Knitting Still...

I have finished....

.... two little shirts/sweaters with matching socks for our little men.  Munchie wanted stripes and he wanted a "shirt".  So I made two little pullovers with long sleeves and polo necks.  I still have to get buttons for them - I'm on my way into town shortly on that mission.  In the meantime....

......... I've started my next project!  Here is a first glimpse!  Now I'm off to get into something more suitable for a trip to town than the oversize Mickey Mouse tee I'm currently wearing!

Poppa's Yard

On Friday, I heard noise outside and went out to investigate.........

........ I went around to the front of the house.....

........... up the road past the house.......

........... past the Welcome Moose - the beehive lights up at night.....

............ past the pine trees - which are growing little baby pine cones..........

............. to the side yard, where.........

.... I found the source of the noise!  Poppa and Squeegie were out cutting the grass.  Back in the house....

........ I knew Taffy was still on the phone, so I continued on my tour around the house....

.... past Poppa's new barbeque....

.... past the dark pink peony bush (which Poppa tied up with string so that the rain wouldn't weigh down the large blooms -

....... he did that with all the peony bushes - you can see the string in this picture of the paler pink peonies)...

........... past the table of begonias in Phillip's Park............

......... past the little flower bed at the back, where he replaced the Rose of Sharon bush that didn't survive the winter with a little dappled willow..........

........ past the little shady flower bed where he stuck a couple of smiling daisies to brighten up the shady spot....

............ along the side of the garage..........

.... past the bird bath towards the front of the house again..........

......... where I found Poppa watering the flowers...........

............ so he could keep them looking.........

..............like this!

Quick Visit

Last week we made a quick visit to see our little boys - and Mommy & Daddy of course!  When we arrived.....

 ..... we noticed something different in the driveway.... that doesn't look like their car.  I should mention that a couple of weeks ago, Munchie and his family were going to come for a visit - but couldn't because of car troubles.  So.......

.......... now, sitting proudly in their driveway is this brand new 2014 Kia Optima!  They are really pleased with it and love all the extra features available, not to mention terrific gas mileage - which is important with the price of gas skyrocketing every day!  Inside....

... we found Munchie sitting at the kitchen table, watching TV and.....

........ playing some complicated game on his DS3.  When he heard us talking about the new car....

............ he took us outside to see his Cadillac Escalade!  He had the radio blasting and couldn't resist the impulse to boogey to the music before he brought it up the hill!  He's really a very good driver, but then he's been driving since he was three!  Shortly thereafter.....

.... Daddy got the pool ready so the boys could cool down.  Munchie was in there immediately.... Curtie was more enthused..........

....... about testing his water gun, and the boys spent several minutes chasing and squirting each other.  Strangely it seemed that whoever was squirting was having a wonderful time, laughing and hooting, while whoever was being squirted was having the most horrible time, shrieking and screaming!  It was fun for them.... we were a little nervous about those jets of water - especially when one of the boys stood near one of us!  But, we managed to stay dry and they managed to get soaking wet!  Munchie spent a very long time.....

.... demonstrating his ability to run, jump and splash!  Take a look at this short video!  He must have repeated this about twenty-five times - until he was getting to tired to jump high enough to clear the edge of the pool!  He really loves the water!  Daddy barbequed some chicken - Mommy made corn, salad and noodles!  Supper was delicious!!  Thank you Mommy & Daddy!  Soon after supper we headed home.  It was a short visit, but we enjoyed it immensely!

A Significant Occasion

The day after the meeting at Auntie Cecile's house, we attended..........

.... the 100th Anniversary of Mundell Funeral Home, a third-generation business in our hometown.  It was extremely interesting.  They were giving tours of the entire facility - including the "preparation room".  Outside they were displaying....

... some of the old conveyances which would have been used during the hundred years.  We saw....

......... this horse drawn hearse.........

...... would have been quite impressive proceeding down the street.  There was also....

......... this Harley-Davidson version.....

........ which the men seemed to prefer!  I managed to snap..........

....... a nice picture of Gramps & Granny, and was lucky enough to........

.... to snag Auntie Cecile and Uncle Mark for a lovely picture by the building.  They moved over here when the horses started moving - and I was wishing I had taken both pictures with this lovely background.  Granny was kind enough to snap this....

.... picture of Poppa and myself - you can see the rear entrance decorated up for the occasion in the background.  There were refreshments, videos and presentations and of course, the tour.  It was an informative and enjoyable afternoon.  Congratulations to Mr. John Mundell, the current owner!

Another AGM

A couple of weeks ago Auntie Cecile arranged a meeting to discuss the situation with Gramma Grace.  There really wasn't much to discuss, since things are pretty much the same.  But.....

...... it was a great excuse to get the sisters together for a visit.  Here is Auntie Colleen, Auntie Cecile and Granny all together in front of an interesting item.  Auntie Cecile had prepared (with some help from Granny!) a tasty lunch.  She served this item for dessert....

......... isn't it priceless!  The ants weren't edible but they certainly added a humorous element to the cake - which incidentally, was very good!  There was a brief discussion about..........

.... who was taller.......it appears that Auntie Colleen..............oh wait.......

.......... maybe it's Granny who is taller!  Unfortunately, Auntie Marcia wasn't able to attend so there were only four of us.  However, we had a brief, informational meeting and a nice visit.  Gramma Grace is fairly stable, there is more evidence of memory loss and some incidents of confusion - but that is to be expected.  Overall, she seems fairly cheerful and visits are pleasant.  

Thank you Auntie Cecile for the information and the good food and the chance to visit with my sisters!

Bears & Things

Yesterday I took this picture.....

.......... of our peonies - they already look pretty.  This is the only pink bush we seem to have.... the rest are all white.  But these are looking beautiful.  A couple of weeks ago we had Aunt Peggy out for her usual supper on a Sunday evening......

...........and we had company.  We ran into Kev-Inn and Mildred at the restaurant in the morning and invited them to join us.  We had a great visit and I think Aunt Peggy enjoyed it as much as everyone else did.  We were having turkey leftovers from the night before when Auntie Denise and Uncle Brian had joined us.  Alas!  I did not get any pictures.  Poppa has spent some time reading the manual.....

............ for his new John Deere (congratulations to all those who spotted the difference in my previous blog) lawn tractor.  He absolutely loves it and recommends a John Deere for anyone who is looking for a lawn tractor!

Did you ever wonder what bears look like when they watch TV??  Well they look just like anyone else, of course!  They snuggle under a blanket and relax (near some yarn maybe??).  Or.....

........... they chat on their phone!  Taffy recently got this new smart phone (thanks Mommy!) and we can't get her to put it down.  She got a free data plan subscription through Build-A-Bear so she's either playing games, surfing, chatting or talking..... should have known better than to give a phone to a young lady!  Oh, and by the way......

... Poppa went and cut the grass at Aunt Peggy's house for the last time because.....

............her house is sold!  It went really quickly for close to asking price.  We are all very pleased!  The closing date was the 18th so I don't feel like I'll jinx the deal if I tell you now!  One final thing.....

.......... I took this picture today of those same two peonies!  Amazing how some nice weather encourages them to open so quickly!

Spot the Difference

Here is Poppa cutting the grass last year....

....... and here is Poppa cutting the grass this year.....

Can you see what is different????  (No - it's not which part of the yard he is in!)  Yes - I know Squeegie is not is this year's picture - but that's not it!  Squeegie was having a nap and we didn't wake him up.  He was kinds ticked off with us....

.......but he spent some time with his best buddy and he was soon happy again!