Final Notes

We are leaving the villa today - which makes me sad.  We will be in Florida until Sunday morning, when we leave for Canada.  Therefore this will be the last blog until possibly next Wednesday when we are home!  The bears have had..........

...........a wonderful time shopping and eating and basking in the shade (sun is bad for their fur).  They don't want to go home.  Before we hit the road I wanted to share........

......this picture of the little church in the strip mall.  We have been there each Sunday this year, sitting.........

.........in one of these chairs.  All the regular parishioners here are working diligently to try to raise funds to build a larger church on property given them by the diocese because these seats are all filled to capacity twice on Saturday evening and five times on Sunday.  We enjoyed our visits there and hopefully next year we will be sitting in their dream church!

Poppa is doing a few last minute chores.....

  .... and if I can get him to stop we are going for breakfast!  See you in a few days!

Downtown

As I mentioned - on Monday we visited Downtown Disney.  I was expecting it to look like a main street in smallville.  Instead we discovered all kinds of delightful stores and things to do and see, scattered with both fast food and sit-down eateries.  How delightful.  On our first walk around we saw this....

....hot air balloon just beginning to rise over the little lake.  Cool!  We kept trudging along in the heat....

...past a sea monster.  We were noticing the heat less as the scenery got more interesting....

.... we saw Cinderella's carriage way up high.....there was......

.... Mickey and Minnie Mouse riding bycicles on a high wire.......also....

.... a seafood restaurant that looked exactly like a riverboat...and....

....... another tropical themed restaurant shaped like a giant pineapple....not to mention.....

.....a bittern in a pond, including a fountain....and one of Poppa's favourites.........where........

........Poppa visited a gigantic dinosaur - which we both thought our little boys would love - except that it roared loudly which might have scared them a little!  Then.....

........we crossed a bridge to take another look at that hot air balloon.  We stopped....

.... in the shade of this umbrella for a closer look.  We looked.....

..........up at it.  And then.....

......we looked down from it.  Yes!  We went up in the hot air balloon.  It goes up 400ft, then stays aloft for a few minutes (tethered to the landing zone) ...long enough for Poppa to snap some pictures for me.  I was holding on for dear life!  Hee!  Actually once you get up there it is a little windy, but quite stable otherwise.  We looked ....

...........through the protective mesh at the floating restaurant from another angle, then......

..... across the water to Disney World Resort, and we could even...........

.......see Epcot off in the distance!  It was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad Poppa suggested it.  All too soon........

.... we were moving downward towards the landing pad........the red circle in the middle of that round area at the top of this picture.  Our young pilot made a perfect landing and we de-balooned (a new word for us!).  Then it was time to head home - Poppa had a sunburn on the top of his head - and Squeegie was waiting at the villa for his supper.  A great day for one of our last in Florida this year!

Exit Strategy

We have been busily packing stuff in preparation for heading northward to Canada....

...and piling it in the front bedroom where it is out of the way, but handy for moving out to the car.  Poppa has been doing a few last minute things....

..........like sweeping the pool area - the oak trees have been dropping bits of pollen and stuff for about a week now - he had given up trying to keep it nice - but they seem to be finished finally!  He hosed off the solar blanket for the pool, and .......

....artfully arranged the pool seating to make it look relaxing and inviting for the villa owners when they arrive on Friday!  He has also washed floors, cleaned bathrooms, wiped baseboards and vacuumed the parts of the villa that we don't really use.  Tomorrow we will vacuum the rest, give the furniture a quick dusting and we should be ready to travel.  But, all work and no play makes Poppa a dull boy - so on Monday we did some tourist-ey stuff....here is a clue....

...........this is outside the Christmas store in Downtown Disney.  We had such a good time there...but more on that later.  I managed to..........

........finish Uncle Brian's first pair of socks.  I have discovered that if I use Knit Picks Stroll yarn (these are done in Stroll Tonal), there is enough yarn in one skein to make a whole pair of socks for Uncle Brian.  I didn't have to make contrasting heels and toes at all!  You can see that the second sock doesn't have blue toes - because by then it was clear that I had enough yarn.  So, Uncle Brian, your next pair of socks will be all one colour!

Finished and Started

The blanket is finished.  It took much less time than I anticipated - perhaps because I had fun doing it.  Hopefully Little Ellie and her Mommy have fun using it!

Here it is all done.  The final product measures about 32" x 38" - which should be a good size to cover up a little girl when it is chilly.  After it was photographed I still had a small bit of yarn left - and I decided I would do something with it.......so.........

.... I made this little washcloth.  I didn't measure it, but it's about - well - washcloth size.  Now, what was Poppa doing while I was knitting?  Well...

....he did a little of this.....

...he waxed my car....

...he did a little of that....

....he carefully washed the house plants....this large one ....

...... and even the smaller ones.  As you can probably tell I was sneaking around taking these pictures when he didn't know.  So while I was at it, I got........

......one of Squeegie waiting for lunch.... and....

.... this one of Taffy as she was deciding what we should have for lunch.  She was a tad irritated because she wanted to fix her outfit and look directly at the camera - but I had it snapped before she even knew I was going to take it.  She doesn't like this picture because she thinks it makes her look fat.  I think she looks cute!  What else did I do, while Poppa was working so hard?   Well, I started......

