Trees......... or Not??

Last Friday we had quite a storm with winds up to 120 kmh.  I was at work and got a phone call from Poppa.  He wondered if Kevin knew where the chain saw was........... because two big trees had lost very large branches in the wind.  They were our trees and they had fallen across the road - blocking it to traffic.  As it turned out, one of our neighbours was kind enough to bring a chain saw and offer to take the large pieces away for us.  They cut enough so they could get both trees off the road.  So Poppa spent all afternoon out in the rain (two days later, when I got time to do laundry, his clothes were still damp!) taking the smaller limbs off before he came to get me.  By the time we got home the large pieces were all gone and just...........

........ a multitude of small branches and little limbs lying in the ditch.  This tree is at the front of our house..........

.... and you can see how the wind twisted this large branch until it snapped off.  Poppa was on his way to the shed and heard it snap, turned around and it was on the road.  As you can see in the photo, part of it has already been trimmed off, but you get the idea of how strong the wind was.  There was also ......

.... a large branch nearer to the top, which was stripped of a lot of its branches and snapped off.  While I was making supper, Poppa kept working..........

.... diligently - cutting up larger pieces, and picking up the smaller ones........ then........

... he loaded them on the trailer and the truck, and drove........

........ around the corner to work at the site of the second tree......

.... which looked like this.  Whew!  The next morning we went to the dump, emptied the truck and the trailer and came back for more.  It took three trips to the dump to eliminate all the twigs, leaves and branches, but now it is all cleaned up!  I can only imagine how many trips it would have taken if our neighbour hadn't wanted the large wood!  On another note - I must make a correction to a previous post... I got this from Auntie Colleen.......
"It wasn't really a marathon. It was the 1500 metre race at the Ontario Masters Track and Field event held at Varsity Stadium"........ 
.... regarding Uncle Shaun's run.  Thank you for the additional information Auntie Colleen and once again - our heartfelt congratulations to Uncle Shaun!!!!  Meanwhile, the pile of dishcloths is growing, but meantime..........

.......... here's a sneak peek at the sock bin......... and ...............

..... I recently read this book.  Auntie Colleen loaned it to me.  She had received it for her birthday - from Granny - who knows the author!  The book was a good read - and I thoroughly enjoyed it - and it left me wondering if there would be a sequel - so if you see it - grab yourself a copy and relax with it.  Oh yes - remember that section of the office that was enclosed in plastic?  Well, the plastic is now off, and the end result looks like this..........

.... here is my co-worker - Lucy - demonstrating it for you.  We now have our own fire exit in the Finance Department.  Want to see why?  

That's the door at the top of those stairs.  During the winter, while I was in Florida, there was a rather serious fire in the foundry portion of the building, following which a review was done to determine deficiencies in the event of a fire.  Since we are upstairs with only one exit - down a hall and down the stairs - they decided we needed an alternate route in case the stairs were not usable.  This is it.  They did a great job.  One last thing....... I found........

....... Squeegie in a bit of a predicament - and just as I was about to rescue him, he told me he was waiting for Poppa to come in, so they could go on a beer run - and he was sure Poppa would know what he wanted if he sat in the empty beer carton!  Smart little guy!

Follow Up No. 2

3. (Cont'd)  It seems that Squeegie and Taffy.......

........... were out at Auntie Denise & Uncle Brian's house.  While.........

........... Poppa was busy doing something there.......

...... while Taffy checked out Auntie Denise's sewing machine.....

........... and Squeegie shared lunch with Uncle Brian........

.......... Poppa kept on working.....oh now we can see him better........he is in Auntie Denise's bathroom.  He made a new frame for that window and did some repair work around the shower surround on the walls and the ceiling.  He also installed that little shelf unit that you can see on the right hand side of the photo.  When he pronounced it finished (after about four days), and when Squeegie had eaten every scrap of the lunch .....

.......he took Taffy in to check things out.  It looked really nice.....

... Auntie Denise filled the little shelves while the bears checked out the seating arrangement inside the walk-in shower..... which is what started the project in the first place.  Auntie Denise's neighbour was replacing his shower unit, and Uncle Brian bought it.  Then he and the neighbour installed it - very nice!  But Auntie Denise wanted some cosmetic surgery done in there - so Poppa did it for her.  The whole bathroom........

........ looked lovely after Auntie Denise was finished painting.  I love this little hair dryer shelf!

1a.  Here is a photo of Uncle Shaun............

....... running in that marathon.  I love this shot.........he actually looks like he is enjoying the run, but you can also see the effort required - as he overtakes the guy in the green shirt!  Congratulations again!

4.  Yes - I have been knitting.  I finished a pair of socks from some yarn Auntie Colleen got one day while we were out..........

........... they turned out like this.  I hope she is pleased with them.  I have also started some dishcloths......

.......... they'll be ready for choosing soon!

Follow-Up

I have a few items to catch up with.

1.  Uncle Shaun ran in a very important marathon run just after my last post....

.... (some time in July - I just had to post this wonderful picture of my Pooh calendar) ......and he cut 10 seconds off his last year run.........Congratulations...........Well Done!  Squeegie and Taffy are soooo happy!

2.  I forgot one thing that little boys like to do...........

..... they like to come to visit Poppa and Nanna.  Here they are checking out the new cover on the hot tub....... and apparently checking out the water temperature and the controls too.  Actually Poppa was having some trouble with the electronic controls and Daddy was looking to see if he could fix it.  Daddy, Mommy and the boys came for a visit on the weekend.....

.... here's Curtie enjoying a large gummy collection on a stick.    Shortly after this Daddy, Poppa and the two little boys left to go to the park with the splash pad - it has been really, really hot here for a few days, and it seemed like a good idea to help them all cool down.  While they were splashing, Mommy and I ran out to get some groceries and supplies.   As usual, time flew, and soon.....

.... Mommy was gathering up all their stuff to pack the car, while..........

............. Poppa strapped Little Curtie and ..........

.... and Munchie too (bad exposure, but cute picture!), into their car seats.............

.............. and backed the truck (I know, another bad exposure - time was of the essence) out of the garage...............

............. past Poppa's park, and headed out to McDonald's for breakfast...........

........ across the parking lot...........and into McDonald's ............

...........and decided what everyone wanted for breakfast..........

......... and before they headed for home, I managed to get them all together for a photo!  Aren't they all adorable????

3.  What was Poppa doing?  Coming up in the next post - very soon!

Quick...........

............. shout out to Uncle Shaun.......... Good Luck!

We're cheering for you.............if you listen closely while you run, you'll hear Squeegie's voice!

Little Boys.......

............a few things they like to do..........

............ make cards for Mommy........... and .............

......... show off their accomplishments (and their blue eyes!).....and ...

..... play on their bikes - I'm not sure is Munchie is trying to give Curtie a ride, or trying to help Curtie learn to ride the bike?  And......

..... dress up like a Super-Hero..... and....

............... play together.......and......

.... talk to the neighbor's dog through the fence..... and......

.... play hop-scotch in the driveway (that's Curtie, in case, like me, you weren't sure!)..... and.....

....

..... be a rap star with a funky hair-do..... and .....

..... go with Daddy to visit Gramma.... and..... 

..... ham it up with Mommy..... and......

.... model new clothes for Nanna......... and............

.... play with Poppa, of course.  Munchie also loves to go to school.  He recently got his report card and was proud to tell Mommy that now he is in Senior Kindergarten - or SK to him!  And.....

........ speaking of boys.......... what is Poppa doing now????