Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

When we were at Chick-Fil-A one day, having one of Squeegie's favourite things, we discovered that they had a calendar available.  It was rather unique, kinda fun, and came with coupons - so Poppa bought one for me.  I glanced at it a couple of days ago....

...and realized that January is almost gone!  Wow!  Time sure flies when you're having fun!  I can't believe that we have already been in Florida for six weeks!  Aunt Grumpy has picked her crazy socks....

....and I have forwarded the rest of the pictures on to Auntie Denise.  She thought Tracy might like some...but I wonder if Tracy would rather have socks that actually match....anyway...she is picking now.  Meanwhile... things are going on as usual here in Florida......

... the bears are sunbathing (notice Taffy's new ear-ribbons - she insisted on wearing both of them since her bathing suit had both colours)....

...and Poppa is catching up on some reading.  Tick, tock, tick, tock......

Days Go By

So - you ask - what has Nanna been doing?  Well, here's a clue....

...yep - I've done some knitting - imagine that!  Taffy and I have decided that these are not silly socks....these are crazy socks.  I am one sock away from starting the choosing.  I have started where we left off after the scarf give-away as far as the list goes.  So whoever was last choosing a scarf will be first to choose a pair of socks this time.  Aunt Grumpy joined after the last sock post - so I have a total of six people interested.  As usual I am making seven pairs so that the last person actually has a choice.  The last sock is finished to the heel - which I am working on now.  As you can see, cuffs, heels and toes match - the rest of each sock is whatever I grabbed and used until it ran out.  They are definitely crazy - not just silly.  Aunt Grumpy will be receiving pictures in a couple of days.

What Has Poppa Been Doing?

Well, he's been quite busy.  When Denis left for Canada, he left a little wish-list of things for Poppa to do - if he had time.  Well, you know Poppa.  He has most of the items crossed off his list already!  First up - the doorbell at Denis's house wasn't working .......

.....it is now!  Next up - there were a couple of damaged floor tiles.  While these couldn't really be fixed - without taking them out and replacing them....Poppa managed....

...to camouflage them quite nicely.  This is before he was quite finished, you actually see it even less now!  Then he .....

...replaced the drawer and door pulls in all three bathrooms.  They did have plastic ones - and Liz didn't really like them - these are metal and give a nice updated look to the bathroom cabinets.  When that was finished....

...he made a trip to the paint store and got some paint to match the walls and the trim.  He touched up any chipped/marked spots on the walls, re-painted the baseboards.....

..and then re-painted the laundry/garage entrance area.  Another day, he went back and repaired the faucet in the center bath.....

...for some reason the hot water tap ran cold and the cold water tap ran hot.....they are behaving correctly now.  While we were there that day, I took pictures of the wonderful job he had done with the pressure washer outside.......

....he did the pool deck area......

...and then he did the brick-work that surrounds the flower beds.....

....in the back yard.  The trees are currently sleeping for the winter (yes - even though the temperature today is about 80F - it is winter in Florida!), but in the spring it will be gorgeous out here.  Today he is over there again - putting some nice new mulch in the flower beds.  It looks nice and eventually becomes fertilizer for the plants!

Since Christmas...

I know - it's been a while since Christmas...but I'll give you the highlights.  The weather was delightful.  The hibiscus bushes at the front of the villa....

...were full of blooms in a salute to the Florida sunshine.  The water in the Gulf of Mexico was....

...gorgeous and warmer than usual.  The sand cranes.....

...were out strolling down the street while we strolled in the opposite direction.  We visited with ....

..Catherine (for those of you who don't know - this is Denis and Liz's daughter), Dimitri and Stefan.  We also saw....

Ashley was there, as well as,

...Matthew (their grandson) - who is just a few months older than our little Munchie.  And,

...his big sister Kyla.  Their father, Andre (their son) was busy helping Denis install a new flat-screen TV.....

..and they were so busy I never got a chance to get a good picture of Andre....that's men for you.  Poppa was out in the garage helping them re-design the TV stand so it would fit the new TV...

....well - they said they were working.  The gang left the day after I took these pictures leaving Denis & Liz alone again at their house....

..this is it.  We spent a lot of time with them, shopping and chatting and swimming and visiting....and (are you ready for this one Auntie Colleen?) watching Harry Potter movies!  When their last day arrived, we helped them with some cleaning and packing - the least we could do since they had been entertaining and feeding us so much.  Poppa offered to help them with a few small things at their house and got a list from Denis of things they would like to have done - if he has time - they have vacationers arriving on Feb. 6th.   Then we treated them to dinner at Red Lobster...

