourite method of motion at that time.  Recently, since little Tristan started coming to visit during the day, Mumma got the walker back out so Tristan could try it.  It works quite well for that purpose.  But, now that he sees Tristan in his walker, and the walker sitting empty when Tristan goes back home, Munchie is once again exhibiting an interest in the walker.  Now he can climb into the walker instead of out.

The problem with this is - he uses the table to climb onto, and then when he clambers into the walker - he is not entirely comfortable in there (as shown in the following photo).

There seems to be some difficulty in walking - and he is trying to figure out how on earth he used to be able to do that!

The big news is - Munchie is coming to stay with us again this weekend!  Nanna has to work, so Poppa is going to be the main man!  There probably won't be as many pictures - but it should be interesting.  Poppa is quite excited.

Follow-Up

So - after Munchie went home, Poppa and Kev-Inn finished up the leaf collecting task in our yard.  This is the time of year when that huge yard is not so beautiful!  And to think that Poppa has a little tree farm growing, so he can plant some more!

It appears that Poppa was giving instructions while Kev-Inn listened carefully to make sure he got it right!  Of course, following this clean-up on Sunday, Poppa worked at Gramma Grace's house, and Aunt Peggy's house during the week - and that is when he damaged his back/chest muscles which put him temporarily out of commission.  The doctor told him it would take about two weeks to repair itself.  It is still bothering him - but it has been not quite two weeks since it happened.  However, he is much improved compared to what it was a week ago, so he is on the mend.

Taffy went out to check the mail yesterday, and came running in excitedly.  She had on her running shoes, that she bought in Florida last year - and found she could run quickly.  She was a little out of breath when she got into the house, and stood still long enough for me to get a picture of her wearing her pink sneakers.  She was still puffing a little from running and was glad to stand still for a few moments.  But, as soon as I put the camera down she started chattering about the parcel she had found in the mailbox.  It was addressed to me, and she was guessing what was inside, and urging me to open it quickly to see the lovely stuff in there.  I bet you are wondering what all the excitement was about - right?  Well, the parcel was contained in a stiff paper envelope so I had to get the scissors from the kitchen to open it.  Taffy and I peeked inside and this is what we found....

WhooHoo!  Some lovely sock yarn to keep my hands occupied on the drive to and from Florida, and probably enough to knit while I watch the View in the mornings after we arrive.  That is one of my favourite things about Florida.  I get to watch the View.  I never have time here...if I'm not at work, then I'm out running errands that I haven't had time to do the rest of the week.... or catching up on the housework......or the laundry..........or the shopping..........or....... well you get the idea anyway.  And..speaking of knitting.....you'll never guess what I bought recently.  Since Kev-Inn is staying with us for a while, we seemed to be short one chair for watching television in the  evenings.  We started out looking for a used Laz-E-Boy type chair.  We checked e-Bay and Craig's List and Kijiji and found a few.   Some of them were too far away and

we didn't want to have to travel too far to fetch one.  Others looked like they had been very well used...........to well for our liking.  Some looked quite nice if you could ignore the horrible colours - like olive green or lime green for instance.  Poppa got the brilliant idea that I should get a nice chair for myself and let Kev-Inn use my old chair.  Wonderful!  I loved that idea!  So off we went to our local furniture store to check out the chairs.  This is Taffy relaxing in the chosen chair.  It is a leather upholstered genuine Laz-E-Boy chair and I am madly in love with it!  I can pull my table up close enough that I can actually relax while I type my blog.  And when it is time to knit, I put the footrest up partway, ratchet the back slightly and I am comfortable for hours!  So nice!    Another pat on the back for Poppa!   Now - in case you are wondering what Taffy is working on - that is the white sweater that I started such a long time ago.  I have finally gotten to the sleeves and it is going much quicker now.  Here is a shot.

As you can see it is made from Bernat Soft Boucle.  It will take about six skeins.  The yarn is indeed very soft and light-weight.  As is common with boucle yarn it tends to be slightly more difficult to work with because of the uneven texture of the yarn, but I am quite pleased with it at this point and am looking forward to getting it assembled so I can take some final pictures before I wrap it up ready to go.  When I get to Florida I want to work on a project for the contest being sponsored by Lion Brand and Michaels to see if I can win a trip to California to meet Vanna White!  What an adventure that would be!  Taffy is very fond of Vanna White and admires her greatly...always telling us that she wants to be just like Vanna when she grows up.

