Just Stuff

Here is an update on the progress of the tomato plants.  I'd better check later in the day (when it quits raining) to see if these need to be picked now - since I took this a couple of days ago.

There are two reddish ones in there..and as you can see, a lot more to come!  But, I must tell you about what Poppa did yesterday.  We hopped into the truck....

...we went to this place....

...and when we got home Poppa had this thing in the back of the truck....

...and wheeled it back to the patio.....

..where he started preparing the equipment for his next project.  About then it was time for me to leave for a lunch with the gang from work.  They were going out and e-mailed to invite me.  We had a good time and a good lunch.  Here are the girls.....

...and here is Kev-Inn and myself on the other side of the table.....

I really enjoyed getting together with my old workmates...and I'm pleased that they invited me to join them.  When they headed back to work, I headed out to run some errands and was gone for quite a while.  When I returned home, Poppa was just cleaning up the equipment to return it.

Now, I'm going to give you a couple of days to see if you can figure out what he did..........good luck!  Let me see............the first person to post a comment with the correct answer will receive a pair of hand-knitted mittens in their choice of colour...how's that?

I have finished the blanket for Curtis.  It has been washed and pressed and is looking quite nice - well - I think so - I hope he does too!

I'm now working on finishing Munchie's blanket...so he will have a new blankie too!

Wondering...

We've been having a problem with the garage door on Poppa's workshop.  Every spring it looks like this......

Of course, this drives Poppa crazy...soooo....he decided to strip the door down to bare metal.....

Right now he is down there washing the bare metal with some kind of solution that is supposed to remove any residues that are on there, as well as etch the metal to provide a better surface for paint adhesion.  Then, I believe, tomorrow morning he will put on a special primer, which then sets for 7 days.  Whew!  What a job!

Meanwhile, I finally got the laundry finished (for now), and here is the outfit that Poppa bought for his "little man".

And summer is marching right on by.  It has been an excellent year for Queen Anne's Lace, not to mention the other floral growths commonly known as weeds!  I have to admit though that sometimes I can see why Auntie Colleen thinks they are pretty.  We saw these on the way home from the coffee shop the other morning.

The tomatoes are growing well and getting ready to ripen..

Our baby mountain ash tree is growing little berries,

It is soooo hot outside - rather than challenge our air conditioner further, I am putting the slow cooker outside when I prepare supper.  It works just fine out there, and doesn't heat up the kitchen.

The orange lilies are at their prime....

...and for the first time in two months there wasn't a big, long lineup at the donut shop.  See Poppa up there at the front of the line...usually the customers are lined up past the spot where I am sitting.

We sit in the area that was designated for smokers, before they banned smoking.  Now we sit in there because it is always cooler than in the main sitting area.

I'm guessing though, that in a couple of months it will be much cooler...so I washed up the fuzzy jammies I bought for my two little grandsons and folded them neatly in preparation for a visit from them.

I still think Munchie is small, but he's a big boy, compared to the size his little brother is going to be when he makes his appearance in a few short weeks.

Now, I've kept you in suspense long enough!  I know you are all wondering what Uncle Shaun was looking at when he was on the lookout.  Here is the vista in front of him....

Yep, definitely worth a photo!

Shopping and Knitting

While Munchie was with Daddee visiting Gramma, we did some shopping.  Poppa took Mommee and me to a large shopping mall so we could look for stuff for her hospital suitcase.  We had a blast - but I was too busy to get any pictures.  Mommee and me shopped while Poppa took the car in for an oil change.  So we shopped!  We got some jammies and a housecoat, some newborn diapers and some newborn soothers.  We also got two little outfits for the new baby.  If the weather is hot (which we anticipate it will be), he will wear tiny brown shorts and a little beige shirt with brown palm trees...too cute.  If it is cool, he will wear tiny white jammies (complete with tiny feet) with little blue bears all over.  I didn't get pictures since I left those things with Mommee, but I'll get pictures with the baby wearing them - for sure!

We were quite pleased with all our purchases.  I also bought some fuzzy jammies for both Munchie and the new baby to wear at our house since it is always cooler at my house than theirs.  I haven't got a picture of those yet either.  I put them in the laundry yesterday and haven't rescued them yet. 

While we were at the big mall, Poppa hadn't been able to find a nice outfit for Munchie and he wanted to buy him something since the new baby was getting all kinds of stuff.  So when we got home, Poppa decided that we should go looking.  Oh my gosh!  We did find a cute little outfit for Munchie (which is also in the laundry at the moment).  But...........Poppa also bought this:

Obviously I still need to get the pad for the top - I just set the basket of bears there for the photograph - though they do look quite adorable don't they?  Hee!  Of course, then I couldn't resist putting a few little things into the drawer as well.

Of course, this is the piece de resistance.  Poppa also bought this matching item.  It is still in the box - we can't assemble it until we do some re-arranging in the spare bedroom - so I took a picture of the label on the outside of the box.  It's not the clearest picture, but you get the idea.

It is a convertible crib which changes into a youth bed when the baby is old enough for that step.  Now Munchie can sleep in the crib and the new baby will have the pack'n play that Munchie uses now.  Of course for the first few month Curtis can sleep in the cradle that Poppa made, but by the time we get back from Florida next April he will be too big for the cradle.  I'm looking forward to getting that room set up for the two little boys!

I decided it was time to get Curtis' blanket assembled, so I laid it out and started stitching the border on.  Oh horrors!  It turns out the border is about 5 inches too short, so I'll have to make a piece and ever so carefully put it in so that it is undetectable.  On the positive side, that multi-coloured yarn will disguise it quite well.  Here it is with the border started.......

