Moving and Knitting Along

I think we finally have all the furniture moved.  We still need pictures for the new room - but it is lovely and spacious and comfy!

This is the sitting area for company - since Poppa and I both have our own chairs...you can see my computer sitting there in front of my chair.  But, you can also see that we need some pictures on the walls and some curtains for the window.  I am working on that curtain now, since we couldn't seem to buy any the proper length.  For my sisters - see the piano stool from the farmhouse underneath the lamp???  So, finally we are not moving any more furniture!  Hurray for that!

So, finally I can get back to some productive knitting.  Aunt Muffy was the last scarf recipient.  Taffy was sooo tired of knitting scarves that she decided to chill out for a while in Poppa's chair.

Meanwhile, I got started on another project.  Aunt Becky had a special request for my knitting list.

She and Whitey both work for the power company in their state...and therefore work out of doors all year round.  Needless to say it can be very cold in the winter!  She asked me if I could make a hat to cover her ears, that she could wear under her hard hat, some mittens with flaps to let fingers out if needed, and a long scarf to cover her neck and keep her face warm on windy days.  So, while Taffy was lolligagging around, watching TV - I was knitting.  The scarf isn't finished yet, but here are the hat and mittens.

The colour in this picture is lousy, but I'll try to get a better one when it is finished.  She wanted yellow to match her hard hat - I think it's pretty close.  And, while I was working on curtains - pressing and pinning to make them the correct size - I took a couple of minutes to pin some other items.......

This is that little doilie I made last winter while I was in Florida.  As it turned out, my lunch plates were the perfect size to block it on.  The red lace looks like this ....

And here is the little doilie (7-1/2") after I applied a hint of starch to make it crisp.....

I can't wait to see what kind of creation Auntie Colleen comes up with to use it!

And Another....

.....scarf is taken!  Aunt Muffy didn't take very long to make her choice .... and as usual she picked a scarf with lots of personality!

This should help to keep her warm during the winter cold in northern Ontario!  Thanks again to Mommee for being my model!

One More Gone

Gramma always seems to choose quickly - and once again, it didn't take her too long.  She has chosen.....

.........#2 - and it looks like this, kinda furry and burgundy-ish.  Once again Mommee is doing an excellent job of bringing out the best in my knitting endeavours!  Thank you Mommee.  I think this colour is going to look gorgeous on Gramma!  The pictures have been sent to Aunt Muffy - we'll be waiting to see which scarf she chooses!

Moving Along.....

.........quite well.  Mommee has already chosen her scarf.  Then again, I think this is the one she liked best when she was doing all that modelling for me!  She chose Scarf #2......

.......and she does look rather cute wearing it too!  Now Taffy is preparing to send the pictures to Gramma - I really hope there is one left that she likes!

Another One..........

has been chosen.  Here is Auntie Denise's choice from the batch of scarves............

............a cute, sassy scarf on a cute, sassy model (thank you again Mommee!).........going to my cute, sassy sister-in-law!  I hope she's happy with it!  The next person to choose will be - oh my gosh - it's Mommee!  I'll send her the pictures right away!

Here is a recent Picture of the Day from the camera lens of Uncle Shaun.....

....and Auntie Colleen's blurb is just too precious and so typical of my little sister who loves all critters - great and small!  It reads..........
"When I went to optimize this photo of the thistle, I saw these wonderful little black bugs all over the flower. I have no idea what kind of bugs they are, so I named them thistle bugs."

Quick Decision!

Aunt Pauline has already made her choice!  She chose this one.........

...........a huge "Thank You" to Mommee who went swinging around to make this scarf look so pretty!  Here is a close-up of the detail..........

The pictures are now on their way to Auntie Denise.  This will probably take a little longer - since she only gets e-mail at home, and I'm quite sure she is at work right now!

Under Way!

The scarf giveaway is under way.  Auntie Colleen has chosen this scarf...........

........many thanks to Squeegie for doing such an excellent modelling job for me!  The pictures are winging their way through the internet to Aunt Pauline right now!

The Room

Okay, so Poppa & I looked around for a reasonably priced seating arrangement for our new room in the basement.  While browsing on Kijiji we found this love seat.......

.........and a matching sofa.  We both really like it and thought the colours would be great in the new room, since the walls are plain beige........perfect! we thought and on Saturday Poppa went and brought it home in the back of his truck.  Kev-Inn kindly came over and helped to bring it into the house.  They carefully lugged the love seat down the stairs to the basement and placed it in the exact spot we wanted - where it fit perfectly.  Loved it.  Okay - now they will bring the sofa down.........or NOT!  The sofa is so large that it won't fit through the door at the top of the stairs.  Poppa had measured the door at the bottom and determined that it would fit ... but neither of us thought about the door at the top.  Oh Dear!  What to do!  Well...here is my new knitting station....

..........and here is Poppa's new chair position.....

.........I didn't get a picture of the other wall yet...but you can see the ends of our old sofa and chair which has been in our living room for 28 years.  I had to laugh when I was explaining all this to Mommee.  She thought it was a wonderful thing and mentioned "it's about time you actually USED that sofa anyway".  Yes, it has been in our living room for 28 years and has only been used when we have large amounts of company.....you know, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.  So now it will get some use - for sure!  The room is still very basic, but it is a treat to be in the much larger space during our leisure time.  I'll get more pictures once it is more properly arranged and we have pictures on the bare walls!  Here is the long wall...........

