Some Good, Some Not So Good

I found Poppa doing this the other day....

... he was washing out my Zip-Loc bags.  When I asked him why, he said that with the weather getting cooler, he was starting to prepare for our winter in Florida - where he does the dishes and cleaning up after meals.  Oh my goodness - only two months until we will be heading south!  Later he went out to rake leaves.  I thought that would make a nice picture for the blog so I went out to look for him....

... I noticed that the birch tree still had lots of leaves to come down, even though there were already lots underneath it.  I found....

.. this little fellow scampering around searching for food to place in his winter stash..... there were lots of leaves around, but I didn't find Poppa anywhere???  I wonder where he went???  Oh well, I did receive some news from Mommy......

.. another career consideration for Munchie!  Here he is in his cowboy outfit!  Actually he had been invited to a birthday party where the theme was "princesses and cowboys", so he got dressed for the part!  And, as delightful as he looks in that picture, he did take his role very seriously....

...as you can see!  I hope he had a good time at the party!  Meanwhile, I decided that if Poppa was preparing for Florida, then perhaps I should too....

... I had a nice plastic container that I had planned to use for carrying my yarn for a sock giveaway - but I soon discovered that the yarn would not all fit, so I had to leave some in plastic bags - imagine that!  On another front... Great Gramma is in the hospital.  Poppa got a phone call on Tuesday shortly after supper time.  She has had a heart attack, which is made worse by the fact that she also has viral pneumonia and an infection of unknown origin.  She is being treated for all those things and we are anticipating her release in the next couple of days.  Both Poppa and Auntie Denise thought she seemed quite tired yesterday, but I think it will take some resting in order for her to return to her usual self.  I'll keep you as up-to-date as possible.

But, I still haven't found Poppa!

A Little More....

....stuff to share with you.  Autumn is falling in our yard too....

... and our not-quite-mighty-yet oak tree is putting on a lovely show.  As you can see some of the trees are almost bare, while others are still mostly green.  The countryside looks beautiful.  Meanwhile, this cooler weather we have been experiencing has put Taffy in a mood for.....

... cooking.  Here she is brewing up a new recipe she found for Macaroni and Cheese - one of her favourite foods!  She has one of her new shirts on and actually a new pair of blue jeans too, but they are behind the bowl - oops!  She has cream cheese and dry mustard there - I hope her Macaroni and Cheese turns out tasty.  While we're talking about Taffy....... she loves to surf the internet and she recently discovered another blog that she is enjoying immensely.  The biggest reason for her affinity for this particular blog is....

... this little fellow!  His name is Bear and is a travelling bear.  He lives in New York with his fond keeper, but can frequently be found touring the streets and shops of Paris, France.  Taffy and I love reading this blog - and I'm sure you would enjoy it too - it can be found at parisbreakfasts.blogspot.ca - check it out and you can follow the escapades of Bear and his keeper.  She is an artist who paints whimsical interpretations of almost anything she sees - and they are beautiful.  The best part is - you can actually contact her and acquire one of her paintings - and from time to time - follow her blog - and you will get special offers on some of her favourite topics.  As you can see Bear is packed and ready to head off to Paris shortly!  Speaking of exotic places - here is a photo of....

.. an exotic flower.  This is an orchid that Auntie Cecile bought for Gramma Grace for her birthday.  The blooms are gorgeous and I couldn't resist snapping a picture!  And growing things brings me to this picture....

... we captured this little tyke sitting in a pile of autumn leaves across the road from Aunt Peggy's house.  Notice big brother in the background - he was on a "time-out" for exuberantly knocking over his little brother while playing in the leaves!  And, while Taffy was cooking up her macaroni and cheese I got busy taking pictures of the scarves for the church bazaar.  After one fuzzy scarf and one lacy scarf, I opted for....

... a combination for the third scarf.  The colour in the photo is not good - the blue is actually more of a royal blue and is quite rich looking - but I just couldn't find the right setting to get the colour perfect - so use your imagination.  I am fond of that fur yarn, so next....

... I tried mixing some of the balls from my stash for a different look.  What do you think?  I was happy with the result.  The combination of colours in this one got me thinking about some other yarn in my stash - resulting in this....

... wavy stripe in a traditional feather and fan pattern.  Poppa liked this one best.  But, I only have until next Friday before it is time to take my stuff to the church (the bazaar is on Saturday), so I think when I finish the one I am currently working on - that will be all for this year.  I'll post a picture of it next time - when it is completed.  Back soon!