And here is a closer shot....so you can see the detail better.

I like it much better with the border on, and I'm glad I decided to make one.  It kinda stretches the cable pattern out and just makes the blanket look more finished.  As I mentioned previously I also started a new piece of lace.  It is also from the Nicky Epstein book Knitting on the Edge that Auntie Colleen gave me.  This one is also from the lace section of the book and is called Petite Open Points.  It is quite narrow because I'm almost at the end of the pink spool of thread, and I wanted to make sure I could produce a nice long piece of lace.  It is also quite easy - as you can see it is not a complicated pattern.

Now I have an unusual picture of the day from Auntie Colleen.  Because........for once............you get a picture of Uncle Shaun!  Here he is at the lookout!

I wonder what he sees when he stands on this lookout???????

Adventures with Mommee

While Mommee and I went shopping for nice things for the new baby, Munchie went with Poppa - out to the sandbox.  I think about half the sand ended up out of the sandbox, but it seems they both enjoyed themselves nonetheless.

That is - after they got the lid off!  Hee. 

Mommee found some delightful little jammies with a matching hat and bib - all covered with little yellow duckies,  Then I found a matching towel, and also bought one with a blue doggie for Munchie.  By the time we got home it was very hot outside and Poppa decided it was time for a new adventure for our little Munchkin.

As you can see, it didn't take long for Munchie to get the drift of this endeavour.  He climbed in and spent quite a long time playing in or near the little pool.

After Mommee had watched for a while - sitting in a chair in the hot sun - she decided she should try out the pool as well.

Once they were both refreshed from their adventures, they decided to sit for a moment and dry off.

Then another day was done and early the next day it was once again time to get buckled into the car seat for a trip back to Daddee's house.

Mommee and Daddee were on holiday last week, so Daddee was taking Munchie for a visit with Grandma.  So, Poppa and I went to visit Mommee - so we could go shopping for the necessities to put in the suitcase when Mommee goes to the hospital when the new baby makes his arrival.

Uncle Shaun managed to find a very unusual and increasingly rare bug while he was out for a hike through the woods.  Look closely.

Can you see it?

Mommee

After Munchie had a much needed nap - who arrived but Mommee!  Munchie was happy to see her and they had a nice snuggle together.

Daddee had gone to Las Vegas to be at Aunt Melissa's wedding, so he couldn't come to Poppa's house.  But Mommee's doctor didn't think she should fly with Curtis right now, so she came to visit us - which was nice.  Of course, Munchie doesn't ever sit still for very long - so soon the snuggle was over and he spread out all the toys to show Mommee what he had.  He found the fire truck and took a few minutes to play "Vrooom, Vrooma".

Once Mommee arrived it seemed that the time flew.  Soon, Munchie was heading up the stairs with Poppa who was going to get him ready for bedtime.

Once the little fellow headed off to bed, I got a chance to think again about picking up some knitting.  Here is a more recent shot of Munchie's blanket.

I need to keep knitting for about another 12" and then I can add a border.

You really can't tell from this picture that Auntie Colleen was still on the Studio Tour, but the picture is definitely worth looking at!  Here is the intro: " Here is another shot from our Studio Tour Saturday. The pony kept a close eye on us. "

And here is the photo - gotta love the atmosphere!  She named this shot "Approaching Storm" - how fitting!

More Fun!

After a late bed-time, and a bit of a sleep-in, Munchie and Poppa woke up all ready for another day of fun.  They had breakfast ......

Then they took a few minutes and read the paper together....

Now what are they doing????

Oh my goodness, they're putting their shoes on...I guess they are going outside again!  Yep, they are heading back to the playground again.

Munchie checked out the slide - and called Poppa to tell him it was dirty.

They cleaned it off and had a few slides.  Then Munchie decided to try the spinner again, and found that he was getting used to it...and actually rather liked it, as long as Poppa stayed close.

On the way back to Poppa's house they went to check out the trailer.

It turned out to be a rather fun place to frolick.

By then it was time for a nap!

Here is shot No. 2 from Auntie Colleen and Uncle Shaun's Studio Tour.  She says:

"This is the courtyard of the church I showed earlier. I'm madly in love with the weathered yet colourful Muskoka chairs that bring the scene to life."

Meanwhile, I've been knitting away on Munchie's blanket - and haven't gotten the edging attached yet to the blanket for Curtis.  I have finished the last piece of lace and started a new one.  No pictures yet, but they will follow soon!

Behind Again - Oops!

Here I am again - with so much to show and tell, and away behind with the news.  So I'll start at the beginning and work my way through.  So, since the last blog post, Munchie came to stay with us for two days, joined on the evening of the second day by Mommee, and then they both stayed for another couple of days.  We had such a good time.... and we missed them when they left.  We picked Munchie up at the sitter's house around noon on Thursday.  He was such a good little fellow on the long drive home, and fell asleep about twenty minutes before we arrived.  Consequently he was quite awake when the car stopped in Poppa's driveway.  So after a short pit stop Poppa and Munchie headed outside to see if anything was new.

A short distance down the road they found a new driveway that led to some nice grass, so they followed it to see where it went.

Much to Munchie's delight, they found a wonderful playground!  First he tried out the swing....

Then the car......

He tried the slide and checked out the music maker and trudged off to see what else there was to do.

He stopped at the spinner, but it made him dizzy (in reality - he loved the spinner!), so he ambled over to the ride he hadn't tried.

A ride on the bumble bee and he had tried everything.

It is nice that Poppa has a playground right across the road!