........and Squeegie & Taffy have their very own chair............

.......which is right next to Poppa's chair - so Squeegie can share his snacks and his beer!  Hee!  I am currently reading this book..............

..........I'm quite sure that the artist designed the cover to coordinate with the bookmark that Auntie Colleen made for me!  For any of you who have not discovered this author and his "Jack Reacher" series of novels.......I highly recommend them.  If you like mystery and suspense and an enduring hero, you will like these books, they are extremely well written and I can't get enough of them.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, the scarves are ready.........

.....and the pictures have gone to Auntie Colleen.  Last I heard she was having some difficulty choosing one.  I told her no hurry, since I don't think it will be cold enough for a scarf for a while yet. Now..........are you wondering what became of the big sofa that wouldn't fit down the stairs????  Here you go.....

......what do you think?

Back to Normal Again....

Since our return home last Sunday, life has settled down somewhat....well....more or less.  Poppa has been quite busy.  On Monday morning when we crawled drowsily out of bed, the large room in the basement looked like this.............

...........but a few hours later it looked like this........

......can you see the difference?  I'll give you a hint....

.......oh good grief!  What is Poppa doing now?  Oh heavens!  He is crawling around on the new carpet picking little fluffs off the carpet - shortly after this picture he went to get the vacuum cleaner - what a good idea!  Next step.........

............put the baseboard on.....and the week went on......here is Poppa...........

...choosing some TimBits to take home for Squeegie.  And here.....

....is the Rose of Sharon bush out in bloom - just as I expected it would be when we got home from Munchie's house.  Apparently it was a really good year for begonias.......just look at these beauties!

And...........I just feel compelled to show you that fuschia plant once more - just because I like it so much that I want to share....

.......isn't it pretty?  On another topic altogether - the scarves are ready......

.....I have a few pictures to take and then I can send them off to Auntie Colleen.  Since the person above her on the list didn't opt in for the scarf giveaway....she gets to be first again!  Hopefully there will be one that just pops out at her!  I'm going to try to get that done tomorrow for sure!

Oh look...........there's Kev-Inn and...........

...........what is Poppa doing now?

Let's Have..........

............a party!  On Saturday morning Poppa, Munchie and I went for a walk to Tim Horton's for coffee and TimBits.  Three TimBits later Munchie was ready to go home.  By the time we got back the backyard at Munchie's house was being transformed........

........a bouncy castle had sprung up and Munchie was checking it out!  Daddee and Uncle Craig were busily preparing for the guests to arrive......while Mommee was busily preparing food.  To try and help, Munchie decided to take Poppa to the park.  Munchie got on the new Diego Jeep that Gramma had brought for him and away they went.....

.........while I kept Little Smiley with me........

...........he's not quite dressed for his party yet............but he would be soon since the guests started to arrive............

...........some of the neighbours and............

cousins Taylor and Reese.  Daddee got the BBQ going.........

..........and - take my word for it - the food was delicious!  I took a break from taking pictures, while I had some lunch!  The little boys were too busy to eat much..........

....they paused for a moment, but then.........

....they went for a ride on the Jeep, and ......

.......they all visited the sandbox.  Soon everyone gathered under the shelter.......

...........to watch while............

Daddee helped Little Smiley open up his presents.  Little Smiley soon picked his favourite new toy from among the multitude of choices...........

............these cymbals were just perfect - they made a big noise, and they were easy to use!  There were soon so many toys, that Little Smiley had to move outside the shelter to find enough space to play!

Soon after the presents were all opened, Poppa and I decided it was time for us to head back to Poppa's house so we would miss the traffic hour when we passed through the big city.  As we drove away, we looked back at Munchie's house..........

........everything looked quiet, but we knew there was still a party going on in the backyard!

Busy, Not Bored!

A week of babysitting for Nanna and Poppa is a very busy time!  Those two little boys kept us on the go constantly - a bit of a task for two retired people!  Our day started about 6:30am each day.  I would sneak upstairs to the bathroom while Munchie made sure that Poppa was awake....

..........then I would give Little Smiley some little snacks so Mommee could sneak off to work....

.........and thus, our day would begin.  We spent the rest of the day finding things to do that would amuse two tiny boys until Mommee and Daddee had finished their work day and returned home.  One day we went to the Mall...........

..........Munchie was so happy to get to drive this fire truck and Poppa steered carefully to reinforce Munchie's game!  You would be absolutely amazed at how well Munchie can drive though!  He has a battery-powered car and at least once a day he would drive up to the nearby park............

..........along with Poppa.  There was no need to tell him which way to turn, he already knew....and he is learning to stop at each corner to "stop, look and listen" before he drives across.  Sometimes Little Smiley and I went with them.....

...........the boys would have a swing and play for a while.  Munchie liked this swing....

....and as you can see, Poppa pushed him really high!  Little Smiley was more inclined to try out this swing...........

.........and he preferred to swing a little more cautiously..........in fact, some days he just stayed home and took advantage of Munchie's absence............

.........to read some of the books and play with the toys without his big brother's supervision!  Then, there came a day when Poppa, Munchie & I were walking back from Tim Horton's with coffee for Mommee and Daddee.........Munchie looked up the road and proclaimed "There's Gramma's new car!".  Sure enough, when we arrived at Munchie's house.........there was Gramma........

..........which meant that it would soon be time for a party in honour of Little Smiley's first birthday.