Another Knitting Update

As you might imagine, the influx of company over the last few weeks interfered with my productivity!  But, I did manage to keep on knitting in small snatches of time!  I finished that double leaf lace, and I had only a small bit of red cotton left, so I made a very narrow lace called Eyelet Points from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge.

Since it was quite narrow and a simple pattern, I finished it up quickly.  As I've mentioned before, I try to make each piece of lace about 24" long - luckily this one ended up close to the 24", so I was happy and put it aside for blocking.  Then I reached into my bag and pulled out another spool of crochet cotton at random, and found this.....

....lovely pastel green.  The pattern is called Leaf and Acorn.  Here in Florida there is a tree called Live Oak.  It looks nothing at all like the oak trees we are accustomed to seeing in Canada.  Instead, it has elongated, flat leaves - quite like the ones you see in this lace.  It also grows little acorns that look very similar to the acorns we see at home - maybe a little smaller and a little longer.  So, I thought it was appropriate to knit some of this lace while I am here.

I know I promised one more Sock Giveaway before I left for Canada, but I ran into a small snag on that.  When Aunt Grumpy was here, she pointed out that she couldn't see the pictures on her computer at work - and Auntie Denise thought they should both get to pick a pair of socks while they were here. I hemmed and hawed about it, and decided it would be nice for Aunt Grumpy to actually pick a pair she could see, so I relented and let them pick.  At the time I had three and a half pairs here - getting ready for the next giveaway.  So - Aunt Grumpy picked these....

which were quite blue actually, a lighter shade than they look in this photo.  I took this in the evening and artificial light just doesn't pick up the colour as well - for reference, the towel they are on is snow white - not that off-white colour it apears.  Auntie Denise picked the unfinished pair.  Aunt Grumpy immediately took hers off to her room and they disappeared.  Unfortunately, I didn't get Auntie Denise's finished until after they had left, so I took a picture.....

....and put them away.  I'll take them to her place when we get back to Canada.  Sigh!  One week from tomorrow we will be heading north again.  On January 2nd, when we arrived at the villa, it seemed such a long time until April - now it is here already!  The weather has been so wonderful this year, the foliage is so green, and the flowers are all blooming!  I hate the thought of returning to barren landscapes, bare trees and remnants of snow!  A couple of weeks ago the scent of orange blossoms was everywhere - it was so beautiful!  I captured this shot of an orange tree with full-grown oranges still on it,and bursting out into flower for another crop.

I might mention - I got this picture while Auntie Denise was "requisitioning" oranges to take back to the villa for a treat!

Meanwhile, the little boys are thriving in our absense, and it will be fantastic to see them again after this long interval away.  It is the bright spot in returning to that northern country where we live most of the year!

Munchie loves playing with stickers - in fact he sent Poppa and I a nice montage he had made especially for us (picture to follow).  But sometimes, he is overly enthusiastic about where he should stick them....

...........but Little Smiley just keeps on smiling!