Fall Has Arrived With Wild Abandon

Yep - the autumn season is here.  There is proof everywhere - that winter is fast approaching.  There is evidence to be seen right here.  Notice the colour of the goldenrod in this picture that Auntie Colleen took in her back yard.  Golden - hey - nope - not so much!  And yet.......it is very pretty somehow.  Hmmm....I really don't like winter much...fall colours are pretty but sad....and yet I like this picture.....must be her photographic skills.

I love how the background is blurred, but still reveals the fall colours and fall feeling.  And I think the fuzzy appearance of the "golden"rod may be what appeals to me, since I love fuzzy!

Of course, even though it is fall and the weather is chilly, it does not stop (in fact it probably encourages people) folks from stopping for a hot cup of coffee.  And for some reason, a certain percentage of them cannot seem to find a trash can to dispose of their empty beverage cups.  And strangely, they seem to feel the need to set them up carefully someplace close to where they finished the contents, before they abandon them.  Uncle Shaun found this one at the KFC - which is right next door to the Timmie's.  So here it is standing proudly - posing for him.



And then there are the bears.  Their attire is changing with the seasons too!  They have abandoned the onesies and the sundresses - and switched to blue jeans and sweat shirts.  You have to remember they also have fur........so when they start wearing warmer clothes, you know it is getting cooler outside.

And of course - let's not forget little Munchie.  He has donned long pants for the cooler weather too.  Here he is, modelling an adorable pair of teddy bear overalls, as usual, leading the way in the latest fashions for little tots.  I believe Granny gave him this pair for his recent birthday.  Good choice Granny!

Tricks of the Mind

Munchie has gone home.  There is no baby in my living room.

There is no baby in the high chair.

There is no baby playing with toys in the parlour.

There is no baby climbing the stairs.

There is no baby downstairs with Poppa.

There is no baby in the car seat sleeping.

When I walk around the house, I don't see a baby anywhere.  Do you??

The End of a Visit

Remember the big smile in the last truck picture?  Remember I said I thought Munchie saw Daddad's car coming up the road? Well - it was Daddad's car for sure and Munchie was very happy to see Mumma and Daddad step out of that car! 

Mumma grabbed her baby for a quick snuggle and a hug - Munchie has recently learned how to hug, and I can't describe the feeling of being hugged by a small grandchild - but it is a good feeling for sure.

Then Daddad scooped up his little boy to get the scoop on the visit and tell Munchie about the movie that Daddad and Mumma went to see, while their little boy was visiting Nanna and Poppa.  Everybody was thrilled to re-unite after two days apart!

It's a Truck!

Finally Munchie got tired of trudging up and down the driveway while he waited for Mumma and Daddad.  He spied Poppa's truck and like all little boys (and a lot of big ones too - Hee!) everywhere, he wanted to check it out up closer.  He peeked into the back and thought it looked terribly exciting.

He climbed inside and looked back at Poppa to tell him how much fun that was.  It's a good job he's thirty inches tall now, or he wouldn't be able to see out of there.  He enjoyed the excursion immensely and chortled happily while he explored to see if there was anything exciting in there, and seemed to enjoy being taller than usual.

Then he discovered that if he went to the other side, he felt even taller since the driveway drops down to Poppa's Park on that side.  You can see how much he was enjoying his new perspective.  I think this big happy smile came when he saw Daddad's car coming up the road!

Meanwhile - back to the present - Poppa has seriously pulled some muscles in his upper torso, while gathering the endless leaves at Grandma Grace's house.  Apparently he squished too many heavy, wet leaves into each bag and they were far too heavy.  So currently, he is somewhat laid up and on medications to alleviate the discomfort somewhat until he has time to heal.

And fall has arrived.  Uncle Shaun got an unusual and imaginative shot down near the marina which epitomizes the looming cold weather (although we had a wonderful weekend - weather-wise).  Here is a close-up and personal view of a late fall milkweed with the fall-quiet marina in the background.  I wonder how he got this shot?  Was he laying prone on the ground to get that angle of a milkweed?  What a great picture!  Oh, and did I mention how much I love milkweeds?  The milkweed fluff made the most wonderful mud pie filling.