...took our final pictures and said our farewells until we arrive back in Canada early in April.  Poppa is over there now - I think he is cleaning the floor in their pool area....more on that later.

The Evening

You'll never guess what we did after dinner on Christmas Day!  Following our Christmas Lunch with Liz and Denis, we came back to the Villa and made some phone calls back to Canada to say Merry Christmas to the folks there.  Then we returned to Poppa's cousin's house for leftovers for supper.  After a chat around the table..........

...we went for a dip in their pool!  Imagine being in the pool on Christmas Day!  What a lark!  After our swim....

....we gathered around their outdoor table - in a spot where we could admire their Christmas tree - with Squeegie and Taffy for another gabfest and some refreshments.  We have decided that Christmas in Florida is just a wonderful as we anticipated.  Thanks to Denis and Liz for their hospitality.  And, thanks to David and Alison for enabling this dream to come true.  As Disney once said...."Dreams can come true!"

Hi Everybody!

It's me again -

....in my Florida outfit.  I'm happy to report we are off to a good start on that Sock Give-Away.  Auntie Colleen was first to respond - as usual!  She is always so enthusiastic that she gets Nanna and me all inspired to keep knitting!  Mommy, Auntie Denise and Gramma have also opted in to choose their new socks.  There is still lots of time - I hope to hear from more of you!

We are still having a good time here in Florida.  Tomorrow we are going to the Florida Mall.  It is a huge shopping center with over 200 stores.  But - the most important store there is the one where Nanna and Poppa adopted me from.  It is called Build-A-Bear and that's where I get a lot of my nice clothes.  I am so excited to be going!  I really lucked out this year - since there is a Build-A-Bear store in the city where Munchie lives, and I already got some new clothes this year.  I got my new coat, my new blue dress and my bathing suit there.  Now I am quite anxious to see what I can find here in Florida.

Nanna says to tell you she will be posting another blog soon.  She has been really busy and hasn't been on the computer much.  She and Poppa spent a lot of time with Denis and Liz during the week and a half after Christmas, but I will leave that for her to tell you.

Good Night!  Love Taffy

Earlier

Today I sent out a group e-mail announcing the first Sock Give-Away of 2012.  Nanna is working on silly socks now and she has two and a half pairs made.  They are really silly this time.  She put all the little tiny balls of leftover sock yarn into a bowl.  She knits until one runs out, then reaches into the bowl and grabs another little ball.  She is not making any effort to make them match - except for the cuffs.  They are pretty wild looking, but hopefully some of you are bold and daring and will find a pair you like!  I sent the e-mail to everyone who participated in the Give-Away's last year.  This is an opportunity to acquire a pair of hand-knit by Nanna socks at no cost to you!  That is - as long as you don't want a perfect matched pair!  If you did not get the e-mail and you would like to go on the list - just e-mail me at taffy.robert@gmail.com

Here I am in my new blue dress - with a matching headband!  Do you like it?

Love from Taffy in Florida!

And Finally.....

...we celebrated Christmas in Florida (and in case you haven't guessed!) we've been quite busy ever since.  We were awakened Christmas morning to the sound of Squeegie and Taffy shrieking gleefully.....

...about the fact that there were presents underneath the palm tree in our front yard!  Sure enough when we went out to check ... there they were!  We opened them up - everybody got chocolate bars and....

...Squeegie and Taffy got new fleece jammies - we're sure there will be some cool nights while we are here.  Then we all got dressed up to go to church.  Denis and Liz told us about a little Catholic church just starting up in our area.  They have received some land from the Diocese, but do not yet have enough money to build - so right now the church is located in a small strip mall on Hwy. #27, about 10 minutes from us.  The parish has done a wonderful job of making a church there.  After church we went over to Denis's villa for Christmas dinner.  Liz had everything looking......

...very festive and the meal looked (and tasted) delicious!  We had Christmas dinner with all the trimmings - in Florida!  How wonderful!  Poppa and I both enjoyed it.....

...Thank you to Liz and Denis for a marvelous Christmas in Florida - and to Poppa for presents under the palm tree!

No Picture

I was contemplating what I should do, since I had no picture suitable for saying what I wanted to say today.  I checked my e-mail and found.....

...that Auntie Colleen had solved my problem (Thank you Dear!).  ALL THE BEST IN 2012 from Auntie Colleen and us!