What's Knitting Now??

Well, as usual......

............. Poppa is busy.  He was replacing one of the anchors that hold the fence around the patio in an upright position.  Apparently during the winter when our area got hit with a LOT of snow, the fence started to lean, so....

.... under Squeegie's careful supervision, Poppa fixed it.  Of course, he also had innumerable other tasks to finish during the spring season.  We have spent a lot time lately working at Aunt Peggy's house sorting things out and organizing it in preparation of selling her house.  It is a long process but we are making headway slowly but surely.  Meantime, I usually take the evenings off to relax, knit and watch TV.  What have I been working on you ask!  Well, when I finished the blanket for Mommy I thought I should fulfill some of my other requests.  Before we left for Florida I told Munchie I would make him a "shirt".  He chose several colours and asked for stripes with them.  So I created this.....

..... in sock yarn for light weight and comfort - not to mention that it used up some of my leftover bits of sock yarn.... I still have to block it and add buttons.  Once I had the knitting portion done I moved on to my next requested item.  You might recall....

.......... me mentioning the llama (or are they alpacas?) farm we pass on our way to the Post Office when we are in Florida.  There are about a dozen or so of these woolly creatures in varying shades from white to dark brown.  Every time we go past Squeegie oohs and aahs and asks if he can have a llama of his very own.  We have explained repeatedly that it is the wrong climate for llamas where we live.  Finally he asked if I could "make" him a llama.  Since Taffy now has Minnie....

......... for a little friend, I agreed that Squeegie could have a llama for a pet.  He had already picked out a name...... the llama would be called Snout.  So, when Munchie's shirt was finished Poppa & I went to choose some yarn for a llama and I got to work.  Here.....

......... is Snout.  We think he turned out quite well - even...........

........... from another perspective.  And most importantly.....

........ he and Squeegie are already best buddies!  So, what am I doing now????  Well....

........... it seems that Munchie has lost one of the socks I made for him before we went to Florida, so I am making him some new ones - to match his new shirt!

Okay....

........ Squeegie & Poppa........

..... are putting new metal glides on the drawer's of Aunt Peggy's dresser, so she can use it at her new residence.   She has agreed - at the age of 99 - to stay at Atrium Retirement Residence.  This is such a relief for Poppa & myself, since we don't have to worry about her being in the house all by herself; we don't have to worry about her medications getting mixed up, lost or forgotten; we don't have to worry about her falling on the stairs; we don't have to worry about whether she is eating properly when we are not there to prepare meals; we don't have to worry about strangers knocking on her door; and Poppa will have one less property to look after.  So the last while, we have been busy.  Poppa has been preparing some of her furniture (cleaning and repairing) so she can have it in her room, while I have been going through things at her house in preparation to list it for sale.  As you can imagine, that is quite a task as she has been in that same house since 1958.  However, we successfully got her settled with her furniture there and hung some pictures to help her feel at home.  She got a new mattress, bedding and television, and a chair from our place that fit nicely into the room.  She seemed happy, but tired, when we left yesterday, and was looking forward to trying out the new bed!  Meanwhile.....

........... look at this adorable trio!  Auntie Colleen sent this and it definitely deserves the Picture of the Day award.  Here is what she said:
"For the second year in a row, Mom Squirrel has given birth and raised her kits in our back room. They are too cute for words and keep Gus endlessly fascinated. Today I was looking out the window and saw they have made a hole in the corner of the roof. It seems when Mom goes out, they run up there and peek out to watch her in the back yard. "

Thank you Auntie Colleen........... please send more!

Springing

A couple of weeks ago, we went for a drive........

....... to check out the reports of flooding we were hearing on the local news media.  Sure enough - there were several flooded areas..... this river is usually about 5 feet lower than the road.... and as you can see it is flowing across the road now.  Poppa drove through very carefully and we did get across.  Further along the way....

.... we saw homes with the water up to the door...........

.......... some folks had piled sandbags along their doors to try to keep the water out.........

.... for others it was way beyond sandbags.  This is only a sample.  There were several other areas where the water was high and a lot of properties were damaged by the water.  Fortunately our house was fine and didn't seem any the worse for the long, hard winter which everyone was talking about.  Fast forward to May, and I'm happy to report that the water has receded and spring is arriving.   Of course this is the cue for Poppa....

......... to get  busy and wash his truck.  While he did that, I wandered around.....

............ in search of some nice spring pictures.  The forsythia is blooming.....

......... there are buds on the trees.............

............ these little blue flowers that come up early every spring are putting on a nice display.....

.... and of course, the orange lilies are already sprouting - and I think they've grown another three inches since I took this picture!  But....

.......... what is Poppa doing (while Squeegie supervises)?????

An Exciting Day

Recently Munchie and his family received an invitation to the ProAm games in their area.  By all accounts......

......... they had a great time....... and I love this picture!  The boys were able to get some.....

real-time autographs from some of the famous people!  And they even got the opportunity.....

to get up close to some of the players!  I'm not sure if Curtie is admiring or a tad nervous!  The pictures are priceless - thank you Mommy!  Oh yes - and speaking of Mommy.....

........... here is her completed blanket.  I hope she likes it!  And now, I wonder..........

......... what Squeegie is up to?????

Daddy's In the Net

Last Saturday we went to York University to watch....

.......... some playoff hockey.  We waited a few minutes and............

..... Wow!  There's Daddy with all his goalie gear on.  Once again this year, Daddy's team had made it to the playoffs and Daddy was once again - in the net!  We watched....

.......... him doing some warmup exercises (way at the other side of the rink) and....

.......... then the game was underway!  Alas, in spite of..........

.......... some excellent saves by our goal-tender, the game was won by the opposition with a score of 5-4.  We were all proud of Daddy's skills.........

........ but Poppa had a nice visit with the boys (Munchie in this picture)..... and......

.......... little Curtie seemed very happy to see us!  He had remnants of a very bad cold, accompanied by a deep cough - and of course, as happens when a person hangs out will little people - now I have it!  Doesn't matter though -

........ we had so much fun - we loved watching Daddy play - and as usual - sooner than anticipated, Daddy had his gear packed up and we were heading for the car.  Congratulations on making the play-offs Daddy!  Thank you for inviting us to the game!  Hopefully we'll be back again next year!

A quick little note before I sign off.....

....... I have started assembling Mommy's blanket - this is about half of it.  I'll keep you updated.