Biding Time

On Saturday, when Mumma and Daddad were due to arrive, Poppa and Munchie decided to go out for a little excercise before they arrived.  They went for a little stroll to check out the front walk that Poppa had made in the summertime, and then up and down the driveway a couple of times, in anticipation that Mumma and Daddad would be arriving soon.

One more so you can see how cute he looked in his new hat!

Molehills from Mountains

Munchie doesn't have any stairs at his place....... but Poppa has lots of them.  The upstairs flight is carpeted - so Nanna allowed him to climb up - which he did quite easily!  Of course, he did required some assistance to get back down, since his inclination was to go down head-first - that doesn't really work too well.  On the second day of his visit, while Poppa was supervising the activities, Munchie disappeared around the corner from the TV room - and we could hear small climbing noises emanating from the stairwell.  This is what we saw, when we peeked into that stairwell.  (Note the shortage of one sock, this seemed to be a chronic problem during Munchie's visit to Poppa's house!)

Discoveries and Fun

One morning while Poppa was checking the morning news and weather, our little Munchie went with Poppa to the TV room in the basement.  Poppa got engrossed in the news and Munchie went exploring.  Much to his surprise and amazement he found a little rocking Pooh Bear in behind Poppa's chair.  Of course, he dragged it out and took it for a little spin to see how it worked.   He quite liked Pooh and rode over to Nanna's chair to see what she was doing.  And...Nanna took that moment to grab a photo op...this is the result.

Playing and Relaxing

On Friday, Munchie explored all the toys that stay at Poppa's house, and made sure that the toys he had brought with him had all made the trip safe and sound.  Once he had them all spread out across the parlour floor, he paused to look over them all and decide which ones he would choose when Poppa came to play.

Sup-Sup-Supper Time

After Poppa and Munchie had a little visit and some playtime, Nanna decided it was time for the little guy to eat something - so she popped him into the high chair and offered some food.  He seemed to enjoy the pieces of banana offered for dessert, and when he'd had enough, he peeked around Nanna and asked Poppa to get him out of that chair.

Safe Arrival

We arrived safe and sound at Poppa's house.  Poppa and Munchie stopped for a brief photo shoot and then sat down with Munchie's computer to send Mumma an e-mail to let her know they had reached their destination.  (Note the new soother - isn't it too cute?)

First Report

Here is Munchie on his way to Poppa's house, trying out the new car seat - apparently it was quite comfortable.

Impending Visit

Recently, Poppa has undertaken a rather large task - ie.- cleaning up the basement, so he can start working on the rec room/living room/TV room down there.  In order to create a space for some of the random objects dropped in that space (it was so easy to drop everything there - the space was large), he decided to build some shelves in the furnace room.  Squeegie wanted to help, but since the cutting of the boards created a great deal of sawdust, and since Squeegie really doesn't like to take baths, he donned a plastic bag to keep himself and his clothes clean, and waddled into the furnace room to lend a helping paw.  Here they are fastening the support onto the wall... Squeegie held it perfectly level so Poppa could put the screws in to make it strong enough to hold bins of yarn and/or pictures and/or other miscelleaneous stuff that we just can't throw away.

In the meantime, I have been at work.  It was inventory time last Friday, so we all worked late to get it finished up.  Here is my tiny space.  Since I am actually a retired person, I get the little area that is officially a spare work station.  Mumma works at an office supply and design company, and she always gets a giggle from my antiquated desk and environment.  I heard a rumour that the office is going to get a make-over during the Christmas break.  So, I decided I should get some shots of what it looks like now - as it has looked for the last thirty years or so.  I think everyone is supposed to get new work stations, so I'm hoping for places to put things instead of piling them on that stacking file on the corner of my desk.  Yes, that is my camera case sitting on the edge of the desk, but the rest of the stuff is all about working - including the bottle of pop which is required to keep me hydrated while I toil endlessly over a warm computer and a hot calculator!