A Little Post.....

..... with just a few matters of interest.  We were at Munchie's on his birthday for a brief visit...just long enough to watch him blow out his candles....

... but in the excitement I missed the moment.  When they were all blown out (which he did an excellent job on), Little Smiley supervised the removal of the candles from the cake (and he may have sampled the icing on the tip of his finger).  Munchie got more presents - mostly clothes from his grandparents - and something called a DS from Mommy and Daddy.  It is one of those hand-held game devices so popular with the little folk these days.  Once he had opened his DS he was occupied with it for the rest of our visit.  Needless to say - Poppa was with him and they were both learning how to play.  It is amazing how quickly little people learn how to use those electronic game devices - including Munchie!  Meanwhile....

... we had a birthday party for Taz at work.  It started with pizza and wings and ended with this cake.  A couple of weeks later, just before his Mom returned to Japan, we had a little gathering to honour her visit to Canada....

... in the Training Center since the group was larger.  Then there was the day when the power was out due to a change of an electrical transformer to supply power to the new building being constructed ...

.... during those hours our computers weren't working, and the lights were off - and here is Kev-Inn demonstrating how stressful that was for all of us!  Outside....

... while there is still a fair amount of green, most of our trees are wearing their autumn colours.  I wonder if Auntie Colleen recognizes this scene??  More recently we had another birthday at work...

... this time it was Lucy wearing the birthday hat!  And of course...

... I have been working on those scarves for the annual church bazaar.  This is the first one I finished, then....

... I thought I would try something different.  More to follow....

Munchie is Four!!!

This is what..........

.... a happy, little, blue-eyed boy looks like on the morning of his fourth birthday.  Yes.  On October 10th, 2012 Munchie turned 4!  In honour of that birthday (and fulfilling a wish of his), Mommy and Daddy took him to ......

... yes - you guessed it - Marineland!  The weather was....

... a little chilly, so he had to bundle up a little to watch the program. But as the bleachers slowly filled up....

.. Smiley joined him and they cheered for the pre-show dolphins, who were warming up with a few tricks.  Munchie quite enjoyed the happy playing of the dolphins and ...

.... the funny tricks done by this big walrus.  He watched closely....

... every jump and twist and entertained the idea of becoming a dolphin-trainer someday.  Once the show was over, the fun began.  They stood....

... in a line (can you spot Daddy and Munchie?)...

... for some crazy rides... they went ....

... shopping for souvenirs, and....

... they checked out some other animals (Squeegie likes these fuzzy guys!).  Finally, when Munchie realized that....

... Mommy and Smiley were starting to lag behind a little....

... he sat down with Daddy for a few minutes to let them catch up.  When it was time to get going again, he noticed that he was feeling a little tired....

... so Daddy gave him a lift back to the car.  It was a busy, fun-filled day for the little boys and....

... this is what a happy, little, blue-eyed boy looks like at the end of his birthday trip to Marineland!  (Notice little brother joined in this endeavour!)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHIE!

Quickly.....

.... a couple of pics for you.....

........ our little men were visiting two weekends ago..... Munchie and Poppa had a great time playing together with all the little cars and the big truck, while Daddy chilled and ......

.... watched some football on the TV.  Mommy and Curtis were upstairs and not on this camera.  I'm hoping I got some pictures of them on the other camera, but I haven't download it yet.  On another front, I have finally finished Munchie's blanket.....

.... here it is spread out on my 3/4 (48") bed.  The detail looks like this....

.... and I added a border because I didn't like the knitted edges.  The yarn is a slubbed acrylic/cotton mix and it produced an uneven edge.....

.... so I made this simple border which pleased me much more.  Every time Munchie has been up since I started it, he asks "Is this for me?".  Happily he can now have it.  I was working on frogging the sleeves on an old sweater of Aunt Peggy's - so I could make the sleeves shorter for her.  It is a tedious job because the sweater is machine-knit and therefore is not un-ravelling like a hand-knit sweater would.  This means each stitch has to be picked out - I'll probably still be working on it when we head for Florida!  Anyway, in the meantime, it is time for the annual church bazaar and I have nothing to send this year....so I am making a few scarves - they knit up quickly.  I haven't got pictures yet....next blog!