........ a pair of socks for Uncle Brian.  The blue heel?  What about it?  Well, I have to make sure I have enough yarn for a person who is over six feet tall and has proportional appendages...and making the heel with a contrasting yarn saves a little of the main colour yarn for the leg and foot sections.  I'll use the same contrast for the toes and they'll look amazing!  Hee!  And - the contrast is the leftover from the socks that Auntie Denise chose - so they'll go together!

Blanket Progress

Mommy's friend Kat sent me 4 skeins of Bernat Cottontots in a variegated white/pink colourway to make a blanket for little Ellie.  I should have taken a picture before I started, but I was so excited to be making something that was NOT sox, that I forgot.  Not being sure how far I could knit with one skein - I decided to make strips - one from each skein.  So I did that.  Then I decided that some solid colour trim would make the blanket go from nice to special....

....I originally thought I would make a lace border to go all the way around.  Then after playing around a bit I decided I would make narrow strips as a method of connecting all the strips together....so today I started the connection....

....different camera - makes the lighting look different - the real colour is closer to the top picture - but I think the finished product will be pretty enough for..........

........little Ellie - shown here with her eyes open!  What a cutie!  The colours in her outfit are perfect for the blanket!

The Leftovers

As most of my sock choosers probably noticed......... I made four pairs of socks over and above the seven required for the participants in the Giveaway.  I did this on purpose since the last person on the choosing roster will still have a bit of a choice, rather than being stuck with a pair they really don't like.  Poppa and I conferred on what to do with those last pairs.  We came up with the names of four people who don't usually participate due to a lack of computer/internet.... but who have expressed an interest in having a pair of hand-knit socks.  And, then I asked Poppa to choose a pair for each name on the list.  Here are the results:

This pair was sent to Aunt Jeannie.  She is Poppa's youngest sister and doesn't have internet service for her computer yet..........but we know she loves the hand-knit socks and I'm pretty sure her old ones must be getting worn out!

We sent this pair off to Becky.  Do you remember Becky?  She is our friend from Ohio - who now lives in West Virginia.  She works for the Power Company there, and she has been extremely busy for quite a while now -

....here she is with Whitey in their hard hats taking a short break - you can see the big truck on the right hand side of the picture.

This pair went to my friend Mildred.  She is Kev-Inn's mother and she is a kind, gentle lady who takes time out some evenings to sit and chat with Aunt Peggy when I am away in Florida.  Kev-Inn mentioned to me a loooooong time ago that she would like a pair - and I am happy to finally have a pair for her.

Lastly, we saved this pair for Robbie.  She is a really good friend to Aunt Peggy and has been helping out in several ways while we have been away.  She has never had a pair of my hand-knit socks - so I hope she will like them.  And, don't worry Kev-Inn - I have yarn to make you a couple of pairs in time to go hunting next fall!  We appreciate all you do for Aunt Peggy and Grandma Grace while we are basking in sunshine, and you are shovelling snow!

Last Pair!

Cousin Tracy has chosen - I was wrong - they did have time to look at the pictures!  She chose......

......... Knit Picks Stroll in Scarlet.  These have an "all-over" lacy pattern and I hope they make Tracy feel very special!  We just got out of the pool..........

.........after taking Taffy out for dinner for her 4th birthday!  Happy Birthday Little Taffy!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

The Ladder Again!

Remember I said the ladder led to more chores.....well it was really just a continuation I guess.  From the living room light fixture to.....

....the master bedroom.  Squeegie was watching, but he was sitting on the bed and I just couldn't get him into this shot!  Then on to.....

...the double bedroom.  Poppa was too busy to turn around and smile for me, so we just got his back.  Next he moved the ladder to....

........the front bedroom/computer room.  I love this room - it is so bright and cheery with that nice window at the front of the villa.  One more move to.....

........the one I call the Pooh bedroom.  It has really adorable Pooh/Tigger bedspreads - which are not visible in this picture...I'll have to take another picture so you can see it!  Then I got busy with some other stuff and Poppa just disappeared.  When I went looking to see where he was, I found him.....

..... outside, in the lanai, cleaning the pool furniture.  I went back to my own chores...... I heard a noise...and went to see what I heard.  Well - that ladder had moved again.....

... he had decided to clean the light/fan fixture out in the lanai.  He sometimes sits out there in the evening to read his book - in a place where I won't bother him while I am knitting!  He assured me that it really needed to be cleaned - doubtless true - since it is outside!  It looked like this when he started......

..... he worked carefully under Squeegie's watchful eye ..............

.... and it looked.......

........ like this when he was finished!  I think he did a good job!  Later he went for a dip in the pool, and then.......

........ it was time for a few minutes of relaxation while I made supper!

About the socks - in case you are wondering.......... I haven't heard yet from Cousin Tracy.  It's the weekend, and Auntie Denise will e-mail for her - I suspect they are busy on the weekend, so it might be Monday before I hear from her.  Those of you who live close to us in Canada will get your socks hand-delivered, since we will be home before the USPS would get them to you.  For those of you more than 20 minutes away (you know who you are!), I will mail them from here on Monday, since it is about $2.00 here and at least $11.00 there.  I keep wondering why the difference is so huge!  I was so pleased with the response to the sock giveaways this year.  Thank you to all!