Here is Poppa reading up on a new piece of equipment that we bought tonight.  Remember me mentioning that Munchie was due to come for a visit for a couple of days, so Mumma and Daddad could get all romantic and go for dinner and a movie?  Well, we decided that it would be easier to transport him if we had a car seat of our own for him to relax in on the way to our house - which takes about an hour and forty minutes.  It seems that this requires some serious reading to figure out the correct installation procedure.  We certainly have to be totally sure that it is installed correctly, so that our little Munchie is safe and secure for the long drive.

So we got the car seat installed (with a little assistance from Kev-Inn).

I bought some extra soothers and boiled them up till they were cooked.  Munchie doesn't need soothers, but he likes to have them around - especially at bedtime.

I stocked up on the kind of food that he seems to favour - although he is starting to indicate a liking for some of our food too.  He is getting so interesting and fun to watch.

I washed the new, warm, fuzzy jammies that I had bought and laid them out all ready for the little guy to climb into for a nice sleep after spending the day playing with Poppa.  I think they will both be tired at the end of the day.  So, I think we're ready - all we need now is our little Munchie to make everything complete.  Tomorrow we're off to kidnap him until Saturday when Mumma and Daddad arrive.

Oh and - surprise, surprise!  I got an e-mail from Auntie Muffy tonight.  She got a new laptop and has some access to the internet.........and I got an e-mail!!!!!  It sounds like she is alive and well and working hard - to pay for the new laptop I guess - Hee!

Happy Hallowe'en

Here is Munchie getting ready to go out for Hallowe'en.  He couldn't figure out why he needed to be clean to get dressed up scare-ey, but he loves to have a bath, so he didn't question Mumma, but happily got undressed and waited patiently for Daddad to come and help him into the tub with his tub critters so he could be all squeakey clean and ready to hit the road with the rest of the goblins and ghoulies that he could see out the window.    Mumma kept telling him about candy and goodies if he said "Trick or Treat" - it sounded interesting, so he was anxious to go and see what it was all about.  It took a while to get all cleaned up, but Mumma and Daddad assured him that it would be well worth the effort.

Once he got an appropriate costume on, he hopped onto his newest mode of transportation.  He thought about walking, but decided he could cover more territory on his trike - and Daddad offered to push if he got tired, so it seemed like an excellent idea.  It was so good of Gramma to get him a trike for his birthday!  It has a horn and an alarm and makes wonderful loud noises - Mumma and Daddad just love it!  I wonder why Gramma sent it home with them....surely it would have been fun for Munchie to push all the noise buttons at her house.  Poppa and I went down on Thursday (just past), and we thought about taking Munchie for a little excursion on the trike..... so we strapped him on and pushed him around his place a couple of rounds and decided that the noises were too loud for our liking (even though Munchie absolutely loved them!)...so we popped him in his stroller and used that for our little trip to the Mall.  He sure did love the trike though!

Here he is with Mumma, out wandering the streets looking quite spooky and rather skeleton-esque.  It appears that the bright, shiny, pumpkin-coloured bag is getting full - notice how happy Mumma looks - I think she has been looking for an excuse to go out on Hallowe'en ever since she decided she was too mature to engage in such childish activities.  I'm willing to bet that Daddad enjoyed the excursion equally as much - since he loves to play with Munchie's toys - I'm guessing he would enjoy the Hallowe'en adventures too!    Little Tristan joined Munchie to go tricking folks into handing out goodies - you can see him with his Daddy at the right side of the picture.  He looks like he is enjoying the outing too...hopefully he will get some nice soft candies that he can chew on - even though he hasn't any teeth yet!

After about an hour of touring the neighbourhood, Munchie took Mumma and Daddad back home, so he could check out his goodie bag and see what he got.  He found some little chocolate bars and decided this was the night to taste chocolate.  By all reports he quite enjoyed it, and put it on his list of good things to eat - right next to broccoli and sweet potatoes - which are also on his yummy list.  I understand that a good time was had by all and Munchie is looking forward to Hallowe'en next year!

I have no pictures of my knitting project right now.  It has been commencing quite slowly, I seem to have a shortage of time - as usual!  I believe the plan for this week includes going to get Munchie and bring him home with me and Poppa for a short visit.  Mumma and Daddad will come and get him on the weekend.  I hope he has a good time with us!  More soon.